BattleMaster Community
Community => Other Games => Topic started by: Anaris on March 24, 2011, 05:05:21 PM
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OK, so this is going to be the thread for at least the initial setup of our DF succession game.
I'll lay out what seems reasonable to me, and we can haggle till we can all agree on something ;)
- Each "turn" will be one year, spring to spring.
- Those wishing to sign up should make themselves known on this thread ASAP. Unless there is strong objection to it, I would like to be the one to start off the fort.
- Each overseer must write, at minimum, a summary report of what happened during each season. I will attempt to set the tone for such reports with my initial year, based on my readings of previous succession forts.
- No intentional sabotage of the fort—that means no "drunken" overseers commanding everyone to do nonsensical things, no suicide charges against a siege (assuming there's any reason to believe the siege can be survived), no induced tantrum spirals, no digging down to unleash Hell in year 3... Silly stuff is permitted, stuff that is less than efficient but makes IC sense is permitted—basically, just don't be a jerk. Losing is Fun, but deliberately losing breaks the fun for everyone else.
- Forks are permitted, if someone really wants to take the fort in a totally different direction from a particular saved game; they just won't be considered "canon."
- The world is generated, see this post (http://forum.battlemaster.org/index.php/topic,273.30/msg,4089.html) for the parameters used.
- The initial embark has been chosen based on the group's desired characteristics, and is being vetted.
Initial images of the embark area:
Full size (Warning: 3456x3456 pixels, very large!):
Z-level -1, showing the locations of the river and pools (http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/Redstaff-157-Nitharacamade-1051-0.png)
Z-level 0, showing the location of the wagon, the volcano, and the mountains (http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/Redstaff-158-Nitharacamade-1051-0.png)
80% Smaller (691x691 pixels):
Z-level -1, showing the locations of the river and pools (http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/Redstaff-157-Nitharacamade-1051-0-small.png)
Z-level 0, showing the location of the wagon, the volcano, and the mountains (http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/Redstaff-158-Nitharacamade-1051-0-small.png)
Initial list of overseers:
- Zulban 'Anaris' Ducimonol, expedition leader
- Zeneg 'Indirik' Tangathkilrud, miner
- ^ban^
- Adil 'Foundation' Inalnish, farmer
- Bembul 'LGMAlpha' Saramathel, butcher
- Ducim 'Telrunya' Nishabod, hunter
- DoctorHarte
- Iltaran
Unclaimed starting dwarves:
Kivish Bufutsibrek: Novice Wood Cutter, Competent Carpenter, Novice Wood Crafter, Novice Stone Crafter, Novice Bone Carver
Vabok Rullokum: Novice Mason, Adequate Fish Dissector, Competent Fish Cleaner, Competent Fisherdwarf
If anyone objects to the order, it's open for negotiation.
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Initial proposal for worldgen:
- Start with Large Region as a base
- Use the Ironhand/Wormslayer graphics set (includes non-default raws, which is why I'm mentioning it here...)
- Increase volcanism, so we have a higher chance of getting a good site with a volcano
- Dramatically decrease mineral scarcity, so that we don't have to limp along with a site with nothing but galena until we get to 5 z-levels above the magma sea
- Increase the number of z-levels between, above, and below cavern layers, to give a little more space to build grand things in. And (in the case of the lowest one) to increase the potential for extra adamantine...
Any other ideas are welcome.
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I'd like to give it a try. I've played through a few fortresses. I may nosedive the fortress, but if that doesn't scare you, I'm in.
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I'm in. I'll take any spot, but would prefer an earlier one. My comp has problems when it gets to be closer to 200 dorfs.
Worldgen:
* Ironhand is good with me. I've been using this one for a while, and like it.
* Extra Z-levels between caverns are good. Do we need all three cavern layers? I understand that you can go down to 2 caverns, and still get everything.
Other than that, I don't know much about world generation...
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* Extra Z-levels between caverns are good. Do we need all three cavern layers? I understand that you can go down to 2 caverns, and still get everything.
From what I've read, if you skip cavern layer 3, you miss out on all the stuff that comes in cavern layer 3, like nether-caps.
I will research this and get back to you; however, why do we want to remove cavern layers? If it's there, we can always leave it alone, or open it and then seal it off.
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I'm interested.
We need to determine a maximum turn time. I propose one full week.
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I'm interested.
We need to determine a maximum turn time. I propose one full week.
Actually, I think that's a little short, especially for people who haven't played much before, or have slow computers. I can probably get a year done in a day (not counting the writing), but I have access to a pretty fast computer, one that still runs DF at perfectly reasonable speeds with over 150 dwarves.
I think that two weeks is a more reasonable timeframe. It's not like we're in a tearing hurry with this, after all.
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From what I've read, if you skip cavern layer 3, you miss out on all the stuff that comes in cavern layer 3, like nether-caps.
OK, I stand corrected: http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Cavern#Vegetation (http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Cavern#Vegetation)
Removing a layer will cause the layer above to randomly pick from trees that it could have handled and the layer above can handle
So I guess that if we nixed the third cavern layer, the second would probably contain the nether-caps and blood thorns it was supposed to have.
I still don't see any particular reason to nix the third cavern layer.
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I'm in for sure!
See no reason to remove cavern layers or whatever :) Volcano / closeby magma is always good, but it would be nice if we can be sure to have some minerals there. Hopefully decreasing scarcity will do the trick.
Oh, and it would be fun if we can 'dwarf' everyone.
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I'm up for this. :) I'd also prefer a relatively early position, though Rob can go first as my comp is fairly decent and can run 60 dwarf + animal fortresses at around 80 fps (I assume that's considered decent...).
Regarding embark, I'd recommend something similar to the Ashery start if we want to be serious, though we could also have one dwarf with only conversational skills and no labours enabled except refuse gathering and burials. 8)
So... just wondering how many people are up for a little bit of "fun" or we should run it strictly standard. I think that with Tim starting we'll be fine even if we take some "fun" routes. ;)
Oh, by the way, I recommend starting near elves + humans + goblins, especially close to the purple goblin fortresses that look like cabinets of death with Ironhand. :D That way we get more caravans and "fun" stuff later on with more wealth.
By another way, can it be a rule that one must take at least one screenshot per season? Preferably with a caption for each.
By the back alley, I think two weeks max would be pretty good time, if we allow early completion / early passing on for those with faster comps or more time to play.
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I'd like to try it, though I am also new. I'd also want one of the later years as it would give me a good month or so to figure out the game before it's my actual turn. To sign me up for last place and hopefully the fort won't have been destroyed by then.
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Added a tentative initial ordering in the OP. Please voice any objections to the ordering now :)
Also, a question related to that: Do we want to make ourselves some of the dwarves in the game, or just consider ourselves to be, essentially, NPCs?
If the former, do we want to name the dwarves after ourselves? If so, we've got our starting 7 now ;)
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I'd like to have the init option of REPLACE_ALL for dwarf nicknames, and personally I think it'd be interesting if we put our BM characters' names as dwarves, as it's less personal that way. If anything happens to the dwarfs... personal names might not feel too good, but I'd be fine if stuff is done to my chars. Just like in BM, so it makes it just personal enough to be fun and not burdensome.
Haha, I wouldn't mind going after Joe, hopefully there's still a fortress left by then. :P
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Added a tentative initial ordering in the OP. Please voice any objections to the ordering now :)
Also, a question related to that: Do we want to make ourselves some of the dwarves in the game, or just consider ourselves to be, essentially, NPCs?
If the former, do we want to name the dwarves after ourselves? If so, we've got our starting 7 now ;)
I'm fine with the order.
I like the idea of personalizing the names of the dwarves. I'm fine with a character name, or my forum name.
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Ah yeah, we should really should change the names of the Dwarves to ours :) We can go with Forum Names if we want, since we'll see most communication go through that.
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I'd like to have the init option of REPLACE_ALL for dwarf nicknames
Well, since that's an init option, you can set it for yourself :)
We should decide on some of the game-balance-affecting init and d_init options, though...
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Umm... No aquifers, no economy, do you guys want to limit dwarf numbers to 100? That way we'll get all the features and not so much lag. (due to migrations we'll probably go slightly over 100)
Children... change to 5/10% since they... lag if you have lots married and they go over pop limit. Um.... anything else? I'll post more if I think of them. Weather? Does anyone care if muddy pools are filled? I don't really if we embark on soil, and weather slows down the game a little as well. As long as we have a river we should be fine, right? If all else fails just build a well. :)
So I'm assuming there will be 2 zip files to be shared, one is the initial newb pack that includes DF and all the nice init graphics dinit stuff set already so we can all use the same *if we want to* and if you like something else you can change it yourself. And the other zip being saves that are passed around. This way, most players will probably be playing with the same init and stuff, just to make things easier. ;)
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Umm... No aquifers, no economy, do you guys want to limit dwarf numbers to 100? That way we'll get all the features and not so much lag. (due to migrations we'll probably go slightly over 100)
No economy—check. It sounds incredibly annoying, even aside from its extreme bugginess.
No aquifers—well, so long as we can find a site with a good river. But that's an embark thing, not an init option.
Dwarf limits—I would say more like 120, 140, if you want to move it down from 200. My most recent fort (which has, alas, hit an extremely annoying crash) has over 150, and I still frequently need more labour to get things done fast ;)
Children... change to 5/10% since they... lag if you have lots married and they go over pop limit. Um.... anything else? I'll post more if I think of them. Weather? Does anyone care if muddy pools are filled? I don't really if we embark on soil, and weather slows down the game a little as well. As long as we have a river we should be fine, right? If all else fails just build a well. :)
Children I generally set at 20/20%, which, thus far, has led to me having 3 children and 3-5 babies (I forget exactly) in the aforementioned 160-dwarf fort.
I think each of us should be free to turn weather on and off as we please; it affects little enough that I think that should be determined by our individual desires for reduced lag.
Um...if you don't have a river, and you don't have an aquifer, what are you going to build a well to? The cavern lakes??
So I'm assuming there will be 2 zip files to be shared, one is the initial newb pack that includes DF and all the nice init graphics dinit stuff set already so we can all use the same *if we want to* and if you like something else you can change it yourself. And the other zip being saves that are passed around. This way, most players will probably be playing with the same init and stuff, just to make things easier. ;)
I can certainly pack up the game itself, with Ironhand graphics, and our chosen set of init options into a separate zip file to make available to those without a strong preference for something else.
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No economy—check. It sounds incredibly annoying, even aside from its extreme bugginess.
Dwarven Economy can't activate in current versions. It has been disabled due the bugginess of it, so no worries there.
No aquifers—well, so long as we can find a site with a good river. But that's an embark thing, not an init option.
Aquifers can be turned off by removing the Aquifer tags in the save files. I never played with aquifers before, so I have no preference there. They sound annoying, so I've been avoiding them for my first several forts, but that's all. Here is the post:
By editing the the raws and removing the [AQUIFER] tag from all of the appropriate entries in inorganic_stone_layer.txt, inorganic_stone_mineral.txt, and inorganic_stone_soil.txt it is possible to remove all aquifers from the world. This can be done before creating a new world or after, if you find a particularly neat location ruined only by the presence of an aquifer. In order to modify an existing world, you must delete the [AQUIFER] tag from the raws in the savegame's folder.
Dwarf limits and weather: I have not encountered lag issues with Dwarf Fortress yet, so standard values are good for me.
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No economy—check. It sounds incredibly annoying, even aside from its extreme bugginess.
No aquifers—well, so long as we can find a site with a good river. But that's an embark thing, not an init option.
