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[Soulwynd]

I know I haven't posted in the DF section for a while, mostly because I was giving DF a break, but I recently got interested in making a mega-project or something similar. The problem is, it has been a while since I even played DF, or even thought of mega projects for it. So... I need some advice, if you guys don't mind helping.

Lets start with the simple stuff first:

-Should I turn sieges off while I work on it?
-I like 2x2 maps for most everything, I think that's enough room for a megaproject or rather a small megaproject, any advice there?
-Magma/River/etc, any features you guys like for these projects?
-Any dorf cap recommendation? I use anything from 60 to 100 normally.

Now for the mild stuff:

-Any mods I should use? Or any mods you guys recommend?
-Should I try for a location without goblins to avoid any annoyance?
-Any recommendation about performance? My fps is in the thousands in a 2x2 map with river/magma, but I really don't want to fall under 100ish. So should I use some mods, avoid walls, etc?

And finally, the juicy stuff:

-What sort of mega-project should I do? I have been considering between a space ship, an actual ship (either old like a galleon or something modern like an existing battleship) reproduction, or recreate some existing real life building as precise as possible. Any ideas on what should be fun and yet practical?
-Is there any easy way to extract map data from savefiles, so I can do a 3d rendering without using some of the known visualization tools?


Thanks beforehand for any advice.

[Retro]

Went and broke this down since there's a whole bunch of stuff here.

-Should I turn sieges off while I work on it?

Up to you; if the project works near the edge of the map I'd reccomend it but otherwise it's just a personal choice that shouldn't make too much difference. Don't forget you can turn them off/on at any time.

-I like 2x2 maps for most everything, I think that's enough room for a megaproject or rather a small megaproject, any advice there?

For a small megaproject, sure, but for a bigger one that's not even 100x100 tiles - I'd suggest at the least a 3x3, though 4x4 never hurts. I play 6x6s but mostly because I like long, winding paths to the fort itself.

-Magma/River/etc, any features you guys like for these projects?

Magma pipe can never be a bad thing. I also highly recommend UG rivers so you can grow tower caps. The waterfall (origin) tiles of a UG river produce water when removed at faster rates than I've seen even aquifers do for pumping usage, and if you can get the end of it within the embark you get a free mini-chasm too ofr dumping. If you don't want a river, at least get a UG pool (again, for tower-caps). I also recommend steep slopes so you have lots of z-levels to work with. ..also sand.

-Any dorf cap recommendation? I use anything from 60 to 100 normally.

Seems fine to me. Personally once I have enough of everything I need, all new migrants become carpenters/masons who do absolutely nothing but construct, so the limit's your choice. I advise setting the baby cap low, though.

-Any mods I should use? Or any mods you guys recommend?

Not my area of expertise, sorry. I'm sure you'll get enough suggestions here though.

-Should I try for a location without goblins to avoid any annoyance?

Too hard to get. If you don't want goblins and want to keep invaders on for megabeasts, remove them from the raws, gen the world, then add them back.

-Any recommendation about performance? I my fps is in the thousands in a 2x2 map with river/magma, but I really don't want to fall under 100ish. So should I use some mods, avoid walls, etc?

I... Fall under 100? I've never had a fort above 100 :o I don't think I can help you here, although if you take the UG river I suggest you use a cave-in to dam it and stop the FPS-draining water flow.

-What sort of mega-project should I do? I have been considering between a space ship, an actual ship (either old like a galleon or something modern like an existing battleship) reproduction, or recreate some existing real life building as precise as possible. Any ideas on what should be fun and yet practical?

A lot of people make boats, which are not only fun but come in all shapes and sizes. It's a good place to start, especially if you make it go far below water to add another level of challenge. If you want something different, pick a cool thing and search "epic ____" in google image search. You get lots of inspiration out of the word 'epic.'

-Is there any easy way to extract map data from savefiles, so I can do a 3d rendering without using some of the known visualization tools?

