Dwarf Fortress

[bhodi]

If you just want to play around, go to the wiki and use a pregenerated seed. I highly recommend this, especially so you can try out all the game has to offer.

Here's the one I'm using. This works for the current version, and is perfect because it's all in a 4x4 area.
seed 3550403832, size SMALLER. magma, adamantine, sand, trees, brook, flux in a compact area:


I recently read that mist, which is created from falling water, gives dwarves happy thoughts, so I'm creating a new fortress to test it out.

As most of my designs are centered around a 9 block square up/down staircase, I'm going to put a hole in it and have the water run all the way down. Hopefully it will work, the last time I tried something similar, I used a cascading waterfall and ended up flooding my entire fortress by accident. Dwarves last a surprisingly long time underwater before they drown.

I also need to experiment with something like this... this is the coolest thing, ever:

http://www.bay12games.com/cgi-local/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=11&t=002036
Originally posted by goldminer:

Its pretty fun to capture invaders and then devise crazy ways of getting rid of them. My current method happens to be a gold arena over an active volcano with an enraged bronze colossus. Goblins get dumped in through a hole from above.



Every year or so, the dwarves lower the bridge, re-capture the colossus and 'clean' the arena for future use. I had to build walls around the arena because too much precious iron was getting thrown into the magma.

[Teleku]

Awesome.  My current fortress is built around a volcano as well, and I have a nifty room with a hole carved in the floor I designated as the dumping area.  So my dwarfs can throw shit down to get ride of it permanently, and dont have to worry about the nasty fire monsters that hang around the pools edge.

Maybe you can help me with something.  I'm trying to figure out how you work cages and capturing.  So, I assume I set up cage traps.  Something/anything steps on it, then its in a cage.  How do I move it and the cage to somewhere else?  Like, if I want to tame the animal for instance.  Or like in what you showed there, how would I move the bronze colossus to the arena.  For that matter, how would I throw captured goblins down into the hole? 

Can't seem to figure out how to control this stuff yet.

I want to capture monsters and set them loose on things damnit...

[Jade Falcon]

If you want to move the cage to a set location like to make a zoo or something just [b>uild the cage at what ever location you want then one of the haulers will stroll along and grab it and install it.To tame animals you need the dungeon master noble and a kennel then when you cage something tamable just set the order at the kennel to tame large animal and the DM will just run and haul it to the kennel for training.

One note about cage traps they only work on non native things to the map like goblins and dragons etc that come from off the screens edge,anything that is already on the map when you spawn is considered native and wont set off the trap like say giant cave spiders.

[Teleku]

Ah cool.  However, I'm still not sure how to move cages with animals/goblins in them to various locations.  I've caught some in cages, and my workers seem to naturally just walk over and grab them, then store then in the appropriate stockpile (with the occupant still inside), but I cant seem to figure out how to tell them to put the cage with its occupant at a certain location.  And I really don't have a clue how somebody managed to get his dwarfs to throw goblins down into a pit like in the volcano pic Bhodi showed.

[bhodi]

Ah cool.  However, I'm still not sure how to move cages with animals/goblins in them to various locations.  I've caught some in cages, and my workers seem to naturally just walk over and grab them, then store then in the appropriate stockpile (with the occupant still inside), but I cant seem to figure out how to tell them to put the cage with its occupant at a certain location.  And I really don't have a clue how somebody managed to get his dwarfs to throw goblins down into a pit like in the volcano pic Bhodi showed.

Cages show up under the build menu, you just 'build' a cage wherever you want, and you select the one with the goblin in it (x to expand the list so you can select the appropriate one.) To throw cages down a pit, designate the edge of the pit a garbage dump, restrict it to only cages, and then select your victim's cage and hit k->d to designate it to be dumped. You could also place it on top of a trap door and attach the door to a switch, and then manually activate the switch.

BEHOLD! My glorious invention!


So far so good...


A little splash, no big deal..



OH GOD, OH GOD, NOOOOOOOOOOO





I realize now why it didn't work. I completely forgot to close the floodgate to make it a closed circuit. Whoops!

[Murgos]

I've tried to get into DF on a couple of occasions.  The independent coder in me REALLY admires what Toady has done but I just haven't been able to fall in love with it as a player.

However, I love reading about other peoples mishaps and misfortunes with their little dwarven slaves compatriots and so if anyone has any decent AAR type threads it would be cool if you posted them.

[cmlancas]

That's what we're looking for. The one I have started so far is Dieinn the Barfire.

 

[WindupAtheist]

So did I hear that a version of this with graphics was in the works?  Maybe an interface?  Because when I tried it, I found it utterly inscrutable.

