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[DavionFuxa]

Are you ready for some Dwarf Fortress Let’s Plays? This thread corresponds to my endeavors to video capture some Dwarf Fortress fun and any comments you may have for me. Post here if you wish to provide feedback, insight, ideas, requests, or whatever you wish to reply with. I frequently view this thread and will more then likely reply to you if you do. Such replies will be colored Orange and will include an @"Name" to whom I am replying.

You can also asked if you can be Dwarved/Companioned depending on if I'm doing a Let's Play of Fortress Mode/Adventure Mode for Dwarf Fortress as well here. Note that I may change how I Dwarf people in the future, but for now you can pick who you want to be named as. Or if you don't feel like picking you can just request it and I can just randomly name one of the Dwarves/Companion with your name.

My Let’s Play videos can be viewed at my YouTube Channel which you can get to HERE. Frequently I will make replies to this thread as my video's progress and I feel an announcement is warranted, a milestone occurs, or to express my thoughts as need be. Such replies in this thread by myself will be colored in Pink to help distinguish them from other people's replies.

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An Introduction for myself then: My Gaming Alias is DavionFuxa and I am the creator of many Let’s Plays for Dwarf Fortress. I began to make my videos pertaining to this game just before the start of June 2012, and these were my very first Let’s Play’s of any game.  The first videos corresponding to the Adventure Mode aspect of Dwarf Fortress, before I continued on to create video’s concerning the Fortress Mode aspect.

I was introduced to Dwarf Fortress sometime in April of 2012 when I glanced at a friend's monitor, but it wasn't until about a month later that I started to view Let's Plays on Youtube, and then start delving into the game myself. I was more interested in the Adventure Mode Let's Plays and that is where I spent most of my earlier recollections in playing the game, but I did try to create a Dwarf Fortress or two, and gradually I learned more about Fortress Mode. Now I consider myself to be an adept player at this game - not yet an expert mind you but experienced enough that I can play Fortress Mode fairly well and I can usually get by in Adventure Mode without dying in the first encounter if I try.

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To describe the video habits of many Let's Players for Dwarf Fortress, is to same as to describe video's that tend to have a lot of content edited out or skipped. I won't say that I won't do the same, however I will at least try to have my video's include to some degree what others may skip; at least early on. Later if I feel that it is getting tiresome to keep showing or if I am trying to create the video around another premises, eg: Surviving in a completely evil biome embark where the premise is less how I go about building the Fortress and more about how I prevent 'FUN' from immediately occurring.

In regards to the organization of my videos on YouTube, I broke them up into playlists regarding the Game Version and created World that I played my games in. Earlier playlists were of lower quality as I was more focused on just learning how to upload videos to YouTube rather then making good quality videos to watch. Eventually though I started to improve in my video capturing abilities and from the 5th Playlist on I learned from past videos to create higher quality videos; these video’s being much more controlled in video length, resolution, and overall quality.

Due to the sheer amount of hours one would have to dedicate to watching my videos and the lower quality of earlier playlists, I would recommend that you might want to begin in one of my later playlists. Those looking to watch the highest quality videos should probably begin at the 6th Playlist (or 7th Playlist if Adventure Mode doesn't interest you) and go from there.

*Note* At this time, the 6th Playlist doesn't exist, however it will concern Adventure Mode and be created at the start of the next version release. The 7th Playlist will most likely correspond to a Dwarf Fortress complete evil biome embark, unless Toady is promising something really interesting in the near future that makes me want to deviate from doing that.

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To help people look up or into the various programs or equipment I use, check this stuff out. Note, I'm not responsible if something damages your system:

Software-
Dwarf Fortress with Phoebus' Tileset: http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=2431
Dwarf Therapist: http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=6064&posted=true#c_510
BB Flashback Express: http://www.bbsoftware.co.uk/BBFlashBack_FreePlayer.aspx

Hardware-
Windows XP Professional
Logitech Wireless G390 Gaming Headset
Samsung SyncMaster 2243wm LCD Monitor (22", 1680x1050, 5ms, DVI)

URLs-
Dwarf Wiki: http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Main_Page
Online-Stopwatch.com Countdown Timer: http://www.online-stopwatch.com/countdown-timer/
Various Channels (And My Own) on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com to find the various OST's, Soundtracks, Extended Playlists, whatever.

[DavionFuxa]

As of this post my second playlist has been completed. It is finished and I've played it as I planned to from the beginning, so unless I decide to start additional adventurers and a new version isn't released when I decide to do so there won't be additional videos. Even then, if the new version comes out, I will probably not go back to the world.

