Who I Am
I am Kydo, a DF player who enjoys this website a lot and is interested in helping. Mostly with grammatical corrections. (If you see any issues on my page, please point them out to me. Everyone makes mistakes. That's why I'm here.) My real name is Jeff. Not that it matters. In rl, I'm an artist with two years of college under his belt... And no money to complete the rest of the degree. I'm a gamer, I play D&D and dabble in tabletop RPG design, I play videogames excessively, and it all tends to get in the way of my art, really. This is probably just another diversion, I suppose. Oh. And I'm a MAN. Let's make that clear.
I have a DA page if you wish to talk to me about art or what-not.
Kydo
Observations
Just a collection of things I've noticed. Read it or not, I don't care. Basically just stuff I want to add as little side-notes to other articles, but am too shy to actually do. I think I'll wait until I understand the editor a bit lot more.
Dead Wagons
Okay, so this illustrates something a little off.
The wagon you start off with is stationary. All it can do is be deconstructed. It doesn't do THAT when you take the thing apart. You just get two pieces of wood.
The wagons traders use are obviously different. For one thing, they move, with two horse-like animals pulling them. (Sometimes they're camels, oxes, donkeys, etc.) They have a width of 3x3 tiles, and cannot pass over a great many objects in the environment. The Depot Accessibility Display shows only the places the center tile can pass over. So long as there's green, the wagon can get there.
The difference between trade wagons and the starting wagon becomes more apparent, in that upon entering the depot, they can be stacked two high, and seem to completely deconstruct themselves from existence.
In the trading article, it claims you can steal from a caravan without marking the objects as stolen, by deconstructing the depot with the traders inside. And it works! Very well! Someone noted that surrounding nations keep track of sent and returned wealth and will still probably invade. I'm tempted to note that dwarfs will never siege dwarfs, meaning you can HEAVILY exploit the trade caravan by deconstructing every time they show up, with NO repercussions... But it also causes the above glitchyness. The wagons, which at the time of depot deconstruction didn't even appear to exist, are now listed as dead, and still do not appear on the map.
When the caravan leaves, the wagons will reappear from the location they originally disappeared on, and wander off the field, leaving their goods behind, and for some reason, remaining in your units list as deceased creatures, despite already having watched them leave your map!
Reconstructing the depot, before or after they leave, even if it's in the same spot, will not "revive" them. Nor will it remove the "deceased" status.
The reason is that the starting wagon is a building, while the wagons the traders use are a creature.
creature_equipment.txt
[OBJECT:CREATURE]
[CREATURE:EQUIPMENT_WAGON]
- [NAME:wagon:wagons:wagon]
- [TILE:'W'][COLOR:6:0:0]
- [EQUIPMENT_WAGON][COMMON_DOMESTIC]
- [NOT_BUTCHERABLE]
- [HAS_RACEGLOSS:WOOD]
- [ITEMCORPSE:WOOD:NO_SUBTYPE:WOOD:USE_RACEGLOSS]
- [NOSMELLYROT]
- [BODY:WAGON]
- [SIZE:12]
- [ALL_ACTIVE]
- [NO_GENDER]
- [MATERIAL:WOOD:USE_RACEGLOSS]
- [TRADE_CAPACITY:15000]
- [MUNDANE]
TADA! That's why, when you press D to check depot accessibility, it only shows where that center tile can step. That center tile IS the wagon!
Cannot Construct Anvil
There's a number of sources on this site which state we can make anvils. I have the materials. I attempted, and could not find the command in the metalsmith's workshop. Thinking myself blind, I decided to go through the manager. There are NO commands for the word "anvil" whatsoever in my manager. Am I bugged, or is this out of date?
Projects
Just whatever things I might be working on. Geology Chart is the only REAL concern at the moment. Whether DFWiki wants it or not; I do.
Industry Flowchart
Yeah, I'm making a flowchart describing the flow of all of the industries together, and how they interact. No easy task. The image is far too large to be reasonably uploaded at the moment, and I'm nowhere near done. Of course, that was kind of predicted.
Requisite Industries
These are industries which produce goods needed to produce other goods, and don't really fit inside any of the other industries.
Fuel Industry: 100%
Gem Industry: 0%
Primary Industries
These are overarching industries which usually contain several related or overlapping sub-industries. They mostly define the overall branching of where your production effort will be going.
Wood Industry: 0%
Stone Industry: 0%
Metal Industry: 40%
Glass Industry: 70%
Food Industry: 0%
Secondary Industries
These are industries which are generally built upon the primary industries, usually more than one.
