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chapters/chap01-setup-starting.rst
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@ -3,186 +3,367 @@ WTF is happening?
#################
Dwarf Fortress is an extremely interesting and complex game, but one which people find exceptionally difficult to get into. Although it isn’t hard to find tutorials, many assume some basic knowledge of the interface and what the player is looking at. They also don’t take into account different tilesets and versions and the difficulty new users have in finding a good site for that first fortress.
Dwarf Fortress is an extremely interesting and complex game, but one
which people find exceptionally difficult to get into. Although it
isn’t hard to find tutorials, many assume some basic knowledge of the
interface and what the player is looking at. They also don’t take into
account different tilesets and versions and the difficulty new users
have in finding a good site for that first fortress.
But all that is in the past Dwarf Fortress Walkthrough! It comes with a pre-made world and save and full game download for you to play along with. And a ton of screenshots. Yes, many, many screenshots.
But all that is in the past Dwarf Fortress Walkthrough! It comes with a
pre-made world and save and full game download for you to play along
with. And a ton of screenshots. Yes, many, many screenshots.
So grab a drink, get your thinking cap on and be prepared for some dwarfy fun! And carp. Never forget the carp…
So grab a drink, get your thinking cap on and be prepared for some
dwarfy fun! And carp. Never forget the carp…
Set Up
======
.. note::
This tutorial uses a pre-configured install of DF, with a basic save generated for you and less extra stuff than general-purpose community packages. It still includes graphics and UI upgrades, though!
This tutorial uses a pre-configured install of DF, with a basic
save generated for you and less extra stuff than general-purpose
community packages. It still includes graphics and UI upgrades,
though!
:DFFD:`Download the walkthrough pack here. <11171>`
Later, you might prefer to move your save over to the :DFFD:`Starter Pack <7622>`, to take advantage of all the other tools and options it offers - to suit everyone up to long-time players and DF experts.
Later, you might prefer to move your save over to the
:DFFD:`Starter Pack <7622>`, to take advantage of all the other
tools and options it offers - to suit everyone up to long-time
players and DF experts.
After downloading the pack, you need to unzip the folder onto your hard drive (but *not* in ``Program Files``). Then create a shortcut on your desktop leading to the launcher or directly to ``Dwarf Fortress.exe``.
After downloading the pack, you need to unzip the folder onto your hard
drive (but *not* in ``Program Files``). Then create a shortcut on your
desktop leading to the launcher or directly to ``Dwarf Fortress.exe``.
Run the Game
============
Now we’re ready to get going! Click on your new shortcut, hit "Play" if you're using the launcher, and you should get the screen below.
Now we’re ready to get going! Click on your new shortcut, hit "Play" if
you're using the launcher, and you should get the screen below.
.. image:: images/01-start-screen.png
:align: center
So, you’ve got the game running and enjoyed the exciting ASCII intro movie. Well done! I can tell you’ll go far! Next step is to hit :kbd:`Enter` on :guilabel:`Continue Playing`, which should be highlighted. You’ll then be presented with this screen.
So, you’ve got the game running and enjoyed the exciting ASCII intro
movie. Well done! I can tell you’ll go far! Next step is to hit
:kbd:`Enter` on :guilabel:`Continue Playing`, which should be
highlighted. You’ll then be presented with this screen.
.. image: images/01-save-list.png
:align: center
This is the save game list, which gets cluttered very quickly as seasonal saves build up. But for now all you have to do is use the down-arrow key (not the number pad arrow key) to select :guilabel:`region1-post-embark`. Hit :kbd:`Enter` and the game will load.
This is the save game list, which gets cluttered very quickly as
seasonal saves build up. But for now all you have to do is use the
down-arrow key (not the number pad arrow key) to select
:guilabel:`region1-post-embark`. Hit :kbd:`Enter` and the game will load.
First Look
==========
Once the game loads you will be presented with this screen. Although it’s confusing on first glance, don’t panic! It will all be made clear shortly. First thing though, hit :kbd:`Space` to pause the game. :kbd:`Esc` backs out of any menu you’re currently in.
Once the game loads you will be presented with this screen. Although
it’s confusing on first glance, don’t panic! It will all be made clear
shortly. First thing though, hit :kbd:`Space` to pause the game.
:kbd:`Esc` backs out of any menu you’re currently in.
.. image:: images/01-local-area.png
:align: center
Lets talk about what you can see. First up, the screen is divided into three sections: The left shows the local view. The center shows the action menu, the right shows the area map. To make things a lot neater hit :kbd:`Tab`, which cycles through various menu arrangements. Stop when your view matches the one below.
Lets talk about what you can see. First up, the screen is divided into
three sections: The left shows the local view. The center shows the
action menu, the right shows the area map. To make things a lot neater
hit :kbd:`Tab`, which cycles through various menu arrangements. Stop
when your view matches the one below.
.. image:: images/01-narrow-menu.png
:align: center
Now we’re really cooking with gas! Soon you’ll be melting foes with magma-falls, and drowning goblins in artfully engineered traps! But before then, lets look around. Use the arrow keys to navigate around the local area. You’ll notice the we’ve got a decent amount of space to work with.
Now we’re really cooking with gas! Soon you’ll be melting foes with
magma-falls, and drowning goblins in artfully engineered traps! But
before then, lets look around. Use the arrow keys to navigate around
the local area. You’ll notice the we’ve got a decent amount of space to
work with.
While you examine your surroundings you should be able to spot tree trunks and the grassy areas easy enough, same with (frozen) ponds and the stream and bushes. Other tiles won’t make much sense, these tend to be the slightly-arcane zones like open air spaces (pale blue tiles, or tiles with dots) and the earth (brown tiles) and slope tiles (up and down triangles). The screenshot below should help point those features out.
While you examine your surroundings you should be able to spot tree
trunks and the grassy areas easy enough, same with (frozen) ponds and
the stream and bushes. Other tiles won’t make much sense, these tend to
be the slightly-arcane zones like open air spaces (pale blue tiles, or
tiles with dots) and the earth (brown tiles) and slope tiles (up and
down triangles). The screenshot below should help point those features
out.
.. image:: images/01-features-lvl108.png
:align: center
Key to understanding DF’s local view is getting your head around the fact that DF is a 3D game displayed on a 2D map. To display a variety of heights the world is sliced into dozens of Z-levels. Each Z-level is numbered.
Key to understanding DF’s local view is getting your head around the
fact that DF is a 3D game displayed on a 2D map. To display a variety
of heights the world is sliced into dozens of Z-levels. Each Z-level is
numbered.
If you look on the bottom right of the window you’ll see we’re currently at level 108. To move between levels you need to hit :kbd:`<` to go up, and :kbd:`>` to go down. If you go up a level the map will look like image below. Try it yourself now.
If you look on the bottom right of the window you’ll see we’re
currently at level 108. To move between levels you need to hit :kbd:`<`
to go up, and :kbd:`>` to go down. If you go up a level the map will
look like image below. Try it yourself now.
.. image:: images/01-features-lvl109.png
:align: center
You’ll see that what was black dirt is now grass and trees. It’s like we’ve gone up a floor in a lift and we’re no longer looking at a slope, now we’re looking across a grassy plain. Below us is open space and tree tops. Make sense? Now, try going back down to 108 and then down to 107, a level below "ground" level.
You’ll see that what was black dirt is now grass and trees. It’s like
we’ve gone up a floor in a lift and we’re no longer looking at a slope,
now we’re looking across a grassy plain. Below us is open space and
tree tops. Make sense? Now, try going back down to 108 and then down to
107, a level below "ground" level.
.. image:: images/01-features-lvl107.png
:align: center
Your view should look something like this. We’re underground now with mostly dirt around and earth between the pool, the tree roots, and the rest of the ground. You may have noticed the pool doesn’t appear to have changed much, but don’t be confused. The difference is that on this lower level we’re on the same level as the body of the pool itself, at the level above, we’re actually above the pool a little looking at the top of it.
Your view should look something like this. We’re underground now with
mostly dirt around and earth between the pool, the tree roots, and the
rest of the ground. You may have noticed the pool doesn’t appear to
have changed much, but don’t be confused. The difference is that on
this lower level we’re on the same level as the body of the pool
itself, at the level above, we’re actually above the pool a little
looking at the top of it.
Continue having a look around. When you’re done, return to Z-level 108 and find the wagon with our dwarves. The helpful graphic below explains what you’re looking at.
Continue having a look around. When you’re done, return to Z-level 108
and find the wagon with our dwarves. The helpful graphic below explains
what you’re looking at.
.. image:: images/01-unit-detail.png
:align: center
Lets get digging!
=================
So now what do we do? In Dwarf Fortress we’re usually trying to get a bustling community of dozens of dwarves up and running, while fending off goblins, the whims of nobles and assorted other evils. To do this we need to build ourselves a mighty fortress! Preferably underground. So lets find a cliff face to dig into and get this show on the road!
So now what do we do? In Dwarf Fortress we’re usually trying to get a
bustling community of dozens of dwarves up and running, while fending
off goblins, the whims of nobles and assorted other evils. To do this
we need to build ourselves a mighty fortress! Preferably underground.
So lets find a cliff face to dig into and get this show on the road!
If you go west (left) from where our dwarves are (using the arrow keys) you’ll see a nice cliff face. Lets dig an entrance into this spot and plan to eventually dig down way underground where it’s safe and cosy. First up, get the map centered around about where we want to dig (shown on the screenshot below). Once you’re ready:
If you go west (left) from where our dwarves are (using the arrow keys)
you’ll see a nice cliff face. Lets dig an entrance into this spot and
plan to eventually dig down way underground where it’s safe and cosy.
First up, get the map centered around about where we want to dig (shown
on the screenshot below). Once you’re ready:
* Hit the :kbd:`d` key. You’ll see the menu on the right changes and in the local view a yellow :guilabel:`X` has appeared. The menu on the right should show the :guilabel:`Mine` option highlighted. If it doesn’t, hit :kbd:`d` again, to select it.
* Hit the :kbd:`d` key. You’ll see the menu on the right changes and in
the local view a yellow :guilabel:`X` has appeared. The menu on the
right should show the :guilabel:`Mine` option highlighted. If it
doesn’t, hit :kbd:`d` again, to select it.
* Move the cursor to the edge of the cliff, like this:
.. image:: images/01-dig-cursor.png
:align: center
* Now hit enter and move your cursor down with the arrow keys. You’ll see that you’ve dropped a flashing "anchor". This is going to mark out what your dwarves will dig. Move it across 20 and up 3 and hit :kbd:`enter`, your screen should look like this:
* Now hit enter and move your cursor down with the arrow keys. You’ll
see that you’ve dropped a flashing "anchor". This is going to mark out
what your dwarves will dig. Move it across 20 and up 3 and hit
:kbd:`enter`, your screen should look like this:
.. image:: images/01-dig-hallway.png
:align: center
The browned out area shows where your miners are going to come along and dig. But they won’t act until you back out of the :guilabel:`Designations` menu as the game is paused. Hit :kbd:`Esc` and you should see the game unpause and the menu reset to its master list. Oh, when you have the :kbd:`d` menu up you can actually click on the map with your mouse and select areas to mine. Some people prefer to select areas this way.
The browned out area shows where your miners are going to come along
and dig. But they won’t act until you back out of the
:guilabel:`Designations` menu as the game is paused. Hit :kbd:`Esc` and
you should see the game unpause and the menu reset to its master list.
Oh, when you have the :kbd:`d` menu up you can actually click on the
map with your mouse and select areas to mine. Some people prefer to
select areas this way.
With the game unpaused you should notice two dwarves race to the cliff face and start digging. With our entrance under way we should also think about laying out some rooms for our dwarves to live in, who wants to spend time out under that hot yellow disk when lovely rock and earth beckon!
With the game unpaused you should notice two dwarves race to the cliff
face and start digging. With our entrance under way we should also
think about laying out some rooms for our dwarves to live in, who wants
to spend time out under that hot yellow disk when lovely rock and earth
beckon!
Right now we’re not worried about making our fortress perfect and creating the strongest entrance, we’re simply trying to scratch out a space to live! To that end we’ll need three or four rooms off this main entrance.
Right now we’re not worried about making our fortress perfect and
creating the strongest entrance, we’re simply trying to scratch out a
space to live! To that end we’ll need three or four rooms off this main
entrance.
See if you can match the layout below by marking out areas to dig, as you’ve learnt. If you make a mistake you can hit :kbd:`x` from the :guilabel:`Designations` (:kbd:`d`) menu and you’ll note that the menu on the right has :guilabel:`Remove Designation` highlighted. Now when you hit enter and select an area, any area set for digging will be cleared of that designation. Anyway, enough detail, on with the room building!
See if you can match the layout below by marking out areas to dig, as
you’ve learnt. If you make a mistake you can hit :kbd:`x` from the
:guilabel:`Designations` (:kbd:`d`) menu and you’ll note that the menu
on the right has :guilabel:`Remove Designation` highlighted. Now when
you hit enter and select an area, any area set for digging will be
cleared of that designation. Anyway, enough detail, on with the room
building!
.. image:: images/01-dig-rooms.png
:align: center
Look at the little dwarves go! Aren’t they industrious! They’re quickly digging away and leaving a lot of dirt floor behind them. Good lads! Lets leave them to their work while we sort out some other important jobs.
Look at the little dwarves go! Aren’t they industrious! They’re quickly
digging away and leaving a lot of dirt floor behind them. Good lads!
Lets leave them to their work while we sort out some other important
jobs.
Chopping trees, setting up piles
================================
Dirt and rocks are handy, but so is wood to make nice dwarven beds, and we’re short on it right now. To get wood, we need to chop down some trees. And we do that by designating an area of trees to be chopped. Lets get cracking and clear the trees in front of the entrance.
Dirt and rocks are handy, but so is wood to make nice dwarven beds, and
we’re short on it right now. To get wood, we need to chop down some
trees. And we do that by designating an area of trees to be chopped.
Lets get cracking and clear the trees in front of the entrance.
Designating trees to chop is like designating rocks to be dug, so lets decimate the local environment!
Designating trees to chop is like designating rocks to be dug, so lets
decimate the local environment!
* Move the map around so you’re looking out front of your fortress.
* Hit :kbd:`d`. Hopefully this time you’ll notice the game has automatically got :guilabel:`Chop Down Trees` selected, if it doesn’t, hit :kbd:`t` and it will be highlighted.
* Move the cursor to the upper left, hit :guilabel:`Enter`, and move the cursor to the bottom right, hit :guilabel:`Enter` again. Any trees in that area will now be set to be cut, as indicated by them all being marked brown.
* Hit :kbd:`d`. Hopefully this time you’ll notice the game has
automatically got :guilabel:`Chop Down Trees` selected, if it doesn’t,
hit :kbd:`t` and it will be highlighted.
* Move the cursor to the upper left, hit :guilabel:`Enter`, and move
the cursor to the bottom right, hit :guilabel:`Enter` again. Any trees
in that area will now be set to be cut, as indicated by them all being
marked brown.
Although you’ve done well neither man nor dwarf can live on wood and dirt alone! Luckily for us there are plenty of bushes out there loaded with ripe berries. Lets set some of them to be picked:
Although you’ve done well neither man nor dwarf can live on wood and
dirt alone! Luckily for us there are plenty of bushes out there loaded
with ripe berries. Lets set some of them to be picked:
* Hit :kbd:`d` again and then :kbd:`p`. One the right :guilabel:`Gather Plants` is now selected.
* Hit :kbd:`d` again and then :kbd:`p`. One the right :guilabel:`Gather
Plants` is now selected.
* Designate about the same area as we did with the wood cutting.
* All the bushes will be highlighted now, and when you unpause you should see a plant harvesting dwarf join the woodcutter.
* All the bushes will be highlighted now, and when you unpause you
should see a plant harvesting dwarf join the woodcutter.
Your view now should look something like this, note the brown 'highlights' and fallen logs:
Your view now should look something like this, note the brown
'highlights' and fallen logs:
.. image:: images/01-plants.png
:align: center
Now lets sit back and watch the dwarves work for a minute! It won’t take long before our miners have cleared out our temporary living quarters and our woodcutter and plant gatherer have begun their work. Once the interior space is clear we have lots of work to do, so lets break it down into useful chunks.
Now lets sit back and watch the dwarves work for a minute! It won’t
take long before our miners have cleared out our temporary living
quarters and our woodcutter and plant gatherer have begun their work.
Once the interior space is clear we have lots of work to do, so lets
break it down into useful chunks.
Our First Farm
==============
Farming is how you will make most of your food in Dwarf Fortress, and it’s important to get farming quite quickly. If food runs out your dwarves will starve and your game will end prematurely, and we don’t want that, right? dwarves usually farm underground and handily, we have a space all prepared. So follow along, and lets get some tasty mushrooms growing for our stumpys to chow down on!
Farming is how you will make most of your food in Dwarf Fortress, and
it’s important to get farming quite quickly. If food runs out your
dwarves will starve and your game will end prematurely, and we don’t
want that, right? dwarves usually farm underground and handily, we have
a space all prepared. So follow along, and lets get some tasty
mushrooms growing for our stumpys to chow down on!
* Find the bottom right room.
* Hit :kbd:`b` for the :guilabel:`Building` menu and then :kbd:`p` for :guilabel:`Farm Plot`.
* Hit :kbd:`b` for the :guilabel:`Building` menu and then :kbd:`p` for
:guilabel:`Farm Plot`.
* Move the cursor to your farm area.
* The screen instructions tell you how you can increase the size, we need a good 6 by 6 plot, so hit :kbd:`u` and :kbd:`k` a few times until you’ve got a big green grid, like the one below.
* Move the grid around with the arrow keys until it’s in about the same position as the one in the screenshot. If you get the size wrong, :kbd:`h` and :kbd:`m` will reduce the plot.
* The screen instructions tell you how you can increase the size, we
need a good 6 by 6 plot, so hit :kbd:`u` and :kbd:`k` a few times until
you’ve got a big green grid, like the one below.
* Move the grid around with the arrow keys until it’s in about the same
position as the one in the screenshot. If you get the size wrong,
:kbd:`h` and :kbd:`m` will reduce the plot.
.. image:: images/01-farm-plot.png
:align: center
* Hit :kbd:`Enter` and the green area marker will change to a flashing brown field marker. When stuff flashes it indicates that dwarves are on their way to come build the construction, in this case, a field. And lookee-here! A farmer has come to build our field for us!
* Hit :kbd:`Enter` and the green area marker will change to a flashing
brown field marker. When stuff flashes it indicates that dwarves are on
their way to come build the construction, in this case, a field. And
lookee-here! A farmer has come to build our field for us!
.. image:: images/01-farm-build.png
:align: center
He will take a short while to build your field. When you see the dwarf run off, you know he’s done. Now it’s time to set the field to grow delicious plump helmets all year round.
He will take a short while to build your field. When you see the dwarf
run off, you know he’s done. Now it’s time to set the field to grow
delicious plump helmets all year round.
* Hit the :kbd:`q` key. This is the key for :guilabel:`Set Building Tasks and Preferences`. Again you’ll notice a cursor on the local screen and if it’s anywhere near the field, the field will be flashing. You can move that cursor around with your arrow keys, this is useful later on when you need to select different workshops and buildings.
* You’ll note that on the right the menu now shows you specific task details associated with that field, like so:
* Hit the :kbd:`q` key. This is the key for :guilabel:`Set Building
Tasks and Preferences`. Again you’ll notice a cursor on the local
screen and if it’s anywhere near the field, the field will be flashing.
You can move that cursor around with your arrow keys, this is useful
later on when you need to select different workshops and buildings.
* You’ll note that on the right the menu now shows you specific task
details associated with that field, like so:
.. image:: images/01-crop-select.png
:align: center
* What we want to do is set :guilabel:`Plump helmets` as the food to be planted every season. You can see on the top right of the menu we have the various plants we could try and grow and in the middle area we have the different seasons. Right now :guilabel:`Dimple cups` are selected (but not highlighted, note) and the season is set on :guilabel:`Spring`, as it’s Spring currently. We need to change these settings.
* Now comes an important skill! Menu scrolling! Using :kbd:`=` (*not* the down-arrow), scroll down through the list to :guilabel:`Plump helmets` and hit enter. You should now see :guilabel:`Plump helmets` highlighted. By the way, :kbd:`-`/:kbd:`=` is the way to scroll in menus; DF usually uses - and +, but having to use the shift key gets annoying.
* Good work! But right now we’ve only set the spring planting. It’s time to set the planting for Summer, Winter and Autumn too. To do this, with the field task menu up, hit :kbd:`b` for Summer and then scroll to :guilabel:`Plump helmets` and hit enter again. Hit :kbd:`c` for Autumn, set :guilabel:`Plump helmets` and then :kbd:`d` for Winter, repeating your selection. You may have noticed that what you can plant changes with the seasons, but don’t worry about that for now.
* Hit :kbd:`Esc` to back out of the menu and resume the game. Your dwarves will quickly begin planting in your new field, well done!
* What we want to do is set :guilabel:`Plump helmets` as the food to be
planted every season. You can see on the top right of the menu we have
the various plants we could try and grow and in the middle area we have
the different seasons. Right now :guilabel:`Dimple cups` are selected
(but not highlighted, note) and the season is set on
:guilabel:`Spring`, as it’s Spring currently. We need to change these
settings.
* Now comes an important skill! Menu scrolling! Using :kbd:`=` (*not*
the down-arrow), scroll down through the list to :guilabel:`Plump
helmets` and hit enter. You should now see :guilabel:`Plump helmets`
highlighted. By the way, :kbd:`-`/:kbd:`=` is the way to scroll in
menus; DF usually uses - and +, but having to use the shift key gets
annoying.
* Good work! But right now we’ve only set the spring planting. It’s
time to set the planting for Summer, Winter and Autumn too. To do this,
with the field task menu up, hit :kbd:`b` for Summer and then scroll to
:guilabel:`Plump helmets` and hit enter again. Hit :kbd:`c` for Autumn,
set :guilabel:`Plump helmets` and then :kbd:`d` for Winter, repeating
your selection. You may have noticed that what you can plant changes
with the seasons, but don’t worry about that for now.
* Hit :kbd:`Esc` to back out of the menu and resume the game. Your
dwarves will quickly begin planting in your new field, well done!
Now we’ve got a field down hopefully none of your dwarves will starve, go crazy and resort to eating rats, or each other. Pretty soon you’ll have a few seeds in the ground and your farm will begin to look a bit like this:
Now we’ve got a field down hopefully none of your dwarves will starve,
go crazy and resort to eating rats, or each other. Pretty soon you’ll
have a few seeds in the ground and your farm will begin to look a bit
like this:
.. image:: images/01-crop-planting.png
:align: center
Oh, by now you may have noticed the announcements along the bottom of the screen. This is generally because the game wants to let you know that something important has happened. You can hit space to let the game resume, or hit :kbd:`a` to see the alert if you miss it at the bottom of the screen). Hitting :kbd:`Esc` will take you back out of the alerts menu and resume the game.
Oh, by now you may have noticed the announcements along the bottom of
the screen. This is generally because the game wants to let you know
that something important has happened. You can hit space to let the
game resume, or hit :kbd:`a` to see the alert if you miss it at the
bottom of the screen). Hitting :kbd:`Esc` will take you back out of the
alerts menu and resume the game.
Stockpiles
==========
While you can just leave all of your dwarves’ stuff strewn around the countryside, it’s much more efficient to have it all inside near where it’s needed. You may have noticed your farmer dwarves running in and out of the fortress to grab the seeds that they need (when they flash between their icon and a little red dot (the seed icon) you know they are carrying seeds).
While you can just leave all of your dwarves’ stuff strewn around the
countryside, it’s much more efficient to have it all inside near where
it’s needed. You may have noticed your farmer dwarves running in and
out of the fortress to grab the seeds that they need (when they flash
between their icon and a little red dot (the seed icon) you know they
are carrying seeds).
This is where stockpiles come in. They make everything more organised. A stockpile for all our food and seeds right next door to the farm would probably be pretty handy, right? We don’t want the dwarves running across the map to get a bite to eat or a seed to plant, so lets make a food stockpile inside!
This is where stockpiles come in. They make everything more organised.
A stockpile for all our food and seeds right next door to the farm
would probably be pretty handy, right? We don’t want the dwarves
running across the map to get a bite to eat or a seed to plant, so lets
make a food stockpile inside!
* Find the room opposite the farm.
* Hit the :kbd:`p` key (for "piles" of course), a cursor will appear.
* Hit :kbd:`f` to select :guilabel:`Food`, we want to make a food stockpile, after all.
* Move the cursor to the bottom right of the room, hit enter, move it to the top center and hit enter again. You have now set that space as a food stockpile, well done!
* Hit :kbd:`w` to make a :guilabel:`Wood` stockpile, and place it on the other side of the room.
* After a few seconds your spare dwarves will start moving food inside, you’ll see barrels and bags being hauled and pretty soon the stockpile will look something like this:
* Hit :kbd:`f` to select :guilabel:`Food`, we want to make a food
stockpile, after all.
* Move the cursor to the bottom right of the room, hit enter, move it
to the top center and hit enter again. You have now set that space as a
food stockpile, well done!
* Hit :kbd:`w` to make a :guilabel:`Wood` stockpile, and place it on
the other side of the room.
* After a few seconds your spare dwarves will start moving food inside,
you’ll see barrels and bags being hauled and pretty soon the stockpile
will look something like this:
.. image:: images/01-first-stockpiles.png
:align: center
You don’t have much room inside the fortress yet, so no more piles for now. In time you’re going to want to put stockpiles everywhere to help manage your production and resource gathering. For now, well done, you’ve got food production up and running, you’ve set up a stockpile, you’ve set wood to be chopped and plants to be gathered and you know how to do some basic digging! You’ve come far!
You don’t have much room inside the fortress yet, so no more piles for
now. In time you’re going to want to put stockpiles everywhere to help
manage your production and resource gathering. For now, well done,
you’ve got food production up and running, you’ve set up a stockpile,
you’ve set wood to be chopped and plants to be gathered and you know
how to do some basic digging! You’ve come far!
Before reading the next instalment, how about setting some more pants to be gathered and more wood to be chopped. Then, head on to Part 2 and we’ll learn all about workshops, bedrooms, dinning rooms and stairs! It will be ever so exciting, I promise!
Before reading the next instalment, how about setting some more pants
to be gathered and more wood to be chopped. Then, head on to Part 2 and
we’ll learn all about workshops, bedrooms, dinning rooms and stairs! It
will be ever so exciting, I promise!

