oil is a stub

[Frits]

Some stuff left to be done here, oil can be refined in refineries which could be buildings. In RL oil comes in different qualities and some is good for burning fuels like fueloil (for heating), some for either leaded or unleaded gasoline and some for lubricants. Lubricants are essential to all machines with moving metal parts. I dont know how rot in machines is shown in cantr but im thinking they could be a part of this process.
Plus oil can be a basematerial for chemicals but that's a whole economic chain on its own.

[formerly known as hf]

As far as I know, Oil's only use at the moment is improving roads.

I think it has been accepted that vehicles will eventually need fuel, which I assume will involve oil (as well as other alternativs IU hope)

You're right about the other uses. But they'd make life in Cantr especially difficult. Oil is far too rare for it to be essential to run machines.

Maybe, if we get vehicles that need fuel, and a refining process to go with it, we can get new machines which are fuel-driven. But even though we are, at the extreme detriment to ourselves and this planet, heavily reliant on oil in our own world, I don't think Cantr is quite at the tech level to be ready for that dependency...

[Sho]

Oil can be made into bitumen using a gas purifier and wood or coal.

[Frits]

Oil can be made into bitumen using a gas purifier and wood or coal.

Yes i read that but i dont know the word bitumen, can you describe it please?

Hallucinator the fact that oil is scarce is irrelevant for now, lubricants were a suggestion.

[Sho]

It's in the wiki: http://www.cantr.net/mwiki/index.php/Bitumen

[Pie]

I think oil could be used as a lubricant to machines, making it take longer to have to repair em.

[Liljum]

Well oil could be used to produce plastics. But there's no use for it at the moment in cantr. (If i haven't missed anything.)

So... LEGO anyone?

[fishfin]

good idea, you would use plastic to make toys!!


or it could be used to make not that great wepons (you see a man in his thirties shoot you with a water gun which takes of 0 health)

[Phalynx]

Man there are so many potential uses for plastics...

I just can't think of many at the moment...

wooden bowls could be replaced with plastic... maybe a truly composite bow..

Carbon Fibre and Graphite on the other hand, now there is a world of opportunities... Weapons, boats, vehicles, ultralite bikes,

For that matter we could use fibre glass from glass....

Woot!

[Liljum]

Watergun... Really fun idea. But not very effective.

When have someone died by a squirt of water?

(you se a man in his twenties kill a man in his twenties with a watergun)

Mayby as a tool to train your fighting skills.

[wichita]

Uses for oil have been discussed in RD, primarily along the lines of vehicle fuel.

I am with farmer regarding the unecessary complication to processes with things like lubrication. The cost of gathering and processing becomes prohibitively high in the long run without extensive trade and cooperation between characters. As much as I would like to see how much cooperation it actually takes to maintain a rather complicated level of technology (giving some insight into the nature of society and government, and therefore bearing some scholastic merit and fulfillment in the process), we should concede to the masses and support the one-man-army economic model in order to keep the game afloat.

I would like it to have more than two purposes though. Well...3 if fuel ever goes through.

[Phalynx]

Uses for oil have been discussed in RD, primarily along the lines of vehicle fuel.

I am with farmer regarding the unecessary complication to processes with things like lubrication. The cost of gathering and processing becomes prohibitively high in the long run without extensive trade and cooperation between characters. As much as I would like to see how much cooperation it actually takes to maintain a rather complicated level of technology (giving some insight into the nature of society and government, and therefore bearing some scholastic merit and fulfillment in the process), we should concede to the masses and support the one-man-army economic model in order to keep the game afloat.

I would like it to have more than two purposes though. Well...3 if fuel ever goes through.

But you could require a high spec vehilce, eg sports car to need lubrication - that vehicle would then be a status symbol.... or how about a train!!!????!! The whole town would want to and have to work together for that!