The Factory Floor

Gryphon

1:31 AM

Is anybody else here?

Shalvenay

@Gryphon I'm sorta-here, what's up?

Gryphon

Just wondering if there was anybody to chat with.

Green

@FoxElemental This is the emergency broadcast system. If this were a real emergency, you'd hear lots and lots of screaming.

7

Gryphon

1:47 AM

@Green This is an excellent sentence.

JavaScriptCoder

2:40 AM

@FoxElemental The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog

dot_Sp0T

6:12 AM

Sorry, I just got up again

@FoxElemental Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious, if you say it loud enough you'll always sound precocious - supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

4

Worldbuilding Meta

7:15 AM

0

Q: Did I overdo it?

In my recent question on spaceships & space-colonization it seems there are two camps of people in the answers/comments. There's currently an equal amount of answers (resp answerers) that seem to have no issue understanding and answering the posed problem/question, and of answers that seem to hav...

FoxElemental

12:53 PM

@Green AAAAH! NO KIDDING!!

@Java Thanks!

Bellerophon

@FoxElemental May I see the translations?

FoxElemental

@Bell When I'm done, yes.

Bellerophon

Thanks.

FoxElemental

1:06 PM

@JavaScriptCoder Egyráyew sonasato eu vos as̥k e baga evá eu bítõe lápž.

@Bell There's the first one ^

Kepotx

is it a language you created by yourself?

FoxElemental

@Kepotx Yes

@Kepotx See my alphabet:

21 hours ago, by FoxElemental

A a À à Á á Â â Ã ã Ä ä Å å Ą ą Ⱥ ⱥ B b ß C c Ç ç Č č D d Ð ð E e È è É é Ê ê Ë ë Ȩ ȩ E̊ e̊ F f G g H h Ħ ħ I i Ì ì Í í Î î Ï ï J j K k L l Ł ł M m N n Ñ ñ O o Ò ò Ó ó Ô ô Õ õ Ö ö O̧ o̧ O̊ o̊ P p Ᵽ ᵽ Q q R r Ř ř R̥ r̥ S s Š š Ş ş S̥ s̥ T t U u Ù ù Ú ú Û û Ü ü U̧ u̧ Ů ů V v W w W̊ ẘ X x X̊ x̊ Y y Ý ý Ÿ ÿ Y̊ ẙ Z z Ž ž

Kepotx

damn. And I dislike french alphabet for his accents...

FoxElemental

Unfortuanately some of the rings and cedillas didn't work well.

That is to say

See the R with the dot below? That's supposed to be a cedilla

@Kepotx LOL

Loong

@FoxElemental Why do you sort ß after b? It belongs to s.

FoxElemental

1:14 PM

@Loong The same reason I sort Ł after L instead of after W.

Aesthetics

Bellerophon

Why didn't you include æ?

FoxElemental

Same reason I didn't include Œ.

Easy to represent with other characters

Œ=oi/O̧

AndyD273

So are you going to see if you can get someone to design you a 162 key keyboard?

Kepotx

you don't have to

FoxElemental

Exactly

It's 26 letters

Kepotx

1:23 PM

same as "a" and "A" are not two diferent keys, but a key combination

FoxElemental

And 50 diacritical variations

=76 letters total

Kepotx

you can have letter + (optional)case + (optional) accent

26 keys, shift, and all accents

AndyD273

I count 84 distinct capitol letters, since ß doesn't have a lower case form

I count 12 different accents (if you count ß as being an accent of B)

Kepotx

and even 162 character isn't that much. think of mandarin, japanese, corean or similar alphabets...

AndyD273

@Kepotx But IIRC they generally simplified to a phonetic alphabet too, otherwise you have a different key for every single word essentially.

Kepotx

1:34 PM

@AndyD273 joke aside, one of hte method is pinyin, you use a qwerty keyboard, type phonetically and several characters are displayed

Pinyin input method

The pinyin method (simplified Chinese: 拼音输入法; traditional Chinese: 拼音輸入法; pinyin: pīnyīn shūrù fǎ) refers to a family of input methods based on the pinyin method of romanization. In the most basic form, the pinyin method allows a user to input Chinese characters by entering the pinyin of a Chinese character and then presenting the user with a list of possible characters with that pronunciation. However, there are a number of slightly different such systems in use, and modern pinyin methods provide a number of convenient features. == Advantages and disadvantages == The obvious advantage of pinyin...

