Because I'm busy with all sorts of crap, and this mod is woefully out-of-date with all the updates to DF lately with running, new trees and all that crap, I can pretty surely say that under my ownership this mod is dead as a fucking dodo. But since it'd be a shame to just leave it like that, if anyone wants to pick this up to develop further by themselves, go ahead and do it. Just try not to go insane over my "unique" approach to solving problems that arose along the way, har har. Picking up pieces to implement to your own works is okay as well. I think Masterwork has a few artifact pieces in it from this thing, or just with the same name. Credit me if you think it's necessary(hint: it's not).
It took well over a month for me to screw around with this thing, getting critters to work, figuring out crap and so on, but finally this thing is "okay enough" for my taste. So here I am, presenting you a product of modding that I'm sure someone more skilled could have pulled off a lot better but hey, we can't always have perfect AND nice things. I'm sure this mod is neither of those two examples. BUT ANYWAY.
Link to the mod in DFFD.
As this mod now uses VBASE, I should note that it overwrites the body_default.txt file in raw/objects, but it also has all the vanilla body parts of that file within it's own files. So if you've edited your body_default.txt file in any way for your own playing purposes, you might want to back it up.
Thanks to Captain Mayday for coming up with VBASE and making it simple enough so even idiots like me can figure out how it works!Once upon a time, there was a campy Flash game called AdventureQuest. It still exists, but has changed a lot during the years. And one day I thought that hey, it might work out to be an interesting modding experience since the earlier days of the game had a lot of funky creatures thrown into the world. Not that the stuff today isn't any funkier, but it's lost a lot of the "let's throw this in for the hell of it" feel. Although, personal opinions hurp durp have played the game for years and acting as a cranky old man who says "things were better in the good old days".
So anyway, I threw myself at creating this thing, and god damn did it take long. If I managed to mod in fifteen creatures a day I was going at a fast pace, most of the time I didn't even get that fast ahead, modding them in, then going to arena and checking if they worked. And oh god all the time I spent figuring out why they weren't using any real attacks. And unless I suddenly hit my head to the wall at the end days of the mod, everything should attack with more than bodyslams.
So what did you add in?I lost count around 200, but there's a crapload of creatures from AdventureQuest, and I picked a few things from DragonFable as well to fill in some biomes, or just because I could. Those are hard to differentiate at times for me, so yeah.
Creatures worthy of note would be zards, the bipedal lizards who lurk where-ever they can, really interested at stealing your food or anything shiny that distracts them from a meal.
Another thing, are the dragons. Oh god those damn dragons. They're like vermin creatures in AQ, frigging everywhere. There's craploads of them from all 8 elements and some special ones, which unfortunately I couldn't really have acting out as they should in DF as of now. Maybe one day when we get some "magic" going on and yeah. Anyway, dragons want to steal your crap as well. And they really hate you. What with spitting fire and maim and tear and yeah. Cage traps are advised.
Then comes a large variety of critters, humanoid or just funky fantasy creatures.
And did I mention every creature is a large predator? Just like in AQ, everything wants you dead. From the lowliest of zards to behemoths and dragons, they are interested in tearing out your insides and feasting on them to their hearts delight. So far with my meager Adventurer experience I've had a few interesting experiences with them. Like that skeletal malgru which swam up from a river and latched on me, and the pack of nightzards that then tore off my head. Or that ambush attack from bandits that ended with me not even having to fight them, because a bunch of zards attacked them before I even saw 'em, and tore everyone to pieces.
Civilizations.
As I scourged the insanely long list of AQ creatures, I picked up a few of the more intelligent ones that made it in as official civilizations. There's, what, 30 of 'em in the mod. And here they are, starting from the civ you control, the Adventurers. Spoilered, for easier reading and yadda yadda yadda.
