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[Telgin]

I am the humble narrator.

This is about how I feel as I play the game.  I imagine that I'm not actually issuing the orders so much as watching and recounting what the dwarves decided to do.  It's a bit of a causality screw, but let me explain:

I don't actually issue the work orders.  The manager got some requests from a few dwarves, noticed that this or that was running low, the military needs new armor, that sort of thing.  Then the manager draws up the work orders and sends them out.  With input from other dwarves, the mayor, the nobles, whatever, depending on the current state of the fort.

I don't actually designate the digging of new bedrooms.  When new dwarves show up, a similar thing happens.  In the early stages of the fort, the starting seven just tell the miner to go dig out some rooms and he digs them out (conveniently in the shape and fashion I would pick).  Later on the manager, mayor, nobles and future residents might have some say in it, but it ends up how I would have wanted it.

When the enemy comes, I don't issue the order to charge.  The militia captain makes the order.  He just happens to choose the target I would have chosen and the time I would have.  Often with spectacularly bad results, but that's another question entirely.

That's sort of how I picture the game anyway.  I'm a sort of disembodied manifestation of the will of the dwarves.

Except for community forts, then I like to picture that the expedition leader or whatever other title the "overseer" chooses is actually issuing the orders.

[Triaxx2]

I am the guiding sigil of fate, the hand, usually, of dwarven destruction. All bow to my infinite will. Except those that ignore me for cat leather mittens.

[King DZA]

I am the humble narrator.

I would like to play from a more narrative perspective, but I feel I would lose my cool trying to make the stupid things my dwarves do into a captivating and reasonable story:

"the seven courageous dwarves traveled into the vast and unknown world that lied beyond the mountainhome. Although some of them felt uneasy in their new surroundings, they knew that, if they were successful in their quest, they would attain more than riches or fame, they would attain glory. Not just for them, but for the entire dwarven race.

Unfortunately, the STUPID LITTLE BASTARDS decided that there would be no better place to begin this great endeavor than atop the melting ice of a large lake, and then proceeded to enjoy the splendid crackling sound of it BREAKING BENEATH THEM. because, unknown to the seven, ICE FUCKING MELTS. And so, the seven fucking morons courageous dwarves had successfully managed to end their great endeavor before it even began. GREAT. FUCKING. JOB.

THE END."

[Orky_Boss]

I usually see myself as just an alien/'advanced human' that either is revered as a god by the dwarves, and therefore everyone he tells them to do is done, or someone who manipulates the dwarves on a wim.

THEre are times, though, when I decide that I'm the legendary axedwarf militia commander, and then I play it like I'm just a dwarf taking orders from a dwarf they've never even met, but honorbound and therefore must do everything they're told to do. I also then give 'me' a decent room, much to the distain of my 'noble' nobles (mayor, king, queen).

[JackoftheBox]

I would like to play from a more narrative perspective, but I feel I would lose my cool trying to make the stupid things my dwarves do into a captivating and reasonable story:

I also feel that I'm the Narrator of some story, but because things like these happen, sometimes I feel like being a comical and sarcastic narrator.

[Starver]

Obviously the little guys would do nothing of any import if it were not for my mysterious influence, but neither am I God.  Perhaps I might charitably be called 'a god', but a small god of just the native (and immigrant) dwarves, having the something slightly more than 'merely' the power of suggestion, but not much more.

Compare it to controlling a Sim, in the game named after his kind.  Hmm, he's tired.  I'll persuade him to go to bed.  "Go to bed" is made the only item in the queue.  Sim then waves at me, complains at being tired and cancels "Go to bed" item.  It's not mind control, it's blow-football.  And sometimes it's blow-football with bowling balls.

Dwarves are largely better, in that regard.  Except, of course, for moods, sock-retrieval, fleeing from enemies that pose no problems, going for drinks, going for new weapons or armour or to stock up on ammo or combat supplies... or my favourite of "Urist McHunter cancels hunt: hunting for vermin".

All this leaves me having to meta-game to counter all those little foibles.  (e.g., my forts tend to have no hunters.)  I am as much a slave of dwarven society as the society is a slave to me, except that I have a power that they don't know about.  (On the other hand, they certainly have a power over me, one of addiction.  Maybe they have other powers over me that I don't know.  I wonder if they know about my strewn-around-the-house socks...  I wonder if they're Forbidden.  But I don't feel like finding out, strangely...)

[DisgruntledPeasant]

Obviously the little guys would do nothing of any import if it were not for my mysterious influence, but neither am I God.  Perhaps I might charitably be called 'a god', but a small god of just the native (and immigrant) dwarves, having the something slightly more than 'merely' the power of suggestion, but not much more.

Compare it to controlling a Sim, in the game named after his kind.  Hmm, he's tired.  I'll persuade him to go to bed.  "Go to bed" is made the only item in the queue.  Sim then waves at me, complains at being tired and cancels "Go to bed" item.  It's not mind control, it's blow-football.  And sometimes it's blow-football with bowling balls.

Dwarves are largely better, in that regard.  Except, of course, for moods, sock-retrieval, fleeing from enemies that pose no problems, going for drinks, going for new weapons or armour or to stock up on ammo or combat supplies... or my favourite of "Urist McHunter cancels hunt: hunting for vermin".

