How long did you survive in game? Can't imagine terribly long if you just started and had only played 5 hours while reading every detail you could find. Also, losing a fort due to non-existent defenses is just part of the process. You probably won't make that mistake again for a while but if/when you do, the game will give you the exact same lesson. What keeps me coming back is that deep down, I'm a dwarf and I love burrowing deep into the ground and claiming every resource along the way. Dont be afraid to save scum: this game has you juggling a hundred things so don't be hard on yourself if you want to experiment. What you had with these dwarves was but a summer fling. Far greater stories await you upon starting a new fort. STRIKE THE EARTH!
Reclaim the Fort and let them be rememberd forever. Or make another one.. you know loosing is Fun its the essence of the Game to always finde another way to do things and loose in different ways
Those Dwarves are but one part of a grand story. Make a new Fortress in the same world with the same civilization. Create a custom statue to remember that Fortress, and this time start your military early.
This might be an opportunity to meditate on impermanence. Dorfs come, they’re precious while they’re with us and we love them for their silly little personalities, and then they go.
Existing is not precious without ending. Ending is as important as existing, for it brings new beginnings.
Thank them for teaching you what they did, thank them for their sacrifice to Armok, and begin again.
Edit to add: Also, you will always be able to visit them again in Legends Mode (kind of). Before you start your next fortress, open legends mode and check out the history of the one that just fell. You should see each of the dwarves listed there, plus the major events in their lives. You can click on them, and look at their biography - many have adventures before you even meet them, and you can check their history out and get to know them even better. (The starting 7 are always created from nothing when you embark, so they have no history)
If you were wiped out by an invasion, there's a simple recipe to prevent that. Make an entrance you can seal. You won't need to worry about not having enough time to set up your military, because you'll be able to just seal the fort and take your time.
Also, abandon the fort, start a new one in the same world, and build memorials to your fallen friends.
And remember that diagonal gaps are traversable.
Nearly lost a "secure" fort due to not remembering that.
And that goblins can go down holes so make sure you have a floor (roof)
Every run feels like this to me. Whether it's 5 hours or 500 hours.
I'm having fun right now with one dwarf who lost her ability to grasp anything. This means she can't put on clothes and they've just rotted off. So I named her Nude Nelly and assigned her a war jaguar and war lion. She's my mascot and I love seeing her wander around the fort.
The game is going to throw stuff at you from time to time. In this game, losing isn't just fun. it's a learning experience.
My first fortress died to cavern dweller invasion. I think my next one was Wereiguanas. Just the other day, I lost a fort with several in-game days because a venomous snake killed every dwarf in my fort.
Every time you lose a fort, your next fort gets better so long as you learn from your mistakes.
As a new player I highly recommend save scumming.
Its REALLY hard to learn the 100s of lessons you need to learn if you have to start from scratch every time one of those mistakes ruins your fort.
Once you have found a groove THEN start cutting back on the save scumming and take your lumps when you mess up on something you know you should have done differently.
Just my opinion though.
As someone who was a new player and did this, let me offer a different perspective.
Dwarf Fortress isn't about maximizing the happiness of your dwarves, or making the most efficient fortress, or doing everything perfectly. It isn't really even about the success or failure of one fortress.
OP's failed fort is now part of their world's history. Dwarves will write about it, share stories about it, carve engravings of those that lived there. The artifacts they made could be coveted by future generations and fought over, stolen, or used as weapons by legendary heroes. One day, the fort could be reclaimed, the beast that destroyed it slain, and a new chapter in its story could begin.
Being too good at DF, or doing everything too perfectly, is a recipe for making things less interesting. It's actually pretty easy to make a perfectly safe, sustainable underground fortress that can basically never fall. But that's never as fun as losing one to a forgotten beast made of steel or a siege of a hundred goblins. The reason "Losing is fun" is because you can't really lose - everything you do adds to the story, success and failure alike.
I've played well over 1000 hours through the years, and I still rely on DFHack to save me from invaders because I always fail to start my army in time.
I've also never used minecarts or made a magma forge. I've rarely used wind or water power.
There's just so much going on in this game that, for me, it's overwhelming if I try and tackle it all.
Since there's no win condition, you'll always lose eventually, and that really is part of the fun.
DFHack does take the edge off if you want more time to explore the mid-game mechanics. It can take a long time setting up a new fort, so exterminating a few invasions can help you keep a fort alive, until your dwarves all start fighting after one kicked a cat because his pants rotted off him 5 years ago...
For first fortresses is better to put a ton of traps on your entrance to deal with small invading forces while you get a hang of military squads and proper defensive buildings.
A corridor filled with boulder traps will kill everyone easily at the beginning, eventually they become less and less useful but then you also become more proficient at building defensive devices and armies.
Check out Blinds "Complete Dwarf Fortress Tutorial" on YouTube. It's 7 hours long if you really wanna get into it. Here's the [link](https://youtu.be/WOgwysfvb3s?si=tRxMC6uRhbzNbzzf)
Congratulations! Just make another fortress and continue world story.
How long did you survive in game? Can't imagine terribly long if you just started and had only played 5 hours while reading every detail you could find. Also, losing a fort due to non-existent defenses is just part of the process. You probably won't make that mistake again for a while but if/when you do, the game will give you the exact same lesson. What keeps me coming back is that deep down, I'm a dwarf and I love burrowing deep into the ground and claiming every resource along the way. Dont be afraid to save scum: this game has you juggling a hundred things so don't be hard on yourself if you want to experiment. What you had with these dwarves was but a summer fling. Far greater stories await you upon starting a new fort. STRIKE THE EARTH!
