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[LordBucket]

Ashery:
A bit over a hundred iron bars
and another 300 magnetite still lying around waiting to be smelted.

   I don't think I've had a game like that since 2d. My current game I'm on my third year, 60 or so dwarves, two levels carved out plus a castle above ground and some prospecting on the bottom of the z-axis, and I've found a total of about 40 casseterite and maybe a dozen copper ore.

That's fairly typical of what I usually see. I've had a couple games where over the entire lifetime of a fortress I've only found ores like bismith, zinc and lead. I actually see gold more often and in larger quantities than magnetite, and I don't even remember the last time I found any hematite or limonite.

[Doppel]

I think metal barrels do need 3 bars though, don't know for sure because i never actually made metal barrels before (or much of metal anything really).

[WCG]

My current game I'm on my third year, 60 or so dwarves, two levels carved out plus a castle above ground and some prospecting on the bottom of the z-axis, and I've found a total of about 40 casseterite and maybe a dozen copper ore.

That's fairly typical of what I usually see. I've had a couple games where over the entire lifetime of a fortress I've only found ores like bismith, zinc and lead. I actually see gold more often and in larger quantities than magnetite, and I don't even remember the last time I found any hematite or limonite.

Again, that's really interesting. I guess it just shows how variable the game is, huh? This is my first fortress, but I've got magnetite all over the place. Just hard to forge much of it without magma or coal (but a lot of that is because of how much glass I'm making).

Bill

[MetBoy]

I also find that metal furniture is good for keeping picky nobles happy.

Even there though, that metal furniture requires 3 bars of metal to make, hence 3 lots of ore. If you made stone furniture from the ores instead, you would get 3 tables or chairs for the same price, making more nobles happy. You would likely get even better quality furniture too, due to the ease of training up masonry compared to metalworking.

I'll give you half a point there. Why only half a point? Because of the trickyness in getting masons to use specific stones or specific stone types to build specific things.

Still, given how many things are required to set up a metals industry (anvil, fuel/magma, flux, ore) and how many of those are random, AND given that you can't see coal or ore on the embark screen... I think every serious DF player should learn how to build a successful fort without a functioning forge.

[Ashery]

I think every serious DF player should learn how to build a successful fort without a functioning forge.

One of the great things about the game is that you can be successful in almost any environment. Although some are definitely easier than others.

And all of that magnetite I had found was in the same cluster, so it wasn't as though it was all over the place, I just got lucky early on. My previous fort had found two each of lignite, limonite, and hematite and one vein of bit. coal.

Maybe I've just been lucky? *shrug*

[Jingles]

I love how this has devolved into a question of right or wrong, good or bad.

Soon it'll be Stone dwarfs versus Metal Dwarfs, versus Wood dwarfs.

(Actually that might be fun to set up on a  single map... hmm...)

[Kagus]

Now there's something.  An all-stone fortress, no wooden or metal items allowed.

You'd have to defend yourself using only stonefall traps, with bone crossbows for the slightly more tolerant.  Dwarves would be forced to sleep on smooth stone floors rather than beds, but they'd have the magnificent stone dining rooms to make up for it.

I don't know how dwarves treat personal barracks designations, but you could use that as some sort of bedroom arrangement.


The only real problem would be barrels.  And what a problem that would be.

Eh, I'd rather just do another all-glass fort.  Native DF really needs glass casks to serve as barrels...

[jellyman]

My observations are that the key to a good military is high wrestling and shield user skills for survivability.  Just give the wrestlers a wooden shield, and long enough time sparring and they are a force to be reckoned with.

[Skanky]

I think metal barrels do need 3 bars though, don't know for sure because i never actually made metal barrels before (or much of metal anything really).

Metal barrels require 3 bars too. I don't actually use metal barrels either for this reason.

[Heron]

Eh, I'd rather just do another all-glass fort.  Native DF really needs glass casks to serve as barrels...

Demijohn is far too fine a word to waste.

[DonerKebab]

That's fine and all, but I stopped playing traps over a year ago (real time).  You bet your sweet bippy I need steel shields and the highest quality weapons and armor I can get.  I'd like to see a military only defense with no metal.

Besides, my current fort is rich in gold and I got a legendary metalcrafter in the first year.  You think I'm going to give up 50-100k trading bins just because I have to chop down a lot of trees??

[Sevrun]

I personally don't see what all the fuss is about, I run a fairly mixed Fortress.  I don't produce masses of incredible Steel weapons, but  do use wooden shields and leather armor the first few years.  I tend to lean away from glass simply because so few of the places I set up fortresses have sand.  Play it how ya like it, cause it's all fun an games til someone gets their feelings  hurt :p