Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

v0.34 Talk:Quickstart guide

2012-08-29T16:06:20Z

Timlyo: /* maisma */ new section

Please leave any feedback here and sign with <nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>
This is still slightly out of date... For example, kennels appear to only train vermin--[[Special:Contributions/173.3.16.92|173.3.16.92]] 02:45, 21 April 2012 (UTC)
==Newbie question about trade depot==
I'm a newbie. This guide indicates that I should have my trade depot at the end of a hall that is one space wide. If I do that, the caravan can't reach the depot when it comes. Should I widen the hallway when a caravan arrives, or will it be too late? Also, if I widen the hallway, how can I make it narrow again to tighten my defense?[[Special:Contributions/24.151.147.137|24.151.147.137]] 13:03, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

: That "Level 0" image was probably from one of the 0.31.x versions where wagons were broken. In the current version, wagons are back, so you should make a 3-wide path to your trade depot. You'll need to ensure that wagons have an accessible path ''before'' they show up. If the caravan arrives and there's no path, the wagons will vanish and you'll just get the merchants with single pack animals. --[[User:Greycat|Greycat]] 14:02, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

I'm out of practice and a few versions behind and I got lost when I was told to put the hall before the depot and then found out I couldn't trap the hall after all. --[[User:Scribbler|Scribbler]] 14:06, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

== Better farm plot explanation ==
Another Newbie here, first off: thanks for the guide! But, expanding the "Sustenance by plow"-paragraph about how to identify soil/how to identify possible places for a farm plots would help very much, especially about how to find good places underground witgout knowing where to search. 16:42, 10 May 2012 (UTC)

== inaccuracies ==

Reposted from the forum:
The quickstart guide has what appears to be a couple pieces outdated info, at least from my limited/nooby knowledge. I want to check that they are inaccurate before I change them.

1: "Also make some shields out of wood (since the shield's material doesn't matter for defensive purposes), unless you're swimming in metal."
- Materials do matter now, right? (according to the armor page)

2: "Build a kennel and train some war animals" --[[Special:Contributions/173.3.16.92|173.3.16.92]] 17:01, 13 May 2012 (UTC)

3: "Create stone fall traps near the start of your entry hall" - [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=109473.0 traps block wagon access], perhaps a section on designing a wagon accessible trapped entry hall should be added?

Hey, I'm a beginner, and this part caused a lot of confusion for me, it wasn't until I read your link that I realised it's a recent change, and that's why traps are blocking my wagons, I guess it means I'm going to have to work out how to fix it myself, but it would be nice if a pro could update it a little, or at least add in this new change so noobs aren't confused at this point and left floundering, like I was... Thanks also to everyone who helped create this guide!!! I definitely wouldn't have bothered learning if it wasn't for this! [[User:Fleecemaster|Fleecemaster]] 12:55, 2 July 2012 (UTC)

== More Extensive Layout Examples ==
For a complete beginner like me, it got kind of confusing when we were told good things to put on floor 0, -1, and then skipped straight to floor -9, and then back up to -2. Then all that empty space in between, I'm personally a bit lost as to what should be put on which floor. I know it's up to us, but I'm not sure why we had to skip so many floors if there's nothing to even put there. A section about what should be put near what for efficiency would be nice. [[User:Hesuchia|Hesuchia]] 18:44, 18 June 2012 (UTC)

== Explanations ==
Hey, I'm also a beginner, but I read in the "bedroom" section that the bedrooms should be built deep to keep away from noise, such as woodcutting on the surface. I think this is why the tutorial suggests building the bedroom so low, and leaving such a large gap! Hope this helps! [[User:Fleecemaster|Fleecemaster]] 12:37, 2 July 2012 (UTC)

Agreed, if something can be summed up in a sentence or two, then it should be in there.--[[User:Scribbler|Scribbler]] 14:06, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

== Bedrooms ==
Just wanted to point out that trying to build beds, cabinets, and coffers, all at once is a bit labor-intensive and nearly impossible to keep up with once the bigger migrations start popping up. I think that the Cabinets + Coffers part should maybe be added as a suggestion to do eventually, as it is by no means necessary to do in the early stages of the game.

