Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Author Topic: The next step in fortress building  (Read 2009 times)

Mimodo

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
The next step in fortress building
« on: July 20, 2012, 12:45:07 am »

Ok, so I'm finally starting to get the hang of DF, and I'm running a quite successful fortress at the moment, with a solid magma fuelled metal industry, as well as a fully operational meat industry, farming, and of course, a training military, with a few legendaries to lead the way.

This was, of course, created in a world with minerals EVERYWHERE, without any evil or savagery in the world, leaving me with only werebeasts as outside threats past goblins.

I'm looking to start on a new fortress that will provide a little bit more of a challenge, whilst still being within my abilities to handle, so what parameters should I look for when generating a new world. Should I go for a short history, or a long history (current fortress is in year 31), and what kind of things should I look for in an embark point? I'm not going for hardcore trying to survive a glacier type thing, just something a little more challenging that what I'm doing right now
Logged
Bay12 Forums... Probably one of the last few sanctuaries on the internet. We're all equally insane in our own way, and it is that insanity that brings us together

Bartinyou

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2012, 01:19:27 am »

A few suggestions I can make to up the ante a bit, without going over the top, would be to go for either a spot with little metals other than goblinite or a untamed wilds (animal men + giant creatures).  Another possibility for challenge would be a untamed wilds that has a stream or river in it.  This will give you giant sponges, providing some challenge until you learn how to deal with them.

Or if you want a new threat to face, try building a fortress close to a Necro Tower or necro controlled town, these require some changes in trap layout/different military strat compared to your standard goblin siege.


PS In order to figure out if your site is near a necro home, look at civilizations by tabbing while on the embark screen.
Logged

misko27

  • Bay Watcher
  • Lawful Neutral; Prophet of Pestilence
    • View Profile
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #2 on: July 20, 2012, 01:22:03 am »

A savage biome shouldn't be too difficult, hell, unless your unlucky you should have minor probliems. Aquifer if not tried, Necromancet tower? Maybe, no trees, no soil, no ore? It depends. What I'm suggesting could be too easy, or too hard, depending on what you want.
Logged
The Age of Man is over. It is the Fire's turn now

Mimodo

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2012, 01:59:27 am »

So should I do anything different in world gen?
Logged
Bay12 Forums... Probably one of the last few sanctuaries on the internet. We're all equally insane in our own way, and it is that insanity that brings us together

Bartinyou

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #4 on: July 20, 2012, 02:32:47 am »

Depends on what you want, most of it can be found in the world gen thread, but in general increasing history increases the chances of necros taking over the world gaining a foothold.  Increasing mineral scarcity decreases ores, and etc etc, The world gen thread goes into a lot more detail.
Logged

wuphonsreach

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #5 on: July 20, 2012, 05:57:22 am »

Which world gen thread?  I can think of 2 or 3 such but not sure which one is the "talk about parameters" vs "here's a pre-defined seed".
Logged

I am Leo

  • Bay Watcher
  • Ia ia Oggez Rashaz!
    • View Profile
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #6 on: July 20, 2012, 07:56:10 am »

Set yourself the challenge of having no traps and no forbidden doors, so enemies can always path all the way into your fort. You can only defend with your militia.
Alternately, fully automated magma defences.
Logged

Mimodo

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #7 on: July 20, 2012, 08:02:09 am »

Set yourself the challenge of having no traps and no forbidden doors, so enemies can always path all the way into your fort. You can only defend with your militia.
Alternately, fully automated magma defences.

I'd rather have a more difficult circumstance to challenge me, which forces me to change strategies, rather than to change strategies to increase the challenge...
Logged
Bay12 Forums... Probably one of the last few sanctuaries on the internet. We're all equally insane in our own way, and it is that insanity that brings us together

krenshala

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #8 on: July 20, 2012, 08:10:13 pm »

If you embark near a necro-tower, be ready to fight zombies at any point after 9 months at the site.  I've had the first necro stealth about the time the first caravan arrived before (he animated my refuse pile of muscle shells about a week before the caravan started packing to leave).  This can be an interesting, but potentially very frustrating, challenge. :D

Myself, I gen a medium to long world (more time means more vamps/weres), and bump both minerals and savagery up one level from the default medium.  I don't bother with advanced world gen parameters as the "basic" version gives you lots of room for making things !!fun!!. :D

You shouldn't use "Everywhere" for minerals, by the way, as that tends to lead to less actual metals being available based on a number of posts about it recently.  "Frequent" gives quite a lot of minerals (my last, just now fallen, fort was swimming in limonite and shale).
Logged
Quote from: Haspen
Quote from: phoenixuk
Zepave Dawnhogs the Butterfly of Vales the Marsh Titan ... was taken out by a single novice axedwarf and his pet war kitten. Long Live Domas Etasastesh Adilloram, slayer of the snow butterfly!
Doesn't quite have the ring of heroics to it...
Mother: "...and after the evil snow butterfly was defeated, Domas and his kitten lived happily ever after!"
Kids: "Yaaaay!"

Mimodo

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #9 on: July 20, 2012, 09:12:35 pm »

Sounds like its worth a shot then... Thanks :)
Logged
Bay12 Forums... Probably one of the last few sanctuaries on the internet. We're all equally insane in our own way, and it is that insanity that brings us together

Loud Whispers

  • Bay Watcher
  • They said we have to aim higher, so we dug deeper.
    • View Profile
    • I APPLAUD YOU SIRRAH
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2012, 10:35:25 pm »

Build everything above ground. No digging for rooms or workshop space or even large storage spaces. Only one quarry and shafts extending to the caverns allowed. Fun fun fun.

Mimodo

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #11 on: July 21, 2012, 08:06:21 am »

Build everything above ground. No digging for rooms or workshop space or even large storage spaces. Only one quarry and shafts extending to the caverns allowed. Fun fun fun.

As I said, I'd rather have the challenge extend from natural difficulties, rather than giving myself a challenge... Something like that is too easy to skimp out on if I get in a tough situation. Once I become more adept with handling different situations, things like that will commence, and I'll end up living in a floating fortress, supported by only a staircase (that's possible right?)
Logged
Bay12 Forums... Probably one of the last few sanctuaries on the internet. We're all equally insane in our own way, and it is that insanity that brings us together

stool

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #12 on: July 21, 2012, 09:09:42 am »

i usually up the difficulty by adding more creatures/races/super fun stuff etc via mods. (masterwork in my case).
edit: typo
« Last Edit: July 21, 2012, 12:04:41 pm by stool »
Logged

k9wazere

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: The next step in fortress building
« Reply #13 on: July 21, 2012, 01:33:54 pm »

try a reanimating biome. you will not last long ;)
Logged