I got a tip for those who want the game to run faster and save some time.
Go download DFhack, drop it in the game directory (it runs automatically on startup) and when ingame use the command 'setfps X' to increase the max FPS cap of DF.
It helps to deal with some of the early downtime, and you can always cap it at 100 (or lower) again when things look messy.
Or just set it in data/init/init.txt
Your tip works without restarting the game though and on my computers loading and saving the game takes a good minute.
DFhack has other good commands though which makes it worth getting.
'quicksave' for example allows you to save the game without exiting to the main menu again.
'clean all' cleans all map tiles.
'autodump destroy' deletes all items marked for dumping (not something you'd use often, but it is better than using atom smashers, which themselves are game exploits).
Crazy Cow, I... am afraid I have some bad news.
Bean Rabbitglad, the wielder of Sandal Beach and slayer of 30 earth ponies, has been killed in action.
Cause of death: Defiance of orders when asked to flee from a black radscorpion. Bean Rabbitglad refused to retreat.
I am not going to lie, he did not die a hero's death, he did not die defending those he loved or to save the stable from certain death, he died, because the DF AI has done nothing but being a serious pain in the ass to me since embark.
Shortly before his death however he did help in securing the trade depot for a caravan of slavers, and we did pool our resources (with 'pool' meaning 'offering the tiniest portion of our incredible wealth') to buy the three unicorn captives, so in a way, he
kinda helped, I guess.
I still have Panther Dinehill Decline Spew the Arms Master however (formerly named 'Blade' Dinehill), who is also an unicorn and the commanding officer of the stable security forces.
He is currently training, but is otherwise the slayer of 13 black radscorpions (of which 2 were named), 3 raiders and 13 other less important bighorner/radrat/bloatsprite kills.
I'll update you on Panther and the three captives as I go along, out of boredom.