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[AraJudge]

I have seen a few of these on the internet. I wanted to build my own so that I could get a feel for how things flow, I also wanted to build it so that I could figure out how I wanted my workshops to flow.

This is my attempt at building a flowchart.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

After getting about half way though this I thought that I probably should have added stockpiles on here and what they would hold to further show how the flow of all the shops would go. I didn't want to move all the stuff around again though... not just yet.

I threw this up to see what you guys think. Next I plan on building a little lay out for my work area's and exactly where they will go. I want to get this finalized first though.

It is super late so i apologize for any misspelling or crappy grammar.. lol
Out. ZZzzzzZZZzz

Edit :Second version of flowchart. As seen in a future post.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[miauw62]

Neat. You should put this on the wiki.

[taptap]

Too much stuff on the same chart. This leads to omissions or only half documented industries. (Oil, screwpress, potash, pearlash, pottery, glass industry, querns ...)

[smakemupagus]

Neat. You should put this on the wiki.

see also
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/From_Caravan_to_Happy_Dwarves

[AraJudge]

Neat. You should put this on the wiki.

When I get it finilized maybe I will. I don't think it has reached its final form yet. haha

Too much stuff on the same chart. This leads to omissions or only half documented industries. (Oil, screwpress, potash, pearlash, pottery, glass industry, querns ...)

I agree. I wanted to build it so that I have a flow of things in my fort that I would like to share to help other people out. I have been playing Dwarf Fortress for a relative amount of time off and on. This last fort I have is the first I managed to start and keep running through several attacks and get it to a point where it was self sustaining. So now that I have the basics of how a fort sustains itself I built this chart to help create a proper flow of things. In such a way that I can start designating stockpiles to only give to certain workshops and have everything of the highest quality in my next fort.

For those reasons I did omit a couple of things off of the chart. Such as a quern is not on the chart because a millstone does the same thing and faster. I actually could add the quern in on there and just omit the power line from it and set it right next to the millstone. Also bone doesn't go into the bowyers workshop. Even though it could, I never make crossbows out of bone so that is a flow in a fort I would never use.

With that said I will work on adding oil, potash, pearlash, pottery, and glass making. These things I have never got to producing in a fort before though as i was always just fighting for the essentials.

Neat. You should put this on the wiki.

see also
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/From_Caravan_to_Happy_Dwarves

I do like that chart I feel that is more of a kind of tutorial on how to get your fort up and running. As mine I am trying to lay out were products go from raw to finished. Thank You though. I don't think I had really looked at that one before.

[rmblr]

These are cool, but what I would really like to see is an interactive dynamic version of these flowcharts.

Essentially a web app that would display content from the wiki in a simple interactive flowchart form. Imagine a google map style flowchart, where you could zoom in on particular nodes to get more details, click to follow the next step in a path, easy search to navigate around too.

Toss in a quick mineral and item quick search (the type that would display info as you type) and you'd have a super productive and efficient player companion to DF.

Of course the wiki has all this info, the format is just a bit slow and clunky. Hence the reason people make these flowcharts in the first place.

[AraJudge]

These are cool, but what I would really like to see is an interactive dynamic version of these flowcharts.

If you know a program that would let me do this for free I would be all over it. I love building stuff like this and that would be so helpful.

Does anyone know of a program that could be used to build an interactive flowchart. I would be glad to build and keep updated such a document so that people could use it to have an easier time at organizing and getting started into Dwarf Fortress.

EDIT: Currently using Dia, and just started using it last night so not sure what all it can do exactly.

[GavJ]

My thoughts

Blue with black text is almost completely impossible to read. Highly saturated bright colors are a bit eye-bleedy, you don't explain what the dotted versus solid lines are or line color, some of the boxes aren't connected to anything, lots of spelling/word errors (bee's, econamic stone, suger, gemmed), your cross over line intersections are pretty confusing. Normally you fade out behind or do a little half circle to distinguish which line is doing what, especially the areas near the top left. The hospital is not a workshop. Power is listed as an item?  Too sparsely spaced.

A lot of the flows are confusing for other reasons. Bone and stone both go into the same set of arrows, for instance, what is that supposed to mean? You can't use bone at the mason's shop, this is an error.

And if you're gonna show all industries, you really need to show all industries. Omissions are confusing here. So not just encrusting or sewing images, but list ALL improvement types. There are like 30 of them. Or more realistically, do industry-specific flowcharts. And why is "economic stone" shown going to the kiln? You can't use marble at the kiln, for example. Unless all arrows are valid, you should split it out. Either labeling the lines if it's only a subset of something, or just write out "flux" and "ores" and different economic stones more specifically, etc.

[AraJudge]

I did a decent amount of work on it again to try and straighten some stuff out.

Just to clarify right off the bat it is not complete and needs much work. Also this is the first flowchart I have ever put together other then some stupid little High School ones. Just posting my progress so I can get advice on making it better.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

My thoughts

Blue with black text is almost completely impossible to read. Highly saturated bright colors are a bit eye-bleedy, you don't explain what the dotted versus solid lines are or line color, some of the boxes aren't connected to anything, lots of spelling/word errors (bee's, econamic stone, suger, gemmed), your cross over line intersections are pretty confusing. Normally you fade out behind or do a little half circle to distinguish which line is doing what, especially the areas near the top left. The hospital is not a workshop. Power is listed as an item?  Too sparsely spaced.

The colors I will play with to find colors that work better. Legend has been updated as well with a little more information. The line colors are simply just what box they come out of except for all food items. I know that this would be confusing and not probably the best way to do it, but working on it. I will also work on changing up the line intersections to make it easier to understand, I don't exactly know how to do that in the program that I am using just yet. Yes a hospital is not a Workshop... but is it not a "Shop" the dwarfs work in? I also tried to put everything together a little better and not waste so much space. It was as spaced out as it was before as I didn't have it completed, nor is it even completed now.

A lot of the flows are confusing for other reasons. Bone and stone both go into the same set of arrows, for instance, what is that supposed to mean? You can't use bone at the mason's shop, this is an error.

Bone Stone crossover, fixed. haha

And if you're gonna show all industries, you really need to show all industries. Omissions are confusing here. So not just encrusting or sewing images, but list ALL improvement types. There are like 30 of them. Or more realistically, do industry-specific flowcharts. And why is "economic stone" shown going to the kiln? You can't use marble at the kiln, for example. Unless all arrows are valid, you should split it out. Either labeling the lines if it's only a subset of something, or just write out "flux" and "ores" and different economic stones more specifically, etc.

I would love to list all but to be honest I don't know them all. I'm still learning a lot about this game every time I play. I would like to expand this chart to cover everything but I am focusing on what I have learned so far and how I want to run my Fortress. I guess I just labeled it Economic Stone as that is the stockpile subcategory they fit into.

I really wish i could add comments and or tool tips into this, that would make it way easy to explain.

I appreciate all the advice. Got me thinking of ways to make this better. I don't know all that is Dwarf Fortress so this doesn't include everything no. I think it has a lot though that will help me organize my fortress better, and maybe someone else as well... if they think like me. haha