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[BoltsFogs]

Hello everyone, BoltsFogs here. For those of you who know the infamy of the fortress known as 'Boatmurdered' that was started by a forum-goer of Something Awful by the name of TouretteDog, I believe my latest (and possibly greatest) fort is now certain to hit the heights of glory, for in my first wave of migrants, is this brave soul.

   

And he has quite the job too, working with the skin and bones of the fallen, muahahaha!
Anyway, this outpost is called 'Menrack' and it's the spring of the second year of the fortress. This area is in a 'sinister' setting and the only thing 'sinister' about it are the numerous zombie groundhogs with the occasional zombie cougar as well as coming-and-going groups of rhesus macaques.

Notable events of Menrack so far have been a raiding attempt about a minute or two into the game by a group of the above mentioned rhesus macaques which was put down by the two dogs we brought along, the dogs recovered fully and no one was hurt.

We messed up a farm early on due to my idiocy and I was certain we would probably run out of food, though the fisherdwarf and the mules compensated nicely, but thankfully the flood is contained and didn't turn into a Noah flood and right now we have two operational farms.

I hit the magma river for the first time ever! However it came at a grim cost: The death of my legendary miner. On a brighter side, my other miner is legendary, and we found the bones and pick of his fellow miner.

So right now, we just got the migrant wave which gave me a child, two trappers, three peasants, a metalsmith, three masons, three mechanics, two fisherdwarves, two craftsdwarves, and two jewelers. Nineteen in total.

I could have used a few extra miners or some growers, but alas. Anyway, in closing, the spirit of Boatmurdered lives on, in the form of a craftsdwarf. FOR MENRACK!

[ March 23, 2007: Message edited by: BoltsFogs ]

[ March 27, 2007: Message edited by: BoltsFogs ]

[Gaulgath]

Hehehehe, "Menrack."

[BoltsFogs]

Well all hell is breaking loose right now. One of my metalsmiths has entered a fey mood and hasn't claimed a workshop. I'm guessing she wants a bloody magma forge, which is something I don't have and can't provide because I can't find any bituminous coal

All my dwarves want to pickup some kind of equipment outside for whatever reason and they keep getting interrupted by zombie groundhogs. I have recieved this message fifty times in a row now.

I assigned my hunters to marksdwarves to fight off every stupid groundhog out there at the moment. I have just killed a zombie cougar when-- OH BOY! A PACK OF ZOMBIE WOLVES! IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!

At this rate EVERYONE is going to want to pick up whatever the hell it is they want outside, cause more and more people are going out there and wanting to pick up whatever it is and getting canceled ad infinity by zombie groundhogs or whatever the heck it is. All the while my fey dwarf is standing outside, waiting for a specific shop to be built which I'm sure by now is a magma forge or something cause Armok knows I've built all the others in an attempt to figure it out. This is going to be a bloody summer, that's for certain.

On top of all this, a pack of zombie rhesus macaques are roaming the area.

Ok I figured it out, they all want one of the steel bolts my hunters were using when they were doing their thing as trappers.

[ March 23, 2007: Message edited by: BoltsFogs ]

[ March 23, 2007: Message edited by: BoltsFogs ]

[BoltsFogs]

A question. Where do you usually find bituminous coal past the chasm? Does it tend to be near the magma river or the chasm side?

[Paul]

its usually past the chasm, can be on either side of magma river.

You don't need to have coal, just cut some trees (or break up wagons), make 5 charcoal and use that for the steel bars to make the forge and smelter. You can't actually make any coal without at least 1 charcoal anyway, since you have to have 1 fuel unit to make the first coal bars.

[herrbdog]

I believe that you still need to have coal as an ingredient to make steel. You can use charcoal as a fuel source for the smelting, but coal is still required.

