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[Lyrax]

This is kinda bloat-y but shouldn't be hard to implement.

Wouldn't it be nice if you sat down to play Dwarf Fortress for the very first time... and there was a sample fortress already there to get you started?  Wouldn't need much... a pregenerated world with a saved game.  Maybe 15-20 dwarves, each with meager bedrooms and a dining room.  A few military dwarves, a mason, carpenter, miner, smith, woodcutter, and a few farmers.  A small plot, already set to get planted every season, and show everyone how it's done.

Why?  Because it would answer a lot of the most frequently asked questions on this board.

Maybe it could even just be an optional download.

[Capntastic]

As an optional download it works; but the best way to learn the game is to jump in and start making stuff (like mistakes) on your own, I think.

[MaxVance]

Toady is actually planning to do something like this.

quote:From http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/dev_v1.html  : <STRONG>ADVANCED HELP ARC: Yeah, dwarves has a steep learning curve. Tutorials and advisors could help this, as well as decent in-game help. Related to Core19 and Core22.</STRONG>

[Capntastic]

I read the OP as more of a "Here's a pre-made fort to muck around in" rather than a tutorial.

[Rawl]

Gotta go with Capntastic on this one. Could even feature a video of how they got to that point (or a short video - this is how you dig, add stairs, make piles, and set up a simple farm).

[Capntastic]

A modified .cmv file could work for a tutorial, I bet.   All that's needed is a way to add text, and one could watch and learn pretty quick.

[Derakon]

What I could see being somewhat useful would be a "playground" fortress with a built-in tutorial. Said fortress would have:

* One dwarf
* Three rooms in a soil layer, all empty
* A guided tour

All of the dwarf's labors would be activated, and all of his skills would be at Proficient level. The player would get walked through a few tasks:

* Moving the screen around
* Looking at things
* Viewing dwarves
* Building a farm plot and planting seeds
* Digging, including stairs (to go down to the stone layer below to get some stone)
* Building a mason's workshop (with the stone thus uncovered)
* Building a chair and table, and placing them
* Harvesting plants (and watching the dwarf eat; eating, sleeping, etc. would only occur at scripted points)
* Building a carpenter's shop, and a bed
* Placing the bed, and watching the dwarf fall asleep

I don't think such a tutorial would need more than ten minutes or so of player time to run through, and at the end the player would have a reasonable grasp of how to play the game, and some subtle hints as to useful things to do (i.e. mining, farming, making beds and dining rooms).

[Lyrax]

quote:Originally posted by Capntastic:
<STRONG>I read the OP as more of a "Here's a pre-made fort to muck around in" rather than a tutorial.</STRONG>

Exactly.  With the side benefit of circulating ideas about fortress design, 'cause somebody else designed this one.