Print

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

[athros]

So, I found and started playing DF about 3 weeks ago (or so...the days blur together) and I finally think I have a good enough grasp on the basics to give a good serious attempt. I know the irrigation process, making weapons, traps etc.

I make a new world, put in a couple of easy parameters (I'm not too picky..Med. temp, Flux Yes, Aquafiers no, River Yes), move the local area a bit and embark using Tatters ragtime band build on the wiki (I like the mix of skills). When I finally get loaded in, the first thing I see is Native Aluminum wall, with hematite right next to it. 1 Z level down shows Native Copper Walls. Going down 5 Z levels shows Basalt. 1 more and I have Obsidian. There are a smattering of Fire Opals, gold Opals, and other such that I've never really run into.

So, I backed up the save and was wondering, does this sound like a good starting location? I'm not going to back out of the game if it proves to be tougher than it looks, I was just curious about the opinion of the vets. I'm likely going to start after I get off of work. (The servers we have make for good quick world gen  )

I can post the save (once I figure out how on these boards) if people would like.

EDIT: The save game from the start

[Heavenfall]

Part of the fun is finding out!

Roughy speaking, if the map has a sedimentary layer (in pure white on embark screen listing layers) and you have some access to water, and you are not in a very "evil" zone, then the sky is the limit.
Edit: It sounds like you've embarked on a place without a sedimentary layer. The only real difference is you'll have to work harder to scrape together that iron.

[athros]

Hmm...I don't think I did...I'd have to go back and look, and the withdrawl is bad enough right now .

[Xvareon]

Well even if you don't have sedimentary rock, you can still melt down the weapons and armor invaders bring along with them into usable iron and other metals.  Of course coal can be a problem without sedimentary rock...  You may have to rely on imports for high-end metal gear while making leather armor wooden shields and stone swords.  Unless of course you discover magma...

[KrunkSplein]

I think that's an EXCELLENT place for a first serious fort.  When I started (way back in 2D), I spent weeks pouring over the wiki and forums preparing myself for situations that never even came up.  Holding out for an ideal site for your first fort will simply waste the time that you could spend playing!

Let's say you don't have any sand, coal or magma native to the site.  Sure, that's an aspect of the game you may not have immediate access to, but it's still a hugely valuable experience - you learn how to manage your wealth to import the raw materials you don't have on hand.  Maybe your next fort has no flux or iron, but there's a volcano near a sandy beach!  Technically you're still short-changed, but now you can set up some epic glass-making facilities!  Green glass can replace a ton of building materials, and it comes with the added cool points of making something out of glass.

There is a solution for every type of embark location (some more difficult than others).  The important thing is to enjoy yourself.

[Dorf3000]

Unless you're looking to build some specific project or challenge yourself in a specific way (e.g. survive without much iron or steel, make a glass tower, combat skeletal beasts, grow only above ground crops etc) then any map is good for your first serious fort.  It won't be your last serious fort, so you'll have a chance to play with whatever you might be missing out on later.  You can spend too much time looking for a site that has every possibility and every challenge on it, only to find yourself getting bored with it later on or having an idea for a fortress layout that requires a new map.

[Psieye]

The first question: what do you wish to do with your first serious fort? Military or industry focussed? From what I see, your embark location is excellent for industry and you may need to rely more on traps or drowning chambers for defence as your steel stock will be low (unless marble happens to be around). You can buy plenty with a high industry output, especially if you seal off caverns and dig down to the magma early.

[athros]

@Psieye: I'm aiming for industry to start, and try to build up a military (now that the bugs have been worked on )

My Plan (after looking at the map last night, but not starting just yet):

1.) Hopefully working the Aluminum I'll have some exports to make some DB's to get what I need along with the Opals (I didn't know it was that valueable)
2.) I know there are aquifers on the woods biome but not the mountain biome (should be good for irrigation..and fun  )
3.) I need to figure out why my seeds keep disappearing when they get moved from outside to inside. (Ongoing...keeps happening in all of my fortresses...do Dwarves eat seeds over meat? Something else? I need to figure it out...on my other forts, I run out of seeds so I can't plant anything underground until the first caravan arrives.)
4.) There are a couple of murky pools above the brook. I'll be using those for farms.
5.) Black sand is on the map...I'll be learning the glassmaking process on this map (woohoo!!)
6.) Figure out how to make specific stockpiles for specific things (Like aluminum stuff so it doesn't get used in the fort, a Seed stockpile so they don't disappear) EDIT: Nevermind, I was missing a step.
7.) Learn the fun of aquifiers, and hopefully use it for irrigation along with the brook (amongst other, more nefarious purposes).
8.) Dig until I find adamintine, and figure out the fun in those. (I've been avoiding spoilers...so I'm curious)
9.) Try to have some semblance of a military along with traps....lots of traps.
10.) Be flexiable. Nothing is going to go according to plan.

