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Editing 40d:Losing
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<span style="background-color: #000; color: #0f0; font-family: FixedSys, monospace">Losing is fun!</span> | <span style="background-color: #000; color: #0f0; font-family: FixedSys, monospace">Losing is fun!</span> | ||
Either way, it keeps you busy. | Either way, it keeps you busy. | ||
− | There is no internal end point or single goal or final Easter egg or "You Win!" announcement in Dwarf Fortress. Therefore, eventually, almost every fortress will fall. The only ones that don't tend to be very conservative and very boring - and what fun is that? Therefore, | + | There is no internal end point or single goal or final Easter egg or "You Win!" announcement in Dwarf Fortress. Therefore, eventually, almost every fortress will fall. The only ones that don't tend to be very conservative and very boring - and what fun is that? Therefore, fun = losing, losing = fun, DF = losing = fun, and that's okay! It's a game philosophy, so embrace it, own it, and have ''fun'' with it! |
− | Most new players will lose their first few forts earlier than later; <s>if</s> when you lose a [[fortress]], don't feel like you don't understand the game. Dwarf Fortress has a steep | + | Most new players will lose their first few forts earlier than later; <s>if</s> when you lose a [[fortress]], don't feel like you don't understand the game. Dwarf Fortress has a steep learning curve, and part of the process (and fun!) is discovering things for yourself. However, this Wiki serves as an excellent place to speed up the learning process. |
If you lose, you can always [[reclaim fortress mode|reclaim fortress]] or go visit it in [[adventurer mode]]. | If you lose, you can always [[reclaim fortress mode|reclaim fortress]] or go visit it in [[adventurer mode]]. | ||
− | If you're looking for more ways to <s>die horribly</s> test yourself, try either the [[ | + | If you're looking for more ways to <s>die horribly</s> test yourself, try either the [[Mega Constructions]], or the [[Challenges]] pages. |
== Autopsy == | == Autopsy == | ||
− | Various common things can cause | + | Various common things can cause you to lose a fortress. |
− | === | + | === Losing your miners === |
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− | Consider | + | If your [[miner]]s are killed in a [[cave-in|collapse]] and their equipment destroyed, chances are good that you will no longer be able to continue your efforts. Consider abandoning your fortress. Alternatively, you can try to keep your fortress running long enough to request additional [[pick]]s from your Outpost [[Liaison]], who will arrive with the next dwarven trade [[caravan]]. It will take another year before they will return.<br/> |
+ | Also consider the tedious but fun option of making [[buildings]] outside! If your [[woodcutter]]s with [[axe]]s are still available, then you can build structures of [[wood]]. This is not recommended for very new players though, as it is intensely resource-demanding and takes a lot of managing to get right. (Also not recommended if you don't understand the z-axis system yet.) | ||
− | + | Also known as Diggor Mortis. | |
+ | Diggor Mortis: Defined as when a Dorf with a pickaxe decides that digging up into Fun causing material (Water/Magma/once supported rock) is a good bloody idea. | ||
− | + | Averting this fate is simple: Stockpile additional picks at the first possible opportunity. | |
− | + | === Starvation === | |
− | + | A serious danger, generally in the more inhospitable [[climate]]s, is the loss of your [[dwarves]] due to starvation; if you are in the heart of a [[mountain]] with no [[soil]] to build on, it is possible you will not be able to establish [[farm]]s. As dwarves begin to starve, they will become Hungry, then Starving. This will cause them to become very angry. When they die, their friends will become upset and will become even angrier, potentially causing the remainder of your fortress to break out in a terminal brawl. | |
− | + | ||
+ | Don't forget your alternative sources of [[food]]. Try [[butchering]] your [[animals]], [[plant gathering|gathering plants]], or resorting to [[hunting]] of local wildlife. | ||
===No water=== | ===No water=== | ||
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Healthy dwarves will not die of thirst as long as they have alcohol, which in the current version can be [[Brewing|brewed]] without the use of water. However, injured dwarves must be given water, not alcohol, or they will die of dehydration. | Healthy dwarves will not die of thirst as long as they have alcohol, which in the current version can be [[Brewing|brewed]] without the use of water. However, injured dwarves must be given water, not alcohol, or they will die of dehydration. | ||
− | + | In the current version{{version|0.28.181.40d}} rain will refill stagnant pools of water slowly. In a hot [[climate]], this may evaporate almost immediately. What's more, if the map is in a dry [[climate]], such as a desert (hot or cold), then there can be long periods of time with no water anywhere - in extreme cases, none ever. Snow will not refill pools, so you can also have a lack of water in very cold [[climate]]s. Also, if weather has been turned off in the [[init.txt]] file then there will be no rain and no water will accumulate, though it may be there at the beginning of the game. | |
