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On June 01 2011 03:47 Razith wrote: The problem for me starting this game is I don't know what skills to give the dwarves or what items to take.
Is one of the premade starts good to use? or can one you suggest what skills to get / items to take? I usually have this setup:
Military commander - 4 leader, 4 dodge, 2 desirable weapon skill Expedition leader - 2 negotiations, 1 bookkeeping, 1 organizer, 1 record keeper, 5 surgery Miner - 3 mining Farmer - 3 plant growing Mason - 2 masonry Quality crafter - 5 weaponsmithing, 3 gemcutting Joe schmoe - nothing.
I usually arrange early jobs like this Military commander - Mining Expedition leader - Carpentry, all Doctor jobs Miner - Mining Farmer - Plant Growing, Plant Gathering Mason - Masonry, Stone Engraving Quality Crafter - Weaponsmith, Gemcutter, Gemsetter, Mechanic, Cook Joe schmoe - Brewing, Wood Burning, Architech, Wood Cutter
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On June 01 2011 03:31 Ulfsark wrote:Show nested quote +On June 01 2011 02:33 Jotoco wrote: I just received my first immigrants, and they are at the edge of the map, doing nothing.
They didn't even try to reach the camp!
THere is a river in between us, is that the problem? How do I solve it? Dig under it? It may take a LONG while.
I made sure their labors are correctly assigned, and everything.
HELP! I think you need to set a table in your dining room as a meeting place, I may be wrong though. Edit: you figured it out nvm.
If you don't set a meeting place like that your caravan serves as the meeting place so they'll do something at least, just maybe not what you want.
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On June 01 2011 03:54 Razith wrote:Show nested quote +On June 01 2011 03:51 Jotoco wrote:On June 01 2011 03:47 Razith wrote: The problem for me starting this game is I don't know what skills to give the dwarves or what items to take.
Is one of the premade starts good to use? or can one you suggest what skills to get / items to take? I used the 2011 one, and watched the video tutorial, even then I am overwhelmed by the amount of stuff. It is a lot easier now, but still it can get confusing as hell. But! I have FOOD!, I started crafting stuff and am generally well. I need to train a military, but already have some fortifications, which is nice, but I don't know if they will last me an attack. Well I just mean how many miners, growers, leaders, crafters etc to take and what items are good to take. When you say the 2011 one what do you mean? is that one of the preset options?
Well i always take about 1/4th of my population to just haul stuff. rest is a bit open to interpretation. When you are digging out a great part of your fort you obviously want miners. When you are in a food crisis you get farmers/gatherer/hunter/fisher etc.
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On June 01 2011 02:33 Jotoco wrote: I just received my first immigrants, and they are at the edge of the map, doing nothing.
They didn't even try to reach the camp!
THere is a river in between us, is that the problem? How do I solve it? Dig under it? It may take a LONG while.
I made sure their labors are correctly assigned, and everything.
HELP!
--Edited Out-- was giving misinformation.
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Ok, for starting jobs heres my system:
I break down the possible skill sets into the following catagories based on how often you need that particular job in the early game. If you have a miner who is also a carpenter, that miner will be both making beds and mining and his effective usefullness will get cut in half.
Primary jobs: 1. miner 2. mason 3. carpenter 4. woodcutter 5. fisherman 6. herbologist
secondary jobs: 1. grower (you can probably get away without a grower, i just like to have the extra boost on my farms in the early game) 2. brewer 3. stonecrafter 4. chief medical dwarf (give him one of each medical labors) 5. Armor/weaponsmith (it takes SOOO LONG to level these skills up, if you start with them leveled up you can save yourself a ton of wasted metal later)
I make sure that each of my dwarves has a primary and a secondary job. Generally speaking I like to have 2 dwarves with mining, two with masonry (if i anticipate building walls early, otherwise I get an armorsmith), two with growing, one brewer, one fisherman, one stonecrafter, and I find useful stuff for the leftovers.
I don't believe in getting military dwarves early unless i'm embarking in the middle of a goblin ocean. You have plenty of time to get some traps set up if you're really afraid of getting attacked. And starting with military dwarves is a waste of skill space IMO, since it is much easier to set your dwarves to train military stuff than it is to get them to train, say, stonecrafting.
I also don't believe in putting any points in appraiser, since its such an easy skill to level up. If you want to know the prices for items when the caravan shows up, just trade a few smaller things for a piece of wood or somethinga nd you'll level up to a level that lets you see prices. Putting stuff in appraiser is useless.
Actually, pretty much all of the leadership skills are useless. They are all so easy to train its not even funny.
