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Dwarf Fortress => DF General Discussion => Topic started by: PresidentEvil on August 30, 2006, 02:25:00 pm

Title: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: PresidentEvil on August 30, 2006, 02:25:00 pm
I don't mean "Oh, I got a lot of shit from the caravan, and then 1 immigrant." I mean "hitting a silver deposit 6 tiles into the cave." Funny thing was, I was actually planning to start my excavations further north because there were more trees.  (http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/2400/ludicrousez4.th.png)
Also of note, another fortress' mason seized by  a fey mood made an artifact marble statue, and got legendary skill. In the first summer.

When have YOU had a ridiculously lucky thing happen?

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Oboro on August 30, 2006, 02:35:00 pm
I find silver before the river all the time, it's actually not something I consider very lucky. Silver goods are worth a fair amount in trade, and you can make non-pick weapons out of silver, making it the most useful of the decorative metals, but it's still just a decorative metal. The most lucky I ever got, I struck copper before I hit the river.

Most unlucky, I found nothing but sphalerite (half of brass) until I had crossed the chasm.

[ August 30, 2006: Message edited by: Oboro ]

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: PresidentEvil on August 30, 2006, 02:57:00 pm
I know silver is found before the river, but come on. Finding it all of 6 tiles into your first excavation hast to count for something.
Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: AlStar on August 30, 2006, 03:11:00 pm
Well, in my most recent game, I found coal. Like lots of it. An entire vein, with 20 or 30 units of coal. And at the very tip of the end of the coal vein, I found iron ore.

This marks the first game I've ever found more than 5 coal in one place, and it marks the first time I havn't had to go four or five screens north to find iron.

That, in my opinion, is insane luck.

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Kjoery on August 30, 2006, 03:26:00 pm
Why do people complain about it being so hard to find iron and coal. I find it every game; just look along the lava river; it's guarenteed.
Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Oboro on August 30, 2006, 03:50:00 pm
quote:
Originally posted by Kjoery:
<STRONG>Why do people complain about it being so hard to find iron and coal. I find it every game; just look along the lava river; it's guarenteed.</STRONG>
I've followed the lava river north AND south for at least five screens in both directions and have yet to find iron, or any precious gems, and all the while my broker is mandating iron and platinum and green diamond goods and my dwarves are being possessed and dying because they want resources I can't for the life of me find. :/
Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: UncleSporky on August 30, 2006, 04:08:00 pm
My last game I went straight for the lava, and when I got there I dug a huge stockpile area to the south for several screens...not one single type of ore at all.  And I mean this pile was huge.

Although in my game prior to that I'd found a huge store of copper, silver, gold, platinum, coal, and iron all mixed with each other right next to the lava.

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Quiller on August 30, 2006, 05:23:00 pm
The only metals I've found so far in my game are silver and tin, hopefully I'll find some more soon.  (And yeah, I'm still on my first game, it was a quiet map and I'm still learning as I go.)
Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: RPB on August 30, 2006, 06:41:00 pm
Oh man. Here's some absolutely insane luck: "A miner has found some Blue diamond mixed in with the Sapphire." I've never seen any of the colored diamond varieties even digging huge mines along the lava river, and now I have some before I've even seen the chasm!
Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Janne Joensuu on August 31, 2006, 08:00:00 am
My first game is still going. Over 90 dwarves, various nobles, no miasma problems, maybe a total of 5 attacks altogether (and few thief raids), never having to worry about food even when I only built my first farm after few years etc etc. My legendary miner broke into all of Cave River, Chasm and Lava River, without getting hurt. Nothing bad happened. I found Cave River in a small Waterfall room. I don't think I still have any working floodgate even after I've succesfully farmed for two-three years. I have only lost one fisherman, few cats and a horse to the floods, even with stupid fishers and farmers waiting for the flood over the three bridges over the waterfall branch and the main branch which leads to my main farm areas on the other side of the river. I have found iron, platinum and gold, but not coal - but I've been cutting the area clear of any forests, and the worst that happened was a stupid jeweler-turned-hunter chasing a cougar to the middle my outside work area and trade depot, and then dying against it - the caravan guards killed it just moments after.
When I got my one and only autumn immigrant wave, I was just thinking I needed some more dwarves to gather harvest and to get better military (I didn't need in for few years after that, but they were already pretty skilled at that point, and could dispatch anything easily).

