The barrels have been tallied. my method was to delete all empty or food containing barrels, and all wooden barrels, thus leaving only the metal brew-filled barrels. I may have missed one or two but I feel confident in my counting, and the saves are available for review if you wish.
my save: https://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=16914
my playthrough VODs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icOnXmCI-PU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSm7u0U4Ze4
bluetrillium's: https://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=16909
neblime's: https://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=16903
Neblime's results:
surface stocks:
(https://i.imgur.com/rkHHfm5.png)
the pile of booze:
(https://i.imgur.com/t6pZcEJ.png)
central manufacturing:
(https://i.imgur.com/l6SW4VX.png)
total score? 870 barrels
(https://i.imgur.com/BBWFbrp.png)
Salmeuk's results:
ostentatious surface gem tower / fields:
(https://i.imgur.com/tHoZPnK.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/YiO8JKw.png)
"living" area:
(https://i.imgur.com/dMXWVeq.png)
brewery complex:
(https://i.imgur.com/QxsLill.png)
i originally intended to haul all the barrels into this pit:
(https://i.imgur.com/fzOaTj2.png)
overbuilt magma forges:
(https://i.imgur.com/16xTeYI.png)
final score of 1144:
(https://i.imgur.com/6hGY3al.png)
Bluetrillium's results:
modest surface stocks:
(https://i.imgur.com/ziqurjs.png)
farming encampment:
(https://i.imgur.com/0A5QBep.png)
carefully defended entrance:
(http://undefined)
fancy rooms:
(https://i.imgur.com/wN1xwyO.png)
impressive dwarven waterfall generator:
(https://i.imgur.com/zMVR25Q.png)
booze pile:
(https://i.imgur.com/RtfEJFO.png)
final score of 740 (Blue suggested 738, I will go with the higher count):
(https://i.imgur.com/6yaUUej.png)
I will thus crown myself Winner of the First Brewing Contest of 2023. hold your applause for the afterparty. I also have received an honorary "Golden Barrel of Fermentation" prize from the committee.
strategy review:
welp. I 'won' but I suspect this was due to the fact I was the only one to not bother with hauling the barrels. you know how much these things weigh?! I should have emphasized this part of the strategy for fairness, or defined further that barrels SHOULD be hauled to a stockpile. because I think if I was also bringing those barrels to a stockpile I would have scored quite a bit less. all competitions are a lie, the system is rigged, etc etc
so with that fact in mind, I was also the only one to reach for magma. it looks like Neblime tried as well but ran into cavern shenanigans, as in, they failed to breach them in the first sunk shaft. probably a big delay there.
BlueTrillium's base is extremely compact, never going deeper than level 0 in fact. this base also showed the most improvements adjacent to the competition, like the waterfall generators and individual rooms. All I can say is that these dwarves may be happy, but are they profitable? is the red line going up? YOU CAN RELAX WHEN YOU'RE DEAD I SAY
i gotta admit that my use of minecarts was important af for my score... getting hundreds of heavy barrels from the magma smelters up a few z levels was taking forever. so I carved a track. first time it was useful, and only for the context of this massive overproduction. I think dwarf fortress needs balancing hehehe
as far as mining and metals go, digging deep provided me with very close metal ore to the smelters. and I was able to move some farming down there too. so my only real takeaway from this challenge is:
hauling created goods to stockpiles is a huge task generator and generally a waste of time
minecarts can be situationally important, even necessary
a dense fortress is the most efficient, in a dramatic and compounding way
any thoughts from the other participants?