Print

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

[Richards]

Dwarves should decide to use only the materials available in the fortress to eliminate madness. They should tend to use the most expensive items, and if they create something like a gauntlet, or boots, it should come in pairs.

Armorers, weaponsmiths, masons, and crossbow-makers should get an even higher chance of being picked to make an artifact.

[Neonivek]

While I agree that artifacts should take advantage of themes and thus materials taken shouldn't be completely random (so a Dwarf that is making a utilitarian weapon for example would pick the best material for the job... while a dwarf going for expencive may pick gold or platinum). It shouldn't be taken entirely out of the realm of randomness

As well if you check my artifact thread... Artifacts should be useful to the extent that getting a non-weapon/armor is still useful.

As for Artifact Sets, that was in the devs at one point. It is unknown how far Toady will bring it but it at LEAST includes items that are supposed to come in pairs. If it will include things like a Sword and Shield we don't know just yet.

[Mysteriousbluepuppet]

Frankly i like it the way it is. madness give you some urgency, and making it so failure i impossible doesn't sound like Df to me.

Also, i like the semi-random artifact we get right now.It much more satisfying when you finally get the steel artifact shield you wanted after 4 wooden scepter

[marcusbjol]

Please define useful.

Everything in the game is useful.  No, I dont particularly want an artifact mica floodgate decorated with green glass.  But its a free nice item.

Yes, I would love it if my masons, weapon smiths, armor smiths, and crossbow makers had a much higher chance to get picked.  Then I could spend the embark points on something else.

[marcusbjol]

Bleh double post

[Nil Eyeglazed]

Artifact materials are an interesting challenge.  I have, more than once, made poorly considered darts into the walled-off caverns, trying to get a FB to give up its shell.  That's interesting.

I don't see why artifacts should be useful things anyways.

[Richards]

Artifacts being useful in the sense of usually getting combat ready items like weapons, armor, crossbows. Build-able artifacts like doors, beds, floodgates. And useful in the sense of having gauntlets, gloves, boots, etc, coming in pairs.

Getting an artifact ear-ring isn't useful, and considering that you get a limited amount of artifacts, the ones you get should TEND to be useful and good to have.

Having them not go insane is a suggestion, dwarves should know what their fortress contains and not request items that can't be obtained. My other suggestions still hold a point.

[Nil Eyeglazed]

I don't see strange moods as being rationally informed by what is available.  I see strange moods as being rather irrational.

Rather than have strange moods produce useful artifacts, I would prefer to see a function for the more useless items, regardless of quality: the toys, the instruments, the large gems.

[marcusbjol]

But the true value of moods are the skill ups.  The item created is just 1 item.  The Legendary <whatever skill> the dorf has after allows many many nice items to be created.

Besides, when do you hear of Sir Urist McBadAss with is Artifact Shield Auiohftearivbi, and Usuheff (axe), and Isuhdfh (boot) and Giaoevhbtu (other boot)... you get my point.

Artifacts should be rare.  If quality and control is wanted, a different system should be used.  One with a possiblity for failure dependant on the skill and materials used. 

The way it is is just fine.

[jimi12]

I believe it is a future goal to have items like instruments, toys, and earrings to be used by dwarves. This would make it more exciting when you get what are now useless artifacts.

[Hyndis]

I like random artifacts. It makes them more interesting. You're going to get something unique, but you don't know what you're going to get. If it turns out to be something awesome, like an artifact adamantine spear, then its all the more reason to look forward to it.

Its basically a bit of a lottery. Get a blow gun and you lost. Get an axe or sword and you won.

[Niveras]

I'd like to see the decorations on artifacts present more history as well. Seems out of the hundreds of decorations among dozens of my artifacts, probably 80% of them are just images of generic things, rather than the history of the fort. Perhaps that can be tied to the dwarf's mental stats, once stats get fixed (both to slow decay and to allow avenues of improvement).

[Lord Shonus]

You should grab the display case mod (incorporated in genesis) that allows you to show off any artifact.  (It's a custom workshop that as one of teh materials set to "any item" so it will increase room value like artifact furniture.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

I'm just looking forward to them gaining value with the advent of magic. That could make damn near everything useful, and balance use based on function- f'risnance, and artifact sword wold rarely be more than a really nice sword, but an artifact bed might heal everyone who sat on it; an artifact floodgate might create magma whenever it was open (pity if you find that out while it has water going through it), an artifact millstone might create grains you can't normally get, artiface clothing or jewelery might grant skills (or nobility... and have the noble it creates be automatically happy and demand-free).

Tougher to program and randomize, but I'm looking forward to it, like the rest of the magic arc.

[Talhoffer92]

Yeah, randomness is a pretty essential part of DF "flavor." So is useless and/or wholly illogical stuff