DWARF FORTRESS - For real this time. - This topic is for you (yes YOU)

Rad- said:
Watched few youtube tutorials. Digging a base, gathering resources, farming, making booze and basic military. Anything else that would be important to learn before jumping in the first time?
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Make sure you know (or work out along the way) how to set what jobs people are allowed to do. You don't want your super-miner wasting time on garbage disposal, etc.
 
roxya said:
Make sure you know (or work out along the way) how to set what jobs people are allowed to do. You don't want your super-miner wasting time on garbage disposal, etc.
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True, in the lazy newb pack, linked on the last page, you have a few handy tools. For example "DwarfTherapist" is very useful for that.
 
I downloaded the game, does it have any sounds?, I'm not getting any sounds.

and WTF are you suppoused to do?
 
mt1200 said:
I downloaded the game, does it have any sounds?, I'm not getting any sounds.

and WTF are you suppoused to do?
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Nope, it only has music.

And your goal is to survive as long as possible. Or actually the goal for most people is to learn how to play the game at all.
 
If this game ever gets finished, I don't know if I'll ever need another game. If he could just spend some time on the UI, I don't know what could stop him.
 
mt1200 said:
I downloaded the game, does it have any sounds?, I'm not getting any sounds.

and WTF are you suppoused to do?
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A group of people have been working on custom sounds here.

I think it works with the latest version of DF, but I'm not sure.
 
mt1200 said:
I dont even have music.
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Its not that important anyway :P
I just listen to other stuff or podcasts while I am playing.
 
mt1200 said:
I downloaded the game, does it have any sounds?, I'm not getting any sounds.

and WTF are you suppoused to do?
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No music, just Tarn strumming his guitar.

The goal of the game is to murder absolutely everything with glorious magma death traps survive as long as you can.
 
For anyone considering picking up for the first time, there's no reason to not download the Lazy Newb Pack. It will make your new play experience easier, faster, more aesthetically pleasing and more convenient. Also check out the Dwarf Therapist utility(it's in the lazy newb pack), it's used for changing dwarf jobs and it's 10x better than DF's interface, especially once you have a couple dozen or so dwarves.
 
NSQuote said:
No music, just Tarn strumming his guitar.

The goal of the game is to murder absolutely everything with glorious magma death traps survive as long as you can.
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That chord progression is pretty incredible though. I wish he would put a few more jams on there.
 
Halp!

I just built stairs going down.

I want to move a dwarf to the next level below to dig more but...I can't.

Help!

The settlement of Moraltrade will never last if we can't dig...you know...deeper.
 
bigdaddygamebot said:
I can't seem to find the appropriate key to hit though to change the level I am "looking" at. Am I explaining myself properly?
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I think the default keys are (Ctrl-Numpad 5) and (Shift-Numpad 5), and/or possibly > and <. You can change the keys for everything by clicking Esc and going to Key Bindings.
 
You have to use the < and > keys. You actually have to use your shift key, as if you were typing those characters. < goes down and > goes up...uhh, I think.
 
You have to use the < and > keys. You actually have to use your shift key, as if you were typing those characters. < goes down and > goes up...uhh, I think.

Oop sorry, not sure how that happened.
 
Ok. I downloaded the thing, started a new game on the tiniest possible map. Spent a bit of time assigning skill points towards a couple of my dwarves until I realized you could scroll down and down AND DOWN through endless numbers of jobs and then I said "fuck this" and skipped right into "embark".

Now I'm greeted by this view:
kA6kB.png

and I have no fucking clue as to what to do or how to make my little dwarves dig or build or do some dwarfish shit.

Halp GAF! D:
 
SteelAttack said:
Ok. I downloaded the thing, started a new game on the tiniest possible map. Spent a bit of time assigning skill points towards a couple of my dwarves until I realized you could scroll down and down AND DOWN through endless numbers of jobs and then I said "fuck this" and skipped right into "embark".

Now I'm greeted by this view:
http://i.imgur.com/kA6kB.png
and I have no fucking clue as to what to do or how to make my little dwarves dig or build or do some dwarfish shit.

