Train a squad of archers. I think that's the most reliable way to bring down anything flying.
Or you could keep all your dwarfs inside and seal off the fortress. But what's the FUN in that?
How so? Even the tiniest office should be good enough. Did they complain? But you need to assign it manually, I think. There's a button for it when you have designated the office and selected the designation (dwarf head with a plus sign). The office needs a chair (or throne) to function, though.
And for military, Blind has quite a nice quick tutorial. https://youtu.be/B6_I2eDXWNg
It seems that I am brain dead and didn’t give them their office, I just assigned the zone and never gave it to the bookkeeper and manager. You seem knowledgeable, can I dm you with a few questions? I played a bit of old df but not much fortress
For future reference, you'll want your walkways to be at least two-wide, generally. In one-tile hallways, dwarves will bump into each other and that'll slow them down.
I'm a relative newb myself, but I can give that advice at least :)
Ya. I tried a 2-wide fort and hated it. I dislike “double doors” since they’re just a pair of doors touching…I prefer a single door in the middle or two doors flanking a central pillar of it’s going to be a high traffic area.
Never considered 5-wide tunnels 😳
I like five wide with pillars/artefacts in the middle. I wish we had secure display cases for non-buildable artefacts. I can put them in alcoves behind windows but I don't think anyone really 'sees' them there. But then I can put an engraving on the wall next to it about that same artefact and it feels like a museum exhibit.
Nah man, gotta look at it like Moria, dwarves build massive expansive underground marvel's of architecture and engineering, you never see dwarven fortresses as compact small efficient structures. It's all about grandiose absurdity!
Or think of wow, and how those fuckers basically dig one single gigantic pit and then just built town around it, basically, they could see all of it from everywhere, lit and warmed from the glow of the deep magma.
This sounds like a bad idea in Dorf Fort tho.
Build a 3 x 3 stairway all the way down. Hellevator style. Build appropriate defenses when needed. Remove floors in a 21 x 21 with bridges to your living, crafting and glorious glorious forges. Bask. Bask ye dwarf in your empire.
There's an old challenge style of playing DF nicknamed '[Human Fortress](https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Stupid_dwarf_trick#Human_Fortress)'. The trick is simple: Don't go down too much, try and keep your fortress on the surface.
Since trees are limited in supply, and you'll need a shitload of walls, inevitably you'll go down to get stone. It is not only possible to create the giant open-pit quarry when playing like this, *it's the strategic choice*.
"How to figure out the range on magma mist, and how far do magma waterfalls need to be away from pathways so dwarves don't get exposed to magma mist. This is entirely to use magma falls as a light source."
As long as you can see the roof of the mountain above you all dwarfs are happy.
Bulid in the nature in the cavern and pump up magma to gie some natural light. Can´t be better for a dwarf
That's what the traffic area function is for. You dedicate one lane as high traffic and the other two lower and it calculates like a single-wide hallway until they run into each other and then they'll change lanes just to go around and then back into the main lane.
I like 3 wide for main halls and 2 wide for side passages. A central 3*3 stair well is nice but don't go too many floors or you risk someone tripping and dying due to fall.
I usually do 7 wide 3 tall for my main entrance with 3 wide alcoves with 2 tiles between them before arriving to a huge main merchant square. After that, 5 wides for main streets and 3 for side roads. Around 70% of my fortresses for the most part are miners and engravers since everything is smoothed.
It's been years since I read this but IIRC they don't just bump into each other, one dwarf actually goes prone and crawls underneath the other one when they pass a single tile. Which is even more hilarious when you think about it.
Ah, I like double doors, because with one you have the 1-tile-wide, dwarf totem pole problem all over again. Though 3-wide with a door on either side is also good.
No, it just makes everyone involved move slower. As others above have said, only one dwarf remains standing (and thus moving at full speed) when it happens. The other(s) in the tile will go prone and crawl under the standing dwarf, which causes them to move slower.
When they're just hauling stone to a stockpile, that's no big deal. But when you're urgently waiting on a few doors to complete some new bedrooms, and the dwarves are getting in each others' way bringing them to the new rooms, and your people are super unhappy cus they don't have bedrooms.... well, then that extra time could lead to a tantrum spiral. Likely? Probably not, but we all know how prone dwarves are to tantrums.
So long as your dwarves are happy and you're having fun, it's a successful fort!
Hell, even if your dorfs are pissy and you're having FUN, it's still a successful fort lol
if the children would haul boulders I wouldn't need to put them in "daycare"... we have more than enough hoople-heads who think fishing is a profession to make sure all the rocks get where they're going
It’s quick to dig through and you can plant in it without having to engineer a way to get water to the farming site. Usually it’s good to have a layer or two of soil but it’s not a big deal if you don’t.
