Dwarf fortress

[ObadiahtheSlim]

It's pretty trivial to set up an above ground farm. Walling it off is easy and will keep your farmers safe from ambush and siege. The only really downfall of above ground farming is that when you order civilians underground, those plots will be unavailable. Also you can't embark with the seeds, but they are easy to come by through gather plants or trade. IIRC you can order just about all of the seeds from humans. Sunberries are probably the only hard seed to come by.

[Breltar]

I always clear the same areas of plants that I do wood, if for no other reason to have more things to brew into alcohol. The above ground farming especially helps during sieges when your hunters aren't able to go out (or worse get stuck out there and killed). It also gives your weavers more variety in plant threads.

I'm one that normally makes a castle style keep above ground with an 'airlock' drawbridge system for the trade depot and plenty of fortifications on towers and walls for crossbowmen to kill whatever happens to be mad at me.

My current fortress is like this and I am hollowing out the nearby mountain from underneath since it is rich in magnetite and native platinum.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

Well I decided to restart again. No flux was really kinda annoying. So I decided to embark in a rocky wasteland as a little challange. I got a brook, magma pool, and limestone. Also part of my embark is a grassland, but that really doesn't mean anything different. Just a few more shrubs that I don't really use. Only one minor problem, no coal. Oh well. I can request it for my steel production and I can burn logs for charcoal to supplement any trade shortfall. The elves were nice and brought a Giant Eagle. ^_^ Now lets see if they bring a male so I'll have a breeding pair.

Now I noticed something really really odd. When my dwarven caravan arrived, they never got to the trade depot. I was rather purplexed since the liason made it fine. When I got my first strange mood I went in to forbid all my cheap gems and noticed a diamond that mind was set to forbidden. Low and behold, I find a dead camel and a few trade supplies at the very edge of my map. I guess when it arrived it died. However I dont know what killed it. I haven't had any ambushes yet. Only a couple kobold thieves and a baby snatcher. Can anyone shed some light on this?

[The_JJ]

Hmm... farming question. My farmers have stopped planting and the Plump Helmets option has been highlighted red. Halp?

[ObadiahtheSlim]

There isn't enough time left in the season. They'll grow it next season.

[The_JJ]

Ah I see.

I must now go punish my lazy farmer, who spent most of the early season sleeping and drinking.

[Greep]

Well I decided to restart again. No flux was really kinda annoying. So I decided to embark in a rocky wasteland as a little challange. I got a brook, magma pool, and limestone. Also part of my embark is a grassland, but that really doesn't mean anything different. Just a few more shrubs that I don't really use. Only one minor problem, no coal. Oh well. I can request it for my steel production and I can burn logs for charcoal to supplement any trade shortfall. The elves were nice and brought a Giant Eagle. ^_^ Now lets see if they bring a male so I'll have a breeding pair.

Now I noticed something really really odd. When my dwarven caravan arrived, they never got to the trade depot. I was rather purplexed since the liason made it fine. When I got my first strange mood I went in to forbid all my cheap gems and noticed a diamond that mind was set to forbidden. Low and behold, I find a dead camel and a few trade supplies at the very edge of my map. I guess when it arrived it died. However I dont know what killed it. I haven't had any ambushes yet. Only a couple kobold thieves and a baby snatcher. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Beware the elephants! But seriously animals could've attacked 'em. But if you're playing a remotely new version it shouldn't have been "only a few trade supplies" but rather a few hundred. A bit odd :/

[Breltar]

Ah I see.

I must now go punish my lazy farmer, who spent most of the early season sleeping and drinking.

I set my farmers to only do tasks related to farming and not hauling wood or stone or any of that other stuff the peasants do.

Currently I am building a fortress into the side of a volcano on an island. There are some trees thankfully and I lucked upon an underground freshwater pool right under my build site.

The only bad thing is I have only found malachite (for copper) and native aluminum. I guess I am going to have to buy some bauxite and start a magma forge eventually too.

My new fortress is my first attempt at a retracting bridge 'airlock'. Between the fortress and the cavern with my trade depot is a pit I dug with a retracting bridge between, then between the trade depot 'island' and the front entrance is another retracting bridge. This way I can retract the one between my fortress and the depot for security, but leave the outside to depot one in place. Once the caravan is all in I retract the outer bridge and extend the inner one to have safe access to the depot. I did this with an above ground fortress I made with classic drawbridges as well.

[The_JJ]

All you need for a magma forge is an anvil and stone. Bauxite is only really needed for mechanics and such. (Burn gobbos, burn!)

[ObadiahtheSlim]

Beware the elephants! But seriously animals could've attacked 'em. But if you're playing a remotely new version it shouldn't have been "only a few trade supplies" but rather a few hundred. A bit odd :/

I doubt it. I'm in a calm biome. I've seen zero aggressive animals. Only groundhogs, horses, muskox, and camels.

[Breltar]

All you need for a magma forge is an anvil and stone. Bauxite is only really needed for mechanics and such. (Burn gobbos, burn!)

I use the Bauxite to both pump and grate off my channel to my magma forge. Using a grate means those nasty fire imps and fire guys don't try to pop up and say high in my fortress.

I've debated on making magma siege doors out of floodgates and be able to pump magma over the top of the entrance to me volcano fortress. Close the doors and start pumping...

[ObadiahtheSlim]

I tend to bring a few nickle bars and then then make Vertical Bars out of them to keep the nasties out.

[The_JJ]

Wee! I just accidentally flooded by biggest fortress. This is really my first
'fun' time.

