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[Mantonio]

I just can't seem to get a fort running recently. I'll embark, get about one year in then suddenly think the biome isn't right, or the fort layout isn't right (even though I'll end up using the same layout next time, stupidly) or the name is wrong. So I abandon, delete the region and start again. But the same thing happens the next time. And the time after that. Until I just end up quitting the game because I can't get anything done.

Does anyone else do this? How do you deal with it?

[MagmaMcFry]

Set yourself a goal.

[Musashi]

Yep, a megaproject, if possible. A big hulking statue of whatever you want, or a fortress inside said statue, or flooding the map with magma without a convenient volcano, or...

[Korva]

I have a bad bad case of restartitis, too. Most of my forts only lasted about three years before being abandoned, often due to a lack of goblin action. I have one 31.16 fort which went past its fifth year due to a combination of, by my standards, being my first semi-megaproject, nicknaming some dwarves after people I care for, and lots of goblin fun. But even that falters a bit ... especially with the release of 31.18, but also because it takes so damn long to get anywhere digging out the huge "great hall", nevermind dump all the rubble and get other things done on the side.

So I can't give any advice, really. I'm curious, how do people motivate themselves to stick with slow-as-hell (semi-)megaprojects?

[Mantonio]

Set yourself a goal.

Yep, a megaproject, if possible. A big hulking statue of whatever you want, or a fortress inside said statue, or flooding the map with magma without a convenient volcano, or...

Like what?

And I never have time for those. I'm always too busy trying to just get enough food and prepare against the inevitable Goblin attacks. And by the time I think I'm prepared enough for that I've already abandoned.

[Max White]

Right now I'm trying to construct a +mod+, but testing takes a while, so I'm forced to play into late game to make sure all my nobles are working, and the right enemys show up when I want them too...

[Ratbert_CP]

I can't keep a fort around either.  Hell, I can't keep a region around!  Even if I take a large region, I'll scrap it if something goes wrong in my fort.  Usually, it's something along the lines of: Make plans (in head), begin excavations, admire work, get distracted by a vein of coal/silver/sapphires, dig out all of the "valuables", get frustrated about the amount of time and effort needed to rebuild the excavated area to match plans, try to work around it, flood the fort, abandon fort, wipe data/save directory.  Sometimes, I get a better idea halfway through the first one, and try to make adjustments that never work.

I've found I prefer the meta-game/community almost as much fun as the game.  Happened to me in WoW, too.  Ended up writing mods more than playing.  Now I just trawl/troll the forums...

[ext0l]

I can't keep a fort around either.  Hell, I can't keep a region around!  Even if I take a large region, I'll scrap it if something goes wrong in my fort.  Usually, it's something along the lines of: Make plans (in head), begin excavations, admire work, get distracted by a vein of coal/silver/sapphires, dig out all of the "valuables", get frustrated about the amount of time and effort needed to rebuild the excavated area to match plans, try to work around it, flood the fort, abandon fort, wipe data/save directory.  Sometimes, I get a better idea halfway through the first one, and try to make adjustments that never work.

I've found I prefer the meta-game/community almost as much fun as the game.  Happened to me in WoW, too.  Ended up writing mods more than playing.  Now I just trawl/troll the forums...

You can mod WoW? 

Try a megaconstruction and view it in Stonesense (when it updates)

[wolfroy]

yeah, the same thing happened to me, although i think it got fixed when i dug up my first cavern/forgotten beast after only a year, needless to say i was unprepared, now i'm quite motivated though.

[Jacob/Lee]

Spice up your fortress mode a bit, such as locking the starting 7 + all their animals + all their supplies in the caverns, relying only on themselves for food, safety and population. Or perhaps you could start a hermit fortress, that is kill off all the others and have 1 dwarf left that fends for his or her self, disconnected from the rest of the world.

[Maklak]

I'm new, and I only have a slight problem with this. I decided to just roll with anything that happens, but doesn't kill my fort entirely. Just experiment and learn. Also, don't be a perfectionist. While the grig layout I'm using is somewhat suboptimal, it still gets the job done. I'm not sa hardcore as a typical DF player, so I might turn invasions off, but I decided to just deal with them, and replenish my military from immigrants. No iron on the map? Bronze armor. Something from the caverns is scaring my dwarves? Kill it and than wall it off? Rhesus macaq stealing stuff? Wall of, use dogs and crossbows and traps.

Building a new fortress just takes too long.

[Internet Kraken]

I've been having this problem a lot recently, though I really think it's because I'm running an LP. It just doesn't feel right playing other fortresses when I'm running an LP, as it seems like a waste of time for some reason. That and I'm in another modding spree and keep regenning worlds to test stuff. This will probably change upon the next version being released though.

[vipre01]

I got bored once and made two story town homes for every stinking dwarf.

[Artanis00]

When I was eleven and a half months, my mom was crushed by a freak cave-in.

Somehow, I survived with only a few scratches, but I couldn't get dad to acknowledge me. He just spent all day moving rocks outside to the construction area. I would hang out by the door, hoping I could catch him as he sped past, but it was no use. I couldn't make him stop.

My spirits became so depressed that when the snatchers came, I didn't even say anything. No one ever came to look for me. I doubt anyone even noticed I was gone.

Well, here I am again, and I'm going to put this whip through dad's tors... wait, where is everyone? What do you mean the fortress is abandoned?

Urist McAbandoned cancels ambush: gone berserk.

[SalmonGod]

Starting a thread has really helped me stick with a fort longer than I would have.  I don't know who reads it or anything, but just going through the effort of fleshing out these characters and giving more thought to what I could do with it that would be entertaining has really boosted my dedication.  I'm now getting to parts of the game that I've never seen before, such as a population of around 120 and having all of my basic infrastructure dug out so I'll soon be free to put effort into more advanced projects.