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Messages - treptoplax

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DF General Discussion / Re: *We need your help with game ending stress*
« on: November 04, 2019, 01:04:20 pm »
Long time lurker, registered to post on these threads...

Honestly, I feel like the problem with stress is the basic mechanic, not something to be fixed by twiddling weights (assuming I understand it, which I may not) - it just a counter that goes up and down based on experiences.  It can be managed now, at least for a while, but it's a huge hassle if it's not a primary focus or at least a mechanical reflex.  Dwarves with a constant supply of minor good experiences will become fantastically happy; those with on ongoing stream of minor bad ones will starve themselves to death or go on a violent rampage.  People aren't like that, and if anything I'd expect dwarves to be more phlegmatic, not less.   I'm inclined to say dwarves should each have a  'natural' innate level of happiness they tend to regress to in addition to the influence of any ongoing moodlets/stressors; I think just adding that would solve 90% of the current issues people have with stress.

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DF General Discussion / Re: *We need your help to save the noobs!*
« on: November 03, 2019, 09:59:47 am »
Well, I'm reiterating some older points here, but:

Some kind of tutorial is likely to be very useful, possibly starting with pre-built forts.  This is, I know, awkward in Dwarf Fortress, but I think it would make it much easier to break up the tutorial into bite-size pieces:

Here's a functional year-2 fort that won't fall apart if you do nothing useful for three months; build a new dining room, or forge a set of copper armor, or order the civilians indoors and ready the military to repel the invaders that just arrived.  I think this will really help people make the jump from total noob to low-intermediate skill; Kerbal Space Program has something like this for tricky skills that are critical for serious gameplay (docking, orbital rendezvous, powered landing).

An intuitive inspection UI is critical.  The noobs *must* be able to click on a space and figure out what's there and the properties of all the things there.

Digging, especially anything 3D-related (up/down stairways, dig vs channel) is terribly confusing just from the UI.  I don't have a solution, other than maybe limit tutorials to dig and ramps at first?

The whole contruct/build system is surprising.  To build a bed I first have to build a carpenters workshop, then build a bed, but I still have to *install* the bed somewhere, a bed sitting in a stockpile can't be used.  A wall or kitchen on the other hand I can build from random piles of stone.

There are too many separate UI systems to do similar things, but in particular the whole zone/room/location/warren thing seems totally arbitrary.  To designate an area as a pasture I use one UI, to designate a safe zone in event of attack I use another, to designate a room as a bedroom I click on a bed, but to designate a room as a temple I... designate it as a meeting area zone and then set that to be a temple in the location menus?  I think?  I honestly can't remember without the UI in front of me...

Having a clear error when jobs stall is critical.  (This isn't totally terrible now, but could be better).    If I can't build a bed, make sure I know it's because "can't install bed, must construct bed in carpenter's workshop".  "can't construct well, require rope or chain" etc.


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