Windmills should take damage if allowed to spin too quickly

[Teh Pizza Lady]

We have a windmill brake, but it's kind of a useless item at the current moment. If you want to stop a section of your power train, all you have to do is disconnect the clutch and it will stop on it's own. So the windmill brake will stop anything that's connected to it. There's no use in stopping the windmill so I propose that under certain conditions if the windmill is allowed to spin too quickly, it could take damage so the brake will actually have a use in stopping it before it takes damage.

Anything more powerful than a strong wind should be the condition for breakage.

[Crylum]

@traugdor

source: maximum speeeeeed!

[Crylum]

But silly jokes aside, what about introducing a flywheel, which stores surplus of power for later use?

Edited July 6, 2025 by Crylum

[LadyWYT]

This is one of those ideas that I like it and hate it at the same time. Up front it seems like it might be a bit punishing if one finally got that full windmill going only for it to fly apart in strong winds. However...nothing says you can't pick up the pieces and put it back together, and it's not terribly hard to just craft one additional part when building the machinery. 

Or, perhaps instead of making the windmill fly apart into pieces, some of the linen could be stripped off the sails instead? That way it's still somewhat usable, and you don't risk parts despawning. To fix it, all you have to do is apply more linen to the bare sail parts, which seems a fair price to pay if one neglected to use a brake.

[Facethief]

I like this idea, because it puts a soft cap on mechanical work speed. If you’re willing to pay a price, you can get all of your milling done in an afternoon, but it’s safer to just run at a slower pace, which fits the game.

Plus, I’m all for recreating the video @Crylum posted ingame.

Edited July 6, 2025 by Facethief
Additional thoughts

[Teh Pizza Lady]

7 hours ago, Crylum said:

But silly jokes aside, what about introducing a flywheel, which stores surplus of power for later use?

I like this in addition to the issue of accumulating damage if you let your windmill spin during a bad storm, especially since we know flywheels will be coming with the advent of steam power which is on the roadmap!

However one small issue is that friction exists so the flywheel would eventually wind down. If you're the minmaxing type, then you could probably figure out a way to spin up the flywheel with the windmill and then disconnect it, apply the brake to the windmill, and then connect the spinning flywheel back to your power train with a series of well-placed clutches and transmissions.

Edited July 6, 2025 by traugdor

[-Glue-]

Honestly, it could be a really interesting feature to the homesteading experience! Something to further ground your builds into the world, and add immersion.
I imagine it would work best if the game had an update that added severe weather, so its only in those more rare instances that it would break down if left unattended. Nothing like tornados or anything (Maybe waterspouts on lakes and oceans, where they can't actually destroy stuff), but a funnel cloud or something to signify severe weather could work! Something more obvious in appearance than the average cloud, especially in the distance. (I've been wanting darker storm clouds myself.)

On 7/6/2025 at 9:45 AM, LadyWYT said:

Or, perhaps instead of making the windmill fly apart into pieces, some of the linen could be stripped off the sails instead? That way it's still somewhat usable, and you don't risk parts despawning. To fix it, all you have to do is apply more linen to the bare sail parts, which seems a fair price to pay if one neglected to use a brake.

I can see the sails themselves having a torn up texture, or just fully missing sections of linen if its really broken down. I also think the axles could sustain damage as well, needing to replace a section or two. All that torque on a wooden pole would surely wear it down.

[Thorfinn]

I think the brake should be just a dampener, then. Winds can go from strong breeze to gale in a second or two. I suppose you could leave "C" open every time you are near your mill, but it doesn't update instantaneously, either.

If something doesn't automatically ride herd on the mill, it probably isn't worth building. It will be destroying itself every time you try to use it. And if all it means is you always add a brake in the drive train, and have basically the current mill functionality, what was the point?

