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Dwarf Fortress => DF Suggestions => Topic started by: GlyphGryph on May 07, 2010, 09:09:08 am

Title: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: GlyphGryph on May 07, 2010, 09:09:08 am
Okay, since the other thread has gone out of control, lets use one that fixes a few of the perceived problems. Some better language (probably more in line with what Toady would use, anyways), slightly different poll options, and differently ordered justifications:
Note that even the YES option implies it would not be, for example, something that would be about to happen - this is a long term "is this something you would want" question.

Benefits of waste:
Allow construction of functional waste management systems/ sewage systems
Provide a basis for fertilizer in regards to animal waste
Provide an basis for other creature "leavings", like eggs for chickens

Cons:
Requires a functional waste management system / sewage system for larger fortresses.
May encourage immaturity and puerility.


Okay, so hopefully we can have a more reasonable discussion here.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: buman on May 07, 2010, 09:13:03 am
nvm
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Dabi on May 07, 2010, 09:17:08 am
Cons:
Requires a functional waste management system / sewage system for larger fortresses.
Will encourage immaturity and puerility.


Okay, so hopefully we can have a more reasonable discussion here.
Fixed.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Vester on May 07, 2010, 09:35:27 am
Cons:
Requires a functional waste management system / sewage system for larger fortresses.
Will encourage immaturity and puerility.

Okay, so hopefully we can have a more reasonable discussion here.
Fixed.

You're acting like immaturity is a symptom rather than a cause.

"OH THERE'S POO IN THE GAME THIS WILL MAKE PEOPLE WILL BEHAVE IMMATURELY AND MAKE POOP JOKES AND DROWN ELVES IN POOP"

The capability to do those things will not make people act in an immature manner. Immaturity is the reason people would do all of those things.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Ilmoran on May 07, 2010, 09:49:22 am
Cons:
Requires a functional waste management system / sewage system for larger fortresses.
Will encourage immaturity and puerility.


Okay, so hopefully we can have a more reasonable discussion here.
Fixed.

The internet encourages immaturity.  Just look at the prevelence of running around putting words in peoples mouths and proclaiming that you've "fixed" what they were saying.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: riznar on May 07, 2010, 09:59:17 am
I'm going to propose an alternate system where workshops create waste.

Kitchen scraps, leftover plant matter from farmer's workshops, mills, and stills, inedible bits from the butcher are all created under normal operation and have to be dealt with before they start creating miasma and disease. This creates the need for a sewage system without baiting immaturity.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Quatch on May 07, 2010, 10:02:24 am
Urist McArtifactmaker has canceled awesomeness, going to bathroom.

Sure, sewers would be nifty, but this is too much. I mean, they don't even eat/sleep normally. That'd have to come first.

And just imagine adventurer mode...
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Raz on May 07, 2010, 10:06:34 am
You forgot the "not now" option - people often vote against something if they think it does not have immediate priority.

Edit: As is perfectly demonstrated by the above post.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Ilmoran on May 07, 2010, 10:13:01 am
Urist McArtifactmaker has canceled awesomeness, going to bathroom.

Sure, sewers would be nifty, but this is too much. I mean, they don't even eat/sleep normally. That'd have to come first.

And just imagine adventurer mode...

Why would modifying the eatting/sleeping schedules need to come first?  If waste production was scaled to an appropriate frequency compared to other automatic activities, what's the problem?

One interesting thought I had related to the eatting/sleeping schedule:  Waste production/using the facilities should occur paired with either the eat or sleep task, before or after one of them, based on the dwarfs preference.  That would assist with fortress layout (put appropriate areas relatively close to dining hall and sleeping quarters; properly plumbed, of course) and not having the problem of a dwarf stops a job, goes to sleep, starts the job again when he wakes up, gets tile done on the job, and then goes to the facilities.

And pretty sure artifact makers ignore all bodily needs anyway ;)
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Ilmoran on May 07, 2010, 10:15:23 am
You forgot the "not now" option - people often vote against something if they think it does not have immediate priority.

Edit: As is perfectly demonstrated by the above post.

I think rather than a "Not Now" option (I don't think anyone actually thinks this needs to be the next thing Toady works on), it should just be made clear in the OP.  Additionally, I think the original suggestion should include an init options to turn it off (or on, having the default be off).
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: DG on May 07, 2010, 10:23:00 am
In the not too distant future...

Quote
"Hey, dude...Have you played DF?"
"DF?"
"Dwarf Fortress!"
"Oh...Is that the game where you save up turds to drown stuff with?"
"Yeah, man!"
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: sweitx on May 07, 2010, 10:26:55 am
I would argue for the "Not Now" option.
Although having a sanitation requirement sooner or later would be a plus.  The advantage of adding sewage is that it becomes harder to build a completely sealed off fortress (else sewage build up causes massive out-break of infections).
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Vester on May 07, 2010, 10:27:15 am
In the not too distant future...

Quote
"Hey, dude...Have you played DF?"
"DF?"
"Dwarf Fortress!"
"Oh...Is that the game where you save up turds to drown stuff with?"
"Yeah, man!"

What, so adding waste to the game will suddenly make it all about waste? Gee, what happened to the dwarves, the magma, the forging, the fighting, and everything else? Oh, I guess it's all just a grand backdrop to what DF is all about: poop!
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: riznar on May 07, 2010, 10:29:41 am
As I said earlier, a workshop waste system gets you the benefits without the poop backlash.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: GlyphGryph on May 07, 2010, 10:29:55 am
I've added a not now option for those who prefer it, though honestly "not now" isn't something I think we have to worry about - regardless of long term goals, the games material and fluid mixing system isn't anywhere close enough to handling this properly.

And hell, most creatures don't even eat yet.

Riznar - most of the benefits, perhaps, but it wouldn't exactly scale up the same way. Still, its a good idea, I think. Once a system is set to handle materials like this I think it would be nice to add, since I doubt creature waste will be enough to fill a sewer what with it probably only happening once or twice a year.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: DG on May 07, 2010, 10:37:51 am
In the not too distant future...

Quote
"Hey, dude...Have you played DF?"
"DF?"
"Dwarf Fortress!"
"Oh...Is that the game where you save up turds to drown stuff with?"
"Yeah, man!"

What, so adding waste to the game will suddenly make it all about waste? Gee, what happened to the dwarves, the magma, the forging, the fighting, and everything else? Oh, I guess it's all just a grand backdrop to what DF is all about: poop!

Oh, don't take it so seriously. I just have less faith in people than you do.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: roguester on May 07, 2010, 11:09:14 am
I'm going to propose an alternate system where workshops create waste.

Kitchen scraps, leftover plant matter from farmer's workshops, mills, and stills, inedible bits from the butcher are all created under normal operation and have to be dealt with before they start creating miasma and disease. This creates the need for a sewage system without baiting immaturity.
This.

Then Toady could add, as he saw fit:

You could have the need for, and the possibility of, a working sewage system with no actual fecal matter being produced.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: GlyphGryph on May 07, 2010, 11:25:07 am
The only problem with that system I could see is that it sidesteps the benefits of manure as fertilizer and of animals in general needing to be more cared for/taken care of.

It also couldn't be turned into a more general purpose molting/laying system like other waste systems could.

Still, I don't think its a bad idea. If opposition to it is really that strong, it would be an acceptable compromise, I think. It would accomplish most of what I'd want from such a system.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: riznar on May 07, 2010, 11:32:46 am
Riznar - most of the benefits, perhaps, but it wouldn't exactly scale up the same way. Still, its a good idea, I think. Once a system is set to handle materials like this I think it would be nice to add, since I doubt creature waste will be enough to fill a sewer what with it probably only happening once or twice a year.

Most of the problems in DF don't scale linearly. Simply put I think feces is more trouble than it's worth, if you want a sewage system for Aburdly Spaceous Sewers this provides.

The only problem with that system I could see is that it sidesteps the benefits of manure as fertilizer and of animals in general needing to be more cared for/taken care of.

Plant remains and animal remains could be used in compost piles/barrels.

Chicken coups would be a workshop that takes up to 10 chickens, like weapon traps now. Harvesting could be done by abstracting the milking code, or general workshop code.

I would also support a more generalized animal pen, because goddamn them clogging up my dining room is annoying.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Retro on May 07, 2010, 11:43:58 am
I would say that I would support waste if it was not an object.

The use of bathrooms and the like could be used by a dwarf simply going there without creating a 'poop' item or anything like that. If there is no bathroom, dwarves would simply get bad thoughts at being inconvenienced. As for animals, perhaps if the player doesn't create a pen, dwarves get more bad thoughts about the stench in the fortress or similar. If a farmer needs manure, I'd be fine with that being an object created by a farmer visiting the pen and then moving right to the farm plots.

I do support creating a system for objects that spawn babies, though (ie. chickens leave egg, uncooked/eaten egg creates baby).
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Mfbrew on May 07, 2010, 11:52:54 am
Waste management is great:

-fertilizer
-primitive biological warfare
-building sewer systems
-adds realism/simulationism. (can you imagine years down the road, sneaking into a fortress in adventurer mode, waiting for the guard to go take a crap, and slipping into the treasure vault? Maybe even cooking something into his meal to encourage it)

The only downsides are that it eats up valuable dwarf productive-time, and there are a million more important things to add first.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Footkerchief on May 07, 2010, 12:05:40 pm
The "Yes" options for this one kinda imply that this feature would be forced on the people who don't want it.  I don't know if that was deliberate, but it's definitely not realistic.  This poll is a step back from the other one in that regard.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Deathworks on May 07, 2010, 12:23:21 pm
Hi!

Trying to be optimistic, I voted "Yes" this time. But as I have explained before, it is very important for me that we find a way to curb the resulting onslaught of immaturity that might occur (I am not sad if I am wrong and it does not occur at all, of course).

