Print

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

[bongotastic]

I was looking for a way to summarise what needs to be done for someone who want to try DF and came up with this diagram. It is meant to be as general as possible, so the details are kept to a minimum. It isn't also meant to be the best way to do things, but at least covers everything that needs to be done in order to have a sustainable fortress (fed, happy, safe and generating wealth). It looks like the way I usually do things, minus a bunch of dwarven-compulsive details such as breaking down food piles into types, storing seeds beside the farm plots, statues in the meeting halls, etc.

It reads more or less from top row to bottom, some arrows are not logical, but just there to prioritise things.

Here is the diagram:


The editor that I use is free to use. If anyone wants to adapt or come up with something better, here is the source file:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9848121/flowchartDF.graphml

Maybe this can be helpful to newcomers wondering what on earth to do next.

[Roder Agak]

I sort of do everything backwards.  I build the hospital, well, barracks and forge right at the beginning -- I skimp on skills and take hospital supplies and copper nuggets at embark.  Most of my fortress wealth in the early game comes from construction; I neglect the manufacturing industry almost entirely.

[Darkwhite]

Wow. For sure that will be a great help for newbies. Why don't you copy&paste it into the wiki? Would be a shame if your work got lost here in the flood of postings.

[bongotastic]

Wow. For sure that will be a great help for newbies. Why don't you copy&paste it into the wiki? Would be a shame if your work got lost here in the flood of postings.

That is my plan, I meant to bounce it off the forum first in case there are glaring omissions.

@Roder Adak
There is an infinite number of ways, but telling this to a newcomer can be perplexing. I often add the hospital well into Year 2 as I usually don't need it before then (I actually forgot to add it in the first pass, which is fixed now).

This diagram tries to steer away from the great booze drought of 1052 and the great dwarven frostbite of Urist's first Christmas.  Of course, learning each lesson using the facepalm method is the dwarven way to go. Understandably, some newbie human may not embrace that philosophy from the start

[slink]

Strictly speaking, "Get stones" should branch from "Dig".  In many desirable sites, you have to dig through soil layers in order to reach the stone layers which provide the stones.  Soil layers are good for digging initial stockpile rooms, and a temporary indoor meeting area if the climate is hostile.  Even if there are no soil layers, stones still have to be dug rather than gathered from boulders or the like.  I know you know this, I'm just trying to think of it from a new player's point of view. 

[bongotastic]

Strictly speaking, "Get stones" should branch from "Dig".

Good point, this is exactly why I posted this on the forum. A new version is available here:
http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/From_Caravan_to_Happy_Dwarves

(BTW, the diagram posted in the first post now points directly to the wiki image).

[Taranli Maren]

Interesting chart.  I have a few comments/questions though.

Why does Carpenter go straight to Hospital in addition to going to Beds and then to Hospital?
You have Bins off of Carpenter, but neglect the more important Barrels required for bulk brewing.  For a newb, I would expect that barrels should be prioritized immediately after building the still.
What is Remove Caravan?  Do you mean Sell to Caravan, or Attack Caravan?

[bucket]

Maybe he meant to destroy the wagon so the dorfs hang out underground exclusively.

[thijser]

Destoying wagon can return some wood but that's somewhat advanced I would remove it. Currently this is more of a "remember what to do" chart for people who have been playing for a few times already but don't know everything from the top of their heads yet.

[bongotastic]

Destoying wagon can return some wood but that's somewhat advanced I would remove it. Currently this is more of a "remember what to do" chart for people who have been playing for a few times already but don't know everything from the top of their heads yet.

Right, destroying the wagon also removes the meeting point, thereby preventing the dwarves from hanging out in the cold when the winter arrives. That is mostly why I get rid of the wagon.

[thijser]

Destoying wagon can return some wood but that's somewhat advanced I would remove it. Currently this is more of a "remember what to do" chart for people who have been playing for a few times already but don't know everything from the top of their heads yet.

Right, destroying the wagon also removes the meeting point, thereby preventing the dwarves from hanging out in the cold when the winter arrives. That is mostly why I get rid of the wagon.

Then I would make meeting area/hall point to wagon destruction.

[bongotastic]

Destoying wagon can return some wood but that's somewhat advanced I would remove it. Currently this is more of a "remember what to do" chart for people who have been playing for a few times already but don't know everything from the top of their heads yet.

Right, destroying the wagon also removes the meeting point, thereby preventing the dwarves from hanging out in the cold when the winter arrives. That is mostly why I get rid of the wagon.

Then I would make meeting area/hall point to wagon destruction.

Done.

[slink]

I agree with earlier posts that "remove caravan" sounds like you are killing off the traders, or possibly stealing their goods the first year by removing the depot which is of course one possible tactic  .  Can it say "remove embark wagon" instead?

[bongotastic]

I agree with earlier posts that "remove caravan" sounds like you are killing off the traders, or possibly stealing their goods the first year by removing the depot which is of course one possible tactic  .  Can it say "remove embark wagon" instead?

Good point. Done.

[bongotastic]

Interesting chart.  I have a few comments/questions though.

Why does Carpenter go straight to Hospital in addition to going to Beds and then to Hospital?
You have Bins off of Carpenter, but neglect the more important Barrels required for bulk brewing.  For a newb, I would expect that barrels should be prioritized immediately after building the still.
What is Remove Caravan?  Do you mean Sell to Caravan, or Attack Caravan?

The barrel comment is bang on! I can't believe that I didn't think of that. You'll notice that barrels are now pretty high in the diagram, where they should be.

BTW, I fixed the caravan issue: it is now called Embark wagon (thanks to slink for the suggestion).