377
chapters/chap02-workshops-digging.rst
View file

@ -2,183 +2,331 @@
No, seriously, WTF?!
####################
Lets continue on with our exciting and fascinating Dwarf Fortress Walkthrough! In this section we’ll work on getting some workshops set up and we’ll dig out a lot more space for our shorties. There’s lots to do, so lets get cracking!
Lets continue on with our exciting and fascinating Dwarf Fortress
Walkthrough! In this section we’ll work on getting some workshops set
up and we’ll dig out a lot more space for our shorties. There’s lots
to do, so lets get cracking!
Building a Workshop
===================
Workshops are a central feature of DF so lets get to grips with them right away. Workshops are places your dwarfs work, usually turning base materials into useful goods. The list of workshops can be a little overwhelming (:kbd:`b` then :kbd:`w`), but don’t worry, we only need to worry about a couple early on.
Workshops are a central feature of DF so lets get to grips with them
right away. Workshops are places your dwarfs work, usually turning base
materials into useful goods. The list of workshops can be a little
overwhelming (:kbd:`b` then :kbd:`w`), but don’t worry, we only need to
worry about a couple early on.
First up we need a carpenter’s workshop, this workshop allows us to turn wood logs into furniture and other items. You should see a lot of wood scattered around in front of the fort, where the wood cutter has left it after felling trees. We have no wood pile for it to be moved to, you see.
First up we need a carpenter’s workshop, this workshop allows us to
turn wood logs into furniture and other items. You should see a lot of
wood scattered around in front of the fort, where the wood cutter has
left it after felling trees. We have no wood pile for it to be moved
to, you see.
Ideally, we’d like to build the carpenter’s workshop inside, but we haven’t dug a nice enough space for the workshop yet, so lets chuck it outside for now:
Ideally, we’d like to build the carpenter’s workshop inside, but we
haven’t dug a nice enough space for the workshop yet, so lets chuck it
outside for now:
* Move the view to the front of the fortress.
* Hit :kbd:`b` for :guilabel:`build`, and then :kbd:`w` for :guilabel:`workshop`. You can also just scroll down to :guilabel:`Workshops` using :kbd:`Alt`-:kbd:`↓` and hit :kbd:`Enter`.
* You will now see a list of workshops. It scrolls off the bottom of the page (scroll around if you like)! Hit :kbd:`c` for :guilabel:`Carpenter’s workshop`.
* The menu will vanish and the placement menu will appear. The green X’s mark out the workshop’s footprint. The dark green Xs are squares that will be impassible once the workshop is built, keep this in mind when building in an enclosed space, you don’t want to block the door!
* Hit :kbd:`b` for :guilabel:`build`, and then :kbd:`w` for
:guilabel:`workshop`. You can also just scroll down to
:guilabel:`Workshops` using :kbd:`Alt`-:kbd:`↓` and hit :kbd:`Enter`.
* You will now see a list of workshops. It scrolls off the bottom of
the page (scroll around if you like)! Hit :kbd:`c` for
:guilabel:`Carpenter’s workshop`.
* The menu will vanish and the placement menu will appear. The green
X’s mark out the workshop’s footprint. The dark green Xs are squares
that will be impassible once the workshop is built, keep this in mind
when building in an enclosed space, you don’t want to block the door!
.. image:: images/dftutorial18.png
:align: center
* Chose a spot in front of the fortress. Somewhere round where mine is marked should do. Once you’re ready to place your workshop hit :kbd:`Enter`.
* The menu on the right will now change to a list of items you could use to build the workshop with. Mostly it will be a list of wood and it will look something like this:
* Chose a spot in front of the fortress. Somewhere round where mine is
marked should do. Once you’re ready to place your workshop hit
:kbd:`Enter`.
* The menu on the right will now change to a list of items you could
use to build the workshop with. Mostly it will be a list of wood and it
will look something like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial19.png
:align: center
* At this point you could just hit enter and the first item on the list will be used to build the workshop. Instead, for fun, hit :kbd:`x` and "expand" the view to show a list of every single item the workshop can be built from. Expanding the item selection is a nice way to chose exactly the item you want to be used. Most of the time you can ignore this option, but it will come in handy later on.
* Close the expanded menu with :kbd:`x` again. For your interest note that items are sorted by distance from the workshop’s current location. Usually you want to build with the closest items to save your dwarfs a slow walk.
* Once you’ve hit enter (selecting the building material) the workshop will be placed in an un-built state on the map. It will look like this:
* At this point you could just hit enter and the first item on the list
will be used to build the workshop. Instead, for fun, hit :kbd:`x` and
"expand" the view to show a list of every single item the workshop can
be built from. Expanding the item selection is a nice way to chose
exactly the item you want to be used. Most of the time you can ignore
this option, but it will come in handy later on.
* Close the expanded menu with :kbd:`x` again. For your interest note
that items are sorted by distance from the workshop’s current location.
Usually you want to build with the closest items to save your dwarfs a
slow walk.
* Once you’ve hit enter (selecting the building material) the workshop
will be placed in an un-built state on the map. It will look like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial20.png
:align: center
Your workshop is now about to be built. You will have to hit space a couple of times to un-pause the game, but as soon as you do I bet you that a helpful wee dwarf will run over and start building it. If you’re quick you can hit :kbd:`q` and see the status of the workshop, it should say :guilabel:`Construction initiated` or something similar.
Your workshop is now about to be built. You will have to hit space a
couple of times to un-pause the game, but as soon as you do I bet you
that a helpful wee dwarf will run over and start building it. If you’re
quick you can hit :kbd:`q` and see the status of the workshop, it
should say :guilabel:`Construction initiated` or something similar.
A few seconds later, the workshop is built!
.. image:: images/dftutorial21.png
:align: center
It doesn’t look like much, but it’s really useful! I promise! So lets get turning some of this lumber into stuff our dwarfs can use. Just don’t tell the Elves, ok? They really hate us chopping down trees. Pointy-eared gits, a magma-steam death is to good for them!
It doesn’t look like much, but it’s really useful! I promise! So lets
get turning some of this lumber into stuff our dwarfs can use. Just
don’t tell the Elves, ok? They really hate us chopping down trees.
Pointy-eared gits, a magma-steam death is to good for them!
Making beds
===========
Dwarfs don’t like sleeping in the dirt, they like nice, comfy beds - and solid gold statues in their bedrooms, but those will come later.
Dwarfs don’t like sleeping in the dirt, they like nice, comfy beds -
and solid gold statues in their bedrooms, but those will come later.
Follow along with me:
* Hit :kbd:`q` and move the cursor over the carpentry workshop.
* The menu on the right now shows you the actions you can take, specifically, we’re interested in :kbd:`a` :guilabel:`Add new task`.
* The menu on the right now shows you the actions you can take,
specifically, we’re interested in :kbd:`a` :guilabel:`Add new task`.
* Hit :kbd:`a` (duh)!
* Note the right menu is now a large list of stuff we can make. We’re after beds.
* Note the right menu is now a large list of stuff we can make. We’re
after beds.
* You can scroll down to beds using :kbd:`↓`, or simply hit :kbd:`b`.
* The menu now changes back to the :kbd:`q` list and you’ll see :guilabel:`Construct bed` listed. But we want more than one bed!
* Hit :kbd:`a` again, and then :kbd:`b`. Repeat until we’ve got five beds up there. We don’t need a bed for every dwarf just yet, luckily for us they seem happy to sleep in shifts.
* The menu now changes back to the :kbd:`q` list and you’ll see
:guilabel:`Construct bed` listed. But we want more than one bed!
* Hit :kbd:`a` again, and then :kbd:`b`. Repeat until we’ve got five
beds up there. We don’t need a bed for every dwarf just yet, luckily
for us they seem happy to sleep in shifts.
Your carpentry workshop menu should now look like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial22.png
:align: center
If your workshop menu looks like this, well done! Five beds are queued up and hitting space a couple of times will un-pause the game and set a dwarf working, building your beds. You may have noted that there are a lot of other workshop options available to us now we have items on the build list. We can :kbd:`s` suspend any construction, set any item to be :kbd:`r`, repeat built, or we can hit :kbd:`c` and cancel the construction of the current listed item. We can also fiddle with the workshop profile by using :kbd:`P`, or have the entire workshop removed using :kbd:`x`. For now, lets just watch the beds get built!
If your workshop menu looks like this, well done! Five beds are queued
up and hitting space a couple of times will un-pause the game and set a
dwarf working, building your beds. You may have noted that there are a
lot of other workshop options available to us now we have items on the
build list. We can :kbd:`s` suspend any construction, set any item to
be :kbd:`r`, repeat built, or we can hit :kbd:`c` and cancel the
construction of the current listed item. We can also fiddle with the
workshop profile by using :kbd:`P`, or have the entire workshop removed
using :kbd:`x`. For now, lets just watch the beds get built!
Note, you won’t see the beds being put anywhere. Want to know why? The answer is simple, and if you’re extra-special clever you may have already worked it out: We have no furniture stockpile! Lets fix that:
Note, you won’t see the beds being put anywhere. Want to know why? The
answer is simple, and if you’re extra-special clever you may have
already worked it out: We have no furniture stockpile! Lets fix that:
* Hit :kbd:`p` from the main menu.
* hit :kbd:`u` for :guilabel:`Furniture stockpile`.
* Move the X near the workshop, hit enter, and designate a pile about 5 tiles by 5 tiles.
* Move the X near the workshop, hit enter, and designate a pile about 5
tiles by 5 tiles.
Here’s my pile after a few seconds of the game resumed:
.. image:: images/dftutorial23.png
:align: center
You’ll note the dwarfs have moved the constructed beds to the pile as well as some spare barrels, our anvil and a bag. As stated above, we don’t usually like to leave our stuff lying around outside, even in tidy piles, but as a temporary solution it helps keep things organised and gets the furniture moved from the workshop. If items aren’t pulled out from under the carpenter’s feet then eventually the workshop will get cluttered (marked with :guilabel:`[CLT]` when you :kbd:`q` over the workshop) and a cluttered workshop works slower.
You’ll note the dwarfs have moved the constructed beds to the pile as
well as some spare barrels, our anvil and a bag. As stated above, we
don’t usually like to leave our stuff lying around outside, even in
tidy piles, but as a temporary solution it helps keep things organised
and gets the furniture moved from the workshop. If items aren’t pulled
out from under the carpenter’s feet then eventually the workshop will
get cluttered (marked with :guilabel:`[CLT]` when you :kbd:`q` over the
workshop) and a cluttered workshop works slower.
Later on we can remove piles by using :kbd:`p` and then :kbd:`x` and selecting the whole area of the stockpile. What’s better is that helpful dwarfs will grab those items and move them to another suitable pile. But enough of that, lets get on with building our fortress!
Later on we can remove piles by using :kbd:`p` and then :kbd:`x` and
selecting the whole area of the stockpile. What’s better is that
helpful dwarfs will grab those items and move them to another suitable
pile. But enough of that, lets get on with building our fortress!
Digging down, down, down!
=========================
What kind of Dwarfs would we be if we only scratched around on the top of this mound like dirty hobbits? We want to dig down, down, down! The easiest way of doing this is to build some stairs. Well, to be precise, we’re going to designate some stairs using the :kbd:`d` menu. We are going to designate some un-dug space to be stairs and then see what’s going on a few feet down. So follow along, and lets get expanding!
What kind of Dwarfs would we be if we only scratched around on the top
of this mound like dirty hobbits? We want to dig down, down, down! The
easiest way of doing this is to build some stairs. Well, to be precise,
we’re going to designate some stairs using the :kbd:`d` menu. We are
going to designate some un-dug space to be stairs and then see what’s
going on a few feet down. So follow along, and lets get expanding!
* Move the map to the bottom end of our corridor.
* Hit :kbd:`d` and then :kbd:`j` for :guilabel:`downward stairway`.
* Move the X into the black and hit enter, move the cursor down one, and hit enter again.
* Move the X into the black and hit enter, move the cursor down one,
and hit enter again.
You should see two downwards stairs marked, like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial24.png
:align: center
But what’s this? We have a problem! How will our miners get there to dig out our stairs? Best we designate an area around those stairs to be dug using :kbd:`d` and :kbd:`d` (:guilabel:`Mine`). Here’s how I set it up:
But what’s this? We have a problem! How will our miners get there to
dig out our stairs? Best we designate an area around those stairs to be
dug using :kbd:`d` and :kbd:`d` (:guilabel:`Mine`). Here’s how I set it
up:
.. image:: images/dftutorial25.png
:align: center
You may be wondering why I have set two stairs down. The reason is that dwarfs need space to move past each other. If the corridor, or stairs, are only 1 wide, then they have to pause to let each other pass. This slows movement around your fortress down terribly once you have dozens of dwarfs running around. Two stairs down should be enough for now.
You may be wondering why I have set two stairs down. The reason is that
dwarfs need space to move past each other. If the corridor, or stairs,
are only 1 wide, then they have to pause to let each other pass. This
slows movement around your fortress down terribly once you have dozens
of dwarfs running around. Two stairs down should be enough for now.
Hit space until the game is running and let that area get built. It should look something like this when it’s done:
Hit space until the game is running and let that area get built. It
should look something like this when it’s done:
.. image:: images/dftutorial26.png
:align: center
Super! A hallway and two downward staircases! At this point you may be feeling pretty chuffed with yourself. But if you go down a level (:kbd:`>`, you’ll recall) you’ll not see any stairs going up, or much of anything, just these tan blobs:
Super! A hallway and two downward staircases! At this point you may be
feeling pretty chuffed with yourself. But if you go down a level
(:kbd:`>`, you’ll recall) you’ll not see any stairs going up, or much
of anything, just these tan blobs:
.. image:: images/dftutorial27.png
:align: center
Where are our stairs going up? Where are our vast stores of mineral wealth? Well, this is where stairs get crazy-strange. Let me explain…
Where are our stairs going up? Where are our vast stores of mineral
wealth? Well, this is where stairs get crazy-strange. Let me explain…
To dwarves a down stair is just an exploratory stair dug down to see what’s on the level below. It’s like knocking a hole in the floor so you can look down on your neighbours in the flat below, hoping perhaps to work out what the weird noises are.
To dwarves a down stair is just an exploratory stair dug down to see
what’s on the level below. It’s like knocking a hole in the floor so
you can look down on your neighbours in the flat below, hoping perhaps
to work out what the weird noises are.
To actually go down to the level below, you need to build stairs going up from the level you’re digging to. Or in our case, we want to build an :guilabel:`Up/Down Stairway` as we are looking to dig down a long, long way. An Up/Down stairway pokes the proverbial holes in both directions. It links up with a stairway above (if there’s one there) and tries to link up with a stairway below (if there’s one there). If there’s no stairway to link up with it will provide access to those other levels so you can build the needed stairs. To build one, do this:
To actually go down to the level below, you need to build stairs going
up from the level you’re digging to. Or in our case, we want to build
an :guilabel:`Up/Down Stairway` as we are looking to dig down a long,
long way. An Up/Down stairway pokes the proverbial holes in both
directions. It links up with a stairway above (if there’s one there)
and tries to link up with a stairway below (if there’s one there). If
there’s no stairway to link up with it will provide access to those
other levels so you can build the needed stairs. To build one, do this:
* Go down one level from our main area.
* At this level, below our down stairs, hit :kbd:`d` and then :kbd:`i` for :guilabel:`Up/Down Stairway`.
* Move the X over the two tan blocks. Hit enter, move down one, hit enter again.
* At this level, below our down stairs, hit :kbd:`d` and then :kbd:`i`
for :guilabel:`Up/Down Stairway`.
* Move the X over the two tan blocks. Hit enter, move down one, hit
enter again.
* Two brown X’s now show that your up-down stairway has been designated.
* If you mess it up, :kbd:`d` and then :kbd:`x` can un-designate the space for you.
* Resume the game and the up/down stairs will be dug. Once dug, they will look like this:
* If you mess it up, :kbd:`d` and then :kbd:`x` can un-designate the
space for you.
* Resume the game and the up/down stairs will be dug. Once dug, they
will look like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial28.png
:align: center
Lovely! Two perfect up-down stairs. But we’re not done yet. **Go down a level and build two more up-down stairs.** Once you’ve done this, drop a level again and designate two upward stairways using :kbd:`d` and :kbd:`u`. You should end up seeing something like this once they are built. This is on level 142 141 (see top right for current level), or three levels down. If you don’t see stone, you’re on the wrong level!
Lovely! Two perfect up-down stairs. But we’re not done yet. **Go down a
level and build two more up-down stairs.** Once you’ve done this, drop
a level again and designate two upward stairways using :kbd:`d` and
:kbd:`u`. You should end up seeing something like this once they are
built. This is on level 142 141 (see top right for current level), or
three levels down. If you don’t see stone, you’re on the wrong level!
.. image:: images/dftutorial29.png
:align: center
Rock! We’ve got some rock around us! This is the sort of place a good dwarf loves! How about we dig out some of this space? I suggest a long corridor running north some twenty squares, and we’ll make it three squares wide. Midway down this corridor we will have some stairs going down and some 15×15 size rooms on each side. Just a simple layout for now, but it will be enough for our needs for now. See if you can match mine.
Rock! We’ve got some rock around us! This is the sort of place a good
dwarf loves! How about we dig out some of this space? I suggest a long
corridor running north some twenty squares, and we’ll make it three
squares wide. Midway down this corridor we will have some stairs going
down and some 15×15 size rooms on each side. Just a simple layout for
now, but it will be enough for our needs for now. See if you can match
mine.
.. image:: images/dftutorial30.png
:align: center
Now let your boys dig! Dig boys, dig! And make sure all your areas set to be dug connect back to your stairs!
Now let your boys dig! Dig boys, dig! And make sure all your areas set
to be dug connect back to your stairs!
Along the way you may get various messages about striking various ores. That’s good news! Metal is very handy, as you can imagine. But we’ll worry about metal later.
Along the way you may get various messages about striking various ores.
That’s good news! Metal is very handy, as you can imagine. But we’ll
worry about metal later.
What’s that on the ground?
==========================
While they’re busy digging, why not have a look at what is scattered all over the ground. To do that, from the main menu, hit :kbd:`k` for :guilabel:`Look Around`. An X will appear and you can direct it using the arrow keys. As you move it around you’ll see what’s under the arrow. Check my example:
While they’re busy digging, why not have a look at what is scattered
all over the ground. To do that, from the main menu, hit :kbd:`k` for
:guilabel:`Look Around`. An X will appear and you can direct it using
the arrow keys. As you move it around you’ll see what’s under the
arrow. Check my example:
.. image:: images/dftutorial31.png
:align: center
As you can see, underneath my X is a dwarf, some limestone, and a limestone cavern floor. I can use the alternate scroll :kbd:`↓` to move through those three items, and hitting enter will display me some info about each. Ok, except for the floor. I mean, what do you want to know? It’s a floor!
As you can see, underneath my X is a dwarf, some limestone, and a
limestone cavern floor. I can use the alternate scroll :kbd:`↓` to move
through those three items, and hitting enter will display me some info
about each. Ok, except for the floor. I mean, what do you want to know?
It’s a floor!
:guilabel:`Look around` is a very handy way to see what is in a square. Sometimes items get stacked a few deep and you’re not sure what is what, :kbd:`k` will show you. Also, it is very handy way to find out what the walls and ground are made of. For example, without irrigation you won’t be able to build a farm plot inside on anything but soil, sand, silt, clay or loam. :guilabel:`Look around` will show you what the ground is made of.
:guilabel:`Look around` is a very handy way to see what is in a square.
Sometimes items get stacked a few deep and you’re not sure what is
what, :kbd:`k` will show you. Also, it is very handy way to find out
what the walls and ground are made of. For example, without irrigation
you won’t be able to build a farm plot inside on anything but soil,
sand, silt, clay or loam. :guilabel:`Look around` will show you what
the ground is made of.
Toy with :kbd:`k` for a while, see if you can find the bauxite. We’re lucky, bauxite is a very handy material to make magma-proof mechanisms and floodgates out of. Lets leave the dwarfs digging, we’ve got a very important job to do…
Toy with :kbd:`k` for a while, see if you can find the bauxite. We’re
lucky, bauxite is a very handy material to make magma-proof mechanisms
and floodgates out of. Lets leave the dwarfs digging, we’ve got a very
important job to do…
Chucking out the trash!
=======================
By now, believe it or not, some rubbish may be building up in your fortress. I’ve taken a shot of some rubbish near our food pile. Have a look:
By now, believe it or not, some rubbish may be building up in your
fortress. I’ve taken a shot of some rubbish near our food pile. Have a
look:
.. image:: images/dftutorial32.png
:align: center
Using :kbd:`k` I can have a closer look and see exactly what this trash is:
Using :kbd:`k` I can have a closer look and see exactly what this trash
is:
.. image:: images/dftutorial33.png
:align: center
Yuck! This is the remains of some food turtles we brought with us on our journey. We can’t have this left lying around our tidy fortress, can we? Well, we could, but the end result would be a stinking cloud of purple miasma. Miasma makes our dwarfs unhappy. While they may never shower and probably reek to high-heaven, they really don’t like the smell of rotting leftovers. Go figure.
Yuck! This is the remains of some food turtles we brought with us on
our journey. We can’t have this left lying around our tidy fortress,
can we? Well, we could, but the end result would be a stinking cloud of
purple miasma. Miasma makes our dwarfs unhappy. While they may never
shower and probably reek to high-heaven, they really don’t like the
smell of rotting leftovers. Go figure.
So how do we get rid of the refuse? Easy! We build a :kbd:`p` :guilabel:`stockpile` for :kbd:`r` :guilabel:`refuse`. But note, we need to build this pile outside or we’ll get miasma build-up. Outside, the wind blows the stink away.
So how do we get rid of the refuse? Easy! We build a :kbd:`p`
:guilabel:`stockpile` for :kbd:`r` :guilabel:`refuse`. But note, we
need to build this pile outside or we’ll get miasma build-up. Outside,
the wind blows the stink away.
See if you can set up a refuse pile on your own like mine. It’s just like making any other pile, except we set :kbd:`r` for refuse as we plot it.
See if you can set up a refuse pile on your own like mine. It’s just
like making any other pile, except we set :kbd:`r` for refuse as we
plot it.
.. image:: images/dftutorial34.png
:align: center
Look, one of my adorable wee dwarfs is moving rubbish there as we speak! Phew, miasma criss averted!
Look, one of my adorable wee dwarfs is moving rubbish there as we
speak! Phew, miasma criss averted!
But we still have one really, really important job to do…
Making booze!
=============
Booze is the lifeblood of dwarven society. Literally so. Dwarfs, unless injured, will prefer to drink booze over water 100% of the time. If there is no booze, they will drink water, but that often involves dangerous trips to the nearest river, where deadly carp may end your dwarf’s life prematurely. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE FISH!
Booze is the lifeblood of dwarven society. Literally so. Dwarfs, unless
injured, will prefer to drink booze over water 100% of the time. If
there is no booze, they will drink water, but that often involves
dangerous trips to the nearest river, where deadly carp may end your
dwarf’s life prematurely. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE FISH!
Dwarfs without booze also work slower. Like me.
@ -188,13 +336,17 @@ Follow along, dear reader:
* Hit :kbd:`b` for :guilabel:`Build`.
* Hit :kbd:`w` for :guilabel:`Workshops`.
* Hit :kbd:`l` for :guilabel:`Still`, or scroll through and find the still yourself, and hit enter.
* Hit :kbd:`l` for :guilabel:`Still`, or scroll through and find the
still yourself, and hit enter.
* Place the still in the room next to the food stockpile, like this.
.. image:: images/dftutorial35.png
:align: center
Placing it near food makes sense, as it will turn food items into booze. The less walking for our brewer, the better. Once you’ve placed it and selected the materials (any will do), your still should be quickly built and look something like this:
Placing it near food makes sense, as it will turn food items into
booze. The less walking for our brewer, the better. Once you’ve placed
it and selected the materials (any will do), your still should be
quickly built and look something like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial36.png
:align: center
@ -206,7 +358,9 @@ Now to make it start churning out the brewskies!
* Hit :kbd:`b` for :guilabel:`Brew a Drink`
* Hit :kbd:`a` and :kbd:`b` another 7 or so times.
Yay! You have now queued up a lot of beer to be made. But you’re going to need to do something else to keep the booze flowing; you’re going to need to make barrels.
Yay! You have now queued up a lot of beer to be made. But you’re going
to need to do something else to keep the booze flowing; you’re going to
need to make barrels.
* Head to the carpenter.
* Hit :kbd:`q`.
@ -214,21 +368,41 @@ Yay! You have now queued up a lot of beer to be made. But you’re going to need
* Scroll down to :guilabel:`Make wooden Barrel`, or just hit :kbd:`v`.
* Fill the queue with barrels.
That should see your dwarfs produce enough booze to keep them going for a while. Repeat that process a few times or put :guilabel:`Brew Drink` and :guilabel:`Make Barrels` on repeat for five minutes. End result, happy drunk dwarfs! An important thing to note at this point is that brewing alcohol uses plants, but doesn’t destroy the seeds. Cooking does destroy the seeds of any plant cooked, which can seriously compromise your ability to grow more food! So for now, lets just stick to making some extra booze. We should be ok for food for a while yet with our farm running.
That should see your dwarfs produce enough booze to keep them going for
a while. Repeat that process a few times or put :guilabel:`Brew Drink`
and :guilabel:`Make Barrels` on repeat for five minutes. End result,
happy drunk dwarfs! An important thing to note at this point is that
brewing alcohol uses plants, but doesn’t destroy the seeds. Cooking
does destroy the seeds of any plant cooked, which can seriously
compromise your ability to grow more food! So for now, lets just stick
to making some extra booze. We should be ok for food for a while yet
with our farm running.
Time to head back down stairs to see how our miners are going. Let them dig at least one room out before continuing with the next step. Hopefully they’re not sleeping on the job (The big :guilabel:`Z` flashing on them)!
Time to head back down stairs to see how our miners are going. Let them
dig at least one room out before continuing with the next step.
Hopefully they’re not sleeping on the job (The big :guilabel:`Z`
flashing on them)!
The World of Doors!
===================
We need doors. Lots of doors. We need beds, doors, chairs, tables. We need lots of them. If you’re starting to feel like an Ikea salesman, don’t worry, when you see a bed menacing with spikes of cat leather, engraved with an image of a dwarf striking down a goblin with other dwarfs laughing, then you’ll know you’re no longer in Sweden. So how are we going to get all of this wonderful furniture?
We need doors. Lots of doors. We need beds, doors, chairs, tables. We
need lots of them. If you’re starting to feel like an Ikea salesman,
don’t worry, when you see a bed menacing with spikes of cat leather,
engraved with an image of a dwarf striking down a goblin with other
dwarfs laughing, then you’ll know you’re no longer in Sweden. So how
are we going to get all of this wonderful furniture?
Well, we could build some doors and assorted other stuff in our carpenters’ workshop. But that would use valuable wood. Much better would be to use all that stone you can see strewn about. So how do we do that? I’m glad you asked! We build a masons workshop. Here’s how:
Well, we could build some doors and assorted other stuff in our
carpenters’ workshop. But that would use valuable wood. Much better
would be to use all that stone you can see strewn about. So how do we
do that? I’m glad you asked! We build a masons workshop. Here’s how:
* Hit :kbd:`b` for :guilabel:`Build`.
* :kbd:`w` for :guilabel:`Workshops`.
* :kbd:`m` for :guilabel:`Mason’s Workshop`.
Chose an area near our main stairs up, in one of our new rooms. You can check the shot below to see where I’m going to place mine.
Chose an area near our main stairs up, in one of our new rooms. You can
check the shot below to see where I’m going to place mine.
.. image:: images/dftutorial37.png
:align: center
@ -238,74 +412,117 @@ Chose an area near our main stairs up, in one of our new rooms. You can check th
Once it’s up it’s time to get it producing some useful items:
* :kbd:`q` over the Mason’s Workshop.
* :kbd:`a` for :guilabel:`add task`, then :kbd:`d` for door. Do this four times.
* :kbd:`a` for :guilabel:`add task`, then :kbd:`d` for door. Do this
four times.
* :kbd:`a` for add task, then :kbd:`t` for table, do this twice.
* :kbd:`a` for add task, then :kbd:`c` for chair, do this twice.
Wee! Look at all that lovely furniture queued up! Soon our mason will turn up and start cutting blocks of stone into something more useful. Unfortunately, someone is going to end up trying to haul all that furniture up stairs to the furniture stockpile, and we can’t have that, so lets make a big stockpile in the middle of this room.
Wee! Look at all that lovely furniture queued up! Soon our mason will
turn up and start cutting blocks of stone into something more useful.
Unfortunately, someone is going to end up trying to haul all that
furniture up stairs to the furniture stockpile, and we can’t have that,
so lets make a big stockpile in the middle of this room.
While you’re at it, why not remove the furniture stockpile upstairs and get all of that stuff out of the rain. Go up to the pile, hit :kbd:`p` for pile, then :kbd:`x` and then hit enter at one corner of the outdoors furniture stockpile, and then move the cursor to the other end and hit enter again. Here’s my downstairs stockpile, complete with some just-moved furniture and some doors!
While you’re at it, why not remove the furniture stockpile upstairs and
get all of that stuff out of the rain. Go up to the pile, hit :kbd:`p`
for pile, then :kbd:`x` and then hit enter at one corner of the
outdoors furniture stockpile, and then move the cursor to the other end
and hit enter again. Here’s my downstairs stockpile, complete with some
just-moved furniture and some doors!
.. image:: images/dftutorial38.png
:align: center
Now it’s time to get those doors and beds into use, and when the tables and chairs are built, we’ll use those too!
Now it’s time to get those doors and beds into use, and when the tables
and chairs are built, we’ll use those too!
Home Sweet Home
===============
You may have noticed that our dwarfs have been sleeping on the ground when they get tired. This is really not much fun for them and we’d like to give them a place to stay. With some beds built, lets set up a big bedroom on the top floor so our dwarfs can get some shuteye.
You may have noticed that our dwarfs have been sleeping on the ground
when they get tired. This is really not much fun for them and we’d like
to give them a place to stay. With some beds built, lets set up a big
bedroom on the top floor so our dwarfs can get some shuteye.
* Head to the top floor, we’re going to build in the spare room.
* Hit :kbd:`b` and then :kbd:`b` again (for :guilabel:`bed`).
* Move the cursor and place a bed in the corner (hit enter, select a bed and hit enter again).
* Move the cursor and place a bed in the corner (hit enter, select a
bed and hit enter again).
* Spread the five bed around the room.
* Hit :kbd:`Space` until we’re back at the main menu.
* Hit :kbd:`b` again, and :kbd:`d` for :guilabel:`door`.
* Place doors at each of the room entrances.
Here’s my room layout. The shadowy beds and door show that the beds and doors aren’t placed yet. The green :guilabel:`X` shows me about to place the next door.
Here’s my room layout. The shadowy beds and door show that the beds and
doors aren’t placed yet. The green :guilabel:`X` shows me about to
place the next door.
.. image:: images/dftutorial39.png
:align: center
Pretty soon the room will be laid out and we’ll be ready to use it to house our little workers. Here’s mine finished, doesn’t it look pretty?
Pretty soon the room will be laid out and we’ll be ready to use it to
house our little workers. Here’s mine finished, doesn’t it look pretty?
.. image:: images/dftutorial40.png
:align: center
But the dwarfs won’t use it as a bedroom yet. We have to specify what the room is to be used for first. To do this:
But the dwarfs won’t use it as a bedroom yet. We have to specify what
the room is to be used for first. To do this:
* Hit :kbd:`q`.
* Move the cursor near one of the beds. It will start flashing.
* On the right, you’ll see the option :kbd:`r` :guilabel:`Make Bedroom`.
* Hit :kbd:`r`.
* You will now see a flashing blue square. Here’s mine, as selected from the bottom-left bed.
* You will now see a flashing blue square. Here’s mine, as selected
from the bottom-left bed.
.. image:: images/dftutorial41.png
:align: center
We could hit enter now and set the room at this size, but that would leave two beds out. So we need to make the room size bigger. With the blue square flashing…
We could hit enter now and set the room at this size, but that would
leave two beds out. So we need to make the room size bigger. With the
blue square flashing…
* Hit :kbd:`Alt`-:kbd:`↓` and this will make the blue square bigger until it fills the whole room.
* Hit :kbd:`Alt`-:kbd:`↓` and this will make the blue square bigger
until it fills the whole room.
You will note that the room won't "leak" beyond the boundaries of the walls and doors. This is why we need doors, to prevent leaky rooms! Makes sense? Right? Ok… moving on…
You will note that the room won't "leak" beyond the boundaries of the
walls and doors. This is why we need doors, to prevent leaky rooms!
Makes sense? Right? Ok… moving on…
* Hit enter with the room set at max size, a new menu will appear on the right.
* Hit enter with the room set at max size, a new menu will appear on
the right.
This menu gives you options for the room. It will always appear when you :kbd:`q` over the item you set a room’s use from. Note, you don’t have to set every bed in the room as a bedroom (although the game will let you do that). DF is smart enough to know that the room is a bedroom, and all the beds in the room should be used.
This menu gives you options for the room. It will always appear when
you :kbd:`q` over the item you set a room’s use from. Note, you don’t
have to set every bed in the room as a bedroom (although the game will
let you do that). DF is smart enough to know that the room is a
bedroom, and all the beds in the room should be used.
On the new menu you want to:
* Hit :kbd:`b` for :guilabel:`Barracks`, this will turn the :guilabel:`(N)` to a :guilabel:`(Y)`.
* Hit :kbd:`b` for :guilabel:`Barracks`, this will turn the
:guilabel:`(N)` to a :guilabel:`(Y)`.
With the room set as a barracks any dwarf without their own room will use the beds in the barracks to sleep in. When you have a military, the barracks is also where dwarfs will spar and sleep when off duty.
With the room set as a barracks any dwarf without their own room will
use the beds in the barracks to sleep in. When you have a military, the
barracks is also where dwarfs will spar and sleep when off duty.
Well done! We have a bedroom for our shorties to sleep in! But what’s this, something weird has happened…
Well done! We have a bedroom for our shorties to sleep in! But what’s
this, something weird has happened…
.. image:: images/dftutorial42.png
:align: center
…a monkey ran into our fortress, probably planning to steal something, when it came face to face with our woodcutter (the sandy-coloured dwarf). End result, chop-chop, a dead monkey! The red :guilabel:`M` is the dead monkey, the other red stuff is the monkey’s blood splattered everywhere. Don’t worry though, your dwarfs will soon drag the body outside and throw it on the refuse pile. This may not happen in your game, but it’s good to know what a fight looks like when it does.
…a monkey ran into our fortress, probably planning to steal something,
when it came face to face with our woodcutter (the sandy-coloured
dwarf). End result, chop-chop, a dead monkey! The red :guilabel:`M` is
the dead monkey, the other red stuff is the monkey’s blood splattered
everywhere. Don’t worry though, your dwarfs will soon drag the body
outside and throw it on the refuse pile. This may not happen in your
game, but it’s good to know what a fight looks like when it does.
That’s all for now! In the next tutorial we’ll build a fine dining room, set up some more workshops, and start to build some proper living quarters for our dwarfs. We might also build some fearsome traps! I can’t wait!
That’s all for now! In the next tutorial we’ll build a fine dining
room, set up some more workshops, and start to build some proper living
quarters for our dwarfs. We might also build some fearsome traps! I
can’t wait!

174
chapters/chap03-recap-home.rst
View file

@ -2,50 +2,92 @@
Dwarf whatnow?
##############
In this tutorial we’ll set up some more living space for our dwarfs as well as more workshops and stockpiles. This will just be a short one as I’m going to give you some tasks to do on your own at the end. Are you up to the challenge?! Lets do it!
In this tutorial we’ll set up some more living space for our dwarfs as
well as more workshops and stockpiles. This will just be a short one as
I’m going to give you some tasks to do on your own at the end. Are you
up to the challenge?! Lets do it!
Recap time
==========
We’ve covered quite a lot so far, and if you’ve played through, and you’re still reading, you’re well on your way to being a master of Dwarf Fortress. Lets look at what we’ve learned:
We’ve covered quite a lot so far, and if you’ve played through, and
you’re still reading, you’re well on your way to being a master of
Dwarf Fortress. Lets look at what we’ve learned:
* How to look around and work out what you’re looking at.
* How to dig out space and how to dig stairs.
* How to set up rooms and workshops.
* How to get some basic resource production and gathering going.
One thing we haven’t covered is saving your game! Perhaps an oversight?! Simply hit “escape” and then select “Save Game”. But don’t do it now! “Save Game” assumes you want to exit and it will take you back to the main menu. Don’t, for the love of [insert deity here] choose “Abandon the Fortress”, it kills it!
One thing we haven’t covered is saving your game! Perhaps an
oversight?! Simply hit “escape” and then select “Save Game”. But don’t
do it now! “Save Game” assumes you want to exit and it will take you
back to the main menu. Don’t, for the love of [insert deity here]
choose “Abandon the Fortress”, it kills it!
One thing I should note about saves is that, for me, it never, ever seems to put the save in any logically named folder. When you come back to DF and hit “Continue Game” choosing the last save in the list won’t necessarily result in your most recent game starting. Instead, you may have to look in your DF \data\save folder and see which folder has the most recently modified files. Then you might, as I do, rename the older folders.
One thing I should note about saves is that, for me, it never, ever
seems to put the save in any logically named folder. When you come back
to DF and hit “Continue Game” choosing the last save in the list won’t
necessarily result in your most recent game starting. Instead, you may
have to look in your DF \data\save folder and see which folder has the
most recently modified files. Then you might, as I do, rename the older
folders.
Worse, if you chose the wrong save you can’t seem to easily exit DF. You can save, and then exit, or hit “Abandon the Fortress” from the menu. Clearly neither are ideal so I usually use task manager to kill dwarfort.exe.
Worse, if you chose the wrong save you can’t seem to easily exit DF.
You can save, and then exit, or hit “Abandon the Fortress” from the
menu. Clearly neither are ideal so I usually use task manager to kill
dwarfort.exe.
I know, it’s really bloody annoying and I don’t know how to fix the save issue. Man up and deal with it!
I know, it’s really bloody annoying and I don’t know how to fix the
save issue. Man up and deal with it!
Good luck! And lets continue…
Making our Hole our Home
========================
Lets look at making this place a little more comfortable for our dwarfs. First up, they really need a nice place to eat. Just picking at food on the floor isn’t much fun, dwarfs want a beautiful hall in which they can quaff beer and eat cat biscuits (yes, you can make biscuits out of cats. Ugggh). Lets help them set one up.
Lets look at making this place a little more comfortable for our
dwarfs. First up, they really need a nice place to eat. Just picking at
food on the floor isn’t much fun, dwarfs want a beautiful hall in which
they can quaff beer and eat cat biscuits (yes, you can make biscuits
out of cats. Ugggh). Lets help them set one up.
For now we’re going to set it up near our newly-dug space. I’m also going to make a bunch of 2 by 2 rooms, which will serve as permanent bedrooms for our dwarfs. There's no such thing as a perfect design, so lets just get the function right and worry about the perfect layout in your next fortress.
For now we’re going to set it up near our newly-dug space. I’m also
going to make a bunch of 2 by 2 rooms, which will serve as permanent
bedrooms for our dwarfs. There's no such thing as a perfect design, so
lets just get the function right and worry about the perfect layout in
your next fortress.
This is how I set things up:
.. image:: images/dftutorial43.png
:align: center
While it’s being dug, go add a bunch of beds to the carpenter’s shop, as well as doors and tables and chairs at the masons. Report back in when the rooms are dug and you’ve got a bunch of furniture and another couple of tables and chairs.
While it’s being dug, go add a bunch of beds to the carpenter’s shop,
as well as doors and tables and chairs at the masons. Report back in
when the rooms are dug and you’ve got a bunch of furniture and another
couple of tables and chairs.
…Ok, are you done? Good!
Now you need to go and place a bed in each room, a door on each doorway, and tables and chairs in the dining room-t0-be. You should know how to do all of this using “b” “Build” and “d” for “door”, “t” for “table” and “c” for “chair”. If you forget the shortcuts just look at the “b”, “build” menu and scroll through it using the usual method.
Now you need to go and place a bed in each room, a door on each
doorway, and tables and chairs in the dining room-t0-be. You should
know how to do all of this using “b” “Build” and “d” for “door”, “t”
for “table” and “c” for “chair”. If you forget the shortcuts just look
at the “b”, “build” menu and scroll through it using the usual method.
Here are my rooms partly completed. If you look closely you can see a slacker dwarf having a nap.
Here are my rooms partly completed. If you look closely you can see a
slacker dwarf having a nap.
.. image:: images/dftutorial44.png
:align: center
Can spot my chairs, tables, beds and doors? Pretty aren’t they!? You may have noticed that bits of your local map are flashing. Don’t worry, this just indicates that objects are sharing the same space with other objects, but yes, all that stone does make things look messy. If you have a tidy-fetish, GIVE IT UP NOW! Dwarf Fortress forts often look messy with stone and junk strewn everywhere. You can, however, do a few things to fix that, but we’ll worry about that some other time. Meanwhile, we need to make ourselves a dinning room!
Can spot my chairs, tables, beds and doors? Pretty aren’t they!? You
may have noticed that bits of your local map are flashing. Don’t worry,
this just indicates that objects are sharing the same space with other
objects, but yes, all that stone does make things look messy. If you
have a tidy-fetish, GIVE IT UP NOW! Dwarf Fortress forts often look
messy with stone and junk strewn everywhere. You can, however, do a few
things to fix that, but we’ll worry about that some other time.
Meanwhile, we need to make ourselves a dinning room!
What’s that? Oh bugger!
=======================
@ -54,65 +96,129 @@ Just got a message which reminded me that I’ve forgotten to do something…
.. image:: images/dftutorial45.png
:align: center
Damn! A trade caravan arrived but couldn’t make it to our fortress because, 1: it is inaccessible, 2: we don’t have a trade depot. This may have happened to you already, if so, don’t worry about it much, we’ll get that problem fixed soon. Trade caravans come by fairly regularly and represent other civilisations wanting to trade their valuables for yours. They are important, and handy, but we’ll discuss them later some time.
Damn! A trade caravan arrived but couldn’t make it to our fortress
because, 1: it is inaccessible, 2: we don’t have a trade depot. This
may have happened to you already, if so, don’t worry about it much,
we’ll get that problem fixed soon. Trade caravans come by fairly
regularly and represent other civilisations wanting to trade their
valuables for yours. They are important, and handy, but we’ll discuss
them later some time.
Oh, you may get various windows pop up from the visiting trade liaison. Just space back out of them for now.
Oh, you may get various windows pop up from the visiting trade liaison.
Just space back out of them for now.
Back to the eating place thing!
===============================
By now you should have the dining room furniture set up, so it’s time to let the dwarfs know it’s the official dining room of the fortress. We do that in much the same way we set up bedrooms:
By now you should have the dining room furniture set up, so it’s time
to let the dwarfs know it’s the official dining room of the fortress.
We do that in much the same way we set up bedrooms:
* Hit “q” and move the cursor over any one of the tables (and for good fun, move it over a chair and and read what sort of rooms chairs set up).
* When over a table, hit “r”, and again you should see a flashing blue box which doesn’t quite fill the room.
* Use “alt”+”down arrow” to expand the room to fill the dining room space.
* Hit “q” and move the cursor over any one of the tables (and for good
fun, move it over a chair and and read what sort of rooms chairs set up).
* When over a table, hit “r”, and again you should see a flashing blue
box which doesn’t quite fill the room.
* Use “alt”+”down arrow” to expand the room to fill the dining room
space.
* Hit “enter”.
* Now hit “h” to turn the dining room into a meeting hall as well. You’ll see the (N) gets turned into a (Y) on the menu.
* “Space” back out to resume the game. All tables and chairs and the entire space will now be used.
* Now hit “h” to turn the dining room into a meeting hall as well.
You’ll see the (N) gets turned into a (Y) on the menu.
* “Space” back out to resume the game. All tables and chairs and the
entire space will now be used.
Well done! A dining room and meeting hall is now set up! Without a meeting space immigrant dwarfs get confused and don’t know where to go when they arrive, milling about at the edge of the map. A meeting space seems to send out invisible mind-control rays and any newly-arrived dwarfs will immediately home in on it and into your fortress. Handy!
Well done! A dining room and meeting hall is now set up! Without a
meeting space immigrant dwarfs get confused and don’t know where to go
when they arrive, milling about at the edge of the map. A meeting space
seems to send out invisible mind-control rays and any newly-arrived
dwarfs will immediately home in on it and into your fortress. Handy!
For amusement, go back up stairs and find the wagon we arrived with. I bet you it has a few dwarfs hanging around it. Know why? Because by default your wagon is your first meeting area!
For amusement, go back up stairs and find the wagon we arrived with. I
bet you it has a few dwarfs hanging around it. Know why? Because by
default your wagon is your first meeting area!
But the wagon is outside and a long way from the fort and we’d much prefer our dwarfs to be safe and sound within our walls. We should probably remove that temptation to stand outside and get killed by carp, elephants, monkeys, unicorns, skeletal whales, zombies, giant eagles, deer, goblins, etc, so lets remove the wagon. Hit “q” and move the X over to the wagon, then hit “x” and the wagon will be “slated for removal”. This should free up a few logs (which the wagon is made up) and will prompt any lazy, slacker dwarfs to head back inside!
But the wagon is outside and a long way from the fort and we’d much
prefer our dwarfs to be safe and sound within our walls. We should
probably remove that temptation to stand outside and get killed by
carp, elephants, monkeys, unicorns, skeletal whales, zombies, giant
eagles, deer, goblins, etc, so lets remove the wagon. Hit “q” and move
the X over to the wagon, then hit “x” and the wagon will be “slated for
removal”. This should free up a few logs (which the wagon is made up)
and will prompt any lazy, slacker dwarfs to head back inside!
Everyone gets their own room!
=============================
Dwarfs love to have their own room, much preferring it to sharing a barracks (which they will do by default otherwise), and conveniently we have set up a number of little rooms. Lets declare that they're bedrooms, so our dwarves will come and claim one:
Dwarfs love to have their own room, much preferring it to sharing a
barracks (which they will do by default otherwise), and conveniently
we have set up a number of little rooms. Lets declare that they're
bedrooms, so our dwarves will come and claim one:
* Go to your empty bedrooms, hit “q”.
* Chose a bedroom, moving the X over a bed until it’s flashing.
* Hit “r”. The blue selection area probably fills the room.
* Hit “enter”.
You can assign the bedroom to a specific dwarf, but unless you want to play favorites there's no need - if a dwarf wants a nap and doesn't have a bedroom, they'll claim one of the unowned ones. One that happens, the bedroom status will now look something like this:
You can assign the bedroom to a specific dwarf, but unless you want to
play favorites there's no need - if a dwarf wants a nap and doesn't
have a bedroom, they'll claim one of the unowned ones. One that
happens, the bedroom status will now look something like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial46.png
:align: center
If you get confused about a bedroom (or any room’s status), just hit “q” again and move around over each object. Of interest is the fact that you can assign one room to have multiple uses, for example, put a bed and table in the same room and specify that the room is both a bedroom and a dining room, but doing so reduces the overall quality of both rooms. Don’t bother unless you have some clever and good reason to.
If you get confused about a bedroom (or any room’s status), just hit
“q” again and move around over each object. Of interest is the fact
that you can assign one room to have multiple uses, for example, put a
bed and table in the same room and specify that the room is both a
bedroom and a dining room, but doing so reduces the overall quality of
both rooms. Don’t bother unless you have some clever and good reason to.
While you’ve got your cursor up, move it over the door and look at those options. You can lock doors and you can also make them impassable to pets. Don’t bother with that for now, just have a look around.
While you’ve got your cursor up, move it over the door and look at
those options. You can lock doors and you can also make them impassable
to pets. Don’t bother with that for now, just have a look around.
Workshop fun!
=============
Lets set up more workshops. First, put another mason workshop in with the other mason shop. It will be handy in the long run, I am sure. Set up a couple of carpenter’s workshops in the room next door. While you’re at it, set-up a big wood pile (“p”, “w”). The next thing to do is to set up some more piles. How about we go through and make a “Finished Goods” pile? Build it using “p” and then “g”. Lets continue chucking piles up in those rooms. A few squares for cloth (“h”), leather, (“l”), and bars/blocks (“b”) makes sense. Where one pile starts and another stops gets confusing with all that stone around, but give it your best shot.
Lets set up more workshops. First, put another mason workshop in with
the other mason shop. It will be handy in the long run, I am sure. Set
up a couple of carpenter’s workshops in the room next door. While
you’re at it, set-up a big wood pile (“p”, “w”). The next thing to do
is to set up some more piles. How about we go through and make a
“Finished Goods” pile? Build it using “p” and then “g”. Lets continue
chucking piles up in those rooms. A few squares for cloth (“h”),
leather, (“l”), and bars/blocks (“b”) makes sense. Where one pile
starts and another stops gets confusing with all that stone around, but
give it your best shot.
Finally, lets also add a Craftsdwarf’s Workshop to our room. Use “b”, “w” and then “r”, chose the goods and place the workshop. These are particularly handy and profitable workshops, but more on them later!
Finally, lets also add a Craftsdwarf’s Workshop to our room. Use “b”,
“w” and then “r”, chose the goods and place the workshop. These are
particularly handy and profitable workshops, but more on them later!
This is how mine looks:
.. image:: images/dftutorial47.png
:align: center
That’s all for now, except before I go I have some **homework** for you. But don’t worry, this is the fun kinda homework. See if you can complete these tasks before we meet again:
That’s all for now, except before I go I have some **homework** for
you. But don’t worry, this is the fun kinda homework. See if you can
complete these tasks before we meet again:
#. Destroy the carpenter’s workshop upstairs.
#. Designate another wide area of trees to harvest. If the seasons have changed to autumn by now you’ll notice all the trees a pretty gold colour. Admire them before you saw them down. Just don’t set any trees to be harvested too close to the river, ok?
#. Designate another wide area of trees to harvest. If the seasons have
changed to autumn by now you’ll notice all the trees a pretty gold
colour. Admire them before you saw them down.
#. Designate a bunch of plants to be harvested.
#. Make a lot more beer and a lot more barrels
#. Make some “bins” in the carpenters shop. About 15 or so should do. You’ll have to scroll to find them in the carpenter “a” “Add new task” list. (or go “a” then “n”). Bins are what everything that isn’t food or booze are stored in.
#. Go to the mason’s workshop and set it to build blocks on repeat (“q”, then “a” then “b” then “r”). Do this only if you’ve already managed to make a LOT of bins or your Bar/Block pile will get filled quickly!
#. See if you can make some stone crafts. You will find them under the “rock” sub-menu from the “add task” menu on the craftsdwarf’s workshop. You better make sure you have lots of wood bins for your crafts to go in though, and a big “Finished goods” stockpile too!
#. Make some “bins” in the carpenters shop. About 15 or so should do.
You’ll have to scroll to find them in the carpenter “a” “Add new task”
list. (or go “a” then “n”). Bins are what everything that isn’t food or
booze are stored in.
#. Go to the mason’s workshop and set it to build blocks on repeat
(“q”, then “a” then “b” then “r”). Do this only if you’ve already
managed to make a LOT of bins or your Bar/Block pile will get filled
quickly!
#. See if you can make some stone crafts. You will find them under the
“rock” sub-menu from the “add task” menu on the craftsdwarf’s workshop.
You better make sure you have lots of wood bins for your crafts to go
in though, and a big “Finished goods” stockpile too!
Good luck! And see you soon!

