Dwarf Fortress: The Fortress Rises

The dwarves had weathered the hard years. Melbilrab, Tomeglow, fortress of the brave and mighty had risen from the corpses of goblins and trolls alike. The invaders still have not ceased their efforts, but their attacks became routine and negligible. Their corpses now provide us a steady source of bones, copper, and iron after the rot is melted away.

The dwarves thickened the walls and constructed fortifications to service archers. The main upper building was now two floors high and completely enclosed. The building now housed the barracks of the Order-Trumpets, our bravest soldiers, and the Oiled-Lamps, our cowardly archers. A sign of our hubris, a trading post made entirely of gold, was constructed above oak wood near the fortress gate.

The wooden grass enclosure was improved to accommodate all manner of egg-laying creatures. A cow and bull were introduced to each other and provided with romantic music but have yet to produce any calves after a number of years. Our handlers suspect the gazes from the dozens of nosey fowl and the nearby sounds of hundreds of goblins dieing regularly may be off-putting.

We finished our above-ground farms and tunneled a few underground farms adjacent to the existing. We began growing all manner of berries and roots. Our cloth production was kick-started with one of the underground farms growing pig-tails in the warmer months. I'm informed they're a fibre and not the by-product of some mad experiment with pigs and their tails.

We finally carved out a pair of proper burial chambers. The dwarves unearthed all of their dead and moved them down hall in a very messy process requiring a handful of buckets and an animal handler to keep the dogs away. A special tomb was constructed for Etur Emalkogen, our duchess, and Kol Usendodok, the dwarven hero of legend. The duchess' tomb was filled golden objects and the coffin itself was an artifact constructed by an inspired stonemason and covered with spikes. The dwarves were surprised to hear the coffin wasn't engraved with pictures of bins and quivers, of which the duchess has been mandating endless amounts of be constructed.

Ending Year: 260

Kerbal Space Program: To Dres.. or Moho!

Mission: Dres Landing or When Gerlo Visited Moho

Departing from Kerbin.

Kerbalkind had landed and returned from Mun, Minmus, Duna, and Ike. The next closest orbital body to attempt a landing would be Eve. However, legend tells us that Eve is an inescapable and inhospitable planet where unwanted Kerbals are banished for eternity; never to see their loved ones again. Our scientists informed us that we should instead aim for either Dres or Moho, both moonless planets comparable in size to Kerbin's Mun.

We drew up plans for a Dresollo 1 lander which was an adapted version of the Dunollo 1 (with more RCS thrusters this time!) and plotted a course for Dres. The Kerbals constructed a simple craft in low Kerbin orbit which consisted of a large fuel tank, nuclear engines, and the Dresollo 1 landing craft. We had our ace pilot Gerlo and two other Kerbals board the craft and prepare for interplanetary travel.

Gravity assist near Eve.

However, our plans for a Dres mission were misinterpreted (mission control claims Gerlo refused to follow orders) and the Dresollo 1 set a course in the complete opposite direction for Moho. Gerlo renamed the craft the Mohollo 1 and took full control of the mission, much to the Kerbals' dismay.

The interplanetary voyage consisted of a gravity assist from Eve and the burning absurd amounts of fuel to acquire an orbit comparable to erratic Moho. Moho's orbital inclination was several degrees different than Kerbin's and was highly elliptical. Gerlo managed to have the Mohollo 1 arrive at Moho only after exhausting nearly all of the craft's fuel.

Landing on Moho.

A large amount of fuel was transferred from the landing craft to the nuclear engines in order to capture the craft efficiently within Moho's orbit. While there wasn't enough fuel to achieve a proper orbit, Gerlo achieved an unstable orbit that was on a direct course with Moho without an extreme amount of velocity. The Kerbals separated from their empty interplanetary transport and prepared for landing. The landing procedure was quite similar to Mun or Ike, however, the Kerbals landed with significantly less fuel remaining than expected.

Gerlo Kerman on Moho.