Dwarf limits—I would say more like 120, 140, if you want to move it down from 200. My most recent fort (which has, alas, hit an extremely annoying crash) has over 150, and I still frequently need more labour to get things done fast ;)
The reason that I say 100 is that we need 100 to get all the features of nobles and stuff, but the more dwarves there are, the slower the game is, and thus the harder it is for those without your awesome comp specs to play at a decent speed. I already find that 60 dwarves is around 60-80 fps, and my laptop is pretty good for today's standards. Thus, the reason I limit it at 100 is for features, and I'd go lower if it weren't for the features at 100 (king).
Children I generally set at 20/20%, which, thus far, has led to me having 3 children and 3-5 babies (I forget exactly) in the aforementioned 160-dwarf fort.
I think each of us should be free to turn weather on and off as we please; it affects little enough that I think that should be determined by our individual desires for reduced lag.
Yep, I'm just suggesting for the default options, each player, of course, can turn it back on if they want. ;) But, it doesn't matter thaat much.
Children... I don't mind them, but they go over the pop limit, which defeats the purpose of having a pop limit. That's why I prefer to keep children to a minimum unless I set a really really low pop limit to turn off immigration.
Um...if you don't have a river, and you don't have an aquifer, what are you going to build a well to? The cavern lakes??
I can certainly pack up the game itself, with Ironhand graphics, and our chosen set of init options into a separate zip file to make available to those without a strong preference for something else.
Um... there *are* underground lakes, eh? I mean, water is not just on the surface or in aquifers. I distinctly remember building wells far below to underground lakes.
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The reason that I say 100 is that we need 100 to get all the features of nobles and stuff, but the more dwarves there are, the slower the game is, and thus the harder it is for those without your awesome comp specs to play at a decent speed. I already find that 60 dwarves is around 60-80 fps, and my laptop is pretty good for today's standards. Thus, the reason I limit it at 100 is for features, and I'd go lower if it weren't for the features at 100 (king).
Um...60-80 fps is pretty damn good, Foundation. What do you consider "good fps", 150-200? :o
Children... I don't mind them, but they go over the pop limit, which defeats the purpose of having a pop limit. That's why I prefer to keep children to a minimum unless I set a really really low pop limit to turn off immigration.
Well, this does keep children to a minimum...6-10 babies and children combined in a fort of 160 (which we will not reach, assuming the pop limit is not still bugged) is hardly an overabundance of youngsters.
Um... there *are* underground lakes, eh? I mean, water is not just on the surface or in aquifers. I distinctly remember building wells far below to underground lakes.
Yes, but they take some time to get to if you try to actually get a fort up and running before you go breach them...
And how would you like a giant flying earwig forgotten beast (beware its poisonous gases!) to fly up your well shaft right into the middle of your hospital or meeting area and start slaughtering your dwarves?
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Um...60-80 fps is pretty damn good, Foundation. What do you consider "good fps", 150-200? :o
Well, this does keep children to a minimum...6-10 babies and children combined in a fort of 160 (which we will not reach, assuming the pop limit is not still bugged) is hardly an overabundance of youngsters.
Yes, but they take some time to get to if you try to actually get a fort up and running before you go breach them...
And how would you like a giant flying earwig forgotten beast (beware its poisonous gases!) to fly up your well shaft right into the middle of your hospital or meeting area and start slaughtering your dwarves?
Well, that's some "fun" right there, no? :D
Hmm... I guess I like 100+ fps, that way I get through a season in about 20 minutes. (in this new fort without immigration that I'm playing with). 8)
With youngsters, I guess I'm more concerned with when they become actual dwarves and then the effect kinda multiplies, but in this fort we don't really have to worry about that since that won't be for quite a few months at least.
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Um...60-80 fps is pretty damn good, Foundation. What do you consider "good fps", 150-200? :o
Don't start complaining about low frame rate until you get down to <20. After that, it starts getting painful...
And how would you like a giant flying earwig forgotten beast (beware its poisonous gases!) to fly up your well shaft right into the middle of your hospital or meeting area and start slaughtering your dwarves?
Been there. Done that.
Well, OK, it wasn't a giant flying earwig. It was a ocean titan with two jackal heads (beware it's poisonous fangs!) that crawled up out of my cistern, into which it had fallen in several years before.
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Dwarven Economy can't activate in current versions. It has been disabled due the bugginess of it, so no worries there.
I kind of suspected that, but I hadn't read of it specifically, so I wasn't sure. I just played with it always turned off, because it sounded like a royal pain ;)
Aquifers can be turned off by removing the Aquifer tags in the save files. I never played with aquifers before, so I have no preference there. They sound annoying, so I've been avoiding them for my first several forts, but that's all.
Yeah, they can be annoying, but there are ways to defeat them. My preferred method is to make sure that my embark site doesn't have an aquifer in all biomes, and has a fair amount of up-and-down-ness (in other words, various relatively steep slopes or cliffs), which generally means that there will be at least some place where the aquifer can be safely worked around.
Now, for more major business:
Ironhand has released his latest set (http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=2511), compatible with .23 (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=80601) (yes, Toady already released another bugfix update! glee!), so I'm going to start setting up the worldgen parameters when I get a chance.
This may not be till Monday, since my wife is going away to China for business on Monday, and tomorrow we have someone coming to look at our house, so this weekend will likely be somewhat hectic ;) I'll see when I can find the time, and report the results.
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Yayaya, let's get this game started! Take lots of screens, Tim! Screens > text. :D
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Sign me up for a late spot
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Someone is on fire! 0.31.24 released!
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Whaaa? That's ridiculous releases... one every day or so?!?!?!
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Apparently, as 31.25 has just been released ;D Another set of bugfixes, hopefully this is the last one!
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Personally, I hope he keeps on fixing the bugs. The more, the better.
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I agree. Might want to wait a day or so for things to stabilize before we start, though ;)
So, does anyone have any other changes they want to make to the basic rules?
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I doubt that there's anything really important that we're missing. Just go for it. Get us a good save, so we can start picking a site.
Also, I'd hate to bog down the start too much in haggling over initial inventory load outs, and stuff like that. I always just pick the quick embark and go.
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I doubt that there's anything really important that we're missing. Just go for it. Get us a good save, so we can start picking a site.
Also, I'd hate to bog down the start too much in haggling over initial inventory load outs, and stuff like that. I always just pick the quick embark and go.
Gladly, once Ironhand and DFHack have support for the latest version.
And by that I mean, once I don't wake up in the morning to find another bugfix release waiting for me ;)
It's fantastic that Toady's fixing all these old bugs, but it does mean we should wait for things to stabilize before plunging ahead.
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Oh yeah, as Rob mentioned, we never really talked about what to pick for initial skills and inventory. So... here goes a small list:
Preferably someone with proficient Mechanic, preferably someone who will act as chief doc with mainly medical skills (can be used to mine at the beginning).
Take a few logs and such rather than the splinters, and take raw material rather than the random stuff that the default has (2 rope would be nice for a restraint or two though), although materials should be more of a concern for Tim, since it depends on whether he likes more raw materials or already made stuff.
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Oh yeah, as Rob mentioned, we never really talked about what to pick for initial skills and inventory. So... here goes a small list:
Preferably someone with proficient Mechanic, preferably someone who will act as chief doc with mainly medical skills (can be used to mine at the beginning).
Take a few logs and such rather than the splinters, and take raw material rather than the random stuff that the default has (2 rope would be nice for a restraint or two though), although materials should be more of a concern for Tim, since it depends on whether he likes more raw materials or already made stuff.
I'm not set on any particular initial picks. I'll trust in anything that is chosen, but I'd still be interested in knowing what is picked finally.
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Preferably someone with proficient Mechanic, preferably someone who will act as chief doc with mainly medical skills (can be used to mine at the beginning).
A Mechanicook?
Although, I'd have to say that Mechanic and medical really are not that important to start. Mechanic is easily trained through Mechanisms, which are simple to make from raw stone. Medical isn't really needed until you start getting invasions, before which you'll have a few waves of immigrants. (And the first invasion or two should be dealt with by the traps.) Probably best to just take your chances on getting the required talents through immigration, than to waste them on the starting lineup. Spend the initial points on stuff that will keep you alive, like mining, planting, harvesting, carpentry, etc.
...although materials should be more of a concern for Tim, since it depends on whether he likes more raw materials or already made stuff.
I'd agree on that. Let him pick whatever he wants. Although, I'd have to say that we should spend the points on at least one iron anvil. :)
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And by that I mean, once I don't wake up in the morning to find another bugfix release waiting for me ;)
OK, it's been 27 hours since the last bug fix release. Let's get going! ;D
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I have generated a world, with the following modifications to the Large Island template:
- Greater X and Y variances in temperature, rainfall, and savagery (for more interesting potential biome combinations)
- Dramatically increased volcanism and occurrence of volcanoes (weighted mesh 2x2, ranges at 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, min volcanoes 50)
- Cavern openness 75-100, cavern passage density 0-10, for more open caverns
- 20 z-levels above ground, 10 for each other set level (above layers 1-5 and at bottom)
- Caves are visible
The world is called Nitharacamade, "The Future Realms", and can be downloaded from here (http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/Nitharacamade.zip) for those interested in poking around on their own.
The full map of it can be seen here (http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/world_map-Nitharacamade-1050--10081.png).
I am now looking for suitable embark sites, and will report when I have found one with:
- Magma, ideally a volcano
- Good ores, that we don't have to dig down past the cavern layers to find
- Flux
- A river, and no aquifer
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I have found a site, and checked it out.
The western part of it is a tree-covered plain, with a stream in the far southwest corner. The cliffs thrust sharply up out of the plain just east of the middle of the embark area, with the highest peak nearly 40 z-levels above the ground. The lava tube's top is 25 levels above the ground. Our parent civilization, Dalzatlokum, "The Matched Spears," is just a little ways north of us, and they are a mighty dwarven empire.
Everything is frozen now, but it should thaw within the month.
Here is the embark set I picked (this is one part I'm not that great at, so please excuse the haphazardness of it):
Zeneg Tangathkilrud: Proficient Miner, Adequate Building Designer, Novice Potter
Zulban Ducimonol, expedition leader: Proficient Miner, Adequate Appraiser, Novice Negotiator, Adequate Judge of Intent
Kivish Bufutsibrek: Novice Wood Cutter, Competent Carpenter, Novice Wood Crafter, Novice Stone Crafter, Novice Bone Carver
Ducim Nishabod: Competent Marksdwarf, Competent Dodger, Competent Ambusher, Novice Swimmer
Vabok Rullokum: Novice Mason, Adequate Fish Dissector, Competent Fish Cleaner, Competent Fisherdwarf
Adil Inalnish: Novice Wood Cutter, Competent Brewer, Competent Grower, Competent Herbalist
Bembul Saramathel: Adequate Butcher, Adequate Tanner, Novice Wood Crafter, Novice Stone Crafter, Adequate Leatherworker, Adequate Record Keeper
2 copper picks
2 copper battle axes
1 iron anvil
20 dwarven rum
20 dwarven ale
20 dwarven wine
8 plump helmet spawn
3 pig tail seeds
5 sweet pod seeds
5 rock nuts
5 dimple cup spawn
15 prepared deer heart
15 cave lobster
15 plump helmets
3 pig tail thread
2 pig tail cloth
3 pig tail cloth bags
2 pig tail cloth ropes
1 turkey leather quiver
1 chestnut bucket
1 copper crossbow
15 copper bolts
1 female war dog
1 male dog
1 female cat
1 male cat
The name of the fort is Angnomal, "Redstaff."
The name of the group is Kon Nokzam, "The Master of Battles."
