Calling all dwarf metagods!

[RCIX]

The official arcen games DF thread (thanks to vonduus for the idea): share your Dwarf Fortress stories, tips, pics, questions, and tidbits here!

I'm still a noob (running through the afteractionreporter tutorials, working on part 8 ), but i have two questions:
 * I recently picked up a ranger, and shortly after that now my kitchen had Miasma on and off a couple of times. I checked thoroughly, but AFAIK there was no trash in there area. Anyone know why?
 * I keep getting Kobold and Goblin Thieves in and out of my fortress (presumably) stealing stuff. I haven't noticed anything gone, but i want to stop them. Will spinning disc traps stop them, or if not, what will?

[Minty]

i am spam and miasma.. If you T over the kitchen, it'll show you the contents.. Likely it's cluttered up with old rotting foodstuffs. Make sure you've got a refuse stockpile set up, preferably outside (or inside past an airlock), and that the garbage isn't forbidden, and your Dorfs should start carting it off to the landfill.

Thieves, snatchers and ambushes can be tricky.. Kobold Thieves (Or Goblin Snatchers, I forget which) have the [TRAPAVOID] tag. That means that the only means of detecting/stopping them from getting into your fort is to have pets in your entryway. Build some restraints (b-v), and assign tame animals to them once they're built.

The animal will then only be able to path one (1) square from the restraint-tile, and will detect any stealthed creature that moves adjacent. So, if you've got a 3-wide passageway, to make absolutely sure of detection, use two restraints, one either side of the passage.

As to what animal to use, that's entirely up to you. Me, I go wardogs, as they're plentiful. Others use livestock, or even just kittens. The important thing is something needs to be there to spot the little blighters.

And yes, spellchecker, blighters IS a word!

[Frozen Critical]

oh what the heck? you just stole what i was writing!

and to answer your questions :

1: Kittens and cats will Hunt down vermin and kill them , which can rot away and cause half your dwarf population to go Mad and start punching everyone , set up a refuse pile so that dwarfs will dump that pest away without miasma and Insane Dwarves , word of advise : kittens and cats will force dwarfs to adapt them , and if they die , said dwarf will be a inch away from snapping , and if the thinest thing goes wrong for them , they are going mental

2: just dump your junk outside , really , those kobolds will just steal about whatever carp they can lay their hands on , Goblin theives are a different story : they steal your fortress children , causing said kid's father(or mother) to go mental , and thus dumping junk about won't work , do what minty said : place and restrant animals(not pets , since whoever own said pet will go insane if they die) at your gates.

oh , and word of advise : don't dig randomly or you will uncover something Precious that could turn your fortress from a extreme guarded fortress into ashes due to goblin sieges(also , this references to the FUN you can get)

and yes , i am a DF Veteran

[Mánagarmr]

OooH! Dorffortress! I'm actually going to make a "Let's Play" series on YouTube with Dwarf Fortress up ahead, but currently I'm without internet due to a real life move, but once I get internet back in a few weeks, I'll be uploading them.

If you wish, I can share these videos here for your perusal? I've already ran a while with my XCOM: UFO Defence "Let's Play"...

[Minty]

That's an ..Intriguing concept, Moonshine. I wish you the best of luck, but I'm having a hard time imagining how you'd be able to translate DF's text/information density into engaging videos.

DF, to me at least, translates best into text-form.. Take the legendary and epic tale of Boatmurdered, for example. Fantastically written, incredibly humorous, yet unspeakably dark as the tale descends into a chronicle of the fall of the fort into insanity and.. Elephants.. 

[Frozen Critical]

even Though Boatmurdered is played without any Graphics set(its made during Dwarf Fortress 2D btw) , its still the Legend of Dwarf fortress , It is the Night

still , i bet you didn't meet the FUN yet

[Minty]

Oh, I've had plenty of fun, loads of Fun, more than my fair share of !!Fun!! and I've yet to dig too deep. I usually regen worlds (More accurately rage-regen) when my population/clutter combine to drop my reported FPS below 10, often around the 100-120 stunty mark.

This means I've gotten rather good at getting my initial fort nice and defensible and my 'shroom farms irrigated nice and early. Or if I'm in the right biome, and terrain's favourable, an overground farm even earlier, as it doesn't require irrigation.

Titans and Forgotten Beasts can be a pain. Especially the plague-carrying made-of-diamond walking Fun monsters. I've yet to venture deep enough to encounter Funnite.. I strongly suspect that if I do get down that far, and breach it.. My FPS will actually go into negative figures, and the game will start running backwards, as Entropy's reversed..

I'm LOVING the new Military, especially with Toady's recent fixes in .08.. Once Marksdorfs get fixed, it'll be lovely jubbly. Oh, and stockpiles are fixed too, as they can now take from other stockpiles again.

