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Should we mod in Platinum blunt weapons and armour?

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Voting closed: May 25, 2020, 03:39:38 am


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Author Topic: Smithsoldier, Year 12: Clothes, Madness, and Beasts (And Candy) [47.04]  (Read 58282 times)

StrikaAmaru

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 6 [47.04]
« Reply #165 on: May 04, 2020, 03:25:45 am »

> Though where is the lever to open the gate [to the trade depot]?

Technically, there isn't. The corridor was left permanently open to the map edge, and was isolated by bridge from the rest of the surface. This really comes in handy for traders to come and leave, and for visitors & diplomats to exit the fort whenever they feel like it. It does carry a small risk, that some phenomenally lucky invaders will spawn in the 7-8 tiles that are 'inside'. This happened to me only once, and on a very small embark. It's a fairly small risk, and can be countered by locking the trade depot from the fort as well.

The lever which controls the above-ground bridge was built in the mined-out vein south of the Depot. That lever is the one which I initially built in the tiny room above the stone-crafting area, but then I changed my mind, turned that room into a manager office, and moved the lever in the vein. There aren't a lot of reasons to ever pull it.

EDIT #1 - happiness is very well influenced by creating masterworks. Each created masterwork causes a happy thought, and those stack!* There's a very unhappy doctor, who got left to make bone & shell crafts (also bone bolts) for a long ass time, and now he's a legendary bonecarver; he dropped to unhappy, and his stress decreased from 50k+ to around 17k. That took place across 1.5 in-game years, where he definitely didn't work non-stop.

* In retrospect, I guess that's also why your avatar is ecstatic. All that masterwork armor he's been bashing out...

EDIT #2 - completely rewrote the section about trade depot lever, because the first version was a jumbled mess that made little to no sense.
« Last Edit: May 05, 2020, 03:07:17 am by StrikaAmaru »
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Salmeuk

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 6 [47.04]
« Reply #166 on: May 05, 2020, 04:46:07 am »

I have investigated the mental health of our dwarves, and determined a few are lost causes. They were shipped back to the Mountainhome, hopefully to get some R & R and a fresh perspective, one that isn't so full of rotting corpses.

Ingish has kept her bitter sarcasm throughout all of it.



Our stock of iron and gold bars is nothing to scoff at, but I think we need more smiths and smelters yet. Luckily there is plenty of workshop space to accommodate them.



While reviewing the fortress blueprints, I discovered an untouched chunk of rock perfect for some spacious bedrooms. A 6-story tall section of phyllite and granite, it was located in between the forges and the farms, so in just the right place to be accessed by any dwarf. I was greatly inspired by this blank slate, if you will, and drew up some preliminary designs for a new general quarters.



Since we had such a tall space to work with, each level would only have to fit 20 or so dwarves to fit the whole fortress, accounting of course for nobility and military, as well as married couples. I settled on an 18-room per floor layout, and if need be we can make adjustments later.
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Radipon

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 6 [47.04]
« Reply #167 on: May 06, 2020, 10:26:52 am »

That tileset intrigues me.
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ProjectXMark1

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 6 [47.04]
« Reply #168 on: May 06, 2020, 07:05:05 pm »

Sign me up for a turn! I'd like to be dwarfed as Rīsen Mozibdodók, the "lunatic" mechanic who came up with the atom smasher.

Is there a consensus on quantum stockpiling? I haven't noticed any in the fort, and it strikes me as exactly the sort of mechanoccult device that would crawl from Rīsen's dreams. Also, Phoebus didn't seem to install properly when I updated the latest the save to use it. Is there something I need to tweak?
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Salmeuk

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 6 [47.04]
« Reply #169 on: May 06, 2020, 11:22:29 pm »

The Diary of Salmeuk, Spring of Year 181

The Battle with the Roc

A bloody springtime, indeed!

Work commenced on the new bedroom complexes. A last-minute redesign includes an entrance chamber with dual waterfalls providing a refreshing mist to all who pass. The waterfalls would run off a self-contained reservoir, pumped from the cavern lakes.

However, the pumps would need power, and there was no stream to turn a waterwheel.



Windmills would work fine, as we had tested earlier, but there was the issue of the Roc.

---

"The Roc has landed! It's killed a traveler and is feasting on the corpse!" shouted our sentry, rushing from above to alert the guard.

Indeed, now was the time to strike. The gates dropped and all soliders were ordered to ascend to the surface, and catch the oversized eagle at it's moment of greatest weakness.

However, we did not account for the speed of the goblin recruits, who sprinted far ahead of the rest of our troops. Too far ahead. Utes Shockedscorpion was the first to arrive. Utes, who up until recently had been enjoying the Dionysian life of a traveling poet, was perhaps the least qualified individual in the entire fortress to engage the bloodlusted Roc.



