After playing DF for a week or so, I've noticed three issues that crop up in every game. I apologize if they've been discussed to death, but if so here's my vote to bump up their priority and some possible fixes for them.
1) A tantruming dwarf is a ticking package.
Dwarven forts have a maximum population; for most forts (with exactly one of everything) that's about one hundred. This is not a unit cap or anything discernable, it's just the critical mass before your dwarves start their chain reaction of misery and death.
How this happens is really interesting to behold, and would be enjoyable if it meant the death of someone else's hard work instead of your own. The trigger could be anything: a soldier wounded in training, a legendary worker with a miscarriage, an antman striking at an inopportune time. Anything resulting in one tantruming dwarf. That dwarf starts fights, injuring anywhere from one to five dwarves and killing a pet or two. They're hauled off to prison but their role is complete: you now have more tantruming dwarves and everyone's unhappy because they've "witnessed death." The hurt dwarves tantrum due to injuries, killing a dwarf or two and wounding even more. Now everyone has "death of a friend" on their profile and there aren't enough non-tantruming dwarves to clean the refuse, adding miasma to the list. Now dwarves don't even need to be hurt; they just lash out at anything in the area, your population is eventually quartered, and you realize you might as well abandon the fortress and reclaim it with more dwarves than you have now.
Solution: dwarves who are miserable to the point of tantruming should leave. They immigrated to your fortress to begin with, there should be nothing to stop them from emigrating as well. If the economy's started, they should drop by your coin storage first and cash out, leaving with whatever they've earned (and then tantruming if they can't get it).
2) Mid-late Nobles are useless.
I know Toady's aware of this, I just thought I'd add my two cents as to how to make their hissy fits worthwhile.
Mandates - Nobles' mandates should all be about preparing you for the next step. As such, they should check against your current inventory before demanding more. If you already have 15 copper, 10 silver and 5 gold coins, the bookkeeper shouldn't ask for more - you've enough to get the Treasurer, who can then add to your total if need be. Similarly, governing nobles shouldn't ask for dumb stuff like turtle shell goods, they should want to see an extra Bedroom so the next muckity muck that comes by will have a place to stay.
Inherent bonuses:
Justice Nobility (Sheriff, Cpt. of the Guard, Hammer) - in addition to requiring chains (incidentally, Toady, make that a mandate. Don't just let the Sheriff get pissed and tantrum until we figure out what he wants), Justice nobility should decrease the likelihood and duration of tantrums and berserk, as well as possibly making tantrums themselves minor offenses.
Economic Nobility (Bookkeeper, Treasurer, Hoardmaster, Tax Collector) - These nobles should make the economy a more readily apparent and viable thing. Right now it's kind of there, but it doesn't have much effect on the game or how you play it. Give you the ability to tweak prices yourself, and make dwarves prioritize more profitable jobs. You know, farming for gold. Also, more economic nobles should provide larger happiness bonuses to consumer whores, to the point that even surrounded by misery and chopped-off bits, a dwarf can still be happy so long as he has his Gap leather coat and Ikea stone throne.
Trade Nobility (broker, trade minister, guildmaster) - Better and larger caravans. Better prices when trading. See below. Instead of specific goods, these guys should just want you to have so much value in trade goods, where trade goods is defined as finished goods, soap, and other products that are only useful for trading: "Mandate: Make an additional 127* trade goods"
Government Nobility (Mayor, Governer, Baron, Count, Duke, King) - These guys should have a chance of attracting better immigrants. Skilled workers who wouldn't think a hole in the ground is worth their time might reconsider if an important official is holding office there. For the King, of course, even legendary dwarves might flock to the area.
Guild Nobility (House Fer, House Ber, Alchemist, etc) - Having one of these guys should give all your dwarves working in their professions an extra level of skill. With House Ber, for example, dabbling growers perform the same as novice growers, novice growers like growers, growers like competent growers, etc.
3) Trade caravans suck
Oh look. Leather. Gee, uh, thanks humans. Boy howdy, now I can open that S&M shop I've always wanted.
Really, they do terribly suck. Caravans just don't bring anything I want. Ever. I don't need meat beyond the first autumn, I can make as much cloth as I could ever possibly use, and I never need leather. One time a human caravan brought two dozen wooden cages (I'd asked for booze but you know, whatever) and I bought the lot, but other than that I just don't know if it's worth dragging my finished goods bins out. Given the sheer volume of trade goods present in the game, you'd think we'd be able to buy something with them.
Things I'd like to buy from merchants:
- Coins - coinage should be a major part of the middle game, but often wood or copper or my smith's time is too scarce to waste getting a decent stockpile up. Plus, they're merchants, of course they should have light but valuable goods on them.
- Foreign ornaments - like statues, but smaller, and only attainable through trade with humans or elves. They'd be set up in the same manner as statues (in fact, they could count as ones) to provide substantial admiration/room bonuses. Elvish figurines, human hat racks, that kind of thing.
- Lye/Potash - when wood is scarce, it renders an entire line of trade goods and improvements unattainable. Fertilizing, for example, would be great to play around with but I'd never sacrifice the ten wood or so needed to fertilize even one field. I'd gladly trade away more than its worth in goods, however.
- Wood - The heart of any non-lava based economy, and the most valuable non-renewable resource in Dwarf Fortress. Basically, I'd like to buy everything on a caravan including the caravan itself, sending the caravaneers happily home with a pocketful of platinum. Is that so wrong?
[ September 01, 2006: Message edited by: Lurve ]
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Topic: Three things that need work (and how to fix them) (Read 661 times)