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[RandomNumberGenerator]

I think I've crossed the threshold between 'casual player' and 'Certified Dwarf Fortress Addict'. See, since I started playing DF around 3 months ago, my forts have been very short lived. I would start one, work on it for a while(Usually until I got around 30 dwarves, which is way more laborers then I usually need), then get bored an abandon it, then stop playing DF for a while. Another week later when I had nothing else to do, I might start another, play to about 30 dwarves, then abandon it. On my most recent one however, I reached the 30-dwarf stage, started getting ready to abandon it, and then... I ran out of laborers. All of my dwarfs had some sort of task assigned, and I needed more. I could hardly believe it, I actually had 30 dwarves running around doing things, instead of 15 doing stuff and 15 sitting idle.

So I went into the init and boosted the pop cap to 50, got more immigrants, then gave them all jobs as well. Obviously, passing the 50 dwarf mark for the first time generated new requirements for my fortress. For one, my expedition leader(now mayor) was actually making demands and mandates I needed to satisfy. My started dining room and barracks was too small to fit all my dwarves. I needed to expand. This, in turn, required more laborers. Soon I was on a roll, building my fort up more and more. Alas, there comes a time when you have real-world responsibilities and need to stop playing Dwarf Fortress, if only for a while. This is that moment, so here I post my progress:





The map has no magma(My others forts never really got a metalworking industry up and running, even when I did have magma forges), so everything as far as glass/metal goes is generally charcoal powered. I have two loggers and two wood burners running full-time to produce enough fuel for my glass and metal industries. With a dedicated cook, brewer and planter(that's three dwarves, not one) food and booze is no problem. I have around 10 masons, 6 Champion Wrestlers, a bunch of haulers and a few random assorted jobs for other people. My Administrator functions as Broker/Mayor/Organizer, and I'm thinking about appointing a sheriff soon.

[Captain Xenon]

interesting. is that an above-ground structure outside? I would advise testing the 'dwarves stay inside' option to see how it affects your fort.

no magma isnt that much of a problem, if you have enough trees to cut. whats really vital is a source of water and sand. glass is fun stuff, and you need sand to get soap. (soap is great for roads, good value for the space).

you will never have enough dwarves. the default cap is around 200, and they run bloody slow at that population. but by then i usualy have a king and advisor, maybe a queen consort if im lucky- no idea why the consort only appears occasionaly. 

[RandomNumberGenerator]

interesting. is that an above-ground structure outside? I would advise testing the 'dwarves stay inside' option to see how it affects your fort.

Around 50% is mined and smoothed Shale, around 30% is mined Black Sand(with constructed Shale Block Walls); both of these are Subterranian/Inside/. The remaining 20% was Outside, and had Shale Block Walls and Shale Block Floors built to make them Above Ground/Inside. Only the area out by the Trade Depot and Refuse Pile remains Outside.

no magma isnt that much of a problem, if you have enough trees to cut. whats really vital is a source of water and sand. glass is fun stuff, and you need sand to get soap. (soap is great for roads, good value for the space).

Soap Roads? That seems... odd. Anyway, I have plenty of trees(4 blocks on the region map are wooded), and there is a brook to the northeast, though I have not channeled it yet. [/quote]

you will never have enough dwarves. the default cap is around 200, and they run bloody slow at that population. but by then i usualy have a king and advisor, maybe a queen consort if im lucky- no idea why the consort only appears occasionaly. 

Hence, my Dwarfy Revelation. I used to think I had way to many dwarves at only 30 population. With the 60ish I have right now, my FPS usually hangs around 70, though sometimes it dips down to 50. If possible, I would like have to drop no more than 40. How much would a Magma Pipe slow it down?

[Chewykittens]

Congrats, I'm right there with you about to graduate from dwarf kinder-care. Found DF a few months ago and have been doing the same cycle you have been in. Glad to see I'm not the only person still trying to get it after months of playing.

[Gergination]

I read about people playing up to <100 dwarves all the time and I have to think.  Is my 300+ fort unusual?

They're almost always busy too, hauling rocks, rocks, and more rocks.

[Sensei]

Now, get 300 dwarves and try to generate labor for all of them.

Megaproject: Make a "missile" that you can "shoot" at a human kingdom.

[Neruz]

Now, get 300 dwarves and try to generate labor for all of them.

Start digging boys!

[Kietharr]

Now, get 300 dwarves and try to generate labor for all of them.