As for stuff that I take, I generally get rid of one of my axes and the anvil. Thats usually enough to get my skills off, and if it isn't I take off a few crutches or buckets (make sure you keep at least one bucket/rope though, so you can make a well later without having to trade anything or waste time getting your cloth industry going). Then I make sure I get 2 dogs (one male, one female) and if there is a lot of pasture available, I'll get some hens and a rooster, and maybe a cat. Cats breed really quickly and hens lay eggs which you can either let hatch or eat. If you let them hatch you'll get a TON of chicks REALLY quickly and chicks grow into hens, which you can then either eat or let them make MORE hens... its up to you. If you are in a low-grass environment, a pair of goats might be better since you can milk them.
Any questions?
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I tried a new fortress with a single dwarf with some weapon skills, and some weapons/armor to go with it (since I normally skimp on everything and rely on building it myself, I had enough cash to swing a full copper armor set at the beginning).
It's so nice to be able to kill a bunch of dumbass wildlife with ease early on, or kill any pests/thieves that show up early. And when he's off duty, I just have him lug stuff around, so it's not like it's a complete waste imo.
I'm going to start doing that more often.
Unfortunately, I ended up dying anyways. I forgot to set my farms to actually start producing crops, and I eventually hit the "downward spiral" tantrum..... fml.....
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On June 01 2011 06:22 Impervious wrote: I tried a new fortress with a single dwarf with some weapon skills, and some weapons/armor to go with it (since I normally skimp on everything and rely on building it myself, I had enough cash to swing a full copper armor set at the beginning).
It's so nice to be able to kill a bunch of dumbass wildlife with ease early on, or kill any pests/thieves that show up early. And when he's off duty, I just have him lug stuff around, so it's not like it's a complete waste imo.
I'm going to start doing that more often.
Unfortunately, I ended up dying anyways. I forgot to set my farms to actually start producing crops, and I eventually hit the "downward spiral" tantrum..... fml.....
A good oh shit response to not having food/drink is to start killing off livestock. I generally butcher the animals which can not breed, as they randomly give you some at the beginning. Or to set everyone to be able to gather plants ("Plant Gathering" labour) and to just gather plants en masse. If there is water on the level your dwarves will drink it to survive although they will work slower and slower without booze, as that is the only reason for a dwarf to live.
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For people having trouble with food, try embarking with some egg-laying fowl. Just bring 5 turkey hens and optionally a turkey rooster, if you want to breed em'. Just make sure you pasture them on some nest boxes in a safe place and they will produce food for you forever, I'm pretty sure they don't even eat.
Of course, actually having them breed can cause an event similar to a catsplosion. So, you may want to be cautious with population control. Eggs are great though, and your chef can train on them basically for free until he is making stacks of food worth like 5000+ each.
On June 01 2011 05:58 tnkted wrote: Primary jobs: 1. miner 2. mason 3. carpenter 4. woodcutter 5. fisherman 6. herbologist
secondary jobs: 1. grower (you can probably get away without a grower, i just like to have the extra boost on my farms in the early game) 2. brewer 3. stonecrafter 4. chief medical dwarf (give him one of each medical labors) 5. Armor/weaponsmith (it takes SOOO LONG to level these skills up, if you start with them leveled up you can save yourself a ton of wasted metal later) What's your skill points distribution like?
I find that it's really much easier to give the skills like miner, woodcutter, and fisherman only 1-2 points each. Actually, even if miners go very slowly at first they do not leave behind stones, which usually you will have to haul away in the beginning since you are mainly looking for space. Having two miners with only 1 point each in mining really leaves space for some good backup skills. Then again, doing so is only essential in the most harsh embarks. Usually you don't have a critical need for 3-4 point medical skills right away, and can rely on training or migrants if you are lucky.
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On June 01 2011 06:30 silent_marauder24 wrote:Show nested quote +On June 01 2011 06:22 Impervious wrote: I tried a new fortress with a single dwarf with some weapon skills, and some weapons/armor to go with it (since I normally skimp on everything and rely on building it myself, I had enough cash to swing a full copper armor set at the beginning).
It's so nice to be able to kill a bunch of dumbass wildlife with ease early on, or kill any pests/thieves that show up early. And when he's off duty, I just have him lug stuff around, so it's not like it's a complete waste imo.
I'm going to start doing that more often.
Unfortunately, I ended up dying anyways. I forgot to set my farms to actually start producing crops, and I eventually hit the "downward spiral" tantrum..... fml..... A good oh shit response to not having food/drink is to start killing off livestock. I generally butcher the animals which can not breed, as they randomly give you some at the beginning. Or to set everyone to be able to gather plants ("Plant Gathering" labour) and to just gather plants en masse. If there is water on the level your dwarves will drink it to survive although they will work slower and slower without booze, as that is the only reason for a dwarf to live. Except when I play, I give my guys a bunch of commands, then switch to doing something else (letting it pause if something major happens)..... By the time I noticed, I already had a couple of them throwing tantrums and one went berserk and had attacked some of the others.....