I will be starting up a new World then to start a Playlist that will concentrate on just Dwarf Fortress Mode and building Fortresses. I mostly have played in Mountains or Forests and what not so if you view them, you'll probably see a rookie player in a Glacier, Tundra, Desert, Evil Biome, or whatever I decide to do.

[DavionFuxa]

My third playlist is now well underway. It should be noted that I'm looking to put much more quality into this playlist, by making it all HD 1080p, and between 20-30 minutes in length per episode for easier watching.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5CE074F53B8AF152&feature=mh_lolz

For my first Fortress I start in a Red Sand Desert Area near a River. There is apparently Flux Stone and Shallow Metals available, which is funny since I wasn't specifically searching for that but ended up getting it anyway (Scarce Mineral Resource Default Worldgen). It's sandwiched between a couple grassland areas but they barely bleed into the biome. It's a Untamed Wilds Desert near a Necromancer's Tower so some fun stuff may wander in eventually. For this Fortress I plan to look into the Glass Industry and Animal Taming, both to learn and master these industries but also to see if I like them to begin with. I'll probably also do Magma Forging, mostly because I don't have a tonne of trees to cut down and burn into fuel this time around.

[DavionFuxa]

I figure I'll drop updates of Big Milestones or Big Events (or what I consider Big) in my Fortress.

The first milestone is the death of one of my Dwarves - after a startling 5 seasons and just before the Human Caravan arrived!

Okay, I know that isn't big, but how he died is - drained of blood! This occurred shortly after the second big migrant wave to my fortress and obviously just before the Human Caravan arrived.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddwIZWgLBV0

In the video above I filter through my Dwarves to find the dastardly culprit Vampire, and then I make plans with him - MUHAHAHAHA. Following Video's show what I have him do.

Video might also be useful for learning how to identify Vampires as well, even though I sort of muddle how I do so.

[DavionFuxa]

A Vile Force of Darkness descends on my Fortress, and does nothing - though an Ettin also dropped by and they killed it so whatever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qXqBB_vB6Y

Pretty boring invasion, and I'm just about bored to death with this Fortress. I aimed to do some glassmaking and I'll probably do a bit of that after a map out the magma and get the glass furnaces up - then I'll probably kill the fortress. Maybe I'll dig into a Fun Spire to kill it, who knows.

[DavionFuxa]

Haven't been updating this as much though I figured it worth noting my third Let's Play Video list has ended. After I got bored with the desert and effectectively set out to destroy that Fortress, I made several attempts to make a working Fort in a Freezing Biome - most of which included a Sinister Glacier with an Serene Tundra, and an aquifer that would need to be dug through. Nothing really went my way so I think I'm done for what I plan to do with Glaciers and Tundras.

Will be starting a New Playlist then, this time in a Large World. I'll probably be playing with the upload quality again, this time with HD 720p instead of 1080p, just to see the different in the amount I can upload and the quality. I'll focus on playing in an Evil Biome for this one.

[DavionFuxa]

Seeing as how I have a Fortress in an Evil Biome that has made it to the first Migrant wave, I'm happy to note a fort that should at least last a little longer then the past failed Embarks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihfIeoGCW78&list=PL8CBBF642C7248C96&index=4&feature=plpp_video

You can view the begins of this fortress and watch and see how I survive (or how long I survive...) from the point of Embarking to the whatever. I won't be giving up on this Fort as quickly as I did the others, even though I've already had a few deaths.

[DavionFuxa]

Those looking to skip the initial troubles and workings of my fort, can skip to where I currently am here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APXlUbpetjw

[DavionFuxa]

In case perhaps writing it out might help, how my cave in idea works in my fort in written detail:

Areas exceeding 3 tiles width or height from the nearest support or wall may be subject to cave in if the square area of the width multiplied by the height exceeds 100 'unbroken' squares.
 
Ie - where x is a wall, o is open space, n is a support

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

- This is fine because the height of the room doesn't exceed 3 tiles and won't result in a collapse.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

- Because this room exceeds 100 tiles squared and exceeds 3 tiles height, it is prone to collapse.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xoooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xoooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xoooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xoooooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

- This room exceeds 100 tiles but because the top part of the room doesn't exceed 3 tiles, and the bottom part doesn't exceed 100 tiles squared, the room is not prone to collapse. Squaring of the bottom part includes all the 'o's between the yellow ones.

