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[Jerm]

I've seen this mentioned in other threads, but I'm having the same problem now.    I've tried 'advanced' world building as well as the new basic one.  Large worlds, and doing embark sites that list Deep Metals and Shallow Metals, as well as Flux, but no iron!   Is this a bug?  Something I'm doing wrong?

[Bartinyou]

Well without knowing the specifics of the changes you made to the world gen, the easiest thing i can tell you is to pick up a program like DFHack (listed in the mods section, easy to install).  It allows you to prospect sites before you embark and is fairly accurate as far as telling you what you should see when you embark.

[INSANEcyborg]

You can use DFhack to see what ores are present before embarking.  If you don't want to use that though, I suggest looking for multiple shallow metals.  Decent chance of having magnetite with a few platinum veins.  It'll need to be a sedimentary layer too, so avoid volcanic areas. 

[Jerm]

I use dfhack, but I didn't know it had functions that I could use at the embark screen.  I'll dig around in it!

[i2amroy]

I use dfhack, but I didn't know it had functions that I could use at the embark screen.  I'll dig around in it!

The command you are looking for is "prospect all". Just use it at the site select screen and it will give you rough estimates of the various amounts of metals.

[wuphonsreach]

Note that it only randomly prospects one of the tiles in the selected biome.  Which may or may not be representative of the biome as a whole.

[Mageziya]

I've had a similar problem, honestly I just try, try and try again. Just started a new fort, I am hopeful, but so far all I've found is Nickle and (Somehow) Native silver in schist. According to the wiki native silver in schist is not possible, but hey, I'm not complaining.

And before you all say DF hack I am playing completely vanilla.

[krenshala]

What biom type(s) are you embarking in?  What mineral scarcity level are you running world gen at?

If you are using Basic World Gen, and setting Minerals to "Everywhere" then this is expected behavior due to how it currently generates veins and clusters.  Try using "Frequent" instead for better results (and more actual metals).

If you aren't already, try embarking in an area with sedimentary rock, as that has a much higher chance of including iron.  I regularly find hematite, limonite and magnetite when embarking on rivers and half hills/half forest, or all forest.  You tend to get more aquifers this way, but I've found you usually get iron with aquifers.

[Garath]

I've had a similar problem, honestly I just try, try and try again. Just started a new fort, I am hopeful, but so far all I've found is Nickle and (Somehow) Native silver in schist. According to the wiki native silver in schist is not possible, but hey, I'm not complaining.

And before you all say DF hack I am playing completely vanilla.

so no therapist either?

What biom type(s) are you embarking in?  What mineral scarcity level are you running world gen at?

If you are using Basic World Gen, and setting Minerals to "Everywhere" then this is expected behavior due to how it currently generates veins and clusters.  Try using "Frequent" instead for better results (and more actual metals).

If you aren't already, try embarking in an area with sedimentary rock, as that has a much higher chance of including iron.  I regularly find hematite, limonite and magnetite when embarking on rivers and half hills/half forest, or all forest.  You tend to get more aquifers this way, but I've found you usually get iron with aquifers.

1: advanced world gen, so no "frequent" or "everywhere
2: Quietust has debunked it, many others have, how much more does it take: mineral scarcity has no effect on layer forming as minerals are put in AFTER the layers have been generated. The only thing that has a problem with this is the site finder.


many sedimentary areas have aquifers. The combination of aquifer and iron is therefore not that strange

[krenshala]

What biom type(s) are you embarking in?  What mineral scarcity level are you running world gen at?

If you are using Basic World Gen, and setting Minerals to "Everywhere" then this is expected behavior due to how it currently generates veins and clusters.  Try using "Frequent" instead for better results (and more actual metals).

If you aren't already, try embarking in an area with sedimentary rock, as that has a much higher chance of including iron.  I regularly find hematite, limonite and magnetite when embarking on rivers and half hills/half forest, or all forest.  You tend to get more aquifers this way, but I've found you usually get iron with aquifers.

1: advanced world gen, so no "frequent" or "everywhere

So make sure the number is something reasonable, and not 1 or 0. *shrug*

2: Quietust has debunked it, many others have, how much more does it take: mineral scarcity has no effect on layer forming as minerals are put in AFTER the layers have been generated. The only thing that has a problem with this is the site finder.

But metals are either veins or clusters, as are the non-metal veins and clusters.  I haven't seen the debunking that shows non-metal veins and clusters are not more frequent with lower scarcity, and thus over-writing previously populated metal veins/clusters.  I'm not saying you (or they) are wrong, just that I haven't seen this !!science!! you speak of.  I just know that just about every person that has posted on the forums complaining about "where are the metals?!" have used the Basic World Gen, and set Minerals to "Everywhere", while those of us that use "Frequent" are typically swimming in metals.  They aren't always useful metals, but there are quite a bit of them regardless.

[Sutremaine]

I don't recall seeing a large number of people with 'Everywhere' mineral settings complaining about lack of metals. It's usually lack of flux that's the complaint.