So! New update! Let's see what's in this time...
This update has been mainly focused on making adventure mode more interesting. First off, a couple of interactions have been modified so that they will work with adventure mode's strange views on timing. In particular, shy guy and bandit adventurers now have special abilities of their own: shy guys can use 'Panic!' to enter Panic Mode for a few turns, in which they will have dodging abilities that will put a bogeyman to shame, and anything that actually manages to hit them will do no more than bruise them... but their attack power will drop to nothing during that time. It's used to make quick escapes from a dangerous situation...and leap from cliffs without taking damage (there is a limit, though. They have to hit the bottom before the effect wears off, so chasm-diving is still not a great idea.) Bandits can use 'Hit & Run', which will boost their attack power for a short period (indicated by a flashing red '!'), then drop it down to nothing while boosting their agility in order to make a quick getaway. When the flashing red '!' turns white, that's when its time to run for it.
Two new predators have been added: Artichoker and Carriboscis. They're rare, but prominent. Artichokers are extremely tough and can use lightning attacks, and Carriboscis can inflict numerous status ailments that might force you to change tactics if you're used to relying on certain abilities. Fun fact: did you know that adding a [VERBAL] tag to an interaction makes non-speakers unable to use it? And that it's possible to remove (temporarily or permanently) the [CAN_SPEAK] tag from a target creature?
I hope you're ready to fear the night, because some new night creatures are in. Shadowy doppelgangers will seed the world with Doopliss-style duplighosts masquerading as regular citizens. Duplighosts 'take over the lives' of creatures, condemning their targets to wander the world as shadowy doppelgangers themselves, looking for another creature to swap identities with. Okay, it's technically just a werewolf-type curse, but the idea is that if one of them attacks you, you are now playing as the duplighost disguised as yourself and stealing your name, and your old soul is now in the form of a shadowy doppelganger, who you will probably kill. Yah it's a bit confusing but it works (note, however, that if you 'discard your physical body' you will become a shadowy doppelganger permanently and will be unable to return to your original form or take on the shape of a flying duplighost. You probably don't want to do that.)
Hidden machines are a little more straightforward, being stabbed by a 'machine made scout' will inject you with nanobots. If you survive the fight (quite an accomplishment, machine mades are TOUGH), you'll become a hidden robot with all the regular night creature perks, plus steel-strength skin and the ability to 'reveal your true form', turning into a giant robot (based on Yaridovich). Be warned that transforming is permanent.
Oh, yes, and shadow sirens as spouse-stealers. If you think its strange that there will be male shadow sirens, you need to read up on Vivian's international secrets
. They will attack with elemental magic. I tried to make it so that each one picks only one element but for some reason it didn't work. Prepare to get frozen, fried, and zapped all at once.
Speaking of freezing, I found a way to make it work...kinda. Ice flowers and a blizzard secret are in. In order to use them without killing yourself, first use 'antifreeze' to coat yourself in a covering of warmth, which will offer you some resistance against self-freezing. When the fight is over, use 'clean' to get rid of any unwanted residue. They also have extravision, so when their eyeballs freeze over (generally the first major effect of extreme cold) they won't be handicapped. This won't stop the computer-controlled characters from killing themselves like idiots (or somehow coating their opponents in antifreeze while leaving themselves exposed), but CPU flamethrowers tend to light themselves on fire too so I guess it's balanced out. Superballs are in too. They're a lot more straightforward and just let you shoot a rock at your enemy.
Hmm, what else... Oh, yes, tomb raiders should watch out for new disturbance curses: chomp mummies (who will sic stone chomps on you) and of course, phantos. They won't give you permanent curses to make the rest of your life a pain, but they both have a very good chance of making the rest of your life a lot shorter.
Fortress players aren't entirely left out, though. A new semimegabeast of the watery caverns, Naval Pirahna, will spawn waves of pirahna plants unless it's killed. There is a limit placed on how much it can spawn in a given space, but it's a pretty big limit. Hopefully framerate won't have too big of an issue, since pirahna plants are immobile.
Oh, and one more thing... the Shadow Queen. I haven't actually tested if it'll work yet, but in theory, if you find a hidden underground fortress and bring the right citizen down there - it has to be someone who has not become accustomed to tragedy (the 'pure hearted' requirement - this is probably not likely to happen by accident), this creature may become a 'vessel' for the Shadow Queen. She will then proceed to utterly destroy your fortress
. She is intended to be a 'final boss'. I know DF doesn't really work with final bosses, but seeing as how the Shadow Queen is implied to be the leader of demons, the creator of megabeasts, and the one worshipped by creatures of the night, I'd say she fits the role. And she will. Big as a dragon, no thought center, poisonous evaporating blood, can shoot lightning, can animate the dead without even being able to see it... but hey, if it bleeds, we can kill it, right? Right? Try asking the 5 giant chomps I placed against one in the Arena. Oh, they're zombies now.
(She isn't immune to the Star Beam though...)
Oh yes, nearly forgot: Kongs and Kremlings are in. They aren't too common, but they're around. Unfortunately I wasn't able to fully separate them from the other races - they'll still start wars in worldgen (especially Kremlings) but they shouldn't come to your fort. Tropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical saltwater wetlands are their territories, so embark there if you want to build a fortress among critters like gnawties and klaptraps.