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[Snaake]

...
I've lost a fair number of mostly stable fortresses because I'd go away from the game for a bit, come back, and decide I'd rather start a fresh one than pick up something I haven't touched for months, especially since I get the most joy out of the early game anyway. I'm currently running a duchy, but sometimes that seems more like work than play, especially when so much of the fortress's activity at that stage is passive (except when goblins show up, and I'm very eager for the next siege.)

So, it's complicated.

A final note, and perhaps a word of advice. When my forts get really successful, I think part of it is that I grow them rather slowly.

Likewise for wandering away from the game, then rather starting a new fort than try to relearn where everything is and what I was doing etc. with the old one. Also +1 for the advice, helps avoid migrants of doom, maybe (anecdotal evidence, on the other hand my migrant waves in the most recent fort have been 9, 9, 33, 15, 15, so maybe not that accurate), and definitely should help with sieges etc. I've only had a goblin thief and master thief so far (that I've noticed).


Back on track, my own experience was that I got the hang of a lot of basics pretty much right away, but I did play Nethack quite a bit on and off, so that might've helped. And copious reading of the wiki and the forums too. Now for a long time my problem in developing mature forts is that I'm probably overly OCD regarding layout: I want my layouts to be "neat", efficient yet preferably not boring... I don't like to dig out any "extra" tiles or exploratory staircases or stuff like that. At least not by accident, by which I mean is that if I intend to dig exploratory staircases to find ore or caverns or magma, that's acceptable, but if what I planned to be my main staircase down hits an aquifer, that's really annoying. I also have gotten bored of fort layouts or started a megaproject that was maybe a bit too mega for my patience to get started up, the last one being: channeling down a 81*51, 15-z area around a volcano. I planned on casting an obsidian cube of that size there and hollowing out my fortress inside it, but should've started with a smaller subportion. I have spent a lot of effort building magma pump stacks or rerouting rivers to also have an underground fork underneath my fort, only to get bored with the rest of my fort. This isn't even about tantrum spirals, I've survived a few of those too.

My current fort is really a character test for me, as I try to get over this tendency to just drop forts due to boredom and/or layout OCD. I want to get stable industries (the cloth level is already up and running pretty well, as are stone, wood, and bone/shell trinkets) running, including replacing fuel with magma. And adamantium gear. And surface fort (only 21x31 around this time) done, and secure entrances to all 3 caverns. Sieges I've beaten before, but never really had a well-working goblinite processing system. Once I've done all that, I guess I'll either keep playing, messing around with making some kind of death traps, or since the new version will be coming out at some point (hopefully this year) anyway, breach HFS and see what happens.

I have a couple of new fort ideas, which are possibly quite extensive in terms of layout and one of them a bit micromanagey, but both should be quite modular, so can be built in parts. We'll see if I make those in this version or (probably at least one of them) in the next. I also just somehow lost my mental barrier against major mods today (done some raw mods and bugfixey edits, and recently started using dfhack as well as Dwarf Therapist, for the interface improvements, but no larger mods), and masterwork seems like it would be lots of fun (potentially including !!FUN!!).

[AmpsterMan]

I first started playing using Dfhack and Dwarf Therapist. Now that I have a much improved Grasp of the game I want to play without those tools. I feel like I am in square one.

[edgefigaro]

I first started playing using Dfhack and Dwarf Therapist. Now that I have a much improved Grasp of the game I want to play without those tools. I feel like I am in square one.

I use the rapist. I've not used it plenty often enough, and can flow with the stock interface, but there are certain capacities in the rapist that are valuable, especially in large, high population forts.

[mirrizin]

I hope calling it "the rapist" isn't supposed to be funny, because it's not.

[JAFANZ]

I hope calling it "the rapist" isn't supposed to be funny, because it's not.

AIUI it's considered an "in-joke".

Apparently one of the early versions had a typo on the main form, & showed as "TheRapist" instead of "Therapist".

So to some people, it actually is funny.

[mirrizin]

I hope calling it "the rapist" isn't supposed to be funny, because it's not.

AIUI it's considered an "in-joke".

Apparently one of the early versions had a typo on the main form, & showed as "TheRapist" instead of "Therapist".

So to some people, it actually is funny.

I was afraid of that.

[Snaake]

I just assumed it was a reference to the SNL Celebrity Jeopardy Sean Connery skits. Which, on the whole, are funny, even if they can be offensive.

- "I'll take the rapists for $200"
- "That's THERAPISTS..."
(youtube search for "sean connery jeopardy therapist" should get you a video, in case you haven't heard of the skits.)


Also, the ingame labor management UI that dfhack gives is a pretty good too.

[mirrizin]

I know some folks for whom it's a trigger, somewhat personal experience. Context does make the joke a little more understandable.

Hopefully I"ll get around to building a pump stack at some point, but first I'm going to have to dig down to the point where it's a sane thing to do. 100+ z-levels just seems like a bit much...

