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Author Topic: Character Appearances Mod [47.04]  (Read 2616 times)

peasant cretin

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Character Appearances Mod [47.04]
« on: January 01, 2021, 05:18:03 pm »

Character Appearances Mod reduces the number of visual cues in character descriptions by editing out dermatological conditions (dry/oily/sparse hair), dental issues (crowded/gapped teeth), and various end-range facial features (recessive chins, bulging eyes, etc) from the creature_standard.txt. While potentially more concise, character descriptions for dwarf/elf/human should retain enough appearance variation for the world you've created.

Creature_standard variations gives you several versions of creature_standard.txt, depending on how much you want to deviate from unmodded vanilla Dwarf Fortress:
-creature_standard_a_maple only contains streamlining. This means minimal change. This is still vanilla random with regard to the order of visual cues.
-creature_standard_b_chocolate includes streamlining and also renders humans and elves with hair lengths. Human males may have mustaches and beards. Appearances slightly weighted to hair, eyes, nose.
-creature_standard_c_strawberry is a variation of chocolate. Elf color schemes are more fanciful.
-creature_standard_d_pistachio is a variation of strawberry, replacing dwarf Norse hair styles with flat descriptions for mustache and beards.

Outsider RAW files does what could not be done for any creature_standard file (which controls appearances for world populations). These files "dial in" appearances to achieve a specific look. This is so Adventure Mode players can minimize time spent in character gen, waiting for suitable description rolls:
-creature_standard_e_outsider_pretty is where all outsiders have appearances weighted toward hair, eyes, cheekbones/chin, nose. All have high cheekbones and angular chins. Noses are slightly upturned. Here we also go a bit off-lore and include some "variant humans." Essentially all outsider characters were modeled off my Dwarf Fortress iteration of the D&D aasimar.
Spoiler: file list (click to show/hide)

For example, I made a Revolutionary Girl Utena/Sailor Moon type shoujo-pretty character using the aasimar raw:

Or it could be seen as such.

Compatibility: Works with any 47.04 mod that does not edit creature_standard.txt. If only using outsider files, works with any 47.04 mod.
Download here: https://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=15373
Installation: Drop the creature_standard.txt and/or outsider files into your raw folder; agree to overwrite. You'll need to generate a new world.

All comments, criticisms, and suggestions welcome.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2021, 02:11:17 pm by peasant cretin »
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Iä! RIAKTOR!

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Re: Character Appearances Mod [47.04]
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2021, 07:29:56 pm »

What real differences with vanilla? Standard elves have fanciful hair colors, but I roll only for muscular tall adventurers, not for brightly-colored.
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peasant cretin

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Re: Character Appearances Mod [47.04]
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2021, 03:33:10 pm »

What real differences with vanilla?
If you are asking about the creature_standard variations, then the difference is no more wholesale ugly forts, or ugly civs. Other than that, what any player thinks (N)PCs look like is really a subjective Rorschach inkblot take.

Standard elves have fanciful hair colors,... not for brightly-colored.
Standard elves, to me are fairly Rankin/Bass Mirkwood elf in color. Fanciful shifts them away from being so swampy. I removed moss green and the olive colors.

but I roll only for muscular tall adventurers...
Tallness as a mechanic = of average width, but above average height. The adult dwarf/elf/gobbo is roughly 60K size and tallness will mean they are bigger than 60K. This is useful in regard to what weapons they can one hand. Long swords require size > 57.5K to use in one hand without penalty.

Tallness as flavor, is just flavor.

Presuming a character has a build descriptor (they are tall, short, broad, thin, etc) any unit with high strength will be described as muscular. One exception to this is thin build units who will be described as wiry.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2021, 03:34:45 pm by peasant cretin »
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Iä! RIAKTOR!

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Re: Character Appearances Mod [47.04]
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2021, 09:11:59 pm »

What real differences with vanilla?
If you are asking about the creature_standard variations, then the difference is no more wholesale ugly forts, or ugly civs. Other than that, what any player thinks (N)PCs look like is really a subjective Rorschach inkblot take.

Standard elves have fanciful hair colors,... not for brightly-colored.
Standard elves, to me are fairly Rankin/Bass Mirkwood elf in color. Fanciful shifts them away from being so swampy. I removed moss green and the olive colors.

but I roll only for muscular tall adventurers...
Tallness as a mechanic = of average width, but above average height. The adult dwarf/elf/gobbo is roughly 60K size and tallness will mean they are bigger than 60K. This is useful in regard to what weapons they can one hand. Long swords require size > 57.5K to use in one hand without penalty.

Tallness as flavor, is just flavor.

Presuming a character has a build descriptor (they are tall, short, broad, thin, etc) any unit with high strength will be described as muscular. One exception to this is thin build units who will be described as wiry.

Why you dislike ugly people? Game needs realism.
« Last Edit: January 07, 2021, 01:50:12 am by Iä! RIAKTOR! »
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peasant cretin

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Re: Character Appearances Mod [47.04]
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2021, 04:24:09 pm »

@Iä! RIAKTOR!
Please edit the large image you posted with:

Code: [Select]
[spoiler](click thumbnail to expand)
[img width=450]https://i.redd.it/a94czrohf4961.jpg[/img][/spoiler]
...as that would improve this thread's readability on smartphone.

Future updates will include other outsider files focused on other aspects like preferred builds (tall, broad, etc.) just to save time when rolling a character. If someone wanted to play say, Guts from Berserk, it should be relatively easy to roll a tall character with short black hair, square/angular chin and narrow eyes.

For anyone who doesn't see what they want, and this doesn't require a drafting of a new creature, feel free to make a suggestion.

I've included a brief array of the features I've measured here:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
There are actually ranges for each descriptor (very clear voice is 0-to-?; clear is 50-to-?), which I haven't listed as that's not useful here.
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