Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Niccolo]

Can anyone list all the uses for stone that can't be substituted with any other material? For example, plaster powder can only be acquired by using stone, is there other ones? This includes stone, flux minerals etc.

Only stone provides:

• A source of ore
• A source of plaster powder
• A source of stone crafts
• A source of material for masons
• A source of gneiss puns
• The cornerstone of your fortress
• A place to carve engravings
• A source of catapult ammunition
• A source of non-metal materials that are magma-safe (Except for nether caps)
• A source of flux stone

Lastly? http://df.magmawiki.com

[Imp]

if i have a map with mainland and part of an island that has no inhabitants will traders only spawn on the main land side

Just be very purposeful in where you place your depot.

Traders spawn in a surface square where they can access the depot, if that choice exists.  I've not tested this on island/mainland embark, but you can force them to appear where you want on landlocked embarks, so I'll be surprised if this fails on the seaside.

You can even force merchants to appear in a tiny area, a 'protected path', by using raised bridges and/or walls to extend a path from the edge of the map to around your depot and sealing that so there is no possible access to the depot except by spawning in that path.

They are sometimes far fussier trying to leave, and if they -really- want to leave by way of an unaccessible area you might need to construct access or risk them staying until insanity.  And migrants do not check any pathing choices before they decide where to appear, so they may end up on the other side.

[Imp]

Can anyone list all the uses for stone that can't be substituted with any other material? For example, plaster powder can only be acquired by using stone, is there other ones? This includes stone, flux minerals etc.

Your z-screen stones menu, access by pressing the left and right arrow keys after you press z, will show you all the uses for every stone type that exists on your map.  This is especially useful if you're playing a modded DF with stone types or uses that have been changed from what the wiki shows.

[Kirbypowered]

Could someone explain to me how you assign a war animal to someone? It'd be nice to have the thirty or so war dogs of mine follow someone besides my hunter all the time.

[Niccolo]

Could someone explain to me how you assign a war animal to someone? It'd be nice to have the thirty or so war dogs of mine follow someone besides my hunter all the time.

[v] over a particular dwarf
[p] to view their preferences
[e] to assign animals

[Yaotzin]

1) FOR SCIENCE! + !! !! = !!SCIENCE ON FIRE!! = Volatile nature of DF Science

2) Use training weapons

I understand that's the best way to not kill them, but isn't there a serious risk of my own guys getting injured then?

Do they still comfortably win or is this a very..natural selection kind of training

[Imp]

1) FOR SCIENCE! + !! !! = !!SCIENCE ON FIRE!! = Volatile nature of DF Science

2) Use training weapons

I understand that's the best way to not kill them, but isn't there a serious risk of my own guys getting injured then?

Do they still comfortably win or is this a very..natural selection kind of training

I assume you're getting these goblins through cage traps, and likely are completely stripping these goblins through dumping the cage before releasing them for your guys to kill.

One option might be to not dump the cage, but to selectively dump whatever weapon type that goblin has (thieves have large daggers and so on), then release it.  This will mean it will still be wearing its armor, making it more work and longer lasting as your dwarves cut it down.  Of course there's still the chance that it will hurt or kill your dwarves, though far less than if you leave it armed.

Another way to make your dwarves safer as you kill isolated enemies is to have a largish number of less important allies helping - like puppies, dogs, or warbeasts (depending on how strong or weak your target is).The enemy will target one thing at a time, so having cannon fodder handy can help improve the odds, as well as their attacks will help tire it/hold it down if they can land their bites.

[Garath]

Are Moose Men, Badger Men, and other similar types of creatures hostile? I've had a Moose Man kill a dwarf before, but I also see them not bothering my dwarfs most of the time. I've been very hesitant to send dwarfs out to gather plants and chop wood because of it, so I figured I'd ask to make sure the threat is actually real.

just like badgers and some other creatures, there is a chance they will attack and your militairy considers them a danger.
Like badgers, occasionally they get lucky. Be happy they are not like giant zomby badgers.

[Tiruin]

Be happy they are not like giant zomby badgers.

Ftfy; zombies are a pushover in the current version (0.31.25), slow and easy to kill, their skeletal counterparts are the dangerous ones, though not as dangerous as the living ones.

[Garath]

true, but giant zombie badger just sounds better as a threath unless you know about that

[Farmerbob]

What is the lightest stonecraft to sell to caravans? the value is unimportant, I just want to dispose of all the useless stoneXD

Make the rocks into stone pots and use them for storing food and drink.

[Farmerbob]

Every time I generate a world, it comes out about 60% aquifer, with the only place not having an aquifer being the middle of a mountain range or beingmade up of impassable cliffs.

Now, I'd like to be able to generate a world and, you know, have a choice about whether or not I have to deal with an aquifer.

So I look into the advanced world generation... Which parameter is it that changes the prevalence of aquifers - and what values work? I've played with advanced generation a few times and every time it simply ends up rejecting world after world and getting nowhere.

If I am not mistaken, drainage affects the creation of aquifiers.  I do not like aquifiers much either, and played with settings for a long time to try to find a way to create fewer of them, without preventing them from existing, because sometimes I DO want to experiment with them

Pull the world gen configuration out of this save and play with it if you want to experiment.  I've made some of my very best worlds with this (tiny worlds)

http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=4521

If you want to make larger worlds, a lot of the settings will carry straight over, but some will not.

[Farmerbob]

Is above ground farming not possible if the embark has a volcano, or something? This place isn't ocean, and other than the volcano it's 100% temperate grasslands, yet farms say nope. What's up?

Aboveground or belowground farms?  I vaguely recall there being issues with aboveground farms not wanting to plant in certain scenarios.

If there are rocks on a mostly-soil surface, they will prevent creation of farms, if I recall correctly.  You can get rid of rocks on the surface by smoothing them, I think?

[Garath]

Is above ground farming not possible if the embark has a volcano, or something? This place isn't ocean, and other than the volcano it's 100% temperate grasslands, yet farms say nope. What's up?

Aboveground or belowground farms?  I vaguely recall there being issues with aboveground farms not wanting to plant in certain scenarios.

If there are rocks on a mostly-soil surface, they will prevent creation of farms, if I recall correctly.  You can get rid of rocks on the surface by smoothing them, I think?

but then they still don't allow a farm. It has to be soil, no tree or bush and there are some issues that sometimes you need the grown plant, or a brew from said plant, etc., or the seeds will not be planted.

[Farmerbob]

Is above ground farming not possible if the embark has a volcano, or something? This place isn't ocean, and other than the volcano it's 100% temperate grasslands, yet farms say nope. What's up?

Aboveground or belowground farms?  I vaguely recall there being issues with aboveground farms not wanting to plant in certain scenarios.

If there are rocks on a mostly-soil surface, they will prevent creation of farms, if I recall correctly.  You can get rid of rocks on the surface by smoothing them, I think?

but then they still don't allow a farm. It has to be soil, no tree or bush and there are some issues that sometimes you need the grown plant, or a brew from said plant, etc., or the seeds will not be planted.

I think it is possible to get rocks sitting on top of the soil layer.  Not sure.  I vaguely recall running into this at one point.  I may have smoothed, then muddied surface rock to make surface farm, or something.  I do specifically recall having to smooth away boulders to make a surface farm work once though

Being forced to brew at least one plant to allow creation of a surface farm is also possible.  Can't remember if that issue was this version or last though.