March 6, 2024: Dwarf Fortress 50.12 has been released.
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quote:
Originally posted by Arnos:
look here: http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/Starting_Builds
I'm well aware of that page, as I've added my one miner/two growers build there.
The concern about one miner is valid, it does take longer to dig out areas. However, if you check the above link and read the starting gameplan I outlined in my build, one miner will get a farm plot excavated, channeled and floodgated ready for crop planting in early summer.
One change I'm looking at is only having one Proficient Grower, as two really produce too much food and the craftsdwarf provides another load from the caravan. I've been looking at reducing some of the skills on some of the dwarves to be able to afford a second iron pick.
One Miner - Saving 100 points helps to giving out a lot of competent/proficient skills.
One Woodcutter/Carpenter - Again, it saves 100 points. At the start, wood can be critical. Although this guy gets busy, having to share the woodcutting and the carpentry, I find he doesn't fall behind before more carpenters immigrate. When he's not making wooden items, he's filling up the wood stockpile.
One Mason/Building Designer - Stone is plentiful, and we'll need doors, furniture, and floodgates. Early on, having at least a novice building designer helps when getting those first bridges and wells placed.
One Mechanic - Floodgates, levers, traps. For me, not having a mechanic doesn't feel like an option.
One Stonecrafter - Snagging all the food on the first caravan can be a lifesaver. Being able to make obsidian short swords for weapon traps early on helps as well.
Two Growers - Proficient Growers produce silly amounts of food, in fact so much so I'm in the process of dropping one of the Growers. At the start, I usually set one to Fishing, and the other to Fish Cleaning.
In an attempt to keep the signal to noise ratio as high as possible, try to present any criticisms in a constructive manner only. Saying "omg ur choice of skillz sucks" really adds absolutely nothing to the content of the thread. Posting "I'd prefer to swap one of the growers to a fisherdwarf, because..." is far more informative, useful, and friendly.
So, what do people do to get their war dog population more spread out? Is there a method to 'detach' them from the trainer?
That shows this first attempt in action.
I've gone for a plan based around 'blocks', each big enough to hold sixteen 6x6 rooms, with three-wide corridors in between. Obviously, it's only partially dug out.
At the top, is the first block of 2x3 bedrooms. It can eventually house 48 dwarves in the one block, with the intention of having a well in the middle part.
We have a big farm room in place, and two of the 6x6 rooms are currently food storage (eventually, food will be stored in a 13x13 next to the farming plots). The other 6x6 rooms are barracks, dining, food processing, kennels, masonry, carpentry, metalworking, ore storage, mechanics and weaving/clothworking.
As the population increases, I can add onto the existing housing as needed. The 6x6 rooms can be reassigned as more space is dug out, and eventually where needed knocked into 13x13 rooms.
The planned areas either side of the main entrance will only be reached by bridges north and south of the entrance bridge. The walls will be fortified. I haven't decided on how many catapults and ballistae to install in those side rooms yet.
- One Proficient Miner, who is set to dig a one-wide corridor due east until he hits the river. No hauling, only stopping to eat, drink and sleep. When he hits the river, he backtracks a bit, and digs out a 6x6 off the corridor near the river.
- One Skilled Woodcutter. His job is to chop trees and haul stuff.
- One Skilled Carpenter. He makes his workshop, dismantles the wagons, makes ten beds, then a bucket. After that, he's free to haul. The beds are installed into the narrow corridor. It means they get to sleep off the floor, and in the dry.
- One Skilled Mason with Architect (one rank above Novice). When the Miner hits the river, he uses the two pieces of stone nearest the river to build a bridge. He then builds a workshop in the room dug by the Miner, and makes two floodgates, two doors.
- One Mechanic/Stonecrafter. At the start, he builds a crafting workshop, and makes some light/dark stone crafts. When the 6x6 room is available, he makes a mechanics workshop in there, and builds six mechanisms.
- Two Proficient Growers. These guys are the key. Until the river is bridged, the farm dug out, the floodgates installed and connected, one is set to fish, the other set to clean fish. A fishery is built, and off they go, helping haul as well as bringing in basic food.
