Let's Play Dwarf Fortress: Syndrome Conundrum

[Internet Kraken]

Most recent update: Syndrome Conundrum. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.13126466]

Hello Escapists! I am here to tell you a story. A story that will most likely involve copious amounts of wealth and bloodshed. For such is the way of Dwarf Fortress.

What is Dwarf Fortress?

Dwarf Fortress is a freeware game, the brain child of Tarn and Zach Adams. You take control of a handful of dwarves and must attempt to establish a stable colony in the harsh wilderness, one that will hopefully blossom into a glorious source of prosperity for all dwarves. However, the path to success is not an easy one. Supplies are limited, and you must find ways to reliably harvest the bounty of the earth to survive. All whilst protecting your dwarves from thieving scum, murderous goblins, bloodthirsty undead, disgruntled nobles, and psychopathic ecoterrorists.

It may sound fairly simple, but Dwarf Fortress is actually an incredibly complex game. There are thousands of different ways to go about building your forts. The game generates completely unique worlds for each player, which produce a combination of realistic and fantasy biomes. Within each biome lives unique plants, creatures, and other resources. All of which can be harvested through dozens of different methods. Surviving may be a trivial task in one fort but nearly impossible in another. The possibilities are nearly limitless in Dwarf Fortress.

If you want more information about Dwarf Fortress check out the official site. [http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/] You may also want to look at the forums [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php#c3] and wiki [http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Main_Page], both of which are a great source of help for new players. You can also join the Dwarf Fortress Fans [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Dwarf-Fortress-Fans] user group here on the Escapist.

Why are you Let's Playing this game?

My primary reason for wanting to do this LP is to introduce more people to Dwarf Fortress. It's a great game, and while it certainly isn't for everyone I think there are a lot of people who would enjoy it if they gave it a shot. I intend to do so by telling a story of how a fortress progresses over time. I'm aiming to have all the events in the story I tell be based on around actual events in the game. Another great thing about Dwarf Fortress is that provides you with tons of details, but still gives you enough room to craft entertaining stories around these events.

Most of the updates in this LP are likely to be a recap of recent events from one the resident dwarves perspective. However, I want to get some community interaction into this as well. So I'll probably end some updates with a choice, such as who to elect as mayor. At which point the community will then vote on what to do. But we'll get to that when it comes up.

What am I looking at?

One of the biggest hurdles new players have to overcome is the ASCII graphics of Dwarf Fortress. Many people find them to be unpleasant to look at, and to be fair it can be quite confusing when you haven't been playing the game for a while. Some claim that tilesets help, but I don't believe they really do much. Some of them are very cluttered and confusing, while others don't alter the game in any significant way to make it easier on newcomers.

There are several visualizer programs available for Dwarf Fortress, such as stonesense [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=43260.0]. The pictures produced by these programs are easier to understand when you are not a Dwarf Fortress player. Therefore, I will include a link to a stonesense version of each screenshot where applicable to help those confused by the vanilla Dwarf Fortress graphics. Unfortunately, said visualizer has not yet been updated for the latest version so this probably won't become relevant until several updates into the thread.

Spoiler: For now, here is a very basic visual aid to help you with some of the more common sites.

1. These are two dwarves. Dwarves are always indicated by one of the two sprites shown here. The one on the left is typical civilian, while the one on the right is an active member of the military. A dwarves color will change depending on what profession they are skilled in and what position they hold. For example, a mechanic is bright red while a noble is purple.

2. In Dwarf Fortress, creatures are represented by letters and symbols, usually the first letter of the creatures name. From left to right, here we can see a hippo, an earth golem, and a filthy tree-hugger elf.

3. These are the typical appearance of most trees and saplings found in Dwarf Fortress, excluding some of the more exotic variety. You can see these growing all over the place, assuming you're looking at an area that has yet to be stripped of its resources by busy dwarves.

