Dwarf Fortress Succession Game

[Thoth]

Unfortunately not long after that I got a power failure that wiped out all the progress *and* corrupted the save ( ). I managed to salvage the generated world, but I'll have to start over again.

>.< Ouch. That hurts.

[Jkaen]

Oh well, heres hoping I lose some weight in v2 !

[Jkaen]

The fortress up and running again after the set back?

[Mist]

The fortress up and running again after the set back?

I'm one of those people that actually has much *less* computer time on weekends and Bank Holidays. I'll post a report on Tuesday.

[Jkaen]

I have added a contents listing in the first post. Will try to keep it up to date

[Mist]

Report time.

I have started again with very similar setup as previously ( slightly different number of seeds taken, and no chickens ). I went for the same map square, but adjusted the final embark location a bit. The same biomes, rocks etc. but more cliffs, less lakes and no river.

Our seven dwarves this time ( took names from people posting in the thread ):

Da Boss - Jkaen


Miner - Dicorion


DIY dwarf - Mardoc


The Artist - Cyneheard


Farmer - Fire&Ice


Farmer - Ilios


And finaly F&B Maestro and crossbow enthusiast - Pling


Site we have been dropped on is surprisingly nice

(Large image in the spoiler warning)

Some lakes, but not over the top. A lot of trees and soil. Interesting hill in the middle that can be landscaped into a fortress with some effort. Fauna compromising of boars ( again ) and a single fox. I decided to leave the Fortress Hill alone for now and dig a temporary burrow in the left cliff.

Spring went mostly into digging, moving and constructing stuff.
*orders for the dwarves ( dump other refuse [ vermin corpses ], only farmers harvest, strict drinking/fishing zone adherence ),
*kitchen ( no cooking of plants or booze ),
*cooked all turtles and meat brought into biscuits
*designated stockpiles, farms, drinking zones, fishing zones, refuse dump, pen
*gave all functions to Jkaen and set Mardoc on marking furniture for him
*founded an exploratory dig away from burrow looking for some initial stone
*farmers sent gather outside plants
*Mardoc sent to get some wood
There was no actual farming, distilling or crafting done.

Summer saw some real work and all dwarves busy. Heavy duty farming, brewing and crafting absorbed everyone, including migrants. Living quarters were fleshed out, exploratory dig somewhat extended to see what was hidden at z-1. The burrow reached close to final completion stage. Mardoc was making bins and barrels.

Autumn saw Cyneheard hit legendary. I added partial ditch closing off approach from two sides for a somewhat more secure pen and a closer quarry and a lever operated blast door. We were more than ready for merchants and started to lag behind our food operation ( working 50% of the fields we made more food than was possible to eat process and store ).

I did no more digging in winter, I just traded with the caravan and made effort to actually fit all the stuff that got bought. I'll be back to trading, let's do the final temporary burrow first.

Let me say this again - this is temporary. It has basic furniture, stockpiles and roof so it doesn't rain/snow on our poor dwarves. And we're starting to outgrow it, so something permanent needs to be designed starting now. We have two options.

1) Dig down from here - complete the ditch in a narrow circle avoiding the lakes, add another drawbridge. Dig down three levels, start laying out a permanent home.

Advantages :
*Existing infrastructure is close at hand
*It's compact, not a lot of landscaping required
*It'll finish sooner
Disadvantages :
*Above ground will be cramped with not a lot of free space for pastures, farms and growing trees.
*Not a lot of space for underground farms either
*We should expect most of our dwarves to end up with sun sickness.
*It's not a grand project

2) Start adapting the Fortress Hill. Remove ramps from existing slopes, connect existing depressions with a ditch going round, etc.

Advantages
*Central location
*Loads of space above and under ground
*No constraints on design fantasies
*We have space for some catapults on the top
*It is a great project
Disadvantages
*Will take time
*Loads of landscaping and construction ( walls, bridges, fortifications ) effort

Depending on which way we go, the priorities change.

Points of interest regarding the burrow :
*Jkaens quarters are not of adequate standard, they'll be enough if we fire him from being sheriff / militia commander though
*Bridge lever is in top left corner of the Meeting Hall
*Farming area is split into separate 7-plot farms, that the most fertilizer efficient size. Topmost four are for plump helmets, followed by two for wheat and two for sweet pods. There are no planting instructions set for spring. We have 3 full time farmers, they can cope with 2 farms each.
*The cage is empty, lock something inside to keep dwarves happier
*The small lake in the north is the dump zone once it thaws. Might be actually worth to dump vermin into the ditch now.
*Large pasture is on level z+1
*There's a small pen for wardogs in front of the bridge. Keeps them in useful place for spotting thieves.

[Mist]

Trade with the caravan :

Bought -
*all the food and drink they had
*all the gems they brought
*all the seeds they brought
*iron anvil
*steel weapons
*steel crossbow bolts
*training axe
*giant spider silk thread
*copper pick
*bar of gold

Sold
*crafts quality superior and lower

Tutorial point : When trading with caravan do a lot of small trades instead of one huge lump. Makes the merchants better disposed towards you and trains relevant skills more.

Trade agreement :

Export prices



This is bloody wonderful, with crafts due to make a killing next year ( 203% rings, 184% sceptres, 191% figurines )

Import

I requested
*Chickens
*Booze we don't produce ( Ale, Rum )
*Steel anvil
*Potash ( fertilizer )
*Training weapons
*Giant spider silk thread
*Charcoal

We got a weaver in one of the migrations, we can slowly start produce clothes. Giant Spider silk used to pay the most. We don't really need to diversify, we can make a fortune and live till the end from the rock crafts, I just felt like ordering something else

[Jkaen]

Nice start, a few comments from me:

I think we have no choice but to settle 'Fortress Hill', really does seem a no brainer to me.

I would think we ditch and wall (including entrance gates for traders) horizontally from 'The Burrow' till we meet the Hill, then slowly start doing that up.

This means we can continue to use the burrow and redevelop it (nobles holiday home?) have a secure area for outside farms, pastures etc and can work up fortress hill at our own pace

[Mist]

And some final thoughts and random trivia

Status at end of year



1) We are swimming in F&B. There is probably no need to farm in the spring, and depending on the migration wave, possibly in the summer.
2) We're filthy rich. Cyneheard is a legend and can mass produce masterworks with little effort.
3) We should start thinking about permanent residence, steel industry and military in this priority. Consider setting-up a pump gym to train potential recruits.

Skills of named dwarves at end of year








Save
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14578363/df/save_y01.zip

[Dicorion]

Nice start. Thanks for my avatar doing the hard work I really need to thin down a bit

I like the idea of Jkaen. I would be the last one to propose anything, but that idea with two "fortresses" sounds interesting.

Thanks for update!