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[IndigoFenix]

This is a very tiny mod - it only adds a single creature, which itself is only really interesting in adventure mode - but I think it's cool and other people might want to add to it.  Guess what it is?

If you guessed 'a sphinx that asks riddles', you're right!

Get it here: http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=8204

Yeah, so it's... a sphinx that asks riddles, a rare predator.  You can fight it the normal way (which is of moderate-to-hard difficulty) OR you could answer 3 multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty.  Get them all right, and you win a prize (in this case, a masterwork steel weapon).  Get one wrong, and the sphinx will start attacking at double-speed.  (You only get the prize if you win by answering the questions.)

It's pretty basic, but easy to insert into your own mod and the questions are easy to edit - they are taken from files in the data/speech folder.  (There aren't a lot right now, it's really just a sample, but if people come up with a good list I'll add them in.)  It is only slightly harder to create a new kind of 'quiz' creature using the sphinx as a base, since it's all done through interactions.

(It may show up in fort mode, but the chances of your CPU-controlled dwarves getting the questions right is pretty low, so just regard it as a regular monster.  Also, it's best to face it alone as an adventurer, or your stupid companions might answer the questions wrong before you get a chance.)

[RickRollYou2]

Once again, IndigoFenix shames everyone (well, most of us anyway) by showing us that vanilla interactions—and not just DFHack—can be magical.

[Meph]

Without looking at the raws: The sphinx gives you interactions, and the interaction verb is the answer. You target the Sphinx with the wrong answer, and it goes crazed/opposed to life, but if you target it with the right answer, it will give it the interaction to target you with the interactions with the next set of answers... is this correct?

(But where does the sword come from? Third answer kills the sphinx by transforming it into a creature with a itemcorpse with quality 5?)

And yeah. I love that stuff you write.

[IndigoFenix]

Mostly like that - it's actually a bit simpler.  The 'answers' (as in the names of the interactions) are A, B, and C, the possible answers are included in the question string taken from the speech file, so you can add new questions straight into the speech file without editing the interactions file at all.  (Right now there's only 2-3 questions per answer choice per level, but I'm hoping someone will add more.)
I was going to make it blind by default and make the wrong answer or a direct attack give it extravision so that it would remain stationary before going into attack mode, but that wasn't working right... so it will actually try to attack you while it asks questions, but it's slow to it's not hard to avoid.

And thanks... I try

The cool thing about interactions is that the interaction system is technically Turing-complete, meaning that ANY computing process can be done through interactions alone, at least theoretically.  The only problem is that it isn't possible to control exactly when a creature will use an available interaction - sometimes they do it right away, sometimes they wait.  So the faster you want the computing system to go, the more likely it is that someone will slip up and fail to use their interaction in time to complete their part of a 'script' (or will die, or go to sleep, etc.).  So interaction-based computing is limited to doing things either slowly or inaccurately - often both.  While this is okay for a slow, ponderous organic hivemind where the occasional slip up is acceptable, it lacks the precision to create a more complex AI.  An IT_FORCE_USE_IF_POSSIBLE tag would be very, very helpful.  As would a CAN_ONLY_TARGET_IF_SYN_CLASS tag, although that isn't technically necessary for Turing completeness, it would be very convenient.

Okay, that's enough rambling. 

[Meph]

No, no, please ramble along. I am with you on that one... I have a prototype of an item-set-system at home, which gives the dwarf that wears all parts at the same time a bonus, but it randomly misfires once every few hundret iterations... it uses a lot of synclasses to block the bonus and key synclasses to unlock it, and in theory it should work... but it has these random fail moments...

[Deon]

I've never used CDI:VERBAL_SPEECH, this is amazing. This gives me some new fun idea. Thank you!

[Meph]

Deon, have you seen the battlecry system in MDF? It uses speech files to add different shouts to intelligent creatures. So if a dwarf sees a kobold, he yells something from the Dwarf-to-Kobold file, like "Come here you little thief", and the Kobold answers from the Kobold-to-Dwarf file; "Oh noes, he saw me." Guess you can have all kinds of uses for that in Adv Mode.

[IndigoFenix]

Deon, have you seen the battlecry system in MDF? It uses speech files to add different shouts to intelligent creatures. So if a dwarf sees a kobold, he yells something from the Dwarf-to-Kobold file, like "Come here you little thief", and the Kobold answers from the Kobold-to-Dwarf file; "Oh noes, he saw me." Guess you can have all kinds of uses for that in Adv Mode.

Glad to see that the battlecry system expanded as much as it did

[Deon]

Yes! As you know, I love adding vocalizations to creatures and little stuff like that to make (pretty barren right now in vanilla) Adventure Mode more fun. That sounds like a lot of great ideas in one cup. Thank you guys .

I am actually working on a new mod on top of my Essential mod, which will not be as big as Genesis and of course never as big as Masterwork. It focuses on "essential stuff" (Accelerated DF-style) plus diversity in possible actions. I know it sounds weird, but by that I mean that there're less stone/gem types, unified leather, streamlined basic creatures, BUT there're many new options for magic, weapons (which differ not just by name/size but by utility) and new production lines (beekeeping in a workshop since original is not easily manageable for example). Basically I try to remove "fake complexity" caused by huge diversity of materials, and add real complexity by utilizing underused elements of vanilla DF (interactions, weather, night creatures, poisons).

One of the big elements of course is a focus on adventure mode. You can no longer wear spotted wobbegong leather skirt (god, I love to use "spotted wobbegong leather" to display a fake complexity factor), but you will be able to become a priest/warlock/arcanist/..., you will get more variety of simple-named weapons with different use, you will be able to visit all civ locations (goblin fortresses, dwarf fortresses, elven caves etc) and ransack tombs of wights/mummies/revenants/draugr.

Okay, I am getting offtopic, sorry. I am just sitting at work, and all the ideas unfold in front of me in a pattern, so I think about it instead of work... Which is not nice.
And battlecry mechanic is amazingly fitting in the whole vocalization system. Thanks again!

[davros]

First, bump, cuz this is amazing and more people need to see it.
Second, I've got an idea for a new question: What can change the nature of a man: (A) Belief (B) Old ladies forged out of solid evil (C) Badly written tie in novels.
Third, this is amazing.

[Meph]

Dont you need 16 different answers for that, and every single one is correct, because the answer is something else for everyone?

[davros]

No, you need 16 wrong answers. You aren't the namless one.

[Spiderking50]

@Deon: Can you tell us more about the mod you mentioned above?