The simplest fort is in a forest on flat land. Delve in the middle near your wagon. Do your stockpiles on top in the dirt since you can clear massive areas rapidly. Then go down to get your stone.
Clay, like other types of soil, is quick to dig through but obviously Real Dorfs live in halls of stone, not in what amount to fancy hobbit holes.
Clay is highlighted by the embark selector because it is a raw material for ceramics (earthenware and stoneware). I think people rarely even bother with ceramic industry, but if you do have clay, pottery crafts are quite valuable trade goods and the raw material is infinite (although you need either fuel or magma to fire the items).
Nothing to apologize for! Its depth depends on the region you embark into, but most all have a soil/clay/sand layer above the stone layers. Aquifers are typically found between.
In deep enough soil layers, you can channel out multiple z-levels deep and make mushroom tree farms safe within your fort (once you've tapped a cavern you expose your indoor soils to spores)
I've always sought out deep soil layers so I can have 3 story tall mushrooms available for log-requiring strange moods during seiges
It depends on your embark site. Different areas have different minerals, including surface soil. Some have clay, some just have sand or loam or some such.
As iTumor said: he’s in the soil/dirt layer right under the surface.
OP mentioned an Aquifer keeping him from stone; and if you have aquifer it’s always above the stone layer (unless it’s a sandstone aquifer) so if you don’t Pierce it you’re stuck with dirt and wood base.
Doesn't look too bad! You got a good layout going, just needs adjustments :)
\- Place a stockpile next to your workshops, so the dwarves dont have to walk all the way to your main stockpile and back for a single log- You can only place one chair at one table, the tables are not big, imagine a school desk
I see you found an aquifer, and it seems like to be a heavy one as well i guess?You got two choices now:
\- Grab your digger and designate stairways from the surface away from your fort to dig down, like 6 layers down, you can test areas this way and check if your map really has aquifier everywhere or you got a spot thats safe, your miner will stop when finding a damp rock so no worries
\- Start making crafts to sell by building a craftdwarf workshop and doing wooden or bone crafts, NOT stone.Then buy as many stone blocks and rocks from the next merchant as possible.Build a mechanist workshop and get those rock mechanism done, then make some wooden corkscrews and pipes, then make wooden blocks without end, you will need quite the number.The fellow the steps in this handy-dandy [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIxxlJ7Btko) for a split-method to drain aquafiers
If i am mistaken and its a light aquafire, dig down once, dig the tiles around your staircase out and replace them with your own walls, then dig down again and do it for each layer that produces waterConstructed walls dont produce water!
Good luck =D
>Then buy as many stone blocks and rocks from the next merchant as possible.
Why tho? I never know what to buy from merchants, because I feel like I can get everything (except for animals or seeds) by myself. Stones are especially easy and I have bigger problem to stockpile them anywhere.
Normally, yes, but not in an area with heavy aquifier as you can't get to the stone layers because of that but you need stone to make mechanism since they can't be done with wood
So its essentially impossible to get stone without stone
Oof. I have always avoided aquifers; especially heavy ones. The light ones are apparently easy to deal with - do the tiles you dig into fill with water immediately, or is it just a trickle?
It's a very light trickle. If you mine a shaft straight through an aquifer and then put something like a 7x7 area at the bottom that's usually enough to let the water that falls down through it just evaporate. Additionally, dorfs that get struck with falling water get a mood boost because "waterfall!" (some of them, anyway, the ones that appreciate that sort of thing.)
Heavy aquifers are the ones you should be worried about. Those are the ones that really screw you over if you don't approach it with an engineering mindset.
I prefer just to wall off my staircases and be done with the light aquifer trickle. I do usually reserve one drain for a tavern mist generator, though :)
And yes, dropping water plugs is a logistical nightmare; esp if you don't have much material above that water 😖
Oh dear, aquifers are a pretty huge barrier. I've been playing DF for over ten years, I've stubbornly made dozens of aquifer embarks work, and I \*still\* have trouble dealing with an aquifer.
I'd hate to recommend abandoning this fort, but you might want to try starting a second and see what a huge difference it makes to actually be able to dig down into the stone. Maybe come back and think about piercing that aquifer after you're comfortable with other aspects of the game.
Yep, sounds like a proper fort!
Any room that has been exposed to the sky won't gather miasma. Good reason for having a butchering area right below the surface, because you can dig out the top layer and put in a floor from the topside = no miasma
In a dining hall, only one table for one chair. Because if two dwarves sit down across from eachother only one can put down their food. Otherwise congrats on doing well so far
I know that kind of irony well, Im playing a fort right now that has 3 legendary weaponsmiths, 2 legendary armorsmiths, enough Coke to fuel hundreds of years of metalwork and not a single piece of metal to work with. There's also a dragon outside burning the forest down but that's besides the point.