[Jade Falcon]

So did I hear that a version of this with graphics was in the works?  Maybe an interface?  Because when I tried it, I found it utterly inscrutable.

Planned yes,in the works,don't think so.I think the plan was to look at it after the war arc but I'm not 100% on that.

[Teleku]

What exactly is this war/army arc I keep seeing him say he is working on?  What exactly does it all entail?

[Threash]

I dled that tile set and for some reason it wont let me move up or down, all i could do was build a down staircase then i was basically stuck.  I havent played in about a year but i used to have this shit down pat, this is frustrating.

[Jade Falcon]

What exactly is this war/army arc I keep seeing him say he is working on?  What exactly does it all entail?

The gyst of it is that currently you can raise an army sort of but all you can use it for is to protect from goblin sieges or mayby human/elf ones if you piss them off,with the new system you will be able to build up your fort to a barony/mountainhome then build an army and lay siege to other civs like those filthy elves.I believe once your main city is established you'll also be able to make little outpost like places for early warning if asomeones coming for you.There's also some things to make managing your military a lot easier.

From the dev log;
"# ARMY ARC: You should be able to control patrols and then armies in dwarf mode. The adventurer should be able to both go with and command armies. In dwarf mode, you should have the option to control your individual patrol members as you would in adventure mode. This comes back to adventure mode in terms of being able to control each member in a party of adventurers you make yourself. You could lead one and the others follow (as it is currently) or control them all, particularly during tense situations where you don't want to count on the AI. Entities should war with each other from bandit and monster raids to full fledged wars. Upset entities could patrol near their sites, leading to new wilderness encounters etc."

You can get a basic idea of all the planned arcs here

 

[Kail]

I dled that tile set and for some reason it wont let me move up or down, all i could do was build a down staircase then i was basically stuck.  I havent played in about a year but i used to have this shit down pat, this is frustrating.

I believe he remapped the keys for level up and level down to "keypad /" and "keypad *".

[Aez]

I'm bumping this, because I'm STILL playing. New versions are released all the time.

Toady is interviewed for a lengthy Gamasutra article.

I do want to share the tale of Boatmurdered, one of the funniest let's play! threads on SA I have ever read. It's the one referenced in the article.

I'm reading it right now and it's fucking gold.  StarkRavingMad is a genius.  The decoration of the dining room made me spit out my coffee : *spoiler alert I guess* "Engraved on the wall is a superiorly designed image of an elephant by "Toret Doge"  Regunid. The elephant is in a fetal position."

WTF. This has to be made up.  Especially since the first player is named TouretteDog.

[Jade Falcon]

you can add nicnames to your dwarves in game.Comes in handy in keeping track of who was who and who gets the tombs :)

[Aez]

LOL

[cmlancas]

Yes, so hurry up, download DF, and start playing so you can get the hang of it. I really want to start a thread like that one.

 

[bhodi]

I dled that tile set and for some reason it wont let me move up or down, all i could do was build a down staircase then i was basically stuck.  I havent played in about a year but i used to have this shit down pat, this is frustrating.

shift > to move down a z-level, shift < to move up a z-level.  Mark a down stair on the top z-level and an up stair on the bottom at the same location. Also, don't build up stairs, build up/down stairs instead; you never know when you may need to extend the staircase down an additional z-level.

[Teleku]

Actually, since he downloaded the tileset, up/down is now / and * on the keypad.  They remapped it for that tileset for what ever reason, thus his problems.

[Yoru]

Goddamn dwarf fortress. I stayed up four hours too late last night thanks to downloading the latest version and kicking around with the 3D stuff. It seems to make good organization of your fort easier.

Does anyone have any good illustrated examples of magma industry setups? My current half-assed (and not yet activated) setup is supposed to take magma from the surface of a volcano vent, channel it to a walled-off pool near the entrance to my fort (for later expansion into a lava moat), then pull magma off that pool via another channel, taking about five levels down to a bunch of channels cut next to rooms where the industrial buildings will go.

I'm half-fearing that liquid pressure will cause the underground magma sections to overflow and flood my entire fort with viscous burning.

[Morat20]

I'm half-fearing that liquid pressure will cause the underground magma sections to overflow and flood my entire fort with viscous burning.

Call it a learning experience, and hire more dwarfs.

You know, we need an Evil Dwarf Fortress variant if this guy ever gets done and gets a good graphic setup going.

[cmlancas]

Heh. I want to channel my magma to the elf populations and wipe them out. 

