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« on: October 17, 2011, 11:54:35 pm »
I am in late winter in my first year with my first fortress. My fortress is far enough north that the nearby surface water sources freeze in the winter. I ran low/out of drinks because my still wasn't operating, which caused 3 dwarves to die of thirst before it was operational again. I also messed up my first trading caravan trying to figure out the interface, so for the most part, having a great deal of FUN! Here are my questions:
Farming: I have two plots of land underground, both 4x5 (20 squares) The first is scheduled to grow Plump Helmets all year round and the second grows the other 3 underground crops that make booze. What's odd is that neither of the areas is ever being fully utilized. Currently only 6 of my 20 squares is being used to grow helmets, even though I have over 85 spawn in my stores. The other area is equally underutilized. I don't have anything forbidden (or whatever) so the only thing I can think of is that my farmer is too busy doing other stuff? Should I expect my farm plots to be full in this scenario, or is there some reason why they would normally be less than half-utilized?
Food in general: All of my meat from embark is gone. The only food I have is what I'm grow in my fields, mostly helmets (15) with some wheat (4) and cups (2). I have 15 dwarfs, I suspect I'm headed for another problem here pretty shortly. Will my dwarfs eat only helmets and be happy? Do I need to get them something else? Should I try to be keeping cattle or something? Do most people keep outdoor farms/livestock going?
All suggestions are appreciated.
Thank you,
Finn
