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[Triaxx2]

I used to have the same problem. (My only good fort is on an island.) Now I've taken to the 7 Dwarf/7 Miner approach. And stockpile free. How does it work?

Simple. Upon arriving, the first task is to get under ground. Accomplished simply by digging a stair. Now we need the wagon. One guy gets the job of disassembling it, while the other 6 dig out underneath it. Once it's disassembled, channel around it. Hopefully everyone will survive, if not well, that's the hazard of standing on the wagon side when you channel stupid. Now you can build a wooden floor over the wagon, (or stone) and proceed with the fortressing.

I never used to bother with craftshops. I didn't really know what they were for. Now I usually make three of them. That's enough to provide trade fodder and enough to keep the new migrants busy. And with 7 miners, (No other jobs, except possibly masonry), the fort gets entirely dug in a surprisingly short amount of time. If any nasties appear to give you a fight, you've got 7 fairly capable weapon wielders at the ready to do some severe damage. And then whistle and get back to work with their remaining limbs.

[Tibbz2]

You mention control issues centered around labors (like hauling). Are you using Dwarf Therapist? If not, WHY NOT?

I do.

And also im not bothered about invasions or w/e; i would actually like them to happen, but i can't get a pop above 60 due to my computer.

[sirquote]

The one thing that helped me out with my first few forts was Deep soil. Building a fort in the dirt may not be as good for your dwarves in the long run  but for starting out its perfect, rooms are dug out faster and don't leave rocks (easy stockpiles).

When you are feeling more comfortable and have secured a food/drink supply start digging down and create a new home. Afterwards I just level all of the soil rooms into one big room and use it for farming.

[Tibbz2]

The one thing that helped me out with my first few forts was Deep soil. Building a fort in the dirt may not be as good for your dwarves in the long run  but for starting out its perfect, rooms are dug out faster and don't leave rocks (easy stockpiles).

When you are feeling more comfortable and have secured a food/drink supply start digging down and create a new home. Afterwards I just level all of the soil rooms into one big room and use it for farming.

Yeah i always try to start in deep soil areas...

[Leonidas]

My typical first year:
1. Set the woodcutter to chopping. Set the miners to digging a soil room directly under the wagon.
2. Set stockpiles in that first room so that the idle dwarves can start moving all the wagon supplies and cut timber underground.
3. Have the miners dig down to rock and clear out a rock room.
4. Build a mason's workshop with one of those rocks. Make a stone block. Deconstruct the mason's workshop, and build a new one with the stone block. Build several more stone blocks for other workshops. Aside from that first one, never build a workshop from a rock or log. Always blocks.
5. Build a carpenter's workshop and have him start making beds.
6. Build a mechanic's shop and have him make some mechanisms.
7. Once all your supplies are underground, build a drawbridge to block your entrance. Hook it to a lever in your deepest room. Now you're somewhat protected from sieges.
8. Have the mason make some chairs and tables. Make a dining room. Then start making pots.
9. Once you have enough space to live and work underground, send your miners deep to find the caverns and magma.
10. Start growing and gathering to build up food and booze reserves for when the migrants come.

Embark with supplies. Your dwarves need booze, food, and beds, in that order. Your starting wagon should be absolutely packed with booze and food, so that nobody will starve or go thirsty in the first 9-12 months.

Go vertical. Beginners usually build horizontally, so that they can see the layout more clearly. I recommend using the NumPad to navigate, with Shift-Num5 and Ctrl-Num5 to move up and down z-levels. My typical room on any given z-level is 21x21 around a 3x3 central staircase.

Be careful with stockpiles. A stockpile is not merely a place to store stuff. It is a generator of jobs, potentially a constant drain on your hauling pool. If you see a stockpile and don't remember why it's there, wipe it out.

Focus on one task at a time. If you send your haulers in too many directions at once, then nothing will get done. Be careful with buildings that generate endless jobs, such as a workshop set to repeat. Look at the (j)obs screen and ask yourself, "Is each of these jobs something that I really need to spend labor on right now?"

[Tibbz2]

Nice!

Thanks hopefully that will help me!

[DaJonkel]

Wait till you get into genning worlds, I can fail DF for three days straight without ever embarking once.

[Particleman]

I generally go with something like the following:
3 miners
1 stonecrafter
1 farmer/brewer
1 farmer/herbalist
1 appraiser/judge of intent

I dig some basic accommodations then my miners pretty much just haul stuff until the first couple migrant waves arrive, who take up hauling duties so my miners can go back to digging.

I prefer making my storerooms in stone layers so I don't have to pave them with floors to keep plants from growing and screwing stuff up once I breach the caverns, because paving stuff is very labor intensive.

[ravaught]

One of the things I struggled with when I first started playing was getting used to the game scale. So here is my list of tips without trying to get too specific:

1: Read the Wiki! Love the Wiki! Just don't feed it after midnight, get it wet, or expose it to sunlight. df.magmawiki.com

2: Think Small!!!! 3x3 farm plot of plump helmets all four seasons will feed your fort for many years. A 3x3 bedroom is quite luxurious for the average dwarf.

3: Initially, I normally build a butcher, a tanner, and a kitchen, and a refuse stockpile and immediately slaughter any grazing animals I embark with. Then, press z and under the kitchens menu disable plump helmets and any other plants you might have from being cooked. (Because cooking a plant does not yield seeds and plants are allowed to be cooked by default which can lead to premature starvation when you run out of plump helmet seeds.) This will net you some early meat for cooking, leather for bags, and bones for bolts(Craftsman Workshop. Can also use turtle shells for armor if your fishing industry is operational) Build your butcher and tanner next to your refuse pile outside to avoid miasma and overflow problems with the butcher.

4: Wood.. its good for more than pissing off elves. Create a wood workers shop, make seven beds, and one door/hatch cover to seal off your fortress. Then set cages, bins, and barrels on repeat until you get to where you can produce pots, at which point you remove barrels from the queue.

5: Mechanics Shop..By now you should have some stone, so make a machanics shop and queue up 10 mechanisms. Once they are done, build a double row of cage traps around your single tile entrance to your new fort[press 'b' 'T' 'c'].(More is better.) They make for an excellent early defense.

5: Build a still to process all those plants you've harvested.

6: Fortress organization: Read the wiki on burrows and stockpiles. Personally, I pause the game immediately at embark and create the following custom stockpiles:

• Wood 5x5 or larger
• Food -block all +enable plants (i.e. only allow plants) 3x3
• Refuse 5x5
• Corpses 3x3

Last but not least, go ahead and move your meeting area inside asap, and set it as a burrow. Then, go into your military menu and define a new alert that will restrict all of your dwarfs to the burrow. Hopefully, you will have enough time to recall all your dwarfs by toggling on the alert and your cage traps will catch whatever is coming for you.