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[BirdBrainf4]

Okay, finally getting back into learning this game (and I just bought the book on Dwarf Fortress, should be in in a few days) - dealing with containers.  A couple of quick questions:

#1 - Is there a quick way to remember which container is for what?  I have a fort started and was cutting gems, but I couldn't remember which container to make for gems (just found out this morning via Wiki that it is bins).  Is that the only one for gems (side question)?  Also, stuff like charcoal - going to try to figure out what those store in.

#2 - So I make stockpiles (and I will edit this if I find the info in the meantime) and it says that Bins and Barrels are preset to 0 per stockpile.  Is "0" a designation for no definite #, and it will fill as needed?

I am guessing that if I want to be serious about hauling, it would be good to add up to 3 wheelbarrows to rooms? 

[Oblique]

In no order what so ever:

Bins / barrels set to 0 means they are not allowed in the stockpile. When they are allowed, the dwarves will try to keep the number currently needed to store all relevant items + 1 empty one for a rainy day.
Charcoal and coke are bars, and as such go into bins in a bar/block pile (although you might want to skip the bins if you value your sanity, or using a satellite stockpile for feeding shops).
Wheelbarrows are awesome for moving heavy things such as stone.

The quick way of remembering what to store in what is to simply look at the stockpile. By default it'll allow the maximum number of relevant bins/barrels (ie. a stone stockpile won't allow either while a gem stockpile will allow as many bins as it has squares). Bins are used for a wide variety of stuff, barrels and pots are for foods and liquids.

Stockpile / workshop management is something you want to know about, and something a lot can be said about. However, since you've already paid someone to tell you how that works by buying a book, I'm not going to bother  trying to explain. Just study those chapters very well once your book arrives

[StagnantSoul]

Never use bins.

[Tacomagic]

Never use bins.

To expand this to something tangible:

Bins currently have a number of associated bugs with them that make their use for some/most things probelmatic.  With a little extra work per stockpile, you can create a quantum-minecart piles that does essentially the same job as as bin, but way better and without the associated bugs.

Quantum stockpiling is technically an exploit, but until bins are fully fuctional, QSs provide a much more workable solution.

A quick and simple rundown on how minecart quantum stockpiling works can be found: HERE.

[khearn]

Regarding wheelbarrows: they can be good and/or bad, depending on the circumstances.

If you don't assign any wheelbarrows, then lots of dwarves can haul stuff to that stockpile at the same time. If you assign any wheelbarrows, only as many dwarves will haul to that stockpile at one time as you have wheelbarrows for that stockpile. So if you have one wheelbarrow, only one dwarf will haul to that stockpile at a time.

Plus, any haulers have to come to the stockpile and pick up a wheelbarrow before heading out to pick up the item to be hauled. That can add a lot of extra travel, depending on where the dwarf starts out and where the item to be hauled is.

But for heavy items like stone, hauling without a wheelbarrow is really slow. One dwarf with a wheelbarrow can often outhaul several dwarves without when hauling stone. So I tend to put one or two wheelbarrows for stone stockpiles, and none for other stockpiles. You may also find that some stockpiles with bins end up with really heavy bins (like armor) so wheelbarrows may help for those. Or just turn off bins and make bigger stockpiles (or use quantum dumping exploits).

   Keith

[elpreda]

I for one find bins to be most useful. What you call bugs I call acceptable drawbacks that can be worked around (feeder stockpiles). Quantum stockpiles are not only a cheat, but harder to set up than properly working bin stockpiles.

[BirdBrainf4]

Okay, I do think it is important for me to learn how to do quantum stockpiles, EVEN if it is a cheat, so I can learn some of the ins and outs of that approach.  It might be a "cheat", but it is also an alternate way to play the game, and I think it is therefore important to at least learn how to do it.

As far as stone, I have for now created one garbage pile and D-B-D all the stone, and since I have about 50 dwarves, this gets done very fast.  I can then D-B-C and stone is reclaimed.  I could potentially design a stone stockpile in the vicinity of the shops that use lots of stone, but I simply use that garbage pile for the moment.  Always open to suggestions, of course.

