Bay 12 Games Forum

I tend to have a "modular" layout - I have my dining hall module, which I put in next to my kitchens/still/farmplot module (with booze & meal stockpiles and bonecarvers in between), and my forge/smelter module, and my living quarters module(s) - they all get plugged in as I go along. Another is looms/dyer/clothier, or glass/ashery/jeweler - you get the idea. Things like masons and crafts get tossed in all over the place.

For me, that lets me be flexible yet not have to re-create a new floorplan for each terrain I find.

It's not particularly desirable though, it makes the dwarves slightly happier, but you can't butcher or cage the animal anymore.

We assume you're trading the ability to butcher for the happy thoughts - fine if the animal is female or your one stud male (a keeper for breeding) or you have ample already.

The real problem is that if the animal dies, it's a big UNhappy thought - and you can't restrain (chain) the animal either. Since pets try to follow their owners around,  be careful about offering animals that might be adopted by military or "outside" dwarves, like woodcutters or (depending on your projects) masons.  (Pet-proofing doors is far from a solution, as they sneak through with other dwarfs.)

There is a solution to that, one that fools the animal into waiting by a door that's never used, but it's arcane and involves Restricted travel zones, making the dwarfs take the long way around while the animal waits at the door representing the shortest path.

If the magma is hidden, it's not hard to find - if you remember where it was from Embark, it's simple.  Even if not, a few shafts will reveal it.

Stand by for non-wiki link for "how to"...

1. Build the cage
2. Link it to a lever
3. Pull the lever
4.
5. Profit!

This is a man who would build a clock to tell what time it is.

1) Build the cage
2) <q>, <a>ssign - "nobody" (or maybe you just un-check the little "+" - forget which).

That's it.

You must then un-build the cage if you want to use it for a cage trap or melt it.

(DP's method is approp if the caged animal is wild (or armed) - otherwise it will scare (and possibly attack) the civilians who release it, etc.)

In those stockpiles, set "Max Barrel" to 0.

That should free them up.

It actually has to be really close to be able to work, it sucks.

For it to work automatically - if you assign the job, that still works fine, even across the map.

OK, weird. Went back to the game and the dragon leather was made.

The skin had been claimed for a task - maybe hauling, maybe tanning - something.  That happens to items - if you want to use something, but it's "not there", pause the game, <f>orbid and unforbid it, then try again.

Anyway, the question now is, what should I make?

Here are your choices:

Bags, Clothing (value 10x material)
Helm, Boots, Shield, Shoes (value 15x)
Leather armor (breastplate) (value 20x)

The problem is that dragon skin armor is no better than kitten skin armor or puppy skin armor - it's just "leather armor", and that tends to suck.  But, you can layer it under chain armor, and that tends to be good - ample for archers who are behind fortifications (tho', admittedly, still not as good as generic chain under generic plate.)

Or, you can wait for a mood, and manipulate it so some hero can wear it - that would be worth megabux (maybe literally).

For inspiration read Ken Follett's "Pillars of the Earth".

(Good book!)

</tangent>