Initial images of the embark area:
Full size (Warning: 3456x3456 pixels, very large!):
Z-level -1, showing the locations of the river and pools (http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/Redstaff-157-Nitharacamade-1051-0.png)
Z-level 0, showing the location of the wagon, the volcano, and the mountains (http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/Redstaff-158-Nitharacamade-1051-0.png)
80% Smaller (691x691 pixels):
Z-level -1, showing the locations of the river and pools (http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/Redstaff-157-Nitharacamade-1051-0-small.png)
Z-level 0, showing the location of the wagon, the volcano, and the mountains (http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/Redstaff-158-Nitharacamade-1051-0-small.png)
Please make any comments, suggestions, criticisms, or complaints now.
Once they are out of the way, I'd like to do at least some collective planning of what the fort should look like.
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Spend the initial points on stuff that will keep you alive, like mining, planting, harvesting, carpentry, etc.
In a similar way, mining and carpentry can be trained as well just by doing it. :P The point is you don't really want to have a dwarf sitting in a mechanic's workshop making your first 20 or so mechanisms for traps or drawbridges. But, as with any embark setting, it is not necessary, but it does make life easier. :)
Mining, however, is easily trained superbly with some soil. The others (grower, carpenter, mason) are pretty much mandatory and should already have someone proficient in it, unless you really want to make life hard for yourself. 8) Mechanics is one of the more optional skills, and having a doc is good since you *might* not get a fully competent doc that's better than an embarked doc albeit he'll be rusty. Thus, these two are the ones that I'd recommend out of the optional skill sets. I assume Tim agrees that there are certain skills that are almost necessary for a smooth first year. :)
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In a similar way, mining and carpentry can be trained as well just by doing it. :P The point is you don't really want to have a dwarf sitting in a mechanic's workshop making your first 20 or so mechanisms for traps or drawbridges. But, as with any embark setting, it is not necessary, but it does make life easier. :)
Yes, but mining, carpentry, planting, gathering, etc. will keep you alive. No one ever died in the first year because they didn't have a competent mechanic. You can die if you can't plant/harvest, or get a good enough start on a decent defensive setup because you can't mine. :)
Mining, however, is easily trained superbly with some soil. The others (grower, carpenter, mason) are pretty much mandatory and should already have someone proficient in it, unless you really want to make life hard for yourself. 8) Mechanics is one of the more optional skills, and having a doc is good since you *might* not get a fully competent doc that's better than an embarked doc albeit he'll be rusty. Thus, these two are the ones that I'd recommend out of the optional skill sets. I assume Tim agrees that there are certain skills that are almost necessary for a smooth first year.
I've never found hospitals to be all that useful. Maybe because up until now they were bugged so bad they were worse than useless.
Anyway, I don't think it particularly matters either way. Unless you're in some really nasty embark spot, you should have plenty of time to train your guys up to an acceptable level in most skills.
Edit:Fixed quoting problem
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Once they are out of the way, I'd like to do at least some collective planning of what the fort should look like.
Looks good to me.
But what kind of collective planning are you thinking of doing? I don't want too much, um..., "OOC planning", for lack of a better term.
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Looks good to me.
But what kind of collective planning are you thinking of doing? I don't want too much, um..., "OOC planning", for lack of a better term.
Mostly just some ideas about how to set up the fortress.
Personally, I've never actually planned much of anything about my forts in the past; they've just sort of grown as I became able to do new things, and therefore needed places to put said things.
For this one, I'd say we should dig back into the mountain pretty much straight north from where we are, carving out an initial dorm room, a farm out of the loamy part, and probably some stockpiles a level down; there should be loam under the plains that we can use as easy stockpilage. We've got an anvil, and we've got magma, so we should start making some magma channels under the level we want the main workshops to be on. Not sure where that should be, precisely.
If you'd all rather I just sort of set things up wherever seems reasonable, I'll be happy to do so; I just thought I'd see if anyone had any better ideas ;)
Oh! One other thing:
Which dwarf does each person want to bear their name?
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Which dwarf does each person want to bear their name?
I can't decide... Do I want to be the one that lives to the end, or the one that dies while having !!Fun!!?
Well, anyone that works outside is sure to be a quick casualty. So, I guess I'll claim: "Zeneg Tangathkilrud: Proficient Miner, Adequate Building Designer, Novice Potter" as my avatar. :)
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I'll take "Adil Inalnish: Novice Wood Cutter, Competent Brewer, Competent Grower, Competent Herbalist". He (or she?!?!?!) should remain useful throughout. ;)
By the way, don't worry about embarks. Though I'm one of those people who like to take exactly 21 of each wine (to get an extra barrel) and 1 of each kind of meat (again, more barrels), I don't think embarks are that important. The structure/traffic control/workshop and stockpile locations are much more important. :D
I haven't worked with magma much, so any set up there'd be appreciated. For the rest, I normally set up a huge stockpile of everything on the initial level or a few down, but it's up to you. With workshops, I like to have 5x5 work areas where the outer layer is a stockpile of raw materials for the workshop, again, just personal preference. In general, I like to set up 3 wide corridors from the start to make sure traffic is never that much of a problem. :)
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You're the Overseer for the first year, so do what you think is best ;D And gives us screenshots with the thought process so we can enjoy the fruition of your plans, one way or the other...
Hmmm *looks through the list* I'll take the risk and go for "Ducim Nishabod: Competent Marksdwarf, Competent Dodger, Competent Ambusher, Novice Swimmer"
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I'll take "Adil Inalnish: Novice Wood Cutter, Competent Brewer, Competent Grower, Competent Herbalist". He (or she?!?!?!) should remain useful throughout. ;)
Any bets on him being the first to die?
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Any bets on him being the first to die?
10 barrels of rotten llama meat that either he dies first or becomes a legendary marksdwarf....and then die. :P
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I'll take -- Zulban Ducimonol, expedition leader: Proficient Miner, Adequate Appraiser, Novice Negotiator, Adequate Judge of Intent-- assuming he hasn't been taken.
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I'll take -- Zulban Ducimonol, expedition leader: Proficient Miner, Adequate Appraiser, Novice Negotiator, Adequate Judge of Intent-- assuming he hasn't been taken.
Oh; sorry, I was assuming I'd take the expedition leader. Do you mind?
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If only there was a child dwarf... then I'd take him/her and do nothing for... 12 years. :P
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Oh; sorry, I was assuming I'd take the expedition leader. Do you mind?
I thought you would too. Not at all, I'll take Bembul Saramathel.
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/me coughs and waves
Sooo... could I get on the list of overseers? #8 is fine with me
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So far, we're still waiting on ^ban^ and DoctorHarte to pick which starting dwarf they want. The ones still left unclaimed are:
Kivish Bufutsibrek: Novice Wood Cutter, Competent Carpenter, Novice Wood Crafter, Novice Stone Crafter, Novice Bone Carver
Vabok Rullokum: Novice Mason, Adequate Fish Dissector, Competent Fish Cleaner, Competent Fisherdwarf
I've put those who've picked so far into the initial post.
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Being an account of the founding of the fortress of Angnomal, rendered into the common speech as "Redstaff", by the group Kon Nokzam, "The Master of Battles," of the Dwarven nation of Dalzatlokum, "The Matched Spears." The expedition's leader and first chronicler was a miner named Zulban 'Anaris' Ducimonol, whose last name can be translated as "Workedmountains."
1 Granite, 1051
The first day of a new year, and we have arrived at the site of our new home. We don't have a lot of supplies left, but what we have should be enough to last us until we can get a local infrastructure set up.
As we approached the site from the west, along the path from the Mountainhome, I could see the ancient lava tube, all that remains of a much taller volcano, emerging from the eroded cliff face that thrust up from the snow-covered plain. The site chosen is just at the foot of that volcano, with a peak towering high above it to the north, and a spur of rock jutting out of the plain just south of it.
The name the colonization committee informed me they have chosen for this site is "Redstaff", which seems slightly plain to me, given the names they usually assign, but it is their right to assign the names. We will simply have to ensure that the fortress we build here gains such renown that the name goes down in the Great Record as one of the mightiest of the Matched Spears.
I must make a final survey of the site now, to determine just what the initial layout will be. I will endeavour to write more once the planning is done and the work has begun.
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Yayaya, the fun has started! :D
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2 Slate, 1051
I can hardly believe it has been an entire month. More than a month, actually; I intended to write this entry yesterday, but I was just too tired.
Thus far, we have dug out a bedroom, a farm, and two small workrooms. We have made progress on the dining room, too, but it's not ready yet. I have included a sketch of the current state of the ground-level rooms.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/1_dining_room_underway.png)
Before my fellow miner and I made it more than a few steps into the mountainside, the woodcutters had brought down some trees and built a carpenter's workshop just outside the entrance we were digging. I have also had erected a relatively simple butchery and tannery. This was a good, thing, too, because Ducim "Telrunya", our hunter, brought down a fox, and was able to keep the pelt almost completely intact. It is now cured and tanned and ready to be made into something useful, and the rest of the fox has been added to our food stocks and our supply of bones for making more bolts out of.
Ducim had to come back for more ammunition already, and says that soon he should be bringing in a prize catch: a giant moose cow! He's already got it badly wounded, and just needs enough bolts to finish it off before he can bring it in for Bembul "Alpha" to butcher into useful parts.
Here is a sketch of the entrance, with its few hastily-erected workshops and refuse pile.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/2_entrance.png)
As you can see from this sketch, the snow has melted—mostly. It still remains in pockets on and around the mountains, and where it had fallen more deeply in the southeastern part of our claim. In fact, the wagon we came with is sitting right on the edge of the melted area.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/3_wagon.png)
The pools in the area haven't melted yet, but I'm sure they will soon. It's getting pleasantly warm. I think that this is going to be an excellent climate for a fortress.
And if we get too cold, we can always go stand near the lava tube...
Speaking of which, I've mapped out some plans for making use of that. It'll be a while yet before we can put these fully into effect, but I've made some diagrams of how I intend to tap the edge of the lava tube for magma we can use to power forges and furnaces.
With some simple shafts dug right up to the edge of the tube, we should be able to then carve some slits into the side—and then run like Rash Abysstwilights, the Faint Tomb of Nights was chasing us so as not to get toasted. Or melted.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/4_magma_conduits.png)
Then on the level above, all we need to do is dig some channels down to tap the lava tunnels, and we'll have all we need for lovely magma-powered industry!
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/5_workshop_level.png)
We'll even be able to put the stockpiles needed to keep all that work going smoothly directly above them, if I'm any judge. The edges of all the pools on the plain are clay loam, and that should make the perfect floor for our main storage areas. Though we will have to work around some of those pools...
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/6_storage_level.png)
Well, that's about all that's happened so far. To close, I include two broader sketches of the entire area, one showing just the section we have worked, and the other showing most of the area included in our claim.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/7_wide_angle_1.png)
In the second one, you can see the edge of the lava tube in the north, and the brook crossing it in the far southwest.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/8_wide_angle_2.png)
I will write more around the beginning of next month. I am sure we will have made a great deal more progress by then.
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Yay! Awesome work! I wanted to ask how you took the screenshots... but it's probably some mac functionality that windows doesn't have. :(
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Yay! Awesome work! I wanted to ask how you took the screenshots... but it's probably some mac functionality that windows doesn't have. :(
In fact, it is ;) Macs have a built-in ability to take a screenshot of the whole screen, a selected rectangle, or a specific window, and dump it directly to a .png.
...though, in all fairness, I have been given to understand that more recent versions of Windows have less crippled screenshot functionality than XP and previous.
