Chipmunk Physics

I've seen a couple topics that could answer this question, but I wanted to ask this in the most general way possible to get more answers.

Is there to have different dampening values for different objects in the same Space? I.e. some objects move as if on ice, others move as if on pavement..?

Also I'm using the Ruby version...

You can assign friction on a per shape basis. Is this a top-down game?

You can also just apply the damping or more proper friction forces directly to the objects.

It's going to be an isometric game, actually. I thought friction was just for when two objects moved against each other. Is there a way to do this without manually applying additional forces..?

Sort of, in the trunk version, I have the rudiments of per body update functions. That will allow you to set a new velocity update function for your bodies that you can use to easily supply a per body gravity and damping.