Personally, I would favor a semi-liquid system as it allows for a realistic simulation of your water-driven sewer system, forcing you to thing about flow directions and the like in your design (with evolving physics, this may range from a simple setup that needs to get flushed with water from a fresh water reservoire regularly to something that efficiently uses the flow dynamics to have the waste move away most of the time by itself.

One aspect I also consider very important/interesting is waste working as a very strong contaminant, biologically poisoning food, drink, and water it comes into contact with. Considering that such contamination would, as far as I know, in real life most probably cause diarrhea, which is indeed something that can cause death via dehydration (and still does today in many parts of the world!). Just think about all the efforts to get clean drinking water for the poor parts of the real world.

A minor glitch may cause a little setback in your industries and send a few dwarves to the hospital, but any continuous misuse or major catastrophe should pose a serious threat to the continued existence of your fortress.

On the other hand, outdoor waste should degrade into rich soil without greater problems, so allowing dwarves to default to simply defecate outdoors if no better solution is available. However, as contaminants spread (currently actually a bit too much), while this is no problem with a fortress of 20 or 30 dwarves, 100 dwarves should probably create so much refuse that any stray or wild animal may begin to spread it into the fortress proper.

In addition, even if not causing any direct harm, the confrontation with waste should cause a negative thought for any dwarf, except maybe for rare dwarves with a scatological inclination ("scat" is a term some people in the real world see in a positive and sexual way, so I think it would be an option to add to the diversification of the dwarves).

Besides the outdoor, dwarves would prefer using a special toilet, which is a frame created either at the masonry or carpentry, just as a well is preferred over a murky pool. This works as a floor tile for walking, but when used, the waste is transported to the tile below it, so it needs to be built atop an empty space, just like a well.

An interesting question would be how to handle cat toilets. Maybe using a zone designation over sand/soil could be an approach.

Deathworks
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Quatch on May 07, 2010, 12:24:44 pm
You forgot the "not now" option - people often vote against something if they think it does not have immediate priority.

Edit: As is perfectly demonstrated by the above post.

Actually, I meant no. Just bringing up another related realism problem.

One interesting thought I had related to the eatting/sleeping schedule:  Waste production/using the facilities should occur paired with either the eat or sleep task, before or after one of them, based on the dwarfs preference.  That would assist with fortress layout (put appropriate areas relatively close to dining hall and sleeping quarters; properly plumbed, of course) and not having the problem of a dwarf stops a job, goes to sleep, starts the job again when he wakes up, gets tile done on the job, and then goes to the facilities.

This is actually the bigger problem in my opinion. Partially addressed in df31.


I mean, on the whole, its more realism, which is good, but there is a reason it doesn't come up in books/movies/etc as part of everyday life.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Zangi on May 07, 2010, 12:39:29 pm
I'm going to propose an alternate system where workshops create waste.

Kitchen scraps, leftover plant matter from farmer's workshops, mills, and stills, inedible bits from the butcher are all created under normal operation and have to be dealt with before they start creating miasma and disease. This creates the need for a sewage system without baiting immaturity.
This.

Then Toady could add, as he saw fit:
  • The cleaning job requiring a bucket of water, and producing a bucket of contaminated water.
  • A "sanitary zone" where dwarves go to "clean self", where contaminants and other waste materials are dumped.
  • Waste and contaminants causing miasma and disease when that's implemented.
  • The "clean self" job producing a new contaminant (filth, waste, whatever you want to call it.)

You could have the need for, and the possibility of, a working sewage system with no actual fecal matter being produced.
I support the clean self action also including the create waste action.  And the workshops generate waste idea too.

Instead of building a toilet for dwarves... build a shower, bathtub, or just use a bucket for cleaning purposes.  Legendary public bath.  And this stuff can feed into whatever sewer system you have, one way or another.  Or just pile up in buckets waiting to be emptied...

Animals tend to clean themselves, a lot, having all the time in the world... and tracking over all sorts of blood all over the place...  I'm sure they'll generate enough waste on their own...
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Xzalander on May 07, 2010, 12:45:03 pm
Like I said in the other thread, having every animal in the Embark Zone create waste will contribute too heavily to any FPS drops. Already DF is using 1gb of Ram while not under pressure (just going by my system) so to help alleviate this it should be restricted to Dwarves, Goblins, Orcs, Forgotten Beasts and a small selection of creatures like Cows, Deer or horses.

I've chosen Goblins, Orcs and Forgotten Beasts as a main suggestion as you'd imagine them to be quite dirty as species and besides thered be nothing cooler than to breach a forgotten beasts home only to find the beasts was literally a beast and lived in a cave of filth.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Ilmoran on May 07, 2010, 12:48:33 pm
Like I said in the other thread, having every animal in the Embark Zone create waste will contribute too heavily to any FPS drops. Already DF is using 1gb of Ram while not under pressure (just going by my system) so to help alleviate this it should be restricted to Dwarves, Goblins, Orcs, Forgotten Beasts and a small selection of creatures like Cows, Deer or horses.

I've chosen Goblins, Orcs and Forgotten Beasts as a main suggestion as you'd imagine them to be quite dirty as species and besides thered be nothing cooler than to breach a forgotten beasts home only to find the beasts was literally a beast and lived in a cave of filth.

I don't think every animal generating waste would be a huge hit to FPS, but nobody will really know until it's done.  As far as I know, the major contributors to FPS hits are pathing and liquid movement.  Assuming that even if the waste created is treated as a liquid, I can't see a single creature generating more than 1/7, so there'd be no flow to contribute to FPS.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Deathworks on May 07, 2010, 12:50:13 pm
Hi!

Like I said in the other thread, having every animal in the Embark Zone create waste will contribute too heavily to any FPS drops. Already DF is using 1gb of Ram while not under pressure (just going by my system) so to help alleviate this it should be restricted to Dwarves, Goblins, Orcs, Forgotten Beasts and a small selection of creatures like Cows, Deer or horses.

I've chosen Goblins, Orcs and Forgotten Beasts as a main suggestion as you'd imagine them to be quite dirty as species and besides thered be nothing cooler than to breach a forgotten beasts home only to find the beasts was literally a beast and lived in a cave of filth.

Mmmhhh, if you want to have such a restriction, how about dwarves, all tame animals (including all stray, pet, and working), and invaders and uninvited guests. Excluded would be wild animals and merchants. (I would definitely want cats and dogs in this, as this is one aspect where the two differ significantly)

However, I am personally a bit torn on that question. While I see the problem of FPS and resources, on the other hand, there is actually a lot of potential.

For instance, hunters could use the waste of wild, huntable animals to find the resting places of game (once the AI stops cheating :) :) ).

Deathworks
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: DalGren on May 07, 2010, 01:01:24 pm
I'm going to propose an alternate system where workshops create waste.

Kitchen scraps, leftover plant matter from farmer's workshops, mills, and stills, inedible bits from the butcher are all created under normal operation and have to be dealt with before they start creating miasma and disease. This creates the need for a sewage system without baiting immaturity.
This.

Then Toady could add, as he saw fit:
  • The cleaning job requiring a bucket of water, and producing a bucket of contaminated water.
  • A "sanitary zone" where dwarves go to "clean self", where contaminants and other waste materials are dumped.
  • Waste and contaminants causing miasma and disease when that's implemented.
  • The "clean self" job producing a new contaminant (filth, waste, whatever you want to call it.)

You could have the need for, and the possibility of, a working sewage system with no actual fecal matter being produced.

This.
I'd make it optional, but this is the right way to do it. I'd even try it (even if I don't think I can pull it off)
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Askot Bokbondeler on May 07, 2010, 03:22:23 pm
following this
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: GlyphGryph on May 07, 2010, 03:26:03 pm
Quote
The "Yes" options for this one kinda imply that this feature would be forced on the people who don't want it.  I don't know if that was deliberate, but it's definitely not realistic.  This poll is a step back from the other one in that regard.

The problem with that is that if Toady was implementing, we don't know how he would do so. In addition, there was a lot of complaining in the last poll of that option favouring one side or the other. So I'd assume it wouldn't be toggle-able and vote whichever you'd actually prefer. It it still ends up split down the middle, at least Toady will know.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: riznar on May 07, 2010, 03:31:25 pm
I'm totally lost as to what people are voting for now.

Is it any waste system? Waste with poo? Waste without poo? Poo only?

This is a murky poll.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Andeerz on May 07, 2010, 04:11:41 pm
I mean, on the whole, its more realism, which is good, but there is a reason it doesn't come up in books/movies/etc as part of everyday life.

The reason it doesn't come up in books/movies/etc likely has to do, at least in my opinion, with the possible fact that most books/movies/etc. don't focus on the design, government, and running of a fortress or city. 
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Askot Bokbondeler on May 07, 2010, 04:28:44 pm
Also, stories are told with gaps, tolkien didn't describe every step frodo took to mordor, he probably stepped on some horse shit, and also produced some hobbit shit, but it's not worth writing about if we can assume he did that while we weren't looking. If we assume we were always looking, then there's something missing if frodo doesnt go behind the bushes a few times... he probably could use some fibers
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Bronzebeard on May 07, 2010, 05:04:01 pm
Dwarf Fortress has long impressed me with its realism. Then again, I don't know if that's the right word for a game wherein cats carry soap in their mouth...
Realistic or not, the game is heavy on detail, and that's credit enough. Before I found this thread, I read an article on the wiki about how to trap a dwarf in a sealed room full of levers that control every single mechanic component in the fortress (http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/40d:Stupid_dwarf_trick#U.R.I.S.T._Artificial_Intelligence), and while thinking how to fulfill the antisocial fellow's needs I thought, "How's he go to the bathroom?" That thought turned into, "How do any of the dwarves go to the bathroom?" I suppose they don't. I wondered why that was. It would certainly add more engineering to any fortress design, since there'd have to be toilets (crude ones, I imagine, probably just waste chutes) on every floor, or separate rooms for dwarves to relieve themselves, etc. Beyond any groaning about how unneeded or childish it is, it's surely a fact of any creature's life, is it not?