In any case, DF has its own image-dumping functionality, accessed from the [esc] menu (same place as where you save & quit). This simply dumps images of entire z-levels to .bmp files. On no account should one try to upload these .bmp files anywhere, however; they're absurdly large. DF comes bundled with a copy of optipng, which is a command-line tool that allows you to take the .bmp files and convert them into .png files of various sizes.
If you want to do any editing to the image dumps, though (cropping, annotating, etc), you should do it before converting, because MS Paint uses .bmp as a native format anyway, and it's non-lossy.
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In fact, it is ;) Macs have a built-in ability to take a screenshot of the whole screen, a selected rectangle, or a specific window, and dump it directly to a .png.
...though, in all fairness, I have been given to understand that more recent versions of Windows have less crippled screenshot functionality than XP and previous.
In any case, DF has its own image-dumping functionality, accessed from the [esc] menu (same place as where you save & quit). This simply dumps images of entire z-levels to .bmp files. On no account should one try to upload these .bmp files anywhere, however; they're absurdly large. DF comes bundled with a copy of optipng, which is a command-line tool that allows you to take the .bmp files and convert them into .png files of various sizes.
If you want to do any editing to the image dumps, though (cropping, annotating, etc), you should do it before converting, because MS Paint uses .bmp as a native format anyway, and it's non-lossy.
I'm familiar with using the Print Screen button on my windows pc and then cropping. :) The z level is nice, though sometimes I think I'd want to show text and warnings and other stuff. :D
So... we will only use one of the magma channels? :o I don't quite understand how they work or how many we need.
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A magma forge/kiln/glass furnace/smelter/etc. requires one open square beneath it that opens onto lava of at least depth 4 in the Z-level below. Common practice is to make that one square be one of the impassable squares of the workshop you are building. (So those silly dorfs don't fall in.) For magma forges, that's one of the two side squares. For everything else, it's the top center square.
Magma Forge: Everything Else:
XXX XOX
OXO XXX
XXX XXX
I've never used so many channels so close together, myself. I usually dig out my workshops, figure out what I'm going to put in each row of shops, then dig the laval tubes underneath as needed. To me, the layout Anaris has seems awfully small. I build all my workshops in 5x5 rooms with a door, so I can lock in any insane crafters. I'd make the lava tubes at least twice as long and space them farther apart, even if they aren't used. It's easier to dug out more than you need to start with, than to add more later. :)
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So... we will only use one of the magma channels? :o I don't quite understand how they work or how many we need.
I've never used so many channels so close together, myself. I usually dig out my workshops, figure out what I'm going to put in each row of shops, then dig the laval tubes underneath as needed. To me, the layout Anaris has seems awfully small. I build all my workshops in 5x5 rooms with a door, so I can lock in any insane crafters. I'd make the lava tubes at least twice as long and space them farther apart, even if they aren't used. It's easier to dug out more than you need to start with, than to add more later. :)
I don't think we'll need lots of spots on all the tubes; I just figured I'd set them up so they're easier to use when and if we need them.
And I only set up the channels and stairs for the first one because I don't know how many others we'll want yet. It's easy enough to dig channels and build stairs later.
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I'm familiar with using the Print Screen button on my windows pc and then cropping. :) The z level is nice, though sometimes I think I'd want to show text and warnings and other stuff. :D
So... we will only use one of the magma channels? :o I don't quite understand how they work or how many we need.
alt-printscreen captures only the current window.
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alt-printscreen captures only the current window.
That is the most awesome thing I learnt in... about 2 weeks. :o Thanks Joe!
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Sorry, no more updates till tomorrow at the earliest; Scottish Country Dancing followed quickly by a choir rehearsal has left me pleasantly, but entirely, exhausted. The rest of the day was also quite busy.
Stay tuned, though; I'll have more for you soon enough.
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If you're taking more overseers, I'd love to be added. This seems quite fun.
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Oh god, I got to start trying to learn this game again. I am utterly lost on everything any of you are saying...
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How's the fort going? :D
Just checking up, no pressure.
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Sorry, crazy weekend. Will be doing some more today or tomorrow.
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Almost thought we had another update ;) I know how RL can be, so no worries. I'll be eagerly and patiently waiting.
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Almost thought we had another update ;) I know how RL can be, so no worries. I'll be eagerly and patiently waiting.
Hmm... eagerly and patiently, those two don't mix very well. 8)
Sorry, crazy weekend. Will be doing some more today or tomorrow.
Don't worry at all, Tim. Your two weeks is far from over, plenty of time. :D
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5th Felsite, 1051
The past month has been very busy, but without any spectacular results. The dining room is complete, though, and we have made progress on the storage level.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/dining_room_felsite.png)
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/storage_felsite.png)
Vabok Rullokum was quite excited when he returned to the fortress about a week ago from the brook, carrying his first catch: two fine salmon. He is headed back out now to see if he can catch some more. Whatever other problems we may have, it seems we will not have to worry about starvation here.
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1st Hematite, 1051
The month of Felsite was uneventful. We continue work on the storage level, and I have ordered a fishery constructed.
Hopefully this summer will bring us some more brave souls willing to work hard for the glory of Redstaff.
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How can you tell what time/month it is? :o
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How can you tell what time/month it is? :o
It shows in various places. The [z] status screen is the one I use most often, but it shows up in the [r]eport screen and the [a]nnouncement screen as well.
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27th Hematite, 1051
I have to admit, it's starting to get a little discouraging.
The storage level is complete, and Zaneg and I began digging an exploratory tunnel towards the area around the volcano a level down, in hopes of striking an obsidian intrusion. Not far in, though, Zaneg declared that he was just too worn out from all the mining, and needed to take a break. I yelled at him at first, but before too much longer, I found that I needed a break just as badly. In fact, I've been on break ever since. It didn't help that, while we'd found some lovely gems, we hadn't struck obsidian or anything else particularly useful. Just lots and lots of basalt.
And then the migrants came. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to have them—every pair of hands is needed right now. But to get a gem setter, a weaver, and a miller...and then two children... I don't know what they were thinking, sending children out here!
I can console myself that I was able to assign Dumed Storlutmedtob, the weaver, to take up the job of engraver. He was able to carefully breach the wall of the volcano by carving fortifications into it, and thus gain us our first filled magma channel. Once he was done with that, I had him start smoothing the walls of our initial dining room. Medtob Adilsherik, the miller, claimed some knowledge of a smelter, so I assigned him to build one over the magma channel. We may not have much interesting ore yet, but what little tetrahedrite we have may as well get smelted; it's not doing us any good as it is.
I also assigned the gem setter to start making mechanisms so we can get working on at least a rudimentary set of defenses for the fort. You can never start preparing too soon for the goblin hordes.
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I've really enjoyed reading your reports.
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So IC... Tim... is it because of BM? :D
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So IC... Tim... is it because of BM? :D
No, not really. It's all just a result of being part of a highly literary family, I think, and having a fertile imagination. I like to think I have a high degree of empathy, too, or at least the type of imagination that allows me to attempt to think, and feel, as someone else would.
(Not trying to brag here, if it sounds like it...just trying to describe how I write stuff.)
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13th Malachite, 1051
Praise Nikuz1! We have found hematite!
The very day after I wrote my last journal, Zaneg picked up her pick and got back to work. After just a few hours' digging, she struck a vein of hematite—and just on the other side of it, obsidian, and lots of it.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/hematite_and_obsidian_malachite.png)
You're not going to believe this, but just as she was starting to mine out the obsidian, Ducim, who was out fishing, swears she saw, off in the distance, panda men. Yes, that's right, she said they were panda men. And I suppose you have to call the females panda women. She didn't get a good look at them, though, and it's a bit hard to believe that such creatures really exist.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/pandamen!_malachite.png)
Well, the news about the hematite and obsidian fired my spirit once more, and I went to help mine it. On the way down, I drew up the designs for the magma smelter so that Medtob the miller could finish constructing it, and start smelting our first iron. (I'm not sure I did all that good a job, but the smelter seems to work, so it couldn't have been too bad.)
As the smelter was being constructed, Vabok, the mason and fisherdwarf, came back from his own fishing expedition with some shad, and the news that he had seen the panda men, too—and he swears they saw him! I reproduce here the story more or less as he told it:
"I was sittin' there, see, and I heard this rustlin' and crashing in the brush to the north, upstream. So I looks over there, and through the trees, I see this face—not quite like anything I've ever seen before, I tell you that. The face looked white, with black 'round the eyes, like he'd been fightin', only it weren't no bruise: it was his fur! And, well, he had these little round ears stickin' up out the top of his head, so I knew it weren't no human, though he was tall as one. He'd been pickin' some bamboo with these odd hands that looked kinda like paws, only they weren't. Soon as he saw me, though, he let out this odd soft call, and I could swear there were words in it, only I couldn't understand 'em. He and the rest of 'em—who I hadn't seen till just that moment in the shadows of the trees—turned tail and ran west. They walked—and ran—on two legs, legs kinda like them tall humans have, only a bit thicker, and furry, and they had little stubby tails. They ran fast, too. In just a minute, they was all out of sight in the trees on the other side of the brook."
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/pandamen_flee_malachite.png)
As yet, I am unsure as to whether to consider these panda men a threat. If they truly communicated with each other using words....I wonder if one could be captured, and taught our language? Could they become allies? Servants? It is a project worth consideration for the future.
In the midst of all this excitement, the entrance was fitted with cage traps, and some extra cages ordered to be held in reserve. A crude defense, but better than nothing.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/trapped_entrance_malachite.png)
1. Nikuz, a deity of The Matched Spears. Most often takes the form of a male dwarf, and is associated with valor, war, and fortresses.
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1st Galena, 1051
The remainder of the month of Malachite was relatively uneventful. There have been no more pandaman sightings. Medtob, the miller, was able to smelt two iron bars from the hematite we mined. We finished mining out the rest of the initially-designated storage area (though I strongly suspect we will need to dig out more to the west as our storage needs increase). You can see the results of our work in this sketch. I have also included the crafts that Bembul "Alpha", our bookkeeper, made, in their stockpile there on the right.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/storage_galena.png)
We have begun digging out the rest of the main workshop level directly below. You can also see here the iron bars that have been smelted thus far.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/workshops_galena.png)
Nothing much else to report just now. I will update this journal no later than the beginning of Limestone.
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1 Limestone, 1051
Autumn has come.
The end of summer was a hot, lazy time. Not that we didn't get a lot done, but I suppose the initial stages where every little thing is an accomplishment, simply because it's the first, are past now. We've got all our major stockpiles laid out now. The workshop level is about half dug, and most of the magma channels are prepared, though still only the first one is filled. I have ordered the collection of sand for a magma furnace that is now ready and waiting at the western end of the channel.
Telrunya is back out hunting again, now that he's got some more bolts (it's apparently fiendishly difficult for Kivish, the carpenter and bone carver, to get his work done while trying to manhandle the huge stack of giant moose cow bones in his workshop...I suggested that he only bring one bone to the workshop at a time, and I swear, the guy looked at me like I'd grown pointy ears).
The dining room now has a dozen tables and chairs in it, and the dormitory will shortly have a dozen beds (once Kivish is done with the bones and can finish making them...).
We did have a little trouble with one of the yak bulls getting upset that the llama was crowding it. Both the yak bulls have now been moved to their own separate pastures, and we've had no more trouble from them.
I'm looking forward to the arrival of the caravan from the Mountainhome, and our liaison, later in the fall. I hope we will be able to produce enough goods here by the time they arrive to trade for all that we need.
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So we're gonna get another wave of migrants, right? :D
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So we're gonna get another wave of migrants, right? :D
Yep. Should be another smallish wave in the fall, then a large wave next spring for Indirik to put to work.
