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Author Topic: Better animal-people (and modded savage sentient) tribes  (Read 1292 times)

MaxTheFox

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Better animal-people (and modded savage sentient) tribes
« on: February 17, 2020, 06:46:59 am »

Right now, wild animal-people (and other wild sentients like satyrs and any others you mod in) are weird and a bit buggy. They do nothing but stand around in the wilderness and sometimes attack. So why not make them more interactive? Sorry for my potentially bad English, it's not my first language.

There would be a few new tokens added to animal-people:
Code: [Select]
[TRIBES] - allows tribes to appear
[TRIBE_ADVANCEMENT:<number>:<number>:<number>] - range of how advanced the tribes can be, second number sets the average, see below. Defaults to 0:20:70
[WORLDGEN_TRIBE_NUMBER:<number>] - how many tribes appear during worldgen.
[TRIBE_MAX_POPULATION:<number>] - tribe population won't grow above this number, optional
[TRIBES_ALWAYS_HOSTILE:<yes/no>, defaults to no] - whether or not the tribe will be hostile, regardless of ethics and tokens
[TRIBE_VALUES:<value>:<number>] - works exactly like values for normal entities, randomization is applied per-tribe
[TRIBE_ETHICS:<ethic>:<opinion>] - works exactly like ethics for normal entities
[NOMADIC:<percentage>] - what percentage of the tribes will be nomadic.

Tribes would be generated entities created during worldgen and could grow, split off, and have wars with each other or actual civs. They'd have actual leaders (who would be historical figures) and be able to give quests. You'd also be able to start an animal-person character in one. Tribes can be nomadic or settled. Nomadic tribes would move to different areas every once in a while, appearing like any other travelers.
A new site type would be added for tribes, that would have different buildings and resources depending on [TRIBE_ADVANCEMENT]. There might also be musical instruments.
If the species has [CURIOUSBEAST_ITEM], the entity might steal items in worldgen and place them in the site. In worldgen, tribes might trade with civilizations.

0-9: No clothing, armor, or tools besides sharpened rocks, only "building" is a campfire with some food around it.

10-19: Same as above, however there are leather/cloth tents (like in normal camps) with simple tools. Some inhabitants have wooden, stone, or bone weapons or bows.

20-29: Same as above, however the inhabitants have simple clothing and there are some actual professions (like guards or hunters).

30-39: Same as above, but there might be farms around the site if the tribe is settled (and its species can eat plants). THere might also be domestic animals.

40-49: Same as above, however some of the inhabitants may have wooden or bone armor in addition to weapons. Additionally, the chief will have decorated clothing/armor and some buildings will be specialised (like kitchens, warehouses, barracks).

50-59: Same as above, but the buildings will be wooden huts instead of tents, unless the tribe is nomadic. They will also sometimes have workshops, beds, and simple furniture. Additionally, clothing will likely be a nearly-full set (like on civilized entities).

60-69: Same as above, however there are more leadership positions (maybe they should be customizable via tags like in civilized entities? Not sure). Additonally, they might brew alcohol.

70-79: Same as above, but some buildings might have multiple floors and/or be made of (rough) stone blocks, unless the tribe is nomadic. Metal tools or weapons might appear at this level however they are rare.

80-89: Metal tools or weapons become more commonplace. Additonally, at this level and above, tribes are a lot more likely to siege and raze sites in worldgen (and fortress mode).

90-100: No stone tools or weapons (only metal), metal armor becomes commonplace, if tribe is not nomadic there are roads between buildings instead of dirt paths.

Tags like [LARGE_PREDATOR] and ethics like [KILL_NEUTRAL:REQUIRED/ACCEPTABLE] make tribes more likely to be hostile to civs and adventurers.

Thoughts or ideas on how to improve this?
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Azerty

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Re: Better animal-people (and modded savage sentient) tribes
« Reply #1 on: February 17, 2020, 05:47:32 pm »

Good ideas.

I would add the possibility, for a tribe, to interact with other civilizations and thereby being able to acquire higher technoligical levels.
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towerator

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Re: Better animal-people (and modded savage sentient) tribes
« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2020, 01:13:14 pm »

It could be interesting if the [TRIBE_ADVANCEMENT] tag you suggest were to increase over time for a given tribe, very slowly at low values and slightly faster at high values. Once the tribe reaches 99, it becomes a full-blown civilization.
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Azerty

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Re: Better animal-people (and modded savage sentient) tribes
« Reply #3 on: February 18, 2020, 02:09:53 pm »

It could be interesting if the [TRIBE_ADVANCEMENT] tag you suggest were to increase over time for a given tribe, very slowly at low values and slightly faster at high values. Once the tribe reaches 99, it becomes a full-blown civilization.

I could even see instances where this counter would decrease because of factors such as a large part of the tribe dying or mass devastations.
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towerator

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Re: Better animal-people (and modded savage sentient) tribes
« Reply #4 on: February 18, 2020, 02:35:44 pm »

It could be interesting if the [TRIBE_ADVANCEMENT] tag you suggest were to increase over time for a given tribe, very slowly at low values and slightly faster at high values. Once the tribe reaches 99, it becomes a full-blown civilization.

I could even see instances where this counter would decrease because of factors such as a large part of the tribe dying or mass devastations.

