Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[C4lv1n]

With my previous fort I embarked with a set of Alpacas, they don't take up too much grazing space, provide plenty of meat, bones, and wool. The only problem is the micromanagement involved in pasturing all the new ones you get every year through breeding.

My new for has changed that. Dogs, nothing but dogs. Leather, bone, meat, and defense. All without the silly grazing. My dog population is hovering around 100, it's kept there by butchering and combat deaths. With a dorf population matching that I can give every dorf a dog to protect them. That worked really well, but is a bit redundant.

My new set up is to have 2 dogs at the entrance to the fort, and then the rest are assigned to each of my military dorfs (10 melee/10 ranged). That means 5 war dogs per dorf, it pwns hard.

The crossbow dorfs are free to keep clear and take their shots while the dogs attack their target, and the melee dorfs have the dogs to weaken and grapple the target for easy strikes.

My next fort will probably follow the same path, but I'll try a dog eugenics program to get the best dogs.

So, how has the rest of the forum faired using dogs (or eugenics programs)?

[Montague]

I had a fort over-running with dogs and ultimately ended up sticking every last one into a cage near the entrance of the fort, connected to a lever. For FPS purposes, mostly, but when goblins showed up, I mumbled "Smithers! Release the hounds!" and had the lever pulled.

I also like assigning dogs to dorfs that might potentially have a failed mood. So if they go bat-shit before I can scrounge up a turtle shell or silk or whatever, the dogs tear the guy's throat out the moment he snaps and everybody else is safe.

I don't like attaching dogs to soldiers, soldiers move fast and the dogs always lag too far behind to ever be of much use, the fighting is usually over by the time the dogs catch up.

I do sometimes attach dogs to civilians that work outdoors. The logger or whoever can escape while the dogs maul the goblins or bonabos or hoary marmots and whatever other offensive things lurk topside.

[zubb2]

Sigged.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

  when goblins showed up, I mumbled "Smithers! Release the hounds!" and had the lever pulled.
 

I too like dogs for there conveniance and there swarms.

Ive never messed with eugenics.

EDIT: I like that rich guy from simpsons hes cool.

[Hotaru]

Sigged.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

  when goblins showed up, I mumbled "Smithers! Release the hounds!" and had the lever pulled.
 

I too like dogs for there conveniance and there swarms.

Ive never messed with eugenics.

EDIT: I like that rich guy from simpsons hes cool.

Oh, Mr. Burn?

[sneakey pete]

I'd rather the exact same thing, but with grizzly bears instead of dogs. However, i've never been fortunate enough to get them from the elves (yet), so can anyone tell me, how large is the average litter size for them?

[NinjaBoot]

On my other fort on my downed computer, I seem to have alot of Large Jaguars and Large Tigers running around, so with Montague's idea in mind, I'll capture/train them, throw them in a cage, then when the next goblinite siege comes "RELEASE THE GIANT TIGER/JAGUARS"

[daggaz]

Oh, Mr. Burn?

Charles Montgomery Burns, to be more precise.  Now who is that loaf in sector 17?  Why have I hired him?

[Tiruin]

 

When you do assign many dogs (pets) to a military dwarf and get a siege, I wish you well for their morale.

As when you attach an animal to a dwarf, you give them a pet. If the pet dies, it affects happiness greatly, multiplied by how many pets the dwarf has-... This is offset by the happiness a dwarf gets when in contact with a pet, though a dwarf still gets saddened by death-by-age/accident.

Main reason I don't use any dogs, FPS safety and full dependence on the militia.

[Squidpalace]

Charles Montgomery Burns, to be more precise.  Now who is that loaf in sector 17?  Why have I hired him?

Lol. It's sector 7 G, to be more precise.

[MonkeyHead]

Any trainable animal goes in a pasture near my gate in order to meatshiled detect any enemies, and stall them until real troops arrive. Giant animals or animals that are "large" (e.g. Gorillas) go there as well, even if they arent trainable. Ones that cant be tamed get pitted under the dodgeme bridge - I have a dozen Yetis that enjoy having the odd goblin drop in, though they are often reluctant to fight. Wingfences (which will be my last fort until the new version) has many many dogs, giant Eagles and giant Capybara chilling by the way in, and they often rip invading elves to bits before my troops arrive. It is a joy to see a kobold thief chased across the map by a chian of animal related evil. I keep the biggest and fattest underground in my breeding factories. This way you dont have to worry about the negative thought of an animal being kiilled tipping your steel axe carrying soldier over the edge into a bezerk rage.

[Loud Whispers]

With a dorf population matching that I can give every dorf a dog to protect them. That worked really well, but is a bit redundant.


...


So, how has the rest of the forum faired using dogs (or eugenics programs)?

1. Prepare for tamper tantrums.
2. I tried a Eugenics fort for Dwarves.

Things learnt:

• Dwarf mental stats are batman random.
• Physical stats are passed on to the next generation, albeit rounded down to average. This goes for good and bad stats.
• Eye colour and skin colour are passed down.
• Body size seems unaffected.
• In the end, you end up with completely average dorfs. Most of their physical stats come from their training/labour.

There was also some clever fellow who did this with polar bears. More successful. By butchering skinny, small and weak animals you can end up with gigantic polar baers with untold layers of muscle and fat.

[Sus]

Dogs are also a good method of safe (read: boring) method of cavern exploration. Pit a couple of females into caverns, floor over pit, and wait. Eventually hte dogs and puppies will start wandering about and discovering more of the map for you.

One of my doggy spelunking squads actually took down a giant bat (plus some giant olms and what-have-you).

[FrisianDude]

A few (untrained) dogs also have little trouble running down and eating sneaksy kobolds.