Bay 12 Games Forum

Has anyone created anything similar to Essential DF by Deon for 44.10? This, essentially: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=133456.0

A streamlining mod that removes a lot of the bloat would be absolutely exceptional.

Wargaming Discord Link

Just figured this would be a good thread to run.

What are you building? What are you painting? What are you playing?

I'm putting together a force for Rogue Stars made up of old Gretchin models.

Whilst I'm all sure we're aware of Dwarf Fortress' negative representation of migrants (swarms of people with useless skills entering into your fortress, eating your food and demanding stuff whilst not providing anything in return), I think the relatively new residency stuff is much, much worse.

Since a lot of visitors cum residents tend to have fled an oppressive regime, it's not unfair to characterise them, in my opinion, as refugees. The problem is that, after they apply for residency, it takes two years to get them to do anything useful. Essentially, for two full years they just hang around your fortress eating food, drinking and using resources that could go to another, more productive and dwarven, member of society. This mirrors right-wing rhetoric that refugees are nothing more than burdens on a productive society.

In addition, certain civilisations can have different ideological viewpoints to dwarven civilisation. The main problem here is that you can have goblins who are hyper violent. This is actually what motivated my complaint as, today, I found a goblin citizen murdered (for no reason) a visitor. Again, this is mirroring right-wing rhetoric that migrants / refugees are violent murderers (and worse).

Also, citizens / residents side with their parent civilisation if they get invaded by you. This is unrealistic and a very negative idea that these people haven't integrated into dwarven society at all. Again, mirroring right-wing rhetoric.

Altogether, this paints a very negative picture of migrants and refugees. Whilst I have no doubt that Toady didn't intend for this to happen, I feel it's a problem in terms of representation of migrants and refugees in popular media.

In the interests of fixing this, I recommend:

• Visitors automatically take on dwarven viewpoints and cultural opinions as soon as they apply for residency.
• Residents do not side with their original civilisation.
• Residents do not kill people randomly.
• Residents can work as soon as they apply for residency.
• Residents get an experience learning boost (the "Migrant Economic Effect") as soon as they apply.

What Is This?
This is a mod that is trying to implement the vastly under represented and under known setting of Glorantha. Glorantha was one of the first big fantasy settings and was, in the UK, probably the biggest competitor with anything Dungeons & Dragons related. Games Workshop got their big boost from selling Glorantha related products and then took a lot of the concepts from Glorantha and used them for Warhammer Fantasy.

This is just my attempt to implement a setting I love in Dwarf Fortress.

Why Should I Play It?
Glorantha is a setting of duck-warriors, dark trolls and Celtic barbarians facing off against an incursion by an Empire that they say is evil and plans for the end of that world but who claims that they are an inclusive and accepting people. It's a setting of blurred moral lines, where everyone is very much right and everyone is very much wrong. There are creatures who are the spawn of an almost literal Satan but some claim they only wound the world because they are wounded... And that they can be healed. Others claim that this is the way of evil, to lure you in with the ability to do good whilst spreading it's poison further.

Sounds Great! Where Can I Learn More?!
Send me a message and I'll happily direct you to groups where you can talk to people who call themselves Gloranthaphiles to introduce you to the world.

Alternatively, there's the free RuneQuest Quickstart and Adventure from Chaosium.

Reddit Link

Copied below just in case it disappears:

Caution - Wall of text incoming.....don't say I didn't warn you....

I started playing FFBE shortly after launch in July of 2016. It was a fresh take on an old classic, my favorite series of all time, Final Fantasy. When I was 11, in 1988, living in New Jersey, I went to the Nintendo CES in New York City. Nintendo had demo booths for all the upcoming games, and the original Final Fantasy was one of them. It was the coolest game I had ever seen. I got it when it was released and it remained my favorite series of games for years. FFII and FFIII on SNES, I bought a Playstation so I could get FFVII, I got a PS3, but all I wanted to play was FFXII (I personally like Vaan).

Along came married life, kids, jobs, responsibilities, and I could no longer spend time on a console. I didn't have time to sit and play and grid out levels and complete the extra quests like defecting Ruby Weapon. Then FFBE was released. A short format game that I could play for 5 or 10 minutes and put it away. It didn't require a console or a TV, just a few minutes to play a couple of dungeon runs or a quick exploration, then I could put it away for later. It was perfect.