[Mánagarmr]

Boatmurdered was fantastic! I tend to use some of the more graphical tilesets for my playing as I can't really wrap my eyes around the ASCII type graphics. I really shouldn't be bothered by it since I played games before there was something even called graphics, but somehow a graph tileset makes for easier gaming.

The video is "made interesting" by live commentaries as I play. I wear a headset and comment most things, make funny remarks or explain certain concepts. If it was a pure Dwarf Fortress video without any commenting...well, yeah, probably not as engaging, I agree.

I've gotten some positive comments on my XCom LP and a few suggestions from people to do a DF LP so we'll see how it goes

[Volatar]

I've been trying to not play DF for a couple months now. Waiting for a low-bug release. I am near my breaking point 

[Minty]

The only major bug that I've encountered in the .08 release so far is the fact that MarksDorfs still ignore their ammo and run off and clobber their targets with their crossbows.

The rest of the military seems relatively fine to me.. Previous issues with HammerDorfs carrying three shields and a half-dozen hammers seem to have been quashed.

Like I say, Stockpiles have been fixed too, in that they can now properly take from other Stockpiles again. The Hospital also looks to be working nicely now, though it still won't store Plaster powder for setting bones..

Turtles are back in, so long as you're not in a biome that freezes during winter.. The only way around the shell-issue for Moods or Mandates if you're in a freezing biome is to mod a butcher-byproduct such as hair or gristle to have the [SHELL] tag, as any lobsters or turtles you buy from caravans come pre-shelled..

Acid-rain seems to have gone too, which is a GOOD thing.. No more melting dorfs if you're in a temperate or warm biome..

As to graphics, I used to swear by Mike Mayday's pack.. But I've since been well and truly won over by Phoebus' pack.. I'm even thinking, once the release-flurry settles down a bit, about mashing in the tile-magic concept by Ironhand. It'll take a fair amount of RAW-editing, but the results should be worth it.

Ohh.. And for anyone starting in on DF.. First order of business after downloading the game itself should be grabbing Dwarf Therapist. An absolute Godsend.

[Mánagarmr]

As to graphics, I used to swear by Mike Mayday's pack.. But I've since been well and truly won over by Phoebus' pack.. I'm even thinking, once the release-flurry settles down a bit, about mashing in the tile-magic concept by Ironhand. It'll take a fair amount of RAW-editing, but the results should be worth it.

Yeah, I started out with Mike Mayday's, then went to the "Full Graphic edition" whoever did that...but atm I'm using Phobeus, mainly because he's one of the few that has the latest version...

[Volatar]

Do dwarves still work themselves to death (or near death) in .08? That was the main problem with .01 that caused me to hold off for a while. I just cannot micromanage more than like, 3 dwarves to make sure they don't work to death.

Also, does anyone have a tutorial or guide or something on how to work the new military UI, and the hospitals?

[RCIX]

My fortress is in a bit of peril now; I have a moody dwarf walled off (don't have shells or tanned hides or half a dozen other things he wants) in a metalsmith's forge, and my dwarves have been dying at the river (i somehow ran out of booze). To top it off, i only have so many barrels and i'm out of wood, so i might just start this over. Plus, now that i know my way around, i can follow the tutorials a little more loosely till i get to the part i'm at already

Maybe i'll just find a nice safe corner of a world without attackers, and build on my own for a while

@Volatar: TinyPirate said he would be redoing the tutorials once the biggest bugs were ironed out of the new version; till then i'm riding on the tutorial version (40d + mayday graphics). Maybe i'll upgrade to Phoebus' graphics set after i upgrade versions too.

Edit: i'm embarking on a new fortress but am wondering: can i get by without an anvil and DIY one, or buy one from a caravan?

[Frozen Critical]

depends :

if there is Flux on your map , i suggest embarking with a Anvil , otherwise , toss that thing away and buy one from the Dwarven Caravan

also , Try not to cut down too many trees , or the elves will get Pissed off and Bumrush your fortress , since you are a starter , its quite lethal , but it doesn't affect us Veteran Players (as Vester of DF said : Just toss them into magma , or better yet , murder them with MEIGHTLY AREEMS ORF EYIE GOURDGING)

[Minty]

Do dwarves still work themselves to death (or near death) in .08? That was the main problem with .01 that caused me to hold off for a while. I just cannot micromanage more than like, 3 dwarves to make sure they don't work to death.

Nope, that one's definitely fixed. Even possibly went a bit too far the other way too... Urist McMiner seems to have a bit of a problem with ADD in my current .08 fort.. Rarely will he mine out more than four or five squares out of a designated section at a time. Of course, that might have something to do with the fact he's got an incredibly distractable personality.. LOVE the attention to detail in DF.

Also, micromanaging (or managing at all, for that matter) becomes FAR easier if you use Dwarf Therapist.