I noticed that as I keep working on my tileset (over the past couple years) that there has been definite improvement... which has got me thinking...
Why not allow dwarves to attempt to improve items/engravings?
Concept:
~Items would be crafted normally (as they are now)
~An option could be added to workshops that would say something like "improve quality of craftable workshop items" (limiting the items to the type that can be made at that kind of workshop)
~Dwarves seek out items or take from connected stockpiles items that can be improved and attempt to improve them.
~I imagine that the process would take a long time as it would be mostly a dwarf studying the item and looking for how to improve it.
~I imagine that the attempts commonly fail as sometimes you can't think of anything that can be done to improve it.
~The item material/description do not change (so that engravings don't tell a different story). Just the item quality is changed.
~You could also have something where he "fails horribly" and the item breaks or decreases in quality.
~You could have a change in mood based on if he does a good job or can't seem to figure out how to improve it. "
Urist McCarpenter felt frustrated when failing to improve an *apple wood bucket*"
This could be limited to the dwarves that created the item/engraving initially but if other dwarves are allowed to work on an item this suggestion can tie in with previous posts about creating assembly lines. Where one dwarf makes the inital product and better crafting dwarves can attempt to improve it on down the line till it gets to masterwork.
The problems I think this would solve:
~This would solve problems with unskilled dwarves wasting precious materials.
~This would give more reason to buy craft items from trade caravans as you can improve them and sell them again later.
~This would solve the problem of idle crafters as when resources become scarce as you can always have them begin improving items.
~This would solve the problem of grinding out mountains of useless items/furniture to just get the few masterwork needed in furnishing high quality rooms.
Other thoughts:
Maybe some form of an attachment could be made between dwarves and items over time. A dwarf that works with an item frequently will feel sorrow if the item is sold or joy if the item is placed where he and others can admire it. Possibly a second way of making some legendary items even though the item materials aren't very many it can be named just by how much a certain dwarf has been working on it "
Urist McStonecrafter has grown attached to a +granite pot+ and has named it 'Small Potatoes'" (This would tie in to making assembly lines as letting a dwarf get attached to an item would make it difficult to sell/destroy later).
If you read this Toady, thanks for all you do! We sure appreciate ya'!
Author
Topic: Urist Attempts to Improve Item Quality (Read 721 times)