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DF Suggestions / A Few ideas... (From years gone past)
« on: April 12, 2013, 04:19:28 am »
First of all, Hi everyone! This is my first post on the bay12forums!
Now on to business.
These ideas are from ages ago, when I first started playing dwarf fortress.(Actually I think that was only a year or so ago but...)
I have a better crafted list on my computer but I'm just gonna run over a few of the ideas that have been mulling around my brain, so instead of just [IMAGINING] these features maybe some of them will actually go somewhere.
To start off, let's go with something everyone could use.
Mermaidchants; Ever made a world with lots of islands and civilizations are scattered across a lot of them? Sure some might be more bunched up then others, but you still miss out with trading with the other country. So I introduce The Mermaid Merchants, or MERmaidCHANTS or just MMC's if you really want it short. They move coast to coast to any town with a trading depot adjacent to the open sea, keeping coins flowing and will also tend to maintenance with cleaning up any part of your base!(As long as the area they are exploring is submerged in seawater and accessible from the ocean as can happen with and FUN had by messing with said body of water) This would surly make our finned friends welcome guests as who better to install that last screw pump, rope and/or gear assembly so you can work on getting that water out and get your happy stumpys back to work.
OK, joking aside. This would provide:
-----------------------------
New Merchants with variable goods. (Lots of fish and shell crafts at probably half the price.)
Temporary help if any part of your establishment has been flooded.
Dwarves could get good thoughts from making relations with finned friends. (Bad thoughts could also pop up when they leave.)
Also opens the way to our next item.
======================
Ships, Blimps and other transportation
OK, so the thing is... I have no idea if anyone has come up with similar, but I'm gonna pitch my version an see what comes about.
I noticed a lot of towns in maps I visited were all walled in and seemed more like malls then a village, IDK honestly as I never embarked near enough to one to check. But I saw a LARGE number of towns were by water and by chance the ocean. With so many towns near the water, you'd think someone would start making ways to cross that water as to expand their empire. So I thought having ships of various sizes would be an invaluable addition to the game. I mean the way the game generates the world is random, so why not have a method of crossing water so people who embark to an island don't have to worry about only making deals with their embark town. Of course, their is also the OTHER side to that coin, enemies would also like to profit from your wealth. So not only do you have to worry about goblin invaders, you'll also have a lot of FUN keeping pirates from raiding your precious metals. (Then again, you could always appeal to their fondness of booze. A bunker of ale outside your base as a peace offering might make them better allies then enemies. WHO WANTS A BLACK MARKET!) These individuals would be independent of any country, thereby allowing you to trade goods a few unfortunate merchants might have "Lost" on an unfortunate visit.
Now their would be a bit of trouble with getting everything set up.
First thing you'd need to do before a ship'll even come to your base is have a dock. (Few floors over open water would suffice)
Second, a shipping guild representative would arrive. Giving you valuable information as to the trading routes and such.
Third, how to flag ships down. The way to do this is with a construction; a lighthouse.
A lighthouse would basically be a building 2-4 z levels high, up for discussion.
First floor is just to get height, they need to see the light.
Second flood could be used to emit light from, but it'll only attract the smallest of skiffs.
Third floor could be used as a roof or to attract larger shipping vessels. (Roof would be to protect flame from rain) The only problem is with this lighthouse, your telling ships of a greater size it's safe to come over. meaning your dock must have a section with 2 z levels of open ocean. otherwise you'll get ships crashing on the shore.
Forth would be as high as you'd need, but has a hefty requirement. Just as with the last you'll need another z level for these fearful freighters, you could get as much as 3-4 caravan's disembarking from these monsters of the sea.
The other problem would be the pathing of these entities, they would need enough room horizontally to get close, then pull in and turn out of your port. So say you have a 5x3 skiff wanting to come in, you'd need about 11x6-7 clear room next to your port before it will even consider coming to you. The larger the ship, the more room it'll need to pull in and out. The ships need to be big, as how else are they supposed to hold wagons?
