Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

v0.31:Children

2011-02-28T23:41:04Z

Droid:

{{quality|Fine|20:06, 26 December 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}

Most creatures, including {{L|Dwarves}}, start out as infants, then after a certain number of years become children, and then finally become adults. For {{L|Dwarves}}, childhood starts after reaching 1 year of age, and continues until they are 12 years old.

In fortress mode, some migrant dwarves are married and may bring children. Children who immigrate to your {{L|fortress}} might be any age from 2 to 12. You can determine the age of any child by viewing their thoughts screen, which will give you the child's exact age as well as their date of birth. You can see this information regardless if the child was born in your fortress or came to it as a migrant with its parents.

"Resident" female dwarves may also give birth to children. This can be stopped or reduced by editing the BABY_CHILD_CAP setting in the init file. Dwarves even can have miscarriages, which causes an unhappy thought for the mother but not for the father. Talking to a child causes a good thought. Children are known to start parties, being idle much of the time.

==Babies==

When children are born, the game will pause and announce the arrival of the baby. The mother will cancel whatever task they are in the middle of (even sleep) to seek their infant. They will immediately resume whatever task they were doing before the child was born. Dwarven mothers can also give birth to twins or triplets.
Babies are looked after by their mother, who will continue working with their baby. Babies usually share a tile with their mother. Babies do not have to be born in [[bed]]s, but are born wherever the mother happens to be; the birth will interrupt the mother's current action. If the mother is [[sleep]]ing or hospitalized, however, the baby will be free to roam as it pleases. An emancipated baby acts in a similar manner to a {{L|insane|raving mad}} adult, wandering freely over the map without any sense of self-preservation.

If babies are separated from their mothers (say, for example, the mother gets put in jail, goes for a swim, gets injured and gets carried off to the hospital), the baby will crawl around aimlessly. It will be fed and watered{{verify}} as requested (rather like a semi-mobile injured dwarf), and as long as it's not within reach of a hostile creature, then no harm will be done to it. 'Job cancellation spam' can be generated as the baby is seen by the game to be 'insane' (example: "Urist McBabyname, Dwarven baby, cancels Clean Self: Too Insane"), but once it reaches childhood (at 12 months), that will stop, and they shall go about their business like any other dwarven child.

The gender of a baby is determined upon birth. Reloading a save might get a baby of the other gender.

{{D for Dwarf}}Much like chinchillas who are born fully furred, Dwarven babies are born fully bearded. One may assume that this is a bug, but instead may be intended. The booze running through the mother's systems helps to promote beard growth, and in fact, while fetal alcohol syndrome exists in humans and elves, alcohol serves only to strengthen the Dwarven baby. Plump helmets in particular are known for promoting healthy beard growth.

==Labor==
In {{L|fortress mode}}, children cannot be assigned any labor, but they will perform a few simple tasks on their own:

* socializing like starting {{L|party|parties}};
* removing {{L|construction}}s (such as {{L|wall}}s, {{L|floor}}s, {{L|ramp}}s);
* eating, drinking, and sleeping as necessary;
* {{L|Farming|harvesting}} {{L|crops}}, if the 'All dwarves harvest' order is on. This will also increase their {{L|grower}} skill;
* when they want to, storing their items. Yelling at them to clean their room has no effect.
* filling designated {{L|pond|ponds}};{{verify}}
* children can enter {{L|strange mood}}s.

Children may not be assigned to the {{L|noble|nobility}}. However, they ''can'' be assigned bedrooms.

==Dwarven parenthood== 

As an oversight in programming, children's parents can become so preoccupied with finding their children that they can die of thirst.

v0.31 Talk:Farming

2011-02-11T22:08:00Z

Droid: /* Potash-optimal plot size */

== Farming Commands ==

I'm playing DF for the first time. This page is clear on ''how to make plot'' but is ambiguous on commands use to plant seeds. I made an outdoor plot, used "q" to select it, but the list of growable items is not what I expect. I made sure to bring 20 Plump Helmet Spawn with which to start a farm, as well as two dwarves skilled in growing, but there is no where to select Plump Helemts when I farm. What's going on? More keys could be used in describing how to plant. – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:96.35.160.255|96.35.160.255]]
:That would be because {{l|plump helmet}}s are UNDERGROUND crops, not OUTDOOR (or, rather, surface) crops. Build a farm plot underground, and you'll be able to plant your plump helmets there. If you want to use your surface farm plot, you'll need surface crops. The easiest way to get surface crops is to use {{l|plant gathering}} on the surface. Although you are right, the paragraph is a bit unclear. I'll tidy it up. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 03:34, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

== General ==

Placing a farm on rock
Needs Soil or mud
No Mud for underground farm
Mud is left by water

Placing a farm on surface soil
No Mud for underground farm
Mud is left by water

Placing a farm on mud found in an underground complex
<<No Error Message>>

So This is either a major bug, or a mechanics change and a minor text inconsistency.[[User:Doctorzuber|Doctorzuber]] 22:35, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

:This is a bug. You're supposed to be able to farm on soil. I'll try to track down the forum thread, one moment --[[User:Squirrelloid|Squirrelloid]] 22:37, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

:Aha, so saith the Baughn: http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=51951.msg1123336#msg1123336
:--[[User:Squirrelloid|Squirrelloid]] 22:41, 1 April 2010 (UTC)
::Who is but a lowly dabbling SDL coder and has not insight into the game code or Toady's intentions.--[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 15:31, 23 May 2010 (UTC)
:::Toady confirmed it too, you realize. Twice.--[[Special:Contributions/174.113.156.80|174.113.156.80]] 01:33, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
::::Quote from: Dr. A - "Farm plots built underground (Inside/Dark/Subterranean) on natural soil will not allow planting"
::::Reply from: Toady One - "I'm not sure yet. I never get a chance to look at it, despite wanting to look at it. The original idea was to require a soil wall beneath a mudless square for it to be farmable, and if it isn't that way, it's a bug. Either way, it is somewhat confusing, because you wouldn't be able to farm in one layer of soil. I'm not sure you should be able to, morally speaking, especially with the underground trees, but it's probably less confusing that way." from http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=62202.msg1424098#msg1424098
::::I shall give this some testing over the next few days to see if a farm on top of a soil wall will allow planting of underground crops without being muddied first.--[[User:Malibu Stacey|Malibu Stacey]] 21:32, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

== Seeds can not be grown on non-soil, non-subterranean tiles ==

I recently attempted to follow the advice in the article, channeling out several tiles near a river, irrigating them, and building a farm plot on the muddied tiles. However, when I tried to set the field to be planted, all seeds (surface AND subterranean) are disabled, and the message "No seeds available for this location" is displayed. The soil layer, as it turns out, was only one tile thick, and even though the tiles are "above ground" (not even indoors yet, I haven't built a roof over them), they are ineligible for any seeds to be planted on... subterranean crops because the tiles are above ground, and surface crops because the floors are mud-covered diorite instead of one of the clay/sand/soil types.

So, be warned... attempting to create an indoor, irrigated surface crop farm will not work if you accidentally channel down to stone. Surface crops will not grow in mud-covered rock, only in soil (mud-covered or otherwise). --[[User:Tatterdemalian|Tatterdemalian]] 22:09, 22 May 2010 (UTC)
:Have same problem... did you dig out the level below your "aboveground" farm? I did (z1 and z2 dug out) and I remember towercaps and the lot can't grow unless they have a floor tiles and wall below (z1 dug out but not z2), perhaps crops follow the same rules? I'll test this.--[[Special:Contributions/99.67.238.66|99.67.238.66]] 05:54, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
::I just encountered this issue (version 31.04) but in a slightly different context. I dug out four rooms underground in sand, did *not* dig out the tiles underneath, built 4 farms on the sand without irigating, and then got the message that that there are "No seeds available for this location", despite having just embarked with many seeds. Maybe I'll try tearing down the farms and irrigating first. --[[User:Frewfrux|Frewfrux]] 17:55, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
:::DF2010 requires farms to have mud whether on rock or soil layers. Cheers--[[Special:Contributions/99.67.238.66|99.67.238.66]] 00:50, 16 June 2010 (UTC)
::::Technically, it’s the bug that requires it (if I’m reading all the information correctly). It seems that DF 2010 is supposed to allow farms on soil regardless of mud. (Am I right, or is this actually intended behaviour?) I had thought that the bug was that you couldn’t build the farms without the mud, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. You can build the farms just fine, but the code doesn’t appear to “see” any valid seeds to plant after they are built.
::::I tore down my farms (successfully built on soil without mud), flooded the area, and then built them again and sure enough the farms now “see” the seeds I have. --[[User:Frewfrux|Frewfrux]] 19:54, 16 June 2010 (UTC)
:::::I thought that farms not growing without mud underground was a purposeful change on Toady's part. I suppose I assumed that because of how subterranean trees only grow in muddied soil. Also you don't have to have mud, above ground farms accept all the correct seeds if on soil that issn't irrigated. --[[Special:Contributions/99.67.238.66|99.67.238.66]] 22:00, 16 June 2010 (UTC)
::::::Hmmm. I thought that the only reason mud was needed for the underground trees was because they were on rock, not soil. Regardless, after testing it out, here's what I found:
::::::- You can *build* a farm on any soil (above ground or below)
::::::- Only the farm built above ground will "see" any available seeds (assuming no mud)
::::::- You can build an underground farm on soil and muddy the ground *afterward*
::::::- You can build a farm on part muddied ground and part soil and it will be able to "see" available seeds. HOWEVER, your dwarves will only plant on the muddied part of the farm.
::::::- Water both provides mud *and* washes it away. If you build an underground room with a hole in the ceiling and mark that hole with a "pond" zone so your dwarves bring water to it and dump the water in the room, you will see piles of mud appear on some of the tiles and be washed off of others (no idea what determines which of the two happen).
::::::And that was the extent of my testing. --[[User:Frewfrux|Frewfrux]] 01:47, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

::::::: Finally got around to trying to build a farm on muddied soil above-ground with a natural wall on the next level down. Testing shows that no seeds can be used on such terrain. So for DF2010 above-ground farms must be built on soil (muddied or unmuddied) and underground farms can grow on any terrain as long as the tiles are muddy. Above-ground farms will not work on muddied rock tiles. I'll go ahead and add this to the actual page.--[[Special:Contributions/99.67.238.66|99.67.238.66]] 21:05, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

:::::::: This is simply not true (in 31.18), you can even create an above ground farm on casted obsidian (and microcline and gabbro; I tested those three) after irrigation. And yes, it produces crops. --[[User:ZetaX|ZetaX]] 14:54, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

::::::: ''You can build a farm on part muddied ground and part soil and it will be able to "see" available seeds. HOWEVER, your dwarves will only plant on the muddied part of the farm.'' - This isn't exactly true. I just found out that if the top left square of the farm doesn't have mud, then NONE of the farm will activate. I muddied my farm plot, but missed two squares in the top left. rebuilt the farm and it didn't work; rebuilt the farm slightly smaller so that the top left corner was muddied and the farm turned on. [[Special:Contributions/71.202.179.67|71.202.179.67]] 19:29, 12 September 2010 (UTC)

== Merge ==
I don't see why we need a separate page for [[Farm Plot]] and [[Farming]]. Merger anyone? [[User:Kenji 03|Kenji 03]] 12:28, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
:Also, labors are typically described in their respective skill page. In this case, [[DF2010:Farmer|Farmer]] --[[User:Eagle0600|Eagle0600]] 13:05, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
::Both pages exist as full pages in the 40d namespace, in addition to a farmer page. This suggests that there is sufficient material for all three pages, although someone would need to spend more time reviewing how the topic space was divided in 40d to figure out why. --[[User:Squirrelloid|Squirrelloid]] 13:44, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

::Farming describes the concept, plant uses, importance, possibilities and caveats; Overview. Farm plot goes right down to 'key-pressing' and 'cursor-moving', that is, details and step-to-step. Ultimately it is an article on a building. I don't recall ever using the page Farm plot, but I think we should keep the 2. Looking over the old versions, I think the distinction should be made clearer, though. --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 14:34, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

:::I agree, but with all the new info and users this approach seems not viable for now. --[[User:Confused|Confused]] 18:56, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

== Farming Chart ==

[[Image:Df-crops-diagram.png|thumb|200px|General farming flowchart.]]
I found this chart to the right in the 40d farming page. I was just wondering if it is still current, so we can put it in the current page.
:As far as I can tell, yeah, it's still accurate. I haven't run into any changes in this part of the game, and I've always found this chart to be exceedingly helpful... Though a little messy. Perhaps we could do up a cleaner version of it for the new page? --Kydo 07:43, 16 October 2010 (UTC)
:: There, how's this? --Kydo 08:28, 17 October 2010 (UTC) [[Image:FarmG2.png|Thumb|200px|Proposed New Version]]
:::There is a similar table in [[DF2010:Crop]]. A table/chart for farming should preferably illustrate the processes of farming and not (re)iterate the specific crops and products. --[[User:Nahno|Nahno]] 12:52, 17 October 2010 (UTC)

::::I didn't even know that page existed! Considering it has a superior version of a chart that was always far more useful han the page it was on, shouldn't it be more readily available? I mean, there's just one off-handed link in the article, and another in the related articles section. --Kydo 15:07, 17 October 2010 (UTC)

::I'd say that the only improvement old farming process flowchart could utilize is grouping plants, drinks and products that have all options identical into blocks and not just color-coding by type and an arrow to uses. It may be harder to do with partially-overlapping groups though.--[[User:Another|Another]] 13:29, 17 October 2010 (UTC)

== Harvesting ==
Probably it ought to be noted that if your dwarves aren't quick enough to harvest a ripe bit of crop, it will wither and become refuse (happens to me when I set "Only Farmers harvest").--[[User:FleshForge|FleshForge]] 09:52, 7 August 2010 (UTC)
: I gather that's less of a problem if you have at least one dedicated farmer per x# of tiles, but I would like to read a recommendation for how many 'x' should be.[[User:Uzu Bash|Uzu Bash]] 17:52, 21 October 2010 (UTC)
:: That depends on the distance they have to travel from where they spend their spare time, sleep and so on to the farm. If the farms are adjacent to the dining room and bedrooms then a single farmer can manage a lot of tiles as long as that is all he/she does. If the farm is on the other side of the map, it may take many more farmers for the same amount of squares. You have to use trial and error for each setup. --[[User:Axussriddare|Axussriddare]] 15:24, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

== Indication of buggy behaviour ==

It's been reverted multiple times whenever someone adds the "due to a bug" statement, so I'll state my reason on why this should be made clear: new players. If someone new plays DF, they may think the irrigation process is too complex if they do it first thing. Like many of our first fortresses, farming is supposed to be a long term goal (fortress 1: farm plot built; fortress 2: plump helmet planted; fortress 3: sustainable farming; fortress 4: irrigation done) and forcing it onto them isn't a good idea, considering that it is a bug, and Toady has stated he'll look at it eventually. If nobody comes up with a good reason '''not''' to add this information, I'll re-add it. --[[User:Dree12|Dree12]] 19:56, 18 August 2010 (UTC)
:Since nobody commented, I'll re-add the bug notice. --[[User:Dree12|Dree12]] 20:52, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

== Problem with farm plot sending jobs ==

I made a 22 tile farm plot on muddied sand, a single tile in the corner was not muddied. It still let me build the plot, but until I resized the plot to make it not include that tile, my farm plot would not send jobs out.-[[User:Wafl|Wafl]] 21:53, 10 October 2010 (UTC)

== maximum stack size ==

What is the max size of a crop stack? Does high enough growing skill make potash irrelevant? [[User:Uzu Bash|Uzu Bash]] 17:45, 21 October 2010 (UTC)
:Not sure about 0.31, but back in 40d the maximum crop stack size was 6 (with a lot of luck and a highly skilled farmer), and according to Toady you could boost that all the way to 11 using potash. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 19:44, 21 October 2010 (UTC)
:: 11? That's ridiculous. That's not even funny.

