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[Malarauko]

So, barring any catastrophe to strike one's food stockpiles, I'm asking if anybody has ever had the slightest problem keeping their fort fed?

I chose my screen-name on these forums for a reason.  I've gotten a whole lot better at the whole process, since then, though.


(It all changed when I embarked upon a particularly water-logged area with a total of three rock tiles that were diggable into without breaching an aquifer[1], but a ton of loam and soil layers above.  With nothing much more to do (yes, I tried punching through, pumping out where I was, etc, but I was also less experienced in all of that!) I tried farming again, and this time I understood it!  Since then, I only really have problems when my megaproject plans and OCD-inspired strict fortress layout cause me to ignore for too long the food and drink needs of my little guys.)


[1] That final count came removing 90% of the bottom layer of 'dry' soil on the various Z-layers I could reach without creating any further water-filled channels.  I recall that I was fairly thorough.  There was some 'topology' to the aquifer's top-layer, so I had been hopeful that I could get in underneath some other layers, but all I ended up doing in the end was flooding various mine-workings when I tentatively dug into soil that I thought might be only damp-by-association.  These days, I'd probably get through without even getting anybody's feet wet.

I remember my first shot at an aquifer. I had studied up before I tried and the fort was essentially just to test my ability to get through. Didn't work out quite like that however. As I recall the aquifer ended up collapsing and flooding a chunk of caverns I had chosen to dig in.

[plynxis]

I remember my first shot at an aquifer. I had studied up before I tried and the fort was essentially just to test my ability to get through. Didn't work out quite like that however. As I recall the aquifer ended up collapsing and flooding a chunk of caverns I had chosen to dig in.

lol awesome, thats never happened to me.

[azrael4h]

My first couple of forts starved (back in 40d); I always embarked on a stream so they never thirsted to death. My current fort has such a overflow that I have no idea what to do with it. The 30x40 main stockpile overflows into the highway outside, and then the southern half of my dining hall (which is huge in and of itself, about four times my main stockpile's size) and THEN more upstairs in the recovery stockpile. 

[SenorOcho]

I lost a fort to starvation when I was doing a 0pt embark back in 40d.  Wasn't paying attention and embarked on barren rock.

Though technically it wasn't starvation, the dwarves all died in a desperate unarmed hunting attempt against a group of horses.

[Saint]

No I have had forts where we had to get as much food as we could within one season or we'd die simply from the temperature of the area.

[plynxis]

i think it also has to do with the skill of your dwarves in brewing and cooking. i made 2 stills and 2 kitches early on and i can without difficulty as them to brew or cook and they'll create a surplus despite my 209 dwarves (i had 230+ at one point, some of them died in a carcrash).

[Mount]

I have lost fortresses to starvation, typically because A) I'm not very good at management and B) I get some ungodly number (25+) of migrants in the fall, and they eat EVERYTHING before the river thaws (no irrigation and no fish).

In my own defense, though, I typically embark with no skill higher than Adequate, which means my initial yields from farming and plant gathering are significantly less than yields from a very skilled dwarf. 

[Malarauko]

I've had a few occcasions where i've been slow digging out farms and we've been a bit short on food but you do have a whole year AND caravans to keep you going in my experience. I've had it where I've had like 50 food and 50 booze and literally just kept it at that level. In the worst case situation you can set up a small farm incredibly quickly. I always try to get other rooms dug first tis all. I like to have a good layout ready for when the fort gets more busy.

[Starver]

Just thought to add...  My food economy generally eschews hunting (any hunters I have tend to find themselves ambushed, never mind the "Urist McHunter cancels Hunt: Hunting for vermin" that I have known and loved... ) and fishing (because, again, they tend to wander off to remote overground/underground watering holes for a long time, which is realistic for a fish-tickler but annoyingly unproductive), and starts off with crops, which soon become far too productive to micromanage, and then move onto the butchery of the excess tame animals I end up accumulating in my quest to make breeding populations of every creature that comes my way.

But, certainly at the start, the input from trading caravans can be a life-saver, and I never refuse edibles, and then pack it all into increasingly high-quality meals.

[plynxis]

maybe thats the thing, caravans - i always buy everything edible off caravans - i give away tons of stuff anyway and sometimes i need to free some space on their wagon so i just buy stuff thats always useful - food n booze

[Malarauko]

My current fort has farms off for the moment because I got to 15k food and drink but the hunters on their own are maintaining that level with 200 dwarves to feed. I was quite impressed. They've taken down Giant Toads, Cave Crocodiles and hordes of wolves to feed the place. The fishing is a bit meh but they pull in about 200 fish a year which is alright for variety.

[ThatAussieGuy]

So far every fort I've done has had a massive surfeit of food, despite never embarking with any, and never fishing, hunting, farming (except for plants marked for brewing-only), or breeding livestock specifically for meat, milk or eggs. I've easily gone 5+ years with huge populations living off nothing but the two embark animals, the stray livestock the migrants bring with them, and the badgers and macaques that get killed by caravan guards and my perimeter traps.

So, barring any catastrophe to strike one's food stockpiles, I'm asking if anybody has ever had the slightest problem keeping their fort fed?

Let's just say Bronzeladles, my very first fort, had a collective rumbing stomach.  It was before learned the necessary things about farming, etc.  Ended in a tantrum spiral and me going "screw it, dig here" with the one dot of rock between the craftshop level and the river.  Fixed a few ongoing fights right up before i abandoned the place.

[RedWick]

Keeping 40 dwarves fed is easier than keeping 200+ dwarves fed, though even the latter can easily be accomplished by requesting different foods from the caravans.  When I get forts up to that size, I typically run my food stores with a 1-2k surplus and start replenishing when it drops below that point.

[Broseph Stalin]

I've had 10+ dwarves starve but never an entire fortress. It's usually because of mining or masonry accidents that trap someone in a corner without my knowledge.

[plynxis]

My current fort has farms off for the moment because I got to 15k food and drink but the hunters on their own are maintaining that level with 200 dwarves to feed. I was quite impressed. They've taken down Giant Toads, Cave Crocodiles and hordes of wolves to feed the place. The fishing is a bit meh but they pull in about 200 fish a year which is alright for variety.

15k food. food is the fps killer.

i like what Jurph did with his cylindrical/vertical fort, where he always has just enough food rather than stores of 3 billion steaks. i tend to end up with a bajillion stuff in my forts anyway and i am a hoard monkey. if it wasnt for the fps i'd probably have layers upon layers of storage for everything.