Ty, will we get some "exploration"?

[Col_Jessep]

I started playing Dwarf Fortress again recently, dove really into it. I really like how the last updates reminds me of DF. The world generation, the health system, character traits, gear, weapons, the labor tab, moods, hunting, wood industry... I can see a lot of parallels. Now you are starting to implement different resource materials with their own stats. Kudos! That is a big thing to add and I take it from earlier posts that it wasn't something you had originally planned. I love it!

One thing I feel is missing still in RW though: Exploration. Sure, you can dig into the side of a mountain and find metal ore, steam vents and open areas but those mountains are not very large and some maps don't have any. The DF solution is 100 levels of FUN with candy and clowns buried deep under the earth. You explained well why you don't want more than one z-level and I agree. It's not worth the immense development time and it will make it hard to control your colony efficiently.

I remember talk of raiding other bases. That sounded interesting but also includes more fighting. I would like something like an exploration "minigame" which adds an uncertainty factor. You could find treasure, ores or something really nasty like a group of buried mechanoids; maybe both. Buried treasure could be in old mineshafts, tombs, research stations, military bases and what not.

In order to explore those areas you would select a few colonist and send them to a map border, load a new area of the world map and they would be able to explore it. And why not give them a nice vehicle to bring some stuff back:



Maybe it's just a quick hunting trip, some mining, tree chopping... but maybe they find the entry to an underground bunker or research facility!

Load a new map, this time it's underground (all mountain) with hallways, rooms, storage, old machinery. The away team might even be able to restore some power or set up a quick camp with some sleeping spots and survival meals. They would break down doors, clear cave-ins, melt their way through walls and drag all valuables back to the mule vehicle.

They might also find a nasty AI trying to kill them, a leaking reactor, unstable fuel tanks, "sleeping" mechanoids, a forgotten colonist in a sleeper pod, a dragon on his hoard of gold and silver... Wait, what! Well, maybe a really large and dangerous lizard...=3

I know it's a tall order but it would be doable I think. The community could help with making interesting blueprints for bases and facilities. I can think of two things that need to be resolved:
You need some sort of fog of war and your real base is frozen in time while you are exploring.

I basically just want to know if you like the idea and if it is feasible.

[Quasarrgames]

YESH.

I think this WILL happen eventually, it will just take a very long time before it is implemented.

I wonder how long exactly? Six months? A year? Two?

[Cpt.Fupa]

Yeah i think its a good idea i like all the replayabillaty it could add.