Has anybody read "Journey to the Center of the earth" or seen the old movie from the 50s? After reading the book a few months ago, it really got me thinking about a game implementation.
According to Bloat16, there will be more capability to enter chasms and wells through the Dwarf Fortress in both modes. This could even be expanded to randomly generated volcanoes created in the world map. Some would be active cones, while others would be dormant with caving possibilites (as in the book/movie).
This could be a lot of fun with some added tools like the torch, rope, hooks, food/water sources (remember the almost-edible giant mushrooms from the movie?) and taking full advantage of z-coordinates. There need'nt even be a lot of monsters to fight, exploring and making cool discoveries would be fun enough.
The initial descent into a chasm would be something like this:
---------------
X.
XX...
XX..
X..
X.
X = rock walls
. = floor
-------------------
Each level would be similar for a long time until you reached the bottom. Perhaps, you would first need to hook the rope to a rock outcropping. Depending on the type of rock (shale, granite, chalk) the hook could be attached longer. Length of the rope would also be important. Not all cliffs would have outcroppings either, so it may not always be possible to descend unless you bought a longer rope (or possibly fall to your death).
Once you reached the bottom, all kinds of mysterious things could be found. Magma lakes and rivers. Subterranean forests, beaches, creatures. More, even deeper passages would lead to other treasures.
Now imagine how cool this would be playing this as a Bloodline Game. Each player could make an attempt to reach the bottom of the deepest cave. He could possibly leave notes along the way (carvings in the walls or paper) to help the next player along. Dozens of adventurers could pass along the same route, evidence from their bodies.
The best thing about this is that a lot of the code is already implemented. Toady has already hinted at it in development. If you haven't read the book by Jules Verne, do it it's a great (short) read. The only movie that did the book justice is the 1959 version - check it out.
[ November 20, 2006: Message edited by: lumin ]