I am new around here ( I lurked for about a year and joined around the time of the "upgrade") but don't remember seeing a thread about Dwarf Fortress (http://bay12games.com/dwarves/). Are there any fans of this game around here?
For the uninformed DF is an incredibly deep and complex city/fortress/civ building game buried under ASCII "graphics" and an excruciatingly bad keyboard-only UI. :bleeding:
Many people's introduction to Dwarf Fortress revolves around Boatmurdered (http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Boatmurdered/), a succession game that took place on the Something Awful forums.
If this game had been discussed and dismissed I apologize. :Embarrass:
it pops up occassionally. It's been a while since last release though
Didn't someone make a mod with tolerable graphics?
Well you don't remember much then. :(
The graphics are fine. The UI needs some work though. Optimization is also urgently needed.
Fortunately it's a work in progress.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on April 20, 2009, 05:56:59 AM
Didn't someone make a mod with tolerable graphics?
That would be good....
Its the UI that does it for me though, renders it utterly unplayable.
Quote from: sbr on April 20, 2009, 02:41:42 AM
If this game had been discussed and dismissed I apologize. :Embarrass:
On the contrary, on the old forum there were a handful of rather long threads on Dwarf Fortress. For a game as complex as it is, it's fairly popular on Languish. :)
Quote from: Tyr on April 20, 2009, 11:55:32 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on April 20, 2009, 05:56:59 AM
Didn't someone make a mod with tolerable graphics?
That would be good....
Its the UI that does it for me though, renders it utterly unplayable.
True dat yo.
Quote from: Tyr on April 20, 2009, 11:55:32 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on April 20, 2009, 05:56:59 AM
Didn't someone make a mod with tolerable graphics?
That would be good....
Its the UI that does it for me though, renders it utterly unplayable.
Here you go
http://www.dwarffortresswiki.net/index.php/Object_Tilesets
I haven't played in quite a while. I really should go back to my fort, it's got nearly 80 dwarves so it's almost past the siege + economy threshold.
The upcoming update looks like it'll be pretty killer. It doesn't just have changes to the military/squad system (sorely needed!), but many additions to health and healing, the underground, and more. Of course, I may wait a month or two for the more obnoxious/CTD'y bugs to be ironed out.
Thanks to this thread, I've decided to brush up on DF in anticipation of the new update. :)
It's a hilariously frustrating game. It did make even failure fun, though.
Man, and you guys criticize me all these years for playing nukezone. I may look into it just for the hell of it.
Roguelikes FTW. Personally, my favorite of them is ZAngbandTK (Angband and ZAngband have the same ASCII "tilesets," so TK just modified it to give it a GUI and a couple of switchable tilesets).
I hate it when a Forgotten Beast shows up ten minutes into the game. Bleh. Last time I had a minotaur pop up, but I caught it in a cage trap. I never figured out any cool stuff to do with it besides maybe throw it in some lava. Most of the cool prisoner gigs (target practice, pits) would not work on a minotaur due to the building destroyage I think. Not sure though.
You playing the new version that just came out recently?
Yes. It's missing the "all dwarves get the fuck inside" button, I noticed. Is there another way to accomplish the same thing? I hate when they run out to loot the corpses of their fallen brethren in the middle of a slaughterfest.
Turn off the "recover items from the dead"?
Yeah I did that, but they still go out to hunt, fish, gather plants, whatever else.
The all dwarves inside command was easier.
Here's an interesting question--
I got an event that a huge angry weretortoise had shown up, and it started thankfully slaughtering some of my more useless mouths to feed out on the prairie. Then it just went away. I got a message that it had turned into a dwarf in the event log. A little while later, it came back and killed a few more dumb gatherers or something. Then it was gone again. Is this weretortoise one of my own dwarves transforming under the full moon? If so, how do I figure out which one?
DF has used burrows since last year's version to define areas where dwarves can and cannot go. So you can define a burrow to include your safe indoors areas and restrict the civilians to it during invasions. It's a bit complicated but versatile once you figure it out.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on February 27, 2012, 01:50:31 PM
Here's an interesting question--
I got an event that a huge angry weretortoise had shown up, and it started thankfully slaughtering some of my more useless mouths to feed out on the prairie. Then it just went away. I got a message that it had turned into a dwarf in the event log. A little while later, it came back and killed a few more dumb gatherers or something. Then it was gone again. Is this weretortoise one of my own dwarves transforming under the full moon? If so, how do I figure out which one?
:lmfao:
Awesome!
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages2.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20100623225743%2Ftmnt%2Fimages%2Ff%2Ffd%2FTokka.jpg&hash=c1fc0fc4da251e57983cbf1670a3a9e59cb2a733)
Quote from: jimmy olsen on March 05, 2012, 09:26:14 PM
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on February 27, 2012, 01:50:31 PM
Here's an interesting question--
I got an event that a huge angry weretortoise had shown up, and it started thankfully slaughtering some of my more useless mouths to feed out on the prairie. Then it just went away. I got a message that it had turned into a dwarf in the event log. A little while later, it came back and killed a few more dumb gatherers or something. Then it was gone again. Is this weretortoise one of my own dwarves transforming under the full moon? If so, how do I figure out which one?
:lmfao:
Awesome!
That's not a very helpful answer.
Never played the game, I just find the AARs hugely entertaining.
I ended up deciding to leave it alone in the hope that the lycanthropy would spread. Three others have since become monsters too. I hope to eventually have a fortress full of weretortoises that descends into a chaotic bloodbath once a month.
