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[Dunmeris]

I tested things out again (actually semi-thoroughly) in Adventure Mode. Apparently ADVENTURER, LAW_ENFORCE, and TAX_ESCORT just do nothing now? Why is this the case? Am I insane? Because they seem to do literally nothing. It seems to be impossible to actually have different types of military units actually look different.

I thought the answer might be that Toady changed LAW_ENFORCE back to GUARD and TAX_ESCORT back to ROYALGUARD since that's what it says in graphics_example, but that just generates a ton of errors. Have all the texture tokens other than ANIMATED, GHOST, and DEFAULT seriously been disabled? If so, why?

[burned]

The adventurer textures still work. The law enforcement and tax escorts were replaced with "scout types" and other textures when 31.01 overhauled how the military works. Although one wouldn't know until 31.02. Heh.

[Dunmeris]

Thanks. What do you mean by "scout types" though? Do you mean like wanderer/scout/beast hunter/monster slayer/mercenary?

[burned]

A "scout type" uses a texture based on a profession skill (typically a combat skill) rather than a texture token. Along those lines, GHOST and ANIMATED are professions not textures. I believe that change was implemented with the night creature release in 31.17.

[Dunmeris]

Sorry, this is probably a silly question, but how do I use these scout types? Or rather, how would I have different types of military units be distinguishable graphically?

[burned]

Sorry, this is probably a silly question, but how do I use these scout types? . . .

To rephrase what I posted previously, scout types use the "profession" token to determine the graphic tile used based on the highest combat skill value. There are exceptions to the rule.*

. . .  how would I have different types of military units be distinguishable graphically?

By creating a different graphic tile for each "profession." 
 
*Assigned jobs override any skill designated graphic tile. Note: some professions are assigned by the game, so I don't just mean the professions you assign in dwarf mode.

Adventurers have become unique case because they still take advantage of both the profession and texture token.

Again, most of this came with the night creature and military changes in 31.xx, so it's been this way for the last six years or so.

Also, I hope my post isn't too pedantic. It was in effort to answer future questions, but I feel like I'm just repeating myself at this point. Heh.

I did review your post history to try and get a better idea of where you might be coming from and what you might really be trying to ask, downloaded your "Medieval Humans" file to take a look . . . and the moment I saw that it was a Frankenstein set I deleted the file. That last statement is not meant to be a slight on you. I specifically mean it contained the work of many authors with different mindsets on organization and I am not interested in deciphering how it works as a whole just to figure out which body part belongs to you and why it's not working.

Maybe someone else can help you.

[Dunmeris]

I think I get it, thanks.

Yeah, in the version I have right now (un-uploaded) I've just re-assigned the default profession tokens to the guard graphics (and corrected a bunch of stuff I missed/screwed up through lack of testing (mostly purely graphical)). It works more-or-less -- i mean heraldic surcoats and nasal helms/kettle hats are generic enough that they could work for royal knights and possibly militia, as well as knights.

[RantingRodent]

The adventurer textures still work. The law enforcement and tax escorts were replaced with "scout types" and other textures when 31.01 overhauled how the military works. Although one wouldn't know until 31.02. Heh.

I'm in the middle of figuring this out myself and I just want to clarify that based on my understanding, "Scout types" don't really replace LAW_ENFORCE or TAX_ESCORT exactly, since there's no unique profession associated with the royal guard or fortress guard. You can't use Scout types to achieve the same effect. Scout types just happen to have been added in the same update that eliminated the use of those texture tokens.

[burned]

@RantingRodent  I shouldn't have said that scout types were added in 31.xx, so much as they are just the result of being less specific and not taking advantage of the texture token. The "DEFAULT" texture, if you will. Toady referred to this as a "scout type," so that's just the term I've stuck with.

Regarding replacements in the military, there are some assigned positions that supersede scout types. For instance, Sheriff/Captain of the Guard are arguably the law enforcement. And there are definitely other assigned professions in the military (Militia captain, Militia commander, Champion, etc) that you can create unique tiles for.

As for the tax escorts - no economy, no taxes, no escorts. Which goes back to 31.xx when Toady removed the economy placeholder.

[RantingRodent]

@RantingRodent  I shouldn't have said that scout types were added in 31.xx, so much as they are just the result of being less specific and not taking advantage of the texture token. The "DEFAULT" texture, if you will. Toady referred to this as a "scout type," so that's just the term I've stuck with.

Regarding replacements in the military, there are some assigned positions that supersede scout types. For instance, Sheriff/Captain of the Guard are arguably the law enforcement. And there are definitely other assigned professions in the military (Militia captain, Militia commander, Champion, etc) that you can create unique tiles for.

As for the tax escorts - no economy, no taxes, no escorts. Which goes back to 31.xx when Toady removed the economy placeholder.

Yeah I remember the economy being shut off, but the "tax escort" squad was really just the royal guard, which does still exist (right?). It was nice in older versions to have your entire fortress guard and royal guard actually look different from the rest of the military, since they serve unique purposes. Oh well. Fewer sprites to create is a silver lining.

[Dunmeris]

I just don't get the point of disabling the ability to have law enforcement units, royal guards, and other units look different.

[burned]

@RantingRodent You're right. The royal guard did use the tax escort textures pre 31.xx. The texture token still exists, Toady just doesn't use it any more currently (ADVENTURER being the exception). So, yes, you don't need as many graphic tiles as you once did.

As you already know, [l]oo[k]ing at a tile shows what it really "looks" like, but the point of using graphic tiles is to parse information with your own eyes rather than the command. When you use ASCII you expect abstraction, but you also need to expect abstraction when you use graphic tiles in a game that is designed around ASCII. In other words, you might be able to tell that guy is a master swordsman by looking at the graphic tile with your eyes, but you'll need to [l]oo[k] at him more closely to see if he's a guard, a mercenary, monster slayer, and so forth. Hint: People are more complex than just some profession in this game. Heh.

I just don't get the point of disabling the ability to have law enforcement units, royal guards, and other units look different.

@Dunmeris It helps to look at the bigger picture of what Toady is trying to accomplish to understand the current state of the game. As I mentioned above, the texture token still exists. It's just not the focus right now. For example, compare how the 40d military worked to how the military has worked since 31.xx and you'll get a better idea of what happened and where they are heading and why it works the way it does. Toady doesn't hide his intentions.

If you truly want to "get the point" of anything Toady does I assure you that he's an open book when it comes to how him and his brother have built and continue to build this game. Check out the dev log, ask him questions in the FotF thread, listen to the DF podcast, look at the old wiki entries and compare them to the new ones and see how things have changed. Anything I know about the game just comes from those sources. Well, and playing the game for over a decade. Heh.

I hope that helps.