Dwarf fortress

[Greep]

Whee! So I've been starting up again after forgetting about this. For those not knowing of this awesome game, it can be found here, although you will want to look at its wiki before bothering to start.

Anyways, How do you guys deal with mass stones filling up the area you want to put stockpiles at? Its getting annoying, I tried setting a stone stockpile to try and remove the stones clogging the areas, but they keep picking up random stones... there doesn't seem to be a "clean up this area" kinda of designation. I guess I'm going to have to make a full time stonecrafter from the start?

[TheSummoner]

I usually just dump all the stones...

[nooblade]

Isn't there an "area dump" now? Oooh, I might have to play again, there were a lot of other cool features too IIRC.

[Rockphed]

'd' -> 'b' -> 'd' will give you the area dump setting. Alternatively, I just use the stone, either as ammo for a catapult or to make crafts out of. If you don't mind wearing out your enter key, you can just build rough block floors everywhere. They won't get in the way of anything except digging down.

[Gralamin]

I usually mass dump, but since sometimes when I do succession games with a friend he doesn't like me doing that, I also resort to having layers that are purely Stone Storage.

[Greep]

Ah, yeah I've finally played long enough to get my first wave of immigrants. Whee 19 guys! Okay now I can see why people don't worry about hauling labor >.> How much should I be worrying about seiges? I just made 5 of those guys martial. And I plan on keeping at least one guy always against kobolds around trade time.

[Rockphed]

How much you want to worry about sieges depends largely on how you design your defenses. Personally, I prefer sieges to ambushes as ambushes tend to catch a dwarf away from the fort whereas with a siege I can just tell my dwarves not to go outside.

A good defense plan will have limited access to your fortress, possibly with a bridge over a moat overlooked by archers. Of course, the last fort I tried making with a really good defense setup died to an overflowing cave river, so what do I know.

[nooblade]

Area dump is great. It's really cool to have seen first hand how much has been developed since the 2d version with floodgate farming.

Currently fiddling with Legendary Pump Operator training. Those dwarves get buff fast!

[infinitypanda]

I just start off with a stonecrafter. The stone gets used up, and by the time the caravan comes around the second or third time I can afford to almost just buy the entire thing.

[Greep]

Ugh, this game's rather frustrating at times. How are you supposed to attack ambushers that run around outside? The only way I can seem to get my guys to move is to use patrol, and then they kinda go there haphardly, sometimes one at a time (suicide). Can anyone help?

[TheSummoner]

I tried to predice the ambushes and have the dwarves work indoors when they came... the only entrance to my fortress was a long line of Cage Traps so I was free to play with my prisoners in any way I saw fit.

The ways I saw fit generally involved drowning, but sometimes magma as well.

[Arachu]

How do you use/gather/abuse magma? I'm on a map with a magma pipe and I'm mining me some obsidian

... Hey, is it safe to pave a magma area over to keep the imps in? One just wandered out on me



Is it possible to make a well before your very colony depends on one?


EDITED POST-SCRIPT:
Anyone else find it ironic, that though elves call you 'uncouth' for using wood to build, they are the only race to make weapons out of it?

[tribble]

i dont understand how to create multiple levels. everything I have is currently ground level, so my fort is kind of... sprawling.

[TheSummoner]

You need to use pumps to harness the awesome power of Magma... or just build your magma dependant structures over the magma pipe itself.

I don't remember if imps can destroy constructions or not, but if you pump water over it, it'll form a nice obsidian cap that the imps cant get through.

In short... learn to use pumps.

[Arachu]

Thanks, TheSummoner. I never thought of that (I'm... New...)

Also, @tribble: You can build down by [d]esignating a Down Staircase and then Mining (also via Designation) in arbitrary well-planned patterns. If you have building materials (like wood) you can build an Up Staircase ([b]uild, [C] Wall, Floor, Stairs, [u]p Stair ([b][C][u])). After you build the Up Staircase, build some floor sections out in the desired pattern.


Anyone else ever try to hollow out a mountain before? I'm working on one in one of my worlds or another.

[TheSummoner]

Been forever since I've played... If I do get back into it, my main trap will be a large, well adorned drowning chamber. Masterwork gold statues and whatnot all over. It will be a couple of levels below the main path to my fortress incase trolls destroy the doors... there will also be a line of other traps afterwards incase they get past.