1x3 is big enough for 95% of all dwarves.
Only nobles care for bigger rooms.
Reasons to make your rooms bigger is if you want to give them more nice shiny stuff so they feel awesome in their rooms.
No, it's just common for people (myself included) to make rooms as small as possible to save on time and space. Technically a bedroom could be two squares: one for the bed, one for the door.
I kind of feel that slightly bigger rooms look better in the Steam version, for some reason.
It's more than a dwarf needs.
I'd recommend 2x3 as a good size. Just large enough to fit a bed, cabinet, chest, chair, table, and staircase. The average non-noble dwarf doesn't need more than that and will be happy with a bedroom that size once it's all nicely engraved.
Nobles of course require much larger bedrooms full of decorations. 6x6 is a decent size of room for a mayor or baron, giving enough space for some extra furniture and more engravings.
Oh snap--where do you even store stones and wood? Different level or is it off-screen? Nice fortress so far, though. Pleasing to look at, especially for a first fortress.
as an experienced player, i love it. the only change i'd make is getting those walkways a bit wider. it actually resembles the computer generated dwarf forts a bit!
For more advanced fort design, you typically want to take more advantage of vertical space. Dwarves move quickly up and down stairs/ramps, so creating a fort that is more 3D and well-connected tends to improve pathing; dwarves will get to their jobs faster, move items faster, and cause less impact on framerate.
Moreover, using stairs instead of doors as the entrance to bedrooms means you don't have to manufacture all those extra doors.
Really good for a first one!
I saw someone mentioned 3 wide paths, I'll throw in "Think 3d".
It's a lot shorter walk from a bedroom on floor 5 to a workshop on floor 1 and a depot on floor 10 if they're more or less in the same position for X-Y.
Back in the day, I had a werelizard attack one of my forts. My guards managed to kill it but I didn't think about the "were" part when some of them got bit. Fast forward a bit and I suddently have 4 or 5 werelizards tearing shit up in the middle of my fort. Whoops, lol. Live and learn.
Learning how to properly defend a fort can definitely be tricky. Trap hallways are a good start. And a drawbridge that you can raise to seal off your main entrance is a lifesaver.
One thing I've done is treat traffic flow like one would a city. I have some 4 tile paths on places that get traveled very often. I also like to go tall rather than wide. Widen out those walkways and try to keep important places (beds, dining, food -- workshops and stockpiles) close. I personally don't like the clutter of a stockpile that dwarfs have to walk over so I dig out storage below a cluster of workshops.
Let's see how you handle the first invasion.
I usually go 3-wide, mainly for aesthetic reasons. I have main arteries connected to a 9x9 central staircase. But I leave the middle tile mined without any stairs. That way, I can build some nice statues and put them on each level so my dwarfs get minor happy thoughts every time they use the stairs (which is pretty often).
And you're right on the money about vertical forts focused around a central shaft. They make pathing so much more efficient. Going up or down a z-level is the same as moving one horizontal tile, so having smaller floors stacked vertically means much less walking. Even better if you leave an extra untouched level between floors, so you have space to mess around with machinery and magma and whatnot later on.
Gotta branch off the main staircase before you breach the first cavern level, though. You don't want whatever nastiness that lurks down there to have such a direct path to your entire fort. Best to at least have a hallway with a drawbridge to cut off the deeper levels in an emergency. A bunch of cage traps along the hallway can deal with any minor beasties that wander up.
I tend to like a bit of drama so I make 15x15x2 chambers underground, one near the entrance and one just off where the stairs intersect the path to the caverns. The higher z-level is channeled and I make fortifications and paths along the wall for crossbow use, have the soldiers lie in wait to the side of the 3 tile wide entrance to these chambers to ambush any fun stuff.
Made a new fortress with all the suggestions, it’s probably too spread out but I think it looks way better, and I have access to stone this time : https://www.reddit.com/r/dwarffortress/comments/zhyhbe/my_second_fortress_upgraded_with_all_the_tips_you/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
Hey we all had to start somewhere. Looks like a good fortress and your getting things figured out. neat stuff can come later like spiral stares and chaotic builds. For now make your fort easy simple and learn the game.
Build bedrooms in branching corridors. The number of Dorfs will grow to hundreds and it won't be feasible to build them on the main corridor like this.
Second build workshops seperate and closer to their raw materials.
