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Author Topic: Automated steel production and other boring shit  (Read 6389 times)

Prop42

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Automated steel production and other boring shit
« on: June 04, 2016, 04:36:18 pm »

So, in my continuing efforts to be the most boring, unimaginative fucker to play Dwarf Fortress come up with practical systems that don't require magma complicated machinery, I've used the new job order system to set up a series of tasks to automatically convert the entire fucking planet i'll kill all those vultures they wont know what hit them gahahahaha lignite, hematite, and limestone (ores/stones may vary) into steel bars.

The only problem is: it's complete and utter shit It functions very slowly, and can be easily disrupted by the work of an enemy stand other dorfs moving items around, or simply by telekinetic vultures that can interrupt jobs through 10 z-levels somehow. I was wondering if anyone has a better system for the process, as I know that I'm basically completely unqualified to be handling such a delicate process.

(no pictures because technical difficulties with capture software)

How I currently have it set up (in order of priority settings):
* Smelt Lignite into Coke:
Checked daily, requires >0 lignite and >1 fuel. Limited to 1 smelter that the others are prohibited from applying jobs to (in theory at least).

* Make Steel Bars
Checked daily, requires >0 limestone, >0 pig iron, >0 iron, >2 fuel.

* Make Pig Iron Bars
Checked daily, requires >0 limestone, >1 iron, >2 fuel.

* Smelt Hematite/Limonite (2 orders, one for each ore. No variance apart from ore being smelted)
Checked daily, requires >0 [IRON ORE], >2 fuel.

Is there a better, more efficient way of doing this?
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Libash_Thunderhead

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Re: Automated steel production and other boring shit
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2016, 06:59:51 pm »

I use manager menu to repeat the jobs in 43.03 and ignore the complaining messages about lacking of materials, they will get the jobs done eventually.

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freeze

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Re: Automated steel production and other boring shit
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2016, 07:52:55 pm »

Start with finished product and work backwards. 1-2 forges and a numerous smelters. Furnace operating doesn't require any skill. When steel bars get <20 a bunch of jobs kick off for bar iron and pig iron and so on. I do this with cloth, blocks, food/drink etc. The only cancel spam I really get is from shear jobs.
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Dunamisdeos

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Re: Automated steel production and other boring shit
« Reply #3 on: June 07, 2016, 01:32:04 pm »

I start by telling x number of forges to make pig iron on repeat. After they complete 2-3 jobs worth, I tell the same number of forges to make steel. Since the stockpile is in the same location, they make it at approximately the same speed, and job cancellation is avoided until they actually run out of mats.

Never really had massive job cancellation spam from that one. (not after I started doing that, anyway)
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Findulidas

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Re: Automated steel production and other boring shit
« Reply #4 on: June 08, 2016, 12:26:45 pm »

Why not use magma?

Also how could you determine that it wasnt the work of an enemy stand? Until disproven Dio remains a possibility.
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Prop42

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Re: Automated steel production and other boring shit
« Reply #5 on: June 08, 2016, 05:43:24 pm »

A) I hadn't breached the first cavern by this point, because I'm unreasonably paranoid about up/down stairs over open pits somehow ending terribly.
B) Well, the most recent caravan WAS transporting a stack of minutely detailed arrows encrusted with something or other, that I didn't bother to check.
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Nevyn

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Re: Automated steel production and other boring shit
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2016, 08:36:39 pm »

I've noticed that the job orders currently don't seem to be properly respecting the conditions.  So you will get a lot of job cancellation spam because they will start an infinite job even if the conditions aren't meant.
I.E. I have magma glass production going on, so I have it set to collect sand if I'm under 20 bags & if I have enough empty bags.  I have a stockpile of 40 bags atm, yet the jobs keep getting added to the glass furnace and having them cancelled from lack of empty bags.
So likely that is part of your issue.  It's a big step forward, but currently it's a little buggy.
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Kogan Onulsodel

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Re: Automated steel production and other boring shit
« Reply #7 on: June 12, 2016, 08:17:21 pm »

It's a big step forward, but currently it's a little buggy.

All of Dwarf Fortress.
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Bumber

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Re: Automated steel production and other boring shit
« Reply #8 on: June 13, 2016, 12:32:50 am »

It's a big step forward, but currently it's a little buggy.
All of Dwarf Fortress.
All a little feature-y.
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Skorpion

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Re: Automated steel production and other boring shit
« Reply #9 on: June 14, 2016, 08:57:24 am »

I find that steel production is happily satisfied by having 4-5 smelters chewing through iron ore on repeat, and then one alternating pig iron and steel on repeat, after an initial burst of 5-10 pig iron bars to get a buffer. Leave it running while you train a smith up on copper (supplied by another 4-5 smelters running copper ores on repeat and another melting down the useless crap that the smith churns out), and you've got a big stockpile.

Using magma smelters, the only issue is coke. That's got to be managed through woodcutting and burning it to charcoal, and importing shittons of coal and coal ores.
And, of course, keeping up with metal ore mining. I've got the haulage automated with wheelbarrows and a couple of minecarts, so it's barrowed up to a small stockpile, loaded into a cart, and dropped down to a holding stockpile at the magma level down a big shaft, before being loaded onto another minecart and hauled over to the smelters themselves to be quantum-dumped in a pile.
This keeps a fair chunk of the fortress busy most of the time hauling rocks, bars, and finished products around, smelting ores, and managing stockpiles, which is another bonus.
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