Ahh yes,
That tag determines when to start checking megabeast population and what percentage (remaining alive) will halt worldgen.
I coulda sworn default was to check after 300 years, maybe you tweaked it accidentally. that looks to me like halt if more than 20% megabeasts dead at year 30. Which is gonna be true often. Its usually simple to find in the 'e' advanced parameter list, its just below the settings on how many years to run, embark points etc. You will find both the setting for year to start checking and the threshold % in those options.
Edit: Is this the newest version? you are new to forums so assuming new to game. Perhaps Toady really changed the default on this one, I was positive it was yr 300 before. If the default is now yr 30, 80% living then that could be an issue since its gonna gen a lotta short-worlds for the beginner players without them understanding why.
Hi friend.
No, I am not that new to the game. Been lurking the forums for years, but haven't written anything.
BUT I am new to making worlds! Have just made a map, [f]ound suitable embark. Played.
Haven't paid any real attention to the world itself.
But now I kinda want to make some nasty map. Like that one with one surviving dwarf and over run by a necromancer!
Like that, where doom in immanent and lurking every round.
Back on topic; Yes. It's the 40.08 and I am sure I haven't changed it. Maybe presets are off? I don't know.
Changing that made the history flow along again. Thanks.
EDIT:World I wrote about, doesn't work in 40.08.:
I've got a pocket world here with only a single surviving dwarf, who just so happens to be a necromancer, amongst ~10600 goblins and kobolds (combined population). I can indeed embark in dwarf mode, and just about the only place the necromancer cant reach is the terrifying tundra in the far north. I think it may be fun for anyone looking for some Fun, so I felt like posting it.
I generated the world with some trivial changes to creature raws. Nothing that should affect the history, I don't think.
The world is also 527 years old, but generation and saving it took a trivial amount of time on a shitty public library computer with my thumbdrive.
map and info:
Civilized World Population
1 Dwarf
10392 Goblins
284 Kobolds
Total: 10677
Created in DF v0.40.03.
[WORLD_GEN]
[TITLE:PKT_TEST]
[SEED:b9q2xsC4S2frdnDhD0j6]
[HISTORY_SEED:T6GHgAhmiTjEvoLGNd3k]
[NAME_SEED:nD8DTgXnlC9OQJxzbddk]
[CREATURE_SEED:Ox2cuqSUqg43wnuUurnk]
[DIM:17:17]
[EMBARK_POINTS:1324]
[END_YEAR:1050]
[BEAST_END_YEAR:2:50]
[REVEAL_ALL_HISTORY:1]
[CULL_HISTORICAL_FIGURES:0]
[ELEVATION:1:400:52:52]
[RAINFALL:0:100:26:26]
[TEMPERATURE:25:75:26:26]
[DRAINAGE:0:100:26:26]
[VOLCANISM:0:100:1600:1600]
[SAVAGERY:0:100:26:26]
[ELEVATION_FREQUENCY:1:1:1:1:1:1]
[RAIN_FREQUENCY:1:1:1:1:1:1]
[DRAINAGE_FREQUENCY:1:1:1:1:1:1]
[TEMPERATURE_FREQUENCY:1:1:1:1:1:1]
[SAVAGERY_FREQUENCY:1:1:1:1:1:1]
[VOLCANISM_FREQUENCY:1:1:1:1:1:1]
[MINERAL_SCARCITY:800]
[MEGABEAST_CAP:5]
[SEMIMEGABEAST_CAP:20]
[TITAN_NUMBER:1]
[TITAN_ATTACK_TRIGGER:80:0:100000]
[DEMON_NUMBER:20]
[NIGHT_TROLL_NUMBER:10]
[BOGEYMAN_NUMBER:10]
[VAMPIRE_NUMBER:10]
[WEREBEAST_NUMBER:10]
[SECRET_NUMBER:20]
[REGIONAL_INTERACTION_NUMBER:20]
[DISTURBANCE_INTERACTION_NUMBER:20]
[EVIL_CLOUD_NUMBER:10]
[EVIL_RAIN_NUMBER:10]
[GENERATE_DIVINE_MATERIALS:1]
[GOOD_SQ_COUNTS:1:0:0]
[EVIL_SQ_COUNTS:1:0:0]
[PEAK_NUMBER_MIN:1]
[PARTIAL_OCEAN_EDGE_MIN:1]
[COMPLETE_OCEAN_EDGE_MIN:0]
[VOLCANO_MIN:3]
[REGION_COUNTS:SWAMP:0:0:0]
[REGION_COUNTS:DESERT:0:0:0]
[REGION_COUNTS:FOREST:0:0:0]
[REGION_COUNTS:MOUNTAINS:0:0:0]
[REGION_COUNTS:OCEAN:0:0:0]
[REGION_COUNTS:GLACIER:0:0:0]
[REGION_COUNTS:TUNDRA:0:0:0]
[REGION_COUNTS:GRASSLAND:0:0:0]
[REGION_COUNTS:HILLS:0:0:0]
[EROSION_CYCLE_COUNT:250]
[RIVER_MINS:1:1]
[PERIODICALLY_ERODE_EXTREMES:0]
[OROGRAPHIC_PRECIPITATION:1]
[SUBREGION_MAX:2750]
[CAVERN_LAYER_COUNT:3]
[CAVERN_LAYER_OPENNESS_MIN:0]
[CAVERN_LAYER_OPENNESS_MAX:100]
[CAVERN_LAYER_PASSAGE_DENSITY_MIN:0]
[CAVERN_LAYER_PASSAGE_DENSITY_MAX:100]
[CAVERN_LAYER_WATER_MIN:0]
[CAVERN_LAYER_WATER_MAX:100]
[HAVE_BOTTOM_LAYER_1:1]
[HAVE_BOTTOM_LAYER_2:1]
[LEVELS_ABOVE_GROUND:15]
[LEVELS_ABOVE_LAYER_1:5]
[LEVELS_ABOVE_LAYER_2:1]
[LEVELS_ABOVE_LAYER_3:1]
[LEVELS_ABOVE_LAYER_4:1]
[LEVELS_ABOVE_LAYER_5:2]
[LEVELS_AT_BOTTOM:1]
[CAVE_MIN_SIZE:5]
[CAVE_MAX_SIZE:25]
[MOUNTAIN_CAVE_MIN:1]
[NON_MOUNTAIN_CAVE_MIN:2]
[ALL_CAVES_VISIBLE:0]
[SHOW_EMBARK_TUNNEL:2]
[TOTAL_CIV_NUMBER:5]
[TOTAL_CIV_POPULATION:15000]
[SITE_CAP:25]
[PLAYABLE_CIVILIZATION_REQUIRED:1]
[ELEVATION_RANGES:36:72:36]
[RAIN_RANGES:0:0:0]
[DRAINAGE_RANGES:0:0:0]
[SAVAGERY_RANGES:0:0:0]
[VOLCANISM_RANGES:0:0:0]