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[MrWiggles]

It made it redundant with the ramp command, and makes it more tile expensive to create channels.

[Pikdome]

Is there a compiled list of what features we can expect in this next version?

[MaskedMiner]

It made it redundant with the ramp command, and makes it more tile expensive to create channels.

I do find it useful in the case that someone falls into small pool I just made 

[MrWiggles]

Is there a compiled list of what features we can expect in this next version?

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1u8jibE1TV7BAwAI2b4TzRkWFlBboLiXMrVBhYmDYPhI&pli=1

[612DwarfAvenue]

What new features aren't useful?

_{Channels making ramps instead of a full hole if the tile below hasn't been dug out.}

Honestly, as far as i can tell DF2012 will well and truly be released THIS month. Toady wouldn't go through the trouble of optimizing everything for public release and then suddenly add in a dozen new stuff which would add even more time to the optimization. He'll wait for the smaller releases afterwards to deal with those things.

Silly Gatleos, there is no 13th month! _{/Australian date system goes day/month/year instead of month/day/year.}

Isn't USA only country that uses MM/DD/year system? .-. I mean, are there other countries?

Also, how the heck "Channel makes ramps" thing is useless?

Because for a start there's already the designation to dig ramps, which means channeling making ramps is completely redundant. Secondly, when i make a channel, i want it to be a HOLE, not a ramp which i then gotta get down and dig out.

[MaskedMiner]

Yeah, but you can't dig ramp from above can you?

[MrWiggles]

Yea, but it was kinda of weird that dorfs could make a hole in the ground like that. With manual labor, that doesnt really happen. The ramps, then removing the ramps is a better approximation then what Dorf Fortress was doing before. It'd be better once we get the fabled rope ladders.

[Caldfir]

Ah, I remember the days of rope-ladder dreams. 

In stead we got the ability build stairs downward which is... I mean if you actually think about it, a totally impossible thing to do in real life.  I'm glad DF2010 didn't get delayed months on end just to include milti-story constructions, but I still like the idea of a lone dwarf sliding down a rope into the gloom below, while hungry eyes watch from the shadows. 

[Niccolo]

Yea, but it was kinda of weird that dorfs could make a hole in the ground like that. With manual labor, that doesnt really happen. The ramps, then removing the ramps is a better approximation then what Dorf Fortress was doing before. It'd be better once we get the fabled rope ladders.

well, if you think about it, Channel and Dig Ramp are really just inverses of each other. One's effectively "Dig up" while the other is "Dig down".

But, meh. I do get your point.

[612DwarfAvenue]

Yeah, but you can't dig ramp from above can you?

Yes you can.

Key:
_ - floor
# - wall
X - wall to be designated to become a ramp
\ - ramp

X is where you want the up-ramp, meaning that's the wall you designate:
 ___##
###X#

As long as the Dwarves can reach that tile above the designation, even if it's a wall, it'll be dug out along with the floor (assuming it's a natural wall and not constructed, of course):
____ #
###\#

Meaning, channeling making ramps is completely redundant (not to mention annoying), because you can already dig ramps up or down. Did you think you could only ramp UP this whole time?

[Squidpalace]

Yes you can.

Correct.

However, channeling is still necessary in situations like punching a cavern or magma sea when there is no lower tile to dig a ramp out of. So the change really made 'dig upwards ramp' redundant. This is less of an issue in my opinion given that it is a hangover from when channeling still removed the entire tile, and Toady likely hasn't been bothered removing it, or isn't certain that it won't be needed in the future. Also, I think the reason behind the change in channeling was that channels were OP. I know a lot of things are, but I for one am not complaining that it was altered.

[Yoink]

It is one AM,
Ticked over to my birthday,
Let it be today!

Update of Dwarf Fort,
A most unusual gift,
Something to treasure.

Getting home from work,
Imagine my excitement,
If Toady does so!

[YetAnotherStupidDorf]

This goes beyond cynicism to paranoia.

Why, thank you.

Both of the previous long release cycles have been followed by about a year's worth of shorter releases:

I know it very well. I am talking about release 2, after finishing (always too early) series of bugfix releases after releasing release 1. Agatharchides nailed it.

Isn't feature creep defined by new features being added?

Lol, indeed I did not phrased it correctly. I will try again: I have slim hope that release 2 (or bugfix releases) will fix many outstanging issues, some raised ages ago. And no, I am not talking about user interface - I lost long ago hope about this particular area.

And ramps... this change was deliberate. It lowers chances of unfortunate (geniuely) accidents and make work a little faster during digging big one z-level hole. It is still unfinished, because for example designating channeling on multiple z-levels is prescription for Fun, because dorfs will dig as stupidly as possible to ensure either cave-in or death from hunger/thirst.

[Footkerchief]

Both of the previous long release cycles have been followed by about a year's worth of shorter releases:

I know it very well. I am talking about release 2, after finishing (always too early) series of bugfix releases after releasing release 1. Agatharchides nailed it.

The release history doesn't support that claim either.  Generally, after a long release cycle, there are several months of bugfixing, and then many more months of new features, e.g. 0.31.13 to 0.31.25, development of which went from July 2010 to March 2011.

[...] the 31.01 release required months of followup work -- 31.02 through 31.12 (July 25, almost 4 months later) all had fixes for game-breaking crashes (with the exception of 31.04, which integrated the 40d* rendering updates).  19-month release cycle => 4 months of bugfixing.

32a (the first 3D release) followed a similar pattern -- it was followed by 6 bugfix releases over almost 2 months.  9.5 months of work => 2 months of bugfixing.  Actually, that's more than similar -- it's almost exactly the same ratio, 1 month of bugfixing for every 4.75 months of work.

So, to follow up on my earlier prediction of a Jan 23 release, I'm predicting about 2.2 months of bugfixing after that [...]

[YetAnotherStupidDorf]

The release history doesn't support that claim either.

"several months of bugfixing"
I do not deny how long it took in absolute terms. I claim this is too short time, considering how many bugs are still standing after that.