It's true that this will have some impact on performance (if, for that fact alone, every creature still generates waste, and there's a lot of animals around) but this game's looks to ram-usage ratio is already way off. I can run Modern Warfare 2 or Battlefield: Bad Company 2 at the highest possible settings without a frame less to show for it, while this game lags when I'm up to 100 or so dwarves alone; performance doesn't seem to be its priority, rather than detail and complexity. I say, therefore, waste should be included, regardless.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: darkrider2 on May 07, 2010, 05:13:16 pm
I support waste in DF. I believe it would add an extra level of management and complexity to the game, which can only be a good thing.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Rotten on May 07, 2010, 05:24:37 pm
Trying to be optimistic, I voted "Yes" this time. But as I have explained before, it is very important for me that we find a way to curb the resulting onslaught of immaturity that might occur (I am not sad if I am wrong and it does not occur at all, of course).
So what? It's a single player game. People's poop-drowning traps will not be forced on you. Just don't build them. Using the immaturity as an excuse is like saying that the internet should be shut down because some people use it to plan crimes.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Bronzebeard on May 07, 2010, 05:47:42 pm
Also, in regards to the performance issue, waste doesn't even have to be a concrete unit in the game; it can simply be a quick and simple task that a dwarf or other creature occasionally scampers off to do, like drinking water from a pond (I don't know if that actually removes 1 water from the stack of 7 in that tile, but you get the gist). Originally, for instance, they'd have to go outside and hunker down beside a tree, but for the obvious safety concerns that entails over time, bathrooms in-fortress will be necessary. This would also alleviate those with the pressing (albeit rather silly) concerns toward maturity and feces pits. Just a thought.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Zangi on May 07, 2010, 05:49:45 pm
Trying to be optimistic, I voted "Yes" this time. But as I have explained before, it is very important for me that we find a way to curb the resulting onslaught of immaturity that might occur (I am not sad if I am wrong and it does not occur at all, of course).
So what? It's a single player game. People's poop-drowning traps will not be forced on you. Just don't build them. Using the immaturity as an excuse is like saying that the internet should be shut down because some people use it to plan crimes.

It is when you get people posting about it on the DF forums on a regular basis as a new meme on the same level as the catsplosion based meme.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Rotten on May 07, 2010, 06:00:41 pm
Trying to be optimistic, I voted "Yes" this time. But as I have explained before, it is very important for me that we find a way to curb the resulting onslaught of immaturity that might occur (I am not sad if I am wrong and it does not occur at all, of course).
So what? It's a single player game. People's poop-drowning traps will not be forced on you. Just don't build them. Using the immaturity as an excuse is like saying that the internet should be shut down because some people use it to plan crimes.

It is when you get people posting about it on the DF forums on a regular basis as a new meme on the same level as the catsplosion based meme.
Oh no, immaturity on the internet?! Everybody, into the magma!
...
Just ignore it. I can't really imagine how you would be offended by a person mentioning poop. It's a basic bodily function.
Also people post about how they do sick/insane stuff every day on the internet. It should be shut down.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Zangi on May 07, 2010, 06:17:50 pm
Trying to be optimistic, I voted "Yes" this time. But as I have explained before, it is very important for me that we find a way to curb the resulting onslaught of immaturity that might occur (I am not sad if I am wrong and it does not occur at all, of course).
So what? It's a single player game. People's poop-drowning traps will not be forced on you. Just don't build them. Using the immaturity as an excuse is like saying that the internet should be shut down because some people use it to plan crimes.

It is when you get people posting about it on the DF forums on a regular basis as a new meme on the same level as the catsplosion based meme.
Oh no, immaturity on the internet?! Everybody, into the magma!
...
Just ignore it. I can't really imagine how you would be offended by a person mentioning poop. It's a basic bodily function.
Also people post about how they do sick/insane stuff every day on the internet. It should be shut down.

They can do that in 4chan or wherever else.  Why invite it here?
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Rotten on May 07, 2010, 06:25:01 pm
Trying to be optimistic, I voted "Yes" this time. But as I have explained before, it is very important for me that we find a way to curb the resulting onslaught of immaturity that might occur (I am not sad if I am wrong and it does not occur at all, of course).
So what? It's a single player game. People's poop-drowning traps will not be forced on you. Just don't build them. Using the immaturity as an excuse is like saying that the internet should be shut down because some people use it to plan crimes.

It is when you get people posting about it on the DF forums on a regular basis as a new meme on the same level as the catsplosion based meme.
Oh no, immaturity on the internet?! Everybody, into the magma!
...
Just ignore it. I can't really imagine how you would be offended by a person mentioning poop. It's a basic bodily function.
Also people post about how they do sick/insane stuff every day on the internet. It should be shut down.

They can do that in 4chan or wherever else.  Why invite it here?
I don't think you're getting what I mean. I meant that, yeah, sure, there's going to be some people who act immature about it. That's not justification to say that a very fun and realistic feature should be  taken out, just like saying that the internet can be used to plan crimes or brag about torturing cats is not justification to shut it down.
Also, being able to tear every limb off an elf and let it bleed out is better than an abstracted 'filth' tile that is dropped by dwarves in a toilet?
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Cruxador on May 07, 2010, 06:35:26 pm
Trying to be optimistic, I voted "Yes" this time. But as I have explained before, it is very important for me that we find a way to curb the resulting onslaught of immaturity that might occur (I am not sad if I am wrong and it does not occur at all, of course).
So what? It's a single player game. People's poop-drowning traps will not be forced on you. Just don't build them. Using the immaturity as an excuse is like saying that the internet should be shut down because some people use it to plan crimes.
It is when you get people posting about it on the DF forums on a regular basis as a new meme on the same level as the catsplosion based meme.
Oh no, immaturity on the internet?! Everybody, into the magma!
...
Just ignore it. I can't really imagine how you would be offended by a person mentioning poop. It's a basic bodily function.
Also people post about how they do sick/insane stuff every day on the internet. It should be shut down.
They can do that in 4chan or wherever else.  Why invite it here?
Actually, the dwarf fortress threads on 4chan tend to be totally devoid of the sort of thing which people on these forums see as indication that waste would be used to drown elves. "Sick and insane stuff" exist in proportions roughly equal to elsewhere, and people are not, as this forum is, inclined to farm mermaids or whatnot. This sort of immaturity would exist only here, if it were to exist at all.

It could be on Something Awful too, I don't go there so I don't know.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Bronzebeard on May 07, 2010, 06:38:04 pm
Quote
I don't think you're getting what I mean. I meant that, yeah, sure, there's going to be some people who act immature about it. That's not justification to say that a very fun and realistic feature should be  taken out, just like saying that the internet can be used to plan crimes or brag about torturing cats is not justification to shut it down.
Also, being able to tear every limb off an elf and let it bleed out is better than an abstracted 'filth' tile that is dropped by dwarves in a toilet?
Rotten's absolutely right. And it isn't as if feces don't exist in real life. We all presumably take a dump every single day, don't we? You have some funny pranks or references here and there but, really, I don't see anyone immature enough to start causing chaos because of it. This game is the game to add feces to, if any, because it focuses on detail, not whether or not some 10 year old can handle it without causing a minor nuisance on a forum thread.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: riznar on May 07, 2010, 06:45:54 pm
If we're going to talk about detail, dwarves should sleep every day, eat a few times, pee several times, and poop once.

For their health Urist McHouse recommends loving sex every other day, a glass of wine with dinner (not a problem), and a 40 hour work week.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: LordSlowpoke on May 07, 2010, 06:57:55 pm
If we're going to talk about detail, dwarves should sleep every day, eat a few times, pee several times, and poop once.

For their health Urist McHouse recommends loving sex every other day, a glass of wine with dinner (not a problem), and a 40 hour work week.

And that changes DF straight into playing The Sims with alcoholic midgets back in 1400.
Oh, and I dislike the idea of having even more crap stuffed inside the game instead of getting the current stuff fixed. Maybe after Toady gets a decent pathfinding so my stone won't try to pathfind down the volcano.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: riznar on May 07, 2010, 07:05:28 pm
LordSlowpoke brings up a good point.

What should be the proper priority for a waste system? How many of these items (http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/dev.html) is it more important than?

Why is fecal matter essential to a waste system? Alternatives have been brought up in this thread

Why should Toady implement something so divisive?
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Cruxador on May 07, 2010, 07:52:03 pm
If we're going to talk about detail, dwarves should sleep every day, eat a few times, pee several times, and poop once.

For their health Urist McHouse recommends loving sex every other day, a glass of wine with dinner (not a problem), and a 40 hour work week.

And that changes DF straight into playing The Sims with alcoholic midgets back in 1400.
Oh, and I dislike the idea of having even more crap stuffed inside the game instead of getting the current stuff fixed. Maybe after Toady gets a decent pathfinding so my stone won't try to pathfind down the volcano.
There has been no suggestion that this precede anything else. The earliest it might happen would be after the current bugs are fixed, adventure mode and sieges are made fun, and the top ten suggestions are addressed. And the bugs resulting from those additions are fixed.

At that point, I wouldn't be surprised if a plethora of relatively small things go in, and this could be one of them.

Or it might not.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Rotten on May 07, 2010, 08:12:30 pm
LordSlowpoke brings up a good point.

What should be the proper priority for a waste system? How many of these items (http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/dev.html) is it more important than?

