Let's Learn: Dwarf Fortress - Beginner-friendly fort! - Ep 2

This KZbin Let's Play is going to focus on explaining our process in a beginner-friendly way!
Want to see more? Make sure to Subscribe and Like!
Streaming every Saturday! ► / quill18
Support me on Patreon! ► / quill18creates
Twitter ► / quill18
Buy Quill18 Stuff! ► shop.spreadshirt.com/quill18/
Learn game programming! ► / quill18creates
DISCLAIMER: You should assume that all games played on this channel are free preview/review copies.
Email:
[e-mail]
Snail Mail:
PO Box 2301, Station A
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
P3A 4S8
New to the channel? I do Let's Play videos -- these are like walkthrough guides of gameplay with continuous English commentary trying to explain my decisions and what strategy I use. If you're looking for hacks or cheats, you're in the wrong place!

[@danidm5820]

At the beginning of the episode, Quill prepares an order for wooden bins, that will queue up additional bins if not enough are available. In other words, it's More Bin time

[@mordet2]

r/angryupvote

[@TheEpicGnome]

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

[@clearmindvisuals]

😂😂😂

[@matthewsanchez7953]

I respect the effort in getting there lol.

[@adam_______00015]

Are bins automatically used if avaliable?

[@kyllbs1]

For what it's worth, I'm a new player to DF, and I think the way you're explaining what and why you're doing something is perfect. I'm enjoying this series so far, and it's been a real help for getting started with DF.

[@5ecretcode]

I think it is to although I did get confused AF in the beginning because he kept changing his mind while i was following along and i had no idea how to change or reverse what i did lmao, but still useful when he mentions things i never knew before.

[@markparagi8190]

If you are new, I also recommend Nookrium and Kruggsmash (both also on KZbin). I found it was better to see how a few different people do things while figuring out my own play style.

[@bertbargo7162]

This game is so huge and complex, I dont know what to do... Out of all the creators, this hand holding intro series has been the most useful to me imo. I didnt even know we could filter down starting locations

[@KatelynCollins225]

a returning df player who forgot most of everything here, thank you

[@sotla]

“Stone carving is tables, stone crafting is mugs, masonry is building, stone cutting is smoothing, engraving is engraving.” Credits to Clinodev

[@hypoaktivnaovca]

Masonry is specifically the building that needed masonry before, like stone bridges, it's not all building. In other words, the skill is worthless unless you need to build a bridge really quickly. 😅

[@illznik2]

Thank you dude I was wondering so hard about this

[@destroy141]

Hey, quill, so far around 40% of your raw food is coming from fishing might want to keep that dwarf fishing/maybe give them a buddy

[@alexpuddy1]

19:39 Rock and Stone!

[@RichardSYarmosh]

Rock and Stone!

[@louismobbs9098]

To the bone

[@racoonronin1482]

Ohhh yeah! Rock and Stone!

[@adam_______00015]

19:44 ROCK AND STONE

[@Destradamose]

For Carlllll!!

[@notmyrealname8445]

that’s exactly how i learned about this game, deep rock videos in my feed turned into dwarf fortress!

[@goodbyejojo7198]

DID I HEAR A ROCK AND STONE?!

[@honeybadgerkc3159]

For Rock and Stone!

[@Destradamose]

Roockkkkkk annnnd stoooooooooooone

[@DonYagamoth]

Just want to express my appreciation for this series - I have played a good amount of Rimworld, so that helps a bit with getting into the entire thing. But the amount of options and possibilities is still quite overwhelming, so having a starting point with someone explaining what they're doing for what reason and how is really neat

[@Ethernalus]

Saw your episode 1 when I started playing dwarf fortress, and it got me hooked in the game, but got stuck after it ended as I didn't know what to do. I was lost without an episode 2! Finally now that episode 2 is out I can play again :D

[@knickedixen]

Hear hear!

[@mikkosaarinen3225]

Yeah, the game can be really overwhelming 😄 I don't know if Quill mentioned it but there's a wiki and a lot of the entries have tutorials attached.

[@mikkosaarinen3225]

Oh and ultimately the most important thing to remember with DF is this age old piece of Wisdom: You can't win in DF and due to mechanics you will inevitably lose in the end. But playing DF is fun. Thus losing is fun (Not to be confused with FUN, which is why you end up losing 😏) P.s. Yes I'm aware there are multiple ways you can avoid losing the game.