== Harvest Apathy ==

Has anyone encountered a bug wherein your planters go on seeding farm plots, but no one is willing to harvest anything? No one will touch the withered plants either (unless they're designated for dumping).

I switched between harvest options during different seasons, left plots fallow, rotated crops and so on to no effect.

Halp?

: You probably accidentally turned on "Dwarves Ignore Food." o-f to re-enable. [[User:Niveras|Niveras]] 02:48, 22 October 2010 (UTC)

::I've done that before in the past, so that was the first thing I checked. They've still got "Dwarves Gather Food". However, a third save/quit just fixed the problem. The only messages in my errorlog.txt are pathing-related. I don't know what the deal was. I'm going to try to reproduce the problem now.

:: I just saw that happen for three seasons in a row after a big Depot run, and noticed that everyone with Farming enabled would put planting ahead in priority when crops were still in the field. I turned some of them off and confined them all to burrow, and they finally caught during the next caravan. [[User:Uzu Bash|Uzu Bash]] 13:23, 22 October 2010 (UTC)

== Attributes ==

Are there any attributes that affect farming? Where in the raws would you check to find out?--[[User:Mrdudeguy|Mrdudeguy]] 00:12, 26 October 2010 (UTC)

== Not all squares being used ==

{{Farming|Farm plots in action}}
<blockquote>
Depending on the number of growers and their experience and the rate at which the plant grows, not all squares of large plots may be used
</blockquote>

There is no explanation of why this happens, or how to avoid it. I still have this problem to this day. Do one of the farming skills affect how many tiles of land a dwarf can maintain? Or is this caused by tiles not being muddied? I have over 200 plump helmet spawn, but only 4-5 tiles of my 6x6 grid of farm is being planted in. I am unsure why, inspecting the tiles describes they are all muddied or have a dusting of mud, and they are all the same material (sandy loam).

One way I avoid this is by farming in caverns. I've actually started to use caverns alone because of this suspected bug. Someone please shed some light on this issue, hopefully it's something simple. I know I am not alone, my friend asked me the same question and I was unable to answer him. – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:RadGH|RadGH]]

== Potash-optimal plot size ==

Since the formula for potash usage is (1/4 * plot_size +1) rounding down, we can choose the size of a plot to maximize potash payoff.

The optimal rectangular plot is 7x9, with 3.938 squares per unit potash.
If 7x9 gives too much food, try 5x7, 3x9, 3x5, or 1x7.

If you don't mind non-rectangular farms, then choose the maximum reasonable size and choose the largest size of the form 4n - 1 that is smaller. The maximal plot is size 10*10, so 99 is the best possible.

--[[User:Droid|Droid]] 21:56, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:Farming

2011-02-11T21:56:07Z

Droid: /* Potash-optimal plot size */ new section

== Farming Commands ==

I'm playing DF for the first time. This page is clear on ''how to make plot'' but is ambiguous on commands use to plant seeds. I made an outdoor plot, used "q" to select it, but the list of growable items is not what I expect. I made sure to bring 20 Plump Helmet Spawn with which to start a farm, as well as two dwarves skilled in growing, but there is no where to select Plump Helemts when I farm. What's going on? More keys could be used in describing how to plant. – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:96.35.160.255|96.35.160.255]]
:That would be because {{l|plump helmet}}s are UNDERGROUND crops, not OUTDOOR (or, rather, surface) crops. Build a farm plot underground, and you'll be able to plant your plump helmets there. If you want to use your surface farm plot, you'll need surface crops. The easiest way to get surface crops is to use {{l|plant gathering}} on the surface. Although you are right, the paragraph is a bit unclear. I'll tidy it up. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 03:34, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

== General ==

Placing a farm on rock
Needs Soil or mud
No Mud for underground farm
Mud is left by water

Placing a farm on surface soil
No Mud for underground farm
Mud is left by water

Placing a farm on mud found in an underground complex
<<No Error Message>>

So This is either a major bug, or a mechanics change and a minor text inconsistency.[[User:Doctorzuber|Doctorzuber]] 22:35, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

:This is a bug. You're supposed to be able to farm on soil. I'll try to track down the forum thread, one moment --[[User:Squirrelloid|Squirrelloid]] 22:37, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

:Aha, so saith the Baughn: http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=51951.msg1123336#msg1123336
:--[[User:Squirrelloid|Squirrelloid]] 22:41, 1 April 2010 (UTC)
::Who is but a lowly dabbling SDL coder and has not insight into the game code or Toady's intentions.--[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 15:31, 23 May 2010 (UTC)
:::Toady confirmed it too, you realize. Twice.--[[Special:Contributions/174.113.156.80|174.113.156.80]] 01:33, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
::::Quote from: Dr. A - "Farm plots built underground (Inside/Dark/Subterranean) on natural soil will not allow planting"
::::Reply from: Toady One - "I'm not sure yet. I never get a chance to look at it, despite wanting to look at it. The original idea was to require a soil wall beneath a mudless square for it to be farmable, and if it isn't that way, it's a bug. Either way, it is somewhat confusing, because you wouldn't be able to farm in one layer of soil. I'm not sure you should be able to, morally speaking, especially with the underground trees, but it's probably less confusing that way." from http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=62202.msg1424098#msg1424098
::::I shall give this some testing over the next few days to see if a farm on top of a soil wall will allow planting of underground crops without being muddied first.--[[User:Malibu Stacey|Malibu Stacey]] 21:32, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

== Seeds can not be grown on non-soil, non-subterranean tiles ==

I recently attempted to follow the advice in the article, channeling out several tiles near a river, irrigating them, and building a farm plot on the muddied tiles. However, when I tried to set the field to be planted, all seeds (surface AND subterranean) are disabled, and the message "No seeds available for this location" is displayed. The soil layer, as it turns out, was only one tile thick, and even though the tiles are "above ground" (not even indoors yet, I haven't built a roof over them), they are ineligible for any seeds to be planted on... subterranean crops because the tiles are above ground, and surface crops because the floors are mud-covered diorite instead of one of the clay/sand/soil types.

So, be warned... attempting to create an indoor, irrigated surface crop farm will not work if you accidentally channel down to stone. Surface crops will not grow in mud-covered rock, only in soil (mud-covered or otherwise). --[[User:Tatterdemalian|Tatterdemalian]] 22:09, 22 May 2010 (UTC)
:Have same problem... did you dig out the level below your "aboveground" farm? I did (z1 and z2 dug out) and I remember towercaps and the lot can't grow unless they have a floor tiles and wall below (z1 dug out but not z2), perhaps crops follow the same rules? I'll test this.--[[Special:Contributions/99.67.238.66|99.67.238.66]] 05:54, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
::I just encountered this issue (version 31.04) but in a slightly different context. I dug out four rooms underground in sand, did *not* dig out the tiles underneath, built 4 farms on the sand without irigating, and then got the message that that there are "No seeds available for this location", despite having just embarked with many seeds. Maybe I'll try tearing down the farms and irrigating first. --[[User:Frewfrux|Frewfrux]] 17:55, 15 June 2010 (UTC)
:::DF2010 requires farms to have mud whether on rock or soil layers. Cheers--[[Special:Contributions/99.67.238.66|99.67.238.66]] 00:50, 16 June 2010 (UTC)
::::Technically, it’s the bug that requires it (if I’m reading all the information correctly). It seems that DF 2010 is supposed to allow farms on soil regardless of mud. (Am I right, or is this actually intended behaviour?) I had thought that the bug was that you couldn’t build the farms without the mud, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. You can build the farms just fine, but the code doesn’t appear to “see” any valid seeds to plant after they are built.
::::I tore down my farms (successfully built on soil without mud), flooded the area, and then built them again and sure enough the farms now “see” the seeds I have. --[[User:Frewfrux|Frewfrux]] 19:54, 16 June 2010 (UTC)
:::::I thought that farms not growing without mud underground was a purposeful change on Toady's part. I suppose I assumed that because of how subterranean trees only grow in muddied soil. Also you don't have to have mud, above ground farms accept all the correct seeds if on soil that issn't irrigated. --[[Special:Contributions/99.67.238.66|99.67.238.66]] 22:00, 16 June 2010 (UTC)
::::::Hmmm. I thought that the only reason mud was needed for the underground trees was because they were on rock, not soil. Regardless, after testing it out, here's what I found:
::::::- You can *build* a farm on any soil (above ground or below)
::::::- Only the farm built above ground will "see" any available seeds (assuming no mud)
::::::- You can build an underground farm on soil and muddy the ground *afterward*
::::::- You can build a farm on part muddied ground and part soil and it will be able to "see" available seeds. HOWEVER, your dwarves will only plant on the muddied part of the farm.
::::::- Water both provides mud *and* washes it away. If you build an underground room with a hole in the ceiling and mark that hole with a "pond" zone so your dwarves bring water to it and dump the water in the room, you will see piles of mud appear on some of the tiles and be washed off of others (no idea what determines which of the two happen).
::::::And that was the extent of my testing. --[[User:Frewfrux|Frewfrux]] 01:47, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

::::::: Finally got around to trying to build a farm on muddied soil above-ground with a natural wall on the next level down. Testing shows that no seeds can be used on such terrain. So for DF2010 above-ground farms must be built on soil (muddied or unmuddied) and underground farms can grow on any terrain as long as the tiles are muddy. Above-ground farms will not work on muddied rock tiles. I'll go ahead and add this to the actual page.--[[Special:Contributions/99.67.238.66|99.67.238.66]] 21:05, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

:::::::: This is simply not true (in 31.18), you can even create an above ground farm on casted obsidian (and microcline and gabbro; I tested those three) after irrigation. And yes, it produces crops. --[[User:ZetaX|ZetaX]] 14:54, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

::::::: ''You can build a farm on part muddied ground and part soil and it will be able to "see" available seeds. HOWEVER, your dwarves will only plant on the muddied part of the farm.'' - This isn't exactly true. I just found out that if the top left square of the farm doesn't have mud, then NONE of the farm will activate. I muddied my farm plot, but missed two squares in the top left. rebuilt the farm and it didn't work; rebuilt the farm slightly smaller so that the top left corner was muddied and the farm turned on. [[Special:Contributions/71.202.179.67|71.202.179.67]] 19:29, 12 September 2010 (UTC)

== Merge ==
I don't see why we need a separate page for [[Farm Plot]] and [[Farming]]. Merger anyone? [[User:Kenji 03|Kenji 03]] 12:28, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
:Also, labors are typically described in their respective skill page. In this case, [[DF2010:Farmer|Farmer]] --[[User:Eagle0600|Eagle0600]] 13:05, 6 April 2010 (UTC)
::Both pages exist as full pages in the 40d namespace, in addition to a farmer page. This suggests that there is sufficient material for all three pages, although someone would need to spend more time reviewing how the topic space was divided in 40d to figure out why. --[[User:Squirrelloid|Squirrelloid]] 13:44, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

::Farming describes the concept, plant uses, importance, possibilities and caveats; Overview. Farm plot goes right down to 'key-pressing' and 'cursor-moving', that is, details and step-to-step. Ultimately it is an article on a building. I don't recall ever using the page Farm plot, but I think we should keep the 2. Looking over the old versions, I think the distinction should be made clearer, though. --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 14:34, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

:::I agree, but with all the new info and users this approach seems not viable for now. --[[User:Confused|Confused]] 18:56, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

== Farming Chart ==

[[Image:Df-crops-diagram.png|thumb|200px|General farming flowchart.]]
I found this chart to the right in the 40d farming page. I was just wondering if it is still current, so we can put it in the current page.
:As far as I can tell, yeah, it's still accurate. I haven't run into any changes in this part of the game, and I've always found this chart to be exceedingly helpful... Though a little messy. Perhaps we could do up a cleaner version of it for the new page? --Kydo 07:43, 16 October 2010 (UTC)
:: There, how's this? --Kydo 08:28, 17 October 2010 (UTC) [[Image:FarmG2.png|Thumb|200px|Proposed New Version]]
:::There is a similar table in [[DF2010:Crop]]. A table/chart for farming should preferably illustrate the processes of farming and not (re)iterate the specific crops and products. --[[User:Nahno|Nahno]] 12:52, 17 October 2010 (UTC)

::::I didn't even know that page existed! Considering it has a superior version of a chart that was always far more useful han the page it was on, shouldn't it be more readily available? I mean, there's just one off-handed link in the article, and another in the related articles section. --Kydo 15:07, 17 October 2010 (UTC)

::I'd say that the only improvement old farming process flowchart could utilize is grouping plants, drinks and products that have all options identical into blocks and not just color-coding by type and an arrow to uses. It may be harder to do with partially-overlapping groups though.--[[User:Another|Another]] 13:29, 17 October 2010 (UTC)