These steps get you a position with the river bridged, and basic workshops needed to get the farm built. Because of the bridge, you get a good layout revealed of the river. I pick an area above or below the main corridor, and ensure there's about ten map squares between the eastern river bank and the western edge of the farm. I usually dig a 6x6, with the future intention of ending up with four 6x6 arranged in a square. Floodgates are installed, and the necessary levers, channels are dug as well. I have managed to set farm plots being built in late-spring.
Once the farm is being built, the miner digs out a food storage room, again 6x6, adjacent and east of the planned 4 6x6 farms. Outside food is brought in, and then proceeds the plan of digging out a barracks, dining room, workshop space, and moving everything indoors.
When winter arrived on the first try at this plan, I had 70-ish meat from the caravan, 120-ish plump helmets, and after some aggresive mid-season crop mixing, over 70 dwarven ale and beer.
Needless to say, food was not a problem. The 12 spring migrants of utterly useless skills was a problem (two metalsmiths, I hadn't even done anything with metal yet; a jeweler, thanks; five, yes five, peasants). Considering the amount of planting, I was surprised another farmer didn't appear.
In all this, one important fact must be borne in mind: Proficient Growers. They seem to plant a bit faster, but more importantly every harvest plant is 2,3 or 4 'lots' of food.
[ September 02, 2006: Message edited by: Blackcat ]
quote:
Originally posted by mrnoun:
Of course, firebreathing dragons replacing dwarves isn't really THAT great an idea. I've been tinkering with it, too, and the big problem comes when a dragon notices a raccoon has crept into the food storage area. Because his reaction is to incinerate it. And by "it", I mean "the food storage area".
Comedy gold 
This is why this game is so great.
Additionally, if you want to build a bridge over a channel, the channel must have water in it, or have had water in it previously. 'New channels' cannot have a bridge built over them.
quote:
Originally posted by Tarrasque:
<STRONG>If I remember correctly, catapults do not damage fellow dwarves, however, ballistas tend to be prone to friendly fire.</STRONG>
I used to think that, and accordingly had operators train on catapults set up on the east bank of the river, behind some fortifications, aimed down the main 6 wide tunnel to the outside.
Then a legendary crafter got hit by a flying rock.
quote:
Originally posted by Ioric Kittencuddler:
<STRONG>I figured it was each other as well. When will Toady add the elven nyphomaniacs? :confused:</STRONG>
Hopefully just after (and not before) Toady adds Pyromaniac as a craft skill.
quote:
Originally posted by Tamren:
<STRONG>I have nothing against it, but I consider the wiki a cheating tool because that is exactly what it is. I already explained how over reliance on the wiki will stagnate this game. Something i notice, that none of you have yet disproven.</STRONG>
This is a statement of opinion, not of fact. You consider the wiki a cheating tool. Others consider the wiki to be the manual for the game. It contains a lot of information in an easily-accessed and well-formatted layout that the in-game documentation does not. It tells you how to build a farm; What rooms are needed and how to define them; Which crops produce what and where. The various exploits and spoilers listed in the wiki in a few places do not make the whole wiki a cheating tool.
In other words, the wiki makes the game more accessible. All those early questions everyone has ("How do I farm?") are answered there. The only thing the wiki stagnates is the plethora of newbie questions here on the forums.
quote:
Originally posted by Tamren:
<STRONG>No matter how much you deny it, there is no polite form of "elitist". Elitism will kill any game in a hurry, and this goes triple for a character based game like DF.</STRONG>
DF is a complex game, burdened with an idiosyncratic User Interface. It does require a certain level of intelligence, memory, attention-to-detail and commitment to learn the game. This game does not have a learning curve. It has multiple learning cliffs. Savok wasn't being elitist. He was being honest.
quote:
Originally posted by Tahin:
I have a huge, <STRONG>retractable</STRONG> drawbridge at the one entrance to my current fort. I placed a peasant on the far edge of it and pulled the lever. Rather than epicly sending him sailing over the fortress and splatting on the ground, he simply "slid" southward and drowned in my moat. This... needs some work.
Retractable bridges don't fling. You need a bridge that raises up.