I didn't read the forums until well into the game. I e.g. didn't realize I could dig into the mountain (    :roll: ), not finding out ? works as * until after after the forum visit, getting the sheriff and waiting a while before noticing the new Justice bar (the Sheriff was down to Unhappy already), but making the cages/chains before he goes berserk or anything, etc etc.

What else... Oh, I'm filthy rich. Things like Felsite Mechanism worth 1710* thanks to it being encrusted with Aquamarine and Rock crystal, encircled with bands if finely-crafted Emerald and decorated with images of flies in aventurine... Legendary carpenter, miner and mason do wonders. I also got a legendary Engraver a year ago, and he has been making nobles very happy.


My first game is still going. Is this lucky or what?

[ August 31, 2006: Message edited by: Janne Joensuu ]

[ August 31, 2006: Message edited by: Janne Joensuu ]

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: PNB on August 31, 2006, 09:44:00 am
I hit the longest running vein of ore and gems ever. From nearly the entrance of my base, heading both back over and south towards the front of the mount, then back and up north to a waterfall, around the waterfall, into tin, and gems strewn around, all in all, well over 150 pieces of ore out of it. yay.
Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: bbb on August 31, 2006, 12:58:00 pm
silver? i think in 1 world , i've had silver, copper, tin, zince and various gems well before the river...

but then again, that was before i stopped caring about digging up every little drop of ore/gems..

last game was funny.. i reached the river and saw bits of it.. planned out a few farm blocks... started digging only to find 1/2 of the blocks lie on top of an unrevealed waterfall!

what's the best farm block? 10x10 -1? (max single size) or some 6x? blocks instead?

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Sophismata on August 31, 2006, 02:01:00 pm
In my first game, I found no ore, ever. Even up to the chasm, not even sapherite ore. I was lucky enough to receive 25 immigrants before winter, had some non-metal artifacts but never received a noble.

My second game was the opposite. I struck Copper, Tin, Silver and Sapherite right away. I founf iron, platinum and gold right after the chasm. I had plenty of food, but didn't get many immigrants - I think my population was a measly 20 or something by the second winter, so I abandoned that fort too.

Nothing else really major - I did particularly well in a No Wood map, but found it more frustrating than rewarding to play because I couldn't control the growth of Tower-Caps.

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: sanch3x on August 31, 2006, 02:02:00 pm
My luckiest was the game where my miner got a fey mood right off the bat, made something mundane (using granite stone) and then became a legendary miner. Made the rest of the game a breeze.  :)
Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Slartibartfast on September 01, 2006, 03:04:00 am
I had a dwarf go into a fey mood, but apparently I didn't have the right workshop, so he just hung around the well, where guards were stationed (in case of a frogman attacks), so they were able to quickly dispatch the rampant dwarf. Does that count?
Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Canuck-Errant on September 01, 2006, 10:33:00 am
I once found silver 3 tiles in.
Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: PNB on September 01, 2006, 03:34:00 pm
my newest world... went through on the first try of generation! woot.
Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: PNB on September 01, 2006, 03:36:00 pm
my newest world... went through on the first try of generation! woot.
Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Rollory on September 09, 2006, 07:13:00 pm
In my latest game, I just hit the chasm for the first time, and the FIRST thing I see, a couple screens to the north, is hematite, coal, and gold.

On the WEST side of the chasm.

One uberfortress, coming right up.

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: MikeWulf on September 11, 2006, 11:30:00 am
This is odd... On my map there is so much ore and gems that I am leaving them in the walls. I've got every type besides moonstone and iron ore and this is all in the space before the river. There must be at leave 100 veins of all types.
Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Fenek on September 11, 2006, 01:20:00 pm
Goddammit. I'm sick and tired of copper. Hit the goddamm two veins, just right in the middle of my settlement. And, of course, spotted the third vein (I think). Just what the hell I'm going to do with all this green, smelt it? Give me some iron, now!