== maisma ==

Under the section of refuse it has a picture that says to have your refuse pile outside or designate a dump, I'm moderately sure that refuse still creates miasma if dumped but can someone confirm this before I make any changes

v0.34:Init.txt

2012-08-24T22:37:20Z

Timlyo:

{{quality|Tattered|20:33, 4 May 2012 (UTC)}}{{av}}

The '''init.txt''' file can be used to make many adjustments to the game presentation and feel, like changing [[Technical tricks#Screen_sizes|screen size]], or enabling [[Tilesets]]. Other options that would [[Technical tricks|improve framerate]] by deactivating features are now contained in [[D_init.txt]].

This file is located at '''Dwarf Fortress\data\init\init.txt''' along with the embark profiles, d_init.txt and other useful files.

==Default Settings==
{{gamedata|1=WARNING: Do NOT copy over the init.txt from an earlier version of DF.
Always read the file carefully, including the comments.

In general, you can copy savegames and tilesets from older DF
versions, but you should not copy anything else. You should not, under any
circumstances, unpack a new DF on top of an older one.

Change this to turn sound off.

[SOUND:YES]

The sound volume runs from 0 (off) to 255 (full). You can set the volume from the ESC options menu as well.

[VOLUME:255]

Change this to skip the wonderful intro movies.

[INTRO:YES]

This lets you set the starting windowed/fullscreen setting. Can be YES, NO or PROMPT.

[WINDOWED:YES]

This is the size and font for windowed mode. Changing to the 800x600 font might make you happier.
If set below 256x256 it specifies the grid size instead, with a minimum of 80x25.

[WINDOWEDX:80]
[WINDOWEDY:25]
[FONT:curses_640x300.png]

You may disable window resizing if you wish.
[RESIZABLE:YES]

Full screen info. The 0s below mean that the game will choose a resolution for you, but you can set it yourself as well.

[FULLSCREENX:0]
[FULLSCREENY:0]
[FULLFONT:curses_800x600.png]

If this is set to NO, tiles will be stretched to fit the screen if there is a resolution mismatch.
If this is set to YES, the tiles will not be stretched, but rather the game view will be centralized, surrounded by black space. Tiles that are too large will always be compressed rather than running off the screen.

[BLACK_SPACE:YES]

Graphics info, most of it as above. Set GRAPHICS to YES to turn it all on. This will use the "raw/graphics" folder for tile information. Currently this is limited to whatever creature graphics you have downloaded. The game comes with a few pictures to demonstrate. As of May 2012, the Dwarf Fortress Wiki has custom tilesets available at http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Tileset_repository and creature graphics at http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Graphics_set_repository.

[GRAPHICS:NO]
[GRAPHICS_WINDOWEDX:0]
[GRAPHICS_WINDOWEDY:0]
[GRAPHICS_FONT:curses_square_16x16.png]
[GRAPHICS_FULLSCREENX:0]
[GRAPHICS_FULLSCREENY:0]
[GRAPHICS_FULLFONT:curses_square_16x16.png]
[GRAPHICS_BLACK_SPACE:YES]

These settings can have a significant impact on frame rate, especially for people that have slow frame rates on the title screen. Available modes are 2D, 2DSW, 2DASYNC, STANDARD, PARTIAL:<number>, ACCUM_BUFFER, FRAME_BUFFER and VBO. The number after PARTIAL refers to how many frames it will redo a printed tile before skipping it, so you might try increasing it a bit if you have flickering when PARTIAL is set. Please note that any of these combinations might cause frame rates to drop significantly or cause unpleasant side effects like flickering.

By and large, 2D should be the most reliable, while STANDARD has a good combination of speed and reliability. However, all 2D modes are normally far slower than even STANDARD, which may be the slowest OpenGL mode.

On a multi-core machine none of this is very likely to matter; stick to 2D.

