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Messages - TinyPirate

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91
DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Re: "Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress" - it's out!
« on: June 01, 2012, 12:21:00 pm »
Thanks for the positive comments everyone! In the end I'm happy if folks enjoy it and people can learn DF off it. I'd also be reaaaally happy if I could get it on BoingBoing or Penny Arcade or some other useful aggregator! I know a lot of people have been scared off DF in the past and I want them to have another go!

Quote from: Uristocrat on May 31, 2012, 04:05:49 pm
I'm ordering it now, just for the illustrations.  BTW, you goofed up a URL tag by leaving out an L when you tried to link to Tim Denee.

Thanks for that - I will try and fix... if I can find it. Where's the error?

Quote from: dragginmaster on June 01, 2012, 12:42:27 am
Shouldnt a portion of profits go to bay12?

Once I clear a cost or two I will be making a donation.

Quote from: Vherid on May 31, 2012, 02:58:34 pm
Is the physical copy on a ship delay or such?

I believe the physical copies are shipping now - but I am not 100% sure. I'll ask my editor and let this thread know if they aren't.

92
DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Re: "Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress" - it's out!
« on: May 30, 2012, 09:38:45 pm »
LOL. Of course!

93
DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Re: "Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress" - it's out!
« on: May 30, 2012, 08:01:31 pm »
Thanks for the positive comments folks! Well, I'll stand by my belief that a lot of players find they need a book and their hands held to learn a game like DF. Of course, there are many here who learned the "hard" way and think that everyone else can do the same. I really don't think it's true. I guess the proof will be in the pudding - if enough people try the book and the community grows, I'll be vindicated! As it stands I do know of a couple of people using the book who have bounced off the wiki and other tutorial resources, so we'll see?

Glad you're enjoying the illustrations. I wanted to ensure we had something like that in the book for the fans who didn't really need the book but wanted something as a souvenir. The illustrations definitely add to the fun!

94
DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Re: "Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress" - it's out!
« on: May 29, 2012, 06:30:27 pm »
Quote from: ObiWorm on May 29, 2012, 06:03:56 pm
Quote from: ohgoditburns on May 29, 2012, 06:01:16 pm
Don't you need to have some sort of license from Toady to do this?

Toady wrote the foreword, so I think that's some sort of license.

I was hoping for a badge with "Deputy" on it as well, but it hasn't come :(

95
DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Re: "Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress" - it's out!
« on: May 29, 2012, 04:19:47 pm »
Hi all! To answer some comments I'm going to quote Capntastic, who tested the book for me and provided valuable comments and suggestions. Hope he doesn't mind! Capntastic explained why the book was a good alternative to the wiki, and I think his explanation is as good as any:

Quote
Trying to teach someone DF by pointing them to the wiki is like trying to teach someone math by sending them to the wikipedia article for "mathematics". All the information's there, but there's no way to tell what foundational knowledge you need.

Now, if you're already on this forum you are probably pretty well placed to just use the wiki at any time to learn precisely what you need. But for many people the wiki has proved a difficult starting point - and that's not a criticism of the wiki (it is superb), it is just not in the nature of wikis to provide easy-to-follow step-by-step explanations of what to do, when, and why.

One of the reasons I agreed to write the book is that I have met many people who have "bounced" off Dwarf Fortress despite the wiki and other learning resources. They've wanted to play, fired up the game, gone to the wiki, and then given up. As much as anything this book was written for these players - several of my testers went from knowing nothing about the game to getting a functional fortress up and running on their first go. Oh, of course, they often had a lot of !!FUN!! once fortress management got complex, but for most they were able to get far further into the game than they thought they would.

Anyway, if you're already playing, this book might not offer a lot to you, but it might explain a few things to friends who have tried, failed, and complain about Dwarf Fortress. They really have no excuse now!  ;D


96
DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / "Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress" - it's out!
« on: May 28, 2012, 05:47:30 pm »
Great news! My book, "Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress" is available at O'Reilly.com! You can pick it up as an eBook or, at not much extra, an eBook and print book combo. The book is also be available on Amazon and other retailers but these eBook do not feature the "Real Time" updates that buying through O'Reilly does. Real Time is a feature whereby a book can be rapidly updated by the author and then owners alerted to download the latest version when it is released. I intend to update the book at all major Dwarf Fortress releases, keeping the book relevant to the reader at all time.

If the cost of shipping the print book from O'Reilly is too much for your location, check out bookdepository.co.uk and other retailers. Some of them offer great deals on shipping the print book.

Of course, the print book does not get real time upgrades!

