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[A_Curious_Cat]

I kind of love the way that, in 50.0x, you can click on your cats or even the giant hamster closing in on your fisherdwarves and read that he's "grouchy after being caught in the rain" and other such thoughts. Is that supposed to happen, or is it something you'll be re-concealing later? Same for enemy skills, were they visible before? I forget.

Iirc, in the first playthrough on the KitFox YouTube channel, Toady One said it was a bug.

[Eric Blank]

To be fair though, it also turns out to be a neat feature when you're using intelligent pets.

I've got a couple summoned intelligent pets in my current fort I've assigned to mining, and they're actually doing it. Gave them bedrooms and stuff too.

[Vivalas]

Regarding a particular game mode, out of sheer curiosity since I personally don't know much about Dwarf Fortress's development, why is Adventure Mode always at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to updates in comparison to Fortress Mode, Legends Mode, and possibly Arena Mode?

Even before Dwarf Fortress's very successful release on both itch.io and Steam, congratulations by the way—got me a copy on Steam as soon as it became available, Adventure Mode was always last to receive the amount of attention Fortress Mode receives and now it's yet again last to receive updates and implementation into the premium version of Dwarf Fortress.

It's my favorite game mode, so I can't help but wonder, but thanks for all that you and your brother do. I'm very much looking forward to Dwarf Fortress's bright future now that its premium variant has been released.


E: Thought I clicked the right color, but I guess I misclicked something on my browser. I know someone gave me a response, but I prefer one from Toady—if possible—since he knows his own game and could explain what may or may not affect Adventure Mode (or something else by changing Adventure mode first) during development.

Just to chime in here, I know DF2014 (40.01) was, like, almost exclusively an adventure mode update. It does feel like the most unpolished mode sometimes but I think those edges will get polished before the Big Wait.

[Vivalas]

we saw someone on the kitfox discord say that the reason labor management was changed was because you don't want us to be able to micromanage our dwarves. is this a true sentiment, or were they just salty?

[we quite liked the degree of control we had in the old system, so if it was intentionally removed and WONTFIX'd rather than an unexpected side effect of the new one... well, we'd be a little sad.]

what has collaborating with fans been like? will mike and the others be continuing to provide assets as development continues?

In regards to this, I was kinda in the camp of not liking the new system (change is hard!) until I read more about it from the reddit community and it's kinda ingenious in a way I hadn't really thought of and I'm not sure if you knew, but since the system will prioritize basically whoever is idle to do a task if there's no skilled laborers, a dwarf who otherwise would have just sat around doing nothing in the spreadsheet system will overtime do that task and gain skill, and then start being prioritized by the system, so dwarves will organically kind of "assign" themselves roles over time. Granted, there should still be some amount of precise control, maybe (and I think the system right now is a middle ground), but I also just have a inching of a feeling that maybe people haven't completely approached it with a completely open mind either.

EDIT: Either way, micromanagement and having to even use Dwarf Therapist in the first place was always my least favorite part of the game, especially with hundreds of people, and I really like the new change. Now I wish other colony sims would use it, especially Rimworld. Maybe I'm just not as in to the colony sim scene as I thought it was but this is the first time I've seen such a system, so it's cool to see (unless I'm mistaken), Tarn continuing to innovate game design wise.

[Bumber]

the system will prioritize basically whoever is idle to do a task if there's no skilled laborers, a dwarf who otherwise would have just sat around doing nothing in the spreadsheet system will overtime do that task and gain skill

The issue is that sometimes your skilled labor is just busy for a moment, and then an unskilled dwarf crafts a sub-par quality item with your resources. Dwarves can gain skill by idling in a guildhall, instead, which you can just designate as a single tile of floor somewhere until they petition for a proper one.

We need to be able to edit what labors the default work assignments are allowed to use, and display the relevant skills for the dwarves more readily when you're selecting them.

[kiiranaux]

With alchemist removed as a skill, we got the option to use MODSKILL## for defining custom labors. It works fine. However, we can't seem to find a string for the unit type associated with MODSKILL##. So, for example, an elf will show up from off the map and his profession title is "Adept Skill1". Are we all overlooking a string that would let us rename the unittype Skill1?

[Vivalas]

the system will prioritize basically whoever is idle to do a task if there's no skilled laborers, a dwarf who otherwise would have just sat around doing nothing in the spreadsheet system will overtime do that task and gain skill

The issue is that sometimes your skilled labor is just busy for a moment, and then an unskilled dwarf crafts a sub-par quality item with your resources. Dwarves can gain skill by idling in a guildhall, instead, which you can just designate as a single tile of floor somewhere until they petition for a proper one.

We need to be able to edit what labors the default work assignments are allowed to use, and display the relevant skills for the dwarves more readily when you're selecting them.

The emphasis is on micromanagement, not skill gain, but I agree. Everything can use a bit tweaking. I'm not super up to snuff in the hyper-details of fortress management but I think you can also assign dwarves to workshops, or something, or if its a resource you don't want to waste set the profession linked to "only people designated can do this", etc. I think what you're describing is already possible, by default general laborers can't do labors specifically designated for work details, unless I'm missing some aspect of what you're saying. You can then also designate the dwarves assigned to that work detail to only do the work you assign them, if you really want it done right away.

