A Break Between Forts

The fortress has crumbled to an end, which means there will be no more tales of Datanerith, called Ironlabors, Outpost of the Excavated Boulders. But worry not! A new fortress will be up soon. I would like to spend a few days away from the blog to figure out how I want to proceed, and to build up a suitable backlog, but it shouldn't take long. You can expect this blog to start updating again Monday, April 14.

I'd also like to take this time to address some questions about the blog that I've been receiving (and some that I haven't). Let's talk boring administrative stuff for a moment:

Why not use a graphics pack or tile set? It would make the game look better and easier to understand for non-experienced readers!
I don't really like any of them. And, as much as I love the gameplay itself, a large part of the charm of Dwarf Fortress is, for me, the ASCII graphics. Plus, to be frank, it took me a while to figure out what the symbols mean. There's a certain pride that comes with seeing a screen full of colored gibberish and being able to translate it fluently.

 I don't even see the code anymore. All I see are blondbeard, brownbeard, redbeard.

What about Overseer or Stonesense, then?

Overseer is a great program that really paints an epic picture of a finished fortress; that's why I used it in my Surveying the Ruins post. I like using it at the end of a game, though; I want to show off the fortress in its entirety, not when it's halfway built. Stonesense, though, is an idea that I've been throwing back and forth in my head. Like I mentioned earlier, I don't want to stop using (or writing with) the default ASCII, but I might find away to include the occasional Stonesense screenshot. We'll see.

Do you use DFHack?

I've got Lazy Newb Pack downloaded, so DFHack comes up automatically. I've used it to export maps for Overseer, but otherwise, no. I never even really learned how to use it. I don't mind losing a fort, so cheating isn't that important to me.... yet. Maybe when I get bored I'll figure out how to use it for more interesting stuff!

Where did you learn to play?

Captnduck's videos. 

Why are you so bad at this game?

'Cause it's a hard game! Seriously, though, I'm still learning. Sometimes I'll make a post describing my learning process, and other times, I'll skip over the hour it took me to try and fail at something (though sharp-eyed readers will probably spot my mistakes easily!). However, tips are always welcome. I'm always learning something new, and it was a tip from a post on Reddit that finally got my worthless militia up and running.

Now that's what I'm talking about!

In that case, why don't you nickname your dwarves based on their profession, or (insert thing to make the game easier/more efficient)?

I am, for the most part, something of a roleplayer. I'd like to do things that make some sort of sense, in-universe. It's why I spend so much time looking at the dwarves' personalities and appearances, and finding ways to create narratives around the otherwise random happenings of the fort. Some things, like creating an impotent Hammerer, or killing off nobles who decree difficult mandates, suck a little bit of the life out of the fortress. Again, I don't mind losing, so I don't mind things like that making the game a little harder - as long as they're interesting. How else can you have fun if you don't lose?

Thanks for reading, in any case!