AndyD273

Hosch250

@dot_Sp0T I'll volunteer for the saddle.

AndyD273

Apparently there are a number of ISO formats for keyboard layout when it comes to mandarin.

Kepotx

never though about it but... how dictionary are done with such alphabet?

AndyD273

Hands like this may be required to type with @FoxElemental s alphabet...

You have shift for uppercase/lowercase, 26 (or 27) letters, 11 (or 12) accents, 10 number keys, the normal space/tab/backspace/delete/home/end/pg up/pg down/etc, keypad, and if it's for a computer you have the normal arrow keys, ctrl, alt, etc.

Kepotx

1:42 PM

@FoxElemental is it for a specific fictional worlds ?

@AndyD273 well, french have somme accents, some letters are on the keyboard (é,è,à...), some can be made by combination (~, ^, ¨, `... + any key)

that's why i ask if it's on fictional world, and if it is, what period, as it's not a problem if it's before keyboards

but still, special key for most common, + 4 keys for combination work well

i think vietnam have a latin alphabet with lot of accent, could be interesting to see their keyboards

Hosch250

FoxElemental

@Kep Yes

Kepotx

and in what context do you create this?

Hosch250

@FoxElemental Now that you designed old-whatever, you might want to design middle-whatever and modern-whatever with all the simplifications.

AndyD273

2:25 PM

@Kepotx Right, thats what I said. there are 11 distinct accents, so you'd need to hit shift + ¨ + A to get Ä, which might not be terrible, but that's still 11 keys that would have to be added. You could have a second button to turn the top row into an accent row, but then you're hitting 4 keys at the same time, and you'd need to have some pretty limber fingers.

Bellerophon

You could swap the right numpad for accent keys.

AndyD273

I guess you could throw in foot peddles... that might make it interesting

6

James

@Green You com up with the weirdest ways to destroy earth...

AndyD273

@Bellerophon Which is fine, but you'd be giving up those numbers, and you'd have to take 1 hand off the home row to do that. meaning you'd have to take the other hand off to cover one of those keys. So say you want to type a O̧. You have to take your right hand off of the right side of the keyboard to push the right accent key, take your left hand off of the left side of the keyboard to hit the Shift + o, all in one movement... messy

James

@AndyD273 If you're doing this you have to give each key a sound as well so they can make music as they type.

AndyD273

2:32 PM

@James I'll take "ideas that sounded good in my head, but make office life an even more unbearable hell" for 1000.

James

@AndyD273 Oh c'mon that is clearly a double Jeopardy category. Its worth at least 1600.

Kepotx

this whole thing depend a lot on how vommon some accents are. If "ᵽ" is only used in two words, i don't mind hitting 4 keys to write it

Hosch250

@Kepotx If it's only used in 2 words, then let's just replace it with a simpler one to type.

Secespitus

@Kepotx People are lazy. They will soon find something that sounds similar, but requires less keystrokes, and use that instead.

Kepotx

or add a key, so you got one key for each word

AndyD273

2:34 PM

@Hosch250 You beat me to it.

James

@Secespitus Agreed, common usage won't tolerate that kind of obscurity.

Kepotx

@AndyD273 well, we can do it with "hand" keyboards to try it first. could be fun.

Hosch250

OK, I have a new idea. I should create a piano keyboard for typing.So you have to play your emails.

Make a mistake in a chord? Oops, typo.

Kepotx

it could be fun to see how some words change because "woard" make a much better sound than "word"

AndyD273

@James Actually, now that you mention it, I wonder if you could design a written language that is built around musical chords. So written out it would look like sheet music, and then hummed/sung/played. Getting a sentence that sounds nice would be almost as important as what the words actually say.

Or if you're really angry/sad you might use discordant words

Hosch250

2:39 PM

@AndyD273 Yes, because a discordant chord is actually taken as an insult in diplomatic instances.

cue meeting a society who's idea of discordant is very different than another's; maybe they use a different scale, or something

James

@AndyD273 That is a really good idea that I am wholly unqualified to build

AndyD273

@Hosch250 That would make diplomacy a very interesting/fun project.

Hosch250

Exactly.

I'm unqualified, but I think I might work it into a short story or something.

My imagination seems to have forsaken me, though.

