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[Souleater17]

As the title says.

First - population selection changes

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Basically, change the way which animals appear in which biomes. As opposed to just picking from the possible animals as needed, different areas would have different animals filling out the possible niches. These possible niches being

• Prey animals: Basically any large animal that isn't a predator.
• Predators: Large animals that prey on other animals.
• Parasites: Vermin that use larger animals as hosts, negatively impacting them in the process.
• Vermin: Small, mostly harmless animals.[/i]
  

For each group, a few appropriate animals would be selected. For predators, it wouldn't put too many - if any - predators of the same size in the same area.

Second - animals actually doing things

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

As it is now in Dwarf Fortress, most animals don't really do anything unless specified or tamed. Large predators, building destroyers and curious beasts are really all there is in terms of animal action. Let's correct that.

• Change it so that wild animals need to eat. Herbivores will graze off of plants and trees. Predators will hunt the appropriate prey. Without food, animal populations will dwindle and die out. Domesticated pets will eat freely if possible, but can be manually fed or pastured.
• Predators that actually hunt. Most predators will stick to wild animals and will let your dwarves be, unless there is a large enough size difference, the predator is starving, or the dwarf is already injured. Predators will hunt animals under and around their own size. Pack hunters will actually hunt in packs, and will be willing to take on larger prey.
• More interaction between vermin and other animals. Mostly, this would entail vermin being eaten by larger animals.
• Parasites doing what they do best. Animals will have to deal with parasites. Sickly animals will be easier targets for hunting, whether by your own dwarves or predators.

Third- dynamic animal populations

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

By this I mean making it so that animals are affected by player choice, as well as by their surroundings as they mature.

Animals that grew up with predators around are more skittish and will be harder to tame.
Animals that grew up without natural predators are far easier to tame, and won't be scared of dwarves.

In addition, by killing off the predators in an ecosystem, you can make it so that it will be easier to domesticate the remaining animals. Without predators, more animals will survive to breed, and thus you'll have more animals. On the flip-side, it will be easier for predators to re-establish themselves in these scenarios.

Of course, you could always kill off the prey animals and let the predators die off, without food to sustain them.

Fourth - better aquatic communities

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Right now, the waters of Dwarf Fortress are pretty empty. All they have are fish and other aquatic animals.
Basically, just add coral and aquatic plants.

This isn't done, not by any means. It's just the beginnings of an idea.

[Pencil_Art]

Sounds pretty good.

[HooliganintheFort]

+1 to all of this. Now I can see Elephants hunting Carp and the like or vice versa.

[NW_Kohaku]

A lot of this is planned.  Toady certainly doesn't intend for non-grass-eating animals to go without food forever. 

Also, you might be interested in the Improved Farming Revised thread, as that also covers concepts like closed ecosystems and aquatic life, as well.

Beyond that, I have to question on what you base your assertion that whether or not there are natural predators changes whether or not those creatures are scared of dwarves?  As I understand it, what changes whether a creature is scared of humans or not is whether or not they have experience with humans.  Dodos weren't scared of humans even though there were other creatures that may have preyed upon them.  Meanwhile, Africa, which was where human life evolved, has few native species that are domesticable and are generally more hostile and dangerous towards humans than species of other continents specifically because they had plenty of time to get used to humans.  (The arrival of humans into an ecosystem for the first time is generally met with the extinction of most of its megafauna...)

[Souleater17]

Well, that's good to hear.

Yes! I've read parts of it. I don't have the attention span needed to read through the entire thing...

And that's true.

[angelious]

i think demanding a full on eco system for the game might be a tad too much to ask for now.


its a freaking complex as fuck system and simplifying it too much might break the whole thing :I

[pondicherry]

+1 to this,

We need more detailed and realistic caos, I want to worry about the fragile balance in the wild community.
And yes, the waters are empty.

I guess this will be in the game in about 8 y (In terms of Dwarf time, in 8y fps just kill me)

[NW_Kohaku]

Yes! I've read parts of it. I don't have the attention span needed to read through the entire thing...

Well, it's not something to read in one sitting (certainly took me months to write it...) but there's only about three sections most relevant to your interests - livestock, pests and wildlife, and food webs.  Maybe also animal housing.