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Author Topic: Fences/railings  (Read 2606 times)

FrankMcFuzz

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Fences/railings
« on: April 14, 2014, 06:59:55 pm »

Have you ever watched a dwarf jump over an edge and then fall 6 z-levels and get impaled on your own spikes?

I have.

That's why I am suggesting a furniture item called railings and fences! You could use it to fence in animals, put it over the mouths of volcanoes or over pit traps or rivers.

Slap it down on a square adjacent to an empty space and dwarves are LESS likely to jump over it like idiots. So it functions as a wall, but dwarves that WANT to get over it, can by jumping it, but they're not going to dive off a cliff that you obviously don't want them to. Plus decoration. Love me some decor.

Just a suggestion, though I have mentioned this someplace before, don't know if it's planned or not.
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dwarfhoplite

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Re: Fences/railings
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2014, 12:48:15 pm »

I use wooden fortification for fences.
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Manveru Taurënér

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Re: Fences/railings
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2014, 12:57:09 pm »

While this quote doesn't say all that much one way or the other it might be interesting anyhow :P

Quote from: Kyphis
With the new climbing being implimented, what are the odds of seeing/constructing fences that block most animals, but only cost extra movement (take longer) for things with climbing or sentience?

Same as any other reasonable feature, I suppose.  I haven't added anything like that for next time.

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Ramaraunt

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Re: Fences/railings
« Reply #3 on: April 20, 2014, 08:46:41 am »

Sounds interesting, but would it take up an entire tile? Maybe it could take up the edge of a tile or something like that.
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miauw62

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Re: Fences/railings
« Reply #4 on: April 20, 2014, 09:09:41 am »

I think you can set traffic zones somehow, that makes the pathfinding less (or more, if you want to) likely to choose a path through those tiles.
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GavJ

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Re: Fences/railings
« Reply #5 on: April 21, 2014, 12:20:00 pm »

Now sure how this would work functionally.  If they take up a whole tile, then basically you just have a totally redundant version of fortifications.  Whereas if they take up the border between a tile or something, then Toady would probably have to dramatically rewrite the way information is stored and how the grid works and motion and pathing and everything, just for fences.

If you can think of a way this would work without changing the fundamental nature of the data structure, and that isn't the same as fortifications, then sure, another functionally different option for construction might be great.
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Manveru Taurënér

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Re: Fences/railings
« Reply #6 on: April 21, 2014, 12:38:22 pm »

The main difference to fortifications that I'd make is that fences could be created in large sections at once with little material (sort of like when constructing roads and other multi-tile constructions). Building fortifications all the way around your pastures would be a bit tedious. Having a cheap, easily constructed but much weaker alternative would be quite nice that way.
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GavJ

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Re: Fences/railings
« Reply #7 on: April 21, 2014, 12:47:40 pm »

So they can be destroyed by building destroyers, but on the other hand save on materials, is the distinction? Sounds good.

Incidentally, it annoys me though how those multitile things punish people who want to build in pretty, organic shapes (you have a lot of 1 and 2 tile long shapes that end up not saving any materials). I don't think it's a very elegant system, so I kind of don't like promoting more of that. But whatever.

Ideally, you would enter a designation "mode" for those, make all your designations, then hit confirm and it tells you the cost and you allocate your materials for the whole bunch, regardless of crazy shapes.
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WJLIII3

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Re: Fences/railings
« Reply #8 on: April 25, 2014, 12:13:19 pm »

First reading the title, I pictured something like fortifications that treat people like objects. That is, a "fence" tile halls any movement through it, and stops the creature on it's own tile. They can then move as they please.
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Waparius

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Re: Fences/railings
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2014, 06:45:43 pm »

One thing that would both enable this and fix the wonkiness around engravings would be to make some way to designate various floor/ground tiles as "inside". Maybe a temporary building zone, which would be great for whenever workshops and rooms get folded into the zoning system. Then you could order dwarves to "fence this zone", and they would place fences around the edge of the tiles in a given zone that would prevent dwarves falling off the edge. You'd likely have to rezone a couple of tiles that you didn't want to fence in, but it would be a really useful addition to the interface regardless.

You'd also be able to guarantee that dwarves would engrave the inside of a room, the way they're supposed to, which would be nice.
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Dirst

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Re: Fences/railings
« Reply #10 on: April 29, 2014, 10:29:26 am »

One thing that would both enable this and fix the wonkiness around engravings would be to make some way to designate various floor/ground tiles as "inside". Maybe a temporary building zone, which would be great for whenever workshops and rooms get folded into the zoning system. Then you could order dwarves to "fence this zone", and they would place fences around the edge of the tiles in a given zone that would prevent dwarves falling off the edge. You'd likely have to rezone a couple of tiles that you didn't want to fence in, but it would be a really useful addition to the interface regardless.

You'd also be able to guarantee that dwarves would engrave the inside of a room, the way they're supposed to, which would be nice.
I like this idea.  The game can figure out the perimeter and designate fences for each tile, then the player can undesignate where he/she wants openings.  It would be more realistic to designate "gates" at those tiles (effectively one-tile-thick drawbridges that, when "closed," block movement the same way fences do), but open gaps are within the player's grasp should they be desired.

I don't want to just go with doors for three reasons:  One, you can't designate the door until there is something there to support it (constructed fences don't support until actually constructed).  Two, it would be impossible to make a three-wide portal for wagons.  Three, closed doors block movement differently than fences do.

On a related note, hopefully wagons would path thru gates the way single-tile creatures path thru doors.  That would solve a lot of headaches with "inaccessible" depots.
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