The CivFanatics Fortress

Okay, here's the deal. As I mentioned in the Dwarf Fortress thread, I want to do a Succession game with DF. Ideally, I'd like to get at least 4 "veteran" players. If your new.. or even if you've never played DF before, but are interested in learning go on and sign up. This will mostly serve as a test to see what works and what doesn't. Anyway, half of the point of building a fortress is to destroy it anyway .

I'd like for the vet players to play at least 2 seasons and those trying to learn the basics to play however many their comfortable with. The first winter is usually considered the first major obstacle, so we would want someone who knows what their doing to play the first stage of the game.

Veterans:
Rheinmetall
Strider

I can take the first winter. It will be interesting to see how everybody has different ideas for the fortress layout. Someone else can set up farms and irrigation, I'm so bad at it.

Also I want to open discussion for the location of the fortress. Cold/Temperate/Warm, woodlands or scarce vegetation, peaceful or sinister surroundings?

I want to have lots of forests around. (Charcoal). I don't mind much about the other variables as long as trade is possible.

Starting resources? Dwarf skills?

Rheinmetall said:

I can take the first winter. It will be interesting to see how everybody has different ideas for the fortress layout. Someone else can set up farms and irrigation, I'm so bad at it.

Also I want to open discussion for the location of the fortress. Cold/Temperate/Warm, woodlands or scarce vegetation, peaceful or sinister surroundings?

I want to have lots of forests around. (Charcoal). I don't mind much about the other variables as long as trade is possible.

Starting resources? Dwarf skills?

Click to expand...

I prefer to start off with the following dwarf skills:

2 Miners
1 Carpenter
1 Mason/Mechanic
2 Growers
1 Stone Crafter

One of the growers can chop tree's while waiting for the farms to get up. The stone crafter helps to have something to trade when the first dwarf caravan comes by .

One miner is quite enough if he is skilled from the start.

Do we take enough starting resources to get two free horses? At least two dogs, but what about cats?

A starting build that I am trying out (after seeing it work in an AAR and from my own (average) experiance). This post is a suggestion.

Dwarves

1 Miner
1 Grower
1 Grower/Fisherman
1 Carpenter
1 Mason
1 Mechanic/Stone Crafter
1 Marksman/Hunter

Miner and grower are profiecient, everyone else is a novice.

One miner means it does take a little bit longer at first, but once the tunnel, bridge, barracks, irrigated farming room with food stores (put a channel in between the farms and food stocks), kitchen, dining room, then starting on the workshops, you have all winter and a migrant wave will not be far off.

Also, if you only have one miner and one carpenter, you don't need that 2nd axe and 2nd pick, which gives 200 more points to spend.

Alternatively, you can change the trapper in for a 2nd miner, especialy if it you want to build initial channel defenses.

Animals

I might take one dog, but no mroe than that. Immigrants bring more animals with them and it's a good idea to bring as much booze and enoguh food along, since it can take a while to get alcohol production up and running and the mroe barrels you can bring the better.

Inventory

To maximize the number of barrels you bring, get one of each 2 point food item.
For food, 15 turtle, maybe 30.
30 plump helmnet spawn
about 5 cave wheat seeds, some pig tail seeds, maybe soem Sweet pod, and for the heck of it, dimple cups if I have a couple of points left over.
And then a lot of booze. Remember, you get a barrel for every 5 of an item, so if you can take 6 of an item, that means 2 barrels.

Location

The warmer it gets, the more likely you will get those dwarf-murderin elephants. I hear that the gorillas aren't too friendly neither.
Heavily forested is good, lots of trees, thick vegetation, or at enough vegetation.
Temporate is fine, for surrorundings, perhaps wilderness.

Wow that was long.

Guess I'm in, although I'm leaving on the 6th or 7th for 10 days.

Princescamp, can I assume that you want to join up?

Also, one miner is fine by me. That means we only have to take one pick and one axe. That gives us an extra 200 points to spend on other things.

You might want to check this out first?
http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/Bloodline_Games

And this
http://mkv25.net/dfma/viewmap.php?view_mapid=309
should be the ultimate goal for a fortress.
I tried DF for a few weeks now and I am so impressed with that particular fortress I just had to post it.

btw. not a sign up
mh

O_O

I can't think of a word to describe that fortress.

I might be interested.

Start build:

If the first player is experienced I would go for an advanced build, something like this: http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/Starting_Builds#Slow_Build

Though a Herbalist is IMHO not necessary ( Idle dwarfs pickings herbs are fine ) and I would add a Metalsmith. I would go for building the fortress behind the chasm.

Going for a sinister map would be an interesting challenge.

I would not risk trying that build. I'm not that good.

We get a metalsmith anyways so I don't see the point in taking on along.

As for the chasm, that is up to whoever starts the fortress.

So far it looks like I'm taking the first two seasons (Spring and Summer) and Rheinmetall is getting the next two (Autumn and Winter). Past the first year (getting the farms up and through the first winter) it doesn't really matter. So who wants to play after that?

Since I'll be taking the first turn, I've decided to go on and create the world for we can take a look at the map.

Actually what you do in the summer is more important for surviving the winter than what I can do during the autumn and winter. The most I can do I guess is keep fishing/hunting and trade food from the caravan.

I probably should mention that I haven't read too many tutorials. I've learned the game on the run, so my decisions may not be optimal ones. I just don't like the idea of repeating something someone else has done. I want to make the mistakes myself and learn from that.

Rheinmetall said:

Actually what you do in the summer is more important for surviving the winter than what I can do during the autumn and winter. The most I can do I guess is keep fishing/hunting and trade food from the caravan.

Click to expand...

Not actually true, your likely have a lot more long-term effects on the fortress than I will. My job is just to get us through the first winter.. which is to get farming up and a good food stockpile going. During winter though, your most likely be building up our stockpiles, bedrooms, etc. So your be designing the overall fortress layout and what you do depends on our fortress's efficiency .

Also, I've created the world itself. Take a look at it here.

Should I tap to the underground river for water. Floodplain farming for the first season?

Rheinmetall said:

Should I tap to the underground river for water. Floodplain farming for the first season?

Click to expand...

Well, I should have the farms up and running by the time you get the game. I plan on just using the normal floodgate method for the first farm. It's easy and you can control it.

Yep. I tried a quickie of my own. It's summer now and I just got my first harvest.

2 pro miners, 2 pro growers, carpenter, mason, peasant for random tasks. It's looking good atm.

I'll take the next spring/summer. Provided it's Saturday or earlier, as I am leaving on Sunday for 10 days. If not, then I'll join in when i get back.

PrinceScamp said:

I'll take the next spring/summer. Provided it's Saturday or earlier, as I am leaving on Sunday for 10 days. If not, then I'll join in when i get back.

Click to expand...

I'll try to get it started tomorrow so you can play a set before you go. Although, in order to do that we need to decide on the following things:

Food/Items to bring.
Map Type (woodlands, sinister, etc.)

Also, we've agreed on this following.. correct?:

1 miner
1 mason/mechanic
1 carpenter
2 growers
1 stone crafter
1 ???

Get a second proficient miner. Getting a lot mined at the beginning is important. And high skilled miners make good troops incase you're attacked.

Not a sign up, but I'll be lurking.

Also consider how you're going to defend the fortress before you start digging. You can't undig.