And again, we found ourselves with a number of Kerbals trapped on foreign orbital bodies with extremely little fuel. We would need to build a much larger interplanetary transport to rescue our trapped friends!

Dwarf Fortress: A New Entrance

We were attacked multiple times during the construction. The first time we were still using the old entrance and we were extremely reliant on cage traps and soldiers to defend ourselves. The goblins slaughtered our brave soldiers, the hero Kol Usendodok included, and a giant worm managed to slip through our defenses and into the fortress! The worm slew dozens of dwarves and dogs before the beast was felled. It was grim times for the dwarves of Melbilrab.

The goblins attack during the construction of our new entrance.

The second time we were attacked we had some of the spike traps constructed. We lured a handful of goblins inside, their commander included, and repeatedly raised and lowered the spikes against the trapped goblins. The great trolls fell just as easily as the goblins. When a cold spike of goblin copper, smelted from fallen goblin armaments into a new, equally sinister purpose, pierced the heart of the goblin commander, the goblins scattered like the cowardly vermin they were. This day was ours! We had won for Kol; we had won for Melbilrab!

We begin smoothing, engraving, and furnishing rooms.

In the meantime and peacetime, we were visited by our dwarven liaison and granted a barony, which our mayor Etur Emalkogan graciously accepted on her own behalf. Work began on improving the living conditions of the baron and the eldest of the dwarves. We began a project to smooth the common rooms and engrave noble rooms. Lastly, we constructed a tomb for Etur and crafted half a dozen silver statues to place in tombs and noble rooms.

Ending Year: 256

Kerbal Space Program: Duna to Kerbin

Mission: Interplanetary Travel from Duna to Kerbin

Top: Planning a course from Duna to Kerbin. Bottom: Departing from Duna.

The Kerbals had been stationed on board the Duna Space Station for a number years and would be needed for future missions. They were beginning to tire of each others company and requested a leave of absence. After much deliberation, Gerlo, Ronmon, and Ribdon were given permission to return home.

The Kerbals boarded the interplanetary vessel and plotted a course for Kerbin. Gerlo transferred sufficient fuel and mono-propellant to the interplanetary craft and Ronmon performed the undocking maneuvers. When the craft was safely distant from the station, the Kerbals activated the nuclear engines and departed from Duna.

Arriving at Kerbin.

This would be the first time in Kerbal history that we attempted to return anything from beyond the Kerbin system. Our scientists informed us that returning would be quite similar to departing, only in reverse, except still in the same direction, while following a completely different trajectory. Maybe it wasn't exactly the same, but we would make it work nonetheless!

Separating the command module from the interplanetary craft.

In a pure stroke of luck, we managed to have the Kerbals arrive somewhat near Kerbin! We discovered that the trip only consumed about 25% percent of the craft's fuel. We decided not to inform the Kerbals aboard the Duna Space Station that a large percentage of their fuel was wasted. Nothing good would come of it!

Ribdon adjusted the craft into an aerocapture with Kerbin. Ronmon separated the command module from the craft and boosted away. The two crafts greatly separated from one another after entering Kerbin's atmosphere. The parachutes were activated and the command module thankfully came to a rest above land!

Top: Entering Kerbin's atmosphere. The interplanetary craft as it burns up can be seen as a tiny speck above and to the left of the command module. Bottom: Parachutes are deployed!

We did it! We had successfully built a space station to orbit around Duna, landed Kerbalkind on both Duna and it's moon, Ike, AND returned the Kerbals (mostly) safe and sound! Where would we go next? The universe was ours to explore!

Here's one for the family!

Kerbal Space Program: Duna Landing

Mission: Duna Landing

Top-Left: The aerocapture maneuver. Bottom-Left: Parachutes partially deployed during aerocapture. Right: Final descent with parachutes fully deployed and engines activated.

Our mission was a return trip from the surface of Duna back to the Duna Space Station. We evaluated a number of possible landing approaches with simulations and came to the conclusion that the an aerocapture landing would be the best solution. It was also highly desirable to land in sunlight to avoid any nasty creatures that might roam the Dunian surface during the night.