[Another]

No, I surely had produced my first few bars of steel in an outdoor smelter before striking the coal for the first time. Lots of charcoal can substitute. DF wiki also mentions charcoal http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/Steel

[BoltsFogs]

Are you sure about that? Cause I made lots of charcoal, but it tells me it needs coal in order to begin making coal bars

[herrbdog]

This warrants a test for confirmation. If I can make steel without coal, just hematite, limestone, and trees... interesting!

[BoltsFogs]

Sorry herrbdog but the wiki says this.

Note: "coke" and "coal bars" are synonymous.
[edit]
On a regular smelter

On a regular smelter, queue up:

  1. Make coal bars (x5): Consumes 1 coal + 1 coke. Produces 2 coke.
     Repeat this step five times. Optionally, produce 5 charcoal on a wood furnace instead.
  2. Make iron bars: Consumes 1 hematite + 1 charcoal or coke. Produces 1 iron bar.
  3. Make pig iron bars: Consumes 1 iron bar + 1 limestone + 2 charcoal/coke. Produces 1 pig iron bar.
  4. Make steel bars: Consumes 1 pig iron bar + 1 hematite + 1 limestone + 2 charcoal/coke. Produces 2 steel bars.

Raw materials consumed

       * 2 hematite
       * 2 limestone
       * 5 coal (or 5 wood)

Hahaha I just figured out what I was doing wrong. I was insisting on making the coal bars when I didn't need to at all. I can simply start on step two and onward.

[ March 23, 2007: Message edited by: BoltsFogs ]

[herrbdog]

I know what the wiki SAYS... that doesn't mean it's accurate. So, for MY personal interest, I will test this.

[BoltsFogs]

Here's an update. The human caravan has arrived from Cebeomon, or "The Strapping Realm". (Such strapping young lads, they are!) Anyway, they appeared right by the wolf pack and the stupid zombie groundhogs and the swordsmen are cutting them all into bite sized pieces. I think now, thanks to the swordsmen, we can loot all that crap in peace without getting endlessly interrupted by some creature or another.

Update on top of the update, Summer is around 2/3 through and my fey dwarf has went insane =( After moping around aimlessly outside, she has finally decided to slowly skulk her way inside and is moving inward one step at a time.

[ March 23, 2007: Message edited by: BoltsFogs ]

[Paul]

quote:Originally posted by herrbdog:
<STRONG>I know what the wiki SAYS... that doesn't mean it's accurate. So, for MY personal interest, I will test this.</STRONG>

I haven't done any wiki searching, but everything I've noticed on the wiki has been more or less accurate. Charcoal and coke = exact same thing when furnace or steel making is concerned. You could never even make the first coke if you didn't make one charcoal to fuel the furnace to make the coke.

I never use any coal in the first steel bars, I always make 5 charcoal and haul it into the mountain while looking for hematite, and as soon as I find it I make the steel and get my magma smelter + forge up and running immediately. The only time I EVER use coal is to make the steel bars, and in that case you only need 1 coal since it turns into 2 coke - 1 for pig iron 1 for steel. I was on one map where I had no trees and never did find coal, even later in the game when i mined all around for gems and more hematite. And it didn't matter at all - I still made hundreds of steel via my underground forests as charcoal sources.

[ March 23, 2007: Message edited by: Paul ]

[herrbdog]

Very interesting! Seems weird, but I'ma try it. Then if it is as you say, coal is for... well, extra fuel, that's about it!

As I understand it coal (well, coke) is necessary for steel production IRL, charcoal is too impure.  But that is what I gleaned form wikipedia, and honestly (even though the DF wiki is not part of the main wiki) I can't trust the wikipedia as a real source. It is a great starting place for research, but since anyone can submit information, it is definitely questionable.

[BoltsFogs]

I am in complete agreement. Wikipedia is very esily influenced and become subtly biased and misleading.

However, the Dwarf Wiki is nice and accurate =)

[ March 23, 2007: Message edited by: BoltsFogs ]

Update time boys and girls. One of my masons has just been taken by a fey mood. And this time, I have some steel bars ready to make into my magma forge and smelter =D

[ March 23, 2007: Message edited by: BoltsFogs ]