[ShadowHammer]

Well, my first fort died 'cause I had no military. The second fort died 'cause I had no military. Before starting the third fort, I was like, "Hmm. In my other forts, I've only ever needed a military once, and it seems like a lot of work. Should I even bother?" Then I realized why I had only needed a military once.
After I figured out military it got a lot easier.

[flameaway]

Yeah, developing a military is actually pretty simple, and having those badass dwarves around makes everything else easier.

Seriously, to any player that is avoiding the military screens; Watching one dwarf tear through 20-25 goblins without getting a scratch is  one of the most fun parts of the game; and getting a couple of fighter types going is no more difficult than building a mister or DWR, easier actually.  Don't even need to do danger rooms, just set them up and let them train.  Inside a year you'll have a couple of Hammerlords that will handle dragons, ambushes, and sieges.

And if you don't go nuts trying to build a bunch of stuff too quickly, you won't even see any serious trouble for quite awhile, at least in the easier embarks.  Don't set your cook on lavish meals while your wealth builds to the sky is what I'm saying.  Keep everything small and run your fort lean for awhile.  I've seen that advice a lot --couple of times on this topic.  And it is very good advice.

So go ahead an figure out the military stuff.  You'll be able to leave the front gate open and deal with every caravan that comes along -- for awhile anyway.

[Hague]

I remember in an old fort, I manipulated my moods enough to complete a large combination of candy artifact armor and put it on one of my military units. I then sent that unit with the other heroes of my fortress. They slaughtered all the demons quite quickly and demon bones adorned some future artifacts. This was before demons were randomized and could kill an entire unit of soldiers with a syndrome.

Manipulating artifact creation is easy in principle. The trick is, when a dwarf has a mood, you can lock them in their room and read what ingredients they want. You then forbid all other materials of that type than the one kind you want to use, then unlock the room. For instance, if you want to make a candy battle axe, just find a migrant with no moodable talents that has a like for battle axes and then train them just enough to make them a weaponsmith (their profession changes) When that dwarf moods, they WILL make an axe. Now, forbid any metal that you don't want the item to be made of. It's tricky though, not all materials are good, candy makes terrible blunt weapons so you want a dense metal. This is a good opportunity to get a blunt weapon made of lead, for instance, if you know your dwarf likes maces or hammers. Then make sure to have some lead handy for an artifact lead hammer. Forbid all other metals and allow your dwarf to collect the metal you want. I ran an elf fortress (modified elves) and ended up with an artifact candy longsword, armor, shield, and spear. Each was studded with emeralds, rubies, and diamonds. The same can be done with other decorations. Feel like your weapons need some dragon bone or dragon leather? Easy, just forbid all other materials of those types until the moody dwarf collects them and places them in his/her workshop. Remember, a dwarf's profession determines what mood they take on. A leatherworker will make artifact leather items. A dwarf that has no profession or a non-moody profession will usually choose stonecraft/bonecraft. These are terrible skills to be raised in a mood. I recommend you make sure all your dumb migrants are given enough work to make them decent enough at other professions before you turn them into haulers. This will guarantee valuable artifacts.

[flameaway]

Hague,

Thanks for the tips.

[simonthedwarf]

I do believe there is some controversy when it comes to lead hammers. Yes, lead is heavy, but my experiments with using lead hammers is that they are not good for combat. Feel free to correct me.

[beremat]

It was very much the same for me. I had no idea what was going on - then I figured out you can't give direct orders, it's all designations. Then I learned the basic mechanics of everything. And all of a sudden I had a fortress going and it was 12 hours later. Suddenly, I could play.

I picked the game up again recently after a break, and sorta re-learned a lot of things in better ways. My fortresses still never last more than 4-5 years (militaries are hard...) but they get a little better each time. I feel like I'm manually working the genetic algorithm.

[flameaway]

beremat,

Okay, so what problem are you having with setting up the military?  I'm not exaggerating when I say two hammer-dwarves are enough for a long time.  Depends on what you want to do of course; but those two dwarves will be able to take on 40 goblins at a time, without getting a scratch.   And getting a simple military (the only kind I know how to set up at this point) going, makes the rest of the game a lot easier to handle.

The route the merchants follow to get to my depot runs right through my barracks.  The barracks is right next to the front gates which stay open almost all the time -- even during a siege. Seiges just don't last very long with their skulls crushed and brains torn.  Of course this entrance design isn't the best because of miasma and other stuff I haven't really encountered yet.  But I consider myself a beginner; so, I don't sweat trying to learn it all at once. Easier for me to pin down one element at a time.  As much as possible, anyway.  But the military dwarves kick everything's ass with a quickness. Plus it's fun watching them knock a goblin's teeth ten tiles...

So, anyway, if you just don't like dedicating a couple of dwarves from the beginning because you want them to help setup your fort; then setting them aside is really worth the investment. Even in the easier biomes.