March 6, 2024: Dwarf Fortress 50.12 has been released.
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quote:
Originally posted by Keilden:
<STRONG>If i saw a glass bridge over molten lava i would never cross it.</STRONG>
Alright, but good luck seeing it to begin with.
Raw glass is considered a rough gem and can be used at the jewelers shop. You don't need raw glass as a component to make the other objects, just thesand and stuff. Glass Blocks can be used for (almost) anything stone blocks can be used for. I like making bridges and supports of clear glass because I like the blue color.
[ May 23, 2007: Message edited by: slMagnvox ]
In adventure mode, your speed will remain the same on the smooth floor of a castle or up to your knees in a pool of mud. It is when two or more creatures occupy the same tile, only one can stand while the rest must be prone, that really slows things down. Also why your own halls should be wide, so dwarves don't have to crawl under one another.
Smooth roads are mostly aesthetic. They also add to fortress value. I find their biggest advantage is that the blocks to build a smooth road can easily be stockpiled near the construction site. It is much easier to find and identify the twenty or some stone blocks on the materials list than it is to pick the nearest rocks out of a list of 500+. If I get a fall immigration, I can have a smooth road done by first winter.
quote:
Originally posted by Heliopios:
<STRONG>I sense a dumbass that posts with zero relevance to the topic in an attempt to troll.</STRONG>
You remember posting this Helios? Was just a minute ago:
quote:
You play that way on a glacier and see how far you get.
I don't remember anyone discussing glacier or challenges maps. The OP's Topic is Newbie Advice after all. But, I digress.
Hah, it has nothing to do whether you are a bad/mediocre player.
When you only have 7-9 dwarves for the entire first game year, giving them skills will get much much much more work done than bringing lots of barrels and deer meat. And it is a fact that one Prof miner will mine much more rock than two unskilled miners ... for the first nine months at least, then two unskilleds will start to catch up. I've been playing exclusively with a pair of Skilled Miners + Skilled Wrestlers. Watching those two take joy in the slaughter of a Rhesus horde is a sight to behold.
There is nothing on the starting equipment screen that cannot be reasonably obtained during the game with the exception of mining tools and a few seeds. By contrast, getting a Proficient Bowyer or Armorsmith takes tons of materials and time during the game ... Or a handful of points on the starting screen. Getting two miners to get skilled in wrestling would take well over a game year of unproductivity.
Skillz are the way to go.
No one drank from the river and no one missed a meal.
Kitchens might seem like a luxury shop your first few games, about as useful as an Ashery, but once you get the hang of the Kitchen screen (z --> Kitchen) it will revolutionize your food production.
Bringing two farmers is a perfect strategy, but they don't have to wait for the farm room to start producing food. The Plant Gathering job will find several plants outdoors before your miners even reach the river. The Brewing job will turn some of those plants into delicious Longland Beer. The Cooking job will turn the longland grass seeds into tasty biscuits. And the kitchen screen is your best ally in this process. It will show you what is available for Cooking and Brewing, what you will allow to be Cooked or Brewed and how much of it you have.
Mzbundifund's advice is all excellent, except:
quote:
4) Your dwarves need barrels to put food in. This both increases the amount of food you can store in a given area, and preserves the food from rotting. Meat and fish rot a lot faster than plants, but plants need it too.
You don't need barrels, food can sit on the floor and not rot as long as it is on a food stockpile square. Barrels can help save floorspace but usually floorspace is more abundant than barrels.
Keep those stockpiles close, the seeds closer and like Mz said, take off all the hauling jobs from your growers.
Last bit of advice, in the
quote:
Originally posted by Jaqie Fox:
<STRONG>Actually, recently someone posted that the dwarves tend to see any trade depot tiles as outside and thus do not go past it. I have used this to great advantage in my current fortress, as they will go in past it, but not out past it.</STRONG>
The Trade Depots as Check Valves theory is largely hearsay.
Drawbridges, moats, locked doors, etc.. are your best allies keeping dwarves in and goblins, elephants, whatever out. Making several statue gardens and wells as meeting halls, will keep more of your dwarves idling indoors and not hanging outdoors vomiting on the front steps. If you can tolerate the partying.
A bigger challenge when bringing goblins inside is keeping your civilians out of harms way. I've had success drafting all civs into a squad and stationing them deep in the fort, but that grinds all jobs to a halt. Also kind of effective is locking down everything beyond the river, but you'll need time to get the military on the right side of the lock down and the civs on the other. Its a tricky challenge and somebody always ends up in the wrong place either getting pincushioned by archers or a soldier on the wrong side unable to join the fight.
Good luck.
quote:
Originally posted by Tharg:
So, I've just breached the magma, and the real planning has begun. I need to know the answers to a few more questions to really get it right, though :When my dwarfs drink, they seem to do it wherever they find the booze barrel. I've never built a statue garden, zoo, or anything like that though. Do they ever drink away from the drink stockpile, or is it always that way? Maybe they drink at meeting rooms too? I don't recall seeing this in any of my other three fortresses but I could be forgetting it.