Crafts Industry: 0%
Clothing Industry: 0%
Soap Industry: 0%
Furniture Industry: 0%
Sub-Industries
These are sub-industries within the overall branchings.
Meat Industry: 0%
Plant Industry: 0%
Alcohol Industry: 0%
Weapons Industry: 0%
Armor Industry: 0%
Geology Chart
This is the WIP Geology chart. It's purpose and intent is to describe the relationships between different kinds of minerals and metals as they appear in the environment of Dwarf Fortress. In constructing this, I have learned a lot about the commonalities, and the differences, between the contents of certain kinds of layers. This is partially due to the layout of the wiki as it stands, and partially due to paying attention.
When I started this project, I originally felt that the overall presentation of the stones and such to be absolutely wretched. However, as I've worked with them, I've learned why they were arranged that way. Even so, the whole thing needs massive cleanup for sure, and I think this would be a good first step. This is still mainly for my personal use.
Stone
|
Sedimentary
|
Name
|
State
|
Found In
|
Contains Stone
|
Contains Ore
|
Contains Gems
|
Chalk
|
Sedimentary
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Chert
|
Sedimentary
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Claystone
|
Sedimentary
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Conglomerate
|
Sedimentary
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Dolomite
|
Sedimentary
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Flint
|
Sedimentary
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Limestone
|
Sedimentary
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Mudstone
|
Sedimentary
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Rock Salt
|
Sedimentary
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Sandstone
|
Sedimentary
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Shale
|
Sedimentary
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Siltstone
|
Sedimentary
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Igneous Intrusive
|
Name
|
State
|
Found In
|
Contains Stone
|
Contains Ore
|
Contains Gems
|
Diorite
|
Igneous Intrusive
|
Layer
|
Stone
|
- Pyrolusite
- Hornblende
- Orthoclase
- Microcline
|
|
|
|
Gabbro
|
Igneous Intrusive
|
Layer
|
Stone
|
- Kimberlite
- Ilmenite
- Pyrolusite
- Hornblende
- Orthoclase
- Microcline
|
|
|
|
Granite
|
Igneous Intrusive
|
Layer
|
Stone
|
- Cryolite
- Rutile
- Pyrolusite
- Pitchblende
- Hornblende
- Orthoclase
- Microcline
- Mica
|
|
|
|
Igneous Extrusive
|
Name
|
State
|
Found In
|
Contains Stone
|
Contains Ore
|
Contains Gems
|
Andesite
|
Igneous Extrusive
|
Layer
|
Stone
|
- Brimstone
- Realgar
- Orpiment
- Stibnite
- Rutile
- Hornblende
- Alunite
- Microcline
|
|
|
|
Basalt
|
Igneous Extrusive
|
Layer
|
Stone
|
- Brimstone
- Realgar
- Orpiment
- Stibnite
- Rutile
- Hornblende
- Alunite
- Microcline
|
|
|
|
Felsite
|
Igneous Extrusive
|
Layer
|
Stone
|
- Brimstone
- Realgar
- Orpiment
- Stibnite
- Rutile
- Hornblende
- Alunite
- Microcline
|
|
|
|
Obsidian
|
Igneous Extrusive
|
Layer
|
Stone
|
- Brimstone
- Realgar
- Orpiment
- Stibnite
- Rutile
- Hornblende
- Alunite
- Microcline
|
|
|
|
Rhyolite
|
Igneous Extrusive
|
Layer
|
Stone
|
- Brimstone
- Realgar
- Orpiment
- Stibnite
- Rutile
- Hornblende
- Alunite
- Microcline
|
|
|
|
Metamorphic
|
Name
|
State
|
Found In
|
Contains Stone
|
Contains Ore
|
Contains Gems
|
Gneiss
|
Metamorphic
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Marble
|
Metamorphic
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Phyllite
|
Metamorphic
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Quartzite
|
Metamorphic
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Schist
|
Metamorphic
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Slate
|
Metamorphic
|
Layer
|
|
|
|
Design Ideas
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 stairs
< - Up stair
> - Down stair
▲ - Up ramp/slope
▼ - Down ramp/slope
, - natural ground
☺ - dwarf
Anti-Hauling Animal Trainer
I recently noticed that my animal trainer doesn't really need the animal next to him to train it. Specifically, if a dog, (Or any other trainable animal) is on the floor below or above the kennel, the animal trainer can simply walk to the kennel and train it, without hauling the animal or even bothering with uncaging/unrestraining it! I believe the effect only works in a 3x3x3 cube around the center tile of the kennel, where training is actually done.