Now that I have enough weretortoises to be able to figure out what they are doing, I'm noticing something cool. They don't get unhappy like the other dwarves do. What I think is happening is that every time they change form their needs all reset, so they are always happy even if they are starving and haunted by the ghosts of the dwarves they have brutally slain and whose stinking rotting corpses are fouling the hallways. I've been able to stave off a tantrum cascade so far, but I suspect the last dwarves standing in the event it all falls apart will be the lycanthro-turtles.
Makes me wonder if I can use them for some cool dwarfy shenanigans. Like trap one in the archery range for the marksdwarves to take pot shots at while he's transformed and train their skills up. He won't starve to death or anything. I could just chain him to the wall.
Interesting note: Dwarves who had been weretortoises during life and went unburied after death to return as ghosts continue to periodically change form into ghostly weretortoises as they haunt your living dwarves. :lol:
As a werewolf, cleaning up after the hair is bad enough. Dealing with the shell must be a bitch.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on March 17, 2012, 08:20:49 PM
Interesting note: Dwarves who had been weretortoises during life and went unburied after death to return as ghosts continue to periodically change form into ghostly weretortoises as they haunt your living dwarves. :lol:
:lol:
Urge to re-download so strong :lol:
Damn I wish I knew how to play this game. Weretortoises...sounds fantastic
After a couple of innocent-looking waves of immigrants, I started getting the infamous message:
Quote from: DF Log
Urist McDwarfydwarf has been found dead, completely drained of blood!
Fucking vampires. Usually, I leave them alone. They can pick off the more useless dwarves and I don't mind. I can throw them into combat or whatever, or do the old lock the vamp in a room and make him your bookkeeper trick. But this shit was out of control. In fifteen minutes' time at about 60fps, they found six drained corpses. And not worthless children or strand extractors--my master mason, broker and master gemcutter all fell to the fangs.
Fuck that.
I scoured the fort, dwarf by dwarf, to find which one was the incredibly thirsty vampire. The Dwarf Therapist program helps a lot because vampires don't show up in the list in there. If you look at all the dwarves in the fort and cross check against the list in Therapist, you can find them.
There were five. :lol:
I had an entire immigrant wave consisting solely of vampires, apparently. So, I drafted them all into their own special military squad and ordered the squad to move into a special hole I had just dug. Then I walled it in and disbanded their squad. Rot in hell bitches.
:lol:
One of the vampires was titled "King Consort" when he showed up. Does that mean our kingdom is a vampire puppet? Ummm...will the queen be mad at me for putting him in a stone prison? :P
Gross.
Quote
The Forgotten Beast Sanene Sematotholatho has come! A towering blob composed of vomit. It has a knobbly shell and undulates rhythmically. Beware its deadly spittle!
Quote from: Tyr on April 01, 2012, 07:57:23 AM
Damn I wish I knew how to play this game. Weretortoises...sounds fantastic
http://www.youtube.com/user/captnduck?ob=0&feature=results_main
Quote from: Habbaku on April 12, 2012, 06:54:28 PM
Quote from: Tyr on April 01, 2012, 07:57:23 AM
Damn I wish I knew how to play this game. Weretortoises...sounds fantastic
http://www.youtube.com/user/captnduck?ob=0&feature=results_main
The accent. :bleeding:
Quote from: Tonitrus on April 13, 2012, 12:59:43 AM
Quote from: Habbaku on April 12, 2012, 06:54:28 PM
Quote from: Tyr on April 01, 2012, 07:57:23 AM
Damn I wish I knew how to play this game. Weretortoises...sounds fantastic
http://www.youtube.com/user/captnduck?ob=0&feature=results_main
The accent. :bleeding:
the accent gets worse when Dutch people speak Dutch :p
Fuck this game. You always think your fortress will be full of these:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.huffpost.com%2Fgen%2F313139%2FTHE-HOBBIT-DWARVES.jpg&hash=aec6ec6f562e84ac80c64ad18e238403005e3f78)
But instead, you get this:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.wikia.com%2Fdisney%2Fimages%2F0%2F06%2F599933-dopey_large.jpg&hash=22b1a67f3332caa9ea7792fd8362ab970c3d7559)
:huh: I got plenty of the former in my plays.
Well this was an interesting evening. I started out with a couple big immigrant waves and got several squads of military put together. I've never resorted to cheap tricks for training the dwarves like danger rooms. But I have had a bunch of ambushes and now collected twenty or so caged goblins of various sorts in my traps. I figured I could lock the cage in a room with my whole army and then release and train that way. Worked all right I guess. But then a vile force of darkness arrived. (That's a huge siege of gobbos, usually riding hideous war beasts of various kinds and led by a monster or epic war goblin leader.)
I actually held my own for a while, with about every trap I had on the whole map triggered and the enemy force down to what seemed like a manageable size. I dropped the drawbridges and let the melee begin. It went well. My dwarves finished off everything except an monster alligator somebody rode in on and a troll who somehow managed to get down a level into my barracks where the levers for the drawbridges are...
War dogs and troopers wore down the alligator until everyone was exhausted and couldn't so much as lift spear or claw to strike. It was epic. Blood and bone fragments covered the battlements knee-deep. That troll wasn't fighting--just camping out near a small storage of beer barrels in the barracks.
Then the dragon appeared. :lol:
I tried to shut the gates, but the troll in the barracks scared away any dwarves who went to pull the levers, so...
The dragon burned everything. First he hopped the top layer and set fire to all the walls, ammo stocks, war dogs, troops and the alligator with everything nearby dying pretty much right away. It took him several minutes, but he did eventually find his way down into the soft underbelly of the fort and holy crap can those things destroy years worth of dwarven GDP in minutes.