[Teleku]

Yeah, nothing stopping you from being evil now.  Theres actually an option to just seize the property of caravans that stop to trade with you, though this obviously hurts future trade and can lead to armies being sent against you. 

Or you can just burn them all to death (or drown them) as cmlancas suggests.  You can play evil dwarf fortress all you want right now ;)

Oh, and thanks for the tips earlier Bhodi.  The reason the build list wasn't comming up with cages with objects in them was that I needed to hit the expand button (x).  So now I see how to move them.  I actually just caught a whole raiding party of goblins (but not before the assholes killed my only clothmaker/weaver), and I'm trying to think of fun ways to dispose of them.  I was just going to chuck them into the pit overhanging the volcano, but I don't want to waste the cages.  I guess I could also use the armor and weapons they carry....hmmm.....

[Murgos]

Thunderdome: Two men, err, well one dwarf and one goblin enter, and one man, err, dwarf or goblin leaves!

[Raging Turtle]

I've been playing for a while and I'm still not sure how to move goblins in cages.  Every time I try, the goblins end up being set free.

On a similar note, does anyone know how to remove units from the (u)nits screen?  all these dead goblins and camels and dwarf babies... err... they really clog up the screen when I want to find a living unit quickly.  I see the r: remove creature option, but doesn't do anything.

And if you're looking for a 'boatmurdered'-esque story, then Nist Akath is pretty good.  And also very very long, I'm only about halfway through.
http://www.bay12games.com/cgi-local/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=11&t=001057&p=

Currently playing a desert map (for the FPS boost) in an Untamed Wilds region... and I think I've seen one jaguar and one giant desert scorpion so far.  Everything else is lame-ass camels.  I've even got an 'extra creatures' mod loaded in, and nothing.  Bah.  I may try an evil jungle or something after this.  My plans for breeding an army of War Giant Jaguars must be fulfilled!

[Teleku]

Play in a Terrifying area.  From the get go your being attacked my skeletal squirrels and fox's.  And then the bad things come.

[Yoru]

Hmm. My map has a cave system filled with ratmen and a giant.

I think I know where my test magma line is going.

[Aez]

Is there a comparable game if I want to evaluate my chance at mastering the interface?  Is it more painfull than a MUD?

[sidereal]

Much.  I don't think there's anything that's come out in the last 10 years that's comparable.  Maybe some of the old flight simulators that used every one of your 103 keys for something ridiculous.  Or about 2 and a half times as inscrutable as a roguelike, like angband or ADOM.

[tar]

I've been playing for a while and I'm still not sure how to move goblins in cages.  Every time I try, the goblins end up being set free.

Once a cage trap captures a goblin, a dwarf should come and take the cage (containing goblin) to an animal stockpile. Once it's been moved to the stockpile (not while it's still in transit) you can then issue a 'build -> cage' order, use 'x' to expand the cage selection so you can actually see what's in the cage and pick the golbin cage.

I'm not sure if there's a way to transfer a goblin from one cage to another but this method allows you to place the goblin cage wherever you want, say for instance your arena where you can then have the goblin torn apart by war dogs for the amusement of all...

[Raging Turtle]

Perfect, thanks.  They should make some nice fodder for my War Ogres in the pits 

I tried a new Terrifying map with a creature mod added in - Zombie Rhinoceroses can mess a dwarf up.  Had to restart after a failed waterfall-in-the-dining-room turned my fort into a dwarf aquarium. 

[bhodi]

You can transfer creatures by telling them to place one cage on another, I believe; You can somehow herd all animals into a single cage.

[tar]

You can definitely transfer tame animals into the same cage, but if you try to move an untamed creature from one cage to another then it frees the animal. I've not tried this with goblins but I'd assume the same happens, so best to keep them in the cage they're trapped in IMO.

[Morat20]

Downloading a tile set helps alot.  Been playing with this one lately, and I really like it:

http://mayday.w.staszic.waw.pl/df.htm



The pack is the game with everything installed, so no configuring.  However, for my system, it was giving me and error where it wouldn't let me play in full screen mode, and the text was fucked up.  To fix this, I had to go to the ini file and change the blackspace (I think its called blackspace) option to Yes, and to fix the text problem, I had to replace both instances of "square_16x16.bmp" with "lite.bmp" in the .ini file.

My text is fine, but I can't get it to run fullscreen. Weird.

[Yoru]

Hard lesson learned. Magma rises to the level it's originally drained from. Tapping the surface of a volcano and trying to form a magma reservoir several levels below the tap? Bad idea.

Other hard lesson learned. Dwarves do not like the burning.