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[Lemunde]

So as my current fortress approaches 1 million dwarfbucks in created wealth, I find myself pondering what my next fort will be.  To mix things up, I've decided to start my next fortress in a more or less random location.  The idea is to expand my horizons on the kinds of map features I normally avoid but really haven't had a chance to experience.  I will generate a new world, medium sized, and pick the area at 21, 126 as my global embark location.  Those are two numbers I got from random.org.  I'll use 55, 89 as a backup in case I end up in the middle of the ocean or something.  I'll allow myself to choose where I want my fortress to go on the local embark.

Aside from open ocean, anything goes.  Barren rocky mountains, frozen tundra, a wasteland with an aquifer several layers deep, a terrifying forest, anything.

I'll give my self some arbitrary goal.  How about the same as my current fortress; get up to 1 million dwarf bucks.  Easy enough on a normal map given enough time.  As always I'll stick with my 30 dwarf population cap.

This probably isn't that difficult of a challenge, depending on where I end up.  But I still think it will be pretty fun.  If anyone wants to join me in this challenge, feel free to post something on your starting location and keep us updated on your progress.  I plan on starting my new fortress tomorrow.

[Cruxador]

You can't settle on mountains too rocky and steep for dwarves to access them. So that's two conditions where you'd have to pick a secondary coordinate pair, and between mountains and oceans, that's likely to be a lot of space.

[Fuumin]

love the idea of picking a random location! i always find myself picking more or less the same locations, and its starting to get stale, but its so difficult to bring myself to embark on them, i just dont like seeing my dwarves die from anything but magma floods :<
are you adding parameters to your worldgen or are you doing 100% random creation?

[Omegastick]

EDIT: Nevermind, can't do another for for a while

[Lemunde]

Ok, so I went with 22, 126 and here is where I ended up.



I'm a little disappointed.  I was hoping for something more exciting.  Still it has a couple of interesting features.  I like the savanna feel to the place.  And that marble is going to be nice for projects.  Some light elevation changes here and there but for the most part it's just wide open plains.  But here's the catch.



The aquifer I can deal with(actually I already have) but the salt water has me a little perplexed.  The place is near the ocean but not so close that you would expect salt water.  By my estimate it's about two or three miles from a beach.  Anyway, I think the water I get from the aquifer will make it a non-issue.

[RandomNumberGenerator]

You can have saltwater aquifers...

[Lemunde]

You can have saltwater aquifers...

Yeah, I just took a look at it in the wiki.  But I think I can try doing the screw pump thing to get me a fresh cistern going.

[Jude]

I like the idea of picking a random spot, but almost all locations on a DF world are boring...luckily we're getting underground diversity in the next release!

[Innominate]

You can have saltwater aquifers...

Yeah, I just took a look at it in the wiki.  But I think I can try doing the screw pump thing to get me a fresh cistern going.

Important point that people sometimes miss: make sure your cistern never passes through a z-level in a biome containing a salt-water aquifer after being pumped. Since you have a fair few layers above the aquifer it seems you'll still be able to have it underground, which is nice.

Also, try to start off with stone and a rope so you can make a well and pump off the bat. Otherwise you'll have to pierce the aquifer first, which can be tricky.

Of course, you probably knew all that

[Asmodeous]

So I figured "wth" and decided I'd start this puppy off. Here's where I ended up:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Same as you - 22, 126.

So I went to embark. Took away the anvil, went back over to the dwarves to decide what to do because of the terrifying... then HIT THE WRONG KEY and embarked with a bunch of 0-skill dwarves, no anvil, and GOD KNOWS WHAT else.

So whatever this fort's name really is, I will be hiterto referring to it as "Failfort," in honor of my epic failure in this endeavor.

Armok help us all. :|

[Lemunde]

So I figured "wth" and decided I'd start this puppy off. Here's where I ended up:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Same as you - 22, 126.

So I went to embark. Took away the anvil, went back over to the dwarves to decide what to do because of the terrifying... then HIT THE WRONG KEY and embarked with a bunch of 0-skill dwarves, no anvil, and GOD KNOWS WHAT else.

So whatever this fort's name really is, I will be hiterto referring to it as "Failfort," in honor of my epic failure in this endeavor.