[Arachu]

Since I've decided to make a wood-and-obsidian fortress, I must ask two things;

1) Can a magma pipe erupt?

and 2) Can magma eat through rough (or, for that matter, smooth) obsidian?

(I kinda doubt the second one, though.)


EDIT: I just have to ask... Could a wooden pipe survive magma? I'm afraid to try it

[TheSummoner]

No and no.

Obsidian is the best stone... its worth 3 gold apiece, and if you make your constructions out of blocks, each bit is worth 15 gold since blocks are worth 5x the cost of the raw material.

[Justyn]

Since I've decided to make a wood-and-obsidian fortress, I must ask two things;

1) Can a magma pipe erupt?

and 2) Can magma eat through rough (or, for that matter, smooth) obsidian?

(I kinda doubt the second one, though.)

1: Only volcanoes erupt (I think they do, I mean I've seen videos of it, but I haven't actually seen it in game), but magma pipes will only gradually refill if you take magma out of them (to make magma forges, smelters, kilns, or glass works somewhere that isn't directly over the pipe), but they will never erupt... at least not in this version of the game.

2: No, nothing will destroy natural stone or contructions; but of you drop a chunk of obsidian (Or well, anything else except a couple of magma-safe materials, but that's not the point here... and good luck getting them back out of the magma.) into the magma, it will melt.

[Arachu]

... I have a plan.

I shall move water from the stream at the bottom of the slope all the way to the magma pipe at the top using pipes. And then, I shall find some way to make it a reservoir




... Or, wait, could I just designate it as a pond? Meh, I like my idea better.

[TheSummoner]

Pond could work to cap the lava, since it would solidify as soon as the water hit the lava, but making a reservoir with bucket work would take forever and it would likely dry out before you filled it (depending on the size)

[Arachu]

True, but the stream keeps sweating out more water, and the pipe will always be there (assuming I use it... which, admittedly, is unlikely)...


EDIT: Yet more questions, that I may become enlightened

Can a wooden corkscrew survive magma, and can a wooden drawbridge survive magma? (I assume one means the other, really.) I plan on an... Interesting front door design

[Arachu]

On another tangent, has anyone ever defended their fortress with trained tigers? I totally plan to do that if I ever chance upon any

I shall name them all Hobbes (number)

[TheSummoner]

I once managed to capture and train a giant eagle. It was awesome... I only wish I could've bred them... He was mortally wounded by another giant eagle and died of his wounds.

[Arachu]

How do you fight off Fire Men? How!?

Will he leave if I recall my miner?

Nevermind, he left

Though, yeah, I would like to know how to defend meself from fire-covered monsters...

[TheSummoner]

You do not fight them. And if you see magma men, you abandon your fortress.

Well... its not quite that bad, but take my word for it, leave them alone until you're confident in your military.

[TheLogman]

I started a Succession game with some of my buddies on a different website. We're into year 4 now, everything is well underway. My turn is almost up, would someone like to take it from here?

I warn you, we're in an icy wasteland, filled with nasty creatures, no water, tons of magma. And some of our traps are a big possible to mess up pretty bad. I made sure to mark notes (View and place with N) all over the place though.

Great map though, have had a lot of fun with it so far.

[Justyn]

On another tangent, has anyone ever defended their fortress with trained tigers? I totally plan to do that if I ever chance upon any

I shall name them all Hobbes (number)

I use giant cave spiders. And when they kill things I'm all like .

[TheSummoner]

LUCKY! I've never even seen one of the dreaded things, let alone had the chance to capture and tame one...

What are your secrets to finding the most mythical of all spiders that are both giant and live in caves?

[nooblade]

Giant Cave Spiders look like Chasm critters according to their files ([BIOME_SUBTERRANEAN_CHASM] ). After changing some options, you can scout for chasms and pits before embarking with in-game tools now. IIRC, the big webs are very distinct in game, and it looks like they go over open space above a chasm too. No clue how to catch one rather than struggle with and be maimed by one.


Questions about how to play... The wiki is really good imho, it explains better than I ever could. I just used it to find out where the dreaded GCS resides. It also says that magma pumps should work as long as they are not wood and the open tile isn't submerged in magma. Sooooo useful.