Sault Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 So I have been wondering this for a while. Are there automobiles in the Malifaux/Through the Breach setting? If a mechanical horse is possible are there people with auto-coaches? I know that mass produced vehicles most likely wouldn't be in Malifaux simply due to the ever present fear of the Breach closing. However are there steam shovels, tractors, freight trucks things like that in the Malifaux? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solkan Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Asking about "automobiles" and "mass produced vehicles" is two different things. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_automobile To copy/paste and edit... In 1807, François Isaac de Rivaz designed the first car powered by an internal combustion engine fueled by hydrogen. In 1886 the first petrol or gasoline powered automobile the Benz Patent-Motorwagen was invented by Karl Benz.[2] This is also considered to be the first "production" vehicle as Benz made several other identical copies. The Ford Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie, T‑Model Ford, Model T, or T) is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927.[6][7] So automobiles maybe or probably exist on Earth. But there's the prominent story in the background material where Collette and an associate have a carriage ride pulled by mechanical horses, with the control for the horses various levers inside the carriage (Tales of Malifaux 15 lists it as "Arcanists", I think it's from the 1.5 edition Rising Power's book). Mehanical horses pulling a carriage. The problem with early cars is the fact that roads are terrible and not designed for them, so it takes quite a while for them to be practical. And given the nature of the setting, there's likely a bias against them being fashionable, either. Again, consider the mechanical horses drawing the carriage. The blurb concerning the Model T is probably important: Although automobiles had already existed for decades, their adoption had been limited, and they were still mostly scarce and expensive. Automobiles were considered extreme luxury for the common man until the Model T. The Model T set 1908 as the historic year that the automobile became popular for the mass market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpinebuster Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Well off the top of my head, in Malifaux you have things like Schill's Steam Trunk and Abuela Ortega's steam powered wheelchair - personal items that somewhat fall into what you're looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 Current Malifaux year is 1906, for the record. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebarbalag Posted March 21, 2016 Report Share Posted March 21, 2016 In addition to being 1906, there has been magic, and soul stone enhanced technology earthside for what, two hundred years, at this point? Technology may well look very different in their universe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solkan Posted March 22, 2016 Report Share Posted March 22, 2016 18 hours ago, thebarbalag said: In addition to being 1906, there has been magic, and soul stone enhanced technology earthside for what, two hundred years, at this point? Technology may well look very different in their universe. A hundred years, more or less, for soul stone enhanced technology. But, have a look at what that soul stone enhanced technology looked like for the common person during the Irish potato famine (courtesy of the story in the Chronicles). The Model T in 1908 was being sold to the middle class, if you've got soul stones on Earth you're better than the middle class. Remember that on Earth side, the Guild controls the use of soul stones, and that the crazy stuff happening in Malifaux is because there's more magic there. But the breach to Malifaux was closed for most of the 100 years, so technology probably hasn't adjusted to the presence of magic yet. (Edit: Hasn't adjusted to easy access to magic, like is seen on the Malifaux side of the breach, because there hasn't been easy access to magic on the Earth side of the breach.) Also, consider the late Governor's custom steam engine that he had for the last book. And the giant construct that's been spotted for The Other Side. It's not necessarily a matter of technological progress, but it could simply be "There's nowhere to drive them, yet." And, given fashion, what's more entertaining, watching a bunch of mechanical go-carts racing around a circular track, or the construct races and fights that we know about from the stories? You might see something like that sort of automobile for the same reasons that you'd see the people making legged racing constructs. A steam train needs track laid down. A steamship needs a body of water. A walking construct just needs ground to walk across. What's a wheeled vehicle need to be better than a mechanical horse pulling a carriage? Road that aren't dirt, tires that aren't wagon wheels (synthetic rubber gets invented in the 20's), and a mechanical suspension system. If you're wheeling along a cobblestone road without balloon tires, you may as well have a mechanical horse pulling a carriage. But I think what it comes down to is this: I don't think anyone has had time to pave a decent road in Malifaux. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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