Sylvio Baxter Posted March 16, 2025 Report Posted March 16, 2025 Hello! I was running some lore thoughts in my head when I suddenly realised that all of Jonas' metal parts are made from cupronickel, but not the gears. So why are gears made out of Iron? I love the idea of using cupronickel as "the wonder material" that justifies the work he has done in the lore. In reality Nickel wasn't really understood in the Middle Ages, it was actually seed as an undesired impurity in Europe! The Chinese instead used a "white copper" (which does indeed seem to be cupronickel) for a few applications, especially coins, and they were renowned for it. The fact that Falx understood nickel and cupronickel and actually used it to his advantage is another way to show how genius he was while actually providing "genius material" and makes Vintage Story lore feel VERY believable. So why are all the gears made out of Iron? The metal rusts and isn't as wear resistant or malleable as cupronickel is, it feels to me like such a giant gap. I think the gears we find in the world can only be the work of Jonas Falx because of their "unmatched production quality" for which traders seem to like them so much. Is it interned? Or could it be, because of the fact that it rusts, part of the deal that Falx made with the Rust world? Or maybe did the automatons that Falx created run on Rust energy, therefore NEEDED gears that could absorb rust? This would explain his creatures going rogue, and could start providing concrete, but very sinister theories as to how the drifters, bowtorns and shivers were created (by shoving iron parts in them which made them absorb rust, which corrupted them. It could be part of the deal that Falx made with the rust god). This gives me hints of what to expect if Jonas Falx ever was added to the game, or remnants of him and his labs My original question was why are gears made out of iron, the rest is me putting a tin foil hat on, but I do find exploring the concept interesting! 5
LadyWYT Posted March 17, 2025 Report Posted March 17, 2025 4 hours ago, Sylvio Baxter said: I think the gears we find in the world can only be the work of Jonas Falx because of their "unmatched production quality" for which traders seem to like them so much. I see you've not found their giant counterparts yet. 4 hours ago, Sylvio Baxter said: My original question was why are gears made out of iron, the rest is me putting a tin foil hat on, but I do find exploring the concept interesting! I'm not so sure that Jonas is responsible for creating the rusty gears, or the temporal gears, for that matter. It's possible that he did, and the process used has long since been lost to the ages. However, I suspect that the rusty gears, and perhaps a portion of the temporal gears as well, actually come from the Rust world dimension. It's been described as a wondrous land filled with giant, impossible machines, that also turned into a dark and dreadful place not long after Jonas began his work(it's also rather heavily implied that Jonas essentially copied a lot of what he saw there). Of course, there's also the theory that rusty gears are simply the remains of temporal gears that have been used up. Either way you look at it, I think the main idea is that the gears are special because their design is too exceptional to be the work of human hands. 4 hours ago, Sylvio Baxter said: Or could it be, because of the fact that it rusts, part of the deal that Falx made with the Rust world? I'm not so sure that Falx made a pact with any otherworldly entity. It's possible, but as it currently stands, he just seems to have found a way to peer into the Rust world and simply copied the things he saw there, for the most part. 4 hours ago, Sylvio Baxter said: Or maybe did the automatons that Falx created run on Rust energy, therefore NEEDED gears that could absorb rust? This would explain his creatures going rogue, and could start providing concrete, but very sinister theories as to how the drifters, bowtorns and shivers were created (by shoving iron parts in them which made them absorb rust, which corrupted them. It could be part of the deal that Falx made with the rust god). I don't think there's yet been a concrete reason given as to why all the automatons went rogue, other than it probably has something to do with whatever turned the Rust world into the horrible place that it is. I think it's also implied that the shivers, drifters, and bowtorn may be the unluckier victims of what Jonas's grand Salvation Engine did to the Old World. 4 hours ago, Sylvio Baxter said: This gives me hints of what to expect if Jonas Falx ever was added to the game, or remnants of him and his labs Given how prominent of a figure he is in the lore, I would be surprised if we didn't run across him(or what's left of him) at some point, though I would expect it to be an encounter that happens more towards the end of the story. I'm certain he's still alive though, based on some dialogue from chapter 2, though in hiding and wanting nothing to do with his inventions or other people. 4
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