I assume you're running DF on a mac? I don't know if there is, but I don't think VF or Stonesense (which IMO are the best visualizers presently) have mac compatibility.

That's a lot of answers for a lot of questions. Hope that helps; I'm sure you'll get other advice as well.

[Soulwynd]

Thanks for the advices Retro.

Magma pipe can never be a bad thing. I also highly recommend UG rivers so you can grow tower caps. The waterfall (origin) tiles of a UG river produce water when removed at faster rates than I've seen even aquifers do for pumping usage, and if you can get the end of it within the embark you get a free mini-chasm too ofr dumping. If you don't want a river, at least get a UG pool (again, for tower-caps). I also recommend steep slopes so you have lots of z-levels to work with. ..also sand.

I've tried a few times to work with water tiles, as in, removing them and building walls to make interesting things, but I've always found that to be a bit difficult. I need some more practice with that before messing with water-producers and moving rivers around. I can do some basic things, but I have yet to have a successful dam.

I... Fall under 100? I've never had a fort above 100 I don't think I can help you here, although if you take the UG river I suggest you use a cave-in to dam it and stop the FPS-draining water flow.

Try a 2x2 map in a small world gen. Try to avoid crossing rivers (or water being generated outside the map) and moving magma around. Makes it kind of dull, I suppose, but there's a nice performance gain there. Plus some locations are naturally slow for some reason. I start a few games (with the very same settings) before finding one that is faster.

I'm thinking about closing all water gen and keep only a controlled tile that generates water, so I can supply the dorfs and maybe make some fun water stuff. I wanted to make a goblin water-slide once.

I assume you're running DF on a mac? I don't know if there is, but I don't think VF or Stonesense (which IMO are the best visualizers presently) have mac compatibility.

Windows. I want to use my own stuff to make the rendering.


And thanks. I will look for epic stuff. Either that or will look for actual blueprints for epic stuff.

[Retro]

I assume you're running DF on a mac? I don't know if there is, but I don't think VF or Stonesense (which IMO are the best visualizers presently) have mac compatibility.

Windows. I want to use my own stuff to make the rendering.

Ah, I see. You definitely want to ask around on the Modding subforum then, those guys are the ones who've figured out how to access DF's memory and whatnot. You can see if there's an open-source visualizer you can muck around with maybe too.

And yeah, noting how you use less water/magma and smaller embarks (without mountains) it suddenly becomes abundantly clear why you have better FPS than me <_<. I still prefer having an accessible source of magma and unlimited water in case you suddenly think of something cool. It's just accessible resources. A good option would be an untapped magma pipe (since until you touch it it doesn't need to use flow-moving processing) and a partial-map aquifer, so you can control when you use them for FPS factor.

[Jacob/Lee]

Protip:Keep the population between 70 and 90 so you won't get any goblin sieges and still have a moderately good workforce.

[Soulwynd]

Thanks for the tip.

I still use magma and water a lot. I just make sure it's not flowing around. I like to embark on spots where there is a water generating source. Like the birth spot for rivers. I try to avoid crossing rivers whenever I can. Those can really lag if you start messing with the water.

I will have to check out your underground river idea tho. I haven't tried with those yet.

[Quietust]

Protip:Keep the population between 70 and 90 so you won't get any goblin sieges and still have a moderately good workforce.

Goblin sieges start at population 80, so a limit of 50-70 would probably work better.

[Soulwynd]

Going where no dorf has gone before?

http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/uss-voyager-ncc-74656.php
http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/sd-intrepid-nx-74600.php
http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/sd-uss-nova-nx-72228.php
http://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/enterprise-nx-01-deckplans.php

I think I'm going to pick one of those. Shouldn't be too hard to transform them into ascii and then go from there. But I'm thinking a 2x2 map wont be enough for an intrepid class.

[Deon]

If you want a spaceship, take 3x3. 2x2 would be too small .