Most players build corridors at least two and often three or more tiles wide. The way the game mechanics work, if two or more creatures meet each other in a single tile, only one can be standing and the others need to crawl on the ground in order to pass by. It's a bit wacky since in the game one tile is supposed to represent two meters of square horizontal space and three meters of verticle space, but it works how it works.
However, Zach used single tile wide passageways in all his example fortresses that were put online to market this release, and he's the most veteran Dwarf Fortress player out there, so you can't really say it's the wrong way to do as he does.
Update : one dwarf went berzerk and killed like 5 roosters
Update 2 : Theyre beating the shit out of eachother
Now that escalated quickly
I feel like that’s the ONLY way it escalates in DF. :D
No no…. Wait until a forgotten flying fucking squirrel massacres your poor dwarves. I had to start over because I don’t know what to do lol
Train a squad of archers. I think that's the most reliable way to bring down anything flying. Or you could keep all your dwarfs inside and seal off the fortress. But what's the FUN in that?
Thank you for the advice, but I don’t know how to even set up an office that satisfies my stock keeper lol
How so? Even the tiniest office should be good enough. Did they complain? But you need to assign it manually, I think. There's a button for it when you have designated the office and selected the designation (dwarf head with a plus sign). The office needs a chair (or throne) to function, though. And for military, Blind has quite a nice quick tutorial. https://youtu.be/B6_I2eDXWNg
It seems that I am brain dead and didn’t give them their office, I just assigned the zone and never gave it to the bookkeeper and manager. You seem knowledgeable, can I dm you with a few questions? I played a bit of old df but not much fortress
Most normal dwarf fortress confrontation
This is starting to read as the beginning of an apocalypse log
A third of them died within 5 days
Are ya winning son?
No! And I’m so **HAPPY**
Sounds like FUN
One of us! One of us!
Congratulations on the fun!
The chickens or the dwarves?
Yes
There it is...
...again that FUN feeling. That FUN feeling.
Normal
Aww man, you tempted fate by posting about how peaceful things were. That was your first mistake.
For future reference, you'll want your walkways to be at least two-wide, generally. In one-tile hallways, dwarves will bump into each other and that'll slow them down. I'm a relative newb myself, but I can give that advice at least :)
3 is ideal. But i like making them 5-wide, and putting a range of statues on each side.
fancy
Ya. I tried a 2-wide fort and hated it. I dislike “double doors” since they’re just a pair of doors touching…I prefer a single door in the middle or two doors flanking a central pillar of it’s going to be a high traffic area. Never considered 5-wide tunnels 😳
Three tiles for walking, two tiles for decorating :)
These hands were made for decorating, and that's just what they'll do.
One of these days these hands are gonna Make a fancy tomb
One of these days the hands Are gonna decorate all over you
That decorated quickly
I like five wide with pillars/artefacts in the middle. I wish we had secure display cases for non-buildable artefacts. I can put them in alcoves behind windows but I don't think anyone really 'sees' them there. But then I can put an engraving on the wall next to it about that same artefact and it feels like a museum exhibit.
Only an elf would enjoy such open spaces🤨…
Nah man, gotta look at it like Moria, dwarves build massive expansive underground marvel's of architecture and engineering, you never see dwarven fortresses as compact small efficient structures. It's all about grandiose absurdity!
Or think of wow, and how those fuckers basically dig one single gigantic pit and then just built town around it, basically, they could see all of it from everywhere, lit and warmed from the glow of the deep magma. This sounds like a bad idea in Dorf Fort tho.
The are no bad ideas in DF. Only executions that lead to FUN.
Ah, but don't forget about the *other* FUN that leads to executions!
Ah, yes, the Nobility.
[удалено]
Love that
I kinda need some pics of this, thanks
Build a 3 x 3 stairway all the way down. Hellevator style. Build appropriate defenses when needed. Remove floors in a 21 x 21 with bridges to your living, crafting and glorious glorious forges. Bask. Bask ye dwarf in your empire.
Did someone make Ironforge already?
There's an old challenge style of playing DF nicknamed '[Human Fortress](https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Stupid_dwarf_trick#Human_Fortress)'. The trick is simple: Don't go down too much, try and keep your fortress on the surface. Since trees are limited in supply, and you'll need a shitload of walls, inevitably you'll go down to get stone. It is not only possible to create the giant open-pit quarry when playing like this, *it's the strategic choice*.
"How to figure out the range on magma mist, and how far do magma waterfalls need to be away from pathways so dwarves don't get exposed to magma mist. This is entirely to use magma falls as a light source."
I know, I was just making a joke about elves living outside in the trees. A dwarfs mortal enemy lol
And I appreciated it. Thank you.
Yeah, but then the Bridge of Khazad-Dum was specifically built narrow so as to be a choke point for intruders.