Ronmon, Gerlo, Ribdon boarded the Dunollo 1 lander, refueled, and undocked from the Duna Space Station. Ronmon plotted the aerocapture maneuver, which would have the Kerbals traveling approximately a kilometer a second only ten kilometers above the surface, and Gerlo activated the engines. Shortly thereafter, the Kerbals found themselves cruising through the Dunian atmosphere.

Top-Left: Ike on the Dunian horizon. Top-Right: exiting the Dunallo 1. Bottom: Group photo in front of the Dunollo 1.

Ribdon was reminded to open the parachutes and the crew began their landing procedures. Our simulations, which had resulted in many explosions, suggested that any attempt to fully deploy parachutes at a velocity greater than 500m/s would be disastrous. The aerocapture reduced our velocity sufficient and the Kerbals activated the engines briefly during the final descent to soften the landing. The lander touched down on a small incline with no difficulties whatsoever.

Ronmon communicated the successful landing back to the station and the crew began their science experiments. While this wasn't our first landing on Duna, previous landings had been distant from the equator and the Kerbals were quite curious to determine if the laws of physics still applied to such a strange place. Gerlo was responsible for photographing the landing location and immediately spotted Ike's peculiar geostationary orbit on the horizon. The moon slowly floated over the horizon throughout the day and hid briefly behind at night.

Left: Ascending from Duna. Right: Positioning for orbital maneuvers during ascent. Ike in the background.

Not wanting to be stranded for several decades on a different orbital body, Gerlo insisted the Kerbals return to the station. Ribdon deactivated the main Poodle engine before launch due to it's low atmospheric fuel efficiency and the ascent was achieved using the smaller engines. The ascent was slow, but perfectly executed. Upon reaching vacuum, the Poodle engine was reactivated and the Kerbals rendezvoused with the station.

Top: Planning the rendezvous. Bottom: Docking with the Duna Space Station.

Gerlo boasted to the crew about being the first Kerbal to survive and return from a Duna and Ike landing. The Kerbals aboard the Duna Space Station convinced mission control to return Gerlo to Kerbin for his achievements. They were more interested in enjoying themselves in peace and Gerlo was quite excited to be celebrated back on Kerbin. Plans for an interplanetary mission home were prepared.

Kerbal Space Program: Ike Rescue

Mission: Rescue Gerlo Kerman from Ike

Top-Left: Transferring directly from Duna orbit to an Ike orbit. Top-Right: Planning the landing near the stranded Kerbal. Bottom: Landing on Ike in the darkness.

Our mission was to rescue Gerlo Kerman from the surface of Ike after being stranded for several years. After running a handful of simulations, the Kerbals decided an interplanetary tug would be unnecessary to accomplish the rescue. The mission was simple: transfer to Ike, achieve a stable orbit, land a few kilometers away from Gerlo (because landing on a rotating object is tricky!), rescue Gerlo, and head back to the station.

The Dunollo 1 lander was fueled up, remote guidance activated, and undocked from the Duna Space Station. We used our Poodle engine for the entirety of the mission to capitalize on its high fuel efficiency in a vacuum. The lander transferred smoothly to Ike and achieved an orbit without any additional effort. We then had the lander accelerate retrograde to it's orbit to have us in a near-straight descent onto Ike. With adjustments we managed to land within three kilometers of Gerlo's location.

Gerlo Kerman says his goodbyes.

Gerlo Kerman had initially been deployed with our older Lobster model buggy which allowed him drive around the surface of Ike. Unfortunately, the Dunollo 1 landing site was up a mountain from Gerlo and he grew impatient with waiting for the Lobster to climb such heights. Gerlo decided he would capitalize on Ike having no atmosphere and used his jetpack to travel at speeds upwards of 100m/s towards the landing site. He arrived safely at the landing site, said his goodbyes, and prepared to escape Ike.

Launching from Ike.