Why is fecal matter essential to a waste system? Alternatives have been brought up in this thread

Why should Toady implement something so divisive?
HEY TOADY!
STOP BUGFIXING!
STOP BREAKS!
STOP ARMY ARC!
ADD IN DWARF POOP! NOW!

Was anyone saying that? No. Most suggestions assume that it will be implemented when practical, not this instant. Obviously other things are more important. Maybe after the bugfixing period is over, or when Toady want's to take a break from Army Arc to code something else. I don't know. I just want it in eventually.

It's kind of pointless to add in a waste system without poop. Like adding in dragons without fire. It also gets rid of the possibility of using poop for fertilizer, explosive production (more urine, but whatever), etc.

It's up to Toady whether to add it or not. Currently popular vote is leaning towards yes, he should.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Bronzebeard on May 07, 2010, 08:50:55 pm
Quote
If we're going to talk about detail, dwarves should sleep every day, eat a few times, pee several times, and poop once.
On that note, it would be nice if there were a little more discrepancy between day and night. There are days in the game, but the only way you can tell (at least in Fortress Mode) is if there are fireflies buzzing about. Oh well.
Quote
It's kind of pointless to add in a waste system without poop. Like adding in dragons without fire. It also gets rid of the possibility of using poop for fertilizer, explosive production (more urine, but whatever), etc.
I agree. It was just a thought in regards to the incomprehensible piling of said waste, though. It wouldn't make much sense not making the waste an actual in-game unit, though, as far as bang-for-the-buck goes -- if dwarves have to stop their duties now and then to go to the bathroom, there should at least be some waste you could put to good use in elf traps fertilizing, routing a sewage system, etc.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Vester on May 07, 2010, 09:07:59 pm
LordSlowpoke brings up a good point.

What should be the proper priority for a waste system? How many of these items (http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/dev.html) is it more important than?

Why is fecal matter essential to a waste system? Alternatives have been brought up in this thread

Why should Toady implement something so divisive?


You know, the whole "Do female dwarves have beards or not?" debate was about as vociferous.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: riznar on May 07, 2010, 09:32:10 pm
It's equally pointless to do more work to add poop to a waste management system when you get all the benefits (sewage, fertilizer, other reactions) without it.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Deathworks on May 07, 2010, 09:59:45 pm
Hi!

Trying to be optimistic, I voted "Yes" this time. But as I have explained before, it is very important for me that we find a way to curb the resulting onslaught of immaturity that might occur (I am not sad if I am wrong and it does not occur at all, of course).
So what? It's a single player game. People's poop-drowning traps will not be forced on you. Just don't build them. Using the immaturity as an excuse is like saying that the internet should be shut down because some people use it to plan crimes.

It is when you get people posting about it on the DF forums on a regular basis as a new meme on the same level as the catsplosion based meme.
Oh no, immaturity on the internet?! Everybody, into the magma!
...
Just ignore it. I can't really imagine how you would be offended by a person mentioning poop. It's a basic bodily function.
Also people post about how they do sick/insane stuff every day on the internet. It should be shut down.

(Trying to avoid a quote pyramid as it causes a lot of lag for me)

First of all, Zangi clarified the issue I am worried about quite correctly.

Secondly, like it or not, we are influenced by our everyday experiences, and fecal humor is about the lowest, cheapest humor I know of presented for immature boys in its own subgenre in manga and basically nowhere else except some extreme erotic material or maybe an occasional bit of hospital criticism. All the other extreme subjects we encounter in Dwarf Fortress and the discussions here either have no common image at all ("magma" is not a regular in average popular media) or have a wider or even positive application in popular culture ("violence" and "evilness" are common feature in most of our average entertainment as well, and also a hallmark of things like anti-war media, which therefore give the concepts the potential for a positive reading). That is the difference I see between it and any other aspects we have.

Third, yes, the internet is large. Thanks to governments using child pornography as a means to get their censorship legislation into place instead of making agreements to internationally persecute child molestors and in doing so shut down the offending sites, it is also probably full of child pornography. Do you want nearly every thread to contain at least one person showing off some photos of a real life child getting raped? Yes, it is out there, but do we want to have it here?

And even if you don't want to go for such illegal things, I am sure that among the tons of pornography/erotic on the internet, there are things that will make you sick as well. They are there, but do you want to see them in unrelated threads here on the forums, just because someone considers them a cool "meme"?

And the problem with feces is that they are likely to be as flexible as magma, so that "Apply poo!" probably would work as well and as versatile as "Apply magma!". Therefore, it is likely that it will be spread around just like blood and other contaminants are spread around in the game, until you have everything covered in it.

But as I said in my quoted post, I hope I am too pessimistic in seeing all this happen, which is why I support the addition.

Deathworks
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Ilmoran on May 07, 2010, 10:22:30 pm
Secondly, like it or not, we are influenced by our everyday experiences, and fecal humor is about the lowest, cheapest humor I know of presented for immature boys in its own subgenre in manga and basically nowhere else except some extreme erotic material or maybe an occasional bit of hospital criticism. All the other extreme subjects we encounter in Dwarf Fortress and the discussions here either have no common image at all ("magma" is not a regular in average popular media) or have a wider or even positive application in popular culture ("violence" and "evilness" are common feature in most of our average entertainment as well, and also a hallmark of things like anti-war media, which therefore give the concepts the potential for a positive reading). That is the difference I see between it and any other aspects we have.

And the problem with feces is that they are likely to be as flexible as magma, so that "Apply poo!" probably would work as well and as versatile as "Apply magma!". Therefore, it is likely that it will be spread around just like blood and other contaminants are spread around in the game, until you have everything covered in it.

If, in your experience, fecal humor is such a small, specific subsection of humor that you basically can't find it unless you are looking for it, why do you think that including sewage in DF is going to suddenly make the forums turn into a giant shit-joke?

And on what basis are you saying feces (which isn't what this topic is about, specifically the previous topic was full of people who couldn't get over the fact that the original post said feces, even though everyone in the topic was willing to refer to it in less specific terms such as sewage or filth) will be as versatile as magma and then saying it's likely to spread around "just like blood and other contaminants"?  After all, that's pretty contradictory; contaminants can't flow.  You can't have a river of blood, vomit, or anything else other than water or magma right now.  So what's the basis of saying it's going to be as versatile as magma?  Furthermore, I think everyone can understand that the current tracking problems of contaminants and dwarves getting covered in anything that will stick is not the intended behavior.  Once contaminants are handled properly, unless your working hard to get your dwarves to spread it around and not clean it, you probably aren't going to be tracking filth all over the place.  And if you are working hard to get your fortress covered in it, your dwarves are probably going to be miserable, disease-ridden wretches who will die out in a season anyway, which I think would make it more trouble than it's worth, no matter how funny you think it is.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Bronzebeard on May 07, 2010, 11:01:36 pm
Quote
If, in your experience, fecal humor is such a small, specific subsection of humor that you basically can't find it unless you are looking for it, why do you think that including sewage in DF is going to suddenly make the forums turn into a giant shit-joke?

And on what basis are you saying feces (which isn't what this topic is about, specifically the previous topic was full of people who couldn't get over the fact that the original post said feces, even though everyone in the topic was willing to refer to it in less specific terms such as sewage or filth) will be as versatile as magma and then saying it's likely to spread around "just like blood and other contaminants"?  After all, that's pretty contradictory; contaminants can't flow.  You can't have a river of blood, vomit, or anything else other than water or magma right now.  So what's the basis of saying it's going to be as versatile as magma?  Furthermore, I think everyone can understand that the current tracking problems of contaminants and dwarves getting covered in anything that will stick is not the intended behavior.  Once contaminants are handled properly, unless your working hard to get your dwarves to spread it around and not clean it, you probably aren't going to be tracking filth all over the place.  And if you are working hard to get your fortress covered in it, your dwarves are probably going to be miserable, disease-ridden wretches who will die out in a season anyway, which I think would make it more trouble than it's worth, no matter how funny you think it is.
Aye-aye, Ilmoran.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Vester on May 07, 2010, 11:18:07 pm
*snip*

Oh my god, that is the most triumphant example of the slippery slope fallacy I have ever, ever seen.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Rotten on May 07, 2010, 11:29:30 pm
*snip*
I'm pretty tired right now (half past midnight here) but did you just say that adding sewage to DF would fill the forums with child porn?

Whaaa?

Also, you misunderstood my analogy. What I was replying to was the accusation that sewage would inspire a certain genre of jokes. Though that is true, it's not a good enough reason to just scrap the entire idea completely, just like the fact that a small (OK, large) section of the internet is full of porn and rape doesn't mean that the entire internet should be taken down.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Bronzebeard on May 08, 2010, 12:47:58 am
It's half-past 1 AM here, but based on what I read, I think Deathworks was attempting an abstract overview of the arguments presented in halfhearted protest to the idea of incorporating feces into the game:

Quote
Secondly, like it or not, we are influenced by our everyday experiences, and fecal humor is about the lowest, cheapest humor I know of presented for immature boys in its own subgenre in manga and basically nowhere else except some extreme erotic material or maybe an occasional bit of hospital criticism. All the other extreme subjects we encounter in Dwarf Fortress and the discussions here either have no common image at all ("magma" is not a regular in average popular media) or have a wider or even positive application in popular culture ("violence" and "evilness" are common feature in most of our average entertainment as well, and also a hallmark of things like anti-war media, which therefore give the concepts the potential for a positive reading). That is the difference I see between it and any other aspects we have.

From what I understood, here he says that fecal humor is for the immature and presented only in some manga and 2girls1cup-esque porn... and that the other "extreme" subjects -- I'm assuming gore, for I can think of little else -- have no "common image", or occur that frequently (?), or occur very frequently and even positively in popular culture before listing "violence and "evilness" as examples in common entertainment or crude cudgels used by anti-war activists to depict troops. :-\ I imagine. Which "make for positive reading" (I'm assuming this is said to contrast feces, which does not make for positive reading, coalescing with the final sentence regarding their differences).

