Glass blowing

Ursan · Post by **Ursan** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 1:58 am

Not sure if this would make a better skill than trade, but here's the thought

Player has sand, suitable tool(s) (anyone know what the tube used is called?) and a fire/kiln....

Player can Create Flasks, vials, bottles, etc etc

Perhaps allow the command to incorporate colour and adjective (from a set pair of lists within the game code)
eg
blue / black / white / yellow
slender-necked / tiny / cut-glass

Might come in handy in the coming weeks. Any thoughts?

Tandria · Post by **Tandria** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 5:08 am

I really like this idea. I also have another thought:

Glass beads (or something similar, I dunno, it doesn't really work with BLOWING glass, it's just a thought) which could be used in accordance with the lapidary trade (glass bead earrings, rings, etc.). Just a thought.

Ellian · Post by **Ellian** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 7:18 am

This sort of trade could also be used in conjunction with the cook trade idea set forth earlier. A character could make their own empty bottles and jars, then fill them with drinks, jellies, you name it. If Granel were still here, he could pickle himself some nice rabbit meat.

Perhaps at higher levels of the trade, a character could make colored glass designed to look like different gems? You could make counterfit jewelery.

Just a couple late-night ideas.

-El-
"Care to join me for a bowl of the best vegetable soup in the world?"

Reiya · Post by **Reiya** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 6:06 pm

If anyone has ever seen Dale Chihuly's works, you'd know that glassblowing is truly an art form and can be incredibly dangerous. Not only that but actually process is a lot longer and more complicated then most people think.

After the mixture of silica, lime and potash and melted (at a temperature of about 2,150 degrees F) it's collected at the end of the long, usually iron, blowpipe. To get the right shape or form the glass blower must roll the molten glass on paddle or metal plates, only after that is it inflated. More molten glass is sometimes added to get the desired shape and is then shaped with calipers, shears, and other tools with odd names.

I'd love to see this trade implemented but would also like to see some harmful little quirks. For example:

A glob of molten hot glass falls from the end of the pipe and burns right through your shoes!
or
The glass cools to quickly and shatters leaving you covered in cuts and scraps!

Well, those are my ideas and useless information for the day..
Reiya.

Drakenor · Post by **Drakenor** » Sat Apr 03, 2004 9:14 pm

I think Reiya's idea on the damage would be pretty cool, like if you had some muddy boots on and the glass melted through 'em then it could cause the boot to damage, or any other armour for that matter. The amount of damage you recieve could depend on the different types of glass you are working on.

Drakenor · Post by **Drakenor** » Sat Apr 03, 2004 9:15 pm

As for the blowing taking a long time, lag could be coded to make it more realistic.

Talos · Post by **Talos** » Sun Apr 04, 2004 6:02 pm

I once visited a glass blowing workshop at a university, and they said that they only turn off their furnaces once a year. It takes several days for them to cool down, and several more to heat them back up. I don't know how they did it back in the day, but I'm guessing it took even longer for this cycle, and so I imagine it is an ongoing profession, that can't readily be started or stopped. If you had a shop in your dwelling, you should have to hire at least one mob just to keep the furnaces going. Unless of course you have a magical furnace of some sort. Otherwise, perhaps an NPC-run glassworks that lets you use their equipment for a fee of some sort.

Drakenor · Post by **Drakenor** » Fri Apr 09, 2004 6:32 pm

That would be pretty cool. Maybe even have some temple kilns, and if you are of that faith you can use it for free?

Belose · Post by **Belose** » Sat Apr 10, 2004 12:00 am

I could see it in 2 temples right off the bat... Moradin's for the dwarven crafters with a magical forge, and Gond's temples who would have acolytes keeping the bellows going........not to mention they're USED to things blowing up on them....

Drakenor · Post by **Drakenor** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 3:43 am

Or instead of having the acolytes pumping the billows have them use some of that magic and enchant the kilns

Rhelian · Post by **Rhelian** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 10:04 am

Gondites try to prove that artifice can outstrip Art, so I couldn't see them using Art to enchant something so essential to their work.

Glim · Post by **Glim** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 10:59 pm

I agree with you Rhelian, while some Gondites are a bit outlandish and mix magic and machinery, most try and replace magic with machinery.

I could see them more of having a machine that would pump the billows (probably using more combustables to keep that running as well).

Belose · Post by **Belose** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 5:27 am

Oh, no, no, no, no, noooo, Glim.... didn't you know that pumping a bellows is good for character building in acolytes.. especially after they've knocked over that wonderful purple vase you made 15 years ago? And also they REALLY need to build up those arm muscles for the smithing they're learning...hehehe....

Glim · Post by **Glim** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 1:09 pm

*snicker*

Guess your right...and acolytes without arm muscles are sad indeed....I call it the Gondish Workout...no extra cost, and three meals a day if you can work them into your billow time (dwarves eat your heart out)...

Kregor · Post by **Kregor** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 4:03 am

Posting my two cents to revive the suggestion of this as a trade. I have noticed that the MOB shops are perpetually sold out of flasks, bottles and whatnot. Having this as a trade could very well end up lucrative for someone who picked it up, with so many brewers around now.

Levine · Post by **Levine** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 4:10 am

Hmm... I believe that you can find loads of glass flasks for sale.. You just have to look around.

But anyhow, I believe this is a good idea.

Telk · Post by **Telk** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 4:17 am

Well, not necessarily glass flasks are pretty rare nowadays, and even if you do manage to get a good time to buy some you can only buy up to a certain amount before they run out of stock again.

Kregor · Post by **Kregor** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 6:13 am

I think in addition to flasks and bottles, which would be the obvious beginner objects, I could see making artful pieces, vases, flutes, figurines, etc. or even glass bit to turn around and use in lapidary, as the skill level increases.

Flasks and bottles would be the cheap quantity item to make and sell, while the art pieces would turn around a bigger profit, in exchange for the skill to make them.

Hviti · Post by **Hviti** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 2:58 pm

Flasks and bottles could be priced pretty high, actually...they are in great demand.

Elenthis · Post by **Elenthis** » Sat Apr 02, 2005 6:00 pm

My first instinct was to say "No, dont raise the price on the grounds that common items should not be expensive because they are common, thats the whole point." But I actually have to agree with you after a little bit of thought. I think raising the cost of glass potion bottles to 1-2 gold each would be more appropriate both Icly and OOcly.

~Elenthis.