DF Update 50.01: Applied all necessary raw changes to update the HF raws to 50.01.
For the vanilla raws, see
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=180650.0 (I wrote this guide).
For highfantasy, a few edge cases / improvements worth noting are listed below.
Additions: Added complete Yokai Invasion mechanic and Yokai Defense progression system
Added over 30 yokai that can stealthily infiltrate the fortress to cause mischief and harm.
Yokai are immune to tradition damage, so they must be defeated either by crafting new "wards" or using magic (spellcrafts magic system, or, see below!)
Added over 30 "mononoke," magical versions of common monsters, which can repel yokai. Every civ has access to at least one, mirroring their current animals
There's a golem mononoke for the gnomes, and even an eldritch creature mononoke and a demon mononoke in the 3rd and 5th cavern layers.
Added about 10 "onnen", intelligent humanoids that can join (or be!) adventurers for yokai protection
Added about 10 "goriki", destructive monsters that live in savage areas and fight yokai very effectively
Added two specific [GOOD] creatures from japanese mythology, the baku and the tengu, who also don't like yokai
Added new semimegabeast and megabeast yokai, and semimegabeast "omamori" (guardians)
Added a new megabeast that must be summoned by advanced spellcrafts, but can be trained to fight yokai very effectively
Added a new final endgame-level boss creature (it's the second one total), which is yokai-adjacent
Additions: The Yokai system is built on pokemon-like code, offering the following systems:
-Many Yokai and others can grow stronger by evolving, either during combat or when exposed to magic items in a constructable chrysalis
-Yokai and others can be trained by feeding them plant-based drinks, or empowered by gifting them elemental lodestones
-Yokai can be fought off (but not captured!) by throwing magical "wards"
-Yokai are normally [TRAPAVOID][WEBIMMUNE], but can be stunned by "balms," which can be crafted
-Stunned Yokai are rendered vulnerable to traps, and can then be trained like any other creatures
-All of this is done without using IP-based names for the creatures, but fans of Pokemon/Yokai Watch and students of Japanese lore will be able to recognize things easily.
-Yes, there's charmander (lizard mononoke), pikachu (mouse mononoke), and also Yuka-oni (blizzard yokai), Nekomata (mystic yokai), etc. Just look around and check descriptions
"my favorite creature is missing!" there's an easy solution, see below.
Additions: SpellXYokai:
Mapped Yokai powers to the existing magical elements & schools of Highfantasy
So basically, 1 yokai type = 1 highfantasy elemental or gem name = 1 power descriptor, but the names may not be exactly the same
Grass Type=Steam Elemental=Growth Powers=Polymorphy(1 of multiple)
There's an image mapping this out among the readme files
-mononoke and others' elements are granted defense based on the highfantasy elemental resistance system (but NOT vice-versa!)
Spellcasting civs can create special yokai wards for each elemental school
Spellcasting civs can craft a special yokai ward for handling extra-dangerous cavern yokai
Spellcasting civs can summon a unique spirit that can develop into either a powerful guardian or a wicked yokai
Spellcasting civs can craft a new type of basin (magic turret) that shoots balms (render yokai vulnerable to trapping)
Killing elementals drops a masterwork elemental lodestone. It can be used as normal to empower mononoke of that element.
Spellcasting civs can "crack" the lodestone to get the expected Aetherial Focus (if it was a surface elemental)
All civs can "crack" the lodestone for renewable resources, like in vanilla (if it was a subterranean elemental)
the Haywire Yokai, which infiltrates various vanilla workshops, can now also use the spellcrafts basin (magic turret) reactions. Its normal form can even knock other yokai unconscious. Perhaps it was the basins' original inspiration?
Existing plants have reaction classes, and many (surface + depths) can be used to craft mononoke vitamins
Additions: Added eldritch sickness as another layer of difficulty to Highfantasy's endgame.
Sickness is initially spread via the touch of the three eldritch bosses and the final boss.
Sickness is also initially spread by ingesting the organs of any normal or boss-sized eldritch creature (not the final boss, because "defeating" the invasion)
Infected creatures sprout horrible mutations. After 15 days, they are reduced to mumbling. After a month, they become opposed to life.