Quote
Third, yes, the internet is large. Thanks to governments using child pornography as a means to get their censorship legislation into place instead of making agreements to internationally persecute child molestors and in doing so shut down the offending sites, it is also probably full of child pornography. Do you want nearly every thread to contain at least one person showing off some photos of a real life child getting raped? Yes, it is out there, but do we want to have it here? And even if you don't want to go for such illegal things, I am sure that among the tons of pornography/erotic on the internet, there are things that will make you sick as well. They are there, but do you want to see them in unrelated threads here on the forums, just because someone considers them a cool "meme"?

Here he takes a different road on the internet's baser content and apparently accuses governments for using that content (i.e. child porn) as a scapegoat for passing censorship legislation to sites instead of micromanaging each case of such content on these sites -- and I'm presuming the sites on hand here are torrent sites or boards like 4chan -- internationally (a thing, frankly, impossible for a number of reasons). He then goes on to question the reader if the cost of allowing these sites to be (thereby, allowing said bad content to exist because he's already defined it as an inevitability of these sites) is worth it, which is puzzling, because he first bids the reader sympathy for a medium polluted by a few bad apples resulting in strict government enaction to suppress it completely before justifying that harsh and unreasonable means-to-an-end, after all. He finishes this paragraph with embellishing the potential for bad content and whether or not you want it in an unrelated forum thread simply because it exists for someone to find it a "cool meme" and eventually bring it up. Quite frankly, though, were the two even this comparable I would find a reference to poop much more tolerable than, say, a fun picture of a child being raped here and again.

Quote
And the problem with feces is that they are likely to be as flexible as magma, so that "Apply poo!" probably would work as well and as versatile as "Apply magma!". Therefore, it is likely that it will be spread around just like blood and other contaminants are spread around in the game, until you have everything covered in it.

Finally, he takes a more direct approach by pointing out that feces could be as useful or "flexible" as magma and, because of this, it's likely that it will spread around like blood or vomit (?). Last I checked, however, my dwarves nor rooms happen to be coated in blood or vomit (not that it even applies to feces if they occupy a single tile, such as under a toilet, as opposed to spilling haphazardly when elicited by a given action -- a steel sword gutting a dwarf in the case of blood; a dwarf seeing daylight for the first time in the case of vomit), but when there happens to be a bit of it somewhere, my dwarves usually clean it up.

Was I in the ballpark at all? And if so, proceed. :P
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Cruxador on May 08, 2010, 01:14:49 am
Here he takes a different road on the internet's baser content and apparently accuses governments for using that content (i.e. child porn) as a scapegoat for passing censorship legislation to sites instead of micromanaging each case of such content on these sites -- and I'm presuming the sites on hand here are torrent sites or boards like 4chan -- internationally (a thing, frankly, impossible for a number of reasons). He then goes on to question the reader if the cost of allowing these sites to be (thereby, allowing said bad content to exist because he's already defined it as an inevitability of these sites) is worth it, which is puzzling, because he first bids the reader sympathy for a medium polluted by a few bad apples resulting in strict government enaction to suppress it completely before justifying that harsh and unreasonable means-to-an-end, after all. He finishes this paragraph with embellishing the potential for bad content and whether or not you want it in an unrelated forum thread simply because it exists for someone to find it a "cool meme" and eventually bring it up. Quite frankly, though, were the two even this comparable I would find a reference to poop much more tolerable than, say, a fun picture of a child being raped here and again.
looked to me like he was referring to the recent EU blocking of CP sites, and using that to suggest that there is more bad stuff on the internet than meets the eye.

*snip*

Oh my god, that is the most triumphant example of the slippery slope fallacy I have ever, ever seen.
It seems to me more that he rambles off topic than that it's a coherent fallacy.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: DG on May 08, 2010, 01:40:39 am
LordSlowpoke brings up a good point.

What should be the proper priority for a waste system? How many of these items (http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/dev.html) is it more important than?

Why is fecal matter essential to a waste system? Alternatives have been brought up in this thread

Why should Toady implement something so divisive?


You know, the whole "Do female dwarves have beards or not?" debate was about as vociferous.

:) Incorporate female dwarven beards, multiplayer and graphics into this and you'd have the most divisive thing ever.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Deathworks on May 08, 2010, 01:56:59 am
Hi!

*snip*
I'm pretty tired right now (half past midnight here) but did you just say that adding sewage to DF would fill the forums with child porn?

Whaaa?

Also, you misunderstood my analogy. What I was replying to was the accusation that sewage would inspire a certain genre of jokes. Though that is true, it's not a good enough reason to just scrap the entire idea completely, just like the fact that a small (OK, large) section of the internet is full of porn and rape doesn't mean that the entire internet should be taken down.

You misunderstood my point. I was responding to your argument that the internet is full of immaturity and so we should not care about whether we get an increase of immaturity where we visit. I used the child pornography as an example of other things that are frequently available on the internet in an analogy saying that if you say that we should welcome everything that is commonly out there on the internet, it means we should also welcome child pornography as it is also on the internet.

How do you justify not tolerating child pornography here if you say that mere common presence on the internet justifies anything to come here.

Bronzebeard: There are two minor misunderstanding I need to correct. I did not say that fecal humor was rare and hard to find. Doctor Slump, which has been internationally successful is an example of such base humor, and I think that some of the nastier American series also had it, but I am not one hundred percent sure. It is rare to find OUTSIDE that realm of immature humor.

Secondly, with "flexible" I am referring to the commonly assumed possibility that you can kill undesirable creatures by drowning them in that material. That it is commonly assumed is an extrapolation I made from various comments of people here as well as "drowning elves in feces" being the first pro argument the OP of the other ill-fated thread thought of. So, it is not so absurd. "Magma" is in as far comparatively flexible, as most discussions we have here involve some creatures, so "apply magma" always makes sense, especially as most people seem to favor sites with magma available. But "kill the elves" or "kill the kittens" requires that these creatures are actually present - elves are one of the first races to die during world gen, and many players seem to do their best not to have any cats around in their fortresses. And if the discussion makes it clear that these creatures are not there, those memes become completely absurd. "Feces" (or whatever) would be available (provided it is implemented as some kind of object) in all fortresses, thus making any memes based on it work out universally - just like magma.

So, the flexible was referring to its potential role in the community and not actually to its usage in the game, where drowning people in feces does not add any new functionality beyond what water and magma already offer you.

General: Personally, I would rather not continue to discuss in this vein as
a) I have stated that while I have these doubts in my heart, I am siding with the pro-faction, as that is where I belong (so why fight me?)
b) I consider discussing how such waste could be implemented functionally and interestingly in the game to be of much greater importance - this entire discussion here was based on a single paragraph by me which related to statements and positions I expressed in the other thread and which required me for completeness sake to mention them.

So, I would really appreciate it, if we could focus more on thinking about what waste management could actually look like. EDIT: I know this sounds hypocritical after making such a long post in this vein, but I felt that I was misunderstood and wanted to clarify my previous arguments. This post is not meant to add any new arguments but rather clarifies/describes the things I have posted in this thread before.

Deathworks
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Bronzebeard on May 08, 2010, 02:33:23 am
I am aware of the tone here, but let me point out I was not out to fight you insomuch as clarify what you said. It confused a number of others besides me, seemed a tad contradictory to itself and appeared to put you in the anti-waste lot. I'm still a bit hazy about what you mean with memes, and I have to point out that adding waste isn't a pursuit to add functionality to the game (as you said, magma and water are already satisfying means of killing elves, goblins or what have you) but including a facet of realism presently missing from the game, and apparently eliciting a thread concerning it and a vote cast predominantly in its favor. Any road, I recognize and respect your plea for no further arguments so I shall end my input here. :3
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Vester on May 08, 2010, 02:45:51 am
Well, Deathworks was around when Various Nonsense was at its peak of, well, nonsense, so I understand his trepidation. Still, you forget that there's always ThreeToe and his Banhammer +5. Toady and ThreeToe are good mods, and if a meme is explicitly against the rules of the board, I somehow doubt it'd proliferate.

Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Deathworks on May 08, 2010, 02:50:44 am
Hi!

Bronzebeard: Thank you.

General: Actually, people bringing up the question of waste from workshops has me think of another interesting aspect (although there is some inherent silliness to it as well, sorry).

You see, when we see a dwarf with a strange mood, they will collect the most unlikely materials and use them up in creating the most bizzare objects. While we might see the creation of a sword made of cloth as the result of incredible skill, there is actually still the riddle of how making the decorations for said sword could use up 6 units of stone that would suffice to build a 6 tile long bridge of constructed floors (the sword is just a fictive example).

With a workshop waste system, you could have strange mood result in a realistic (?) amount of workshop waste to be created, thus posing an additional challenge surrounding strange moods (I mean, if you have a dwarf create a single ring out of several units of stone, there must be a gigantic heap of stone dust next to the workshop).

That was just another thing that came to my mind reading the input here.

Deathworks
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: DalGren on May 08, 2010, 03:45:00 am
If we are aiming for such realism, how come there are no discussions of air management in fortresses? Do you really consider a single tile entrance into a fortress, providing airflow into it, more realistic than dwarves not producing filth?
It is a case where "necessary realism" should be taken into account, and breathing takes more priority than using the toilet for ever single relevant creature in terms of realism.
However, the priority is sewage.

Generic sewage/filth itself as suggested in a post before can be a decent optional challenge, though. Although general plumbing would be the same thing and pretty much the same challenge (without needing to separate residual and clean clean, so 50%).
Also consider the increased settling difficulty. When nothing is set, and your starting dwarves are losing time in restroom breaks and cleaning up the embarking pets and stuff....things will get slow. Also some spots have little water sources, and you can't buy water from merchants, so once all your water is contaminated, you lose. This will make many spots useless, or securing a water source exceedingly time-critical. (and rivers can make the game lose some FPS!)
I don't really think you can run a water supply/sewer system with wine and beer. (happy dwarves!)

