There are many projects on this board that are possibly endless. More content could be added, and they would never get worse, only better. Things that affect flavor/lore, not game balance or gameplay mechanics. These projects require no modding experience. They are easily compartmentalized. Sadly, either people do not know about them, or they simply get lost because the original author lost interest. I thought it would be a good idea to collect them here.
What that means for you: - You can actively help making mods better. Even without modding knowledge.
- You can bring a personal note into it.
- You cant mess anything up.
- First few are MasterworkDF related, the rest is for everything.
Current Projects:
MasterworkDF Embark Profiles: - The mod currently includes ~20 of those, for three races. If you think anything is missing, a specific embark for "chemists and alchemists on expedition", or "gunsmiths and early musket-squads", or "Bards and Scribes - helpless but happy", or other mod-specific, lore and atmosphere friendly embarks, feel free to design them. Just make your embark profile, save it, and go to data/init/embark_profiles.txt. You can simply copy+paste it into the forum then.
- A note: I dont mean the best, most effecient embark, or your favourite one, but one that makes for good storytelling and roleplaying.
MasterworkDF Adv. Worldgen Settings: - The mod currently includes 5 pre-set worldgens, with a specific theme in mind. Any additions to that are welcome.
- They are designed to make small, fps-improving maps, with open caverns, lakes in them, and a controlled amount of savaregy, good and evil biomes, volcanoes, max titans/megabeasts, many caves and more.
- If you know how to use PerfectWorld, or want to learn it, feel free to design new world-gen settings and post them. You can do all kinds of fancy tricks with the utility and it is included in the MasterworkDF download.
Masterwork Battlecry Speech files: - In dwarffortress/data/speech you can find a collection of txt files.
- These files contain a list of battlecries, shouts and insults. Each race can identify another race, and speak up their mind accordingly.
- You can add as many lines as you want to those files, and dwarves or other races, will use them.
- If someone writes a cockney dwarf, or an irish dwarf, or the orc waaaghboss, or makes specific files for fire/water/earth/air mages, essentially anything you like, I will code the rest of the needed interactions.
MasterworkDF Tips & Tricks - I currently include 25 tips and tricks in the manual, but all of them are vanilla DF related. People sometimes ask about specific masterwork tricks. So if you found a particularily good combination of workshops, exploits, dirty hacks you discovered that use mod-content, or just very efficient tactics (like magma-mines made of liquid-spawners, or murder-holes that drop hellfire landmines) then post a little text about it. You can even add small pictures, maybe screenshots if you like.
- I will then compile then and add them to the manual.
Extended Dwarven Dictionary - Adds more words to the language files, resulting in more interesting ingame names. Dwarves, invaders, artefacts, pets, named weapons, books... all of those things benefit from it. Even places, towns, rivers and caves, megabeasts, anything that has a name. You can even add new words to name your fortress, squad or group. So if you ever thought: Damn, I really wanted to name my fort "x", but its not in the list, now you can.
- You can find two threads about it. The
original can be found here, while it is continued with the side project of better grammar in
this thread. - Even a few words help. If we find 20 people that want to contribute, and everyone does one word per day on average... thats 600 in just a month.
In comparison, it took me (and many helpers) 1,5years to write MasterworkDF to the point it currently is.
Weapon Attack Verbs - In the item_weapon.txt (and any other item_weapon_xyz.txt) you can find attacks. If you copy them and just replace the text, combat logs suddenly get more interesting.
- I used this to add about a dozen entries to the masterwork weapons.
-
Better Weapon Attacks by Syncing, is another good example for this. He includes a very detailed instruction for people that want to help.
Combat Log entries look like this:
[The] <Dwarf> slashes [The] <creature> in the head with her (-iron short sword-), tearing apart the muscle, fracturing the skull!
[The] <Dwarf> strikes [The] <creature> in the right hand [from behind] with the <noun> of her copper short sword, bruising the bone!