Infected creatures can themselves spread the mutation after 15 days via touch, leading quickly to the downfall of a fort.
Any creature that lives and drinks can become infected by the touch of another, from humans to cats to kraken.
Additions: Carbuncles are powered up and now bless creatures with aether and eldritch magic immunity, tagging the creature as "warded"
A carbuncle nuzzle is just an indicator, and grants just one day of warding
Carbuncle dairy products are now much more potent, granting a full month of warding
Carbuncles still appear in cavern layer 2, before one must content with the eldritch horrors
Additions: Shapeshifters are now functional. They can shift for one hour (adv, dwfx144) into:
Living, humanoid, bipedal, not-half creatures of their gender, including:
Dwarf, Elf, Merfolk, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Orc, Sahuagin, Kobold, Halfling, Dark Gnome, Lizardfolk, Serpentfolk,
Frost Giant, Naga, Dryad, Dragonfolk, Harpy, Ogre, Troll, Djinn, Satyr, Stalker, Succubus, Divine Angel, Gremlin, Yokai
Additions: Fully implemented deep dwarves, dark elves, and merrow as parallel to gnomes/dark gnomes.
Their descriptions mirror and warp the descriptions of the surface variants.
These creatures can spawn underground as members of the advanced layer-linked civ, and as of 50.01, these civs can attack.
Deep dwarves and merrow, like existing dark elves, can also spawn as "second-generation" members of the good civs, though less commonly than the prior dark elf rate (1/20 -> 1/50). It just means the old charm of occasionally breeding "an evil one" is not lost. Ah, the joys of adultery!
The surface versions of each species still occasionally spawn as "second-generation" members of the dark civ, at the half-lineage rate of 1/20.
Normal, Dark (Caste), Dark (Creature), and Surface (Caste) all have different yet subtly connected descriptions. Taken together, the sets of 4 descriptions each form a verbal panorama.
"Dark humans" already exist in the form of the Ungifted, who are much too powerful to allow a whole layer civ of them.
Additions: Alt Civs. Certain civilizations have a 1 in 6 chance to generate with an unusual creature instead of their standard one, but all the same behaviors
This is a common fantasy feature that is often requested, reduces stereotyping, and diversifies worlds without adding more/samey civs. Keep in mind that each of highfantasy's civs is quite unique.
This feature does not use or duplicate, and has nothing to do with, dark creatures. That's separate. Read above.
A 16% chance, and 14 different civs, means you need to generate about 80 civs to reliable get all Alts. (Medium world with Very High civs, or Large with High/Very high)
civ other who might inhabit them creature token (usually normal)
dwarf goblin "ingenieers" GOBLIN
goblin dwarf "scratchlings" DWARF
orc elf "renegades" ELF
elf orc "druids" ORC_BRIGHT_SI - only used here
hobgoblin human "imperials" HUMAN
"The ones that scare us because they look different, they're just that - different. But the evil ones... they look just like us."
Additions: Dictionary: Restored the vanilla dictionary translations
The expanded dictionary previously reset the entire 2100-word vanilla wordlist. This update restores the vanilla translations of all vanilla words, meaning if you look up a dwarven word from the wiki or after seeing your favorite DF streamer use it, you'll find the same translation in Highfantasy again.
The expanded dictionary also previously removed a bizarre set of 20 vanilla words entirely, such as Beer, Boar, and King. This has been fixed.
The 7000 new words from expanded have been maintained.
goblins were using "i" for their new words, which they don't do in vanilla. 110 such i's have been replaced with o.
Additions: Dictionary: Added over 500 new words based on items, ideas, and concepts that appear in HF
did not add words for all new animal people, as animal people words are generally buried in HF (see patch 1.0.0)
unlike all other animal people, cat-,dog-,and horse-person can be used as an adjective
1500 spaces remain for additional Highfantasy words, and some are planned.