[@mikkosaarinen3225]

Third, the best way to start playing DF is to just screw around. You'll lose a bunch of forts but that's fine! You'll learn a lot from your mistakes. I can still remember my first well that was a complete disaster 😂 And that was before invaders used it to get inside my fort 😏 My second well resulted in some let's call them impromptu swimming lessons. If I recall correctly, in my next fortress I swore to forgo a well and decided to flood my fort with an irrigation project instead. Not to mention the first time I encountered a bronze golem 😅 My point is forts get destroyed in ridiculous incidents 🎣, you laugh 😄, and then you try again 😁 In the end there are no good decisions in DF, just some that are less disasterous, so go with common sense and make A decision to see what happens. You'll do fine 😁

[@Lukimuki101]

​@@mikkosaarinen3225 There is no internal end point, single goal, final Easter egg or "You Win!" announcement in Dwarf Fortress, therefore, eventually, almost every fortress will fall. Most new players will lose their first few forts sooner rather than later; when you lose a fortress, don't feel like you don't understand the game. Dwarf Fortress has a steep learning curve (often referred to as a "cliff"), and part of the process (and fun!) is discovering things for yourself. However, this wiki serves as an excellent place to speed up the learning process.

[@paulzagieboylo7315]

11:30 It's just because surface crops are not that completely implemented, really at all. There's a ton of them (because for some reason, in real life we do most of our farming above ground), but they're all basically identical and they don't have seasonal restrictions set up. Maybe this will be changed, one day. 30:55 It's actually a REALLY good idea for zones to include their boundary walls, because it means they get to include the values of any engravings on said walls. Yes, it means they lose a little value for overlapping, but walls are valuable enough that it's worth it.

[@snickle1980]

Does the food rot underground? do i need to worry about rotting food and drink? Is it like Rimworld in that way? How important is a well? My dwarves dont seem to be dying of thirst...some of my animals have died, but i think that was due to zoning... Lost three donkeys to Zoning. Do they need a well? The animals? What are my dogs and cats eating?? What are they drinking? the alcohol? Well well... I have it set to peaceful, but i DO expect there to be Danger and death and horror...Amirite or amiwrong there? Are there still things inside the caverns when its on easy mode? (forgot what the setting is called on steam) At the moment, i have my total population limited to 12-16...Is there a reason i would want to juggle MORE? What can I do to help my engravers create more interesting art? I'm not seeing any artwork involving my own dwarves or their exploits...(they havent really had many in 2 D-years) Is artwork more detailed with a highly skilled artist? Where is the microfilm? We have ways of making you talk.

[@jessiejanson1528]

if zones need to include the walls, that seems like all the reason to make walls two tiles thick.

[@Trickway0]

Hey! I'm a new player coming from RImworld and these videos have been really helpful in knowing what to do and how to do it in a way that isn't confusing. Keep up the good work!

[@christianwong35]

Love this series and how fast these episodes are coming out, keep it up! This is fantastic for a new player!

[@racoonronin1482]

19:39 Did I hear a Rock and Stone?

[@BjornTheDim]

Rock and Stone in the heart!

[@bluehead253]

If you don't rock and stone you ain't coming home.

[@Mrrshal]

ROCK AND STONE

[@cemi_3877]

the fisher is straight assassinating turtles

[@ProWithABow231]

One thing I like to do if I have a fisherman is to use the shells from the refuse pile (specifically mussel shells, I’m not sure if you can use other shells) to make jewelry and sell it. Another thing you can do is add the lower valued gems to them.

[@collincampbell7689]

Awesome to see the quick turn around on ep 2!

[@Pepecigar]

6:57 yeah ore is 33% chance and stone 50%. Adamantine is 100% like divine metal iirc

[@Kairax]

Is there a way to tell what ore have what? Like i not know what ore can become coke or iron. Is there some ingame helper?

[@Pepecigar]

@@Kairax either when you mine it you know what it can do when clicking the chunk or by checking the wiki. A lot of ores are close the real life stuff like bauxite containing iron is a real thing

[@bluemonkey1013]

This series is such a good intro to dwarf fortress

[@snorlax42]

I originally learned how to play DF from your 2013-2014ish tutorial series, so it's super exciting 10 years later to be able to relearn in this new sleek format! Thank you for your work 🥰

[@Maeyanie]

46:11: You missed a great pun in calling them "Muggers"

[@schnitzelfritzel6287]

19:38 ROCK AND STONE, TO THE BONE

[@tonylagreve]

Did I hear a Rock and Stone?

