Game Development: Destruction & Sericulture

[Potjeh]

I don't think that the steel we make is stainless. Rust can ruin iron things very quickly when it's left out in the rain.

[loftar]

I'm pretty sure an anvil or a meatgrinder would rust and deteriorate heavily if left outside for too long, though. I shouldn't bet on it, perhaps, but I'd be surprised if it weren't the case.

As for kilns, I'm not sure if they take too much damage anymore. I'm sure they took a real beating in the beginning, before I adjusted the damage of large objects to account for their size. When I've looked around, it seems most kiln/oven damage was done before that, and that not much has happened after I adjusted it, but I may be wrong.

[sami1337]

Kilns are effected by wind and rain. Ovens just by rain.
Anvils by rain too obviously, but something doesn't just rust away like that. If you use your anvil alot the top won't be very rusted and rust would probably be reduced.

Even today large companies store steel beams and sheets outside because rust is good when working with metal. It means there's no grease and paint will stick better.

Meat grinder is a bit different. The smaller the pieces are the easier it is to break. But that's the same difference as between a palisade wall and a loom. One is crude and one is delicate.

I think it should be noted that oil and grease saves both wood and metal objects from the weather.

[Peter]

Well, that depends on the kind of rust you're talking about- For instance, you've never seen pure aluminum; the surface all aluminum objects oxidizes virtually immediately; this thin layer of "rust" actually protects the underlying metal because it is not brittle like iron oxide.

As for the anvils and stuff... I have an old heavy-duty iron vice out in the backyard- it probably hasn't moved in 6 years and annother couple before that. It's been in the weather for all that time and while one of the adjustment bolts is stuck (probably just needs a good wrench), the functionality of it is still there. You can crush things just fine and dandy.

Of course, if it was lying in the dirt and covered in leaves, it would be in much worse state...

[loftar]

I have now reduced the decay damage of several objects, in some cases quite a lot.

Here's a list of objects that should be kept indoors, though:
* Wineracks
* Anvils
* Spinning Wheels
* Churns
* Dream Catchers
* Carpets
* Cauldrons
* Coinpresses
* Looms
* Meat Grinders

Drying frames, wicker baskets and fireplaces will also decay very quickly, so if you really want to keep them, you should keep them indoors.

It could be argued that anvils should be keepable outside. I'm not sure.

[sami1337]

I don't understand anvils, barrels and cauldrons.

Does a mine count as inside?

[loftar]

A mine counts as indoors for the purposes of decay, at least. I think that is as it should.

You may well be right about the barrels. I'm not as sure about anvils and cauldrons, though, but I'll think about it.

[sami1337]

My view on the cauldron and barrels is that because it holds liquid it can't really decay faster just because it rains or something. The wood is already soaked. And as Peter says (which seems to be correct according to what i've heard about rust) large metal objects take only little damage by rusting. Once rusted you'd need to remove the rust for it to rust more.

[KoE]

Hmm, any idea if there larger buildings coming down the pipe in the soon-ish area? Most settled places have more cabins than they really know what to do with, but for newer places it might be nice to know if they should be worried about throwing up new cabins or if they can just hold out a little while for cellars/brick houses/barns/alien spacecraft/whatever.

[niltrias]

I'm pretty sure an anvil or a meatgrinder would rust and deteriorate heavily if left outside for too long, though. I shouldn't bet on it, perhaps, but I'd be surprised if it weren't the case.

As for kilns, I'm not sure if they take too much damage anymore. I'm sure they took a real beating in the beginning, before I adjusted the damage of large objects to account for their size. When I've looked around, it seems most kiln/oven damage was done before that, and that not much has happened after I adjusted it, but I may be wrong.

At my dads place is an anvil that we used to shoe our horses when I was a kid. It is in an open-sided shed, so it has a roof, but still get wet and so forth. Its been there for over 30 years and while not pretty, is still serviceable. A meatgrinder or a vice has moving parts that bind with rust. A vice is a block of iron. When it rusts, the crust protects it. When you use it, you knock that crust off and lost another millimeter of metal. If we were looking at a generational exchange, we would probably protect the anvil more, but seriously...anvils dont break.

Edit--well, crap. I emailed my father about this thread, and as it happens, that anvil got junked about 6 years ago. So maybe not quite that long. He also pointed out that we used it only a couple of times a year, and serious ferriers go through protected anvils much more quickly. So never mind.