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Author Topic: Newbie problems  (Read 3500 times)

SerbanSpire

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Newbie problems
« on: August 09, 2012, 02:46:09 pm »

Hello there! I have some problems with the gameplay so if you please, help me on these issues.

First of all, my woodcutter doesn't chop down the trees i assigned to be cut down. He only works as a carpenter, but i ran out of wood and he stopped working. He's just idling all day long which is annoying. When i put him to make buckets or wheelbarrows whatever, at announcements says that he needs logs to continue working and thus he cancels the work. What am i doing wrong?

The other thing is that only one dwarf stockpile the items from my wagon to the stockpile area. I made a custom stockpiling area underground, i've set it to accept everything except animals, corpses, refuse and stone, but 6 out of 7 ppl are idling. Shouldn't they start stockpiling, there is plenty of crap in my wagon? They sometimes switch roles giving other dwarf the "role" to stockpile, but they never do it at the same time, more than one.

Ive seen some videos on youtube, when you assign the trees to be chopped down, the woodcutter begins immediately working, when you set the stockpile area, ALL the dwarves begin working. Maybe i ran out of some specific wood and i have to set somehow the type of wood the carpenter must use to make various wood objects idk. Maybe i should have gotten an axe for my woodcutter to chop down wood, ive looked for something similiar at the beginning but i havent found. Others don't look for an axe when they begin, in the videos i saw.  I am using Dwarf Therapist and my dwarves' jobs are set to on as it should be.

I am pretty sure i will encounter other problems in this game , but we will keep in touch. thanks in advance
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Laurin

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2012, 02:51:09 pm »

Have you built your carpenter's workshop underground?
If so, I'm pretty sure this is a case of disconnected stairs/ramps which is quite a common problem for new players.

If you dig away the supporting wall of a ramp, it will still show the ramp symbol, but it cannot be used anymore.

Also, stairs have to be up/downstairs in most cases, which can be a bit confusing.

Take a look at the wiki:
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Ramps
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Stairs

If you didn't bring any axe with you, your carpenter can't chop down trees. Has he chopped any tree?

You can provide him with a training axe which will do just fine. Deconstruct the wagon (q - x). This will yield three logs. Make a training axe at the carpenter's workshop.

Has the woodcutter his labor enabled? Check with dwarf therapist.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2012, 03:15:35 pm by Laurin »
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SerbanSpire

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2012, 03:58:47 pm »

Thank you for the fast reply. My carpenter is underground yes and i built my staircases ok because he already made some barrels and beds chairs etc. So yes i had to get an axe :D. And no he never chopped down a tree.

I am using Dwarf therapist and yes it's enabled :D.
Ill reply to this post with more problems in the future
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SerbanSpire

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2012, 04:07:22 pm »

Yes it works now they are chopping down trees.:D

Do you know about the stockpilers, why are they idling instead of moving the object to the stockpile? The hauling is on for everybody in Dwarven therapist
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chlorine

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2012, 04:10:25 pm »

Is your wagon still there? In my game I seem to remember it counted kind of as a stockpile so I had to remove it for the dwarves to do the stockpiling. I don't know if the wagon has any use though and if it's a good idea to remove it or not.
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SerbanSpire

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2012, 05:24:26 pm »

I removed it
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crazysheep

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2012, 05:49:09 pm »

Is your stockpile full? That usually explains why they won't move stuff there.
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weenog

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2012, 05:54:03 pm »

Does the stockpile allow any wheelbarrows?  If so, change the wheelbarrows count to 0 for that stockpile.  Sounds like you've got dwarves thinking that stockpile only receives deliveries via wheelbarrow, and only one wheelbarrow is available, so only one dwarf can be hauling stuff to the stockpile at any given time.
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Nameless Archon

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2012, 07:06:45 pm »

Does the stockpile allow any wheelbarrows?  If so, change the wheelbarrows count to 0 for that stockpile.  Sounds like you've got dwarves thinking that stockpile only receives deliveries via wheelbarrow, and only one wheelbarrow is available, so only one dwarf can be hauling stuff to the stockpile at any given time.
This is a significant potential cause. The default embark contains *1* wheelbarrow, and if you have no more, only 1 dwarf moves goods to teh stockpile, even if you set 3 as the wheelbarrow count, I believe. A temporary workaround is to turn off wheelbarrows on the stockpile to speed up hauling, as 6 dwarves will haul most items faster than wheelbarrows really help. (Stone aside.)
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SerbanSpire

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #9 on: August 09, 2012, 07:12:44 pm »

How do i set the wheelsbarrows to 0. I have 4 of them in the stockpile. the 5th is currently under use :D
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Torrasque666

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #10 on: August 09, 2012, 07:51:43 pm »

Hit [W]heelbarrow after [Q]uering the stockpile. Stone stockpiles automatically are set to 1, and if memory serves, as are all stockpiles created with Stone enabled. A stockpile can have 1,2,3 or 0 wheelbarrows assigned to it limiting the number of jobs to 1,2,3 or infinite. They will store them in the stockpile on top of other items, but don't actually take up space.


WEEEEEE I'M HELPFUL FOR ONCE!
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You seem to be under the impression that we're playing some game other than dwarf fortress. It doesn't matter how powerful you make a creature, we will find a way to destroy it. God is dead, and Urist killed him.

Laurin

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #11 on: August 10, 2012, 03:15:40 am »

Also, if you (q)uery a stockpile there are some options for barrels and bins and options for giving and taking. So if you by accident hit "a" your stockpile setting switches from "Will take from anywhere" to "Will take from links only". Check that.
The options for barrels and bins change the number of allowed bins or barrels on a stockpile. (C -> minimum bins, V -> maximum bins, c decreases number by one, v increases number bei one; E - > minimum barrels, R - > maximum barrels, e decreases number by one, r increases number by one)

 If you create a new stockpile and don't choose a special kind, the default is animal stockpile which will have zero barrels and zero bins. So if you later set the stockpile to accept drinks and don't change the number for barrels to maximum, no drinks whatsoever will ever brought to this stockpile.
Food stockpiles in general should mostly have barrels set for maximum with some exceptions like seeds stockpiles.
Stockpiles for crafts and stuff should have their bins set to maximum.
Neither one needs wheelbarrows. Wheelbarrows are only useful for stone stockpiles, furniture and sometimes wood.
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greycat

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #12 on: August 10, 2012, 06:06:03 am »

Neither one needs wheelbarrows. Wheelbarrows are only useful for stone stockpiles, furniture and sometimes wood.

I don't think any logs are heavy enough to need a wheelbarrow, so I wouldn't use them on a wood stockpile.  Metal bar stockpiles may benefit from wheelbarrows if you allow bins, since a bin with 5 metal bars in it is rather heavy.
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SerbanSpire

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #13 on: August 10, 2012, 03:32:57 pm »

Thank you for the quick responses. My problems are done...for now :D
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wuphonsreach

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Re: Newbie problems
« Reply #14 on: August 10, 2012, 05:51:04 pm »

A rough estimate is that at about 100-150 urists of weight (bin + contents) or (single item for a no-bin stockpile), it's time to start using a wheelbarrow.

You may find that number to be as low as 70-80, or as high as 150-200.
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