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Author Topic: Future feaures  (Read 1971 times)

klefenz

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Future feaures
« on: May 18, 2014, 05:50:09 pm »

So, the development list has a lot of planned features, and many are a long way from coming.

I purpose discussing possibilities of planned features. I know that they are not coming out anytime soon, and we cannot be sure of how they will work, but this should not be a very serious thread.

One that has caught my eye is moving fortress sections. That would be a total game changer.
I assume there would be a machine component capable of moving structures as long as they are connected to the map "root" only through this machine.
Would this allow to create mechanism chains?
If this hypothetical machines can move others of its own class then some very interesting possibilities arise. Namely: Giant Death Robots.

Well, i dont really know if MFS would work the way i think, but this is just imagining.

What planned features have caught your attention or you think have interesting implications?

GavJ

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Re: Future feaures
« Reply #1 on: May 18, 2014, 06:39:45 pm »

The major minecraft mod "technic" or something like that had a mechanism for moving big chunks of map, which worked pretty well.

Basically you had special blocks called "frames" and then these little motor things that would be like traction blocks that push frames next to them.  Then any normal blocks touching a frame get moved too. Up to some maximum number of blocks, at which point it's "too heavy" or whatever to move.

For dwarf fortress, there are a couple of additional considerations first.
* With no redstone, there has to be some better way to quickly turn stuff on and off and have circuits. I know liquids and minecarts CAN do this, but you'd want something less hackish and clunky. Not suggesting magical redstone. More like a dwarven friendly mechanical linkage type of system. But something would be needed.
* The whole system of floors and tiles being separate layers in DF is a major barrier to moving map sections. Dunno how to get around that.
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sal880612m

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Re: Future feaures
« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2014, 08:36:33 pm »

I think Redpower was the mod that actually had frames and allowed you to do things like that. It was in most major mod packs, including Technic but you could get it on it's own as well.
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Cobbler89

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Re: Future feaures
« Reply #3 on: May 18, 2014, 09:38:57 pm »

I kinda thought "moving fortress sections" was things like porticullises (sp?), drawbridges that aren't hardcoded to 1 z level high when raised no matter how many tiles they extend, basically an overhaul of the mechanical logic for realism and not necessarily so you can have towers relocate.

Although, as a fan of Final Fantasy VI, I'd love a desert castle that can submerge under the sand. So if I'm mixing up "moving fortress sections" with something else, I'll probably be as pleased as anyone.
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klefenz

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Re: Future feaures
« Reply #4 on: May 19, 2014, 12:30:50 am »

The list mentions lifts and crushing traps, which make me think of moving something through several z-levels.

Now, taking the mechanics of lift and adding dwarven !!science!! its very likely to obtain gient death robots, or at least retracting towers.

Manveru Taurënér

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Re: Future feaures
« Reply #5 on: May 19, 2014, 02:12:20 am »

Since it has been indicated moving fortress sections and boats would be based on the same system, larger moving constructions doesn't seem that unlikely. It'll hopefully only be limited by what Toady and Threetoe feels makes sense and whatever any future magic would allow (Threetoe has that one story about a flying castle after all ;P)



It's hard to pick any one planned feature really, there's just sooo many of them to look forward to. The updated mechanical system as well as proper sieges with diggers/siege weapons and better AI would probably have the most direct impacts on gameplay, and I bet it's going to be a lot of fun to play around with.

The biggest one though I'd say will be what's starting to show in the next release, with "activating the world" and all. Having yur game not limited in any way to the confines of your embark and getting visitors to your tavern, sending out you own caravans and sieges, managing your surrounding hill dwarf and deep settlements etc, that's going to be HUGE :D

Then there's the whole procedural cultures/races/organizations/general content which'll make the game a whole lot more interesting and different between each world.

An actual magic system, sphere lands and different planes of existence (ie afterlives, elemental planes, dreamworlds etc).

Also not to forget everything adventure mode, especially in conjunction with dwarf mode as they get further meshed together. The whole cycle of potentially playing an exploring adventurer, fighting and learning and making a name for yourself, then finding the perfect site out in the wilderness and heading back to manually pick out an embark crew. Then playing the journey there, fighting off beasts, starvation and whatnot, and finally arriving and swapping over to dwarf mode. Then after a few decades picking out one of your dwarf youths to play in adventure mode and completing the cycle ^^

Someone else is bound to soon point out something else major I've forgotten of course :P
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Dirst

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Re: Future feaures
« Reply #6 on: May 20, 2014, 11:36:46 am »

An actual magic system, sphere lands and different planes of existence (ie afterlives, elemental planes, dreamworlds etc).
So when your fort crumbles to nothing but that one noble who couldn't be bothered to pull The Lever in time, take control of him in Expedition Mode and make your way to the Afterlife Plane.  Locate the all the Dwarves that died due to his incompetence and establish a new fortress.

"No! He's going to do it all again!  Please tell me there is something after the afterlife... and that the Baron can't find me there!"
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klefenz

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Re: Future feaures
« Reply #7 on: May 20, 2014, 05:47:03 pm »

Maybe that particular baron would go to a different afterlife for his incompetence.

What about playing as a god deciding the fates of mortals, sorting them into the multiple available afterlives?

Bandreus

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Re: Future feaures
« Reply #8 on: May 20, 2014, 09:34:03 pm »

I agree with Manveru here. It's not one specific feature, but rather the interaction among new/old features and the possibilities which are going to arise as development progresses.

The activation of the world being one of the best things to date.

I should also mention inns/taverns, starting scenarios (Moria style expeditions), controlling a drunk dwarven army (while drunk!), exploring the ruins of an ancient civilization, reclaiming entity-sites or founding your own in adventure mode, and the list goes on, and on, and on
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