226
chapters/chap04-crafts-farming.rst
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@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
It almost makes sense!
######################
Welcome to Part 4 of the Dwarf Fortress Walkthrough. No nancying around, lets get right back into it! I hope you’ve diligently completed your homework. If you look below, you’ll see I have…
Welcome to Part 4 of the Dwarf Fortress Walkthrough. No nancying
around, lets get right back into it! I hope you’ve diligently completed
your homework. If you look below, you’ll see I have…
Extreme Home Makeover: Dwarf Edition!
@ -11,38 +13,81 @@ Extreme Home Makeover: Dwarf Edition!
.. image:: images/dftutorial48.png
:align: center
…Lots of Crafts! I’ve gone through and completed all of the tasks at the end of Tutorial 3, and to prove it, here is a picture of my pile of crafts. Looks like I haven’t made much in the way of bins yet, so the crafts haven’t been tidily stored in a single bin. Don’t worry, once bins are produced the dwarfs will sort all this out.
…Lots of Crafts! I’ve gone through and completed all of the tasks at
the end of Tutorial 3, and to prove it, here is a picture of my pile of
crafts. Looks like I haven’t made much in the way of bins yet, so the
crafts haven’t been tidily stored in a single bin. Don’t worry, once
bins are produced the dwarfs will sort all this out.
I’ve also got piles everywhere, workshops set up and food and booze production going. Things are looking good! But we have yet more useful jobs to do.
I’ve also got piles everywhere, workshops set up and food and booze
production going. Things are looking good! But we have yet more useful
jobs to do.
First up, we need to move our booze production down stairs. I want to set up a trade depot upstairs and I’ve decided I don’t want to leave the depot outside, and I don’t want to dig out any more of our limited top-floor space just now. Of course, we have many options for how we expand the fortress, but we’ll go for simple right now, so lets get shifting stuff.
First up, we need to move our booze production down stairs. I want to
set up a trade depot upstairs and I’ve decided I don’t want to leave
the depot outside, and I don’t want to dig out any more of our limited
top-floor space just now. Of course, we have many options for how we
expand the fortress, but we’ll go for simple right now, so lets get
shifting stuff.
Before we head on to the trade depot, lets get get on with some digging and our new booze space. Hell, lets move the food downstairs as well and keep it nice and close to the dining room, where dwarfs are going to want to eat it.
Before we head on to the trade depot, lets get get on with some digging
and our new booze space. Hell, lets move the food downstairs as well
and keep it nice and close to the dining room, where dwarfs are going
to want to eat it.
Here’s how I’ve plotted things out:
.. image:: images/dftutorial49.png
:align: center
Once that digging is done, set up the big food storage hall as a food stockpile. Then build a still downstairs using “b”, “w”, “l”. This should be easy-peasy for you now! Your next job is go to upstairs and remove the food stockpile and the still. Let everything clear and we’ll go on to trade depots!
Once that digging is done, set up the big food storage hall as a food
stockpile. Then build a still downstairs using “b”, “w”, “l”. This
should be easy-peasy for you now! Your next job is go to upstairs and
remove the food stockpile and the still. Let everything clear and we’ll
go on to trade depots!
Blankets, beads, muskets and cat skull totems!
==============================================
Trading is very important for your fortress. Every few months you’re likely to get a trade caravan and envoy arrive at your fortress looking to trade with you. They offer a wide range of goods and one of the most common things we trade back to them is crafts made from the craftsdwarf’s workshop. And the easiest crafts to trade are rock ones. Rock mugs and instruments are popular as well, so get a bunch made of all of the above when you’ve got the time.
Trading is very important for your fortress. Every few months you’re
likely to get a trade caravan and envoy arrive at your fortress looking
to trade with you. They offer a wide range of goods and one of the most
common things we trade back to them is crafts made from the
craftsdwarf’s workshop. And the easiest crafts to trade are rock ones.
Rock mugs and instruments are popular as well, so get a bunch made of
all of the above when you’ve got the time.
But for the traders to visit properly they need a trade depot. This is a big structure which requires a 3-wide corridor for the trader wagons to access. Often people build them close to the fortress entrance, but there’s no reason you couldn’t build a trade depot deep inside your fortress to keep it nice and safe.
But for the traders to visit properly they need a trade depot. This is
a big structure which requires a 3-wide corridor for the trader wagons
to access. Often people build them close to the fortress entrance, but
there’s no reason you couldn’t build a trade depot deep inside your
fortress to keep it nice and safe.
For now, we’re going to enlarge the space we have upstairs with a little digging and get this depot set up. Here’s what I’ve set to be dug out:
For now, we’re going to enlarge the space we have upstairs with a
little digging and get this depot set up. Here’s what I’ve set to be
dug out:
.. image:: images/dftutorial50.png
:align: center
Once the space is dug out, hit “b” and then “D” for “Trade Depot”, note, that’s a capital-d, not the usual lower case “d”. Place it near the back. Here’s mine:
Once the space is dug out, hit “b” and then “D” for “Trade Depot”,
note, that’s a capital-d, not the usual lower case “d”. Place it near
the back. Here’s mine:
.. image:: images/dftutorial51.png
:align: center
Now that we have the depot up we can expect to see traders turn up to unload their goods here now and then. To trade with them you “q” over the building and follow the options: “g” to move goods to the trade depot, and “r” to request your boss dwarf to go do the trading. Once he turns up you hit “t” and then enter the trade screens. Note again, do not trade anything wooden to the elves, including wooden barrels and bins! They will get pissy, leave, and attack you some years later! Trading is beyond the scope of this current tutorial as there’s quite a lot to it, but you can read a lot more about it on the Dwarf Fortress Wiki. I suggest you make an effort to trade as trading encourages new immigrants to come to your fortress and provides you with items you can’t make or find yourself. Speaking of which…
Now that we have the depot up we can expect to see traders turn up to
unload their goods here now and then. To trade with them you “q” over
the building and follow the options: “g” to move goods to the trade
depot, and “r” to request your boss dwarf to go do the trading. Once he
turns up you hit “t” and then enter the trade screens. Note again, do
not trade anything wooden to the elves, including wooden barrels and
bins! They will get pissy, leave, and attack you some years later!
Trading is beyond the scope of this current tutorial as there’s quite a
lot to it, but you can read a lot more about it on the Dwarf Fortress
Wiki. I suggest you make an effort to trade as trading encourages new
immigrants to come to your fortress and provides you with items you
can’t make or find yourself. Speaking of which…
Look what the cat dragged in!
=============================
@ -51,99 +96,192 @@ At some point you’re going to get immigrants. I got some right now.
.. image:: images/dftutorial52.png
:align: center
Soon after the message a stream of new loafers streak into the fortress. And what’s the first thing they do? Eat and drink! Slacker bastards! This has me a little concerned about our food stocks, and if this has happened to you, I suggest you do what I do and sort out some more booze and dig some more bedrooms downstairs and assign those new dwarfs to it. Next tutorial we’re also going to have our first close look at our dwarfs, but not until after we build ourselves a nice new farm and ensure we are overflowing with food (and food goods to produce booze out of).
Soon after the message a stream of new loafers streak into the
fortress. And what’s the first thing they do? Eat and drink! Slacker
bastards! This has me a little concerned about our food stocks, and if
this has happened to you, I suggest you do what I do and sort out some
more booze and dig some more bedrooms downstairs and assign those new
dwarfs to it. Next tutorial we’re also going to have our first close
look at our dwarfs, but not until after we build ourselves a nice new
farm and ensure we are overflowing with food (and food goods to produce
booze out of).
Outdoor farming for fun and profit
==================================
You know about farming inside, now how about farming outside? As you may recall we’ve had some plant gathering going on outside. In temperate climates that means we’re generally gathering strawberries. And once we’ve eaten strawberries, what do we have? Well, if you’re a dwarf, you end up with strawberry seeds. And wouldn’t it be great to plant them? Yes it would! Do we have some? I don’t know yet! But I think so!
You know about farming inside, now how about farming outside? As you
may recall we’ve had some plant gathering going on outside. In
temperate climates that means we’re generally gathering strawberries.
And once we’ve eaten strawberries, what do we have? Well, if you’re a
dwarf, you end up with strawberry seeds. And wouldn’t it be great to
plant them? Yes it would! Do we have some? I don’t know yet! But I
think so!
We’ll cover looking at our stocks of goods later, by the way, so just trust me for now.
We’ll cover looking at our stocks of goods later, by the way, so just
trust me for now.
But strawberries are going to require being planted outside, as they love the sun don’t they? Of course, we don’t want to go outside where it could be nasty and dangerous, so what do we do?. We can’t really expect strawberries to grow in a dark cave, can we? So how about we compromise with these fruity demons. We’ll build an outdoor farm, but we’ll lock it off from the world with a wall and an entrance only available to us. Can’t we all just be friends?
But strawberries are going to require being planted outside, as they
love the sun don’t they? Of course, we don’t want to go outside where
it could be nasty and dangerous, so what do we do?. We can’t really
expect strawberries to grow in a dark cave, can we? So how about we
compromise with these fruity demons. We’ll build an outdoor farm, but
we’ll lock it off from the world with a wall and an entrance only
available to us. Can’t we all just be friends?
To achieve our goals we first need to dig some handy exit to the outdoors. Perhaps near our existing farm. This is what I did:
To achieve our goals we first need to dig some handy exit to the
outdoors. Perhaps near our existing farm. This is what I did:
.. image:: images/dftutorial53.png
:align: center
I’ve expanded the farm room a little and set a passage to the outside to be dug. Once the space is dug you’ll notice that the slope icons still exist around the exit. This could be a problem. If we built walls around a nicely enclosed farm now enemies would still be able to get to it from above, by walking down the slopes! So we need to remove the slopes. To remove it, we hit “d” for “Designations” and then “z” for “Remove Stairs/Ramps”.
I’ve expanded the farm room a little and set a passage to the outside
to be dug. Once the space is dug you’ll notice that the slope icons
still exist around the exit. This could be a problem. If we built walls
around a nicely enclosed farm now enemies would still be able to get to
it from above, by walking down the slopes! So we need to remove the
slopes. To remove it, we hit “d” for “Designations” and then “z” for
“Remove Stairs/Ramps”.
I’ve selected almost all of the slopes across the front of my fortress. I don’t want any surprises “dropping” in anywhere along our front. Here you can see my miners hard at work stripping away the outside ramps so there’s essentially a sharp drop between the level above and this level. That will keep us safe from wandering critters.
I’ve selected almost all of the slopes across the front of my fortress.
I don’t want any surprises “dropping” in anywhere along our front. Here
you can see my miners hard at work stripping away the outside ramps so
there’s essentially a sharp drop between the level above and this
level. That will keep us safe from wandering critters.
.. image:: images/dftutorial54.png
:align: center
While you’re at it, you could tidy up the outside edge of the fortress with digging and ramp removal. Here’s my much tidier fortress entrance:
While you’re at it, you could tidy up the outside edge of the fortress
with digging and ramp removal. Here’s my much tidier fortress entrance:
.. image:: images/dftutorial55.png
:align: center
Later on we might incorporate some complex defenses into this area. Perhaps later.
Later on we might incorporate some complex defenses into this area.
Perhaps later.
So, lets get on with this farm! We need to surround a nice large area with walls, right? Keep our dwarfs safe from wandering critters. To build walls we need to:
So, lets get on with this farm! We need to surround a nice large area
with walls, right? Keep our dwarfs safe from wandering critters. To
build walls we need to:
* Hit “b”.
* Hit “C” (that’s “shift+c”), or scroll through the list and look for “Wall/Floor/Stairs” and hit enter.
* Hit “C” (that’s “shift+c”), or scroll through the list and look for
“Wall/Floor/Stairs” and hit enter.
* “Wall” is selected by default, hit enter.
* You now have a green X. Like the farm plot you can change the size with “u”, “m”, “k” and “h”.
* You now have a green X. Like the farm plot you can change the size
with “u”, “m”, “k” and “h”.
* Hit “u” until you’ve got a max-height wall.
* Place the wall right next to the entrance, hit enter (below you can see how I placed mine).
* Scroll through the materials list using “alt”+”down arrow” and select limestone.
* Hit enter until the list goes away and you see the wall outline. You’re selecting one limestone for each segment of the wall.
* Place the wall right next to the entrance, hit enter (below you can
see how I placed mine).
* Scroll through the materials list using “alt”+”down arrow” and select
limestone.
* Hit enter until the list goes away and you see the wall outline.
You’re selecting one limestone for each segment of the wall.
* Hit “space” until the game resumes.
You will now have a wall under construction! Again, hit “q” and move it down your wall, you’ll see the construction status. Don’t worry, your dwarfs will get to the wall pretty quickly.
You will now have a wall under construction! Again, hit “q” and move it
down your wall, you’ll see the construction status. Don’t worry, your
dwarfs will get to the wall pretty quickly.
While you’re waiting, clear all the trees and bushes from inside your soon-to-be farm space using “d”, “t” (cut down trees) and “d”, “p” (harvest plants).
While you’re waiting, clear all the trees and bushes from inside your
soon-to-be farm space using “d”, “t” (cut down trees) and “d”, “p”
(harvest plants).
Once you’ve got this under way, build two lengths of wall across to the right go down a length and a bit, and back to the cliff face. Of course, use stone for each piece of the wall, no need on wasting wood we’ve worked hard to chop down. Here’s how my outdoor farm plot looks so far:
Once you’ve got this under way, build two lengths of wall across to the
right go down a length and a bit, and back to the cliff face. Of
course, use stone for each piece of the wall, no need on wasting wood
we’ve worked hard to chop down. Here’s how my outdoor farm plot looks
so far:
.. image:: images/dftutorial56.png
:align: center
Isn’t it coming along nicely? Yes it is! Soon we’ll be able to hide inside and behind our walls and ignore the nasty outside world. Yay!
Isn’t it coming along nicely? Yes it is! Soon we’ll be able to hide
inside and behind our walls and ignore the nasty outside world. Yay!
Once your walls are complete you could easily build two 6×6 farm plots inside this space. One point though, make sure all those trees are cut down and plants harvested, otherwise you’re going to end up with a patchy farm plot. Also, if there are any trees in the way of a wall being built you won’t be able to place the wall. Get them cleared and the problem will go away.
Once your walls are complete you could easily build two 6×6 farm plots
inside this space. One point though, make sure all those trees are cut
down and plants harvested, otherwise you’re going to end up with a
patchy farm plot. Also, if there are any trees in the way of a wall
being built you won’t be able to place the wall. Get them cleared and
the problem will go away.
Oh, I’ve just noticed. Our farm plots will have holes in them anyway, there are white blobs on the ground which a farm square won’t be built on. If you hit “k” and move the cursor around you’ll see that those white spots are limestone. Clearly plants don’t like clinging to rock so no plot will grow there. Never mind, a holey farm isn’t really a big problem.
Oh, I’ve just noticed. Our farm plots will have holes in them anyway,
there are white blobs on the ground which a farm square won’t be built
on. If you hit “k” and move the cursor around you’ll see that those
white spots are limestone. Clearly plants don’t like clinging to rock
so no plot will grow there. Never mind, a holey farm isn’t really a big
problem.
Here’s my private outdoors farm yard with the farm plots built as well:
.. image:: images/dftutorial57.png
:align: center
There you go! Beautiful! Now, just like farms inside, you need to specify what the fields will build (“q”). On the first, I’ve set strawberries for every season (don’t forget to cycle through the seasons using “a”, “b”, “c”, “d”). When I tried to select strawberries on the second field they were red, suggesting to me we won’t have enough seeds that this isn’t the season for planting those items (thanks commenter Ookpik! See comments for more info). So instead, I selected some other random plant. Not sure we’ve got seeds for those, but we’ll find out all about that later! And later on you can come back and fix up some better planting instructions. Oh, don’t select “Seas Fert” or “Fertilize”. We don’t have any fertilizer yet.
There you go! Beautiful! Now, just like farms inside, you need to
specify what the fields will build (“q”). On the first, I’ve set
strawberries for every season (don’t forget to cycle through the
seasons using “a”, “b”, “c”, “d”). When I tried to select strawberries
on the second field they were red, suggesting to me we won’t have
enough seeds that this isn’t the season for planting those items
(thanks commenter Ookpik! See comments for more info). So instead, I
selected some other random plant. Not sure we’ve got seeds for those,
but we’ll find out all about that later! And later on you can come back
and fix up some better planting instructions. Oh, don’t select “Seas
Fert” or “Fertilize”. We don’t have any fertilizer yet.
While I remember things, lets take a moment to build a wall along the top edge above our outside farm. We don’t want any goblins walking up to the edge of the cliff, looking down, and shooting up our farmers with their crossbows! So go up a level, using good-old “shift”+”<” and plan out your wall. Here I’ve built a wall (after stripping trees, which should once and for all block off any possible approach to my farm.
While I remember things, lets take a moment to build a wall along the
top edge above our outside farm. We don’t want any goblins walking up
to the edge of the cliff, looking down, and shooting up our farmers
with their crossbows! So go up a level, using good-old “shift”+”<” and
plan out your wall. Here I’ve built a wall (after stripping trees,
which should once and for all block off any possible approach to my farm.
.. image:: images/dftutorial58.png
:align: center
But what’s this, we have a problem! Can you spot what it is? Yup, our stupid dwarf has gone and got himself stuck on the wrong side of the wall. He can’t get out! Now, we could use the “b”, “C” menu to construct some up stairs to him (and then down stairs to connect from this level down to the upstairs), but how about I show you a handy trick…
But what’s this, we have a problem! Can you spot what it is? Yup, our
stupid dwarf has gone and got himself stuck on the wrong side of the
wall. He can’t get out! Now, we could use the “b”, “C” menu to
construct some up stairs to him (and then down stairs to connect from
this level down to the upstairs), but how about I show you a handy trick…
You see, dwarfs getting stuck will happen to you a lot unless you take countermeasure. Here’s how you fix our current problem, and how prevent it from happening again:
You see, dwarfs getting stuck will happen to you a lot unless you take
countermeasure. Here’s how you fix our current problem, and how prevent
it from happening again:
* Hit “d”.
* Hit “n” for “Remove construction”.
* Select a single wall space and hit enter.
* Once the wall space is removed you’ll have a gap. On the inside of the wall gap (where we don’t want our dwarf to stand), set a wall to be built that completely covers the gap.
* Once the wall space is removed you’ll have a gap. On the inside of
the wall gap (where we don’t want our dwarf to stand), set a wall to be
built that completely covers the gap.
* Resume the game and then immediately pause it.
* Hit “q” and move down each piece of your fake-wall and hit “s” to “Suspend construction” of each segment. Dwarfs don’t like standing where buildings are due to be placed, so this means when our dwarf comes back to fill in the gap he won’t lock himself in again.
* Hit “q” and move down each piece of your fake-wall and hit “s” to
“Suspend construction” of each segment. Dwarfs don’t like standing
where buildings are due to be placed, so this means when our dwarf
comes back to fill in the gap he won’t lock himself in again.
Here’s how my gap and “fake” wall look. You can see my X over a fake wall segment, and on the right, the wall segment is suspended:
Here’s how my gap and “fake” wall look. You can see my X over a fake
wall segment, and on the right, the wall segment is suspended:
.. image:: images/dftutorial59.png
:align: center
You can now build a single wall space to close the gap and our dwarf won’t get trapped. Once you’ve done that, go back over each wall space with “q” and hit “x” to remove the suspended wall spaces. Look here, job done! Dwarfs safe!
You can now build a single wall space to close the gap and our dwarf
won’t get trapped. Once you’ve done that, go back over each wall space
with “q” and hit “x” to remove the suspended wall spaces. Look here,
job done! Dwarfs safe!
.. image:: images/dftutorial60.png
:align: center
And when I go down and look at my fresh outside farm plot, something is being planted! Great!
And when I go down and look at my fresh outside farm plot, something is
being planted! Great!
That’s all for now. We’ve got traders in our trade depot and we need to sort out all these scummy immigrants. That will take a while, so lets leave all of that for Part 5.
Until then go make a bunch of crafts, get the booze flowing and wait on my return!
That’s all for now. We’ve got traders in our trade depot and we need to
sort out all these scummy immigrants. That will take a while, so lets
leave all of that for Part 5.
Until then go make a bunch of crafts, get the booze flowing and wait on
my return!

169
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@ -2,15 +2,24 @@
Trading for Fun and Profit
##########################
This will be a bit shorter, but we’re going to cover some important information, none-the-less. So stay tuned for more dwarfy goodness!
This will be a bit shorter, but we’re going to cover some important
information, none-the-less. So stay tuned for more dwarfy goodness!
Trading for fun and profit
==========================
At some point you’re going to get some traders turn up and with your depot up, they’ll soon make themselves at home in your depot. They’ll unload all their goods and stand around waiting for something to happen. This is how it will look when traders have arrived and unloaded:
At some point you’re going to get some traders turn up and with your
depot up, they’ll soon make themselves at home in your depot. They’ll
unload all their goods and stand around waiting for something to
happen. This is how it will look when traders have arrived and unloaded:
dftutorial61
.. image:: images/dftutorial61.png
:align: center
Look at them, filling our trade depot with their mess! Lets get trading so they’ll bugger off and we can make the place all tidy again. Yes, I like things tidy in my fortress, it helps my fortress run like a well-oiled machine! So how do we gouge the visitors, I mean, trade with our friends?
Look at them, filling our trade depot with their mess! Lets get trading
so they’ll bugger off and we can make the place all tidy again. Yes, I
like things tidy in my fortress, it helps my fortress run like a
well-oiled machine! So how do we gouge the visitors, I mean, trade with
our friends?
Essentially, trading is a five step process:
@ -20,71 +29,173 @@ Essentially, trading is a five step process:
#. Deal with the trade liaison and his questions.
#. Wave goodbye to the traders and enjoy your loot!
So lets get through these stages! First up, move goods. Go “q” over the trade depot, and with traders in there, the options will be quite different to what you see when it’s empty. What we’re looking for is hitting “g” for “Move goods to/from the depot”. Do it and you’ll get this screen:
So lets get through these stages! First up, move goods. Go “q” over the
trade depot, and with traders in there, the options will be quite
different to what you see when it’s empty. What we’re looking for is
hitting “g” for “Move goods to/from the depot”. Do it and you’ll get
this screen:
.. image:: images/dftutorial62.png
:align: center
This is a list of everything in our fortress. On the left we have item categories. In the middle, we’ve got the items themselves, and on the right, the distance from the trade depot. Looking at the distance measure you now know why some people prefer to put the depot all the way inside – remembering the 3-wide corridor or ramp all the way to the depot, of course.
This is a list of everything in our fortress. On the left we have item
categories. In the middle, we’ve got the items themselves, and on the
right, the distance from the trade depot. Looking at the distance
measure you now know why some people prefer to put the depot all the
way inside – remembering the 3-wide corridor or ramp all the way to the
depot, of course.
Don’t worry about all of this detail for now, just scroll down to “Crafts” using the down arrow key. Once you’re there, this is what you’ll see:
Don’t worry about all of this detail for now, just scroll down to
“Crafts” using the down arrow key. Once you’re there, this is what
you’ll see:
.. image:: images/dftutorial63.png
:align: center
What do you see? All of the crafts we’ve been making listed on the right! You’ll also notice weird symbols to the left and right of each named item, these are the quality symbols. Don’t worry about what they mean as the only one worth remembering is the “masterwork” quality symbol, which looks like a pile of metal bars. Later on you may want to manage the quality of goods your dwarfs use, especially weapons, so knowing that the pile of bars = much good item, is worth remembering.
What do you see? All of the crafts we’ve been making listed on the
right! You’ll also notice weird symbols to the left and right of each
named item, these are the quality symbols. Don’t worry about what they
mean as the only one worth remembering is the “masterwork” quality
symbol, which looks like a pile of metal bars. Later on you may want to
manage the quality of goods your dwarfs use, especially weapons, so
knowing that the pile of bars = much good item, is worth remembering.
Now we want to move these goods to the trade depot so we can trade them away. I mean really, how many “Limestone earrings” do we really need? So, hit the “right arrow” to move to the item list (rather than the category list) and then hit enter. On the right you’ll see “Pending” next to the item we’ve selected. Scroll down and set most of the items to “Pending”.
Now we want to move these goods to the trade depot so we can trade them
away. I mean really, how many “Limestone earrings” do we really need?
So, hit the “right arrow” to move to the item list (rather than the
category list) and then hit enter. On the right you’ll see “Pending”
next to the item we’ve selected. Scroll down and set most of the items
to “Pending”.
At the bottom of the list you’ll see some “Finished Goods” bins. This is good! Moving a single bin full of stuff is much better than moving dozens of items one by one! How do I know there’s heaps of stuff in those bins? Because I am your god of course! Or perhaps I hit “v” with a bin highlighted…
At the bottom of the list you’ll see some “Finished Goods” bins. This
is good! Moving a single bin full of stuff is much better than moving
dozens of items one by one! How do I know there’s heaps of stuff in
those bins? Because I am your god of course! Or perhaps I hit “v” with
a bin highlighted…
.. image:: images/dftutorial64.png
:align: center
You don’t need to select those individual items to move, selecting the bin in the menu above will move the bin and everything it contains.
You don’t need to select those individual items to move, selecting the
bin in the menu above will move the bin and everything it contains.
Right! One we “space” back out we need to hit “F9” to get back to the game, confirming our move orders. From here the trade depot is still selected so lets take the chance to hit “r” which cycles the trader status. It now says “Trader requested at depot”, which is what we’re aiming for. The trader should now consider heading up to talk to the traders.
Right! One we “space” back out we need to hit “F9” to get back to the
game, confirming our move orders. From here the trade depot is still
selected so lets take the chance to hit “r” which cycles the trader
status. It now says “Trader requested at depot”, which is what we’re
aiming for. The trader should now consider heading up to talk to the
traders.
With the game resumed goods are tagged to be moved and pretty soon dwarfs will start hauling goods to your trade depot. The hauling of trade goods seems to be set at quite a high priority, so it shouldn’t take long for them all to be offloaded. Of course, it would be much quicker if I had more bins, that way a dwarf isn’t wasted carrying a single earring, and we’ll have lots of wasted time with this hauling! More bins are on my “to do” list.
With the game resumed goods are tagged to be moved and pretty soon
dwarfs will start hauling goods to your trade depot. The hauling of
trade goods seems to be set at quite a high priority, so it shouldn’t
take long for them all to be offloaded. Of course, it would be much
quicker if I had more bins, that way a dwarf isn’t wasted carrying a
single earring, and we’ll have lots of wasted time with this hauling!
More bins are on my “to do” list.
After a minute, hit “q” again and move over the trade depot, you’ll see the status of the depot. If “t: Trade” is grey, then the trader hasn’t got there yet. Below the menu field it tells me my trader is “On break”.. oh no, I lie, now he’s asleep! Hurry up dood, I’ve got crap to offload to the visitors!
After a minute, hit “q” again and move over the trade depot, you’ll see
the status of the depot. If “t: Trade” is grey, then the trader hasn’t
got there yet. Below the menu field it tells me my trader is “On
break”.. oh no, I lie, now he’s asleep! Hurry up dood, I’ve got crap to
offload to the visitors!
While you’re waiting, why not go and set a bunch of barrels and bins and booze to be made. You can never, ever have too much of any of that stuff!
While you’re waiting, why not go and set a bunch of barrels and bins
and booze to be made. You can never, ever have too much of any of that
stuff!
Oh, look! Trader dood finally bothered to turn up to trade! See, it says “Trade at Depot” for his current job, and the “Trade” option is white and therefore, usable.
Oh, look! Trader dood finally bothered to turn up to trade! See, it
says “Trade at Depot” for his current job, and the “Trade” option is
white and therefore, usable.
.. image:: images/dftutorial65.png
:align: center
Now hit “t” and we’ll be taken to the trade screen, which looks like this:
Now hit “t” and we’ll be taken to the trade screen, which looks like
this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial66.png
:align: center
On the left, we have what the traders are offering. On the right, we have our stuff. At this point you can start selecting stuff to trade away. Left and right arrows move between the panels and up and down through the list. Remember, don’t trade bins or wooden items to elves! Not sure if they’re elves? Look at the top of the screen and you’ll see who you’re trading with, in my case I’m trading with traders from “Riseilime”. If I “space” back out of the trading to the main menu and hit “c” I will see a list of in this world civilisations. I see that Riseilime is an elf civilisation. I can hit “enter” and learn more about it and then “Tab” through more info. Interesting.
On the left, we have what the traders are offering. On the right, we
have our stuff. At this point you can start selecting stuff to trade
away. Left and right arrows move between the panels and up and down
through the list. Remember, don’t trade bins or wooden items to elves!
Not sure if they’re elves? Look at the top of the screen and you’ll see
who you’re trading with, in my case I’m trading with traders from
“Riseilime”. If I “space” back out of the trading to the main menu and
hit “c” I will see a list of in this world civilisations. I see that
Riseilime is an elf civilisation. I can hit “enter” and learn more
about it and then “Tab” through more info. Interesting.
In case you’re wondering you can actually read all of the history of each of those civilisations in :wiki:`legends` mode. There’s some crazy stuff that the game auto-generates and the detail is remarkable (like stories about dwarf children, kidnapped by goblins, who go native and in adulthood lead goblin raiding parties against dwarf cities!). But don’t worry about that for now, lets get back to trading.
In case you’re wondering you can actually read all of the history of
each of those civilisations in :wiki:`legends` mode. There’s some crazy
stuff that the game auto-generates and the detail is remarkable (like
stories about dwarf children, kidnapped by goblins, who go native and
in adulthood lead goblin raiding parties against dwarf cities!). But
don’t worry about that for now, lets get back to trading.
Go through your list of items, and being careful not to select the wooden bins, hit enter on all those crafts.
Go through your list of items, and being careful not to select the
wooden bins, hit enter on all those crafts.
.. image:: images/dftutorial67.png
:align: center
As you can see, I’ve got lots of stuff up for trade (marked with a “T”). On the left bottom there it tells me how much my junk is worth, 4980! That’s a lot of loot I can get off the elves! On the right, allowed weight is 14. This number starts much higher and drops as you add goods and represents the amount of weight the traders can take away with them.
As you can see, I’ve got lots of stuff up for trade (marked with a
“T”). On the left bottom there it tells me how much my junk is worth,
4980! That’s a lot of loot I can get off the elves! On the right,
allowed weight is 14. This number starts much higher and drops as you
add goods and represents the amount of weight the traders can take away
with them.
So now we’ve set a huge pile of junk for us to sell, lets pick a bunch of junk off the elves! I suggest buying food, booze, animals in cages, weapons (but not the very best ones) like steel crossbows, chainmail (steel and iron), shields, etc. But don’t stress, buy what amuses you! Oh, definitely buy a few cloth or leather bags (what seeds get stored in) and some rope (for setting up animals as guards). Type of rope or bags doesn’t really matter. So much shopping to do!
So now we’ve set a huge pile of junk for us to sell, lets pick a bunch
of junk off the elves! I suggest buying food, booze, animals in cages,
weapons (but not the very best ones) like steel crossbows, chainmail
(steel and iron), shields, etc. But don’t stress, buy what amuses you!
Oh, definitely buy a few cloth or leather bags (what seeds get stored
in) and some rope (for setting up animals as guards). Type of rope or
bags doesn’t really matter. So much shopping to do!
One important point! Your dwarfs can’t wear anything “Narrow” or “Large”, so don’t buy it.
One important point! Your dwarfs can’t wear anything “Narrow” or
“Large”, so don’t buy it.
Once you’ve chosen all that’s useful you should have a look at the bottom left, “Trader Profit”. If it’s more than a token tip you will want to un-select some of your own trade goods. No point in giving away lots of junk for free!
Once you’ve chosen all that’s useful you should have a look at the
bottom left, “Trader Profit”. If it’s more than a token tip you will
want to un-select some of your own trade goods. No point in giving away
lots of junk for free!
When you’re happy with your trading, hit “t”, the trade will either go through, or you’ll get a counter offer. “Enter” lets you consider the counter offer, which you can adjust down more in your favour. Hit “t” again and hopefully the trade completes. Keep working at it until it pans out. Until your trader is experienced your “tip” could be quite large.
When you’re happy with your trading, hit “t”, the trade will either go
through, or you’ll get a counter offer. “Enter” lets you consider the
counter offer, which you can adjust down more in your favour. Hit “t”
again and hopefully the trade completes. Keep working at it until it
pans out. Until your trader is experienced your “tip” could be quite
large.
If the trade completes you will see the message “[name] seems pleased with the trading”. Job done! Hit “space” to go back to the local map and let the game resume. You don’t need to do anything else now, dwarfs will come and haul your spoils and the traders will leave happy with their trinkets. Even better, they will take news of your awesome limestone mugs, earrings and bracelets back to the world and that will attract even more immigrants. Super!
If the trade completes you will see the message “[name] seems pleased
with the trading”. Job done! Hit “space” to go back to the local map
and let the game resume. You don’t need to do anything else now, dwarfs
will come and haul your spoils and the traders will leave happy with
their trinkets. Even better, they will take news of your awesome
limestone mugs, earrings and bracelets back to the world and that will
attract even more immigrants. Super!
The next likely thing to happen is that the trade liaison will want to talk to you about what goods you want. Feel free to suggest to the trader items you’d like (using the arrow keys to scroll and upgrade the “Want” of an item). Note, the more you want the item, the higher the price they will charge when they bring it, so mild suggestions for preferred items are probably better than setting the “want” meter all the way over to the right.
The next likely thing to happen is that the trade liaison will want to
talk to you about what goods you want. Feel free to suggest to the
trader items you’d like (using the arrow keys to scroll and upgrade the
“Want” of an item). Note, the more you want the item, the higher the
price they will charge when they bring it, so mild suggestions for
preferred items are probably better than setting the “want” meter all
the way over to the right.
The trader will also tell you what they’re interested in getting in trade goods. The higher the priority the more they will pay for the good. I largely ignore this as, frankly, if you churn out a ton of good crafts, and trade regularly, you should have plenty of junk to trade for most things you want, let alone junk from dead invading goblins etc. If/when you do get those screens, read the screen prompts carefully, and experiment! It can’t hurt!
The trader will also tell you what they’re interested in getting in
trade goods. The higher the priority the more they will pay for the
good. I largely ignore this as, frankly, if you churn out a ton of good
crafts, and trade regularly, you should have plenty of junk to trade
for most things you want, let alone junk from dead invading goblins
etc. If/when you do get those screens, read the screen prompts
carefully, and experiment! It can’t hurt!
That’s all for now folks. Next time we’ll cover managing your dwarfs, which is an interesting challenge of immense potential depth. But don’t worry it’s not that hard, really!
That’s all for now folks. Next time we’ll cover managing your dwarfs,
which is an interesting challenge of immense potential depth. But don’t
worry it’s not that hard, really!

