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[Prospero]

So after my earlier encounter with some mandrills, I fire up a new Play Now! settlement to see what happens (previously I'd been trying to pick out a reasonable 'calm' site).

Barely a minute passes before I notice a wave of 'm' creatures approaching - this time not mandrills, fortunately (I don't remember what they were... some two-word name), but nevertheless they were apparently quite intent on ransacking my outpost before I'd even dug into the mountainside!

As an emergency, I allocate all my dwarves into a single squad and activated them. My new ultra wrestling force had no problem dealing with the situation, so I then deactivated the squad so they could get back to their normal business. Except...

Another wave of m's came. And another. With this new tactic of defence they were no threat, but by having to activate and deactivate the squad so frequently, the dwarves became unhappy at being relieved from duty.

Not only that, but for some reason my axe-using Carpenter / Woodcutter dwarf seemed to be unable to chop trees after all the wildlife had been dealt with. I notice some equipment gets dropped upon squad deactivation, so maybe that's what happened to his axe (I think I'd set all members of the squad to fight with axes). Unfortunately he didn't seem inclined to go and find it again to get on with his proper job.

End result: lots of butchery materials but no wood to make barrels to keep them in (or even some beds to rest my disgruntled beardies)  

[Toady One]

Ah, yeah, probably woodcutting/axe problem with deactivate.  You can probably just v-p-l him on and off woodcutting to get him back.

The 'm's were probably rhesus macaques.  So you can experience what it's like in New Delhi or Mumbai or whichever Indian city it was that has the monkeys attacking civil servants.  If I had added them, you could try their solution of getting a large langur monkey on a leash to guard the grounds.

[Aristharus]

I've had similar problems. Very similar, actually, as they were rhesus macaques on my last fortress, too. I didn't really look into it that much, so I can't say what exactly happened and when, but after setting up a squad to drive them off and deactivating it, my woodcutters had lost their axes (later I noticed one just laying on the ground pretty close to the fortress entrance) and what was even worse, my miners had lost their picks somewhere.

Later I got the axes back by building a weapon rack and setting it to contain all weapons, after which some dwarves went to pick them up, but I never got the picks back. A rhesus macaque might have stolen them, though, so it's not necessarily a bug. I don't know. I ended up abandoning the fortress anyway, as I couldn't mine anymore.

It could be a good idea to add some more control over hauling stuff or make the dwarves do something in these cases. You can probably imagine my frustration when I saw the axe lying outside, still being unable to cut trees.

[ August 10, 2006: Message edited by: Aristharus ]

[karnot]

quote: End result: lots of butchery materials but no wood to make barrels to keep them in

About barrels - how do you order dwarves to use them ? Right now my barrels just sit aroung in carpenter's workshop.

[Grue]

Do you have furniture pile? Maybe no one gets around to carrying it there? My dwarves always used barrels for food. Ah, you must have a food pile too.

[Aquillion]

quote:Originally posted by karnot:
<STRONG>
About barrels - how do you order dwarves to use them ? Right now my barrels just sit aroung in carpenter's workshop.</STRONG>

Dwarves are supposed to use them automatically as long as you have the barrels and a designated stockpile for the item you want placed in the barrel.  Remember that barrels and bins are for different sorts of things, though...  you might just have items that belong in bins.

You could try making a stockpile to hold the barrels, though.  I think 'finished goods' stockpile or something like that?

[Toady One]

I think a furniture pile holds empty bins and barrels (I think).  And you might to get them there first.  They seem a little reluctant to use bins/barrels straight out of workshops now, for some unknown reason.

[Gedsaro]

Ethier the funiture pile or the finished goods pile not sure which(I had them both adjecent to each other so I couldn't tell them apart).

[ August 10, 2006: Message edited by: Gedsaro ]

[JT]

Empty bins and barrels are always put into the Furniture Pile.  The first time someone puts something in one, the bin or barrel will stay there; however, if someone with the appropriate Haul job isn't busy at a later time, they will be assigned the task of moving the barrel to your Food Pile or the bin to the appropriate Gem, Bars & Blocks, or Finished Goods Pile.  Otherwise the bins and barrels will stay right where they are in the Furniture Pile.