- The Adventurers. These guys are who you control by the mod's default, although pretty much every civ would work as far as I remember. No armless races or so on. They're not really smart, like throwing a lot of fireballs, but on the bright side, years of picking on zards at their backyards while growing up led 'em to have decent fighting skills. Unfortunately I couldn't add specific soldier skills to the castes, which are classes from AQ, dragonslayer, ninja, assassin etc. but whatever. I just threw up my hands in disgust and blamed it on me being a crappy modder so have at you, everyone in your fort is a decent fighter. I'm pretty sure the kids are too. Even from birth. Because umm a wizard did it. These guys also have some pretty heavy ethics, and like picking fights.
- Centaurion's. Centaurs with an attitude, these guys live in forests and want nothing but world domination! However they're pretty crappy at it, so they just steal crap from anyone they can. Hostile race, wants you dead.
- Centocor's. Another centaur race ,these guys inhabit the colder parts of the world. Not much else to say about 'em. They're pretty big, that's it I guess.
- Helves. These guys are from the frozen parts as well, a bunch of happy workers of Kringle the Barbarian, here to spread the joyous message of terror and suffering! Hostile race, wants you dead.
- Clawgs. A crustacean-whatever race that inhabits deserts. They're not fond of humans. Big with big claws to snip and snap. SNIP AND SNAP!
- Cyclops. In AQ, these guys are a race of their own so they're that in the mod as well! They live in deserts and will trade with you.
- Dracomancers. While a class, I figured these guys were better off being a race of their own. Wouldn't want more "unknown creature substance" issues. Live in deserts(in AQ they live in mountains, but since mountainhomes don't exactly work yet as far as I know, Adventurer-mode wise, they're located elsewhere until later), coming in two forms, a humanoid one and a half-dragon one who carry wings allowing them flight. Both are able to spit dragonfire, so WATCH OUT.
- Drakels. A really-super advanced somewhat related to dragons, these lizard guys pack heavy gear, just like Adventurers. Settle where-ever they can, will trade with you although I've had at least one test gen where they ended up at war with the Adventurers for some stupid reason. Which is appropriate. Will trade with you, as far as war didn't break out during worldgen.
- Dwakels. These are the dwarves of drakels, and outcasts of their society. They live petty lives of thievery and generally being a pain in the ass. Hostile race, wants you dead.
- Elves. AQ elves use metal for their gear. That's about it though for the difference between them and DF elves. HOW UTTERLY GENERIC.
- Frost Giants. Unsurprisingly, AQ too has "giant men of the north". There's not much to say here. They're big, mean, and want you dead.
- Gargels. An amphibious fish-race, with tentacles for feet. Yeah. These guys were meant to be usable in Adventurer mode, but turns out, when your biome is along the ocean-areas, you start somewhere underwater and from what I could tell after a few minutes of "how the hell do I swim anywhere", they don't really work. Fort-mode wise, they show up normally to trade with you.
- Gatta. Every fantasy genre product has animalpeople. Gatta are the AQ answer to that question, which never was asked. They're pretty much cat-people, stemming from lions, live in savanna areas and like to pick on other races. They still trade with you though.
- Gorgon's. Snake-women. They're mean, and want you dead. I pondered if I should throw them a "sort-of" petrifying attack, but I figured that until that becomes more than being a disease, I'll leave it out.
- Harpies. Humanoids with wings. Fluff-wise, got cursed a long time ago, so they're now really mean and want you dead. Obviously they also fly. I really didn't have to tell that, right?
- Werewolves. The original furries of AQ, the Lycan like to RIP and TEAR.
- Minotaurs. This is a race I flipped a coin with, and figured they'd be more amusing as a race. Especially since the coin said so.
- Moglins. These little furry things live in forests, use wooden gear, and are easily slain/punted. Will trade with you, although they don't really hold up during fights.
- Naga. Another snake-women race, the naga are a more magical-race, but unfortunately right now that just means that they throw fireballs. Hostile race, wants you dead.
- Orcs. Greenskinned, big but in good enough terms with Adventurers that they show up to trade. Yeah.
- Shevite/Nogh'da. Four-armed humanoids living in deserts, they frigging LOVE fighting, and what with their multiple hands, they're quite good at it. Although Fort-wise, they show up to trade and soldiers carry one weapon and three shields.
- Sneevils. Little goblin-like creatures, more of a pest than a threat. They still want to steal your crap though, and they don't really have the brains to figure out that they should stop. Hostile race, wants you dead.
