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Author Topic: Embark Stage  (Read 2419 times)

Arowhun

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #15 on: December 03, 2013, 07:19:08 pm »

I embark with 2 miners, wood cutter, carpentry dwarf, mason dwarf, and a farmer. I always give my wood cutter a training axe because it's cheaper than the metal ones. I always get a male and female pair of dogs, cats, pigs, and every bird available.
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Another important reason is graphics: Toady is running out of letters.

bughunter

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #16 on: December 03, 2013, 08:16:50 pm »

I also tend to just go with "Embark now!" - generic embark with the basic tools, enough food to last well into summer, all crucial occupations covered. I usually assign one of the dwarfs who won't get too much work in the first year as second miner. Switching stuff around a bit for a better use of embark points can certainly make life easier in the first year, but it's rarely worth the several minutes of clicking stuff in the boring stuff screens instead of actually playing the game.

Mind, if you absolutely intend to get an early start into the military, you'll need to prepare properly (or have an appropriate saved embark scheme), because the default embark setup is 100% civilian; military skills and military gear must be specially ordered to be part of your embark package.

Minimal embarks can be fun, too, although a zero-point embark tends to get a bit boring in the long run if you don't trade; i like the classic minimal embark better - take just one anvil and one lump of ore and build a functional fort from there, no trade allowed ever.
I will put this in the OP.
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Anyone else here want some kitten leather thongs?
___________________________
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WoobMonkey

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2013, 09:00:11 pm »

If I'm embarking in an area with trees, I take:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

If on a glacier, desert, or otherwise treeless area, I take:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

If I want to play 'easy mode,' I'll take:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I really don't like hauling jobs at the start.
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Edangzak Utharsanad Gedor - think you have what it takes?
CharmCrafted

The dog misses the ball!
The ball softly hits Urist McTrainer in the head, breaking the paper-thin skull and denting the non-existent brain!

bughunter

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2013, 09:04:45 pm »

If I'm embarking in an area with trees, I take:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

If on a glacier, desert, or otherwise treeless area, I take:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

If I want to play 'easy mode,' I'll take:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I really don't like hauling jobs at the start.
I think next time I start a new fort I will try to reduce the amount of items I bring. Thanks for your post, but I don't think I will put it in the OP due to the simplicity of it.
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Anyone else here want some kitten leather thongs?
___________________________
"Ye know why it's called "kilt'? 'Cause we kilt anyone who called it "skirt"!"
Yeah, kilts are great!

WoobMonkey

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #19 on: December 04, 2013, 12:16:56 am »

I think next time I start a new fort I will try to reduce the amount of items I bring. Thanks for your post, but I don't think I will put it in the OP due to the simplicity of it.

Hey, no worries; didn't really expect that you would.  I just think that new players should be aware that it's absolutely unnecessary to bring along anything, nor to spend points on skills - everything but an anvil can be made onsite.
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Edangzak Utharsanad Gedor - think you have what it takes?
CharmCrafted

The dog misses the ball!
The ball softly hits Urist McTrainer in the head, breaking the paper-thin skull and denting the non-existent brain!

bughunter

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #20 on: December 04, 2013, 12:48:53 am »

I think next time I start a new fort I will try to reduce the amount of items I bring. Thanks for your post, but I don't think I will put it in the OP due to the simplicity of it.

Hey, no worries; didn't really expect that you would.  I just think that new players should be aware that it's absolutely unnecessary to bring along anything, nor to spend points on skills - everything but an anvil can be made onsite.
:)
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Anyone else here want some kitten leather thongs?
___________________________
"Ye know why it's called "kilt'? 'Cause we kilt anyone who called it "skirt"!"
Yeah, kilts are great!

wierd

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #21 on: December 04, 2013, 12:52:48 am »

Not "entirely" true; there are other catch-22s you can get caught in, like embarking with no seeds on a desert/zero vegetation embark. (Yes, caverns CAN be devoid of plants too!) In that case, the only way to get seeds is to buy them, or bring them.

The real thing with playing with minimalist embarks is that it teaches you how to recognize those situations, and take what you will really need, and eschew the rest.

Like I said, I only do a custom embark if the situation calls for it. (Either it is some eldritch nightmare made real that rains rotting puss from the sky that rots your eyeballs out, or a challenge embark with house rules, whatever.) Otherwise, the standard embark is good enough for practically anything.

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bughunter

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #22 on: December 04, 2013, 01:02:43 am »

Not "entirely" true; there are other catch-22s you can get caught in, like embarking with no seeds on a desert/zero vegetation embark. (Yes, caverns CAN be devoid of plants too!) In that case, the only way to get seeds is to buy them, or bring them.

