Bay 12 Games Forum

Dwarf Fortress => DF Gameplay Questions => Topic started by: ScatmanJohn on July 17, 2007, 10:30:00 am

Title: Mechanism quality
Post by: ScatmanJohn on July 17, 2007, 10:30:00 am
Does the quality of mechanisms affect the damage done by traps? For example, would a trap with *pumice mechanisms* and a bronze disk do better damage than a trap with pumice mechanisms and a bronze disk?
Title: Re: Mechanism quality
Post by: Asehujiko on July 17, 2007, 11:03:00 am
Nope. As of yet, trade value is the only thing affected by mechanism quality. Weapon quality however, does affect the damage done by traps.
Title: Re: Mechanism quality
Post by: Hellzon on July 17, 2007, 12:03:00 pm
Dwarves get happy thoughts from "admiring a perfectly sublime trap", though. Dunno if that's based on mechanism quality.
Title: Re: Mechanism quality
Post by: Toady One on July 17, 2007, 07:05:00 pm
According to the code, mechanism quality determines the skill with which the weapon is "swung" or "fired" by the weapon trap, and affects all the rolls.  However, I'm not sure when that went in.  It's probably in the current version, but there's a chance it's just in the unreleased one.
Title: Re: Mechanism quality
Post by: TerminatorII on July 17, 2007, 07:17:00 pm
I have noticed that traps with =Mechanisms= or better tend to kill Goblins while traps with anything less tend to deal no damage whatsoever. could just be me. :P
Title: Re: Mechanism quality
Post by: Mechanoid on July 17, 2007, 07:56:00 pm
quote:
Originally posted by Toady One:
mechanism quality determines the skill with which the weapon is "swung" or "fired" by the weapon trap

Masterpeice mechanism = ?Legendary weapon skill?

Heh, even simple spears would be a menance... Masterpeice mechanism with a pair of masterpeice weapons. By the miners!  :eek:

Title: Re: Mechanism quality
Post by: Grek on July 17, 2007, 08:16:00 pm
quote:
Originally posted by Mechanoid:
<STRONG>Masterpeice mechanism = ?Legendary weapon skill?</STRONG>

I think masterpeice mechanism would be around proficent and artifact mechanisms would be legendary.

Title: Re: Mechanism quality
Post by: Veroule on July 17, 2007, 08:44:00 pm
I can't say for sure, but I tend to adjust my mechanism quality based on what I have and what I want.  Even if it has no effect I consider it good RP.  I put higher quality mecahnisms for the traps that are most important.  Even going so far as to rip out older traps to lay new ones.

If the mechanism quality has no effect then perhaps Toady should consider making it such that mechanisms are made without a quality modifier for future versions.  Until he does that I will believe that quality mech makes a difference in how a trap behaves.

Title: Re: Mechanism quality
Post by: Ravendas on July 17, 2007, 09:47:00 pm
Veroule, reread this short thread. Toady himself posted what they do.

I always thought it was merely for happy thoughts, now I might redo a few key traps. Thanks for the info Toady.

Title: Re: Mechanism quality
Post by: Darkchampion on July 17, 2007, 10:52:00 pm
oh so saving good mechanisms for traps is actually doing something... hooray.
Title: Re: Mechanism quality
Post by: 0x517A5D on July 18, 2007, 11:23:00 pm
quote:
Originally posted by Toady One:
<STRONG>According to the code [...]  However, I'm not sure when that went in.  It's probably in the current version, but there's a chance it's just in the unreleased one.</STRONG>

Toady, you really, really need to put the code into a version control system.  In my opinion.  It just hurts me to read that quoted section.

Really.  It may seem like overkill for a one-man-band software developer, but it could save your {hair/butt/sanity} some day.  A little bit of bother each day to save yourself a tremendous amount of trouble someday.  And it makes it easy to answer questions like "when did this go in?  is it in the most current release?  did I fix bug #1273?"

Do think about it, please.

0x517A5D

Title: Re: Mechanism quality
Post by: Juason on July 19, 2007, 01:57:00 am
Hehe, I have to agree.  I don't know how we got along before installing Subversion at work.   The built in Dif utility alone makes it worth the slight hassel of setting it up and remembering to commit every so often.  

What's even better is how it gracefully handles multiple engineers working on the same source.  Over the course of 3 months and 120,000 lines of code we never once got into a situation where we stepped on each other's toes.  

If you are already using some method of version control then please disregard this.  As a newcomer to the industry myself I'd never appreciated the benefits such a system could provide.  But now I know, and there's no going back  :)