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[eggrock]

Hi everyone, I finally installed DF five days ago after reading about it several month's back. My interest was piqued by comments about insane learning curves and a foray into highly rated indie games led me back. Special thanks to the tutorial writers and wiki maintainers, and of course Toady for my latest obsession. This is going to be so much fun.

After many hours generating worlds, reviewing maps, reading and experimenting, I've finally started setting up in what looks like an almost perfect location with regards to newbie friendliness.

Anyways, just thought I'd say hi, and--on to some newbie questions.

1) Is there a means of forcing the dorf with some appraising skill to trade? It's not his highest skill and I didn't see any means of designating him as a broker. Admittedly, I didn't thoroughly look at everything due to some minor panic surrounding the consequences of "What does

• ffer items do" with all of my trade goods selected.

I'm assuming that I can't see the value of traded goods because someone that doesn't have the appraiser skill is trading...

2) Regarding dorf's brainpower (pathfinding): Basically, my little guy removes one more block and the river will come rushing in. Immediately behind him is stairs to safety. To his right is a long corridor leading to closed floodgates. Behind the floodgates is a room sealed off from the fort with one constructed wall. (What I'm saying is there was previously somewhere to go but I blocked it off.)

Will the little guy ever make the bad choice and run down that long hall or will the more immediate exit beckon? Further, do dorfs prefer to flee from water/magma via z level travel or [shortest path to something] or

I can always designate the long corridor as restricted travel but I was just curious.

[Tsukenta]

[n] brings up the noble screen, where you can set Urist McBroker to do his job. Then select the trade depot, and set it to "only trader can trade", and only your broker will trade. Problem solved (other than you giving away a good chunk of your goods for free)

[Tsarwash]

Dwarves do silly things sometimes. The first time I breached magma, I assumed the little bugger would notice the hot stuff, then turn around and walk up the stairs right behind him. No chance. Stood and waited while the magma burnt his feet off, THEN started to move. Then started to complain to me that his feet kind of hurt a little bit.. If the wall between the dwarf and the water is not on a diagonal, then he might well get swept off his feet for a few squares.

[Psieye]

Dwarves don't understand that magma, water and fire are dangerous things - except when trying to dig out a warm/wet rock wall. So which way will they walk? Whereever their next task says they should go. Be it a new job or "go back to meeting point to idle off".

[eggrock]

Thanks. Good points on the noble screen and diagonal dig/pressure.

Trading was very successful but it seems I'm doomed to some stress. Shortly after it turned autumn my broker got moody, but he worked it out quickly and well with some wood and cut gems.

Hopefully no one needs shell because the embark didn't offer it and traders don't carry it, or allow it as a priority. That may be related to the biome.

I guess if I get super paranoid with digging/water/magma I'll assign some traffic areas.

Things feel really well organized at this point and the immigrants have been helpful so far, or look like ready fodder for the military which I need to get set up soon. Wish me luck!

[Psieye]

Oh don't worry - the latest versions ban shells from moods except for dwarves who specifically like them. That's a rare preference to have.

[eggrock]

Good to know.

Upon further review: Whoops, military.

Goblins ran me out easily.

[Laurin]

Dig to find a cavern. You will most likely find some shell animal there.

[eggrock]

So life in the fortress has been swell, mostly. Except dwarves on one of the upper floors just start exploding into giant clouds of miasma which immediately dissipate, leaving little behind but smears and equipment.

Dunno if it's related but a short time before my dwarves started acting like bloody pinatas, a forgotten beastie showed up in one of the cavern systems. Said beastie is equipped with toxic gas but it's nowhere near the dying dwarves and the cavern has been walled off.

I'm confused.

[Gentle Manne]

It's almost certainly related. I haven't had any experience with FBs with deadly gas, thankfully, but spores can travel through walls so I expect FB gas can too. You probably want it dead ASAP and get your dwarfs to the surface, where they might (can someone confirm?) be safe from gas.

[doomdome]

Better solution: orchestrate a cave-in on the beastie's head, possibly with an unneeded cat as bait.

[Lytha]

So life in the fortress has been swell, mostly. Except dwarves on one of the upper floors just start exploding into giant clouds of miasma which immediately dissipate, leaving little behind but smears and equipment.

Which version do you use?

In the early versions of DF2010 (31.x), dwarves would sometimes combust in the acidic or boiling raindrops. I don't know if that went along with clouds of miasma though.

[eggrock]

I'm running 31.12. They were underground so I don't think it had anything to do with rain. I don't have any fires lit so no worries about exploding booze.

I had to restore from a prior save and a different beastie came in... I should've saved off the exploding dwarf scenario for research but I didn't give it the first thought, just watched them explode and reloaded.