264
chapters/chap07-industry.rst
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@ -2,11 +2,21 @@
A Mighty Fortress!
##################
You have come a long way, young jedi! Your dwarf herding skills are strong! You now know the basics of building, production, trading and managing your dwarfs. But we still have work to do, so lets get back to our fortress!
You have come a long way, young jedi! Your dwarf herding skills are
strong! You now know the basics of building, production, trading and
managing your dwarfs. But we still have work to do, so lets get back to
our fortress!
More Production!
================
We took a bit of a detour earlier by getting into managing dwarfs and trading and whatnot, but I think you’ll agree those were important lessons. But what really gets us going is building awesome new stuff in our fortress, right? Lets start with some new workshops you should get to grips with. I won’t list the keys you need to use for every task, you should be able to remember the basic stuff from earlier lessons, so lets just get building these workshops around our four big production rooms:
We took a bit of a detour earlier by getting into managing dwarfs and
trading and whatnot, but I think you’ll agree those were important
lessons. But what really gets us going is building awesome new stuff in
our fortress, right? Lets start with some new workshops you should get
to grips with. I won’t list the keys you need to use for every task,
you should be able to remember the basic stuff from earlier lessons, so
lets just get building these workshops around our four big production
rooms:
* Mechanic’s Workshop
* Leather Works
@ -15,14 +25,23 @@ We took a bit of a detour earlier by getting into managing dwarfs and trading an
* Butchers
* Metalsmith’s Forge
In addition, go to the Furnaces menu (from “b” and then “e” for “Furnaces”) and build:
In addition, go to the Furnaces menu (from “b” and then “e” for
“Furnaces”) and build:
* Wood Furnace
* Smelter
While those places get built lets look at expanding a bit. In the middle of our four room area we have three stairs going down. Right now they go nowhere, so lets go down about 5 levels. Remember, “d” and then “i” for “Up/Down Stairs”, set to the level below, will get that construction going.
While those places get built lets look at expanding a bit. In the
middle of our four room area we have three stairs going down. Right now
they go nowhere, so lets go down about 5 levels. Remember, “d” and then
“i” for “Up/Down Stairs”, set to the level below, will get that
construction going.
We also have room to expand between our production floor and our entrance, so lets go up a level and put some storage there. I suggest the easiest way to do this will be to “b”, “build” a “C” “construction”, that is, an up-stair. So chose the space I highlight below, and then follow along!
We also have room to expand between our production floor and our
entrance, so lets go up a level and put some storage there. I suggest
the easiest way to do this will be to “b”, “build” a “C”
“construction”, that is, an up-stair. So chose the space I highlight
below, and then follow along!
.. image:: images/dftutorial79.png
:align: center
@ -40,42 +59,65 @@ Once the job is done you’ll have some stairs like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial80.png
:align: center
Now we want to “connect” this level to the one above. If you go up a level you won’t see anything but dirt, but we know the stairs are leading up to this level, so it’s a matter of constructing some, right? WRONG! We want to designate some stairs, because our miners will carve out some matching stairs! We only use “construct” when we’ve got an empty space to deal with.
Now we want to “connect” this level to the one above. If you go up a
level you won’t see anything but dirt, but we know the stairs are
leading up to this level, so it’s a matter of constructing some, right?
WRONG! We want to designate some stairs, because our miners will carve
out some matching stairs! We only use “construct” when we’ve got an
empty space to deal with.
One challenge you’ll face is working out where on the floor above the spot is you need to dig out. So try this technique:
One challenge you’ll face is working out where on the floor above the
spot is you need to dig out. So try this technique:
* Hit “d”.
* Hit “i” for “Up/Down Stair” (we want a series of stairs almost back up to the surface).
* Hit “i” for “Up/Down Stair” (we want a series of stairs almost back
up to the surface).
* Put your X over the top stair in the line, like the screenshot
.. image:: images/dftutorial81.png
:align: center
* Now go up a level and at the above level, designate three stairs in a row (ie, hit enter, then hit down-arrow a couple of times, and then hit enter), the above level should look like this:
* Now go up a level and at the above level, designate three stairs in a
row (ie, hit enter, then hit down-arrow a couple of times, and then hit
enter), the above level should look like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial82.png
:align: center
You’ll note I wasn’t quick enough when I took this picture and two of my three stairs are already dug out. Good dwarfs!
You’ll note I wasn’t quick enough when I took this picture and two of
my three stairs are already dug out. Good dwarfs!
With the new stairs dug out (providing easy access to all the space we’re going to create for our production dwarfs) lets make a massive space for them to stockpile goods. Here’s how much I dug out:
With the new stairs dug out (providing easy access to all the space
we’re going to create for our production dwarfs) lets make a massive
space for them to stockpile goods. Here’s how much I dug out:
.. image:: images/dftutorial83.png
:align: center
In case you’re wondering, that’s about a 40×40 box with our first stairs at the bottom. And one nice thing about digging in dirt (which this layer is), is that it doesn’t leave any messy rock around to clutter up our nice stockpiles!
In case you’re wondering, that’s about a 40×40 box with our first
stairs at the bottom. And one nice thing about digging in dirt (which
this layer is), is that it doesn’t leave any messy rock around to
clutter up our nice stockpiles!
While that’s completing, lets start an important job, making our dining room awesome! You see, dwarfs love to spend time in an attractive meeting hall. Right now mine is packed with loafers. They clearly need a bit more room! A bit of digging will sort that:
While that’s completing, lets start an important job, making our dining
room awesome! You see, dwarfs love to spend time in an attractive
meeting hall. Right now mine is packed with loafers. They clearly need
a bit more room! A bit of digging will sort that:
.. image:: images/dftutorial84.png
:align: center
Once the room is expanded, fit doors and some more tables and chairs. Once that’s done you’ll need to do something important, and that’s resize the room. As you may remember we set the room up from one of the tables. But if you “q” over the dining room table now you’ll see it doesn’t fill the space:
Once the room is expanded, fit doors and some more tables and chairs.
Once that’s done you’ll need to do something important, and that’s
resize the room. As you may remember we set the room up from one of the
tables. But if you “q” over the dining room table now you’ll see it
doesn’t fill the space:
.. image:: images/dftutorial85.png
:align: center
The room will be more “valuable” and widely used if it’s set to be bigger, to fill this space. Lets do that now:
The room will be more “valuable” and widely used if it’s set to be
bigger, to fill this space. Lets do that now:
* Hit “q” and move the X over the table which is setting the room up…
* Hit “r” for “Resize Room”.
@ -86,67 +128,150 @@ The room will be more “valuable” and widely used if it’s set to be bigger,
* Hit “enter”
Job done! The room is resized and better. But we want to make it MUCH better because I noticed a dwarf with a red down arrow flashing and when I viewed his info it turned out he was pretty unimpressed with his surroundings. Lets get to impressing him!
Job done! The room is resized and better. But we want to make it MUCH
better because I noticed a dwarf with a red down arrow flashing and
when I viewed his info it turned out he was pretty unimpressed with his
surroundings. Lets get to impressing him!
How do we do that? Simple! We smooth the walls and then engrave them with fine carvings all about our fortress! To do this:
How do we do that? Simple! We smooth the walls and then engrave them
with fine carvings all about our fortress! To do this:
* Hit “d”.
* Hit “s” for “Smooth Stone”.
* Select the entire dining room and walls using “enter”, move cursor, “enter”.
* Select the entire dining room and walls using “enter”, move cursor,
“enter”.
The room will now look all flashy like this (until you back out of the menu, anyway):
The room will now look all flashy like this (until you back out of the
menu, anyway):
.. image:: images/dftutorial87.png
:align: center
Any dwarf with the “Stone detailing” labour on will now set about smoothing the walls and floors. The next step, once the space is smooth, is to designate the room to be engraved using “d” and “e”. Engraved walls make dwarfs happy and increase the value of your fortress. You can even look at them by using “k” and hitting enter with the engraving highlighted. Some walls have some quite amusing engravings (randomly generated and based on the history of your dwarfs and your fortress), so it’s worth looking around and finding the good ones. The better the quality of the engraving the more text there is to read, so keep an eye out for the engravings with the metal-bars icon next to them.
Any dwarf with the “Stone detailing” labour on will now set about
smoothing the walls and floors. The next step, once the space is
smooth, is to designate the room to be engraved using “d” and “e”.
Engraved walls make dwarfs happy and increase the value of your
fortress. You can even look at them by using “k” and hitting enter with
the engraving highlighted. Some walls have some quite amusing
engravings (randomly generated and based on the history of your dwarfs
and your fortress), so it’s worth looking around and finding the good
ones. The better the quality of the engraving the more text there is to
read, so keep an eye out for the engravings with the metal-bars icon
next to them.
With the smoothing under way, lets get back to the piles. In that big space upstairs you can pretty much set up a space for everything it’s possible to make a pile for (except refuse, of course, which we want to be outside). So go do that now. Here’s how mine is laid out.
With the smoothing under way, lets get back to the piles. In that big
space upstairs you can pretty much set up a space for everything it’s
possible to make a pile for (except refuse, of course, which we want to
be outside). So go do that now. Here’s how mine is laid out.
.. image:: images/dftutorial88.png
:align: center
Pretty complete huh? Well, almost, I’m sort of tempted to make a stone pile and using custom settings have it as metal ores only. It would make things a bit tidier, but on the other hand probably doesn’t gain me that much efficiency right now. Be very careful with stone stockpiles, hauling stone can consume a heap of your dwarfs’ time, which is a bit pointless.
Pretty complete huh? Well, almost, I’m sort of tempted to make a stone
pile and using custom settings have it as metal ores only. It would
make things a bit tidier, but on the other hand probably doesn’t gain
me that much efficiency right now. Be very careful with stone
stockpiles, hauling stone can consume a heap of your dwarfs’ time,
which is a bit pointless.
Hotel Califortress!
===================
We’ve got some new workshops set up, we’ve got some great storage, and we’ve dug down a few levels. Good stuff! Unfortunately, (or fortunately?) you’ve probably had a bunch of immigrants arrive over the course of the past couple of tutorials and they haven’t been assigned anywhere to live. We also don’t have any space dug out for the inevitable arrival of nobles, and these boys and girls are one set of dwarfs that need hard work to keep happy!
We’ve got some new workshops set up, we’ve got some great storage, and
we’ve dug down a few levels. Good stuff! Unfortunately, (or
fortunately?) you’ve probably had a bunch of immigrants arrive over the
course of the past couple of tutorials and they haven’t been assigned
anywhere to live. We also don’t have any space dug out for the
inevitable arrival of nobles, and these boys and girls are one set of
dwarfs that need hard work to keep happy!
Fortunately we’ve dug down a few levels and we have a lot of nice rock down there. So lets go take some time to lay out some great bedrooms for our dwarfs. The majority of your rooms should be 2×2, but lets make some space for nobles too.
Fortunately we’ve dug down a few levels and we have a lot of nice rock
down there. So lets go take some time to lay out some great bedrooms
for our dwarfs. The majority of your rooms should be 2×2, but lets make
some space for nobles too.
Nobles usually want two-to-four rooms. So lets make things easy and give them all four rooms of size 3×3 or so, that should be good enough. Here’s how I have planned out my bedroom level:
Nobles usually want two-to-four rooms. So lets make things easy and
give them all four rooms of size 3×3 or so, that should be good enough.
Here’s how I have planned out my bedroom level:
.. image:: images/dftutorial89.png
:align: center
A couple of points. Firstly, the whole right side of my new bedroom level won’t be dug because it’s not connected to the stairs, etc. I’ll connect it up later once we’ve got the left side done. Second, my layout is pretty boring, go and check out some of the bedroom designs on the wiki. I love the fractal pattern! Very efficient! Finally, you’ll notice the big wide corridors for the main arterial routes. Dwarfs need space to move around, remember!
A couple of points. Firstly, the whole right side of my new bedroom
level won’t be dug because it’s not connected to the stairs, etc. I’ll
connect it up later once we’ve got the left side done. Second, my
layout is pretty boring, go and check out some of the bedroom designs
on the wiki. I love the fractal pattern! Very efficient! Finally,
you’ll notice the big wide corridors for the main arterial routes.
Dwarfs need space to move around, remember!
Also, remember that you will need a lot of new doors and beds for our beautiful hotel. While you’re at it, build a ton of tables and chairs and at least a half dozen coffers, cabinets, armor stands, weapon stands. You’ll find all those items under the masonry workshop menus. Oh, and lets connect up the southern most stairs (the first ones we built way back in tutorial 1 or 2) with this level as well. Construct down stairs from the workshop floor and then designate Up/Down stairs till we’re all connected up.
Also, remember that you will need a lot of new doors and beds for our
beautiful hotel. While you’re at it, build a ton of tables and chairs
and at least a half dozen coffers, cabinets, armor stands, weapon
stands. You’ll find all those items under the masonry workshop menus.
Oh, and lets connect up the southern most stairs (the first ones we
built way back in tutorial 1 or 2) with this level as well. Construct
down stairs from the workshop floor and then designate Up/Down stairs
till we’re all connected up.
While that is being built (oh, we’re going to find some jems too, cool!) lets continue with…
While that is being built (oh, we’re going to find some jems too,
cool!) lets continue with…
The Joy of Traps!
=================
Traps form the majority of many people’s defences, so it’s best we get sorted and make some. First up, we will need a lot of mechanisms, so go find that mechanic’s workshop and fill it’s job queue with mechanisms. They’ll end up in a finished goods pile when done.
Traps form the majority of many people’s defences, so it’s best we get
sorted and make some. First up, we will need a lot of mechanisms, so go
find that mechanic’s workshop and fill it’s job queue with mechanisms.
They’ll end up in a finished goods pile when done.
Next, go to the Carpenter’s workshop and add a ton of cages (“j” is the shortcut from the “Add Task” menu). Try and get ten built. Add another carpenter’s workshop to your workshop floor if you fancy, makes it easier to queue up more than a few of any item and get things made faster.
Next, go to the Carpenter’s workshop and add a ton of cages (“j” is the
shortcut from the “Add Task” menu). Try and get ten built. Add another
carpenter’s workshop to your workshop floor if you fancy, makes it
easier to queue up more than a few of any item and get things made
faster.
While you’re at it, queue up a bunch of booze at the still too, we don’t want to run out, ok!
While you’re at it, queue up a bunch of booze at the still too, we
don’t want to run out, ok!
Now would be a good time to go fiddle with Dwarf Manager. Sort out your profession groups, make sure your diggers have no job other than diggers and your masons and stone details are doing nothing but those jobs, after all, we want them to stay on task and not get distracted, right? Set all the peasants to haul jobs only, remove all hauling jobs but food hauling from your farmers, you get the picture!
Now would be a good time to go fiddle with Dwarf Manager. Sort out your
profession groups, make sure your diggers have no job other than
diggers and your masons and stone details are doing nothing but those
jobs, after all, we want them to stay on task and not get distracted,
right? Set all the peasants to haul jobs only, remove all hauling jobs
but food hauling from your farmers, you get the picture!
Here’s how I’ve got my lads and ladies sorted:
.. image:: images/dftutorial90.png
:align: center
Couple of interesting points. First up, I’ve got 14 dwarfs assigned to the “Pleb” profession: All they do is haul stuff. The others are grouped around certain jobs – farming, crafting, digging, masonry/stone detailing, etc. In a few situations, for example, my “Foody” class, I have a dwarf who is good at cooking and another who is good at brewing, and to make life easier I’ve turned on both jobs for both dwarfs. Eventually they’ll be great at both, and it saves me a little admin with dozens of production classes. I engage in this sort of rationalisation frequently in my dwarf management.
Couple of interesting points. First up, I’ve got 14 dwarfs assigned to
the “Pleb” profession: All they do is haul stuff. The others are
grouped around certain jobs – farming, crafting, digging, masonry/stone
detailing, etc. In a few situations, for example, my “Foody” class, I
have a dwarf who is good at cooking and another who is good at brewing,
and to make life easier I’ve turned on both jobs for both dwarfs.
Eventually they’ll be great at both, and it saves me a little admin
with dozens of production classes. I engage in this sort of
rationalisation frequently in my dwarf management.
I’ve also got four dwarfs set to farm, and they only farm and haul food, nothing else. With nothing to distract them they will fill the fields with crops! I’ve also got at least one dwarf in there who has no farming skill, it’s never to soon to start training them up though!
I’ve also got four dwarfs set to farm, and they only farm and haul
food, nothing else. With nothing to distract them they will fill the
fields with crops! I’ve also got at least one dwarf in there who has no
farming skill, it’s never to soon to start training them up though!
With so many dedicated haulers I can afford to leave some dwarfs to specialise in these various production tasks. But be careful of having to many dwarfs who aren’t doing anything, idle hands are the devil’s plaything, after all! Dwarfs with no jobs will eventually get bored and throw parties that tie up lots of time and dwarfs. If your dwarfs have little to do, set a few making stone blocks (blocks make any item made out of them more valuable and can also be stacked in bins, a great way to remove stone clutter) or have them out their harvesting plants, smoothing stone or whathaveyou. No need to have them lazing about!
With so many dedicated haulers I can afford to leave some dwarfs to
specialise in these various production tasks. But be careful of having
to many dwarfs who aren’t doing anything, idle hands are the devil’s
plaything, after all! Dwarfs with no jobs will eventually get bored and
throw parties that tie up lots of time and dwarfs. If your dwarfs have
little to do, set a few making stone blocks (blocks make any item made
out of them more valuable and can also be stacked in bins, a great way
to remove stone clutter) or have them out their harvesting plants,
smoothing stone or whathaveyou. No need to have them lazing about!
Hang on a second.. weren’t we meant to be talking about traps? Yes! I think we were! So, with cages and mechanisms built lets get on and make some cage traps…
Hang on a second.. weren’t we meant to be talking about traps? Yes! I
think we were! So, with cages and mechanisms built lets get on and make
some cage traps…
Dwarfs and their strange moods!
===============================
@ -155,37 +280,82 @@ Dwarfs and their strange moods!
.. image:: images/dftutorial91.png
:align: center
If you get a dwarf in a strange mood, find them using “u”, looking for their name, and then “c”. You will see the dwarf flashing with a grey exclamation mark (red is very bad, by the way). Follow this dwarf closesly. This dwarf has got a strange mood and is off to claim a workshop to start building some amazing object based on their whim and fancy. We can’t control what they build, all we can do is hope they build something cool and that they can find all the materials they want for their fancy. If not, they go suicidal or homicidal. Oh dear! Lets watch and see what happens. Of course, this event is random, so it might not happen to you at this point in the game, but it will happen sooner or later.
If you get a dwarf in a strange mood, find them using “u”, looking for
their name, and then “c”. You will see the dwarf flashing with a grey
exclamation mark (red is very bad, by the way). Follow this dwarf
closesly. This dwarf has got a strange mood and is off to claim a
workshop to start building some amazing object based on their whim and
fancy. We can’t control what they build, all we can do is hope they
build something cool and that they can find all the materials they want
for their fancy. If not, they go suicidal or homicidal. Oh dear! Lets
watch and see what happens. Of course, this event is random, so it
might not happen to you at this point in the game, but it will happen
sooner or later.
Right, my dwarf, Endok Oltarisos has rushed off to claim a leather workshop. No surprise, he’s a tanner after all. Once he claims the workshop you can “q” and see the status of the workshop, and if you wait, it will scroll through what items the dwarf is looking for. Endok is looking for “stacked leather” and “skeletons”. I’m not sure if I’ve got any. I’ll find out pretty quickly though, the dwarf will either run off and start fetching stuff, or sit in the workshop, seemingly doing nothing…
Right, my dwarf, Endok Oltarisos has rushed off to claim a leather
workshop. No surprise, he’s a tanner after all. Once he claims the
workshop you can “q” and see the status of the workshop, and if you
wait, it will scroll through what items the dwarf is looking for. Endok
is looking for “stacked leather” and “skeletons”. I’m not sure if I’ve
got any. I’ll find out pretty quickly though, the dwarf will either run
off and start fetching stuff, or sit in the workshop, seemingly doing
nothing…
.. image:: images/dftutorial92.png
:align: center
Well, the leather isn’t a problem, I just bought a ton from a trader, and the bones, I think he’s grabbed some from the refuse pile. Thankfully, my worries about the dwarf not getting stuff are put to rest when I get this message:
Well, the leather isn’t a problem, I just bought a ton from a trader,
and the bones, I think he’s grabbed some from the refuse pile.
Thankfully, my worries about the dwarf not getting stuff are put to
rest when I get this message:
.. image:: images/dftutorial93.png
:align: center
Endok has begun a mysterious construction! Great! Now we just wait and see what crazy object the dwarf produces. With luck it will be useful!
Endok has begun a mysterious construction! Great! Now we just wait and
see what crazy object the dwarf produces. With luck it will be useful!
.. image:: images/dftutorial94.png
:align: center
..or maybe not! Our dwarf has made a cap, a simple hat, out of dog leather! Damn! On the plus side though the dwarf has become a legendary tanner. If they gain skill from a mood it often leaves them “Legendary”, which is pretty neat. With legendary skill I could use Endok to make leather armour and it would be as good as metal armour, handy.
..or maybe not! Our dwarf has made a cap, a simple hat, out of dog
leather! Damn! On the plus side though the dwarf has become a legendary
tanner. If they gain skill from a mood it often leaves them
“Legendary”, which is pretty neat. With legendary skill I could use
Endok to make leather armour and it would be as good as metal armour,
handy.
Lets look at the item. If we hit “l” we get a “list” of artefacts. With only one artefact there’s no list, so we can go straight in to hitting “v” to “View”.
Lets look at the item. If we hit “l” we get a “list” of artefacts. With
only one artefact there’s no list, so we can go straight in to hitting
“v” to “View”.
Behold! Triberiddle, the dog leather cap (click on the picture here if you can’t read the text)!
Behold! Triberiddle, the dog leather cap (click on the picture here if
you can’t read the text)!
.. image:: images/dftutorial95.png
:align: center
A nice hat depicting when one of the trade caravan guards shot a goblin. No one will wear it though, it’s an :wiki:`artifact`, only champions consider themselves important enough to grab artifacts from stock piles.
A nice hat depicting when one of the trade caravan guards shot a
goblin. No one will wear it though, it’s an :wiki:`artifact`, only
champions consider themselves important enough to grab artifacts from
stock piles.
We were lucky this time with our moody dwarf. He was able to get everything he needed to make his artifact. If he couldn’t find it he would go quite crazy in the workshop, or if a suitable workshop isn’t available, in his room. When you see the dwarf start to go crazy (flashing down arrows and not moving from their workshop are a good sign) it’s time to either assign the dwarf some war dogs (more on that later) or to construct some walls and wall them in to their workshop, or to lock the door on their quarters. At some point the dwarf will go beserk and either get attacked by nearby military dwarfs or war dogs, or if locked inside, slowly starve to death.
We were lucky this time with our moody dwarf. He was able to get
everything he needed to make his artifact. If he couldn’t find it he
would go quite crazy in the workshop, or if a suitable workshop isn’t
available, in his room. When you see the dwarf start to go crazy
(flashing down arrows and not moving from their workshop are a good
sign) it’s time to either assign the dwarf some war dogs (more on that
later) or to construct some walls and wall them in to their workshop,
or to lock the door on their quarters. At some point the dwarf will go
beserk and either get attacked by nearby military dwarfs or war dogs,
or if locked inside, slowly starve to death.
If the crazy dwarf is ignored they will destroy stuff and attack dwarfs, probably killing a couple before they are put down, so watch those moody stunties closely!
If the crazy dwarf is ignored they will destroy stuff and attack
dwarfs, probably killing a couple before they are put down, so watch
those moody stunties closely!
…Hang on a second, weren’t we supposed to be doing something about traps? Bugger! We’re out of time. How about next time? OK? Seriously? I really promise we’ll get to traps, ok!
…Hang on a second, weren’t we supposed to be doing something about
traps? Bugger! We’re out of time. How about next time? OK? Seriously? I
really promise we’ll get to traps, ok!

