#megaproject

Did you think I could ever give up Dwarf Fortress?

Welcome back to So, This Happened, my Kobold Fortress travelogue! Dwarf Fortress updated to take Steam screenshots, and I have dozens of them I have completely not been uploading with the wild and wacky stories of my Kobold Fortresses.

In fact, here we have a farewell post. This particular fort I used for two experiments. One I am highlighting with these screenshots. Well into the game, I decided to move my fortress out from underground and build an actual castle! I had thoughts about adding turrets and other expansions.

Alas, that did not happen. Experienced players will be looking at this screenshot and going "HOLY CRUD LOOK AT HOW UNHAPPY YOUR POPULATION IS."

So, uh, yeah. This happened. See, first, I really should have built the roof FIRST. Dwarves (and thus kobolds) really, really hate the surface. They hate being rained on more than ANYTHING. By the time I realized my mistake and rushed a roof, I had 45 angry 'bolds in my population. I went on a huge exiling spree and got that down to controllable levels.

Then I got declared the capitol and the King arrived.

I always name the ruler of my fortress Nerissa after a friend. I do not like some weirdo showing up demanding a better bedroom than Princess Nerissa. I commit regicide to deal with this issue every time.

So, you know, when I do that, two things happen. The crown gets passed down along a devious chain of inheritance to someone who is not a resident of my fortress. That person immediately sets out to visit (but not live here). Second, when my fortress becomes the capitol, it gets mobs of visitors that are the royal court. Nobles of various ranks.

*I* thought, hey, Nerissa rules the wealthiest and most powerful fortress in this kingdom, because Toady seems to be in no hurry to fix the weird game balance mistake that food is worth 100 times as much as anything else you can make. She has to be high up on the royal succession list, right? So what if I keep killing kings until she inherits? I've always wanted to try that, and this fortress I did!

DO NOT TRY THIS.

First, and most importantly, it doesn't work. The rules of inheritance are byzantine indeed, and your princess will not inherit the throne. My best understanding is that before territory ruling nobles, important court functionaries inherit, and those roles will be automatically filled by non-resident historical figures. No matter how many kings you murder, some random schmuck will be inserted into the line of succession right in front of your fortress ruler.

Second, it turns out that kobolds really don't like seeing you murder their king. Even if you do it out in the wilds before they reach the fortress and nobody but your soldiers witness the murder. Even if their king simply vanishes for mysterious (coughcoughbridgetrapatomizedthemcoughcough) reasons. My fortress stress levels reached an uncontrollable level.

So, This Happened... Farewell Tour Edition!

My desire to play Dwarf Fortress runs in waves, and I think this one has waned.  Surely I shall return to this game, but my travelogue is likely to disappear for awhile.

So... obviously, you deserve a farewell tour of my Kobold Kastle!  Floor by floor, I tried to capture it for those who like to see how other people lay out their fort.  Everything but the farms is above ground!  Every floor of the residential tower is the same, so I only got a good photo of one.  I will extend it as high as I need to.

I do wish to call attention to the surface crops farm, which is one of the absolute first things I make in any fortress.  I dig down one level, then cover it over in flooring.  This is crucial to my strategy in all fortresses.  I get vast, reliable amounts of food in rich variety.  Or at least a rich variety of flour.  I grow nothing for direct cooking or eating.  I brew it, mill it, process it, or pulp it.

Also, my kobolds do not greet you by burping magma.  The only game balance mod I use removes aquifers, which annoy me.  Kobold Fortress operates just like dwarves.

So, This Happened, NOW WITH SURFACE KOBOLDS!

I have retired the successful older fortress because SURFACE KOBOLDS.

I noticed while making the last one, that you can put buildings on floors in the modern version, and that means easy surface building!  Behold some of the first screenshots of my castle!

It’s working!  The castle is much bigger than this now, and I only go underground to mine and farm.  In theory, there is nothing to stop anyone from building elevated farms and pumping water up to muddy the floors, and relying only on surface crops.  Maybe later I will add that to an upper floor and abandon underground farming.  I’ll think about it.

I made a priority of walling the castle off ENTIRELY, and if I have to expand on ground level, I add the new exterior, THEN open it up to the interior and do interior building.  It works:  An undead siege stood around scratching their heads.

Blocks.  It takes SO MANY BLOCKS to do this, especially if you like a consistent aesthetic theme.  I couldn’t do it if it weren’t for making wooden blocks for floors, 4 blocks per log.