Going back to fix the 2nd example given, supports would need to be added to the inside of the room. However, if added improperly it may still collapse.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoonoooooooooooooooooooooooooooonoox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoonoooooooooooooooooooooooooooonoox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Supports are added into the room, but the room is still prone to collapse. This is because the area of tiles squares between the yellow o's is still exceeding 100 squares.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoonoooooooooooonnnnoooooooooooonoox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoonoooooooooooonnnnoooooooooooonoox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooox
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Adding more supports to reduce the area until there is no '100 tiled' squared areas left fixes the problem.

This would be the basic idea of what I'm getting at, but a more advanced idea would have '100 squared tiled' areas expanding into other rooms, and potentially there might be some exceptions made if the rooms exceed more then 1z level. However, I'll think about that more later in game.

[DavionFuxa]

The first major incident happens at my Fortress as a Kobold Ambush inflicts damage against my Fort.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfvEWCVMEp8

Sigh, isn't it always that when you make that minor mistake or take one minor risk, something will capitalize on it right then and there?

[DavionFuxa]

I decided that I would end my forth playlist. I plan to start one more new playlist to play a fort in before Toady comes out with the next update that corresponds with Adventure Mode.

The new Fortress will focus on a Swamp with an Aquifer in it. It's a Smaller World with only a 5 year History, Scarce Minerals, and Very High in Civilizations, Numbers of Sites, Beasts, and Savagery. I plan to use what I've learned from the past four playlists to make a series of higher quality videos.

Check out my new playlist here : http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4F98C4A995BBC609&feature=mh_lolz

I may start to reduce the amount of video's I release soon, but these ones will be of a longer video length.

Enjoy and have Fun!

[MAurelius]

Hey Davion,

I'm always scanning Youtube for new Dwarf Fortress let's plays and just stumbled on yours. I'm really enjoying them. I started on your 2nd playlist because I really don't care all that much about adventure mode. My favorite let's plays are the ones whose fortress design differs from my own as I'm able to learn stuff which in this game is always appreciated (DF requires lifelong learning!) I'm in a hurry to get to your third set (I watch on my 55 inch tv so the 720-1080 resolution is godly) but I'm committed to watching through them in order.

I just noticed that no one else has commented so I just wanted to say great work and I've watched pretty much all the DF let's plays and tutorials (in English) on Youtube and I can definitely say that for my interests, yours are very, very good. Thanks for sharing them!

[DavionFuxa]

@MAurelius
Awesome, Mind my failed starts because I know you will start to see them toward the end of the third playlist/start of forth playlist. Let me know if you want to have a Dwarf named after you as well, currently in a Swamp Biome now.

[MAurelius]

That's nice of you, but I don't need a named dwarf. Whatever embark you'd use would be over by the point I got caught up in the videos.

I'm still playing the older version before the vampires and such. There are some good things I like in the new version, but I just don't want the trouble yet of learning about the new features. I'm watching your LP's to get a feel for it. I don't even know where to begin with minecarts, haha.

I notice you lay out your workshops in the popular way. That is, a big room with multiple workshops. I get how that's easier to set up but I tend to put all my workshops in separate rooms so that if a dwarf goes insane I can lock them in there so they just die and don't run around destroying anything/causing trouble. I tend to let my focus on design dominate and impede the actual taking care of and safety of my dwarves, though, so I really enjoy watching LP's to see how other players cope with some of the challenges I have a hard time with (too large migrations, being pretty much unable to leave fort after year 4 or so due to constant invasions - I play with Genesis - and having to have all outdoor wood-farming and pasture areas that I will ever want/need walled off and protected by year 2-3 to be safe).

I've NEVER been good with military so every fort I make automatically starts with a 10z drop pit under a causeway with weapon traps. The only way I have found to effectively deal with invasions once they become permanent and insane is this - they all attempt to dodge the traps and fall into the pit. Also a good way to get iron in a ore-less embark. Only problem is they take forever to dig, and you need to start in a mountain biome or otherwise you hit the first cavern before you finish the pit, which is doable (you can build walls) but a lot more difficult, especially if it's a multi z-level cavern area.

[DavionFuxa]

@MAurelius
Yep, I've tried many of the methods for setting up workshops, but I find that there really is no need to wall up your Dwarves. Most of the time, I will have what they need on hand since I have yet to play past like 4 years, so they don't get too demanding with what they need. Probably the worst thing that's ever happened will be the goblin siege in the Desert Fortress, where there was a whole squad of jabberers - though I had effectively killed off that fort so I didn't really deal with it.

I might experiment some more and include individual workshops though in the future. What I might plan on doing is having one giant stockpile that all the workshops draw from - and I'll have the workshops behind the piles rather then in front of them. Though for now I'm going with tried and true.