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[Chaoseed]

So I recently got really into Dwarf Fortress and I thought a succession game (or, as the ineffably sanguine jargon has it, bloodline game) would be a satisfying proposition.

Are any of you guys up for it? I poked through the archives and apparently several of these have failed on the TIGSource forums before. But the way I see it, why should I let that stop me? So, if there's any interest at all, I can totally play through 1 year of a fortress, upload it to a website and then write up some rules. (The basic idea, if you're not familiar with it, is: Someone plays 1 year of a fortress, then they give the save to the next person who plays 1 year, and so on. A collaborative gameplay project!)

The Dwarf Fortress game "Helmauthors" has started!

Helmauthors File Repository - This is where all the save games will be kept, as well as some other useful links.

Technical Details

I downloaded v0.28.181.40d and created a fresh install, just to be sure.  (Then I fiddled with my graphics and font settings for a while, which explains why my pictures may not look exactly like yours.  That shouldn't affect the gameplay or saves at all, though.)  I'm running Windows XP Pro, by the way.

I generated a few worlds and found one I liked with an embark site that will be pretty easy to play on.  (Perhaps it might have been more "fun" to go for a challenging site, but maybe we can do that next game. )  The site is 3x4, it's "calm", it appears to have almost no wildlife; it has a lot of trees, it has sand and it has flux (marble).  No river, but a few pools.  According to the site finder it should have a magma pool somewhere, but I don't know where; it will probably require exploratory mining to find.

According to the output files, the world of Ruspstrasp should be seed 2476520710, so you guys can recreate it "from scratch" if you like.  (Those output files have all sorts of awesome randomly-generated history, it's great for getting the imagination going!  All the names in the "history section" below were taken from there, although I filled in the details of the "plot" a little. )  I'm going to post my first "chapter" as a new post at the end of this thread.

Rules

-Unzip the save file into your data\save directory.  So you should end up with something like dwarfort\data\save\Helmauthors.  (Should I have zipped it up with a data\save\Helmauthors path?)
-Play until you see the message "Autumn has arrived", then archive the save folder and send it to me.  I'll send the file to the next person in line, and I'll host the saves on a little web page just for convenience.  (I could even put the maps up on Dwarf Fortress Map Archive and/or Dwarf Fortress File Depot if you guys would like. My email address is available on the link just to the left.
-Aim to finish your turn within one week.  I played through the initial setup in two days, so this shouldn't be hard.  A week is the "expected" time.  (By the way, if you're in line and you expect the person in front of you to take a week, but they take say two days, and you're not ready at that point...well, we'll work something out.)
-After nine days, you're skipped.  That doesn't need to be explained, right?
-Tell us what significant events happened in your playthrough.  Goblins attacking, trade caravans, significant new construction projects; these are all things we'd like to hear about.
-Detailed and/or in-character journals are welcomed.  Part of the fun of these games is reading the wacky writing that they create.  However, note that I said welcomed and not required!
-Try not to completely screw over the fortress.  If something really bad happens, we can vote on trying to either reclaim it or reverting to a previous save.
-The aim is to have fun!  I don't really mean in the sense of "Losing is Fun", I mean that these rules are here to maximize the possibility of the participants having fun.  If someone takes a huge long time with their turn, then everyone else gets bored waiting and the fun decreases.  So, there you go.

The Story So Far

Part 1 - Spring 201-Spring 202 - Chaoseed. Initial fortress construction, hematite and marble found.
Part 2 - Spring 202-Spring 203 - John Lee. Lots of immigrants, living quarters and workshops greatly expanded, garbage put behind closed doors, goblin attack prompts the building of an Indy-esque tomb level, Amost drives Melbil insane.
Part 3 - Spring 203 - Autumn 203 - frezned. Huge dining room, artificial waterfall, the dwarves get stressed.
Part 4 - Autumn 203 - Autumn 204 - Cheater. The great "squareification" of everything except bedrooms (which were already more square than they should be). Elven ambush, magma, smelting, You Have to Burn the Rope filk, capitalism.
Part 5 - Autumn 204 - Autumn 205 - Markham.  A huge wall is built to fend off goblin attacks.  Huge elven siege triggers a tantrum spiral.
Part 6 - About a month - ZeuglinRush.  The tantrum spiral engulfs the entire fortress, nothing can be done.

Helmauthors is finished!

[Dacke]

I'd be interested

Before starting it, you should look through the other threads. From them, I think you may gain some insight into why they failed and how it could have been prevented. I think it's key to set up strict rules about dead-lines and how they are to be handled.