== Harvesting ==
Probably it ought to be noted that if your dwarves aren't quick enough to harvest a ripe bit of crop, it will wither and become refuse (happens to me when I set "Only Farmers harvest").--[[User:FleshForge|FleshForge]] 09:52, 7 August 2010 (UTC)
: I gather that's less of a problem if you have at least one dedicated farmer per x# of tiles, but I would like to read a recommendation for how many 'x' should be.[[User:Uzu Bash|Uzu Bash]] 17:52, 21 October 2010 (UTC)
:: That depends on the distance they have to travel from where they spend their spare time, sleep and so on to the farm. If the farms are adjacent to the dining room and bedrooms then a single farmer can manage a lot of tiles as long as that is all he/she does. If the farm is on the other side of the map, it may take many more farmers for the same amount of squares. You have to use trial and error for each setup. --[[User:Axussriddare|Axussriddare]] 15:24, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

== Indication of buggy behaviour ==

It's been reverted multiple times whenever someone adds the "due to a bug" statement, so I'll state my reason on why this should be made clear: new players. If someone new plays DF, they may think the irrigation process is too complex if they do it first thing. Like many of our first fortresses, farming is supposed to be a long term goal (fortress 1: farm plot built; fortress 2: plump helmet planted; fortress 3: sustainable farming; fortress 4: irrigation done) and forcing it onto them isn't a good idea, considering that it is a bug, and Toady has stated he'll look at it eventually. If nobody comes up with a good reason '''not''' to add this information, I'll re-add it. --[[User:Dree12|Dree12]] 19:56, 18 August 2010 (UTC)
:Since nobody commented, I'll re-add the bug notice. --[[User:Dree12|Dree12]] 20:52, 24 August 2010 (UTC)

== Problem with farm plot sending jobs ==

I made a 22 tile farm plot on muddied sand, a single tile in the corner was not muddied. It still let me build the plot, but until I resized the plot to make it not include that tile, my farm plot would not send jobs out.-[[User:Wafl|Wafl]] 21:53, 10 October 2010 (UTC)

== maximum stack size ==

What is the max size of a crop stack? Does high enough growing skill make potash irrelevant? [[User:Uzu Bash|Uzu Bash]] 17:45, 21 October 2010 (UTC)
:Not sure about 0.31, but back in 40d the maximum crop stack size was 6 (with a lot of luck and a highly skilled farmer), and according to Toady you could boost that all the way to 11 using potash. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 19:44, 21 October 2010 (UTC)
:: 11? That's ridiculous. That's not even funny.

== Harvest Apathy ==

Has anyone encountered a bug wherein your planters go on seeding farm plots, but no one is willing to harvest anything? No one will touch the withered plants either (unless they're designated for dumping).

I switched between harvest options during different seasons, left plots fallow, rotated crops and so on to no effect.

Halp?

: You probably accidentally turned on "Dwarves Ignore Food." o-f to re-enable. [[User:Niveras|Niveras]] 02:48, 22 October 2010 (UTC)

::I've done that before in the past, so that was the first thing I checked. They've still got "Dwarves Gather Food". However, a third save/quit just fixed the problem. The only messages in my errorlog.txt are pathing-related. I don't know what the deal was. I'm going to try to reproduce the problem now.

:: I just saw that happen for three seasons in a row after a big Depot run, and noticed that everyone with Farming enabled would put planting ahead in priority when crops were still in the field. I turned some of them off and confined them all to burrow, and they finally caught during the next caravan. [[User:Uzu Bash|Uzu Bash]] 13:23, 22 October 2010 (UTC)

== Attributes ==

Are there any attributes that affect farming? Where in the raws would you check to find out?--[[User:Mrdudeguy|Mrdudeguy]] 00:12, 26 October 2010 (UTC)

== Not all squares being used ==

{{Farming|Farm plots in action}}
<blockquote>
Depending on the number of growers and their experience and the rate at which the plant grows, not all squares of large plots may be used
</blockquote>

There is no explanation of why this happens, or how to avoid it. I still have this problem to this day. Do one of the farming skills affect how many tiles of land a dwarf can maintain? Or is this caused by tiles not being muddied? I have over 200 plump helmet spawn, but only 4-5 tiles of my 6x6 grid of farm is being planted in. I am unsure why, inspecting the tiles describes they are all muddied or have a dusting of mud, and they are all the same material (sandy loam).

One way I avoid this is by farming in caverns. I've actually started to use caverns alone because of this suspected bug. Someone please shed some light on this issue, hopefully it's something simple. I know I am not alone, my friend asked me the same question and I was unable to answer him. – [[template:unsigned|unsigned]] comment by [[User:RadGH|RadGH]]

== Potash-optimal plot size ==

Since the formula for potash usage is (1/4 * plot_size +1) rounding down, we can choose the size of a plot to maximize potash payoff.

The optimal rectangular plot is 7x9, with 3.938 squares per unit potash.
If 7x9 gives too much food, try 5x7, 3x9, 3x5, 2x7, or 1x7.

If you don't mind non-rectangular farms, then choose the maximum reasonable size and choose the largest size of the form 4n - 1 that is smaller. The maximal plot is size 10*10, so 99 is the best possible.

--[[User:Droid|Droid]] 21:56, 11 February 2011 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:Industry

2011-01-15T19:04:37Z

Droid: /* Primary secondary tertiary what? */

I'm going to wait for a day, if you guys have any comments on the names, or anything else i should add, please add that.[[User:GiantTiger11|GiantTiger11]] 06:18, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

This is a great page. I'm going to try to fix some of the red links. --[[User:Strangething|Strangething]] 00:57, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

==Primary secondary tertiary what?==
As far as I can tell this is either random or personal preference.
Soap industry why isn't it tertiary? -- it's for healthcare -- heck it should be a fourth level as it supports a third level. I like gem cutting, why is it a tertiary?
Why isn't health care a primary.
Crafting -- hey why bother with it? I'll sell food, furniture, secondary quality weapons, and junk I got from killing humans/kobolds.

It isn't about what industry is more important. Primary means it extracts resources. Secondary means that all inputs are Primary industries, Tertiary means it has secondary industries as inputs (maybe?). It answers the question, "Does this industry extract raw materials?" and if not, "How many degrees of separation are there?". Real world explanation
[http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/sectorseconomy.htm here]. --[[User:Droid|Droid]] 19:04, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:Industry

2011-01-15T19:04:17Z

Droid: /* Primary secondary tertiary what? */

I'm going to wait for a day, if you guys have any comments on the names, or anything else i should add, please add that.[[User:GiantTiger11|GiantTiger11]] 06:18, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

This is a great page. I'm going to try to fix some of the red links. --[[User:Strangething|Strangething]] 00:57, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

==Primary secondary tertiary what?==
As far as I can tell this is either random or personal preference.
Soap industry why isn't it tertiary? -- it's for healthcare -- heck it should be a fourth level as it supports a third level. I like gem cutting, why is it a tertiary?
Why isn't health care a primary.
Crafting -- hey why bother with it? I'll sell food, furniture, secondary quality weapons, and junk I got from killing humans/kobolds.

It isn't about what industry is more important. Primary means it extracts resources. Secondary means that all inputs are Primary industries, Tertiary means it has secondary industries as inputs (maybe?). It answers the question, "Does this industry extract raw materials?" and if not, "How many degrees of separation are there?". Real world explanation
[http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/sectorseconomy.htm here].--[[User:Droid|Droid]] 19:04, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:Skill

2010-10-30T16:41:09Z

Droid: /* Skill Rust */

== Migrants ==

You can get migrants at any skill level, in any skill. I've got strand extractors before discovering adamantium, and legendary migrants before they've done any work.

== Teacher/Leader/Student ==

Are these related to the new military training system, or are they something else, like a general ability to learn? Or is the dwarf's learning ability based on his attributes? Would a dwarf with high leader skill be better at running a fortress, or is that for running a squad? --Kydo 14:43, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

Toady said something about them being able to only teach weapon skills, and the general combat / dodging sort of abilities, so I don't think they have any other impact.

== Skill levels ==
Ok, I just took this from the 40d version, as I assume most of this wouldn't have changed, but I don't know how to check for the appropriate xp values. So far I think the order remained unchanged, except "No label" got replaced by "Adequate", and I'm relatively sure Dabbling through Competent are still correct, and Great through Legendary. I just put this here to reflect the "Adequate" change, and so anybody who knows how to check for the rest can update and put it into the wiki page, as it's lacking at the moment.
I added the question marks so people can remove them once they confirm the levels, and change the order if it is found to be different. --[[User:Ramperkash|Ramperkash]] 16:17, 6 April 2010 (UTC+2)

{| style="margin: 0 auto; border: 1px solid black; border-spacing: 0"
|-
| width="33%" style="border-right: 1px solid black;" |
{| width="100%"
! Level !! XP
|-
| Dabbling || align="right" | 1??
|-
| Novice || align="right" | 500??
|-
| Adequate || align="right" | 1100??
|-
| Competent || align="right" | 1800??
|-
| Skilled || align="right" | 2600??
|-
| Proficient || align="right" | 3500??
|-
| Talented || align="right" | 4500??
|}
| width="33%" style="border-right: 1px solid black;" |
{| width="100%"
! Level !! XP
|-
| Adept || align="right" | 5600??
|-
| Expert || align="right" | 6800??
|-
| Professional || align="right" | 8100??
|-
| Accomplished || align="right" | 9500??
|-
| Great || align="right" | 11000??
|-
| Master || align="right" | 12600??
|-
| High Master || align="right" | 14300??
|}
| width="33%" |
{| width="100%"
! Level !! XP
|-
| Grand Master || align="right" | 16100??
|-
| Legendary || align="right" | 18000??
|-
| Legendary+1 || align="right" | 20000??
|-
| Legendary+2 || align="right" | 22100??
|-
| Legendary+3 || align="right" | 24300??
|-
| Legendary+4 || align="right" | 26600??
|-
| Legendary+5 || align="right" | 29000??
|}
|}
:I can now confirm that the skill levels remained the same (up to Legendary at least), except that the "Adequate" prefix replaced the "No-label" one, and I still don't know how to test the xp values, might be able to check them in adventure mode. --[[User:Ramperkash|Ramperkash]] 17:26, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
::They appear to be unchanged when I look at them in Dwarf Therapist. [[User:Garanis|Garanis]] 17:42, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
:::This would not go on this page, it would go on [[experience]].--[[User:Albedo|Albedo]] 21:46, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

A list of skill descriptors on this page would be useful and this table is as good as any, though perhaps the numbers aren't needed here [[User:Cpad|Cpad]] 02:32, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

==Quality Skills==
I've been trying to compose a list of skills where level affects quality modifiers, versus skills where level is otherwise important, versus skills where level only affects speed.

Affects Quality:
Architect (cannot have mood)
Mason
Engraver (cannot have mood)
Mechanic
Carpenter
Bowyer
Siege Engineer
Cook
Trapper (for making traps)
Weaponsmith
Armorsmith
Blacksmith
Metal Crafter
Bone Carver
Stone Crafter (though, who cares, amirite?)
Wood Crafter (even more useless)
Leatherworker
Weaver
Gem Cutter
Gem Setter

Otherwise Important:
Miner (get all them gems)
Planter (for fat stacks)
All medical
All military
Judge of Intent
Appraiser

Just speed:
Organizer
Record Keeper
Soap Maker
All others

This seems pretty final now, so I'mma go figure out how to make a table on this wiki. --[[User:Zombiejustice|Zombiejustice]] 17:00, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

==skill penalties==
I'm pretty sure I've seen my legendary miners not dropping stone (or rough jewels, or ore), if they're exhausted, so it does seem to be a straight penalty. I'll add it to the article provisionally. Could someone else verify?

* Toady commented that as of 31.08, this should only apply to "starving" people (and presumably dehydrated) (comment at http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/mantisbt/view.php?id=8). What have your mining experiences been in 31.08? -- [[User:Creidieki|Creidieki]] 05:34, 28 June 2010 (UTC)
**I was pretty confident that it was exhaustion, but it's entirely possible I mistook a brown arrow for a gray one.[[Special:Contributions/75.164.146.98|75.164.146.98]] 02:40, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

===Layout===
Could someone please edit the layout so that the skill levels is side-by-side with the skills available? Would make a much better page layout and easy reference at a glance. -[[User:Dezbro|Dezbro]] 03:02, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

== Skill Rust ==

I believe that Skill Rust should be incorporated into the Skill article of this Wiki, rather than having a separate article. -[[User:Kogan Loloklam|Kogan Loloklam]] 14:02, 7 August 2010 (UTC)

Example of negative effect of skill rust: adept metalcrafter (very rusty) produces items of basic quality only. "Only" as in 15 or 20 in a row. Also dwarf with rusty skill gets less XP per job. I saw numbers as little as 14 XP vs 30 XP for not rusty skill. [[User:Elfy|Elfy]] 22:57, 9 August 2010 (UTC)

I *think* that skills out of use for an extremely long time start to fall in levels - my bookkeeper was a High Master Fish Dissector when he turned up a few years back, he's now a Master Fish Dissector. I'll keep a better eye on this and report back.--[[User:Nimblewright|Nimblewright]] 21:56, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

: I think it's true. I have a bunch of stonecrafters from Master to Grand Master levels which could only be formerly Legendary from mood as I don't do much stonecrafting. [[User:Elfy|Elfy]] 00:58, 16 August 2010 (UTC)
:: I'm just starting the Autumn of my first year in-fortress, and all my unused Novice and Adequate skills among the starting expedition are already listed as Rusty. This is particularly worrisome since my Doctor and Appraiser skills were at Novice. [[User:Romeofalling|Romeofalling]] 21:58, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

It looks like rust comes off in layers. I just watched as my Proficient (very rusty) architect designed two buildings. After the first he was merely rusty, and after the second he was simply Proficient. It's a single sample, but still. --[[User:Oddrune|Oddrune]] 22:56, 10 September 2010 (UTC)

I didn't notice any affect on my medic staff due to "rusty" skills, They still worked as though their skills were normal. I didn't think to check xp earned, I have noticed atrophy(loss of skill lvl) in my other fortresses after reaching "very rusty". I'm Incorporating a "danger room" and I'll monitor xp earned. --Nordak

Do legendary skills rust? I usually disable mining on my legendary miners, but haven't seen any rust yet.--[[User:Droid|Droid]] 16:41, 30 October 2010 (UTC)

== Bugs? Mainly with modding ==

Would putting in a bug section be out of place if the bugs are solely on the modding side? Like warning modders that if you disable one skill in a metaskill group the whole metaskill group disappears? [[User:KaelemGaen|KaelemGaen]] 14:59, 12 August 2010 (UTC)
:I don't think it would be worth it... just put the bugs in the discussion thread and if somebody feels like it maybe they will transpose them in the main page. [[User:Speed112|Speed112]] 16:32, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

== On Wrestlers and Bronze Colossuses ==

I had a fresh recruit fighting a Bronze Colossus for some reason. Obviously, without any skills to his name, he immediately began wrestling the thing. The next instant, he was an Elite Wrestler. I imagine that trying to wrestle a gigantic living bronze statue can be an extraordinary learning experience. Although he was pummeled into a pulp despite his new elite-ness, does anyone know exactly why this happened?--[[Special:Contributions/162.83.223.4|162.83.223.4]] 02:54, 14 August 2010 (UTC)

: Yeah, this happens in any combat now. Before (or after?) dying military dwarf is promoted. It looks very funny. --[[User:Elfy|Elfy]] 01:01, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

: Colossi. :P -- [[Special:Contributions/192.203.222.78|192.203.222.78]] 02:56, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

== Managing Skills ==

A general page or section on managing skills of dwarves would be helpful. what labor preferences (and therefore skills) are good to give in combination? A table summarizing which skills allow operation of what buildings or other activities would also be helpful, they're not all obvious, and the summary could be one line, instead of going to a nearly blank page to find out. (Animal dissection allows what now? I go to the animal dissector page, which is almost entirely empty, to find out.)

