March 6, 2024: Dwarf Fortress 50.12 has been released.
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News: February 4, 2021: Dwarf Fortress Talk #28 has been posted.
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A 'reverse' flag on hookups would definitely be nifty.
But either way, some sort of fix, at least for crafting in buildings and farming, would really be cool.
It would be really great if, before a dwarf hauls off something from a workshop, construction, or farm plot, they make sure that it's not going to stop the active task from completing. I can't begin to count the number of times I've seen someone begin work, run off for work midway through, and then had some other idiot steal the crucial item needed for construction right out from under them thus dooming the poor farmer/craftsperson to another trip back to the stockpile.
I had a set of stone traps that took almost two full seasons to make, due to eager little dwarves snatching away the stone before it could be used. My farming efficiency, depending on how far my food pile is from my farm, can also be seriously crippled by this behavior.
quote:
Originally posted by ctrlfrk:
<STRONG>Zomg, with my newfound Compsys 302 knowledge, i could build a crude microprocessor in my fortress... is it worth the risc?</STRONG>
My fortress is Turing-complete.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Dave."
quote:
Originally posted by Cerej:
<STRONG>Dumat Logemkilrud, UN Representative has drowned....
What?</STRONG>
"There are no elephants in the mountainhome. Never! We have routed the elephants and are assaulting their base as we speak! Death to the imperialist aggressor ele--"
quote:
Originally posted by short_dwarf:
<STRONG>I thought this was about armor back in the medieval times...</STRONG>
To tie it all back in to DF:
Arrows should glance off plate armor much, much more than they do now; crossbow bolts should glance off a lot more often but not as often as arrows. They should both continue to go through chain and leather like an elephant tusk through a -cave spider silk cape-. The damage they do, while high, is realistic-ish.
If tech-appropriate guns were added in (which I'd rather not see, but that's neither here nor there), they should not be instant kill weapons against full plate; I'd argue that -- since they're basically 3/8" balls as opposed to chisel/bodkin tips -- they should be a bit less effective at penetrating plate than either bolts or arrows, but do substantially more damage when they actually do manage to do get through. It goes without saying that they'd probably be less accurate than either in the hands of a moderately skilled user. Additionally, a musket ball hitting a dwarf in chain mail should do hideous internal damage due to shrapnel.
[ May 19, 2007: Message edited by: tourettedog ]
quote:
An arrow against armour like that is likely to go about 4 inches through 1 inch of good steel. And about 1/2 an inch past 2 inchs of steel. (Double this for composite bows of a similiar size, and chainmail is not an effective deterrent against arrows)
I'm not sure where you're getting those numbers from, but I'm pretty sure you're wrong.
To start with, armor 2" thick is insane. I had a friend who made armor for the SCA in high school, and 10-gauge steel (about 1/10") was about the functional limit for weight. I could see parts of it, such as the breastplate, being made of thicker material perhaps, but I would be surprised to find anything thicker than maybe 1/4", and that only on particular parts -- points of the shoulder, chest, front of the legs -- and even *then* only on cavalry, not heavy infantry.
We actually did some 'field testing' at one point, and my compound bow (65 lb draw force) did absolutely nothing to a breastplate hammered from 10-gauge steel unless I hit it square on at close range. Most of the time it glanced off one way or the other, and at worst it dented it. I had not one single arrow out of the 30 or so we shot at it go through. I could see a 180lb longbow doing more damage, but honestly I'd expect it to glance off of armor most of the time; plate was mostly curved surfaces for a very good reason.
Most of what I've read (I don't have references handy, sorry) suggests that even when they hit, any one particular arrow was unlikely to penetrate plate armor. It was only the mass of launched arrows that ensured that, out of the 10 that might hit one heavily armored soldier, 1 would find a weak point and hit with just the right angle to go through.
"Hey Frank, want to kill some dorfs again?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Whaddaya think they'll try this time? Archers? Traps? Floods?"
"Dunno. As long as it's not ballistas. Those tickle. Or wardogs, Gods below I get such gas..."
"Well, hell, it's an empty room. Think they scarpered?"
"Shame if they did. I'm getting peckish."
"What's that sou--"
*Splat*
