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Author Topic: Quality specification  (Read 425 times)

Veroule

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Quality specification
« on: May 13, 2007, 10:34:00 pm »

As someone that did lots of different jobs, I am very familiar with a simple formula that is quite similar to the momentum formula; and is true with nearly everything a person does.
skill*price=quality*speed

Prices already are tied to quality of production.  Skill is already tied to speed.  What is missing is the ability to recognize that anyone can chose to produce a lesser then thier best product, and let us specify a maximum quality to make.

The exact ratios for the speed gain that a Legendary dwarf making a basic quality wouldn't necessarily be 1-1, but it should be something.  There are many things that you just don't need masterpieces for at different times.

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Mechanoid

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Re: Quality specification
« Reply #1 on: May 13, 2007, 11:37:00 pm »

Definitely necessary for +Master skilled Carpenter dwarves who make beds for low-income housing:
The difference in rent of a standard bed and a superb /exceptional bed can mean the difference between a dwarf sleeping in their room, or sleeping in the barracks.

Same goes for craft goods waiting to be sold within the fortress itself; a dwarf that really likes amulets but who's poor and can't aford them will never have the one happy thought that stands between them, and a berserk rage.

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JT

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Re: Quality specification
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2007, 12:42:00 am »

How about two settings: Basic or Best?  Basic fare is what you'd stick in your low-income housing and your barracks.  Best fare is what everyone else would like.  I can't imagine there's much of a need for only half-assed equipment... just fully-assed or non-assed equipment. ;-)
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irmo

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Re: Quality specification
« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2007, 02:05:00 pm »

quote:
Originally posted by Veroule:
<STRONG>
There are many things that you just don't need masterpieces for at different times.</STRONG>

Any true dwarf would be disgusted by that statement.

They're not humans and they don't think like humans.  Craftsdwarves create masterworks for the sake of art, not for the benefit of the fortress.  (As they see it, the fortress exists to give them a place to create art.)  If you don't like that, you can assign less skilled artisans to the job.

(Personally I'd like to see highly skilled dwarves get angry if they're forced to do work that they're not skilled in.)

I've seen many suggestions lately (not just yours, don't get me wrong) along the lines of "a magic switch to turn off behaviors we find inconvenient".  The weird behavior of the dwarves is a fundamental part of the game, and I think softening it would be a mistake.

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Fieari

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Re: Quality specification
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2007, 02:15:00 pm »

An option to have dwarves work faster at lower quality, combined with a happiness hit (He was unsatisfied at work lately.  He was recently forced to produce shoddy work.) would be neat, I think.
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Veroule

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Re: Quality specification
« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2007, 05:13:00 pm »

quote:
Originally posted by Fieari:
<STRONG>An option to have dwarves work faster at lower quality, combined with a happiness hit (He was unsatisfied at work lately.  He was recently forced to produce shoddy work.) would be neat, I think.</STRONG>

Exactly right!  I never left a job site truly happy when I knew I did less then a quality job.  Well, maybe a few times when I thought it was just what the customer deserved.  I have actually quit multiple jobs just because I was being asked to reduce quality far too often.  So it seems a good compromise.

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Turning off and turning on certain behaviors or parts of the game are needed.  Otherwise no one would be interested in devloping and writing cheats.  Some things are just far too irritating and irritation detracts from the enjoyment of the game.  Who really wants to play a game that isn't fun half the time?

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"Please, spare us additional torture; and just euthanise yourselves."
Delivered by Tim Curry of Clue as a parody of the lead ass from American Idol in the show Psych.