So I check the stats after the dragon rampage. 189 dwarves before the dragon, 5 left alive. Guess which five.
...Yeah the 5 vampires locked in a stone tomb on the other side of the map.
So I just let the game run a while to see what would happen. My force currently consists of several war dogs who got lost somewhere in the fighting but now wander the underground farms, probably poaching the eggs from the turkey nest boxes. There is also an outpost liason from the Mountainhomes searching the empty fort in vain for anyone who will talk to him. The VFoD has gone home too. Probably figured there was nothing good left to plunder. The dragon has been sitting in the crypts with the coffins, I guess just in case anyone tries to bury any of the 185 corpses he made.
I just got a migrant wave of 10 apparently suicidal dwarves. Is this worth even bothering? I'm thinking no, but imagine the awesome wall carvings I'll get if I can manage to live through it. :P
:D
What you need is a hobbit and a guy with a bow. :P
Quote from: Tonitrus on April 14, 2012, 03:28:01 AM
What you need is a hobbit and a guy with a bow. :P
That's what I was thinking. Must be a meme.
I really want to start playing this again and am getting close. I was reading Toady's dev blog (http://bay12games.com/dwarves/) today and found two amazing pieces of news.
Garbagedwarfs:
Quote04/02/2012 Toady One The hauling changes have begun. This afternoon there were dwarves running around with bins, bags and barrels, vacuuming up items. Seeing a single dwarf clean up a seed-ridden dining room as a single job is a beautiful thing.
I have been waiting for this for 5 years now.
Also not only minecarts, but military minecarts:
Quote04/12/2012 Toady One I set a hauler to ride a minecart to its next stop. That happened to take the dwarf down eight ramps and then up a launch ramp into an open cavern. High up in the cavern there was a wide ledge and on the ledge there was a goblin, chilling out right where I had created it. I activated the dwarf's squad, and he had just enough hang-time at the top of the flight arc to get a punch in. The goblin struck back but the dwarf jumped on to the ledge, where they continued to fight as the cart fell down into the darkness. It'll be interesting to see the new contenders for "worst dodge decision" that come out of this, before I tackle that problem, but overall the item riding system seems to be functioning. As we continue to iron out issues there, it might also let caged creatures interact more with their environment later on.
I had no idea before reading that but I have been waiting 41 years for that I just didn't realize it.
Urist Jones and the Temple of Doom.
After reading this thread I downloaded it.
First impression. The graphics are intolerable. Sorry. I can live with sub-standard graphics, but these simply hurt the eyes. I downloaded the lazynewbie pack and the problem is now solved.
Second problem. Can't dig. At all. CTurns out that I can't dig where there are trees and grass. Have to dig in those dark places.
I now have a few minor operations going on. I have carpenter, still, farm, dormitory, dining hall, stockpiles, stairs. Just figured out how to get stone (have to dig DOWN).
Biggest problem right now is I have a pasture to contain all the animals. I want to assign the two dogs to the entrance to watch out for thieves, but I can't. There is no way to assign different animals to different pastures. They all must contain the same instructions, or at least it seems so to me.
My questions are -
Any solution for the pasture problem? Is there any way to assign dogs to one pasture and everything else to another?
How wide should the corridors be? 1, 2, or 3 tiles wide?
Any tips for a newbie?
What should I do next?
Vermin. I deal with the problem by releasing the cats from the pasture when I see vermin. I don't want the cats to become pets. Is there a better way to deal with vermin?
I let cats go free. Not much vermin problems then. Just watch you get the kittens. The dogs follow their assigned master dwarf. You can assign dogs to pastures too (i+shift-N) but they are less likely to respond.
I put all the dogs to the pasture where the kennel is. That way, I can assign them to hunting or war dog duty whenever they are trained---they have to be in the pasture where the kennel is to train them. Dogs are very good for the beginning of he game when all the enemies are likely beaten by dogs, and also the mid game when all the enemies are likely distracted by dogs.
Assign the dog pasture in the same area as the kennel--make it surround it.
Just create a small pasture at the door of your fort and N your dogs there. Yes, I know that when you use that instruction, you get the list of all your animals. Don't worry, just select the dogs you want in that pasture and it will be fine.
I prefer 3-tile corridors because when you'll reach 100 dwarves (that's my upper limit, more dwarves are a pain in the ass due to system performance), you're gonna need the space.
My tips:
a) turn off invaders from the LNP settings: military basics should be left last, since they're a bit difficult to set up. Just concentrate for now on learning the basics.
b) build farms. Not too many, since you'll be overwhelmed by plants... My personal favorite is to channel some areas, build a glass roof and farm in the first level at once underground and ground plants. But that's a bit too advanced. Just stick with good old cave wheat.
c) trading is very important at the beginning. Stonecrafting is your friend by turning that useless stone into nice crafts. If you have plenty of wood, don't forget to order some wooden bins... great for keeping stocks.
d) at the beginning, make some beds and create a large dormitory. It's gonna be useful until you begin clearing their individual rooms. Likewise with the meeting hall: make some tables/chairs.
e) be careful with stairs. Their physics is a bit difficult: if you want a simple stairway to the lower level, you make a "downstairs" and then a "upstairs"... if you want to make a longer multi-level stairway, you'll use between the downstairs and upstairs the up/down stairway.
f) dogs at entrance should be used with traps. Especially cages. Create some of them and put them there.
Quote from: Monoriu on April 16, 2012, 04:42:56 AM
After reading this thread I downloaded it.
First impression. The graphics are intolerable. Sorry. I can live with sub-standard graphics, but these simply hurt the eyes. I downloaded the lazynewbie pack and the problem is now solved.