I hope to be able to get the next month or three done in the next couple of days.
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Hmm, could I get one of the children named after me? It was done quite brilliantly in Syrupleaf (http://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Syrupleaf/)
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1 Sandstone, 1051
You know, sometimes Miners' Guild regulations can be a bit aggravating. Now, don't get me wrong, I know why they're there, and I would never try to get around them. They've kept more dwarves safe, whether it be from an ignominious death by drowning when a careless miner lets the sea in, or a horrible fiery doom when the entire fortress is flooded with burning magma. But sometimes, just sometimes, they seem really bloody stupid.
Like when there's only a dozen of us out here in the middle of nowhere, and Indirik and I keep having to stop work to check with each other as to whether we should really mine out this section of damp stone? When we know, perfectly well, that it's damp because there's a bloody pond up above, and we are fully capable of shoring up the ceiling to make sure not a single drop will leak down through the ceiling...
Of course, it's a good thing there are two of us miners. When there's only one miner present, the regulations get much more convoluted. I think there are about four whole pages dedicated solely to determining who a poor hapless miner should check with to confirm that he really should dig here, where it's warm because of the magma channels below, but shouldn't dig there, because that bit of damp stone is really an aquifer, and he'll flood the whole fortress if he breaches it...
We mostly finished digging out the workshop level, despite the delays caused by our adherence to protocol. (I haven't included sketches because it's not particularly different from the storage level.) I've ordered our first magma forge to be built, but no one has had time to start work on it yet.
I have also given orders for more of the edible plants near the entrance to be gathered up for brewing, eating, and whatever else we can figure out to do with them. Telrunya was hunting a moose, but she ran out of ammunition, and it got away. Pity.
Our smelting operation has been producing good results. Thanks to Medtob's good work, we have a dozen bars of iron, as well as seven of copper, and even a couple silver. We'll need to set up a wood-burning furnace to make charcoal, as I don't think there's much coal around (at least, we haven't seen any, and there doesn't appear to be the sedimentary layer we'd expect to find it in). Once we've got that, though, we should be set to start making steel. More than enough trees to feed our furnaces.
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4 Timber, 1051
Telrunya saw more pandamen early this month. In fact, she accidentally shot one in the paw! Its cry of pain (she said it was a "her," so I guess it was "Her cry of pain") startled Telrunya so badly she ran off back toward the fort, where she failed to bring down another moose. She was shaken badly enough by it that when she ran out of bolts to miss the moose with, she came back to the fort and started cooking. She told me later that she wouldn't have been in such a bad state, but its cry didn't sound like that of an animal at all...she felt almost like she'd shot another dwarf.
The shad roast she made was so tasty, I didn't mind one bit.
This past month I have been giving some thought to the future. My term as overseer ends in just a short time, and I want to make sure that we are all as well-provided-for and -protected as I can manage. The provided-for part, I guess I'll just have to hope for, but the protected part, I think I can actually do something about now.
I've been contemplating the small spur of rock that just out of the plain just to the east of our current fortress entrance. I think it could be made into an excellent front entrance to our fortress, with a grand ramp leading up into it, and carefully crafted defenses separating it from the rest of the mountain. Here is a sketch of my current thoughts on the subject.
Entrance level:
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/defenses_annotated_timber.png)
Ground level:
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/entrance_annotated_timber.png)
Some more planning will have to be done on this, but I think it will be important to get this in motion quickly.
Just as the ponds near the entrance began to freeze, more migrants came. This bunch looks a lot more promising than the last. One is a miner, a couple have experience making armour, and one even has some skill at architecture. Oh, and there were seven of them this time! A much healthier number. I've put some of those with less immediately useful skills to work at masonry, and started them on the first steps of building the grand entrance I have in mind.
I also instructed one of them to start training up as a weaponsmith, as I'm sure we're going to need several of those before long. He's already produced a couple of nasty-looking iron discs for use in traps—and possibly for trading, as I'd put their value well up into the thousands.
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1 Moonstone, 1051
Winter is upon us.
The caravan came this month, and I was able to buy some useful stuff from them. A whole bunch of leather and cloth, which should mean we can make plenty of bags and some leather armour. Also picked up some raw crystal glass; we don't have the wherewithal to make it here, and I doubt we ever will, since the equipment required is pretty specialized. I got quite a bit of food from them, too, so we'll be in better shape for the winter (not that I'm worried; between our farming and hunting, we shouldn't have any trouble feeding this fortress for the foreseeable future).
We have the ramp up to the new entrance nearly finished, and the main pathway through the spur is dug. That level is being hollowed out to provide storage space (so as to avoid having to lug our trade goods long distances), and I'm partway through designing the bridge across to the mountain itself personally. As soon as the caravan leaves, I will order the construction of a new trade depot up in the spur, as I indicated on my drafts, and have the old one taken apart.
On her latest hunting foray, Telrunya brought down, of all things, a two-humped camel. I was quite surprised to see her drag the carcass back to the butchery; they are not the type of creature I expected to see in this place...
Well, either way, we've plenty of meat for winter now, and she tells me she plans to go out and see if she can bring in another one or two of the beasts, as there was a whole pack of them (what do you call a group of camels? a humping or some such thing?).
Zasit Urolkivish, the liaison from the Mountainhome, has been following me around, but I really want to get this bridge finished before I meet with him.
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2 Opal, 1051
Another relatively uneventful month. Almost no new orders were given during Moonstone; we just continued work on what I'd already had set up.
I finished designing the bridge, and Vabok (I think) then went and constructed it. Indirik and I were then eager to get the upper entranceway finished, so we dug a small barracks-room, then a simple path to a staircase down into the main fortress. It will need to be enhanced later with some hairpins, traps, and the like, but for now, it should do. With the cinnabar drawbridge raised, no one will be able to get in anyway.
The only new orders I did give this month were a couple of workshops to be constructed in the newly-dug-out workshop level: a carpenters' shop and a mechanics' shop, to replace the ones by the old entrance. With the new entrance completed, we should be able to start walling in the pasturage and the rest of the area around the old entrance.
Oh, and a new indoor woodpile, just above the new carpentry shop.
Telrunya brought down another giant moose this month. Plenty of good food for the deep winter.
I'll meet with Zasit soon, I promise.
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1 Obsidian, 1051
With winter well underway, I have been planning my legacy. To be more precise, I have been making sure that the plans I have sketched out previously are being made ready for my successor. The wall around the old entrance has been ordered constructed, and the preparations have been made for the digging out of much more of the storage level and the sunken above-ground farms that will be there. Furthermore, I have had walls built around the bridge leading from the new spire-entrance into the main fort, and ordered the brook to be tapped for a permanent source of water for us. I have included some sketches of all these.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/entrance_wall_obsidian.png)
The wall around the entrance
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/storage_expanded_obsidian.png)
The expanded storage level, with area for farms at the southern end
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/brook_tap_obsidian.png)
The area where the frozen brook is being tapped; the floodgates will be linked to levers, to allow for maintenance later
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/underground_stream_obsidian.png)
It will continue down into this underground stream heading east out of our area, with the potential to tap it further for other uses later
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/walled_bridge_obsidian.png)
The walled-in bridge; note that the new trade depot has been completed here
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/entrance_large_obsidian.png)
A broad overview of the entrance area. You can see the planned wall, with trees in the way designated to be cut down, the area planned for sunken above-ground farm plots, and, in the southwest, the staircases leading down to the tap on the brook.
This month, I also finally talked to our liaison to the Mountainhome. We're relatively self-sufficient here, so I just requested a few things we're short on: more seeds of every type imaginable, some ore that the survey suggests we won't find here, and some more leather. I always say, you can never have enough leather. They requested a few things from us; I have included their requests in the packet I will pass on to Indirik when spring rolls around.
Oh, yes, there was one more momentous occasion this month: we made our first steel! Soon we'll be cranking it out by the cartload, I'm sure.
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1 Granite, 1052
Final Report
Well, this is the end of my tenure as overseer. In the last month, we worked on the orders I had set up the previous month, and I put on a few last finishing touches. There is a bridge now in front of the trade depot, as well as the one between it and the fortress proper. There is a cobaltite lever in the dining room, ready to be linked to the floodgates blocking off the brook. There are rough plans drawn up for a more extensive set of defenses beyond the red bridge.
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/new_bridge_granite.png)
The new bridge, and the old one
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/sunken_farms_granite.png)
The sunken farm area, with its wall-in-the-making around it
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/dining_room_granite.png)
The dining room; note the cobaltite lever just south of where Indirik is standing
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/ground_level_overview_2_granite.png)
A broad overview of the ground level, at the end of my term
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/storage_level_overview_granite.png)
A broad overview of the storage level, at the end of my term
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/workshop_level_overview_granite.png)
A broad overview of the workshop level, at the end of my term
(http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/angnomal/entrance_level_overview_granite.png)
A broad overview of the new entrance level, at the end of my term
I will also include copies of all the profiles of the dwarves in Redstaff, in a separate file.
I am proud to have been the founding overseer for Redstaff, and I am sure this fortress will prosper.
I now turn over all my authority, and all my additional materials, to Zaneg "Indirik" Tangathkilrud, and wish her well.
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...And that's my tenure done, and I took much, much too long about it. Um...do as I say, not as I do, mmkay? :-[
I'm going to try and get the profiles OCRed if I can, so I don't have to post images for all of them, so give me a little while to try to get that working. ^ban^, wasn't there some sort of "large image handling" plugin you were talking with Tom about adding? I don't see any options that look related to it...
I will be uploading 2 archives to the DFFD shortly: the first will be one that includes only the save and the materials related to it (like the Mountainhome requests screenshot, the list of minerals from dfprospector, etc). The second will include all that, as well as the entire program folder, to make it trivial to get up and running (not that Indirik really needs a lot of help, but it will make it easy :) ).
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Nah, Tim, the time is well spent. It's looking awesome! :D Thanks for taking the time to add in so much preparation for the future, it will make continuing great. 8)
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OK, here are the two uploads:
Just the savefile plus useful data (http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=4316)
Full program folder including savefile (http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=4318)
Still working on getting the profiles OCRed.
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1st Granite, 1052
It wasn't just being uncomfortable that woke me up, though that didn't help any. I don't even think it was the cat stepping on my face, either. No, I think it was mostly the kick in the ribs that did it. That would pretty much wake up anyone. (Although when I checked later, the number of bruises seems to indicate that it took *several* kicks. Apparently gutter cruor kicks harder than Anaris does. Too bad it was my last bottle. I could use a drink to dull the aches. Those bruises hurt.)
As I climbed out from behind the barrels where I'd passed out, Anaris threw my pick at me. "Get to work. That new storeroom needs dug out." I was bending to pick up my pick and get to work when something else smacked down on the floor next to it. "You'll need that, too." I instantly recognized it as the official Redstaff log book. It didn't click at first. Why was he giving me that? It was the fortress overseer's book.
"Huh?" I said. Obviously I hadn't really woken up yet. I'm not usually so... slow.
"It's your turn", he said, more than a bit resentfully.
"My turn?" I swear, it was the hangover talking, not me. Honest.
"Yes", he said, "your turn. Today is the First of Granite, 1052, so my year is over. It's your turn now. Don't screw it up." And with that, he walked away.
As I staggered my way toward the new dig site it started coming back to me. We seven colonists hadn't been able to decide on "The Plan", or whatever you want to call it, when we'd started the expedition. For some reason I can't recall, we hadnt settled it like respectable dwaves either. (i.e. Drinking until only one dwarf was left standing, who is therefore the de facto expedition leader.) Instead, we'd decided that we'd "take turns" doing it. Too bad, too. I know I could easily drink Anaris under the table. Although Foundation might be able to drink even more than me. Not that it would be a bad thing. He'd make a good leader. And he's cute, too. What a beard! I wish I could grow a beard like that...