Gerlo launched straightforwardly from Ike and obtained an orbit around the moon. The Kerbals at mission control calculated the appropriate ejection angle which would transfer Gerlo to an orbit around Duna. Gerlo performed the maneuver and followed up with an orbital rendezvous with the Duna Space Station.

Left: Arriving at Duna. Right: Approaching the Duna Space Station.

The Kerbals again became aware of the terrible arrangement of thrusters on the Dunollo 1 which made docking immensely stressful. They concluded that any future Dunollo 2 lander design would have at least eight thrusters instead of four. Most of which in the proper locations! Regardless, Gerlo arrived home at the station safely and was reunited with the Kerbals he hadn't seen in several years. After a short violent outburst of frustration over being abandoned on a desolate moon for nearly a decade, Gerlo was convinced that damaging the station wouldn't be in his best interests. The Kerbals would spend the next few days relaxing and enjoying the view over Duna.

Kerbal Space Program: Duna Space Station

Kerbal Space Program

Kerbin: Earth Analog
Kerbals: Humankind Analog
Duna : Mars Analog
Ike : Duna's Moon

The existing infrastructure of our Duna Space Station was lacking and needed improvements. The station also needed an orbital adjustment to place it over Duna's equator and such a maneuver would consume nearly all of our fuel; thereby putting an end to any additional Duna missions. We decided to construct a large fueler which would replace the existing station's engines and increase it's fuel capacity. We would attempt bring as much fuel as possible to enable future Duna missions.

Construction of the Duna fueler.

We began construction of the fueler in low Kerbin orbit. The craft consisted of seven separate parts which were docked individually through six orbital rendezvous. We fitted the craft with three large fuel tanks, three smaller tanks which would be used during the Duna transfer, and twelve nuclear engines. The Kerbals constructed an interplanetary vessel which would be used to eventually return a handful of Kerbals from Duna. The interplanetary craft was docked to the front of the fueler.

The finished Duna fueler.

In the meantime, we had the Kerbals aboard the Duna Space Station adjust their orbital plane such that it matched Ike's. This orbit would position us over Duna's equator and would simplify the orbital rendezvous of landing craft returning to the station. Additionally, it would greatly simplify transfers to Ike as we would need no orbital adjustments. We might even be able to rescue the poor Kerbal who has been stranded on Ike for several years!

Top-Left & Top-Right: Adjusting our terrible Duna Space Station orbit. Bottom: The Duna Space Station.

We calculated the transfer window and ejection angle and waited for the appropriate opportunity to move the fueler to Duna. Although we had twelve nuclear engines, we missed our first opportunity to have an appropriate ejection angle. Consequently, we waited for the next orbit around Kerbin and ejected appropriately.

Top-Left: Planning the transfer from Kerbin to Duna. Top-Right: Planning the ejection angle. Bottom: The fueler in action.

We encountered Duna with no difficulties. We planned a transfer that would give us a smooth Duna encounter, slightly adjusted our orbital plane to match Duna's, and waited until we arrived at our periapsis with Duna. The Kerbals instructed the craft to burn retrograde until we would experience an encounter with Ike. We performed a gravity assist maneuver with Ike to decelerate and achieve a desirable orbit with Duna. We then performed multiple aerobrake maneuvers to acquire an orbit that was comparable to the Duna Space Station and would allow for an orbital rendezvous.

Top-Left & Top-Right: Gravity assist with Ike to decelerate. Bottom-Left & Bottom-Right: Aerobraking with Duna.

We rendezvoused with the Duna Space Station and began the low-orbit constructions. We detached the engine module from the station and, likewise, we detached the the interplanetary craft from the fueler. In an extremely careful procedure, the Kerbals docked the fueler with the station. The interplanetary craft was attached securely to the side of the fueler module and the existing engine module was left to float forever in the vacuum of space.

Various stages of low-orbit construction of the Duna Space Station. Unfortunately during the night above Duna!

The Kerbals celebrated the success of the mission! The Duna Space Station now had an appropriate orbit, a reasonable amount of fuel, and an interplanetary craft capable of returning home to Kerbin. We were prepared for many future missions.