Is there any way to find which dwarves are the highest in a skill? list them by skill level in a selected category?
my best woodcutter committed suicide, now i need to find someone else and transfer the axe to them...
but i have no idea how to do that, other than painfully going through the entire roster. -- [[Special:Contributions/192.203.222.78|192.203.222.78]] 02:55, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

: The first part, the table, is a good suggestion. The second part: In the nobles screen, when replacing nobles dwarves are sorted by most skill related to that position. Other than that, I think you need something like Dwarf Therapist to compare stats easily. [[User:Calite|Calite]] 03:22, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

v0.31:Aquifer

2010-04-21T21:35:03Z

Droid:

{{av}}
An '''aquifer''' is a subterranean layer of {{l|water}}-bearing rock or {{l|soil}}. Attempts to mine through them will result in the mined-out squares immediately filling with {{l|water}}, effectively halting excavation at or below their level. This, in conjunction with the fact that they are often located in areas rich in {{l|loam}}, and {{l|sand}}, makes it difficult to find great quantities of {{l|stone}} in areas with aquifers, making for more challenging gameplay.

== Dealing with aquifers ==

===The ore method===
On maps where the aquifer is not held in a layer of soil, but instead is held in a {{L|sedimentary layer|sedimentary layer}} such as sandstone, it may be possible to tunnel down through deposits of ore such as magnetite. For this to work you have to find a spot where there is coincidentally an ore deposit on each Z-level you need to dig through. This is only possible through tiresome trial and error, or through the use of a utility like reveal.exe.

===The magma/obsidian method===
If you have access to a supply of magma, you can create your own obsidian caissons. By channeling into the aquifer layer and then filling these channels with magma, it is possible to create a wall of obsidian between your working area and the {{l|water}}-bearing rock or {{l|soil}}. However, changes to world generation with the last version have made this method more difficult than it once was, as it is now harder to find magma vents that extend above the aquifer level.

===The cave-in method===
If there are enough layers above the aquifer, then letting non aquifer rock fall into the aquifer layer gives an area of dig-able rock. This requires at least 2 natural dry layers. If multiple aquifer layers are to be breached, things get more complicated. First {{l| channel}} out the area of aquifer that will be replaced. Then dig out all connecting floors and walls to the block that will fall (build a support to hold it until you are ready for collision). A {{l| burrow}} may be useful to assign unnecessary dwarves to a safe area. When everyone is clear, de-construct the support with a lever. (If you forgot to bring stone, then you may instead build a constructed floor to support it, designate it to be destroyed, and have a {{l|hospital}} standing ready in case the unlucky one survives.)

After the collapse, do not dig out the outer edge of the fallen rock.

===The freezing method===

If you are playing in a freezing or very cold landscape, basically, where it snows in winter and instantly freezes water, you can dig out a 3x3 hole in the ground using channels, and make it deeper and deeper until you reach the aquifer level. Once you reach the damp rock, tunnel into it with an up/down staircase - the incoming water will freeze after a few moments. The central square of the 3x3 hole should be tunnelable ice, so you can get to the rock beneath. If there are two aquifer levels, for example, you can just make a larger initial hole, and make a smaller one for the level after.

If your fortress is in a zone that gets warm, build walls around the inside of the hole to stop the water coming in once the ice melts.

{{World}}

[[Category:World]]

v0.31 Talk:Trading

2010-04-21T04:07:36Z

Droid: /* Merchants going underground. */

Question regarding the coloring of the items being traded, It says that items in white are are created by a source other then your fortress, while brown is fortress created goods. In my first trade with the dwarven caravan two goods I know I created, a barrel holding donkey cheese and a barrel with cow's milk were colored in white. I mean, it's not exactly an issue, but is this because they an animal derived source or what? --[[User:AdmiralDread|AdmiralDread]] 05:15, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
:I believe for liquids in barrels it looks at whether you made the barrel, not the contents. Perhaps for all barrel items, I'm not sure. I personally don't trade food or drinks --[[User:Todestool|Todestool]] 14:49, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

It seems to be possible in DF2010 to have no trade from the dwarves. If their civilization is too small to have any leaders of note, then there will be no caravans.

==No Wagons with Caravans==
I never had wagons with DF2010. Is it just me or is there something needed except a 3wide path to one edge? Its always there and there is never a caravan with wagons, only with traders!--[[User:Niggy|Niggy]] 20:32, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
: I've not had wagons in this current fort either. Think it may be because I'm in a mountain biome...--[[User:Nimblewright|Nimblewright]] 10:11, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

::Yes, Wagons are out for now. This is most likely a bug as the access check screen is still in. Hm..or not? --[[User:Birthright|Birthright]] 20:00, 14 April 2010 (UTC)
:::They're still in the raws - see creature_equipment.txt. --[[User:Quietust|Quietust]] 21:11, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

== late caravan ==

The caravan used to arrive for me at exactly mid-autumn. I got my caravan in the new version at just a few days before autumn ended. Is this the case with everyone? [[User:Greep|Greep]] 03:56, 17 April 2010 (UTC)
:can confirm, caravans now always come late. --[[User:Confused|Confused]] 14:08, 17 April 2010 (UTC)
::maybe this is intentional as a "delay" from where they travel from? --[[User:Eroing|Eroing]] 17:41, 17 April 2010 (CET)

== Merchants going underground. ==

I just had a dwarven caravan leave the fortress through an underground edge of the map. Spawned from the top though.--[[User:Droid|Droid]] 04:07, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:Trading

2010-04-21T04:07:23Z

Droid: /* Merchants going underground. */ new section

v0.31:Defense guide

2010-04-20T13:21:57Z

Droid:

{{av}}
{{human}}


:''This page is one of several inter-related articles on the broader topic of defending your fortress and your dwarves. The '''defense guide''' is a general overview of the threats that will challenge your fortress and things to consider when preparing a standard defense. For tips on laying out your architecture to protect your military, see '''{{l|security design}}'''. For complex traps that are not a minor/optional part of a larger defensive plan (but might be adapted or plugged into one), see '''{{l|trap design}}'''. For specific advice on how to get your soldiers prepared for any threat, see '''{{l|military design}}'''.

In Dwarf Fortress, you will often find yourself beset by hostile creatures looking to murder your dwarves or take their treasures. Protecting your fortress from intruders is a challenging task and a broad, complex topic. A wide variety of {{l|creature}}s can threaten your dwarves, and there is no one approach or philosophy that perfectly addresses every possibility. Fortress layout, military organization and training, traps and more, all contribute to the overall "defense" and survivability of your fortress and the dwarves that live and work both within there and in the world around it, and likewise no one article can include every last detail. This guide will pull from many other articles, but will prefer to refer to those rather than re-post information that is already found (and better placed) there.

There are three important things to consider when planning the defenses for your fortress. First, you must protect the fortress itself - the buildings, the hallways, the dwarves within it. But second, protecting the dwarves outside and topside as they go about their work is also important. These two goals can often be rather divergent, as your dwarves may need to wander the open countryside to collect herbs, cut trees, hunt, fish, and while outside the bounds of your fortress they can find themselves quite vulnerable. 
Lastly, there is game style - you want the game to be "fun" for you, and with some strategies it's quite possible to defend yourself into complete boredom, or just go down a road that is not attractive style-wise. While this article cannot tell you how to have fun, it will comment on this when appropriate, and you should keep it in mind as well.

'''Note''' - There is not room in this article to expand adequately on every sub-topic - ''please'' see specific articles for a ''complete'' discussion as desired.

:::::'''''Editors & Contributors''' - Please see the discussion page before posting.

==General guidelines==

While admitting that "Rules are made to be broken", there are some general recommendations that have a proven value in defending a fortress:

* '''Minimize fortress entrances:''' Have a strong and clear distinction between inside and outside. This usually corresponds to underground and surface, but not always - you can have a complete medieval-style castle complex on the surface. But each point of entry should be hardened against attack. Don't make more entrances than really necessary. If there is a useless or redundant opening, seal it off, one way or another. (Some creatures can destroy doors and drawbridges if they can reach them.)

* '''Concentric circles:''' Think redundancy - one wall may not be enough. With the existence of door-destroying and bow-wielding attackers, double or multiple hard barriers between the inside and the outside is essential to fend off the worst assaults, and if they get inside one barrier it's nice to have another behind that. Sometimes captives will escape their {{l|cage}}s ''inside'' your fortress. The choke points between the circles are where you build traps and lockable doors, and station troops.

* '''Assume the worst:''' Build up your defenses ''before'' the enemy shows up - like right now! Plan on being {{l|siege|siege}}d by scores of {{l|goblin}} archers, door-breaking {{l|troll}}s, invisible {{l|kobold}} master thieves, dive-bombing {{l|giant eagle}}s, flame-breathing {{l|fire imp}}s, angry {{l|elephants}}, and a {{l|bronze colossus}} - ''all at once''. Hopefully, you will never have to face that kind of threat, but being ready for anything is the best bet, and, more realistically, when things go wrong (and with dwarfs, they will, just believe it) you will have a buffer of defense to fall back on.

==Threats==
Danger comes in a variety of forms in Dwarf Fortress. Understanding the diverse threats is the first step to keeping your dwarves alive.

:*'''Wild animals'''
::Creatures vary in threat and habits. Some {{l|animal}}s are quite dangerous, but most are easily excluded by the humble {{l|door|door}} or {{l|hatch}}, even if it's not {{l|forbidden}}. Some few are able to destroy doors and hatches, statues and other {{l|building}}s, and some are thieves (see below), or will eat your food (such as {{l|Grizzly_bear|bear}}s). A lone animal, even a clear predator, will usually flee from a stronger force, but some {{l|undead}} and evil creatures can be blindly aggressive. Combat is random, and any animal can kill any dwarf - and vice versa.

::Wild animals can appear from the topside, but also from the {{l|cavern}}s that you may accidentally open up while mining (in fact, the worst ones are often from below). In evil or savage {{l|surroundings}}, the creatures can be both much tougher and more aggressive.

:*'''Thieves & child snatchers'''
::Many creatures are "thieves" in the general sense, and offer their own potential headaches - a {{l|raccoon}} or small tribe of {{l|rhesus macaque}} or {{l|mandrill}} monkeys can enter an unsecured area unannounced, grabbing items of value and running, and it doesn't matter how many you kill if one or three make off with some prized possessions. But a creature with a listed ( {{k|u}} ) {{l|profession}} of {{l|Thief}} has a few additional nasty surprises, namely being invisible until spotted by your dwarves or {{l|domestic animal}}s, being able to bypass locked or forbidden doors, being armed with a real weapon, and some imperfect ability to avoid triggering traps (though some seem better at it than others). {{l|Kobold}}s and {{l|goblin}}s are individually more dangerous than animals, but when spotted there's a special message, either "'''Protect the hoard!'''" or "'''Protect the children!'''", as appropriate.

:*'''Ambushes'''
::An {{l|ambush}} is a small number of enemies (less than ten) that are invisible until spotted, but are easier to spot than thieves. The alert message is "'''An ambush! Curse them!'''" They skulk around the outside of your fortress, unseen until they strike, looking for wandering dwarves or caravans entering or leaving. They will often flee off the map if challenged.

:*'''Siege'''
::A {{l|siege}} is a large number of armed and organized attackers that are announced as soon as they appear on the map. The alert message is "A vile force of darkness has arrived!" While siegers are on the map, the word "SIEGE" appears in the top corners of the screen. Siegers are organized into a number of squads, each squad having a different weapon choice. Some sieges bring dangerous creatures to aid the armed attackers. If you are at {{l|war}} with a civilization, expect annual sieges at least.

:*'''Enemy archers'''
::Attackers with {{l|bow}}s or {{l|crossbow}}s are worth separate mention as they are much, ''much'' more threatening than those with melee weapons. Out-shooting them with your marksdwarves is risky, and charging them with melee fighters is even worse. Special techniques are needed to shield your dwarves from the deadly rain of arrows.

:*'''Building destroyers'''
::Some creatures have the {{l|creature token|BUILDINGDESTROYER tag}} in their {{l|Raws|Raw file}}. This gives them the fearful capacity of tearing apart your doors and bridges and anything else, only excluding constructions built with the {{k|b}} + {{k|C}} keys.

:*'''Flying animals'''
::Currently, without modding, the only flying creatures are wild animals, like the {{l|giant eagle}}. Being aware of their presence is often all you can do until they choose to come to you.