4. This is the ground. Yeah, not much more to say than that.

5. This series of wavy lines is water. Being that Reveredtour is built right over the ocean, this is probably going to be a fairly common sight. These same wavy lines can also represent sand, blood, and magma. They're all fairly easy to identify. Sand has several different colors, blood is always found near piles of corpses, and magma will be associated with fiery death.[/b]

6. Lastly, we have some workshops. Workshops are where pretty much all of your fortresses goods and tools are produced. There is a vast number of workshops used for different purposes, however they all have the same size and general shape. The color of most workshops is determined by the material used to build it, though some are always one color. From left to right, the workshops shown here are a fishery, butcher's shop, and still.

Are you using mods?

A few. Dwarf Fortress is a very mod friendly game, allowing you to put in tons of custom content. However, I've removed most of the mods that would significantly alter the flow of the game. Pretty much all of the mods you'll see in this LP are just creatures I added to the game to give it more variety. I'll designate which ones they are to alleviate any possible confusion.

Being that this is my first LP, this will either turn out well or end up a horrible failure. I want to do everything to avoid the later, so if you have any feedback or questions, send them my way. I'll do my best to explain the events of the game or improve my writing based on your feedback. But without further delay, let's get this thing going.

Table of Contents

Prologue: A letter to the Queen. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.8953471]
Chapter 1: Reveredtour. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.8953479]
Chapter 2: Warthog's Lament. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.8979000]
Chapter 3: The H.F.S [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.8990733]
Chapter 4: Reanimated Rodents. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9004118]
Chapter 5: Immigration Destination. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9013988]
Chapter 6: Little Slice of Hell. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9023215]
Chapter 7: Mysterious Mollusks. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9037324]
Chapter 8: More Microline. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9048104]
Chapter 9: Little Miss Reveredtour. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9057395]
Chapter 10: Mind Fucked. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9076637]
Chapter 11: Death by Tentacle. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9099911]
Chapter 12: An Advisor's Plight. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9112430]
Chapter 13: Musings of a Liaison. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9127123]
Chapter 14: Finely-Designed Image of Slaughter. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9131242]
Chapter 15: Harvest of the Damned. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9141191]
Chpater 16: To the Crypt We Go. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9152490]
End Year Report: 1051 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9156711]
Chapter 17: The Troglodyte Conspiracy. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9166460]
Chapter 18: The Subhuman Assassin. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9181764]
Chapter 19: Let's all go to Reveredtour! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9189863]
Chapter 20: A Troll in the Farms. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9201491]
Chapter 21: Elven Exchange [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9227455]
Chapter 22: Silence of the Frogs. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9240778]
Chapter 23: Spine-tingling Sensation. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9251100]
Chapter 24: I MUST HAVE CUT GEMS! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9260874]
Chapter 25: How to properly haul a cage. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9271051]
Chapter 26: You didn't need that foot, did you? [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9283404]
Chapter 27: Fuck Cats. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9294848]
Chapter 28: Feathered Fiends. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9305866]
Chapter 29: Where Culture Goes to Die. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9318633]
Chapter 30: LET'S GO SWIMMING!!! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9329965]
Chapter 31: Oyster Surprise. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9341428]
Chapter 32: Anticlimax. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9348474]
Chapter 33: Rock Party. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9358768]
Chpater 34: Blood for Cloth. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9382194]
Chpater 35: Adamantine and Evil. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9397847]
Chapter 36: Meances with Spikes of Stupid. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9422672]
Chpater 37: Those Lovely Bucklers. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9433153]
Chapter 38: Nothing Ever Works. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9455307]
Chapter 39: Stupid Fucking Kobold. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9466461]
Chapter 40: Carp Diem. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9480639]
Chapter 41: The Invisible Meat-Messiahs. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9491587]
Chapter 42: 3 Months of Failure. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9502410]
Chapter 43: Kidnapping Grubs. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9530522]
A Somewhat Important Announcement. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9539644]
Chapter 44: The Ground Shakes. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9542452]
Chapter 45: Irwin's Lament. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9555408]
Chapter 46: 2 Heads With No Common Sense. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9569546]
Download Mod, Get Eaten by Krakens. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9583150]
Chapter 47: Birth of an Escapist. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9594712]
Chapter 48: Double Team. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9607904]
Chapter 49: Delicious Pterosaur. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9634054]
Chapter 50: On the Edge of Doom. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9642966]
Chapter 51: Guts Pop Out. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9657144]