295
chapters/chap08-defences-traps.rst
View file

@ -3,102 +3,213 @@ It's a trap!
############
I promised traps, and damn traps we will have! And not of the Star Wars or Thai kind, but of the Dwarf Fortress kind! I’m two bottles of beer and a glass of absinthe into the evening, so lets get on with it before things get worse!
I promised traps, and damn traps we will have! And not of the Star Wars
or Thai kind, but of the Dwarf Fortress kind! I’m two bottles of beer
and a glass of absinthe into the evening, so lets get on with it before
things get worse!
Defence and Traps!
==================
You’ve got mechanisms, you’ve got cages, now lets make some traps! Head to the front entrance of your fort and we’ll get building traps and then ponder the various strategies one might employ in setting up the defence of your fortress. Follow along:
You’ve got mechanisms, you’ve got cages, now lets make some traps! Head
to the front entrance of your fort and we’ll get building traps and
then ponder the various strategies one might employ in setting up the
defence of your fortress. Follow along:
* At the front entrance, hit “b”.
* Scroll to “Traps/Levers” and hit enter, or just hit “T”.
* You will now see a list of traps, lets briefly discuss them.
:Stone-fall traps:
These are simple one-shot traps that drop a big rock on an enemy’s head. These are great for a quickly built defence, but clearly, as one shot traps, a little limited. Note, with all traps, if your dwarfs fall onto them, unconscious, they will trigger the trap!
These are simple one-shot traps that drop a big rock on an enemy’s
head. These are great for a quickly built defence, but clearly, as
one shot traps, a little limited. Note, with all traps, if your
dwarfs fall onto them, unconscious, they will trigger the trap!
:Weapon Trap:
These will probably be your bread and butter as they will attack any enemy triggering them and with multiple weapons can be quite powerful.
These will probably be your bread and butter as they will attack
any enemy triggering them and with multiple weapons can be quite
powerful.
:Lever:
Not a trap, but a device used to manually trigger things like bridges, cages, doors, floodgates, supports, etc. More on these later some time.
Not a trap, but a device used to manually trigger things like
bridges, cages, doors, floodgates, supports, etc. More on these
later some time.
:Pressure Plate:
Can be part of a complex trap or can be used to trigger other objects when conditions are met (such as water being on them, creatures stepping on them, magma flowing over them, etc). More on those later too.
Can be part of a complex trap or can be used to trigger other
objects when conditions are met (such as water being on them,
creatures stepping on them, magma flowing over them, etc). More on
those later too.
:Cage Trap:
What we’re going to be working with in a moment! A trap that catches the enemy in a cage. You can then do amusing things with the trapped bad guys, like tossing them off a tall bridge, dropping them into magma, or stripping them and using them for military sparing practice. Good fun!
What we’re going to be working with in a moment! A trap that
catches the enemy in a cage. You can then do amusing things with
the trapped bad guys, like tossing them off a tall bridge, dropping
them into magma, or stripping them and using them for military
sparing practice. Good fun!
:Upright Spear/Spike:
A peculiar sort of trap device that can only be triggered by a pressure plate or lever.
A peculiar sort of trap device that can only be triggered by a
pressure plate or lever.
You should read about :wiki:`traps <trap>` :wiki:`trap design <trap_design>` on the wiki for a lot more detail, but only after you’ve completed this tutorial, ok?! For now, get back to work!
You should read about :wiki:`traps <trap>` :wiki:`trap design
<trap_design>` on the wiki for a lot more detail, but only after you’ve
completed this tutorial, ok?! For now, get back to work!
* Scroll down to Cage Trap, hit enter.
* You now have a green X, place it in front of your entrance somewhere with “enter”.
* Do this a few times, you can see below how I’ve set a few traps to be built.
* You now have a green X, place it in front of your entrance somewhere
with “enter”.
* Do this a few times, you can see below how I’ve set a few traps to be
built.
.. image:: images/dftutorial96.png
:align: center
This is hardly an impressive defence, but it will do for now. With luck it might help against any casual raiders, although “thief” monsters will still be able to sneak past your traps. To beef our defence up a bit we need to get some weapon traps installed as well as sort out some way to strike back at attackers who aren’t so gracious to step on all of our traps. So with that in mind, get producing a lot more mechanisms (at least 10) and follow along as we produce some trap components!
This is hardly an impressive defence, but it will do for now. With luck
it might help against any casual raiders, although “thief” monsters
will still be able to sneak past your traps. To beef our defence up a
bit we need to get some weapon traps installed as well as sort out some
way to strike back at attackers who aren’t so gracious to step on all
of our traps. So with that in mind, get producing a lot more mechanisms
(at least 10) and follow along as we produce some trap components!
Smelting and other dwarfy things!
=================================
This wouldn’t be a *dwarf* fortress if we didn’t fill the place with the clang of forge hammers and the stink of furnaces, right? Lets have some fun then and make some sharp things to hurt our enemies!
This wouldn’t be a *dwarf* fortress if we didn’t fill the place with
the clang of forge hammers and the stink of furnaces, right? Lets have
some fun then and make some sharp things to hurt our enemies!
First up, let me point out that item production can be fairly confusing. Essentially what we’re going to do is turn some wood into charcoal (at a wood furnace), then use the charcoal to turn metal ores into metal bars (at a smelter), then we’re going to use more charcoal to smith metal bars into items (at a metalsmith’s forge). As you can no doubt imagine the problem we will face is the charcoal bottleneck. It will take a lot of wood to fuel all our furnaces! Most of the time this problem is got around by players using magma smelters and magma forges. We haven’t struck magma yet, so we’re going to plough ahead with the hard way, at least for a while. The goal of all this is to produce a few fearsome trap components to fit out some weapon traps – think spinning disks from Indiana Jones! So follow along:
First up, let me point out that item production can be fairly
confusing. Essentially what we’re going to do is turn some wood into
charcoal (at a wood furnace), then use the charcoal to turn metal ores
into metal bars (at a smelter), then we’re going to use more charcoal
to smith metal bars into items (at a metalsmith’s forge). As you can
no doubt imagine the problem we will face is the charcoal bottleneck.
It will take a lot of wood to fuel all our furnaces! Most of the time
this problem is got around by players using magma smelters and magma
forges. We haven’t struck magma yet, so we’re going to plough ahead
with the hard way, at least for a while. The goal of all this is to
produce a few fearsome trap components to fit out some weapon traps –
think spinning disks from Indiana Jones! So follow along:
* Find your wood furnace, hit “q” and “a” for “add task”.
* Select “Make Charcoal”.
* Queue up a full list of Charcoal.
* Wait until your list is half-empty. Fill it some more!
* Now go to the smelter, and try to “a”, “Add new task”. You will now see a list of the tasks available at this workshop. Note, the tasks will change as you uncover more ores or deplete older ores. For interest, note that you can set the workshop to melt objects you wish to dispose of (turns the object back into a metal bar). More on that some other time.
* Chose “Smelt Magnetite Ore”, hit “enter”. Magnetite contains iron, this will turn those sparkly rocks lying around to iron bars.
* Fill the queue and then fill it again (or build another smelter and fill both queues).
* Try and make sure your charcoal production keeps up with the smelting. If it falls behind your smelt task will be cancelled and you’ll have to reissue it.
* Once we’re done with this tutorial why not go and smelt all of that native platinum ore you saw on the list as well? If you’ve dug downstairs out you may have gold to smelt too!
* Now go to the smelter, and try to “a”, “Add new task”. You will now
see a list of the tasks available at this workshop. Note, the tasks
will change as you uncover more ores or deplete older ores. For
interest, note that you can set the workshop to melt objects you wish
to dispose of (turns the object back into a metal bar). More on that
some other time.
* Chose “Smelt Magnetite Ore”, hit “enter”. Magnetite contains iron,
this will turn those sparkly rocks lying around to iron bars.
* Fill the queue and then fill it again (or build another smelter and
fill both queues).
* Try and make sure your charcoal production keeps up with the
smelting. If it falls behind your smelt task will be cancelled and
you’ll have to reissue it.
* Once we’re done with this tutorial why not go and smelt all of that
native platinum ore you saw on the list as well? If you’ve dug
downstairs out you may have gold to smelt too!
Your dwarfs should be pretty busy now, hauling charcoal, wood, ores and bars around. If things aren’t moving quick enough turn off the hauling jobs for anyone involved in your metalworking industry. While you’re at it, make sure you’ve got enough wood around for charcoal by cutting more down outside!
Your dwarfs should be pretty busy now, hauling charcoal, wood, ores and
bars around. If things aren’t moving quick enough turn off the hauling
jobs for anyone involved in your metalworking industry. While you’re at
it, make sure you’ve got enough wood around for charcoal by cutting
more down outside!
If you want to check your progress, go look at your Bar/Block stockpile and see what is being built up. If you suspect all of your production is in bins, use “k”, find the bin, hit “enter” and look inside the bin.
If you want to check your progress, go look at your Bar/Block stockpile
and see what is being built up. If you suspect all of your production
is in bins, use “k”, find the bin, hit “enter” and look inside the bin.
A little on food processing
===========================
While all this is going on, why not go to your farmer’s workshop and add a task of “Process Plants (to bag)”. Set it on repeat. Then add a task of “Process Plants (to barrel)”, again, set it on repeat. Now, anyone with the “Plant Processing” labour on (no one by default) will go and process anything you’ve grown that needs processing. I won’t list those plants here now (go look at crops for all the detail), but suffice to say, some plants need to be processed so they can be eaten or used in other sorts of manufacture (eg, cloth making).
While all this is going on, why not go to your farmer’s workshop and
add a task of “Process Plants (to bag)”. Set it on repeat. Then add a
task of “Process Plants (to barrel)”, again, set it on repeat. Now,
anyone with the “Plant Processing” labour on (no one by default) will
go and process anything you’ve grown that needs processing. I won’t
list those plants here now (go look at crops for all the detail), but
suffice to say, some plants need to be processed so they can be eaten
or used in other sorts of manufacture (eg, cloth making).
Hopefully you’re not short on bags. If you are, try and pick up a bunch off a trader. Alternately, buy leather and/or cloth off a trader and using the Leather Workshop or Clothier’s Shop (we’ve not built one yet) make bags. Bags are very handy for storing seeds and processed plants, you can never have too many of them. They’re like barrels and bins in that way.
Hopefully you’re not short on bags. If you are, try and pick up a bunch
off a trader. Alternately, buy leather and/or cloth off a trader and
using the Leather Workshop or Clothier’s Shop (we’ve not built one yet)
make bags. Bags are very handy for storing seeds and processed plants,
you can never have too many of them. They’re like barrels and bins in
that way.
Back to the iron!
=================
With a few iron bars made, head on back to the smelter. Go and “a”, “Add task”. You should now see a new task listed “Make Pig Iron Bar”. Pig Iron is made out of one iron bar and one piece of flux material (eg, limestone, which we’ve got a lot of). Next on the production chain for us will be steel (which requires a pig iron bar an an iron bar and a flux material), which is second only to Adamantium in sharp awesomeness, and will let us make some great weapons, trap components and armor.
With a few iron bars made, head on back to the smelter. Go and “a”,
“Add task”. You should now see a new task listed “Make Pig Iron Bar”.
Pig Iron is made out of one iron bar and one piece of flux material
(eg, limestone, which we’ve got a lot of). Next on the production chain
for us will be steel (which requires a pig iron bar an an iron bar and
a flux material), which is second only to Adamantium in sharp
awesomeness, and will let us make some great weapons, trap components
and armor.
Before your imagination gets carried away, go produce a lot of iron bars and a dozen or so pig iron bars. Check in here again when you’re done.
Before your imagination gets carried away, go produce a lot of iron
bars and a dozen or so pig iron bars. Check in here again when you’re
done.
Right, with iron and pig iron bars complete, go back to your smelter and check the “Add tasks” menu. You should now see steel as a smelting option! Awesome! Smelt up a half-dozen steel bars. And while you’re at it, build a lot more cages and mechanisms and put at least half-a-dozen cage traps around your entrance. Come back once you’ve got a bunch of steel bars made.
Right, with iron and pig iron bars complete, go back to your smelter
and check the “Add tasks” menu. You should now see steel as a smelting
option! Awesome! Smelt up a half-dozen steel bars. And while you’re at
it, build a lot more cages and mechanisms and put at least half-a-dozen
cage traps around your entrance. Come back once you’ve got a bunch of
steel bars made.
Ok! Now we’re ready to rock! I hope, at this point, that you’ve not been invaded, attacked or otherwise molested. With our fortress around two years old now it’s likely you’ll start to see the odd goblin ambush – especially if you send your dwarfs outside a lot. I hope you survive those ambushes just fine! Perhaps we should have started this tutorial sooner…
Ok! Now we’re ready to rock! I hope, at this point, that you’ve not
been invaded, attacked or otherwise molested. With our fortress around
two years old now it’s likely you’ll start to see the odd goblin ambush
– especially if you send your dwarfs outside a lot. I hope you survive
those ambushes just fine! Perhaps we should have started this tutorial
sooner…
Anyway, head over to your metalsmith’s forge, and:
* Hit “q”.
* Hit “a”. You will now see a list! Explore the list, see all the neat things we can make! You might need to hit “tab” to expand the menu size so you can see everything.
* Hit “a”. You will now see a list! Explore the list, see all the neat
things we can make! You might need to hit “tab” to expand the menu size
so you can see everything.
* Scroll to “Trap Components” and hit “enter”.
* Scroll to “Steel”, hit “enter”.
* Hit “tab” twice so we can see the full item names.
* Chose to make a “large, serrated Steel disc”. I love the sound of that!
* Queue up three disks.
At this point you might want to think about other items you’d like to make in due course. Hit “a” again and then hit space to back down the make-item tree. Chose “Weapons and Ammunition”, chose “Steel” and lets make three steel warhammers. These will come in handy once we start our military. I like warhammers because it’s funny to watch goblins fly a half dozen tiles and then expire in a heap.
At this point you might want to think about other items you’d like to
make in due course. Hit “a” again and then hit space to back down the
make-item tree. Chose “Weapons and Ammunition”, chose “Steel” and lets
make three steel warhammers. These will come in handy once we start our
military. I like warhammers because it’s funny to watch goblins fly a
half dozen tiles and then expire in a heap.
Once you’re confident your items are made, go back and make sure you’ve got some more charcoal in production, you’ve got more ore being smelted and add, under Armor, three suits of iron chainmail and three iron shields. This will all come in handy later. You could make steel chainmail instead, but it takes a bit of time to make those steel bars and we want to get on with this tutorial, right?
Once you’re confident your items are made, go back and make sure you’ve
got some more charcoal in production, you’ve got more ore being smelted
and add, under Armor, three suits of iron chainmail and three iron
shields. This will all come in handy later. You could make steel
chainmail instead, but it takes a bit of time to make those steel bars
and we want to get on with this tutorial, right?
Don’t forget to make some more charcoal and to keep that production chain flowing. If this all feels rather cumbersome, don’t worry, we’ve got some production shortcuts we can work on later.
Don’t forget to make some more charcoal and to keep that production
chain flowing. If this all feels rather cumbersome, don’t worry, we’ve
got some production shortcuts we can work on later.
Oh, you may be getting annoyed at slow production. I know it’s been bugging me. Perhaps it’s time to pack your production rooms with more smelters and charcoal burners. One issue you’ll face is you need to buy an anvil off the traders in order for you to make another metalsmith forge. Keep it in mind for your next trading deal.
Oh, you may be getting annoyed at slow production. I know it’s been
bugging me. Perhaps it’s time to pack your production rooms with more
smelters and charcoal burners. One issue you’ll face is you need to buy
an anvil off the traders in order for you to make another metalsmith
forge. Keep it in mind for your next trading deal.
Deploy Zee Traps!
=================
Once you’ve got your nice, big spikey discs, head back to your entrance. Get ready for trap placing fun!
Once you’ve got your nice, big spikey discs, head back to your
entrance. Get ready for trap placing fun!
* Go to place a trap as you did earlier. But this time chose “Weapon Trap”.
* Chose a mechanism.
@ -107,27 +218,55 @@ Once you’ve got your nice, big spikey discs, head back to your entrance. Get r
.. image:: images/dftutorial97.png
:align: center
* From this screen you can chose the weapons you want to deploy with your trap. Facing goblins, we really only need one awesome steel disc per trap I think, but we’re able to select more if we wish.
* Scroll to the “large, serrated S…” and hit enter once, you’ll see “1/3” selected.
* From this screen you can chose the weapons you want to deploy with
your trap. Facing goblins, we really only need one awesome steel disc
per trap I think, but we’re able to select more if we wish.
* Scroll to the “large, serrated S…” and hit enter once, you’ll see
“1/3” selected.
* Hit “d” for “Done Selecting”.
* Your first weapon trap is now placed! Place three more.
Weapon traps are great ways of getting rid of a bunch of trash weapons you might have lying around – this is particularly the case once you’ve killed off a few goblins and have their rubbish cluttering up your piles. When filling a trap with weapon trash you might want to put three or four weapons per trap, to ensure maximum sliceness!
Weapon traps are great ways of getting rid of a bunch of trash weapons
you might have lying around – this is particularly the case once you’ve
killed off a few goblins and have their rubbish cluttering up your
piles. When filling a trap with weapon trash you might want to put
three or four weapons per trap, to ensure maximum sliceness!
Here are my traps, laid out. I’m actually going to add another row of slicey dicey weapon traps as I don’t have a military and I’m a bit paranoid. Do something similar!
Here are my traps, laid out. I’m actually going to add another row of
slicey dicey weapon traps as I don’t have a military and I’m a bit
paranoid. Do something similar!
.. image:: images/dftutorial98.png
:align: center
Well done on the trap placing! But we’re not done with our defences just yet. We need to do some terraforming to make things a little nicer for ourselves. Let me explain…
Well done on the trap placing! But we’re not done with our defences
just yet. We need to do some terraforming to make things a little nicer
for ourselves. Let me explain…
Defending stuff better
======================
…If you hit “o” for “orders” you will see a list of global commands you can issue to your dwarfs. The first one at the top is “Dwarfs can go outside”. For amusement, hit “i” to toggle through the options. First “i” turns it to “Soldiers can go outdoors”. If you resume the game all but soldiers will immediately rush into your fortress and refuse to come out again. Hit “i” again and you’ll see that all dwarfs are now instructed to stay inside. Hit “i” once more to return it to the default.
…If you hit “o” for “orders” you will see a list of global commands you
can issue to your dwarfs. The first one at the top is “Dwarfs can go
outside”. For amusement, hit “i” to toggle through the options. First
“i” turns it to “Soldiers can go outdoors”. If you resume the game all
but soldiers will immediately rush into your fortress and refuse to
come out again. Hit “i” again and you’ll see that all dwarfs are now
instructed to stay inside. Hit “i” once more to return it to the default.
Setting orders to “Soldiers only” is what you will want to do when you’re invaded. But there’s a problem with this, can you figure it out? The answer is that it’s in the definition of “outside”. Right now, right up to the edge of our cave mouth is “inside”. Can you imagine the result when goblins invade? You got it! Dwarfs may hang around right at all those traps and get in the way of soldiers or get themselves killed (or more amusingly, get knocked unconscious, fall on a trap, and then get sliced to bits).
Setting orders to “Soldiers only” is what you will want to do when
you’re invaded. But there’s a problem with this, can you figure it out?
The answer is that it’s in the definition of “outside”. Right now,
right up to the edge of our cave mouth is “inside”. Can you imagine the
result when goblins invade? You got it! Dwarfs may hang around right at
all those traps and get in the way of soldiers or get themselves killed
(or more amusingly, get knocked unconscious, fall on a trap, and then
get sliced to bits).
We can prevent this comedy routine by creating more “outside”. For starters, how about we hollow away the roof above our cave entrance? Then that cave mouth becomes “outside”, but entry to our fortress is still restricted by the walls and protected by traps. Good idea huh?! Follow along:
We can prevent this comedy routine by creating more “outside”. For
starters, how about we hollow away the roof above our cave entrance?
Then that cave mouth becomes “outside”, but entry to our fortress is
still restricted by the walls and protected by traps. Good idea huh?!
Follow along:
* Go to our entrance.
* Hit “d”.
@ -143,39 +282,85 @@ We can prevent this comedy routine by creating more “outside”. For starters,
.. image:: images/dftutorial9901.png
:align: center
Channelling cuts down through the ground to the level below. It can be used in place of mining to clear space and provides a safer way for dwarfs to get to stuff below their toes. Note, it is possible to cause cave ins by removing land connecting terrain to the rest of the world. This may be fatal for your dwarfs, so be careful! But for now:
Channelling cuts down through the ground to the level below. It can be
used in place of mining to clear space and provides a safer way for
dwarfs to get to stuff below their toes. Note, it is possible to cause
cave ins by removing land connecting terrain to the rest of the world.
This may be fatal for your dwarfs, so be careful! But for now:
* Designate all those trees around this level to be cut down. We can’t dig a channel on a tree, right? Come back when the cutting is done.
* Continue designating the channel all the way to the end of the spit of land.
* Designate another channel the same full length to the right of the first designation.
* When these are complete, finish our three-channel wide cut with another designation to the right of the second designation. Don’t designate all three at once or your dwarfs may accidentally cause some cave ins by cutting the wrong piece of land in the wrong order!
* Designate all those trees around this level to be cut down. We can’t
dig a channel on a tree, right? Come back when the cutting is done.
* Continue designating the channel all the way to the end of the spit
of land.
* Designate another channel the same full length to the right of the
first designation.
* When these are complete, finish our three-channel wide cut with
another designation to the right of the second designation. Don’t
designate all three at once or your dwarfs may accidentally cause some
cave ins by cutting the wrong piece of land in the wrong order!
When finished, your three channels will be open space above our entrance, like this:
When finished, your three channels will be open space above our
entrance, like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9902.png
:align: center
Now, when we issue the order for our lads to “stay inside” they won’t be hanging around the entrance! Super! One thing I’m concerned about is that anyone above our entrance could get a clear shot down to fleeing dwarfs. Lets stop that by building a wall. While we’re at it lets tidy the bits of land poking out over open air. Flip up and down between levels and you’ll see where some tidying needs to be done. Channel away! As for the wall, you know how to make walls using “b” and “C”, so go ahead and do it, here’s how mine turned out!
Now, when we issue the order for our lads to “stay inside” they won’t
be hanging around the entrance! Super! One thing I’m concerned about is
that anyone above our entrance could get a clear shot down to fleeing
dwarfs. Lets stop that by building a wall. While we’re at it lets tidy
the bits of land poking out over open air. Flip up and down between
levels and you’ll see where some tidying needs to be done. Channel
away! As for the wall, you know how to make walls using “b” and “C”,
so go ahead and do it, here’s how mine turned out!
.. image:: images/dftutorial9903.png
:align: center
Walls to secure anyone dropping in, nice open space to out outdoors/indoors problem.
Walls to secure anyone dropping in, nice open space to out
outdoors/indoors problem.
While you’re fiddling with “o”, “orders”, have a look at “r” for “refuse” orders. Unless I’m in battle, or worried, I like to toggle “o” under the refuse menu so it’s set at “dwarfs gather refuse from outside”. They will then grab all the lewt from dead goblins that is scattered around on the grass. Pretty handy huh? Nothing like free stuff, is there?
While you’re fiddling with “o”, “orders”, have a look at “r” for
“refuse” orders. Unless I’m in battle, or worried, I like to toggle “o”
under the refuse menu so it’s set at “dwarfs gather refuse from
outside”. They will then grab all the lewt from dead goblins that is
scattered around on the grass. Pretty handy huh? Nothing like free
stuff, is there?
Arg! More goblins!
==================
Oh dear! I got badly ambushed by goblins. I drafted my miners into the military (they tend to be strong and are armed with picks – ok scratch defence) and they were cut down by the hordes of goblins! Terrible! On the plus side a number of goblins were caught in traps and two were killed by my miners. Others are out there still so all dwarfs have been ordered to stay inside. Such is life. When you play for real you’ll be able to work through all you’ve learnt much faster and so you’ll be better prepared if this sort of bad luck has happened already.
Oh dear! I got badly ambushed by goblins. I drafted my miners into the
military (they tend to be strong and are armed with picks – ok scratch
defence) and they were cut down by the hordes of goblins! Terrible! On
the plus side a number of goblins were caught in traps and two were
killed by my miners. Others are out there still so all dwarfs have been
ordered to stay inside. Such is life. When you play for real you’ll be
able to work through all you’ve learnt much faster and so you’ll be
better prepared if this sort of bad luck has happened already.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9904.png
:align: center
As you can see, there’s a little dwarf head icon to mark my fallen dwarfs as well as a red “g” to mark the dead goblin. There’s also lots of blood about. If you ever face something similar, hit “k” and have a look around at the destruction! You can also see the full cages where my cage traps are. If I didn’t forbid dwarfs to go outside they’d be out there now trying to pick up the full cages and replace them with empty ones. See why we remove the roof now? Careless dwarfs are going to get themselves killed. Help them be not careless.
As you can see, there’s a little dwarf head icon to mark my fallen
dwarfs as well as a red “g” to mark the dead goblin. There’s also lots
of blood about. If you ever face something similar, hit “k” and have a
look around at the destruction! You can also see the full cages where
my cage traps are. If I didn’t forbid dwarfs to go outside they’d be
out there now trying to pick up the full cages and replace them with
empty ones. See why we remove the roof now? Careless dwarfs are going
to get themselves killed. Help them be not careless.
Good news about the goblins, I drafted some more dwarfs, armed and amored them, and sent them out and smashed some gobos. Great stuff! I think we better cover the military somewhat soonish.. after nobles in the next chapter.
Good news about the goblins, I drafted some more dwarfs, armed and
amored them, and sent them out and smashed some gobos. Great stuff! I
think we better cover the military somewhat soonish.. after nobles in
the next chapter.
One point to note: If you forbid your dwarfs to go outside they may suspend construction jobs out there. Best to check around over anything you’ve got being built with “q” and hit “s” to un-suspend them as appropriate.
One point to note: If you forbid your dwarfs to go outside they may
suspend construction jobs out there. Best to check around over anything
you’ve got being built with “q” and hit “s” to un-suspend them as
appropriate.
Anyway, that’s enough to now. Get on with building lots of traps, making bags, armor, barrels, food, bins, shields, weapons and so on! Go to it, and see you in chapter 9!
Anyway, that’s enough to now. Get on with building lots of traps,
making bags, armor, barrels, food, bins, shields, weapons and so on! Go
to it, and see you in chapter 9!

172
chapters/chap09-nobles.rst
View file

@ -3,80 +3,194 @@ Nobles and other useless sods
#############################
You’ve come a long way, padawan, but don’t worry, I won’t let any stupid angsty teenager come and strike you down because he’s in a tizzy having lost his mum! No, nothing of the sort! Baby Dwarf Fortress managers like yourself will prosper and grow strong like a seedling, going on to bear nice dwarven fruit. And not the Class-C sort of fruit that gets picked and sold on the streets, no, nice, rare, delicious fruit! Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, tutorial 9, Nobles and other layabouts. Get on with it!
You’ve come a long way, padawan, but don’t worry, I won’t let any
stupid angsty teenager come and strike you down because he’s in a tizzy
having lost his mum! No, nothing of the sort! Baby Dwarf Fortress
managers like yourself will prosper and grow strong like a seedling,
going on to bear nice dwarven fruit. And not the Class-C sort of fruit
that gets picked and sold on the streets, no, nice, rare, delicious
fruit! Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, tutorial 9, Nobles and other
layabouts. Get on with it!
Interior decorating
===================
Decorating your massive housing project should be complete now. Here’s how mine looks. Every room has a bed and a door and the noble rooms (they will need four rooms each, as a rule) are kitted out with assorted stuff to keep any nobles who visit happy. Lets cover off the details.
Decorating your massive housing project should be complete now. Here’s
how mine looks. Every room has a bed and a door and the noble rooms
(they will need four rooms each, as a rule) are kitted out with
assorted stuff to keep any nobles who visit happy. Lets cover off the
details.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9905.png
:align: center
Nobles (from the “n” menu) generally want a bedroom (assigned from a bed), a dining room (assigned from a table), an office (assigned from a chair) and often a tomb as well (assigned from a coffin). For simplicty’s sake, set up each room in its own contained area and then throw in some decorations to keep the noble happy, like armor stands, weapon stands, containers, statues, cabinets, cages (with their favourite animal in them), that sort of thing. Usually nobles want at least two of most of those items so produce a ton and get placing!
Nobles (from the “n” menu) generally want a bedroom (assigned from a
bed), a dining room (assigned from a table), an office (assigned from a
chair) and often a tomb as well (assigned from a coffin). For
simplicty’s sake, set up each room in its own contained area and then
throw in some decorations to keep the noble happy, like armor stands,
weapon stands, containers, statues, cabinets, cages (with their
favourite animal in them), that sort of thing. Usually nobles want at
least two of most of those items so produce a ton and get placing!
What is all this about nobles I hear you ask? Well, once your fortress gets to a certain size, those purple slacker dwarfs will come to live in your fortress. They usually don’t do much (other than haul stuff) but they do make demands. Their biggest demand is for rooms, which need to be of a certain quality. Quality can be increased through smoothing and engraving the walls of the room as well as adding more furniture, especially high quality furniture.
What is all this about nobles I hear you ask? Well, once your fortress
gets to a certain size, those purple slacker dwarfs will come to live
in your fortress. They usually don’t do much (other than haul stuff)
but they do make demands. Their biggest demand is for rooms, which need
to be of a certain quality. Quality can be increased through smoothing
and engraving the walls of the room as well as adding more furniture,
especially high quality furniture.
The other thing nobles do is make mandates. Mandates are demands by the noble for things to be done, like the production of certain goods, or a ban on the export of certain goods. It pays to try and meet the demands of your nobles or they may go crazy and cause all kinds of problems.
The other thing nobles do is make mandates. Mandates are demands by
the noble for things to be done, like the production of certain goods,
or a ban on the export of certain goods. It pays to try and meet the
demands of your nobles or they may go crazy and cause all kinds of
problems.
Lets have a look at nobles. Go ahead and hit “n”. This is your noble list, right now it should be very short, but in time it will grow. Chances are it looks like this (click for big):
Lets have a look at nobles. Go ahead and hit “n”. This is your noble
list, right now it should be very short, but in time it will grow.
Chances are it looks like this (click for big):
.. image:: images/dftutorial9906.png
:align: center
With a newby fortress only one dwarf is set as expedition leader. As the fortress grows more noble ranks will appear in this list and more positions will be filled. Lets look at the current expedition leader. Hit “enter” and you’ll see info about the current leader. Our dwarf owns 14 objects (mostly clothes and stuff), has “meagre quarters”. Lets assign Eshtan Urdimfash a full set of noble rooms, just for kicks. He’s not demanding any, but we’ll do it for practice. If he were demanding more rooms you would see them in red on the left. If he had a room, but not a good enough room, it would show what he’s currently got and what he’s actually demanding.
With a newby fortress only one dwarf is set as expedition leader. As
the fortress grows more noble ranks will appear in this list and more
positions will be filled. Lets look at the current expedition leader.
Hit “enter” and you’ll see info about the current leader. Our dwarf
owns 14 objects (mostly clothes and stuff), has “meagre quarters”. Lets
assign Eshtan Urdimfash a full set of noble rooms, just for kicks. He’s
not demanding any, but we’ll do it for practice. If he were demanding
more rooms you would see them in red on the left. If he had a room, but
not a good enough room, it would show what he’s currently got and what
he’s actually demanding.
Once you’ve assigned the bedroom, office, dining room and tomb, if you go back to the noble list and view our chap you will now see his holdings have changed (clicky biggy):
Once you’ve assigned the bedroom, office, dining room and tomb, if you
go back to the noble list and view our chap you will now see his
holdings have changed (clicky biggy):
.. image:: images/dftutorial9907.png
:align: center
Next job for you is to assign a book keeper. Usually, if you embark with at least one dwarf with the “appraiser” skill (good idea, by the way), this job would already be filled. But for now it’s vacant. This skill is what makes our stock count accurate (more on that later). Fortunately for us we can chose a dwarf to do the job. They might not be doing a good job at first (having no skill), but they will learn, and they provide a useful function, accurate stocktaking!
Next job for you is to assign a book keeper. Usually, if you embark
with at least one dwarf with the “appraiser” skill (good idea, by the
way), this job would already be filled. But for now it’s vacant. This
skill is what makes our stock count accurate (more on that later).
Fortunately for us we can chose a dwarf to do the job. They might not
be doing a good job at first (having no skill), but they will learn,
and they provide a useful function, accurate stocktaking!
So, in the nobles screen use the arrow keys to scroll down to “Bookkeeper” and hit “enter”. Find Eshtan and hit enter, assigning him to this job. The bookkeeper requires an office to work, just as well we just assigned him one, right?
So, in the nobles screen use the arrow keys to scroll down to
“Bookkeeper” and hit “enter”. Find Eshtan and hit enter, assigning him
to this job. The bookkeeper requires an office to work, just as well we
just assigned him one, right?
Next, with Bookkeeper still highlighted hit “s” for “settings” (the only noble role you can assign settings for). The screen you’ll see now dictates how much time your dwarf will spend counting. Use the arrow to scroll to “Highest” and hit enter. Eshtan will now work very hard to get all our stock counts accurate!
Next, with Bookkeeper still highlighted hit “s” for “settings” (the
only noble role you can assign settings for). The screen you’ll see now
dictates how much time your dwarf will spend counting. Use the arrow to
scroll to “Highest” and hit enter. Eshtan will now work very hard to
get all our stock counts accurate!
There you go, a quick overview of nobles. As you play the game more you will have to deal with nobles a lot, but don’t worry, the Dwarf Fortress Wiki should provide you with heaps of tips and advice should you get confused.
There you go, a quick overview of nobles. As you play the game more you
will have to deal with nobles a lot, but don’t worry, the Dwarf
Fortress Wiki should provide you with heaps of tips and advice should
you get confused.
Accounting is fun! Really!
==========================
We’ve mentioned stocks, but not discussed the stock screen yet, so lets get to it now. Hit “z” and you’ll see this screen:
We’ve mentioned stocks, but not discussed the stock screen yet, so lets
get to it now. Hit “z” and you’ll see this screen:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9908.png
:align: center
Lets go over what you’re seeing here:
* Across the top are sub menu options. You can scroll through them using the arrow keys (left and right) and then hit enter to learn more.
* There’s a description of your wealth on the left. We don’t know yet as we need a noble with skillz.
* There are food store stats, but those question marks indicate we really aren’t that sure how much food or drink we’ve got. The bookkeeper should turn these figures accurate fairly soon.
* Across the top are sub menu options. You can scroll through them
using the arrow keys (left and right) and then hit enter to learn more.
* There’s a description of your wealth on the left. We don’t know yet
as we need a noble with skillz.
* There are food store stats, but those question marks indicate we
really aren’t that sure how much food or drink we’ve got. The
bookkeeper should turn these figures accurate fairly soon.
* Then we have population information. Not too interesting I find.
With “Animals” selected, hit enter. You can see all the animals in the fortress on the following screen. This is also the screen you can set animals to be butchered on mass. If you set a few to be butchered a dwarf with “small animal dissection” and “butchery” skills enabled will run off and start grabbing those animals and chopping them up in the Butchery. You won’t need to set anything at that workshop, the butcher tasks gets added automatically.
With “Animals” selected, hit enter. You can see all the animals in the
fortress on the following screen. This is also the screen you can set
animals to be butchered on mass. If you set a few to be butchered a
dwarf with “small animal dissection” and “butchery” skills enabled will
run off and start grabbing those animals and chopping them up in the
Butchery. You won’t need to set anything at that workshop, the butcher
tasks gets added automatically.
Butchering animals is a great way to get a lot of food, bones and skin (for tanning into leather) but be careful! If you assign a big list of animals to be slaughtered by the time the butcher gets to the last one the animals may have become someone’s pet. This results in the butcher walking up to the animal, as it follows its master around, dragging it off and turning it into steak. This is somewhat disturbing to the dwarf whose pet you’ve just killed! So, don’t tag too many animals at once. Also, make sure you leave at least one breeding pair (male and female symbols to the right of the pet’s name), or you won’t get any more baby animals popping out, will you?
Butchering animals is a great way to get a lot of food, bones and skin
(for tanning into leather) but be careful! If you assign a big list of
animals to be slaughtered by the time the butcher gets to the last one
the animals may have become someone’s pet. This results in the butcher
walking up to the animal, as it follows its master around, dragging it
off and turning it into steak. This is somewhat disturbing to the dwarf
whose pet you’ve just killed! So, don’t tag too many animals at once.
Also, make sure you leave at least one breeding pair (male and female
symbols to the right of the pet’s name), or you won’t get any more baby
animals popping out, will you?
Now go back to the stocks menu and hit “Kitchen”. This is where you see a list of what your dwarfs will consider using to cook meals in the kitchen when ordered (dwarfs like cooked meals). Remembering that cooking destroys plant seeds, here are some guidelines for you:
Now go back to the stocks menu and hit “Kitchen”. This is where you see
a list of what your dwarfs will consider using to cook meals in the
kitchen when ordered (dwarfs like cooked meals). Remembering that
cooking destroys plant seeds, here are some guidelines for you:
* Cooking meat (ie, “cook” is blue) is fine.
* Don’t cook spawn or seeds (“cook” is red”) unless you have way, way too many.
* Don’t cook spawn or seeds (“cook” is red”) unless you have way, way
too many.
* All plants can be brewed as brewing returns seeds.
* Turn off cook for “Plump Helmet”, you don’t want to cook them out of stock, right?
* Cooking booze is great as you end up magically creating more food than you started with. Trust me on this (or look it up on the wiki).
* Turn off cook for “Plump Helmet”, you don’t want to cook them out of
stock, right?
* Cooking booze is great as you end up magically creating more food
than you started with. Trust me on this (or look it up on the wiki).
Good work! Now back out of that menu and chose stone. In the stone menu you see (in red) all the stones your dwarfs are forbidden to build with/use and in green, all the ones they are allowed to use. Scroll through with the arrows and hit enter over every stone that does not have a use description appear on the right. The only exception may be bauxite due to its special magma-proof qualities.
Good work! Now back out of that menu and chose stone. In the stone menu
you see (in red) all the stones your dwarfs are forbidden to build
with/use and in green, all the ones they are allowed to use. Scroll
through with the arrows and hit enter over every stone that does not
have a use description appear on the right. The only exception may be
bauxite due to its special magma-proof qualities.
The reason you are doing this is so that the dwarfs have much more choice in the stone they will use to make doors, walls, etc etc. This stops them running half way across the map to get some boring stone when a perfectly useful stone (that just happens to be yellow) is sitting next to them, but ignored.
The reason you are doing this is so that the dwarfs have much more
choice in the stone they will use to make doors, walls, etc etc. This
stops them running half way across the map to get some boring stone
when a perfectly useful stone (that just happens to be yellow) is
sitting next to them, but ignored.
Backing out to “z” the final menu is “stocks”. This is a master list of all items in your fortress and is a good way to see exactly how much of certain items you’ve got . Until your bookkeeper gets working you won’t get any detail, but trust me, you’ll see heaps, in time.
Backing out to “z” the final menu is “stocks”. This is a master list of
all items in your fortress and is a good way to see exactly how much of
certain items you’ve got . Until your bookkeeper gets working you won’t
get any detail, but trust me, you’ll see heaps, in time.
You can use this menu to manage the items in your fortress more easily. For example, you might find, after a goblin raid, that you’ve got a ton of their crappy weapons lying around, what to do with them? Well, you could add them to weapons traps, or you could find them in the stocks menu and hit “m” for “melt” when they are selected and then any smelter with the “melt metal object” task on will have a dwarf grab the item and then melt it back to a metal bar.
You can use this menu to manage the items in your fortress more easily.
For example, you might find, after a goblin raid, that you’ve got a ton
of their crappy weapons lying around, what to do with them? Well, you
could add them to weapons traps, or you could find them in the stocks
menu and hit “m” for “melt” when they are selected and then any smelter
with the “melt metal object” task on will have a dwarf grab the item
and then melt it back to a metal bar.
You can also use this menu to “forbid” items. If you have a bunch of low-quality junk you don’t want your dwarfs to use, hit “f” for “Forbid” with the item highlighted and you’ll find they will ignore it. This is handy when setting weapons and armor up for your military as you can prevent them from picking up wooden swords and thus push them to pick up your non-forbidden steel swords!
You can also use this menu to “forbid” items. If you have a bunch of
low-quality junk you don’t want your dwarfs to use, hit “f” for
“Forbid” with the item highlighted and you’ll find they will ignore it.
This is handy when setting weapons and armor up for your military as
you can prevent them from picking up wooden swords and thus push them
to pick up your non-forbidden steel swords!
The last menu “Justice” doesn’t come in to play until we have more nobles who will start wanting to throw dwarfs into jail if they ignore their mandates. Worry about that latter!
The last menu “Justice” doesn’t come in to play until we have more
nobles who will start wanting to throw dwarfs into jail if they ignore
their mandates. Worry about that latter!
Homework time!
==============
You’ve got a tricky job to do now, ok, not so tricky really. I want you to dig exploratory tunnels in EVERY DIRECTION from your living room and the below levels. Try and cover much of the map with your grid of tunnels. We’re looking for three things: 1. Ore, 2. Gems, 3. Magma. You may want to assign another dwarf or two to mining duty, and to make a few more picks as well (at the metalsmith’s forge, under “weapons”). We’ll see what this map is like when we return in Tutorial 10!
You’ve got a tricky job to do now, ok, not so tricky really. I want you
to dig exploratory tunnels in EVERY DIRECTION from your living room and
the below levels. Try and cover much of the map with your grid of
tunnels. We’re looking for three things: 1. Ore, 2. Gems, 3. Magma. You
may want to assign another dwarf or two to mining duty, and to make a
few more picks as well (at the metalsmith’s forge, under “weapons”).
We’ll see what this map is like when we return in Tutorial 10!

