March 6, 2024: Dwarf Fortress 50.12 has been released.
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quote:
Originally posted by Bricktop:
Basically, in the RAW folder, find the file with the information on the various civilisation types (can't remember its name)[/QB]
entity_default.txt
code:
archers
ooooooooooo
========== o
entrance D axe Bridge
hall D dorfs Bridge
========== o
ooooooooooo
archers
Well the proportion is totally off but hopefully you get the idea. There's an aboveground courtyard (it counts as 'outside' to civilians and acts as a buffer zone between them and the fighting) with archers in tiny fortified towers up on the wall and melee soldiers waiting inside in case they're needed. In the case of a siege the bridge would already be up, waiting to be smashed down on top of any nearby gobbos so that the axedwarves could charge out in a dramatic fashion and mop up any survivors.
e: the "easiest" way I know of to get soldiers to equip specific items is to get them to remove what they're wearing, put what you want them to wear in another room, then station them inside it, lock the door and tell them to get dressed.
[ May 15, 2008: Message edited by: Solara ]
quote:
Originally posted by Covenant:
<STRONG>I must admit, I'm not so keen on the cave adaptation system. Just because a dwarf doesn't have the sense to go for a quick walk in the sun every once in a while, we shouldn't lose military efficiacy. Perhaps in the event of a long siege, where Dwarves physically can't get out, cave adaptation would be an appropriate punishment (though it should be able to be countered by building windows or skylights or such), but as is, I'm not a fan.</STRONG>
I've never had much of an issue with cave adaption because my fortresses tend to be on one extreme or another, either deep and isolated or almost completely aboveground. If it's really bothering you though, I assume removing the [CAVE_ADAPT] tag is all you have to do to fix it.
:mad: "OH NO my dear friend Melbil's been eaten, who would have imagined this could happen on a reclaim mission of a monster-infested fortress? I think I'll go crazy!"
:mad: Urist NOOOOO! I can't believe he killed himself, also Rigoth died somehow and that makes me even crazier!" etc.
I rarely make a room bigger than 5x5, I just make sure to smooth the whole thing and put in some engravings (yes they're ugly if you go overboard, but a few well-placed ones can have a nice effect), and my legendary mason handles the rest.
quote:
Originally posted by Normandy:
<STRONG>I prefer granite. I really like the black background/gray detail for granite doors and floodgates.</STRONG>
Granite was one I forgot to mention, it looks awesome though I can't really say it's my favorite because usually when I see it I just think about how much I wish obsidian was still that color instead of such a boring grey...
[ May 07, 2008: Message edited by: Solara ]
Microline was cool the first couple of times I came across but now it's just annoying. IMO such a common rock shouldn't have the same color as the rarest metal.
quote:
Originally posted by Strangething:
<STRONG>I remapped my up and down controls to insert and delete. Works like a charm.</STRONG>
THANK YOU. This is an awesome idea. 
In my most recent fortress I brought 2 miners, 1 mason/building designer, 1 carpenter/bowyer/clothesmaker, 1 cook/brewer, 1 farmer/herbalist, and 1 politician/craftsdwarf/hauler/whatever odd jobs need doing dwarf.
The extra points allow me to keep the second axe in case something unfortunate happens to my woodcutter, and then I buy food and booze - at least 30 of each kind of alcohol, 40 turtles, then I pampered everybody with a few units of every food they had a preference for since that means they'd clear those barrels more quickly. I bought about 20 each of rocknuts and sweetpod seeds, an extra pick, then let's see...4 copper cages, 20 pieces of leather, then a few pieces of silk because I never find silk anymore and want it available for moods. The rest I spent on a couple of cats, then as many horses, donkeys, and dogs as I could afford.
My strategy was to have the miners clear a huge room in the sandy loam for farms and storage, then I sent them down to make exploratory shafts in the next three levels while my farmer planted sweetpods and rock nuts, my cook started murdering every tree in sight, my carpenter turned all my leather into bags while waiting on her to finish, and my mason ran around with my politician cramming animals into cages and hauling stuff and whatever else needed doing until there was enough stone to make a bunch of blocks for the outside wall.