Armok help us all. :|

That fort actually sounds like a lot of fun(tm).   

I decided to just build a well to deal with the salt water.  I feel like I'm cheating a little but then having every pool on the map be salt water is a bit unfair too so I guess it evens out.  And here's something interesting:



The human guild representative?  He's a friggin' goblin!  I've heard of things like this happening before but this is the first time I've seen it.  Nice guy.

Here's a snapshot of my fortress right now which I aptly named The Citadel of Chaos.  http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-7994-thecitadelofchaos

[Innominate]

So I generated a large world in 40d17, and went to (22, 126) - is there an easier way to do that than by counting from the edge of a world square? - and by some strange feat of coincidence it is flat, sandy and has a salt water aquifer; though mine is at least two layers.



Annoyingly, I made pretty much the same mistake as Asmodeous. I have a miner, a grower/brewer/cook and a carpenter with novice woodcutting, plus 63 units of booze, two picks and a battle axe. I accidentally embarked way too soon, but at least I got some stuff. Plus, my biome isn't terrifying.

But then again, I can't pierce the aquifer without mechanisms (too deep), and I can't get any stone to make mechanisms without piercing the aquifer. Fortunately, the only wildlife on the map is pretty benign.

[Asmodeous]

No exciting screenshots this time around, but I'm a couple years in, for some unknown reason dwarves keep moving in. It's actually starting to get a bit overwhelming.

Started off with (apparently) 2 picks, 2 axes (which turned out to be a godsend), about 30ish booze, 5 pigtail seeds, 5 plump helmet seeds, 10 sailfins, and 10 plump helmets. And that's it.

The immediate plan was to begin a major deforestation project and build a whole lot of things (starting with a wall and drawbridge that wouldn't be able to lift until I hit bedrock) out of wood.

My dwarves complained a lot because the booze kept running out and they apparently don't like feeling like Elves surrounded by all the stupid wood. But we built some bedrooms and got some more booze going and they shut the hell up.

First layer of aquifer was no big deal, but it was only 3 z-levels below the surface, so the "drop two layers of walls into it" method couldn't work, and having no power source at the time, I had to initiate operation "pump like mad, you drunken idiots", and managed to wall off a little 2x2 grid of up/down stairs in the second aquifer layer, with a nice sand collection spot in the first layer.

So now we're in mudstone and things are starting to get happy again. Amusing part is I finished the aquifer the month that the dwarven caravan showed up with all the stone I ordered -- which is now no longer important. . . I bought it anyway to boost their profit margin some.

Things are starting to look up, now, but so far no coal (the mudstone MIGHT have some, and so far it's ~5 layers deep that I've seen, not counting the layer that will fill rapidly with water right under the aquifer), but I have trees bloody well everywhere so I might be able to pull out some charcoal.

Terrifying biome doesn't have any undead, so the plants and trees will grow, however harpies, werewolves, and ogres abound. Also there's a fairly startling number of goblins and kobolds marching in (one stole my only artifact that actually got finished because it didn't need stone) that will be a bit to deal with with only wrestlers and bone/wood bones/bolts.

Some thoughts:

This is actually a pretty good idea. It's not really any more challenge than any other time, but the interesting thing is that it forces you into biomes/situations you wouldn't normally go. I would never go to a dual-aquifer biome with no magma or hills or anything normally, because it's too much of a PITA and I'm lazier than most of the dwarves, so it's not so much "overcoming challenge" as it is adjusting your approach.

I need to figure out what to do with failfort now that the major problems have been resolved -- I don't have any metal, though.... anywhere. At least not so far. . .

[Asmodeous]

Annoyingly, I made pretty much the same mistake as Asmodeous. I have a miner, a grower/brewer/cook and a carpenter with novice woodcutting, plus 63 units of booze, two picks and a battle axe. I accidentally embarked way too soon, but at least I got some stuff. Plus, my biome isn't terrifying.

HAH! I'm not alone in my fatfingering!

But then again, I can't pierce the aquifer without mechanisms (too deep), and I can't get any stone to make mechanisms without piercing the aquifer. Fortunately, the only wildlife on the map is pretty benign.

Yes you can, I managed it. Dwarf-powered pumps work fine.

[Papa Cauldur]

This seems like a pretty good idea. I think I'll try 42x42. Just because.