When I finished cleaning up that bit of a mess, others were throwing tantrums from having lost loved ones/friends, and the lack of booze wasn't helping. It was over.....
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On June 01 2011 05:48 silent_marauder24 wrote:Show nested quote +On June 01 2011 02:33 Jotoco wrote: I just received my first immigrants, and they are at the edge of the map, doing nothing.
They didn't even try to reach the camp!
THere is a river in between us, is that the problem? How do I solve it? Dig under it? It may take a LONG while.
I made sure their labors are correctly assigned, and everything.
HELP! Rivers are safely crossed no swiming required, the top tile on a river is different and walk able. Ive had it before where the migrants just hung about then I remembered I didnt have a meeting area. Although it fixed when you dug under it and made a path that shouldn't have been the problem. Reference: http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/River Not true, only brooks can be crossed walking, minor to major rivers all need a bridge or tunnel.
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On June 01 2011 06:47 snow2.0 wrote:Show nested quote +On June 01 2011 05:48 silent_marauder24 wrote:On June 01 2011 02:33 Jotoco wrote: I just received my first immigrants, and they are at the edge of the map, doing nothing.
They didn't even try to reach the camp!
THere is a river in between us, is that the problem? How do I solve it? Dig under it? It may take a LONG while.
I made sure their labors are correctly assigned, and everything.
HELP! Rivers are safely crossed no swiming required, the top tile on a river is different and walk able. Ive had it before where the migrants just hung about then I remembered I didnt have a meeting area. Although it fixed when you dug under it and made a path that shouldn't have been the problem. Reference: http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/River Not true, only brooks can be crossed walking, minor to major rivers all need a bridge or tunnel. Yes you are right good sir! I even read it before posting and it turns out I cant read.
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On June 01 2011 06:30 Fontong wrote:For people having trouble with food, try embarking with some egg-laying fowl. Just bring 5 turkey hens and optionally a turkey rooster, if you want to breed em'. Just make sure you pasture them on some nest boxes in a safe place and they will produce food for you forever, I'm pretty sure they don't even eat. Of course, actually having them breed can cause an event similar to a catsplosion. So, you may want to be cautious with population control. Eggs are great though, and your chef can train on them basically for free until he is making stacks of food worth like 5000+ each. Show nested quote +On June 01 2011 05:58 tnkted wrote: Primary jobs: 1. miner 2. mason 3. carpenter 4. woodcutter 5. fisherman 6. herbologist
secondary jobs: 1. grower (you can probably get away without a grower, i just like to have the extra boost on my farms in the early game) 2. brewer 3. stonecrafter 4. chief medical dwarf (give him one of each medical labors) 5. Armor/weaponsmith (it takes SOOO LONG to level these skills up, if you start with them leveled up you can save yourself a ton of wasted metal later) What's your skill points distribution like? I find that it's really much easier to give the skills like miner, woodcutter, and fisherman only 1-2 points each. Actually, even if miners go very slowly at first they do not leave behind stones, which usually you will have to haul away in the beginning since you are mainly looking for space. Having two miners with only 1 point each in mining really leaves space for some good backup skills. Then again, doing so is only essential in the most harsh embarks. Usually you don't have a critical need for 3-4 point medical skills right away, and can rely on training or migrants if you are lucky. I actually max out on everything. The reason for that is that in the beginning of the game there are only a few jobs that are really done, that of masonry, digging, making food, farming, etc. Your dwarves can only do so much; i would rather have 7 dwarves that can each do 2 things well then 7 dwarves that can each do 4 things decently. But each his own!
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On June 01 2011 06:30 Fontong wrote:For people having trouble with food, try embarking with some egg-laying fowl. Just bring 5 turkey hens and optionally a turkey rooster, if you want to breed em'. Just make sure you pasture them on some nest boxes in a safe place and they will produce food for you forever, I'm pretty sure they don't even eat. Of course, actually having them breed can cause an event similar to a catsplosion. So, you may want to be cautious with population control. Eggs are great though, and your chef can train on them basically for free until he is making stacks of food worth like 5000+ each. Show nested quote +On June 01 2011 05:58 tnkted wrote: Primary jobs: 1. miner 2. mason 3. carpenter 4. woodcutter 5. fisherman 6. herbologist
secondary jobs: 1. grower (you can probably get away without a grower, i just like to have the extra boost on my farms in the early game) 2. brewer 3. stonecrafter 4. chief medical dwarf (give him one of each medical labors) 5. Armor/weaponsmith (it takes SOOO LONG to level these skills up, if you start with them leveled up you can save yourself a ton of wasted metal later) What's your skill points distribution like? I find that it's really much easier to give the skills like miner, woodcutter, and fisherman only 1-2 points each. Actually, even if miners go very slowly at first they do not leave behind stones, which usually you will have to haul away in the beginning since you are mainly looking for space. Having two miners with only 1 point each in mining really leaves space for some good backup skills. Then again, doing so is only essential in the most harsh embarks. Usually you don't have a critical need for 3-4 point medical skills right away, and can rely on training or migrants if you are lucky.