The Roc was out for blood, of any kind, and as the tiny Utes approached with his drawn sword, quaking in fear, the bird caw cawed in the most horrifying way and struck Utes dead in a swift strike of the talons. The next two recruits were killed similarly, and the bird took the skies.

---

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Zon, our commander, heard the screams first and sprinted into the trees. The Roc had descended onto one of our woodcutters (our only woodcutter actually!) and, with great cruelty, severed his foot from his leg. Zon vaulted from a nearby tree limb onto the monster, and began delivering a series of seep stabs to the awful creature. Zon was far more agile than the massive bird, and soon the Roc shuddered and collapsed to the forest floor. Zon's final blow was merciless.

Our woodcutter survived, though he is severely maimed and will never walk the same way again. Three recruits died.

Zon felt that the battle was great, and coined his iron spear with a title.





Zegilral was a legendary weapon indeed, having killed both a Minotaur and a Roc.

---

The Disaster in the Caverns

Our previous overseer greatly assisted us in preparing for the great harvest. What would we be harvesting, you ask? A harvest of silk!

The door was unlocked and a great many dwarves rushed into the damp darkness, searching for undisturbed silk. It took a careful eye to spot the fine strands, and our dwarves went about the passageways unassumingly. They did their best to ignore the egregious bloodstains.

A troll was spotted, to the south, and two squads were dispatched. However, they arrived piecemeal from above, and while the troll was quickly dispatched the squad was spread out and isolated. That was when we saw the legs.

Two giant cave spiders, either sneaking around or having simply migrated unexpectedly, engaged our soldiers. Webs exploded from the darkness and everyone was stuck to the floors, the walls, each other. Like guerilla fighters the spiders fought with only one or two at a time, and if their jaws did not crush a dwarfs skull, their venom suffocated the rest.

No dwarf who engaged a spider survived, but their screams told us everything we needed to know. The military order was called off and the web-gatherers were shut inside the door. Spiders can't open doors, right?

Four more dwarves died to the spider ambush, bringing our total dead to 7. In the first 21 days. I cannot say what the future holds for the rest of us.
---

OOC:

Slow going for now. I believe I can finish my turn by mid-weekend, but these large forts are slow going!

This is a DF-hack list of happiness values, sorted of course. It shows that things could get very bad very quickly, but luckily most of our named dwarves are staying fairly content.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Also, please enjoy this .gif of the macro-designation of the new rooms.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: May 06, 2020, 11:24:19 pm by Salmeuk »
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Quantum Drop

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 6 [47.04]
« Reply #170 on: May 07, 2020, 02:51:56 am »

Were the dwarves the spiders got recruits, or were they actually important?

Sign me up for a turn! I'd like to be dwarfed as Rīsen Mozibdodók, the "lunatic" mechanic who came up with the atom smasher.

Is there a consensus on quantum stockpiling? I haven't noticed any in the fort, and it strikes me as exactly the sort of mechanoccult device that would crawl from Rīsen's dreams. Also, Phoebus didn't seem to install properly when I updated the latest the save to use it. Is there something I need to tweak?

You've been added. Welcome to the thread!

As for quantum stockpiling, I don't think there's a consensus on it. Anyone have any objections to it being used?
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I am ambushed by humans, and for a change, they do not drop dead immediately. I bash the master with my ladle, and he is propelled away. While in mid-air, he dies of old age.

StrikaAmaru

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 6 [47.04]
« Reply #171 on: May 07, 2020, 11:56:32 am »

Holy mackerel, 2 GCS in the cavern? At the same time?!?

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the wind mill; the mechanical aspects of DF are something I never really got into. And the new rooms look lovely, can't wait to see them all nice and dug out.

I remembered about the lever you mentioned at the bottom of last page; my educated guess is that was connected to a ton of cages during DwarvenLord's turn - that was the origin of the loose goblins and beak dogs int he cavern, and once the basement will be drained, there are a lot of built cages, and some mechanisms spread around.

Someone mentioned quantum stockpiles; if there was a taboo on them, I broke it already - made two dumping zones, one in the crafting level to gather loose stones, and one next to the Temple of Armok for disarming all the prisoners. Not counting the two dump zones on top of atom smashers - those have a very final purpose, and shouldn't be counted, imo.

(I tried, repeatedly, playing a fort without using dump zones; those kind of resolutions don't last very long, because they're just too useful :| )

Quantum Drop, I'm thinking of signing up for another turn; the possible complication is that it's shaping up to conflict with SmallHands; both have 3 overseers signed up already.