As I arrived at the new dig site, I cracked the book open to see what else was on the schedule for today. Well, surprise, surprise. Look at that. The only one without a job today was, you guessed it: Anaris. Bah! That would be just like him. Giving everyone else work while he sits around at that private table in the dining room he calls his "office". Like he even needs an office.
(http://i.imgur.com/Izjpc.png)
Well, I'd think about my new plans while I worked. Yes, I *can* think while I work, unlike some other people I know...
But now it was time, as they they say, to "Strike the earth!"
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12th Granite, 1052
This new storage cavern is *huge*. I've been working on it for two weeks now, and I'm still not half done. And my back hurts. Too much sleeping on the ground. By the Glorious Beard of Shazat, there's no way I'm sleeping in a bed after Telrunya uses it. All that camel cheese she eats... Phew! After she's been sleeping it takes hours before I can go in the room.
I've ordered a halt on the diggin in the new storage cavern. We'll square up the walls, then leave it. We can expand it later, when we actually have something to put in it. For now, I'm tired of sleeping on the ground, or in a mining tunnel somewhere. I need a real bed. Burrowing into the cloth stockpiles trying to get comfortable is getting old. In fact, we all need rooms. So far, that has been sorely neglected. There are only 9 beds in a room dug into a clay loam room. Not even proper stone! I can't get the dust off of me. In fact, I think that's my project for this year. Private bedrooms for everyone! Hmm... I bet that would work as a campaign slogan for mayor...
19th Granite, 1052
Some more vagrants arrived today. Or is that "migrants"? Bah, what's the difference. Anyway, there were 19 of them, altogether. One or two of them looks like he could be of real use to us. Onul claims to be a half-decent weaponsmith. He's a lot better than Dumed, anyway. And here's a weird one: Shem "Glenrag". Says on the list that he's a carpenter, yet he claims to be able to do just about anything with metal. We've already got a carpenter, so I'll send him off the the forges. There are two masons in here, too. That should help. Anaris' plans including building a LOT of stone walls, and he'd been trying to do it with numbskulls who barely even knew what a rock was, let alone how to build a wall.
Shazat Knees! This means that there are now *38* of us sharing those same nine beds! Gah! I really need to get those bedrooms dug. I'll hand picks to Urist McUseless #1, #2, and #3. They're all worthless freeloaders. I asked #3 what he could do, and you know what he said? "I know how to calm people down. And that's about it" He's not very good at it. I almost punched him in the nose. Or does that mean he *is* good at it?
3rd Slate, 1052
One of the new vagrants, Stakud, claims to know how to organize our work. I've appointed him Manager. Now I don't have to bother managing all those workshops. I tell him what to do, and he makes sure it gets done. Leaves me more time to plan the new bedrooms.
I gave him Anaris' table.
7 Slate, 1052
That's it, I've had enough! I'm sick of all this chicken and llama crap in the dining room! I've ordered all the animals, including all those insufferably fluffy "pets" the vagrants brought with them, penned outside. And I've had enough with the stupid cats climbing over me while I sleep. I had all them, and the flea-bitten dogs, too, jammed into a cage in the corner of the dining room.
Except for that one mean dog someone trained as an attack dog. No one wants to go near him. I think I'll have him chained near the fortress entrance. It better be someone with armor on. That's one nasty dog.
Oh, I almsot forgot: llama for dinner tonight.
15 Slate, 1052
I've ordered the plowing of the three farm plots in Anaris' "indoor/outdoor" farm. The first plot will be Whip Vines. If you can't have gutter cruor, you might as well drink whip whine, I've always said. Oh, we're planting longland grass and rope reeds, too. No booze from those, but we do need clothes and food, too. I guess.
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1st Felsite, 1052
It has begun.
It took me two whole months to draw out the plans. But yesterday, I finally finished. Today, the digging starts.
Is it extravagant? Of course. But as the old dwarven expression says: "There's nothing worth doing, that's not worth overdoing!"
Anaris thinks I'm being ridiculous. Too bad. He had his turn. This is *my* turn! And I'm tired of sleeping behind to booze stockpile. I want some luxury!
(http://i.imgur.com/JmSSJ.png)
14th Felsite, 1052
Of all the weird things I've seen in my life, this has got to be the weirdest thing ever. This morning Kogsak Lorelik, the Carpenter dropped the stone he was carrying to build the perimiter wall on his foot. He grabbed his foot and started hopping around, swearing in a really crude and foul manner. I learned a few new ones from him today! After a few hops, though, he tripped and fell, hitting his head on the block of rhyolite he'd been carrying. He passed out for a few seconds. When he woke up, he had a wild look in his eyes, and ran for the fort entrance. We found him in his workshop babbling about trees. He then ran off, and came back with a cedar log and a birch log. He's been pounding away in his shop for a couple days now. I have no idea what he's doing, but he ignores everyone, even those trying to bring him food and booze. We'll have to wait and see.
18th Felsite, 1052
An elven carvan showed up today. I want to know who the dirty traitor is that told the treehuggers where to find us.
Kogsak is still working. He keeps muttering "Vukcas Ikud". I think he's gone insane.
21st Felsite, 1052
After 7 straight days, Kogsak finally wandered out of the workshop. He looked confused, and carried a cedar bracelet in his hand. All craftsdwarfship is of the highest quality. It is decorated with larch, and is adorned with hanging rings of cedar. Kogsak may be a half-decent craftsman, but there's no way he could have made something so fine. He swears the last thing he remembers is smashing his toe with that rock. He claims the bracelet is called "The Crescent of Reigning". Of course he doesn't know *why* it's called that. It just is. We may never know the truth. But it is a fine bracelet.
(http://i.imgur.com/yoVc4.png)
I'm worried that some time in the future, some possessed crafter might really snap and go berserk. I've started ordering new craftsdwarf shops built with walls around them. If worse comes to worse, we can lock the poor buggers in to protect the rest of us. I've also ordered the construction of a magma kiln and another smelter. We're gonna need all the metal we can get. I hope we can find some fire clay or some kaolinite for the kiln. Glazing pottery is for the elves!
(http://i.imgur.com/JqZio.png)
Oh, the elves were still hanging around. Apparently they weren't going to leave until I gave them something. I pawned a couple of the more poorly made serrated copper discs off on the elves in exchange for some seeds, a bit of cloth, and some food. Barely even worth mentioning, but it did get rid of them.
It's almost summer time. The ice will melt soon. I'd better make sure none of the miners are working in the waterwheel tunnel.
(OOC: I normally play with temperature turned off, as it really sucks down the frame rate. I didn't realize the ice should have melted until a few days into summer. Woops. I had to save, turn on temperature, load, wait for it to all melt, save, turn of temperature, and reload. :P )
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Wow, pretty fast there, Rob. :) Did you draw all that or did another program do the bedroom layout? 8)
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Wow, pretty fast there, Rob. :)
Tim took most of my two weeks. I only have a day or two to catch up. :P
Did you draw all that or did another program do the bedroom layout? 8)
I recently discovered Quickfort. Simply amazing. You should never play Dwarf Fortress without it. I pound my head in frustration at all the time I have wasted designating all the same crap over, and over, and over again.
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I'm going to try and get the profiles OCRed if I can, so I don't have to post images for all of them, so give me a little while to try to get that working. ^ban^, wasn't there some sort of "large image handling" plugin you were talking with Tom about adding? I don't see any options that look related to it...
There was, but he never followed up on it.... or it was for another version of SMF. I can't recall.
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Well, something odd happened with the weather on my turn. The water froze into ice, but it never snowed. Weird. I'll make some more posts here shortly. My turn is done, and I've written it all up. Just have to add some pics, then post the archive. I think it turned out pretty well. One year really isn't all that much time to get much done, when you only start with 19 dorfs. But that number has increased a LOT now.
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20 Hematite, 1052
More vagrants. A gem cutter/setter, a mason, a blacksmith, and six furniture movers.
At this rate, I'm going to need a second level of dormitories. Good thing I kept the plans handy.
One good thing did come from the vagrants, though. They pointed out a critical flaw in Anaris' wall plans: He forget to dig out the hillsides that make such effective ramps over the walls. These vagrants used the hillside and just strolled past our walls like they weren't even there. I've ordered the hillside dug out into a nice, steep cliff. I may need to dig back some of the mountainside and build a second level of walls on that side to make a wall that actually works.
15 Galena, 1052
OK, I know that I said Kagsok's possession was weird. But today, I saw something that was even more bizarre. I'm not kidding.
Believe it or not, Medtob Adilsherik actually gave birth while smelting some tetrahedrite! Can you believe this?! There she is working at the magma smelter, when *BAM*! Next thing you know, she's got a screaming baby boy in her arms. Talk about freakish devotion to duty. No one even knew she was pregnant! Atir Morulsat must be a proud father. Like the dedicated dwarf he is, though, he didn't even stop planting when we told him the good news. He just smiled, nodded, and plunked another whip vine seed into the ground.
Some aspiring comedian has dubbed this "the sixth migration wave".
16 Galena, 1052
Our cage traps are filling up with, get this, pandamen and badgermen. We've caught seven of these things already. The badgermen in particular are very aggressive. They keep charging after our hunters and woodcutters, who then come complaining to me about their work being interrupted. I've ordered another 10 cages built. Stakud says he'll get right on it. Good man. I'm glad I appointed him. Makes my life easier.
19 Galena, 1052
The bedroom project is moving along rapidly. With the new mason's workshops built, furniture is being built very quickly. The engravers have also been at work, too. Not quite fast enough, but it will have to do. They're not very good at it yet, but they'll get better.
23rd Galena, 1052
Litast Vodducim, the Potash Maker, was carrying a throne down to the new bedroom level today when he got a sudden inspiration. He ran to the very same craftsdwarf shop that Kogsak had used and threw all the materials in the workbench to the ground. He grabbed a big chunk of tetrahedrite that the miners had left lying around, and began hammering and carving at it furiously. We don't know what he's doing, but he's really going at it with gusto. We've set a barrel of booze next to him jsut in case he gets thirsty. But if this is anything like Kogsak, I doubt he'll touch it. The rest of us have taken to ignoring him while he works.
30th Galena, 1052
Litast came out of the workshop today with a remarkably crafted sceptre made of tetrahedrite. He calls it Agvumshar. He says it means "Daubedgloom". What does *that* mean? We have no idea. Anyway, it's a very nice scepter. It menaces with spikes of tetrahedrite. Very fashionable. It's sure to make Litast into a legend of craftsdwarfery. I'm reassigning that dwarf to the stonecrafter squad. Kivish can barely chisel out even the simplest table. He goes back to the carpentry shop, where he can build stuff no one cares about. I mean, does a drunk care what the barrel looks like? I don't think so. Trust me on this one. I speak with the voice of experience.
(http://i.imgur.com/Pdr8l.png)
It will soon be autumn. I'd better make sure we have enough booze to last the winter.
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7th Sandstone, 1052
Something happened to our female yak. She is nowhere to be found. I think the badgermen got her. They're vicious enough to have killed it. Without it, we can't breed more yaks. I've ordered the two yak bulls slaughtered as well. Maybe we can buy more of something from the traders that wander through.
14 Sandstone, 1052
I have begun constructing the glass roof over the sunken farming plots. I know, glass can hardly be expected to withstand the ravages of a forgotten beast, right? Well, never fear! This is strong Dwarven Glass. Guaranteed impregnable to anything! Our farm plots will be safe, roofed in the strong green Dwarven Glass!
