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[SmileyMan]

I hope this hasn't been suggested before, because it seems quite obvious.  I searched et al, but found nothing.

Would it be possible to have semi- and megabeasts take up multiple tiles, like wagons?  Semis could be 2x2 and megas 3x3

This would have numerous effects - first, you could protect yourself against dragons by simply having narrow entrances, although they would still be able to smash doors (with a swipe of tail/claws) and breathe fireballs down the corridors.

To balance this swing in favour of the fortress, however, it would also get rid of the "titan caught in a wooden cage" syndrome.  Other traps would still be effective, of course, but cages would trigger against megabeasts, but always fail (and in the case of wooden ones, destroyed)

To prevent against self-sufficient fortresses just holing up and ignoring the beast outside (although this would be a valid short-term tactic), perhaps have nobles generate mandates to rid the fort of the megabeast.  Of course, the fact that trade and immigrants would be somewhat curtailed/toasted would probably make this necessary anyway at some point.

Plus, it would make for great epicness when your beleaguered fortress slowly trains every carpenter, farmer, miner and weaver with a rag-tag collection of weapons and armour, then leads them out in a glorious do-or-die charge against the beast that has plagued the fortress for three whole years.

[Dasleah]

I've always thought of Megabeasts taking up more than one tile, but the one used to represent them is an 'average' of their location, mass, and size. So a tile can be almost any physical size you need it to be - it's not a set thing (ie, a tile is not 2x2m) but rather it's something that says 'this is what is in this general area, relative to other things'

Hurm. Did that make any sense?

[Capntastic]

It's been brought up occasionally, and I don't think I'd like it because there's no super quick way to tell if that huge amount of S is a giant snake or just a bunch of snailmen or whatever.  

Also, the idea that a single tile is a rather large amount of space (I forget the measure.).

[Surma]

Hurm, well this is using OpenGL, one could just make a rather large D to indicate a dragon. Making it move correctly might be a pain..  :p

[Juason]

Aren't wagons already multiple tiles in size?  They utilize proper movement I think..

[Quitschi1337]

Yeah that would make them way more impressive X_x

[Draco18s]

quote:Originally posted by Capntastic:
<STRONG>It's been brought up occasionally, and I don't think I'd like it because there's no super quick way to tell if that huge amount of S is a giant snake or just a bunch of snailmen or whatever.</STRONG>

Giant Snake:

code:

+++
+S+
+++

Snailmen:

code:

SSS
SSS
SSS

[Elitay]

I've always wondered... just how large is a tile? Or how high a z-level? It would be interesting to know how big my buildings are. So I can say stuff like, "I've got a 100 meter tall tower in the middle of a desert" or something.

[LumenPlacidum]

Each Z-level is at least 10 horizontal-units high.  This has to be true, since when you lift a 10-long drawbridge, it doesn't create walls up to 10 z-levels above it.

[PTTG??]

I've done the math on square sizes here.
Based on how much water fills a tile and the rough size of the majority of creatures, a tile is 2.5 x 2.5 6.25 feet, plus or minus as much as a foot in any direction.

I think that Multi-Tile creatures is in the pipeline, but not for a while. It's up there with Boats.

[Neonivek]

The reason I can guess where there are no Multi-tile megabeasts... or heck even beasts beyond Wagons...

Is probably because Toady has yet to put in intelligent sieging and a Multitile creature is basically harmless without it unless it has the ability to spawn creatures itself (that would be cool, a GIANT flying Hive that spawns killer bees) or stay at your front door forever.

It needs the ability to destroy walls to be more of a threat.

Though I guess with long creatures like a giant snake it could Contort through tunnels

Giant Oozes could do the same

But the Mechanics for the Ooze and Snake would be difficult to code right now so I guess it is being put off until later.

[Elitay]

quote:Originally posted by PTTG??:
<STRONG>I've done the math on square sizes here.
Based on how much water fills a tile and the rough size of the majority of creatures, a tile is 2.5 x 2.5 6.25 feet, plus or minus as much as a foot in any direction.
</STRONG>

That means my tower is a piddly 30 meters.
 

[Draco18s]

quote:Originally posted by Elitay:
<STRONG>That means my tower is a piddly 30 meters.
  </STRONG>

Make it a fountain, and it's huge!
*Had a ~30 foot tall fountain*

[The-Moon]

I'm personally all for multi tile mega beasts.

And i'm sure toady already plans to do this.

So i do not see the point of brining this topic up.

[SmileyMan]

quote:Originally posted by The-Moon:
<STRONG>I'm personally all for multi tile mega beasts.

And i'm sure toady already plans to do this.

So i do not see the point of brining this topic up.</STRONG>

Well, it didn't come up in a search of the forum, or of the dev lists.

I like the idea above of having the multi-tile creatures having more fluid shapes than just rigid squares.  A nine-tile long giant snake slithering down your entrance tunnel and into your legendary dining room would be excellent.