Similar would have to go for Blimps as well as railroads, haven't spent as much time on them, maybe 2 rails side by side for train transit.
-----------------------------------
So with this you get.
-More merchants! Some with more questionable cargo then others but...(As well as possible stowaways, both coming an going)
-More chance of traveling adventurers. (Which could lower your dwarf count, but also give your engravers more stories to chisel.)
-Better ways of getting fish by casting nets.
-Transport to other continents in adventure mode.
-Other types of transportation.
====================================
Steam, Miasma, laughing and other FUN gases.
I learned after a time, that back in the old days of our stumpy little friends... steam did damage. Why this was taken out I'll probably never know, my point is... STEAM FR**KIN HURTS! It's logic! Water heated up past it's boiling point makes steam. But wait, not all steam hurts. Sweat rooms are one example, so now their needs to be a way of measuring it. I'd say use something similar to water/lava, that way you'd be able to tell steam that's safe 3/7 from steam that's dangerous 5</7 or something similar. Dwarves who spend time in the steam room would get good thoughts, relax nobles and possibly expel toxins/sickness from a body.
But how would you move gas? Theirs always the screw pump system, it works well enough with water, why not air? This also opens other windows. Like, if you put steam under pressure 7/7 and suddenly give it an exit. FOOM, steam burst. You could also have use pipes to move the steam through areas already built, steam punk city anyone? Possible advancements could be steam soldiers or locomotion's like war tanks. Mobile ballast would be able to move to different positions faster then needing to be pulled by strong animals like ox or super strong dwarves. True, amateur creations would have higher chance of possible mishaps,(Steam burst) but that's just part of the FUN. XD There's also the benefit of using steam for energy, like funneling it into a tunnel with windmills. TURBINE POWER GO!
Then theirs miasma, we all know it, we all hate it. But what if it could be used for something useful? Imagine having a goblin siege just outside your door, the trolls are coming up getting closer to your bridges or doors. Then you suddenly remember, the miasma chambers under the entrance! Flip a switch and watch as the purple fog envelopes your enemies, dazing them an making them puke repeatedly, burning their eyes! When the fog clears and the enemy still bewildered by the horrid stench, you release the rest of your forces or a hydra or some other FUN for them to enjoy as they seem too busy rubbing their eyes or barfing their guts to fight back. Also good to use on prisoners before having an average dwarf wrestle of hack'um.
Another thing that would be useful that's also in reality; Gas pockets. Some more deadly then others for sure, but most would still incapacitate and eventually kill your dwarves. As you know, to one side of a coin their is another. Gas is combustible, thus could be used as a fuel source for your furnaces! So you won't have to pull up some of the fun red rum outta the earth, an the elves would be happier with less trees being burned. Also give a use to capturing small animals, they'll die from gas poisoning long before your dwarves will. So stationing some cages around with them would prove useful, just keep an eye on what's inside.
------------------------
Now we have:
-New power/fuel sources
-New weapons (Miasma/Steam: Did you want the pickled goblin or the steam fried???)
-New units/items (If you choose to go steam punk)
================================
I have a few more ideas to drop, I'll give a preview...
Beneficial/Problematic syndromes
Ancient Sealed ones
Fortress O'Fright / Castle Stumpinstine (Mad Science or science gone mad?)
Equivalent size estimate (Different destroyer levels. "Walls are made to be broken.")
Alien/Meteor crashes. ("I still get my phone call right?")
Other Nuisances & Annoyances
Unfortunately, it's gotten really late as I've been writing this as well as my back and fingers are beginning to hurt. I hope maybe some of these suggestions might be implemented/useful by/to someone. I've got a head full of ideas but no outlet for them, maybe here I might get a direction. I wanted to implement a lot of these features in my own game but I don't see that happening.