Second problem. Can't dig. At all. CTurns out that I can't dig where there are trees and grass. Have to dig in those dark places.
I now have a few minor operations going on. I have carpenter, still, farm, dormitory, dining hall, stockpiles, stairs. Just figured out how to get stone (have to dig DOWN).
Biggest problem right now is I have a pasture to contain all the animals. I want to assign the two dogs to the entrance to watch out for thieves, but I can't. There is no way to assign different animals to different pastures. They all must contain the same instructions, or at least it seems so to me.
My questions are -
Any solution for the pasture problem? Is there any way to assign dogs to one pasture and everything else to another?
How wide should the corridors be? 1, 2, or 3 tiles wide?
Any tips for a newbie?
What should I do next?
Vermin. I deal with the problem by releasing the cats from the pasture when I see vermin. I don't want the cats to become pets. Is there a better way to deal with vermin?
I haven't played much in the last two versions so I don't know anything about pastures yet, so sorry.
There is nothing that will slow your dwarfs down as much as too crapped quarters. Two dwarfs can occupy the same tile but they slow down drastically when they do. The explanation I heard was that one dwarf filled one tile, in order for another dwarf to pass they had to stop and crawl and climb over top of each other to get passed. I usually dig my main public corridors at 7 tiles wide, or at least allow space for them to be expanded to 7 tiles in the future. In the old 2D version of the game any ceiling tile that was more than 7 tiles from a support would cave in. Cave-ins were nerfed when the game went "3D" but old habits die hard and I still stay at 7. When I get to less busy hallways I will reduce down to 5, or maybe as low as 3 in a dormitory wing were the only traffic is dwarfs going to and coming from their bedrooms, but 3 is as small as I would ever go and it feels very cramped to me.
Cats can be a major problem to your FPS, at least they were previously, and they breed like crazy. I don't know how much was changed with the update that created pastures, and I don't know if cats need to eat so my old way of dealing with cats may be outdated, but I am going to explain anyway.
The term catsplosion is one of a DF players' biggest fears. Most animals get adopted by dwarfs, cats adopt an owner themselves and once a pet has an owner you can't do anything to that animal. As soon as I saw the message about kittens being born I immediately ssigned the kittens to be put into a cage. In previous versions caged animals didn't need food and didn't breed and didn't adopt owners. Also cages could hold an infinite number of animals in one cage. Once there were a dozen or so cats in a cage and the butcher and leather industries were rolling there were kitten leather mittens for everyone. Sorry, CdM.
Why can't I train my dogs into war dogs? I have dogs, they are in a training activity zone and I have a dorf with Animal Trainer turned on.
Quote from: sbr on April 16, 2012, 11:25:50 PM
Why can't I train my dogs into war dogs? I have dogs, they are in a training activity zone and I have a dorf with Animal Trainer turned on.
Put the kennel inside the same zone. I make a pasture with the kennel in the middle of it and assign the dogs to it and that works.
My first two settings before any game:
a) Delete the "can adopt owner" tag from cats
b) Put the "acceptable tag" on "can butcher and eat sentient creatures"
While I lose some cat meat, I can make up with nice flavored elf or goblin roasts...
Quote from: sbr on April 16, 2012, 11:25:50 PM
Why can't I train my dogs into war dogs? I have dogs, they are in a training activity zone and I have a dorf with Animal Trainer turned on.
Are they already owned/assigned? You can only train unassigned animals.
Quote from: Solmyr on April 17, 2012, 11:10:28 AM
Quote from: sbr on April 16, 2012, 11:25:50 PM
Why can't I train my dogs into war dogs? I have dogs, they are in a training activity zone and I have a dorf with Animal Trainer turned on.
Are they already owned/assigned? You can only train unassigned animals.
I don't believe so but I will check. I think it is the kennel inside the training zone thing, but thanks. :)
You have to go to the 'z' screen, under the Animals tab and set each dog to be trainable. :glare:
Further newbie questions -
1. What is the difference among wall, fortification and grate?
2. I have yet to find *any* metal. Is there anything in particular that I should do?
3. I have set up a dining hall and my dwarves seem to eat there. But they still go to the food storage for drinks and there is a flashing arrow pointing downward on the dwarves, perhaps indicating that they are unhappy. Is this normal?
4. Any downside to leaving stones lying around everywhere? There are too many of them and I don't want to dig a gigantic storage room just for stones.
1. A wall is a wall. A fortification is a wall that crossbows can shoot through. A grate lets liquids/gases and such through.
2. Dig around in the stone. You should find some ores that you can smelt into various metals, unless you somehow embarked on a crazy location with no metal.
3. What color is the flashing arrow? Different colors mean different things. And yeah, dwarves will drink directly from the barrels in the storage.
4. Not really, except for aesthetic reasons.
2. In my 3 games so far I've yet to find any metal. I did find tons and tons of cobaltite. Some gems.
You've never found any of these?
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Ore
Quote from: Solmyr on April 18, 2012, 09:24:56 AM
You've never found any of these?
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Ore
Never found any of these.
Quote from: Monoriu on April 18, 2012, 04:17:05 AM
4. Any downside to leaving stones lying around everywhere? There are too many of them and I don't want to dig a gigantic storage room just for stones.
Designate a garbage dump site with the "i" menu. It can be 1x1 tile. Then "g" for garbage. I like to put it next to my masonry workshops. Now, use d-b-d to mass select all the stones. Dorfs will dump all the stones on that one square. Then after they get them there, use d-b-c to reclaim them and the masons can use all that stone to craft or whatever.