This would as well need a wide array of possible contaminants and how they mix together. Not all contaminated water is essentially poisoned/infectious/useless, you'd need a way to display and control what water can be recycled and what is dangerous to use into anything.
As well, different interactions based on what type of contaminant exist in water...muddy water would flow slower.
Water purifying and storage should be included as well. Desalinization, too. The value of water in economy should be reflected as well. (Can you see merchants being greedy when knowing how valuable would clean water be in your disease-ridden and dry mountain hole?).
Not to mention not all natural water sources are exempt of being contaminated from vermin or natural causes (some ponds might be too muddy, or too stagnant to be safe...).

Those who don't consider all those factors, and remember realism is being used as a pro-waste argument...just want the juvenile side of this. Those with realistic waste management in mind should be aware of what I said. It might end being simply "water" and "green water/waste", but if it's a separate game object, it won't be usable for tasks that require water (no farming plots). If you want to micromanage bowel movements and grime, industrial waste water and such, it's too limiting and makes most sites unusable.

But, someone mentioned that this is a topic not seen in literature often...well, in all epic stories, you generally want to omit certain details. The story would be more realistic, but would suffer if we knew the hero got some intestinal sickness from eating stale berries. Realistic, but should be omitted.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Footkerchief on May 08, 2010, 03:55:33 am
If we are aiming for such realism, how come there are no discussions of air management in fortresses? Do you really consider a single tile entrance into a fortress, providing airflow into it, more realistic than dwarves not producing filth?

There are a ton of discussions of air management in fortresses:

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4226.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=46062.msg910985#msg910985
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=5698.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=20156.msg214237#msg214237
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4020.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=42344.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4672.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=28699.msg366879#msg366879

And even if there weren't, that would still be easily explained by the fact that ventilation has never been as universal and fundamental a concern for cities as sewage has.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: darkflagrance on May 08, 2010, 04:00:12 am
If we are aiming for such realism, how come there are no discussions of air management in fortresses? Do you really consider a single tile entrance into a fortress, providing airflow into it, more realistic than dwarves not producing filth?

There are a ton of discussions of air management in fortresses:

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4226.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=46062.msg910985#msg910985
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=5698.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=20156.msg214237#msg214237
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4020.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=42344.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4672.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=28699.msg366879#msg366879

And even if there weren't, that would still be easily explained by the fact that ventilation has never been as universal and fundamental a concern for cities as sewage has.

With regards to the last point, it isn't as if real cities have been built miles underground now, have they?
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Deathworks on May 08, 2010, 04:01:27 am
Hi!

Some interesting points you raise, DalGren. However, from my perspective, some of these do not weigh as much.

The loss of bizarre embarkment points is something I can live with quite nicely, thank you. Personally, I already prefer to settle in places that are favorable for habitation with fresh water, wood, plants around while not plagued by undead or other extremely deadly creatures. So, on my personal level, you are not removing any embarkment options that I am interested in anyway.

As for such extreme embarkment sites (deserts, glaciers), are they not already chosen as special challenges by their players? And knowing that water will be hard to come by in a desert (at least on the surface level) should not come as a surprise, so I think there is fair warning. But that is not a point I feel qualified to discuss to the end since I usually do not embark in extreme locales anyway.

As for water not being available for purchase from the merchants - that is what we have at the moment. But if the role of water changes from basically a gap-filler for other drinks to an essential element for any settlement activity (as it is in real life), it would seem reasonable to see merchant caravans with barrels of water rather than fly blood. So, the merchant issue is just a matter of implementation that can be met with relative ease (was not sand added just recently to the caravans?).

As for all the details you have mentioned, I am personally not opposed to them either and I do find them to be very enriching for the game experience. Having individual murky pools that are poisonous, others that are muddy while others are pristine gives a greater variety even at a single site. These features can then easily invite you to design your fortress accordingly, moving social areas closer to the good places while moving all the nasty things (like the tanner) close to places that already have problematic backgrounds.

Of course, there are issues of implementation, especially concerning speed, so some details may not be practicable. But I don't see why they should be excluded from the debate.

Deathworks
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: DalGren on May 08, 2010, 04:06:15 am
If we are aiming for such realism, how come there are no discussions of air management in fortresses? Do you really consider a single tile entrance into a fortress, providing airflow into it, more realistic than dwarves not producing filth?

There are a ton of discussions of air management in fortresses:

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4226.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=46062.msg910985#msg910985
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=5698.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=20156.msg214237#msg214237
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4020.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=42344.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=4672.0
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=28699.msg366879#msg366879

And even if there weren't, that would still be easily explained by the fact that ventilation has never been as universal and fundamental a concern for cities as sewage has.

We are talking underground or inside-earth constructions, real-life underground constructions do have ways to move clean air inside. And breathing is much more important, you die faster from not breathing than from infections after all!
It was an example though, going out of the gross factor, I consider adding waste too much a sacrifice in versatility and ease-of-use.
Did you read the rest of the post? The problems arising with water management are much more important, I think.

EDIT TO NOT DOUBLE-POST:
@Deathworks:
Interesting point, but consider that the army arc might make the choice of sites more complex, perhaps the only good embark areas are under war or with more complex situations arising at worldgen.
I think that if we need to get to such nanomanagement, it should be done right, with diverse types of contaminants and uses, and water industry. There are wars/political conflict all over water in many countries. For some it's more important than gold.
And even made optional, I think it'll generate a number of interface issues that might be more or less pleasant. How will be all management and display managed? Will it cause conflict with regular game menus even with the option disabled?
Making it default would certainly make the game exceedingly difficult, as well. Specially during setup.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Deathworks on May 08, 2010, 04:27:56 am
Hi!

DalGren: Actually, your comments on real life wars is a pro argument in my eyes. And having your site lying in a contested area makes things quite interesting as the neighboring civs may be at war with each other because of that river you settle at. It would of course also add interesting situations for diplomacy, especially if you have natural flowing water on your map and waste water is considered in its effect beyond the site (if you settle upstream from a human town, they might be less than thrilled if you started to to dump the refuse from your smelter (mercury comes to mind, I think) in the river.

Of course, if you ensure that you do not allow your refuse to go beyond your site, people will be less likely to protest.

You are right to point out that the actual implementation would require a well-considered effort. There are two things I want to point out in that regard: 1. It seems that a lot of people (including myself) think this feature should be toggable (whether that can be via the init.txt file or via the world gen because of its fundamental influence is another point of debate). 2. The interface itself is considered to be non-final, so it is a bit difficult to argue about that. It is a matter of finding the right and most efficient design.

Deathworks
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Kilo24 on May 29, 2010, 10:59:34 pm
I'm not as worried as such about another inane meme being attached to Dwarf Fortress as Deathworks is (though it still is a problem.)  It's mainly that, Dwarf Fortress would become the first game to implement feces to any significant depth.

The Sims has waste, too.  What's different?  In DF, you'll be able to swim in waste, hurl it at people, track it around the whole fortress, flood their fortress with it, and, heck, maybe dry it out and make it into a sort of concrete to build your whole fortress out of.  Somebody might feature those elements prominently in a community fortress that hits the popularity of Boatmurdered, and Dwarf Fortress's fecal obsession will be linked in the minds of the people who've read/heard of Shitmurdered.  Even if it's just a realistic handling of waste and not a wholesale obsession.  And I doubt that a euphemism will stop it from being called shit by enough people on the internet, if it is made out to unambiguously be that by the game.

I'd like to mention Fox News's story on Mass Effect, here.  From the Wikipedia article, "[The reporter] stated that the game "leaves nothing to the imagination" and features "the ability for players to engage in full graphic sex" where the player gets to decide what happens".  Despite that being patently false (and the reporter later retracting her statements), it still linked Mass Effect to wanton pornography in a lot of people's minds.  Fox News isn't the most reliable of sources, but it shows that insane exaggerations of tame systems can be passed as fact by the media.

To hamstring my own argument here, I do think that this worst-case scenario is not that likely to happen, and even if it does then it'll still probably just blow over (I doubt a fecally inclined fortress will hit the popularity of Boatmurdered, for one.)  But, I also think that there are lots of risk-free systems with at least as much gameplay/setting realism value that should be implemented before waste.  Adding lots of other systems first also means that the game gets deeper and people are a bit less likely to tout the waste as a significant point of the game, and also shows that playing with shit isn't a primary focus for the developer.

In any case, that's my (somewhat tenuous) argument about it from controversy/the game's reputation.  There are other things to worry about:
- I don't want a system that causes much more than a bit of unhappiness/dwarves being forced to go outside for ignoring it, because I don't want yet another system people have to deal with to get a fortress that can survive. 
- Forcing waste to be handled through a sewer system would also screw with maps without water (not sure if there are many of those any longer, due to the underground caverns.) 
- I don't like dwarves taking another break during their jobs, because it's hard enough to corral them already (maybe let them visit the facilities only while on break.) 
- I think I'd actually prefer bodily waste to just be ignored, and workshop waste/disposing of corpses and other rotting things to be the things which encourage a more complicated waste disposal system.  Those are more optional, and you don't absolutely need them for a functioning fortress.
-In Fortress Mode, creatures that aren't your dwarves shouldn't deal with waste at all, IMO.  Too big a drain on CPU resources, dwarf cleaning resources, and not particularly aesthetically pleasing to the whole fortress.  One suggestion to allow for fertilizing fields with manure regardless of no-dung-for-pets would involve assigning a pet to a fallow plot, who'd automatically fertilize it for the next season (or something like that.)
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: mnjiman on May 29, 2010, 11:06:39 pm
I have read every single post here for this, and I think someone is using multi accounts to vote.

