40d Talk:Mechanism

Quality and reaction time

As to mechanism qualities, it was reported here on the forums with a nice diagram too. -- Jifodus 23:29, 1 January 2008 (EST)

Unfortunately, the posters to that thread contradict each other as far as "reaction time" is concerned. I personally have my doubts about that claim, but it should be easy to double-check by attaching one lever to two objects using mechanisms of different quality. The "weapon skill" claim I'll take at face-value; the "distance of flinging" I'd want to see independently confirmed.--Maximus 00:43, 2 January 2008 (EST)

moved from article: "The quality of a mechanism controls reaction time in some constructions. (unverified)" --Koltom

I have had a pressure plate attached to multiple bridges. When the pressure plate was triggered they did not open simultaneously. Some possible influences:

• Mechanism quality
• Attachment order
• any attribute of creature(s) stepping on plate
• distance to lever

This bears testing. VengefulDonut 10:49, 28 March 2008 (EDT)

The quality of mechanisms does not affect the speed of bridge raising, when the bridge is raised by a lever. I have counted the frames. In test one, IIRC, I had two * mechanisms. In test two, I had a + and a -.
Also, doors seem to open and close instantly, though I haven't verified that. --Savok

When operating upright spears the speed is influenced by the dwarf operating the lever (his agility it seems). The speed is however not influenced by the mechanisms quality. Easy to test: Link several spikes to the same lever; all spikes run at the same speed no matter what quality used. I also did a lot of "testing" :O) with bridge flinging; there were no discernible differences. I did however use neither plain nor master mechs as claimed in the forum thread. I was under the impression that bridge reaction speed differs, but im not sure as i did not count, and there could be other reasons for speed difference. linked cages react instantly. --Koltom 23:57, 28 March 2008 (EDT)

That might not work. A possibility is that speed of each spike is controlled by the average mechanism quality if they all use the same lever. --Savok 00:13, 29 March 2008 (EDT)

Quality and to-hit chance

This (rather old) post seems to indicate that mechanism quality affects the effective skill of weapon traps. There's nothing in the trap or mechanism wiki pages to indicate this, so unless someone responds with evidence to the contrary, I'll edit the page to include this info. -- Mzbundifund 14:49 22 November 2008 (CST)

Please do. If Toady sez it, it's true. And include the link to the forum as the source -- never hurts to let people know where the info came from.--Maximus 19:34, 22 November 2008 (EST)

Raw materials

Can mechanisms be made out of stone blocks ? The block page seems to say otherwise. I think it should be stated explicitely in this article, so as to know whether it is advisable or not to import bauxite. --Aykavil 10:48, 10 July 2008 (EDT)

You can only build constructions from stone which has been carved into blocks. If you wish to make mechanisms, then you'll need to import raw bauxite under the Stones menu, not bauxite blocks. The good news is that blocks are five times more expensive than stones, so you'll save a bundle buying the cheaper materials.

Artifact Mechanisms

The article on artifacts states that artifacts cannot be destroyed except by throwing them in a chasm or some unit stealing them. So can an artifact mechanism be used for magma floodgates? Bouchart 15:10, 13 July 2008 (EDT)

Artifacts that are made of a non-magma resistant material will be destroyed by magma. I have dropped worthless rock-trinket artifacts into magma out of spite. They then appear as (lost) on the artifacts screen. Also, the creators didn't seem to care, contrary to what I expected. Pavlov 22:50, 6 August 2008 (EDT)

Why do I get the feeling that you dropped them into a magma pipe rather than a magma pool?

If you toss them into a magma pipe, then it's probably going to fall off of the map, because the pipes pretty much go to the center of the planet. They're basically volcanos. If you drop something into a volcano and it can't float, it's screwed, resistant to the extreme temperatures or not.

So you may very well have essentially tossed them into chasms. Somebody confirm the truth via magma pools, please.... ~ Midna 01:53, 29 October 2008 (EDT)

Magma pipes have shelves inside them - if you dump an item onto that shelf it'll melt if not magma-proof. --GreyMaria 20:24, 22 November 2008 (EST)

Adamantine

I just noticed that you can make Adamantine Mechanisms in a Metalsmith's Forge. Ive edited the article to show this.--mabmoro 19:57, 6 August 2008 (EDT)

A clarification- its located under Trap Components.--mabmoro 19:57, 6 August 2008 (EDT)

SHIT yes. This means the beginning of actual metal mechanisms. In fact I should check to see if it's already been implemented. damn, it's not. --GreyMaria 20:23, 22 November 2008 (EST)

Adamantine-only.--Maximus 22:58, 22 November 2008 (EST)

Final-Destination? --Silver 00:53, 5 March 2009 (EST)