Fun actions a dwarf can do:
---------------------------
---movement:
whirls around, <verb>ing
dives to the side,
sidesteps and
lunges backwards whilst
lunges to the side
jumps to the side
suddenly leaps forward/ahead/onward
lunges out
evades to the side
storms forward/ahead/onward
dashes forward/ahead/onward
dashes sideways
turns sideways
makes/performs a sidestep/similar
<moves> towards the enemy
---attack movement:
backhand
underhand swings
performes a good swing and
swings the weapon over the head
lifts the weapon over the head
whirls around, swinging the weapon in an arc,
swings the weapon in an arc
uppercuts
aims
<stabs/etc> with great accuracy
unerringly <stabs/etc>
fitfully <stabs/etc>
cross-slashes
holds the weapon half-sword, <thrusting/verb>
quickly <slashes/stabs/etc>
furiously <stabs/cuts>
---reactions
readies the weapon and
shuffles together
prepares
takes a deep breath
observes the enemy with an piercing glance
grips the <hilt/shaft/whatever> even harder and
tightens/steadies the grip (around the <hilt/shaft/whatever>)
things a weapon can have:
---
top
bottom
upper half (for half-sword style fencing)
edge
blade
heavy blade
sharp blade
serrated blade
two-edged blade
double-edged blade
notched blade (for e.g. rusty iron weapons from masterwork)
backside
side
flat
pommel
shaft
guard (the hilt guard of a sword, this thing was used to attack sometimes. Google for "Talhoffer".)
spike (the top of the halberd, warhammers have one too sometimes)
axe blade (axe-shaped blade of the halberd)
hook (hook-shaped spike on the opposite side of the axe side of a halberd)
thorn (same as above, some warhammers have one on the side too)
head (spear head for example)
spiked head (like morning star, flail)
solid end (of a maul)
blunt head (warhammer)
full force
powerful/hefty/mighty/heavy blow
Attacks (and examples):
-----------------------
---Sword/Dagger:
:carve:carves:
:slice:slices:
:slit:slits:
:cut:cuts:
:gash:gashes:
:backhand stabs:backhand stabs: (Dagger)
:backhand slash:backhand slashes: (Dagger)
:cross slash:cross-slashes:
:sidestep and slash:sidesteps and slashes:
:quickly stab:quickly stabs:
:double stab:double stabs:
:swing the weapon in an arc and uppercut slash:swings the weapon in an arc and uppercut slashes:
:swing the weapon in an arc, to uppercut slash:swings the weapon in an arc, to uppercut slash:
:swing the weapon and slash:swings the weapon and slashes:
:cut:cuts:backside: (dagger)
:quickly stab:quickly stabs:tip:
:swing the weapon and slash:swings the weapon and slashes:full force:
---Axe:
:chop:chops:
:rend:rends:
:ax:axes:
:cleave:cleaves:
:backhand swing the weapon, hack:backhand swings the weapon, hacking:
:sidestep and chop:sidesteps and chops:
:lift the weapon and hack:lifts the weapon and hacks:
:swing the weapon over the head and charges, chopping:swings the weapon over the head and charges, chopping:
:whirl around and cleave:whirls around and cleaves:
:rend:rends:heavy blade:
:lacerate:lacerates:blade:
:chop:chops:full force:
---Hammer/Maul:
:pound:pounds:
:club:clubs:
:hammer:hammers:
:whack:whacks:
:hit:hits:
:bludgeon:bludgeons:
:blindly bash:blindly bashes:
:prepare and bash:prepares and bashes:
:swing the weapon and bash:swings the weapon and bashes:
:lift the weapon and bash :lifts the weapon and bashes:
:swing the weapon in an arc, to uppercut:swings the weapon in an arc, to uppercut:
:swing the weapon in an arc and uppercut:swings the weapon in an arc and uppercuts:
:whack:whacks:side:
---Spear/Halberd:
:impale:impales:
:pierce:pierces:
:lance:lances:
:ram:rams: (maybe also works for swords: ramming the sword into the upper body)
:thrust:thrusts:
:sting:stings:
:puncture:punctures:spike:
:aim and stab:aims and stabs:
:quickly sting:quickly stings:
:dash forward and stabs:dashes forward and stabs:
:charge and impale:charges and impales:
:sidestep and stab:sidesteps and stabs:
The same idea can be used for unarmed combat, animal attacks like biting and scratching, and even tools.
[ATTACK:PUNCH:BODYPART:BY_TYPE:GRASP]
[ATTACK_SKILL:GRASP_STRIKE]
[ATTACK_VERB:punch:punches] => this line shows the combat verb
[ATTACK_CONTACT_PERC:100]
[ATTACK_FLAG_WITH]
[ATTACK_PRIORITY:MAIN]
Better descriptions for creatures:Just compare these two examples:
[DESCRIPTION:A gigantic reptilian creature. It is magical and can breath fire. These monsters can live for thousands of years.]
[DESCRIPTION:Held aloft by two expansive skeletal wings, the massive plague wraith towers over thirty feet tall. Under its tattered cloak, a black mass of writhing insects and serpents cling tightly to a nearly fleshless skeleton. Four elongated arms, covered in a tangle of scorpions and spiders, end in wickedly curved talons that twitch in anticipation of its next victim. Practically obscured by the inky shadows cast by its voluminous hood, two flaming emerald eyes partially illuminate its malevolent hook-toothed skull. In one massive hand it hefts a severely curved steel scythe with a twisted ironwood haft.]
