Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Poll

What would be a 'fair' balance to the goblin's interaction?

Should I use a low probability of success with no 'cannot' target if affected'
- 4 (33.3%)
Should I use a low probability of success with 'cannot' target if affected'
- 2 (16.7%)
Should I give it a moderate (or better) chance of success
- 1 (8.3%)
Should I implement some other means of balancing it
- 3 (25%)
Neutral
- 2 (16.7%)

Total Members Voted: 11


Author Topic: How 'unfair' is 'fair'?  (Read 2483 times)

pisskop

  • Bay Watcher
  • Too old and stubborn to get a new avatar
    • View Profile
How 'unfair' is 'fair'?
« on: January 25, 2015, 01:34:10 pm »

Here is an interaction I have been using for a while.  I've done things with it, and I think I want to know your opinion on a change I am considering.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Its practical effects are nausea and dizziness.  I shortened the duration and the probability of them, due to them being devastating for the goblins opponents when properly armed.  I am considering adding the  IT_CANNOT_TARGET_IF_ALREADY_AFFECTED to it (again), which coupled with the low probability of success would largely nerf this power.  Is this a good idea?

-Should I use a low probability of success with no 'cannot' target if affected'?
  This will hinder legendary dwarves and make large groups of goblins a collective threat.

-Should I use a low probability of success with 'cannot' target if affected'?
  This will largely nerf the power, which will become an occasional success.

-Should I give it a moderate (or better) chance of success?
This was the default state, and made goblin capable of taking on many creature larger than themselves when armored.

-Should I implement some other means of balancing it?
  Options like adding multiple low-prob syndromes or such.

---

For reference, a nauseated dwarf will move at less than half speed (and attack as frequently), and a dizzy dwarf will move slower as well as occasionally in a random direction.
« Last Edit: January 25, 2015, 01:36:30 pm by pisskop »
Logged
Pisskop's Reblancing Mod - A C:DDA Mod to make life a little (lot) more brutal!
drealmerz7 - pk was supreme pick for traitor too I think, and because of how it all is and pk is he is just feeding into the trollfucking so well.
PKs DF Mod!

SMASH!

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: How 'unfair' is 'fair'?
« Reply #1 on: January 25, 2015, 03:47:24 pm »

Make goblin blood black and poisonous.
Logged

§k

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: How 'unfair' is 'fair'?
« Reply #2 on: January 25, 2015, 09:19:45 pm »

The effect could be very mild but accumulative, and a goblin can only zap once in a period of time.

Hence it would be trivial when you encounter one goblin, but be damaging when you're surrounded by several.
Logged
All of them are wearing copper and Iron masks saying "in a time before time somebody attacked somebody"

Show undead posts since last visit.

Pirate Santa

  • Bay Watcher
  • [CURIOUSBEAST_EATER]
    • View Profile
Re: How 'unfair' is 'fair'?
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2015, 03:05:01 am »

The effect could be very mild but accumulative, and a goblin can only zap once in a period of time.

Hence it would be trivial when you encounter one goblin, but be damaging when you're surrounded by several.
I think that alone might be enough to balance it, and it would make sense to be terrified when surrounded by enemies.
How does this interact with martial trances?
Logged
Welcome to Dwarf Fortress. Where peaceful death of old age is something nobody sees coming.
it turns out Dog Bone Doctors aren't very good at doctoring.

pisskop

  • Bay Watcher
  • Too old and stubborn to get a new avatar
    • View Profile
Re: How 'unfair' is 'fair'?
« Reply #4 on: January 26, 2015, 09:53:22 am »

Not at all, although the dwarves still suffer from the effects of dizzyness/nausea.

Cumulative?  Im not sure how t do that, other than to make it lowprob/higheffect.
Logged
Pisskop's Reblancing Mod - A C:DDA Mod to make life a little (lot) more brutal!
drealmerz7 - pk was supreme pick for traitor too I think, and because of how it all is and pk is he is just feeding into the trollfucking so well.
PKs DF Mod!

