Dwarf Fortress 40_24 Tutorial: Step 1 - Setting up Lazy Newb Pack for the First Time

So you just downloaded the "Lazy Newb Pack" and you're going to try out this crazy Dwarf Fortress game you've heard so much about. You could just dive right in, open the "Lazy Newb Pack" Launcher and click "Play Dwarf Fortress" but since you are new to all this lets maybe take time to tweak some settings and set up the Sound Sense App.

Aquifers

The first thing you'll want to do is turn Aquifers off. Why? Because aquifers are a royal pain to work around even for experienced Dwarf Fortress players.

Tile Set

The second thing you'll want to do is select a graphics pack / tile set to either Pheobus or Ironhand. Why? Because if you don't you'll be looking at flashing numbers, letters, and strange symbols instead of pictures and shapes that are easy to decipher.

Sound Sense

The final piece you'll want to set up is Sound Sense. Why? Because it gives you sound and background music. Without it you get 1 track that loops over and over.

• Click 'Play Dwarf Fortress'. Let the game load. Then quit as soon as you reach the title screen. This will create a gamelog.txt file that you need for the next step.
• Open Sound Sense App, you will either be prompted to or have to manually tell the program that it needs to have the gamelog.txt file. It is located inside the Dwarf Fortress folder inside the Lazy Newb Pack folder.
• Update Sound Sense. It will start downloading all of the audio files. This may take a few minutes.
• Now that Sound Sense has the path to the gamelog.txt file and is fully updated all you have to do is ensure the app is running in the background and you will have sound and music while playing Dwarf Fortress. 

Stone Sense / 3D Map

Make sure Stone Sense and every option that gives you a 3D map simulation is turned OFF. Why? Because Dwarf Fortress is not made to be played using a 3D engine. This is a gimmick that will get in the way. Play around with it later if you like but turn it off for now.

(Optional Settings)

• Population Cap – If you encounter lag while playing then you may want to reduce the population cap to 100 or even 50.
• DF Hack – A series of useful mods that make many of Dwarf Fortress's more tedious tasks (navigating lists, assigning tasks) less tedious while also adding powerful tools for maintaining inventories. These can be turned on or off in the Lazy Newb Pack launcher. You do not need them but having them on won't interfere with the tutorial.
• Dwarf Therapist – A useful app for manually assigning jobs to your dwarves. Not necessary for now but you will need it later. 

Everything is configured. You are now ready to start Dwarf Fortress.

Continue on to Step 2: Creating a World for the First Time