234
chapters/chap10-military.rst
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@ -4,77 +4,175 @@ Soldiers and your army
.. note::
This information is for an old version of the game. Don't take it too seriously until it's updated.
This information is for an old version of the game. Don't take it
too seriously until it's updated.
While you’re exploring and digging around (see Tutorial 9) how about we set up a military? You’re going to need one, goblins are pesky bastards and likely to bother you more and more (if they haven’t already). Soldiers can be a bit fiddly to manipulate, but once you get the hang of it you’ll find it second nature.
While you’re exploring and digging around (see Tutorial 9) how about we
set up a military? You’re going to need one, goblins are pesky bastards
and likely to bother you more and more (if they haven’t already).
Soldiers can be a bit fiddly to manipulate, but once you get the hang
of it you’ll find it second nature.
Drafting some dwarfs
====================
The first thing you will need to do, fairly obviously, is draft some dwarfs into your military. There are a few different strategies for this. First up, you can pick complete newbies and let them work up their skills and strength through sparing. Another strategy is to have some peasants work on screw pumps to quickly build up their strength and toughness before drafting them. Others like to use miners (which train up quickly and are thus easy to replace) as they usually are quite strong and tough already.
The first thing you will need to do, fairly obviously, is draft some
dwarfs into your military. There are a few different strategies for
this. First up, you can pick complete newbies and let them work up
their skills and strength through sparing. Another strategy is to have
some peasants work on screw pumps to quickly build up their strength
and toughness before drafting them. Others like to use miners (which
train up quickly and are thus easy to replace) as they usually are
quite strong and tough already.
As a further consideration, some don’t like to recruit women as soldiers. When they give birth it’s not uncommon to see them running into battle carrying a baby. This is both somewhat alarming and somewhat risky as you’re going to have potentially dead babies on your hands due to combat, something that might cause a lot of emo among your dwarfs.
As a further consideration, some don’t like to recruit women as
soldiers. When they give birth it’s not uncommon to see them running
into battle carrying a baby. This is both somewhat alarming and
somewhat risky as you’re going to have potentially dead babies on your
hands due to combat, something that might cause a lot of emo among your
dwarfs.
For this tutorial we’re not going to worry about detail to much and we’re just going to grab 6 peasants – which is 10% of my current fortress population. Something similar will work for you for now. So here’s what we’ll do:
For this tutorial we’re not going to worry about detail to much and
we’re just going to grab 6 peasants – which is 10% of my current
fortress population. Something similar will work for you for now. So
here’s what we’ll do:
* Hit “m” for the “military” screen.
You’ll note this screen is not unlike the “u”, “units” screen. The difference is that there are a few different commands at the bottom of the panel. Primarily, this screen lets you organise your squads and it lets you set squad weapons. We’re going to aim for two squads of three dwarfs. Smaller squads helps your response time to enemy threat and gives you a bit more control. Lets get on with it:
You’ll note this screen is not unlike the “u”, “units” screen. The
difference is that there are a few different commands at the bottom of
the panel. Primarily, this screen lets you organise your squads and it
lets you set squad weapons. We’re going to aim for two squads of three
dwarfs. Smaller squads helps your response time to enemy threat and
gives you a bit more control. Lets get on with it:
* Scroll to one of your no-life peasant dwarfs, hit “enter”. Now when you move your arrow you will see the peasant is marked and there’s an arrow to chose another dwarf. Chose another pleb, hit enter.
* Scroll to one of your no-life peasant dwarfs, hit “enter”. Now when
you move your arrow you will see the peasant is marked and there’s an
arrow to chose another dwarf. Chose another pleb, hit enter.
* Scroll, chose another dwarf, and hit enter again.
* Hit space to stop promoting. We’ve created our first squad.
* Chose another spare peasant, hit enter to promote and then choosing two more dwarfs, create squad two.
* Chose another spare peasant, hit enter to promote and then choosing
two more dwarfs, create squad two.
You will now note that the dwarfs in the same squad are now sharing the same squad name, “The Relieved Irons” and “The Muscular Palaces” for me, awesome! But they’re not doing anything yet, they’re assigned to squads but aren’t active doing soldierly stuff, so:
You will now note that the dwarfs in the same squad are now sharing the
same squad name, “The Relieved Irons” and “The Muscular Palaces” for
me, awesome! But they’re not doing anything yet, they’re assigned to
squads but aren’t active doing soldierly stuff, so:
* Scroll to the first squad leader, hit “a” for activate.
* Scroll to the second squad leaders and “a” activate him as well.
* Scroll to the top of your military list, your squads are now up there with their names in grey.
* Scroll to the top of your military list, your squads are now up there
with their names in grey.
* On the first squad leader, hit “v” for view squad.
* If the squad is “on duty” hit “t” to stand them down.
* Hit “f” for “Food carried” and they’ll go get backpacks and put a stock of food in them for long duties.
* Hit “f” for “Food carried” and they’ll go get backpacks and put a
stock of food in them for long duties.
* Leave other settings and repeat for squad two.
Our dwarfs are now soldiers and are going to go do soldierly things. What’s that you ask? Well, drink, eat and hang around the barracks sparing mostly. But shouldn’t we give them some weapons and armor? Maybe, is the answer, lets show you how:
Our dwarfs are now soldiers and are going to go do soldierly things.
What’s that you ask? Well, drink, eat and hang around the barracks
sparing mostly. But shouldn’t we give them some weapons and armor?
Maybe, is the answer, lets show you how:
* With the military screen up, hit “w” for weapons.
* You now have a field you can move around using the arrow keys and cycle using “enter”. Leave the dwarfs unarmed.
* Scroll to the first “A”, which is for “armor” and hit “enter” until the field shows “Lth” for leather. Then go to the next column and hit “enter” until you see “Shd” for shield.
* If you look further down your weapons list you may note how woodcutters are armed with an axe. And note that any you’ve told to be woodcutters who don’t have an axe won’t cut wood… although they might try and arm themselves due to being tasked. Anyway…
* You now have a field you can move around using the arrow keys and
cycle using “enter”. Leave the dwarfs unarmed.
* Scroll to the first “A”, which is for “armor” and hit “enter” until
the field shows “Lth” for leather. Then go to the next column and hit
“enter” until you see “Shd” for shield.
* If you look further down your weapons list you may note how
woodcutters are armed with an axe. And note that any you’ve told to be
woodcutters who don’t have an axe won’t cut wood… although they might
try and arm themselves due to being tasked. Anyway…
* Space back out.
Your soldiers will now go and get a bunch of leather armor and a shield each. You did remember to make a bunch of armor as instructed earlier, right? They will then go to the barracks and spar. Why do we want them to spar unarmed? A few reasons:
Your soldiers will now go and get a bunch of leather armor and a shield
each. You did remember to make a bunch of armor as instructed earlier,
right? They will then go to the barracks and spar. Why do we want them
to spar unarmed? A few reasons:
#. Sparring unarmed trains “Wrestling” which is very handy, as it builds the key stats (like all training) but also trains quickly. Wrestling Hammer weapon skill is the skill used by crossbow dwarfs when out of bolts. Yes, they bash the enemy to death with their crossbows. We can train hammering latter.
#. Wrestling helps when an enemy disarms your dwarfs as they have to fight unarmed then, and yes, a few enemies can disarm your lads.
#. Finally, picture newby dwarfs with no skill training with razor sharp steel battleaxes. Yes, picture a few graves. Wrestling gets them tough enough to spar with decent weapons without a lot of weapon access micromanagement in the stocks screen (ie. forcing them to pick up wooden weapons and later on dropping them in favour of proper weapons).
#. Sparring unarmed trains “Wrestling” which is very handy, as it
builds the key stats (like all training) but also trains quickly.
Wrestling Hammer weapon skill is the skill used by crossbow dwarfs when
out of bolts. Yes, they bash the enemy to death with their crossbows.
We can train hammering latter.
#. Wrestling helps when an enemy disarms your dwarfs as they have to
fight unarmed then, and yes, a few enemies can disarm your lads.
#. Finally, picture newby dwarfs with no skill training with razor
sharp steel battleaxes. Yes, picture a few graves. Wrestling gets them
tough enough to spar with decent weapons without a lot of weapon access
micromanagement in the stocks screen (ie. forcing them to pick up
wooden weapons and later on dropping them in favour of proper weapons).
One thing you might want to think about is providing food and drink and somewhere to eat close to your military dwarfs. That way they will hopefully spend more time training and less time walking! Here’s how I set up a small dining room and a small food stockpile. Note, the whole area is outside – I’m hoping that some regular exposure to the sun while the soldiers eat will prevent them getting too cave adapted. I’ve had to roof over the bit with the tables and chairs though, those need to be placed inside. You can “b”, “C” construct a ramp in the outdoors area and then “b”, “C” construct a floor to cover the area (you go up a level, build a floor over the space, and it thus becomes a roof). But we will cover some of this in another tutorial as well.
One thing you might want to think about is providing food and drink and
somewhere to eat close to your military dwarfs. That way they will
hopefully spend more time training and less time walking! Here’s how I
set up a small dining room and a small food stockpile. Note, the whole
area is outside – I’m hoping that some regular exposure to the sun
while the soldiers eat will prevent them getting too cave adapted. I’ve
had to roof over the bit with the tables and chairs though, those need
to be placed inside. You can “b”, “C” construct a ramp in the outdoors
area and then “b”, “C” construct a floor to cover the area (you go up a
level, build a floor over the space, and it thus becomes a roof). But
we will cover some of this in another tutorial as well.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9909.png
:align: center
…hmm, actually, I have so many bloody dwarfs I’m going to put each squad up to four members each. That means we’ll have up to 8 dwarfs sparing at once, good stuff. To add more dwarfs, go to the military screen again, hit enter on the leader and then chose a dwarf to add to the squad.
…hmm, actually, I have so many bloody dwarfs I’m going to put each
squad up to four members each. That means we’ll have up to 8 dwarfs
sparing at once, good stuff. To add more dwarfs, go to the military
screen again, hit enter on the leader and then chose a dwarf to add to
the squad.
Note: It’s possible to end up with really convoluted command structures by accidentally making the boss of one squad the boss of another squad. This is annoying and pointless, as far as I can tell. To fix it, chose the problematic squad or person, hit enter on them, and then hit enter again. Hopefully that will remove them back up the chain of command. Or, hit enter on the boss and then enter on the dwarfs 2 steps down, that will pull them back up to being directly under the boss’s command.
Note: It’s possible to end up with really convoluted command structures
by accidentally making the boss of one squad the boss of another squad.
This is annoying and pointless, as far as I can tell. To fix it, chose
the problematic squad or person, hit enter on them, and then hit enter
again. Hopefully that will remove them back up the chain of command.
Or, hit enter on the boss and then enter on the dwarfs 2 steps down,
that will pull them back up to being directly under the boss’s command.
While the boys are sparring go to your leather workshop and make sure you’ve got some backpacks, armor and helms on order. You can check your stocks too, to make sure there’s enough kit to go around. In time we’ll get our lads into steel chainmail and plate, but for now, we need to get them into leather, and yes, armor does stack later.
While the boys are sparring go to your leather workshop and make sure
you’ve got some backpacks, armor and helms on order. You can check your
stocks too, to make sure there’s enough kit to go around. In time we’ll
get our lads into steel chainmail and plate, but for now, we need to
get them into leather, and yes, armor does stack later.
War Puppies!
============
A nice addition to your military are some war dogs. How do you get war dogs? Easy! Find a space in your workshop and “b” build a “k” kennel. Note, this is a big building, so you may have to free up some space to place it. Then ensure you have someone with the animal training labour on (so it gets built and so you will be training animals).
A nice addition to your military are some war dogs. How do you get war
dogs? Easy! Find a space in your workshop and “b” build a “k” kennel.
Note, this is a big building, so you may have to free up some space to
place it. Then ensure you have someone with the animal training labour
on (so it gets built and so you will be training animals).
Then, go to the kennels using “q” and hit “a” for add task and then “w” for “Train War Dog”. Hit “r” to set the task on repeat. Hopefully all the adult dogs will now go about being trained. You’ll soon start getting messages like “An animal has become a stray war dog”. Good!
Then, go to the kennels using “q” and hit “a” for add task and then “w”
for “Train War Dog”. Hit “r” to set the task on repeat. Hopefully all
the adult dogs will now go about being trained. You’ll soon start
getting messages like “An animal has become a stray war dog”. Good!
How can these help us? Well, we can either assign them to restraints we build (using “b” and then “v” and choosing either a rope or a chain and then once placed, using “q” to assign an animal to the restraint) or we can assign them to soldiers. Lets assign one to each soldier:
How can these help us? Well, we can either assign them to restraints we
build (using “b” and then “v” and choosing either a rope or a chain and
then once placed, using “q” to assign an animal to the restraint) or we
can assign them to soldiers. Lets assign one to each soldier:
* Hit “m” to bring up your military.
* Hit “c” to look at a soldier.
* Hit “p” for “preferences”.
* Hit “e” for “Work Dogs”.
* Hit “r” to assign a dog to that dwarf. Once you have enough trained, assigned one each.
* Hit “r” to assign a dog to that dwarf. Once you have enough trained,
assigned one each.
You can also train hunting dogs at a kennels and they are quite handy for hunters, since they too have the “ambush” skill that Hunters use. I don’t usually bother with hunter dwarfs so wardogs is all I want! Hordes of the buggers! Oh, a note on caged animals. Cages, when built (“b”, “j”), allow the assigning of animals to them, and can be set as a zoo room. Dwarfs enjoy relaxing in Zoos and looking at animals they like (happy thoughts). Consider building a zoo near the dining room. When placing cages, if you already have animals in them, hit “x” to expand the view and chose the exact cage you want to place. Here’s my zoo, where the old housing used to be before we moved it all down stairs.
You can also train hunting dogs at a kennels and they are quite handy
for hunters, since they too have the “ambush” skill that Hunters use. I
don’t usually bother with hunter dwarfs so wardogs is all I want!
Hordes of the buggers! Oh, a note on caged animals. Cages, when built
(“b”, “j”), allow the assigning of animals to them, and can be set as a
zoo room. Dwarfs enjoy relaxing in Zoos and looking at animals they
like (happy thoughts). Consider building a zoo near the dining room.
When placing cages, if you already have animals in them, hit “x” to
expand the view and chose the exact cage you want to place. Here’s my
zoo, where the old housing used to be before we moved it all down stairs.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9910.png
:align: center
@ -83,35 +181,85 @@ Right, where were we!?
Get tough, little guys!
=======================
So your boys are training, putting each other in arm bars and whatnot. If you use “v” and look around your soldiers, hitting “g” for General, you should see their skills climbing. Use “alt”+”arrows” to see the full range.
So your boys are training, putting each other in arm bars and whatnot.
If you use “v” and look around your soldiers, hitting “g” for General,
you should see their skills climbing. Use “alt”+”arrows” to see the
full range.
Let them keep this up until they become champions or heroes. At this point they will no longer accept work dogs and become impossible to assign other jobs. The good news though, is that champions will actually use artifact items! Yay! So, let them train and while that goes on, keep digging as per the last chapter. Grid up all the digable space on the various levels and find gems, ore and a special surprise! You’ll know it when you find it, you’ll be alerted by DF’s equivalent of a popup. We’ll cover what to do with your special surprise later. If you come across it put a door on the passage to the surprise and leave it until later.
Let them keep this up until they become champions or heroes. At this
point they will no longer accept work dogs and become impossible to
assign other jobs. The good news though, is that champions will
actually use artifact items! Yay! So, let them train and while that
goes on, keep digging as per the last chapter. Grid up all the digable
space on the various levels and find gems, ore and a special surprise!
You’ll know it when you find it, you’ll be alerted by DF’s equivalent
of a popup. We’ll cover what to do with your special surprise later. If
you come across it put a door on the passage to the surprise and leave
it until later.
Ok, lets assume your boys have trained up to pretty damn good wrestlers, getting very tough and agile in the process. What’s the next step? Well, we’d like them to use chainmail, right? We could set them right into plate, but plate slows them down if they aren’t very good armor users (they won’t be yet). Chain will be just fine. Hopefully you’ve build a good pile of steel chainmail, helms, shields, grieves and whatever else you can see on the list. Now it’s time to assign.
Ok, lets assume your boys have trained up to pretty damn good
wrestlers, getting very tough and agile in the process. What’s the next
step? Well, we’d like them to use chainmail, right? We could set them
right into plate, but plate slows them down if they aren’t very good
armor users (they won’t be yet). Chain will be just fine. Hopefully
you’ve build a good pile of steel chainmail, helms, shields, grieves
and whatever else you can see on the list. Now it’s time to assign.
At the same time you’ve set a lot of steel warhammers to be built, right? Good!
At the same time you’ve set a lot of steel warhammers to be built,
right? Good!
But before we assign the weapons we want to make sure our soldiers don’t pick up the wrong armor, right? So this is what we do:
But before we assign the weapons we want to make sure our soldiers
don’t pick up the wrong armor, right? So this is what we do:
* Go to your stocks menu under “z”. You should now see all your stocks updated by your bookkeeper, handy!
* Find the “weapons” first. Scroll through and look for any other sort of hammer. Chances are “steel hammers” are all you have. For good measure, set everything that looks useless (ie, not an axe or a pick) to “m” for melt. Or put that trash into weapon traps.
* Go to the “armor” list (and subsequent clothing lists) and look for chainmail. Any chain item that isn’t steel chainmail set to “forbid” using “f”. Now your boys won’t go picking up the rubbish when you change their armor setting. Make sure you’ve got enough suits of chainmail armor, steel shields, helms, etc, to equip your lads. Or near enough.
* If you’re unhappy with how your armor settings turn out, set everyone to no armor and once they’ve dumped all their items, go back through the equiping process again.
* Go to your stocks menu under “z”. You should now see all your stocks
updated by your bookkeeper, handy!
* Find the “weapons” first. Scroll through and look for any other sort
of hammer. Chances are “steel hammers” are all you have. For good
measure, set everything that looks useless (ie, not an axe or a pick)
to “m” for melt. Or put that trash into weapon traps.
* Go to the “armor” list (and subsequent clothing lists) and look for
chainmail. Any chain item that isn’t steel chainmail set to “forbid”
using “f”. Now your boys won’t go picking up the rubbish when you
change their armor setting. Make sure you’ve got enough suits of
chainmail armor, steel shields, helms, etc, to equip your lads. Or near
enough.
* If you’re unhappy with how your armor settings turn out, set everyone
to no armor and once they’ve dumped all their items, go back through
the equiping process again.
Now, you can go to the “m” military menu and hit “w” for the weapons and change them from “Lth” to “Chn” and the weapon to “Ham”. Your dwarfs will rush off, grab a warhammer and throw some steel chainmail on top of their leather armor, great! If a few of them get to be awesome armor users you can change them to plate and they will even put the plate on top of their chain on top of their leather. A tiny, cute, drunk, ball of fury!
Now, you can go to the “m” military menu and hit “w” for the weapons
and change them from “Lth” to “Chn” and the weapon to “Ham”. Your
dwarfs will rush off, grab a warhammer and throw some steel chainmail
on top of their leather armor, great! If a few of them get to be
awesome armor users you can change them to plate and they will even put
the plate on top of their chain on top of their leather. A tiny, cute,
drunk, ball of fury!
MAD: Mutually Assured Dwarfiness
================================
How do you use your dwarfs then? Well, when they aren’t mucking about your barracks working on their skills they can be out fighting bad guys! How I do it, when invaded is:
How do you use your dwarfs then? Well, when they aren’t mucking about
your barracks working on their skills they can be out fighting bad
guys! How I do it, when invaded is:
* Hit “m”.
* Go to a squad leader, hit “v” (NOT “a”, that turns them back to peasants – but “a” again will turn them back to squadies).
* Go to a squad leader, hit “v” (NOT “a”, that turns them back to
peasants – but “a” again will turn them back to squadies).
* Hit “t” to make the squad respond to orders.
* hit “z” to zoom to the commander.
* I then go to the level and place I want the squad to go.
* Hit “s” to station the soldiers there, or hit “p” to place a patrol point and then move your cursor around and hit p again to place another point (and keep hitting “p” to place more).
* Hit “s” to station the soldiers there, or hit “p” to place a patrol
point and then move your cursor around and hit p again to place another
point (and keep hitting “p” to place more).
Your soldiers will now stop what they are doing and rush to the station point. Sometimes it’s a good idea to set it in a safe place first, so you can at least get a few moving all at the same time. If you just drop the station point in the middle of the bad guys you risk your lads charging in one by one.
Your soldiers will now stop what they are doing and rush to the station
point. Sometimes it’s a good idea to set it in a safe place first, so
you can at least get a few moving all at the same time. If you just
drop the station point in the middle of the bad guys you risk your lads
charging in one by one.
There’s a lot of ways of handling military, and we haven’t even covered crossbow weilding marksdwarfs, multiple weapons, archery targets, or any of that stuff. For now, go and build your military and come back for the next tutorial where we’ll round out your Dwarf Fortress lesson with some thoughts on magma, construction and fortress design!
There’s a lot of ways of handling military, and we haven’t even covered
crossbow weilding marksdwarfs, multiple weapons, archery targets, or
any of that stuff. For now, go and build your military and come back
for the next tutorial where we’ll round out your Dwarf Fortress lesson
with some thoughts on magma, construction and fortress design!

238
chapters/chap11-magma.rst
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@ -3,111 +3,217 @@ Burning hot magma!
##################
This is our second-to-last tutorial (unless you all beg for more). Today we’re covering building magma forges and smelters and how you can set up some magma channels. Then we’ll talk a bit about constructing steps and how to remove constructions. Read on!
This is our second-to-last tutorial (unless you all beg for more).
Today we’re covering building magma forges and smelters and how you can
set up some magma channels. Then we’ll talk a bit about constructing
steps and how to remove constructions. Read on!
Mmm! Mag-maaaa!
===============
By now you should have discovered a magma pool. If you find it at any level lower than our workshop floor you’ll get a message about hot stone and digging will stop. If you discover the pool at the workshop level you’ll see something like this…
By now you should have discovered a magma pool. If you find it at any
level lower than our workshop floor you’ll get a message about hot
stone and digging will stop. If you discover the pool at the workshop
level you’ll see something like this…
.. image:: images/dftutorial9911.png
:align: center
What we have here is a magma pool on the right, with an open floor for us to walk around on, and a passage I’ve dug from the workshop floor to the pool. I didn’t know the pool was just there, but it is extremely handy for us that it is! Why, I hear you ask? Well, the reason is that magma helps us skip a step in the metal production phase – charcoal! We can just use the heat of the magma to do the work for us, neat!
What we have here is a magma pool on the right, with an open floor for
us to walk around on, and a passage I’ve dug from the workshop floor to
the pool. I didn’t know the pool was just there, but it is extremely
handy for us that it is! Why, I hear you ask? Well, the reason is that
magma helps us skip a step in the metal production phase – charcoal! We
can just use the heat of the magma to do the work for us, neat!
But how do we tap this awesome source of power? Easy! We dig of course! But before we get carried away, lets talk generally about magma. In addition to being a source of smelting power magma is also extremely dangerous. If a dwarf falls into it, they’re dead quickly. If a monster falls into it they also die quickly. The exception is certain magma creatures like Fire Imps. You will see a few of these in our magma pool if you go down a few levels.
But how do we tap this awesome source of power? Easy! We dig of course!
But before we get carried away, lets talk generally about magma. In
addition to being a source of smelting power magma is also extremely
dangerous. If a dwarf falls into it, they’re dead quickly. If a monster
falls into it they also die quickly. The exception is certain magma
creatures like Fire Imps. You will see a few of these in our magma pool
if you go down a few levels.
Fire Imps are quite dangerous. If your dwarfs go sight-seeing around the edge of a magma pool you can be pretty sure Fire Imps will eventually make an appearance and start breathing fire at your dwarfs. And yes, your dwarfs can catch on fire and set other things on fire! Like your precious booze (which will explode)! To help prevent this I’ve put a door on the passage to the pool, and I suggest you do the same!
Fire Imps are quite dangerous. If your dwarfs go sight-seeing around
the edge of a magma pool you can be pretty sure Fire Imps will
eventually make an appearance and start breathing fire at your dwarfs.
And yes, your dwarfs can catch on fire and set other things on fire!
Like your precious booze (which will explode)! To help prevent this
I’ve put a door on the passage to the pool, and I suggest you do the
same!
Harness the POWER!
==================
With those notes in mind, lets get expanding our workshop floor and plan to harness the magma. We’ll cover the ins and outs of why once we’re under way. So follow along:
With those notes in mind, lets get expanding our workshop floor and
plan to harness the magma. We’ll cover the ins and outs of why once
we’re under way. So follow along:
* Expand your workshop floor using the dig command so you’re taking up most of the space right up to the pool. But don’t breech the pool wall! Try something like this:
* Expand your workshop floor using the dig command so you’re taking up
most of the space right up to the pool. But don’t breech the pool wall!
Try something like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9912.png
:align: center
* While that’s being dug, go up a level and expand our storage floor as well. We’re going to want room to expand and we’re going to want to put bar storage as close to the new furnaces we’ve got planned as possible. Something like this perhaps?
* While that’s being dug, go up a level and expand our storage floor as
well. We’re going to want room to expand and we’re going to want to put
bar storage as close to the new furnaces we’ve got planned as possible.
Something like this perhaps?
.. image:: images/dftutorial9913.png
:align: center
* With those levels dug, go to a level below your workshop floor and dig some tunnels like this, right up to within a couple of spaces of your magma pipe. We’re aiming to eventually create a grid of magma which workshops above will be able to tap for their smelting. Like this:
* With those levels dug, go to a level below your workshop floor and
dig some tunnels like this, right up to within a couple of spaces of
your magma pipe. We’re aiming to eventually create a grid of magma
which workshops above will be able to tap for their smelting. Like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9914.png
:align: center
You’re going to have to do a lot of waiting now while all that digging is done, so why not lets do something useful and build ourselves an awesome drawbridge to keep us even safer! Here’s how…
You’re going to have to do a lot of waiting now while all that digging
is done, so why not lets do something useful and build ourselves an
awesome drawbridge to keep us even safer! Here’s how…
Bridge building intermission!
=============================
Drawbridges are wonderfully dwarfy things and central focal points of many fortresses’ defences. Drawbridges can block an entrance perhaps closing a straight-forward entrance to your fortress, leaving only a highly complex, trapped and winding tunnel, or they can be used to drop magma or flood a room (by holding said substances above an entrance way) and they can even be used to fling bad guys into the air! Lets build on!
Drawbridges are wonderfully dwarfy things and central focal points of
many fortresses’ defences. Drawbridges can block an entrance perhaps
closing a straight-forward entrance to your fortress, leaving only a
highly complex, trapped and winding tunnel, or they can be used to drop
magma or flood a room (by holding said substances above an entrance
way) and they can even be used to fling bad guys into the air! Lets
build on!
* Go to your entrance.
* Set a couple of squares to be dug down into using “d” and “h” for channel.
* Set a couple of squares to be dug down into using “d” and “h” for
channel.
* Maybe something like this will suit. Monsters can’t cross a pit.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9915.png
:align: center
* Once it’s dug you’ll end up with a pit, trapping your dwarfs inside and outside. So lets move quickly and get this bridge built!
* Hit “b” and then “g”, you will have one green square. Expand the bridge’s width to cover the width of the hall and make it one higher and deeper than the channel. It’s not really required to be that big, I just think it looks cooler. Here’s how mine will be laid out.
* Once it’s dug you’ll end up with a pit, trapping your dwarfs inside
and outside. So lets move quickly and get this bridge built!
* Hit “b” and then “g”, you will have one green square. Expand the
bridge’s width to cover the width of the hall and make it one higher
and deeper than the channel. It’s not really required to be that big, I
just think it looks cooler. Here’s how mine will be laid out.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9916.png
:align: center
* **DO NOT HIT ENTER** just yet (if you have, “q” over the bridge and hit “x” to cancel the construction). Look at the top of the placing/size window. See the text that says “Bridge (retracts)”? This is where you can change the bridge to either retract (pretty much vanish) or to raise in one of the cardinal directions. Work through “w”, “a”, “s”, “d” and “x” and see how the arrow changes. Me, I hit “x” as I want it to raise downwards, sealing my dwarfs into the fortress.
* **DO NOT HIT ENTER** just yet (if you have, “q” over the bridge and
hit “x” to cancel the construction). Look at the top of the
placing/size window. See the text that says “Bridge (retracts)”? This
is where you can change the bridge to either retract (pretty much
vanish) or to raise in one of the cardinal directions. Work through
“w”, “a”, “s”, “d” and “x” and see how the arrow changes. Me, I hit “x”
as I want it to raise downwards, sealing my dwarfs into the fortress.
* Hit “enter” and then select the stone you wish to build with.
* Your bridge now needs someone with architecture enabled to come and plan it, and then it needs masons to come place the stone. It will happen in due course.
* Your bridge now needs someone with architecture enabled to come and
plan it, and then it needs masons to come place the stone. It will
happen in due course.
Meanwhile, you need to build a lever to trigger your bridge! The lever, when pulled by a dwarf, causes the bridge to raise (after a brief delay). Once the lever is build we’ll connect it to the bridge. Both of these tasks require the mechanics skill, so make sure you have a dwarf with mechanics enabled. Follow along:
Meanwhile, you need to build a lever to trigger your bridge! The lever,
when pulled by a dwarf, causes the bridge to raise (after a brief
delay). Once the lever is build we’ll connect it to the bridge. Both of
these tasks require the mechanics skill, so make sure you have a dwarf
with mechanics enabled. Follow along:
* Head back down to your dining room and chose a corner for your lever. Don’t do what a friend did and put the lever close to the bridge and then groan as the dwarf running to pull the lever gets cut down by the invaders (who then stormed his fortress and killed all but one of his dwarfs, who then went mad and killed most of the immigrants who arrived at his fortress, and who then died of thirst (he was to busy chasing immigrants to bother with drink)).
* Hit “b”, “T”, chose “Lever”, place the lever in a corner of your dining room, choosing a mechanism along the way.
* Head back down to your dining room and chose a corner for your lever.
Don’t do what a friend did and put the lever close to the bridge and
then groan as the dwarf running to pull the lever gets cut down by the
invaders (who then stormed his fortress and killed all but one of his
dwarfs, who then went mad and killed most of the immigrants who arrived
at his fortress, and who then died of thirst (he was to busy chasing
immigrants to bother with drink)).
* Hit “b”, “T”, chose “Lever”, place the lever in a corner of your
dining room, choosing a mechanism along the way.
* Wait for the lever to be built.
* With the lever and bridge built you need to hook the lever up to the bridge.
* With the lever and bridge built you need to hook the lever up to the
bridge.
* Hit “q” over the lever.
* Hit “a” and then “b” to link up the lever with a bridge.
* You only have one bridge right now so it should go right to it with a big yellow X over it, like this:
* You only have one bridge right now so it should go right to it with a
big yellow X over it, like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9917.png
:align: center
* Hit “enter”, and then hit “enter” twice to select the two mechanisms for the lever/bridge hookup (one at the bridge end, one at the lever end). Since we don’t have to worry about magma, chose any mechanism. If there was magma involved we’d want to be using bauxite mechanisms as they are magma proof.
* Hit “enter”, and then hit “enter” twice to select the two mechanisms
for the lever/bridge hookup (one at the bridge end, one at the lever
end). Since we don’t have to worry about magma, chose any mechanism. If
there was magma involved we’d want to be using bauxite mechanisms as
they are magma proof.
Now simply sit back and wait! Once the hook-up job is done (check by doing a “q” over your lever) have a bit of fun and go “q” and then “P” to “Pull the Lever”. It might take a few seconds, but hopefully someone comes over and pulls the lever promptly and then a few seconds later your bridge should be up. Here’s mine up!
Now simply sit back and wait! Once the hook-up job is done (check by
doing a “q” over your lever) have a bit of fun and go “q” and then “P”
to “Pull the Lever”. It might take a few seconds, but hopefully someone
comes over and pulls the lever promptly and then a few seconds later
your bridge should be up. Here’s mine up!
.. image:: images/dftutorial9918.png
:align: center
If you look closely you’ll see that I’ve got a stunned dwarf on the edge of my pit. Amusingly, he was crossing the bridge when it went up and got tossed in the air. Thankfully, he’s ok, but somewhat surprised I’m guessing! Pull the lever again and let the dwarfs get in and out of your fortress once more.
If you look closely you’ll see that I’ve got a stunned dwarf on the
edge of my pit. Amusingly, he was crossing the bridge when it went up
and got tossed in the air. Thankfully, he’s ok, but somewhat surprised
I’m guessing! Pull the lever again and let the dwarfs get in and out of
your fortress once more.
…Er, a quick note about that. If your dwarfs are under the bridge when it comes down you you get this message (click for big):
…Er, a quick note about that. If your dwarfs are under the bridge when
it comes down you you get this message (click for big):
.. image:: images/dftutorial9919.png
:align: center
This is an example of the :wiki:`Dwarven Atom Smasher <bridge>` in practice! Oopsie! Right, with that dwarf murdering job done, lets get back to delicious magma!
This is an example of the :wiki:`Dwarven Atom Smasher <bridge>` in
practice! Oopsie! Right, with that dwarf murdering job done, lets get
back to delicious magma!
Preparing the channel
=====================
By now you should have most everything dug out. Once the channel under the workshop layer is complete we need to flood it with magma. How should we do that? If your first instinct is to send a digger down there to dig through to the magma pipe then you’re a very silly dwarf manager! This will work but will also result in a quick-roasted dwarf. What we’re going to do instead is channel from above until our channel meets our tunnel.
By now you should have most everything dug out. Once the channel under
the workshop layer is complete we need to flood it with magma. How
should we do that? If your first instinct is to send a digger down
there to dig through to the magma pipe then you’re a very silly dwarf
manager! This will work but will also result in a quick-roasted dwarf.
What we’re going to do instead is channel from above until our channel
meets our tunnel.
But before we do that we need to think aout those imps. Do you know Fire Imps and other magma creatures can sneak along your tunnels and then pop out in your forges? And that this can be quite painful for everyone concerned? Hah! Well now you do! So what should we do about this? Some sort of grate might be handy, right?
But before we do that we need to think aout those imps. Do you know
Fire Imps and other magma creatures can sneak along your tunnels and
then pop out in your forges? And that this can be quite painful for
everyone concerned? Hah! Well now you do! So what should we do about
this? Some sort of grate might be handy, right?
We could use a wall grate (constructable at a masons), but lets practice another technique. The last space we’ve dug to the magma should be smoothed, (“d”, “s”) and then carved, like this:
We could use a wall grate (constructable at a masons), but lets
practice another technique. The last space we’ve dug to the magma
should be smoothed, (“d”, “s”) and then carved, like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9920.png
:align: center
From here we’re going to do something cunning. We’re going to “d” designate that same square of wall to be a “a”, “carve fortification”. What happens then is that the wall will have slots cut in it so as to potentially let your crossbow dwarfs shoot out. But while we won’t have dwarfs down here, the holes will let magma through, but not monsters! So go “d” and “a” that same smoothed square.
From here we’re going to do something cunning. We’re going to “d”
designate that same square of wall to be a “a”, “carve fortification”.
What happens then is that the wall will have slots cut in it so as to
potentially let your crossbow dwarfs shoot out. But while we won’t have
dwarfs down here, the holes will let magma through, but not monsters!
So go “d” and “a” that same smoothed square.
While you wait, go to a mason’s workshop and get a floodgate built. It will be a boxy shaped thing with an X on it. This is what we’ll use to block the magma from exiting our tunnel complex. Why a floodgate instead of a door? No particular reason, the floodgate does guarantee no one will try and open the door, which is handy. Floodgates can only be opened or closed by levers and pressure plates. Here’s my complex all completed:
While you wait, go to a mason’s workshop and get a floodgate built. It
will be a boxy shaped thing with an X on it. This is what we’ll use to
block the magma from exiting our tunnel complex. Why a floodgate
instead of a door? No particular reason, the floodgate does guarantee
no one will try and open the door, which is handy. Floodgates can only
be opened or closed by levers and pressure plates. Here’s my complex
all completed:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9921.png
:align: center
So now what? Clearly we need to remove the stone. To do that we need to channel from above, which is relatively safe. Lets do that now:
So now what? Clearly we need to remove the stone. To do that we need to
channel from above, which is relatively safe. Lets do that now:
* Viewing your tunnel complex hit “d”, and then “h”.
* Place your X over the first spot to be removed, like this:
@ -116,12 +222,15 @@ So now what? Clearly we need to remove the stone. To do that we need to channel
:align: center
* Now go up a level and you will see your X near the edge of the magma.
* Hit “enter” and move the cursor across three places, hit “enter again”, the end result will look like this:
* Hit “enter” and move the cursor across three places, hit “enter
again”, the end result will look like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9923.png
:align: center
* Wait, the channel will be dug and magma will flow into your channels, through your fortification grill (which you can’t see unless you “k” and place it over the spot, by the way). Awesome!
* Wait, the channel will be dug and magma will flow into your channels,
through your fortification grill (which you can’t see unless you “k”
and place it over the spot, by the way). Awesome!
.. image:: images/dftutorial9924.png
:align: center
@ -130,7 +239,10 @@ Here are my channels slowly filling with lava. Now lets USE THE HOTNESS!
Magma Forges for fun and profit
===============================
Lets get sorted with some magma stuff. Chose a square in your magma channels where there’s some magma, go up a level, and cut a single channel down. Here’s the spot ready to be cut. This will give our magma workshops access to the lovely hot stuff.
Lets get sorted with some magma stuff. Chose a square in your magma
channels where there’s some magma, go up a level, and cut a single
channel down. Here’s the spot ready to be cut. This will give our magma
workshops access to the lovely hot stuff.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9925.png
:align: center
@ -149,20 +261,38 @@ Now, get to work!
* Build another couple of smelters.
* Build three magma glass furnaces.
* Under the workshop menu build three magma forges. If you don’t have enough anvils for your forges, go make some more at your existing charcoal-powered forge. They have two dark green X’s, either one will do for placing over the hole.
* Here are my 9, almost-completed workshops. One isn’t placed yet as I need to forge a new anvil.
* Under the workshop menu build three magma forges. If you don’t have
enough anvils for your forges, go make some more at your existing
charcoal-powered forge. They have two dark green X’s, either one will
do for placing over the hole.
* Here are my 9, almost-completed workshops. One isn’t placed yet as I
need to forge a new anvil.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9927.png
:align: center
If you have problems placing any forge/smelter or running them it’s possible that there isn’t enough magma under the building, you may have to wait for the tunnels to fill more. But once the workshops are complete you can smelt all that ore on repeat and not worry about charcoal. Best set your smithy’s up with furnace operation, armoring and weapon smithing and no other job! Get all that ore into bars and into shiny armor, weapons or trap components! Hurrah!
If you have problems placing any forge/smelter or running them it’s
possible that there isn’t enough magma under the building, you may have
to wait for the tunnels to fill more. But once the workshops are
complete you can smelt all that ore on repeat and not worry about
charcoal. Best set your smithy’s up with furnace operation, armoring
and weapon smithing and no other job! Get all that ore into bars and
into shiny armor, weapons or trap components! Hurrah!
Now, what about those glass furnaces? That’s something for you to research and toy with. Glass is a whole ‘nother ball game. Don’t worry, your twenty level tower made entirely of glass can come later
Now, what about those glass furnaces? That’s something for you to
research and toy with. Glass is a whole ‘nother ball game. Don’t worry,
your twenty level tower made entirely of glass can come later
Constructing stuff
Hang on, wouldn’t it be handy if we could get to our new stockpiles above our furnaces without having to walk all the way over to the central staircase? But how can we when we’ve dug out all this dirt? We have no chance at designating some up-stairs!
Hang on, wouldn’t it be handy if we could get to our new stockpiles
above our furnaces without having to walk all the way over to the
central staircase? But how can we when we’ve dug out all this dirt? We
have no chance at designating some up-stairs!
But we can construct some. Using the “b”, “C” menu. Constructed stairs and ramps can be put anywhere, as long as they are connected to the ground below them or to one side. The same rule applies to floors, and walls, as you saw earlier. So lets get some more stairs going.
But we can construct some. Using the “b”, “C” menu. Constructed stairs
and ramps can be put anywhere, as long as they are connected to the
ground below them or to one side. The same rule applies to floors, and
walls, as you saw earlier. So lets get some more stairs going.
* Hit “b”, and then “C”.
* Chose the “Up Stair” option.
@ -172,15 +302,29 @@ But we can construct some. Using the “b”, “C” menu. Constructed stairs a
.. image:: images/dftutorial9928.png
:align: center
The stairs will quickly be done, but they won’t be in use. Why not? Go up a level! There’s no down stair! Thankfully, because there’s dirt between the floor above and the floor below, we can use the “d”, “j” (for “downward stairway”) and the steps will be dug, connecting up with the up-stairs below.
The stairs will quickly be done, but they won’t be in use. Why not? Go
up a level! There’s no down stair! Thankfully, because there’s dirt
between the floor above and the floor below, we can use the “d”, “j”
(for “downward stairway”) and the steps will be dug, connecting up with
the up-stairs below.
If there wasn’t dirt, and there was space instead, we would have to “d”, “C”, construct some stairs down.
If there wasn’t dirt, and there was space instead, we would have to
“d”, “C”, construct some stairs down.
Now would be a good time to answer a common question is how you remove steps and walls in Dwarf Fortress. You’ve got a few ways, one of which will always work:
Now would be a good time to answer a common question is how you remove
steps and walls in Dwarf Fortress. You’ve got a few ways, one of which
will always work:
“d”, “n” for “remove construction”. All items that are constructed will flash with a green C. Select in the usual way and the constructed items will be smashed down.
“d”, “h” for “channel”. If you’re above something that has been dug and you want it removed, you can channel the dug space away. To fill the gap you’ll either need to construct a floor on top or you’ll need to construct something in there.
“d”, “n” for “remove construction”. All items that are constructed will
flash with a green C. Select in the usual way and the constructed items
will be smashed down.
“d”, “h” for “channel”. If you’re above something that has been dug and
you want it removed, you can channel the dug space away. To fill the
gap you’ll either need to construct a floor on top or you’ll need to
construct something in there.
You can dig your way through anything constructed, thus removing it.
There you go! Magma! In our final lesson we’ll cover building defences and siting a new entrance! Hope you’ve had fun, now go away and make a ton of awesome steel items and set some more traps up.
There you go! Magma! In our final lesson we’ll cover building defences
and siting a new entrance! Hope you’ve had fun, now go away and make a
ton of awesome steel items and set some more traps up.