Our next mission would likely be an Ike rescue mission. We have a Kerbal who has been stranded on Ike for a number of years and has run out of science to do. The Kerbals believe we should be able to use our interplanetary craft as a space tug. We could tug our smaller landing craft to Ike, land on Ike, rescue the Kerbal, launch and rendezvous with the tug, and have the rug return the landing craft to the station (in a manner very similar to the Apollo 11 landing!). The would be the plan anyways!

The complete Duna Space Station with various spacecraft attached.

Dwarf Fortress: Goblins, Trolls, Crocodiles. Oh my!

Kol Usendodok Akilrosat, Helpclasp the Point Chapel, Fisherdwarf, Macelord, Trollslayer, Minotaurslayer, is a dwarven hero. She stands as the last remaining survivor of the original Order-Trumpets. While many had known Kol for her strange fascination with howls of blind cave ogres, she is now legend to the dwarves of Melbilrab for her unparallelled combat prowess and role in the goblin siege of 254.

The goblins heard of our captures and came seeking revenge. They brought with them creatures equally foul as themselves and no less miserable. Without warning, the fields of Melbilrab were overwhelmed with countless goblins, crocodiles, giant cave worms, snaky sea creatures, and trolls. They stormed the gates of the fortress from multiple approaches. The dwarves were ordered inside the fortress. The Order-Trumpets prepared for the onslaught in their barracks.

Top-Left: Cave worms, crocodiles, sea creatures, and flightless birds approach. Top-Right: A collection of bloodthirsty trolls and goblins. Bottom-Left: The Order-Trumpets wait for attackers to become captures. Bottom-Right: Slaying trolls and cave worms.

The goblins ordered the savage beasts to attack first. They and their riders were caught easily within our traps. The Order-Trumpets were ordered to counter assault the goblins before the trolls could arrive. The soldiers charged bravely onto the battle field and fought until they were but four in number. The trolls and cave worms had arrived and demolished our trading post and outer door. They made their way into the Order-Trumpet's barracks and were threatening to destroy the drawbridge that separated them from the dwarves that were tucked away inside the fortress. The Order-Trumpets retreated from the battlefield to engage the trolls. Kol Usendodok killed three of the four trolls aggressors and two voracious cave worms. The outer draw bridge was raised, the inner was lowered, and the surviving Order-Trumpets were taken to the hospital. Kol sustained no injuries save for a broken noise which she refuses to acknowledge as an injury. A true dwarven hero!

We waited out the remainder of the siege and attempted to replenish our military's numbers. Our mayor, who was an active member of the Order-Trumpets, and another soldier died in a hospital bed that they were mistakenly placed into together. They were unable to receive any food or water as our medical dwarves could not determine which of the two dwarves was requesting nourishment. I'm told our chief medical dwarf is investigating the matter.

Left: Kol Usendodok smashes a giant cave worm into hundreds of pieces. Top-Right: Kol slaying a minotaur. Bottom-Right: Our growing prison.

We gathered the bodies of our fallen kinsdwarves. We discovered that all of our thirty cage traps captured one creature or another. We stripped the goblins of all their metal and melted down everything that wasn't iron to create shackles for the creatures. The animals were brought to our above-ground complex and the goblins to our growing prison. We had the new recruits fight the captured goblin's animals to gain some combat experience. However, in one such exercise, Kol rushed ahead of the other recruits and caused a giant caveworm to explode into hundreds of pieces with a single swing of her mace.

Current state of the above ground complex. Corpse pile in the top-left, farms in the bottom-right, future animal training grounds in the bottom-left.

It seemed unlikely that we would be able to continue fighting the goblins in a directly confrontational manner. We had exhausted our supply of non-cowardly dwarves and our population was falling. The dwarves agreed it would be imperative to build an elaborate killing machine that we could lure the goblins into. We would use the remaining copper from the goblin corpses to build spike traps. We would test the goblins' mettle.. against their metal!

Current state of our main level.

Current state of our workshop and storage level.

Ending Year: 255