[@Mazurecki56]

For Karl!

[@vineheart01]

19:37 ROCK AND STONE!

[@jordanw1083]

Such amazing videos as always. Planning on grabbing the game shortly and this is going to help a lot.

[@magicaces13]

Couldnt have just bought and learned DF without this series! Thanks Quill!

[@chris6291]

By far the most useful tips videos on playing this. Thanks Quill!

[@FFXIvoorhees]

Thank you! I can finally start playing with your guides.

[@jarradscarborough7915]

19:39 did i hear him say 'rock and stone'?

[@Leifuren]

We're rich!

[@SpookySkeletonDD]

These videos are incredibly helpful for beginners like myself. Thank you!

[@snafu2350]

You can make bins from rock too, as well as rock pots instead of wooden barrels.. & you're gonna have even more of that than wood: literally tons of the stuff! :)

[@PugsleyThePear]

I love the cats running all over the place and getting in the way, very lifelike!

[@danielwright7240]

They get drunk and die of alcohol poisoning too, in was unintentionally coded in to the game but it stuck.

[@slingeressjoanne]

I am new to DF and I just want to say thank you so much for this series :D Episode 2 and it has already been such a great help! You do such a great job at explaining the basics for us newbies, thank you

[@HcgRandon]

Phenomenal series thus far, I am brand brand new to DF and this has been invaluable. Eagerly awaiting EP 3!!!

[@kattagarian]

Enjoying this run, thanks for doing it

[@evalca]

I'm new to DF and wanted to watch a let's play for a little bit before diving into the game, and this series has been great for that and I am looking forward to more videos!

[@jihra]

Loving this series!

[@ThePellefantman]

great tutorials, definetly makes it easier to pick up the game for the first time :)

[@jeffmlaughlin]

I like the way you present things.. makes sense in my mind. I've always been a fan of DF but couldn't get into the ascii style but im into the new version. Appreciate the videos. Keep it coming!

[@shi-woonyi2605]

Thanks, I am taking notes while watching! :D

[@ERB206]

love how this game is as old as me or even older

[@antst]

i played 7 hours before watching this and had no idea about work orders, life saver

[@xylvnking]

I am absolutely dedicated to learning this game

[@PeterF590]

They released v50.02 today with a bunch of widescreen fixes

[@Greenraba]

Lol I just finished watching the first one and now you upload the second, awesone timing

[@MarvelousLXVII]

One of the few content creators who never disappoints so I can do a thumbs up at the beginning.

[@snickle1980]

🤨I'm subscribed to a content creator who _constantly disappoints._ Yesterday, my man put out a video where he ate a bowl of soup. That's it. Just soup. 😐 And it wasn't _exciting soup,_ either...It was all watery and brown. Then today, he did that thing with the dancing and crying again. Not cool...

[@jasonglasser1621]

I got a crash last night - really wish I'd seen this video yesterday. Lost about 2 1/2 seasons of work. Productive seasons too, we'd gotten out of a winter with 0 drinks and over a few trades (acquiring every drink, plant seed, and loose plant on the caravans) we built up a really solid reserve of it. Have to hope for those caravans to bring back the same results. Also lost two big groups of migrants that joined, but honestly, now we'll have the chance to preemptively build up the beds, so that might be better this time around

[@Khono]

Thank you!! I really need this.

[@rune6979]

Another key thing about Refuse stockpiles is that they slowly disintegrate their contents over time, so never combine a refuse stockpile with any other type.

[@bluehead253]

Did I hear a Rock and Stone?

[@TheWebhippo]

Was waiting for this, thank you

[@garyhigginbothem1780]

Thanks for making this!

[@mlmagpayo]

I love watching Dwarf Fortress

[@Jellyphish]

Keep them coming!🎉

[@grimdrippah]

19:39 LIKE THAT, ROCK AND STONE

[@criticalglich3432]

ROCK AND STOOOONE!

[@skychaserthedragon2046]

19:40 Did I hear a Rock and Stone?!

[@vesperflute9030]

Nice, I was waiting for this! Could you make a separate video about how to make early defensive constructions/traps?