238
chapters/chap12-end-megaprojects.rst
View file

@ -3,47 +3,93 @@ That’s all folks?!
##################
The final chapter of the Dwarf Fortress walkthrough! We’ll cover some broader fortress design questions, stuff that I’ve previously forgotten to mention and thoughts about fortifications. Lets get to it!
The final chapter of the Dwarf Fortress walkthrough! We’ll cover some
broader fortress design questions, stuff that I’ve previously forgotten
to mention and thoughts about fortifications. Lets get to it!
Engineering your ultimate fortress
==================================
If you’ve lasted this far you’ve had an excellent grounding in Dwarf Fortress. What’s more, you understand the concepts well enough that a bit of digging around :wiki:`on the wiki <Main_Page>` will answer most of your questions. If the wiki fails, there’s always the Q&A forum over on Bay12 Games.
If you’ve lasted this far you’ve had an excellent grounding in Dwarf
Fortress. What’s more, you understand the concepts well enough that a
bit of digging around :wiki:`on the wiki <Main_Page>` will answer most
of your questions. If the wiki fails, there’s always the Q&A forum over
on Bay12 Games.
But something that seems to stump a lot of people are the big engineering jobs such as digging pits, sorting defences, and building above ground. So lets get on with it and do some of that ourselves! We’ll do so in the name of choosing a new, more secure, more roomy entrance for our fortress.
But something that seems to stump a lot of people are the big
engineering jobs such as digging pits, sorting defences, and building
above ground. So lets get on with it and do some of that ourselves!
We’ll do so in the name of choosing a new, more secure, more roomy
entrance for our fortress.
Lets see, I think about a screen north and a screen east of our main entrance is a nice, open, flat area, and one we could easily defend if we were to dig some passage down. If you think about it, wouldn’t it be cool to have the trade depot close to our big storage stockpile? Then our dwarfs wouldn’t spend too long hauling crafts and with the trade depot deep inside the fortress we could more easily defend it. So lets get on with it!
Lets see, I think about a screen north and a screen east of our main
entrance is a nice, open, flat area, and one we could easily defend if
we were to dig some passage down. If you think about it, wouldn’t it be
cool to have the trade depot close to our big storage stockpile? Then
our dwarfs wouldn’t spend too long hauling crafts and with the trade
depot deep inside the fortress we could more easily defend it. So lets
get on with it!
* Find a spot.
* Clear it of trees. About a screen full of clearing will be required.
* Go down a level and used “d”, “r” for “ramp” to set a 10-wide row to be turned into ramps. Now is a good time to remind you that shift+arrow keys makes the X move in blocks of 10.
* Here’s how mine is laid out, I’ve dropped the top width of ramps first so that I can check I’m happy with how it will be laid out.
* Go down a level and used “d”, “r” for “ramp” to set a 10-wide row to
be turned into ramps. Now is a good time to remind you that shift+arrow
keys makes the X move in blocks of 10.
* Here’s how mine is laid out, I’ve dropped the top width of ramps
first so that I can check I’m happy with how it will be laid out.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9930.png
:align: center
* Now I’ll continue setting a ton of ramps at the below ground level. My selection there is 10 x 20:
* Now I’ll continue setting a ton of ramps at the below ground level.
My selection there is 10 x 20:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9931.png
:align: center
* Now, make your I-shaped diggings into an L-shape by digging some amps off to the left. Here’s mine done with another 10×10 ramp selection dug to the side of the first diggings as well as another 10 x 10 space dug. More on that later:
* Now, make your I-shaped diggings into an L-shape by digging some amps
off to the left. Here’s mine done with another 10×10 ramp selection dug
to the side of the first diggings as well as another 10 x 10 space dug.
More on that later:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9932.png
:align: center
With the first level dug out we now want to go down another level, that would put us on the same level as the storage level, which would be a handy place to have an entrance huh? And we could move the barracks here as well, nice and close to the action, right? But before we do that, we need to remove the spare ramps. Those are the ramps which we don’t actually want to be part of the entrance slope.
With the first level dug out we now want to go down another level, that
would put us on the same level as the storage level, which would be a
handy place to have an entrance huh? And we could move the barracks
here as well, nice and close to the action, right? But before we do
that, we need to remove the spare ramps. Those are the ramps which we
don’t actually want to be part of the entrance slope.
vHit “d” and “z” for “remove ramps”.
* Select all but the bottom line of ramps in the entrance L. Select all the ramps on the pit. You can’t see it, but all the designated ramps will be set brown – as in – job to be done! We need to remove all those ramps because if we dig under them we’ll have rocks falling on the miner’s heads! Here’s the end result:
* Hit “d” and “z” for “remove ramps”.
* Select all but the bottom line of ramps in the entrance L. Select all
the ramps on the pit. You can’t see it, but all the designated ramps
will be set brown – as in – job to be done! We need to remove all those
ramps because if we dig under them we’ll have rocks falling on the
miner’s heads! Here’s the end result:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9933.png
:align: center
You may have noticed we’ve got a dwarf stuck in our pit! Why? Because there’s no ramp or steps to get out! But now we can keep digging. So go down a level and again dig out the 10×10 below with ramps. For the L-shaped diggings, dig out athe level below, but be careful not to dig out the ramps we’ve left – otherwise you’re likely to get a cave in on our dwarfs and you’re also going to remove the entrance path we’re trying to create.
You may have noticed we’ve got a dwarf stuck in our pit! Why? Because
there’s no ramp or steps to get out! But now we can keep digging. So go
down a level and again dig out the 10×10 below with ramps. For the
L-shaped diggings, dig out athe level below, but be careful not to dig
out the ramps we’ve left – otherwise you’re likely to get a cave in on
our dwarfs and you’re also going to remove the entrance path we’re
trying to create.
* Once you’ve gone down another level remove all the ramps in the L room except for, again, one line at the bottom. That way you’ve got a ramp going down to the first below ground level, and then another ramp going down to the storage floor level. That is, the two sets of ramps take you from the ground level down two levels underground.
* In the Pit, remove all the ramps and go down again, you’re aiming to be at the workshop level. Again, remove ramps at that level and connect up with the main workshop floor.
* Have a look at how my setup looks from the top down through to the bottom. Note, the Z minus 1 level has a room dug out in the un-ramped corner. This room will overlook the entrance.
* Once you’ve gone down another level remove all the ramps in the L
room except for, again, one line at the bottom. That way you’ve got a
ramp going down to the first below ground level, and then another ramp
going down to the storage floor level. That is, the two sets of ramps
take you from the ground level down two levels underground.
* In the Pit, remove all the ramps and go down again, you’re aiming to
be at the workshop level. Again, remove ramps at that level and connect
up with the main workshop floor.
* Have a look at how my setup looks from the top down through to the
bottom. Note, the Z minus 1 level has a room dug out in the un-ramped
corner. This room will overlook the entrance.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9934.png
:align: center
@ -57,100 +103,208 @@ You may have noticed we’ve got a dwarf stuck in our pit! Why? Because there’
.. image:: images/dftutorial9937.png
:align: center
That should give you a pretty good idea of the sort of digging we’ve done. As you can see, the pit goes down deeper than the entrance right into the heart of the fortress. We want this because this open air space means we can set a refuse pile down there and not generate miasma! Cool huh? Now our dwarfs only have to walk across the hall to drop rubbish in a secure place, rather than walking all the way up to the surface to drop rubbish outside, where it’s dangerous. You might also want to make some statues at a masons to place them in the middle of the pit and to turn that area into an statue garden (“q” over a placed statue). Dwarfs like to hang around statue gardens and since the bottom of that pit counts as outside it will help prevent cave adaption.
That should give you a pretty good idea of the sort of digging we’ve
done. As you can see, the pit goes down deeper than the entrance right
into the heart of the fortress. We want this because this open air
space means we can set a refuse pile down there and not generate
miasma! Cool huh? Now our dwarfs only have to walk across the hall to
drop rubbish in a secure place, rather than walking all the way up to
the surface to drop rubbish outside, where it’s dangerous. You might
also want to make some statues at a masons to place them in the middle
of the pit and to turn that area into an statue garden (“q” over a
placed statue). Dwarfs like to hang around statue gardens and since the
bottom of that pit counts as outside it will help prevent cave adaption.
You may be wondering about all the dug-out space. I set the crook of our L to be dug out as rooms for our soldiers to overlook the entrance. First the bottom room, (before digging steps up) and then the room above at the Z minus 1 level. I would have left the room walls up but then I remembered that those silty, clay walls can’t be carved into fortifications, so I had to dig out all the dirt. I plan to replace the dirt with constructed walls, which I will cave to be fortified. I’ll show you a couple of pictures when I’m done and you can try something similar.
You may be wondering about all the dug-out space. I set the crook of
our L to be dug out as rooms for our soldiers to overlook the entrance.
First the bottom room, (before digging steps up) and then the room
above at the Z minus 1 level. I would have left the room walls up but
then I remembered that those silty, clay walls can’t be carved into
fortifications, so I had to dig out all the dirt. I plan to replace the
dirt with constructed walls, which I will cave to be fortified. I’ll
show you a couple of pictures when I’m done and you can try something
similar.
Marksdwarfs go PEW PEW!
=======================
I’d feel bad if I didn’t spend more time on marksdwarfs as they are a very handy part of one’s army. So lets go over them a bit. First up, lets build some archery targets. I’ve got a corner of the storage room chosen. Do the same:
I’d feel bad if I didn’t spend more time on marksdwarfs as they are a
very handy part of one’s army. So lets go over them a bit. First up,
lets build some archery targets. I’ve got a corner of the storage room
chosen. Do the same:
* Hit “b”, “A” (or find “Archery Target” at the bottom).
* Place four-or-so targets roughly near to each other. Here are mine almost all built:
* Place four-or-so targets roughly near to each other. Here are mine
almost all built:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9938.png
:align: center
* Hit “q” over the middle one when they’re built.
* Hit “r” for “Make Archery Range”.
* Increase the blue size until it covers each of the targets neatly, hit “enter”
* Look at the top right. You’ll see “Shoot from Left to Right”. Use WASD to chose the proper direction. For me, I want them shooting down (from where the dwarf is in my picture) so I hit “s”.
* Increase the blue size until it covers each of the targets neatly,
hit “enter”
* Look at the top right. You’ll see “Shoot from Left to Right”. Use
WASD to chose the proper direction. For me, I want them shooting down
(from where the dwarf is in my picture) so I hit “s”.
* Job done! Range is now ready!
Now we need some soldier types!
* Go and make a new squad of half-a-dozen slackers.
* Set them to be equipped in leather armor only.
* Now, go and make a bunch of useful items! Like crossbows, perhaps steel ones.
* Make some steel bucklers as well (that’s a small shield that can be strapped to ones arm and doesn’t slow one down as much as a shield does).
* Go to your leatherworks and queue up some more backpacks and add some quivers as well.
* Now, go and make a bunch of useful items! Like crossbows, perhaps
steel ones.
* Make some steel bucklers as well (that’s a small shield that can be
strapped to ones arm and doesn’t slow one down as much as a shield does).
* Go to your leatherworks and queue up some more backpacks and add some
quivers as well.
* Make some more assorted steel armor bits.
* Let your archer dwarfs skill up a bit as wrestlers. Strong and tough dwarfs are always good.
* Once you’re happy, change them all to carrying crossbows and bucklers and chainmail armor. They will go equip themselves and start to practice at the range:
* Let your archer dwarfs skill up a bit as wrestlers. Strong and tough
dwarfs are always good.
* Once you’re happy, change them all to carrying crossbows and bucklers
and chainmail armor. They will go equip themselves and start to
practice at the range:
.. image:: images/dftutorial9939.png
:align: center
* You will need to keep them supplied with bolts. You can make wooden ones at a craftsdwarf’s workshop (and these are used for practice) and bone ones there as well (for fighting with).
* You can also forge metal bolts, which are better, but at 25-or-so bolts per steel bar, it gets a bit costly. At least they will only be used in a fight when it really counts.
* You will need to keep them supplied with bolts. You can make wooden
ones at a craftsdwarf’s workshop (and these are used for practice) and
bone ones there as well (for fighting with).
* You can also forge metal bolts, which are better, but at 25-or-so
bolts per steel bar, it gets a bit costly. At least they will only be
used in a fight when it really counts.
Now you have marksdwarfs! Over time they will be awesome shots, and fire quickly. They will be useful in firing through our fortifications that overlook the entrance L. If you look at the picture below you can see how I’ve put in double-thickness walls that have been carved with fortifications in areas I want me dwarfs to be safe in. I first put in one wall, carved it, then another. Double-thickness walls keep the enemy a bit further away and makes it harder for them to shoot in at us, while we can still shoot out just fine.
Now you have marksdwarfs! Over time they will be awesome shots, and
fire quickly. They will be useful in firing through our fortifications
that overlook the entrance L. If you look at the picture below you can
see how I’ve put in double-thickness walls that have been carved with
fortifications in areas I want me dwarfs to be safe in. I first put in
one wall, carved it, then another. Double-thickness walls keep the
enemy a bit further away and makes it harder for them to shoot in at
us, while we can still shoot out just fine.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9940.png
:align: center
Also in this picture can see the general layout of my new entrance. The pit leads down to a passageway into the fort and to the new trade depot. Along the way to the depot are two bridges. At the first sign of invasion I pull the lever to the first bridge, now the only route to my fortress is that long winding path which is bracketed by two archery rooms. I can park dwarfs in those rooms and they can shoot through all those fortifications to hit the various invaders.
Also in this picture can see the general layout of my new entrance. The
pit leads down to a passageway into the fort and to the new trade
depot. Along the way to the depot are two bridges. At the first sign of
invasion I pull the lever to the first bridge, now the only route to my
fortress is that long winding path which is bracketed by two archery
rooms. I can park dwarfs in those rooms and they can shoot through all
those fortifications to hit the various invaders.
Along that long and winding path I am also constructing a lot of traps. It will be very hard for any bad guy to get far, with luck! Further, about half way along the final straight to my entrance I’ve put a pressure plate linked to last bridge. The pressure plate is set to be one-use only, and when stepped on, it triggers the final bridge (if it wasn’t one use only the bridge would open and close every time it was stepped on). End result is even if the bad guys make it close to my entrance as soon as they cross that plate, up pops the interior bridge and we’re safe and they’re stuck!
Along that long and winding path I am also constructing a lot of traps.
It will be very hard for any bad guy to get far, with luck! Further,
about half way along the final straight to my entrance I’ve put a
pressure plate linked to last bridge. The pressure plate is set to be
one-use only, and when stepped on, it triggers the final bridge (if it
wasn’t one use only the bridge would open and close every time it was
stepped on). End result is even if the bad guys make it close to my
entrance as soon as they cross that plate, up pops the interior bridge
and we’re safe and they’re stuck!
A momentary distraction
=======================
While this constructing has been going on I have been digging up some obsidian stone. The obsidian can be found around the edge of the magma pool at all levels. Obsidian is going to be very handy! Why? Because when we go to the craftsdwarf’s workshop we can chose “Make rock sword” from the task menu. Obsidian short swords are as good as steel swords and they are easy to make. I like to use three of them in a weapon trap, very effective! Obisian objects are also more valuable than normal stone. You’d have to set the obsidian to be usable in the “z” “stone” menu, but once it is you could place a stockpile near a masons’s shop and using “q” on the stockpile, then “s” for “settings”, set it to be obsidian only and thus trick masons into using the obsidian to make some valuable furniture or crafts.
While this constructing has been going on I have been digging up some
obsidian stone. The obsidian can be found around the edge of the magma
pool at all levels. Obsidian is going to be very handy! Why? Because
when we go to the craftsdwarf’s workshop we can chose “Make rock sword”
from the task menu. Obsidian short swords are as good as steel swords
and they are easy to make. I like to use three of them in a weapon
trap, very effective! Obisian objects are also more valuable than
normal stone. You’d have to set the obsidian to be usable in the “z”
“stone” menu, but once it is you could place a stockpile near a
masons’s shop and using “q” on the stockpile, then “s” for “settings”,
set it to be obsidian only and thus trick masons into using the
obsidian to make some valuable furniture or crafts.
If you try and dig out the obsidian you are likely to get a lot of “warm stone located” messages and have your digging stopped. Don’t worry if you do. Just set the stone to be dug again and carry on. As we can see all of the magma on the levels we’re digging we can be confident we’re not going to have magma burst in on us.
If you try and dig out the obsidian you are likely to get a lot of
“warm stone located” messages and have your digging stopped. Don’t
worry if you do. Just set the stone to be dug again and carry on. As we
can see all of the magma on the levels we’re digging we can be
confident we’re not going to have magma burst in on us.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9941.png
:align: center
Bottom of the pit
=================
I’ve gone ahead and smoothed the bottom of the pit, put in the refuse, and in one corner I’ve placed a few statues and set the area as a statue garden.
I’ve gone ahead and smoothed the bottom of the pit, put in the refuse,
and in one corner I’ve placed a few statues and set the area as a
statue garden.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9942.png
:align: center
Further fortification
=====================
While I was digging away downstairs I thought it might be nice to have a place above ground from which to shoot at invaders and perhaps somewhere to build some siege engines as well. Hence, I’ve started construction of a keep overlooking the entrance. In the picture below you can see I’ve dug a stair down to the level below (Which is hollowed out and walled in and has constructed stairs up) and I’ve put a wall around this area.
While I was digging away downstairs I thought it might be nice to have
a place above ground from which to shoot at invaders and perhaps
somewhere to build some siege engines as well. Hence, I’ve started
construction of a keep overlooking the entrance. In the picture below
you can see I’ve dug a stair down to the level below (Which is hollowed
out and walled in and has constructed stairs up) and I’ve put a wall
around this area.
Now, I could go and set these ground floor walls as fortification, but I prefer my archers to shoot from above the enemy. It makes them much harder to get shot in return! So, instead of fortifying this level I’ve constructed another stair upwards.
Now, I could go and set these ground floor walls as fortification, but
I prefer my archers to shoot from above the enemy. It makes them much
harder to get shot in return! So, instead of fortifying this level I’ve
constructed another stair upwards.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9943.png
:align: center
As you can see below, on the level up, I have matching down stairs constructed and thus now have access to this level. If my dwarfs wanted to go up here they’d have to walk on the tops of walls (walls come with a floor and a ceiling component, by the way, so the top of a wall counts as a floor). But wouldn’t it be better to have some floor? Yes! I agree! So I’m using the build, construct (“b”, “C”) menu to set a big floor to be built. Eventually I’ll ensure the whole area is built over. But, if you do the same, do not put a floor over a wall top. This will prevent you from building a wall on that space. Walls can never be built on top of another construction. So leave the wall tops free and a wall all the way around on top of your existing walls. We’re building a tower you see! Also, make sure you leave one space clear of floor. This is where you can “b”, “C”, construct another set of steps going up.
As you can see below, on the level up, I have matching down stairs
constructed and thus now have access to this level. If my dwarfs wanted
to go up here they’d have to walk on the tops of walls (walls come with
a floor and a ceiling component, by the way, so the top of a wall
counts as a floor). But wouldn’t it be better to have some floor? Yes!
I agree! So I’m using the build, construct (“b”, “C”) menu to set a big
floor to be built. Eventually I’ll ensure the whole area is built over.
But, if you do the same, do not put a floor over a wall top. This will
prevent you from building a wall on that space. Walls can never be
built on top of another construction. So leave the wall tops free and a
wall all the way around on top of your existing walls. We’re building a
tower you see! Also, make sure you leave one space clear of floor. This
is where you can “b”, “C”, construct another set of steps going up.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9944.png
:align: center
The picture below shows the floor built with fortified walls around the edges. This will be a great place for our marksdwarfs to stand and shoot at any invaders as they approach the fortress. You can also see another set of steps I’ve built going up.
The picture below shows the floor built with fortified walls around the
edges. This will be a great place for our marksdwarfs to stand and
shoot at any invaders as they approach the fortress. You can also see
another set of steps I’ve built going up.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9945.png
:align: center
And here’s the floor above. No walls, a smooth surface. Ready for me to put siege engines on, perhaps.
And here’s the floor above. No walls, a smooth surface. Ready for me to
put siege engines on, perhaps.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9946.png
:align: center
And for a special treat here’s a screenshot from 3Dwarf Visualizer, which is a third-party tool which roughly displays how your fortress looks in 3D. you can see the entrance (but from this angle, not the ramps down), the keep and the pit.
And for a special treat here’s a screenshot from 3Dwarf Visualizer,
which is a third-party tool which roughly displays how your fortress
looks in 3D. you can see the entrance (but from this angle, not the
ramps down), the keep and the pit.
.. image:: images/dftutorial9947.png
:align: center
The End!
========
And welcome to the end of the tutorial! By now you should be able to play the game on your own. If you’re lost as to what to do next, how about digging around and looking for more ore to smelt? How about building a :wiki:`well` so any injured dwarfs can be brought water more safely?
And welcome to the end of the tutorial! By now you should be able to
play the game on your own. If you’re lost as to what to do next, how
about digging around and looking for more ore to smelt? How about
building a :wiki:`well` so any injured dwarfs can be brought water more
safely?
You might also consider a mega project like an enormous tower, castle, or a fortress entirely surrounded by magma. There are many options, and just surviving the increasingly severe raids from goblins and other critters can be a challenge. Good luck! And thanks for reading this far!
You might also consider a mega project like an enormous tower, castle,
or a fortress entirely surrounded by magma. There are many options, and
just surviving the increasingly severe raids from goblins and other
critters can be a challenge. Good luck! And thanks for reading this far!

100
tutorials/custom-embarks.rst
View file

@ -3,51 +3,119 @@ Custom Embark Strategies
########################
The custom embark feature of Dwarf Fortress is a handy part of the game as it lets you customize exactly what sort of dwarfs you take with you and allows you to set their supplies to your exact specifications. Read on for more information!
The custom embark feature of Dwarf Fortress is a handy part of the
game as it lets you customize exactly what sort of dwarfs you take
with you and allows you to set their supplies to your exact
specifications. Read on for more information!
Embarking the custom way
========================
So you’ve chosen your perfect location, as per the world generation tutorial, and now you’re ready to embark. What you want to be doing now is selecting :guilabel:`Prepare for your journey carefully` from the embark menu. You will now be presented with your list of dwarfs and the skills they can access.
So you’ve chosen your perfect location, as per the world generation
tutorial, and now you’re ready to embark. What you want to be doing
now is selecting :guilabel:`Prepare for your journey carefully` from
the embark menu. You will now be presented with your list of dwarfs
and the skills they can access.
.. image:: images/14_Dwarf_Fortress_Embark_01.png
:align: center
Have a fiddle with your controls. The left-right arrows move between the list on the left (dwarfs) and the list on the right (dwarf skills). Select your first dwarf, then arrow over to the skill list and scroll through it. Currently this dwarf has no skills assigned. Find :guilabel:`Mining`, hit :kbd:`-` and keep hitting it until the dwarf is set as a :guilabel:`Proficient Miner`. Do the same for :guilabel:`Mason`.
Have a fiddle with your controls. The left-right arrows move between
the list on the left (dwarfs) and the list on the right (dwarf
skills). Select your first dwarf, then arrow over to the skill list
and scroll through it. Currently this dwarf has no skills assigned.
Find :guilabel:`Mining`, hit :kbd:`-` and keep hitting it until the
dwarf is set as a :guilabel:`Proficient Miner`. Do the same for
:guilabel:`Mason`.
You have now made your dwarf a pretty good mason and a miner! Note, there’s a zero next to his name? This means he can’t accept any more skills. Most of the time you’re going to be giving each dwarf a couple of skills, but one or two dwarfs might be given some outlier skills (leadership skills, for example) to ensure you have a broker from the get-go. There are many strategies when it comes to skill selection, we’ll cover some samples later.
You have now made your dwarf a pretty good mason and a miner! Note,
there’s a zero next to his name? This means he can’t accept any more
skills. Most of the time you’re going to be giving each dwarf a couple
of skills, but one or two dwarfs might be given some outlier skills
(leadership skills, for example) to ensure you have a broker from the
get-go. There are many strategies when it comes to skill selection,
we’ll cover some samples later.
Meanwhile, get back to a dwarf using the arrow key. You’ll see at the bottom the :kbd:`c` menu for :guilabel:`Customize` and :kbd:`v` for :guilabel:`View`. Hit :kbd:`v` and have a read about your dwarf’s personality. I usually look for the "friendliest" and mark them in my head for any possible leadership skills.
Meanwhile, get back to a dwarf using the arrow key. You’ll see at the
bottom the :kbd:`c` menu for :guilabel:`Customize` and :kbd:`v` for
:guilabel:`View`. Hit :kbd:`v` and have a read about your dwarf’s
personality. I usually look for the "friendliest" and mark them in my
head for any possible leadership skills.
Head back to the list (:kbd:`Esc`) and then hit :kbd:`c`. Here you can modify a dwarf’s nickname and profession name. This is handy if you want to make a note of how you’ve skilled each dwarf, or just for your own amusement, of course! Once you’re done there, hitting :kbd:`F` or :kbd:`G` takes you to a group and fortress menu list. Fiddle around here and come up with a creative name if you want!
Head back to the list (:kbd:`Esc`) and then hit :kbd:`c`. Here you can
modify a dwarf’s nickname and profession name. This is handy if you
want to make a note of how you’ve skilled each dwarf, or just for your
own amusement, of course! Once you’re done there, hitting :kbd:`F` or
:kbd:`G` takes you to a group and fortress menu list. Fiddle around
here and come up with a creative name if you want!
When you’re done, (you may have to hit :kbd:`Esc` to head back out of the menu), hit :kbd:`Tab` to go to the item list. Many items will be on your list already, on the left, with animal options on the right.
When you’re done, (you may have to hit :kbd:`Esc` to head back out of
the menu), hit :kbd:`Tab` to go to the item list. Many items will be
on your list already, on the left, with animal options on the right.
.. image:: images/14_Dwarf_Fortress_Embark_02.png
:align: center
As in the last menu, use the arrows to move left and right and the up down arrows to move through the list. Head across to the animal list and hit :kbd:`-` a couple of times to add 2 dogs to your party. Go down, add a couple of cats as well. No, make that three of each, then you’ve got a pretty good chance of getting one of each sex. That’s handy for reproduction, so my mum tells me!
As in the last menu, use the arrows to move left and right and the up
down arrows to move through the list. Head across to the animal list
and hit :kbd:`-` a couple of times to add 2 dogs to your party. Go
down, add a couple of cats as well. No, make that three of each, then
you’ve got a pretty good chance of getting one of each sex. That’s
handy for reproduction, so my mum tells me!
:kbd:`=` reduces the number of items. Reduce the number of battle axes to one. I usually don’t bother taking two steel battle axes as one skilled woodsman with a single battleaxe is quite enough and getting rid of one will free up some points you can use for other things. As for the rest of the items, that depends on your strategy. For now, hit :kbd:`n` for :guilabel:`New`. You’ll be taken to a huge menu of purchasable items.
:kbd:`=` reduces the number of items. Reduce the number of battle axes
to one. I usually don’t bother taking two steel battle axes as one
skilled woodsman with a single battleaxe is quite enough and getting
rid of one will free up some points you can use for other things. As
for the rest of the items, that depends on your strategy. For now, hit
:kbd:`n` for :guilabel:`New`. You’ll be taken to a huge menu of
purchasable items.
.. image:: images/14_Dwarf_Fortress_Embark_03.png
:align: center
Lets add some turtles to the list of stuff we’re going to take. Scroll down to :guilabel:`Fish`, then across to the right and down to :guilabel:`Turtle`. Hit :kbd:`Enter`, you will now be taken back to the main goods menu and you’ll see turtles added to your list. Hit :kbd:`-` until you’ve got 20 turtles. Note, the points available to you will go down as you do this – your available points are in the bottom right corner and the point cost of each item is listed next to the item.
Lets add some turtles to the list of stuff we’re going to take. Scroll
down to :guilabel:`Fish`, then across to the right and down to
:guilabel:`Turtle`. Hit :kbd:`Enter`, you will now be taken back to
the main goods menu and you’ll see turtles added to your list. Hit
:kbd:`-` until you’ve got 20 turtles. Note, the points available to
you will go down as you do this – your available points are in the
bottom right corner and the point cost of each item is listed next to
the item.
Lets add some Dwarven Wine the other method. Hit :kbd:`n` for new, then start typing :guilabel:`wine`. Pretty soon you’ll be left with only one option, :guilabel:`Dwarven Wine`. You’ll note that the :guilabel:`Drinks` part of the menu is highlighted, you’ll need scroll across :guilabel:`Dwarven Wine`, then hit :kbd:`Enter`.
Lets add some Dwarven Wine the other method. Hit :kbd:`n` for new,
then start typing :guilabel:`wine`. Pretty soon you’ll be left with
only one option, :guilabel:`Dwarven Wine`. You’ll note that the
:guilabel:`Drinks` part of the menu is highlighted, you’ll need scroll
across :guilabel:`Dwarven Wine`, then hit :kbd:`Enter`.
.. image:: images/14_Dwarf_Fortress_Embark_04.png
:align: center
You can now increase and decrease the number in the usual fashion. Lots and lots of drink is a good idea!
You can now increase and decrease the number in the usual fashion.
Lots and lots of drink is a good idea!
Embark Strategies
=================
You now know enough to navigate around the somewhat confusing menus. But what you don’t have is an strategy for what to buy when you’re embarking. Thankfully, there are some really good ideas presented on the Dwarf Fortress Wiki Starting Builds guide and of course, more ideas over on the Dwarf Fortress forums. I suggest going and reading the starting builds guide, there are some fun ideas there – for example, taking no axes, a little wood and then forging your own axes on site (saves you points for other items!).
You now know enough to navigate around the somewhat confusing menus.
But what you don’t have is an strategy for what to buy when you’re
embarking. Thankfully, there are some really good ideas presented on
the Dwarf Fortress Wiki Starting Builds guide and of course, more
ideas over on the Dwarf Fortress forums. I suggest going and reading
the starting builds guide, there are some fun ideas there – for
example, taking no axes, a little wood and then forging your own axes
on site (saves you points for other items!).
The :forums:`DF Starter Pack <126076>` includes a collection of embark builds, ranging from good for new players to advanced options designed to maximise the impact of each point. You can save your settings with :kbd:`s`, if you're happy with them.
The :forums:`DF Starter Pack <126076>` includes a collection of embark
builds, ranging from good for new players to advanced options designed
to maximise the impact of each point. You can save your settings with
:kbd:`s`, if you're happy with them.
Take all the advice there and then think about the location you’re embarking to. If it seems likely to be a frozen waste, you may chose to modify the builds presented as many are tailored for fairly ideal locations. That being said, there are some interesting ideas for builds centered around extreme fortresses too!
Take all the advice there and then think about the location you’re
embarking to. If it seems likely to be a frozen waste, you may chose
to modify the builds presented as many are tailored for fairly ideal
locations. That being said, there are some interesting ideas for
builds centered around extreme fortresses too!
When you’ve spent all your points and modified everything you want, hit :kbd:`e` for :guilabel:`Embark` and enjoy your new fortress!
When you’ve spent all your points and modified everything you want,
hit :kbd:`e` for :guilabel:`Embark` and enjoy your new fortress!

