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Topics - dirkzen

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General Discussion / Happy Thanksgiving!

« on: November 23, 2017, 05:18:07 am »

Hope you all have a warm, safe holiday and feast until you need to loosen your pants!

..unless you're not wearing any, which is fine, but might lead to some awkward family situations.

DF General Discussion / Saw this at work, thought of you guys

« on: November 05, 2014, 05:02:46 am »

DRINK PEPSI
STRIKE THE EARTH

DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / So.. this thing with 'Hill dwarves' and other nobility..

« on: November 09, 2012, 02:22:31 pm »

Does this mean that when the nobles and monarchs and all of their 'court' and followers and other useless leaders move into your fortress, you're suddenly going to get an even larger influx of mouths to feed and even worse framerate?

...or will these extra dwarves give you a defense bonus or extra layer of canon fodder for things that try to lay siege to you?

How does that whole thing work?

Sorry, i've been out of the game for a while.

Even a link to a wiki or something would be helpful. What are these 'hill dwarves'?
Is this basically just gonna be an adventure mode thing, or something we get to mess with later?

Other Games / Guildwars 2 ~ ..I needed more than just 5 hours.

« on: June 28, 2012, 01:22:43 am »

Time spent during the 5 hour server stress test-

20 minutes creating my character.

1 hour staring at the landscape, strolling around the city and outlying fields going "Ooohh... aaaahhh..."

10 minutes wandering around the 'pvp' server, not knowing what the hell I was doing and getting hoplessly lost before getting mauled to death by a pack of wolves.

3 and a half hours tazing cows, tossing mortar shells at hyenas, smashing giant worms with an oversized hammer, collecting junk and scraps to make and upgrade weapons, (which I never figured out) and spreading a corrupt blight across the land which infected half the server before they shut them down.

I don't think i've ever had this much fun in quite a while.

Anyone else get to check it out?

General Discussion / New years eve, 2011. Plans for tonight?

« on: December 31, 2011, 01:31:14 am »

So, how are you planning to celebrate the new year?
Partying? Noisemaking? Drinking until you pass out and wake up beside an elf?
Come on in here and share.

I'll be working till 11, but I think it'll probably go mostly unmarked when I get home, aside from a cup of eggnog and watching that shiny ball drop on tv.
...I still don't understand the purpose or symbolism of that thing, but its still fun to watch.

General Discussion / So I couldn't help but notice how close we are to 2012.

« on: December 29, 2011, 04:29:16 am »

What are your thoughts on the whole 'end of the world' business?
Will it be a horrible apocalyptic end with fire and brimstone and all sorts of nastiness, or will it be another big fuss like that whole 'Y2K' thing was?

Personally, the only thing i'd even remotely be worried about will be the idiots who'll be running around and lighting things on fire.

Whatever happens, I plan on meeting it just like I meet every other 'doomsday' date thats came and went.
Sitting on my couch in my underwear, sipping a cup of coffee.

Other Games / Murdering children in videogames, and other ways Dwarf Fortress has corrupted me

« on: November 21, 2011, 06:32:38 pm »

So, in Dwarf Fortress, you're able to not only trap children in cages, you can raise them there.. as well as feeding them nothing but beer and cheese until they grow up.
They die just as easily as adults, some infants even dropping right there on the battlefield as they crawl next to thier mothers against a stampede of elephants and a rain of elven arrows.
Children are sometimes used as fodder, or workhorses.

I've yet to hear a single peep about this.

Now enter a certain... 'larger, more realistic looking' game that seems to be rather popular at the moment, which i'll refer to as 'game X'.
In 'game X', some of the largest, nastiest threads i've seen have been over the simple act of striking down a child. (which you can't.. until you install a certain mod)
People just.. go nuts on each other about it.

I often smirk a bit when I wonder exactly how they would react if they discovered some of the dark, horrific things you can do to the young in Dwarf Fortress.

I guess the point of this thread... if there is a point to be made..
..is it the thought of killing a child that bothers people in a fantasy game?
....or is it the animation of the death itself?

I'm not wanting to argue over weather its right or wrong, i'm just curious about the thought process that goes on behind it all.

Other Games / A tiny Skyrim thread. The physics of Giants and Dragons.

