'Ello again. Sorry it took me so long to get back to this.
Sounds like a lot of stuff for a Pern mod would require extensive knowledge and use of DFhack and Interactions. More stuff for me to learn! Which...will be tricky at best, since I won't be able to do any playtesting. My ten year old laptop doesn't like the latest version of the game, to the point where it's pretty much unplayable within an in-game year after Embark. Oh, and trying to use the newer DFhack (newer than that for 0.31.21, that is) completely freezes my computer
I still like to grasp it as a possibility in the future and at least start to work on the basics of it. I'll try and respond to some of the points ya'all brought up to me.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't you modify vanilla dwarves to give them multiple castes - like how the Genesis mod used to - but have one caste without [MALE] or [FEMALE]? Wouldn't that be like having hetero dwarves (male and female who marry and reproduce) and non-hetero dwarves (genderless who do not)? If you can target an interaction for MALE or FEMALE, then I would imagine you can target for certain castes of dwarves. Obviously, that's a very poor simulation because they're technically genderless. I only mention it as a workaround for game limitations.
I think you're right and making different castes for the different types would be the best way to get around that, unless there was a way to prevent them from forming relationships with the opposite sex and maintain their gender, which at this point I don't believe there is...? Still, we can work with what we've got.
On having a dragon adopt a specific human/dwarf and being telepathically bonded:
The dragon is the one who chooses the human to bond with, correct? Then perhaps you should use the [ADOPTS_OWNER] tag, making them similar to cats in how they adopt dwarves? You could keep prospective dwarves (or playable humans) near the dragon (assigned to a pen or chained?) until the dragon adopts one of them. (No cages, though, as they prevent cats from adopting.)
Eeeeee. The problem here would be 1.)Multiple cats can adopt an individual, and 2.)They only tend to adopt an individual who has 'likes cats...' in their profile. Considering how much fewer fauna Pern has vs. vanilla DF, the latter may not be -as- much of a problem but the former is right out.
I think the bonding would definitely have to be Interaction based at the very least, because I think the best way to prevent multiple bondings wound be to 'transform' the individual into a separate creature...? Being, a Rider/dragonman/etc... though I just realized, hierarchy will be an absolute bitch to set up properly.
The Holds and the Weyrs may need entirely separate entities. No, not may, they definitely will have to. >_<
If you are not averse to a bit of scripting in Lua or C++ for DFHack, a custom script could open up a lot more possibilities:
In the DFHack thread Quietust
confirmed here that it is possible change a dwarf's likes/preferences. As such, a script could target dwarves that match certain criteria and give them a preference to like a particular color of Pern dragon.
Then it would be
much more likely for such a dragon to bond with him/her. I'm basing this claim on
the fact that cats "have a much higher probability of choosing a dwarf who has the 'admires cats for their aloofness' preference."
This would be lovely. However, I believe Dragons would have to be all separate castes under the same Creature file in order for clutches to be proper, and would caste-level prefstrings work for this? Which brings to mind another issue... how to acquire them? Would have to be on embark -- can't very well have rogue dragons romping about. Could we create a creature or item, erm, I believe item-as-a-creature would be what's needed here... for an egg, or eggs, to hatch into the first dragons... to prevent unbonded starters... Erk, but also, migrants tend to come with a randomish selection of whatever's available at Embark? Wait, this makes the eggitemcreature a better idea. yes I'm rambling, sorry. So we don't get unbonded or errantly bonded dragons with the migration waves.
Anyways, enough of that!! Moving on...
You could set the firestone as a specific food of dragons, ensuring that the dragons get fed exclusively that, much like pandas have for bamboo in their raws.
Also, no need for the syndrome to transform them into another caste/species of dragon, just have the temporary syndrome give them [CAN_DO_INTERACTION] with START and END values.
Sounds just about right... I wonder though, if it would be possible to make firestone a mineable stone, and perhaps use a custom building+reaction to turn that into edible/usable firestone for the Dragons...?
Also, can there be a way to make their fire attacks cause phosphine poisoning...? I started re-reading the first book...
Dragonflight, page 16,"...the green dragon, his left wing crisped, his body scorched, had died of shock and phosphine poisoning."
also...
DANGIT ANNE MCCAFFREY YOU ARE TEARING ME APART, GREENS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FEMALE. WHAT THE HAY.
Also, (canon)they need to expel the firestone after it's used up because they can't digest it. This sounds plausible with Interactions...?
Also...
"newly hatched dragons are the size of very large dogs or small ponies and reach full size after 18 months"
- FULL SIZED VANILLADF DOG:[BODY_SIZE:2:0:30000]
HORSE SIZES:[BODY_SIZE:0:0:100000][BODY_SIZE:1:0:200000][BODY_SIZE:2:0:500000]
UNICORN SIZES:[BODY_SIZE:0:0:60000][BODY_SIZE:1:0:300000][BODY_SIZE:2:0:600000]
Bodysizes are very confusing to me =\ I'm basing dragonet size on unicorn foals, since from these three vanilla examples, that sounds reasonable...? Not certain, though.
Aaaand thus ends the amount of time I have on the Internet today. Sorry for my rambling and general uselessness.