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[Footkerchief]

Chinese people already used Gunpowder long before 1400. And first use of it was mentionned around 1300-1350 in Europe.
On the other hand, the wheel wasn't even used in America by the civilisations who lived here.
So "1400 tech" doesn't mean a lot. It's more a fantasy Middle Age than anything accurate.

If this picture is to be believed, gunpowder has been around since the 900s, in the form of grenades and fire lances. Even if gunpowder isn't included, I'm for adding more Asian elements to the game to increase the diversity in civilizations. I mean, who doesn't want to see a Dwarven civilization that uses elements of Oriental culture for a change?

I don't.

I don't want to make of DF a mess of too many things. It would be like Pandaria for WoW or shits like that (not that it is shitty, but the mixture is...well...).
DF has its own universe, please don't mix it with things that has nothing to do with it.
But it's true that some of Asian medieval traits could be used to give more diversity for human societies.

But what's more dwarfy that a huge tube of iron or steel filled with coal set ablaze to spit a huge ball of anything against your enemies, probably blowing half fortress in the process too?

No gunpowder derails, please.  At least half of you know better.   Control yourselves.

There have been dozens of gunpowder threads.

If you want an official answer, though, it's "maybe":

Given that anything I add which is both highly controversial and unnecessary will be optional, people can afford to be calm about future additions.

A lot of it comes down to where I devote my energy.  Technological innovations sort of fall into a category with projects like tileset support.  These options would make some people happy and expand the audience, while taking up some of my time that other people want put somewhere else.  As they get further and further away from what we've already got, they are less likely to have time found for them.

For those interested in a specific development timeline for gunpowder, I'll be faced with the question when I make the alchemist's workshop more interesting (assuming that workshop continues to exist).  Handling the workshop itself is a middle-priority matter, since the game elements involved aren't crucial but the the building is languishing in a limbo surrounded by mysterious useless raw entries like golden salve and gnomeblight.  I may or may not add optional gunpowder around that time.  I don't know.

Regarding gunpowder and some basic associated technologies, I can see myself playing either way, really, since I'm not that picky.  If I had to choose between having gunpowder on or off in a release distribution init file, it would be off, because Arnold got shot in Commando not Conan, and the Argonauts didn't get shot by handguns or cannons, and Medusa had a bow not a gun, and stuff.  We grew up with that crap, and our core DF, our myth/fantasy game, mainly hovers around that sort of fluffy nostalgia, but it doesn't need to impact you more than a one line file change.

Yeah, I'm aware of this.  I've been thinking for a while of using their chemistry as the dwarven model, prior to gunpowder arriving in the mid 13th century.  Plaster isn't the first time we've bumped into them.  In any case, as plaster casts predate that by 300 years and had the direct mineral link I mentioned, I think it's all good.  Dwarves should probably distinguish themselves in fields like this, if anything.  It's their element, at least in part.  Some of it'll depend on flavor (gunpowder is a decision like this more or less).  I'll have to decide on a case by case basis, but I think most of it will go in.  Our dwarves have more idle time than fighting crazy viking-style scottish dwarves.

edit:  though they drink twice as much.

[LordBaal]

I was just commenting on that, and it's something Toady himself has say a "maybe" sounding a lot like "no". However it's one of the most popular claims and it's natural to have it pop up here and there every once in a while.

Eventually the game will get there, through design or modding, either way is the same, and that's just one of the many, many things that are awesome with this.

[smjjames]

If this picture is to be believed, gunpowder has been around since the 900s, in the form of grenades and fire lances. Even if gunpowder isn't included, I'm for adding more Asian elements to the game to increase the diversity in civilizations. I mean, who doesn't want to see a Dwarven civilization that uses elements of Oriental culture for a change?

I don't.

I don't want to make of DF a mess of too many things. It would be like Pandaria for WoW or shits like that (not that it is shitty, but the mixture is...well...).
DF has its own universe, please don't mix it with things that has nothing to do with it.
But it's true that some of Asian medieval traits could be used to give more diversity for human societies.

Having early gunpowder =/= asian medieval traits, you can have gunpowder without having medieval asian traits.

