Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Dwarf Fortress 40_24 Tutorial: Step 9 - Next Steps

This is the end of my tutorial. By now you should have a pretty decent grasp of the basics and could probably do just fine exploring and experimenting on your own. Here are some options for what direction to go next. Peruse the following sections and pursue or ignore each as you see fit.


Metal Working 

This is an industry that you do not want to ignore. Metal working allows you to smelt ore-bearing rock into metal bars and then use the metal bars craft your own copper / iron / bronze / steel tools, weapons, and armour, as well as create items, art, and decorations from precious metals.

Clear a large area in your fortress and prepare 1 stock pile per ore-bearing rock you intend to refine into metal bars, 1 stock pile per metal time, 1 stock pile for charcoal and coke (fuel), and 1 stock pile for wood or lignite / bituminous coal.

Build at least 1 wood furnace, 1 or 2 smelters, and 1 or 2 forges.

You will need the wood furnace to turn wood into charcoal which acts as fuel for both smelting and crafting.

Once you have some charcoal in stock you will be able to use your smelters to either refine metal ores into metal bars or turn lignite / bituminous coal into 9 bars of coke (same properties as charcoal).

If are fortunate to have iron ores (hematite, limonite, magnetite) then you can begin crafting suits of armour, weapons, and tools.

If you don't have iron then copper armour is still better than leather and if you have both copper and tin then bronze is about the same as iron.

If you are very fortunate and have an accessible source of magma then only build 1 or 2 magma smelters and 1 or 2 magma forges one Z level above the magma with the centre tile channeled out. Magma smelters and magma forges use magma (an infinite fuel source) do not need charcoal / coke.




Cloth 

Being able to create your own cloth will allow you to craft your own bags, bandages, ropes, clothes, and quivers. Depending on the skill of your weavers and clothiers this can become a very prosperous trade and additional value can easily be added by using dyes.

This is a good industry to set up, even if you don't use it too much. Your dwarves' clothing will eventually wear out and they really don't like being naked. Additional bags are good to have on hand to store your ever increasing quantity and variety of seeds, dyes, and will be required to harvest sand if you ever do glassmaking. Rope is useful for placing restraints for guard animals or prisoners.

Cloth making requires at least 1 Loom which turns thread into cloth. To create cloth items you need at least 1 clothier's workshop.

There are 3 types of thread, each of which is acquired differently:

  • Plant Fiber – from crops (pigtails / rope reed / other) that are processed at a Farmers Workshop. 
  • Silk – from spider webs. The 'gather webs' job is automatically activated from your looms. 
  • Yarn – from wool which can be acquired by shearing animals at the Farmers Workshop. 


Thread and cloth can be dyed to change their color and increase their value. To dye your cloth you will need a Dyer's Shop and bags of dye.

To create bags of dye you will need to have a quern or millstone set to process plants, empty bags, and plants that can be crushed into dye. The process creates 1 bag of dye as well as seeds of the plant that was crushed.

Dyes are as follows:

  • Midnight Blue (Dimple cup) 
  • Emerald (Blade weed) 
  • Redroot (Hide Root) 
  • Silver (Silver barb) 


Note: Querns and Millstones don't allow you specify which plant to crush and so you may end up with multiple types of flour instead of dye. To overcome this check out the Wiki's expanation: http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Quern




Glass 

A potentially luxurious industry provided you have access to sand and a source of fuel (magma is ideal). Glass can be used to create nearly everything that can be created by a mason in addition to creating vials, crafts and providing Jewelers with 'raw glass' which can be cut and then used just like other gems.

There are 3 types of glass that can be created.

  • Green Glass – made from sand – x2 value modifier 
  • Clear Glass – made from sand and pearlash – x5 value modifier 
  • Crystal Glass – made from rock crystal and pearlash – x10 value modifier 


Glass is created from a Glass Furnace or Magma Glass Furnace and will require a source of fuel. Sand can be purchased or collected in bags. If you have sand on the map you can create a zone [i] and designate it for sand collection. You can then queue up "collect sand" jobs from your glass furnace(s). In this way green glass is a very easy resource to create and is worth twice as much as common stone.