:*'''Megabeasts'''
::A {{l|megabeast}} is a particularly powerful and dangerous creature, such as a {{l|dragon}} or {{l|hydra}}. Megabeasts appear alone, with an alert message that mentions the beast by name. They often have unique characteristics which present unusual challenges, but are universally dangerous.

:*'''Titans and Forgotten Beasts'''
::{{l|Titan}}s and {{l|forgotten beasts}} are similar to megabeasts in terms of size and strength, but are procedurally generated from random creature parts and may have procedurally generated special attacks (such as fire breath or web shooting) as well. Titans and forgotten beasts appear alone, with an alert message that mentions the creature by name. The two are very similar; titans attack from outdoors and forgotten beasts attack through underground caverns, but otherwise they present the same challenge. A titan from a benign biome will not attack your fort.

:*'''War'''
::Before hitting that {{k|e}} and embarking, {{k|tab}} to civilizations on the pre-embark screen, and see if you are at {{l|war|war}} with anyone. If so, things can get hot fast, with more and larger ambushes and sieges, and sooner. This is unusual, but a nasty surprise if you didn't check.

==Elements of a defense==

Dwarf Fortress is very open-ended, and any number of defensive, engineering, fortification and military principles will work in DF that have worked in reality. Combine different elements into the defense you want.

A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moat moat] with a drawbridge is perhaps the simplest defense known to Dwarvenkind, and not a bad start. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortifications Fortifications article on Wikipedia] is also a good source of inspiration. But simply shutting the outside world out and allowing invaders to mill about outside your moat is not always a desirable solution. Enemies will still prevent {{l|caravan}}s and {{l|migrant}}s from arriving, will kill {{l|liaison}}s, and prevent any desired outdoor activities. In addition, Dwarf Fortress players often find it enjoyable to perpetrate mass slaughter of invaders rather than helplessly glare at them from inside their caves.

For this, you will need a more complicated defense than a passive ditch and walls. One common method of defense is to build a walled structure above the entrance to your fortress, stationing Marksdwarves on the second floor overlooking the drawbridge-entrance. Another is to engineer a very long but narrow entrance, at the end of which are {{l|ballista}}e waiting to unload at unfortunate monsters in the field of fire. The variations are infinite.

===Physical layout===
These are the {{l|wall}}s, {{l|floor}}, {{l|fortification}}s and so on that create the towers and perimeters of your fortress, acting as physical barriers for your dwarves and against threats. However, they always work in conjunction with the other elements. Creative use of layouts can achieve some quite satisfying results.

For reference, arrow fire is usually about 20 tiles, though stray shots can travel further, and firing from higher elevations actually reduces the range about 1:1.

=====Terrain=====
:The lay of the land can be your friend, but the way of the dwarf is to shape the land as needed. Removing slopes can create safe, private terraces and valley walls that prevent all access. Chasms and rivers (not brooks!) create hard barriers, but an open chasm or magma vent can be a source of dangerous creatures. Small hills can serve as vantage points for archers (yours or theirs!), but if carved with stairs leading up from within, they can be quick strategic strongpoints. Narrow valleys can become chokepoints for entrances, where your marksdwarfs can overlook any who come and go. Augmented by constructions below, the terrain becomes your first option for defense.

:Some players take quite a while before initially unpausing the game to look around and think about the terrain, planning their fortress entrance and envisioning basic defenses.

=====Walls=====
:Constructing walls around your entrance is the simplest start, and an essential part of fortress defense, but a wall alone is not a complete defense. Currently, no creature can knock down a wall. Not only does it keep enemies out, your archers can stand on top of the wall and fire down. Keep in mind that this makes them vulnerable to enemy fire. To help protect against that, build {{l|fortification}}s.

=====Fortifications=====
:{{l|Fortification}}s are the marksdwarf's friend. They do not allow passage, but allow hand-held missile weapons to pass through, and are often placed on top of walls for tactical advantage. Projectiles have a chance of being blocked, based on the firer's skill and distance to the fortification. There's no chance of the missile being blocked if the firer is adjacent to the fortification, with increasing chances as any distance increases. Keep your marksdwarves close and keep enemies away - if an enemy archer can walk up to your fortifications, now they're adjacent too, and the fortifications will have zero effect. Build fortified firing platforms above ground level and put a nice wide moat between the wall and the enemy. Fortifications have no effect on {{l|siege engine}}s.

:Like Fortifications, Vertical {{l|Bars}} and Wall {{l|Grate}} will also allow projectiles to fire through them while impeding units' movement, but these constructions provide no defense - the missile fire works both ways equally. Unlike Fortifications, Bars and Grates may be connected to a {{l|Lever}}, and opened or closed remotely - thus, they are good for forming a portcullis.

=====Doors (& Hatches)=====
:{{l|Door}}s are the simplest way to keep an enemy out. (A {{l|floor hatch}} in this sense is just a vertical door, and in all ways works the same.) Most creatures will be stopped by any door or hatch, though some others can smash them. With a little tinkering, doors can be made 3 tiles wide or more, but this remains mostly for aesthetics without much practical use, as {{l|caravan|wagons}} will still not be able to pass them. You can {{l|forbid}} doors to keep (most) hostile {{l|humanoid|humanoid}}s and creatures out, and your dwarves in.

:Additionally doors can specifically be closed only against animals, to keep beloved {{l|pet}}s from wandering into enemy fire (they may pile up at the door and use the chance to slip out with a dwarf).

:Forbidding all doors and entrances breaks the pathfinding of enemies, making them lurk at the map border where they entered, which can be quite inconvenient in the case of an invisible ambush that then rushes at your fort in just the moment your civilian dwarves move out to, say, cut trees.

=====Floodgates=====
:{{l|Floodgate}}, alone or in a line, may be used as removable walls, since they need no support and disappear when "opened" remotely, although using a wide drawbridge will be much more economical in terms of {{l|Mechanism}}s. (Be aware that {{l|Megabeast}}s can batter down both raised floodgates and drawbridges, and ''any object'' can prevent a floodgate from closing again, even a single, stray crossbow bolt or confused animal.)

:A floodgate can be used just like a door, with two differences: A floodgate can be placed next to another floodgate, unlike a door, which needs to be adjacent to a wall. A floodgate is closed by default, and can only be opened with a lever. Be careful not to trap your dwarves.

=====Moats=====
:Channeling a ditch is a fast and effective defense. However, consider that [[channeling]] has been changed from previous versions, and creating an effective moat now requires extra steps, such as designating ramp removal. The moat doesn't have to be filled with water or magma. Arguably, a dry moat is a better defense. If you want to build an access/escape route for your moat, consider where it leads - the enemy might use that too.

:A moat cuts off access for your dwarves as well, so a retractable- or drawbridge is usually included in the design. But a moat with a non-retractable bridge is still potentially useful: It keeps enemy archers away from your fortifications, and it channels enemies into a narrow and predictable path. A drawbridge without a moat can be a big remote control door, sealing an entrance when it's "up". (This doesn't work with retracting bridges.)

=====Bridges=====
:Bridges come in 3 forms - a permanent construction ''(a {{l|floor}} or top of a {{l|wall}} built out over a void)'', a retractable bridge, and a drawbridge. The movable type have a maximum size of 10x10 (including one solid "anchor" line of tiles at the base), and require a lever and two mechanisms to link them to be raised. Permanent bridges can be designed or later modified to include the latter.

:A retractable/raise-able {{l|bridge}} over a deep trench is a simple and almost air-tight defense - only flying creatures can pass it (''once the bridge is raised''). The moat keeps building-destroyers away from the bridge, and the raised bridge blocks arrow fire for anything behind it. {{l|Channel}}s may be dug to form ditches, or moats - be aware of what might exist or be planned for the next {{l|z-level}} down. For defensive purposes they do not need to be filled with anything - as in the middle ages, a dry ditch is more than enough to prevent ground units from approaching (though of course, projectiles may be launched over it with impunity). With a retracting {{l|bridge}} over the moat, any units or items on top of the bridge will be dropped into the moat (and, if the moat is filled with water, drown unless they can swim out; if it is filled with magma, they burn to death.)

:Bridges can throw creatures a distance (in a random direction) when the bridge is raised/retracted, possibly injuring them on landing. Creatures on top of drawbridges will be utterly destroyed if they are flush against wall and have a floor tile above them, as will anything, friend, foe or object, on a floor that is covered when the drawbridge is lowered. This offensive use of drawbridges is known as the {{l|Dwarven Atom Smasher|Dwarven Atom Smasher}}.

:A drawbridge works as a door when "raised", sealing the passage it raises against. Consider this, as well as security from {{l|building destroyer}}s, when choosing the direction a drawbridge is to raise.

:There are three important things to remember: 1) Always build the bridge to raise towards the ''inside'' (so it cannot be destroyed when raised), 2) the {{l|lever}} has to be pulled by a civilian or off-duty militiadwarf, not a full-time soldier, and 3) water can freeze solid in cold weather. Also, some rare creatures can cross fluids, even magma. Nothing but flying creatures can get out of a channel.

====Remote control====
:*'''Barriers'''
::If you link a {{l|lever}} to a door, hatch cover or floodgate, it becomes impossible for your dwarves to open and close it normally. Pulling the lever is the only way to open it. This keeps your dwarves locked in as well as keeping enemies out. (It's unknown if {{l|thief|thieves}} can bypass a closed door once it's linked to a lever or pressure plate.) There is often a frustrating delay between ordering a lever pulled and when a dwarf pulls it, and another shorter one between between pulling the lever and the barrier responding.

::Any item or creature in an open barrier at the moment it tries to close will not only prevent that barrier from closing, but that "close" signal will be lost. Any lever will have to be pulled twice more - to reset to "open", and then to (try to) close again. This is not the case with drawbridges, which crush anything and everything below them when they close.

:*'''Automated barriers & traps'''
::You can automate a barrier or trap by using a {{l|pressure plate}} instead of a lever, but there are complications there. Only "enemies" or wild creatures will trigger a pressure plate - your dwarves and tame animals can walk on it all day long. Also, no device, trap or barrier, can be constructed in a tile where a pressure plate is - that is the only constructed object that can be there. But with creativity, this can still be a powerful addition to your fortress defense.

===Traps===
:''Full article: {{l|Trap design}}

The most reliable way to stop intruders is lots of {{l|trap}}s, which, large or small, can become an essential part of your fortification design. A line of traps can wipe out an entire ambush, and inflict significant damage on a siege. A thief's trap avoidance is subject to chance, so the more the better. However, be aware that vast numbers of traps have the potential to take some of the {{l|fun}} and challenge out of the game - use accordingly.

There are several types of {{l|trap}}s that a {{l|mechanic}} can place in a single tile and that target a single creature, but there are larger, more complex traps that only you can design, using {{l|lever}}s or {{l|pressure plate}}s.

Note that a few creatures and enemies have the "trap avoid" token, potentially negating this defense against them.

===Military===
:''Full article: {{l|Military}}

A {{l|sparring|trained}}, {{l|weapon|armed}}, and {{l|armor|armor}}ed {{l|military}} is the only way to bring the fight to the enemy. Building defenses to keep them safe is easy - keeping military ready and in position is the tricky part.

A sufficiently large military can be used as a reactive force to rescue ambushed dwarves and safeguard the passage of caravans through unknown dangers, or even to sally out and meet a sieging force ''mano a mano''. The disadvantages are many - soldiers must physically move to the conflict zone which may be many screens away from the nearest entrance to your fortress, by which point dwarven lives may have already been lost. And while {{l|scheduling}} may make ordering an army easier, dwarves will not retreat under any circumstances, so keeping a lot of dwarves in a squad will help a lone dwarf when he picks a fight with three {{l|undead|zombie}} {{l|troglodyte}}s. At best, an army should be considered supplemental for defending dwarves outside your fortress. See {{l|military design|military design}} for different options.

===Animals===
Any animal (or dwarf) can act as a sentry - if a hidden enemy comes adjacent to them, that enemy is revealed and an {{l|announcement}} is generated and the game paused (even by wild animals!). Most animals aren't strong enough to take more than one armoured goblin warrior, and enemies with bows are even worse. The real purpose of guard animals is to spot thieves. Anything will do here, even a kitten will do the job, and some players prefer not to risk a useful animal. ''

Guard animals are a good second line of defense in open entrances after your traps. A wardog can usually tear a thief apart, and will (briefly) delay goblin warriors while you respond. Also, the death of any animal will be {{lannounced}} (but the game will not pause), alerting you to the threat if you were not already aware of it. (Note - Some {{l|tame}}d animals will not fight goblins!)''

Most enemies will go after your animals just as blindly as they attack your dwarves. An expendable chained animal can bait enemies into dangerous passages, even into places unconnected to your fortress. Such an animal chained out on the far side of the map can alert you to ambushes that start there before they threaten your local dwarves.

{{l|Restrain}} animals in narrow corridors (width 1 or 2), or in matched pairs against the walls of 3-wide corridors, preferably in places where enemy archers can't easily fire at them.

===Siege engines===
:''Full article: {{l|Siege engine}}

Siege engines take some planning to use effectively, and have a range of about 100 tiles compared to a crossbow's 20 or so. Both catapults and ballistae can be very deadly, but both have their drawbacks -- they take time to reload and can only hit targets at the same z-level, and they are woefully inaccurate in the hands of unskilled operators or when loaded with low-quality bolts. Furthermore, they're manned by civilians, who will abandon their posts should the enemy get too close. See {{l|siege weapon|siege weapon}} for more on the ballistas and catapult.

==Considerations==
Now you know what you might face, and what cards you have in your hand. To that we add complications, things that make defense so much {{l|fun}}...

===Surface jobs===
There are many times when dwarfs want to work on the surface. {{l|Wood cutting}}, {{l|gathering plants}}, {{l|hunting}}, {{l|fishing}}, {{l|mining}} exposed {{l|vein}}s or {{l|gem}}s, building defenses or other structures, {{l|grower|growing}} above-ground {{l|crop}}s, {{l|Health care|helping wounded comrades}} or recovering dropped items are only the most likely. Often they are alone and vulnerable to {{l|creature|wild beasts}} or {{l|ambush}}es.

