Bay 12 Games Forum

Do I need 2 beds for wife&husband, in case they want to err sleep, at the same time? Even 3+ if they have kids?

Hi,

Dwarves economy is out of DF since some time, still we can mint money. So I was wondering why no one is using that to have reactions cost something (money...). This way you could simulate interesting stuff like training workshops (they cost money) or a lot of reactions like shopkeeper, etc. that would give you something (common or rare, but needed in any case) in exchange of money (a few, a lot, it is up to you). This would prevent many mods from being gripped because a much needed component is needed. Say I need a rare metal to advance in tech research and I don't find it by mining or caravans... No problem, a shopkeeper can sell me one bar at a hefty price.

For you, what it is?

I'm hesitant between

Coming up with a plan to overcome pathing obstacles to reach fortress innards

    Ability to dig (optionally, default on)
    Ability to build bridges/ramps
    Ability to use grappling hooks/ladders/climb



and


Military

    Dwarven armies
        Ability to send out fortress dwarves to lead larger groups of surrounding dwarves out around mid-level maps (or just go alone)


what about you?

What is not there in the dev log that you think would be awesome and should be done too?

... if the destination square of any task was indicated in the 'v' panel. I just spent one hour solving 2 problems:

1. my dorfs on break were adamant in going into the wild (evil biome, zombies, picture the odd they stay alive long) toward the top of the map. I did not understood why and had to resort several time to the 'draft to military' trick so they halt their stupid move. After a while I recalled. I set a meeting zone in this corner, in the futile attempt to salvage a wave of migrants (who got butchered by zombise, but this is another story).
If I had the destination square of the on break Dorfs, I would have pictured easily that there was this resting zone there.

2. I struggled also AGAINST the interface for this problem: to identify the remaining items which are not forbidden and lying on the ground (again, zombies, etc. no Urist McHauler, you should not retrieve this pair of socks). I had to monitor Dorfs wanting to go outside, then go to the Job screen, see what they wanted (sheep shoe, dog leather hat, whatever) and then had to go to the stock screen, and one by one seeing which one of the numerous clothes listed corresponded to the item the hauler wanted to retrieve. This was insane!!

And again, if I had the destination square, things would have been so much easier, simpler, quicker.

I wonder why these simple interfaces improvements are not done in DF. Some are there since years, and yet they are not fixed. I think I know part of the answer. As a game developer, Toady has no time to play very involved games, like most of us do. And so these problems escape him. Also, I guess he has no time to read the forum in details. And so the problems remain forever.

The difficulty in DF is learning to beat the interface, and sometime there is no workaround to problems. You have to fight the interface again and again to achieve things that are in the end quite simple to perform. There lies the complexity of DF, not elsewhere.

Interface... the eternal problem.

Does it bothers no one that these 3 behaviors remain patches after patches? You only have to play 5 mn with the M screen to start pulling your hair(s).

- First, when you add up soldiers to a squad, they disappear from the right list. So far, so good. Then you move to another squad, and then the soldiers of the first squad are there! So quite often you end up adding again the same soldiers from the first squad. This behavior repeats for all squads as you know,i.e you see in the right lists all dwarves, even the ones drafted in others squad.

- Second, Position/Equip. Why each time you switch between P and E, the cursor reset to the first soldier of the first squad?? Quite often I end up adding wrong items because of that.

- Third, Why there is no symbol before (or after) items which are already on Dwarves, when you choose to specifically equip Dwarves with particular items? This won't achieve anything what's more to equip such already equipped item, because I don't think a Dwarf will give to another his already equipped item. Again, wasted time, hair pulling and interface that hates you.

How hard would it be to have custom graphics for each item (potentially...), like axe, hammer, breastplate, whatever you name it? Answer, probably not much, it is just an indirection in the code logic, instead of reading a field, you check another. If this is programmed in OOP style then there is just a function to edit so it reads a data and not another...

And yet, years pass and nothing comes on that. But who knows, perhaps in 2012?

Does it exists a modmod, or can someone point me on how to do that... I would like to have blocks that take the shape of an alphabet letter. Basically, this would be to be able to see directly on the map short words or indications, for example you put 6 blocks that will form the word BRIDGE nearby the lever that open your draw bridge...