Future possible [Game Data Related] patch

[jayhova]

There are a few glitches in DF that can't be addressed by an improved engine. These are related to the data from which the game runs. In a number of cases this game data could, in theory, be reconfigured and then patched.

A few cases where game data could be improved:

• Poorly written vanilla quests
  Many of the quests from the original game were poorly written but ran well enough that they were never rewritten
• Items in dungeons not correctly connected to dungeon geometry
  One item that springs to mind is the treasure pile on the moving bridge. When the bridge is triggered to slide, the treasure just hangs in the air.
• Broken dungeons
  I have run into at least one dungeon where it was impossible to reach a quest goal because the dungeon lacked the connector to the level
• Inescapable dungeon areas
  This is a tricky one as I don't really know what the best fix is. There is at least one quest that teleports you into a dungeon where you must escape. The problem is on one occasion I was teleported to the area of a dungeon closed off with a trap door. Trap doors don't open from the underside. Does the teleportation use a series on dungeon locations? Is it random? Is the best solution to prevent the PC from being teleported to one of these locations or to fix the trap doors so they open from the underside?
• Geometry not fully connected
  This is another one where I'm not sure what the best solution for the problem is. In DFU it's very obvious when walls do not connect to ceilings and buildings are floating an inch off the ground. DFU lighting seeps through these cracks and makes them very noticable. The same is true for lamp chains poking through the ceiling etc.

It's very possible that classic could benefit from this game data being patched. Then again it is also possible that the modern version interprets much of the data in subtle but slightly different ways. In any case I was thinking it might be a good idea to compile a list of game data issues that affect DFU and confirm that they are interpreted in classic the same way.

[Kaiser Kia]

I don't know anything about anything, but is fixing the bad dungeon generation even practical?

It'd be really cool, but I wouldn't count on it.

[jayhova]

The dungeons don't get generated. They are already generated. The data for them is the same as all other game data. Assuming the dungeons can be fixed the problem would seem to be that you need two things, a dungeon validator and a dungeon editor.