They always just drink from the nearest barrel, whether it is in a stockpile or not. Unless they prefer Rum or something, then they'll walk further for the nearest rum barrrel. I usually make two larger booze stockpiles near my stills and then two remote piles that take from those piles. One near the magma and the other either someplace central or else near the entrance.
Meeting halls and statue gardens will mostly just affect where your dwarves spend their idle time. Its a good idea to make a couple spots like that someplace central in your fort so dwarves won't walk all the way to the gate between jobs. You might have to crash a couple parties though.
quote:
Also - if I make sure they always have enough booze does that mean I won't need any wells? Or will they still get unhappy thoughts and/or get thirsty?
Wells are not necesary, only if a dwarf drinks from the river will he complain about the lack of a well. Giving water to injured dwarves always uses the river, not wells. Soldiers will fill a waterskin from a well, but that is pretty useless behavior. If you station soldiers someplace for an extended period, making a small stockpile of booze/food nearby is way more effective than giving them waterskins or backpacks.
quote:
On fortifications, I read some people saying that enemies (and friendlies) won't deliberately fire through them unless they get to the adjacent square. Is this right? Other people here seem to think not. If true, I plan on having a small moat in front of my fortifications to prevent this.
Its true that fortifications allow fire either way. They won't grant any advantage to your marksdwarves. The only time I use them is to make a catapult room that can shoot out off the map. If you want to engage the goblins and not just trap them to death, you are better off using moats and your entrance layout to lead the goblins around a blind corner or two into your awaiting military.
quote:
Someone else here or on the wiki posted that the dwarfs can't see through the fortifications either, and need a 'spotter' on the other side (the post I read recommended tying up a wardog). I've only read this once though. Truth or Myth?
Sounds like a myth
quote:
Lastly, how worried should I be? The worst I've seen so far is a 2nd siege of about 25 goblins that I survived fairly comfortably. I'm building with defense in mind and I'm not planning on deliberately agitating the chasm dwellers for a while, but apart from them there's also the magma creatures. If my 2nd siege was a 10, what level of threat am I likely to have to deal with in my current position?
The sieges are one of the biggest threats. You may see much larger attack forces, with 5-6 squads of goblins (60-72) along with as many as two squads of Trolls. The trolls can be pretty tough. Other forts the sieges I got never grew as large. Weapon traps are the best defense, use as many as you think you'll need to make up for the confidence you have (or lack) in your military. A drawbridge and/or moat to lock down your fort while you get your dwarves in position is worth designing.
The chasm is more random. Some chasms just a troglodyte or two, others have hordes of ratmen or batmen that are weak opponents but can definitely hurt your civilians and litter your fort with corpses. Put down some traps and see what you get, then either flood it with magma or use the monsters to train your military and gather lots of bones.
The magma monsters are also very random and can be deadly, especially if you get a fireball throwing variety. They won't show up for a year or so after you find the magma. Edge the magma with yet more traps. Magma men are the most harmless but will break things like floodgates so if you channel magma make sure you can survive a broken floodgate when designing your channels. I leave some rock around my magma forges for cover from fireballs, as any smiths working there are among my most valuable dwarves, and liberal traps.
Most importantly, don't overdo it, because something (several things) won't happen like you planned and dwarves will die and you'll learn from the experience.
[ May 27, 2007: Message edited by: slMagnvox ]
And yes, this game is awesome.
quote:
Originally posted by DDouble:
<STRONG> ... Edit: do you mean the "reserved barrels" thing on the "p" menu is specifically booze barrels? What about the "reserved bins" then? Which stockpile claims reserved bins?</STRONG>
Reserved Bins, good question. No process uses bins -like making syrup or booze uses barrels- it is probably just there for good measure, leave it at zero since bins are only useful for storage. Likewise, setting reserved barrels, in theory, doesn't allow stockpiles to claim barrels for storage. I can't reccomend relying on it.
You are on the right track if you are setting your food piles to use few (or no) barrels, the best way to ensure there will be some available for brewing. Try laying a custom Furniture Stockpile, barrels only, near your brewer and see it gather your empty, unclaimed barrels. A Barrel stockpile is a great way to track your alcohol needs. Empty barrels will stay in their booze stockpiles if there is no place for empty barrels, but with a barrel pile, you'll see your booze supplies thinning out and the empties piling up, a sure sign to fire up the stills.
If you got something good you want to brew, like a Plump Helmet[5], you could always allow only booze for cooking and prepare an easy meal, making a nice stack of biscuits and emptying two barrels. Or make some more barrels, but if your carpenter is anything like me, he/she is likely taking a break.
quote:
Originally posted by Red Jackard:
<STRONG>You are playing an alpha - I fail to see the problem.</STRONG>
C'mon.