I haven't been able to work on my story or the story-go-round for days.

AndyD273

@James Oh, me too. I sorta kinda have an ear for music, but I have no training, and don't like music as much as most people seem too.

James

I really like music, and I think I have a good ear for what sounds good together, but I have virtually no talent in relation to creating it.

Green

2:44 PM

@James That question was a plausibility check to see if I could wipe out anything large than a bacteria by altering the CO2<->O2 metabolic cycle on Earth.

@James And do you expect anything else from me?

James

@Green Gee...how could altering the building blocks of our atmosphere go wrong?!

@Green Obviously not.

Worldbuilding Meta

1

Q: Can we encourage people to put more research into questions?

There are many examples of questions that are perfectly valid and on-topic (in my opinion), but show very little research effort. I feel like some users are posting whatever comes to their mind on this site at high frequency. In "Would a post-human alien civilization have entertainment?" it is b...

discussion questions

Green

@James I wanted to do it fast enough that the only organisms that could survive are the ones with life cycles measured in hours.

Hosch250

@Green Well, actually, I think I might have a better substance than iron for this.

Green

@Hosch250 do tell.

Hosch250

2:48 PM

Try aluminum. It rusts on the order of milliseconds.

Green

@Hosch250 How exothermic is Aluminum oxidation compared to iron oxidation?

Hosch250

Spray the atmosphere with refined aluminum power from space or something.

@Green Not sure.

It'll just eat the oxygen something fierce.

> Aluminium is oxidized by water at temperatures below 280 °C to produce hydrogen, aluminium hydroxide and heat

It oxidizes so hard it even rips water apart.

Bellerophon

@Green Quite a bit more.

Green

@Bellerophon Then I may stick with iron. I just want to deplete atmospheric O2, not fry the planet....although that gives me a new idea for how to destroy the planet. @James you'll be pleased.

Hosch250

Hmm, I just thought of a new use for my "piano" keyboard.

If I make it into an "organ" keyboard, I can use stops to support any language ever.

Green

2:56 PM

@Hosch250 what's that?

@Hosch250 Nice!

Hosch250

And have 4 different keyboards for different things.

The first keyboard to have full unicode support! Limitless emojis!

Green

@Hosch250 Do it!

Hosch250

I actually might.

Kepotx

@Hosch250 don't such keyboard exist? not piano/organ ones, but those who can support several characters

Hosch250

@Kepotx They do.

But you have to install all sorts of language packs to do it.

Kepotx

2:59 PM

like, it's led keys, so it can change from qwerty to azerty

Hosch250

For example, I can make my English US to Chinese, but I have to install a language pack, and it's clunkier than a native Chinese keyboard.

This organ thing would have full native support for it--and it has like 4 keyboards plus foot pedals for more keys.

And chords are easier :)

Green

WB makes me so happy. I've been dragging all morning but the thought of deploying a global thermobaric weapon based on the oxidation of Aluminum has turned me mood right around.

4

Kepotx

@Green the only counterpart of such fun chat is being monitored by CIA/NSA and other thing like that

Green

@Kepotx I don't even worry about that.

Hosch250

Hmm. I seem to recall reading something about aluminum already being used in firebombs.

Gryphon

3:03 PM

@Kepotx, I'm pretty sure that by this point, anyone who comes into this room automatically gets put on CIA/NSA/FBI/Any other three letter combination you feel like including watchlists.

dot_Sp0T

@Hosch250 @Green have you heard? @Hosch250 would take over the saddle from you. So, if there will be another one, the next feature could again be named after you - will you accept and chance no feature names after you?

Green

@Hosch250 You are correct. Current thermobaric bombs do incorporate aluminum and other metals to enhance the thermal and blast effects.

@dot_Sp0T I just ask for one feature. Hosch is welcome to the saddle.

dot_Sp0T

@Green I will do the additions and changes on the map now. Need something nice rn

Hosch250

@dot_Sp0T I thought @Green claimed the Green Mountains?

dot_Sp0T

Propose another feature

Green

3:05 PM

@Gryphon But if they come investigate my house, they'll find a lot of books and nothing else.

dot_Sp0T

@Hosch250 nope, that's the Dubukay Expanse noe

Bellerophon

@dot_Sp0T Crater.

Hosch250

The Green Lake. It has that slimy green stuff all over it.

Bellerophon

You should always have a crater.