I think there is also an option to simply hide them from view. I don't know what it is.
Quote from: Monoriu on April 18, 2012, 04:17:05 AM
Further newbie questions -
1. What is the difference among wall, fortification and grate?
2. I have yet to find *any* metal. Is there anything in particular that I should do?
3. I have set up a dining hall and my dwarves seem to eat there. But they still go to the food storage for drinks and there is a flashing arrow pointing downward on the dwarves, perhaps indicating that they are unhappy. Is this normal?
4. Any downside to leaving stones lying around everywhere? There are too many of them and I don't want to dig a gigantic storage room just for stones.
1. You place a wall then you can turn it into a fortification. Grates are like floor tiles. I like to use them in my "inside fishing" room...
2. Try different 1-tile wide routes until you locate a vein.
3. When you place a dinning room, make sure to create right next to it deposits for prepared food and booze. They won't go too far for it...
4. What he said. You can hide them, too but they still eat FPS. With useless rocks, you can use an atomic smasher (basically a drawbridge) to get rid of it for ever.
Why oh why are the control and interface so needlessly complex. It seems to be a deliberate design feature even. It stretches to the extent where you have to caps lock on and off to get things done. 'tis madness.
The youtube how to is nice but damn does it drag, and videos are a pain generally. Any comprehensive and decent written guide?
Quote from: Tyr on April 19, 2012, 06:46:48 PM
Why oh why are the control and interface so needlessly complex. It seems to be a deliberate design feature even. It stretches to the extent where you have to caps lock on and off to get things done. 'tis madness.
The youtube how to is nice but damn does it drag, and videos are a pain generally. Any comprehensive and decent written guide?
http://afteractionreporter.com/2009/02/09/the-complete-and-utter-newby-tutorial-for-dwarf-fortress-part-1-wtf/
That helped me when I first started. It's old though--several versions back. But mostly good.
I can't think of a time I ever used Caps Lock in my hundreds of hours of playing.
He is saving the graphics and interface for as long as he can. He doesn't want to have to redo them multiple times as he keeps addding and changing things. In the past he has said he may have to break down and do the player friendly things earlier than he planned if the players started demanding them and donations started to dry up but considering he made $23,000 in the first 3 months of the year ($12,000 of that in February alone) I don't think that is a concern anymore. The game will probably continue to have ASCII 'graphics' and the shittiest user interface ever right up until the mythical version 1.0.
Crap graphics I don't really mind too much (though yes, it does take it a bit far...) but the completely unintuitive interface and bizzare control system....ja.
I'm getting tempted to try playing DF at work....
Quote from: Tyr on April 19, 2012, 06:46:48 PM
Why oh why are the control and interface so needlessly complex. It seems to be a deliberate design feature even. It stretches to the extent where you have to caps lock on and off to get things done. 'tis madness.
That's part of the point and definitely a design feature. The game has so many options to it that it does require a lot of potential button presses to get the precise effect desired. Some mouse support would be nice, though.
Quote from: Habbaku on April 19, 2012, 07:29:46 PM
Quote from: Tyr on April 19, 2012, 06:46:48 PM
Why oh why are the control and interface so needlessly complex. It seems to be a deliberate design feature even. It stretches to the extent where you have to caps lock on and off to get things done. 'tis madness.
That's part of the point and definitely a design feature. The game has so many options to it that it does require a lot of potential button presses to get the precise effect desired. Some mouse support would be nice, though.
And some thought to which buttons you press. I have played the game enough that it is pretty natural and I don't think about it anymore, but it really is horrible.
For example on the custom stockpiles screen there are 3 columns. For the first column you 'e'nable or 'd'isable groups of items. In the next column you 'p'ermit or 'f'orbid a smaller group and then in the last column you toggle individual items on or off with the Enter key. I wouldn't think it would be that hard to fix that up so you are using the same method in each column.
Quote from: Tyr on April 19, 2012, 07:27:05 PM
I'm getting tempted to try playing DF at work....
You totally could since you don't actually have to "install" it. :P
So even if you don't have admin rights or anything...yeah.
So I've been inspired to pick this up again. I've been doing well with 17 dwarves but just saved and quit as I need to get my head around the 24 bitches who just showed up!
and that's why the game cold do with some decent automation. Way too much babysitting needed when surely half the economy should be allowed to run on automatic once you're past the initial settlement phase (true it's not needed to give each and every command to make beer/food/toys/clothes/etc).
With proper management, most of the economy can be auto managed with repeat commands. It's important to plan ahead and have an idea of what exactly you want to do. It becomes a lot easier then. Good record keeping is essential.
Or you could just use the in-game job manager. :P
Quote from: Solmyr on April 23, 2012, 10:49:05 AM
Or you could just use the in-game job manager. :P
But that isn't without its own downfalls.
On the interface, another problem is that they don't deprecate removed/unnecessary options as the game evolves. From going through the wiki, it looks like there are plenty of items to build that currently/no longer serve a purpose and then you have things like kennels are only used for wild animals now that the animal activity training zone has been added for trainable, tame animals. Same for the multiple military/squad screens.
I have a lot more micromanagement problems when the fort is new and small, rather than when it gets larger.
When the fort is brand new and there are only 7 dwarves there is way too much to be done and not nearly enough hands to get it done. I am constantly going to each dwarf and turning labor preferences on and off to make sure things get done in a timely manner. I am also quite anal about dwarves specializing in jobs and not being jack-of-all-trades. I don't want my carpenter touching anything stone, it is a waste of time. I want my mason getting that experience so he can hit Legendary sooner. It does lead to more idle dwarves than I would like but it benefits the fort in the long run.