You could even extend this to civs, to an extent: after something REALLY nasty happens (huge war, massive natural disaster, cataclysmic plague), a civilization goes back to the tribe age, and may need to climb back again, although maybe with a faster re-increase because members already know how to do stuff like industry. This way, you could have post-apocalyptic scenarios, where civilization has fallen and needs to rise again.
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Timeless Bob

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Re: Better animal-people (and modded savage sentient) tribes
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2020, 10:46:42 am »

It could be interesting if the [TRIBE_ADVANCEMENT] tag you suggest were to increase over time for a given tribe, very slowly at low values and slightly faster at high values. Once the tribe reaches 99, it becomes a full-blown civilization.

I could even see instances where this counter would decrease because of factors such as a large part of the tribe dying or mass devastations.

You could even extend this to civs, to an extent: after something REALLY nasty happens (huge war, massive natural disaster, cataclysmic plague), a civilization goes back to the tribe age, and may need to climb back again, although maybe with a faster re-increase because members already know how to do stuff like industry. This way, you could have post-apocalyptic scenarios, where civilization has fallen and needs to rise again.

+1 for this.

Additional aspect: it would give some functionality to the scientists/philosophers' advancement trees in knowledge.  I'd even go so far as linking certain knowledges to advancements in ability to build things and decreased infant mortality rates. The leaders "descending into the depths and taming" setup could just as well be an announcement that a leader "Discovered [science/lore], allowing [Cive Name] to build/make [result of science/lore]"
Ex: Urist McLeader discovered Knapping, allowing The Golden Olive to make Sharp Stones
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Azerty

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Re: Better animal-people (and modded savage sentient) tribes
« Reply #6 on: February 21, 2020, 01:21:49 pm »

It could be interesting if the [TRIBE_ADVANCEMENT] tag you suggest were to increase over time for a given tribe, very slowly at low values and slightly faster at high values. Once the tribe reaches 99, it becomes a full-blown civilization.

I could even see instances where this counter would decrease because of factors such as a large part of the tribe dying or mass devastations.

You could even extend this to civs, to an extent: after something REALLY nasty happens (huge war, massive natural disaster, cataclysmic plague), a civilization goes back to the tribe age, and may need to climb back again, although maybe with a faster re-increase because members already know how to do stuff like industry. This way, you could have post-apocalyptic scenarios, where civilization has fallen and needs to rise again.

+1 for this.

Additional aspect: it would give some functionality to the scientists/philosophers' advancement trees in knowledge.  I'd even go so far as linking certain knowledges to advancements in ability to build things and decreased infant mortality rates. The leaders "descending into the depths and taming" setup could just as well be an announcement that a leader "Discovered [science/lore], allowing [Cive Name] to build/make [result of science/lore]"
Ex: Urist McLeader discovered Knapping, allowing The Golden Olive to make Sharp Stones

Like in Victoria, with the distinction between technologies and inventions, with the latter being applications of the former(for exemple, Organic Chemistry open the way to Synthetic Dye, which enables the production of synthetic dyes from coal)? Such inventions are randomly made available, with the base chance having modifiers depending from the country's situation such as the form of government, the year or other inventions having been found.

Though I imagine there would be less randomness in DF.
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towerator

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Re: Better animal-people (and modded savage sentient) tribes
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2020, 06:02:32 pm »

It could be interesting if the [TRIBE_ADVANCEMENT] tag you suggest were to increase over time for a given tribe, very slowly at low values and slightly faster at high values. Once the tribe reaches 99, it becomes a full-blown civilization.

I could even see instances where this counter would decrease because of factors such as a large part of the tribe dying or mass devastations.

You could even extend this to civs, to an extent: after something REALLY nasty happens (huge war, massive natural disaster, cataclysmic plague), a civilization goes back to the tribe age, and may need to climb back again, although maybe with a faster re-increase because members already know how to do stuff like industry. This way, you could have post-apocalyptic scenarios, where civilization has fallen and needs to rise again.

+1 for this.

Additional aspect: it would give some functionality to the scientists/philosophers' advancement trees in knowledge.  I'd even go so far as linking certain knowledges to advancements in ability to build things and decreased infant mortality rates. The leaders "descending into the depths and taming" setup could just as well be an announcement that a leader "Discovered [science/lore], allowing [Cive Name] to build/make [result of science/lore]"
Ex: Urist McLeader discovered Knapping, allowing The Golden Olive to make Sharp Stones

Like in Victoria, with the distinction between technologies and inventions, with the latter being applications of the former(for exemple, Organic Chemistry open the way to Synthetic Dye, which enables the production of synthetic dyes from coal)? Such inventions are randomly made available, with the base chance having modifiers depending from the country's situation such as the form of government, the year or other inventions having been found.

Though I imagine there would be less randomness in DF.
I decided to get a few ideas for potential "techs" you could possibly discover, while staying in a pre-renaissance setting
-Greek fire: because everyone should share the fun that is fire. So pretend to be Byzantium as you incinerate the goblomans.
-Trebuchets: More precise than the catapults we have today, and much more deadly; also helps to siege stuff.
-3-field system: not very useful per se, but civilizations with it grow faster.
-Blast furnace: while primitive compared to ours, it's more fuel- and time-efficient than simple smelting, requiring only one piece of fuel and the same time for twice the production
-Black powder: EXPLOSIONS!?!? While bombards seem off-limits for dwarf fortress, gunpowder isn't very hard to make. Now have fun making barrels of the stuff, lobbing it at enemies, attaching it to a fuse and blow the incoming siege to bits, and be dwarfy (because admit it: that would be). Needless to say, given the average IQ of dorfs, giving them an access to explosions may lead to fun.

Additionally: what if you could lower the tech level of starting civs? That would be an interesting challenge to play without some of the things we consider a given such as soapmaking, plate armors, or wheelbarrows.
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