Let's Play Dwarf Fortress: Syndrome Conundrum

[Kopikatsu]

Dwarf Fortress makes me sad. My Dwarves fail to do as I order, then Goblins come and murderize everything. Probably because I (Like EVERY game I play) try to make a single godly character and completely ignore the others. (In this case, it would be having a Dwarf that can wade through lava to wreak horrible vengeance on the goddamn Elves while ON FIRE.

Edit: I know that Dwarves have stat caps, but I seem to recall there being a bug in an earlier version that removed the stat caps...and the 'Wade across lava to bring another race to extinction' thing actually happened. Must...recreate...

 

[meatloaf231]

Wouldn't mind being dwarfed in the least. I'm sure I won't die in some horrible way. Not a chance.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

-Many mod utilities, most notably Dwarf Therapist, are incompatible with new versions of Dwarf Fortress.

DT has been updated, it's just dfhack that's behind now.

Yep, I've been browsing the Bay 12 forums and there are indeed a plethora of bugs with the new features. Such as wild animals using your nest boxes to lay eggs. So you'll get situtations where a giant eagle flies into your fort, kills some dwarves, and then lays some eggs before going away.

Giant Eagle eggs while losing a few haulers? Sorted.

 

[General-Veok]

anc[is]Oh no not more stuff. I'm still having trouble sorting out the 80 different workbenches, and what needs an ass scratching workstation and who needs the nose picking workstation. My latest and longest running dwarves are probably running around with no clothes because I just read today clothes can wear out, and figuring out another industry might blow my brain up. But I can't seem to give up on those little psychos

If it makes you feel better, dwarves currently never put on new clothes (this is a bug).

 

[Zaik]

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

Why do I get the feeling Reveredtour will soon collapse due to a massive tantrum spiral?

Well the fortress is already in the middle of a tantrum spiral, though it looks to be slowly climbing out of it.

Well, at least Reveredtour still has craftsman, judging from some of the screen shots. Though I'm hoping that it doesn't get to the point where the hospital is forced to solve itself, it was just sad when Townbrush had to let all the injured waste away.

I think Townbrush had less than 20 dwarves living in it when I had to do that, so fortunately I'm not that fucked.

What a wonderful update. At least things seem to be going a bit better than how Townbrush fared later on.

Of course with all of the unhappy dwarves, one may have to worry about a fell mood. Just what the fort would need though, a nice bone/leather memento of when times were tough.

Fell moods are incredibly rare, and I've never seen one myself. Would certainly be interesting to get one though. Since they most likely won't be covered by this LP, I might as well explain the two remaining moods now.

Macabre moods can only affect unhappy dwarves. A macabre mood is like a fey mood, only the moody dwarf will only use bones and skulls in their artifact. Fell moods also only affect unhappy dwarves, but they are far more terrifying. A fell dwarf will claim a butcher's or tanner's shop, and then grab the single ingredient they need; another dwarf. Taking the nearest dwarf into their workshop, they will kill them and use their bones and leather to produce an artifact. There is no punishment for murdering a dwarf in this way, most likely because not even the fortress guard wants to mess with someone who butchers another dwarf just to make a flute from their skull.

Man Blood, Doom, Splatterhouse, and the upcoming Bulletstorm have got nothing on the shear carnage of Dwarf Fortress. I'm surprised Fox New hasn't done a story on it.

On the plus side though since you've lost so many dwarves your frame rate is probably awesome.

Nobody at Fox News could figure out how to play the game long enough to get to any of the crazy stuff.

 

[CD-R]

Wait did my dwarf count as a "useless hauler"? Becuase I am concerned for my safety. But anyway I have a question. Have you modded back in the elven diplomat? Because If so I fear the elves may come soon to finish off Reveredtour. Also will Reveredtour be brought into .19, or will it stay a .18 fort?

From what I remember your dwarf is still serving limited medical roles. And no, I haven't modded in the elven diplomat. I doubt they'll attack me regardless. Despite being easy to piss off, it actually takes a lot of intentional provoking to make them hate you to the point where they attack.

And yes, .19 has just been released. It is a rather major update, adding tons of new features to the game. Most of these features have to deal with livestock, ranging from grazing animals to bee keeping. As with most things in Dwarf Fortress, all of these new aspects have the potential to go horribly wrong. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1GadTfGFvU&feature=related] Or right, depending on what you're trying to accomplish.

However, Reveredtour shall not be entering the new version, at least not at the moment. There are a number of reasons for this, including;

-Many of the features introduced are not usable in old worlds, so Reveredtour wouldn't be able to utilize them.
-New versions almost always bring in a plethora of glitches, ranging from harmless to catastrophic. This is especially important when your bringing in an old world, as it could wreck everything you did in that fort.
-Many mod utilities, most notably Dwarf Therapist, are incompatible with new versions of Dwarf Fortress.

Pretty much all of my Dwarf Fortress play time is dedicated to this LP, so I probably won't be messing with the new version for a while. I'll look at the forums to see if there's any good reason to bring Reveredtour into the new version, but for now it's staying in .18.