Entry Hall
For an underground trading depot...
A six z-level entry hall, 5 wide, 40 long, filled with traps. It is open through all levels, but has a ceiling at the very top. It is lined with fortifications, which are then lined by staircases, which are then lined by platforms full of food, alcohol and bolts. The end result is that my marksdwarves can move almost any direction they want up and down a fortification wall, firing down into a chamber of whatever threat may appear.
z0
╔════════════════════╗
║++++++++++++++++++++║
║XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX║
╔╩════════════════════╣
║▲ ╚═══
║▲ ·····
║▲ Bridge To Depot ->
║▲ ·····
║▲ ╔═══
╚╦════════════════════╣
║XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX║
║++++++++++++++++++++║
╚════════════════════╝
z+1 and up
╔═══════════════════════╗
║+++++++++++++++++++++++║
║XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX+║
╔══ ╩╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬X+║
║▲· ·····················╬X+║
║▲· ·····················╬X+║
║▲· ·····················╬X+║
║▲· ·····················╬X+║
║▲· ·····················╬X+║
╚══ ╦╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬╬X+║
║XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX+║
║+++++++++++++++++++++++║
╚═══════════════════════╝
I generally have the fortress guard barracks underneath this, separating my fortress from my prison, which is underneath THAT.
z-1
╔════════════════════╗
║XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX║
║ ║
║ ║
╔═╝ ╚═══
║> Room full of beds To Fortress Spine ->
╚═╗ ╔═══
║ ║
║ ║
║XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX║
╚════════════════════╝
Then, because the ceiling of my murderous entry hall is generally also the floor of the great outdoors, I also build the keep directly up out of the entrance form. The bottom floor of the keep is usually my barracks for my standing military, but it's also occasionally used for my control room, as there's a bridge at the entrance, and a bridge before the depot, to keep things from getting out. Or in. There's also usually lots of other things I have, like atom smashers and spikes. My keep is generally surrounded by the usual gauntlet of traps and marksdwarves from above. The whole thing can, of course, be streamlined for traders by the pull of a lever! I plan to line their path with statues to show how much cooler than them I am.
Jail Design
I've been looking at better ways of designing prisons in such a way as to more effectively rehabilitate prisoners and catch tantrumers before they cause too much damage. Some things I've noticed...
- A restraint allows a dwarf a 3x3x3 cube of movement. This means you can have your jail "cells" have 3 rooms on three levels, increasing the number of nice things you can put around your prisoners.
- Building a well somewhere in your prison complex will decrease the time it takes for water to be delivered to any tantrumers who may have been hurt prior to or during the imprisonment process.
- Putting a barracks full of soldiers between your prison and the rest of your fortress may help. There are ways of escaping, and I like to be careful.
- If a dwarf is unhappy for long enough, they'll go insane. Nearing the end of a fortress, dwarves tend to stay sad for a fair while. Any imprisoned dwarves who go nuts can be locked away (somewhat) safely if you put each restraint in it's own chamber with a door.
- Expanding on the insanity thing, trapping your prison may be helpful, as could guard dogs. Although, I did that more because I had too much of everything. Mostly overkill by that point.
- Expanding on the "too much of everything" tangent, I also designed my prison with a COMPLETE AND TOTAL LOCKDOWN lever. Just in case of an inmate uprising the game isn't normally capable of generating.
- Just for the hell of it, I have been thinking about making a specific execution chamber for prisoners I particularly dislike. Is there any way to control what cell a prisoner is placed in? Aside from locking all but one?
- To reduce the number of dwarves grabbing food/drink/bedding from your prisoners, you can put long hallways with restricted traffic designations. Then only dwarves who are way closer than (random large number) steps from the normal stockpiles or beds will go into the prison.
- Another surefire way to prevent beds from being inappropriately occupied, is to assign a single low-value bed to all of your dwarves. This, of course, becomes a little silly when the economy activates, but it'll help until then.
- If you want to be SUPER accurate, you could simply lock the prisoner's cell until he's free to go, but you'll have to keep track of the sentence, or you may find yourself with a pile of miasmiating dwarf-jerky in your prison, pissing off your guards.
- If I were better at Dwarven computing, I'd try to make a giant adjustable timer that can open a prisoner's cell once their sentence is up.
Anyways, any other ideas? Not sure if it should really be added to the wiki proper, as this doesn't really talk about game mechanics so much.