1 Timber, 1052
More vagrants. One decent mechanic, and 11 stone haulers. That's fine. I need the stone hauling.
Now look, I'm a dwarf. I like rock as much as the next dwarf does. But to be real, mining tends to leave a lot of debris laying around. And I hate tripping over all the stones. Besides, it looks messy. To fix this, I've ordered all the stone down in the top bedroom level hauled out. We're dumping it outside the mason's shop. We get to kill two elves with one stone: The bedrooms are cleared of all those trip hazards, and the masons don't have to walk very far to get stone. That way they can build stuff faster to furnish the bedrooms.
I've had the animal pens expanded, too. They were much too small, and the lone remaining donkey foal was practically starving because she couldn’t' find anything left to eat in her current pen. That would not be good. Some of these dwarves like donkey tripe stewed in valley herbs. Not me, though. The stench of valley herbs reminds me of elves. That's enough to kill any dwarf's appetite.
I've told Stakud, the manager, to have a few more of those big serrated copper discs made. Anaris was right, they do seem to make good trade goods. And the stonecrafters don't have to spend all their time carving up another 10,000 diorite scepters for trade goods.
Seriously, who buys all that crap? Does the world really need another 2,593 granite totems? At least those serrated discs are good for carving up gobbos. That makes them damned fine in my book!
14 Timber, 1052
The liaison from the Mountainhome has arrived, along with a caravan. I hope they bring some gutter cruor. I'm thirsty. Anaris, our broker is sleeping. Now he gets to be the one woken up by a few hard kicks to the ribs. It's time for him to earn his supper.
24 Timber, 1052
Catten Thimshuravuz decided that all the attention Litast got for making his scepter was a good deal. She's charged off to the magma forge, kicked out the weaponsmiths, and claimed the forge for herself. She took a bar of silver and some yak leather with her, and seems to be trying to figure out how to make something with them. I don't know what she thinks she's going to make out of that, but whatever it is, smart money is that no matter what it is, it'll be ugly. Catten may be a decent metalsmith, but she's not very artistic.
The caravan from the Mountainhome was an abysmal disappointment. Not only did they not bring any gutter cruor, the slackers didn't bring even a single barrel of booze at all! Those alcoholics must have drunk it all themselves on the way here. You can be sure the liaison is going hear about this! We did get some platinum bars and platinum nuggets, and several bins of cheap leather. That's about it. Litast managed to trade one single serrated copper disc for everything they had. No doubt he capitalized on his recent crafting exploits to impress the traders.
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1st Moonstone, 1052
Winter is here. To celebrate, Catten came out of her forge and proudly displayed her masterpiece: Sedilesast, a silver bed. She calls it "The Angelic Evaporation". A silver bed? Sounds like it could be interesting. Well-polished silver has particularly lovely sheen. Too bad the name doesn't make any sense at all. These "legendary" crafters are all a few bars short of a full bin, if you know what I mean.
Everyone crowded around to get a look at this new artifact. The murmur of excitement quickly died away once we got a good look at it. Now, what two consenting adult dwarves do in the privacy of their own room is really no one else's business, so long as they keep it there. And here, in her craftsmen's masterwork piece, Catten shoved it all out into the open. I kid you not, this thing has built-in yak leather straps and cuffs. Catten claims it's just "adorned with yak leather". Uh huh. Sure. And on the headboard? She says that elaborate silver inlay is "a pipe section". Yeah right. Anyone dwarf with a brain can tell what it really is. No wonder Catten has no friends. She's a pervert.
See? I warned you that whatever she made was going to be ugly. But it's even worse than I could have imagined. Shazat knows I'm right, too. I'm going to find a deep dark cavern somewhere, and have this thing sealed inside. Hopefully everyone will forget it ever even existed.
5th Moonstone, 1052
Tun Zugonbzuntir must be as tired of these stupid pandamen as I am. She grabbed a crossbow and some of the copper bolts, and went hunting. What she brought home wasn't a pandaman, just a plain old panda. She claims she killed it before it could grow up into a real pandaman. Panda tripe roast for dinner, I guess.
20th Moonstone, 1052
Anaris finally met with the liaison from the Mountainhome today. I told him to request some blue diamonds. When the meetings was over, Anaris told me the liaison said he can't get any blue diamonds, and the best he could do was blue garnet or yellow diamond. I can't be sure which one of them is lying. Maybe both of them.
At least Anaris was able to request some aluminum and platinum bars, nuggets, and blocks for the crafters, gypsum plaster and thread for the hospital we'll need to build, silk cloth, llamas for breeding, barrels for those that like the local brew, and lots of that fancy, imported booze. At least that's one thing the Mountainhome knows how to do: brew a good barrel of rum.
3rd Opal, 1052
The miners are halfway done with the second level of bedrooms. I'll lay out the third soon. Probably won' get around to actually digging it. Witht he way things are going, we probably won't even finish digging the second level. Even so, two is enough to house all the dwarves we have now, and there's still all that stone we have to haul. Moving it all the way up to the crafting level was taking too long. I've told the stone haulers to just dump it in the corner of the main stairwell for now. We can move it somewhere else later. I've suspended all non-essential tasks in the interesting of cleaning up all this stone. Not sure we'll get all the moving done before spring, though.
25th Obsidian, 1052
Onu Orkogan, the weaponsmith, has decided to get his piece of the popularity pie, too. He dropped the stone he was carrying and ran off to the magma forge. He's hammering away on an iron bar, and wont tell anyone what his plans are. This had better not be a repeat of the last incident. Judging from how long it takes these crazy crafters to actually finish their work, that will most likely be for the next overseer to deal with.
Epilogue
Well, that's the end of my shift as fortress overseer. And none too soon, too. It's been a year since I've had a good bender. Here's some wrap up notes for the next lucky dwarf that gets this crazy job.
First, the glass roof on the indoor/outdoor farm needs finished. We got started, but ran out of glass.
Second, those hills outside need to be turned into cliffs, and a proper second level of walls built where it meets the cliffs. We got a good start at it. Most of the ramps have been removed, and one portion of the second level of walls was completed.
Third, we need to get serious with the defenses. Now that some jerk has told the elves where we are, I'm sure goblins will probably be along any day now. Those treehuggers are the gobbo's forward scouts. Trust me on this one. We're going to need a lot of traps, weapons, and armor. And that means a lot of steel.
Fourth, the second level of bedrooms needs dug out. It's half done already. I've left plans for the third level in place, if needed. Jut tell the miners where to put in the stairs, and get our of our way.
Fifth, you probably should finish furnishing the bedroom level. The masons are hard at work on all the cabinets, coffers, doors, tables, chairs, etc., that will be needed for the first level. Stakud will be happy to take care of making what's needed for the second. Just let him know when to get started.
Personally, I don't really care if you ever get around to furnishing the rest of the bedrooms. My room's done, and I'm going to bed.
Right after I find out where the next overseer is sleeping, and give him a good kick in the ribs.
Zaneg Indirik Tangathkilrud
Legendary Miner
(http://i.imgur.com/K9P0O.png)
Finally, a decent bedroom.
Some sketches of the current Fortress status.
(http://i.imgur.com/Kcpdb.png)
The walls are finished, and most of the hillside turned into cliffs.
(http://i.imgur.com/4fcIP.png)
The (slighty smaller than originally planned) new warehouse and indoor/outdoor farms.
(http://i.imgur.com/rGEKg.png)
The new enclosed crafting corner, with partially completed walls.
(http://i.imgur.com/Cs1VJ.png)
The final excavation of the top bedroom level. Partially smoothed, partially cleared, and partially furnished. But my room is done. And that's all that really matters.
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Link for the new save file:
http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=4334
Link for the complete game. (Note: This is Anaris' archive, with his save file. if you grab this, replace the save file with mine from above.)
http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=4318
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Phew, it's Joe's turn. Thought it was mine for a sec there. :P
I do have a lot of time next week though... :O
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Actually, didn't you and ^ban^ swap turns?
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That was after my post. ;)
So it seems it's my turn now... will do so... hopefully soon. :D
Don't worry, Joe, you have plenty of time. 8)
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One good thing did come from the vagrants, though. They pointed out a critical flaw in Anaris' wall plans: He forget to dig out the hillsides that make such effective ramps over the walls. These vagrants used the hillside and just strolled past our walls like they weren't even there. I've ordered the hillside dug out into a nice, steep cliff. I may need to dig back some of the mountainside and build a second level of walls on that side to make a wall that actually works.
I was wondering if anyone was going to notice that before a vile force of !FUN! arrived
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I'll build a secondary wall! :P Labourers go!
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I was wondering if anyone was going to notice that before a vile force of !FUN! arrived
I don't normally build many external defenses. Mostly I use winding, trapped underground corridors. If it hadn't been for the immigrants, I probably wouldn't have noticed the problem. :)
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I normally build a labyrinth outside and one inside. :)
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Sorry for the delay; here's a link to the profiles as of the end of my term (http://topazgryphon.org/~tcollett/df/profiles/).
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Bah Sleeping in the grass, what madness ;) Just you wait till I wave the scepter around this fort *mutters*
Current job: Pick up equipment: Agvumshar
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Hehe, gave up OCR? ;)
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Hehe, gave up OCR? ;)
Yes. The state of open-source OCR isn't as good as I thought it was. Took a long time to fix the OCRs of the first few profiles :P
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So, Foundation, any progress yet? :D
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Hehe, I'm still reading through some of your posts and Tim's that I skimmed over before. :-[ :-[
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Hey guys,
I'm really sorry that I still haven't done anything for the fort. I thought my new job would give me more time, but it's a huge time drain as there's so much to learn! :D
If someone else could take over and swap me to a later turn that'd be great! Again, sorry!
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Alright, LGMAlpha is next on the list I believe :)
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Modified list:
- Zulban 'Anaris' Ducimonol, expedition leader - Done
- Zeneg 'Indirik' Tangathkilrud, miner - Done
- Bembul 'LGMAlpha' Saramathel, butcher
- ^ban^
- Adil 'Foundation' Inalnish, farmer
- Ducim 'Telrunya' Nishabod, hunter
- DoctorHarte
- Iltaran
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Sorry, but can I get moved back on the list. A few things have come up irl, and I'm way busier than I expected I would be.
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So... ^ban^?
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Or any other volunteer?
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Let's hear from ^ban^ first, then it's my turn I believe.
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Let's hear from ^ban^ first, then it's my turn I believe.
I haven't had time to practice my dorfing, so I'm going to have to step aside. Enjoy. :)
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Wow isnt that going well...Give me a few days and Ill get started. Need to fix my pc first.
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Ok I've started. I wrote a nice intro, then hit the wrong button while my control+copy was accidentally replaced with something else. I'll write it again later, as I'm pretty annoyed now. Though my playthrough will be slowed by the fact I have exams coming up.
Music doesn't seem to be working for some reason. Any ideas?
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It's probably disabled in the INI file. Can't say as how I've ever heard it. I've always had it disabled from the first time I've played.
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Got it. Sweet music fills my ears again :)
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So, we've pretty much lost this, eh?
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Seems that way :/
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My new pc came in yesterday, but I got a big exam on the 5th :( Well if nobody else does it, I can play after anyway :P
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So, do we open it up to a whoever-wants-it-now sort of thing?
