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Author Topic: What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?  (Read 3885 times)

warthurton

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What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?
« on: August 30, 2012, 12:49:57 pm »

I was thinking (and yes it hurt).

It is fairly easy to match up DF nobles/citizens to chess pieces with two exceptions (rook & bishop)

King = Monarch (King or Queen)
Queen = (King or Queen) Consort
Bishop = ?? (maybe Expedition Leader and Mayor - Both use Consoler skill that maybe a Bishop would)
Knight = Militia Commander and Captain of the Guard
Rook = ?? (Champion and next best Hero)
Pawn = Any soldier except Marksdwarves

Any thoughts on the Bishop & Rook positions?
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darkrider2

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Re: What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2012, 12:57:58 pm »

The board is a checkered set of obsidian and ice.

surrounded by magma of course.
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DavionFuxa

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Re: What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?
« Reply #2 on: August 30, 2012, 02:06:51 pm »

How about this?

King is Overseer - For if the Overseer gets checkmate, then the Fortress is lost.
Queen is ?!?!?!?!?!?!? - The Superweapon in Dwarf Fortress?
Rook is Ballistae - In relation to their ability to knock down things Straight in front of them
Bishop is MarksDwarf - In relation to their ability to fire around troops but not tackle stuff straight in front
Knight is Soldiers - In relation to the fact that you send them in as the clean up crew

Pawns would simply be Recruits

Also, if we were to go deeper in describing the Recruits themselves:

King's Pawn - MoneyDwarf - Traders, Brokers, Manager, Bookkeeper, and everyone else involved with managing the books
Queen's Pawn is the Chief Medical Dwarf - The Medical Practices are always thought of in Dwarf Fortress
Rook's Pawn is Laborers like Fisherman/Woodcutter/Beekeeper/Hunter - IE, the guys usually in front of the Battlements when battle begins
Bishop's Pawn are the TradesDwarves like Carpenter/Bowyer/Mason/CraftDwarf - IE, the TradesDwarf whom the MarksDwarve relate too
Knight's Pawn are the ForgesDwarves like Armorsmith/Weaponsmith/Furnace Operator/Wood Burner - IE, the guys who are at the core or Arm and Armoring your Troops

Edit:

I thought a little bit about the above and figured I wouldn't include the Militia Commander at all and Heroes don't really describe Knights well (plus Goblins send too many Heroes at you in Sieges). Instead I would just call the Knights Soldiers in relation to the fact that you would have some trained Dwarves and Heroes would simply be among them.

I also think I would call the King and Queen something different. While the King is strong, it isn't all ending in Dwarf Fortress as of right now; and I think it would be better if Players were included somewhere on the board so I'd call the King 'The Overseer'.

I don't know what I would call the Queen though, as we don't really have a super weapon that fits with the current Dwarf Fortress. A Past example might be the Magma Cannon from Boatmurder but that has since become outdated with the addition of Z Levels. Ballistae pretty well already refers to the Fortress Embattlements (which would include Traps, Cave Ins, and other Fortress Defenses) and those things are more conditional at best.

Maybe someone else could come up with that?
« Last Edit: August 30, 2012, 04:03:35 pm by DavionFuxa »
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DavionFuxa

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Re: What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?
« Reply #3 on: August 30, 2012, 04:07:44 pm »

I figured since I noted Boatmurder Above:

King is Overseer
Queen is Sankis
Bishop is Miasma
Knight is Tamed Elephant
Rook is Magma Cannon
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A Google Doc I wrote up in regards to making a new 'workable' definition for the Roguelike Genre:
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NESgamer190

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Re: What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?
« Reply #4 on: August 30, 2012, 04:32:40 pm »

Let's see here...  I'd organize the chesspieces as such...
White side:  Invaders
King:  Bronze Colossus (Likely the toughest megabeast to slaughter, given its composition of bronze and lack of bones to break)
Queen:  Dragon (Fitting, given the dragon's a deathly fire engine.)
Rooks:  Probably goblin archers, given how arrows and bolts work right at the moment.
Knights:  Kobold thieves (for their sneaky trapavoid flag and stealthwalking.)
Bishops:  Necromancers
Pawns:  Elves (For the generally poor wood araments.)

Black side:  Dwarven side
King:  The overseer themselves of course, represented by a cloaked figure.  (Yay ambiguity!)
Queen:  A dwarven screw pump manned by a dwarf.  (I'd say magma's a good solution for those pesky invaders, no?)
Bishops:  Axedwarves
Knights:  Crossbowdwarves (Avoiding their friends in friendly fire, while still gouging the invaders' eyes)
Rooks:  Siege operators operating a siege engine.  (Likely a ballista)
Pawns:  Cats  (They breed like no tomorrow, and occasionally get caught in a fight with a random adversary!)