Chapter 52: I Fought the Law. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9681731]
Chapter 53: Fighting Lions Underwater. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9694483]
Chapter 54: .........what? [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9726258]
Chapter 55: To Slay a Dragon. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9773858]
Chapter 56: Goblin Camp. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9841830]
Chapter 57: The Calm [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9869349]
Chapter 58: The Bitter Taste of Defeat and Arrows. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9878079]
Chapter 59: All Aboard the Train Wreck. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9908684]
Chapter 60: It Never Ends. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9944610]
Chapter 61: The Law Lost. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.9985047]
Chapter 62: The Littlest Killer. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10011039]
Chapter 63: Fair and Balanced. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10049811]
Chapter 64: Here We Go Again. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10097807]
Chapter 65: Greeting Gator. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10144114]
Chapter 66: The Best Defense. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10182722]
Chapter 67: Crime and Punishment. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10236161]
Chapter 68: Goblin Diplomacy. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10262429]
Chapter 69: Green Winter. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10324413]
Letter from a Goblin. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10346909]
Chapter 70: Lethal Lava. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10359261]
Chapter 71: Back to the Norm. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10414561]
Chpater 72: Skulking Filth! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10439507]
Chapter 73: Essential Needs. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10453237]
Chapter 74: The Traumatized Piper. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10486205]
Chapter 75: Squirm. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10499384]
Chapter 76: Extermination! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10525955]
Chapter 77: Colossal Failure. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10589118]
Chapter 78: Convenient [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10601336]
Crisis Averted. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10627161]
Chapter 79: Years of Work. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10663568]
Chapter 80: Arachnophobia. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10676973]
Chapter 81: Strawberry Coffin. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10702493]
Chapter 82: Chirp Chirp Fuck You. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10746248]
Chapter 83: Geothermal Energy. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10759419]
Chapter 84: Webbed. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10786628]
Chapter 85: Retaliation. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.10935661]
Chapter 86: Better Times. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11023144]
Chapter 87: Not Completely Lazy. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11101647]
Chapter 88: Back in the Saddle. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11305944]
Chapter 89: We Sell Blood and Blood Accessories. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11430735]
Chapter 90: Likes Men of the Night for Their Macabre Ways. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11522208]
Chapter 91: Battle on the Bridge. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11676211]
Chapter 92: High Class. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11780448]
Chapter 93: Smooth Sailing. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11810062]
Chapter 94: Bug Stomp. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11846208]
Chapter 95: Giant Rats and Bugbats. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11862126]
Chapter 96: Fist of the Ettin. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11900989]
Chapter 97: I'll Take It! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11925628]
Chapter 98: Out of Luck. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11968243]
Chapter 99: Forgotten Effort. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.11993873]
Chapter 100: False Hope. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12013465]
Chapter 101: Iron Bolts and Catapults. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12073689]
Chapter 102: Monster Lake. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12114925]
Chapter 103: Noble Sacrifice. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12153685]
Chapter 104: The Gabbro Giant. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12171536]
Chapter 105: Chaos Fortress. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12207862]
Chapter 106: Tradition. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12235081]
Chapter 107: Crazy Crickets, Krazy Kobolds. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12367132]
Chapter 108: Syndrome Delight. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12381251]
Chapter 109: When Toads Fly. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12405585]
Chapter 110: Powered by Steam. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12496907]
Chapter 111: DRAAAINAGE [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12822996]
Chapter 122: Taste of Your Own Medicine. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12831954]
Chapter 113: Pattern Recognition. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12850613]
Chapter 114: Price of Hubris. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12860381]
Chapter 115: It's Not The End. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12900225]
Chapter 116: Kicking the Bee Hive. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12906807]
Chapter 117: Blisters of the Beast. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12955713]
Chapter 118: Oozed. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.12972845]
Chapter 199: Lionguard. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.13039682]
Chapter 120: Conscription Station. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.13066063]
Chapter 121: Bloody Mystery. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.13109116]
Chapter 122: Syndrome Conundrum. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/9.245167.13126466]