{{l|Burrows}} are one option to handle civilian eagerness, but only {{L|squads|soldiers}} can currently be broken up by burrow - civilians are all grouped into the same category, so when you try and restrict civilians to one burrow to stop them going outside, you'd better take the time to make sure they can still access the whole of your fort (especially if it's still expanding). You can try to wall in huge areas of the map, possibly with drawbridge gates that can open for caravans, but the larger the area the vaster the project, the further your dwarves will be from existing defenses, and another example of dwarves working above ground.

Making smaller enclosures in key areas with underground tunnels leading to them can be easier as a first step. Likewise, tunneling to the inside of an exposed vein of ore keeps your miners sealed from the outside until you are prepared to mine the last tiles, possibly after placing doors or walls just inside that tunnel. Having military stationed or patrolling nearby is another option.

* '''Lock the front doors.'''It takes a truly airtight fortress to keep the entrance open while there are still enemies outside. If there's even one exit, your dwarves will use it. Try testing this while it's safe: Raise the bridges, just like you would in a siege, and designate some trees for cutting. If there's a way out, your woodcutters will find it.

* '''Forbid dropped equipment and corpses.''' Mark every item on the battlefield as {{l|forbidden|forbidden}}. This includes any items dropped by dead merchants or scuttled wagons. You can have this done automatically for dwarf and enemy corpses and inventories in the '''orders''' {{key|o}} menu at the '''forbid options''' {{key|F}}.

* '''Delete stockpiles and turn off tombs.''' As a preemptive measure, you can easily delete your Graveyard {{l|stockpile|stockpile}}s. Dwarves don't haul things if there's no stockpile to place them in. Turning off or removing {{l|coffin|coffin}}s stops burials as well.

* '''Keep them busy.''' Make a bunch of busy-work for your dwarves, just to keep them underground. It's not perfect but it helps. Time to re-organize your stockpiles.

===Water sources===
Access to {{l|water}} can be vital. Wounded dwarves need water, so if there's not an underground water source you'll lose valuable soldiers to thirst. Try to have a {{l|well}} or cistern your dwarves can use safely. Remember to keep an extra {{l|bucket}} or two available.

Some water sources are good locations for {{l|fishing}}, providing food during longer sieges.

===Civilians trapped outdoors===
Anything that blocks intruders will also block your dwarves. This can cause the problem of dwarves being trapped outside with the enemy, and the enemy ''will'' find them. Having more than one entrance can be useful here, but each requires adequate defenses - the weakest link and all that. If you make these entrances accessible by drawbridge only, with a (short) moat outside that, and keep the drawbridge up most of the time, having lots of entrances shouldn't be too much of a problem.

===Trade depot & caravans===
Factoring in a 3-tile wide access to the {{l|trade depot}} adds a layer of complexity. Letting merchants in while keeping enemies out requires a careful balance. The merchants can reveal ambushes and thieves like any other creature, and they can arrive in the middle of a {{l|siege}}. If they do, they can be slaughtered before reaching your doors, and that hurts you, (as well as possibly causing your civilian dwarfs to want to go running out and collect their dropped items.) Consider sending heavily armored escorts when expecting a caravan.

Only {{l|wagon}}s need a three tile wide path to the depot, so the {{l|elf|elves}} and some of the dwarven and human merchants can still get through if it's only 1-tile wide. You will possibly want to build the depot within your fortress, so civilian dwarves can access the depot and goods. Wagons can't use stairs, so you need a three-tile {{l|ramp}}, unless you can dig into the face of a cliff.

===Branching corridors===
Enemies will take the most direct path to your fortress, (even if it's not very direct at all). You can use this to your advantage. Have two paths to the fortress: a long, twisting, three-wide road, and a shorter, one tile wide, trap-filled passage. Attackers will usually prefer the short and deadly path. This makes a good line of fire for a ballista, too.

Alternately, you can have a primary, convenient, direct 3-wide path to your fortress open most of the time, with a convoluted detour that is forced (by drawbridges) only during sieges, lined with traps and overseen by marksdwarves. The possibilities are infinite.

===Levers===
Be careful where you place the {{l|lever}}s controlling your various entrances, traps and other defenses. Or any lever at all, for that matter. Make sure they are either central or close to locations of idle dwarfs, or both - near a {{l|meeting area}} or bedrooms of {{l|nobles}} is often a good plan. Make sure that the entire path to each lever is {{l|underground}} or your dwarves might be unable to reach them if told to stay in certain warrens (test this during peacetime!) Try putting all your defense-related levers in a single room, perhaps down a staircase from your meeting area, and put a door (or hatch) on the entrance(s). Then you can lock your lever-puller inside to ensure rapid response time.

Another solution to the problem of rapid response time is to make your lever room double as a {{l|Screw pump|pump}} room. Pumping is a good way to build up your dwarves' {{l|attribute}}s regardless of whether the pump is doing work or not. If you want a dedicated lever operator or three, turn off all their labors except pumping, and set the pumps up so that they can be operated exclusively by your dedicated lever operators. Rotate these positions every so often so the attribute gain will be distributed among multiple dwarves.

For the truly ambitious, the lever room could be spread over multiple levels, and the pumps could work together to power one or more artificial {{l|waterfall}}s. (Waterfalls work well in this case because their operation is not fortress-critical, and your dwarves like the mist they produce.)

Use {{l|Notes}} to label each lever and attached device and trap clearly - if you come back to a game after a week and can't remember your levers, they are useless (or, worse, dangerous!) Color code your levers with different color {{l|mechanism}}s if that works for you.

==General Suggestions==

===First concerns===

====Pre-embark decisions====
Defense starts before the game does, at embark when you're choosing your location, your dwarves' starting skill mixes, and your starting equipment and supplies. If you expect trouble (an evil biome, perhaps), then it can be crucial to bring at least one axe. Picks make decent weapons, and a dwarf with the proper mix of {{l|ambusher}} skill starts with a free equipment - a suit of leather armor, a {{l|crossbow}} and several dozen steel {{l|bolt}}s. A supply of wood means you don't have to chop trees for a while, and similarly a few simple stone (a few {{l|bauxite}} can't hurt) allows you to make immediate workshops even before your miner has swung her pick. While an untrained dwarf can usually wrestle most small and medium beasts, one unarmored (semi-)military dwarf with an axe or crossbow can be a big edge against most early threats.

For most starts, unless your embark location is very close to the mouth of an open {{l|volcano}} or you are starting in an {{l|evil}} biome ''(and that is only recommended for experienced players, so why are you reading this?)'', there should be no serious immediate threats. Unless you are at {{l|war}} with a civilization (visible on the pre-embark screen), sieges and ambushes don't start until you've created some wealth, the first winter at the earliest. So wild animals are your only concern, predators that might prey on lone dwarfs and thieving animals that will target your valuables.

====Striking the earth====
First, look around. At the terrain, at the animals present. Scan the {{k|u}} menu before un-pausing the game at the start, and regularly. More animals will enter the map, constantly and without warning, so keep an eye on visitors.

One of your first priorities is to get things underground or otherwise secure, to prevent rot but also to prevent theft. Carving out a channel/moat, or removing the slopes to a hill, or building a wall, or a combination of those will work fine, but better if you don't have an unwanted entrance to wall up later. Soil is very fast to dig out, and just as strong against enemies, but may not be desirable for a later, mature fortress. Balance convenience against your long-range plans and visible threats.

Consider and plan the entrance to your fortress - perhaps a ramp leading down, or a tunnel into the side of a hill or cliff. A long, narrow entrance (a valley and/or tunnel) allows you to control it, with archers, with traps, with a siege engine at the end. It gives you time to prepare your military. However, it also means that your dwarfs will have to walk that entire distance every time they enter and leave your fortress, and be that much further from help should they need it. Entrances vary from a few tiles to a many dozen. Start with something smaller for now, but plan on how to develop the entrance you want later.

An L-bend, or several, or drops in z-level may provide better security, or a firing platform for siege engines and/or archers. Many complex traps involve several levels beneath the entrance (for drainage of liquids or other diabolical purposes.) Using some of the principles above, it might look something like this...

#####################
(a) ? (-trap .....#
? area-) . .# (A's/SE)
################....#
# #
#D D#
# #
<Inner Fortress>
(Not to Scale)

(a) = bait animal, on {{l|restrain}}t
# = tunnel walls, above-ground walls, valley walls with slopes removed, and/or channels
? = ramp up, drawbridge, moat, defensive structures, or combination of all
traps = mechanic's traps and/or complex death traps, as you wish.
....
. . = area open to sky, to prevent "dwarves staying inside" from archers outside entrance
....
D = wardog on {{l|restrain}}t
(A's/SE)= future site for archers and/or {{l|siege engine}}s (planning ahead)

The above might be longer or shorter, partially or entirely above or below ground, or have more turns. The "inner fortress" might only be a Trade Depot, with another similar entryway behind that. Instead of the turn, it might drop a level and dive below the sight of the Siege Engines. Since the first caravan won't arrive for at least 6 months, you can dig a 1-tile wide tunnel for now, or a staircase, and then dig out to another location for a more formal entrance. This is only a very rough, very simple example of combining possibilities.

====It's mine!====
Consider how you will secure your valuables, your entrance, and any land you want to claim as "dwarf only" - by channeling, removing the slopes from nearby hills, maybe walls? At first, consider including at least enough above-ground terrain for any {{l|farm plot}}s and {{l|meeting area}}s. This could perhaps be as small as a 5x5 walled enclosure, or be multiple compounds, but some players aim at claiming (most of) the entire map. Any barrier limits your dwarfs, but keeps enemies out until you have your fortress up and running at a basic level and are prepared to respond properly. Due to thieves' ability to get past locked doors, and a caravan needing a path that's 3-wide, you won't be able to create a hard "gate" that you can open and shut until you have a {{l|mechanic's workshop}} and some {{l|mechanism|mechanism}}s for levers, to link to a {{l|drawbridge}}.

====Inside vs. outside====
Not "above ground" vs "subterranean", but the border where the inside of your fortress starts, what you claim as "yours" vs "out there". Some fortresses just have one main gate, some try to own the entire map. Some have an "airlock", a middle ground (remembering multiple, layered defenses!) where a Trade Depot is kept, that visitors can access and is protected, but then a deeper, even more secure inner fortress - think of a castle courtyard - inside the walls but not yet inside the castle itself. A safe zone for friends, still unfriendly for enemies but taking extra precautions against full intrusion.

This can be above ground or deep underground, a direct line or a maze of z-levels - that's all up to you, how much work you think "security" is worth. Hey, it's not like ''you'' have to do the heavy lifting.

That line of defense - any line - can be passive (walls and barriers and traps only) or active, with military, either on permanent duty or with stations to report to when activated. Remote controlled bridges create movable walls and closed gates or open hidden moats to reroute visitors, enemies and/or your dwarves depending on the situation, so there is no one "configuration", but several different options all side by side.

====Mechanic's traps====
Traps are a good friend for the starting player. We're talking the simple traps that a mechanic places - complex death traps are up to you. Stone traps are a good start - they're easy, effective against all but the biggest creatures, and ammo is plentiful if you're mining in stone. When goblins show, they can number less than a dozen to start, but grow over time. Start with a row in an early chokepoint, maybe your entry hall or outside it, make that one row into a few, and go from there. But lead your target - count on the next attack being larger than the last.

If you want to breed monkeys for skin, bone and meat, or amuse yourself with live goblins, a row or five of cage traps at the very entrance of your fort would be a good start. Leave room for this when you place your stone traps - killing the monkeys first won't allow live monkeys to be caged. (You still get the meat & etc from those corpses, just not breeding stock.)

As your dwarfs creates weapons, as you trade for them, or (later) as you gather those of your fallen enemies, {{l|weapon trap}}s will become attractive. There is no hard rule or formula for all this - be creative.

====Complex traps====
Between levers, pressure plates, water and magma, much fun can be had. But this article won't deal with any specifics. (See {{l|Trap design}} for those.) We will say - plan ahead. Think about what you might want to do, and leave ample room for it, in all 3 dimensions.

====Military====
To start, you will probably have few if any full-time military standing guard over your dwarfs - there is just too much to do at first, and serious threats are (hopefully) several seasons away. If you are going to make weapons and armor, have stockpiles near where your draftees work and rest, perhaps near an entrance/exit, but not so close that it might get over-run before your dwarfs can equip. Eventually you might have perhaps a quarter (or more or less) of your dwarfs as full-time military, and they'll need a barracks where they will sleep and practice, archery ranges if that's their weapon of choice, and quick, safe routes to their battle stations or patrol areas. When to begin a full-time military presence is personal choice and influenced by your game situation, but plan on eventually having them live and practice near where they will be fighting as much as possible. See {{l|Military design}} for a more complete discussion on planning and deploying military and militia.

==Different philosophies==
There are many, ''many'' ways to play DF. Some players play hard and tight, and some fast and loose. Some take no risks and protect every last dwarf and cat, and others happily leave a highway of dwarf and animal bodies for the next immigration wave to follow. Some live for the slaughter of ascii goblins, and others for the mega-project. No one "defense" will serve everyone's tastes.

===Losing is fun===
There is no final "win" in Dwarf Fortress, no end point or Easter egg that says "Congratulations!" - it just keeps going, until, inevitably and unavoidably, you will lose. That's part of the game. So it's all about how you play until then, and finding your type of fun in that process.

==="Fun" vs. security===
It's not hard to create an acre of traps that, realistically, simply no threats can survive. If you want to pursue a megaproject (that is not a defensive trap) in peace and security, this may be a good plan. However, if you look forward to the military end of things, then you want to allow, or at least be able to invite combat at your choosing. New players are recommended to use the hall-of-traps entryway, at least to start. Many experienced players challenge themselves by limiting their use of simple traps, or other voluntary handicaps. It's all about what you think is {{l|fun}}.

----
'''See also:
:*{{l|Siege engine}}

{{Category|Guides}}
{{Category|Fortress defense}}
{{Category|World}}
{{Category|Design}}

{{Military v0.31}}

v0.31:Security design

2010-04-20T05:24:21Z

Droid: Burrows make this paragraph obsolete.

{{av}}
{{human}}

:''This page is one of several inter-related articles on the broader topic of defending your fortress and your dwarves. '''Security design''' focuses on how to turn the physical layout and architecture of a fort into a defensible whole. For a general overview of the threats that will challenge your fortress and things to consider when preparing a standard defence, see the '''{{l|defense guide}}'''. For complex traps that are not a minor/optional part of a larger defensive plan (but might be adapted or plugged into one), see '''{{l|trap design}}'''. For specific advice on how to get your soldiers prepared for any threat, see '''{{l|military design}}'''.