ALOT and the MAJORITY of people here speaking do not agree with this, and yet that is not the case for the votes.

REALLY odd.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Josephus on May 29, 2010, 11:12:49 pm
People come in and vote without posting. I know I did.

Voted Yes, by the way. Unconditional yes.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Nikov on May 29, 2010, 11:22:41 pm
...only 33% of DF players oppose the addition of sewage, a recent survey shows. With prevailing discussion including an init option, this pundit suggests no more players will quit the game than did when they realized the economy was broken...
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Rotten on May 30, 2010, 02:22:09 am
I have read every single post here for this, and I think someone is using multi accounts to vote.

ALOT and the MAJORITY of people here speaking do not agree with this, and yet that is not the case for the votes.

REALLY odd.
I find quite the opposite, myself. Who in this thread doesn't agree?

In favor of sewage and other water contaminants myself. Would be awesome to also see farming produce muddy water, butchers to produce bloody water, water passing near the breached HFS to become glowing and undrinkable, etc.

If sewage offends you then either you're a robot or incredibly immature. Its a basic bodily function, for crying out loud! Have you ever gone camping (real camping, not in a camp park or an RV). You do business in a pit in the ground, and I'd say nobody there was offended (well, besides our senses of smell... but anyways). It's not a horrible thing anymore than starving nobles to death or tearing elves apart is a horrible thing.

EDIT: Oh, sorry. I didn't realize this was so old. Move along...
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Rasta69 on May 30, 2010, 02:25:07 am
I have read every single post here for this, and I think someone is using multi accounts to vote.

ALOT and the MAJORITY of people here speaking do not agree with this, and yet that is not the case for the votes.

REALLY odd.

/cancellurk/ I voted yes as well. It is possibly the fact that for now the ayes have it that they are silent. /lurk/
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: immibis on May 30, 2010, 03:49:54 am
You mean: "Rasta69 cancels Lurk: Posting."

And I voted yes as well.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Lordinquisitor on May 30, 2010, 04:57:04 am
Yes, ofc.

Don`t see why feces shouldn`t be added.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: MaDeR Levap on May 31, 2010, 02:39:42 pm
For me, waste system wins in simple way: forces to create breach in fortress. Yes, this can be alleviated, every corridor trapped, grates installed... but it will be there. Complete seal of fortress impossible for unlimited time.

Second argument: very climatic sewers to roam in adv mode! And real sewers, with real function, not some mockup.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: immibis on May 31, 2010, 11:28:57 pm
For me, waste system wins in simple way: forces to create breach in fortress. Yes, this can be alleviated, every corridor trapped, grates installed... but it will be there. Complete seal of fortress impossible for unlimited time.
I never thought of that, that's a very good reason to include it.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: EyeOfNundinate on June 01, 2010, 02:29:19 am
Do what you want, just have fun, and don't shit on the others' parades.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: mrb4b00 on June 01, 2010, 03:33:15 am
In the Middle Ages people just shit anywhere and everywhere.  Having straws work(no straws in DF yet), shitting in rivers work(fish actually eat human feces, everything was hungry back in the days).  Shitting in the fields work(fertilize).  A sewage system wasn't exactly necessary since nature just took care of it easily.  However, since you are in a effing cave, I would imaging feces would start to be a problem 60 meters deep, damp and humid?

Maybe there's some compromise.  Something like a mandatory outdoor refuse area/bulding for each fort?
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Qiu on June 01, 2010, 04:08:00 am
Voted no. There are so many different and more interesting things to add to this game.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Tenebrais on June 01, 2010, 05:52:28 am
I still don't see why "it is not top-priority" is a reason against adding a feature at any point in the future.

Frankly, waste couldn't be implemented in a good, useful way until a number of other features have already been put in.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: BloodBeard on June 01, 2010, 12:30:33 pm
Overwhelming no here. It's just an unwritten law of gaming/movies/TV. Think about new players, they have a hard enough time keeping their dwarves fed let alone be expected to make sewage tunnels of which i'm assuming would need constant flowing water to clean them out. I'm sure even experienced players would have trouble with this. And what if there's no water on the surface? And if you don't need water, what would be the purpose of sewage tunnels anyways and not just a single pit in the ground? Is this a feature that new players would be able to figure out on their own?

Regardless of how many detailed and real life mechanics are in the game, it's still a fantasy fortress simulator. No game that aims to be as realistic as possible will ever be balanced and is often their downfall.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: alfie275 on June 01, 2010, 12:50:04 pm
Voted yes, but I would say to have it be an Init option defaulted to off.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Nikov on June 01, 2010, 07:45:51 pm
This is my full suggestion dating back to the release of .31.01. Do forgive posting it everywhere, but 'feces votes' with no proposal in them are resulting in a lot of confusion.

Just so its clear, I'd like 'filth' as an evaporating flow that leaves behind trackable, disgusting grime on the tile. Outside, filth is washed away by rain and dwarves will try to 'use a shrub' if no options are possible. Once you start digging deep, problems arise.

Dwarves who do their smelly business randomly through the fort because you have no sanitation system get unhappy thoughts. Grime gets on their clothes and into wounds, causing infections. Dwarves have to clean themselves as well as the floors of grime, which causes more unhappy thoughts. The solution is to build a latrine, a 1x1 tile room consisting of a chair, hatch cover and bucket, using the hatch cover tile. It is built over open space just like a well, only dwarves can stand on it. You designate it into a room, assigning an owner if you wish or leaving it public. Using a latrine room when more than one dwarf is present in the room causes an unhappy thought; don't forget the door!

Example latrine off a tower; note the gem window and masterful pine door!
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 When used, the 1/7 bit of filth falls down into whatever hole exists to either splatter at the base of a tower, off a cliff, into a stream, into a cistern, or into a flowing sewer tunnel. In any case, doing so causes a happy thought (a golden throne and platinum bucket causing even happier ones). The dwarf is filth and grime free and returns to his daily routine of vomiting and getting covered in antman ichor. If filth doesn't begin to pile up, it evaporates into grime which can be ignored. If it does pile up, however, it spreads to other tiles using magma physics; unpressured and slow. A busy fort might find itself filling smaller cisterns. A 4/7 tile of filth generates miasma, which can rise through the latrine or any other openings.

Dealing with the filth production of a large fort requires water or magma. Magma obviously burns filth into smoke and causes potentially hillarious results, since a stream of flammable liquid trails from the magma all the way to your dwarf's behind sitting on a latrine. Clever players can come up with a solution or ten to this possible source of fun; floodgates, for example. However water behaves with filth differently. When water comes in contact with filth, any amount of filth, it is turned into filthy water and the two liquids combine. Filthy water leaves behind grime rather than mud, making it unsuitable for farming and bathing, and contaminates wells and pools. Dwarves must cautiously direct the water off site, into rivers or caverns, and possibly have evaporated away in the boundless magma sea. However, filthy water does not generate miasma or burn. It does, however, create an inviting habitat for a variety of mutated crap. I mean carp. Also tentacled beasties and kobolds, naturally.

Some people are worried that huge sewer systems will be required for forts; they are not. They are only required for huge forts. Your founders will be quite content to use shrubs and the like during the early months and once a latrine can be set up in a corner with a decent cistern below, you really have nothing to worry about for several waves of migrants. Once enough migrants amass that your latrines begin to fill and generate miasma, either dump the latrines into rivers, flush them with pumped or bucketed water, or seal up the latrine and dig newer, bigger ones. Only when your sprawling megafortress begins generating a new tile of 7/7 filth every week do you need the sort of sewer system that so many players long to explore in adventurer mode or defend against ratmen invaders. Because there is a lot of build-up time before the major demand arrives, most people should be able to agree this is a way to add fun and challenge to the end game. Kings demanding private golden latrines and sewer monsters crawling out of the deep? Sieges forcing us to close off our sewer system and disease running rampant through the fort? Yes please.

And of course, filth could be disabled in the init raw, and by being handled as 'filth' rather than specifically urine and feces, we put a fig leaf on the matter for the squeamish.

And Here, Quoted Without Permission, Footkerchief's Toady Quotes Regarding Filth

Any, Toady already said he wasn't going to do it.

I don't know how this became the conventional wisdom, because (as far as I know) he's never made an unqualified statement that he wouldn't in any form implement feces, scat, waste, or night soil.  The game already has a brown "filth" material that, according to Toady, is feces (see quotes below).

Here's all the quotes I could dig up (note that this first one is from 2004, and that "no plans" is very different from "won't do it"):

There are no plans to add "night soil".  Dwarves poop little pebbles which seemlessly disappear into the cavern floor, or they collect them and cherish them or something.

Do dwarves have water closets? Will we need to carefully craft "flushing" mechanisms to carry the unmentionables away?

There is currently no potty.

4.  Manure, as a fertilizer.

4. They just drop it everywhere?  Everyone will might be doing it after a while... night soil, and so on.  But it's a dangerous door to open, especially if the room on the other side is full.  If a god turns you into a horse in adventure mode, would you suddenly start dropping the bomb?