Any inaccuracies, do feel free to fix 'em!
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thiosk

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Re: What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?
« Reply #5 on: August 30, 2012, 04:44:21 pm »

You have inspired me. I will build a battle chess arena.

More will follow.
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DavionFuxa

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Re: What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?
« Reply #6 on: August 30, 2012, 05:38:10 pm »

Hmm, invaders - never thought of them, hmmm....

Let's say......

Invaders:

Enemy King represents 'FUN' (Written in those letters on a Piece) for which you ultimately will conquer eventually if you play long enough before restarting again
Enemy Queen represents.... Something - I really suck with Queens because there is no real 'end all' threat yet that can't be overcome in someway (like I'd put Goblin General here if armies with them might dig into your fortress, avoid traps, and whatever else but Toady hasn't got there yet).
Enemy Rook represents Undead Attributes for which you can quickly destroy the unprepared (this could be Necromancers, Evil Biomes, and whatever else is considered Undead)
Enemy Bishop represents Megabeasts/Titans that you can hit you from where your not prepared for them and suffer a lot of damage
Enemy Knight represents Tantruming Dwarves that can bring your Fortress low from within
Enemy Pawns represents Goblins, Elves, Kobolds, Animal People, and whatever else that declares war on your Fortress
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A Google Doc I wrote up in regards to making a new 'workable' definition for the Roguelike Genre:
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i2amroy

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Re: What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?
« Reply #7 on: August 30, 2012, 11:34:36 pm »

Enemy Queen represents.... Something - I really suck with Queens because there is no real 'end all' threat yet that can't be overcome in someway (like I'd put Goblin General here if armies with them might dig into your fortress, avoid traps, and whatever else but Toady hasn't got there yet).
I'd put HFS on the queen piece. A queen isn't unkillable, it's just a very difficult thing to pull off and usually the only way to do it is by trading some other pieces for her. As such HFS probably fits the bill best, being an extremely large threat that even if it is completely walled off down below it almost always causes you to lose at least one of your "pieces" (counting HFS as a whole, not just the initial wave).
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TSTwizby

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Re: What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?
« Reply #8 on: August 30, 2012, 11:52:38 pm »

I am quite frankly disappointed in you all. If DF were chess, it would not just lie quietly and obey the feeble rules imposed upon it, expressing itself only through the names and physical appearances of the pieces. No, it would take the rules, and bend them to its will! The player's ballistae rooks would remain immobile, but would be able to shoot at anyone in a straight line away from them, while the enemy's bogeyman rooks can cross the board in a single turn to catch a fleeing pawn! War giant eagles, the knights, fly above the board each turn, passing over the enemy's ranged-attacking marksman bishops! The pawns, the dwarves, can take on a job each turn, to attack, to move, to build a new ballista or to forge new armor! They will not be simple chess pieces, but equipable action figures! With removable limbs!

And then you get too close to the opposite side of the board, and it turns out the enemy king is HFS and kills all your pieces in one turn with a deadly dust attack.
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Re: What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?
« Reply #9 on: August 31, 2012, 12:15:36 pm »

If DF was a chess game, it would menace with spikes of pawns.
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mastahcheese

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Re: What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?
« Reply #10 on: September 01, 2012, 12:36:55 am »

I am quite frankly disappointed in you all. If DF were chess, it would not just lie quietly and obey the feeble rules imposed upon it, expressing itself only through the names and physical appearances of the pieces. No, it would take the rules, and bend them to its will! The player's ballistae rooks would remain immobile, but would be able to shoot at anyone in a straight line away from them, while the enemy's bogeyman rooks can cross the board in a single turn to catch a fleeing pawn! War giant eagles, the knights, fly above the board each turn, passing over the enemy's ranged-attacking marksman bishops! The pawns, the dwarves, can take on a job each turn, to attack, to move, to build a new ballista or to forge new armor! They will not be simple chess pieces, but equipable action figures! With removable limbs!

And then you get too close to the opposite side of the board, and it turns out the enemy king is HFS and kills all your pieces in one turn with a deadly dust attack.

So in your eyes, if DF were a chess game, it would be DF?
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GreatWyrmGold

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Re: What if Dwarf Fortress was a chess game?
« Reply #11 on: September 01, 2012, 04:48:06 pm »

Dwarven side:
King--Expedition Leader. If he dies, the entire party will roam around aimlessly until the fortress autopauses for some reason.
Queen--Magma. Is there anything magma can't do?
Bishop--Marksdwarf. Excellent at offense.
Knight--Pick a melee militiadwarf.
Rook--Ballista. Useful for defense.
Pawns--Recruits.

Goblin side:
King--????
Queen--Demon
Bishop--Bowglin, the goblinish marksdwarf.
Knight--Kobold. Maneuverable and harmful to your cause, if not technically goblins.
Rook--Lasher? I dunno.
Pawns--Snatchers.
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