 

[Internet Kraken]

Prologue: A letter to the Queen

__________________________________________________


To Queen Atir Betankubuk of the Relieved Craft,

Recently you've expressed concern with the current state of our nation. While the influence of the Relieved Craft reaches far, we are currently locked in what appears to be a lengthy conflict with the surrounding nations. There is no doubt that they will be crushed beneath our heel in due time, but while we fight the rest world leaves us behind. You believe that we need to see how the other civilizations are progressing, so that we may better understand how our strength compares to theirs. I believe I may have a solution to this problem.

Far to the north lies the Oceans of Shriveling, a place known only for the hostility it shows to anyone that travels through it. It is a cursed land, blighted by the horrors of the undead and the foulest creatures known to surface dwellers. Even the goblins of the Spiders of Stability do not want to settle near it. As such, the area has been undisturbed by the rapid expansion consuming most other areas of the Cyclopean Realm. However, while the land is renowned for being uninhabitable, there are a few small sanctuaries within it. They may not be pleasant, but survival inside them is a viable possibility.

So what I propose is that we send out a small expedition team to this land. Have them establish an outpost in the area. From here, we can provide our scouts and merchants with a safe haven during their long travels in the northern lands. The isolated nature of the fortress would discourage any major attacks from potential enemies, at least during the forts early years. It is a risky move to be sure, but one that could benefit our civilization greatly. My subordinates and I have already taken the liberty of picking out several potential candidates for this trip, and here are the ones I have selected;

Stinthad Kekimtobul is a typical noble offspring, a mind clouded with delusions of grandeur and ignorant to the true challenges that come with responsibility. Recently she has been harassing several of my subordinates, demanding to be given control of an expedition group so that she may carry out her ?dream?, whatever that may be. To our surprise, she gladly accepted to lead this journey to the Ocean of Shriveling. She doesn't appear to realize how cruel it can be. An unfit leader, no denying that, but we needed funding for this trip and her father was a good source of it.

Obviously Stinthad alone cannot be trusted to lead an expedition without having everyone be devoured by ogres, hence why I have ordered Goden Ducimtathtak to accompany her. She is quite skilled in her leadership abilities, albeit she does not enjoy it much. But what she lacks in discipline and kindness she makes up for in intellect. With her as an adviser, Stinthad actually has a chance of surviving.

Ah Momuz Shagogolin. Before this expedition came up, I was considering taking him under my wing as a disciple. Though his skills are not yet refined, he demonstrates a large amount of potential and already has many of the qualities I would associate with a military officer. But I realize that his skills would be better used out in the wild than in the safety of the Mountainhomes. He isn't happy with being a subordinate of Stinthad, but that was to be expected. I am confident that he will still protect them with his life, for his honor as a soldier of the Relieved Craft depends on him doing so.

Thob Kakdalerib was picked out by one of my subordinates, so I can't say I know much about her myself. She is a fisherman, and despite the foul nature of the Ocean of Shriveling it still contains a large number of thriving fish species. Survival in the early days will be much easier with a steady supply of edible fish. She seems qualified to fulfill this need.

