So, lets think up some new ways for the demon to be triggered, so that the above situation cannot occur. What i think would make the most sense for the Greater demon being attracted to that particular space of the underworld is:
1. Wether or not the adamantium shell has actually been peirced by mining. Assuming the twigs of adamantium that branch off from the main shell dont give any protection against the demon, they could be mined safely. This means that the "Number of adamantium tiles mined" rule can be changed to only count the most interior adamantium tiles, so that then there is a physical entrance the G. demon can take -- which makes more sense then the demon somehow "escaping" from it's now branchless but still totally enclosed prison.
2. The number of people* in your fortress. All those dwarves, humans, and other creatures generate one hell of a smell, a smell which could make its way down to the adamantium and into the G. demons' pit, angering it. Where these people are and in what quantities can also matter. It's less likely that the demon will attack a pre-river located fortress then a post-magma located fortress. So having 190 of your 200 dwarves before the chasm can really cut down on the chances that a G demon will crawl out from it's peirced adamantium prison.
3. The smell of industry, and specifically, the smell of molten adamantium. Having been in contact with it for so long, the demon would likely know the smell of burning and/or molten adamantium, and would quickly realise that his prison has been breached and that he can make his escape. Obviously, since the lava river is so close to it's prison, the G. demon could easilly smell a lava smelter smelting adamantium. Even if the population was far away, if magma smelters melt adamantium, the G demon will know it, eventually.
4. Sound and noise levels. Like a dwarf being woken up by a workshop that's too close, the demon could also be woken /alerted that his prison has been breached by the sounds of the populace, industry, mechanical objects, and of course, mining. In fact, simply digging TO the adamantium could attract the demon, so that the moment his prison is opened, he exits and toasts your fortress.
If anyone else has any other ideas for Greater Demon triggers, please state them.
* it doesn't matter who you are; human, dwarf, elf, or goblin... You're all the same to the demon!
Just a thought.
I'm also in favor of actually getting to watch the demon come in and slaughter everyone. In order to make it completely unwinnable, you could give the demon the ability to drive dwarves insane, preferably always with a murderous rampage. It would be awesome to watch.
quote:
Originally posted by Mephisto:
If the adamantium is pierced and the dwarves abandon the fortress, [won't the demon] notice that there's a gaping hole in his prison? It would probably leave long before a reclaim force was sent out.
Good point. Since each fortress game advances game time to a new year, the demon could find the hole and escape between the time the fort is abandoned and the start of the new year, thus making it impossible to reclaim. The size of the hole would also matter. So, for each day the fort is abandoned, the demon has a chance to find the hole. The more days that go by, the greater the chance the fort will be unreclaimable. BUT the twist is that this % isn't calculated at the time of abandonment, it's calculated at the time when the player wants to reclaim the fort.
This means there's another "Too Deep" message, except this time it's along the lines of "A dwarven scouting party was sent ahead, but only one returned, a babbling and wounded wreck, mumbling something about a demon in the deep, before collapsing and dying where he stood." when the player attempts to reclaim the fortress. The fort then becomes impossible to reclaim.
quote:That would be so damn awsome. You could actually attempt to slay the demon by sending your best dwarf (squad) equiped with the steel you forged and adamantium you mined. Also, there should be an infinite amount of greater demons, so that eventually you will lose the game if you continue to attempt the construction of adamantium items.
Originally posted by Fieari:
I'm also in favor of actually getting to watch the demon come in and slaughter everyone. In order to make it completely unwinnable, you could give the demon the ability to drive dwarves insane, preferably always with a murderous rampage. It would be awesome to watch.
Dig adamantium to kill demon that comes up because you dug it. [Dig more adamantium to kill the demon that will come up later with greater ease.] More demons come up...
A cycle that will eventually lead to the death of your fortress and all of your dwarves. [Thus, an arbitrary goal of fortress mode is "how many demons can i kill?" and "how much powerful crap can i pump out for my adventurers to find?"]
[ February 08, 2007: Message edited by: Mechanoid ]
quote:
I like the idea of the demon escaping more or less instantly when the adamantine is peirced all the way through, with the added note that the adamantine wall should be of variable thickness, and in some areas, be only a single tile thick. Since you can't see ahead without cheating, this means that mining any tile of adamantine has a chance of instantly releasing the demon, but if, on the other hand, you haven't yet released the demon, you're safe to smelt that adamantine you've already mined. As opposed to now, where one month, your adamantine mining quota is fine, and next month, the PRNG frowns upon you and releases the demon.
Seconded :D
*shakes with joy for armies*