Expedition into the Abyss. The first banner I spent money on. I had been playing the game for 6 weeks or so and I had not found the /r/FFBreveExvius subreddit or the Exvius Wiki, I went into the exploration blind and got wiped out. I leveled my team, I maxed my stats and I just could not win. I got to Ansel finally and beat him, but I was so low on energy. I used lapis refills just to limp past him. Then I got to the exit with the 3 bosses that kicked my but with their 10,000V attack. I was frustrated beyond belief, I had spent all my resources to pass this exploration, and I couldn't leave it like this. I broke my F2P resolve and put down $20. That should be enough to get me out of this dungeon and replace some of the lapis I sepnt so I could at least do the dailies again. I was adamant that I would not spend again.

The first Mog King event I recall was Festival of the Autum Moon, baking Mog Cakes. I spent hours, day after day, grinding the Coast for recipe ingredients. I kept my 2 ovens going, then I increased my capacity to 4 and I stayed true to my resolve, I did not spend any more money. I made it through, I got the Stellar Shield, I got the Lunar Pestle and the Rabbit's Foot. I acomplished my goals without macros, without more resources. My family though kept asking me, what am I tapping on my phone all the time? Why am I always looking at my screen?

I put the phone away and tried to limit myself, only a little while in the morning before I got everyone up for school, I would play for a little while at lunchtime when I wasn't around anyone. I would play on the toilet since I had nothing better to do while I poop. I would play after putting the kids to sleep. I was not taking anything from anyone. I was just playing a game.

I made it to November. The Crystal Tower. The release of Luneth and Refia. The best DPS and the best Healer available at the time. I had saved my lapis, I could do a 10+1 pull, I had maybe 20 or so tickets saved. I used all my resources and was trolled by a rainbow Edge. I was enraged, insenced, insistent that I get Luneth. I put in my card number into my digital wallet and upped myself $99 of Lapis. Then I pulled and pulled and pulled, and I got nothing. So I put in another $99 and pulled and pulled and I got Luneth! I could advance and defeat all new content and share the best DPS possible to all my friends.

It was only $200. I can spare that. I haven't bought a video game in 6 years. I deserve it, I earned it.

I didn't pull for the Brave Frontier cross over event. I saved my resources. I was depressed by all the Elza's I saw my friends sharing, but I was not lucky enough to pull her. I conceded that it was ok, and I could get her again in the future. I still beat the Trial of the Creator and got Maxwell. I had to work hard, but I got the Power of Creation TMR. That made my Luneth a king again.

Then came the Big Bridge. Gilgamesh. The BEST TMR you could get. I still have a 10+1 pull left after my Luneth. I had saved the tickets from the Mog King. I pulled for Greg and failed again. It was only $200 to get Luneth. How bad would that be for the best accessory in the game? I can make my Chizuru or my Cecil so strong. I put in my money again, $99....no Greg, $99....no Greg, $99....no Greg.... I took a break for a little bit. My family had plans for the day. I was angry now. How could I have spent $300 and not gotten what I wanted. When nobody was looking, around everyone, I did it again. $99....no Greg, $99...no Greg, $99...no Greg, $99.....

Finally. I had Gilgamesh. I had maxed out all of my unit inventory. I had to spend time to fuse units, I got my first Excalibur that day as well as some other great TMRs. But I finally had the Genji Golve and I could now make Chizuru strong enough to share with others. She could DPS at 350 attack and more! I could beat all the content with ease using her and Luneth. Yeah, I spent $700, but I would stop now. I had enough. I didn't want to be caught spending money I shouldn't on a video game. It was enough.

Lightning strikes, and I didn't spend anything. I was in control. I didn't need anything new. I was still in the game and doing great. So many events passed and I was still killing everything in sight with my team. I cleared all of the events and new story content. It was fun, I was not an addict, I spent time with my family, I didn't take their time away. I was on top.

Noctis, Prince of all Trades came along. I got greedy. I pulled again...another $300. I got off easy there. I was again in the lead. I was on top. I had the best attacker, best support, best all around at everything. I didn't need anything else.

