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[Dizzan]

Oh, ok, got it. I am currently watching the captnduck tutorials, and plan to get far in those, then go through the PDF tutorial/download. I will then go through wiki and use that for any remaining questions/ask them here. By then I wish to be pretty well versed in the game.

I am asking myself questions as I watch the tutorials. My first was: "Why is Duck building a massive thing outside in the black areas?" I then realized that the "base camp" you start with isn't your fortress >.<, but you have to build it.

Thought that was funny

[ed boy]

I didn't use any tutorials, but after reading the entire wiki 2+ times, the only learning curve(cliff) difficulty was activating labours on the dwarves.

[blue emu]

You might find it interesting to download a free visualizer or two... just to be able to look at your Fort once in a while. It helps you to keep the layout straight in your mind.

Stonesense is pretty good... you can find it here:

http://stonesense.googlecode.com/files/stonesense_1_0_RC1.rar

... and it looks like this:



Another good one is Visual Fortress 3D... you can find it here:

http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=1272

... and here's a shot of the same Fortress as shown above:



Note that these are just visualizers... you don't use them to PLAY the game, just to examine your Fortress and get a better idea of what it really looks like from your Dwarves point of view.

[gtmattz]

Oh, ok, got it. I am currently watching the captnduck tutorials, and plan to get far in those, then go through the PDF tutorial/download. I will then go through wiki and use that for any remaining questions/ask them here. By then I wish to be pretty well versed in the game.

IMO you would do better to put that stuff aside for now and go through at least the first few stages of the tinypirate walkthrough...  Instead of filling your head with information, jump in and DO something.  Once you have gone through a few steps of the walkthrough things start getting clearer and all the reading you have done up to this point will start to jell and THEN you can start delving into the meat of the game.  Just my $.02

[Dizzan]

Mattz, you make an excellent point. Is it a general concenus to download the map that Tiny gives you, and go through the tutorial that way then?

[Rowanas]

Actually, a fair proportion of the forum advocate being a "real man" and just diving into gameplay without tutorials. I know I did

[Cheddarius]

Yes, real dwarves don't use tutorials. Real dwarves have fun.

[gtmattz]

Mattz, you make an excellent point. Is it a general concenus to download the map that Tiny gives you, and go through the tutorial that way then?

Well that is what ended up helping me 'get' DF, if that means anything.  I know I had more than a few false starts trying to go it on my own with the wiki and such, then I found the tinypirate guide and it all came together. 

One thing that might be good or might be bad that came of it is that I cant play w/out maydays tileset now, as things just don't make as much sense without some amount of graphic representation for me. 

[dragon0421]

Mattz, you make an excellent point. Is it a general concenus to download the map that Tiny gives you, and go through the tutorial that way then?

That's what I did. I highly recommend it. Follow the tutorial exactly until you start feeling comfortable, and then deviate from it a little while still following the concepts.

Oh and something he forgets to mention is that you want to build a restraint (rope or chain) inside the entrance and tie up a dog ASAP. Otherwise kobalds will steel stuff and eventually feel bold enough to ambush your fortress. Unlike goblins, kobalds will get past the traps the tutorial instructs you to set up as your only real defense.

[Dizzan]

Is there a point in the tutorial where I should consider building a restraint?

[Comrade]

You should build a restart once you have many people, not sure on how many would be a good number (IMO: 30+)

TIP: If you want to have cages as a prison, only metal cages work.
TIP: Build channels around your forts, [D] then [h]
TIP: Channels remove one tile underneath and create an open space above. See Info Mining

[darkflagrance]

Is there a point in the tutorial where I should consider building a restraint?

As soon as it is comfortable. In my latest embarks, I've taken to embarking with thread, making into rope, and setting up a restrained guard dog as one of my first priorities.

Although you can easily leave it until after you get farming, booze, and other life-critical activites going. I don't think kobold thieves start coming until after the first autumn caravan.

[monk12]

I do advocate the "real Man approach", just because tutorials, wiki's and guides will only get you so far. I did it by jumping in feet first and absoultely sucking for about an hour. Did not know what I was looking at, couldn't build anything, all manner of stupid Fun.

I advocate it because while its all well and good to generate questions from watching the wiki/tutorial, its much more pertinent if your questions arise from 5 min of futility.

As far as specific "dur dur dur" stupid things I didn't figure out right at first, the most frustrating was getting the message "No non-economic building materials" when trying to build my first workshops. It happened because I had been digging in sandy loam, which is a type of soil, not rock. Stones (in the default ASCII) are circles that get left behind when an area is mined out. If you aren't getting any circles, you know for sure that what you're digging in isn't rock. Ramp down to the bedrock for stones.

[Rowanas]

RAMP?! Stairs are the way to go.

[Kav]

You know enough, stop researching and just jump in. Honestly all you really need is a vague understanding of z-levels and an inquisitive mind to figure out the menu system.

You're not one of us until everyone has starved, drowned, been crushed in a cave-in, or murdered by goblins at least once.