From DF Talk: (http://bay12games.com/media/df_talk_combined_transcript.html)

Quote
Toady:   [...] I like the idea of being able to track things and find them, and pick up little kobold scats and dig around to see what they've been eating ... after a fashion, anyway.
Quote
Rainseeker:   So there's no poo creatures either?
Toady:   It was a close thing! Because it was literally a decision I had to make, going down this list, because in the Hidden Fun Stuff of course if you get the tentacle demons then you get a layer scattered with various filth on the ground; and there's brown filth and yellow filth and so on and it's not clearly stated but it's a material that I had to put in properties for right? So there's these hard-coded filth materials, and when I was going down the list, you know 'Do I want creatures made out of mud? Do I want creatures made out of vomit? Do I want creatures made out of glass?', there's all these hard-coded materials, and I was just like 'Yeah, yeah, yeah ... No ... No ...' on the filth. But there are creatures made out of the grime, and the grime material is the material that collects on your body slowly over time, and it's also the material that's used in swamp water, so there's this ... I just needed this material called 'grime' for these miscellaneous purposes, it's just crap, just stuff that collects over time and when a creature is made out of that it just says 'composed of grime and filth'. So if you want to call that 'poo' even though it's not it's possible for you to extend your imagination.
Quote
Toady:   [...] But the kind of thing that's on the table is gunpowder, and the materials that you need for that are already in the game, I think. We've got brimstone, which is sulphur, and I don't remember if we have saltpetre, if it's there or not, but ... I guess you could do all kinds of things with manure and urine to make it, or you can find it in a crystalline form in the ground perhaps.

And finally, sewers full of filth were a powergoal in the old dev item system:

Quote
# PowerGoal153, THE CRACKS OF DOOM, (Future): You flee into the sewer with the baron's ring, but sliding in the muck, you drop it. Try as you might, you cannot locate the precious object in the town's filth.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Morrigi on June 01, 2010, 08:47:06 pm
What Nikov said, AGAIN. -.-
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: ThreeToe on June 02, 2010, 02:05:03 am
Josephus, DFPongo, I had to delete a bunch of your fighting.  Try to stay friendly.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Footkerchief on June 02, 2010, 02:16:06 am
And Here, Quoted Without Permission, Footkerchief's Toady Quotes Regarding Filth

Haha, I'd forgotten about that.  Glad it's getting some mileage.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Nikov on June 02, 2010, 02:23:24 am
And Here, Quoted Without Permission, Footkerchief's Toady Quotes Regarding Filth

Haha, I'd forgotten about that.  Glad it's getting some mileage.

I'm actually quite grateful for your efforts there. Your work in bringing the actual stance of Toady helps keep these discussions grounded in the same reality.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Maggarg - Eater of chicke on June 02, 2010, 04:16:56 am
The more fluids I can drown elves in the better.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Nikov on June 02, 2010, 04:42:06 am
The more fluids I can drown elves in the better.

Keep your eye on the diamond, my good dwarf.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Maggarg - Eater of chicke on June 02, 2010, 04:42:50 am
I wonder if waste could be compacted and used as fuel, actually.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: lordnincompoop on June 02, 2010, 04:43:44 am
Yes. It'll make the game harder and more realistic, and we need (or me, at least) the challenge.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Nikov on June 02, 2010, 06:54:16 pm
I wonder if waste could be compacted and used as fuel, actually.

Not under the system I proposed, which would never have waste as a moveable, haulable object unless you just insisted on using buckets to empty your latrine. IRL waste is obviously a bad choice for fuel, since its only been used as such where no other sources exist, such as the Great Plains. Believe me, anything you can get for free that has an untapped economic use either isn't really free or isn't really useful.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Josephus on June 02, 2010, 10:54:17 pm
I wonder if waste could be compacted and used as fuel, actually.
IRL waste is obviously a bad choice for fuel, since its only been used as such where no other sources exist, such as the Great Plains.

Well, it'd be useful on glacier maps.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Askot Bokbondeler on June 02, 2010, 11:33:21 pm
once we need fuel for cooking, dried waste should be used as a minor fuel. i'm not sure about firing clay or something. also, i think chamber pots should get some love too. god, what is this obsession with latrines and sewers, are you guys some kind of fetishists?
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Maggarg - Eater of chicke on June 03, 2010, 04:54:34 am
once we need fuel for cooking, dried waste should be used as a minor fuel. i'm not sure about firing clay or something. also, i think chamber pots should get some love too. god, what is this obsession with latrines and sewers, are you guys some kind of fetishists?
I hope not.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Nikov on June 03, 2010, 04:58:00 am
No more a sewer fetishist than the entire RPG genre. There's always a sewer level. Its a TV Trope even.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Maggarg - Eater of chicke on June 03, 2010, 05:04:42 am
It doesn't help that we happily torture everything that lives.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Askot Bokbondeler on June 03, 2010, 05:11:33 am
yeah, a bucket in a bedroom, even if it is a gold one in the royal chamber, isn't much of a plot device. still, i want to place buckets in my dwarves bedrooms.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Nikov on June 03, 2010, 05:17:43 am
One of my earlier posts on the subject suggested buckets as chamber pots, although perhaps the chamber pot should be an entirely different thing. Otherwise your hospitalized dwarves are going to get really annoyed by being given water in a filth-smeared bucket.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Askot Bokbondeler on June 03, 2010, 12:39:11 pm
i imagined it as a building, like a bed or a weapon stand, tough your dwarves would need to empty the chamberpots. this shouldn't necessarily mean they'd deconstruct the building, they'd take the bucket to empty it, but put it back on it's place afterwards
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Skorpion on June 03, 2010, 01:03:44 pm
It'd require an overhaul of haulage first. Mostly because by idea of a sewage system is toilets filling buckets, which are then thrown into a shaft leading down to the magma sea. Or, failing that, just thrown into a hole which is sealed over and replaced elsewhere after it's filled.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Askot Bokbondeler on June 03, 2010, 03:18:35 pm
yeah, that's how i envision it. sewers would be a possibility, but not an absolute necessity, and their benefit should be giving a little less work to your haulers and cleaners, as they wouldn't need to be emptying buckets all the time.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Mel_Vixen on June 03, 2010, 06:17:03 pm
I would prefer a toogle-option for feces since i think noone should deal with stuff if (s)he does not want to. Buckets work in middlesized forts and for a fresh embark digging out a Latrine should work. Toady had said a while back that he has some ideas for pipes etc. so i suggest that feces come after that if they come.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Hugna on June 03, 2010, 09:19:45 pm
I would prefer a toogle-option for feces since i think noone should deal with stuff if (s)he does not want to.
This was suggested many times, so if this idea was ever added, it would have an init to disable it. Just as invaders, caveins, economy, and so on can be disabled.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Silverionmox on June 04, 2010, 05:28:09 pm
In the Middle Ages people just shit anywhere and everywhere.  Having straws work(no straws in DF yet), shitting in rivers work(fish actually eat human feces, everything was hungry back in the days).  Shitting in the fields work(fertilize).  A sewage system wasn't exactly necessary since nature just took care of it easily.
Nature was quite overwhelmed with the shitload of shit, which was one reason why medieval cities had such high mortality. Shitting everywhere is not right, but emptying the pot on the streets was the rule. Until there was a lack of fertilizer and some enterprising citizens appropriated that valuable commodity that was just lying there. After a few fights for particularly big piles, the city government leased the right to collect it to the highest bidder.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Conservative Swine on June 06, 2010, 12:24:46 am
Absolutely not. I'm not a civil engineer and I will be damned if I play a game where I have to design and make dwarves construct sewers.
My forts will go from having 1-2 major death spirals per game start to a never-ending slaughterfest of disease and insanity. Not FUN.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: immibis on June 06, 2010, 01:57:00 am
Absolutely not. I'm not a civil engineer and I will be damned if I play a game where I have to design and make dwarves construct sewers.
My forts will go from having 1-2 major death spirals per game start to a never-ending slaughterfest of disease and insanity. Not FUN.
That's why you'd just have the option of letting them go in a river or on the ground. You could just channel the river into the fort and put a toilet over it. No harder than water supply is now.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Josephus on June 06, 2010, 08:25:26 am
Absolutely not. I'm not a civil engineer and I will be damned if I play a game where I have to design and make dwarves construct sewers.
My forts will go from having 1-2 major death spirals per game start to a never-ending slaughterfest of disease and insanity. Not FUN.
That's why you'd just have the option of letting them go in a river or on the ground. You could just channel the river into the fort and put a toilet over it. No harder than water supply is now.

Or, you know, take advantage of the inevitable init option to turn it off.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: UnLimiTeD on June 06, 2010, 10:10:08 am
Wow, whenever I think I voiced my opinion on the matter, I find another thread, and I sincerely think this one is the most factual.
Of course this isn't the priority for the soon future, but just having dwarves require to take a dump now and then, resulting in an unhappy thought if they can't, might be an early workaround.

Stamping other people as "Immature" when they want the logistical challenge of a sewage and waste disposal system is rather intolerant in my view.
I don't know what you think of when you hear about feces, but I see it as a byproduct of digesting various food, it's mostly brown and it stinks, so few like to smell it.
Thats really the only thought I could feasibly come up with if asked on the matter.
As such, if dwarves need to eat, they need to relieve themselves now and then.
Just having all creatures produce feces or similar like spiders should probably produce webs and chickens produce eggs would be a nice basic system with challenges and gains.

If someone wants to drown elves in feces, fine, I don't see that as any worse as drowning them in Water or burning them in magma, the result is pretty much the same.
Only it will probably not even be a fluid, as we have only two right now, and every fluid needs a finite reaction with an other fluid right now, eradicating one of those fuels immediately;
And if it ever is possible this might be a trivial question anyways, like "do you want containers spill booze if submerged in water".

Considering all this possible violence in the game, I can't quite make excrements out as anything specifically bad.
Full support.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Medicine Man on June 17, 2010, 05:51:11 am
Full support but Toady said he didn't want it in so don't count on it.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Askot Bokbondeler on June 17, 2010, 05:55:23 am
no he didn't. nowhere.
Title: Re: Would you support adding waste/sewage?
Post by: Josephus on June 17, 2010, 06:13:38 am
Full support but Toady said he didn't want it in so don't count on it.

Yeah, you need to actually read the thread. Footkerchief pretty much refuted that idea multiple times.