Print

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

[KaguroDraven]

I want to make a game where after the first year or two my dwarves will never need to walk upon the surface ever again. It would be lovely if I could get some advice on how to do this. I know the obvious things, breach caverns for wood, mud, and water as soon as possible, etc. But is there anything else anyone would suggest? Allowing trade caravans inside the underground is a maybe though, I might accept it, I might just say fuck it and not trade at all. Basicly in the end I want every dwarf in the fortress completely cave adapted, the edges of the caverns walled off until I'm ready for Fun, and tons of traps on the first level or so for any possible seiges that involve building smashers

[Zaerosz]

Make an area with a skylight for farming above-ground stuff. It doesn't even have to stay open, just expose it and floor off the open space.

[BigJake]

Personally, I like to batten down the hatches such that even building destroyers can't get in when I'm closed up.
I'm on the fence whether it's a straight exploit or not but building destroyers can't destroy anything from the bottom.  So an entrance ramp leading up into a secure keep can be covered with a retractable drawbridge and roof access can be handled with a hatch covered stairway leading down onto the roof.
Nothing can get in unless you want it to.  Throw in a tree farm and you won't need to open up for a thing.

[KaguroDraven]

Yeah I have no idea how to make a tree farm, I cut down the trees I find.

[BigJake]

1) Breach cavern
2) Dig (big) room
3) Irrigate
4) Wait 1.5 years
5) Profit

It's really very easy, just lock the room while the saplings grow so they don't get trampled.  I like having 10x more than I actually need so my farm usually spans an entire z-level or two but that's hardly necessary.  You really don't need massive amounts of wood unless and a good size tree farm like that will provide all you'll need.

[Encased in burning magma]

As BigJack said, it is indeed easy.

The problem is trade, if you want to be really anal about "no contact with the outside". The simpliest you can do is to ramp them into an airlock. But then thieves can get in, so you have do devise some sort of a detection system.

Or just screw it and flush every caravan with magma (leaving the lovely steel behind; too bad about the elf animals tough).

[BigJake]

I just let them and migrants knock on the door pathetically while whichever-siege-is-in-town takes them to task for not getting there sooner.  While the doors were open.   That said, I do like to leave a small path into my fortress with a few cage traps that I can airlock and retrieve.  Armok needs his blood and he's not gonna get it if they're all outside.

[KaguroDraven]

ah thank you for the advice about makeing a tree farm, I mostly just need the wood for beds and barrols. and I'm not completly anal about the no outsiders thing, just no going outside, I would be willing to let traders come inside though. But only if I really really need something. and on the topic of caverns since I need them for tree farming, how good should my Military be before I breach cavern one?

[BigJake]

I've never actually ventured into the cavern proper and my military is normally...deficient.  Every time I've breached a cavern it's been from the top and I just floor off the stairway before anything can fly up.  The trees will grow anywhere* underground once the caverns are breached so there's really no need to enter the cavern proper.

*Anywhere where there is a full tile of soil underneath or is irrigated.

[gralcio]

Yeah I have no idea how to make a tree farm, I cut down the trees I find.

Here you have a little example of a tree (and herb) farm:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Just remember that you have to apply water. And breach first layer of caverns to get underground plants/trees.

And after you breach cavern one, you can wall it off. So you don't really need military. Unless some FBs go rampaging on you the very moment you dig through the roof.
But even that, you can do it with already walled of mi... misbehaving dwarf.

[Lytha]

Breach more cavern layers to get prettier coloured trees. I myself like those blood red ones from the deepest cavern layer, most.

All tree types will grow in your treefarm.

Also, rip out some of the shrubs every once in a while. Else it will wither and occupy the square, so that no tree sapling can grow.

[BigJake]

If you really wanna get fancy, designate paths through your tree farm so your dwarfs can forage the bushes while leaving the trees largely intact.

[Emily]

You don't have to breach the caverns.  Nor flood, actually, though it seems to speed up the process.  Digging an open space in a sandy layer though will quickly cause Tower Caps and Fungiwood (and anything you've modded to be in the first layer) to grow.  Other soil layers seem to work too, but much slower.  (And, as I said, muddy ground may work fastest, and can be applied to stone.

So really, it's more like:
1. Dig big room in soil layers
2. (Optional) breach caves to get more colors
3. (Optional) flood some rock areas to get more space
4. Wait a few years
5. Profit.

[BigJake]

Not having to breach caverns is news to me.  I've never seen an underground tree before breaching.

[Socializator]

Same for me, always had to breach first. However you dont need to irrigate if you have sand (or soil?) floor. Looks as if the rules for 40d farming are still valid for trees in 31.
But that is just my observation from very very few samples... perhaps someone can clarify?