:::::'''''Editors & Contributors''' - Please see the discussion page before posting.''

==Standard key==

'''Key:'''
'''symbol tile'''
• - Empty space
+ - Constructed floor, or top of wall section from lower level
'''0''' - Isolated wall section
╔╦═╗
╠╬═╣ - Connected wall
║║ ║
╚╩═╝
╬ - Fortifications
X - Up/down {{l|stairs}}
< - Up stair
> - Down stair
▲ - Up ramp/slope
▼ - Down ramp/slope
, - natural ground
☺ - dwarf

==General suggestions==
General designs should include suggestions that can be "plugged in" to a part of any typical fortress, and/or can be modified to suit a number of purposes.

Any fortress defenses need to be able to protect your dwarves while outside, whether that's military or civilians. On the truly labor intensive end, you can fully enclose areas of wilderness you wish to utilize in walls or behind moats with the only access being from within your base. Hostile creatures, even 'invisible' ones like ambushers, start at map edges and travel across the map - they will only spawn in regions where they can path to a dwarf. By controlling which areas have access to paths to dwarves, you can force all hostile forces to appear in predictable and limited killing zones and battlefields that you control.

===Meeting area as defense===

Especially in the very early game, you can use a {{l|Zone#Meeting_Area|meeting zone}} to attract animals and idle dwarves to a given area. This makes a pretty poor defense in general, but it's not a bad way to create an alarm system against minor threats such as {{l|thief|thieves}} near your stockpiles, at least until you have something better (which won't be hard). Remove the zone later, or it attracts idle dwarves and children. Note that until you designate something else, the site of your wagon (even once deconstructed) is a default meeting area.

===Guard Animals===

Both {{l|thief|thieves}} and {{l|ambush}}es are invisible until something bumps into them - a dwarf, a {{l|caravan}}, a wild creature, a {{l|domestic animal}}, anything. Once this happens (even if it was triggered by a wild {{l|groundhog}} on the far edge of the map), the game will pause with the appropriate {{l|announcement}}, forcing your attention to the situation - which is nice. Therefore, it's a common practice to use animals to act as alarm systems, by {{l|restrain}}ing them in entryways.

There are some considerations to good placement of such animals. If you have a 1- or 2-wide hall, one animal is enough. If you have a 3-wide hallway (wide enough for a {{l|caravan}}), you need to restrain two animals, one at each side of the hall.

══════════ R = restraint
+++1R1++++ 1 = area of animal 1
+++bbb++++ 2 = area of animal 2
+++2R2++++ b = area of both
══════════

This pair creates a thief-proof barrier against unannounced intrusion, as there is no combination of locations where an invisible enemy can sneak by without bumping into one or both. Caravans can pass over {{l|restraint|restraint}}s and restrained creatures without problem. Guard animals can also see hidden enemies one z-level below them, so long as there is no intervening floor, so if space is tight you can also place them above your entranceway.

Unless you're happy losing these animals on a regular basis, you should try to keep them alive...
:* Put them around a corner or behind a U-bend, so archers cannot fire at them from a distance.
:* Don't have them as your "first line of defense" - put them deeper in the entry, behind some traps
:* Put them inside, so flying creatures have to come down to their level to attack them.
:* Consider using a {{l|pressure plate}} at the extreme entrance to seal off the hall further down and keep your guard animal(s) safe. Thieves won't trigger them, but the animals can deal with those - ambushes ''will'' trigger them, and you don't want them getting to your guard animals.

Remember that anything short of a {{l|megabeast}} is not a good match for an armoured opponent.{{verify}} While watching your tame {{l|grizzly bear}} or {{l|alligator}} tear a thief apart has an amusement value, watching the goblin maceman send them flying across the map, mangled and dying, has less.

===Defending the edge===
You're not allowed to wall within five squares of the edge of the map... but this rule has more loopholes than the US federal income tax code. Until more versatile attackers emerge, it is not clear where effective play ends and exploit begins. ''(Note: we disclaim any responsibility for damage involving {{l|harpy|harpies}} and skeletal {{l|giant eagle}}s)''

* To start with, you can channel the '''''second''''' square from the edge. This blocks entry of trade caravans or their movement along the edge of the map. If barriers are used to prevent a Trade Depot near the edge of the map from being accessed from any other direction, caravans will be forced to appear in the un-channeled or bridged section of the edge, even if it is only three tiles wide. Your depot can be ready with stockpiles of favored trade goods, offset behind a wall to protect from archers a few squares away.
* You can also build bridges all the way up to the edge. A long, skinny bridge is, effectively, a wall; however, it looks the same whether it's open or closed.

Train up diggers in soft soil and you can surround most of the map with a moat by the time the first migrants arrive. Be very, very wary of cave-ins, especially on highly sloped diagonal terrain - note that a downward ramp does not support adjacent floor tiles, and no tiles are supported diagonally.

Diplomats have a strange habit of appearing well inside the moat, but need to be allowed out when finished. ''[Note: On one 6x7 map {{l|horse}}s and other animals were also found to appear one embark unit (48 squares) left and up from the lower right corner, inside or atop the walls of a 5x5 doorless enclosure. Defend all leaks...]''

==== Design considerations ====

* The moat should be designed to prevent entry except by falling and entry except by climbing, from both sides. (Otherwise inside and outside forces might be tempted to shake hands from adjacent squares, with much annoyance) Despite an abundance of giant corkscrews, grates, ballista bolts, etc., no one has ever invented the ladder, so this keeps anyone from entering or leaving the rest of the map.
* The moat should be dry, because sooner or later you will be tempted to let someone visit the edge to loot goblins or hunt varmints, and next thing you know your Legendary Weaponsmith who outpaces all your smelters will be whiling away his time carrying a leather thong to a stockpile when he runs into a groundhog and decides to react by jumping into the moat and holding his breath beneath the shallow waters until he drowns. (As always, the notice that he has drowned is the first you'll hear of it)
* The moat doesn't actually ''need'' to be adjacent to the edge of the map except when conserving valuable surface terrain (such as {{l|tree|tree}}s on a map that is mostly rock). It is easier to free trapped miners when they can dig further outward, and placing the moat on the sixth or further square in from the edge allows further modification with floodgates, walls, and doors. Any {{l|channeling|channeling}} permanently changes the dug-out tile to "Light Above Ground", which restricts these features from tiles near the edge even if floors are later constructed to close the space.
* Because migrants might turn up near wild animals or be followed closely by {{l|goblin}}s, it is nice to wall off the last square in shorter segments. Each one or two segments are served by a separate lever bridge. This can be done by:
** natural barriers. The map edge is mostly continuous ramp, but occasionally a break appears on an uneven surface, by a river channel, etc.
** trees. If left intact they separate any fertile patches into many small segments.
** floors. Although you can't directly Remove Stairs/Ramps at the edge, building a single square of floor on an up-ramp at the edge will destroy that up-ramp (and the down-ramp above it) and block movement around the edge. Building a square of floor on a down-ramp and then removing it creates a {{l|one-way|one-way}} path.
** You can build drawbridges *along* the edge and raise them. Combined with a channel right next to the drawbridge, this can completely obstruct passage of anything which can't destroy the bridge.
** You can build up ramps at the edge, which may disrupt passage?Needs testing
** Fortifications carved into the outer edge rock the next layer down? It may be possible to carve fortifications all the way around the edge of a rocky map, allowing entrance only onto designated bridges surrounded by moat and with a steep drop beneath, with some sized appropriately to admit siegers only and one other sized for a trade wagon. In this way combat can be reduced to a simple thumbs up/thumbs down decision at the lever.Probably not.
* Migrants, thieves, and sieges turn up all around the map, and can be allowed in by remote controlled bridges. (Doors will not hold back {{l|building destroyer|building destroyer}}s, and remote {{l|lever|lever}} control is needed because other gates can be "taken by invaders" and become unlockable) Invaders can be allowed in by small groups and fought if desired, or preferably admitted into underground zigzags with a door waiting to be locked at the far end once they get close to it. If most of the invaders can be trapped inside such spaces, the remainder will stand and be wiped out completely without retreating.

===Simple 5x5 Archer's Tower===

Build a {{l|tower|tower}} specifically to post archers on, possibly away from your main defenses. This lets you open fire before the enemy approaches your gates. A pillbox can be attached to your walls, or separate, so that the only access is from tunnels below. Thse tunnels can stretch across the map, and only need be 1-tile big if no regular traffic is expected. Construct {{l|fortification|fortification}}s on the second or third floor, so your dwarves can fire out. For extra usefulness, build a {{l|barracks|barracks}}, {{l|archery target|archery target}}, {{l|food|food}} {{l|stockpile|stockpile}}, {{l|well|well}} and {{l|dining room|dining room}} in or near the tower. Add a door or hatch to lock them in.

As discussed step-by-step in the article on {{l|mega construction|mega construction}}, this particular design is about as basic as it gets. As shown, it assumes entry from an underground tunnel, but a door or drawbridge (with moat!?) could easily be added, or even access via a protected sky-bridge.

When placing multiple towers, know that crossbows have a range of 20 tiles, so, depending on whether you want overlapping fire or not (and how intense/accurate), anywhere from maybe 15 to 38 tiles between the edge of the towers is recommended. Crossbows actually have their range ''reduced'' by extra height in DF, so all you need is 1 level up to keep enemy archers from using your fortifications against you, and you're set. (Channeling a defensive moat further out will also work, moving potential enemy archers even further away, but also moving non-missile targets that far as well.)

Side Below Ground Archer Roof
view: ground: Level: Level: Level:
╔═══╗ ╬╬╬╬╬ •••••
X__ X ║X,,║ ╬X++╬ •X++•
╬X__╬ ║,,,║ ╬+++╬ •+++•
___║X__║___ ║,,,║ ╬+++╬ •+++•
X ╚═══╝ ╬╬╬╬╬ •••••

_ = floor, natural , = ground tile
or constructed

This can hold 3 archers/side, and has the potential to be as many "archer levels" tall as you wish. A top-level "down stair" is necessary to build the "roof" - might as well build an up/down stair instead, no real reason not to. Remember to use the "corners first" technique when necessary. (See {{l|Tower}}.)

All told, for a simple 1 archer-level tower, this takes just over 50 stones or blocks (plus 25/extra archer level).

Larger towers (or this with larger floors on higher levels) could house barracks, practice ranges, and other facilities. Just expand to preferred size with floors, and then attach walls to those to act as a base for the next level of building. Add more stairs (adjacent to each other is always better) if high traffic is anticipated.

====Siege engine turrets====
If it's big enough, build a {{l|siege engine}} inside a pillbox. Since siege engines cannot fire at targets higher or lower than them, the device needs to be on the same {{l|z-level}} as any targets, but this could be across a large gap to a nearby plateau. Only a single tile of fortifications is needed to fire through the wall. Position the tower to fire where invaders tend to congregate.

You will want to guarantee that enemies do not approach the position and scare the civilian operators - this distance has been reported to be up to 20 tiles or so. Dig a moat, have some intervening valley or build some secondary fortifications to keep enemies at a distance. Unlike walls, fortifications on the same z-level do not block siege engine missiles, at any range. Unfortunately, if an enemy can walk up to them, fortifications will protect enemies from your archery fire (but not siege engine fire.)

===Control Room===
Have one (large?) room (or several stacked on top of each other) for all defense-related levers, and central to idle dwarves - near your {{l|meeting area}}s and {{l|noble}}s quarters, with one or more halls or stairs leading to it for quick access. Connect a lever to all those doors and hatches as the first lever to be pulled in an emergency, and the respondent will lock themselves in for you, guaranteeing that they will then have nothing else to do but stay there and pull levers.

It may also be an idea to have a second lever to at least one door, for emergency access. And possibly to add a stockpile of booze and food or a well for longer sieges.

===AI abuse===
Taking advantage of the game's Artificial Intelligence and {{l|path}}finding is a whole article in itself. Try leaving a door un-forbidden during an attack. When the bad guys approach the door, forbid it, and the enemy will wander off. Unlock it again, and they turn around and head back towards the door again. You can get enemies to march back and forth over a set of traps this way, or lure them deep into a complex trap. This could be automated via {{l|pressure plate}}s. This might count as an {{l|exploit}}, or not - that's up to you, and what you consider fun and challenging.

===Bait animal===
{{l|Restrain}}ing a sacrificial animal just outside your walls, but within range of your marksdwarves and/or siege engines, can lure an enemy into attacking that while you cut them down. Make sure to place a pattern of some walls (or statues, see below) so enemy archers cannot simply shoot the creature from a safe distance.

=====Fortifications=====
Adding a ring of fortifications to help defend the animal against missile fire will keep melee troops away, but invite archers to come adjacent to the fortifications - and under your walls and crossbows. If you allow any path, the melee troops will try to follow it to the animal - be creative with that fact.

=====Traps=====
Surround the animal with traps to kill or capture approaching goblins.

=====U chumps=====
Surround the far side of the animal with a U shaped 3-sided wall, open facing your defenders, so the enemy has to come closer to attack the animal, and you gun them down.

=====Distractions=====
Releasing a {{l|cage}} full of surplus animals will keep the enemy archers very busy. They may even be out of ammo when your wrestlers show up.

=====Vanishing act=====
Having a linked drawbridge that can open/shut (perhaps on both a lever to open and a nearby pressure plate to close), to lure the enemy in under your guns and then protect the animal when they get too close (for multiple uses.)

=====Roach motel=====
Build a long, narrow, and twisty passage, accessible from the outside, but unconnected to your fortress. Build as many simple traps as you like. Place a bait animal inside. Enemy attackers walk right in, and get torn apart by the traps. If any manage to make it to the end, and kill the useless animal, they're surrounded by traps, and no closer to your fortress.

If the roach motel is deep enough underground, you can build a tunnel above it, channel down, and mark the channel a {{l|Activity_zone|pit/pond}}. That way, you can "reload" a new bait animal.

=====vs. building destroyers=====
For {{l|building destroyers|building destroyers}}, spare statues can serve the same purpose as bait animals.

