Bay 12 Games Forum

I am now starting my third challenge fort in the wilderness glacier/terrifying mountain biome. First one died of starvation/dehydration, second one died of zombie yak. I've got the new fort turtled away, but food supply is low. What concerns should I have of butchering a camel or horse in this situation?

I've created a silk farm, as described on the wiki, and the spider is doing nothing. It's not tamed, There's a dwarf within easy reach of webbing, but nothing. Any ideas why?

EDIT: Neeeeeeeeevermind. We got webs.

I'd like to discuss aspects of the game that just make it worthwhile.

First: The last migrant wave. Especially considering how I play (turtled in, drawbridge shields), those migrants throw a wrench into every little thing I try to do. Knowing that there won't be anymore just gives me a sense of...safety. It might be my favorite part of the game.

I have ghosts of creatures that died here but were never officially part of my fortress (Traders, their entourage, etc.), and I cannot seem to engrave a memorial slab for these dwarves. Some of them have corpses, but they are inaccessible. What can I do to get rid of these ghosts that float around and eat up my FPS?

Also, in case you were wondering, every scuttled wagon HAS been properly memorialized.

I have set my marksdwarf squad to train. They have wooden and bone bolts, quivers, crossbows, an archery target to which they have been assigned, and a target for each dwarf. Each target has been independently turned into an archery range for the dwarves' use. The dwarves are on the "Active/Training" designation. My dwarves are listed as "At archery practice." They are in front of their targets (the range is long enough that they are not adjacent to the target, and there is floor between where the archer stands and the target; it's not a hole issue). Here's the problem: the dwarves are not firing their crossbows. At all. They stand there, doing nothing, and are listed as practicing.

In my current fort, I am rolling in the good stuff: steel. Aside from the obvious, common uses (weapons, armor, trap weapons), what should I use it for?

I like to pretend that humans bring gallons of blood and ichor with them to trade to dwarfs because of three key ideas:

(1) Humans simply do not understand dwarven behavior and society. They bring these bodily fluids because they actually think dwarves really like and use them for something. Why? Well, because of idea number

(2) Dwarven forts are sually covered in blood from sieges/ambushes/FUN. Traders see this everywhere and assume that the dwarves put it there on purpose, as a stylistic choice. "But wait," you might say, brimming with skepticism, "Humans bring this to me on their first trip through, and my forts aren't ALWAYS covered in gore at that point." The human traders are here, chosen for the trading trip by Human leaders, because they've traded with other dwarves before. Probably your host civilization, too. "But wait," you rudely interrupt again, ashamed of the obvious ease with which your previous point was so masterfully dismantled, "fellow dwarves have brought this sort of stuff before. Why would they be so ignorant of dwarven culture?" Which brings us to point number

(3) As your fortress moves farther and farther away, socially, from the Mountainhome, tastes change to meet the local area's flora and fauna. The Mountainhome guesses wildly each year what things might entice it's subjects living abroad in the hopes of appealing to everyone in the kingdom. They assume that your local population may have gained a taste for blood, so they ever so helpfully send you some every year.

Now for my question: what sorts of explanations do you impose for the game's various quirks and nuances?