[Μarkham]

If you don't want it to die off from lag, I'd suggest a 3x4 maximum area, no underground features (river, pool, hfs, etc.), no magma pipe (a magma pool doesn't seem to have any lag involved), capping population at 100 and fix the child/baby limit so that none can be born.

To keep things interesting, there are still sites with zombies, beakdogs, and rivers full of hippos.  Sand always helps, though glass can't be made out of "loamy sand."  Just regular sand and "[color] sand." I always embark in areas beforehand to check for specific types of wildlife and CTRL+ALT+DEL out of the program for a clean embark if they're good.

[Afinostux]

Hell yes, this sounds like fun.

Also, I think part of the reason the really successful threads have done well was the players keeping pretty detailed journals of the goings on to entertain with. Boatmurdered did that a lot.

[falsion]

What if one of us sucks at the game and the player gets killed?

[Afinostux]

What if one of us sucks at the game and the player gets killed?

Eh, the other thing I've seen is to resume from a previous version of the fort if one player fails for whatever reason, then keep on going wit tha next dude.

[Dacke]

Also, I think part of the reason the really successful threads have done well was the players keeping pretty detailed journals of the goings on to entertain with. Boatmurdered did that a lot.

That's only true from a reading-popularity-perspective. In fact, many projects like this seem to fall apart because people can't take the pressure when expected to write detailed journals. Writing a proper journal is hard and takes a lot of time, which can be overwhelming.

[John Lee]

Sounds like a good idea... I haven't played DF in quite a while, I've been waiting for the new release.

If you've only recently got into it... I take it this won't be a challenge game? No undead sharks, no pave-the-ocean, no adamantine Killhammer?

[EchoP]

In! Dwarf Fortress succession games are the bomb.

[Melly]

Protips:

The organizer must be always in possession of the files from each finished player. If a player fails to deliver his files to the organizer his turn is disqualified and the next in line is given the files from the last save the organizer possesses. Saves must never be only passed from one player to the next in line.

The organizer must stipulate a time limit. Perhaps 2 weeks should be the very maximum. May be extended if the current player gives good reason for it. If not, the next in line is given the last save the organizer has.

Like it's been mentioned the fortress must be started on a low-lag environment and measures must be taken to prevent future lag, which is the main killer of succession games.

Basically for this to work the organizer must be on top of everything making sure it moves along as smoothly as possible.

[mcccclean]

I would like to officially register interest in this. My DF-play does not feel complete without a succession game under my belt.

See the most recent TIGSTWG for proof that I don't inactive or lame out.

[Mipe]

I'm playing the "wait for next DF release" game. So far I am winning, checking the devlog daily. I do adore Dwarf Fortress.

However I am not insane and patient enough to participate in a succession game. Woe is me.

[dEnamed]

Having played two Succession Games I can only say:
Backups. Plenty of them. Make them. It frequently happened that something ended up messed up. Some folks forgot they had mods installed, at other times the AI would just downright bug out and freeze. There'll be plenty of opportunities where you'll be thankful you made that backup to fall back on.

Also be prepared for at least 50% dropouts from the people signing up. Some of them lose interest along the way, after half a year of waiting for their turn, that's understandable. Others suddenly realize its actually quite a bit of work to write an entertaining journal and drop out because they don't want to take the effort. The rate of "broken" computers during a DF Succession Game is ridiculously high and conveniently timed to a day or two after someone started his turn. Funny, eh?

[John Lee]

If I didn't make it clear before, I'm in as long as there's no craaaaazy challenges. I like my simple games.

[Cheater‽]

In.

[skaldicpoet9]

I would be interested in participating, if I am able to write my entry in somewhere toward the end of the line that is. I haven't played DF in awhile but I think that this would be a great way to jump back into the mix. I'll have to go and read boatmurder and some of the TIGS succession games to get a good feel for the format of these games.

[Μarkham]

It isn't really until you get the count that the real fun begins, with lots of crazy demands, restricting the trade of socks just as the caravans start leaving with all the narrow silk socks you traded with them, and the hammerer that lays out Dwarven justice by bashing in the fisherdwarf's skull for not making a pair of shell amulets.

[Chaoseed]

Awesome. Thanks for the tips, guys. I'm willing to keep backups of all the saves, that's definitely a good idea. I've played enough DF to have a firm grasp of the basics, at least, so tonight I'll try to find a good site and write up rules about time limits and stuff.

[imaginationac]

Count me in!

[Spincut]

Well, after seeing the reference, I sat down and read through the Boatmurdered saga, and I must say...Jesus Christ. I hope your fortress isn't doomed to the same fate (or maybe I hope it is, whether you're going for success or hilarity). I'll be watching from the sidelines (too much of a noob at the game still), but good luck!