The Sociologist wrote:Bear in mind that item deterioration didn't happen last time around. One assumes it will happen this time... Factor in that deterioration of vehicles and eventually buildings is a must somewhere down the line, then I'm simply saying that the level of production is way too low.
Here's a
crucial point. This "Who cares how long it take so long as we get there eventually" attitude just isn't going to wash when deteriation really clicks in. I'm dreading it.
I pointed out, elsewhere, that it will take something like a year for an individual to make themselves a dung-fork. A lot of people argued with that estimate, Given Sociologist's (clearly well-researched ) estimate of !4-20 grams of iron produced per person per day (after you've invested a great deal in building your factory, presumably), perhaps people will see that's a realisic estimate. Many other simple metal tools will take even longer- largely because of high metal content (up to 300g). How fast are these tools going to deteriorate? If iit's anything like the rate that's cutrrently been programmed in, it's simply not going to be woth making the things. Bear in mind that the whole point of having many of these tools is to increase your production rate. Where's the use in that if half your time goes into making/repairing the tool? Bear in mind, too, that a tool will not usually get constant use. Most tools will be out of use most of the time, because the owner needs to do other things, or is saving for cotingency use, or it's a trade item ( though nobody carries tools for trade anymore. I'm sure they would if not for the obvious drawback ) or it needs to be carried to some other place to gather resources(which might take years) or he is waiting to get it back off some other character who's fallen asleep holding it (one of my characters waited something like 30 days for this. The tool was half-way to being completely deteriotrated by the time the other character woke up - and then the bastard ran off with it! I was just taking a crumb of pleasure in the thought that tool would crumble away before he got to any other place where the tool was any use, when the re-set happenened)
Much the same logic would apply to vehicles of course, but on a bigger and proportionally even more annoying - scale.