Additions: Dictionary: Other
Also added the nouns "familiar" and "elemental" as expanded uses of vanilla words
Added word categories for all 500+ new Highfantasy words
Blocked highfantasy words related to high-tech stuff from being randomly used, including:
guns, wizardry, best metals, underworld, elementmen, dinosaurs
Fixed vanilla dictionary entries for creatures that have their names changed in highfantasy
(white) stork /person, (saltwater) crocodile /person, (desert) tortoise /person
blackbird, falcon, parrot, horned owl,recluse spider, gecko,marmot, macaque, land tortoise
butterfly, langur,tree frog/frog, cobra, mamba
cave crawler, lungdragon, (giant) grouper, (giant) land tortoise
removed the space in new words like metal elemental; vanilla uses dashes in the dictionary instead
Additions: Disguises: Many disguised creatues are now mischievous, and have their disguised name removed where it was not actually effective
eg, it's suspicious when you see a 'tree' in the unit list - something that shouldn't be there in the first place
(the graphic/tile disguises are still intact, as they are very effective.)
:Removed the disguised names and added the MISCHIEVOUS tag to inorganic-based, including:
giant ooze, mimic, 7 underground elementals,
tanglethorn, root serpent, vine spider, craven creeper, twig blight, vine blight,
scavenger flower, man-trap, killer bloom, vine serpent
:Removed the disguised names entirely from some intelligents and plants, including:
treefolk, cactusfolk, plump helmet man, fungal pod, deathbloom, morbishroom
:Changed the disguised names to be more effective for:
walking ginkgo ("treefolk"); tree blight ("treefolk"), rose budder ("hedgehog)"
:Did not change the disguised names for some animal-based, including:
cheese creatures, root deer, psion, shapeshifter, pumpkins
Additions: (Via bugfix) fixed an error in the reactions that prevented the output of runestone traps
Additions: (Via bugfix) since the bladed gun recipes were fixed in 1.4.00, they now once again require actual bayonets rather than metal bars
Additions: (Via bugfix) Fixed some attack triggers for certain spellcraft and dragon semimegabeasts that were missing
Tutorials: Added tooltips to all non-vanilla buildings indicating their main purpose. The spell building maps out the main steps to get started studying magic.
Tutorials: Added position descriptions for all positions that have Manager, Broker, Bookkeeper, Medical, or Militia Commander equivalent duties, which helps with the cultural position names.
Tutorials: Dramatically improved the tutorialization of getting to that first magic study in both fort and adv modes, via multiple vectors
Accessibility: Standardized names, capitalization, and hotkeys of all mod workshops to fit vanilla norms and to not conflict. Again.
Accessibility: The above, but for reaction categories (aka workshop submenus)
Challenges: The following civilizations' creatures now actively suffer from spending too much time underground via a counter-trigger of CAVE_ADAPT (credit: df wiki)
Humans, Elves, Merfolk, Hobgoblins, Sahuagins, Half-Angels
Challenges: Angels now have KILL ANIMAL: UNTHINKABLE. Trading them animal products will cause a diplomatic incident.
Challenges: The final boss (Annihilator) is now a feature beast (depths, not surface).
Spawn triggers have changed in vanilla 50.00, so to avoid being invaded by this creature, keep your population below 140!
to avoid being invaded by Balors, eldritch lietenants, and the yokai megabosses, keep your population below 110, although wealth and exports also matter.
Challenges: Spellcrafts Adv - increased the chance to scavenge a cheap gem in adventure mode to 11%, from 2%
increased the chance when making spell charges to create a diamond to 9%, from 1%.
increased the chance of success making free aether salts to 9% in adv, from 1% (still 1% in fort mode)
-All togther, this means the amount of times you have to perform a scavenge reaction to ultimately get a diamond went from 2100 to 111.
Also increased this reaction's chance of creating aether salt from 5% to 20%
But reduced this reaction's chance of creating spell bolts from 91% to 11%
Spellcrafts Fort - mirrored the spell bolts reaction changes in fort mode, but as gems are more plentiful and one studio trains many wizards, the diamond chance is 4%.
This is still an improvement from 100 gems needed to just 25 gems needed to get that first diamond.
Adventure: 4 yokai are availabe to play as fully equippable, speaking, learning terrors
Adventure: Added reactions for crafting wards, empowering, and evolving mononoke (no x, no healing, no seals until workshops are added)
[New] Creatures: Added dark elf primogenitors that can be selected during orc embarks to advise and guide, but not at any other time.
[New] Creatures: Added decay elementals (cavern, poisonous) and vortex elementals (surface, windy)