Hope you've all enjoyed the read, if you got this far then I guess it was worth writing.
Feedback would be appreciated.
Till next we meet
Now on to business.
These ideas are from ages ago, when I first started playing dwarf fortress.(Actually I think that was only a year or so ago but...)
I have a better crafted list on my computer but I'm just gonna run over a few of the ideas that have been mulling around my brain, so instead of just [IMAGINING] these features maybe some of them will actually go somewhere.
To start off, let's go with something everyone could use.
Mermaidchants; Ever made a world with lots of islands and civilizations are scattered across a lot of them? Sure some might be more bunched up then others, but you still miss out with trading with the other country. So I introduce The Mermaid Merchants, or MERmaidCHANTS or just MMC's if you really want it short. They move coast to coast to any town with a trading depot adjacent to the open sea, keeping coins flowing and will also tend to maintenance with cleaning up any part of your base!(As long as the area they are exploring is submerged in seawater and accessible from the ocean as can happen with and FUN had by messing with said body of water) This would surly make our finned friends welcome guests as who better to install that last screw pump, rope and/or gear assembly so you can work on getting that water out and get your happy stumpys back to work.
OK, joking aside. This would provide:
-----------------------------
New Merchants with variable goods. (Lots of fish and shell crafts at probably half the price.)
Temporary help if any part of your establishment has been flooded.
Dwarves could get good thoughts from making relations with finned friends. (Bad thoughts could also pop up when they leave.)
Also opens the way to our next item.
======================
Ships, Blimps and other transportation
OK, so the thing is... I have no idea if anyone has come up with similar, but I'm gonna pitch my version an see what comes about.
I noticed a lot of towns in maps I visited were all walled in and seemed more like malls then a village, IDK honestly as I never embarked near enough to one to check. But I saw a LARGE number of towns were by water and by chance the ocean. With so many towns near the water, you'd think someone would start making ways to cross that water as to expand their empire. So I thought having ships of various sizes would be an invaluable addition to the game. I mean the way the game generates the world is random, so why not have a method of crossing water so people who embark to an island don't have to worry about only making deals with their embark town. Of course, their is also the OTHER side to that coin, enemies would also like to profit from your wealth. So not only do you have to worry about goblin invaders, you'll also have a lot of FUN keeping pirates from raiding your precious metals. (Then again, you could always appeal to their fondness of booze. A bunker of ale outside your base as a peace offering might make them better allies then enemies. WHO WANTS A BLACK MARKET!) These individuals would be independent of any country, thereby allowing you to trade goods a few unfortunate merchants might have "Lost" on an unfortunate visit.
Now their would be a bit of trouble with getting everything set up.
First thing you'd need to do before a ship'll even come to your base is have a dock. (Few floors over open water would suffice)
Second, a shipping guild representative would arrive. Giving you valuable information as to the trading routes and such.
Third, how to flag ships down. The way to do this is with a construction; a lighthouse.
A lighthouse would basically be a building 2-4 z levels high, up for discussion.
First floor is just to get height, they need to see the light.
Second flood could be used to emit light from, but it'll only attract the smallest of skiffs.
Third floor could be used as a roof or to attract larger shipping vessels. (Roof would be to protect flame from rain) The only problem is with this lighthouse, your telling ships of a greater size it's safe to come over. meaning your dock must have a section with 2 z levels of open ocean. otherwise you'll get ships crashing on the shore.
Forth would be as high as you'd need, but has a hefty requirement. Just as with the last you'll need another z level for these fearful freighters, you could get as much as 3-4 caravan's disembarking from these monsters of the sea.
The other problem would be the pathing of these entities, they would need enough room horizontally to get close, then pull in and turn out of your port. So say you have a 5x3 skiff wanting to come in, you'd need about 11x6-7 clear room next to your port before it will even consider coming to you. The larger the ship, the more room it'll need to pull in and out. The ships need to be big, as how else are they supposed to hold wagons?