Still though, footkerchief is right, there has been PLENTY of discussion on gunpowder and I think the masterwork mod has it, so lets end the derail.

[Neonivek]

Anyhow as of this moment dwarf fortress deals in singular cultures and I am unsure when this will change but every impression I get from Toady is that this will eventually change.

How much, I don't know.

[Knight Otu]

Also, Toady One, you mentioned the elves bringing coconuts and since in RL, coconut milk is made into liquor, will we be seeing new alcohol brews in the next version?

Toady has hinted at that being the case.

So, with fruit-bearing trees, does this mean that we'll get a slew of new ciders to make?

And will there be some underground fruit trees? (If so, then put me down for a barrel of stalacterines.)

Indeed, with each new fruit that goes in, dwarves lead richer lives.  We haven't made final decisions about the underground trees.  Perhaps it wouldn't be appropriate to share them when we do.

[CaptainArchmage]

On the forums at http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=131179.45 we've determined that the Dwarf Fortress moon either orbits the planet prograde with a sidereal period of exactly 24 days, or retrograde with a sidereal period of exactly 28 days (one dwarven month), assuming the planet goes around the sun the "normal" way with Earth (travels anti-clockwise around the sun when viewed from the Sun's north pole; we know the planet rotates from West to East already). Which one is it? If the moon orbits the planet retrograde, it means its orbit will decay and eventually crash into the planet. Was this ever a planned apocalypse scenario?

Yes, some of us did those calculations.

[CaptainArchmage]

If this picture is to be believed, gunpowder has been around since the 900s, in the form of grenades and fire lances. Even if gunpowder isn't included, I'm for adding more Asian elements to the game to increase the diversity in civilizations. I mean, who doesn't want to see a Dwarven civilization that uses elements of Oriental culture for a change?

Toady said on his twitter feed on 9th September that gunpowder will be a possible worldgen option. This will ensure that people who don't want gunpowder in their games won't have to deal with it. I'd personally like this to be sorted out sooner than later (i.e. next major release after the coming one), but that's just my opinion on it.

[PTTG??]

I presume that it might be a part of a larger "technology" arc or something like it. I could see a mode with technology advancement, and one with it. How exactly that would work could vary a lot.

[CaptainArchmage]

Also, Toady One, you mentioned the elves bringing coconuts and since in RL, coconut milk is made into liquor, will we be seeing new alcohol brews in the next version?

Toady has hinted at that being the case.

So, with fruit-bearing trees, does this mean that we'll get a slew of new ciders to make?

And will there be some underground fruit trees? (If so, then put me down for a barrel of stalacterines.)

Indeed, with each new fruit that goes in, dwarves lead richer lives.  We haven't made final decisions about the underground trees.  Perhaps it wouldn't be appropriate to share them when we do.

Are dwarves going to be able to harvest from trees in the next release, or are the fruits only going to be delivered by caravan?

[Eric Blank]

Toady already stated that we'll be able to harvest fruits through some means, like picking them up off the ground when they fall.

[Hague]

On the topic of gunpowder. With or without, DF definitely needs a source of explosive force and modeling for it, if only for other kinds of explosions (preternatural or otherwise) I mean, imagine corpulent exploding zombies. Explosive mushroom spores.

[MrWiggles]

On the topic of gunpowder. With or without, DF definitely needs a source of explosive force and modeling for it, if only for other kinds of explosions (preternatural or otherwise) I mean, imagine corpulent exploding zombies. Explosive mushroom spores.

Oh that's in, to some degree. With the projectile subsystem thing, ToadyOne could model Splatter exploding.

[smjjames]

Hm, I don't know if anybody here has asked this yet:

Will we be able to cultivate fruit trees? By that I mean be able to have orchards of one or more species of fruiting trees.

[Man In Zero G]

Hm, I don't know if anybody here has asked this yet:

Will we be able to cultivate fruit trees? By that I mean be able to have orchards of one or more species of fruiting trees.

I believe the answer was "Not yet".

[LordBaal]

But eventually. I find this one to be one of those low hanging fruits the One Toad talks about, we could get it latter in one of the "post release" releases between big releases. (how much wood would a woodchuck... )

However I could be very wrong, only he knows.