You know, this is fantastic.
I am still trying to figure out HOW it is possible, that fort with 67 dwarves(cap at 60) and dozens of animals + 3 different civs siege + 1 megabeast(actually kicked to death by nords) is working with 78 fps on 1.6 ghz feeble laptop c2d with fsb 533.
I remember having NINE fps in earlier versions in similar situation.
Goddamn, this is insane.
--------
Word about my way of playing this mod, i am not DF specialist, but i like my ways(sorry for engrish..):
- burrows handling is best thing added to 2010, imho.
- popcap=60(less=more interesting gameplay, less clutter etc etc, very curious situation is having 17 dwarves as LAST dwarves in the world, what a interesting fight for life).
- embarking always by the stream(which is used as obvious water source(safe channel into main hall AND hospital), and main method of using bridges as weapon and natural obstacle),
- i am not using military AT ALL, just because i do not understand it in ,31, not sure how it works and WHAT works...Additionally, it is quite interesting trying to stay alive without ANY military defence, also, army is just method for losing population, as we have limited amount of lives, whether enemy is not(let's say)
soldiers are dying y'know = imo, unnecesary waste of laborers.
- minimal DT support for most neccesary job control(i.e no 100% masons for speeding bunker building, it's.. unpleasant), planting mainly, sometimes mechanic(bridges, or floodgates for channels, if any).
- i am building isolated, perfectly unreachable fort(bunker with roof over 1/3 of map, kind of a "dome" with minimum of 2 different multi-bridged entrances,(one bridge after another at every entrance over stream), independently linked to diff levers for more situation control), with some of destructable clutter near entrance outsides to slow down enemy eventually, doors from inner side of fort at end.
- since beginning WHOLE dwarf-power is used for building bunker(BIG sufrace space taken and walled out(and isolated) as emergency tree and plants reservoir) - if roofing process fails, fort wil NOT survive. So far i never had FUN situations..sometimes i was SO close to it...i.e. devilish dragon..without..wings, RELIEF, stupid being was not able to enter nonroofed(yet) terrain.
- i am cutting as much wood as i can before first stupid Elves show, wood is main problem in isolated fort, even with emergncy green terrain reservoir, especially, if caravanas are not able to get into depot(sieges, MB's), so more=better. Dwarves are not allowed to make trips for wood after 5 years of playing, never EVER.
Isolated means isolated, right?
- it seems that almost always at last one small pond is near stream on every map, usually on lvl+1 over stream - that one is used for quick mud making, otherwise starvation is quite possible after one-two seasons, especially when stupid migration waves are draining food and booze too fast. 2 underground 2x4 and 1 2x4 ground fields are always enough.
Usually stream channels are pain in the ass(RAMPS), but small underground reservoir is sometimes a must if temperature is ON...
As some beings can breathe under water, leaving underwater ramps leading into fort from stream is quite bad idea - it's main channeling prob and delayer;/, if i want to have tidy map...
- little trick - first workshop i am building in genesis is ALWAYS...loom. I noticed massive amounts of webs in some biomes, after first rains it's gone - so, try to designate WHOLE loom power to collecting as many webs as possible - quick way for nice amount of material at start. It is VERY useful later.
- trade depot - as i am not using military, trade depot has specific construction and it is part of SECOND/n-th entrance - it is made to be open for "outside", allowing caravanas to go there at ANY external circumstances(well, their prob, if there are 4 enemy civs out there), while being isolated from fort - then, external bridges are up, internal down, trade, goodbye, and it's open again. Depot is also GOOD method for controlling enemy movement on map, open = move, close = stay here. when first sieges are occuring, it is a must for me, as goddamn shooters may be a problem for roof builders;/. depot corridor has no doors to allow caravana military see eventual enemy from distance, doors are a must from fort side just after bridge(i like hordes of sinking enemies). caravaneers are nice delayers if lever operator is clumsy, too.
- interesting thing - i suddenly realized, that more or less, fort in DF is VERY similar to... CELL(like bacteria, or sth). since then, every fort is very dense, small and optimized for production, only vast space is that tree/plant green zone.
- as a thrillseeker, i am not using pressure plates for anything - manual lever system is quite entertaining - i added many 1x1 workshops with ARROW image in every possible color for marking what's what(too many mistakes in past times, memory is not good advisor in my case) - manual handling and timing errors can be FUNNY, hheh..many drown(ed) innocents...
- elephants in current version are like cheat, imo - they are breeding like rabbits, giving GIGANTIC amount of meat - few of these and we can earn dozens of thousands of cash, it is ridiculous!, not to mention using dozens of restrained war elephants in narrow corridors(lol).
Well, i think i am not too bright playing like this, but mortality is low(usually cave-ins are main reasons, lol), and when bunker is ready before first flying megabeast, it works ok.
ok, time to get some sleep..today i roofed my first fort in 3.11(few thousands of stone used for that goddamn roof + 4 masons shot down :E), in 5 years, so fort will survive, i think.
Now i have siege made by 3 civs at the door, + 3rd megabest that year, poor caravaneers...