The Mana Mystery Event came. I was excited! Randi, the Secret of Mana! The Secret of Mana was, hands down, one of the best games to ever come out for the SNES. Open world, exciting characters, fantastic story and fighting. The Nostalgia was incredible for this event. I had to have Randy. I had paid down most of the bill from getting Gilgamesh. I could afford it to have a piece of my childhood back, no matter what the cost. It cost me about $400. I was back to square 1 with paying my bill back. I had spent nearly $1700 on this game now, I couldn't spend any more. It was getting out of control. I unlinked the credit card and got back to my senses. I could keep playing my game. I put my maxed out Randi as my friend unit. I was determined to get the most out of him, no matter what. It was my hard earned money, I should not spend it frivilously.

I made it almost 4 months.

It was my birthday. The Brave Frontier banner was back. The Scyth weilding Queen Elza was back. It was my birthday and I wanted Elza. This was the first double 5* banner I ever tried to pull on. This was the first banner I pulled on after the guaranteed 5* base for Rainbows was announced. It was my birthday and I had to have Elza. I have to get what I want on my birthday. I charged $1500 that day to get her.

I was sick of my actions. I de-linked my card again. I now had a balance of nearly $4000, including other non FFBE related purchases. I had to find a way to stop. I transferred the balance to a new, zero interest card. My family was going on vacation and I needed to be clear to help with expenses. I had some cash saved, I was paying down my debt slowly, I had a plan, I was still in control.

While on vacation, the Veritas Banner was announced. The most anticipated unit since Orlandeau. I had an Orlandeau from tickets, it would be awesome to get a chaining partner for Orlandeau. Veritas of the Dark is the coolest, with the black armor, Dark Damage heals him, and Dark Retribution attack. Something in me snapped, and I was back to I had to have him. It was another double Rainbow banner, maybe I would be lucky this time.

$1000, no Veritas of the Dark. I had 4 Veritas of the Flame. I was angry. How could I have spent so much and not gotten the unit I wanted! Why would Final Fantasy, Gumi, Square Enix, not give it to me? How could I spend so much and not get what I want! Another $1000. I got 2 more Veritas of the Flame, another Orlandeau, a second Freviya, Olive, Emperor, but no Dark Veritas! How! Why! Now I am stubborn. I am not putting this much money out there to not get what I want. $99...no Dark Veritas, $99...no Dark Veritas, $99...a second Emperor, I almost threw my phone against the wall. $99....Finally, Veritas of the Dark. $2500, 9 Veritas of the Flame, half a dozen other 5* base, and I finally got the Veritas of the Dark.

Wait....WTF did I just do?!?!

Did I just really spend $2500 to get a little animated piece of code? What is my wife going to think? What will my kids say? I tell them I don't have much money to spare, I dutifully split my paycheck 3 ways, household expenses, savings and my spending money. I can do what I want with my spending money. I just won't get anything for myself for a year or so, pay this back to my card a couple hundred at a time.

Fuck it. I have what I want. I put in another $1000 just to keep me going with energy refils and I can play whenever and however I want.

Neir came, I pulled with the lapis I had left and got A2 and 2B. Luck is on my side now. Onion Knight, I got on 3 10+1 pulls. I am on top of the world. Gumi must have had some mercy on my account. I have all the units I need, sure there are some I want, but I can get by without Rem and Wilhelm. But who is this awesome new healer! Ayaka, dual white magic, reraise, the things I was missing for Agaion, the Robot Trial! With her, I could be at the top again. I could beat all the trials, all the new story content. It would all be a breeze. I had to get her. I moved all my debt to the balance transfer card. I have a clear card to work with. I can get it and make it go away and I can continue on as normal, just pay down the card and not spend on myself.

Next came Nyx. The Hero of Kingsgalive. I know most people thought it was aweful, but I even like Spirits Within, so hate all you want...I wanted to have Nyx. Another $400. I skipped halloween, but decided I had to have Loren for her TMR. It was a good as the Genji Golve, even better. It would make my team unstoppable for the 10 man trials. Another $500. Honestly I don't know what I spent here, I lost count.