I'm looking forward to getting started. I'm really enjoying the sheer depth of the game. The learning curve is managable (to me...but what I think most modern games is not something I should say in polite society).

Thank you very much for all the comments everyone!

[spooq]

Check the kitchen screen, your plants might be getting brewed or cooked. Brewed or eaten is fine, because you get the seeds back. Cooked then eaten is bad. Make sure noone is using the seeds for anything.

[athros]

Hmm...I didn't know about the cook problem. Thanks!

Update: 5 levels down from my start, my dwarves struck Native Platinum. Good times. Looks like industry is the way to go.

[KrunkSplein]

I was inspired by this thread to start up a new fort, after not having played since 40d.  I feel like a noob all over again!  it's fantastic.

Of course, I was cocky and assumed I didn't need to read anything new before jumping right in.  I was unaware of the renewed need for irrigation on soil levels.  I started getting announcement spam that my dwarves couldn't get water, as I didn't have any water source (playing on a saltwater map).  I had actually run out of booze!  I panicked, sent a bunch of people out to harvest some ground plants so I could HOPEFULLY get some beer brewed before people started dying/tantruming.  Then I went and drained a murky pool and made a field for plump helmets.  Crisis averted!

Also, I had two (small) migrant waves before the dwarven caravan even showed up.  That's a first for me.

It just goes to show you, Athros - No matter how much you play, DF can always throw you a curve ball.

[athros]

@KrunkSplein - Hmm....I've had that happen a couple of times now. I didn't get the caravan until late in the Autumn season, and they didn't bring any flux stone. So, at this point I have a lot of hematite (iron) and nothing I can do with it aside from make iron stuff. Copper is plentiful as well.

I'm starting (now that I have sustainable farms, brewing and cooking) to do exploratory mining. I'm also digging out a huge area for non-ore stone storage. I'll post pics if people want.

As for curve balls...I was expecting flux stone. Hopefully I can find some. If not....the steel thing is going to be a real pain.

All in all, good times! Thanks for the kind words!

[KrunkSplein]

I don't know about you, but for the exploratory mining I'm going to have a long, trapped tunnel before I start venturing outwards, just in case I mine somewhere I'm not wanted.

I suppose I could just have the exploratory mining happen independent of the main fortress, but that seems like a short-term solution.  Presumably, you are mining to find stuff you will want in your main fortress, and now you have another entry point to defend.

[athros]

So...the fort I started in this thread died horribly. Goblin Ambush + Tantrum Spiral which started with a failed Possessed Dwarf. So I started a new fort.

Everything is going well. I've figured out wells, found coal, flux stone, making steel, still working on the kitchen stuff and butchering animals, but I'm running into things I have questions about.

Once of my dwarves is flashing grey. I don't know what that means. Help?

I also cannot build Upward staircases using d - u . It won't create the icon at all, and just to be sure, I watched the spot, and no dwarf came to create one. I can make downward staircases (d - j) just fine. Am I missing something?

Finally, there are loads of Plump Helmet Spawns on the chairs in the dining room, but they never get moved to the seed stockpile. I don't know what to do to get them moved.

[JAFANZ]

Not sure what's going on with the Plump Helmet Spawn, you got Idlers set to Haul Food & Items? Enough space in the seed stockpile? a Path to the seed stockpile?

Up Staircases: d-u isn't "build" up staircase, it's (d)esignate <aka DIG> upwards staircase, needs to be in an undug tile, to build on open ground or in an existing room you need to use the "(b)uild" menu (b-C-u IIRC).
NB: (d)esignate will assign a Miner to the task, (b)uild will assign a Mason or Carpenter I believe (depending on materials).