Bees my God.

 

[(name here)]

Apparently the new version really messed around with metal distribution, so now it's nearly impossible to get any. It's on the level of the poorest areas of 40d.

 

[CD-R]

Apparently the new version really messed around with metal distribution, so now it's nearly impossible to get any. It's on the level of the poorest areas of 40d.

Don't forget about the rain that melts your dwarves.

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=52639.0

 

[(name here)]

That got fixed a while back.

 

[Internet Kraken]

That got fixed a while back.

I've heard it can still happen on rare occasions though. Do to the way the temperature system works, any rain in an incredibly hot climate will become superheated and melt flesh as a result. Now most hot climates don't have any rain. Reveredtour isn't as hot as it could be and there's still no rain. However in the rare chance you do get an incredibly hot climate with rain, it can melt dwarf flesh.

Also sorry for the lack of updates recently. I was sick the past few days and not in the mood to write anything decent. I'll probably get something done today though.

 

[Internet Kraken]

Chapter 64: From the journal of Stinthad Kekimtobul

__________________________________________________

11th Timber, 1055, Late Autumn

Goden: "You're exaggerating."
Stinthad: "No I'm not! That's what's going to happen if you attack me! You'll kill me!"
Goden: "How the hell would I shatter your skull multiple times?"
Stinthad: "I have a very fragile head!"
Goden: "By the gods this is pathetic. Let's just get this over with!"
Stinthad: "No! I...uh...you're fired!"
Goden: "...what?"

Stinthad: "As the mayor and expedition leader of Reveredtour, I hereby relieve of your duties as captain of the guard until further notice. You no longer have the right to enforce and maintain dwarven law."
Goden: "..."
Stinthad: "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let you kill me! I just know it would happen, even if you don't mean to. We can still be friends though, right?"

But Goden just left without saying anything else. I can't really blame her though. I mean, I did technically violate the law. She was just doing her job, and I took it away from her to protect myself. But come on, what else was I supposed to do when she just killed a dwarf? I'm not being selfish. Reveredtour needs me. She said so.

13th Timber, 1055, Late Autumn

Goden still won't talk to me. I don't know how long she plans on holding this grudge, but I hope she lightens up soon, for her own sake. See I didn't get a chance to address it, but I am concerned about her health. It seems the bolt she took to the chest is still causing her pain, and I think she may have developed a life-threatening infection.

I don't get it. Rowan should have looked at her by now. How could he let her out of the hospital in such a bad state? I need to go talk to him about this.

Stinthad: "Rowan, do you have a moment?"
Rowan: "Ah, I always have time to teach you amateurs something new about medicine. What glorious knowledge do you wish for me to impart onto you today?"
Stinthad: "Actually I wanted to talk about Goden, and how you didn't treat her injuries properly."
Rowan: "I beg your pardon? Are you, the novice, telling the master that he did not do his job properly? Are you daring to suggest that I made a mistake?!?"
Stinthad: "I don't mean to imply offense! You're a really good doctor! It's just that she doesn't seem to have received any treatment. I mean that bolt is still stuck in her!"

Rowan: "This is absurd! Silent Thunder, tell Stinthad about the extensive treatment Advisor Goden received."
Silent Thunder: "If I recall correctly sir, you only saw her once after consuming a large amount of alcohol. You slapped a few hastily done stitches onto her gut and then told me to send her off as soon she woke up, sir."
Rowan: "...shut up."
Silent Thunder: "Yes sir, sorry sir."
Rowan: "Look, I know I gave her proper treatment. I have a ton of other patients to deal with right now, so I don't have time to look at her again. Now I suggest you get back to work."

Normally I don't doubt Doctor Rowan, since he is a professional, but I can't help but feel that Goden isn't well. And I can't look at her myself since she refuses to talk to me. I really hope that infection isn't anything serious...

17th Sandstone, 1055, Late Autumn

Oh thank god a dwarven caravan has arrived! I was worried that Reveredtour really had been abandoned. I guess the goblins really must have gotten the caravan last year. If this one made it, hopefully that means goblin activity will be down for the time being.

The caravan arrived just in time to. The booze supplies have reached critical levels.

My throat is so dry. I hate having to ration alcohol. Water doesn't taste nearly as good as a cup of prickle berry wine.

19th Sandstone, 1055, Late Autumn

When the merchants entered the fort, I noticed that there wasn't a liaison with them. I feared the liaison had perished during the journey, but one of the guards said that the liaison had been with them right until they entered Reveredtour. I was then informed that several dwarves had spotted someone hiding behind the trees on the edge of our territory.

The outpost liaison appears to be out in the wastes. Why? I have no idea. Why would you favor spending your time out on the scorching wasteland than in the fort within walking distance of it? Especially when your job is to meet with the people in said fort? His strange behavior is a mystery. Nobody wants to go see what he's doing, and frankly I don't blame them considering how dangerous the wasteland can be.

21st Sandstone, 1055, Late Autumn

The crazy mechanic finally returned to normal, which meant that whatever she had been working on was finished. I went into the workshop, hoping for some fancy piece of clothing. Instead, I saw a rope.

