Bay 12 Games Forum

I'm afraid I have no idea of where to look for bookcases (and paper, slurry, etc, since a library without either any writing material nor any books is rather pointless).

Others probably have a much better idea than I, including knowledge of if it's possible at all. If I was to try to do something like that I'd try to create a new 0.42.X game and then use a tool like Beyond Compare to compare all the files in the old save with the corresponding set of files in the new one, and then look at the differences between those files that look most likely. The entity_default.txt file is one such candidate, since it describes the races and their capabilities.
Before starting to change anything I'd definitely back up the save to ensure I could revert.

That does look rather labor-intensive. Per the previous comment on dwarven existential angst, I may be tempted to convert it into a coffeeshop. Ah, I can't build those. I supposed I'll convert it into a third tavern, then, and turn the reading rooms into bedrooms inn-wise, a temporary respite on the long walk to the temples. Yes, that is fitting. Thanks! 

Check with your manager about options for making bookcases.

b- alt+c to place one
//Torrenal

I can "construct" bookcases via alt-c, but far as the manager and workshops are concerned, they don't exist. I'm likewise unable to make playable musical instruments.

Bookcases are new to 0.42.X, so older saves will probably not have the raws to construct them. Most or all of the new stuff will be unavailable to old saves. I would guess some extremely careful raw editing might allow you to make bookcases, but there's probably a great risk you'll end up wrecking things if you try.
You won't have any music instruments either, and since they're generated during world gen there's no reasonable way to add them afterwards. The old (unusable) instruments will probably still the there, but still be unusable. Poetry and dance forms are generated during world gen, but since they can also be generated during play there is some chance it might be possible for your dorfs to be the first ones to invent any of those.

That's what I was afraid of. My fort has the ability to designate taverns,temples, and libraries. So far, I think they've been telling stories continually, but I haven't noticed any poetry or dance. Curiously, they have been using the taverns and temples with enthusiasm per version 42, even though I had to switch versions to establish the tavern appropriately. I was hoping that bookcases would likewise cross over since they also aren't unique artifacts made at worldgen.

I really like this fort, and I *did* put some considerable effort into that library space, so it's really tempting to try to edit them in (library things in particular.) Where would I start looking if I wanted to try?

Quote from: SyrusLD on December 30, 2015, 10:07:16 pm

Maybe if the miner had no way to climb out he'd stay in the hole and finish the job?

Nope. The problem isn't that the miner is *choosing* to climb out of the hole (they climb out as freely as they climb back in, that is, never), it's that channeling under himself causes the miner to fall, a falling dwarf will attempt a wall-grab, a successful wall-grab results in a climbing dwarf, and a climbing dwarf will not path to jobs (they seem to path to a "safe" location, possibly a meeting area or their previous-idle location).

You can work around this issue by using up/down staircases instead of vertical shafts in most cases. Water will flow freely down a staircase, and refuse, minecarts, and even prisoners will fall down as well (prisoners have a fair chance of grabbing the walls, which is true in the case of a single-tile shaft too). You do need one tile of "free fall", so channel out the top of the stairway after it has been dug.

If you absolutely want a vertical shaft, you can dig channels in a 2x1 pattern, alternating which tile on each level. This will prevent the miner from falling, thus forcing him to complete the job just like in the old days. Then a simple cave-in to remove the ramps left will create a 2x1 vertical shaft straight down.

In this instance, it was a garbage chute, so stairs aren't an option.

Looking again, I think what may have made the difference later was that I had to build a wall around it in cavern 1. Once I was past that, the dorfs didn't (couldn't?) climb out anymore.

The incinerator is now operational.

Thanks for the analysis of what goes on, that makes perfect sense.

I put up with a vampire mayor for years, because I didn't want, as player, to "take justice into my own hands."

His killing spree, assisted by a forgotten beast, set off a tantrum spiral that left two adults living, one of them the vampire.

Somewhere, after the dust had settled and they were starting to rebuild, a dwarven child, unarmed and unaided, threw a tantrum and beat the incarcerated monster to death with her fists.

That was one of the most glorious moments I've ever had happen in one of my forts.

So you could always hope that something like this happens... 

Cliffs aren't that dangerous in DF, and can actually make an embark safer because they provide natural walls.

It's a fairly common embark type, especially if you look for it. I rather like them also.

I have one burrow for emergencies, and it's not active on at the moment.

Me too, but I thought this idea was interesting anyway.

At the same time, as the hole gets deeper (past the first cavern or so) the miner goes back to the old "dig til you drop" approach, and to their credit, they made the remainder of the dig without getting hungry or thirsty.

Curious...