The wheelbarrow points are interesting.  I guess I need to see the idea of hauling items individually, versus in a container, versus in a wheelbarrow (unless you can haul multiple items/containers in one wheelbarrow).  Then I can easily see what may be the best approach for each stockpile).

Do we have a link for feeder stockpiles?

[Tacomagic]

I for one find bins to be most useful. What you call bugs I call acceptable drawbacks that can be worked around (feeder stockpiles). Quantum stockpiles are not only a cheat, but harder to set up than properly working bin stockpiles.

Feeder stockpiles don't protect you from all the bin-related bugs.  You'll also want to turn off bins in any stockpile that might have a bucket or military equipment and ammunition in them.  That pretty much covers most of the current bugs.

[indyofcomo]

If you don't assign any wheelbarrows, then lots of dwarves can haul stuff to that stockpile at the same time. If you assign any wheelbarrows, only as many dwarves will haul to that stockpile at one time as you have wheelbarrows for that stockpile. So if you have one wheelbarrow, only one dwarf will haul to that stockpile at a time.

You know, it's too bad it's one of the other. I could see some of the dwarfs developing grudges over wheelbarrow usage/abuse. Or the lazy dwarf who won't actually move rocks until he gets the wheelbarrow. Or fist fights over the wb. 

[Thisfox]

How odd, I don't have a problem with bins. They work really well, and they're especially great for getting stuff to the trade depot before the traders get bored and leave.

Food barrels when the dorfs want to go collect plants on the other hand.... <shudder>

[milo christiansen]

I used to dump all my stone, but later I started to use dump for other things, like moving a specific item to a specific tile, or cleaning up stuff I didn't want anymore. Quantum stone stockpiles take more work to setup, but they leave dump open to use for other things. (yes I know you can disable a specific dump zone, but what if you want to do multiple things at once?)

Bins AND barrels are both a PITA, I only use barrels for alcohol, food just gets dumped on the floor (with specifically assigned cats to keep the vermin away), yes this causes flies, but that is a small price to pay for not needing to worry about barrels for the first few years.

[elpreda]

Military equipment in bins is still a problem, but you can work around this by using a non bin stockpile for masterwork equipment and one with bins for melt garbage. If you're gonna slack on melt designations you can just have one big stockpile, it's not like you won't have the space for it by the time you have enough armor and weapons.

Ammunition in bins has been fixed thankfully, archers now pick it up normally.

[slothen]

Okay, I do think it is important for me to learn how to do quantum stockpiles, EVEN if it is a cheat, so I can learn some of the ins and outs of that approach.  It might be a "cheat", but it is also an alternate way to play the game, and I think it is therefore important to at least learn how to do it.

You really don't need to justify it to anyone.  That said, I do find quantum stockpiles are indeed unnecessary in DF2012 and DF2014.

As far as stone, I have for now created one garbage pile and D-B-D all the stone, and since I have about 50 dwarves, this gets done very fast.  I can then D-B-C and stone is reclaimed.  I could potentially design a stone stockpile in the vicinity of the shops that use lots of stone, but I simply use that garbage pile for the moment.  Always open to suggestions, of course.

This is how I used to use quantum stockpiles, for stone like this.  Since DF2012 changed how stone work, I consider this method to be obsolete.

The wheelbarrow points are interesting.

Do we have a link for feeder stockpiles?

The best use-case for feeder stockpiles is seeds.  One stockpile collects seeds with no barrels allowed.  It feeds a second stockpile that allows barrels but only accepts seeds from the first stockpile.  If a dwarf goes to collect seeds, he'll grab a new seed bag if there isn't one in the first stockpile, but he will NEVER take the entire seed bag from the second one to collect seeds.  meaning the second seed bag is always available for planters.

Wheelbarrows work best with several more specific stone/ore stockpiles than they do with one big one.  I also use wheelbarrows for armor/weapon stockpiles because the bins get heavy.

[Koremu]

I just forbid barrels in my seed stockpile, so it just uses bags.

[Tacomagic]

Ammunition in bins has been fixed thankfully, archers now pick it up normally.

Seriously!?  When did that happen, and how did I miss it!?

*Goes back to read all the patch notes*