What if Starbound had some elements of Dwarf Fortress

First off I know to make SB like DF would take months and months of work. However what makes DF such a fascinating game is that it feels like a real world. Dwarves in the game have different moods and react like real people. Some dwarves have certain talents in specific areas, some dwarves are lazy and have no talent and some dwarves are just lousy criminal minded murderers. There are so many factors and elements to that game, every time you sit down to play it's a entirely different experience.


How could SB use some of those elements to make itself better.

1. Other races should have a stronger bearing on the experience of the player. Right now villages are very static, there's not much to them. I realize this is because of the game being in it's early stages. However it would be interesting if certain races naturally clash with each other. For example Apex and humans, if a human walks into an Apex village then he would be automatically stripped of his items and jailed. The player could then try to find a way to break out of the prison or talk someone into letting him go free.

2. Life should go on around the player.

A. For example let's say Avians and Florans are in a race to take over a moon or a space station to take advantage of some ancient but superior technology. If the player takes too long looking for ores or exploring, then maybe the opposing race could beat the player to the destination giving them an advantage in later parts of the game.

B. Attacking or not attacking another race or planet has consequences. Maybe in one sectors there is a race who is aggressively taking over planets, if left unchecked they could claim the entire sector and wipe out weaker populations. However attacking that race might cause them to slow their galactic conquest but maybe they will enlist the help of another race or stay on their home planet developing weapons to exact revenge.




Just some thoughts, not sure if it's feasible or possible to implement into SB

 

Even though it's unlikely aany of this would be made into the game itself I will certainly hope that someone will make a mod to make it possible

 

"not sure if it's feasible or possible to implement into SB" definitely possible but as for feasible i dont think thats the direction the devs are going in right now. i like your 2nd idea a lot though, make it feel like a living universe, but golly i cant imagine the amount of time and coding that would have to go into that and the thing is you probably wouldnt even notice most of it going on. it would have to be randomly instanced i suppose, like as soon as you touch down on a planet then the AI and the political situation kick in. i really do want to see more rpg elements (conversations, deep quests, tough choices to make) and more lively AI that go about their business and have biases/personalities. as it is right now i just run into a town, buy some shit maybe, and leave. there is no incentive to stick around but i do like the way they are laid out. all the potential is there for so much more, and the way things are going it looks like much of it will be fulfilled.

 

None of what you suggested is in Dwarf Fortress yet...

At least not during play. Either way, I like the idea of a dynamic world going on around the player, but right now there isn't even a static world implemented. There are villages, but all they do is fight birds and players who don't put their weapons away; they have no relationship with the rest of the world/system/sector at all.

And just as an afterthought: It took Dwarf Fortress around 7 years to start working on a world that actually does stuff during play, and Toady has been working on the version that does that for nearly two years now.

 

Very good idea!

 

Just today I've thought, you know what will be great? And the answer was - galaxy living on it's own, like, you've cleared prison facility and in some time you're coming back to find it's populated by some refugees, or violent cultist sect, or it's a brothel now(whoo-hoo!)

PS: Also i;ve remembered a brilliant idea from other thread, about having multiple ways to interact with other races, some dialogue options. It is, ofc, not a top priority, but I't quite crucial to implement so this game will be even better