Print

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

[Cruxador]

Now, while Dwarf Fortress would never be made as a AAA game, something with superficial similarities could exist. Well, let's see...

It'd be in all 3d graphics, of course. There'd be no designations, you'd position such things as "Barracks" and "Magma Cannon" as single uncustomizable entities. You would mine by placing a mine entrance, and your dwarves would deal with the specifics themselves, taking out generic "ore" and possibly "gems". Tunnels and pipelines would be drawn like roads and walls in other games. So would roads and walls. Everything randomly generated would be gone. You'd have a campaign mode with some trite story about the goblins and their demon boss. You'd make at least five fortresses with the goal of eliminating goblin resources or gaining some of your own. The final one would share a map with the dark tower where the demon resides. Combat would involve selecting groups of troops by dragging a box around them, and right-clicking on a target. Production would involve clicking icons at workshops, and thus would perhaps be the most similar to the current system. You would make weapons and armor by first turning turning ore into steel at the smelter, and then an amount of steel would be subtracted from your stockpiles to buy upgrades at the forge.

So basically, it'd be similar to the bastardizations/sequels of Black & White and Majesty.

[Mr Doctor]

Simple.

All dwarves would be magic wizards who can look around corners and over objects when facing away from them, and being able to heal any wounds within seconds probably supports the wizard theory.

I can't think of anything else but it would not be an AAA release if it was an AAA release, to simplify everything.

[zwei]

Good:

It would have comprehensive tutorial. New players have to read one anyway. In mario it looks stupid, but in DF?
UI designed by someone who knows what he is doing and who is dedicated to it.
More directed gameplay with story mode or achievments.

Bad:

DLC money drain. Glassmaking workshop DLC! Not just new creatures, or so, everything but core pieces of game cut out to be resold.
Social gaming. Plug in your FB/Twitter/whatever account as spam friends with updates
Achievment soup and propably Sucky story for story mode: http://armorgames.com/play/2893/achievement-unlocked

I would not be afraid of simpler game mode (MOO3 is glaring example that overdone complexity can get published) mostly because it is easy to "fold" df complexity and it costs little overhead to make: Checkbox can easily make all those different trees to show only as "Tree", all stones as "Stone" and all gems as "Gem".

Combat would involve selecting groups of troops by dragging a box around them, and right-clicking on a target.

You know, that would be actual improvement.

[Cruxador]

Combat would involve selecting groups of troops by dragging a box around them, and right-clicking on a target.

You know, that would be actual improvement.

Except that when not killing things, they would stand in place doing absolutely nothing, and would not require food or water. Nor would they spar, sparring and training would be cut entirely, or abstracted as a little bar that fills up at the barracks. When it fills, a soldier pops out.

I like my squad-based kill orders just fine. Except for the bugs, but they'll be gone before too long.

[Sowelu]

Mothers using their babies as shields?

I might even imagine a removal of children altogether, depending on how graphic the violence is.  You just don't see kids in games anymore in any context where they could be killed in a violent fashion; you only really see it where they are distinctly nonhuman and cartoony, because killing humanoid children is seen as very distasteful.  In some countries like Australia, it's flat-out illegal to allow children to be killed in a video game.  This might mean no children are born in your fortress, and everyone comes from immigration.

Hm...I think the biggest change from current form to AAA game would be a simplification of skills.  Your dwarves are either a specific profession, or they're not; they work fast in their own profession, and poorly in others when you assign 'em to them.  Dwarves can be untrained from their profession, and can train into a profession from peasant given enough time (think Colonization's system).  Military dwarves take some time to train, but once trained, they are all identical in combat capability (but can still be military+civvie skills).  No personality differences, likes or dislikes, etc--dwarves become identical to each other.

Note that I don't think these changes would make the game worse.  They would make it simpler, they would appeal to a wider audience.  It would be less Dwarf Fortress-y, but these specific changes wouldn't make it a worse game, just a simpler and faster one.

[Thief^]

If you want a comparison, look at dungeon keeper:

• 3D
• Freeform Digging
• Rooms are designated
• Creatures need food, so you need to make sure you have a big enough (chicken) farm to sustain them
• No direct control of units (though you can pick up units and drop them at the enemy)
• New creatures turn up randomly (migrants!) based on how well you're doing
• Creatures need to actually go get food, it doesn't just get teleported into them from an invisible stockpile
• Some stuff needs making before it can be built (doors, traps)
• Creatures can be trained, some creatures go train of their own accord

Extrapolating that into a DF theme would leave you with a pretty similar game to DF, though a lot less complex. I don't think it would be as bad as some people here make out. At least if done well...
If done badly it would be truly awful. Oh dear god the awfulness.

[Dabi]

All I got to say is: Spore.

It would have been the most awesome, violent adult video game ever where you could drag the bodies of your dead enemies for later use etc. Then the next minute once EA gets their hands on it it is now the most childish game simple game to get more sales.

DF would become a game made for sales. It would mean making it for the masses(Aka, remove ores etc for simplicity. Simplify the battle system to HP. Professions will be simple "Cheese maker" which is a simple profession with no advancing in their career and not becoming any more efficient. Pre-made landscapes with no world generating at all. Blood will most likely be simple if not at all. Water physics will be simplified...no mists etc. Magma will not destroy doors etc as there is no difference with materials it will just simply do nothing. Farming does not require seeds and is a preset amount of space. Trees cut down but will regrow after a certain period.)
And a lot more..

[darkflagrance]

I question whether some of these so-called "simplifications" actually make the game "simpler" in a way that achieves mass appeal.

For example, forcing dwarves through a protracted process to change occupation is not simple. More likely, distinctions between labor and skill levels would be rougher. There might only be 5 ranks before legendary and none after, and labors might be lumped together (a furnace operator might operate the kiln, wood furnace, and smelter, which might in turn be combined) and a farmer might sow, thresh, and mill plants.

