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Author Topic: How many smelters do I need?  (Read 3910 times)

Frostea

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Re: How many smelters do I need?
« Reply #15 on: March 20, 2014, 09:26:21 pm »

The secret is to use a small number of highly trained furnace operators instead of the peasant swarm. I used to use the peasant swarm too, but trained operators are much faster.
I just coudn't figure out what to do with all that useless beardless bodies.

Draft them into your suicide squads, give them minimally a helmet, breastplate and a weapon to spar with. In a few years time they will become useful citizens.
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Magistrum

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Re: How many smelters do I need?
« Reply #16 on: March 20, 2014, 09:52:47 pm »

I just coudn't figure out what to do with all that useless beardless bodies.
Draft them into your suicide squads, give them minimally a helmet, breastplate and a weapon to spar with. In a few years time they will become useful citizens.

I said beardless bodies, women don't fight in our fortress.
Aside from the periodically "Punch insane now orphan child" when lazing around in the dining hall... Man, there's even a novice striker.
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Riemann

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Re: How many smelters do I need?
« Reply #17 on: March 20, 2014, 10:23:04 pm »

All of the jobs which do not produce worse quality output (just slower output) are generally good to turn on for a good chunk of your population. Smelting is a perfect example of these. It will slowly skill up among those dwarves and give the unwashed masses something to do.

And, as has been mentioned above, if you are not using magma smelters then fuel is going to be your limiting factor in any case.
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Frostea

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Re: How many smelters do I need?
« Reply #18 on: March 20, 2014, 10:24:27 pm »

The ladies can fare OK in combat if they have decent skills. Even with a kid on them. I used to separate the military with gender as well, but I've found it unnecessary.
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Riemann

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Re: How many smelters do I need?
« Reply #19 on: March 20, 2014, 10:39:28 pm »

I fine it absolutely necessary to limit the max number of children in a fort (I prefer about 1 per 25 of max pop). Otherwise after a few years you will have as much as half of your max pop as unproductive children and babies. Things start falling apart.

And if you have a limited number of children then there's no point to segregating the military. If any of them happen to have a kid then give that individual a new job. But it doesn't happen often.
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Magistrum

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Re: How many smelters do I need?
« Reply #20 on: March 21, 2014, 06:40:33 am »

I set my population cap to 30 and only get the first four or so migrant waves...
I like to keep the children alive, you know... Maybe one day they will become badasses?
Mostly because mommies like to haul their children to the battle, I only recruit women who already lost their husbands, since they won't marry again nor have more children.
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KingBacon

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Re: How many smelters do I need?
« Reply #21 on: March 21, 2014, 05:49:15 pm »

I use "mass" labor for most tasks except  planting a metalsmithing. Using mass labor for strand extractions is great, just be sure to locate food, booze, and bedding near the workshops (I usually build my in the depths and force the slags to live communally.)

Most problems can be solved by throwing bodies at it.
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Magistrum

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Re: How many smelters do I need?
« Reply #22 on: March 21, 2014, 06:02:42 pm »

Most problems can be solved by throwing bodies at it.
Yep, once some goblins threw a body in our door and it jammed, job done, their problem is solved.
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itg

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Re: How many smelters do I need?
« Reply #23 on: March 21, 2014, 07:28:50 pm »

99% of the time, I don't see any need for more than 2-3 smelters. With decent furnace operators and a good hauling setup, that's really all it takes to generate metal faster than I can use it under normal conditions. As long as you have metal when you need it, who cares how long it takes to smelt it?

Riemann

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Re: How many smelters do I need?
« Reply #24 on: March 21, 2014, 07:29:31 pm »

99% of the time, I don't see any need for more than 2-3 smelters. With decent furnace operators and a good hauling setup, that's really all it takes to generate metal faster than I can use it under normal conditions. As long as you have metal when you need it, who cares how long it takes to smelt it?

That's what drawbridges are for :)
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FallenAngel

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Re: How many smelters do I need?
« Reply #25 on: March 21, 2014, 07:34:38 pm »

My fort has so much stone and metal lying around I can spare the copper to make anything.
I can also spare the iron and the silver.
And even the gold and the platinum if need be.
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