v0.31:Ceramic industry

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v50.12 · v0.47 · v0.34 · v0.31.25 · v0.28 · v0.23 This article is about an older version of DF. More Info · V

The Ceramic industry is a source of items such as jugs, large pots, bricks (clay blocks), statues, crafts, and beehives. Three types of ceramics can be produced - earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain.

Varieties of Ceramics

• Producing earthenware requires a lump of clay, silty clay, sandy clay, or clay loam. Earthenware items are worth 3 times as much as objects made from most stone, making it equivalent to obsidian. In order to store liquids in earthenware containers, they must first be glazed.
• Producing stoneware requires a lump of fire clay. Stoneware items are worth 4 times as much as items made from most stones, and they can safely store liquids without having to be glazed.
• Producing porcelain requires a chunk of kaolinite. Porcelain items are worth ten times as much as objects made from most stones, making it equivalent in value to metals like silver.

Producing Ceramics

To make items from clay, the clay must first be gathered using a task available at any kiln, "Collect Clay". You must designate a Clay Collection zone from the (i)-menu that includes an accessible area of clay in order for this task to succeed.

Once you have a lump of clay, you can order earthenware or stoneware goods to be created at the kiln; porcelain goods can be made once you mine out some kaolinite. A standard kiln will consume one unit of fuel per job; a magma kiln uses no fuel. Note that the kiln does not allow you to select which type of ceramic to produce - your potter will take the closest available material, whether it be ordinary clay, fire clay, or kaolinite.

Collecting clay

The "Collect Clay" order at the kiln requires the "item hauling" labor, not pottery or furnace operating. The Collect Clay order does, however, still occupy the kiln, preventing potters from working in it until it has been completed. Collecting clay is also a time consuming task, and potters quickly become faster at making items than at gathering materials to the point that jobs are cancelled as clay becomes scarce.

Unlike the glass industry, collecting clay does not require any sort of container, so all you need to do is have several kilns set to "Collect Clay" on repeat (preferably with 10 instances of the task so the manager will not use them for work orders) - any available dwarves will simply walk to the clay collection zone, work for a while, then haul the lump of clay to a stone stockpile (or leave it lying on the floor if there's no room).