- Stragath's Demon horde. Stragath is a demon from AQ, quite powerful from what I remember, and these guys are his soldiers. I hear the female fire fiends are especially HOT. Hostile race, wants you dead and your corpse burned to a crisp.
- Tundra reavers. Big, dumb and live in colder climates, these guys are interested in your shiny things. Unfortunately they know no trade except the good old "five finger discount". Hostile race, wants you dead.
- Umazen Female humanoid race, trained to fight from childhood, they either show up to trade with you, or Adventurers declare war on 'em for them using their males as slaves. You won't see male umazen though thanks to the magic of POP_RATIO:0!
- Undeads. These guys are made of BONES! Well, save for a few special cases. Hostile race, wants you dead.
- Vampires. Blood-sucking humans. Live in forests. That's about it.
- Worm Men. A bunch of worms wriggled together to humanoid shape, they live in forests and want you dead and your items liberated for their use! Their MACABRE use! Whatever that is. Wriggle all over 'em, I guess.
So what else is there?Some plants and trees that I found mention of, thanks to mah bro for searching even better than I did and finding a lot more. Edible, brewable, millable to dye, these are meant to add to the vanilla-plantlife of DF rather than replace it. Since there's not really a lot of 'em.
ARTIFACT WEAPONS! This one took a while to compile, going through the list of weapons AQ has(which is a LOT) and picking the best ones or the ones I remember fondly. Years of playing that game tends to leave some impact along the lines of "I remember when this weapon used to be GOOD". They're all ridicuously powerful. I sort of just threw numbers and figured that if a Spear of Awe can sever bodies with a stab, it's A-OKAY in my mind.
A funky language for Adventurers. This one took a few days to finish. Just picked a pre-existing language-file and went through the Internet for names. I did it quite shamelessly, so if someone notices something familiar, you know who to blame for being a stealing bastard. Example of the names I picked up would be an Adventurer I recently had through misfortune.
Nothing-but-femurs Right-handedpitchfork. Got his head cut off by an ebil scythe he was supposed to kill. Very sad.
Is there anything else I should know about?Version Drakonnan introduced the Adventurers as a multi-national entity(that's a good way to say it, right?), so now besides the castes being human Berserkers, Paladins, Rogues and so on you can also get moglins, drakels, nagas and others to migrate to your fort, functioning as proper citizens! They all have some jobs they're better-than-most at learning, listed below.
Moglins(natural skill(3) at farming&herbalism and learn medical duties the fastest)
Umazen(learn to fight as fast as Adventurers, as well as Teaching and military tactics(adventurers just KILL things on instinct and never think too much about passing on their knowledge. Tactics? Who needs tactics when you're an ADVENTURER!))
Gargels(learn Appraising faster)
Minotaurs(learn fighting a BIT faster than other castes, but not as fast as adventurers or umazen)
Drakels(learn mechanics and armor/weaponsmithing faster than others)
Harpies(can fly)
Naga(learn some talking skills faster, lack empathy)
Clawgs(learn cooking faster, living in the hot desert probably forces them to prepare their food ASAP)
Wormmen(no emotions)
Tundra Reavers(slow learners, but learn fighting skills(especially melee attacks and wrestling) faster to compensate)
Shevite/Nogh'da(learn combat skills fairly fast)
Gatta(learn hunting skills(bow and crossbow-use) faster along animal training)
Elves(learn carpentry, woodcutting and bowmaking the fastest, also learn bow- and crossbow-use the fastest)
Sneevils(2nd smallest caste besides moglins, learn how to use daggers faster)
Werewolves(prone to rage)
Vampires(unfortunately these guys bleed just like everyone else. THEY NEED THEIR BLOOD TO LIVE! Also can suck blood with their bite attacks)
Frost Giants(biggest of all the castes and bearded(even the females))
Orcs(learn combat skills fairly fast, but a bit slower than the shevite&nogh'da)
It should be noted that because I am a lazy bastard, you should check only the latest posts from me to see what's been done regarding this mod.