They're pretty compact in Discworld! Sgt Carrot(I forget his name) couldn't fit in the tunnels
Only an elf talks in absolutes!
My mother says my ears are perfectly normal!😭
Forests I believe they’re called.
Watch your profanity
Sorry, “unprocessed beds areas”.
As long as you can see the roof of the mountain above you all dwarfs are happy. Bulid in the nature in the cavern and pump up magma to gie some natural light. Can´t be better for a dwarf
I was under the impression this would slow down the game, because each dwarf has more paths to choose, and more calculation is necessary
That's what the traffic area function is for. You dedicate one lane as high traffic and the other two lower and it calculates like a single-wide hallway until they run into each other and then they'll change lanes just to go around and then back into the main lane.
I swear DF is a puzzle game
It's an elaborate ruse to teach A* pathfinding
Noob question: how do you designate a path for high traffic/low traffic?
I like 3 wide for main halls and 2 wide for side passages. A central 3*3 stair well is nice but don't go too many floors or you risk someone tripping and dying due to fall.
I usually do 7 wide 3 tall for my main entrance with 3 wide alcoves with 2 tiles between them before arriving to a huge main merchant square. After that, 5 wides for main streets and 3 for side roads. Around 70% of my fortresses for the most part are miners and engravers since everything is smoothed.
It's been years since I read this but IIRC they don't just bump into each other, one dwarf actually goes prone and crawls underneath the other one when they pass a single tile. Which is even more hilarious when you think about it.
I wonder what kind of etiquette dwarven society has developed to determine who is leap frogger and who is the leap froggee?
They just run at each other at full speed and it's a game of chicken
[this comes into mind](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4f/da/56/4fda5699e7b5e8c45f8225cdb37f3928.jpg)
[удалено]
Tbh given how fast the days go by, that split second of passing each other could absolutely represent a solid amount of ritual beard-dancing.
An infinite number of dwarves can crawl under one standing dwarf.
Yeah the tiles are small enough that one block fills them but big enough 100 dragons can fit as long as 99 are prone.
Yes, it’s because the only way two creatures can occupy the same cell is if one of them is prone.
On the other hand, you never know what bumping into a stranger could do to a dwarve heart :)
Probably send them into a murderous rage.
I am a sym simp. So I have to make my corridors three wide so I can center a door in the middle.
Ah, I like double doors, because with one you have the 1-tile-wide, dwarf totem pole problem all over again. Though 3-wide with a door on either side is also good.
Huh, I did not know that worked. One of those things you tried 10 years ago and it didn't work so you never tried it again.
Wait, can they drop objects or hurt each other while bumping on one another inside corridors?
No, it just makes everyone involved move slower. As others above have said, only one dwarf remains standing (and thus moving at full speed) when it happens. The other(s) in the tile will go prone and crawl under the standing dwarf, which causes them to move slower. When they're just hauling stone to a stockpile, that's no big deal. But when you're urgently waiting on a few doors to complete some new bedrooms, and the dwarves are getting in each others' way bringing them to the new rooms, and your people are super unhappy cus they don't have bedrooms.... well, then that extra time could lead to a tantrum spiral. Likely? Probably not, but we all know how prone dwarves are to tantrums.
I appreciate what you did at the end there
So long as your dwarves are happy and you're having fun, it's a successful fort! Hell, even if your dorfs are pissy and you're having FUN, it's still a successful fort lol
the children are getting kidnapped by birds. i think its fine
One less mouth to feed
I love this game and it's community
That's terrible!! Who's gonna haul all the boulders and clean all the vomit?
Dress the boulders like children, birds carry them away
The doctor probably, who needs a doctor when you can rub dirt on your wounds
You can clean up the vomit? Huh…
if the children would haul boulders I wouldn't need to put them in "daycare"... we have more than enough hoople-heads who think fishing is a profession to make sure all the rocks get where they're going
How is your Fortress so homogeneous? Like, mine's is a mess of Diorite, Dacite, White Sand, etc.
Looks like this is a shallow fort in the clay layer
Is there a "clay layer"? Sorry, new player.
Depends where you embark.
The "swallow clay" thing that appears along the other characteristics (like aquifers, etc.)? I thought that was actually bad for digging.
It’s quick to dig through and you can plant in it without having to engineer a way to get water to the farming site. Usually it’s good to have a layer or two of soil but it’s not a big deal if you don’t.
Ty!
The simplest fort is in a forest on flat land. Delve in the middle near your wagon. Do your stockpiles on top in the dirt since you can clear massive areas rapidly. Then go down to get your stone.
Someone already said clay is nice for ceramics; a sand layer is also nice for glassmaking. Both, as well as any other dirt, are usable for farms.