Hosch250

Like all the lakes in MN.

dot_Sp0T

3:07 PM

I am not sure where to fit the crater :/

Hosch250

@dot_Sp0T Underneath the lake :P

dot_Sp0T

It's only ~4km square

The mapped area i mean

Bellerophon

A small crater caused when someone accidentally dropped a pot on some soft ground.

dot_Sp0T

That reminds me, you could also have a feature on the worldmap... But honestly citymap features are better right?

Hosch250

The Green Street. Where all the financial institutions are :P

Gryphon

3:10 PM

Hey @Green, any idea when the next Infinite Typewriters podcast will happen?

dot_Sp0T

The Green mile?

Bellerophon

@dot_Sp0T Isn't that a thing in a city already?

dot_Sp0T

@Bellerophon I thought it was a movie

Green

3:26 PM

@Gryphon I think you are our one listener.

My brain is pretty full of other stuff so there may not be another episode.

Gryphon

:(

I like hearing other people worldbuild

Hosch250

Make an episode on the effects of bringing pure aluminum in powder form from an "external" source :)

dot_Sp0T

@Green where do you want your crater?

kingledion

3:41 PM

Hey @Green. What do you think about my answer to the iron question

Was it bad assumptions/not answered as intended?

AndyD273

@Green I still think we should put out a final episode, even if it's really short. Just something to sign off and let people (@Gryphon) know the state of things so it's not left hanging.

I've had enough podcasts fade away and it's always annoying, since you never know if they will come back eventually, or if they are gone for good.

dot_Sp0T

Ooooh, I could do something like this for the Secespit

Hosch250

@dot_Sp0T I totally pronounced that as "cesspit" instead of "sekespit" the first time I read it.

dot_Sp0T

@Hosch250 yeah, I admit that might have been a funny joke in my head when naming it, but it's unfair for @Secespitus so I might rename it to something Green, and instead have something other cool for them

AndyD273

@Hosch250 I'm still not sure how to pronounce it.

HDE 226868

4:01 PM

@dot_Sp0T I did some thinking about map-making questions. One idea I had involved mapping a dust cloud or a nebula, in the sort of situation I was talking about here: worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/a/121091/627

Another idea I had was asking about the feasibility of using Cepheid variables as a galactic map.

Secespitus

@dot_Sp0T I am looking forward to what you come up with :D

James

@HDE226868 Those are words. I assume it makes a coherent sentence, but I can't be sure.

@dot_Sp0T Was there a particular reason you were singing Mary Poppins?

I don't know if I told you all this but I totally have Glarnak worked into my universe. He is an Orcish deity. They sing songs and sacrifice non-believers to him.

dot_Sp0T

4:19 PM

@Secespitus The valley with the bog/fen still needs naming; what about the Secespit Bog?

James

@dot_Sp0T Has a ring to it.

Green

@dot_Sp0T where ever. I didn't know I had a crater.

Hosch250

@James For Fox to translate.

dot_Sp0T

@Green you can either have the crater, or have the hot springs

James

@Green There's got to be a joke there somewhere...hold on, I'll think of it.

Green

4:20 PM

@kingledion I liked it!

dot_Sp0T

@Hosch250 The Hosch Sattle? Or something else?

Hosch250

@James They'd better hope somebody bigger and better than them doesn't come along, or they might get sacrificed to their own god.

@dot_Sp0T Dain's Point?

Secespitus

@dot_Sp0T Nice :D

Hosch250

(Dain Ironfoot III is my alternative name.)

dot_Sp0T

@James I forgot where I did that tbh

@Hosch250 can do

Now I only need to remember all of that while drinking the next 3 hours

James

4:24 PM

@Hosch250 Its not about size. ;) Ever play Dragon Age: Inquisition?

Green

@James perhaps if I didn't know I had one, I should just make one instead.

James

It wasn't intentional but my orcs have a lot in common with the...crap...I forget the name of the big horned guys...

Hosch250

Nah. Not really played many games.

James

Nevermind then, short version is they accept anyone into their culture/religion if they believe/follow. Doesn't matter if they are elves or humans or whatever.

AngelPray

Trying to find good names for the currency of my nation.

dot_Sp0T

4:37 PM

@AngelPray do you have your own language?