- It is easy to see that the bigger description adds a lot more to the atmosphere. While unimportant for most animals, it is very nice to see on werebeasts and megabeasts, since those get their own pop-up box when they appear. Dangerous cavern monsters also count into the category.
Better pref-strings. - Creatures and plants have a token called pref-string, the line that is used when a dwarf likes something.
- Dwarf 1 likes tigers for "their sripes". "Their stripes" is the pref-string.
- Each plant or creature can have as many of those as you like. It is a great way to hide easter-eggs as well, since there are so many possible creatures and plants to like, but only so many dwarves to do so.
Here is the example for a roc:
Original: [PREFSTRING:awe-inspiring size]
Original: [PREFSTRING:dedication to their young]
Modded: [PREFSTRING:their majestic aerial movements that makes them appear weightless, while their shadow blankets entire mountains and lesser creatures run and hide in fear. Somehow this seems like an appropriate thing to like. That, and their delicious taste.]
Again, the difference is clear. Vanilla prefstrings are short, and repetitive for many of the normal creatures. By writing more elaborate versions of them, the dwarves get more personality to display.
More engravings. - You know engravings? These little descriptors on walls, usually showing pictures of pictures of cheese? You can add unlimited of them, in all varieties.
Again, here an example:
Origincal:
[SHAPE:SQUARE]
[NAME:square:squares]
[TILE:254]Modded:
[SHAPE:D_FORTRESS]
[NAME:dwarven fortress:dwarven fortresses]
[ADJ:quiet]
[ADJ:burning]
[ADJ:unfinished]
[ADJ:colossal]
[ADJ:gold]
[ADJ:silver]
[ADJ:steel]
[ADJ:iron]
[ADJ:ancient]
[ADJ:bustling]
[ADJ:abandoned]
[ADJ:blood soaked]
[ADJ:frozen]
[TILE:234]You only have three tokens here. The SHAPE, which is your ID. It can be anything, its just the name in the raws. The only important thing about it is that it must be unique. SHAPE:EXTRA_ENGRAVING_MEPH_001 is good, SHAPE:SQUARE would be bad, because it already exists.
The second token is NAME, which will show up ingame. You can take anything you want, be it engravings of "the cheesiest cheese you have ever seen", or "the bloodsoaked remains of boatmurdered, rendered so well that a spectator can almost hear the trumpeting of zombie elephants." Both will be perfectly fine.
The third token is ADJ, which is one possible adjective that the noun can have. Again, you can pick as many as you like. The game will pick one at random. You can have covering elves, defeated elves, slain elves, dead elves, burning elves, and so forth.
There is also the TILE, but we simply ignore this one for now, because there is an Init setting to circumnavigate the tile for engravings entirely. People with tilesets always play with this on.
A good example for those that want to try, can be found
here.
Creature Sprites - Pixelartists wanted. I will gladly take any 48x - 64x renditions of any MasterworkDF creature that you want to draw. I plan a very big tileset at some point in the future. I got the experience now to do the tileset, but what stops me from starting is doing 1000+ creature graphics. I got some farmville icons for domestic animals, but many more are rather difficult to do. If you want to participate, draw away.
Threats in Adventure Mode: - Similar to the speech files, these files can be found in the same folder and influence what people can say in adventure mode. A good example of the mechanic can be found
here. Again, new additions are simply added as a new line, no modding syntax, nothing needed.
More ideas: - If anyone has inside details about real-life industries that are missing in the game, just post about it.
- If GFX/Photoshop users are here, 256 tiles are needed to make one tileset. Any detailed 48x or even 64x tile would help.
- C++, Lua and Ruby-programmers, the dfhack team is working wonders these last months. They are most active on their irc channel, maybe you might want to visit one day.
- Missing child:1 and child_name:name:names:adj tags stop the breeding of many vanilla animals. Going through the list of animals and adding those would really help people that like to catch wildlife for breeding.
- Stories. I included many high-rated vanilla DF stories in the manual, to get people interested, and because the source-website was offline the last time I checked. If you have any good MasterworkDF story, feel free to post them. Can be longer then the 40,000 character limit
Good examples are
The Purging of Shieldfrenzy or
the Increasingly Tragic Tale of Dumplin, by Broseph Stalin. Or
tormenthug, which took a weird turn. ^^
Author
Topic: Community Projects - We need YOU! (to do our modding for us.) (Read 5432 times)