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Skorb

Dredging Barge

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I've seen suggestions like this in the past, but I'd like to make my own twist on it.

First, I'd like to see a river barge style boat introduced about half as long, and twice as wide as a Knarr. It should resemble a rectangle, with a platform upon which a dredge can me , or already is mounted, maybe include a dredge, or two, as construction components.

Second, when you dredge with this boat it empties the dirt into either the operators inventory, or into the barges inventory.

Third, this boat should be able to hold two Large Crates, or one if you feel two is overpowered.

This would require that the person dredging couldn't just start it off and head AFK indefinitely. Dredge should be considered to be a command like level that goes until you run out of room or stamina.

One the note of digging, it would be handy to have a command lite flatten and level, that would lower the flat tile you're standing on by one slope, in each corner.

This would be extremely useful for if you wanted to sink a hole straight down 50-60 slope, or more, and not have to run around to corners manually digging there to keep the slopes all at a "non-falling" level. There are several times I would've found this option extremely used when lowering a couple tiles from a flattened surface above down to the level of some rock. Maybe don't make it available until 50 digging or something.

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my only really comment is the size - the half the length and twice as wide as a knarr would make you unable to see where you are digging and for just random dirt that's fine but when people try making canals or other boat paths would be a pain - however if the vessel was 2 people (same cargo as large cart) shaped like a over sized raft BUT with a hole in the middle so you could see under you (also would make sense of where your chars dropping the dredge) and with no sails this would be a nice mid sized cargo carrier for people who do not have the skill or coins for knarr as while corbitas cogs ect are nice shallow water people can not use them


 


so better dredgeing better trade and people could build them easier making traveling at sea easier - all and all not mechanics breaking could just steal the raft design (and components) so big +1


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I would like your flatten/level even without the dredge barge. +1


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I'd like Clear tile - just like level it digs dirt from each corner till all dirt is gone and you hit stone - yes while you can do this manually its really hard to do underwater


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my only really comment is the size - the half the length and twice as wide as a knarr would make you unable to see where you are digging and for just random dirt that's fine but when people try making canals or other boat paths would be a pain - however if the vessel was 2 people (same cargo as large cart) shaped like a over sized raft BUT with a hole in the middle so you could see under you (also would make sense of where your chars dropping the dredge) and with no sails this would be a nice mid sized cargo carrier for people who do not have the skill or coins for knarr as while corbitas cogs ect are nice shallow water people can not use them

 

so better dredgeing better trade and people could build them easier making traveling at sea easier - all and all not mechanics breaking could just steal the raft design (and components) so big +1

 

 

my only really comment is the size - the half the length and twice as wide as a knarr would make you unable to see where you are digging and for just random dirt that's fine but when people try making canals or other boat paths would be a pain - however if the vessel was 2 people (same cargo as large cart) shaped like a over sized raft BUT with a hole in the middle so you could see under you (also would make sense of where your chars dropping the dredge) and with no sails this would be a nice mid sized cargo carrier for people who do not have the skill or coins for knarr as while corbitas cogs ect are nice shallow water people can not use them

 

so better dredgeing better trade and people could build them easier making traveling at sea easier - all and all not mechanics breaking could just steal the raft design (and components) so big +1

I can see what you're saying about not being able to see the tiles below you. My thought was more towards either a barge with a whole in the middle and a dredge lowered via crane system through a hole in the center, maybe the captain could click the boat and choose prepare to dredge and it would open up some doors towards the port and starboard sides. Or a boat equipped with multiple cranes, that would only operate when anchored and when the dredge command was activated it would proceed to clear\level down across two tiles that are separated by a single tile.

 

I didn't feel like drawing a picture, so  here is a horrible little text drawing. 

_____

|X|  |X|

 

So the boat is 3 tiles long, and by doing a 4 corner lower on both the front and end tiles of it's silhouette it will effectively lower 3 tiles at a time.  Now, how doe we stop this from be coming overpowered?  Base time/dirt cycle should be 6 times slower than a flatten, or level tick.  By base, I mean a single person commanding the dredging barge.  If a second person is added it will reduce the timer to 4 times slower and if a third is added reduce it again to 2 times slower, and finally if a fourth person is added it will be reduced to = the same.

 

But why, oh mighty and wise Skorb, would you suggest such a thing?  Well, oh learned one, I have some reasons which I will now expound to you, that you may be refreshed in this gentles shower of knowledge.  :-)

1.  The dredging barge proposed has two cranes.  In this time where robotic automation is not even a pipe dream yet, this will require two crane\dredge operators.

2.  The second efficiency reduction would be having a single person unloading the dredging scoops for the two dredges

3.  The third and final efficiency would be adding a second person to the unloading processes and amybe they could also be a sandwich\drink runner for the other workers.

Why am I suggesting such a complex process as a solution to a simple need? 

 

First, it's because dredging a river is not the same thing ans digging down, or raising up,a slope of a hill.

Second, building on the first point I'm trying to simplify the actual dredging process.  IRL, dredging would take longer the deeper you go,  The system I'm proposing certainly is taking longer for the shallow dredging, but exponentially less time the deeper you dredge.

Third, wet dirt is really heavy, which is why I think having two or even one scoop unloaders is an efficiency gain.

 

I'm also suggesting that there be a "roles" menu added to the barge.  In this roles menu, there will be Dredge 1, Dredge 2, Unloader 1 and Unloader 2 (The names don't matter, just the concept.)

 

So even running at maximum efficiency, the dredge will still only dig down one of the eight corners it's affecting at the same pace of leveling\flattening.  It think this would create a simplified and workable version of the actual dredging process, eliminate the need to manually empty the dredge, introduce an underwater leveling\flattening\lowering mechanic to the game, which is much needed especially with bridges coming and with that the desire to retrofit current shallow canals so that larger ships can use them.  The Dredging Barge, should also have the capacity to load no more than 2 large crates, and with that volume loaded only be able to fit 10 dirt in the hold, maybe 30 dirt with only one crate loaded and 50 with no crates.  I'm not sure if that's possible due the the volume of dirt versus the volume of a Large Crate.  The point of that is to not introduce something when you hit dredge and can then walk away for as long as your stamina lasts.  Maybe there could be something added where there is a storage hold for bulk crates, and an cargo hold for lose dirt?

As I was typing this I also began to think that dredging should become it's own separate sub-skill under digging.  The slope in which you can dredge would still be controlled by digging, but the depth you can dredge in would be controlled by the dredge skill.  Because there are so many people out there who have already dredged so  much, maybe this skill, on implementation could be 1/4, or so, the persons digging skill.  Should be easy to do, and relatively fair, understanding that there will be people who would have cause to complain, but when dealing with averages, the top people lose and the bottom people win.  Life isnt' fair...  New players would start with 1.00 skill, like for everything else.  The depth a person can dredge could be calculated with formula like [(Dredge Skill*2) +10], which would allow a beginning dredger to still take things down 12 below the water line.

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+1


 


We need something, anything, to make dredging less of a chore.


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