@James Tieflings

James

@AngelPray Ducats

@dot_Sp0T That's dnd

AngelPray

@dot_Sp0T No, but my nation's official languages are french and german (it's an alternate history type of deal).

AndyD273

@AngelPray Might be able to use history for inspiration. Like the history of the English pound:

Pound sterling

The pound sterling (GBP; £ or ₤) is the official currency used in the United Kingdom. It is also used in British overseas territories, Isle of Man, Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey. The pound is divided into 100 pence. Today's coins are 1 penny, 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 20 pence, 50 pence, £1 and £2. The notes are £5, £10, £20 and £50. As of January 2018, one pound was equal to 1.39 United States dollars. == Etymology == A pound coin originally weighed one troy pound of sterling silver, giving the currency the name "pound sterling". "Sterling silver" means mixed metal that has 92.5% or more...

Hosch250

@AngelPray The base currency is the Flush.

The half-flush is known as the Flushling.

James

@dot_Sp0T Qunari, had to look it up...

AngelPray

4:40 PM

@Hosch250 Why?

dot_Sp0T

@James that ain't DnD

Hosch250

(May or may not be inspired by Merchant of Venice.)

James

@dot_Sp0T I already said that...

AndyD273

@Hosch250 I feel that there is a California drought joke in there, if I had the energy for potty humor...

Hosch250

Fortunately, I'm in MN, and we have more water than we know what to do with.

JavaScriptCoder

4:45 PM

@Hosch250 one... thousand golden ducats

AndyD273

@AngelPray The currency originated in a very dry region, where water was pretty valuable. Each time the toilet was flushed it cost a certain amount of money, and to make things easier a coin with that value was created. Over time it just became the standard base amount, and all other currency values were based on it. As systems go it's not to bad, but the economy experiences rapid deflation during a heavy rain. It's also the origin of the phrase "flushing it all down the toilet."

AngelPray

@AndyD273 That's absolutely ridiculous. I love it, lol.

I think I might just call the currency Imperial Francs. Not too original, but it gets the job done.

AndyD273

@AngelPray Sure. And a name is easy to change later on if inspiration strikes.

Green

5:07 PM

@AndyD273 Sounds good to me. The domain name has another year before it expires.

Feeds 4026

0

A: Sandbox for Proposed Questions

How can a Magical "Dark Age" Occur? I'm currently working on the background of my fantasy story, but i can't came up with the right events for the history of my world. Here it's what the situation is like at the beginning of my story: The Magic Government go house by house forcefully taking n...

James

Too broad?

7

Q: A catastrophe that wipes out the current civilization but does not make human go extinct

I'm looking for a catastrophe on the right scale that can wipe out the current civilization, but human will not go extinct (i.e. human will start to thrive again after some time has passed, but should not have any knowledge of the just-wiped-out civilization except some relics/artifacts and ruins...

post-apocalypse

Green

@James Seems that way to me.

kingledion

5:35 PM

@James I voted 'do not close,' though I admit it is pertty borderline

James

I considered closing it but wasn't sure, so I brought it here...we have a lot of borderline...though when I see 15+ answers and all of them are generally acceptable answers...I get suspcious.

HDE 226868

@James I think I'd VTC that one - again, judging by the number of solutions people have come up with and my apparent inability to rank any one higher than another.

James

@HDE226868 Fringe case for sure...thus I didn't vote...

HDE 226868

@kingledion Given your status as resident orbital mechanics guru, I was wondering if you'd considered answering worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/122192/627 - assuming someone hasn't already written what you would write.

kingledion

@HDE226868 There are a lot of good answers to that one already; I didn't have much to add.

HDE 226868

5:43 PM

@kingledion I figured that might be the case.

kingledion

My little simulator is good for specific cases, but pales next to what they do in published work; that paper that b.Lorenz and CortAmmon cited is pretty much exactly the answer to the question.

HDE 226868

Yup. I thought those were excellent answers.

Hosch250

6:03 PM

@AndyD273 Are you viewing the phylactery mineral as crystaline or not?

AndyD273

@Hosch250 I don't know... I've been thinking of it being something that would be melted, refined and forged, so I've kind of had metal in the back of my mind, but it doesn't have to be. It could be just about anything. Even an unknown mineral that has properties of both.

Hosch250

I was thinking about another renegade shadow scene.

And, if the mineral is crystalline, the shadow could accidentally stomp it and powder it for them.

