Alternate Brick source

[AlexDC 8]

The addition of an alternate route to get bricks would help the start of metallurgy eg flint + cobble = brick this would be resource demanding but would allow the production of forge and bloomery if tin is too hard to find in the players area. This would make a chisel a bonus like the axe rather than a requirement.

[xAxis27 2]

I think finding tin or zinc is extremely difficult but necessary. It keeps you from burning through the game too quickly. It took me hours to find zinc, but now that I have some, I feel accomplished and rewarded for my effort.

[flamestrider 35]

I agree with xAxis27, and you could always use bismuth for that first chisel, so three different metals isn't too bad

[AlexDC 8]

I agree as well but there has been a lot of complaints about not being able to find the appropriate metals (especially when tin was not generating in the world).

So this seamed like a simple solution opposed to making tin more common.

Also this recipe does appear to be too easy but that was just an example.

[cornbread4u2 13]

I agree as well but there has been a lot of complaints about not being able to find the appropriate metals (especially when tin was not generating in the world).

So this seamed like a simple solution opposed to making tin more common.

Also this recipe does appear to be too easy but that was just an example.

i love how this mod encourages exploration as a first step, usually you first make a home and find surface resources and your set, if you get unlucky as of TFC, you will have to travel for miles before you find a good vein, maybe your just not mining in the right layer of rock. as for skipping a necessary step in the progression, it would like be spawning right next to the prefect conditions which is fun and all but it leaves you feeling lucky and not like you personally did anything. i have had no trouble finding zinc,tin,bismuth, just gotta get good at propicking

[AlexDC 8]

Just for an example for an actual method that you might be able to visualise being fair, the recipe could be 3 clay + sand = brick powder, brick powder + water= brick sludge, then this can be put into ceramic moulds and fired in the forge.

Bearing in mind that you would need 4 bricks for each block and a minimum of 8 blocks which gives 32 bricks all of which require materials, water and firing in the forge for which you would have first had to have created charcole.

Then this only by passes the initial lowest tier metals and you still need to mine for stuff to smelt in the bloomery. If necessary you could still have the player require stone tools to shape the fired bricks.

After all of the above is done I think that that would have equalled or surpassed the effort of finding tin which some may not wish to do.This is also more representative of methods actually used to acquire bricks. Also this does not mean that you can't go looking for tin using the current methods, just that there is an alternative if you wish or are forced to by your surroundings.

The following was the wiki page I used to formulate the possible method (I know it says steel moulds but I am sure there are more primitive methods)

"The soft mud method is the most common, as it is the most economical. It starts with the raw clay, preferably in a mix with 25-30% sand to reduce shrinkage. The clay is first ground and mixed with water to the desired consistency. The clay is then pressed into steel moulds with a hydraulic press. The shaped clay is then fired ("burned") at 900-1000 °C to achieve strength."

[cornbread4u2 13]

Just for an example for an actual method that you might be able to visualise being fair, the recipe could be 3 clay + sand = brick powder, brick powder + water= brick sludge, then this can be put into ceramic moulds and fired in the forge.

Bearing in mind that you would need 4 bricks for each block and a minimum of 8 blocks which gives 32 bricks all of which require materials, water and firing in the forge for which you would have first had to have created charcole.

Then this only by passes the initial lowest tier metals and you still need to mine for stuff to smelt in the bloomery. If necessary you could still have the player require stone tools to shape the fired bricks.

After all of the above is done I think that that would have equalled or surpassed the effort of finding tin which some may not wish to do.This is also more representative of methods actually used to acquire bricks. Also this does not mean that you can't go looking for tin using the current methods, just that there is an alternative if you wish or are forced to by your surroundings.

The following was the wiki page I used to formulate the possible method (I know it says steel moulds but I am sure there are more primitive methods)

"The soft mud method is the most common, as it is the most economical. It starts with the raw clay, preferably in a mix with 25-30% sand to reduce shrinkage. The clay is first ground and mixed with water to the desired consistency. The clay is then pressed into steel moulds with a hydraulic press. The shaped clay is then fired ("burned") at 900-1000 °C to achieve strength."

i think i get what your saying, using brick as an alternate crafting recipe to create the bloomery, forge can be made with cobble btw, thus it would negate the need to find tin/busmuth/zinc as early. the thing is, that you NEED tin to progress into bronze so all it would do is prolong the searching process. you can get to copper and thats it

[flamestrider 35]

hmm, if you make it that complicated to get claybricks then I support the idea, especially since as cornbread says... you still need the tin for the next tech level

[Crysyn 179]

Ultimately this is just a progression thing right now. Some form of do this before you do that. The only thing this would change is what is already mentioned, you would jump straight to copper. In all honesty this is already possible EXCEPT that you need a metal hammer to make flux so you can make a copper anvil.. that is the only thing that actually requires tin/zinc/bismuth right now to move on to copper and then bronze.

[AlexDC 8]

Yeah I forgot about the hammer being needed for the flux and now there appears to be too little gain from this to make it worth Bioxx's time. But the idea of getting bricks without metal work may become relevant later on as the mod increases in scale and players may not have time for metalwork if the other aspects become significant.