Hey everyone! I found Dwarf Fortress a few days ago, and with some help from the people that showed it to me, got my first fortress mostly built, and almost have all the basic requirements for life set up. I have access to both a ground level river, and some small ponds/lakes that go deep enough for an underwater water source, should the need arise. I am set up in a forest, with a sand floor, making base digging fast and easy. However, two z-levels down I have access to plenty limestone, and have also found some bauxite. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble getting the farms set up.
From what I understand, building farm plots on sand (underground) should work. I built a small (5x5) room near the entrance to my fortress and designated a farm plot that covered it completely. The plot shows up as needing construction, but my farmer crawled down my mine shaft and won't some back out to build the plots.
Here's what I've tried/checked so far...
- The mineshaft exit is not obstructed, as my miners have come and gone multiple times.
- The plot is completely underground, with no holes in the roof. No tile is considered above ground, or lit.
- The farmer was acting as a stone mover, and backup miner in the mean time, but now has all mining jobs disabled.
- The farmer isn't performing any other jobs, and is idle.
I've run out of ideas, and my friends haven't written back to me about this problem for a substantial period of time. If you have any idea what may be happening, please let me know. My thanks in advance to anyone who helps,
Timothy