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[xmakina]

The new dev log does sound awesome, but remember that in practice badass stunts like that will be extremely rare. That one required a specifically built track, "random" chance of an enemy in the right place, and possibly also the random chance of the dodge.

That specific scenario is extremely rare. But Dwarf fortress is 75% built of random, hilarious, absurd, rare events.

I foresee many a cavern-coaster having the military derail to fight giant cave swallows and what all else. As Hiiri said, it's less about having it happen with any frequency, and more knowing it could happen.


I'm much more intrigued by the comment on letting caged creatures do more, since I've got no idea what that might entail. Bears swiping through the bars? Monkeys stealing booze from passersby? Dare I say, prisoner escapes?

My suspicion is that cages will stop making their inhabitants invulnerable, based on an assumption that Minecarts are using the same code as Cages to hold things. Cages could just stretch the imagination enough that their contents wouldn't drown (the cage is a sealed box), but there's no way you can explain not drowning when you're sat in a mine cart under 10 urists of water.

[Arkenstone]

As long as we can control the terrain, we can control the battle.

...This deserves an epic movie quote in response, but sadly I cannot think of any that would fit...

[Naryar]

I would like to know if we will be able to fill a minecart with items, launch it down a ramp, and then throw it at goblins and expect the items in the minecart to spread, hit and possibly damage creatures, like the item was thrown ?

By items i obviously mean throwing *large serrated iron discs*, -goblin bone bolts- x25 or some other ridiculously overblown option like !!giant desert scorpion venom barrels!!

You guys are gonna be so insanely depressed/furious if this just turns out to be one of the most heartless and over-extended April Fools jokes ever.  I mean, seriously:  The degree to which Tarn's dev blog updates follow right behind people's numerous wishful requests is getting kinda creepy.

Toady wouldn't do this. Especially when he lives on donations by players.

And april fools is just one day, and his devlogs started minecart madness before April.

[Stoup]

What does a dwarf need to hitch a ride on a cart?  One grasp?  Two?  Legs?

Ooh, what a fascinating thought.

Following up on this question, will paraplegic dwarves who cannot walk use minecarts to get around? Do you think this might lead into the future-planned mechanical augmentations?

[zwei]

I foresee Crossbow-equipped dwarves launched to air, hailing down bolts and then descending back underound or behind walls.

[nocker]

I set a hauler to ride a minecart to its next stop. That happened to take the dwarf down eight ramps and then up a launch ramp into an open cavern. High up in the cavern there was a wide ledge and on the ledge there was a goblin, chilling out right where I had created it. I activated the dwarf's squad, and he had just enough hang-time at the top of the flight arc to get a punch in. The goblin struck back but the dwarf jumped on to the ledge, where they continued to fight as the cart fell down into the darkness.

Damn, Toady, I just arrived at my company and read this. Now how can I work for the rest of the day with all this jizz in my pants?

[xmakina]

I set a hauler to ride a minecart to its next stop. That happened to take the dwarf down eight ramps and then up a launch ramp into an open cavern. High up in the cavern there was a wide ledge and on the ledge there was a goblin, chilling out right where I had created it. I activated the dwarf's squad, and he had just enough hang-time at the top of the flight arc to get a punch in. The goblin struck back but the dwarf jumped on to the ledge, where they continued to fight as the cart fell down into the darkness.

Damn, Toady, I just arrived at my company and read this. Now how can I work for the rest of the day with all this jizz in my pants?

It's okay, keeping a spare pair of pants at work is part of the learning cliff.

[MrWiggles]

I would like to know if we will be able to fill a minecart with items, launch it down a ramp, and then throw it at goblins and expect the items in the minecart to spread, hit and possibly damage creatures, like the item was thrown ?

By items i obviously mean throwing *large serrated iron discs*, -goblin bone bolts- x25 or some other ridiculously overblown option like !!giant desert scorpion venom barrels!!

I bet this question can be answer with a simple in game experiment. If you drop objects on creatures now, does it hurt them?

It seems like Minecarts physics, it's projectile arcs, and it's ability to hurt things via collision is mostly self contained within minecarts.

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

I somehow find myself envisioning Rollercoaster Tycoon: Dwarf Edition

[NW_Kohaku]

I somehow find myself envisioning Rollercoaster Tycoon: Dwarf Edition

Clearly, we need to give goblins and elves the ability to ride minecarts, then, and we can then make the entrance minecart for free, but have it crash into a plaza where the medical center's band-aids, the concession stand's drinks, snacks, and all the rides are $50 apiece, and there is no way to path back out.

That's how I made MY money, anyway...

[monk12]

I somehow find myself envisioning Rollercoaster Tycoon: Dwarf Edition

Clearly, we need to give goblins and elves the ability to ride minecarts, then, and we can then make the entrance minecart for free, but have it crash into a plaza where the medical center's band-aids, the concession stand's drinks, snacks, and all the rides are $50 apiece, and there is no way to path back out.

That's how I made MY money, anyway...

Now I want Minecarts to get an update when Toady does Fort Mode taverns/inns.

[Cruxador]

What does a dwarf need to hitch a ride on a cart?  One grasp?  Two?  Legs?

Ooh, what a fascinating thought.

Following up on this question, will paraplegic dwarves who cannot walk use minecarts to get around? Do you think this might lead into the future-planned mechanical augmentations?

I'm pretty sure that the answer to this will be that there's no specific plans there, and that the systems involved in minecarts are not related to body structures and thus unsuitable for prosthetics.

[Fieari]

Did Toady ever say if this was when he was going to make it possible to actually ride mounts?

If not, is this the time you're going to make it possible to actually ride mounts? For the AI to do so?  It seems to me like it'd be the same code for minecarts and mounts both.

This isn't a suggestion (we know it's an "eventually" thing), and it isn't a "when" (we almost never get actual timelines that get followed), it's just a "is it now? because it looks like it might be now but I'm not sure..." question.

[Cruxador]

Generally any "when" question receives a "no timeline" answer. Since Toady hasn't mentioned it, it's probably not something he wants to do imminently.

Regarding paid minecart rides as tourism, that sounds like a reasonable thing, and it would be cool if it had a value at least partially dependant on the archtecture and artifacts you see on the ride. Something like that would be a great addition, as would museums and other tourism stuff. I don't know how period-appropriate it is though.

[Footkerchief]

Did Toady ever say if this was when he was going to make it possible to actually ride mounts?

If not, is this the time you're going to make it possible to actually ride mounts? For the AI to do so?  It seems to me like it'd be the same code for minecarts and mounts both.

Generally any "when" question receives a "no timeline" answer. Since Toady hasn't mentioned it, it's probably not something he wants to do imminently.

Also, as touched on earlier in the thread, it's a Release 7 thing.  Even though it's related, I doubt he'll go on that big a tangent right now.