Print

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

[gramks2k]

Using v0.31.12 with a graphics package pre-installed (other than that no modding or anything). I'm a total newbie, but I've gotten through 3 or 4 preliminary forts and I'm getting the hang of it, except...

I've dug out a storage area +1 level above my workshops with access, everything is set up with the stockpiles, etc. But when my miner dug out the area it left a bunch of rocks there (as per normal, duh). This wouldn't be an issue except that it blocks about 90% of the area to put my goods, food, wood, and all that. I'd like to just make one of the rooms for storing the rocks, which I have been using but not fast enough. How can I get them out of one store room and into another compact space?

tl;dr How, exactly, should I go about getting the gabbro rocks and garnierite ore out of my stockpile areas? And how, exactly, do I set up containers for things other than food barrels (which seem to be automatic)?

[ledgekindred]

simplest way for getting rid of rock: make a 1-tile garbage dump.  i-define zone-g to set to garbage dump.  Then mass-select the rocks for dumping - d-b-d, select all rocks, hit enter.  Your dwarves will then get busy moving all the rocks to the garbage dump tile.  It can hold an infinite amount of dumped items (so-called "quantum garbage dump.").  You don't have to worry about losing that rock permanently, you can later mass-reclaim everything on the dump the same way you dumped it - d-b and the default option is "reclaim."  (Otherwise I think it's d-b-c)  Then highlight over the garbage dump tile and it will un-forbid everything in the dump tile.

When you set up a stockpile for items that can be stored in bins, the "use number of bins" option will automatically be set and you don't have to worry about assigning bins to specific stockpiles as long as you have empty bins available.

[gramks2k]

Nice, that's exactly what I needed. Thanks a bunch.

My issue is that I was using the stockpiles... In my mind the terms 'dump' and 'refuse' should go together, so I made a refuse stockpile and had set all of the rocks to dump, and expected it to work.

Anyway, the dorfs are all hard at work getting everything all cleared up. Now it's time to design my interior drawbridge, and exterior fort for trading.

[ledgekindred]

Yes, the difference for a dump and a refuse stockpile got me for a while when I first started playing as well.   (I also played for months before realizing I could mass-designate.  Lots of fun tagging 800 rocks for dumping by cursoring over, 'k', 'd', repeat...)  Glad it helped.

Also keep reading the wiki, there's a lot of good stuff up there!

[gramks2k]

I have been reading the wiki a lot, especially during class.. haha.

My next project looks a little complex also so I may have to make a post about it. Going to build a tower, 3x stories tall, to use as an archer platform to defend my trade post and a small area of land immediately outside of the main entrance.

Questions I'm researching right now for it...
1) Archer range, how large of an area can they defend.
2) Do archers need to be on the same z plane to shoot enemies.
3) How do you build up into the air...
4) How good are fortifications at stopping the enemy's attacks.
5) How can I train up my archers skill.
6) Is there any way that the enemy will be able to bust into this tower to use it to access my Fortress.

[ledgekindred]

1) I believe it depends on their "Observer" skill.  They can shoot quite some distance though.  I have had goblin archers shooting at my marksmen when they were still far enough away that my marksmen didn't realize the archers were there...

2) Nope.

3) There is a good wiki page on constructions that shows you how to build walls and floors to make multi-story structures like archer towers. 

4) If you build a wall and then carve fortifications into it, it's considered a "C"onstruction and therefore not destroyable by guests with the "Building Destroyer" tag.  So it's as effective as a wall, except it allows projectiles through.  That works both ways - goblin archers can also shoot in.   Build a wall and then carve fortifications into it rather than building fortifications out of unmined rock directly - former lets you build floors on top, latter does not.

5) Archers are still a little bugged right now.  Basically assign them a military uniform that uses a ranged weapon, then build an archery target and assign that squad to use it for practice.   I personally have had better luck turning them into hunters for a while.

6) Look up Building Destroyers on the wiki.  Bottom line as I understand it is that they cannot break through things built with the "Construct" menu (b-C).  Walls and floors are considered "C"onstructions and are therefore not breakable by unwanted guests.  Doors and drawbridges, however are not, and are fair game for creatures that break stuff.  So protect your entrance with a moat or something.

[Andrej]

Cleaning rock: Actually I find that building a lot of kennels with 1 tile between them does the best job. The dwarf that builds the kennel will swiftly place all stones in the 1 tile between the kennels. I then place the stock piles and designate the stones for dumping.