I don't know if Goden's ramblings about this being to work of some gods is true, but if it is then those gods sure do love their ropes.

Oh, and it's covered in spikes rendering it useless. Just like the last one. These ropes seem like a cruel joke. There's this really beautiful rope that you can't use because anytime you touch it your hand is pierced by several well-crafted spikes.

22nd Timber, 1055, Late Autumn

Snatchers everywhere! The goblins have sent a ton of thieves to try and kidnap the innocent children of Reveredtour. However, many civilians are working outside at the moment, so all of them were discovered before they could reach the children. Funny, had it been anything other than cowardly thieves having civilians outside would be disastrous-

...oh fuck.

__________________________________________________

 

[Silent_Thunder]

That got fixed a while back.

I've heard it can still happen on rare occasions though. Do to the way the temperature system works, any rain in an incredibly hot climate will become superheated and melt flesh as a result. Now most hot climates don't have any rain. Reveredtour isn't as hot as it could be and there's still no rain. However in the rare chance you do get an incredibly hot climate with rain, it can melt dwarf flesh.

Also sorry for the lack of updates recently. I was sick the past few days and not in the mood to write anything decent. I'll probably get something done today though.

So now we get to find out about Stinthad's mystical powers. She's still alive! Everything will be fine, right?..... right?.... Oh please tell me Stinthad is still alive! Why has Armok forsaken us?

EDIT: Ninja'd by the story. Guess my post was irrelevant.

 

[JouleZeath]

I foresee quite an interesting and awkward conversation between Goden and Stinthad when one of her mandates fails to be completed

Also,did Stinthad really recieve the beating or did you just loaded from an earlier point?

 

[Internet Kraken]

Also,did Stinthad really recieve the beating or did you just loaded from an earlier point?

Stinthad did not receive the beating because I couldn't get her to survive it. I really didn't want to interfere to much with the way the game played out, but losing one of the main characters to something like that was just infuriating. It didn't leave me with a good place to go from a story perspective either, especially if Goden really does die from her infection which is unfortunately a very likely possibility.

But I really did try a lot of stuff before relieving Goden of her position. No matter what weapon I gave her she still killed Stinthad though. Even training axes can't be used to safely beat someone, which is in my opinion a serious problem. See prior to this I thought beatings were only issued in cases of severe crimes or if there was no prison set up. But apparently they are dished out a lot more often than I realized. Eventually I just said fuck it and decided to go with the more sane route of just removing Goden from the Captain of the Guard.

Was it a cheap move? Yes. Was it directly interfering with the events of the game and putting the narrative first, something I normally never do? Yes. Do I stand by it? Hell yes, because I honestly think the LP will benefit more from this in the long run.

I do wonder what effect Stinthad dying would have though. She may not be particularly skilled, but she's friends with almost every dwarf in the fort and is thus liable to cause a massive tantrum spiral if she dies.

 

[JouleZeath]

Well,they're dwarves
Being "reasonable" before just grabbing the nearest hammer and punching your problems to oblivion is such an ELF train of thought

I'm not saying it's wrong to go back to an earlier save after something as ridiculous as this,but I think you should've continued that save a little longer,both to see what impact Stinthad has on the fortress and also to see if you can learn anything
Maybe get a funny anecdote out of it
"Losing is Fun! D:"

 

[Double A]

Dwarves being reasonable always involves vast quantities of magma and nobles.

 

[TheHaunted]

I've been wondering for quite some time now, why don't you ever use the Hippo Fortress Safeguard if you spent so much time and effort just to fill it up? I know you don't like the idea of just letting the enemies drop off into space to die because its not interesting, but on the other hand you did build a giant moat filled with creatures and never tested it, now seems as good a time as any.

 

[Internet Kraken]

I've been wondering for quite some time now, why don't you ever use the Hippo Fortress Safeguard if you spent so much time and effort just to fill it up? I know you don't like the idea of just letting the enemies drop off into space to die because its not interesting, but on the other hand you did build a giant moat filled with creatures and never tested it, now seems as good a time as any.

If you recall I did try that during the last siege, and it resulted in a troll waltzing into the fort. The reason I don't normally do it is because it is unreliable. However considering the current state of the military, I probably will try that during this attack.

 

[vallorn]

I've been wondering for quite some time now, why don't you ever use the Hippo Fortress Safeguard if you spent so much time and effort just to fill it up? I know you don't like the idea of just letting the enemies drop off into space to die because its not interesting, but on the other hand you did build a giant moat filled with creatures and never tested it, now seems as good a time as any.

If you recall I did try that during the last siege, and it resulted in a troll waltzing into the fort. The reason I don't normally do it is because it is unreliable. However considering the current state of the military, I probably will try that during this attack.

maybe a long series of zig zagging drawbridges would increas your chances of them taking a dip?

 

[(name here)]

Put doors linked to a lever right next to the bridge lever on both ends of the bridge. They'd lock goblins in instantly and hopefully slow trolls.