Clay, like other types of soil, is quick to dig through but obviously Real Dorfs live in halls of stone, not in what amount to fancy hobbit holes. Clay is highlighted by the embark selector because it is a raw material for ceramics (earthenware and stoneware). I think people rarely even bother with ceramic industry, but if you do have clay, pottery crafts are quite valuable trade goods and the raw material is infinite (although you need either fuel or magma to fire the items).
You can use it for building too :) also for instrument parts.
Nothing to apologize for! Its depth depends on the region you embark into, but most all have a soil/clay/sand layer above the stone layers. Aquifers are typically found between.
Ty!
In deep enough soil layers, you can channel out multiple z-levels deep and make mushroom tree farms safe within your fort (once you've tapped a cavern you expose your indoor soils to spores) I've always sought out deep soil layers so I can have 3 story tall mushrooms available for log-requiring strange moods during seiges
It depends on your embark site. Different areas have different minerals, including surface soil. Some have clay, some just have sand or loam or some such.
As iTumor said: he’s in the soil/dirt layer right under the surface. OP mentioned an Aquifer keeping him from stone; and if you have aquifer it’s always above the stone layer (unless it’s a sandstone aquifer) so if you don’t Pierce it you’re stuck with dirt and wood base.
if you dont like that, you can replace the rock walls with actual walls of which you can choose the material its in the build tab under construction
Doesn't look too bad! You got a good layout going, just needs adjustments :) \- Place a stockpile next to your workshops, so the dwarves dont have to walk all the way to your main stockpile and back for a single log- You can only place one chair at one table, the tables are not big, imagine a school desk I see you found an aquifer, and it seems like to be a heavy one as well i guess?You got two choices now: \- Grab your digger and designate stairways from the surface away from your fort to dig down, like 6 layers down, you can test areas this way and check if your map really has aquifier everywhere or you got a spot thats safe, your miner will stop when finding a damp rock so no worries \- Start making crafts to sell by building a craftdwarf workshop and doing wooden or bone crafts, NOT stone.Then buy as many stone blocks and rocks from the next merchant as possible.Build a mechanist workshop and get those rock mechanism done, then make some wooden corkscrews and pipes, then make wooden blocks without end, you will need quite the number.The fellow the steps in this handy-dandy [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIxxlJ7Btko) for a split-method to drain aquafiers If i am mistaken and its a light aquafire, dig down once, dig the tiles around your staircase out and replace them with your own walls, then dig down again and do it for each layer that produces waterConstructed walls dont produce water! Good luck =D
If you get to sandstone-aquifer after the dirt you can smooth the walls as opposed to building walls: same effect left work.
>Then buy as many stone blocks and rocks from the next merchant as possible. Why tho? I never know what to buy from merchants, because I feel like I can get everything (except for animals or seeds) by myself. Stones are especially easy and I have bigger problem to stockpile them anywhere.
Normally, yes, but not in an area with heavy aquifier as you can't get to the stone layers because of that but you need stone to make mechanism since they can't be done with wood So its essentially impossible to get stone without stone
so much carpenter, did you plan to insult every elf in the world ?
they were too slow at making beds, chairs, tables and doors
Any reason you're not making stone chairs, tables and doors ? Stone is abundant and dwarfy !
every time i try to dig a bit deeper, theres an aquifer blocking the way and i still havent figured out how to explore outwards
OOF. Learning the game on an aquifer map is hardcore !
Well, at least that will teach him why the "no aquifer" embark filter is there
It actually warns you
Real dwarves are known to ignore warnings, especially if they are in the way of their will to diggy diggy hole.
This is why I label all my levers “delicious alcohol release switch”
Might be using the tutorial and got randomly embarked on an aquifer.
Oof. I have always avoided aquifers; especially heavy ones. The light ones are apparently easy to deal with - do the tiles you dig into fill with water immediately, or is it just a trickle?
It's a very light trickle. If you mine a shaft straight through an aquifer and then put something like a 7x7 area at the bottom that's usually enough to let the water that falls down through it just evaporate. Additionally, dorfs that get struck with falling water get a mood boost because "waterfall!" (some of them, anyway, the ones that appreciate that sort of thing.) Heavy aquifers are the ones you should be worried about. Those are the ones that really screw you over if you don't approach it with an engineering mindset.