The real thing with playing with minimalist embarks is that it teaches you how to recognize those situations, and take what you will really need, and eschew the rest.

Like I said, I only do a custom embark if the situation calls for it. (Either it is some eldritch nightmare made real that rains rotting puss from the sky that rots your eyeballs out, or a challenge embark with house rules, whatever.) Otherwise, the standard embark is good enough for practically anything.
The only things I really take with me are booze, seeds, and animals. (And obviously an anvil and basic tools) Sometimes, I will take some bituminous coal for some extra fuel.
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Anyone else here want some kitten leather thongs?
___________________________
"Ye know why it's called "kilt'? 'Cause we kilt anyone who called it "skirt"!"
Yeah, kilts are great!

wierd

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #23 on: December 04, 2013, 01:40:14 am »

Naw, you can play however you like. :) that's one of the great things about this game. However, you only grow by testing your limits, so if you feel yourself being comfortable, you should try something completely different from your usual.

Threads like this one give insights into how other people play, so you can try something new, and grow as a player.  I am all for threads like this!

Simply because I like to do minimal embarks (it's mostly because I'm lazy and don't want to spend the time poking the game to be "just so", and actually like the unpredictable results of letting the RNG hold sway) doesn't mean you should take that as god's own truth; on the contrary. I think you should only try it if it is very much outside your norm, otherwise you don't grow, and the experience won't be FUN filled.

(And nobody wants that, least of all me!)

If you have reached the point where the embark profile holds no real meaning for you any more (like myself, and several others who have responded), then perhaps the next challenge for you is to let somebody else provide the embark, and lay some rules.  Community challenges are often quite challenging indeed, and the results of such things are often a pleasure to witness. I really mean it, some community challenges will make you question your own sanity while playing, and are well worth it.

For instance, I am contemplating creating one myself, having read ITG's science on "power mining".  To me that represents new, and untapped potential for a community challenge. Nobody has wholly removed that much of the raw material of an embark before. Imagine, an embark where the SMR is litterraly at your feet, there is almost no stone, no surface water, no soil, you can't really dig any deeper, and the elements are right overhead. Bonus if has huskifying clouds.

The embark should always be one that challenges you, and makes you have memorable experiences. An unremarkable fortress is not worth playing.


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ImagoDeo

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #24 on: December 04, 2013, 02:33:27 am »

For instance, I am contemplating creating one myself, having read ITG's science on "power mining".  To me that represents new, and untapped potential for a community challenge. Nobody has wholly removed that much of the raw material of an embark before. Imagine, an embark where the SMR is litterraly at your feet, there is almost no stone, no surface water, no soil, you can't really dig any deeper, and the elements are right overhead. Bonus if has huskifying clouds.

The embark should always be one that challenges you, and makes you have memorable experiences. An unremarkable fortress is not worth playing.

Quote
memorable experiences

Heh. So much fun, I can't even bear to imagine it.
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WoobMonkey

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #25 on: December 04, 2013, 03:18:43 am »


If you have reached the point where the embark profile holds no real meaning for you any more (like myself, and several others who have responded), then perhaps the next challenge for you is to let somebody else provide the embark, and lay some rules.

[shameless plug]You're welcome to join my own challenge fort - round 2 is on, and the more the merrier![/shameless plug]
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Edangzak Utharsanad Gedor - think you have what it takes?
CharmCrafted

The dog misses the ball!
The ball softly hits Urist McTrainer in the head, breaking the paper-thin skull and denting the non-existent brain!

4maskwolf

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #26 on: December 04, 2013, 09:19:31 am »

Wait, round two started? Same embark?

fortydayweekend

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Re: Embark Stage
« Reply #27 on: January 31, 2014, 02:52:21 pm »

Latest fort I went for:

2 miners (with military skills)
1 grower/brewer
1 carpenter/armorsmith
1 mason/cook
1 stonecrafter/woodcutter
1 hunter/herbalist/furnace op

all set to all the other misc labours - butcher, leatherworker, milker etc

Items:
2 picks, 1 axe, 2 spears, 1 crossbow, 25 bolts (all copper)
1 anvil
9 seeds of each plant
10 leather (for bags)
10 thread (for a rope and extra bags if needed)

3 dogs, 3 cats, 3 chickens (1 male 2 female)

100 bituminous coal

If there was no accessible drinking water I'd take some booze, otherwise they can wait for the first harvest or some gathered berry wine. Food is from eggs, pack animal cheese and slaughter, and later from hunting.

100 coal is overkill, 30 would be enough to comfortably equip the first soldiers without having to dig for magma.
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