Bay 12 Games Forum

I guess I like the idea of an economy, but you're right, the few times I used it, it seemed unfair that some dwarves couldn't afford a decent room even. I don't really want to build "slums." That's not part of a glorious fortress. I mean, there's usually more than enough of skilled labor (engravers, masons to build statues, etc) available. It isn't like the dwarves just can't afford to keep everyone livign comfortably.

I think if building a fortress were more challenging and resources were limited, I would feel better letting some dwaves live a meager existence. But once you hit a few gold/platium veins, it's like "free gold chests for everyone!" No reason to let it all just pile up unused in storage.

Maybe I'm just a communist at heart.

Oh, crap, must have been a second squad. Though I distinctly remember seeing them directly east of the chasm. As if they had just crossed it. And I'm almost positive that the chasm completely split the map in half. 

Would I really get two squads my first winter? That's harsh. :-)

Hey all,

I haven't played DF in a while. Probably 2 years. I first played around 0.22 when there were no z-levels. And then again around 0.27 when z-levels were introduced and I was totally blown away.

What big features have been introduced in the last 2 years that might totally change the way I play? I realize that it is a relatively small version jump from 0.27 to 0.28 and not like adding z-levels. So I am not expecting TOO much, but it would be nice if DF was a a little more challenging without going out of my way to handicap my dwarfs. I've always found it to be all too easy to thrive in any half-decent environment. I almost always ended up with way more food than my dwarves could possible consume. And that was even making fine/lavish meals out of everything. Also it woudl be nice if armies were a little more manageable.

Are there any new major "goals" in the game? Important interactions with other civs?

Just request every type of leather from the Human and elf caravans.  They will bring you hundreds of pieces of it with each trip.  Much more FPS friendly then trying to raise hundreds of animals for slaughter.

Why do I want that much leather?

How do I make money by trading? It is always good-for-good barter, isn't it?

Maybe I can make cash deals and I just didn't pay attention to trade last time I had a fort long enough to start an economy. It was always like like "meh, another caravan, what's the point?"

I can't keep up with the miners though. Every new stone mined will be the next one the haulers just have to have. It is futile. I can't think of a situation where I'd even want haulers to get the most recent stone. I want them to clear the fortress first. Then move out to the more difficult to get stuff.

Well, the screw at least has to be made of iron or copper... anything but wood, right?

So I tried a few games starting on a glacier next to a volcano (standalone, not in a mountain range). The area is "Haunted." I really liked the land features. There are basically two smaller "cones" standing next to the main volcano.

First lesson: bring protection (axes, war dogs, etc), lots of protection if you think you're going to land far away from the mountainside you're going to make your home. I was quickly overrun with ice wolves and dark gnomes before I ever really got started.. while I was trying to bring my stuff into the mountain.

Second lesson: Reclaiming an underdeveloped glacier fortress is rough. Holy cow, that was my first reclaim. What an army to feed! Everyone eventually died of thirst before I could manage to create water. Which leads me to my question.

What's the deal with melting ice? The magma always seems to be 3 z-levels deep and the ice only 1 layer thick. So unless I can find some iron, make a fireproof screw pump, there's no way that I can see to melt the ice. This wouldn't have been so urgent in my regular embark because I brewed tons of wine, but when I reclaimed there was no way I could make enough booze...

I tried the "collapse ice into a hole and get a pond" trick but that seemed hit and miss. One time I managed to create a pond, but I lost my miners because they got frozen in the ice when it froze on the sides. I know, it was dumb to have them initiate teh collpse from below, but I guess you have to learn somehow.

Another time I tried collapsing ice, it never turned to water. Or turned to water tan then immediately refroze. I even tried dropping it down to -3 Z.  What's the secret?

Oh, and another time I thought I be clever and built a wall out of ice blocks over the a magma passage. But I just ended up with a "warm water brlock wall." WTF? It would be nice if "water" stones would just melt into useful amounts of water and you could just drop them on warm stone and generate as much water as you need. But I get DF is all about being clever.