Pearlash can also be created if you have a lot of trees to burn. Start by burning wood at a Wood Furnace into ash. Use the ash to create potash at an ashery. Refine the potash into pearlash at an ashery.

Rock crystal is a gem that is either mined or purchased.




Food 

Making 'lavish prepared meals' in the kitchens can be very profitable as each ingredient used takes on the value multiplier of the skill in which it was chopped, diced, or cooked. The more variety of ingredients you have the more likely a dwarf will gain happy thoughts from eating a meal that was prepared with one of their favorite foods. Bare in mind though that plants used in the kitchen do not produce seeds.




Healthcare 

While not technically an industry building a hospital is still something you should consider. Without a hospital wounded dwarves are carried to their rooms where they rest until they can work again, possibly taking days or months to recover depending on the extent of their injuries. A hospital will speed up the healing process and ensure that appropriate procedures are done to ensure that injuries heal properly and that nobody dies of infection.

To create a hospital simply create a new zone [i] and designate it as your hospital.

Fill it with the following objects:

  • Beds for injured dwarves to rest in. 
  • At least one table for doing surgeries 
  • At least 2 Containers (coffers, chests, etc) to fill with supplies 
  • Traction benches to handle 'compound fractures' 


Important: Ensure that your fortress has a well. Injured dwarves can only drink water. Wells can be placed above any source of water (even stagnant water) and will magically purify any water that is drawn from them. Also ensure that you have a supply of buckets so that water can be retrieved for injured dwarves.

To properly stock your hospital with supplies you will need the following:

  • Splints and crutches 
  • Cloth (for bandages) 
  • Soap 
  • Plaster Powder 


Important: You will need to assign a chief medical dwarf within the [n]oble panel. Ensure that all medical tasks are checked on in Dwarf Therapist.




Other Industries 

See other possible industries on the wiki at: http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Industry




Overland Fortifications 

If you haven't already done so consider walling around the entrance(s) of your fortress. This will ensure that you can plant and harvest above ground crops in peace and keep your herds clear from bloodthirsty meanies.

Consider also building a tower from which marksdwarves can keep a watchful eye for thieves and ambushers and then rain down death upon your enemies.

If you are adventurous try constructing siege towers with ballista or catapult.

Consider also building a network of traps and bridges to deal with enemies before they get close to the true entrance of your fortress.




Rethinking Logistics 

What is the max population set for your fortress? Do you think your food and alcohol production will keep up with 200 dwarves? Will your dining hall(s)? Best to ensure production is increased before you run out.




Exploring the Deep Places of the World... 

The types of rock, metals, and gems within the earth change as you break through to new layers. Think of the riches you could uncover. Somewhere deep down there is the magma sea, an entire ocean of infinite fuel for smelting and crafting!

There are also tales of dark caverns, forgotten beasts, and unspeakable evils but those are just stories and probably not true. You should ignore them. Think of the riches...




Prepare for the Inevitable 

Eventually dwarves are going to die. Whether it be in battle, a mining accident, vampires, old age, or some form of insanity you will need to have a burial chamber with coffins at the ready so that friends and family may properly grieve and the spirits of the dearly departed can rest in peace.




Being Awesome 

Make your fortress awesome. Smooth the stone and engrave everything. Replace simple furniture made with common stone with exceptionally well crafted furniture studded with gems and inlaid with precious metal. Build statue gardens and waterfalls. Keep a trophy room full of artifacts, stacks of coins, exotic beasts in cages, and disarmed siege leaders on display. Cover everything with gold, silver, and gems. Make your fortress a Dwarven heaven overflowing with riches and good food and drink.




Let the Games Begin! 

Build an arena that you can toss captured enemies into. Depending on your preference you may want to give your marksdwarves some target practice or feed a fortress 'pet' or test out a new trap configuration.

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