They probably reflect a (well-justified) cynicism on the part of the Bay12 forumers.

[Thief^]

All I got to say is: Spore.

I was looking forward to that game
The presentation where he showed that how you designed your creature actually made a lot of difference, which by release got turned into adding "fast legs" vs "slow legs" to your creature...

[Xzalander]

There'd also be limited Zlevels.

Probably 2-3 Zlevels down, 5~ Up and the magma sea.

[Thief^]

I would expect it to be more like the 2D version, to be honest. Multiple Z levels is very complicated, few games include them.

[Aklyon]

All I got to say is: Spore.

and C&C4.
This is why publishers should go back to the book or movie industries. They screw up EVERYTHING for teh monies!

[HungryHobo]

First: it would get cut by some manager who'd never heard of it-

"what? it's still in alpha? after how many years? it's obviously a hopeless project! cut it!"

failing that.

-Dwarves would have no separate personalities or appearances because people sometimes feel bad when a unique dwarf suffers.
-No children since that could lead to killing children.
-No miscarriages since that could offend someone.
-All the complexity of the ores, stones and gems would be cut.
-Everyone would play in a single pre-genned world.
-Ledgends mode would be cut on the basis of not contributing directly to gameplay.

-all graphical.
As a result everything that's hard/impossible to represent graphically would be cut.
(Anyone here think they could code a system to create a 3d model of an arbitrary creature-forgotten beasts or anything modded into the raws- with arbitrary arms/legs/skin/hair made from any material which moves sensibly and which after arbitrary injuries-broken bones, melting, severed limbs, blood loss, nerve damage etc etc- still moves sensibly and alters the 3d model to reflect the damage which can also adjust the model to show arbitrary coverings like water, blood, magma, fat, *frozen substance*, etc etc and  arbritrary clothing/weapons all with their own materials and liquid/solid coatings and when that creature uses or is hit by *arbritrary material breath.*)
All without killing the graphics card.

All those things would more likely just be cut.


Hit points.

Many many of the things which give dwarf fortress it's wonderful depth would just be cut for not adding meaningful gameplay.

[Urist Imiknorris]

Many many of the things which give dwarf fortress it's wonderful depth would just be cut for not adding meaningful gameplay.

And yet, there is meaningful gameplay to be found in the game's depth.

[Karnewarrior]

Let's break it down...


WORLD GEN
-Rain shadows would be removed, due to it putting to much strain on the hardware.
-Civilizations would draw borders in a style similar to Civ4, in such a way as there is no disputed territory.
-Unimportant historical figures would always be cut, to help compress the region file.
-Civ territory would be represented as a tile background color. If you ran out of colors, no more Civs would be genned.
-No mountain peaks.
-Revolutions would occasionaly happen, but no-one would have any recollection of them.

-ADVENTURE MODE-
-Adventurers would always start out with crappy armor and weapons, regardless of actual supply.
-Level up!
-Dragons would be overpowered or completely nerfed, despite them not needing nerfing.
-Marrage and scars, and children! Unfortunately, your wife and child are about as useful as drunks are now.
-It is now impossible to carry dead sentients.
-It is now impossible to kill everyone in town.
-It is now impossible to kill quest giving characters.
-Hydras are now cluster organisms.
-Body parts are simplified into arms, legs, torso and head.
-Wounds are much less discriptive.
-Blood is no longer drinkable.
-You cannot vomit.
-Others cannot vomit.
-Humans are peaceful, industrious, and good hearted. All of them. Exept for phineus, you're supposed to hate him.
-Goblins attack on sight.
-Goblins no longer shove your heads on stakes.
-Elves will not eat people, because cannibalism is bad.
-Cue demon boss having weak underbelly. Press A-A-Y to access this point.
-Wearing a goblin cloak makes you a goblin, for all intents and purposes.
-New item qualities! Good, ___, and Bad.
-What? The cyclops isn't a megabeast? Well, put it in!
-The king is bad. All the time, every time.
-Elves use bows. All of them. Not a sword to be seen.
-You are confined to your Civ boundries.

=Dwarf Mode=
-Dwarves have three skill levels. Unskilled, Expert, and Master.
-All moods are fey or secretive.
-Cinnabar is removed.
-Tutorial mode!
-Social skills are condensed.
-Goblins now are leveled to you military, "To provide constant challenge".
-Instead of tantrum spirals, we have revolutions removing you from the throne.
-carp are peaceful fish.
-Dwarves have no problem drinking water, and in fact have negative buffs when they drink alchohol.
-Dwarven names like Urist are replaced by names such as "Gimli" and "Bombur".
-Engravings now feature Cheese, cheese and more cheese. Not much of a change.
-Sieges now can only be turned back by peaceful bargaining.
-Ambushes are removed, because they "aint fair".
-Hunters no longer hunt on premises, and bring back generic "Meat [5]"
-Food must be cooked.
-Disease is abstracted to the point of "Urist has come down with a sickness!"
-Surgeons can no longer mutilate a patient.
-Niether can anyone else.
-Berserskers are no longer part of the game, replaced by the mild "Violent".
-Nobles are unkillable, unhurtable, and the programmers say they are disgusted by previous treatment of the poor barons of the past.
-Toady One will be punted aside like an old football.
-There is no hell.
-For that matter, there is no AAA, Toady didn't enjoy being yesterdays news.

*GRAPHICS*
-tilesets, tilesets, tilesets! tilesets to make Mayday look like a hoax, tilesets to make more money, tilesets to allow the mentally retarded to play the game! More Monies!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!


Thus, does the Age of Awesome end...