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[mscottveach]

so i have just discovered DF -- honestly, i don't know how this wasn't on my radar for so long.
and i'm super excited about it.

but i have a question.

do people have any advice as to how much i should or should not look at tutorials? i've read
a tutorial that taught me how to dig, make beds, make bedrooms, piles and early workshops
and that's about it...

...my instinct is to just play around with it. but it's hard to know whether that's a waste of
time... like will i be able to figure out how to do things or is it basically impossible without
reading guides...?

like for example... i started a new game and can't seem to farm in my fortress b/c there is
no soil... but there's water nearby... so i was taking what little i know about irrigation and
trying to build a rudimentary irrigation system that will allow me to farm... i haven't gotten
it to work yet, but i'm not sure that i won't...

...but therein lies the question... if i go look at a tutorial, i might discover very quickly how
to do it and feel robbed of the fun of figuring it out... but on the other hand, it might be
just impossible for me to know that because of some quirk of the system, i have to do xyz
to get irrigation to work...

...and i am only using that as an example.. i am not actually asking anyone to talk about
irrigation... i am only exemplifying how i am torn between looking online and experimenting...

...so my question is: in general, does anyone have a good "this is what you should read
and then not read any more until you've really explored and experimented?'

[Imp]

...my instinct is to just play around with it. but it's hard to know whether that's a waste of
time... like will i be able to figure out how to do things or is it basically impossible without
reading guides...?

like for example... i started a new game and can't seem to farm in my fortress b/c there is
no soil... but there's water nearby... so i was taking what little i know about irrigation and
trying to build a rudimentary irrigation system that will allow me to farm... i haven't gotten
it to work yet, but i'm not sure that i won't...

...and i am only using that as an example.. i am not actually asking anyone to talk about
irrigation... i am only exemplifying how i am torn between looking online and experimenting...

...so my question is: in general, does anyone have a good "this is what you should read
and then not read any more until you've really explored and experimented?'

Yes.  Experiment to the fullest extent that you -want- to.  When your joy is eclipsed by frustration, seek help.  One of the -best- fastest shortest immediate ways to find help is to use the wiki and search only for the topic that you are struggling with.  Don't read anything else unless and until you want to.  Don't check out tutorials unless and until you want to.

There's still stuff that's completely unknown in DF, and even a few mods that have surprises.  One, LoFR, even sparkles with secrets and easter eggs.  So you can't ever run out of surprises - but there's TONS you can discover on your own, and if you do it your way - you might even figure stuff out that no one else has ever thought of trying to do that way.  That would be great!

A second, and potentially even better way to get -exactly and only- the help you feel you cant continue without, without additional information, is to make a short post here asking for help - and start that request by saying somethng like "new player here, trying to learn as much as possible on my own, don't want any spoilers or additional info - but totally stuck trying to solve 'x'.  Here's my situation, please offer the minimal help to solve just that situation, thank you hugely!".  Then just read one or two of the responses, and try those ideas in your own way.  If you're still stuck, read another suggestion or two and try those.  Chances are fairly high that you'll get the help you need and want, without getting more than you want, if you ask in that way.

Kudos on being a pioneer, and trying to do it in a way that boldly sends you where you've never gone before.

[Nil Eyeglazed]

Personally, I think that there are some things that aren't worth experimenting with-- for instance, there's no reason to go through the pain of refusing to read the wiki in regards to the interface!

I think there IS a lot of fun to be had by figuring things out, but then, only if you know what you need to figure out!  It's fun to figure out irrigation systems, but it's not fun to figure out that you need an irrigation system.  Catch my drift?

I don't think you're going to somehow waste the game by looking at wikis.  There is a wide gulf between reading about irrigation and successfully creating irrigation with lots of room for fun.  Even beyond that, there are innumerable challenges that are so esoteric that you're really going to have to go out of your way to learn anything about how to approach them.

So don't worry too much about it-- fun is headed your way regardless of how you choose to approach things   And Imp's advice, to ask for specific help when you need it, is perfect.

Glad you're enjoying yourself so far!

[timtek]

Imp's post is damn near perfect but I do want to add one little thing. Dwarf Fortress isn't like nethack or many other games. While it's fun to discover things on your own, there are certain things you are really gonna get stuck on. It's kind of like having a tool box with ton's of tools in it. If you don't know what they do you won't be building much of anything. So for instance learning the basic requirements of farming aren't going to spoil your experience to much and will probably save you a lot of frustration. Same with military, it's REALLY not intuitive but once you know how it works it is awesome. Have fun and come back if you have any questions!