.. Fark it, nothing is set in stone. I'm signing up for a new turn.
« Last Edit: May 07, 2020, 12:00:59 pm by StrikaAmaru »
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Quantum Drop

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 6 [47.04]
« Reply #172 on: May 07, 2020, 01:27:35 pm »

Holy mackerel, 2 GCS in the cavern? At the same time?!?

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the wind mill; the mechanical aspects of DF are something I never really got into. And the new rooms look lovely, can't wait to see them all nice and dug out.

I remembered about the lever you mentioned at the bottom of last page; my educated guess is that was connected to a ton of cages during DwarvenLord's turn - that was the origin of the loose goblins and beak dogs int he cavern, and once the basement will be drained, there are a lot of built cages, and some mechanisms spread around.

Someone mentioned quantum stockpiles; if there was a taboo on them, I broke it already - made two dumping zones, one in the crafting level to gather loose stones, and one next to the Temple of Armok for disarming all the prisoners. Not counting the two dump zones on top of atom smashers - those have a very final purpose, and shouldn't be counted, imo.

(I tried, repeatedly, playing a fort without using dump zones; those kind of resolutions don't last very long, because they're just too useful :| )

Quantum Drop, I'm thinking of signing up for another turn; the possible complication is that it's shaping up to conflict with SmallHands; both have 3 overseers signed up already.

.. Fark it, nothing is set in stone. I'm signing up for a new turn.
Eh, in that case, I'd say there's no rule against quantum stockpiling - guess I should make note of that in the rules. You've been added to the list again; if there's any problems you run into with doing both at the same time, let the thread know and we'll try and sort something out.
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I am ambushed by humans, and for a change, they do not drop dead immediately. I bash the master with my ladle, and he is propelled away. While in mid-air, he dies of old age.

DwarvenLord

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 7 [47.04]
« Reply #173 on: May 07, 2020, 03:20:56 pm »

Alright, so I don't fall to far behind put be on the turnlist please.
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the child should serve well in the infantry (that is a horrible pun, and I already regret saying it).

Salmeuk

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 7 [47.04]
« Reply #174 on: May 07, 2020, 09:46:13 pm »

Diary of Salmeuk, Late Spring of Year 181


The Work Continues




While everyone else was busy hauling, mining, engraving, smelting, carving, brewing, etc., Kogsak got up to something interesting. He had found a gigantic Red Spinel gemstone, as large as a dwarf! After hauling it to the gem rooms, he got to work. A week later, this appeared:



A grand artifact! We'll have to build a throne room.

Work continues on the windmills. We're building a short tower to keep them above whatever invaders decide to attack us.



As you can see, the dwarves are taking their sweet time. The drunkards.

After a month or so, the caverns looked clear of spiders, so we finally got to sending all these recruited weavers out to collect the silk.





In about two weeks we had collected over 400 bundles of silk thread. Our bookkeeper estimates the caverns contain many thousands more webs to harvest. I decide to pause the collection for now, and get to making clothing, which our dwarves need immediately.

=====

The Frost Giant



We were afraid at first, and locked the gates. A new human recruit was caught outside, as seems to always happen when big scary things attack.



After his death, the rest of the human recruits wanted revenge. They begged us to open the bridge, so they could fight the towering figure. I said OK.



Brilliant victory! And that deadly spittle failed to hit any dwarf, though one shudders at the thought of what may have occurred.

=============

The hospital was redone slightly, and might be expanded later.



Lastly, our miners cut into gold veins while digging the new rooms! To live amidst the shining ore should make any dwarf ecstatic.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)


===

OOC (not that I was really in much of a character this time, but . . ):

Quantum stockpiles are fine, but you might need to rearrange things to make them worthwhile. I usually avoid them except when absolutely necessary.

Also, no named dwarf has died, only basic recruits. Right now I have 'Zon' leading the veteran squad and 'QD' leading the squad of human recruits, and truthfully they are experienced enough I'm not very worried. However, they never lead the fight against unknown foes, just in case I misjudge the results. 

Our forges are constantly running, though were struggling to move the wood in an efficient matter. This could stall production later on.

I have a huge number of dwarves dedicated to smoothing stone, so hopefully I will actually finish these bedrooms, furniture and smoothed walls and doors and waterfalls and everything, by the end of this year. I might even get to a pet project of mine! But for now, rooms and clothing and steel are priorities.

Oh, and I expelled many of the poets, pretty much anyone who wasn't willing to fight was told to leave. Oddly enough, if the person you wish to expel has missing children they cannot leave the map.



The few goblins and humans for which this was true were allowed to stay and do whatever it is they feel like doing. So, nothing.

« Last Edit: May 07, 2020, 09:48:41 pm by Salmeuk »
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StrikaAmaru

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 7 [47.04]
« Reply #175 on: May 08, 2020, 08:10:31 am »

A glacier titan? What are you even doing here, the nearest glacier is like a quarter of a world away...

