Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Granite26]

Just what we need... MORE sources of neurosis for our dwarves.

It looks neat, but it's leaning towards the Sims side of things, and away from being able to manage a kingdom.  How would this generalize up?  Say I've got 190 dwarves and my last 10 immigrants come in.  Am I going to be required to read their life's goals and desires before drafting them as soldiers or haulers and crushing those dreams?

Maybe only impliment this for the legendary dwarves, as kind of a late-game add on for a limited number of 'real' characters?

[Mephansteras]

That's a good point. Late in the game, very few dwarves that show up (or grow up) are going to be allowed to follow their dream.

"You want to be a legendary metalsmith? Sorry, I've got plenty of smiths, and they're all quite skilled. No, I don't need you churning out low quality junk. Now pick up a crossbow and go train, you get to be a GUARD!"

Poor dwarves, never able to fulfill their dreams. Of course, most humans never really accomplish much either, and don't seem to mind that much. So, maybe most dwarves are like that too?

Give them a trait for goal-seeking. Actually, thinking about it, you could just use the trait for how much work they already do. Dwarves who do as little work as necessary probably aren't going to be too upset if they can't manage really lofty goals. They just can't be bothered to put that much work into it. Dwarves who are really active and do as much as possible, will be really upset if they can't do what they want.

Hmm. Actually, that'd be an interesting mechanism for immigration and emigration. Early forts get a higher percentage of dwarves with very strong desires to fulfill their dreams, and have goals along the lines of "Create a masterwork statue". These people go to a new fort because they'll have a chance to do what they've always wanted. Later migrants are more realistic. As time goes on, you mostly get dwarves who are just happy to have work and a room. They have a very low desire to reach for lofty goals, and tend to have the "wants a fine quality bed" sort of goals. You'd also get more bloodthirsty dwarves, since large fortresses get involved in wars.

As long as the migration system handled goals reasonably (as in, no dwarves with lofty goals of woodcutting showing up on a desert map) it could work pretty well.

[Dame de la Licorne]

As long as the migration system handled goals reasonably (as in, no dwarves with lofty goals of woodcutting showing up on a desert map) it could work pretty well.

But...but...this would be just as amusing as a migrant wave of half fishers/cleaners/dissectors on a desert/tundra/glacier map!  Then they could simply have gotten royally lost or royally screwed.  As long is it isn't very common, I say leave it.

[Chthonic]

I like this idea.  In the spirit of a dwarf working toward his goal, if he is craft-minded, the dwarf might not merely highly prioritize a job (say he wants to be a legendary metalcrafter) but might actually generate a job of his own from time to time.  Rather than being struck by a supernatural yearning to create the most amazingly sublime dog leather thong in existence, the dwarf might just decide to make a copper animal trap (or something equally mundane) to the tune of little fanfare and a minor happy thought.

[Mephansteras]

@Dame: Well, ok, don't rule it out. But I'd like to see migrants make a bit more sense anyway. Although, the fish cleaner who really wants to be a metalsmith showing up to a map without water? That kinda makes sense.

"See, I was trained as a fish cleaner, but since you don't need any of those...how about I go work in the forge? Eh? Eh?"

As for dwarves going off and giving themselves jobs...I'd like to see some material prioritization in place before that happens. I mean, let's say I've got a Baron who LOVES nickle items. And I can't mine for nickle, so the only nickle I've got is the two bars I traded for. I'm going to be royally ticked if some stupid fish dissector with dreams of metalcrafting comes by and turns that nickle into a toy boat on his own.

Let's see, how best to handle that? Maybe have them put in a request with the manager? You'd get lists of requested jobs by different dwarves, and you could approve or deny them based on the situation. So, if an aspiring mason wants to make a felsite throne and I've got tons of felsite...go ahead. But an aspiring weaponsmith wants to use my only steel bar to make a spear? Uh, no, let's leave that for the legendary weaponsmith, thanks.

It could even be automated, where the manager only approves requests that use common items, or maybe tasks that are already on the approved list.

Which gives me a new thought. How about in the manager screen, being able to select a minimum/maximum skill level per job? Say, I don't want any dabbling armorsmiths making steel plate mail, but they're welcome to churn out bronze caps. That would help a lot when you've got multiple crafters in a large fort anyway. I frequently have to micromanage my forges to keep the jobs I care about in the high-level forges, while letting the baser tasks go to the training forges. I want to train up my other weaponsmiths, so they can make bolts or whatever, but I prefer to let my highly skilled smiths make the real weapons and armor. Or, say, restrict my bed making jobs to my legendary carpenter but let the apprentices churn out bins where quality really doesn't matter.

[Footkerchief]

Let's see, how best to handle that? Maybe have them put in a request with the manager? You'd get lists of requested jobs by different dwarves, and you could approve or deny them based on the situation. So, if an aspiring mason wants to make a felsite throne and I've got tons of felsite...go ahead. But an aspiring weaponsmith wants to use my only steel bar to make a spear? Uh, no, let's leave that for the legendary weaponsmith, thanks.

This is a mindblowingly cool idea.

[Techhead]

I am crazy-motivated dwarf, and my goal has always been to become the world's first legendary strand extractor. I've been doing odd jobs here and there, and I'm up to competent by now. When I first heard you struck adamantine, I knew I had to come and work for you!!!
So, how much adamantine ore do you have, exactly?

[korora]

I don't think immigrants should have goals that significantly deviate from their professions.  Presumably they have had the time to settle down and figure out what it is they can be successful and happy doing (with the possible exceptions of a few random ones plus some peasants). Children, on the other hand, should be strongly influenced by their goals and even start in on them before they reach adulthood and you can control them.  Maybe they could have an "Apprentice" task where they can stand in a workshop while a skilled dwarf works and gain experience for it.

[Joseph Miles]

Great idea here, one of the better ones.

I'm the Falcon and I approve this suggestion.

[Arbitrary Value]

What kinds of goals would a dwarf have if, when he was a child, a batman killed his parents?

[Surma]

To eventually become a multi-millionare and spend his fortune on all manner of gadgets and widgets to help him fight the Batmen menace, he will bestow upon himself the name the "Anti-Batman".

[Joseph Miles]

Could we have a fat one in a suit named the Penguin as well? How about a legendary comedian with no real combat skills as "The Joker"?

[Draco18s]

Penguin was outright the best Batman villain ever.

[Joseph Miles]

I dunno, I prefer the Riddler myself. I mean, Penguin was/is just some short fat guy in a suit whats he even do?

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

Could we have a fat one in a suit named the Penguin as well? How about a legendary comedian with no real combat skills as "The Joker"?

He'd have to have some alchemy skills for that poison the Joker uses.