Hi there.
First, well done on making such a great game. It's a really amazing accomplishment and we really enjoy reading about all the new stuff you're working on with cities and night creatures.
But...
I get the feeling that a whole lot of us would really appriciate the fixing of the many existing features of Dwarf Fortress that don't work properly right now. Sorry if that sounds boring, but many of us sit playing the game with such feelings of longing and hope that one day all the cool things that you've already invented will work, that reading about the new things you're working on can feel disappointing.
Principally I'm talking about things like:
- Nobles coming along at the right times and being able to get monarchs.
- Dungeonmasters arriving at all
- At least a -small- fortress economy so that (for example) dwarfs don't end up naked when all their clothes decay
- Rivers eventually running out of fish
- Not being able to feed elephants and keep them alive
- Dwarfs not being able to carry more than one item (/weapon) at a time
- Whatever happened to wagons?
I'm sure some of these things are on hold while you work on the Grand Plan, and I realise they're not as exciting as getting new features to work, but I think many of us would appriciate it, perhaps as an intermediate release.
Love and peace,
Luge.
I'm never a fan of these kinds of threads. We dont really understand, how things are interconnected with in dwarf fortress. We dont know what system, relies on what. We simply cant know what we're asking Toady to do.
For instance, it was a long standing issue, there was no milkable animals in the game. When we got milkable animals in the game, it was part of a huge rewrite that allowed for for more animals interactions then we had previous. Simply making animals milkable, would just have been a waste a time, as it would have been ripped out, in the lue of the grander, more expandable sub system to handle it.
There an example in this list.
- Dwarfs not being able to carry more than one item (/weapon) at a time
This seemingly small suggestion, is quite large undertaking.
Hauling Improvements
Being able to haul multiple small objects
Having multiple dwarves involved with item hauling for a job
Being able to move multiple objects with roughly the same destination at once
Wheelbarrows to haul more objects than can be carried
Minecarts
Wooden, stone-carved and metal tracks
Can be filled like stockpiles and moved between destinations
Work animals to tow carts and haul objects
I wish I could say, that hauling multiple objects at once, was somehow independent to these other abilities, but they might not be.
And let alone the fact, that changes in Fortress have mirror changes in Adventure Mode.
- At least a -small- fortress economy so that (for example) dwarfs don't end up naked when all their clothes decay
This one, isn't actually about the economy, unless he wants it to be automatous. I think this bitch, falls under these dev items:
Standing Production Orders
Production triggers for new work orders
Being able to link work orders and triggers to buildings
Workshop Material Use and Specific Object Construction
Ability to specify material used in jobs
Ability to order the construction of a specific item or decoration of item in complete detail
Unless, OP was speaking to the Economy in Dwarf Mode, then we're stuck. I dont see the merit, in throwing in /yet/ another place holder system, (Unless another more permeant system needs it), just so it can be ripped out.
But if it about the Dwarf Mode Econ, then this is what we're waiting on:
Site resources
Track resources in quantity instead of just by type
Should depend on trade/tribute relationships as well as available professions and sprawl sites
World economy
Supply/demand based on current available entity resources etc.
Expand on trade/tribute relationships formed in world generation
Realize trade/tribute relationships with actual caravans moving on the map
Ability to get some supply/demand information about nearby locations from travelers and others
Ability to get that information yourself and trade it to merchants, especially as explorer
Replace dwarf mode generated caravans with actual caravans
Improved dwarf mode trade agreements
Markets
Small markets associated to entity population villages
Markets need to replenish goods and manage ownership changes
Release 2 (The current release goal)
Villagers/farmers schedules/activities.
Release 4
Fairs
Merchants moving around from place to place.
Release 5
Changing populations, food use and other world gen stuff moved to actual play
Release 6
Dwarf mode trading improvements incorporating all the world gen/supply/demand/merchant info etc.
- Nobles coming along at the right times and being able to get monarchs.
You do participate on this forum yes? No one really likes nobles. I'm not sure why you're listing this. Though the DM is almost legit, but it can be worked around.
However, the nobles, not coming dont really impact anything you(the general player) do in Dwarf Fortress. Some do find it fun to deal with them.
I have a sneaking feeling that this will remain flakey, until we get to having Guilds again. I suspect, their triggers will work off of a similar system, and until Toady & Threetoe gets down to looking at guilds, it might be patching an incomplete system, that'll have to ripped out, to restore minium game function.
- Whatever happened to wagons?
Wagons. Meh. I havent really missed them.
Or, OP is asking for what happened to wagons.
Then, with some more searching I found this! A post by ToadyOne! (Though to be honest, I knew it existed, as I keep up with FotF.)
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=60554.msg1776138#msg1776138If you dont want to read, the rather long post:
Here ya go:
With the new more important caravans, will we be able to keep our doors closed most of the year, and get a grace period for opening up when the caravans arrive on the edge of the map? This would allow more security whilst minimising lost trade opportunities.
If this is in reference to wagons (vaguely remember that from the thread), then it might be moot, since I'm not sure we'll have wagons/carts until we get around to the big vehicle rewrites now, or maybe even the road stuff as well. This doesn't mean that there can't be large important caravans. It'll be different all around.
- Rivers eventually running out of fish
Also, I think rivers do run out of fish. You can overhunt, and I'm pretty sure you can overfish. With some minor searching, I came across this thread. Which seem to conclude that, yes, you can overfish.
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=48888.0