Dwarf fortress

[TheSummoner]

To train miners, I usually carve ramps out of soil and then remove those same ramps... double the experience of just channeling it out. I do it one strip at a time so the ramps don't "collapse" on themselves when theres no solid soil next to it. Once they're legendary, I move them up to stone.

Legendary miners always leave rock behind, lower skill has a chance to but isn't guaranteed. Not a concern for basic rock types, but for ores and gems, you bet it is.

[Berserk Monk]

Yeah it's free, but if you have friends that play it, don't learn it by yourself, learn it by watching one of them start a game. It's absurdly complicated. And while technically you can play without the internet, you really need the wiki open while you play at all times.

That's gonna be kind of hard seeing as how the only friends I know that play it are from college and I won't see any of them for a month. Rather than wait, I'll just learn it on my own. Could someone tell me how to get it since it's free as Greep says?

[TheSummoner]

Google it

As for learning on your own, thats how I did it. It'll be a while before you can attempt anything truely impressive (I just recently started butchering my animal kills lawl), but thats fine. Use the wiki (once again, google it) to help you learn and it wont be too bad.

[Destro_Yersul]

I think areas have a set wind speed that may or may not change and is impossible to detect without hooking it up to a windmill... meaning your zone isn't windy enough and you better get working on some water wheels =P

Wind speed is enough to make 40 power on every other windmill I have. And water wheels would do me no good. I got nothing to power them with.

It could be that you have a heavier load on it (in terms of things you are trying to drive), than you are actually providing in power. This will cause nothing to move.

Nope. Had three windmills, trying to power a device that needed 38 power or so. None of them was producing any power at all.

[TheSummoner]

This is the kind of thing you probably would've noticed, but since I can't think of anything else I'm going to ask anyways...

Is the windmill aboveground?

[Berserk Monk]

Google it

As for learning on your own, thats how I did it. It'll be a while before you can attempt anything truely impressive (I just recently started butchering my animal kills lawl), but thats fine. Use the wiki (once again, google it) to help you learn and it wont be too bad.

Okay. Don't know why I didn't think of this before.

[Destro_Yersul]

This is the kind of thing you probably would've noticed, but since I can't think of anything else I'm going to ask anyways...

Is the windmill aboveground?

Yep. On top of a little platform, no less.

[Rockphed]

Is it connected to a gear assembly that is connected to a lever that has been toggled?

[TheSummoner]

Toggling the lever on a gear assembly destroys the gear assembly...

[Rockphed]

No, or it shouldn't. It should just freeze the assembly. Then you can put gear assemblies so you can actually toggle pumps on and off.

[Destro_Yersul]

Nah. It's hanging. Toggling that assembly would destroy the windmill. There's another assembly along the line that is connected, but even when turned on it makes no difference. For some reason these windmills just aren't producing any power.

[lordsigmund]

What do you use power for? I haven't run into the need to use them yet.

[Destro_Yersul]

In this case? Powering a multi z-level magma pumping tower constructed entirely of green glass. In the past I have also used them to pump water into cisterns and power millstones. And build colossal and needlessly complicated deathtraps.

[Greep]

heh, one thing I always wanted to do was to make a tower defense style trap, where goblins run through a maze filled with various different hazards, but primarily marksdwarves with fortifications one z level up. Not much into the whole megaproject thing, though :(

[Connor Darkdart]

Hmm, Ima wondering, is it possible to forever feed a fortress on plump helmets or will you get people getting annoyed at the lack of new food?

Also, how does I mine soil?

Also, cats are useful for getting rid of vermin early on before you have metal barrels.

[Zeful]

Also, how does I mine soil?

Well if you don't have any hills you can simply dig out. Go down a Z-level (which should be Shift+. (>)) and designate upward ramps.

[Lord Herman]

Much like you'd mine out rock: just [d]esignate an area to be dug out. Note that soil doesn't leave anything behind when you mine it out.

[Greep]

Hmm, Ima wondering, is it possible to forever feed a fortress on plump helmets or will you get people getting annoyed at the lack of new food?

They'll deal with it so long as you got a good brewer and cook. Still, rotating crops isn't too much work, you do it once and you're done.

[Player_Zero]

Also soil cannot be smoothed. So if you want your fortress to look cool when it's all done up then only mine your farms into soil.

Actually, that's funny, isn't it? Why do I want my ASCII graphics fortress to look symmetric and aesthetically pleasing?

[Greep]

heh, yeah I hate how engravings are so ugly, though. You can turn their display off, but they still grey out the entire smoothed block.

[TheSummoner]

When I'm forced to deal with soil, I usually dig a bit extra out and construct rock block walls instead... they're prettier...

And cats are worthless because vermin are, in my experience, harmless. You'll get a cat before there are enough vermin around to be an issue and even if you dont, a single unhappy thought wont kill a functioning fortress.

[Arachu]

How do I go about telling my dwarves to engrave? Every time I try to designate a section, nothing highlights and nobody actually does anything.


... Does it involve death...?


... I can do death, if that's what it needs...

[Nano]

They needed the floors to be smoothed first, I believe.

[The Dark Fiddler]

After reading the Boatmurdered Let's Play, I've decided to start playing this game. Is there anything I should know?
Aside from the fact that Losing is fun.

[Artanis]

After reading the Boatmurdered Let's Play, I've decided to start playing this game. Is there anything I should know?
Aside from the fact that Losing is fun.

Losing is f...*sees the white text*

phooey

In lieu of that advice, I'll just point you to the wiki

[Arachu]

*Peeks head over hands*

They still won't do anything after my Trapper killed 10 dogs...

*Covers head again*

[Breltar]

I have started this as well, though I had to watch the captduck youtube vids to understand anything, since trying to associate written instructions from the wiki to the game was hard for my simple brain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koZUS2h-Yzc

The vids are awesome and are basically a 'lets play' video edition.

[Player_Zero]

One of my dwarves got stuck in a cage trap and almost starved to death before I noticed him. Stupid bugger.

Also, what is dwarf milk? Seriously. What. It sure isn't cow milk...

[Justyn]

One of my dwarves got stuck in a cage trap and almost starved to death before I noticed him. Stupid bugger.

Also, what is dwarf milk? Seriously. What. It sure isn't cow milk...

It's... something that comes from purring maggots. It's not actually dwarven milk.

[Player_Zero]

Heh... Dwarf teats...