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[Granite26]

So I've decided to do something about the deplorable state of tutorials and the difficulty getting into DF.

I've started writing a tutorial fortress.  The basic thought is to describe my thought processes as I go through the various states of starting up a basic fortress.  It's not intended to be a spoiler or cheat guide, just a simple projects fort that new players can take a look at.  I've already backed up a save at the embark, and once I get the food system set up I'm going to export another save.

My process so far has been to play the game as I normally would, but stopping to describe any projects or decisions I make along the way.  (The first room I dug had explicit instructions on how to designate a dig, but after that I just said 'dig another room'.  I'm taking screenshots as well.

So far I have tackled editing the init.txt (for screen size, tile size, etc), generating a new world (including the seeds), finding a site, embark profiles, and the first season of digging in.  Ideally, I would like to cover the first set of immigrants and traders, and finish setting up the sustainable farming operations.  I might get so far as the initial set of production trees. 

When I get a stable fortress I'll make another save as a 'hard to die stable starting point'.  At that point I'm open for suggestions to what needs to be done next, up to and especially including lending out the fort to let someone describe setting up magma operations, cleaning out the magma pipe, setting up advanced industries, noble acquisition and methods to keep them happy, and a series on breaching the aquifer.

The site I'm at has sand, magma, an aquifer (in some biomes) and is in a temperate climb.  The only downside is the lack of goblins, and I think a second fort in a haunted neighborhood near a goblin fort may be a good tutorial part 2.

We can flesh out the rules later, but I'm pretty sure I'd like to keep it 'do your part and don't really confuse people by mucking around with stuff that's working.'

Upon completion, I'd like to put the text up on the wiki with links to the saves at the various states, and maybe links to the individual topics as they come up.

I'll post the pics and seeds and whatnot when I get a chance.  Any thoughts?

I'll move this status to the top after the topic gets moving.

Link to Wiki Page :

This needs a lot of work.  I've still got to get the images up and find a home for the save games.  Wikilinks need to be done, and the standard key images should be inserted where appropriate.  Spelling should be good, but the grammar is probably atrocious.  It's complete as far as I've played.  I will post new sections as I get them.

Current Status:

Have:
    Installing the Game and reviewing the ini files.
    Generating a new world from a seed and finding an embark site
    Selecting an embark load-out
    Initial dig in
    Level 0 industries (mining, woodcutting, plant gathering)
    Building Construction (Including blocked squares and menu navigation)

To Do in Current Rev: (After this stuff is set up, I'm going to export a final save for this ark.)
    Farming Production Tree
    Trade Production Tree
    Setting up Dwarf Rooms
    Trading with the Caravan
    Immigrants
    Militia Training

Future Revs: (Stuff that can and should be done on this map)
    Aquifer
    Magma
    Advanced Industries (Cloth and Metalsmithing)
    Power Systems (Mechanical waterfall)
    Kobolds
    Nobles
    The Economy
    Death Traps
    Moods (Hopefully I can get the top stuff done before I get one...)
    Tantrum Spiral

Future Forts: (Stuff that's unfortunately not available on the initial map)
    Sieges and Goblins
    Scary places
    Rivers and Brooks

Don't Want: (Things I don't want to encourage or cover)
    Killing immigrants and Nobles.
    Excessive traps (players can figure this out on their own)
    Perpetual Motion Machines
    Optimizations and Advanced Techniques (make playstyles demos later.  My goal is to have players understand how to play, not preach a/the right way.  More to the point, once a player learns how to read maps and the wiki, there are more efficient ways to do this than a tutorial.)   

[Duke 2.0]

 Grand idea. Take some time to explain the z-axis as well, as digging through it was a bit of a pain. And be sure to explain the tile above a water tile is empty! That way nobody gets the elevation of some canal work messed up and start a flood.

 And the k key is the patron saint of newbies.

[muwahahaha]

Love the idea, but I hope that you are taking time to explain to newbies that in order for the stairs to work you need to have another stair of opposite direction (e.g. up stairs need a down stair above) or a combined up/down stair on the corresponding tile either above or below.

I take it that you're playing with temperature on? I'd hate newbs to get the idea that magma is just red water.

I'd probably suggest that you make several tutorials on the same map, since you said that you had been backing up saves I think it would be a good idea to do a fortress detailing all of the very basic tools needed to get a fort up and running  (so that a person could just pick up df, look at the tutorial and get a semi-sustainable fort up).

After that perhaps outline some of the less known or more complex tools and features such as miasma not passing diagonally or the noise system, this could help people who know how to make a fortress but are looking for ways to make it better.

Finally you could start on some of the really confusing stuff like the power system, advanced or even fractal bedroom design, things like that could help people who are somewhat knowledgeable but would like a bit of a hand to turn a good fortress into a great one.

I don't want to hijack your fort so this is all up to you, just some ideas popping into my head. Good luck!

[Granite26]

This is the kind of stuff I need to hear.  I never had any trouble understanding z-levels, but a lot of people do, so I'll go put in a section about that.

The goal for right now is to enable the player to download the 'Strike the Earth' save and play along with me.  I agree with it all being on the same map.  For instance, I envision the aquifer section to involve breaching the aquifer with magma, with ice, and with pumps, 3 times, setting side by side in the desert.

As far as the more in depth features go, any time anything comes up, I mention it, describe the keys I'm using to deal with it.  After the first two seasons, I don't think the player will be able to actually play 'in-sync' with the tutorial, but a good index should help there.

Temperature is on (as are all of the other options).  I didn't easy mode anything in the init (although my start location has 2 imps as the hostiles and no access to goblins.

As far as the more advanced stuff, I think I'll leave that to others, although I'd love it if they started from the basic tutorial fortress.  (I.E. Load up the 'Power System Setup' tutorial fort and build a windmill farm waterfall along with it, including a 'Final Save' with it all set up.

I don't really see a lot of merit in a save that you load up, place a few gears where it tells you to, and the whole system goes live.

Oooh, I think my next project will be to talk about notes, so that they can be used...

[Hawklaser]

This is very good idea. As having started playing dwarf fortress just a few months ago I have a good idea as to spots that would be useful to cover. And one of the bigger things that probbly hold up new players is aquifers. So might want to make that one a priority. After that I would say surviving the 2nd year pre-winter imigrant rush, as the 2nd winter was a stopping point for me a few times, mostly due to food or drink issues. When starting out it is not the easiest to go from 7 dwarfs to almost 80 in your 2nd year. In both feeding them and finding productive work for all those dwarfs.

Other than that,was just learning the controls at the begining. And after that was figuring out which workshops are more useful over all.

[Granite26]

I'm currently looking at it like "Here's how to create a roughly stable fort so that you can experiment on your own without dying.

[Plank of Wood]

Put me on the list.

Also, is creating a "Gym" of screw pumps so we can raise the Millitary dwarve's attributes allowed? To be honest, that'd be realistic, they're literaly working out, which is better than making them super-dwarvernly tough via book-keeping.

[Granite26]

I've got the fort played through the first year with what should be a stable food production.  Kobolds just showed up, but I didn't catch them.  Unfortunately, there's a bug that caused the aquifer to not show up, so digging through it isn't on the menu.

Plank, anything you're particularly interested in doing?  Maybe year 2?  (Military, advanced industries, bedrooms, and the first immigrant wave)

[Plank of Wood]

Year 2 would be good; it's personally the best time for a fortress. It's after the rush for survival that is the first year, and is before the seiges, nobles and confusion of the later years. It's literally a newbie's paradise.