NomeQueEuLembro

  • Bay Watcher
  • [COFFE_DEPENDENT]
    • View Profile
Re: How 'unfair' is 'fair'?
« Reply #5 on: January 26, 2015, 10:37:29 am »

Could you make so the strenght of the effect was random?
So you could have something like that:
50% chance of causing weak nausea
25% chance of causing average nausea
12% chance of causing strong nausea
6% chance of causing stun
3% chance of making the enemy faint out
<1% chance of heart injury (cardiac attack!)

Note: the chances here are only illustrative.

That would be so cool.
Logged
Likes weremammoths for it's awesomeness. Also, got a trumpet that menaces with spikes of sheep wool.

Skullsploder

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: How 'unfair' is 'fair'?
« Reply #6 on: January 26, 2015, 11:34:51 am »

I don't think this interaction is really necessary in the new version: undisciplined dwarves will get frozen with terror if outnumbered by enemies (in vanilla!) I saw it happen a few times when undead or a werebeast cornered a civilian who didn't get inside in time. They get "paralysed by fear." A highly disciplined dwarf, on the other hand, will fight tooth and nail to the death against more opponents that are bigger, stronger, and tougher than him, and fight through severe wounds. This system seems about right to me as-is.
Logged
"is it harmful for my dwarves ? I bet it is"
Always a safe default assumption in this game 

§k

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: How 'unfair' is 'fair'?
« Reply #7 on: January 26, 2015, 09:54:16 pm »

It would be more super-natural than normal fear.

It would be like ... Harry Potter's first encounter with several dementors.
Logged
All of them are wearing copper and Iron masks saying "in a time before time somebody attacked somebody"

Show undead posts since last visit.

pisskop

  • Bay Watcher
  • Too old and stubborn to get a new avatar
    • View Profile
Re: How 'unfair' is 'fair'?
« Reply #8 on: January 28, 2015, 11:42:54 am »

Could you make so the strenght of the effect was random?
So you could have something like that:
50% chance of causing weak nausea
25% chance of causing average nausea
12% chance of causing strong nausea
6% chance of causing stun
3% chance of making the enemy faint out
<1% chance of heart injury (cardiac attack!)

Note: the chances here are only illustrative.

That would be so cool.

  I could make that, if you would prefer.  Although each syndrome effect is individually rolled, even of the effects are exactly the same otherwise.  So, in theory, a dwarf could catch all of those syndromes at once.  I think  the game will just apply one over the other in a non-stackable way.

  So:
-SEV:10:START:0:END:20 Pain of the hand and
-SEV15:START:0:END:10 Pain in the had would both affect the hand

  But, the end result is SEV:15 pain in the hand until 10 timeframes have gone by (1 day in fortress mode is 1200), then the SEV:10 'takes over'.


---

 In any case, I do think low-probs are the way to go.  I've also got elves kitted out with a few of their own, but it's certainly been hard getting them to show up in fort mode.
Logged
Pisskop's Reblancing Mod - A C:DDA Mod to make life a little (lot) more brutal!
drealmerz7 - pk was supreme pick for traitor too I think, and because of how it all is and pk is he is just feeding into the trollfucking so well.
PKs DF Mod!

pisskop

  • Bay Watcher
  • Too old and stubborn to get a new avatar
    • View Profile
Re: How 'unfair' is 'fair'?
« Reply #9 on: July 10, 2015, 10:59:21 am »

After some more testing I lowered it significantly.

I increased the duration of the numbness in the lungs to both make dwarves with wounded lungs more likely to die and prevent so much goblin spam.
Logged
Pisskop's Reblancing Mod - A C:DDA Mod to make life a little (lot) more brutal!
drealmerz7 - pk was supreme pick for traitor too I think, and because of how it all is and pk is he is just feeding into the trollfucking so well.
PKs DF Mod!