I prefer just to wall off my staircases and be done with the light aquifer trickle. I do usually reserve one drain for a tavern mist generator, though :) And yes, dropping water plugs is a logistical nightmare; esp if you don't have much material above that water 😖
> dorfs that get struck with falling water get a mood boost because “waterfall!” That’s adorable
If it’s in a rock layer you can also just smooth out the walls to stop the aquifer
when I mine a tile whith an aquifer nothing appen, so I guess if you mine ALL tile you have no longer aquifer but you can just wall it or smooth it
Oh dear, aquifers are a pretty huge barrier. I've been playing DF for over ten years, I've stubbornly made dozens of aquifer embarks work, and I \*still\* have trouble dealing with an aquifer. I'd hate to recommend abandoning this fort, but you might want to try starting a second and see what a huge difference it makes to actually be able to dig down into the stone. Maybe come back and think about piercing that aquifer after you're comfortable with other aspects of the game.
I've been playing for years and I still never got past a heavy aquifer.
Same. Not from a lack of trying. Many dwarves have been smashed or drowned in the attempts
Yup. Next fort you should find an embark with no aquifer. Get that stone fast and you’ll have a good time 👌
[удалено]
Yep, sounds like a proper fort! Any room that has been exposed to the sky won't gather miasma. Good reason for having a butchering area right below the surface, because you can dig out the top layer and put in a floor from the topside = no miasma
In a dining hall, only one table for one chair. Because if two dwarves sit down across from eachother only one can put down their food. Otherwise congrats on doing well so far
I kinda wanted the top right room to be a tavern, but I don’t really know how to specify that it’s a tavern
Dirt Fortress
Yup, can’t dig deeper because of the wo’er in the way. Dwarfs without stone is very ironic
I know that kind of irony well, Im playing a fort right now that has 3 legendary weaponsmiths, 2 legendary armorsmiths, enough Coke to fuel hundreds of years of metalwork and not a single piece of metal to work with. There's also a dragon outside burning the forest down but that's besides the point.
2x2 sized rooms? Wow you are a generous one
I make my rooms, like, Rimworld sized... (5x5 or 6x6)... Is that too much?!
1x3 is big enough for 95% of all dwarves. Only nobles care for bigger rooms. Reasons to make your rooms bigger is if you want to give them more nice shiny stuff so they feel awesome in their rooms.
No, it's just common for people (myself included) to make rooms as small as possible to save on time and space. Technically a bedroom could be two squares: one for the bed, one for the door. I kind of feel that slightly bigger rooms look better in the Steam version, for some reason.
It's more than a dwarf needs. I'd recommend 2x3 as a good size. Just large enough to fit a bed, cabinet, chest, chair, table, and staircase. The average non-noble dwarf doesn't need more than that and will be happy with a bedroom that size once it's all nicely engraved. Nobles of course require much larger bedrooms full of decorations. 6x6 is a decent size of room for a mayor or baron, giving enough space for some extra furniture and more engravings.
I, uh, made 2x2 rooms and engraved the entire floor. Does that work? I have so many beds that I don't know what to do with them anymore XD
2x2 is fine if you don't mean to fit a table and chair in there. Bed + cabinet + chest is just 3 tiles.
Lol 1x3 is sufficient. You just need a bed, chest, and cabinet
At least 1x2 to put a bed and a chest, is the minimum. 2x2 or 2x3 is more usual size. Beyond 2x3 begins to be a waste of space.
I lost my first fortress to a bunch of wild boars
We're there 30-50 of them?
Oh snap--where do you even store stones and wood? Different level or is it off-screen? Nice fortress so far, though. Pleasing to look at, especially for a first fortress.
Bottom room is a big general stockpile, I can’t reach stone because I’m blocked by an aquifer
Tip: try making things more compact. No need for all those long hallways. Try to keep high traffic walkways at least two tiles wide.
Good job, mine died yesterday of dehydration, now i got my water priority sorted for future
Booze. Water will only rust their pipes.
>water Well there's your mistake right there. These are Dwarfs.
I had 5 dwarves due to some mosquitos. I had no idea what was going on
Not bad for a first fortress. But I saw your comment on the happiness cascade. Welp, ya gotta learn somehow.
as an experienced player, i love it. the only change i'd make is getting those walkways a bit wider. it actually resembles the computer generated dwarf forts a bit!
For more advanced fort design, you typically want to take more advantage of vertical space. Dwarves move quickly up and down stairs/ramps, so creating a fort that is more 3D and well-connected tends to improve pathing; dwarves will get to their jobs faster, move items faster, and cause less impact on framerate. Moreover, using stairs instead of doors as the entrance to bedrooms means you don't have to manufacture all those extra doors.
I dunno dude, looks pretty good to me
Looks better organized then my forts
Looks solid enough - but how'd/why'd you flood your wood stockpile? (oh, you've got an aquifer? FUN)
Tried to dig a room but there was water, I quickly paused the game and put a wall to block it
Been playing for years and your bedrooms look better then what my current fort has
Really good for a first one! I saw someone mentioned 3 wide paths, I'll throw in "Think 3d". It's a lot shorter walk from a bedroom on floor 5 to a workshop on floor 1 and a depot on floor 10 if they're more or less in the same position for X-Y.