Of course one must think about the long term stability of any fortress, so it is important to bring along a skilled farmer. Unsurprisingly, none of the farmers I could find were interested in visiting a blighted land. Then one day I was approached by a friend of mine, who begged me to force his niece to go on the expedition, and luck would have it that she is a farmer. When I inquired as to why he felt that she needed to travel to such a harsh land, his response was, and I quote, "she is a pansy elf and needs to learn what it means to be a dwarf". Doesn't exactly paint a favorable impression of her, but we can't afford to be picky at this point.

No expedition can hope to succeed without a skilled miner, and Ushrir Ustavuz can meet this requirement. She isn't exactly what I would call social, which may be why she is willing to travel to a place miles away from civilization. But a digger need not be the life of the party, so she will do just fine.

Lastly, we have Zuntir Zulbanokil. He doesn't appear to be particularly skilled in anything, but unlike most others he is eager to go on this journey. His optimism could help to raise the spirit of the dwarves. His willingness to go on the trip is what encouraged me to put him in. Someone needs to perform the basic hauling duties, and he should be satisfied with doing that.

These 7 dwarves may not be the best examples of the Relieved Crafts excellence, but they still have many strengths that makes me believe in their ability to succeed. Stinthad's father has provided us with more than enough funding the get them the basics and then some.

They are ready to depart on their journey, pending your approval. I wouldn't worry about their chances of success; Goden and Momuz should be able to clean up any messes that result from Stintha's foolishness. May Ustir Autumnmountains protect them on their journey.

From Bim Rithrisen, general and Administrator of the Relieved Craft.

__________________________________________________

 

[Internet Kraken]

Chapter 1: From the journal of Stinthad Kekimtobul

__________________________________________________

2nd Granite, 1051, Early Spring

After months of travel, we have finally reached our destination! The Ocean of Shriveling came into view, and we all knew we had arrived. The cool salty breeze was a breath of fresh air after our tireless voyage, though unfortunately it was immediately replaced by the foul stench of rotting flesh. I'm not going to let this put a damper of my spirits though. This is a land I can finally call my own. I have decided to name it "Reveredtour". I think it sounds cool, though I get the feeling Goden wasn't pleased with it.

Spoiler: A map of Reveredtour

I must say, the foul stories about this place seem to be greatly exaggerated. There are plenty of plants and trees growing all over. That seemed to cheer up Dishmab, who up until now had spent the entire trip sobbing to herself quietly. It is a bit hot, but not unbearable. There's even a wonderful little stream running through the south end of the area, filled with adorable hippos!

Spoiler: Hippo info

Kraken's notes: Hippos are not your friends. Though they tend to keep to themselves, they can easily be lethal when your dwarves carelessly approach them. Not only are they large and powerful, but their tendency to live in and near rivers means they can easily knock dwarves into water, which usually results in drowning. They can be captured and tamed though, and serve as decent war beasts and sources of food due to their large size.

I wonder if we could catch some and then domesticate them. We could have our own little hippo farm! I pitched the idea to the other dwarves as we went past the stream, but they weren't too keen on it. Thob told me that hippos can be very dangerous, but I don't see how. Sure they're big, but they're just so peaceful and cute! I suppose it will have to wait for some other time, since Momuz was the only one interested. Not sure why.

I found what looked like a good place to set up camp. It's perfect for the plan I have in mind. We'll rest for tonight, but tomorrow it's straight to work!

5th Granite, 1051, Early Spring.

It's taken a few days of digging, but we've finally hit some suitable stone; microline! It's such a pretty color, building a fort out of it will be wonderful. I've started giving the other dwarves instructions on what to build. They seem a bit confused, but that's only because they don't yet realize just how grand my dream fort will truly be! However, Goden was not happy with this, and confronted me about it.
Goden: "You're serious? You really want us to build a fortress out of this eyesore of a rock?"
Stinthhad: "Of course! Trust me, it will look wonderful once we get some more work done."
Goden: "It's bright blue! Our fortress will stick out like a sore thumb if we use this garbage. There's a perfectly fine layer of gabbro right above it. Why not use that instead?"
Stinthhad: "Gabbro isn't as pretty, of course."
She started at me for a few seconds after I said this, a look of disbelief on her face (I don't get why!). She then wandered off, muttering something under her breath. I bet she just needs some time to think, the idea will grow on her.