[@JulieanGalak]

My suggestion is not to change the grid size, but, rather, change the "maximum interface width" setting to the widest that your monitor supports. For example, my monitor is a 1440p, so I set it to 2560. That seems to fix it better than playing with grid size.

[@sparklefizzy]

For anyone confused because the number looks different, note that there was a patch today that changed this to a percentage rather than a pixel count, and also made a better default so you probably won't even have to mess with it.

[@oldman1029]

Great series thanks for explaining the game. Where do I find the chairs tables and beds made at the carpentry workshop and place them where they need to go.

[@nathanpatrick2418]

19:40 did I hear a ROCK AND STONE

[@tomt5745]

Lovely initiative, Quill :)

[@fuckinmoron3230]

19:40 DID I HEAR A ROCK AND STONE?!

[@CarlingBlackJuice]

I know I'm not the only one that turned the volume up when Quill turned it down when that song started playing...you know the one

[@hanniballecter1954]

thx for this series. I just got my hands on the game yesterday and it seems very promising so far :) . I was already interested in the classic game version before the steam release but was intimidated by the cryptic graphics and controles. I am glad it is now compatible with human brains :D

[@bluemonkey1013]

How're you finding it so far I'm finding the interface alot easier to manage

[@hanniballecter1954]

@@bluemonkey1013 It's amazing! Indeed the new interface is great! :)

[@ChrisDombroski]

The stone use menu tells you what all the ores smelt to/are used for

[@philippak7726]

as a vintage player: making rock mugs was THE way to up your craftdwarves skills. you sat them down and let them churn out endless mugs for the trades and upskill them hard.

[@whatsuptimmy4166]

When you were talking through the iron process did you just know how many things you needed to craft before getting to iron or is there a way in the game to figure that out? Thanks for the content!

[@Setnja92]

Did i hear a ROCK and STONE??! 19:40

[@Mazurecki56]

19:39 DID I HEAR ROCK AND STONE?!

[@lordofenron]

Hi quill. I _love_ your Dwarf Fortress videos :D Tell me, do you like the steam-version more than the old-school version? I think it looks great and the devs really deserve the cash.

[@SloppyMosesGaming]

"what is my purpose" "you make mugs" "oh my god"

[@cdm1972]

Good stuff.

[@pawl937]

Thank you!!!

[@hypoaktivnaovca]

None of the premade labours contain any crafting. Miners for mining, woodcutters for woodcutting, hunters for hunting, planters for planting, fisherdwarves for fishing, plant gatherers for plant gathering, stonecutters for smoothing and carving fortifications and rails, engravers for engraving, haulers for hauling and orderlies for all the misc stuff, like cleaning and feeding patients and such.

[@Euruzilys]

19:39 did someone say ROCK AND STONE?!?!

[@joshuasmyth3115]

Can you imagine the dwarves being set one task: No empty bin = make bin, and they have to constantly eyeball the stockpiles to ensure that bin regulations are being met.

[@dovakiin296]

I've been interested in this game for some time but I haven't yet pulled the trigger and gotten the Steam release. My question is: is there a way to keep some or any of your settings for work orders and use them between fortresses? It seems to take a lot of time just fiddling with menus just for things that seem like they should be the default settings.

[@matthewsanchez7953]

There wasn't in the OG, and I haven't seen any way to in the Steam version yet. That being said, once you're comfy with the work order menus it doesn't take long to create new ones.

[@TheOneTrueGriswel]

Anyone know if the mushrooms that grow when you hit the cave system can turn into wood? I thought they used to but they stay "young" in my fortress and I wonder if they need z levels? I used to embark in woodless areas and just use them iirc. Thx

[@ve8547]

You may need a separate guide to go deeper into defending and combat in general, I found it quite hard to grasp around, also if you know any mods that make the notification a little more clear like with sound or such..., please recommend it in the next video

[@TwoWayOrbitalStation]

Hey, there is a mod on stream workshop that an plays an alert sound with an important pop up, but currently doesn't work with combat pop ups. It's called "Audible Alerts" Also, i'm not sure but there are some mods on there that dont work unless you create a new world, and add the mod to a list before you generate the world.

[@Gnipahell1r]

yeah, new episode :)

[@KerboOnYT]

Good info but the music is too loud sometimes

[@ChromaSoul]

19:39 ⛏

[@AurumKHK]

"I'll just have make wooden bins on repeat for awhile, that'll be fine!" -Guy that now owns hundreds of bins

[@dylanb2990]

Did you miss the part where he set up conditions?

