Okay, this may not be the right forum to post in, so sorry if it is.
I'm making a mining and smithing system for my game. I was going to base it off of Runescape, but I'm not entirely sure how accurate that is historically. Does anyone have correct info or creative ideas? Thanks in advance.
ID:265426
 Jun 21 2005, 3:57 am
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FYI: The Runescape system works like this, there are different types of rocks, such as rocks containing copper ore, iron ore and coal or mithril, your mining consistency and what ore you obtain depends on your mining level, then you must smelt the ore, which goes to a smithing level,hence you can mine ore that you cannot smelt, Then to the anvils. The Anvils let you forge the pieces into weapons tools or shields and armor. The forging adds to your smithing level also.
Hope i got that right 'been a long time since i played last. | |
Yah that's right. I'm pretty sure how they get Bronze is right (copper + tin) but I'm sure about iron and steel. I can make it up for Mithryl, since it's no real. But I want to be historically correct with iron and steel.
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Iron is extracted and refined from raw ore (it is never found pure, usually it is found with sulfur or oxygen). Steel is a carbon-iron alloy. It is made by super heating iron to remove any impurities (namely oxygen). But there are actually several different types of steel with varying carbon ratios. Typically, for weapons, it is desirable to have lower carbon steel in the core of a blade and with harder, more carbonized exterior shell. This gives flexibility and a solid cutting edge. Other materials can also affect the steel. Chromium and vanadium can incresease hardness. Chromium and nickel alloys can produce a corrosion resistant finish. Sulfur, nitrogen, phosphorus, and oxygen will all result in more brittle steel.
Iron also requires significantly higher temperatures, and is much trickier, than bronze to work, which is why it didn't immediately replace bronze. Unsteeled iron tools are not significantly better than well crafted bronze tools. It is only when stronger steels become availible that bronze slowly disappears for non ornamentary purposes. Mythril is presumably derived from mithril in JRR Tokien's works. It is also called pure-silver or true-silver by men. Suppossedly, it was stronger and lighter than steel, but very difficult to work. It may be analagous to titanium, which would be fantastically strong in a medieval setting, but impossible to work without magical or similar means. It may also be aluminum of magnesium, as these are even lighter than titanium, though not as strong. They would also be similarly difficult to work in such a setting. | |
Okay, then I think Runescape is right. You get iron from pure iron (but you need high enough mining skill). Steel is made from iron and 2 coal (make the flame hotter I assume)
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Dark Weasel wrote:
Okay, then I think Runescape is right. You get iron from pure iron (but you need high enough mining skill). But iron is never found pure. =/ Steel is made from iron and 2 coal (make the flame hotter I assume) Coal is a form of carbon. Steel is an 'alloy' of iron and carbon (although alloys are usually a mixture of one or more metals, not a metal and a non-metal). | |
The Coal is an Oxide of Carbon and is used to reduce the iron ore to iron.
The actual process (As found in today's balst furnaces) occurs when the coke decomposes in the highh temps to produce Carbon (C) and Carbon Monoxide (CO), These act as reducing agents: Fe2O3(Iron Ore) + 3C ---> 2Fe + 3CO Fe2O3 + 3CO ----> 2Fe + 3CO2 Of course a whole range of reactions are possible but in the end the Iron is reduced. | |
I'm a frequent RS player:
In order of difficulty: Bronze: 1 copper ore + 1 tin Iron: 1 Iron ore, but 50% chance of being impure. Steel: Iron ore + 2 coal Mithril: Mithril ore + 4 coal Adamantium: Addy (abbrev.) ore + 6 coal Rune: Runite ore + 8 coal The first step is ore -> bars via smelting. Then bars -> items via forging on an anvil with a hammer. In some cases, such as arrow heads and lanterns, only a part of an item is made and must be combined with the corresponding pieces to make the full item. Swords and axes, requiring handles and etc., are constructed with the handles for convenience. Some items require multiple bars in order to make them. Smithing and smelting are both in one skill, but mining is its own. Each different type of material, and item within that material, needs a different smithing level. Gold and silver ore are smelted into bars and crafted using moulds. Hope I helped. :) | |
1) Locate mineral deposits. Some minerals such as copper can be found near to the surface, others require excavation. Rivers are often a good place to start as they often cut through the rock strata and can offer accumulated deposits of minerals.
2) Extract minerals. This can be as simple as panning and cracking a few rocks to as complex as constructing vast reinforced mine shafts along deposits. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining#History shows some of the different mining methods.
3) Transport/store minerals. Only rarely, in the case of very primitive operations, is processing done on site. Generally, minerals are stored and then re-distributed for processing. Often the raw minerals will be taken to a pre-processing facility will they can be marked and stored. Sometimes the materials are refined before storage.
4) Refine the minerals. Ore is rarely pure and impurities must be separated before much can be done with them. The difficulty of separating ore from slag varies.
5) Process materials. Once ore has been separated, it can be used for a variety things. Forging into tools is common, and their are a variety of methods for this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacksmithing offers some information on blacksmithing, the archetypical metal working of most games. But remember that metal can also be drawn into wire, poured into molds, etc.
On mistake that many games make is assuming a high level of skill is required to make useful metal goods. This is incorrect. In fact, the ancient Chinese had large scale iron works that churned out iron tools in huge quantities primarily by separating different steps of labor (meaning each worker only needed to know how to do one task well, not the whole process of forging). Of course such sites required skilled smiths and engineers to create initially, but afterwards, a few overseers could keep them running smoothly.
Skilled smiths excel in making particularly complicated or ornate works or works that must comply with rigid specifications. Thus, making a metal sword is relatively easy for any metalworking culture. But making one that won't bend or snap after reapeated uses would require a skilled smith. However, since even the broken pieces could be melted back down or repaired, and replacements would be readilly availible, such skilled work would probably be reserved for those with greater societal influence (IE commanders, princes, etc). Even a skilled warrior probably wouldn't need such a fine blade, since he could easilly replace his tools between fights and would likely carry a spare.