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[re5et]

has anyone thought about making something like a 'virtual' campaign mode for DF?

the simplest version would basically be a series of 'challenges', like:

mission 1: embark in a nice friendly area with nothing but a brook, lots of wood and some rock.
difficulty: very easy
goal: survive for 1 year.

mission 2: same as above, but with magma.
difficulty: easy
goal: survive for 3 years and produce at least 100 metal bars.
-
-
mission 35: embark on a glacier without spending more than 500 embark points, and none of them in skills.
difficulty: medium
goal: build a massive ice fortress that houses at least 150 dwarves.
-
-
etc...

I think you'll get the idea 

with new players in mind, and players that know the game but sometimes can't motivate themselves to play and set their own goals (like myself), I think this would be a very nice addition to the evergrowing list of great stuff that continues to emerge from this community 

a more 'advanced' form of this could involve pre-embarking and presetting all the mission-specific settings like starting skills, goods, war with other civs, etc. and let players download those 'mission saves' along with a description of the mission setting, goal, maybe some story blah-blah,... 

especially with the new version coming soon(tm) I'm afraid I (like a few others maybe) might be a little overwhelmed by all the new features and stuff, so maybe it would help having some kind of guide or campaign mode, even if it isn't actually in the game.

what do you think?

disclaimer: 1) I did use the search function. 2) I'm not totally sure if this is the right category for this post. 3) yes I almost never post on these or any other forums whatsoever. 4) I come in peace.

[atomfullerene]

I like this too, and think it would make a fine addition to the wiki or some such....you could even write a storyline to go along with it, I think.  I think using map saves to tailor specific situations might work very well, although it would add a layer of difficulty to making the thing. 

As for ideas....build a pyramid in the desert....successfully breach HFS.....clearcut a forest while at war with the elves....   

[hermes]

This is something I've been waiting for for ages!  (And even posted about, but people just said it had been tried before..?)  As much as I wanted to do the soap tower challenge I just don't seem to have the patience for the megaprojects.  I think the only barrier is finding someone to actually set it up, provide the files and the brief to go with them.

I guess they should be on the smallest worlds/maps poss for people with slow machines.
And of course you should probably wait for the new release since save compat would break, but you could plan it out now/test in the current version.

If it worked well, then something like this should definitely be stickied for newcomers.

[Julius Clonkus]

I thought about something along the lines of generating a map where you have a dwarven civ at war with another civ and it's your objective to produce food, weapons, armor and other stuff as "supply delivery" of some kind for the army at the frontlines.

Obviously you would embark on multiple sites in a row, then actually attacking enemy sites by embarking on top of them. The problem with that would be that the enemy would charge your positions as soon as their "reinforcements" (siege) arrive.

Pairing this with a made-up assassination objective that's going to have be accomplished in Adventure Mode (a shitload of sand helps here) could be interesting. And when you remember that you could always bolster the enemies' ranks by retiring in their towns with multiple adventurers, you could make the final battle a real fight. At least when you make them Legendary in some combat skill.

Rules for besieging an enemy location COULD be:
1. No bunkering down. You are supposed to attack them, not hide.
2. No gianormous cave-in of the entire site. That's just low. Now stop frowning.
3. Attacks must be defeated with soldiers, not just traps.
4. Siege engines are a must. And if that means peltering the enemy with the hundreds of thousands of stone you dug up.
5. Guerilla warfare is okay, but keep it limited. A few death pits and cave-in mines at a few strategically useful positions.
6. POWs are to be considered valuable and should be shipped back to the mountainhomes as soon as possible. Elves are an exception, these you may execute as a means to raise morale within your military.
7. Show your victory in a dwarfy way. And if that means collapsing the main obisidan tower after killing every goblin inside, burning down the forest retreat and killing the named trees in there or ripping down the human Keep, go ahead. Or do a minimalist and build your civ symbol where the main tower/keep stood.

[alfie275]

Would scenarios be useful here?

[hermes]

Would scenarios be useful here?

Heh, well I guess it is a pretty popular idea then, but still, no one has done it yet?

[atomfullerene]

The key thing this idea has that those ideas don't have, is that this idea doesn't require any changes to vanilla DF (granted, I'd enjoy it more if it used the Mayday graphics set I use, but it certainly isn't required).  All the campaign bits would be setup via a combination of written flavor text, a well chosen map save, and the player's imagination.  And while this approach has its limitations, I think it's also pretty fitting for dwarf fortress.  Plus, it doesn't need Toady to do anything, so we could actually make it as soon as the next version comes out, instead of waiting for hypothetical modding ideas to be added in (It'd be great if they were, mind you).

Anyway, I'd be up for helping make this, if we get it started.  Surely it wouldn't be THAT hard to find hosting for some maps on the internet...how big are those files anyway?  In theory we could set up the campaign without saved maps, by having a series of accomplishments to be done on a map that meets certain requirements...the two ideas would give you seperate sorts of experiences, but I think could both be worthwhile. 

[Flying Carcass]

Heh, one challenge could be embarking in a terrifying biome with giant cave filled with skeletal (semi) mega beasts and trying to survive. Trust me, its a huge challenge to survive when multiple skeletal cyclopses charge your caravan immediately after embark.

[vooood]

we could even set up a page and have people submit screenshots and/or maps as proof.. would be really fun!

[CursedBurger]

Reclaim a haunted, difficult to defend fort in an area susceptible to goblin attacks, but do not bring any picks, axes, or anvils (i.e. no digging or building walls at first). Defend the fort for a certain number of seasons.

[Toady Two]

I remember the idea for more complex scenarios popping up a few times, but the community didn't seem to bite.

For example this thread: http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=32106.0

And this: http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=32396.0

(shameless self promotion)

[Shades]

I remember the idea for more complex scenarios popping up a few times, but the community didn't seem to bite.

I must have missed that thread and I'm guessing others did too, as I imagine there would be a like for scenarios due to the number of people that ask for challenges.

I'll give it a go and see how I do, with this particular scenario it's a shame we can't set it up so the visiting 'adventurers ' are actually npc adventurers though so you don't have control over what they do / are armed with / etc etc

[Toady Two]

Be wary that that particular scenario has a serious flaw some people have complained of that was part of a oversight be me.

It has Orcs...

They are somewhat of a wild card in this case, they have been know to equally ofter go after your settlement and the dragon himself... Never heard of them killing him though thankfully. Feel free o nerf them to oblivion by changing their raws because otherwise they are just a distraction from the main scenario.

Adding [AQUATIC] in the creture_orc.txt should maybe make them die the instant they arrive?(this is a question to more experienced modders) That would turn the scenario into vanilla DF.

However if you like a challenge, feel free to him them a try.

[Jack_Bread]

And this: http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=32396.0

That was the best thing I read all day... night.
It needs to continue.