Halp GAF! D:
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The dwarf fortress wiki will help you more than this forum ever will. There is simply too much to go into: http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/DF2010:Quickstart_guide

If you're ever stuck or confused with what something does, check out the wiki. :D
 
SteelAttack said:
Sweet, thanks man! I shall conquer the earth now. :D
no I won't
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Good luck! :) I was sorta putting my fortress on hold atm, because I was throwing a programming tantrum. You know.. when a dwarf gets his tantrum... give him what he needs and dont hold him back :p
 
Kalnos said:
Man, I really want to get into this game, but it's so overwhelming.
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Woah. Seriously, if you manage to learn C#, VB.NET, Java and C++, you definitely are more than capable of learning this game. I could even help you out a bit. I need to get even on the C# help anyway ;)
 
Kalnos said:
Man, I really want to get into this game, but it's so overwhelming.
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This.

I keep trying and giving up and trying and giving up. Might try again soon but this time put more time into the wiki, I was using youtube videos to try and learn but would get stuck at some point, the furthest I got was drowning my dwarfs. I really do like the style and everything which is why I keep going back!
 
FrancisH said:
This.

I keep trying and giving up and trying and giving up. Might try again soon but this time put more time into the wiki, I was using youtube videos to try and learn but would get stuck at some point, the furthest I got was drowning my dwarfs. I really do like the style and everything which is why I keep going back!
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I mean there is a shit ton of stuff in this game, but to SURVIVE in the beginning you actually only need a handful of stuff.

- know how to mine rooms
- know how to make food and booze
- know how to make simple defend mechanisms

the rest is more or less a case of "I got this problem now, so I do what?" -> Read up on Wiki.

Its hardcore learning by doing, but you really dont need to be afraid of being overwhelmed if you stick to what you need the most in the beginning. That way you can survive a year or two, even without being to good at managing your fortress.

Thats just a matter of practice then.
 
One of the things about DF is that it gets more and more complicated, so it gets tougher and tougher for new players...well, generally, but at least new players don't have to learn how to set up mechanical floodgate systems for farming anymore. When I got in there was just one z-level, on the right side was a mountain, on the left side was grass. I mean, shit, it was practically Bejeweled back in dem olden days. It's easy to forget how hard it was to learn, and how much harder it is now for brand new players.

For new players: Learning to play DF is an investment. You may have reasons to believe that it is stupid to put hours of work into getting fun out of a video game, such as having important shit to do in real life, or just being of sound mind in general. If you feel compelled to persist, just know that it takes at least 2 to 4 hours of full-on studying and testing before you have any real 'freedom', before you can look at a situation and have some ideas of what to do with it beyond just looking at the wiki. Actually becoming confident with the beast is a matter of dozens of hours. Mastering it is simply not within the realm of possibility.

Really though, watch the tutorials on youtube...they're pretty sweet. Uh, and good luck.
 
Oh I want to add that you really don't need to worry about military or defense for your first fortress or two, at least in my opinion. Simply learning how to not starve to death, how to be productive, etc. should take up all your time. Someone will attack you eventually, but it's much more likely that you'll just starve and/or give up on that fortress. And, if you do get attacked and want to keep that fortress, no better way to learn than trial by fire!
 
Toma said:
Woah. Seriously, if you manage to learn C#, VB.NET, Java and C++, you definitely are more than capable of learning this game. I could even help you out a bit. I need to get even on the C# help anyway ;)
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Knowing syntax is one thing... but imagine how complex DF's code is...
KuGsj.gif
 
Kalnos said:
Knowing syntax is one thing... but imagine how complex DF's code is...
KuGsj.gif
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And over 260.000 lines of that. Yikes. I am at 700-800 with my program. Debugging 260.000 lines of code must be horror. But I wasnt talking about learning to program that game! :P You can learn to play it.
 
I just got into this and holy shit. This is the game I've always wanted to exist. I almost gave up on it, but I'm glad I spent four hours watching tutorial videos.
 
