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[Leerok the Lacerta]

Signs and labels would be useful. Perhaps they can be viewed with 'k', 'ENTER', and 'v' rather like viewing any other object. Perhaps they can use the exclamation point or question mark. Makes me wonder whether the interrobang is available.

They would be extremely useful if we wanted to have lots of levers(great for bloodlines games, I'm sure) or to leave our personalised textual mark upon the world.

[Red Jackard]

Would the signs use custom text or the in-game languages?

I think the latter might be more interesting...

[Leerok the Lacerta]

I would say custom text, since it would be much less cumbersome and would yield more utility. Using the in-game languages such as when naming the fortress and starting group would be amusing, though.

[Tirpen]

I like this, exept instead of just boring signposts we should have runestones!

Building a runestone uses one piece of stone, a masonry job and an engraving job. When you place the stone with the Build command you get to enter a message that will then be visble when you loo[k] at it.

This would be very useful for leaving notes for yourself and other players in bloodline games and for labeling and describing your levers/preassure pads and other contraptions.

[Morkilus]

Even a custom engraving interface would be quite swell. Of course, I'd need to be able to engrave wood or blocks if I wanted to make above-ground signposts.

[mickel]

I've been wanting labelling for ever. And naming, too. Instead of "x has started a party at Basalt Table" it'd be "x has started a party at Lower Dining Hall"...

[SquashMonster]

I think a nifty way to do labels would be to have each one come with a randomly generated language string, and then on another line a "translation" that consists of whatever you requested to have engraved.

For example, I engrave a message next to a lever that says "Pull to dump magma into main corridor," then I hit "k" to examine it.  It says:

It is engraved here: "Dorok uhrl boatmar um grogsprotten" (Translation: "Pull to dump magma into main corridor.")

You'd get the flavor of having the engravings make sense in the game world along with the utility of putting meaningful names on things, and all you have to do is lie to the player.

[ November 27, 2007: Message edited by: SquashMonster ]

[Karlito]

there's not nearly enough words in the language raws right now and even if there were 3000 more it wouldn't be enough to handle something like that.

[SquashMonster]

You don't need a lot of words.  The Dwarven text is any random set of words from the language raws.  There's no actual correlation between it and the "translation", other than the fact that the game claims it to be one.

[Tirpen]

Well, that would be pretty crappy since every other place in the game where it uses dwarwish the it does a correct translation using the files.

[Linktoreality]

Realistically, this would work out just fine. Only other Germanic languages are easy to directly translate into English, and even then there are sometimes words that just can't translate. All it would need is more small words that might mean different things in different contexts, and deleri (steel) can become a'deleri (strong) u'deleri (beautiful) or o'deleri (reliable).

Just an idea, of course.

Edit: Then again, it would really make more sense to just have it written out in English. The characters are all assumed to be dwarves, so they wouldn't need to translate something from their own language. If that were so, then you would need a dwarf with a skill called "Language Master" in order to understand what the elves want to trade to you, and for how much.

[ November 28, 2007: Message edited by: Linktoreality ]

[Leerok the Lacerta]

Hmm, "Linguist" sounds like an excellent skill for diplomats in a world with many races and cultures other than the normal dwarves, humans, and kobolds. I just wonder how the dwarves would interact with other races if they didn't understand their language. Perhaps diplomancy effects would be random and limited at first, and then expand in possible effects and become more directed as linguistic skills increase.

Imagine having a language skill for each intelligent species and/or civilisation other than one's own.

It would be quite interesting to see player-constructed languages and how complex and/or complete they can be.

[Nil Eyeglazed]

Last time this was suggested, I thought bundling it with naming more items was appropriate.  "Why not just label masterpiece items randomly like artifacts, and let you pick the best named one for the job?"  Well, my idea wasn't met warmly.

I LIKE dwarven names.  I like that things get screwed up when the wrong lever is pressed.  As has been mentioned, functional but ugly labels are possible-- just write it in designate with your mouse, with a big arrow.

What I'm scared of is a sign saying "Farm flood 1" next to a different sign saying "Farm flood 2".  I still think it'd be cooler to have to ask yourself, "Well, will the next player understand that 'The Sweet Waters of Drowning' means the first floodgate, or should I use 'The Hoary Orbs of Opening'?"

[mickel]

Personally I think setting the name yourself is the only sensible option. However, you could set it by picking words off a list like when you name the fortress and whatnot. So there would be a sign for "Farmland One, The Farmland of Rope Reed" and further away a lever called "Flooding of Farmland One". To a non-dwarven visitor, it would just be standard Dwarven gibberish.