[idiomcritter]

currently to build the windmill and bits, resin and fat are part of the construction.  I've wondered when (and if) windmill maintenance will be a thing, re-lubing all the gears

(somethin somethn squeaky gets the attention... )

 

[Crylum]

@idiomcritter yeah, would be good to get some warning signal before the catastrophe strikes

[LadyWYT]

32 minutes ago, idiomcritter said:

currently to build the windmill and bits, resin and fat are part of the construction.  I've wondered when (and if) windmill maintenance will be a thing, re-lubing all the gears

(somethin somethn squeaky gets the attention... )

 

You know, generally I argue against things like windmill maintenance, as it seems like it would be aggravating to need to check it fairly often or to come back from an expedition and have things falling apart. However, if there's prior warning like squeaky parts, so the player has more time to react, that seems fair. Plus upon further thought about the concepts laid out in this thread...applying brakes to stop your machines ought to stop them from wearing out if they aren't running, which also feels like a very fair implementation of a maintenance mechanic. Maintenance can still be a bit time-consuming, when a player has to do it, but the player can also cut down on the amount of maintenance they need to do and how often, by simply applying the brakes when the machinery isn't in use. I'm more inclined to support that kind of mechanic with that sort of implementation.

[Crylum]

On 7/6/2025 at 11:55 AM, Crylum said:

But silly jokes aside, what about introducing a flywheel, which stores surplus of power for later use?

I though about this idea and think the flywheel is not really a thing used in ancient time, more industial revolution.

They have used spinning wheels for pottery though, so maybe clay could somewhat automate clay forming?

First idea I had was to add ways to store windmill power. Let's say you have some kind of heavy weight, which get lifted if the windmill is spinning, via and pulley and rope winding mechanism. It will eventually reach the top of the mechanism and if wind is low, you can release the weight, which get pulled down by gravity, releasing the energy back into the system (simular to a grandfather clock)

Second idea, have an Archimede's screw which "pumps" water upwards and store it some reservoir/water town. Water can that be released to power an water wheel 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2025 by Crylum

[Teh Pizza Lady]

29 minutes ago, Crylum said:

First idea I had was to add ways to store windmill power. Let's say you have some kind of heavy weight, which get lifted if the windmill is spinning, via and pulley and rope winding mechanism. It will eventually reach the top of the mechanism and if wind is low, you can release the weight, which get pulled down by gravity, releasing the energy back into the system (simular to a grandfather clock)

This is an interesting idea and would give further use to the rope we have making cattails useful beyond crafting bandages and baskets and boats/rafts.

30 minutes ago, Crylum said:

Second idea, have an Archimede's screw which "pumps" water upwards and store it some reservoir/water town. Water can that be released to power an water wheel 

The main problem I have with this idea is the complexity plus it would require a significant overhaul to the existing water mechanics meaning that water would have to have a second state of existence that is not a source block but more of an entity that can flow from one point to another without a source block all while following the same rules that water sources do... confused? me too. LOL But that aside, I do like the idea, I just don't know if it's feasible.

[Teh Pizza Lady]

14 hours ago, Thorfinn said:

I think the brake should be just a dampener, then. Winds can go from strong breeze to gale in a second or two. I suppose you could leave "C" open every time you are near your mill, but it doesn't update instantaneously, either.

If something doesn't automatically ride herd on the mill, it probably isn't worth building. It will be destroying itself every time you try to use it. And if all it means is you always add a brake in the drive train, and have basically the current mill functionality, what was the point?

I've been thinking about this and I think my idea was more along the lines of prolonged exposure to storm winds/gales causing damage so that in the instance you get a gust of wind stronger than strong winds, it doesn't cause the windmill to grenade itself.

[Thorfinn]

OK. Still, most of the winter, I see gale force winds on my mill. The times when the mill is really worth having, when the hammers are really flying, I'd have to shut down.

[LadyWYT]

9 minutes ago, Thorfinn said:

OK. Still, most of the winter, I see gale force winds on my mill. The times when the mill is really worth having, when the hammers are really flying, I'd have to shut down.

Maybe instead of having strong winds damage the windmill, just have it wear down over time while working? That way you can use it safely at the most optimal times, but still have a reason to shut everything down when it's not in use.

[Teh Pizza Lady]

10 minutes ago, LadyWYT said:

Maybe instead of having strong winds damage the windmill, just have it wear down over time while working? That way you can use it safely at the most optimal times, but still have a reason to shut everything down when it's not in use.

oooooooh okay this is better than my original idea. I like it.

[Teh Pizza Lady]

2 hours ago, Crylum said:

@idiomcritter yeah, would be good to get some warning signal before the catastrophe strikes

I think that with weather in real life, you'd have to study the patterns. For example. When rift activity spikes and then calms down, I start to wonder if a storm is on the way...

/nexttempstorm

reveals that it's about a day away...

Edited July 8, 2025 by traugdor