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Author Topic: Fort Mode Score  (Read 794 times)

Andrew

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Fort Mode Score
« on: May 01, 2007, 02:41:00 pm »

A score that is reported when a fort is terminated is my top wish for DF right now.

I’m sure this has been a subject of discussion already, but I can’t find mention of ‘score’ in the dev pages or this board. Apologies if I’ve missed the obvious; it’s a habit.

Anyhow, there are 10 or so ppl in a gaming group I’m in who are playing DF right now, and while sharing anecdotes is fun, being able to post our accomplishments in a codified way once a fort falls into ruin would be terrific. A simple score would be great; a little legend file saved to the directory with a score and stats would be wonderful.

The obvious thought is to keep it simple, using what the game already keeps track of: the values/wealth calculations that drive immigration; accomplishments (river, chasm, magma, adamantium); nobles attracted; named enemies killed; and so on.

The one bit of math I’d suggest is to balance a fort which accomplishes everything then falls versus a fort that stops progress of dangerous accomplishments and produces value ad infinitum. Use the  Net Present Value formula to discount score gains – the further out in time the score gain, the less it will add to the final fort score. So,

1) Calculate the score gained in the previous year at each calendar flip
2) Apply the formula (this year’s score)/(1 + r)^t where r is the base growth rate a fort is expected to grow at and t is the number of years elapsed
3) Sum em all at game over

Figuring out a fair value for ‘r’ would be trial-and-error.

[ May 01, 2007: Message edited by: Andrew ]

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hactar1

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Re: Fort Mode Score
« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2007, 12:12:00 am »

meh... One thing I really like about DF is that it lets you set your own goals and rules.  If it gave you a "score", it would necessarily be prioritizing some activities over others, which is not something I think most people want to see.

An alternative is to keep extensive statistics on what kinds of things get done in your fort, and report on them once you abandon it.  It wouldn't necessarily give a value of each statistic.  54 suits of armor produced, 53,784 pints of alcohol ingested, 87 dwarves killed by elephants, that kind of thing.  Maybe it could be factored into the Legends mode somehow.

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Mechanoid

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Re: Fort Mode Score
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2007, 12:50:00 am »

Having population statistics and the like would be awsome, but it should always try to tie into the game legends list somehow.

As well, the 'score' should be entirely subjective, dependant on only personal preference...
I dont think anyone wants to see the game - especially this game - telling you how well /poorly you did. Population counts? Dont 'subtract points' for the number of dwarves killed. Hell, maybe the guy was going for it.   :p

[ May 02, 2007: Message edited by: Mechanoid ]

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Andrew

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Re: Fort Mode Score
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2007, 01:31:00 am »

I agree. A legends and stats output would be preferable to an arbitrary score, and would fit the DF design much more appropriately.

Forget the score and NPV in my first post. A summary file would be much better.

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axus

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Re: Fort Mode Score
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2007, 08:26:00 am »

Yeah I agree, a short score wouldn't make me happy.  If you want a score, just look at "fortress value".  That is probably the most interesting value to a dwarf.  A list of every stat would be very nice.

So, lets list stuff!  I think everything on the "stocks" screen would be good.. for every item: your ending amount, the total produced, toal imported, total exported.  Number of masterpieces.

List of every "mob" seen by a dwarf: number killed, number captured, number bred, etc.

List of legendary skilled dwarves.

If we got a standard formatted log, we could come up with our own scoring algorithms and run it on the log.

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