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I just finished exams, I'll give it a whirl
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13th Slate, 1053, Etur "Iltaran" Kibokun, Acting Overseer and Presser
In my defence, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
You see, I'm a Presser, a noble but badly underappreciated profession. Anyone who's ever tasted the wonders of bumblebee mead will know what I'm talk about. Admittedly we dont have it as bad as soapmakers, but I digress. Anyway, not only am I a Presser in a fortress without some much as a single beehive or quarry bush crop, but there's three of us! When the higher ups started talking about starting a militia, it didn't take a genius to guess who was going to get handed a crossbow and sent out to face the hordes of darkness. So when the previous overseer dumped his records in the dining room and declared he was going to bed for the next year, I saw my chance. See, nobody asks many questions if you just shout loudly and look like you know what you're doing. I knew I could do the shouting bit and how hard could the rest of the job be? Besides, it'd keep me out of the militia.
I think Osram and Deler were laughing at me.
Evidently Indirik (my predecessor) had a thing for mazes, because I spent half a day trying to find my way around the new housing level. According to the notes, I have to finish furnishing the place, which is going to be fun. I think I'll borrow one of the ropes and tie it to something near the stairwell just in case. Half the fortress is currently employed dragging stone out of there and the miners are digging out a second, identical, level. At least it keeps everyone busy and not asking questions.
After I found myself out of there, I decided to get onto important things; starting a militia that didn't include me. Apparently Vucar Tathururvad knew a lot about fighting, always talking about Ballistas and things, so I appointed him Militia Commander and engaged in a highly scientific process of picking the best recruits; namely grabbing the ones who knew enough to duck in a drunken brawl. These brave souls were rounded out by the three least competent dwarves in the fortress. Power is fun! Only one problem; the names Commander Vucar picked out for the squads. His own squad are the Fenced Tightnesses, while the archers have been dubbed The Massive Mines. Not sure this sort of thing is appropriate for a family fortress...
On the subject of our defences, there seems to be a minor flaw in the walls. They've got more holes in them than the honeycomb I used to press. I keep finding holes and ordering them patched, but I'm a Presser, not a military engineer damnit.
Happily in the middle of Granite, our Weaponsmith, Onul, finally stopped talking to himself in the forge and came out proudly (but carefully) carrying the biggest, spikiest iron spike I've ever seen. He calls it Allasotsus and, well, see for yourself.
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c72/RaiderAspect/Redstaff-Allasotsus.png)
I told Onul to make a bunch of warhammers. Seemed wise not to encourage the spike-obsession. He started talking about ways to add spikes to warhammers. Staying away from the forge henceforth.
We just had a group of migrants arrive. On the bright side, several of them know the pointy end of a weapon from the end you hold. On the downside, they walked through another hole in the walls. Our supply situation is also looking rather worrying. Not to mention that we need to start making some steel armour for the militia.
Why did I take this job again?
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Oooh!!! A menacing spike! That menaces... with spikes! That's double the spiky goodness. One of the most useful artifacts *ever*.
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I've played the next bit of my update and made notes. Should have it up tomorrow
Anaris is NOT going to like it...
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My bad for totally dropping out on the game, I'm still getting to know the game. No where near able to take on a kingdom like Redstaff and survive!
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I'm still getting to know the game. No where near able to take on a kingdom like Redstaff and survive!
I feel like that every time I play the game....
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7th Sandstone 1053, Etur "Iltaran" Kibokun, Acting Overseer and Presser
You know, I’m sure when my illustrious predecessors decided to build this outside fortification, it seemed like an easy solution. A safe place to put the cows and alpacas and whatever other four legged furry beasts immigrants seem obsessed with. A supply of (shudder) water and lumber. Unfortunately the genius in question seems to have forgotten that it’s a bloody nightmare to build walls on the slopes of a volcano. Seems every time I turn around we find another way in and I have to send the Masons off to tinker with something.
Just to make my life even more interesting, our food and drink stocks were starting to dwindle. I soon discovered why. Despite our two biggest farms being devoted to Whip vines and Longland grass, we didn’t have a single quern to grind them into flour. I ordered three and set up a plump helmet farm just in case. You can never have too many plump helmets. We could use some better farmers too, but I’m not going to mention that in front of Alpha and Foundation.
We had the annual Elven caravan pull in. I carefully watched as they made their way along the mountain side. And without a care in the world, they hopped casually down onto the bridge. For several minutes I considered sending the militia to smash in those damn tree hugger’s skulls. It wasn’t fair. I’d spent months plugging Osram-cursed holes in our defences and they’d just strolled on by! They didn’t even realize why I was bashing my head against the wall!
But no, the elves weren’t the enemy this time. The enemy was the mountain. It was the mountain with it slopes and ramps that was fighting me. It was the mountain that refused to be shaped to the plan. It was the mountain laughing at me (actually that one may have been Telrunya now I think of it). But I wasn’t going to let it beat me. The Masons roofed over the bridge, sealing it from the outside. When the elves left, it was through the main entrance.
I was still laughing with glee when one of our fisherdwarves wandered out through what looked like a crack in the floor. There was a lot of screaming after that. Eventually I got the miners to cut away the slopes directly under the bridge. No, I don’t understand why that helped either, but it didn’t matter. Finally I’d secured the fortress.
Oh, Anaris traded some gems to the elves for an assortment of booze to keep us going while I was shouting abuse at the masons. And someone named Datan Rakustsarek went a little funny in the head and emerged having made a wooden earring. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but look at what she managed to fit on it!
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c72/RaiderAspect/Redstaff-Balkalal.png)
Because of the growth in Redstaff’s population, we had an election for a mayor. Or so I’m told, because no one invited me there. Apparently I was too busy screaming at the masons. Ingish Solozmosus won, allegedly because she’s good at ‘calming people down‘ (I have other suspicions). Her Honour started by demanding better quarters as well as her own office and dining room. Evidently having been elected, she’s now too good to slum with the hoi polloi. She’s also bombarding me with demands to make crossbow bolts and not export crowns.
The big excitement though was that it looks like Indirik was right about the elves being scouts for the goblins. Soon after the elves left, one of our masons, Likot, ran into a goblin snatcher. She got scratched with a dagger, but luckily it wasn’t serious. In short succession we found four more of them. One stepped into a cage trap, while the other three managed to flee.
Afterwards I took Commander Vucar and tried to interrogate our prisoner. We didn’t get much out of him. He just flung curses at us and swore that his comrades were going to avenge him. From the ranting we worked out he’s part of a horde called Gozru Sesnum “The Hell of Tribes” and that they’re led by Estrur Xeduburar and Ngerxung Kukogar. Once it was clear he wasn’t going to tell us anything more I promised the Commander she could slice him up for practice once we set up an arena.
So far we’d been lucky, but I had a hospital set up for when that ran out. At the time it seemed like a good idea to put it roughly midway between our food storage, the gatehouse and the ponds. Some of the others pointed out this was right next to the dining hall. With hindsight, I saw their point, hearing the screams of some poor soap maker who’s been stuck full of arrows isn’t something you want while you’re eating. But what’s done is done so I reminded them that I was the Overseer and they weren’t.
It was only later that I remembered I’m not actually the Overseer of Redstaff. Had I known about the whingeing mayors and the ravening goblin hordes and the labyrinth bedrooms and the OSRAM DAMNED HOLES IN THE WALLS, I would’ve taken my chance with the draft. Still, most of those problems have been solved now. I can sit back and enjoy myself. Maybe build a few hives and a press, so we can enjoy a nice barrel of bumblebee mead.
We should have a new group of migrants arriving soon. It’s a nice day, so I think I’ll watch them from the gatehouse.
---------
Iltaran inspected the gigantic war dog that stood sentry in the gatehouse of Redstaff as they waited for the new arrivals. The dog had nearly become the first martyr of the fortress after attacking a goblin snatcher. A long scar made its way along the length of the body and there was a slight limp, but otherwise the mutt had escaped permanent harm.
‘Overseer?’ One of the other spectators called out.. ‘They’re coming.’ There seemed to be eight dwarves in the latest group, all adults. Starting from near the thick woods, they passed by the trio of perpetually frozen polls. Then bizarrely, continued going east, bypassing the obsidian ramp completely and heading around the side of the mountain. Watching in disbelief five levels up, the acting Overseer fought down the churning feeling in his stomach. There was nothing wrong with the defences! There couldn’t be!
When the first of the new immigrants came puffing along the side of the mountain spur towards the gatehouse entrance, it was a relief
‘Greetings friends, welcome to Angnomal!’ He declared expansively, then paused. ‘So, why didn’t you use the ramp?’
‘Ramp?’ Both sides looked at one another in utter incomprehension. The sinking feeling was back.
‘The obsidian ramp.’ Iltaran gestured to it. ‘Over there.’
‘That thing?’ The first migrant looked even more confused now. ‘You’d need wings to make it up that.’
Feeling light headed, the Overseer very slowly walked over to the edge and looked down. Looked down at the Obsidian Ramp that his predecessors had planned would to be the great entrance to Redstaff. He felt the inexplicable need to giggle. The ramp didn’t work. It was nothing but a heap of obsidian blocks leaning against the hill. He’d been so busy trying to plug leaks he’d never bothered to check.
Everything would be fine, he reassured himself. So the centrepiece of the entire gatehouse project was compromised. A project he’d spent the last eight months trying to finish. All he needed to do was get through this meeting. Then he could find a nice deserted mining tunnel and beg Osram to forgive him for whatever he did to deserve this. Yes, just put the developing catastrophe to one side for now.
‘So.’ The acting Overseer swallowed, straining to keep his voice under control. ‘What do you do for a living?’
The question hadn’t really been directed at any of the migrants in particular. Anything to change the topic would do. As fate would have it, the one who answered was an older woman with grey flecks in her hair. ‘I’m an accomplished presser.’ She declared proudly.
Iltaran screamed.
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Have we died out again? Maybe post the save, and see if anyone else can take it up?
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*cough*
So, I may have played my turn months and months ago, then forgot to put up the save game... whoops?
Here it is: http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=5169
---Happenings in my final days---
We suffered our first casualty, Dakost Feshfikod, Engraver. Burnt to death after taking the dangerous job of tapping a new magma channel. His screams were horrible.
I built a temporary entrance, some stairways leading up to the depot
Mined out the first seam of Iron, so I laid some shafts in the level below. Found another one, it should keep us going for awhile.
Started a third military squad, the Oils of Iron and expanded our two main squads to eight dwarves each. Our Melee Squad (Fenced Tightnesses) just need their greaves done and they'll be full kitted out in Steel. Oh, and they all have Master-class weapons.
The manager got possessed and started demanding "stone rock" "tree life", "Leather Skin" and "cloth thread". Regrettably I could find what he needed and he went mad. In preparation I build a Hall of Memories. Curiously enough Dakost got a burial... I have no idea what they put in the coffin and dont want to know.
Caravan arrived, carrying Platinum and Alumininum of all things. I bought two nuggets, some booze and cloth for stone crafts and a large gem. Ordered booze and gypsum powder for next year.
Started doing some engravings. A disturbingly high amount of them seem to be images of Anaris...
Another five snatchers wandered along, two of whom stumbled into cage traps. I sent the Militia after the others, they only managed to land one hit though.
And thats it.
-Mad, naked Weaver is locked up in a workshop
-Milita performance worrying; they missed a lot against those snatchers. We also run out of empty cages. I recommend starting an Arena to give our troops some better training and clear out the cages.
-Our booze stock is low, although I ordered some brewing to take care of that. Our food situation is fairly good, just make sure the millers keep working.
-We're running out of lumber, although we've got a fair bit of charcoal for steel making.
-I didn't get around to building a well. Since the outside water freezes for half the year, this is going to be necessary if we dont want our casualties dying of thirst.