Well no, actually it's practically right next door; directly south, over the goblin lands:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

That's way closer than expected, considering how little the map freezes in winter; you'd think we're further away from the pole.

The blighter is made of crystal glass, too. I understand you managed to kill it, or is it just trapped in the pit? Because FBs made from minerals have a reputation... and because the pit is separated from the rest of the fort by a single door, after my attempts at catching the roc.

I see the hospital has lost some pods, in favor of an open space. I, uh, don't recognize everything in the picture. Eh, nevermind. I'll figure it out later.
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Quantum Drop

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 7 [47.04]
« Reply #176 on: May 08, 2020, 04:12:43 pm »

Well, we do have a lot of corpses, don't we? Maybe it likes 'em a bit colder than usual?  :P

More seriously, I think it's dead - the H in the gif looks like it's on a red tile, which usually means it's dead. Crystal glass from its body may come in handy, if we can get it extracted somehow. Is the issue with the wood movement coming from a lack of haulers, or a lack of bins, wheelbarrows, etc.?

Good to hear you cleaned out the poets.
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I am ambushed by humans, and for a change, they do not drop dead immediately. I bash the master with my ladle, and he is propelled away. While in mid-air, he dies of old age.

Salmeuk

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 7: Bedrooms and Beasts [47.04]
« Reply #177 on: May 10, 2020, 03:54:24 am »

I played about 7 hours today, and I was halfway through winter and thought I had managed to sneak away with a fairly quiet turn (minus the megabeasts), when this massive siege hit.

I'll have the full write up tomorrow!

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Quantum Drop

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 7: Bedrooms and Beasts [47.04]
« Reply #178 on: May 10, 2020, 04:08:07 am »

I played about 7 hours today, and I was halfway through winter and thought I had managed to sneak away with a fairly quiet turn (minus the megabeasts), when this massive siege hit.

I'll have the full write up tomorrow!

Ooooh boy. Hope the cage traps were rearmed.

Alright, so I don't fall to far behind put be on the turnlist please.
You should be on there.
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I am ambushed by humans, and for a change, they do not drop dead immediately. I bash the master with my ladle, and he is propelled away. While in mid-air, he dies of old age.

Salmeuk

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Re: Smithsoldier: Year 7: Bedrooms and Beasts [47.04]
« Reply #179 on: May 11, 2020, 05:39:53 am »

The Diary of Salmeuk: Summer of Year 181

Quite a Quiet Summer


The bedrooms have been all but dug:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

At some point, we filled up the gem vault.



I designated it as a temple to resident jewel-sphere God. With all the gold in the walls, the temple is worth quite a bit!

Unexpectedly, our entire flock of peafowl were incubating a number of eggs. They all hatched at once, and the FPS all but disappeared.



I hired a new butcher just for this event!

Finally, preliminary work on the water pump stack begun. We designed a surface tower to hold the windmills, and the power was routed directly through a complicated column of axles and gears. I can't for the life of me understand why I build the pumps in pairs of two instead of the usual alternating style, and that decision alone cause me waaay too much trouble when designing the power. And then, we ran out of power and needed more windmills.



That was summer. Very quiet overall, but the season involved many hours of designating and organizing on my part.

The Diary of Salmeuk: Autumn of Year 181

The Caravan Arrives

Well, I should say, the Dwarven caravan arrives. The humans came in the summertime and we traded a little (the .gif below is the summer caravan)



To the Dwarves, we traded a large amount of old clothing and junk trinkets, for steel weapons and ores and gems (because why not??).

Work continued on the waterfall. Here is the reservoir filling by hand-turned screwpump:



During this period I also doubled-down on our armaments. I ordered large numbers of weapons and armors smithed, just in case. Also many bolts were made, all of the finest craftdwarfship!



Our squads were reformulated, and our recruits were given designations appropriate to their positions (custom labor titles in the unit screen let you know who is military, and what race they are, with <G> for goblin and <H> for hooman). There are now four squads, one of crossdwarfs, one of melee dwarfs, one of melee goblins, and one of melee humans, this last one being led by QD. Here is that squad training in the barracks.



This kind of integration is perfect for our tactics. Goblins lead the charge, being so fast, and spread the enemy out during that initial combat. Humans and Dwarves follow up from the rear, with Humans large size and reach pairing well with the Dwarven tendency to enter martial trances.

That's the idea, anyways.

At some point we get a new visitor in the caverns.



Esru here is not to be f*cked with, as it easily tore apart every living thing in the cavern without a scratch. I don't know what that gas does but it sure wins fights.

The season ended with most of the bedrooms furnished and smoothed. Now, for the finishing touches!
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