The Tower of Zot! We can have Rubicant! Barbariccia would be cool, but Rubicant is one of my favorite enimies of all time. $99...no Rubicant, $99...no Rubicant. WTF!?! This is a 4* base! What is happening!? F&k it, AGAIN. $500, just to be sure. Get Rubicant, keep pulling for Barbariccia, don't need her, I already have 2 Trance Terra's, but why the F*%k not. Its good for the Raid Bonus.

All right! Rainbow Rate is up! EX rewards are 1.5X! Cloud is coming in December! This is the best time to put some $$ in so I am guananteed to get Cloud. Cloud is Awesome! Cloud is iconic! Cloud is the heart of Final Fantasy! I have my zero interest card at $11K, but I am paying it. I have a way of making it look like I am paying off an old debt to cover if my wife asks where the money went. I went all in. $3000 in lapis. That will last me a good long time, then I can pay off my debt and play and just let it all go away.

On December 7th, 2017, my wife asked if she could use my credit card to buy food and send it to a family member celebrating a huge accomplishment. Offhand, she asked if she could see the balance. She saw something in my response trying to dismiss it and wouldn't let it go. I asked her to go upstairs so we could talk in private. I confessed to having a balance of $5600 on my card due to Final Fantasy. A couple days later, I told her the rest of the story.

I am currently $15,800 in debt. My wife no longer trusts me. My kids, who ask me why I am playing Final Fantasy all the time, will never understand how I selfishly spent money I should have been using for their activities. Their birthdays, their festivals, their clothes, their school events, their weekends, their movies.

I have never spent more than $1000 on my wife at one time. I spent $16,000 on digital garbage in about a year. If she decides that she will not divorce me, I owe her more that I could ever repay. I am not playing anymore. I will not get Cloud. I will leave 500K lapis in an account that will stay idle. The "friends" I have will drop me as my days since last played increases. I will not get to beat Marlboro. I will not see how Chapter 2 plays out. I will not have any 7* units. FFBE is over.

I became a gambling addict over a game where there is no return, no reward, for spending my money.

I Flushed $16,000 down the toilet over a game.

TL;DR - Don't whale irresponsibly, the consequences WILL outweigh the investment.

TL;DR #2 - Some people are on this planet to be an example to others, don't be that Guy.

Edit -

Thank you all for your support and ideas. I have a lot of feedback on how I can improve the situation, I will update in some time after getting a few actions completed first.

I really appreciate each and every comment, I have read them all, and I plan to continue to read them to reinforce my resolve to keep my promise to my wife and to my family to remain open and honest.

Please be patient and OP will update.

Just an interesting (and depressing) tale of how badly addictive mobile games are now.

I'm thinking of starting work on an oriental / wuxia / generic Asian (more Japanese focused) mod and I was wondering on people's opinions / ideas on it. I'm using a lot of ideas from Legend of the Five Rings (a Japanese fantasy setting) as well as East Asian folklore.

The basic concept is this:
- Players (in Dwarf mode) play as Hito (The People) who have a (relatively strict) caste system consisting of people with Warrior Souls (samui) who are the ruling caste, shugenin who are the rare priestly caste who are unable to use most weapons but are imbued with some fragment of the elements, shokunin who are the craftsmen, hachinin who are the farmers and levied soldiers and, finally, the henki who are the only ones willing to touch dead things and butcher animals.
- Several "clans" of Hito who will go to war through world gen.
- The Hito managed to sink their original homeland through use of the Warrior Soul.
- Those with the Warrior Soul can use advanced techniques that they can learn in a dojo building.
- Most mythical animals will be reworked to be Asian themed.
- Clothing / armour reworked to be Asian themed.
- Goblins renamed to bakemono, ogres are oni etc.

Does anyone else have any ideas?

Endless Free Trial!

Final Fantasy XIV is actually good now (although it's arguably been good for several years). I've been playing again and started up a new character on Jenova (US server). I'm wondering if anyone else is playing or is interested in starting up.

I'd start on Jenova with me because it's a "recommended server" which means you get +100% experience up until level 60 (out of a max of 70 with the Stormblood expansion).

Hit me up if you start a trial because I can give you a friend link to give you and me both bonuses. Maybe we can start a Bay12Games Linkshell?

I'm testing a mod I'm currently in the process of making and part of the problem I'm finding is that I have to manually go and delete saves after every change.

Would it be possible to have a modder mode where (on game quit) the game deletes all saves for you?