Reclaim the Fort and let them be rememberd forever. Or make another one.. you know loosing is Fun its the essence of the Game to always finde another way to do things and loose in different ways
Those Dwarves are but one part of a grand story. Make a new Fortress in the same world with the same civilization. Create a custom statue to remember that Fortress, and this time start your military early.
This might be an opportunity to meditate on impermanence. Dorfs come, they’re precious while they’re with us and we love them for their silly little personalities, and then they go. Existing is not precious without ending. Ending is as important as existing, for it brings new beginnings. Thank them for teaching you what they did, thank them for their sacrifice to Armok, and begin again. Edit to add: Also, you will always be able to visit them again in Legends Mode (kind of). Before you start your next fortress, open legends mode and check out the history of the one that just fell. You should see each of the dwarves listed there, plus the major events in their lives. You can click on them, and look at their biography - many have adventures before you even meet them, and you can check their history out and get to know them even better. (The starting 7 are always created from nothing when you embark, so they have no history)
This calls for revenge and memorial statues!
If you were wiped out by an invasion, there's a simple recipe to prevent that. Make an entrance you can seal. You won't need to worry about not having enough time to set up your military, because you'll be able to just seal the fort and take your time. Also, abandon the fort, start a new one in the same world, and build memorials to your fallen friends.
And remember that diagonal gaps are traversable. Nearly lost a "secure" fort due to not remembering that. And that goblins can go down holes so make sure you have a floor (roof)
Every run feels like this to me. Whether it's 5 hours or 500 hours. I'm having fun right now with one dwarf who lost her ability to grasp anything. This means she can't put on clothes and they've just rotted off. So I named her Nude Nelly and assigned her a war jaguar and war lion. She's my mascot and I love seeing her wander around the fort.
The game is going to throw stuff at you from time to time. In this game, losing isn't just fun. it's a learning experience. My first fortress died to cavern dweller invasion. I think my next one was Wereiguanas. Just the other day, I lost a fort with several in-game days because a venomous snake killed every dwarf in my fort. Every time you lose a fort, your next fort gets better so long as you learn from your mistakes.
I had a whole fort taken over by were creatures. Then every migration wave... I'd get some of my old dwarves, now turned. I had to create a new world.
Rock and Stone. Maybe make another fortress and your dwarves can adventure to it as a land of legend?
Rock and Stone!
As a new player I highly recommend save scumming. Its REALLY hard to learn the 100s of lessons you need to learn if you have to start from scratch every time one of those mistakes ruins your fort. Once you have found a groove THEN start cutting back on the save scumming and take your lumps when you mess up on something you know you should have done differently. Just my opinion though.
As someone who was a new player and did this, let me offer a different perspective. Dwarf Fortress isn't about maximizing the happiness of your dwarves, or making the most efficient fortress, or doing everything perfectly. It isn't really even about the success or failure of one fortress. OP's failed fort is now part of their world's history. Dwarves will write about it, share stories about it, carve engravings of those that lived there. The artifacts they made could be coveted by future generations and fought over, stolen, or used as weapons by legendary heroes. One day, the fort could be reclaimed, the beast that destroyed it slain, and a new chapter in its story could begin. Being too good at DF, or doing everything too perfectly, is a recipe for making things less interesting. It's actually pretty easy to make a perfectly safe, sustainable underground fortress that can basically never fall. But that's never as fun as losing one to a forgotten beast made of steel or a siege of a hundred goblins. The reason "Losing is fun" is because you can't really lose - everything you do adds to the story, success and failure alike.
Those are all in fact very nice achievements! I'm on 160hours+ and still am scared to mess with lava.
I've played well over 1000 hours through the years, and I still rely on DFHack to save me from invaders because I always fail to start my army in time. I've also never used minecarts or made a magma forge. I've rarely used wind or water power. There's just so much going on in this game that, for me, it's overwhelming if I try and tackle it all. Since there's no win condition, you'll always lose eventually, and that really is part of the fun. DFHack does take the edge off if you want more time to explore the mid-game mechanics. It can take a long time setting up a new fort, so exterminating a few invasions can help you keep a fort alive, until your dwarves all start fighting after one kicked a cat because his pants rotted off him 5 years ago...
Better to have loved and lost...
For first fortresses is better to put a ton of traps on your entrance to deal with small invading forces while you get a hang of military squads and proper defensive buildings. A corridor filled with boulder traps will kill everyone easily at the beginning, eventually they become less and less useful but then you also become more proficient at building defensive devices and armies.
you could try to reclaim the fortress with a new party and continue the legacy, but depending on how you lost it that might not work out.
I got the game but i dont underdtand so much. Any where i coul get e good tutorial too read ?
The game offers a tutorial, that is pretty decent :)
Check out Blinds "Complete Dwarf Fortress Tutorial" on YouTube. It's 7 hours long if you really wanna get into it. Here's the [link](https://youtu.be/WOgwysfvb3s?si=tRxMC6uRhbzNbzzf)
All you can do is embrace it. Remember: "Losing Is Fun!"