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« on: July 04, 2011, 08:08:03 pm »
What I noticed is they will do auto-upgrade if you have the metal shield/buckler (standard Metal Armor uniform). You can order them to wear specific things if you cancel partial matches (m) and while it prominently puts highest quality equip at the top sadly it doesn't get that the piece of armor is already going to someone else.
What I do, is when I have enough supplies of silver and steel, I creature a new 'naked' Uniform and 'U' it with Shift-Enter upon the squad and then just go to equip window and make them wear Leather cloaks and mittens and hoods and trousers. I also put them to train.
In a month I order them to wear specific high quality steel breastplate, steel helm, steel greaves and general category metal gauntlet and metal high boot (because otherwise they go to battle in one boot or with one glove).
Only then I decide who needs skill in weapon (and thus receives no shield) and who is a good fighter already and gets a 'metal shield/buckler' or if you have them (I am sure you have) -- copper shields are best.
In another month I give out the weapons (half steel battle axes, half silver war hammers, half maces). Usually I go with 1 macedwarf, 4 hammerdwarf, 5 axedwarves. It's more comfortable with all 10 hammerdwarves, but I envision my squads. I.e. no way any girls get battle axes, only blunt weapons etc. I try not to draft women, too, since I got acquinted with wooden spear training upright spikes. This is like against Geneva treaties.
When they're all equipped they go to stand in the rain for a week or 3 until they get thirsty and hungry. Be mindful that the flasks and waterskins and backpacks and food assignments DONT WORK when they're stationed or on patrol. But they need to drop down to at least 40 unhappy.
Then you make them Furnace Operators/Wood Burners and make them do stuff for a month (them and only them), don't ask, just deal with it. And try to make sure none of your elite military is a spouse or consort of your valuable duchess.
And only then they go into military schedule (which in my forts is usually 2x Train 6/10 minimum twice, 1 month free).
Using your military:
Patrol stuff for a month is good if it's always either underground or above ground. In a week they stop throwing up, stop fearing the dark. When they get a title to their name they become rather fearless and not easily annoyed, too. So you might want to free some of those cage traps with goblins in full armor to have them practice. Trolls are very very very nice targets for your fledgling Axe/Mace and Hammer Lords.
Never have your squads stationed outside your barracks for long. If you ordered them to clear some kind of a beach or maybe a part of cavern first make sure to station them where the Platinum and Electrum and Aluminum Armor Stands are and only then dismiss them from duty. Have your barracks where the squads TIQ (and not Z) adornished with most valuable crafts and populated with nice creatures. And also disable everyone but one person in squad from Animal Training and have him train a dog or cougar or jaguar or cheetah. Cheetah are best in survival, dogs are best in dealing damage (but not living too long, they breed like chicks so who cares). Make this a habit, to cycle through the squad (when dogs reach the maturity) and have everyone train a dog (preferrably male dog). Never assign any animals to your squad people (or they'll get names and will inflict negative thoughts when they die), never make them noble (or instead make them all nobles, so you can easily send them onto a mission impossible). Have everyone of them have a luxurious tomb beforehand, when they fall they'll have a small happy thought, but what's important the whole squad will not have as much of a negative impact on morale upon their death. Be very aware of this, the sparring partners are usually best friends and half of a squad dying might very well mean some berserking Axe Lords. You don't need this right now, if you ask us how to equip guys in your military.
It can prove fun if you find enemies fast enough for berserking dwarves to kill (and they don't suicide through melancholy -- usually happens when they have civilian friends or worse, a spouse and some children, or worst - they're a mother of many dead children). If you do find some enemies and ways to restrain (not in literal sense) your mad dwarves and point them into an otherwise unkillable things, they'll wreak havoc, just watch the part fly. I had handless berserk dwarves strangle bodiless FBs. In 'berserk mode' they cannot feel pain, and can only be killed by a mortal blow. Your military being fat asses that they are they will not go down easily without taking some things with them.