2DASYNC may be slightly more responsive than 2D on a multi-core machine, but this has recently become doubtful due to improvements to the other modes.

Linux/OS X users may also use PRINT_MODE:TEXT for primitive ncurses output.

[PRINT_MODE:2D]
Mode examples:
PRINT_MODE:2D
PRINT_MODE:TEXT
PRINT_MODE:FRAME_BUFFER
PRINT_MODE:PARTIAL:0
[SINGLE_BUFFER:NO]

Switches truetype on whenever the vertical tile size is this many pixels or larger. You may also use YES/NO to force it on/off. Turning it off may provide a minor speed boost (using font small enough that it doesn't activate won't).

[TRUETYPE:24]

Change this to YES to keep the DF window on top of your other windows.

[TOPMOST:NO]

Change this to YES if you want to see an FPS counter at the top left.

[FPS:NO]

Use this to set the maximum frame rate during play. The movies are always capped at 100. A frame in this case is not graphical but related to the movement speed of a creature. A healthy, unencumbered dwarven peasant takes one step every 10 frames.

You may set FPS_CAP to 0 to make it uncapped.

[FPS_CAP:100]

Use this to set the maximum graphical frame refresh rate during play.

[G_FPS_CAP:50]

On cards that support the OpenGL ARB_sync extension, turning this on can improve framerates in GPU overload conditions. It defaults to NO, as many cards that claim to support this will crash if asked to do so.

[ARB_SYNC:NO]

This sets the applications vertical synchronization behavior. Changing this to YES can impact your FPS if your G_FPS is high. ARB_SYNC is a better option, if your system supports it.

[VSYNC:NO]

Change this to NEAREST if you want the texture values to use the nearest pixel without averaging.
Change this to LINEAR if you want the texture values to be averaged over the adjacent pixels.

[TEXTURE_PARAM:LINEAR]

Change this to make the dwarfort.exe process have a different priority. From highest to lowest, the options are REALTIME, HIGH, ABOVE_NORMAL, NORMAL, BELOW_NORMAL and IDLE.

[PRIORITY:NORMAL]

Use this to set how fast the game zooms. The default corresponds to
increasing grid size by 10 units each time you zoom.

[ZOOM_SPEED:10]

Change this to NO if you don't want to have the mouse involved at all.

[MOUSE:YES]

Change this to YES if you'd like to use a BMP for the mouse cursor. The image currently lags when the game is lagging however.

[MOUSE_PICTURE:NO]

This controls the number of milliseconds that must pass before a held key sends an initial repeat press to the game. You might need to adjust this.

[KEY_HOLD_MS:250]

This controls the number of milliseconds that must pass before a held key sends a repeat press to the game after the repeat process has begun.

[KEY_REPEAT_MS:150]

If you set KEY_REPEAT_ACCEL_LIMIT above one, then after KEY_REPEAT_ACCEL_START repetitions the repetition delay will smoothly decrease until repetition is this number of times faster than at the start.

[KEY_REPEAT_ACCEL_LIMIT:8]
[KEY_REPEAT_ACCEL_START:10]

This controls the number of milliseconds between macro instructions.

[MACRO_MS:15]

This controls the number of milliseconds that must pass before input works again after the view recenters on an event in dwarf mode.

[RECENTER_INTERFACE_SHUTDOWN_MS:0]

Change this to NO if you want to leave save uncompressed (you might want to do this if you are experience save corruption).

[COMPRESSED_SAVES:YES]}}

v0.34:Giant elephant seal

2012-08-24T22:19:09Z

Timlyo:

{{Quality|Tattered}}
{{Creaturelookup/0}}
{{av}}
{{creaturedesc}}

Giant elephant seals are larger than dragons and mature much more quickly. They will brutally murder anything that provokes them, and make a great addition to your fort's defence however, the giant elephant seal cannot be tamed so must be held with chains or in a cage and released on attackers.
{{gamedata}}
{{Creatures}}

v0.31:Dwarven atom smasher

2011-12-04T22:14:36Z

Timlyo:

{{quality|Exceptional|11:34, 2 October 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}
[[Image:DwarfSMASH.PNG|thumb|An atom smasher. Take care so there are no dwarves underneath when you trigger the bridge.]]