If you have trouble with food just get someone to only grow(farm) and you will drown it it:\
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Is anyone else ridiculously picky about start sites? I've ben searching for 2 hours now. Now I have a good idea about what makes a good embark area I cant seem to settle for anything less than ideal..... very annoying. Might have something to do with being pillaged by goblins so many times I guess
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On June 02 2011 05:05 ChinaWhite wrote: Is anyone else ridiculously picky about start sites? I've ben searching for 2 hours now. Now I have a good idea about what makes a good embark area I cant seem to settle for anything less than ideal..... very annoying. Might have something to do with being pillaged by goblins so many times I guess
Ya i'm exactly the same way, it has to have a volcano, mountains to build in, and the land outside of my fort has to be the the same level so that I can see everything in the plains easily. I crank up the number of volcanoes, evil, and rainfall. And still can spend hours looking for an ideal spot. Nothing is worse then getting everything set up in a fort and realising you wish you didn't pick there.
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On June 02 2011 08:10 silent_marauder24 wrote:Show nested quote +On June 02 2011 05:05 ChinaWhite wrote: Is anyone else ridiculously picky about start sites? I've ben searching for 2 hours now. Now I have a good idea about what makes a good embark area I cant seem to settle for anything less than ideal..... very annoying. Might have something to do with being pillaged by goblins so many times I guess Ya i'm exactly the same way, it has to have a volcano, mountains to build in, and the land outside of my fort has to be the the same level so that I can see everything in the plains easily. I crank up the number of volcanoes, evil, and rainfall. And still can spend hours looking for an ideal spot. Nothing is worse then getting everything set up in a fort and realising you wish you didn't pick there. Wow, I feel like I'm way less picky.....
I'm pretty new to the game, but for me, I just want some flux stone, shallow metals (which in combination with flux stone is pretty rare), clay, a source of water (river, ponds, or aquifiers), and a fair amount of trees on the surface.
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On June 02 2011 09:33 Impervious wrote:Show nested quote +On June 02 2011 08:10 silent_marauder24 wrote:On June 02 2011 05:05 ChinaWhite wrote: Is anyone else ridiculously picky about start sites? I've ben searching for 2 hours now. Now I have a good idea about what makes a good embark area I cant seem to settle for anything less than ideal..... very annoying. Might have something to do with being pillaged by goblins so many times I guess Ya i'm exactly the same way, it has to have a volcano, mountains to build in, and the land outside of my fort has to be the the same level so that I can see everything in the plains easily. I crank up the number of volcanoes, evil, and rainfall. And still can spend hours looking for an ideal spot. Nothing is worse then getting everything set up in a fort and realising you wish you didn't pick there. Wow, I feel like I'm way less picky..... I'm pretty new to the game, but for me, I just want some flux stone, shallow metals (which in combination with flux stone is pretty rare), clay, a source of water (river, ponds, or aquifiers), and a fair amount of trees on the surface.
Same here. If you need a flat surface you can just shave it all offXD
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So long as I have surface water that doesn't freeze or boil away in the first year while I get my water pump stack going I'm happy with most embarks. I've been playing alot with birds - eggs and birdsplosions are pretty imba <3
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On June 02 2011 09:50 Vain wrote:Show nested quote +On June 02 2011 09:33 Impervious wrote:On June 02 2011 08:10 silent_marauder24 wrote:On June 02 2011 05:05 ChinaWhite wrote: Is anyone else ridiculously picky about start sites? I've ben searching for 2 hours now. Now I have a good idea about what makes a good embark area I cant seem to settle for anything less than ideal..... very annoying. Might have something to do with being pillaged by goblins so many times I guess Ya i'm exactly the same way, it has to have a volcano, mountains to build in, and the land outside of my fort has to be the the same level so that I can see everything in the plains easily. I crank up the number of volcanoes, evil, and rainfall. And still can spend hours looking for an ideal spot. Nothing is worse then getting everything set up in a fort and realising you wish you didn't pick there. Wow, I feel like I'm way less picky..... I'm pretty new to the game, but for me, I just want some flux stone, shallow metals (which in combination with flux stone is pretty rare), clay, a source of water (river, ponds, or aquifiers), and a fair amount of trees on the surface. Same here. If you need a flat surface you can just shave it all offXD It doesn't have to be completely flat, but if the entire map is hills I dont enjoy scrolling through 10 z-axis's to watch my men chase down a harpy.
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oh my god I just got attacked by like 15 elven bowmen, they just shot EVERYTHING D :
when they were near my drawbridge I lowered it and sent my boys charging out and it was horrible... the carnage... so many dead dwarves
but so fun, oh god, exhileration.
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