Rube Goldberg tech - what is it?

SpaceBadger · #1 September 21st, 2003, 01:43 AM

Doing a little exploring in a solitaire game using Ladder Mod, I colonized a planet with ruins and was "rewarded" with Rube Goldberg technology, but it doesn't seem to give any new components or options in the tech tree, so what does it do? Is it just a useless tech that takes the place of something useful from a planet with ruins?

On a related note, I wonder if any of Rube Goldberg's drawings are on the web anywhere? I remember seeing some of them in various books when I was a kid, but can't remember the Last time I saw one. Have to get to googling, I guess, and see what I can find.

SpaceBadger

narf poit chez BOOM · #2 September 21st, 2003, 01:47 AM

Rube Goldberg...name rings a bell. but nothing definite.

[ September 21, 2003, 00:48: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Taera · #3 September 21st, 2003, 02:05 AM

just a placeholder/null tech. nothing more.

SpaceBadger · #4 September 21st, 2003, 03:00 AM

Rube Goldberg used to do these drawings of incredibly complicated mechanisms for doing trivial tasks. Like, to cook an egg, you might start by putting toast in the toaster, then when the toast is done it pops up and knocks over a delicately balanced ball, which rolls down a trough and bumps the switch to turn on the stove, then falls off onto the floor onto a see-saw gadget, which launches another ball into the air to strike a gong, which frightens a chicken which lays an egg which rolls down another trough to crash against a blade which breaks the egg and the contents fall into the pan to be cooked. His were actually better than that, but that is the best I can think of off the top of my head.

Have you ever seen the boardgame Mousetrap? I think that must have been inspired by a Rube Goldberg drawing.

A quick Google found a Rube Goldberg website with authorized images of some of this stuff, look here.

His name came to be associated with the kind of gadgets he drew, so that anything like that might be called a Rube Goldberg device.

Taera, thanks for the confirmation. That is what I suspected.

SpaceBadger

Fyron · #5 September 21st, 2003, 03:03 AM

It is so you can have dud ruins that give no techs. If you have a ruin with no tech level, the ruins icon does not show up on the planet, so you can immediately spot duds. Adds some spice to the game.

narf poit chez BOOM · #6 September 21st, 2003, 05:33 AM

funny stuff.

Jake Monroe · #7 September 22nd, 2003, 07:29 AM

I think I'm going to have to do something like that in my mod, but you will get something out of it. It'll just be something insanely useless.

[ September 22, 2003, 06:30: Message edited by: Jake Monroe ]

Taera · #8 September 22nd, 2003, 07:59 AM

a weapon that does 0 damage? an engine that gives 0 movement? 0 is such a nice number...
how about:
Rube Goldberg structure: decreases to-hit by 10% (lots of useless gadgets) but also decreases ECM bonus (where the hell would you shoot with all that stuff?) OR act as armor that reduces to-hit by 1% with every component. or whatnot

Fyron · #9 September 22nd, 2003, 08:52 AM

I have the same idea in Adamant, just not Rube Goldberg.

Hopefully our idea will spread further and make it's way into all mods.

[ September 22, 2003, 07:52: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]