40d Talk:Exploit

Deadly bridges

As far as I recall megabeasts can't be killed with bridge, and they destroy it when it tries to smash them. Article does state that bridge can destroy everything. --Someone-else 00:24, 21 April 2008 (EDT)

Also I often hear that demons are not affected by the bridge and that it is destroyed if it lowers on top of them. We need some verification on this.--Richards 00:57, 21 April 2008 (EDT)

Quantum stockpiles

GreyMario wrote an exploit about Siege engines that doesn't makes much sense. We need someone to expand it.--Richards 01:09, 21 April 2008 (EDT)

You fire the stone into the wall, which then falls into the trench. As the trench is limited in space, stones start piling up. (Apparently, catapults are no good at doing what they were historically used for - destroying walls... And they fire in flat trajectories - i would have honestly expected stones to travel up z-levels - but having tested catapults with roofs over them, they work, which i find silly but what the heck...). Note that this is only a quantum stockpile for stone, as opposed to dump, which is much more versatile, but there's also no need to reclaim. --Squirrelloid 02:15, 21 April 2008 (EDT)

Thanks. I'll add that in.--Richards 02:37, 21 April 2008 (EDT)

Well I guess eventually there will be a limit of how many items can be on a specific square... but for the moment there can be an infinite number of items no any square. --AlexFili 06:10, 9 June 2008 (EDT)

I'm trying to use the Quantum Stockpile technique to toss everything from my wagon to a single tile, but the Dwarves won't haul anything I've marked for dumping! I've made sure that nothing is forbidden, and the Dwarves all haul Refuse/Stone/Wood etc... but they won't move. --Anfini 00:55, 13 July 2008 (EDT)

Ha! Nevermind, fixed it myself. I didn't realize DF toggled "Dwarves ignore Refuse from outside" by default. --Anfini 00:58, 13 July 2008 (EDT)

Ideological point of views

Given the endless discussions on the net on what is considered or not cheating (as opposed to modding, or fair use of game mechanics, etc.), I suggest being extra careful of not asserting what is or what is not cheating.

Exploits are distinct from cheating because ...

Some would say

Exploits are a distinct form of cheating because ...

Plus, the justification

Whether a player chooses to make use of an exploit or not depends on their personal taste;
given that Dwarf Fortress is a single-player game, no one is actually harmed when you use an exploit.

equally applies to all forms of cheating (or non-cheating).

I would also stress that DF is currently more of a sandbox than a game with difficult goals, and that players boast more about their devious schemes and grand projects than about winning.

--Aykavil 05:20, 10 July 2008 (EDT)

Don't forget, many cheaters 'cheat' because they want to find out how particular functions work or to 'test out theories'. Then of course there's the people who cheat to simply save time. These are different from the people who would cheat just for 'kicks'. --AlexFili 05:31, 10 July 2008 (EDT)

I would say that it's indeed true that exploits are distinct from cheating. Cheating in a game involves breaking the rules; in a computer game, the program itself is "the rules" that one plays by. In fact, in some cases the "exploits" are unavoidable (such as children being legendary in six or more skills before they reach adulthood).

It's like in gridiron football, if the ball carrier goes out of bounds the clock stops. This can be considered an exploitation of the rules to keep time from running out in the half, but it certainly isn't cheating.--Gandalf the Dwarf (No, really! Look it up!) 14:01, 13 November 2008 (EST)

My attitude toward such things generally revolves around what I imagine the creators of the game intended. In Stronghold 2, for example. I am certain that the creators did not intend players to create gigantic stacks of siege engines coexisting ipon a single point, but last I saw it was the 'best' strategy. That upset me. But it doesn't upset me when someone exploits DF or 'mangles' it with modding. There is very little a player can do to subvert Toady's intent with this game, even with modding, because it's more than just a fuedal economy/fortress defense simulation. I'm all for rules and restrictions in bloodline games, though--cheating and exploitation can be fun, but they almost always ruin stories. --Navian 15:36, 13 November 2008 (EST)