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Will houses have windows? Expanding on that, is there a chance that something like an adventurer openable curtain item might be included, allowing surprise sun attacks on vampires?
Light only shines straight down in DF, and that's not likely to change anytime soon.
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I was thinking something along the lines of a cheap light workaround. The properties of windows might be altered in such a way that it checks for light around each side and projects it 'x tiles in that direction' or something to that effect. I realize it was a bit of a longshot and bordering on a suggestion, but it feels like we're getting close to the expansion or even fix for some of the light-related issues. Toady could ignore it at this minute, but he's kind of jumping around and getting larger swaths of fixes of varying degrees in and at this moment light is a logical next step with light-related syndromes and night creatures.
By this logic, though, a window allows light in horizontally while empty space doesn't. Seems like a bizarre solution with counterintuitive properties.
Like I said, a rough workaround, but this is a game that is in constant refinement. Toady's goals appear to be finding a balance between making sense, filling necessary solutions, and opening up as many options as possible. This would also increase the use of windows in fortress mode and open up a lot of options. Not ideal but still a positive that (depending highly on how it's coded) is far from out of reach. Toady could also make it even more complicated and better, but that takes more work, or completely leave it out. I don't remember seeing much in the devlog though, so I believe it's open field for a question.
Examples of broken lighting (I haven't tested it lately, but haven't seen much talk about it either) : Building a stone floor doesn't block lighting underneath it regardless of how thorough it is, but bridges (and walkways, perhaps) do for some reason. Light doesn't travel horizontally under any circumstances (as mentioned) The use of underground and light are treated separately. If you floor over a previously exposed are it counts as underground but still lighted (makes sense with glass blocks, obviously) so you can grow both indoor and outdoor plants, which seems wrong, but may not be depending on how you view the biology of underground plants (is it about stable temperature? lighting? air circulation? spore dissemination? etc. etc.)