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Topics - Vorn

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DF Suggestions / Depot Access view improvements, and "bird's eye view" mode

« on: August 12, 2008, 02:58:40 pm »

The depot access mode, as is, currently has two problems:

1. the flashing is too fast and strong (a bit faster than 2 Hz and from black/grey to bright green/red) for full-screen application, placing it within the headache range for me and probably the seizure range for others; slowing or removing the flashing and reducing the contrast between the two phases would be a good idea.

2. locations in midair are considered; since I don't think we have flying wagons yet, I don't really see why I would care that a midair location is inaccessible, and it does not help when trying to figure out where there is blockage. I suggest making locations without a floor not have their accessibility checked/displayed, much like solid walls.

In addition, it is difficult to select large swaths of terrain for 'gather plants' and 'chop down trees' over rough terrain, because you have to do similar selections on multiple levels - in my current game, my timber source is spread across seven z levels. I suggest a mode where you see only the topmost things in each z column - effectively, a bird's eye view instead of the usual cross section - and are able to designate stuff.

DF Bug Reports / [Mac-38c-PPC] Long processing, non-emptied event queues

« on: March 08, 2008, 01:10:00 am »

There is at least one long process - embarkation - that does not empty the system event queue after completion. Combined with a lack of progress bars, this makes possible a specific type of failure: I can hit enter to embark, not know whether my keypress has gone through, and hit enter several more times before it loads, and have those keypresses act as confirmation for things like "just embark, no customization". ...which is, obviously, bad.

The solution is to, after doing any probably time-consuming task (generating a world or region, saving, leaving the fortress, and probably others), clear the system event queue entirely, so that keypresses do not spill over into as-yet-unseen dialogs.

Vorn

DF Suggestions / New skill: geologist!

« on: March 13, 2008, 08:33:00 pm »

I keep getting myself messed up, especially in the early game, when I dig into the earth and find that, despite there not being an aquifer, there are dozens of underwater lakes hiding just beneath the surface, impeding all my building. What I think this game needs is a skill that, when used, will begin to fill in details of the rock nearby - just under the floor surface, just past a wall. They might be able to map the general path of veins, underground rivers, and so forth, before you even see them.

Some knowledge of geology is already hinted at in the location selection screen - you can see the layers of rock that compose the ground in a biome, down several layers, and can even see if there's an aquifer. Budding fortresses would find great use in a geologist, plotting the underground areas before committing to a large digging project.