Once you hit 20-30 dwarves you can assign each one a different job and have most of the important ones covered. Once it is bigger than that things really smooth out and I don't do much more than fiddle with each immigrant's labor preferences to make sure he/she is going to do what I want. At that point the fort manager and repeat task functions make it a the production part of the game something I watch, rather than play.
The in-game fort manager's main problem is that you can't assign a specific dwarf or workshop to make a specific item. That can be a problem when you are needing your Legendary Mason to make Masterpiece furniture for the incoming Nobles but the ability to assign specific dwarves to specific workshops usually fixes that, though there is some micro there. At that point I am looking for things to do though so I don't really mind it.
All of the above is based on the '07 version of the game, it is the last one I spent any real time with. Things may have changed a bit but it doesn't seem like any of the above was affected too much.
I'm trying to figure out military squad scheduling and am having trouble. I have read the wiki article a couple of times but something is just not clicking.
Can I preset a squad's alert level in a future month?
Granite: I want squad 1 to train,squad 2 to be patrolling the perimeter and squad 3 to be inactive.
Slate: I want squad 1 to be patrolling the perimeter, squad 2 to be inactive, and squad 3 to train.
Felsite: I want squad 1 to be inactive, squad 2 to train and squad 3 to patrol.
If so how? I was under the impression from somewhere that I could do that. Or do I need to change each alert level each month?
Yeah, on the schedule you can set each month for each squad individually. Then it would look like this:
The Crystalline Hides
train
patrol
inactive
train
patrol
inactive
train
patrol
inactive
train
patrol
inactive
The Walled Treasures
inactive
train
patrol
inactive
train
patrol
inactive
train
patrol
inactive
train
patrol
Etc.
Copy/paste the orders across the squads and stagger them with an offset of one. Leave all the squads on active-train status--they will still stand down in their inactive months.
Ok that helps. Also I am an idiot and finally just realized there is no 'inactive' order. No scheduled order=inactive. :homestar:
Also how important is it that dwarfs have some time off?
They'll take their time off on their own (whether you want it or not, possibly in the middle of a goblin invasion). It shows as "On Break". You don't need to idle them yourself otherwise.
The migrant wave in Mid-Spring of the second year of my fort took my population from 15 dorfs to 39, and counting. <_<
I used to play this a lot, but it's been so long now that I'll have to relearn everything. It's kind of daunting.
Quote from: HisMajestyBOB on April 28, 2012, 12:32:43 AM
I used to play this a lot, but it's been so long now that I'll have to relearn everything. It's kind of daunting.
Same here.
I started a new game using the Lazy Newb. The Ravenlurk the Black-Lace Aunts of Autumn at Darkcastle.
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on April 29, 2012, 01:10:49 PM
I started a new game using the Lazy Newb. The Ravenlurk the Black-Lace Aunts of Autumn at Darkcastle.
:thumbsup:
Some moody fellow just took my platinum bar and single diamond and turned it into a pine cup. Yeah, it's expensive but it's a fucking wooden trinket... :yuk:
Mental note: modding is fun and should be continued by uniting all types of fat/tallow/wood/meat into single categories... spent 10 minutes creating a deposit for tallow only,,,
Pondering dwarven abortion. :lol:
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=108361.msg3236157#msg3236157
QuoteIs there any way to passively abort pregnancies in a fort with traps or something? Spike traps would probably work, but there's always the risk of spontaneous skull crushing... perhaps a fall down a stairwell, induced by a flood of water?
Heh. Training spear traps kill babies just fine but never adults. :P
*This message brought to you by Planned Dwarvenhood.
How the fuckity fuck do I assign a dwarf to do a particular job?
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on April 30, 2012, 12:37:50 PM
How the fuckity fuck do I assign a dwarf to do a particular job?
You can only set labor preferences...which if a dwarf has only wood cutting set (for example) then they'll be likely to go chop wood when they have downtime.
With a manager you can set up that each workshop has a single chosen dwarf...
Quote from: garbon on April 30, 2012, 12:54:30 PM
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on April 30, 2012, 12:37:50 PM
How the fuckity fuck do I assign a dwarf to do a particular job?
You can only set labor preferences...which if a dwarf has only wood cutting set (for example) then they'll be likely to go chop wood when they have downtime.
Yes. Honestly, run dwarf therapist. It's much easier than using the p-l menu on every dwarf.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on April 30, 2012, 01:05:09 PM
Quote from: garbon on April 30, 2012, 12:54:30 PM
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on April 30, 2012, 12:37:50 PM
How the fuckity fuck do I assign a dwarf to do a particular job?
You can only set labor preferences...which if a dwarf has only wood cutting set (for example) then they'll be likely to go chop wood when they have downtime.
Yes. Honestly, run dwarf therapist. It's much easier than using the p-l menu on every dwarf.
Agreed.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on April 30, 2012, 01:05:09 PM
Quote from: garbon on April 30, 2012, 12:54:30 PM
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on April 30, 2012, 12:37:50 PM
How the fuckity fuck do I assign a dwarf to do a particular job?
You can only set labor preferences...which if a dwarf has only wood cutting set (for example) then they'll be likely to go chop wood when they have downtime.
Yes. Honestly, run dwarf therapist. It's much easier than using the p-l menu on every dwarf.
I never used dwarf therapist until a couple of days ago, it's amazing how much easier things are.
Also I started a new fort because I screwed my army up in the last one. Things were going good until my 6 dwarf military got shredded by a pack of giant gray langurs.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jasnjohn.com%2Fimages%2Fmammals%2F1Langur%2C-Tufted-Gray_01.jpg&hash=fdc98d507ed54cf5d33fc44c611e964080e30fb3)
My militia commander is missing a foot, 2 others are dead and 3 of my 4 war dogs got ripped into pieces.
