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Wait for the next release. I want usable mugs damn it!

55 (71.4%)

We can use the current one. I like the big trees and slightly smarter dorfs.

17 (22.1%)

I'll take .34.11 thanks. I want to know I'll get to kill things for sure.

5 (6.5%)

Total Members Voted: 77

[Cynm]

When is Spearbreakers 2 set? Is it contemporary to Spearbreakers, or is it after? If after, how long after?

[Splint]

We aren't sure yet, but after.

[Terrahex]

Spearchains

I love this name.

[Aseaheru]

Whatabout Brokenspears for a name?
Bonus if its the last place of the nation.

[Splint]

Whatabout Brokenspears for a name?
Bonus if its the last place of the nation.

Nah, too many dead civ games going as it is.

[Aseaheru]

Pity. May have resulted in some interesting stories.

[Mr Frog]

I'm torn between Brokenspears and Spearchains. Brokenspears is nice because it's a continuation of Spearbreakers, but it's also a bit too similar.

[Lolfail0009]

Shatteredspears? Shattered's in the dictionary, right?

[Aseaheru]

Is it?

[Lolfail0009]

That's what I asked. (Right?)

[Splint]

I'll keep Spearchains on file for a name.

EDIT: I'm starting up another community game since I enjoy doing those things. YOu guys seem a thousand times more reliable for  input on stuff, so I'd greatly appreciate your participation. A shame to plug I know, but I have to do something right?

[Mr Frog]

Haven't gotten a direct yes or no from Splint on whether banshees will be included, but on the off chance that someone here cares: I've been doing a bit of Fort Mode testing, and even random banshee thieves seem to use the screaming interaction while fleeing (and presumably while stealthed). Haven't gotten any actual fatalities yet, but they'll probably be unavoidable (albeit small in number) in the long run. Haven't gotten a full-on assault yet, but I may need to turn the frequency of their screaming down if too many deaths result.

[TalonisWolf]

Haven't gotten a direct yes or no from Splint on whether banshees will be included, but on the off chance that someone here cares: I've been doing a bit of Fort Mode testing, and even random banshee thieves seem to use the screaming interaction while fleeing (and presumably while stealthed). Haven't gotten any actual fatalities yet, but they'll probably be unavoidable (albeit small in number) in the long run. Haven't gotten a full-on assault yet, but I may need to turn the frequency of their screaming down if too many deaths result.

So Banshees are basically the bane of Turtling, and will probably force players to take them head-on regardless of other problems(spawn siege).

EDIT: "full-on assault" means they siege, correct? 100-plus banshee siege, coming up!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I called it, for future reference.

[Splint]

I haven't done much testing for them because I've been working on my varied human cultures things. I think an announcement that they've screeched at someone for balancing reasons would be fair, with the main result being excruciating pain (because of the piercing scream those things make) with the low chance of killing someone retained. That would mean a large attack would enevitably knock out any attempts to repel them from range due to the screaming causing many of the marksdwarves to pass out.

This would also however make the pit gorlaks and battleyaks much more useful than they already are if they're resistant to pain; a charge of them into a banshee attack would cause them to  all scream and then a melee or ranged squad could get to work before they can ready their lungs again, following close behind the battleyaks and gorlaks.

[Mr Frog]

@Talonis:

I certainly hope that they don't siege in waves of 100, as a salvo of 100 simultaneous banshee screams would have a 2/3 chance of taking out at least one dwarf, and they can scream approximately once every seven days.

But, yes, that is more-or-less the point of banshees -- forcing the player to come out and attack instead of just waiting them out (to that end, I should probably give them the [SIEGER] tag to make them wait outside and scream instead of charging into your spike traps).

Their other purpose is to ensure that the player is never truly safe and secure, as there is absolutely no way to fully-defend against their screams -- you will almost certainly lose at least one dwarf to them over the lifetime of a fortress, no matter what, which forces you to adapt. One problem I had with DF that made me stop playing after a bit was that it was too easy for me to make my fort completely-safe -- I don't know if I'm too good at the game or what, but all my forts eventually reached the point where every conceivable threat had been completely-neutralised in advance simply due to good planning on my part. Banshees, by contrast, are capable of throwing a wooden shoe in even the most stable fortress by virtue of being a threat that is impossible to fully-mitigate.

@Splint:

There is an announcement when an unstealthed banshee screams, but I'm wary of adding such an announcement for stealthed 'shees, as it seems silly to have them make noise while ostensibly sneaking. (E: My explanation for this is that they are capable of screaming at frequencies dwarves cannot actually hear, and intentionally lower the pitch to audible levels when in direct conflict for the sake of intimidation.)

Making their screams have effects other than a 1% chance of death is a good idea on its own merits, but might not work in practice due to the bug where saving and reloading causes all possible effects of an active syndrome to activate -- basically, saving while a dwarf is writhing in pain from a banshee scream would cause them to instantly bleed out upon reloading even if they'd have otherwise survived. I'm not sure if I can get around that -- I can come up with a few workarounds, but they'd have odd side-effects.

E: I could give them a seperate, pain-causing scream. I might even be able to make it so that only creatures with functioning ears are affected by it.

EE: Another reason for no announcements when stealthed 'shees scream is that it forces you to leave your gates open so that ambush parties can come in and fight instead of sitting outside and screaming until someone drops dead without warning. If there was an announcement, then you could simply shut your drawbridge all the time and only open it once you get the announcement.

EEE: Also, on a lark, I came up with some achievements for each of the modded hostile races that I'm aware of (except Jackborgs, as I don't know enough about them:)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spawn:

Scoped and Dropped!: Kill a Spawn with a single crossbow bolt to the heart without it having engaged in any other form of combat.

Viral Transformation: Have at least 10 units turn into Spawn.

Precautionary Measures: Execute a feverish dwarf without waiting for it to turn into a Spawn (or not).


Scythod:

Worthy Adversary: Pit a single dwarf against a single scythod and have them fight to the death; it doesn't matter who wins.

[Can't think of anything other than that for these guys, but I think it's badass enough on its own ]

Rock, Paper, Scythod: Kill a scythod with a stonefall trap. [credit:Cynm]

Gloves Off: Kill a scythod one-on-one without using weapons. [credit:Cynm]


Manamaid:

Dinner and a Show: Release a caged manamaid into a dining hall, while a party is in progress at said dining hall, and have it dance.

Lord of the Dance: Have a manamaid dance for a megabeast or semimegabeast, then kill the beast while its eyes are still bleeding. It doesn't matter what happens to the manamaid.

Not a Fan: Kill a manamaid before it can bust any sexy moves. [credit:Cynm]


Seqiv:

Gotcha, Bitch!: Capture a seqiv in a cage trap. It doesn't matter how.

Ambush Fail: Kill a seqiv while it's still in stealth mode.

Deadliest Predator: Have a dwarf discover a seqiv ambush while hunting. [credit:Cynm]


Banshee:

Gag Order: Shoot a banshee in the throat with any sort of projectile.

Swan Song: Keep a live, uncaged banshee on the map for 6 months.

E^4: Added a few achievements that Cynm suggested.