By this point I've basically got a whole trading empire fueled by sweetpod and quarry leaf products, with a few of my carpenter's suckier bows thrown in. My animal population has gotten pretty big despite my often needing to take their skin away, I got my first migrant wave not too long ago and thanks to my politician making a bunch of obsidian swords and turtle bone bolts in advance my military is quickly training up. This is by far my most successful fortress and I owe a lot to all those excess points giving me a head start - sure I didn't need them, but considering I bought an anvil from the dwarf caravan that I've yet to have a use for I consider them well spent.
[ November 04, 2007: Message edited by: Solara ]
I don't think I've deliberately murdered a dwarf since the 2D version...well okay there were all those guys I had sacrificed to the volcano god, but they were weaponsmiths and actually useful so they didn't count.
[ May 06, 2008: Message edited by: Solara ]
quote:
Originally posted by Zurai:
<STRONG>When you come face-to-face with a wolf (and for a dwarf, it would be face-to-face; wolves are MUCH bigger than domesticated dogs), you will be frightened. I gaurantee it. My aunt-in-law has two 90% timber wolves (other 10% is husky) and they scare the dickens out of me. Even the lame one. They come up to my ribcage and are not the really all that tame (though they adore my aunt-in-law). Their idea of "playful" is "charge at the new guy and see how quickly he submits to the Alpha Wolf".</STRONG>
The wolf was a bad example; I think his point was that a dwarf will panic the same, regardless of whether they see a dangerous predator or tiny pest.
Frankly I think it's both frustrating and ridiculous, (especially early on, I've had cases where newly arrived dwarves with no supplies weren't able to drink or fish because there's a groundhog giving them what must be a very threatening stare from the other side of the river) but the game is in alpha and this is just one of those little quirks you have to learn to work around.
Now to specifically address the OPs problem, I've had the same problem, but with rhesus macaques, and I found the best solution was to chain war dogs at intervals along the road. They're much more reliable than military dwarves as they won't ever feel a pressing need to take a nap or guard the barrels of ale just when you need them.
There's also no point in sending hunters to chase animals up and down the map - even if you succeed they'll just respawn after a little while, so as long as they're not activeyl bothering you the best thing to do is just leave them alone.
Also, I know you've resolved this by now, but your 'no stone' problem was probably caused by your stockpiles. Namely, it's likely you told them to build the mason workshop with a particular stone, then designated a stone stockpile somewhere else. Once you make a stockpile for something, the dwarves won't see anything that's not in it.
quote:
Originally posted by Necro:
<STRONG>
crane fly rant and link
</STRONG>
Huh, guess you learn something every day. They're called mosquito hawks in Texas, and I always tolerated them because I was under the impression they ate mosquitoes. But according to that article they just mate and immediately die without eating at all. That's...kind of depressing actually. 
[ July 23, 2007: Message edited by: Solara ]
quote:
Originally posted by Pacho:
<STRONG>I thought dwarves dying in unexpected and hilarious ways (not to mention frequently) was supposed to be one of the common reasons this game is so much fun.</STRONG>
This is true, but having to kill them on purpose isn't unexpected or hilarious - I would have no complaints if whatever crippled them had simply finished the job.
Until healing is improved I'm going to continue regretfully drowning every dwarf with a serious injury, because nursing them back to health just doesn't work and right now keeping them alive can actually be a danger to your fortress. Crippled dwarves A.) eat just as much as a working dwarf, B.) take up the time of dwarves that should be working, C.) are still perfectly capable of taking out an entire bridge when they're angry, and D.) get angry a lot. I can live with 'A', especially with a dwarf that previously did a lot for the fort, but the others are simply unacceptable even before you factor in the fact that the dwarf will never, ever heal no matter how long you put up with him.
[ July 16, 2007: Message edited by: Solara ]