The '''Dwarven Atom Smasher''' is a euphemism for a {{L|Drawbridge}} in waste disposal or militarily-significant applications. It {{L|exploit}}s the implementation of drawbridges to utterly destroy any objects and most creatures in its target area. Implementation of bridges appears to have changed significantly since earlier versions -- Dwarven atom smashers are now functional only in a small subset of their previous roles. A DAS still works fine as a trash compactor to smash boulders, items, and fluids straight into oblivion.

== Smashing against the ground ==
In this design, a drawbridge is built to come down on at least one tile of solid ground. The drawbridge is raised, the targets are placed (or move of their own volition) into position on that ground, and then the drawbridge is lowered, erasing the targets from existence. Most commonly, a garbage dump {{L|activity zone}} is used in order to place items beneath the drawbridge (as stockpiles cannot be placed on top of existing buildings), but other methods such as flowing {{L|water}} have been used with varying degrees of success.

Sand or dye in bags doesn't get erased while the bag does, creating a small pile of sand or dye on the ground.

== Smashing upon closing ==
In this design, a very compact drawbridge (as little as one tile long) is used, and the target area is the one-tile wide anchoring area, where the bridge will close. This often uses walls, locked doors, or other solid objects, leaving the targets nowhere to go. The drawbridge is lowered, the targets are placed (or move of their own volition) into position on the tile(s) that the drawbridge will occupy when closing, and then the drawbridge is raised, squashing the targets flat.

== Immune creatures ==
The performance of a DAS on creatures is a bit of a drawback. It's well known that special creatures with a certain size ({{L|elephant}}s, {{L|Bronze colossus}) will make it impossible to raise a drawbridge they are standing on as well as cause a drawbridge to immediately deconstruct if lowered upon the creature.

[[Category:Game mechanics]]

v0.31:Dwarven atom smasher

2011-12-04T22:13:36Z

Timlyo:

{{quality|Exceptional|11:34, 2 October 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}
[[Image:DwarfSMASH.PNG|thumb|An atom smasher. Take care so there are no dwarves underneath when you trigger the bridge.]]

The '''Dwarven Atom Smasher''' is a euphemism for a {{L|Drawbridge}} in waste disposal or militarily-significant applications. It {{L|exploit}}s the implementation of drawbridges to utterly destroy any objects and most creatures in its target area. Implementation of bridges appears to have changed significantly since earlier versions -- Dwarven atom smashers are now functional only in a small subset of their previous roles. A DAS still works fine as a trash compactor to smash boulders, items, and fluids straight into oblivion.

== Smashing against the ground ==
In this design, a drawbridge is built to come down on at least one tile of solid ground. The drawbridge is raised, the targets are placed (or move of their own volition) into position on that ground, and then the drawbridge is lowered, erasing the targets from existence. Most commonly, a garbage dump {{L|activity zone}} is used in order to place items beneath the drawbridge (as stockpiles cannot be placed on top of existing buildings), but other methods such as flowing {{L|water}} have been used with varying degrees of success.

Sand or dye in bags doesn't get erased while the bag does, creating a small pile of sand or dye on the ground.

== Smashing upon closing ==
In this design, a very compact drawbridge (as little as one tile long) is used, and the target area is the one-tile wide anchoring area, where the bridge will close. This often uses walls, locked doors, or other solid objects, leaving the targets nowhere to go. The drawbridge is lowered, the targets are placed (or move of their own volition) into position on the tile(s) that the drawbridge will occupy when closing, and then the drawbridge is raised, squashing the targets flat.

== Immune creatures ==
The performance of a DAS on creatures is a bit of a drawback. It's well known that special creatures with a certain size ({{L|elephant}}s, {{L|bronze colossus}) will make it impossible to raise a drawbridge they are standing on as well as cause a drawbridge to immediately deconstruct if lowered upon the creature.

[[Category:Game mechanics]]