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[Immortal-D]

I find myself messing around for maybe a year; trying a new room design or practicing minecart routes for actual mining operations.  However, I can't really bring myself to commit to a grand project.  Is anyone else having difficulty playing a serious Fortress when Toady is throwing out updates every few months?  Or perhaps I'm just burned out?

[RocheLimit]

Sounds as if you are a bit burned out.  I wouldn't try to keep up with every update; just pick a stable version from before and have at it.  Or maybe give adventure mode a try.

Then again, I still haven't touched a version of DF with Taverns yet, so maybe my own view is a bit slanted.  Still playing a fort in 0.40.24.

[Robsoie]

You really should give a try to the latest version, even if you're not going to update every month, current 42.06 is so much better than 40.x ever was.

[steel jackal]

the thing about doing megaprojects is that the good ones are MASSIVE and will take days of active playing to achieve
if you want to play dwarf fortress seriously, clear your schedule for a few days, stock up on snacks, and play for maby 10 hours a day over the course of a week
its spring break where i am and thats how i plan to spend it

of course im gonna also be doing a few other things at the same time, df is a great game for multitaksing since you really just designate orders and then wait like 10 mins for it to finish before you need to interact again


few generic recommendations for megaproject success
never trade, this prevents forgotten and megabeast spawns as they are (last time i checked the wiki) attracted to forts that export a lot of stuff

limit your population to 60, if your population is under 80 you will never get sieged, have your strict population cap to 70, if you get your monarch they can break the max cap, so keeping it at 70 ensures that even if they do break the cap their entourage wont tip it over the limit

make good bedrooms, you need to accommodate at most 79 dwarves before it all goes bad, and since your dwarves will spend most their time hauling they wont have time to pray
great bedrooms will make them happy even with their needs not being meet

all around, make sure your having fun while playing seriously, if you arnt then maby you should just make small forts, or maby the game isnt for you

[PatrikLundell]

If I'm doing a serious project I generally update it to the current (LNP supported) version during the production phase (i.e. when Toady produces new versions every so often), but keep the old version when a major step is taken until it's time for a new fortress, both because the first few versions tend to be buggy and because the new stuff is likely to break at least some of the fortress' logic, even if saves are compatible technically. It sounds like I'm a veteran, but I've actually only experienced one arch shift...

In your case I'd probably abstain from DF until a serious itch has been built up. If that coincides with Toady locking himself in for half a year for the next arc that's even better timing.

[Sanctume]

I think the longest fortress I have is 5 years. 

I mostly have something in mind, and play it or build it.  And when I another weekend come, I already forgot what I wanted to do in the old one.
I would leave the save game but eventually delete it as there is always something new to try. 

I do get burnt out, but most of the time, there are other games I want to play, and DF will be there when those things slow down. 

Community games are good alternatives.  I get invested at the moment, play my part and let it go.

[Ghills]

What you're feeling is perfectly normal when we're going through a string of bugfixing updates. A lot of people stick with the last stable version until the run of bugfix releases dies down. 

It's also perfectly normal to just have a run of test forts without committing to one for a while. Players go through phases, no big deal.  If you're having fun that's what matters.

[Mostali]

I load a new update when there's a particular feature I want.  My fortress design usually accounts for whatever bugs, so those alone aren't worth the update.

I'm with Sanctume - my fortresses usually last 5-15 years, then I get some new idea.

[Immortal-D]

I appreciate the input   I've turned my attention towards modding, for the time being.  If nothing else, that should make my patchwork playing of 1-3 year Forts a bit more entertaining as I test stuff.  I'm also cautious of being careful what you wish for; I would much prefer the current update schedule than waiting like 15 months for the next major version.