− | ===Flooding accidents | + | ===Flooding accidents=== |
The opposite side of the dehydration spectrum is having too ''much'' water. Remember that water can [[flow]] in 10 directions (the 8 horizontal ones as well as up and down, to the level of its source.) | The opposite side of the dehydration spectrum is having too ''much'' water. Remember that water can [[flow]] in 10 directions (the 8 horizontal ones as well as up and down, to the level of its source.) | ||
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If your fortress is beginning to flood from [[Water#Sourced Water|sourced water]], abandon all of the levels the water can reach immediately—drafting dwarves into the [[military]] and stationing them onto the surface if need be. You will never be able to recover those areas unless you can manage to [[pump]] out the water faster than it floods in, which can take over a year or two of game time to establish a functioning automated pump system. Generally, a flooding accident spells doom for your fortress. | If your fortress is beginning to flood from [[Water#Sourced Water|sourced water]], abandon all of the levels the water can reach immediately—drafting dwarves into the [[military]] and stationing them onto the surface if need be. You will never be able to recover those areas unless you can manage to [[pump]] out the water faster than it floods in, which can take over a year or two of game time to establish a functioning automated pump system. Generally, a flooding accident spells doom for your fortress. | ||
− | Sometimes a fortress is flooded with [[magma]]. This is even more [[fun]], and even harder to recover from. | + | Sometimes a fortress is flooded with [[magma]]. This is even more [[fun]], and even harder to recover from. Most doors will stop magma, it doesn't rise as aggressively (via [[pressure]]) as water, and magma can be pumped out with the right equipment. Read up on it. Good luck. |
− | === | + | ===Ambush=== |
+ | The [[goblin]]s first come with about half a dozen soldiers, then a dozen. Then they come again with about two dozen. Occasionally, they are accompanied by trolls. Since they arrive stealthy it may already be too late when you detect them. Soon enough your [[trap]]s are all sprung, and your dwarves are dead. If not, the [[siege]]s will start. Without some sort of [[Defense guide|defense]]s, such as a [[moat]] or [[trap]]s, a horde of goblins on your doorstep can be deadly. | ||
+ | |||
+ | See Also: | ||
+ | :* [[Defense guide]] | ||
+ | :* [[Defense design]] | ||
+ | :* [[Trap design]] | ||
+ | :* [[Military design]] | ||
− | + | ===War=== | |
+ | The [[goblin]]s may not be your only enemy; remember that time you "accidentally" pulled the [[lever]] and flung that poor [[elf]] trader into the sky? Well turns out they got pretty annoyed, prepare for an elven [[war]]! It may only take a simple accident (like killing a preachy hippy elf) to start a war you can't possibly win. War is especially difficult to overcome when your fort is taking its first steps, but it is easy to prevent unless you really hate elves. The usual goblin skirmishes and sieges do not even count as war - a proper war will be signaled on the embark screen and will be denoted in-game on the {{k|c}}ivilization screen. (NOTE: You cannot be at war with your own race, so no epic dwarf showdowns.) | ||
− | + | ===Wildlife=== | |
− | + | Goblins aren't the only creatures that want you dead. Be it [[unicorn|unicorns]], [[hippo|hippos]], [[undead]] [[elephant|elephants]] or a [[giant cave spider]], a sudden wildlife attack can quickly cripple or destroy an unprepared fortress. | |
− | + | ===Volcanic Death=== | |
+ | [[Volcano]]es do '''not''' erupt in the current version, but are planned to do so at some point in the future (see Toady's response on the plans for Volcanoes [http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=30026.msg994813#msg994813 here].) If magma pours from a volcano on your map, it is a bug and should be reported as such (though bugs are their own category of Fun.) | ||
− | + | It is still possible to die from magma without bugs if you're trying to pull a [[Boatmurdered]] (i.e. flood the world with magma) or if you just want to roast those sieges sitting at your front door. | |
===General Unhappiness=== | ===General Unhappiness=== | ||
− | Think it's no big deal to leave your dwarves with a mediocre [[dining room]], | + | Think it's no big deal to leave your dwarves with a mediocre [[dining room]], living room, and a generally inadequate fortress? |
− | If there is little in a fortress to give your dwarves happy [[ | + | If there is little in a fortress to give your dwarves happy [[thoughts]] and enough to give them unhappy [[thoughts]], then your dwarves will start to throw [[tantrum]]s, go melancholy, and cause general chaos. In extreme examples, this can lead to a [[tantrum spiral]] and destroy your [[civilization]]. Unhappiness is more likely to occur if your fortress is suffering other kinds of downfall, so try to keep all the bases covered. |
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===Siege=== | ===Siege=== | ||
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In short, the attacking army can simply wait until your dwarves emo themselves to death. | In short, the attacking army can simply wait until your dwarves emo themselves to death. | ||
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[[Category:Guides]] | [[Category:Guides]] |