Remember that this isn’t something to win, or really even be good at. Instead this is a story generator. I like sprawling forts with dozens of faceless drones, but if you prefer a more intimate fort where you can follow each name through their life and untimely demise, you can change the max pop in the settings.
Are certain features still introduced when you hit population milestones? I haven’t played since 40d, which was… a while ago, but I liked playing without worrying about nobles or the greater economy or any of the other features that complicated the game even more. Just a small band of dwarves living their brief, hellish dwarfy lives.
Most plants can only be grown during specific seasons
Most plants can only be grown inside or outside, usually not both
There’s a variety of meats in the game, learn how to manage them
Prepared meals are the best way to satisfy hunger
Learn how to arm and train your dwarves
Make specific dwarves into specific soldiers (sword dwarfs, axe dwarfs, crossbow dwarfs, etc.)
Make training rooms and assign dwarves to them.
Also learn how to setup medical rooms and train nurses/doctors.
Learn how to make traps and siege defenses.
PAY ATTENTION TO THE QUALITY OF ITEMS
Seriously the quality/price of your items, directly affects a number of things related to your fort: what trade goods are available, how many of them are available, how much you can trade your stuff for, how happy your dwarves are, and how powerful the bad guys are when they attack you.
Learn how to pick the right nobles.
Every dwarf has a particular set of skills and likes/dislikes.
Learn what they mean to make sure you assign them to the right noble position.
Elves are prissy removed and won’t trade anything wood/animal skins. Even if it’s stuff they want, if it’s in a wood/leather container they will get super mad if you try to trade it to them. If you want you can just murder them (when you’re good enough) with little consequence other than not being able to trade with them any more (boo-fucking-hoo).
And last but not least… Your forts will ALWAYS fail. Whether it’s from outside influences (vampires, goblins, necromancers, demons, etc.), internal forces (sadness spirals, treachery, running out of food/alcohol, etc.), or FPS death (too many dwarves == bad frame rate == unplayable).
That’s about all I can think of off the top of my head. The game play is MUCH more in depth than that, and there’s a steep learning curve. So don’t get frustrated if you have no idea what you’re doing…. That’s all part of the ¡fun! https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Losing
I have yet to try this game but am interested in it.
Any suggestions/tips for a first timer?
The first hit’s free: bay12games.com/dwarves
Remember that this isn’t something to win, or really even be good at. Instead this is a story generator. I like sprawling forts with dozens of faceless drones, but if you prefer a more intimate fort where you can follow each name through their life and untimely demise, you can change the max pop in the settings.
Work orders are your only friend here.
Are certain features still introduced when you hit population milestones? I haven’t played since 40d, which was… a while ago, but I liked playing without worrying about nobles or the greater economy or any of the other features that complicated the game even more. Just a small band of dwarves living their
brief, hellishdwarfy lives.Learn how to manage your dwarves.
Learn how to manage waste
Learn how to manage dead bodies
Learn what you need to make things
Learn how to arm and train your dwarves
PAY ATTENTION TO THE QUALITY OF ITEMS
Learn how to pick the right nobles.
Elves are prissy removed and won’t trade anything wood/animal skins. Even if it’s stuff they want, if it’s in a wood/leather container they will get super mad if you try to trade it to them. If you want you can just murder them (when you’re good enough) with little consequence other than not being able to trade with them any more (boo-fucking-hoo).
And last but not least… Your forts will ALWAYS fail. Whether it’s from outside influences (vampires, goblins, necromancers, demons, etc.), internal forces (sadness spirals, treachery, running out of food/alcohol, etc.), or FPS death (too many dwarves == bad frame rate == unplayable).
That’s about all I can think of off the top of my head. The game play is MUCH more in depth than that, and there’s a steep learning curve. So don’t get frustrated if you have no idea what you’re doing…. That’s all part of the ¡fun! https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Losing
Buy lots of beer off merchants to keep your dwarves nice and hydrated (and happy)