CzarTim said:
I just got into this and holy shit. This is the game I've always wanted to exist. I almost gave up on it, but I'm glad I spent four hours watching tutorial videos.
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Yup, thats probably a sentiment most DF players share. Great you got into it :)
 
I'm just trying to get into this game..and I think I understand some of it..or at least how to start things out. And I just had to throw away about 3 hours of progress due to being unable to make a farm in my fortress. :/ There was no pond or pool where I could drain the water into, and I tried to irrigate it by channel's above where my farms would be. Needless to say, I gave up, because I couldn't figure out how to get my dwarves to carry water in buckets to said channels.
 
Harpuia said:
I'm just trying to get into this game..and I think I understand some of it..or at least how to start things out. And I just had to throw away about 3 hours of progress due to being unable to make a farm in my fortress. :/ There was no pond or pool where I could drain the water into, and I tried to irrigate it by channel's above where my farms would be. Needless to say, I gave up, because I couldn't figure out how to get my dwarves to carry water in buckets to said channels.
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as long as you have soil, or clay under ground you dont need irrigation. Just zone and plant.
 
blahness said:
as long as you have soil, or clay under ground you dont need irrigation. Just zone and plant.
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The cave I happened to dig was unable to be farmed, so that's why I had to irrigate..oh well, losing is fun I guess!
 
blahness said:
as long as you have soil, or clay under ground you dont need irrigation. Just zone and plant.
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fuuuuu

That would of saved me a lot of hassle.

I'm having trouble building a wall to block of a cavern. The floor looks like this:

|..|
|..|
|x.|
|xx|
|xx|
|xx|

The periods are the drop down and the x are floor tiles. No matter where or what combination I put the wall, they close themselves off on the wrong side.
 
CzarTim said:
fuuuuu

That would of saved me a lot of hassle.

I'm having trouble building a wall to block of a cavern. The floor looks like this:

|..|
|..|
|x.|
|xx|
|xx|
|xx|

The periods are the drop down and the x are floor tiles. No matter where or what combination I put the wall, they close themselves off on the wrong side.
Click to expand...

My guess would be to create a burrow that spans just the tiles you want them to work from and then only assign the dwarves you want to work to the burrow. Activate it and then they should not move out of that area.
 
I downloaded this last night. OH MY GOD!

I understand nothing, yet, but I'm determined to get to grips with it.

I think I'll be watching some of the vids later before I have another go.
 
JosephManderley said:
I downloaded this last night. OH MY GOD!

I understand nothing, yet, but I'm determined to get to grips with it.

I think I'll be watching some of the vids later before I have another go.
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I just started afresh for real this time using the Lazy Newb Pack as well as a video tutorial and it feels quite simple so far. Maybe my old forgotten knowledge of C64 commands and DOS bullshit in my youth is slightly helping me.

Can't wait until something goes wrong and leads to my dwarves dying so I get an excuse to start all over again. It seems that the more you play, the deeper your knowledge becomes and you are able to adapt far better from the outset.
 
speedpop said:
I just started afresh for real this time using the Lazy Newb Pack as well as a video tutorial and it feels quite simple so far. Maybe my old forgotten knowledge of C64 commands and DOS bullshit in my youth is slightly helping me.

Can't wait until something goes wrong and leads to my dwarves dying so I get an excuse to start all over again. It seems that the more you play, the deeper your knowledge becomes and you are able to adapt far better from the outset.
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Indeed. Best aspect about the game. You can play as you want. Learn something and start new with the newly gained knowledge, increasing your progress and gameplay depth you achieve.
 
speedpop said:
I just started afresh for real this time using the Lazy Newb Pack as well as a video tutorial and it feels quite simple so far. Maybe my old forgotten knowledge of C64 commands and DOS bullshit in my youth is slightly helping me.

Can't wait until something goes wrong and leads to my dwarves dying so I get an excuse to start all over again. It seems that the more you play, the deeper your knowledge becomes and you are able to adapt far better from the outset.
Click to expand...
The game shows its Roguelike roots even in fortress mode - You make a tiny mistake, watch it balloon into a horrible cascade of stuff going wrong, see all your hard work go up in flames, then laugh it off and start again with more knowledge and a funny story to tell.
 
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