Which might help with refining it, if it needs to be refined.

If it doesn't need to be refined, but just shaped and "welded" together, then that's a different tactic.

FoxElemental

6:19 PM

@Hosch250 Nope. It's staying like this :)

AndyD273

6:39 PM

@Hosch250 That could be interesting. The shadow powders most of it, they are kind of sad, but decide to gather up the dust and continue on, then find out it doesn't matter that it got powdered. I think the refining process is mostly to remove the mineral from the rock that it's embedded in. It has a lower melting point, so it melts out and is purified so that it can be shaped and whatever else has to happen

Hosch250

They don't need to be sad. Brokhem studied minerology, he would know.

AndyD273

true

Hosch250

The others could be sad for a bit, until he reveals it.

I've almost got a post done.

AndyD273

Especially if he happens to be away from the group for a short time... though maybe that isn't a big deal

Hmm... I wonder if there could be some kind of additional additive that makes the new thing work differently than the phylacteries that they destroyed to mine this.

Oh. if we didn't want to have it crush the mineral, it could also be something that disrupts the processing phase... Maybe not. Probably don't want to overuse that.

@James could a forge also be used for refining, or are the mutually exclusive building wise?

@Hosch250 Good fore shadowing...

Hosch250

Is that a pun?

But I mostly took that from the previous scene when they had to stand watch.

in Story-go-round, Apr 18 at 15:32, by AndyD273

Bremdag looked puzzled, "wait, Niarhdul, would tying ourselves up contain the shadows? If it gets strong enough to move away from your body, I didn't think a rope would contain it?"
"I'm pretty sure that in the early days they would have to sleep in shifts, with one person watching several others, looking for the first signs of shadow so they could wake the sleeper before it could break free. On a side note, the real problem was nightmares. There were lots of benign shadows from people who were having good dreams. But one shadow that comes out of a nightmare is enough to ruin all the others."

I figured that it would be natural for them to fall back on that.

JavaScriptCoder

6:59 PM

By the way, could you give a tl;dr paragraph on Story-go-round? I don't really get it yet.

Hosch250

@JavaScriptCoder Get what? The rules?

Bellerophon

@JavaScriptCoder There's a meta post somewhere.

9

Q: Story-Go-Round Background & Info

As some of you have already noticed, over the last days a collaborative storytelling effort has been started here on WorldBuildingSE. This question is meant as a means to keep everything surrounding the story organized. Community answers will provide different kinds of information & data on the ...

discussion reference chat community-wiki

AndyD273

@Hosch250 Yes, yes it is

JavaScriptCoder

Thanks

AndyD273

@JavaScriptCoder Does that answer all of your questions?

JavaScriptCoder

7:12 PM

yes

bye, need to get to class

AndyD273

7:27 PM

@Hosch250 Also, foreshadowing based on the idea that the shadow could go out of control again and powder their mineral

So it works both ways

But mostly as a pun

FoxElemental

8:21 PM

To any mod in here (@James or @HDE) out of curiosity: How often do you check flags on main compared to checking flags on meta?

James

8:38 PM

@FoxElemental I check main flags constantly. Meta flags less often, but generally daily.

@AndyD273 Context?

Hosch250

@James Refining a mineral out of ore for the story-go-round.

Although, don't you usually use blast furnaces for refining?

James

@Hosch250 I've never done any smelting. That said there is no reason you can't have a smelter in a forge...we actually have one, I've just never had need of it.

Hosch250

TBH, I'm a bit shaky on all this technology.

James

I do kind of want to make a bronze greek style sword at some point...which is smelting and pouring into a form then lots of polishing grinding...you can't really forge bronze.

Hosch250

I studied mineralogy a bit in HS, but never industrial usage of this stuff.

AndyD273

8:42 PM

Cool. Just curious if it was all that realistic, without having the mineral have a super low melting point

Hosch250

I'd be more interested in making a Viking steel sword.

Or were they more iron than steel?

I know it wasn't as good as modern steel, anyway, but I think I read they had "bad" steel.

James

I can't say if a traditional medieval blacksmith also did the smelting work. I suppose it varied from place to place. any organized nation probably would have smelters near the mine and then shipped smelted ore off to the blacksmiths.

That is all guesswork

@Hosch250 I could be mistaken, but I want to say that vikings had garbage steel so their smiths would fold the steel over and over again to work out the impurities..

