So, I've got a lot of ideas, but I don't want to flood the board with a bunch of topics, so I'm just going to combine them here. I'll update as I think of more ideas.
...Somehow I get the feeling that these are going to be ignored (if not by the forum, then at least by Toady), but meh, may as well post them anyhow.
AI: Dwarves knowing where other creatures are when diggingBy this, I'm mainly referring to the, um, "quirk" dwarves have, where they're perfectly happy to channel the ground right out from another creature's feet (or another dwarf!), which often leads to injuries (from a single z-level fall
), and on rare occasions, deaths. This makes flattening a landscape either take forever by having one or at most 2 dwarves channeling, or be incredibly perilous for your dwarves.
AI/Combat: Backup weapons for marksdwarvesAs the wiki states: "
Although it sounds like a cool idea, equipping a marksdwarf with a backup shortsword just in case doesn't often work, as dwarves are just as quick to run up their foes and start bashing them with a crossbow as they are to draw their swords and do it properly." This seems exceptionally silly to me. I propose that the AI be modified so that if the dwarf has another weapon equipped alongside a crossbow, and they run out of ammo, they switch to the other weapon.
Interface/Combat/AI: Choosing attack strategies for the dwarvesNow, anyone who's played DF for any halfway-substantial amount of time has likely run into incidents where a dwarf has tried to do something silly, such as grapple a hydra's toe. I propose a system where players can command their dwarves to attack enemies in a certain way. ...ugh, I'm so bad at explaining things. Here's some examples of what I mean.
Go for the kill: Dwarves will prioritize attacking the head, throat, and (if they have a stabbing weapon, particularly a spear) stabbing at where the lungs and heart are.
Cripple it: Dwarves will aim for the arms, legs, and wings, to try to render a creature unable to move or attack properly. They would prioritize slashing attacks when available, to outright sever limbs. They might occasionally try to gouge out the enemy's eyes.
Smash it apart: Dwarves would prioritize blunt attacks over edge attacks.
Aim for the weak point: Dwarves will try to aim for the least-armored part of an enemy's body.
You get the idea.
General: Size representationI personally think that huge creatures, like dragons and bronze colossi, should actually take up more than a single tile, and maybe even more than a single z-level. It just seems silly that a giant dragon can fit down a corridor only wide enough for a single dwarf to fit down. In addition, tall enough creatures, such as- again- the bronze colossus should be immune to drowning from 1 z-layer of water, but be submerged by 2. (I know that bronze colossi don't breathe, but it's the principle of the thing.) On top of that, tall creatures should be able to step up single z-layer cliffs even if they don't have ramps or stairs.
Combat/Interface: Assigning civilians armorOne thing that's always bugged me is that you can't assign dwarves armor unless they're in the military, leaving them almost completely unprotected during something such as an ambush. I suggest that players should be allowed to assign civilians armor, or even better, assign them equipment.
AI: Cleaning upDwarves seem to be resistant to the idea of cleaning and putting clothing where it belongs, and so on. When they're told to bury a body or dump a rotting goblin corpse, they should actually do it, not just kinda put it off until there's nothing else to do. I can't count the number of times I've had to unassign every single job except for burial just to get a single dwarf to bury someone, and even then they don't always do it.
Combat: ThrowingDo I need to explain this one? ...Yes? Fine, fine... Throwing is hilariously overpowered. You can injure enemies by throwing teeth and even WATER at them. Obviously, this needs to be balanced. (As much as it pains me to say it, because throwing in Adventure mode is a godsend.)
Pathfinding: Jumping up small ledgesIf a dwarf has functioning arms/legs/hands/feet and is at least average size, they should be able to jump up and grab the edge of single z-level cliffs, then pull themselves up... or occasionally fail to do so and fall back down, possibly leading to fun if you're really (un)lucky. This goes double for Adventure mode, where short cliffs constantly seem to get in the way, at least for me.
General: Grasping categoriesGrasping mouths, tails that grab by wrapping around the item/enemy, grasping feet, and so on, all of which would be independent of one another, so that you couldn't, say, dual wield a great axe with your mouth and tail, as well as item restrictions so that you couldn't use a shield with your mouth.
Combat: Knockback and throwing/firing across z-levelsBeing able to shoot over walls in an arc, or getting knocked skyward by an attack. Fairly self-explanatory.