« on: November 14, 2011, 03:52:43 am »

So, as I watch men and bears and various other beasties go flying off into the distance as they're launched by my giant friends, I often wonder -
how much force would that actually take to do that? Just how strong are these giants anyhow?
Lets find out!

note~ this is just for fun. Numbers and actual science may be a bit skewed, so feel free to make any corrections, or take this and run with it as far as you'd like.

If I remember correctly from my ancient physics class once upon a time, Force = Mass times Acceleration

lets say an average person in Skyrim weighs around 99 KG (..thats about 200-ish lbs)
mass times gravity - 99KG * 9.8 (gravity on an earth-type planet) = 970N! woo!
alright
force = 970N * acceleration!
time to find acceleration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW-SPwhhgaM&feature=related
as you see here (around :53) the test subject appears to be launching into orbit at quite a speed.. now by looking at the ground... i'm going to guess that he's traveling at around 60-70MPH (96KPH)

so...
force = 970N * 96KPH
93,120 N
converted back into lbs..
20,934 lbs of force

So, by a very very rough, tired, half-assed science estimate.. the giants in Skyrim can exert at 'least' 20,934 lbs of force with every hit.

That was fun.

Other Games / Game size... what the hell is going on here? MW3 vs. Skyrim

« on: November 11, 2011, 01:31:46 am »

Before I begin, this is not a thread about Skyrim versus Modern Warfare 3.
They're 2 completely different games and genres.
It would be like comparing a Plump Helmet to a ham and cheese sandwich.
If you like one or the other, good for you. I'm not in any way, shape or form trying to imply that one is better than the other.

I'm only pointing out something i've noticed, as i'm waiting for both of them to download through a certain 3rd party application.
Modern Warfare is wedging itself firmly into my computer at a hefty 13.8 Gigs.
Skyrim on the other hand is taking up a modest 5 Gigs.

...now.. correct me if i'm wrong.. but ...something seems quite amiss.
Have first person shooters evolved so far that they honestly need to take up the space of several blu ray movies?
...or did someone somewhere forget to compress a few textures?
..or is the game really 'that' long, campaign wise?

Skyrim seems to have quite the opposite issue.. with what i've seen and heard about so much more content than Oblivion, and with as beautiful as everything looked.. i'd expect it to be at least twice this size.

Whats going on here?

DF General Discussion / Dwarves and beastfolk...and a slightly disturbing thought..

« on: October 28, 2011, 02:12:14 pm »

Armok forgive me for having this thought.. and this thread.. but I needed to get it out of my mind.
As it stands in Dwarf Fortress, most species keep to themselves.

Dwaves reproduce with other dwarves.
Beastmen and beastwomen reproduce with others of thier kind.
Goblins and kobolds rut in the mud with other goblins and kobolds and produce hundreds of tiny goblins and kobolds to steal your things.
Elves... apparently sing campfire songs and are delivered by storks on a cloud of pixydust.

Will.. or would it ever be possible.. for a dwarf.. lets say a very, very drunken one.. to stumble through the woods one day while chopping wood, and suddenly meet a beautiful (?) kobold maiden.. and not only take her as a wife, but... *ahem*..

Half-dwarves and other 'half' races. (half goblin, half kobold, half elves)
I know we already have 'badgermen' and 'moosemen' and whatnot, but they're a bit different than what i'm talking about.
Will it ever be possible?

I've heard that with the 'tavern' release in the future, certain races won't 'necessarily' be completley evil..
..and I was just wondering about the future consequences of such a thing.

DF General Discussion / A new indie game references our dwarves. ...I smell elves..

« on: October 20, 2011, 12:13:09 am »

Found this while stumbling around the internet. Thought you might be interested.
http://www.rtsguru.com/features/222/Indie-Spotlight-Survivors-of-Ragnarok.html
^{For now, players will find a great deal of joy in building a small fortresses with the limited things at hand, but surviving is fun}
^{surviving is fun}
ARMOK IS NOT PLEASED

Other Games / S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - scratching that itch I didn't even know I had

« on: October 07, 2011, 11:09:36 am »

In my neverending search for that 'perfect game', I've developed a certain taste for games.
I enjoy first person shooters.
I enjoy open-ended sandbox style games.
I enjoy games with quests that let me approach them in my own way, without limits or restrictions or anyone holding my hand.
Most of all, I absolutley love those games that just suck you in through immersion and atmosphere.