Hosch250

@James That sounds about right.

They'd layer different slabs of iron/steel, I think, then keep melting it and twisting it.

James

Until you had more modern smelting tech I think that practice was pretty common around the globe. Well...variations on the practice.

Hosch250

I read about how the Icelandic vikings made their swords once, but I forgot some of it.

James

8:46 PM

In the middle east you had damascus/pattern welded steel, vikings did the twist thing, Katanas were folded many times etc.

@FoxElemental I've cleaned up those comments if that is what you were wondering about.

When you type iron ore into google a large portion of the first page is taken up my wikia entries related to various video games. WoW, minecraft, skyrim...

HDE 226868

@FoxElemental I do the same as @James - main flags a number of times each day, meta flags once or twice a day.

James

I kind of want to go dig up my own Iron ore somewhere, smelt it, then turn it into a blade.

Hosch250

Andy has some in his back yard.

James

@AndyD273 @Hosch250 Bring it over to the forge man, it'll be a good time.

Hosch250

Up in the iron range.

AndyD273

8:57 PM

I'm pretty sure our range is made of steel... the outside is stainless steel anyway...

Hosch250

LOL!

James

@AndyD273 I'm sure your wife won't mind if you only take a little bit.

AndyD273

you hardly ever see the sides. they get hidden by the counters

dot_Sp0T

hellas

AndyD273

I have an old lawnmower blade I've been half thinking of doing something with, but I'd have to make a forge, and get an anvil, and lots of other things I don't have time for.

and I don't even know if it's the right kind of steel to do anything with

James

9:00 PM

@AndyD273 To properly outfit a home forge...I'd want to spend the better part of $20,000 granted it CAN be done much cheaper...but...

dot_Sp0T

sooo.... I've gotten: Dain's Point (@Hosch250), The Secespit Bog (@Secespitus), Lake Hayden (@HDE), The Dubukay Expanse (@Dubukay), The Greene Springs (@Green) - anyone I forgot? Anyone want their feature renamed?

James

If you need more names let me know, I have ideas.

dot_Sp0T

@James you can pick some feature from the map and have it named after you :D

AndyD273

@James yeah... That may just be a bucket list item for a while

James

How do you feel about naming something after glarnak?

dot_Sp0T

9:07 PM

@James you get one feature, and can really give it any name you like (the name will eventually run through the north-language once I designed it; so might become unrecognisable anyway)

James

Really I just need to win the lottery, buy a farm and turn it into a nerd haven. It'll have a forge, a gun range, an archery range, an extreme bocce ball range, giant outdoor fire pit with built in couch seating, a swimming pool, a bar games room with foosball, pool, shuffleboard, a bar...obviously, a library, a dungeon for playing dungeons and dragons...should probably throw in a kitchen and some beds...

dot_Sp0T

@James what about a minitiature train?

HDE 226868

@James "Glarnak tarmac" would be an excellent name for an airport. Though not for a geological feature.

James

Eh...I've never been a huge train fan personally...

@dot_Sp0T can you provide a link to your most up-to-date map?

dot_Sp0T

Airfields are likely going to be named after the region they're in, or after an important General - there will be plenty Generals and Admirals

@James you're not my mod anymore

James

9:10 PM

Actually I've been mulling a business idea I think could legitimately work...maybe. Essentially it would be what I described just now, but the intent would be to host nerds like...bed and breakfast style and they could buy packages, like...

dot_Sp0T

I am currently reworking it with the answers I got to my question

James

Four Day Nerdorama: Includes 16 hours of dungeons and dragons, 8 hours of range time, either bows or rifles or both (extra cost for rounds), 8 hours of forge time. All meals and drinks are included.

dot_Sp0T

(I'm obviously not going to name the city Jamestown)

James

@dot_Sp0T What about "The river Glarnak" I am thinking of a river with a particularly rough/dangerous stretch with jagged rocks sticking out of the water. The rapids would be "Glarnak's Fangs" or "Glarnak's Wrath"

Looks like there are some pretty precipitous drops in the river between the two lakes.

dot_Sp0T

@James that would be funny, because that river's going to be drained

FoxElemental

9:27 PM

@James LOL yes, that question was inspired by the meta flag on those comments and on meta flagging I've done before. Thanks for cleaning them out

dot_Sp0T

@James here's an update bc it's you