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[addictgamer]

Well, for other games, each user makes their own topic and posts all their ideas in there.
If you don't mind, I think I'll do so here.

1. My suggestions for technology
Go here: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=62629.0

2. My suggestions for music
Go here:
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=62634.0
Most of what I suggest seems planned already, though...

3. Creatures killable only by a certain type of material.
Go here: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=62632.0
Seems that this already exists in game. So much for that suggestion, although, I would like a simpler method.


4. Modding cave generation.
As far as I know, the player does not have much say in how caves look/are generated.
Why not allow for scripts/formulas made by players to be used for cave Gen?
That way, if a player wants, they can make every cave a sphere with water at the bottomn.
Or, caves are only small, winding paths. Or, caves vary between these 2 suggested ideas and the current Cave style.
I would like this a lot.



5. Blueprints/design papers (or whatever you want to call it)
I noticed that in vanilla DF, you cannot forge long swords at the forge or craft blowguns at the carpenter's shop.
Well, I have an idea for foreign items.
To build an item your civ does not use, you must trade for the blueprints, ask a migrated weaponsmith to forge some so that all metalsmiths will be able to if they learn from him/his blueprints, send a spy to an another Civ to steal the design/blueprints, or plunder the designs/blueprints/models in war.
Ya, this requires some other stuff ot be implemented, but they will.
Another idea out of this one is compelx/advanced objects require the builder/architect to grab the blueprints and haul it to the construction site with them and build using that.
Afterwards, they have to take the blueprint and bring it back to wherever or something.

6. Immigrants from other races
If this is enabled in the init files, Elfs, humans, goblins, whatever should be allowed to migrate to your fort.
Although it would probably be rare, it should still happen.
There are many factors that could influence an occurence of this.
For example, an Elf that tolerates dwarfs and is persecuted for that flees to your fort (in fort mode, any dwarven settlement in adventure mode/world gen)

7. Offscreen settlements getting abandoned
Sort of building on immagrants from other races, if a nearby settlement is attacked, the people living in it should flee to your fort (in fort mode, any dwarven settlement in adventure mode/world gen)if your civs are on good terms.


8. Idea for trade
Sort of building on Immagrants from other races, every individual civilization should send caravans to you, not only one caravan from the entire race.
This probably will be implemented when caravans are tracked offmap, and it may even already have been considered.

9. Slavery
The player should be able to request slaves from caravans/buy them off caravans.
They can be prisoners of war, crminals, etc.

10. Mercanaries/indentured servants/hired labor.
It would be great if the player was able to hire Mercanaries to fight their wars, offer people who want to migrate but can't to come here, all expenses paid, and work x number of time to pay off the money you spent. This could also be a method of getting around the not coming to your deathrap thing.
Hired labor: Ask a civ to send workers to your fort of proffesion x, and skill y. You then pay the proposed monthly/yearly fee (Depending on what terms you agreed to).
Wouldn't it be nice if the player had the ability to do this: "Hey, whoever migrates to my fort will recieve xyz". Helps if the last migrant wave was too small.


11. Explosions
Example scenario:
"I think I'll take out my iron pick and mine out this iron vein." The dwarf takes out his pick and begins digging. when the pick hit's the wall, it produces sparks. The sparks come in contact with the invisible flamable gas in the tunnel. That dwarf has discovered the bomb.
There should be an option in the init do disable explosions for those who don't want to play with them.


More to come as I think them up.
Sorry if some of these were suggested already.

[Medicine Man]

I love the technology idea.

[sweitx]

Not sure on the technology part, since it feels that a tech tree does not fit too well inside DF universe, the difficulty is how to organically add that into the game that make simulation realistic (instead of a simple, to build X,Y,Z, you need tech W).

Quite a few modern invention was already invented long before their time (a basic steam engine was invented in the Renaissance), however, in many cases, such inventions were ignored/forgotten for several reasons, a few I can remember are...
1. No need for it.  The invention solves a problem that doesn't exist yet (steam engine did not take on because slaves were an abundant power source).
2. No supporting technology.  The first difference engine (a mechanical calculator) was designed, but hampered by the fact that early machining technology cannot reach the precision required.