Similar would have to go for Blimps as well as railroads, haven't spent as much time on them, maybe 2 rails side by side for train transit.
-----------------------------------
So with this you get.
-More merchants! Some with more questionable cargo then others but...(As well as possible stowaways, both coming an going)
-More chance of traveling adventurers. (Which could lower your dwarf count, but also give your engravers more stories to chisel.)
-Better ways of getting fish by casting nets.
-Transport to other continents in adventure mode.
-Other types of transportation.
====================================
Steam, Miasma, laughing and other FUN gases.
I learned after a time, that back in the old days of our stumpy little friends... steam did damage. Why this was taken out I'll probably never know, my point is... STEAM FR**KIN HURTS! It's logic! Water heated up past it's boiling point makes steam. But wait, not all steam hurts. Sweat rooms are one example, so now their needs to be a way of measuring it. I'd say use something similar to water/lava, that way you'd be able to tell steam that's safe 3/7 from steam that's dangerous 5</7 or something similar. Dwarves who spend time in the steam room would get good thoughts, relax nobles and possibly expel toxins/sickness from a body.
But how would you move gas? Theirs always the screw pump system, it works well enough with water, why not air? This also opens other windows. Like, if you put steam under pressure 7/7 and suddenly give it an exit. FOOM, steam burst. You could also have use pipes to move the steam through areas already built, steam punk city anyone? Possible advancements could be steam soldiers or locomotion's like war tanks. Mobile ballast would be able to move to different positions faster then needing to be pulled by strong animals like ox or super strong dwarves. True, amateur creations would have higher chance of possible mishaps,(Steam burst) but that's just part of the FUN. XD There's also the benefit of using steam for energy, like funneling it into a tunnel with windmills. TURBINE POWER GO!
Then theirs miasma, we all know it, we all hate it. But what if it could be used for something useful? Imagine having a goblin siege just outside your door, the trolls are coming up getting closer to your bridges or doors. Then you suddenly remember, the miasma chambers under the entrance! Flip a switch and watch as the purple fog envelopes your enemies, dazing them an making them puke repeatedly, burning their eyes! When the fog clears and the enemy still bewildered by the horrid stench, you release the rest of your forces or a hydra or some other FUN for them to enjoy as they seem too busy rubbing their eyes or barfing their guts to fight back. Also good to use on prisoners before having an average dwarf wrestle of hack'um.
Another thing that would be useful that's also in reality; Gas pockets. Some more deadly then others for sure, but most would still incapacitate and eventually kill your dwarves. As you know, to one side of a coin their is another. Gas is combustible, thus could be used as a fuel source for your furnaces! So you won't have to pull up some of the fun red rum outta the earth, an the elves would be happier with less trees being burned. Also give a use to capturing small animals, they'll die from gas poisoning long before your dwarves will. So stationing some cages around with them would prove useful, just keep an eye on what's inside.
------------------------
Now we have:
-New power/fuel sources
-New weapons (Miasma/Steam: Did you want the pickled goblin or the steam fried???)
-New units/items (If you choose to go steam punk)
================================
I have a few more ideas to drop, I'll give a preview...
Beneficial/Problematic syndromes
Ancient Sealed ones
Fortress O'Fright / Castle Stumpinstine (Mad Science or science gone mad?)
Equivalent size estimate (Different destroyer levels. "Walls are made to be broken.")
Alien/Meteor crashes. ("I still get my phone call right?")
Other Nuisances & Annoyances
Unfortunately, it's gotten really late as I've been writing this as well as my back and fingers are beginning to hurt. I hope maybe some of these suggestions might be implemented/useful by/to someone. I've got a head full of ideas but no outlet for them, maybe here I might get a direction. I wanted to implement a lot of these features in my own game but I don't see that happening.
Hope you've all enjoyed the read, if you got this far then I guess it was worth writing.
Feedback would be appreciated.
Till next we meet