Easy. Mass smelters continually smelt all ore you have (if you have no magma a few good woodcutters and mass wood haulers to supply fuel) and you use the ore to forge as many picks as needed to assign idlers to be miners for strip mining and assign a lot of dwarves to mechanics/masonry/stonecrafts for mass furniture and crafts from the otherwise useless stones. Also, assign a few to bonecarving and gem cutting/encrusting and decorate everything you produce with bone and gems. Not even including the 40-60 dwarf military a fort that big should have, all of the farmers and the cooks producing mass lavish meals and drinks, all of the carpenters churning out barrels, a clothier or two churning out bags for flour and dye, butchers constantly murdering the dozens of kittens you'll get every second in that fort, ect. Never had a fort at 300 before but this works on one around 250.

I mean, eventually you'll inevitably run out of work but you can keep that going for a decade or so, lag will probably kill you before then.

[RandomNumberGenerator]

Now, get 300 dwarves and try to generate labor for all of them.

Easy. Mass smelters continually smelt all ore you have (if you have no magma a few good woodcutters and mass wood haulers to supply fuel) and you use the ore to forge as many picks as needed to assign idlers to be miners for strip mining and assign a lot of dwarves to mechanics/masonry/stonecrafts for mass furniture and crafts from the otherwise useless stones. Also, assign a few to bonecarving and gem cutting/encrusting and decorate everything you produce with bone and gems. Not even including the 40-60 dwarf military a fort that big should have, all of the farmers and the cooks producing mass lavish meals and drinks, all of the carpenters churning out barrels, a clothier or two churning out bags for flour and dye, butchers constantly murdering the dozens of kittens you'll get every second in that fort, ect. Never had a fort at 300 before but this works on one around 250.

I mean, eventually you'll inevitably run out of work but you can keep that going for a decade or so, lag will probably kill you before then.

Maybe one day. For now, I think I'll work on expanding my fortress/industries, boosting the population cap to 80(So I can experience nobles and The Economy for the first time) and leaving it there.

[RandomNumberGenerator]

Alright. Well unfortunately due to goblin ambushes I missed two caravans(human and dwarf) so my production is a little behind schedule, but I've finished the civilian crypt and and working on the one for the nobility/upper class.

[Lesconrads]

So... TIDY.... You have a good eye for nice looking fortresses, I think. Mine allways end up being shitty rooms connected by 7-wide corridors :\

Also: I don't have any problem to get work for 100 dorfs. Giant glas-industry for great justice! Keep the awesome stuff and dump the useless. You can also just GIVE stuff to caravans to make them happy. More stuff the next time they arrive
Also: anyone too idle will get in my training-facilitys to boost their attributes. Fast ones get back into specific hauling, strong ones get into military duty.

I don't get, how you can live with 30 dwarfs ^^

[Hamster Man]

I agree, nice design on the fort.

*Ahem* One way I keep my dorfs busy is, when they enter the map, I give everyone "Masonry" task. And then I build 9+ mason shops, and put them on Block-building, repeat. And then, I use the blocks to construct my outdoor structures. With 60+ dwarves you can build stuff pretty fast that way, especially if they're pulling stones from a quantum dump.

Call me weird, but I just can't stand the thought of building stuff out of "rough" rock. IT MUST BE BLOCKS!

[kefkakrazy]

Yeah... I salivate over construction projects, which is why my forts tend to have a huge "underclass" dedicated to time-sensitive jobs that don't require skill for quality, like tanning and milling. All my masonries have their settings tweaked so that the only dwarves who mess with them are actual masons, so the underclass also does masonry. Did I mention that conscription into the underclass is pretty much mandatory for everyone who arrives with an unneeded or junk profession? Lot of cheese makers.

Peasants are left alone. If I need someone new for a job, I use Dwarf Therapist to scan the underclass's skills to see if anyone has the right stuff, and if not, I conscript a peasant. Military draws from the underclass, though, because they get kinda buff... in one fort, my underclass is composed almost entirely of legendary siege operators, so there you go.

[Sensei]

Now, I know there's no way to play DF wrong... but I think strictly limiting your population is silly. If you seek a challenge, try food and bunk for the waves of migrants. And you'll want to do crazy mega projects that need hundreds of dwarves anyway.

[RandomNumberGenerator]

Now, I know there's no way to play DF wrong... but I think strictly limiting your population is silly. If you seek a challenge, try food and bunk for the waves of migrants. And you'll want to do crazy mega projects that need hundreds of dwarves anyway.

Providing food and shelter is no problem. With just a single planter I can provide enough food and alcohol for the entire fort as well as a surplus to sell in trade. I also receive regular shipments of meat, fish and cheese from the caravans for my cooks to turn into meals. However, I like to keep everything neat and organized(as can probably be referenced from the screenshots), and having too many dwarves becomes chaotic. Since it's so easy to limit the number of migrants(which makes sense as well; sort of like sending a request to the mountainhome to stop immigration), I do. Limiting this number also helps keep FPS high - 50 dwarves working at 100 FPS is just as fast as 100 dwarves working at 50 FPS.