172
tutorials/generating-a-world.rst
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@ -3,92 +3,216 @@ World Generation
################
Welcome to the tutorial on world building. If you’ve played along with the walkthrough you may be itching to try out making your own world and finding a new place to build your next dwarfy citadel (perfectly laid out – as detailed on the notepaper you doodled on at work all day). Well, you’re in luck, because that’s what we’re talking about today!
Welcome to the tutorial on world building. If you’ve played along with
the walkthrough you may be itching to try out making your own world
and finding a new place to build your next dwarfy citadel (perfectly
laid out – as detailed on the notepaper you doodled on at work all
day). Well, you’re in luck, because that’s what we’re talking about
today!
Why World Build?
================
World building is a subtle and arcane art in Dwarf Fortress. You can do it the easy way (default world generation), the slightly complex way (custom parameter setting) or the really hard way (world gen file manipulation). We’re going to be covering just the first way as the others make my brain hurt and I’m not a masochist! If you are interested in doing things the hard way you can head over to the wiki and check out the guides to advanced world generation and pre-generated worlds.
World building is a subtle and arcane art in Dwarf Fortress. You can
do it the easy way (default world generation), the slightly complex
way (custom parameter setting) or the really hard way (world gen file
manipulation). We’re going to be covering just the first way as the
others make my brain hurt and I’m not a masochist! If you are
interested in doing things the hard way you can head over to the wiki
and check out the guides to advanced world generation and
pre-generated worlds.
Er, where was I, why do we want to generate our own worlds? Well, generally it is because we want to create a specific type of environment (haunted glaciers with skeletal whales FTW!) or we want to make sure we have an interesting and exciting place to build (build a volcano inside a fortress inside a volcano!). Or perhaps you just want to start a new game in a new land.
Er, where was I, why do we want to generate our own worlds? Well,
generally it is because we want to create a specific type of
environment (haunted glaciers with skeletal whales FTW!) or we want to
make sure we have an interesting and exciting place to build (build a
volcano inside a fortress inside a volcano!). Or perhaps you just want
to start a new game in a new land.
Making Worlds the Easy Way
==========================
Fire up Dwarf Fortress and from the start menu scroll down to :guilabel:`Create New World!` and hit :kbd:`Enter`. You'll see a screen with a variety of basic options which can be selected with the arrow keys. I suggest the following settings, but by now you can decide for yourself:
Fire up Dwarf Fortress and from the start menu scroll down to
:guilabel:`Create New World!` and hit :kbd:`Enter`. You'll see a
screen with a variety of basic options which can be selected with the
arrow keys. I suggest the following settings, but by now you can
decide for yourself:
.. image:: images/worldgen-options.png
:align: center
You you like the settings, hit :kbd:`y` and the world will start to generate. You’ll get a lot of stuff happening on the screen as the world is generated. Mountains will form and be eroded, forests will spread, rivers will spawn, civilisations will rise and fall. It’s pretty cool actually!
You you like the settings, hit :kbd:`y` and the world will start to
generate. You’ll get a lot of stuff happening on the screen as the
world is generated. Mountains will form and be eroded, forests will
spread, rivers will spawn, civilisations will rise and fall. It’s
pretty cool actually!
Here’s a shot of the world history being generated, which happens after the geography is formed. Did you know you can actually go and read all of this history in :guilabel:`Legends` mode? Yes, it’s all there! Tons of history and mythology to soak in. We’ll have a look at that later.
Here’s a shot of the world history being generated, which happens
after the geography is formed. Did you know you can actually go and
read all of this history in :guilabel:`Legends` mode? Yes, it’s all
there! Tons of history and mythology to soak in. We’ll have a look at
that later.
.. image:: images/worldgen-generating.png
:align: center
Once the world is created you’ll end up with a menu as well as a little information, such as the name of your world. Mine, :guilabel:`The Universe of Wonder` looks mountainous and pretty frozen up North! (I swear, I got that name the first time!) Use the arrow keys to look around and get a rough idea for the kind of world created. Hit :kbd:`Enter` to accept the world. The world is now being stored and you will be taken back to the main menu. You can now chose :guilabel:`Start Playing` and a new world will be there, probably the attractively named :guilabel:`(untranslated name), Folder: Region 2`.
Once the world is created you’ll end up with a menu as well as a
little information, such as the name of your world. Mine,
:guilabel:`The Universe of Wonder` looks mountainous and pretty frozen
up North! (I swear, I got that name the first time!) Use the arrow
keys to look around and get a rough idea for the kind of world
created. Hit :kbd:`Enter` to accept the world. The world is now being
stored and you will be taken back to the main menu. You can now chose
:guilabel:`Start Playing` and a new world will be there, probably the
attractively named :guilabel:`(untranslated name), Folder: Region 2`.
.. image:: images/worldgen-regions.png
:align: center
You’re a bloody legend, mate
============================
With your new region selected, hit “Enter” and you can see the three game modes available. :guilabel:`Dwarf Fortress`, which you know well by now, :guilabel:`Adventurer`, which you may have dipped into and :guilabel:`Legends`. Select :guilabel:`Legends` and hit :kbd:`Enter`. After some loading you’ll get a screen showing a list of histories to read. Scroll around, hit :kbd:`Enter` to drill down and :kbd:`Esc` to go back up a menu layer. The first history I read is about Sidya Athetipyi, hag spouse of evil - born an elf, abducted at age four, and transformed into a creature of the night by Momuz Shadeberry. She later escaped and wandered for years, before being struck down at age 41 in the Pure Prairies. There are happy stories too, I promise!
With your new region selected, hit “Enter” and you can see the three
game modes available. :guilabel:`Dwarf Fortress`, which you know well
by now, :guilabel:`Adventurer`, which you may have dipped into and
:guilabel:`Legends`. Select :guilabel:`Legends` and hit :kbd:`Enter`.
After some loading you’ll get a screen showing a list of histories to
read. Scroll around, hit :kbd:`Enter` to drill down and :kbd:`Esc` to
go back up a menu layer. The first history I read is about Sidya
Athetipyi, hag spouse of evil - born an elf, abducted at age four, and
transformed into a creature of the night by Momuz Shadeberry. She
later escaped and wandered for years, before being struck down at age
41 in the Pure Prairies. There are happy stories too, I promise!
If the in-game interface for Legends mode isn't your cup of tea, don't despair! From the main legends screen, you can press :kbd:`x`, :kbd:`p`, :kbd:`d` to export most of the information - or use the DFHack command ``exportlegends all`` to do so automatically. These files are created in the ``Dwarf Fortress`` folder, and can be read with Legends Viewer - which incorporates the maps, and adds everything from hyperlinks to population statistics.
If the in-game interface for Legends mode isn't your cup of tea, don't
despair! From the main legends screen, you can press :kbd:`x`,
:kbd:`p`, :kbd:`d` to export most of the information - or use the
DFHack command ``exportlegends all`` to do so automatically. These
files are created in the ``Dwarf Fortress`` folder, and can be read
with Legends Viewer - which incorporates the maps, and adds everything
from hyperlinks to population statistics.
When you’re bored, :kbd:`Esc` back out to the main menu.
Play the Damn Game Already!
===========================
Head back in to “Start playing” and select your region and then “Dwarf Fortress”. You’ll then get a screen somewhat like this. It is the “settle” screen where you chose where you’re going to found your fortress. I’ve scribbled on the picture below so as to give you a better idea of what you’re looking at. The image below explains the three map windows you can see:
Head back in to “Start playing” and select your region and then “Dwarf
Fortress”. You’ll then get a screen somewhat like this. It is the
“settle” screen where you chose where you’re going to found your
fortress. I’ve scribbled on the picture below so as to give you a
better idea of what you’re looking at. The image below explains the
three map windows you can see:
.. image:: images/worldgen-sites.png
:align: center
On the right is more information and it relates entirely to what’s in the embark box in the left window. Lets see what we can do about navigating around! Start off by hitting the arrow keys a while. What you’ll notice is that the arrow keys move the X on the region map. Holding down an arrow key results in the local map zipping past, the region map moving square by square and the world map X moving fairly slowly. As you move the cursor around you should see the info on the right change. Note, this info does NOT relate to the region window! Instead, it relates to the local window, but as you’ve noticed by now we don’t seem to have much control over the placement of that local window box… or do we?
On the right is more information and it relates entirely to what’s in
the embark box in the left window. Lets see what we can do about
navigating around! Start off by hitting the arrow keys a while. What
you’ll notice is that the arrow keys move the X on the region map.
Holding down an arrow key results in the local map zipping past, the
region map moving square by square and the world map X moving fairly
slowly. As you move the cursor around you should see the info on the
right change. Note, this info does NOT relate to the region window!
Instead, it relates to the local window, but as you’ve noticed by now
we don’t seem to have much control over the placement of that local
window box… or do we?
If you read the text on screen you’ll see you can move the local area box around using :kbd:`w`, :kbd:`a`, :kbd:`x`, and :kbd:`d`. Try it now! You’ll notice lots of information changing on the right. You can also resize the local space using :kbd:`u`, :kbd:`h`, :kbd:`m`, :kbd:`k`. You probably want to leave the box at 3x3, but 4x4 will give you more space when you’re playing. 5x5 should only be used by those who like the game going particularly slowly as those sort of sizes can become somewhat crippling for the CPU to keep up with. 1×1 micro-fortresses are also doable, if you want speed more than space.
If you read the text on screen you’ll see you can move the local area
box around using :kbd:`w`, :kbd:`a`, :kbd:`x`, and :kbd:`d`. Try it
now! You’ll notice lots of information changing on the right. You can
also resize the local space using :kbd:`u`, :kbd:`h`, :kbd:`m`,
:kbd:`k`. You probably want to leave the box at 3x3, but 4x4 will
give you more space when you’re playing. 5x5 should only be used by
those who like the game going particularly slowly as those sort of
sizes can become somewhat crippling for the CPU to keep up with. 1×1
micro-fortresses are also doable, if you want speed more than space.
Hit :kbd:`u` and make your space 3×5. Make it small again by :kbd:`m`. Easy huh? But rather than just selecting some random area and hitting :kbd:`e` for :guilabel:`Embark!`, lets use the :guilabel:`Find` system to get us a nice site.
Hit :kbd:`u` and make your space 3×5. Make it small again by :kbd:`m`.
Easy huh? But rather than just selecting some random area and hitting
:kbd:`e` for :guilabel:`Embark!`, lets use the :guilabel:`Find` system
to get us a nice site.
Finding somewhere to live
=========================
Follow along:
* Hit “f” for :guilabel:`Find`. A new menu will pop up with settings to fiddle with.
* Hit “f” for :guilabel:`Find`. A new menu will pop up with settings
to fiddle with.
* Set :guilabel:`Savagery` and :guilabel:`Evil` to :guilabel:`Low`.
* Set :guilabel:`Flux Stone Layer` to :guilabel:`Yes`. Flux stone is one of the ingredients you need to make steel so we really do want it.
* Leave :guilabel:`Aquifer` as :guilabel:`N/A` - while they're a pain, you'll get a better site if you're willing to use the DFHack command ``drain-aquifer`` after you embark
* Set :guilabel:`Flux Stone Layer` to :guilabel:`Yes`. Flux stone is
one of the ingredients you need to make steel so we really do want it.
* Leave :guilabel:`Aquifer` as :guilabel:`N/A` - while they're a pain,
you'll get a better site if you're willing to use the DFHack command
``drain-aquifer`` after you embark
* Set :guilabel:`River` to :guilabel:`Yes`.
* Set :guilabel:`Shallow Metal` and :guilabel:`Deep Metal` to :guilabel:`Multiple`.
* Set :guilabel:`Shallow Metal` and :guilabel:`Deep Metal` to
:guilabel:`Multiple`.
* Set :guilabel:`Soil` to :guilabel:`< Deep`.
* Set :guilabel:`Clay` to :guilabel:`Yes`.
* Hit :kbd:`Enter` for :guilabel:`Do Search`.
DF will now look for a location matching your preferences. Now, I’ve chosen the particular settings above to set up a fairly straight forward fortress location. You can have a lot of fun by not going for some of these settings, so don’t be afraid to experiment.
DF will now look for a location matching your preferences. Now, I’ve
chosen the particular settings above to set up a fairly straight
forward fortress location. You can have a lot of fun by not going for
some of these settings, so don’t be afraid to experiment.
Once the search is run a suitable site will be found (hopefully) and the local map will be centered on it. Hit :kbd:`Space` to back out of the find menu. Here’s what I’ve found.
Once the search is run a suitable site will be found (hopefully) and
the local map will be centered on it. Hit :kbd:`Space` to back out of
the find menu. Here’s what I’ve found.
.. image:: images/worldgen-search.png
:align: center
You can see the climate looks quite good. The temperature is warm, it’s sparse trees (which is plenty). It’s wilderness, which will be somewhat challenging and fun and there’s some sand too – always nice if you want to make glass. However, one thing I don’t see is an aquifer... or do I? Perhaps it’s in another biome? Biomes are how land is divided up in DF. Plains will be one biome, a mountain range another, a forest yet another. Clearly there’s a grassland biome here, and there are three options next to :guilabel:`View Biome`; :kbd:`F1`, :kbd:`F2`, and :kbd:`F3`. By default we’re viewing the biome that dominates this space inside the local embark box and this is the :kbd:`F1` biome. if I hit :kbd:`F2` I will switch to seeing what’s on the other biome as well as what land it covers. The flashing Xs show the boundary and I can hit :kbd:`F1` to see how it compares to the other biome. Here’s what I see when I check the second biome. Note, it’s possible to have one, two, four or even more biomes all intersecting on the area you’re looking at!
You can see the climate looks quite good. The temperature is warm,
it’s sparse trees (which is plenty). It’s wilderness, which will be
somewhat challenging and fun and there’s some sand too – always nice
if you want to make glass. However, one thing I don’t see is an
aquifer... or do I? Perhaps it’s in another biome? Biomes are how land
is divided up in DF. Plains will be one biome, a mountain range
another, a forest yet another. Clearly there’s a grassland biome here,
and there are three options next to :guilabel:`View Biome`; :kbd:`F1`,
:kbd:`F2`, and :kbd:`F3`. By default we’re viewing the biome that
dominates this space inside the local embark box and this is the
:kbd:`F1` biome. if I hit :kbd:`F2` I will switch to seeing what’s on
the other biome as well as what land it covers. The flashing Xs show
the boundary and I can hit :kbd:`F1` to see how it compares to the
other biome. Here’s what I see when I check the second biome. Note,
it’s possible to have one, two, four or even more biomes all
intersecting on the area you’re looking at!
.. image:: images/worldgen-biomes.png
:align: center
I’m pretty pleased with that! A good sized area, a water source in the corner, magma (deep down), sand, flux stone, lots of wood, perfect! Of interest is that I have a brook instead of a full river (DF tells me that in the info box to the right of the maps) which somewhat reduces the difficulty of dealing with the challenges of plumbing!
I’m pretty pleased with that! A good sized area, a water source in the
corner, magma (deep down), sand, flux stone, lots of wood, perfect! Of
interest is that I have a brook instead of a full river (DF tells me
that in the info box to the right of the maps) which somewhat reduces
the difficulty of dealing with the challenges of plumbing!
I am now ready to embark!
Your Basic Embarking
====================
When you’re comfortable with your start zone hit :kbd:`e` for “Embark”. You will get a confirmation dialog, hit :kbd:`Enter`. You now have options that probably look something like this:
When you’re comfortable with your start zone hit :kbd:`e` for
“Embark”. You will get a confirmation dialog, hit :kbd:`Enter`. You
now have options that probably look something like this:
.. image:: images/worldgen-embark-presets.png
:align: center
The best option, if you want to play straight away, is to select :guilabel:`Use DFVIDTUTS2015` (the preset the walkthrough is based on) and hit enter, you will now be taken to another menu which you want to hit :kbd:`e` from. Voila! You’re in and playing! Alternately, you can :guilabel:`Prepare for the journey carefully` and individually skill and equip each dwarf - but that's another tutorial.
The best option, if you want to play straight away, is to select
:guilabel:`Use DFVIDTUTS2015` (the preset the walkthrough is based on)
and hit enter, you will now be taken to another menu which you want to
hit :kbd:`e` from. Voila! You’re in and playing! Alternately, you can
:guilabel:`Prepare for the journey carefully` and individually skill
and equip each dwarf - but that's another tutorial.
Righto, you should be able to do basic world construction to your heart’s content now. World generation is as complex as you want it to be and you can see some of those options under :guilabel:`Design New World with Advanced Parameters` from the main menu. Don’t worry about those unless you get super keen on custom building worlds to ensure certain features, in which case, head off to the Bay12 forums already! There are lots of useful threads there and links to map databases (and info on how to use them). It’s a hobby in itself and people seem to enjoy competing to create the most perfect starting location or the most perfect micro-fortress.
Righto, you should be able to do basic world construction to your
heart’s content now. World generation is as complex as you want it to
be and you can see some of those options under :guilabel:`Design New
World with Advanced Parameters` from the main menu. Don’t worry about
those unless you get super keen on custom building worlds to ensure
certain features, in which case, head off to the Bay12 forums already!
There are lots of useful threads there and links to map databases (and
info on how to use them). It’s a hobby in itself and people seem to
enjoy competing to create the most perfect starting location or the
most perfect micro-fortress.

266
tutorials/jobs-management.rst
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@ -4,11 +4,16 @@ Managing Dwarven Jobs
.. warning::
This tutorial is based on an old version of DF, and needs to be updated.
This tutorial is based on an old version of DF, and needs to be
updated.
In this tutorial we’ll look at managing our dwarfs, a topic we have ignored until now. Dwarf management isn’t that hard, but there’s lots of subtlety to it, as I’m sure you can imagine. You also have to learn to navigate the interface, which is its own special challenge!
In this tutorial we’ll look at managing our dwarfs, a topic we have
ignored until now. Dwarf management isn’t that hard, but there’s lots
of subtlety to it, as I’m sure you can imagine. You also have to learn
to navigate the interface, which is its own special challenge!
So lets dive right in! In the end you will find managing your dwarfs well quite rewarding, trust me!
So lets dive right in! In the end you will find managing your dwarfs
well quite rewarding, trust me!
In-game interface
=================
@ -17,38 +22,96 @@ Hit :kbd:`u`! You will be presented with a list much like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial68.png
:align: center
On the left, a list of dwarfs with their name and current profession (the game works out the dwarf’s profession based on their best skill, unless you assign them a custom profession name, more on that later). On the right, we have the current job the listed dwarf is doing. You will note that the list includes more then just dwarfs. You can scroll up and down using :kbd:`PageUp` and :kbd:`PageDown` as well as the arrow keys so have a look around. This is the full list of all living creatures in the current area (excluding vermin), so it’s a good way to see how many goblins you’re facing when the inevitable siege occurs!
On the left, a list of dwarfs with their name and current profession
(the game works out the dwarf’s profession based on their best skill,
unless you assign them a custom profession name, more on that later).
On the right, we have the current job the listed dwarf is doing. You
will note that the list includes more then just dwarfs. You can scroll
up and down using :kbd:`PageUp` and :kbd:`PageDown` as well as the
arrow keys so have a look around. This is the full list of all living
creatures in the current area (excluding vermin), so it’s a good way
to see how many goblins you’re facing when the inevitable siege occurs!
Had a good look? Great! Now lets get on with working with our dwarfs. With the first dwarf selected, hit :kbd:`c` for :guilabel:`Zoom-Cre`. Using this shortcut will become extremely familiar to you as you jump to this list, select a dwarf, and whack :kbd:`c` to see what on earth they are up to now!
Had a good look? Great! Now lets get on with working with our dwarfs.
With the first dwarf selected, hit :kbd:`c` for :guilabel:`Zoom-Cre`.
Using this shortcut will become extremely familiar to you as you jump
to this list, select a dwarf, and whack :kbd:`c` to see what on earth
they are up to now!
.. image:: images/dftutorial69.png
:align: center
Lets examine what we can see here. On the left we have a yellow X over the dwarf we selected. If we were to move the X around using the arrow keys we’d see the info on the right change as the closest dwarf to the X changes. By the way, you can pull up the X directly without going through :kbd:`u` just by hitting :kbd:`v` from the main map. This is really handy for when you’re trying to work out which dwarf is skulking around the dining room not doing any work!
Lets examine what we can see here. On the left we have a yellow X over
the dwarf we selected. If we were to move the X around using the arrow
keys we’d see the info on the right change as the closest dwarf to the
X changes. By the way, you can pull up the X directly without going
through :kbd:`u` just by hitting :kbd:`v` from the main map. This is
really handy for when you’re trying to work out which dwarf is
skulking around the dining room not doing any work!
So, lets focus back on Ingish Noramshem, Miner. You can see some info about this stunty. First up, you can go to the :kbd:`l` for “Labour” menu, the :kbd:`e` for “Work Dogs”, :kbd:`s` for “Soldiering and Hunting” or you can :kbd:`A` “activate” the dwarf. Don’t worry about any of those just yet! Instead, look at the bottom menu list. We’ve got :kbd:`z`, “View profile” and a list of other shortcuts.
So, lets focus back on Ingish Noramshem, Miner. You can see some info
about this stunty. First up, you can go to the :kbd:`l` for “Labour”
menu, the :kbd:`e` for “Work Dogs”, :kbd:`s` for “Soldiering and
Hunting” or you can :kbd:`A` “activate” the dwarf. Don’t worry about
any of those just yet! Instead, look at the bottom menu list. We’ve
got :kbd:`z`, “View profile” and a list of other shortcuts.
Things can get a little confusing from here, so follow along carefully. For some reason known only to Toady, the coder, the menus get extremely circular, but we’ll get there in the end!
Things can get a little confusing from here, so follow along
carefully. For some reason known only to Toady, the coder, the menus
get extremely circular, but we’ll get there in the end!
So, hit :kbd:`z`, and you’ll see this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial70.png
:align: center
Not much to see. We can see that this dwarf owns 14 things (*snore*), has a modest quarters. The text is in blue, which I’m guessing is a good thing which means that it is over and above the quality demanded by that noble (thank Ookpik). Below, we can see we have three options, we can hit enter, view relationships with “r” or customize with “y”. Lets go ahead and hit “enter”. Oof! Wall of text!
Not much to see. We can see that this dwarf owns 14 things (*snore*),
has a modest quarters. The text is in blue, which I’m guessing is a
good thing which means that it is over and above the quality demanded
by that noble (thank Ookpik). Below, we can see we have three options,
we can hit enter, view relationships with “r” or customize with “y”.
Lets go ahead and hit “enter”. Oof! Wall of text!
.. image:: images/dftutorial71.png
:align: center
You’ll have to read this on your own screen to see what it says. In essence it’s a blow by blow of the happy thoughts and sad thoughts of the selected dwarf as well as some bio details. As you will read from the first paragraph Ingish is quite happy, except for the vermin problem (erm, my fault, I forgot to bring any cats with us. A couple of cats will hunt vermin away). On the whole, a content dwarf, which is good. Upset dwarfs go crazy and kill other dwarfs. It’s annoying.
You’ll have to read this on your own screen to see what it says. In
essence it’s a blow by blow of the happy thoughts and sad thoughts of
the selected dwarf as well as some bio details. As you will read from
the first paragraph Ingish is quite happy, except for the vermin
problem (erm, my fault, I forgot to bring any cats with us. A couple
of cats will hunt vermin away). On the whole, a content dwarf, which
is good. Upset dwarfs go crazy and kill other dwarfs. It’s annoying.
The text in blue concerns the religious and group affiliations of this dwarf. I’ve never found much need to worry about this stuff, although of note is that the god the dwarf worships can be read about in Legends mode. Reading about the gods, creatures and civilisations in your world can be quite an amusing post-game sideline.
The text in blue concerns the religious and group affiliations of this
dwarf. I’ve never found much need to worry about this stuff, although
of note is that the god the dwarf worships can be read about in
Legends mode. Reading about the gods, creatures and civilisations in
your world can be quite an amusing post-game sideline.
Next you’ll see a list of things the dwarf likes. Over time it’s quite possible your dwarf will accumulate items based on the things they like, especially once the dwarven economy kicks in. Of note is that this dwarf likes “cows for their haunting moos”, how strange! Mind you, we could take advantage of this later on by putting a cage in this dwarf’s quarters and shoving a cow in it. Then the dwarf will be happy ever time they see the cow, because it’s a favoured animal of theirs.
Next you’ll see a list of things the dwarf likes. Over time it’s quite
possible your dwarf will accumulate items based on the things they
like, especially once the dwarven economy kicks in. Of note is that
this dwarf likes “cows for their haunting moos”, how strange! Mind
you, we could take advantage of this later on by putting a cage in
this dwarf’s quarters and shoving a cow in it. Then the dwarf will be
happy ever time they see the cow, because it’s a favoured animal of
theirs.
Food preferences are interesting as well. This dwarf likes quarry bush leaves. We’re not growing any right now (you need to grow them in an indoors field and then at a Farmer’s Workshop, process them to a bag), but it might be a good idea to grow some if we ever worried about this dwarf’s happiness, or just to ensure those dwarfs that do like quary bush leaves are kept extra happy.
Food preferences are interesting as well. This dwarf likes quarry bush
leaves. We’re not growing any right now (you need to grow them in an
indoors field and then at a Farmer’s Workshop, process them to a bag),
but it might be a good idea to grow some if we ever worried about this
dwarf’s happiness, or just to ensure those dwarfs that do like quary
bush leaves are kept extra happy.
The next block of text covers the personality traits of the dwarf. There’s not much to act on here, although it’s interesting to note the dwarf’s tolerance for the outside world. Over time dwarfs that spend all their time underground will become nauseous at the sight of the sun, which slows them down when they go outside. This can have a big impact on your military and so some fortress designers like to build open air spaces into their fortress. But more on that later.
The next block of text covers the personality traits of the dwarf.
There’s not much to act on here, although it’s interesting to note the
dwarf’s tolerance for the outside world. Over time dwarfs that spend
all their time underground will become nauseous at the sight of the
sun, which slows them down when they go outside. This can have a big
impact on your military and so some fortress designers like to build
open air spaces into their fortress. But more on that later.
Don’t be alarmed by the note on drinking. All dwarfs love drink!
@ -57,80 +120,182 @@ With this examining done, space back a menu and hit :kbd:`r`.
.. image:: images/dftutorial72.png
:align: center
To be honest, I seldom view this screen and I’m not sure if we really need to. I just noticed that with the selection over the deity you can hit :kbd:`v` and get information on the god worshipped, cool! This dwarf worships Agesh, who “often takes the form of a female dwarf and is associated with fame, rumors, agriculture, the rain and rainbows”, sounds delightful!
To be honest, I seldom view this screen and I’m not sure if we really
need to. I just noticed that with the selection over the deity you can
hit :kbd:`v` and get information on the god worshipped, cool! This
dwarf worships Agesh, who “often takes the form of a female dwarf and
is associated with fame, rumors, agriculture, the rain and rainbows”,
sounds delightful!
You also get a list of friends here, and in time, partners and children. It’s interesting, but not particularly useful
You also get a list of friends here, and in time, partners and
children. It’s interesting, but not particularly useful
Anyway, back out of that menu and hit :kbd:`y` for “Customize”. You get an option now, customize nickname and customise profession. Some people use these to tag their dwarfs for more easy viewing, or to name them after friends and family for general hilarity, I leave this option alone because I have plans for them using the Dwarf Manager utility, but more on that later.
Anyway, back out of that menu and hit :kbd:`y` for “Customize”. You
get an option now, customize nickname and customise profession. Some
people use these to tag their dwarfs for more easy viewing, or to name
them after friends and family for general hilarity, I leave this
option alone because I have plans for them using the Dwarf Manager
utility, but more on that later.
Hit :kbd:`Esc` and back out to the main dwarf menu. Hit :kbd:`g` for “Gen”. You’ll see some skill information and stat information for this dwarf:
Hit :kbd:`Esc` and back out to the main dwarf menu. Hit :kbd:`g` for
“Gen”. You’ll see some skill information and stat information for this
dwarf:
.. image:: images/dftutorial73.png
:align: center
As you can see, all of this mining and digging has made our dwarf tough and agile. Ingish is also becoming a skilled miner and is also an adept mason! Other skills have been built up through time in our fortress. There’s more to see than this list though, I’ve highlighted the down arrow which indicates that there are more skills and so use “alt”+”down arrow” and have a look. You should see “Dabbling Grower” at the bottom, looks like our shorty has been picking some plants in the fields!
As you can see, all of this mining and digging has made our dwarf
tough and agile. Ingish is also becoming a skilled miner and is also
an adept mason! Other skills have been built up through time in our
fortress. There’s more to see than this list though, I’ve highlighted
the down arrow which indicates that there are more skills and so use
“alt”+”down arrow” and have a look. You should see “Dabbling Grower”
at the bottom, looks like our shorty has been picking some plants in
the fields!
Now, next menu item, hit :kbd:`i` for “Inventory”. You will see a list of items your dwarf is carrying, it should look something like this:
Now, next menu item, hit :kbd:`i` for “Inventory”. You will see a list
of items your dwarf is carrying, it should look something like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial74.png
:align: center
If you want to make this list easier to read, hit :kbd:`Tab` a few times until the menu takes up half the screen. Then you can see all the item names in full (this tip is especially helpful with some workshop menus where item names are long). You can use this list of inventory items to check closely what your dwarf is carrying. Scroll through each item using the alt-scroll method, and hit :kbd:`Enter` and :kbd:`v` if you want to learn more. The inventory screen is one you’ll use often when dealing with the military side of Dwarf Fortress. Don’t worry too much about it for now.
If you want to make this list easier to read, hit :kbd:`Tab` a few
times until the menu takes up half the screen. Then you can see all
the item names in full (this tip is especially helpful with some
workshop menus where item names are long). You can use this list of
inventory items to check closely what your dwarf is carrying. Scroll
through each item using the alt-scroll method, and hit :kbd:`Enter`
and :kbd:`v` if you want to learn more. The inventory screen is one
you’ll use often when dealing with the military side of Dwarf
Fortress. Don’t worry too much about it for now.
Lets move on and hit :kbd:`w`. This is a list of wounds:
.. image:: images/dftutorial75.png
:align: center
White is good. Nothing injured. Light grey indicates bruised, yellow indicates broken, red, mangled and grey is “lopped off”. In a game I’m playing now I currently have a goblin I stuck in a special goblin pit with both eyes missing after a fight with my dwarfs (and those are the only wounds! Good shot marksdwarfs!). He keeps wandering around and passing out before waking up and wandering around again, no doubt bumping into other goblins before collapsing again. Ok, so I found it amusing, anyway…
White is good. Nothing injured. Light grey indicates bruised, yellow
indicates broken, red, mangled and grey is “lopped off”. In a game I’m
playing now I currently have a goblin I stuck in a special goblin pit
with both eyes missing after a fight with my dwarfs (and those are the
only wounds! Good shot marksdwarfs!). He keeps wandering around and
passing out before waking up and wandering around again, no doubt
bumping into other goblins before collapsing again. Ok, so I found it
amusing, anyway…
What you can’t immediately see in this list are organs. Yes, Dwarf Fortress does model internal organs! If your dwarfs, or critters, get wounded, you can see exactly how much and to what degree from this screen. Dwarfs that get wounded will be taken (or make their own way) to your barracks where they will be fed, watered (you need a bucket made in the carpenters for your dwarfs to fetch water for the injured dwarf) and left to recover. This can take a substantial amount of time, weeks, months or even years! And they may never recover from some injuries.
What you can’t immediately see in this list are organs. Yes, Dwarf
Fortress does model internal organs! If your dwarfs, or critters, get
wounded, you can see exactly how much and to what degree from this
screen. Dwarfs that get wounded will be taken (or make their own way)
to your barracks where they will be fed, watered (you need a bucket
made in the carpenters for your dwarfs to fetch water for the injured
dwarf) and left to recover. This can take a substantial amount of
time, weeks, months or even years! And they may never recover from
some injuries.
Hit :kbd:`p` to be taken back to the info-screen about that dwarf. For now, ignore the “Activate” and “Work Dogs” option (we have no trained dogs yet) and lets focus on “Labour”. When you hit :kbd:`l` you’ll see a screen like this:
Hit :kbd:`p` to be taken back to the info-screen about that dwarf. For
now, ignore the “Activate” and “Work Dogs” option (we have no trained
dogs yet) and lets focus on “Labour”. When you hit :kbd:`l` you’ll see
a screen like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial76.png
:align: center
What you’re looking at is a big, big list (it goes down a couple of pages) of different “labours” that the dwarf is enabled for. The jobs in white are turned on, the ones in grey, off. At the bottom of the list are all the hauling jobs, from stone hauling to cleaning.
What you’re looking at is a big, big list (it goes down a couple of
pages) of different “labours” that the dwarf is enabled for. The jobs
in white are turned on, the ones in grey, off. At the bottom of the
list are all the hauling jobs, from stone hauling to cleaning.
An important job in DF is thinking about and managing the labours of your dwarfs. For example, do you want your wood cutter to also have hauling jobs on? If they have that job on they’re going to spend their time cutting wood and then walking half way across the map to move a piece of food to a food store, and then walk back across the map to go back to chopping. Perhaps it would be best if you turn off the hauling jobs on your woodcutter? How about your miner? Do you have a lot of mining work to do? Turn off all the jobs except mining and your digger will drink, eat, sleep, rest and dig, and that’s all. No distractions!
An important job in DF is thinking about and managing the labours of
your dwarfs. For example, do you want your wood cutter to also have
hauling jobs on? If they have that job on they’re going to spend their
time cutting wood and then walking half way across the map to move a
piece of food to a food store, and then walk back across the map to go
back to chopping. Perhaps it would be best if you turn off the hauling
jobs on your woodcutter? How about your miner? Do you have a lot of
mining work to do? Turn off all the jobs except mining and your digger
will drink, eat, sleep, rest and dig, and that’s all. No distractions!
But hauling jobs are important, so how about turning all the extraneous labours of all those lye makers and potash maker immigrants and turning them into full-time peasant haulers. You can’t go wrong with up to 1/4 of your workforce just hauling stuff and the rest divided between important jobs. At times you’ll want to do a lot of bulk job modifying so you can get a lot of hauling done, or a lot of digging, or whathaveyou. This is especially the case once your fortress grows to a substantial size and you have multiple dwarfs doing about the same sort of job.
But hauling jobs are important, so how about turning all the
extraneous labours of all those lye makers and potash maker immigrants
and turning them into full-time peasant haulers. You can’t go wrong
with up to 1/4 of your workforce just hauling stuff and the rest
divided between important jobs. At times you’ll want to do a lot of
bulk job modifying so you can get a lot of hauling done, or a lot of
digging, or whathaveyou. This is especially the case once your
fortress grows to a substantial size and you have multiple dwarfs
doing about the same sort of job.
Dwarf Therapist
===============
.. warning::
This section uses the precursor to current tools. Look up Dwarf Therapist instead, and admire the fantastic user manual it comes with.
This section uses the precursor to current tools. Look up Dwarf
Therapist instead, and admire the fantastic user manual it comes
with.
But how does one do this without working ones way through dozens of labour settings for dozens of dwarfs? Well thankfully the answer is at your fingertips! Remember the “Dwarf Manager” shortcut we made right at the start? Good! Run it! If you skipped that step you’ll find “Dwarf Manager” in your Dwarf Fortress folder. Run the exe in there.
But how does one do this without working ones way through dozens of
labour settings for dozens of dwarfs? Well thankfully the answer is at
your fingertips! Remember the “Dwarf Manager” shortcut we made right
at the start? Good! Run it! If you skipped that step you’ll find
“Dwarf Manager” in your Dwarf Fortress folder. Run the exe in there.
If the program doesn’t run, you may need to do some .net installing. You can check this all out at the Dwarf Manager website. ** NOTE: Dwarf Therapist is currently the favoured dwarf management program. You may wish to try it instead. It is fairly self-explanatory and works in much the same way. **
If the program doesn’t run, you may need to do some .net installing.
You can check this all out at the Dwarf Manager website. ** NOTE:
Dwarf Therapist is currently the favoured dwarf management program.
You may wish to try it instead. It is fairly self-explanatory and
works in much the same way. **
Once you get the program up and running, the first thing you should do is hit the “Load from DF” button in the bottom right of the program. The program will pull all the dwarf data from DF and you should see a screen something like this:
Once you get the program up and running, the first thing you should do
is hit the “Load from DF” button in the bottom right of the program.
The program will pull all the dwarf data from DF and you should see a
screen something like this:
.. image:: images/dftutorial77.png
:align: center
The extremely cunning among you may have noticed that my Dwarf Manager is v0.2, but the one on the website is v0.6. I suggest we all go to the Dwarf Manager website, grab the latest version, and install it on top of the Dwarf Manager folder in your DF folder. Come back when you’re done!
The extremely cunning among you may have noticed that my Dwarf Manager
is v0.2, but the one on the website is v0.6. I suggest we all go to
the Dwarf Manager website, grab the latest version, and install it on
top of the Dwarf Manager folder in your DF folder. Come back when
you’re done!
What you’re looking at now is a very neat way of adjusting the labour of large numbers of dwarfs at once. It also gives you a great way of quickly seeing what your dwarfs are set to do, and it allows grouping in useful ways. Please note, in my screenshot I’ve had a few immigrants, so don’t worry if your numbers next to professions don’t match mine.
What you’re looking at now is a very neat way of adjusting the labour
of large numbers of dwarfs at once. It also gives you a great way of
quickly seeing what your dwarfs are set to do, and it allows grouping
in useful ways. Please note, in my screenshot I’ve had a few
immigrants, so don’t worry if your numbers next to professions don’t
match mine.
Now, go through and double click on each profession and expand them out. The green blocks show what labour the dwarf has, the grey dot in the middle shows how skilled they are at that labour – the bigger the dot, the better they are. If you double click on any dwarf name you can pull up more information about the dwarf including their name and profession and what they’re skilled in.
Now, go through and double click on each profession and expand them
out. The green blocks show what labour the dwarf has, the grey dot in
the middle shows how skilled they are at that labour – the bigger the
dot, the better they are. If you double click on any dwarf name you
can pull up more information about the dwarf including their name and
profession and what they’re skilled in.
Note that the grey bars across the profession names indicate what is turned on in that profession group. Clicking on those boxes turns on jobs for everyone in that profession. And this is where we can make things easier for ourselves. I’ll show you how:
Note that the grey bars across the profession names indicate what is
turned on in that profession group. Clicking on those boxes turns on
jobs for everyone in that profession. And this is where we can make
things easier for ourselves. I’ll show you how:
* Look at your miners in Dwarf Manager.
* Double click on the first one, change their “Profession” to “Digger”.
* Hit enter.
You have now created a custom profession. Now right-click on the next dwarf, chose custom profession, click on “Digger”, like the picture.
You have now created a custom profession. Now right-click on the next
dwarf, chose custom profession, click on “Digger”, like the picture.
.. image:: images/dftutorial78.png
:align: center
Do this for all of your miners, and then hit the bottom right button “Write to DF” (you need to do this to make any change stick, and always click “Load from DF” before making any modifications to!). With this custom profession I now have easy control over groups of dwarfs. I group dwarfs into the following groups, how you do it is up to you though:
Do this for all of your miners, and then hit the bottom right button
“Write to DF” (you need to do this to make any change stick, and
always click “Load from DF” before making any modifications to!). With
this custom profession I now have easy control over groups of dwarfs.
I group dwarfs into the following groups, how you do it is up to you
though:
* Diggers (miners)
* Farmers (dwarfs who farm!)
@ -141,12 +306,29 @@ Do this for all of your miners, and then hit the bottom right button “Write to
* Metalers (dwarfs who smelt/armor/weaponsmith)
* Foodies (dwarfs who cook and brew)
…And so on. I’m sure you can come up with a scheme of your own. Anyway, the point is, once you get beyond a dozen dwarfs Dwarf Manager is an awesome way of herding your shorties easily and quickly. Give it a go yourself!
…And so on. I’m sure you can come up with a scheme of your own.
Anyway, the point is, once you get beyond a dozen dwarfs Dwarf Manager
is an awesome way of herding your shorties easily and quickly. Give it
a go yourself!
Managing labour is how you get things done. If you see a building or workshop not being built, hit “q” and check to see if there’s a “need XYZ labour” message. If there is, check to see if anyone has the labour on. If they don’t, find someone, and turn it on. Your dwarfs can do just about anything you set them to do, but remember they do it better when they are good at it, not only quicker, but with higher quality.
Managing labour is how you get things done. If you see a building or
workshop not being built, hit “q” and check to see if there’s a “need
XYZ labour” message. If there is, check to see if anyone has the
labour on. If they don’t, find someone, and turn it on. Your dwarfs
can do just about anything you set them to do, but remember they do
it better when they are good at it, not only quicker, but with higher
quality.
Keep in mind that mining and wood cutting require specialist tools (a pickaxe and a waraxe respectively). Also note that farmers with no skill may screw up and lose your seed, producing no food. While this is ok when you’ve got a lot of food and farmers and you’re training up some new recruits, it’s not so useful when you are low on food and supplies!
Keep in mind that mining and wood cutting require specialist tools (a
pickaxe and a waraxe respectively). Also note that farmers with no
skill may screw up and lose your seed, producing no food. While this
is ok when you’ve got a lot of food and farmers and you’re training up
some new recruits, it’s not so useful when you are low on food and
supplies!
I think this may be enough for this lesson. I am sure I will come up with more useful tips as we go, but now you have the tools to look after your dwarfs so taking advantage of my tips will be no problem!
I think this may be enough for this lesson. I am sure I will come up
with more useful tips as we go, but now you have the tools to look
after your dwarfs so taking advantage of my tips will be no problem!
Next lesson we’re going to get back to expanding the fortress and increasing our uberness!
Next lesson we’re going to get back to expanding the fortress and
increasing our uberness!