[Putnam]

the system will prioritize basically whoever is idle to do a task if there's no skilled laborers, a dwarf who otherwise would have just sat around doing nothing in the spreadsheet system will overtime do that task and gain skill

The issue is that sometimes your skilled labor is just busy for a moment, and then an unskilled dwarf crafts a sub-par quality item with your resources. Dwarves can gain skill by idling in a guildhall, instead, which you can just designate as a single tile of floor somewhere until they petition for a proper one.

We need to be able to edit what labors the default work assignments are allowed to use, and display the relevant skills for the dwarves more readily when you're selecting them.

You can set up guild halls regardless of petition, you don't need a single tile or anything, they'll use them anyway.

[Vordak]

I was advised to ask these questions here.

\vanilla_creatures_graphics\...\graphics_creatures_layered.txt

Need full information about what kind of tokens is possible there at all?
Below I will give the lines I am interested in with comments and questions about them.


Question #1

Spoiler: Material tokens (click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]


[CONDITION_MATERIAL_FLAG:token]

Known tokens:
WOVEN_ITEM
ANY_WOOD_MATERIAL
ANY_LEATHER_MATERIAL
ANY_BONE_MATERIAL
ANY_SHELL_MATERIAL
IS_DIVINE_MATERIAL
IS_CRAFTED_ARTIFACT
NOT_ARTIFACT

Question #1.1. It is possible something like?

NOT_LEATHER_MATERIAL
ANY_METAL_MATERIAL

Question #1.2. What is the full list of tokens for this line?



Question #2

Spoiler: Layer exclusion depending on the availability of a certain equipment (click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]


[SHUT_OFF_IF_ITEM_PRESENT:WIELD:WEAPON:ANY]
[SHUT_OFF_IF_ITEM_PRESENT:BY_CATEGORY:HEAD:HELM:ITEM_HELM_HELM] or similar for other clothing or armor

Are there any other tokens?
As I understand, here is possible [SHUT_OFF_IF_ITEM_PRESENT:BY_TOKEN:RH:WEAPON:...]



Question #3

Spoiler: Colors of clothing (click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]


[LAYER:CLOTHING_TORSO_SIMPLE_BLACK:DWARF_CLOTHING:2:14]
[CONDITION_ITEM_WORN:BY_CATEGORY:BODY_UPPER:ARMOR:...]
[CONDITION_PROFESSION_CATEGORY:NONE]
[CONDITION_PROFESSION_CATEGORY:MINER:MERCHANT]
[CONDITION_DYE:BLACK]

How to make the clothing' color to depend by its actual material or dye color, and not by the dwarf profession?
Is it even possible?
I got the impression that the token [CONDITION_DYE:] does not working.



Question #4

Spoiler: Appearance depending on tissue' modifiers (click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]


Beard as example:

[LAYER:BEARD_STUBBLE_WHITE:DWARF_HAIR_STRAIGHT:1:20]
[CONDITION_TISSUE_LAYER:BY_CATEGORY:HEAD:CHIN_WHISKERS]
[TISSUE_MIN_LENGTH:1]
[TISSUE_MAX_LENGTH:49]
[TISSUE_MAY_HAVE_COLOR:GRAY:WHITE]

This code references to [TISSUE_LAYER_APPEARANCE_MODIFIER:LENGTH:....] from "creature_standard.txt"
But for hair tissue exist also the modifiers - CURLY, GREASY and DENSE.

So, question #4.1:

[TISSUE_MIN_CURLY:...]
[TISSUE_MIN_GREASY:...]
[TISSUE_MIN_DENSE:...]

Is it working?

Question #4.2. Also. For hair' layer there is next line:

[TISSUE_SWAP:IF_MIN_CURLY:150:DWARF_HAIR_CURLY:1:4]

Would next lines work?

[TISSUE_SWAP:IF_MIN_GREASY:...]
[TISSUE_SWAP:IF_MAX_DENSE:...]
[TISSUE_SWAP:IF_MIN_LENGTH:...]

Question #4.3. Next similar:
Suppose, someone want to create layers for the nose, which would depend on the length of a nose itself.
But in "creature_standard.txt" here is
[BP_APPEARANCE_MODIFIER:...],
instead [TISSUE_LAYER_APPEARANCE_MODIFIER:LENGTH:....] as for hair stuff.

[BP_APPEARANCE_MODIFIER:LENGTH:25:70:90:100:110:130:200]

How the layer code should look like for the nose? Just need an example for a short or long nose.



Question #5
Are there any plans to simplify the coding for graphics_creatures_layered.txt?
Because, by my opinion, it's pretty obvious that some code parts could be combined into some templates that could simply be referenced in just one or two lines.