On a side note: I hadn't SINGLE attack from cave inhabitants. And I've thought this was pretty wild (untamed wilds, yellow ya'know) area. Guess I was playing too much on serene settings.

And here is my fortress:

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/650/localmap1106424094kh6.png

[ September 11, 2006: Message edited by: Fenek ]

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Fenek on September 11, 2006, 01:21:00 pm
nvm, blank post

[ September 11, 2006: Message edited by: Fenek ]

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: bbb on October 23, 2006, 03:58:00 am
funny.. just found my 1st iron ore on the river side of the chasm...

now... just have to figure out how to build lava forges for the 1st time..... (assuming i don't kill everyone whilst digging all the way to the lava!)

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Janus on October 23, 2006, 02:30:00 pm
How about the enemy goblin civilization having only copper equipment? Pretty lucky I think, and makes wiping them out with better equipped dwarves a breeze.

This is on my first game which I'm still playing by the way, currently at 180 dwarves. The local very large wild elephant population (often 2-3 herds on screen, sometimes up to 20 elephants total) is more deadly than the silly goblins. The wild elephants seem to have a vendetta against Ferite nobles too; I'm on my 4th one now after each of his predecessors has been flattened by elephants. I suppose you might even consider that a lucky streak as well.   :roll:

[ October 23, 2006: Message edited by: Janus ]

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Janus on October 23, 2006, 02:31:00 pm
EDIT: sorry, dupe post.

[ October 23, 2006: Message edited by: Janus ]

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Kylaer on October 23, 2006, 02:40:00 pm
In my most recent game, my first dwarf trading caravan had six load mules with it. I'd never seen more than two in the first year prior to that. My first human caravan hasn't arrived yet, but I'm eagerly anticipating it, hopefully it'll also be more than 2 wagons.

Luckily, I'd been churning out stone crafts just to get rid of surplus stone (I refuse to make stone stockpiles, I hate them and try to get rid of stone any other way), and managed to buy everything they had. Got a bunch of food, some leather and cloth, and a copper cage.

I also had three lizardmen attack, only to be repulsed by my single swordsdwarf. He killed one on the spot, sent another one flying backward into the wall, and wounded the third, which ran back to the river and got away.

On the downside, I lost my #1 carpenter to an elephant as he tried to build a road.

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Zurai on October 24, 2006, 08:14:00 am
I've gotten pretty lucky so far this game. The cave river was situated at the perfect distance from the cliff entrance, the chasm wasn't too close or too far from the cave river, and there's a massive amount of space between the chasm and the magma river, giving me more than enough room to expand. On top of that, I pre-planned out a massive throne room/dual bedrooms/giant dining room for the Dwarven King (I intend to go all the way with this fortress) and, as luck would have it, the chasm literally bent around the entire pre-planned section. It comes within ~5 tiles, but no closer.

I've been lucky elsewhere, too. My first 4 strange moods were all on useful dwarves (mason, carpenter, craftsdwarf, metalsmith), all were fey moods/secretive moods (so I got legendary skill off them), all needed only a few items, and all needed items I already had available  :cool:

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Kylaer on October 24, 2006, 10:55:00 am
quote:
Originally posted by Zurai:
<STRONG>To top it all off, I managed to kill a Tyrannosaurus Rex (which did, admittedly, kill two of my hunters and four war dogs), butcher it, and make a set of leather armor out of its scaly hide    :cool:</STRONG>

You're playing with a modded creature file, right?

Title: Re: When have you had absolutely insane luck?
Post by: Zurai on October 24, 2006, 11:21:00 am
quote:
Originally posted by Kylaer:
<STRONG>

You're playing with a modded creature file, right?</STRONG>



Yep. The changes are posted in the "Share your monstrisities" thread a few posts down.