I am about to start my first fortress in this any advice as to how to start ?
Well...
http://df-genesis.wikidot.com/tips-and-advicehttp://df-genesis.wikidot.com/prepare for early 15-goblin siege, and year 4 siege of three squads of enemies on mounts. I recommend a corridor of traps.
No war mephits, they're disobedient pets. Their function is to cause mayhem (Noooo my beard's on fire!) (why is this acid dissolving our clothes?) now that obsidian dorfs don't throw fireballs.
You can chain mephits like guard dogs.
That's certainly unexpected and, being a realism hound, I can't abide having the special strong version being more common than the supposedly more populous normal version! What would cause a creature with [POPULATION_NUMBER:1:3] to be over 10x more common in the wild than a creature with [POPULATION_NUMBER:15:30], when by looking at the numbers it should be the other way around?
If one omits the FREQUENCY tag, it is the same as freq 50 (on 1-100 scale, 100 being commonest spawn). Plus, being trainable, some civ might farm them like pigs.
And during long history, random heroes might have slain a load of raptors, reducing their numbers.
My raptors [FREQUENCY:14] [POPULATION_NUMBER:3:20] [CLUSTER_NUMBER:3:7] (might be possible that pop1 means "one clusterful", thus 3*3 to 20*7 total raptor count)
my DR [FREQUENCY:6] [POPULATION_NUMBER:1:3] [CLUSTER_NUMBER:1:3]
but indeed they are bloody dangerous, unicorn-speed crocodile-like-bite madbirds. And in DF universe, the one who gets first strike (due to faster speed) has a big advantage.
How are you guys losing your forts so soon? i only lose mine when i try to fight but if i wanted to the hostiles will never get in due to walls and a drawbridge which was mandatory since the orcs mod. I
Some of us want more challenge and don't want "outdoors walled off, we are safe". My forts have a fps/boredom death at 40-70 fps. Then I roll a new one and try top fine-tune the creatures I encounter there.
Earliest fort loss this month: embark, raptors, pile of dead dorfs.
Is it possible that due to their natural rage, they're getting themselves into trouble and getting killed off?
It is only known to Toady what rage-param does in worldgen. Or the code for savage areas biases larger beasts.