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[mwanafalsafa]

The following is my build order, once I get all of this stuff done I'm not really sure what's the best thing to start working on...

1: stockpiles for food and the other stuff in the wagon
2: carpentry and masonry workshops
3: bedrooms and a dining hall
4: an underground farm
5: a kitchen and a brewery

I've made stockpiles for cloth, leather, food and finished goods, but when I breakdown my wagon I still see items on the ground... but no dwarves have moved them anywhere... is there another type of stockpile I should be making to get everything from the wagon inside? So far I've just embarked with the default items.

I tried to build a trade depot but it doesn't seem to be working... the game let me place it but it just shows some brown lines on the ground and no dwarf has shown up to do anything with it... is there something I'm missing here?

Also, I have yet to see a caravan come but I assume when it comes I should have goods ready to trade for the stuff I want... what sort of stuff should I be making to trade with the caravans?

Thanks

[existent]

As for what to build, start making a metal industry!

Make a furniture stockpile.

Make sure a Dwarf has the labors enabled to make the depot- and, sometimes it just takes them a while to get around to it. To trade, you'll probably want to make a craftdwarf's workshop (b-e, I think?) and crank out rock mugs/instruments/toys/whatever, doesn't really matter. Variety isn't important, quantity is.

The first caravan arrives in the fall/early winter, assuming the civilization isn't dead. Then, you'll get one in spring, summer, and fall each year (again, assuming the relevant civ's aren't dead.)

[mwanafalsafa]

Thanks for the info... is there a way to check on the other civilizations to make sure they will in fact have caravans?

That part of the game is totally new to me.

[geoduck]

Thanks for the info... is there a way to check on the other civilizations to make sure they will in fact have caravans?

That part of the game is totally new to me.

Unfortunately, you have to do it before you embark; while still on the world map and selecting your location, hit the TAB key. This will cycle you through a variety of useful information, including a list of surviving species.

[Darkmere]

You can also hit c (or C, i forget) to check out nearby civs in-game. Some other minor ones might be listed (I've got an antman civilization training dummies somewhere in my caverns), but you can check for the big 3 there as well.

[Urist Imiknorris]

Actually, they'll only show up on the civilizations screen if you've already made contact with them. You'll end up seeing all of them by the second/third year. Elves almost certainly will come on the second spring, humans in the summer (it may take a couple of years for them to learn about your fort) and goblins will come at any season.

[Mishy]

Depot needs a dorf with architecture and whatever skill is relevant to the building material. This can be spread between 2 dorfs if you prefer, one architect and one mason/chippy.

After yu've got the essentials down, its pretty much whatever you want to make from there on in. You should probably make some defences, just afew traps or a drawbridge then work on some trade goods (i like to trade with food).

Craft workshop is uild > [w]orkshops > c[r]aft.

[mwanafalsafa]

Thanks for all the info guys

I've managed to get the trade depot going but I've got other problems now...

I made it through winter but just barely, because all of the water sources froze and all of my dwarfs where thirsty. I guess this means I also ran out of booze?

And I ran out of food and just got by by butchering some of my animals

I just can't seem to get a decent farm going... I've made a farm plot underground but I the farmer works so slow, I never get more than 1 1/2 rows planted before the season is over... any ideas?

[existent]

I just can't seem to get a decent farm going... I've made a farm plot underground but I the farmer works so slow, I never get more than 1 1/2 rows planted before the season is over... any ideas?

That sounds about right. Hit 'z' to get an idea of your food supplies- look in the bottom left.

[Nil Eyeglazed]

If you need to farm faster, it's largely a matter of farmer skill.

There are a few things you can do though:

a) Disable all labors except for farming fields on your farmer.
b) Make a seed stockpile right next to your farm.
c) Make a plant stockpile right next to your farm.

Yes, if your dwarfs were dehydrated, you probably ran out of booze.  If your water is freezing, you'll want to find or make an underground water source; water with a natural ceiling somewhere above it won't freeze.

[Gatleos]

If you want a successful farm, do this:

1. Divide the farming area into multiple plots. Like, at least four. Set each plot to raise a different crop. You probably have many different types of seeds to utilize.
2. Have a couple of farmers. You shouldn't overdo it even when your fortress gets huge (unless you trade the excess crops to caravans - cha-ching!) Maybe 2-3 max once you have 20+ dwarves to feed.
3. Don't forget, you have to have individual settings for each season! If you get to, say, spring and the farmers just stop planting, you haven't set the crops for spring yet.

Stick to that, and you'll be swimming in crops. If you're having a booze shortage, raising lots of crops helps since most of them can be brewed. Good luck!

[mwanafalsafa]

alright... I've started a new fortress and I'm going to try some new farming techniques... but is there any better way to find a non-freezing water source besides just mining around aimlessly? I'm worried about finding an underground cavern with hostiles just yet because I haven't even started trying to figure the military stuff out yet, hehe.

Thanks!

[existent]

alright... I've started a new fortress and I'm going to try some new farming techniques... but is there any better way to find a non-freezing water source besides just mining around aimlessly? I'm worried about finding an underground cavern with hostiles just yet because I haven't even started trying to figure the military stuff out yet, hehe.

Thanks!

Whether the water will freeze or not depends on the biome you embark in.

[ledgekindred]

Your remaining items are probably furniture, as someone said, and also picks and axes need a weapons stockpile to go into.  (At first I usually make a weapons/ammo/armor/cloth/leather stockpile to catch anything left over from finished goods, food and furniture.)

Make absolutely sure your cook isn't cooking up all your booze for meals.  (z-Kitchen) and make sure the booze is banned from cooking.  This has caught me on more than one occasion when starting up a new fort, leading to the downward spiral of slower working dwarves with no booze, working too slowly to raise booze stocks, until everyone is just sitting around waiting for more booze.

Best thing is to do a bunch of aboveground plant harvesting (d-p) right away, build a still and get a brewer cranking out the booze, just to make sure you have enough to get by on.  Your dwarves can drink out your initial supply pretty quickly if you're not careful and get a booze industry going.

If you're in a biome with freezing water, best way around it is to build an underground reservoir and build a channel into it.  Then build a well on top of it.  Underground water won't freeze, although the source will freeze.

[mwanafalsafa]

I'm def going to try and build a reservoir... I assume I'll be filling it with a nearby river... but how do I stop the water pressure from the river from flooding the rest of my fortress? won't it be enough to push the water up multiple stairways?

In my new fort I've started farming earlier but I'm still having trouble managing food and booze... I guess I just need more practice with micromanaging the controls.

I have another related question... in order to see exactly what I have in my stockpiles I need a bookkeeper... and I have a dwarf with the bookkeeper skill but don't I need to give him an office to work in? I've built the room and put a table and chair and cabinet in it but how do I designate it as the bookkeeper dwarf's office and get him working in there?

Thanks all!