[Syntic]

2. No supporting technology.  The first difference engine (a mechanical calculator) was designed, but hampered by the fact that early machining technology cannot reach the precision required.

What is one plus one?

Clink clunk click... CHING! Your answer is 3.

[NW_Kohaku]

The problem with all these "technology upgrade" ideas is that, for the most part, there WAS no technology upgrades in the Middle Ages.  It was, in fact, well-known for being a time where techonolgy was completely stagnant, where free thinkers and inventers would have to join the church to avoid religious persecution for their thoughts, and even then, most of their discoveries were largely ignored by the general peasantry because they were so stubbornly conservative and traditional. 

(For instance, the discovery of potatos did not immediately translate into their use, even when it could be proven that potatos were superior crops in cold weather, as their underground growth protected them from frost.  The French, in particular, utterly refused to eat them and refused orders and incentives from the nobility to plant them, which helped lead to the famine that sparked the French Revolution.  Potatos only caught on in Germany because so many wars in that nation had burned so many fields that people were willing to plant crops that would grow inside the dirt, where they at least wouldn't burn away entirely...)

The best way to involve a "tech tree" in DF is to instead have a "dependency tree".  Alchemist's Workshops from 40d, for example, requried 3 clear glass vials.  That required a glass making industry (and sand), as well as an ashery (and wood) to make the clear glass.  If we had more hardware requirements for making many of the workshops that we build, it would potentially be possible to have the sort of progressive set of requirements for more complex buildings or industries that require more precision hardware that would require advanced workshops to build.

[addictgamer]

Yes, that is difficult, but there's a whole community available to think about it.

When I say technology, I don't necessarily mean modern techs/inventions.
I mean any and all technology should somehow fit into a tech tree.

Actually, I don't like tech trees too much, they're mostly linear.
So, how about it is realistic.

For example:
You can discover steam long before you discover mechanics, but you have no use for steam until you research mechanics.
When you have both steam and mechanics made known, you can build that artificial waterfall with basic steam engines, even if they're as simple as dropping water on magma so that the steam moves turbines that spin gears.

If you discover a technology, it may unlock uses for other technologies you have discovered and/or provide you with inventions that you can build.
It's a little more complex than the simple, "to build X,Y,Z, you need tech W".
So, there's one possibility.

Remember, if Toady puts the existing technology into a tech tree/whatever you want to call it, players can add their own techs in.



NW_Kohaku, you have a point there, but a dependency tree is not as satisfying. It will work if Toady refuses to add in any sort of tech tree/whatever you want to call it, but...

[Lord Darkstar]

Actually, ancient humans DID use steam power. Mostly for whistles and spinning things. They didn't use it to generate ELECTRICAL POWER which was then used to do other work, like light a room, or drive a motor to run a bucket chain. But steam engines were well documented and used.

It would be completely in keeping for dwarves to have steam generators to do things like make whistles that can be heard by all dwarves in an embark area, or to boil water and let the steam shoot out of a pipe to the surface to remove the water that is coming into their mines. Going further steam punk would be up to Toady, since it is his game and he's a primary visionary of it's world (along with his brother).

Slave power was cheaper then mechanical power. So there was no reason to go past that point until economics turns it around--- that is, if you don't have access to cheap slaves, and you still need the work done, then other means to do it economically becomes feasible.

[kilakan]

One way to unlock technologies could be a little more random then "you go find out what a wheel is" and have it as a sort of artifact mood which ends in the entire fort being able to make something new, aka "urist claims a carpentry workshop, takes one log and begins working"  The artifact wheel spinning things has been created, and from then on you can make wheels, yet hav little use for them until someone else claims a masonry workshop or carpentry workshop and makes th first mechanism/cart.  This is turn could solve Toady's long dellimma of "How do I make artifacts more useful"

[Lord Shonus]

I think that the best way to handle technology in DF would be to give everything a "level."

Each type of armor/weapon/craft would have a difficulty level to make, and each material would also have a level, defined in their raws.

