Just got to thinking, if we do include melee oriented dwarves, why not have them using plastic gear? From some of the flavor text, it sounds like that was all they had left to work with.
Agreed. Dwarves in Dod are quite the kitch technology nerds. Since they re crafty they could also throw bombs.
Opps sorry I forgot to mention that, the spell I was using was Lightning Blast (as it is similar to the effect I am after).
Or sometimes drop them on death. I wonder how many players would then walk onto that tile, sure that the auto-pickup script will work, and instead get torn to pieces.
FAQ What is this project? A community effort to create our own "expansion pack" filled with new items, monsters, and rooms to enrich the playing experience, especially for people who've already beaten the game once or twice and would like to see different content. How's it coming along? We've just started! There's a lot to do, but we're chipping away at it steadily. You can see our progress at the following URL: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlCkkeUwgmZ3dHZLU2pZSUltYnhHY19SVVZJRFMtUHc#gid=0 Can NON-MODDERS get involved? I don't know how to mod, or I don't have the time! While at first we need the most help from modders, we're also going to need several playtesters later on. We'll be depending on you to give us unbiased feedback on our stuff! The best kind of feedback comes from people who have not participated in creating the mod, as they have less personal bias. We're also going to need a lot of art assets if you're a Photoshop or Gimp junkie! Can inexperienced MODDERS get involved? Of course! Every kind of modder is welcome, from the noobiest to the most pro! We're going to need icons, animations, indexing, spells, items, sprites, glints, monsters, room layouts, testing, and even the occasional brilliant idea! (Although we currently have a huge pile of ideas to work on, we're not closed off to adding new stuff after we're done with the current stuff.) Great! How do I sign up? Give your email address to someone who's currently involved, such as Blind Piper or Rarefied Horse Meat. You'll be invited to the project tracking spreadsheet mentioned above. Self-directed workers and autodidactic learners are welcome to claim and get started on anything they wish. If you would prefer to be given an assignment, ask here or on the project tracker and we'll be happy to hook you up with some of this workload! ________________________________ Bonus question: What is the scope of this mod? In theory, the scope is "whatever we want". In practice, we seem to be focusing on three main pillars. First, we're expanding the lutefisk economy into its own complete resource system, instead of just being a way for you to dump your inventory on the Lutefisk God and hope for a nice artifact. Second, we're adding the Dwarves and Elves, who are hinted at in DoD's flavor text, as unique monsters the player can run into. Third, and partially connected to the lutefisk system, we're adding new deities to the game. Those three pillars don't encompass every part of the project that we've discussed, but they cover the majority. ________________________________ Can you three PM me your email addresses so I can plug you into the tracker? It will require minimal work on your part, and give you a way to quickly get your work peer-reviewed without cluttering up this thread or filling it with massive blocks of code. I've started up a sub-sheet to help you (or other artists) to see what art is currently needed. Thanks for hopping on board, and feel free to take creative license and design things as you see fit, or to ask for guidance if our desires are too vague for your taste! Art requests: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlCkkeUwgmZ3dHZLU2pZSUltYnhHY19SVVZJRFMtUHc#gid=13 (many requests are still missing, unfortunately, but I'll try to get specific requests out of BP or Ryvian. or I might inspect their code in order to make an educated guess as to what sort of sprites are needed)
Alright, the busy-busy Thursday is over, so I can get back to it. Unfortunately, the problem with tinting monsters hasn't been fixed yet. I've been chatting with Loren, who has been a fantastic help. Regarding the Dwarves, there was a concern for a lack of physically-damaging ranged attackers, which is why the topic of throwing axes was raised. Thrown bombs could do blast damage, which is affected by armour. Essence's suggestion of thrown steins could also deal physical damage (and drop Grog). EDIT: Tinting is working! All bow before palette-swapped monsters! Since the main game already has monsters named Golems, I suggest that our constructs be referred to as Automatons.
Ok, now that I've had my fair share of sleep (just one day left to go, just one day to work before I have a free day for myself and my code...), I had this random idea. If we are making creatures, then how about making elementals? Not the standard "earth/fire/water/air" stuff, but elementals a'la Order of the Stick; titanium, chlorine, uranium, etc.. Of course the whole thing depends exactly on whether there is a place for such creatures, but I think it can be added to the list of ideas.
well, there's plenty of elements and alloys to pick from, Tin, Iron, Bronze, Copper, Brass, Steel, Electrum...
Well, I've been making the golems/automatons with the intention of material-based creatures that drop ingots of that type on-death. It sounds pretty similar to the material-based elementals. If people would prefer to go the elemental path, I could re-do the sprites. Now that I've figured out tinting, I don't mind (since I know it's not going to be nearly as much work as it could have been). I'm not 100% satisfied with the golem sprites currently, anyway, so I'll be spending a little more time on it either way.
I'm for changing it to elementals, then. Especially since that would allow us to later add any other elemental we would need. But let's wait to hear if others agree with that.
Elementals doesn't sound bad, considering how easily interchangeable they would be, though perhaps there should be a difference in their make-up. Say, a base sprite to separate "solid" and "gaseous" elements?
But what about mercury? It's a metal but it's liquid at room temperature, so we would have to make another sprite just for it.
True, that slipped my mind. Actually, that would also allow for liquid elementals as well, assuming they're used/needed.
I'd prefer to keep them to things that correspond to droppable materials, personally. Things like Electrum Elemental and Plastic Elemental. EDIT, because I seem to have a habit of remembering things after posting: I've started tinkering with a potential Spider Shrine, since it's on the Google Doc.
That I agree with. Though there's a chance that some patch/DLC will add another crafting material, in which case we'll be able to add another elemental to it.
Sounds good, then. I'll get started on (Material) Elementals tonight. Do we want the metal-based elementals to be completely solid, or changing based on what they're doing (such as melting on death)? My Golem sprites that I'll be replacing had a crumbling on death animation I was quite fond of, but that can be replaced.
I think that depends on which you prefer. For as long as it looks good, we are fine with either version. And crumbling to death for solid elementals does sound appealing.
Elementals are a good way to go, keeps it different enough from what is in game already. Not sure if its worth having 2 death animations but you coulds always do crumbling for the harder materials and melting for the softer ones, like gold, silver etc.