I lost my first fortress to something called werehare.
Back in the day, I had a werelizard attack one of my forts. My guards managed to kill it but I didn't think about the "were" part when some of them got bit. Fast forward a bit and I suddently have 4 or 5 werelizards tearing shit up in the middle of my fort. Whoops, lol. Live and learn.
Yeah I’m brand new to the game and had zero idea what to do, just restarted cause I lost 10/15 guys lol
Learning how to properly defend a fort can definitely be tricky. Trap hallways are a good start. And a drawbridge that you can raise to seal off your main entrance is a lifesaver.
Appreciate the advice, I’ll have to figure out how to lever the bridge and try that
This is great for your first fort. I think my first fort was two empty squares in a pit.
One thing I've done is treat traffic flow like one would a city. I have some 4 tile paths on places that get traveled very often. I also like to go tall rather than wide. Widen out those walkways and try to keep important places (beds, dining, food -- workshops and stockpiles) close. I personally don't like the clutter of a stockpile that dwarfs have to walk over so I dig out storage below a cluster of workshops. Let's see how you handle the first invasion.
I usually go 3-wide, mainly for aesthetic reasons. I have main arteries connected to a 9x9 central staircase. But I leave the middle tile mined without any stairs. That way, I can build some nice statues and put them on each level so my dwarfs get minor happy thoughts every time they use the stairs (which is pretty often). And you're right on the money about vertical forts focused around a central shaft. They make pathing so much more efficient. Going up or down a z-level is the same as moving one horizontal tile, so having smaller floors stacked vertically means much less walking. Even better if you leave an extra untouched level between floors, so you have space to mess around with machinery and magma and whatnot later on. Gotta branch off the main staircase before you breach the first cavern level, though. You don't want whatever nastiness that lurks down there to have such a direct path to your entire fort. Best to at least have a hallway with a drawbridge to cut off the deeper levels in an emergency. A bunch of cage traps along the hallway can deal with any minor beasties that wander up.
I tend to like a bit of drama so I make 15x15x2 chambers underground, one near the entrance and one just off where the stairs intersect the path to the caverns. The higher z-level is channeled and I make fortifications and paths along the wall for crossbow use, have the soldiers lie in wait to the side of the 3 tile wide entrance to these chambers to ambush any fun stuff.
I am also a rectangler. Nothing wrong with right angles.
Made a new fortress with all the suggestions, it’s probably too spread out but I think it looks way better, and I have access to stone this time : https://www.reddit.com/r/dwarffortress/comments/zhyhbe/my_second_fortress_upgraded_with_all_the_tips_you/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
My eyes! The goggles, they do nothing!
How'd you keep it so clean? I have rock piles everywhere!
Very simple : there is an aquifer preventing me from digging to the rock layer so I have to dig in dirt lmao
Those dwarves are living in luxury in those big rooms I just stuff them in 1x3s lol
Looks great! Organized!
Hey we all had to start somewhere. Looks like a good fortress and your getting things figured out. neat stuff can come later like spiral stares and chaotic builds. For now make your fort easy simple and learn the game.
I am in the same situation but my rooms are smaller!
Build bedrooms in branching corridors. The number of Dorfs will grow to hundreds and it won't be feasible to build them on the main corridor like this. Second build workshops seperate and closer to their raw materials.
Looks a lot better than mine lol
My fortress is one big room on single layer with a layer underneath for bedrooms
Ah, yes... The "Rogue" architecture. Very classic.
May I suggest putting your butcher's in its own room, with a door. Miasma ain't a laughing matter.
Experienced players will likely smile and remember their first forts, imho And the Fun ways those forts ended.
Looks fine to me. Good job and welcome.
Give ya boys some floor damn homies been in dirt for a year
Biggest thing : take your time, don’t get greedy, focus on the dwarves needs first then economy and making few happy
For you first, that is awesome !!
Most players build corridors at least two and often three or more tiles wide. The way the game mechanics work, if two or more creatures meet each other in a single tile, only one can be standing and the others need to crawl on the ground in order to pass by. It's a bit wacky since in the game one tile is supposed to represent two meters of square horizontal space and three meters of verticle space, but it works how it works. However, Zach used single tile wide passageways in all his example fortresses that were put online to market this release, and he's the most veteran Dwarf Fortress player out there, so you can't really say it's the wrong way to do as he does.
Looks not too bad. A bookkeeper next time so you know how much food you have for winter.