Windows

[Lurmey]

Silicon could be used for solar panels as opposed to steel, but then ideally you'd also want phosphorus and boron. There's a fine line between complexity and fun that we need to be wary of.

I always found it weird that you use steel to make sandbags too... Could we just use sand to make both sandbags and glass? Perhaps even sand+cloth for sandbags, making early-game defenses consist of mostly walls, trees and boulders. I like the sound of that, what does everyone else think?

I'm sure the reason for making sandbags require steel is to make them a limited resource, which is understandable.  However, I think I'd rather they be made of more common/realistic materials and perhaps balanced by making them take much longer to construct (as is true in real life).  After all, time is the ultimate currency in this game.

Since cloth and sand can be very hard to come by in some biomes, reasonable substitutes like ice blocks or bags filled with dirt or snow should be allowed.  I'd even like it if we could use cast-off clothing with the arm/legs sewn shut as makeshift sandbags.  (Alternately, you could break them down into some kind of scrap cloth to construct with but it wouldn't be as good a visual.)

I like these ideas! I also agree that it should, if they were to be made with realistic materials, take much longer to construct them in order to balance it out. It doesn't really feel much like a limited resource while they're using steel, as it's so abundant through the majority of the game, but it does indeed ultimately run out until you get deep-core mining to extend your supply. On the other hand, cloth and sand would be relatively infinite in certain biomes like deserts and coasts.

Dirt and ice/snow bags sound pretty cool, perhaps also if they're built using snow or ice they melt when the temperature rises (if ever) above 0°C. They could deconstruct themselves into the same "scrap cloth" item you suggest.

[Perq]

But muh Solar Lamps green houses! D: /s      

Glass and windows, please.

[SpaceDorf]

I like the Ideas of Windows too .. and to circumvent the "embrasure " effect the windows should be passable by pawns with a high movement modifier .

[publicuser]

I like the Ideas of Windows too .. and to circumvent the "embrasure " effect the windows should be passable by pawns with a high movement modifier .

Yes, windows could be a double-edged sword. Not only cover points, but also breakthrough points. It will make combat more interesting.

[FalconBR]

I was thinking that too, why we dont have Windows?
But about passable I suggest they wouldn't be, because of several problems, like:
We should be able to do Windows with protection metal bars!
Also, we should be able to do small restroom Windows.
We are asking for sand as resource a long time now... Trenches, moats, palisades, dirt piles, low granite walls are also things we need as tribals.
Also Windows should break in storms, under fire and need replacements! Like component for machines.
Also 2 Windows side by side should do a big Window!
Passable break windows is not hard for AI, just give windows a good target for attackers, after turrets and pawns, and the rest will work nicely.

[FalconBR]

Also, why we need so much iron for heat conducts? A single window with no glass would do the same for inside! For outside the metal thing would be more useful.
Also, place that Window that is useful for Archers to fire on enemies, it is one of most downloaded mods!

[Nuss]

I'm sure the reason for making sandbags require steel is to make them a limited resource, which is understandable.  However, I think I'd rather they be made of more common/realistic materials and perhaps balanced by making them take much longer to construct (as is true in real life).  After all, time is the ultimate currency in this game.

Since cloth and sand can be very hard to come by in some biomes, reasonable substitutes like ice blocks or bags filled with dirt or snow should be allowed.  I'd even like it if we could use cast-off clothing with the arm/legs sewn shut as makeshift sandbags.  (Alternately, you could break them down into some kind of scrap cloth to construct with but it wouldn't be as good a visual.)

Sign me on for iceblock barricades. Although mud could be used instead of sand... at a much lower speed.

[Dorian]

Love the glass idea.  All you need is sand and high heat, like the smelter could maybe also used to make sand into glass.

Of course you can't get sand anywhere, but soil/earth can be processed to get sand out of it if needed, but that would require another machine.  So maybe it's just another biome-specific resource.  Just like wood isn't readily available in the desert, sand isn't readily available on ice sheets or easily found in tundra/temperate.  But you could buy glass or sand from merchants as well.

And of course, in construction, glass would also make a poor insulator, so you have to be careful how many you use in a room, or, double them up.

[Lurmey]

And of course, in construction, glass would also make a poor insulator, so you have to be careful how many you use in a room, or, double them up.

We could have an extra step with the Machining Table in order to make double-glazed window panes with two ordinary glass panes which were made at the Electric Smelter. I say use the Machining Table simply because with double-glazing the area between the panes has to be filled with either an unreactive gas or completely emptied to form a vacuum. I doubt the Smelter would have the facilities to do this, but the Machining Table might.

[Sirportalez]

Love the glass idea.  All you need is sand and high heat, like the smelter could maybe also used to make sand into glass.

Of course you can't get sand anywhere, but soil/earth can be processed to get sand out of it if needed...

you cannot process sand out of soil. it's completly different.

[Dorian]

Love the glass idea.  All you need is sand and high heat, like the smelter could maybe also used to make sand into glass.

Of course you can't get sand anywhere, but soil/earth can be processed to get sand out of it if needed...

you cannot process sand out of soil. it's completly different.

You can.  Soil can be up to 80% sand.  You can extract sand and clay from soil :
http://www.practicalprimitive.com/skillofthemonth/processingclay.html
https://education.usgs.gov/lessons/soil.pdf

[Limdood]

i'm pretty sure you're not going to get impassable windows that can be freely fired through.

Embrasures as a mod have been around forever and they're not in the base game while several other mods have made it in as vanilla features.

They simply vastly overpower combat from a defensive perspective.

[Lurmey]

i'm pretty sure you're not going to get impassable windows that can be freely fired through.

Embrasures as a mod have been around forever and they're not in the base game while several other mods have made it in as vanilla features.

They simply vastly overpower combat from a defensive perspective.

You'd be surprised how ineffective they actually are in practice. The embrasures from Combat Realism (soon to be Combat Extended), for example, don't allow pawns to fire at targets that are too close to the embrasure they're firing through. They also only give a marginal increase in cover over sandbags and are completely useless if you wanted to push your front line towards the enemy instead of retreating or holding ground. Simply put, we're better off using the vanilla sandbags in most circumstances, but embrasures are nice for perimeter walls or sniper/machinegunner nests.

Edit: They also do make a lot of sense, just miss out a brick in the wall and fire through it. If people were building them into castles then why shouldn't our colonists in the future also be able to do the same?