Also, I am not sure if it's a bug of some sort, but Armor Stands go much longer way into improving your dwarven militia members' happiness than weapon racks. They don't just appreciate Weapon Racks as much, I guess. Also never make a mistake, when you go to 'm'ilitary menu never click 'create squad' outright because then you'll deal with dwarven justice. Be very mindful of the capabilities of your guardsmen. They should never tire, and they should be very weak and equipped, if possible with the lighters blunt weapons (very very ligh war hammers or maces, find out which yourself) and never a slashing or piercing weapon. At the very least, give them just wooden war hammer (and no shield so they can bash-strangle) and never ever leave them without weapons, they'll kill a dwarf if they don't have ways to subdue him or her with a wooden bin. Please know that no way you want to mess with justice until you have at least as many prison cells (look up at wiki, b-v - restraint) as you have criminal dwarves in your z-Justice window. I used to have many of my mayors brought to the harsh justice of a hammer by the order of ex-mayor.
Also, never explore with your military, find some peasant (not a child of your fort, or some orphan preferrably who had not made many friends. Make him a militia captain and a squad of his own. Equip him in best boots and cloak and make him go explore things (like in Starcraft, just move him from A to B manually). When you feel you need patrols on borders of the map, no patrol routes will prevent your dwarves of dying, you have to have a guard tower Burrow (w - new burrow - assign dwarves) and your crossbowdwarves from starving or dying of dehydration (so have some stockpile there, accessible from within fortress, and not from the caves). Just put a guardpost like this one
(not very fixed-width font right there)
FWFWWFWF
F......F
F..UD..F
F......F
FWFWWFWF
W - natural walls or your walls
F - fortifications
UD - stairwell (up and down). Not a ramp - you get knocked you are sent flying and have to spend precious moments to get yourself back together and climb the ramp. Stairwells can kill the dwarves only if they hit a solid wall with deadly velocity.
and have them store some booze and ammo beneath (or above) the post. Couple of this will make sure that even the FBs will quitly retreat throguh the map border. Or wall it off, or I don't know. Keep in mind, that you ineed can carve fortifications into natural rock (albeit smoothed) even if it's on the very edge of the embark area. To exploit dumb mechanics of fortifications, always make sure that there's some floor above them - this way not even flying creatures can reach you. (if they're carved fortifications - they're basically impenetrateble as long as there's any floor above)
How do you carve fortifications into a solid natural wall. Well, that's not something you do with b-C-F. You need to smooth stone through designation of d-s and then d-a designate dwarves to carve your fortification. And this goes without saying, it only works for natural walls (they're the only ones that can be smoothed, alright?) or on your own constructed walls - they're already smoothed.
One way to keep your military happy is have them walk over some speakers on the way to their TIQ barracks that only play nice music, like Blackmore's night. Any waterworks WILL cripple your FPS no matter how ‼fun‼ mist is that they produce. You also won't have to tap magma, if you embark on sedimentary layer you'll encase the guys on your command immediately in stee when you get iron. Do not allow them to have pets or significant others and they'll serve you until they die of old age (in around 61 year of my fort, first to die were those who I embarked with and they were all like about back then I started 80). You will going to have to abuse children and train them to be warriors worthy of their fathers like Sparta or some such. My longest running fort is only 41 and already I see where I went wrong with my children 50 cap / 75% adults policy. Dwarves tend to not live when they reach age of 140 from what I noticed. It's like 6 or more populations of keet or poults or whatever chicks you have. And also my famous first expedition dwarf has died to a wound, and he was a Legendary Appraiser and High Master Book Keeper and I feel like I just starrted the fort, yet the fps dropped to 75 for no reason. And the fps fight I struggle through every every every day. I hate it but at least it gives me something to watch for, since other than steady slowdown nothing can have my hoard of aluminum and platinum goods. Caverns and piles of adamantite are not worth it. I need some 200 fps first, which I can get if I turn off temperature (gives around 140 fps) or weather (around 15 fps).