I need an anvil. Where do I get an anvil? Mine is gone and I can't start metalsmithing without the anvil.
You can try and request from caravans and/or hope they bring one.
http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/
Quote05/10/2012 Toady One The items and units fly out of carts now on major collisions. It gives the objects a little lift and spread sometimes to make the happenings more entertaining. Accidental grapeshotting of the dining room should be possible now. The debug tests on massed goblins were fairly devastating and left a large conical skidmark.
:(
Quote from: sbr on May 10, 2012, 11:11:40 PM
http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/
Quote05/10/2012 Toady One The items and units fly out of carts now on major collisions. It gives the objects a little lift and spread sometimes to make the happenings more entertaining. Accidental grapeshotting of the dining room should be possible now. The debug tests on massed goblins were fairly devastating and left a large conical skidmark.
Think of the trap potential. Pressure plate in the entrance triggers falling cart that hits an obstacle on the way to the entrance spraying shrapnel down the hallway at incoming baddies. Could work.
I want to launch magma filled carts at invaders.
Oooh, new release today.
QuoteNew stuff
Minecarts can be used to haul things around on carved/constructed tracks/bridges ('h'auling to set up routes)
Dwarves can be set to guide, push off, or ride carts that are ready to move to the next stop
Track stops used to slow/stop cart and/or dump the contents on vehicle entry, can be disengaged with lever/plate
Pressure plates can be triggered by carts
Rollers can be used to push cart along when powered
Minecarts limited to one per tile in general, various collisions can occur
Wheelbarrows can be linked to stockpiles in order to move heavy objects (it'll auto-request one for stone stockpiles)
Falling objects can collide with critters
Camera can be attached to unit or item, can be linked to hotkeys from the unit/item screens
Other bug fixes/tweaks
Stockpiles can be linked to workshops, can be set to give to multiple piles, can be set to accept items from links only
Hauling jobs will often be combined, using one container
Heavy items harder to haul
Densities/colors updated, based on Uristocrat's data collection thread
Can filter creature names in arena
Mine drop rates tweaked, no longer skill-based
Puzzleboxes/drum makeable
Stopped blinking on bridges
Projectiles using new code (most non-shot/thrown projectiles) can skip/skid on liquid/ground
All flying units use new minecart parabolic flight paths
Many projectiles do not resolve in adventure mode before your turn (so you can dodge a flying cart by moving away)
Can create/assign to squads from v-p
Squads can be given nicknames from v-p or the military screen
Fixed broken clay stockpile option
Posted before I really read it so no comment.
Mine carts seems like nice addition. Wheelbarrow bit sounds annoying - especially for stone.
Brand new LNP. (http://lazynewbpack.com/)
Lots of nice upgrades by the looks of it.
Quote from: Toady One
Download (Click refresh on your browser if it doesn't show up)
Here is the new version we've been working on all year! The flow of fortress life is quite a bit different now -- specific breaks and parties have been replaced by taverns and performances and needs and inebriation. You can designate a tavern, temple or library from a meeting area zone, bedroom or dining room using the new Assign Location option. The location list ('l') will let you know what sort of furniture and items you need, and you can set tavern keepers, scribes and other occupations there as well. You'll need to set up a drink stockpile and a chest for goblets in taverns for drink service to work properly, but dwarves can still drink without a tavern as before. You can assign multiple rooms/zones to a single location. There's a lot more -- see the feature list below.
The bug fix list below is partial. Large chunks of the game were changed, which has a way of making old bugs go away while bringing in new ones to take their place. We'll be focusing on bugs old and new in subsequent releases, starting with crashing saves and moving down the list. The next set of bug-fix releases will be measured on a scale of days and weeks rather than months, as usual.
New stuff
(*) Ability to designate taverns, temples and libraries in the fortress
(*) Taverns and libraries also exist in adventure mode and world generation
(*) Tavern keepers can serve drinks in both modes, goblets can be used by dwarves to drink (in taverns or otherwise)
(*) Performances include stories, poetry, music and dance (you can view activity descriptions from the unit/job list)
(*) Art forms are randomly generated for each civilization
(*) Instruments are now all generated, instruments can be used in both modes
(*) Most instruments are constructed from multiple pieces using different materials
(*) Personalities and values lead to needs which can be met by various actions in both modes
(*) The fort has visitors, residency petitions and eventual citizenship, including non-dwarves
(*) Tavern visitors include mercenaries, monster slayers, bandits, diplomats and performers
(*) Can set details for clothing/armor jobs to make them for other races that can equip items
(*) Monster slayers can petition your fortress to go down and fight monsters once you discover the underground
(*) Performance troupes are active in world generation and into play, visiting the fort, can be formed in adventure mode
(*) New knowledge system divided into nine branches (though it has very few practical effects so far)
(*) Fortress scholars can advance knowledge, form master-apprentice relationships and write down their findings
(*) Fortress scribes can copy works in your library
(*) Scholars can visit your fortress libraries, bringing knowledge from around the world
(*) Devoted historical figures can visit your fortress temples
(*) Three forms of writing material: papyrus sheets, paper sheets and parchment sheets
(*) Papyrus sheets are made directly from the plant at the farmer's workshop
(*) Paper is made from pressed slurries (start at the quern/mill, then go to a screw press)
(*) Parchment is made from hide and milk of lime at the tanner's (bake quicklime at a kiln, then make milk of lime at an ashery)
(*) Sheets are used to make quires or with rollers to make scrolls -- these are then used for writing
