Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[LordDemon]

I do not know what all have been changed in the coming version conserning military, but I'd like to mention my biggest problem: Sleep.

Most of the time, you are unable to properly use your squads. The bigger the squad, the more likelyit is someone is sleeping at the time. While this is possibly a acceptable behaviour, I would like military Dwarfs sleep cycle adjusted a bit.
First, when assigned into a squad, the dwarfs would start moving their sleep cycle towards the cycle of the squad leader.

According to wiki, the dwarfs sleep about 2 a weeks from about 6. For example, we have a squad of 3 dwarfs. If we start from 0, the squad leader sleeps weeks 3 and 4, while the first rookie sleeps weeks 1 and 2, and second rookie on 5 and 6. This means that no matter when you wish to use the squad, someone is sleeping. I'd like the rookies to either stretch or cut short their awake time, by maybe a day or two to move their sleep rythm towards the leaders. So in the example, the first rookie will stretch their awake time to move it later, while the second rookie will cut his awake time shorter, trying to move the sleep time earlier.  That way after a while, the whole squad would sleep on weeks 3 and 4.

This would mean that you get the whole squad efficient. It would also be realistic, in military you do things when told, not when you feel like it.

Second would be about sleep during service. If a military squad is on duty, they would not sleep as such. They would rest(or maybe camp). Rest would mean the squad is effectively sleeping, but they have a rotating guard. This would not need to be actual guard,but could be changed by simply allowing each dwarf recieve less efficient sleep.

If we use a five dwarf squad as an example, they could sleep normally when off duty.
When on duty, they would "rest", with each dwarf getting 4/5 of full sleep. (in the effect they would have one man on guard all the time, it would rotate) The rest effect could also be a bit less then the optimal mathematical equal, like 7/10 or 15/20 in this case to show the effects of waking up for a hour of watch in the middle of the night, before sleeping again. When resting, the squad would be like at sleep, but they would all be awakened if a enemy comes close. (assuming the guard notices him) Being awoken propably should create unhappy feelings in dwarfs (anyone who has woken up at alarm at 2AM knows why.). Awakened dwarfs could be stunned for a very short time to work as a surprise from awaking into battle/alarm, and being a bit off the edge before getting a grip of what is happening.

This would allow IMO better military behaviour. You can let the squads camp out, and they would awake in the case of hostiles. However, the rest is not as good as sleep, so off duty they would have better sleep. And it would mean the guards come important during the rest time. If the first alert is a flying crossbow bolt, the stunned dwarfs would be in big trouble.

Maybe even option in the squad settings on how many guards they should have(no guards, 1 guard all times, 2 guards all times...)?

Anyway, my 2/100 of a dwarfbuck. Anyone got a change?

[numeral]

I only have one major problem with your post, when being woken for combat you shouldn't get a negative thought. What's on your mind isn't your beauty sleep but your life. I'll post a more complete reply when I get home from the base

[LordDemon]

I only have one major problem with your post, when being woken for combat you shouldn't get a negative thought. What's on your mind isn't your beauty sleep but your life. I'll post a more complete reply when I get home from the base

Wouldn't the bad thought be compensated by the good feelings of winning the combat? Only if the alarm is sounded by accident (a deer moves near) or the dwarf fails to take part in the battle would the bad though remain. It doesn't need to be a strong bad though , but a minor one.

[sweitx]

I only have one major problem with your post, when being woken for combat you shouldn't get a negative thought. What's on your mind isn't your beauty sleep but your life. I'll post a more complete reply when I get home from the base

Even if your mind is on keeping yourself alive, getting rudely awaken will make you have bad thoughts.  Too many of those together (sleep deprivation) can make you go crazy.  So interrupted sleep should generate some bad thoughts, although minor (relieving it by massacre).

[Aquillion]

Yeah.  Imagine an army that is constantly being kept awake by small attacks -- this could eventually cause them to snap under the pressure.  That could even be used as a tactic.

Being woken up once by a fight shouldn't give a very big unhappy thought, but it should give one, and if it happens a lot then it should add up.

[LordDemon]

I was thinking that the adjustment limit (now much the dwarf can change his sleep schedule) could be based on his toughness, as this likely also translates into general fittness (or whatever is used agains diseases and poisons would be ideal). Not all people adjust the same way, so likely not all dwarfs adjust same way either. The superdwarvenly tough soldiers can go many days longer without sleep, adjusting their speel cycle to that of the sergeant in a few cycles, while the just recruited newbie will take half a year to get in same cycle.