Each civ would have a range, in their entity entry, for their capabilities During worldgen, each civ would be assigned a value in that range. For example:

Kolbolds might have LEATHER 5:10, METAL 1:3, WEAPONSMITHING 1:4, and ARMORMAKING 1:2.

A dagger or blowgun would have a level of 1. That means that every kobold civ would be able to make these weapons, from whatever materials they can work. Copper and Tin would have a value of 1 as well, so all kobold civs could make copper daggers. Bronze would have a value of 3 as it is a complex alloy, so a few kobold civs might be able to make it. Iron would have a value of 4, and be completely inaccessable, even if they stole some iron bars from the dwarves. Leather armor has a value of 2, so only more advanced civs would have it, but they would always be able to make leather shields and helmets (much easire to make a boiled leather helmet than a boiled leather breastplate. Spears would have a value of 2, axes 3, and swords 4, so many kobold civs would have spears, some would have axes, and a few swords.
This could even be tied to perceived value and rarity of items. The more you exceed the level by, the more likely the item in question would be to appear, and the less a trader would be willing to pay to get the item. (Dwarf Civ (Metal 20, weaponmaking 17) "A copper sword? I'll give you two pebbles for it." Elf Civ (Metal 0, Weaponmaking 15) "A copper sword? I will gladly trade some of my animals for such a fine example of your craft.")

[kilakan]

that sounds like a perfectly reasonable way to handle it, and since  those ideas are easily modifiable it gives modders more lee-way.

[scira]

I don't know about us having to actually discover new technologies, since after all we are just a small party branching off from the dwarven kingdom, right? But along those lines, what if the available technologies was dependent on the age of the world?

[addictgamer]

2 new suggestions:

11. Creatures killable only by a certain typoe of material.
How about creatures that die only if they come into contact with a certain material?
A RockWhale only dies when they come in contact with large amounts of water, for example (Of course, droppign a nuke on it would kill it, but that's a different story). And there are the myths with that one creature that only dies if it is shot with a silver bullet or something, not sure.
Since this is a fantasy world, it would fit in perfectly.

12. Music
We see instruments, but don't hear them or see them being used.
Add musicians into the game. and do it as it is in real life.
If you aren't born with a gift for music, you'll suck at playing an instrument.
Good musicians can cheer up dwarfs, even make them ecstatic temporarily if they are playing that good of a song.
Optional feature that'd be cool:
Dwarfs can compose their own song, then you, (toady) use some sort of MIDI library or something to allow the song to be heard in a certain radius around a dwarf who performs that song.
Of course, init option to disable the hearing the music part needed. Yes, it would be complex, but I think worth it.

[Lord Shonus]

Look, dude. There's rules at the top of the forum. One suggestion per thread, and search to see if it's been suggested before.

[addictgamer]

Look, dude. There's rules at the top of the forum. One suggestion per thread, and search to see if it's been suggested before.

Slaves to Armok II: Dwarf Fortress is a fantasy game. You can check it out at www.bay12games.com. Feel free to discuss any aspect of the game here.

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BEFORE POSTING A SUGGESTION

Check our development pages. You can find everything in one place at this link.
Search for an existing thread.
WHEN REPLYING TO A SUGGESTION

Try to make a contribution. If you like a suggestion, say why you like it and try to refine it if possible. If you don't like a suggestion, say why and be civil about it.
Be respectful.  If you don't intend to show respect, do not post.  If there is a problem, use the "Report to moderator" button on a post in the thread.  Do not handle it on your own.
New posters will not always follow the guidelines above, but if you aren't making an honest effort to be helpful, do not post.  The best option is to ignore redundant threads entirely, especially if somebody helpful has already replied.
Joking around is fine up to a point, of course, but don't be abusive or derail somebody's thread entirely.

I looked for such a rule up there before I posted this topic, but I did and still don't see one.
If there is such a rule, I suggest whoever maintains the forum to put it up there too. Or at least a link to a topic full of rules.

[Lord Shonus]

I apologize. The one suggestion per thread is not an explicit rule. It is however, a convention.