[Mr. Palau]

snip, to save space

Yeah I always thought it would be mroe fun to eperimen but I am also very curious and the quickest way of satisfying my curiosity was just to read the wiki. I think I spent like 2 days readintg the entire thing and learnd almost everything about the game form it. There are somehtings you can not learn form the wiki however, like managing a fort and how to handle a seige or the best way to design your fortress. all these things are the really fun part of the game so reading up on all the mundane things like steel production or fishing or farming before I played didn't really change my experince. What did ruin it however was reading the spoilers, never read the spoilers.

[Bilanthri]

There's certainly a trade-off here, and I've read/watched plenty of tutorials. But, I think I would not trade my first experience tapping a river, even though it may have been a success (As it was, I lost both of my mechanics in the instant flood). Sometimes it can be very gratifying to fail a few times before you succeed on your own merit.

[peskyninja]

I'm the kind of player that doesn't care for spoilers. I went by the same way  in DF, I went through all spoiler pages and stuff and lost all the fun . Don't do that.

[NTJedi]

My advice is simple and the rule I always follow...  play until you feel stuck and unable to accomplish something such as a working hospital then while you're eating breakfast, lunch or dinner you watch a youtube video of someone else playing the section where you were stuck such as a working hospital.  Your hands are *usually* busy while you're eating, so it's a perfect time for watching. 

SideNote:   You'll definitely need to read or watch something so you can have your 1st military group working.

[Sutremaine]

SideNote:   You'll definitely need to read or watch something so you can have your 1st military group working.

Yeah, the military system comprises a bunch of screens that are all vaguely related but which all need to be lined up correctly in order for you to do stuff.

To set up a very basic military, you need a barracks (can be made from a bed, armour stand, or weapon rack) and a squad to train in it. To get the squad set up, you need to go into the military screen (m), Positions* (p), create a squad (c), and then select a uniform. Go with 'Metal armor'. Then you select the dwarves you want from the right-hand column. Then you go into Alerts (a). Squads start out on the Inactive alert, so you need to get a squad to the Active alert if you want it training full-time instead of doing civilian stuff and individual drills. To do that you highlight the Active alert, move one column right and highlight the squad, and then press Enter.

All that's left then is to tell them where they should be training. (q) over whatever bit of furniture is acting as your barracks, press + or - as necessary to highlight the squad, and press (t). This should send them all to the barracks ready for demonstrations or sparring. Then forget about them. They'll train themselves (small squads are faster than large squads) and upgrade their armour as better options become available. When you want them to go somewhere, press (s) to open up the Squads screen. Select a squad by typing in the appropriate letter (the shift key allows multiple squads to be selected), then press (m) to station them wherever the cursor is. They'll stay there until they get too hungry or thirsty or drowsy, or until they find an enemy to engage. To cancel the station order, go back into the Squads screen, select the squad, and press (o).

You can do crazy complicated things with the military system, but 'train here' and 'go here / guard here / kill whatever's here' are the only two commands you really need. Look into making your own custom uniforms -- dwarves set to 'Metal armor' are generally good at equipping themselves, but they're not perfect.

*The Positions screen is the first one you see anyway when you go into the military screen.

[NTJedi]

Look into making your own custom uniforms -- dwarves set to 'Metal armor' are generally good at equipping themselves, but they're not perfect.

Also try to avoid game exploits such as wearing 6 cloaks... since we all know such a design is never intended.

[guebstrike]

Also try to avoid game exploits such as wearing 6 cloaks... since we all know such a design is never intended.

I wear 3 skirts and 4 pairs of socks IRL

[Cromage]

What everyone else said.

That and irrigation works about how you expect it to. Except if you misstep you'll have your whole fortress underwater. But you'll get it after a few tries. =D

[SmileyMan]

A good way to learn the game is to start a fortress with the specific intention of learning how to do something, rather than trying to do it all at once.

One of your first fortresses should have collapsed through lack of booze. So try a fortress where you work hard to get a sustainable booze supply going.

When that fortress falls because your brewers brewed all your plants and you starved to death, try a fortress where you have a bit of fish, eggs, cheese and meat mixed in with the plants, so that your dwarves are constantly supplied with high quality food and booze.

Of course, that fort will be killed by a small goblin ambush...... etc. etc.

One other newbie tip is to try a few starting fortresses on an island where you won't have to deal with goblins/kobolds - see the Neighbouring Civs part of the embark screen. That way you can concentrate on getting a self-sustaining fortress going without having to deal with invaders.