(*) Quires can be bound into codices with bindings after they contain writing
(*) Dwarves read books in the library (they don't need to be scholars)
(*) Values can be passed in writing (both modes) and through adventure mode arguments (uses some conversation skills)
(*) Animal people are playable as adventurers, arrive as fort visitors and sometimes live in towns in (playable) populations
(*) Children play with toys now, and they can also play make believe, in both modes
(*) Personality can be customized/randomized in adventure mode, appearance can be randomized as well
(*) Temples can be defiled in both modes, dwarf temples can be assigned to particular gods
(*) Adventurer can rent rooms in inns
(*) Adventurers can compose new poems, music and dances
(*) Adventurers can write material down on empty quires or scrolls
(*) Alcohol causes inebriation, erratic behavior, unconsciousness, death
(*) Festivals occur in world generation, though we haven't gotten them out of there yet
(*) Dwarves will wear trinkets again
Major bug fixes
(*) Fixed some army pathing issues
(*) Goblins have mounts again
(*) Fixed long-standing flow bug with unit occupancy
(*) Stopped some issues with brawls escalating to non-lethal
Other bug fixes/tweaks
(*) Looking at reaction screen for redded-out reactions in workshop will indicate missing reagents now
(*) Fixed inversion problem with half of the child/parent conversation thoughts
(*) Lots of historical figures that weren't around from the beginning didn't have deities when they were supposed to
(*) Allowed site finder to look for 1x1 sites
(*) Human civilizations now have randomized values
(*) Added ability to set invasion wave cap size
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FCxYXZVm.png&hash=777b46a25cf6fc008430bd66e6746e4beef98f73)
Googling weresheep returns some pretty strange stuff.
I tried playing this for awhile but couldn't get into it. There is a huge world in it somewhere, but the learning curve, interface, lack of feedback, and the...unique graphics prevented me from finding it.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on January 14, 2016, 08:12:25 PM
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FCxYXZVm.png&hash=777b46a25cf6fc008430bd66e6746e4beef98f73)
Great reference. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn0td-xpl8w
Army of war bears. :showoff:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F2XQsXkU.jpg&hash=ffaa3fc47c96eab82ed7caef93371a474a8374a9)
I gave this another go last night. It really is amazing how steep the learning curve is - like when you are like ah, I remember how to size a dig site, and also how to set up a pile but that is very different from how you setup a plot - and then also rather different from the ease of setting up a room. :D
Quote from: Tonitrus on January 14, 2016, 10:11:58 PM
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on January 14, 2016, 08:12:25 PM
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FCxYXZVm.png&hash=777b46a25cf6fc008430bd66e6746e4beef98f73)
Great reference. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn0td-xpl8w
Is it Trump?
This is now available on Steam for 28.99: https://store.steampowered.com/app/975370/Dwarf_Fortress/
Are there any differences from the free version (other than the tileset)?
Quote from: Solmyr on December 07, 2022, 03:06:44 AMAre there any differences from the free version (other than the tileset)?
Mouse support
https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/guides/23494480/dwarf-fortress-biggest-changes-stream-graphics-menu-keyboard-shortcuts-mouse
It also seems to have Workshop support.
Watched a bit of quill18 on this; I think he mentioned that mouse support will come to the free version at some point.
I did see that both on steam and on a kotaku (or was it polygon) article that the long term fans were going wild on this. That if you have enjoyed it in the past, you should basically feel indebted to pay the asking price for the paid version.
Frankly, I don't understand that.
I mean, I get that if there's folks who got a lot of mileage out of the game and want to give back to the creator - sure. But I'm not sure about the obligation, esp. considering that the free version will continue to exist.
Quote from: Syt on December 08, 2022, 11:17:48 AMI mean, I get that if there's folks who got a lot of mileage out of the game and want to give back to the creator - sure. But I'm not sure about the obligation, esp. considering that the free version will continue to exist.
And donations to creator have been available for quite some time.
Has there ever been any word on how the creators are doing?
Do they earn enough from patron et al to be comfortable and full time on the game?
Quote from: Josquius on December 09, 2022, 03:11:52 PMHas there ever been any word on how the creators are doing?
Do they earn enough from patron et al to be comfortable and full time on the game?
I read an article a few years ago that they live with their mother and don't really get out much, so probably?
https://www.pcgamer.com/dwarf-fortress-hit-its-2-month-sales-estimate-in-under-24-hours/
They're doing great.
QuoteDwarf Fortress(opens in new tab) hit Steam yesterday, but you probably know that already. In fact, there's a decent chance you own it. Kitfox Games, who published DF's "premium" Steam version, enlisted the aid of an economist(opens in new tab) before yesterday's release to try to predict how many copies the game would end up selling after its ASCII version spent 16 years as a free download on Bay 12's website(opens in new tab). The prediction was respectable: About 160,000 copies sold in two months.
Dwarf Fortress hit that in under 24 hours(opens in new tab).
I got it; the UI is much easier to work with than the direct version I played with a few years bac. Makes it more likely it will get real play time going forward.
And yes I've no doubt there are utilities and tilesets etc that work just about as well with the free version but that's that kind of fiddling its worth paying to avoid.'
Also I;m glad for the brothers that the sales seem to be doing well. They seem like decent types.
I've pretty much played the free version with the Lazy Noob pack. It gives you a lot of control of what your dwarves do. Also it's fun exploring the history of your world!
I bought it to support the developers but I still think the free version with LNP and dwarf therapist is better and more polished... but im probably just stuck in my ways.