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[Viking]

Hi everyone,
I started a new fortress right next to a delightful volcano in a mountainous sub-arctic region. I have no surface plant life and no glacier but I essentially have permanent winter. So far things are going fairly well. I have only found lots of Gelena so far but having a volcano is nice. I have gone a few years now with not a single invader... I am beginning to think I am way too far out there for any hoard in their right mind to bother. It is just as well as I have been too lazy to set up a proper military yet (I really should though!) My first forgotten beast is a one eyed snake with salivating mandibles.. lovely.

Anyways, that would all be fine except I have not a drop of water on my map. I have managed with booze of course but I have no aquifer goodness and I have punctured all three caverns and no lake is to be found although the first cavern is strangely covered in mud.

So I suppose I want to ask... is there anyway to get water in this situation? Can I trade in ice? Am I doomed to have no health care whatsoever?

[Koremu]

If you hollow out a chamber just beneath the ice and pump it full of magma, the ice will melt and can be drained off into an underground area, within which it will not refreeze.

Obviously there still needs to be a floor between the ice & the magma, or all you will end up with is Obsidian.

[Viking]

I sadly have no ice on the site. Can it be traded in perhaps? I do appreciate your response though!

[Koremu]

So there's just snow? Are there any areas flagged as "murky pool"?

[Viking]

Not even a murky pool alas. lol

[Zac]

Maybe the promised aquifer is only on a tiny part of your map. Send your miners to dig the borders of your map and if there is one they might find it there.

[Viking]

Good call VAC! I will look for it along all the edges!

[miauw62]

There are buttons to see what ground layers cover which tiles of your embark site before you embark, always check these. They're called "biomes", IIRC. The commands area on the screen somewhere.

[Viking]

Bless the Great Father of Forges! I found an aquifer hiding in the southern part of the map

[Viking]

I found out another small aquifer hiding even closer to my dwarves so the water problem is essentially solved. I now have a waterfall through my fortress and everything is rosy although the lack of attackers does take some of the thrill away. Perhaps I'll start a new fortress soon.

[Varnifane]

Explore the caverns a bit. Forgotten beasts are fun.

And you can tell if you have neighbors before you embark. Just hit the "tab" key a few times.

[miauw62]

The embark screen has a button to see the civs near you, if they're aggressive to you (red dashes next to their name) you'll get invaders/ambushes.

[GavJ]

Both issues can be addressed by being more careful during embark.  As mentioned, be sure to check F1, F2 F3 etc. to see where the different biomes overlap within your embark rectangle. As you hti those keys, the indication of "aquifer" versus "shallow stone" etc. will change and it will show you the portions that count for each.

Invaders are also easy to see from embark. Hit tab to change indicator modes, and it will give you a list of any/all civilizations within range of visiting you. If it says "Dwarves" only you will never get invaded. If it says "Elves, humans, dwarves, goblins, tower, tower, tower, mountain hall" then your map is going to be a mosh pit of gore in a couple years tops. You can also look around the vicinity for how many other AI cities are nearby - they show up as big hidden rectangles. I think 30 map tiles away is max. for visiting you, and closer = more frequent and sooner visiting.

The embark process has a ton of useful data beyond that too - elevation maps, cliff indicators, it lets you change which civilization you're a part of so you can avoid or try to pick one at war with somebody, etc.

[Miuramir]

Both issues can be addressed by being more careful during embark.  ...

Note also that in world gen, the default value range for cavern water is 0 - 100; if you leave it set at that, you're saying you are OK with either having absolutely no water in the caverns, or having the caverns wall-to-wall water with no land at all.  I recommend changing it to 10 - 90, or even 25 - 75, to better reflect what most players seem to want. 

[Viking]

Those are great tips, thank you guys!