All this leaves me having to meta-game to counter all those little foibles.  (e.g., my forts tend to have no hunters.)  I am as much a slave of dwarven society as the society is a slave to me, except that I have a power that they don't know about.  (On the other hand, they certainly have a power over me, one of addiction.  Maybe they have other powers over me that I don't know.  I wonder if they know about my strewn-around-the-house socks...  I wonder if they're Forbidden.  But I don't feel like finding out, strangely...)

Dear lord,  do not let your dwarves know about your socks, for all that is good and true in the world keep those socks well hidden from dwarven eyes.

[roughedge]

I'm the spirits of the walled architect, the one who first thought about making dog brain biscuits.

[Theifofdreams]

This is an interesting discussion... Learn alot about yourself, and maybe get alittle religion in on it. 

[Vox]

This Pretty much sums it up.

[Mapleguy555]

I usually see myself as just an alien/'advanced human' that either is revered as a god by the dwarves, and therefore everyone he tells them to do is done, or someone who manipulates the dwarves on a wim.

THEre are times, though, when I decide that I'm the legendary axedwarf militia commander, and then I play it like I'm just a dwarf taking orders from a dwarf they've never even met, but honorbound and therefore must do everything they're told to do. I also then give 'me' a decent room, much to the distain of my 'noble' nobles (mayor, king, queen).

BLASPHEMY! We. Are. DWARVES. Not humans. D:<

[maksymka]

I am their will and their dreams. Something like Cthulhu. If fortress is more than 5-year-old and pop more than 100, then I build a temple for my self. And demand "blood contribution" of prisoners or (if no pointy-ear creatures present) least productive dwarves.



Current temple. Note how all the collumns have engravings



PS how do i hide image under "Spoiler"?

[MiniMacker]

I am the demi-god of Armok. An entire region of earth, stone and metal itself. I attract Dwarves with my Shallow Metals and Flux Stone and establish a psychic link with their beards and earwax once they settle. I influence, but never intervene. I am the plump helmets they eat, the seeds they plant and the magma that flows.

The Caves are my bowels.

The GCS are my bacteria.

The Magma is my blood.

And the HFS are my hemorrhoids.

[Starver]

PS how do i hide image under "Spoiler"?

Instead of just "[ IMG ]the image[ /IMG ]", use "[ SPOILER ][ IMG ]the image[ /IMG ][ /SPOILER ]". (Without the spaces in the tags, obviously, and not case-sensitive but here in UPPER mostly for illustrative purposes, but also because that's my personal default when hand-typing them.)  If you created the [ IMG ] tag pair with the appropriate reply button and want to do the same with the [ SPOILER ], then highlight the entire [ IMG ] bit and then click on the "radiation symbol" button in the standard menu (third group to the right of the one with the IMG in, and last of those four... i.e. 13th button along, just before the Unordered List/Bulletpoints button.  YMMV.).

It comes out thusly:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

If you want to give it some more explanatory text, manually put "=Explanatory text" after the "[SPOILER" and its "]"

Thusly:

Spoiler: Explanatory text (click to show/hide)

HTH, HAND.

BTW, "Alt-PrtScr" takes a shot of just the currently active window, so you needn't have edited down the full-screen shot that I think you did with just PrtScr, leaving as you did just a hint of the Firefox window behind it and even some partial hints of some of the desktop icons through its transparency.  Just another tip, there.  (Not sure what Vista/7 does with the bits around those rounded corners that I find annoyingly "modern"[1], when window-grabbing  Or indeed what happens to that pseudo-transparent border.  Probably treats all the background as black, or another default background colour.  Not that it matters.)


However, regarding the temple, I would make my temple single-rock-typed (at least per layer), even if it meant mining out all 'unwanted' walls before inserting desired stone (in the form of blocks).  And because that might look messy because of unevenly revealed "one layer in" bare rock, I would probably either set corridors behind the walls to obliterate such raggedness, or dig out a layer regardless before replace it all with said walls.  (Floors, of course, would also be laid, but don't need removal of rock below to accomplish.)  As I don't Engrave, I completely forget whether this prevents such.


[1] I still don't like the "Fisher-Price" look to the XP Start button, pseudo-roundness through shading and borders.  I often use it, rather than reverting to the "Classic" 2K/NT/9x-ish look but give me some honest squared-off grey buttons with a couple of pixels border that indicates relief.  Sorry.  Beware an Old Fogey barging through this thread.  Give way to your elders and betters!  You young people!!  "Wouldn't know a hard days coding if it came up and bit you on the leg.  Why, in my day..."  Yadayadayada...

[Endiqua]

I still don't like the "Fisher-Price" look to the XP Start button, pseudo-roundness through shading and borders.  I often use it, rather than reverting to the "Classic" 2K/NT/9x-ish look but give me some honest squared-off grey buttons with a couple of pixels border that indicates relief.  Sorry.  Beware an Old Fogey barging through this thread.  Give way to your elders and betters!  You young people!!  "Wouldn't know a hard days coding if it came up and bit you on the leg.  Why, in my day..."  Yadayadayada...

You forgot "Get off my lawn!"     I always liked the look of Windows 3.1, personally.  95 just felt...garish, somehow.