For those interested, here's the chapter list:

    Foreword by Tarn Adams
    Preface
    Chapter 1: Introduction
    Chapter 2: Playing God
    Chapter 3: First Steps
    Chapter 4: Filling Dwarf Bellies
    Chapter 5: Merchants and Trading
    Chapter 6: Dwarf Resource Management
    Chapter 7: Digging Deeper
    Chapter 8: Industry
    Chapter 9: Justice, Healthcare and Vampires
    Chapter 10: The Military
    Chapter 11: Engineering
    Afterword: Farther
    Appendix

The book clocks in at 240 pages or so and 80,000 words. It features nine full-page illustrations and a half-dozen diagrams by Tim Denee. The illustrations are based on stories from Dwarf Fortress submitted by players on the forum. You can see one here. If you buy the book, I hope you enjoy it! And please, feel free to let me know if there are any problems with the book. I'll be updating it, after all!

Errata
- If you set mineral frequency to "Everywhere" the site finder breaks (known bug) and won't find flux. Turn it down one notch.

97
DF General Discussion / Re: Dwarf Fortress quide book?
« on: May 26, 2012, 08:00:54 am »
Quote from: Blackwind on May 26, 2012, 02:50:27 am
Quote from: thvaz on February 27, 2012, 02:49:27 pm
Only I think this is awesome?
Read the rest of the thread, this is nothing you can't already get online for free.

This is true. But I know MANY people who have bounced of DF, even trying to use the wiki. A couple of them tested the book and were able to get fortresses up and running and have fun. As one tester put it "You don't teach someone math by pointing them at the wikipedia article on math", the point being that there's no context and it's really hard to know what is or isn't important at any one moment.

Now, the DF wiki is superb, but there's something to be said for 240ish pages of hand-holding =)

98
DF General Discussion / Re: Dwarf Fortress guide book?
« on: May 25, 2012, 08:17:12 am »
Thanks!

Book will be out next week some time. Not sure if I have mentioned it, but there will be a deal posted for the book and the ebook together - not sure what price - but a good discount over the items individually, I believe.

99
DF Modding / Re: Help! Who made these tools?
« on: May 23, 2012, 08:06:26 am »
Awesome, thanks for that, filled a couple of gaps :)

100
DF Modding / Help! Who made these tools?
« on: May 22, 2012, 08:22:18 am »
Hi all.

There's a tool round-up section in my book. I'm trying to determine who is behind various sites, tools and utilities. I've got my list of who I think are the creators/etc, but I want to check to make sure. I'm going to leave my assumptions off the list to prompt confirmation. I'm only missing a couple of names, but I just want to double check.

- Lazy Newb Pack
- Dwarf Therapist
- Fortress Overseer
- SoundSense
- DFHack
- StoneSense
- IsoWorld
- Legends Viewer

All tools here still work, right?

Sites:
- DF File Depot
- DF Map Archive
- DF Wiki

101
DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Re: The "How Does Minecart" Thread
« on: May 19, 2012, 04:21:24 am »
If you minecart dump onto a stockpile, the stockpile is not counted as holding the goods, right? When I was testing a minecart dump stockpile would feed workshops happily but seemed to be ignored for hauling to other pile jobs. This is handy, but makes minecart chaining (cart to dump to cart to dump) hard, correct?

102
DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Re: The "How Does Minecart" Thread
« on: May 17, 2012, 05:02:43 pm »
Rather than a ramp to the bottom of a fort, can you just plunge a cart down a hole and have it land on a track with, say, rollers, and then it keeps going to its destination? You could then define another track to return it to the surface, or just let a dwarf cart the cart.

103
DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Re: The "How Does Minecart" Thread
« on: May 17, 2012, 07:50:27 am »
Quote from: Burmalay on May 17, 2012, 07:30:56 am
Quote from: TinyPirate on May 17, 2012, 06:42:18 am
!!SCIENCE!! A four-ramp drop and then 20 rollers WILL shotgun bolts through a fortification. I could see lining an entrance hallway with fortifications and carts filled with bolts. Excessively complex, but it would be funny, I guess.

Cool, but it didn't work =/ I build even 30 rollers & nothing. What's wrong with it? Am I playing different game? =)

I think there is a limit to acceleration provided by rollers, maybe 20 or even a few less. No need for thirty. Also, the end of the track isn't a stop, it's just track and then fortification. Starting at the top of a string of ramps also appears to be vitally important.

104
DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Re: The "How Does Minecart" Thread
« on: May 17, 2012, 07:05:00 am »
Addendum: Should a dwarf ride the cart the dwarf and the bolts all get jammed up in the fortifications. He was hit by the cart and then almost every crossbow bolt!


105
DF Dwarf Mode Discussion / Re: The "How Does Minecart" Thread
« on: May 17, 2012, 06:54:56 am »
Here's a picture of the !!SCIENCE!! in action vs. a pasture of puppies and a baby llama.


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