Stalker somehow manages to satisfy me on all of these points, while at the same time giving me even more to chew on.

The atmosphere is bleak and drab, with burnt down buildings and rusty cars, grey skies and rain, managing to make you feel lonley as hell, even when you're sitting around the fire with other fellow Stalkers.
Theres this heavy, opressive feeling of dread that weighs down on your shoulders at all times.
Its not scary in a cheap 'jump out and BOO' sort of way. It slowly builds up, until you find yourself purposfully thrusting yourself into every dark corner of the game, just wanting to get the scare over with.
Its even more drab and depressing than Fallout... but at the same time, life is all around you.
In this game, the environment isn't centered around you. Sure, theres' a few scripted events here and there to spice things up now and then, but for the most part.. you're not the one in control. You just happen to be a person tossed into a system thats already doing its thing, and doesn't care wether you're there or not.
Animals hunt each other. Other Stalkers trade and loot and fight for survival just like you are.

If you don't know what to play, and need an idea... or even if you haven't tried out this series before.. I highly recommend it.

DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Zombies and fortress life in general.

« on: September 24, 2011, 01:54:10 am »

So.. lets say one of your dwarves somehow becomes a necromancer.. (if this is at all possible, i'm not exactly sure.. but lets theorize) ..and starts reanimating corpses in your fortress.
He controls them, so now you have a small shambling army to guard the outer reaches of your fortress as a first line of defense.
...or as further entertainment for your elf ~~concentration~~ happy camps.

Do you think this would affect dwarf morale?
He has been happy lately. He has admired a fine door lately. He has been depressed by the shuffling corpse of his brother lately...

DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Stone traps - useless constructions.. or spinning rocks of trolling and doom?

« on: September 16, 2011, 03:57:24 pm »

So i've noticed whenever the subject of 'stone traps' comes up on the forums, there seems to be a lack of love for them. They're quickly set up and ignored until weapon traps can be quickly manufactured.
Many seem to doubt their power and usefullness.
However.. I have to say that in my current fortress, (nearly a decade of in-game time so far) I have them literally everywhere.
Edges of the map. Both entrances. Hallways. In front of and behind doorways.
Layers upon layers of them. Whenever a creature manages to overcome and dodge 4-5 of them in a row, they end up getting bashed in the skull by the 6th and 7th.
I love them.
In my mind, I picture hundreds of tiny little spinning rocks shooting up from the ground and walls (if the trap is near a wall).

Recently, an angry, bloodthirsty badgerman sprinted down my hallway in search of another dwarf to maul after killing a gemcutter and my cook... he triggered nearly every trap on the floor.
He emerged by the staircase with a broken arm, a cracked skull, broken ribs, and both legs severely lacerated and bruised as he collapsed into a bloody, unconscious heap right as my military showed up.

No weapons. No cages. No magma.
Nothing but tiny, spinning rocks.

I love stone traps.
How about you?

DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / More dwarves dying in the hospital than in battle

« on: September 10, 2011, 02:32:43 am »

When the siege finally came, I was ready this time.
I readied my archers and axedwarves, and sent them in to attack. The battle was glorious. Out of 20 dwarves, there were only 2 casualties.
I felt triumphant. ...until I read the battle reports. Broken bones, severed limbs, gushing arteries and contusions everywhere.
I watched them limp/hobble/crawl to the hospital, where my medical dwarf seemed to be a bit too busy eating his dinner to deal with the sudden appearance of arterial blood squirting all over his walls and floors.
Eventually, slowly, he treated them as they fell asleep/unconscious.
One by one, I watched them die slowly of thirst and starvation.
I'd only lost 2 on the battlefield, but 8 more died in bed, noone willing to bring them food or water.
It was a little depressing.
Everyone in the fortress seemed to be too busy hauling in the spoils of war as they stripped the goblins and took everything they found on the ground to bother with the dying soldiers that had just saved them all from a gruesome fate.

Has anyone else ran into this problem?