[Jibar]

Wee! I just accidentally flooded by biggest fortress. This is really my first
'fun' time.

Considering I'm working on a channel network and haven't experienced flooding yet, how did it happen to you?

[The_JJ]

Got careless. I was putting down a moat around my fortified entrance when one of the channels intersected the living space below. Ironically the farmplots I had spent some much time very carefully irrigating.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

I flooded my fort once filling a well from a brook. Took my eyes off it for a minute and the lever I foolishly left right next to the well so it was perma 7/7.If the lever was reachable, the water woulda eventually made it into my mines and evaporate.

[Breltar]

I flooded my fort once filling a well from a brook. Took my eyes off it for a minute and the lever I foolishly left right next to the well so it was perma 7/7.If the lever was reachable, the water woulda eventually made it into my mines and evaporate.

I had something similar almost happen to me which is why I now put all my levers in one room and place that room close to my meeting hall 'areas'. It allows any idlers to hit levers quickly when I need them.

I also never put my fortress below the level of the river if I can help it, but I like my Dwarves in mountains where they belong, they aren't elves after all...

[Arachu]

I raise my hand, index finger extended. I make a resolution...

PEOPLE OF amedica THE PLAYGROUND;

I shall henceforth be a modder.

... I just have to download a second copy so I don't mess anything up...

...

Suspenseful, isn't it?

[Arachu]

Okay, 3 A.M., and I have completed my first project: Dark Elves (don't look at me like that, they are allowed to kill each other sometimes...).

Also, I saw some disturbing (who am I kidding; it's entertaining) information in the Elves' file. Let's review a couple...


They ignore neutral parties during sieges, yet killing Neutrals is Acceptable.
Torture of most kinds is Unthinkable; it's Acceptable to torture as an example, and considered Misguided to torture for information. Also, torturing animals is Unthinkable (leading me to ask the inevitable "so how did 'this' happen???").


... Also, they consider killing plants to be Unthinkable, and they threaten you for cutting down too many trees. But they use Wood as a common material. In fact, that's the only one they use, aside from plant fiber.

So, I'm guessing this conveys the sheer scale of their narcissism; they dislike it when others use wood because they do not believe them worthy of it.

Makes it a lot easier to use that "plant watering" flooding trick

you know, the one where you drown a whole Elven retreat?

P.S. Hey, my mod worked

EDIT: Err, scratch that, I forgot to give them body parts
*To self* Looks like you need some magic practice, sparky...

[Artanis]

Don't forget this part:

[ETHIC:EAT_SAPIENT_KILL:ACCEPTABLE]

That's right, they don't just get mad when you cut down trees, they get mad, they attack you, and then THEY EAT YOU

[Breltar]

If you offer the elves wood enough times when their caravans come by they will eventually get pissed enough to attack. Mass deforestation of a broadleaf forest area will seem to do it as well.

[Arachu]

Don't forget this part:


That's right, they don't just get mad when you cut down trees, they get mad, they attack you, and then THEY EAT YOU

Oh, yeah, I forgot that while I was writing... I knew I left something out...

... Also, my dark elves have full bodies, but they don't "exist" in their status menu. Also, they immediately choke due to the lack of lungs...

And they won't start with inventories, nor is it possible to increase their skills in Adventurer.

Also, they use axes despite me not programming them to, but this is benign (they don't make axes, but they can be... Axemen... Okay, I should edit that, nevermind)

EDIT:...Help?

[Arachu]

I couldn't resist saying this... Here's three professions from the RAW that caught my attention. Child, Baby, Prisoner, and Drunk.

Yep, being a Drunk is a profession...

EDIT: My Dark Elves were broken because I spelled their body type as "Humanoid" rather than "HUMANOID"... So they work now!

[Breltar]

I hope that sometime they introduce religion into dwarf fortress so that my dwarves can make statues and worship me.

That and another noble to keep happy (priest).

[Arachu]

I think I made my Dark Elves into a theocracy, actually... (site leaders should be priests)

Along the line of statues, though... I think it'd go well if you could name them or change the name or description to be "a statue of -thing-".

That way, not only could there be statues of you, but there could be statues of specific people. Or pets. Or tentacle demons next to terrified dwarves... Or Fire Men, raising their burning fists to the sky, bellowing out their victory over that statue of a dead guy...

Wait, what were we talking about, again?

[Arachu]

One last question (it'll be over soon, I promise); I gave my Dark Elves a symbol (dark grey 'E'), and you have the typical @ symbol in Adventurer, but for some reason I can't place my finger on, Dark Elves with professions don't have icons.

Does anyone know which file controls that?

(Wow, I'm talkative today )

[Mael]

Coincidentally I was just looking through modding on the DF wiki (mostly because in my new fortress I captured a Cave Crocodile and thought breeding some, then stationing them at my entrance would be a good way of detering thieves)

Trouble is, I can't find how to go about making it importable (other than setting it as a possible pet and hoping an immigrant would bring one).
Also, trying to find out if I'd have to create a new world or not.


Although, creating a new world with extra civ's might mean more frequent sieges, tempting.

[Artanis]

If you capture and tame a female with a male somewhere on the map, I think they'll breed (even if the male isn't tamed) and give you tame(-ish) young. I know for a fact that they will if you capture either a pregnant female or a breeding pair. So no need for modding.

[Copper8642]

I tried to get into Dwarf Fortress awhile ago, and just... couldn't get the hang of it. However, sometime in the next 24 hours, I'll probably be downloading it and installing it again. Wish me luck... and be prepared for the question flood.

[Wraith]

As you wish, Copper