Bay 12 Games Forum

I've been playing beta for quite some time, so I know how to gain certs.  Was getting them at a decent rate, but kept crashing and getting queued which really cut my rates down.  The problem is that they slashed the cert/XP ratio by half in the last week of beta, and also dramatically raised prices across the board.  While I didn't expect Beta rates to stay in, it's effectively 4x the cost for what were the "top-tier" weapons (those that previously cost 480).  That in and of itself wouldn't be so bad, they were after all top-tier, but the real problem in my mind is that low- or even mid-range items and certs were bumped up into the top-tier as well.  HA rocket launcher upgrades, for instance, used to be 98 certs.  Now they're 1000.  That's over a 20x increase in the time to acquire without SC, for an item that isn't a sidegrade but a weapon with completely different functionality.  Even the non-weapon certs (mods, class upgrades, etc) have had prices go up dramatically, which makes little sense as they're not buyable with SC and even with Beta rates it was estimated someone playing 5 hours a day would take about 3 years to unlock all the class/vehicle upgrades.  It's like they decided that long, skinner-box progression was what would keep people playing instead of just being icing. 

As far as the metagame goes... look at PS1.  Base bonuses (simplified version is incoming to PS2 Soon(TM)), combat engineering, and the infiltrator game alone added many, many layers of depth even in continental battles.  When you took into account the intercontinental lattice, it added a huge amount of complexity to the game.  Right now, it's just 3 maps that don't relate to each other at all.  Resources aren't even shared, so unless someone's really dying for that 10% bonus from continent lock, they'll never have any reason to leave their favorite continent. 

Anyway, that's enough bitching from me.  Game's still fun for now, but I'm just concerned about longevity.   

I think SimEarth had two versions, one for DOS and one for Win95.  I remember playing it on my old Win95 rig alongside DigDug, The Magic School Bus and Command and Conquer with no problems back when I was a wee lad.  Just have to find the 95 version. 

*EDIT*  I actually found my disk in my "ancient" box, it's Windows 3.1 and higher.  Would probably run in Win95 Compatibility, but you might need to do some tweaking.  I actually have an easier time getting MSX2 games to run on a Win98-version MSX emulator than Windows 95/3.1 games >.<

Also, fun note, the minimum system requirement is 4MB of RAM and a computer that supports 256 colors.  Brought back some fond memories of my folks upgrading our hard drive to 1GB and being told that it was all we'd ever need.  Could have quadrupled the storage space on that computer with a modern $5 thumb drive... if it had had a USB port =p

Lol, love DF but I do go through periods where I enjoy creeping on the forums as much as actually playing it.  !!Science!! discussions are universally amazing. 

Far as Minecraft goes, juiced another couple months out of it with the Tekkit mod pack (completely amazing, everyone should try it).  Made a scale model of a Rokh-class battleship from EVE-online in it block-by-block, complete with firing cannons... then finally abandoned it after trying to make it fly around using computercraft almost killed my brand-new PC.   

As far as the Fetch the Universe Quest in X3 goes, I don't use mods because of the *modified* tag... I've got the achievement for it on Steam and I value that more than most of the things I've done in real life, but have yet to earn the one for doing it in Dead is Dead mode, which apparently makes you shed your physical form IRL and ascend to a higher plane of existence as a being of pure energy.  X-Rebirth should be coming out around December/January by most accounts, and the new direction they're taking it in could either revitalize the franchise or end up being the Ace Combat: Assault Horizon of the X-Universe... an unspeakable travesty we shall never mention again. 

It really seems like my real problem is that the games I want to play and that fit my basic complexity criteria exist but aren't released yet.  0x10c, Star Citizen, X-Rebirth, etc.  Planetside 2 would have definitely qualified if it had the same level of depth as PS1 did, but as of the beta version last week it's a major disappointment.  Was expecting Planetside, got a Pay2Win CoD clone with 3 maps and none of the promised metagame that made the first one amazing even a decade later.  Though apparently PS1's going free to play after PS2 launches, which might bring server pops back up and give us back the massive battles we used to love back in the day, so that's worth a shot at least... unless they slash XP gain massively and make weapon unlocks $8 like the sequel.  *sigh* So jaded, I am =/

So, I'm in a horrible situation.  Every game I try seems like a steaming pile of crap compared to DF, and I'm bored out of my mind for lack of variety in my gaming diet.  Recent titles come off as depressingly shallow compared to older games, and the only games I've truly enjoyed for more than a few days in the past few years are DF, Minecraft, Skyrim, and X3:TC/AP.  X-COM was a letdown, FTL got old after one playthrough, tried A Game of Dwarves because it was similar and while fun, it didn't have the depth to keep me playing.  SWTOR and TSW were boring after a week, and even Planetside 2 has had the shine wear off very rapidly with no metagame. 

Does anyone know of a game that has a level of complexity and replayability similar to DF?

Hammers are definitely the way to go.  Edged weapons just end up resulting in exponential zombies.  Atom-smashing and burning corpses works well after the hammerdwarves (or hammer weapon traps) knock them out. 

A 1-wide entrance catwalk lined with hammer traps work well, and can be automated by lining the pit to either side on the bottom with atom-smashers.  Those that don't get killed outright have a good chance of getting knocked off, or dodging off. 

Just be aware that atom-smashing won't work with larger zombie creatures.  Pray you never have to deal with zombie whales.  That was probably the most terrifying experience I've ever had in any video game, ever.

While I can't say that flaying your enemies alive with thousands of flying xXSockXxs isn't awesome, I like the Dwarven Super Soaker/Flamethrower (Magma!!!) because it is much easier to automate and has much simpler ammo requirements.  All you need is a pool full of your favorite liquids than can be constantly refilled by a natural source. 

Got a nice cesspool of FB nastiness drained down from an airlock on one of my forts though, and I'm now going to weaponize the hell out of it.  If anything, a system that causes invaders' eyes to rot out while their bodies slowly liquify inside their armor is much more horrifying and cruel than any kind of projectile-based system, which usually kills invaders outright without giving them sufficient time to suffer and ponder the consequences of their life choices. 

You could also put in a decon system in your bunker to clear out any nastiness and keep it from accumulating.  can have the water drain off the map edge to get rid of it or save it for future weaponization.  Nothing says "Welcome!" to a siege like a spray of eye rot, boiling blood and dwarf vomit. 

I'm almost certain that all Megabeasts have trapavoid by default, at least that's how it was last time I tried to capture one in DF2010.  Haven't tried with 2012, so it may have changed. 

If it's still the case, the best way to go about it is controlled cave-ins, knock them out with the dust and they become vulnerable.  One-tile wide hallways lines with cage traps, with fortifications on one wall and set up so that a wall would collapse on the other side of the fortifications was a preferred method. 

One thing that might actually work now and be reusable is a Dwarven Auto Shotgun loaded with water that blows them off a small drop, since falls stun as well.  Just have a Dwarven Super Soaker firing through fortifications on a 1-wide walk with a drop on the other edge, cage traps at the bottom and good drainage.  Should be a separate "megabeast entrance" though, because it will also trap your Dwarves =p