=====Trap chokepoints=====
Enemies can be herded by constructed features. If you have a particular zone covered by catapults and would like enemies to pass through it, strategically placed walls can make enemy pathfinding more favorable. A trap occupying a single tile in the middle of a barren plain is likely to never get triggered. However, if walls are placed in a cross-hair pattern around the trap, animals and invaders are much more likely to pass over it as they wander across the map. This can be a very useful trick when capturing wildlife with cage traps.

<pre>
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
═════^═════
+++^^║^^+++
+++^^║^^+++
+++++║+++++
+++++║+++++
</pre>

=====Pathing slowdowns=====
If you're playing on a low-powered machine and you close up all entrances to your fortress during a siege, your game may grind to a halt and/or crash as the siegers continuously fail at pathfinding into your fortress. Bait animals may alleviate this.



==Entrance designs==

===Airlock defenses/buffer zone===
Build two walls, each with a drawbridge. Build the trade depot in the buffer zone between them. Keep the outer bridge open, and the inner one closed. When the merchants appear, put crossbows on the walls to guard their approach. Once all the merchants are safely inside, close the outer bridge. Once there's no enemies left in the buffer zone, open the inner bridge so your civilians can start loading up the depot.

The airlock pattern can be useful even without putting the depot there. Let a few siegers in at a time, and crush them. Reset the traps, Rest up the soldiers, and repeat.

===Siege Engines===
One effective way to have {{l|Siege engine}}s (help) defend your fortress is:

'''One ballista vs 3-wide hallway'''
══════════════════════════╦═════
Entrance++++++++++++▼•••••║▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼•••••╬◄═«
Entrance++++++++++++▼•••••║▐▄/
══════════════════════════╩═════

Using this design you can cripple an army using a well timed volley. The hallway can be much longer than shown if you wish, as ballistae have extended ranges well over 100 tiles. The channeled area is necessary, as civilians (siege operators are "civilians") will run when enemies get within about 5-10 tiles of them, regardless of the actual path to that threat.

====Ballista battery====
3 (or more!) ballistae can be put into a "battery" if overlapped - one per tile-width of the hallway, with each ballista aiming down their row of tiles.

╔═══
══════════════════════════╦══╦══╝▐▀\
Entrance++++++++++++▼•••••╬ ╬▐▀\◄═« (~ammo~)
Entrance++++++++++++▼•••••╬▐▀\◄═«▐▄/
Entrance++++++++++++▼•••••╬◄═«▐▄/ (~ammo~)
══════════════════════════╣▐▄/ (~ammo~)
╚═════════

Be sure to use fortifications to prevent dwarfs from wandering in front of the ballista to their deaths. If desired (and you have the <s>man</s>dwarfpower to spare), catapults may be put behind those, as they shoot safely ''over'' workers in front of them. Altho' less effective than ballistae, it's a little more firepower - and that can't be a bad thing.

For added flavour, channel out one or more tiles down the length of the 3-wide hallway and install retractable bridges. When invaders attack, retract the bridges, forcing them into paths that are only 1-tile wide.

Adding additional channels on either side of the hall will allow stray ammo to be recovered at a later time. Make sure to add locked doors, to prevent siege operators from walking down below enemy archers during a battle.

===Flooded entrance===
Using a chamber as your entrance alongside a chamber full of water and some machinery you can flood or drain the entrance at will.

The basic premise requires two levers, two {{l|screw pump}}s and two {{l|Gear assembly|gear assemblies}}. The amount of power required and the number of additional components needed to get the power to the screw pumps varies depending on distance/setup. One pump is placed to draw from chamber 1 and dump into chamber 2. The other is set in reverse. A gear assembly is placed next to each pump and connected to the main power system. Each gear is linked to a lever. Now at the flip of a switch you can submerge your entrance with {{l|water}} or {{l|magma|magma}} for easy, secure defense against creatures that aren't amphibious or magma-dwelling, depending.

{{Image:Entflood.jpg}}

The picture above shows the design in action. The green pump is currently on while the red has been disconnected through the grey marked axle. The yellow X is just to mark that there is a channel under the axle.

=== The "Reverse Battlement" design ===

Level Z+0 (ground):
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
F ═══════════════
O ,≥,g≥,,,g,,,,,,
R ,,≤,,,,,,g,,,,,
T ,,,g≤,,g,,,,,,, <-- enemies enter here
R ,,≥,,,,,,g,,,,,
E ,g,≤,,,,,,,,,g,
S ═══════════════
S ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Level Z+1 (bridge):

E •••••║+++║•••••
N +++++║+++║+++++
T •••••╬☺++║•••••
R •••••╬☺++║•••••
A •••••╬☺++║••••• <-- archers shoot them from up above
N •••••╬☺++║•••••
C •••••╬☺++║•••••
E +++++║+++║+++++
•••••║+++║•••••

Note that in this diagram, the fortress interior is to the West, and the enemy forces come from the East. The marksdwarves on the bridge with the {{l|fortification}}s are one level above the {{l|goblin}}s (or other attackers), who will pass under the bridge and charge on toward the west. As the first clear from under the bridge, they are targeted from behind (which is one level above), as the marksdwarves wait in ambush. This allows the marksdwarves to face far fewer enemies at any one time, at least to begin with, and any enemy archers must clear the bridge, take their lumps, and then return fire back the other way before the marksdwarves are ever under attack.

If you're feeling especially nasty, make the tunnel really long into the mountain and add a ballista battery (see above). In my current version of the fortress, the goblins have to cross a long series of drawbridges to even get inside the mountain, so the ballista dwarf gets a lot of shots, and I can launch any escaping troops into the air.

''(Adding ammo stockpiles, of your best quality bolts, to these stations will speed up reloading for longer sieges/battles. Even adding small, convenient food and alcohol stockpiles is not unheard of. Some designers place access to/from archery ranges very close to these stations, for faster deployment.)''

==Scenic route==

[[Image:defense_3bridges.png|thumb|right]]
An example of some advanced defensive construction tactics to deal with vile forces of ''any'' size. (See picture).

*'''Bridge 1''' seals off the entire base
*'''Bridge 2''' forces everyone to take the long, winding, heavily trapped/defended path of death.
*'''Bridge 3''' seals the inside of the fortress

Clever triggering of the bridges allows you to break the hostile forces into smaller chunks to be trapped in the courtyard while being caught in traps and a crossfire of arrows from the fortifications around.

===Goblin detour===

This particular design works well with plenty of archers, siege engines, and other ranged weaponry.

++++++++++++++++++ENTRANCE+
══╦════════════════O╞═╡O╦══ <-- Bridge 1
+☺╬•+++++++++++++++++++•╬☺+
++╬•+•••••••••••••••╞═╡•╬++ <-- Bridge 2
++╬•+••+•••+•••+•••++++•╬++
+☺╬•+•+•+•+•+•+•+•+•+++•╬☺+
++╬•+•+•+•+•+•+•+•+•+++•╬++
++╬•+•+•+•+•+•+•+•+•+++•╬++
+☺╬••+•••+•••+•••+••+++•╬☺+
++╬•••••••••••••••••+++•╬++
++╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╗•+++•╬++
++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺++☺╬•+++•╬☺+
++++++++++++++++++╬•+++•╬++
++++++++++++++++++╬•+++•╬++
══════════════╗++☺╬•+++•╬☺+
║+++╬•+++•╬++
║+++╬•+++•╬++
║++☺╬•╞═╡•╬☺+ <-- Bridge 3

The 3 tile wide lane is for traders, so if your {{l|trade depot}} is located before this set-up, cut it down to a 1 tile lane to slow down invaders more.

===Twisty maze===
A maze of turns and blindspots patrolled by quality military can be a very formidable defense. Wide enough for wagons to pass though, but with no clear shots for any ranged weapons. Missile weapons do have a minimum range, so if a target is closer than that range, they will instead just charge to melee - and meet a dwarf with a much better melee skill. Downside to this is that you'd be mixing it up in melee all the time, but so long as you have at least 10 dwarves greeting the goblins as one coherent mass, you should win.

Variations on the twisty maze include:

*A wagon-wide twisty maze, and a not-so-twisty 1-tile wide hall o'traps, with a drawbridge that can force one or the other as the only {{l|path}} into your fortress.

*Making the side of the maze into fortifications, with a channel separating the fortifications from the actual floor of the maze, and having your archery targets on the other side of the fortifications so your marksdwarves can practice. When the goblins round the corner, they charge through a hail of crossbow bolts, and drop dead.

{{Military v0.31}}

v0.31 Talk:Blood

2010-04-06T00:44:28Z

Droid: Created page with 'Why do the caravans bring barrels of blood? What do they expect us to do with it? --~~~~'

Why do the caravans bring barrels of blood? What do they expect us to do with it?
--[[User:Droid|Droid]] 00:44, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:The Non-Dwarf's Guide to Rock

2010-04-05T23:18:21Z

Droid:

== Obsidian ==

Does it still make short swords? Its SHARP tag is gone.
--[[User:Dree12|Dree12]] 13:24, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

== Admantine ==

Not sure if it is currently the highest value material, since there is a new HFS material slade.
--[[User:Droid|Droid]] 23:18, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:Aquifer

2010-04-05T04:38:58Z

Droid:

Just used cave-in method to pierce a single deep aquifer. I assume that constructed layers still don't work, but haven't tested them (otherwise I would have specifically mentioned not to try using constructed walls.)

A weird glitch: the fallen rock morphs to the rock type of the layer it lands to.

Of the methods on the old page: looks like the speed and pump methods are still possible, though I was not able to pull them off. I was getting path finding issues where a dwarf thought it was stuck even though there was a clear path, and so was more fun than necessary.
--[[User:Droid|Droid]] 04:27, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:Aquifer

2010-04-05T04:27:54Z

Droid: Created page with 'Just used cave-in method to pierce a single deep aquifer. I assume that constructed layers still don't work, but haven't tested them (otherwise I would have specifically mentione…'

v0.31:Aquifer

2010-04-05T04:25:08Z

Droid: /* Dealing with aquifers */

{{av}}
An '''aquifer''' is a subterranean layer of {{l|water}}-bearing rock or {{l|soil}}. Attempts to mine through them will result in the mined-out squares immediately filling with {{l|water}}, effectively halting excavation at or below their level. This, in conjunction with the fact that they are often located in areas rich in {{l|loam}}, and {{l|sand}}, makes it difficult to find great quantities of {{l|stone}} in areas with aquifers, making for more challenging gameplay.

== Dealing with aquifers ==

===The ore method===
On maps where the aquifer is not held in a layer of soil, but instead is held in a [[40d:sedimentary layer|sedimentary layer]] such as sandstone, it may be possible to tunnel down through deposits of ore such as magnetite. For this to work you have to find a spot where there is coincidentally an ore deposit on each Z-level you need to dig through. This is only possible through tiresome trial and error, or through the use of a utility like reveal.exe.

===The magma/obsidian method===
If you have access to a supply of magma, you can create your own obsidian caissons. By channeling into the aquifer layer and then filling these channels with magma, it is possible to create a wall of obsidian between your working area and the {{l|water}}-bearing rock or {{l|soil}}. However, changes to world generation with the last version have made this method more difficult than it once was, as it is now harder to find magma vents that extend above the aquifer level.

===The cave-in method===
If there are enough layers above the aquifer, then letting non aquifer rock fall into the aquifer layer gives an area of dig-able rock. This requires 2N natural dry layers, where N is the number of consecutive aquifer layers. First {{l| channel}} out the area of aquifer that will be replaced. Then dig out all connecting floors and walls to the block that will fall (build a support to hold it until you are ready for collision). A {{l| burrow}} may be useful to assign unnecessary dwarves to a safe area. When everyone is clear, de-construct the support with a lever. (If you forgot to bring stone, then you may instead build a constructed floor to support it, designate it to be destroyed, and have a {{l|hospital}} standing ready in case the unlucky one survives.)

After the collapse, do not dig out the outer edge of the fallen rock.

v0.31 Talk:Mining

2010-04-02T14:10:42Z

Droid:

==Channeling==
Channels create ramps now, apparently. -[[Sagragoth]]

I really hate this one, I can just imagine all sorts of [[fun]] from pesky ramps leading into water and or magma because we can no longer channel them away. [[User:Doctorzuber|Doctorzuber]] 06:16, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

::Channels create ramps along the outside of the pit being built. This isn't that big a deal; you can floor over the ramps, go down into them and clear them, etc. - I like it this way, because a one-tile ditch can't stop all the rampaging goblins from eating your face. [[User:Blacken|Blacken]] 06:52, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Just had a dwarf become a miner during an individual combat drill because they were carrying a pick. --[[User:Droid|Droid]] 14:10, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

v0.31 Talk:Mining

2010-04-02T14:10:10Z

Droid: /* Channeling */

==Channeling==
Channels create ramps now, apparently. -[[Sagragoth]]

I really hate this one, I can just imagine all sorts of [[fun]] from pesky ramps leading into water and or magma because we can no longer channel them away. [[User:Doctorzuber|Doctorzuber]] 06:16, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

::Channels create ramps along the outside of the pit being built. This isn't that big a deal; you can floor over the ramps, go down into them and clear them, etc. - I like it this way, because a one-tile ditch can't stop all the rampaging goblins from eating your face. [[User:Blacken|Blacken]] 06:52, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Just had a dwarf become a miner during a personal combat drill because they were carrying a pick. --[[User:Droid|Droid]] 14:10, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

v0.31:Mining

2010-04-02T14:09:22Z

Droid:

{{AV}}
'''Mining''' is an essential part of building a fort in Dwarf Fortress. There are several reasons you might want to mine, such as [[exploratory mining|searching]] for various [[stone types]], or simply to create the basic tunnels and [[rooms]] in your fort.

There are two types of jobs associated with this skill: mining and channeling. Mining removes a section of wall while preserving both the ceiling and the floor. Channeling, however, removes the floor, replacing it with a downwards ramp.

Since the skill of mining also is used in combat, a dwarf with mining enabled that is carrying a pick will increase their mining skill through combat drills.

== See also ==
* [[Map tile]]s – Different types of walled, floor and open spaces
* [[Exploratory mining]] – Mining focused on finding valuable [[stone]]
* [[Stone]] – A list of different types of stones and ores left behind from mining. 
* [[Soil]] – A list of soil types.