19th Granite, 1051, Early Spring

Gah, this is taking far too long! Things are going a lot slower than I anticipated. It's taking forever to build even the entrance to the fort.

The other dwarves demanded to know why they have to build this platform over the ocean. I wanted to keep it a secret a bit longer, but I suppose it was dumb to expect them to keep building something when they didn't even know what it was going to be. I told them about my dream fortress; a great city built over the waves of the ocean. In which one could walk down the roads and feel the mist of the crashing waves rising up from beneath. Where one could gaze out their window and see lesser kraken swimming through the vast sea. I thought it was a wonderful idea, so I just had to take this opportunity when it came up!

To my surprise, most of them hated it! Goden was furious, and started threatening to report me to Bim Rithrisen for gross incompetence! Momuz began hacking at random trees in frustration, and Dishmab just started crying (again). It's been a few hours, and most of them have begrudgingly gone back to working. I'm a bit worried about how things will turn out now, but Zuntir has assured me that they'll get used to it. He thinks my idea is great, so maybe this isn't pointless.

Other than this issue though, things seem to be going well. As I mentioned earlier I'm displeased with the pace of our work, but things could be a lot worse. We still have plenty of food and drink, and Momuz has taken the liberty of training many of the stray animals into protective war beasts. Which is good, since there are some zombie conchmen wandering off in the difference. Not to threatening, but definitely a potential danger.

Spoiler: Conchman info

Kraken's notes: Conchmen are creatures I modded into the game to give the ocean biomes some more diversity. They're pretty much what they sound like, though I decided to make them highly aggressive creatures to add more danger to ocean embarks. A lone civilian probably wouldn't survive a fight against one, though they don't give soldiers much trouble.

I can only hope that Goden calms down. I get the impression that she doesn't like me much. She's always either yelling at me or isolating herself from the rest of us. Still, she's my advisor, and I know she was picked for a good reason so I won't give up on our potential friendship just yet. I think I'll go watch the hippos for a bit to ease my mind, they always warm my heart.
__________________________________________________

 

[Chal]

Love it already!

A mix of naivety and undead sea monsters, eh? Things are going to go to hell fast. Is there an aquifer on the map, being so close to the ocean and all? Is this one of the LPs where readers claim a dwarf? Do so many questions annoy you?

I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

 

[Internet Kraken]

Love it already!

Is there an aquifer on the map, being so close to the ocean and all? Is this one of the LPs where readers claim a dwarf? Do so many questions annoy you?

I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

There would be if I didn't remove aquifers from my game. There just not something I enjoy having to deal with, because they turn the start of a fortress into a major drag. It's impossible to get any usable stone easily since it all lies beneath large aquifers, and since I tend to build forts over the ocean this is a huge problem. If there was some quick way to temporarily bypass aquifers in a small area I would leave them on, but as it stands now you have to go through a large scale project to puncture large aquifer layers. Just not something I enjoy doing.

Also I don't plan on naming dwarves after users mainly because that's a lot of people to keep track of in my first LP, and I also don't want to offend anyone by having their dwarf be described as an outrageous moron/pansy/coward/asshole/jackass in the narrative.

 

[Chal]

I see. I sort of like having to deal with aquifers, just as something more to do during the first year and having a source of water for drowning traps and wells. It's also an easy source of flow for making watermills if you want to get really fancy with the mechanical stuff, but the most I use power for is automating pumps, and you don't need those if an aquifer is around anyway

 

[thegrimfandango]

This has nothing to do with Dwarf Fortress, but you have the best username I've ever seen

 

[philosophicalbastard]

I would enjoy reading this let's play and other media pretaining to Dwarf Fortress if the graphics didn't make my eyes bleed.

