v0.31:Stonegears/Workshops

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Make sure the game is paused.

Digging out more workshop space

Continue the stairwell down the level below the farming level, then dig out space for some more workshops:

SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER

Building a workshop

From the main menu, enter the building menu, then the workshop sub-menu (b-w). This will give you a list of workshops to choose from. You can scroll through the list with - and + then use Enter to select the highlighted workshop, or just press the key associated with the workshop. In this case, use c to choose the Template:L workshop. This will show a 3x3 square of X's, which you can maneuver with the arrow keys to set where to place the workshop. It will probably be a mixture of X, X and X, with the screen showing Hidden and Blocked. Maneuver the square so it's inside of one of the 3x3 rooms off the hallway, and the X's are all green:

SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER

The X indicate tiles which will become impassible walls, while the X indicate tiles which will remain walkable floors (there is no way to rotate or flip the workshop designation to make the wall tiles go somewhere else). In this case your dwarves will be able to squeeze through the diagonal opening into the workshop, but sometimes the X's will entirely wall off the workshop from the hall. If you build a workshop in cases like that the dwarf constructing the workshop will be trapped inside once the workshop is complete, and you won't get any notification or announcement until the dwarf dies of thirst, so be careful.

Press Enter to select that location for the workshop. The game will now ask you what to make the workshop from:

SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER

The Item column names the item which can be used, the Dist item says how many tiles away it is from the workshop, and Num indicates the number of items you've chosen so far for this construction (0) and how many of that type of item you have left (1 or more). You could use - and + to scroll through the different types logs to use, but which type you use doesn't really matter, and the closest one will always be the one selected by default, so just press Enter. The workshop will now look like:

SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER

This, like a newly placed farm plot, is merely an indication of an order to your dwarves, but unlike a newly placed plot it doesn't blink. Rather, it's the absence of wall-like symbols where the Xs were which indicates that it's still merely an order. Since you're still in the "place workshop" menu, press Esc twice to get back to the main menu and unpause to tell the carpenter dwarf build the workshop; the workshop will change appearance as it's being built, until it's actually real, and the carpenter will leave.

SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDER

Adding a job directly to the workshop

Use q to interact with the workshop. This will show a menu headed by Carpenter's Workshop, and a Profile requires manager which you can ignore for now. Use a to bring up the Add new task menu. This will provide a list of tasks you can add, some of which can only be selected by scrolling with - and + and then pressing Enter, and others which can also be added via pressing the proper key. Use b to add a Construct bed task. You'll be returned to the previous menu, but there'll be a Construct Bed there.

Now, with only a single task added, exit with Esc so we can add more tasks another way. If you did add more tasks to the workshop, first cancel them with c until there's only one task. Unpause the game and wait for the carpenter to make the single Template:L.

Looking inside the workshop

Now look inside the workshop using t, which brings up the "View items in buildings" mode. Underneath Carpenter's Workshop will be two lines. The first will be the log which you used to build the workshop; the fact that it's the material which the workshop is made from is indicated by the [B] of to the right. The second line is the bed that just got made. The bed might be bracketed by "-", "+", "*" or "≡", which indicate that the bed is of higher Template:L than usual. For Template:L like beds this merely means that the Template:L is higher than normal.

Items created in a workshop will be left there until either they're used for something or they're put into a Template:L. If you leave too many items in a workshop it will cause Template:L, which will slow down jobs in the workshop. But having a few beds in the workshop won't cause any clutter, so there's no need to set up a furniture stockpile yet.

Adding jobs with the manager

Another way of adding jobs to a workshop is with the Template:L. "Manager" is both the name of an in-game utility, and the name of a dwarven Template:L which allows the utility to be used. The administrator doesn't actually do anything until your fortress population is at least 20, but the administrator's mere existence is still needed to make the utility work. To appoint the manager administrator, use n to access the nobles and administrators screen. Use ↑ and ↓ to scroll to "manager", then Enter. Then use ↑ and ↓ to select a dwarf and press Enter. It doesn't matter which dwarf you select, since until reaching a population of 20 the manager is just a figurehead necessary to satisfy the game; replacing the manager later with someone more appropriate won't cause any problems. You'll be back at the nobles and administrators screen, but the rightmost column will shows a [REQUIRE]. The manager requires an Template:L, but the office isn't actually needed until your population hits 20 dwarves.

Now that you have the administrator, you can use the utility. u-m or j-m will get you to the manager utility screen. To add a new order use q. This will show a huge list of all the jobs that might be added, which could be navigated with ↑ and ↓. To narrow it down you can type in a filter, a space separated list of words which will be searched for; a job will match if it contains the exact typed word, or if the typed word is contained in another word. For example, typing "WOOD BIN" will match both "Construct wooden Cabinet" and "Construct wooden Bin".

You want to make some more beds, so just enter "BED", which will match just one entry, Construct Bed. Press Enter to select it. It then ask you how many you want with Quantity:. Enter 6 and Enter to complete. Now we'll be back at the previous menu, it shows a "Construct Bed" work order. On the right hand of the screen is the Left column, which shows the number of "Construct Bed" jobs that remain to be done.