How will the game handle sapient populations indirectly ingesting microplastics from foods, like gum, and microplastics getting into different ecological and geological environments?
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Like any toxicity in any population. Take the Romans, for instance. IIRC, their aqueducts had lead, which slowly poisoned the population. Source? Well, I learned it in high school, but I donât have a book to reference from. Sorry.
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It would be cool if microplastics stayed in rocks within the game, which could be a marker that sapient life used to exist on a planet.
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The thing is certain microorganisms like fungi can actually decompose microplastics. Such fungi have been found feasting on plastic junk in the ocean.
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Has similar fungi been found on land?
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Not sure, but it is plausible.
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Googleâs AI overview says that Pestalotiopsis microspora has been found feasting on polyurethane in the rainforests of Ecuador, so the answer is positive.
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Though would the fungus be able to thrive where rain doesnât come every single day?
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It has occurred to me that, while it seems unlikely, another species might invent engines on par with the steam engine before discovering seam power. So how about this:
To enter the Industrial Stage, your species must discover and engine that:
- Can output at least X amount of power
- Can sustain this output for at least Y hours
- Is not powered by a creature (horse drawn, hamster wheel, etc.) or by nature (a river, wind, geothermal vents, etc.)
This would obviously include a gasoline powered engine, and possibly advanced versions of pneumatic, hydraulic, electric, or even, as unlikely as it is, a nuclear engine.
These rules would also help to eliminate toy engines, which could not maintain X output for Y hours.
What do you think?
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Would it be possible for a species to discover Radioactive Rocks for steam power before coal, depending on the composition of the resources on a planet?
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Not sure how good of reactors could a preindustrial species make, but with enough work they could actually produce a respectable amount of energy.
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Yes. There were naturally occurring nuclear reactors at one point in our planetâs history. HoweverâŚ
Theyâd be equivalent to waterwheels. You likely couldnât move the radioactive elements at the core of these things safely, youâd basically just have a spooky hole that returns steam when you input water. Basically a worse river. You also couldnât refuel them, even if you figured it out you couldnât transport in new fuel, just find another one. I think that should be a requirement, all ingredients and fuel are materials that can be found without something crazy. Metal is more or less all over, goal and natural gas have deposits all over and can be transported, oil from oil wells actual requires some tech to be able to transport and refine but I see no reason a preindustrial civ couldnât get some tech and do a terrible job and have a bad motor that only barely counts.
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Would balloons count as society or industrial tech?
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China basically invented unmanned hot air balloons as early as 3rd century BC. That is way before industrial. There is even a theory that the Nazca Lines were made using a balloon.
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I meant more like manned balloonsâŚ
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If that is true, I stand by my statement. Though the earliest we can PROVE happens to be early industrial revolution, but has no engine of steam related components, so thatâs sort of a coincidence.
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Would very primitive rockets be society stage? I recall first fireworks came from pre-industrial China.
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Guns and artillery are society stage.
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Grenades are aswell if I recall correctly.
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