[@AurumKHK]

@@dylanb2990 I was playing before and just watching the series because I like quill! I made a mistake last time I was playing is all haha. "I could use a lot at the start so it'll be fine if I just loop it for a bit" and then I forgot about it.

[@Foxshin_]

@@AurumKHK I did that with doors.. Luckily caught it at 50 LOL

[@SirStoneFace]

Thank god you make these videos, I'd be drooling on my keyboard otherwise

[@FilkoSempai]

i remember liking that season of supernatural

[@pokedude104]

havent seen anyone cover this yet, but what can I do about the eventual problem of garbage (and rocks!) overfilling the map? I made a gigantic refuse pile on the surface that covers a good 1/4th of the map and its almost exclusively filled with mussel shells from the brook... I also have an entire floor dedicated to massive stone stockpiles that I can never even make a dent in

[@dabnormalone]

Dwarf Fortress Wiki has an entry called Quantum Stockpile that explains a few ways you can deal with that. KZbin dislikes links or I'd link directly.

[@anihillator]

>>you dont want all dwarves dabbling, you want em super good. Dwarves with higher skill are automatically preferred for the job, so eventually you'll have some specialist dwarves that get all related jobs without much input.

[@MD4564]

I hope this is a very long beginner n00b friendly, fort.... I'm a newbie to DF.

[@noahadams8305]

Is there value in saving ores? Could you just set up work orders to smelt x item if it’s ore exists?

[@yelesomsundri6310]

This auto-mining flag is so good

[@Vortyrion]

Eat that KZbin algorithm!

[@bigboxenthusiast2708]

no water source, might be good idea to have added the water source for the farming.

[@joe13squirrel]

Quill out here playing dwarf fortress like factorio. no wonder you hate aquifers, which are a huge part of the game.

[@KungFuFishstick]

You videos are excellent for tutorials. Can I use them as a basis for a steam guide and give you credit?

[@TheLokthar]

salt rock mugs, for when your alcohol isn't quite salty enough

[@charlylimph]

I haven't finished the episode yet. But I dont think he mentioned the other good reason for putting doors on work shops. If dorfs get a legendary mood you can't satisfy you can lock the door. Not nice, but it works.

[@prototype102010]

These have been fantastic videos! But the one thing I'm really struggling with is farming. I noticed you have the same issue, the plant you tried growing you had no seeds for it, you didn't catch that this episode but hopefully soon? But how do I get those dome seeds? And how do I actually plant them?

[@storvolleng]

I'mm struggling with the same, plant plump helmets and run out of seeds, even if they're set to only be used for brewing by default

[@prototype102010]

@@storvolleng Yeah, I'm trying to figure out why because I don't have a kitchen, so all my dwarfs are eating raw and should be making seeds, but their not. I'm brewing but not getting seeds. I've checked my stocks and I just have 0 seeds by summer.

[@Fluxikator]

@@storvolleng I think its a ressource circle. Heres an Example: You have 10 seeds. That grow into Plump Helmets in like the first season. After that yove got for example 20 plumphelmets. And all of those get made into drinks. Now you have no seeds, no plump helmets, and 20 Drinks. When the dwarfs drink those drinks. Youll get back the seeds. So after the dwarfes have lets say drunken 10 drinks. Youve got back your 10 seeds you had in the beginning. And they can be planted again.

[@Bronimin]

seeds are generated when a dearf eats a raw plant and when a raw plant is brewed. It doesn't really matter though, you don't need to get any food to live to the first caravan and that caravan will bring shitloads of food as long as you have crafts ready to trade for them

[@Bronimin]

including raw plump helmets, by the way, which you can bug and then the dwarves can brew and eat and get seeds again

[@89elmonster]

18:34 That offended me. That really offended me.

[@Astrobiologica]

Quill18 what ui scaling would you recommend for playing on the steam deck ? have you tried this out yet ?

[@zorbat5]

I play on the steam deck. 100% is fine. The screen reads nicely!

[@RottenJeeves]

Is it just me or does time go by way faster in the steam version?

[@alexisdespland4939]

can the drarfs make jucies and teas insead of liquors

[@bsavage5128]

I spent hours drifting through space to get a mug in Elite Dangerous... if you build them, they will come...