 

[Internet Kraken]

I would enjoy reading this let's play and other media pretaining to Dwarf Fortress if the graphics didn't make my eyes bleed.

yes, can you put on a tile set so we know what we are seeing?

I don't think tilesets really help though. I never found Dwarf Fortress any easier to understand when using tilesets. If I did install a tileset, I would run into a problem where in I no longer know what I'm looking at since I've never used tilesets before.

If you're confused about something, I'll try my best to explain exactly what it is.

 

[The Madman]

Can never have too much Dwarf Fortress!

A suggestion though: use programs like Overseer and Stonesense to better illustrate what you're doing for those not familiar with the ye-olden style visuals.

An example, plus I love showing off, here's one of my old fortress in-game. Even with a basic graphics pack most players still wont get the general idea of what that is.

Spoiler

However show it in 3D, and players have an idea of what they're looking at.

Really love how that fortress turned out. I've made other above-ground castle-style fortress since, bigger and better even, but I still love how this first one ended up!

Haven't been playing much Dwarf Fortress lately, kinda burned myself out after my last ultra-super-mega project turned into a complete disaster (An attempt to make an underground waterfall and pool area next to the meeting hall was working perfectly till one Dwarf went insane when his wife died in a goblin raid and ended up breaking a floodgate before the guards caught him... unfortunately that floodgate was a central component to managing the flow of water pouring into my fortress. Let's just say it didn't end well! In retrospect I should have walled that area off permanently and built a backup drainage tunnel, but I haven't felt the urge to give it another go just yet! Soon maybe!)

Good luck and great work so far!

 

[Flour]

Always fun to read about how a fortress dies is built.
I'm not a player myself, I never figured out how to order dwarfs(dwarves?) to do anything.

 

[Internet Kraken]

-snip-

Yeah, I was looking at visualizer programs today due to people's comments. Unfortunately, stonesense doesn't yet support version .17. However, when it does get updated I will start including links to stonesense renditions of each screenshot where applicable. I personally prefer to just look at the ASCII images for anything other than megaprojects, but I can see how they could help people unfamiliar with Dwarf Fortress It really does just look like a big jumbled mess when you don't play the game/read a lot about it. I'm also going to put together a basic visual aid to help people understand the most basic parts of Dwarf Fortress graphics.

No update today though(probably), since I've been busy finishing my college applications. However they're completley done now, so I should be able to get an update up tomorrow.

 

[The Lunatic]

If you're looking for a tile set, I'd suggest Phoebus.

Spoiler

 

[Chal]

I think you'll do fine without a tileset; using Stonesense/Overseer should be sufficient, plus they tend to finish making 'em compatible with the newest version pretty quick. Speaking of which, .18 just came out. Important bugfix: Weapon traps won't crash the game.

 

[Delusibeta]

Relevent. [http://www.timdenee.com/oilfurnace/] Yep, it's the sequel to that illustrated Drawl Fortress story that was floating around ages ago. (Props to Pc Gamer for pointing me in that direction).

 

[Internet Kraken]

Relevent. [http://www.timdenee.com/oilfurnace/] Yep, it's the sequel to that illustrated Drawl Fortress story that was floating around ages ago. (Props to Pc Gamer for pointing me in that direction).

Reading this will give you an idea about how a typical Dwarf Fortress game progresses and then ends. Not to undermine this story, but that really is what happens to most forts. The reason it's popular is because it has a great artist that managed to portray DF in a manner so that even those unfamiliar with the game can understand what happens. Not an easy task.

Though at the same time I'm torn about telling people who intend on playing DF to read it, since it spoils "clowns" and the "circus". Though to be honest that gets spoiled for most people quite easily anyways.

 

[Internet Kraken]

Edited the op to include a very basic and not all that useful visual guide. I suppose it's better than nothing though. Will work on an update tonight and finish it tomorrow.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Dammit Kraken, didn't know you were doing this. I shall be following now.