Question #6
Almost all item objects at now use the coloration system based on replacing certain colors of the base item tile by colors from the palettes, that presented in "\vanilla_descriptors\...\palettes.png".
Do you feel the strength and willpower in yourself to do something similar for tiles from "\vanilla_creatures_graphics\", that used in layer system? Tiles of clothing or weapons, for example.

Question #7
Is it possible now to encode the equipment' look on "graphics_creatures_layered.txt" by the Item quality?
If yes, then how?


I will ask to local experts - not to comment on these questions, there is no insult in this request. Here need the unambiguous answers.

[Miuramir]

the system will prioritize basically whoever is idle to do a task if there's no skilled laborers, a dwarf who otherwise would have just sat around doing nothing in the spreadsheet system will overtime do that task and gain skill

The issue is that sometimes your skilled labor is just busy for a moment, and then an unskilled dwarf crafts a sub-par quality item with your resources. ...

It seems that the intended use case is that in the rare situations where high quality is required with limited materials, you assign a specific workshop to your legendary dwarf (second tab; the assign-a-dwarf interface tells you their skill level), and then set a work order specifically for that shop (third tab).  Note that you can also give names to buildings, to help you pick them out later.  In-game, this makes a fair amount of sense; the workshop of a master crafter who is engaged in producing items of exceptional quality would probably be different than a mass-production shop turning out cheap stuff for the masses. 

[Miuramir]

I know that fees and taxes and whatnot probably take a sizable chunk out of your sales revenue, but it looks like you just made a boatload of cash. Any fun plans for the money? DF-related or not.

FYI, it's not as much as it seems.  To give a rough approximation based on what we've heard, let's assume that we start with a factor of x1.00, and then reduce it:
* Steam takes 30%, taking it to 0.70
* After covering initial expenses, Kitfox takes 20%, taking it to 0.56
* Taxes could vary a fair amount depending on how they are set up, but something in the neighborhood of 35% might be a guess if they're operating as individuals; taking it to 0.364

Additionally, due to regional pricing the initial x1.00 is going to be multiplying an average which is something less than the ~$30 US price.  And as I understand it the Kitfox cut is higher at first to pay off the artists, musicians, etc., but that gets paid off quickly at these volumes.  On the plus side, itch.io takes a smaller cut, although I'd guess the volume is also drastically lower there. 

All told, a decent guess at their "take home" is somewhere in the range of a third, or around $10 per copy.  While it's hoped that some people will continue to support on Patreon, and that there will be a long tail of sales over the decades to come (and hopefully some spikes as it comes to other platforms), a conservative estimate / financial plan would be that this needs to support them for a long time.  Long term annual return on safe investments like S&P 500 indexes are around 10%, so in extremely handwavy, Fermi-estimate terms each copy sold is about $1 of annual income to cover both brothers and whatever other relatives they are supporting, while living in the Pacific Northwest, which is not exactly cheap.  Note also for those who are not adults in the US that individual health insurance and health care is crazy expensive and gets worse as you get older; the brothers and their families have already had some health care issues that prompted the Steam release in the first place. 

So, at more-or-less confirmed ~300k sales as of several days ago, that is less "Toady One demands a gold throne for his office" and more "Toady One has been upgraded from Modest Quarters to Decent Quarters, and mostly gets to eat prepared meals instead of raw plump helmets"   (That said, I sincerely hope that sales continue to blow expectations out of the water, and that DF continues with amazing improvements for decades to come.) 

"It's just a ton of money, but it's also for 20 years," Tarn Adams said. "So when you divide that by 20, you're kind of back down into normal tech salary range. Which is still pretty high, obviously." 

[Nopenope]

Congrats on your achievement (both the hard work and the record sales numbers). Is open-sourcing parts of the game (especially the ones that relate to the more tedious aspects of it such as rendering, interface, etc.) now in the realm of possibility?

[Su]

Another trip-up, I see. Toady did repeatedly mention that the particular choice of color - this, to be exact - was for being able to distinguish one question from another at month's end, IIRC.

i prefer lime to lime green. if you can show me toady specifying lime green rather than just a generic green, i'll change it; but plenty of questions have been asked using lime before with no complaints.

[brewer bob]

i prefer lime to lime green. if you can show me toady specifying lime green rather than just a generic green, i'll change it; but plenty of questions have been asked using lime before with no complaints.

From the first post of the thread (emphasis added):

If you have specific questions, I'll try to answer them all, although it is difficult to respond to everything when it is busy.  I'll lean toward questions that involve current developments to avoid pulling the entire suggestion forum in here.  In the past, we've all found the practice of making questions limegreen works pretty well.

[Shonai_Dweller]

i prefer lime to lime green. if you can show me toady specifying lime green rather than just a generic green, i'll change it; but plenty of questions have been asked using lime before with no complaints.

From the first post of the thread (emphasis added):

If you have specific questions, I'll try to answer them all, although it is difficult to respond to everything when it is busy.  I'll lean toward questions that involve current developments to avoid pulling the entire suggestion forum in here.  In the past, we've all found the practice of making questions limegreen works pretty well.

The green is pretty hard to see on some monitors.