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[PlatinumSun]

Just dont feel my fortresses are very well designed,

[Telgin]

There's a lot that could be discussed, but I'll just start off by saying that I've really taken to the idea of a multiple tile central staircase.  I usually ring that with rooms with workshops that are specialized by level so that work is reasonably efficient.  That is, smelting and forging go on a level together, weaving and dying go on a level together, and so on.  I usually make living spaces on a level together, branched off on four wings away from the central staircase, although I branch out to a second level of living space if needed.

More recently I've tried for more organically designed forts that are a combination of above and below ground along mountainsides, but I haven't designed a fort like this in a way that I like yet.

[Fleeting Frames]

There's been many threads on this before; try searching for fortress design.

That aside, as far as efficiency goes probably the most important thing you can do is raw materials close to workshops. Ex, if your smelter is going to melt 200 pieces of gear and 100 magnetite boulders(heavy!), it'd be best if the magma smelter was built above ramps/stockpiles for those on one side so he only needs to walk 1 tile to retrieve next item. Doing this instead of having central stockpile of magnetite the enclosed by walls smelter retrieves from is more helpful than making the furnace operator sleep in the most distant corner of the map hurts.

[PlatinumSun]

There's a lot that could be discussed, but I'll just start off by saying that I've really taken to the idea of a multiple tile central staircase.  I usually ring that with rooms with workshops that are specialized by level so that work is reasonably efficient.  That is, smelting and forging go on a level together, weaving and dying go on a level together, and so on.  I usually make living spaces on a level together, branched off on four wings away from the central staircase, although I branch out to a second level of living space if needed.

More recently I've tried for more organically designed forts that are a combination of above and below ground along mountainsides, but I haven't designed a fort like this in a way that I like yet.

Maybe it would be better to specifically have dwarves living quarters on the floor of there specific profession and then assign them a room. Then have one floor with temples a museum and a library. Then have a big meeting hall somewhere on a middle level of the fort with a meeting hall, special quarters, a crypt, a water room with an aqueduct leading from a river or an aquifer so you can get water during the winter.

And for the forts entrance have it be a long 5 wide hall way which has at least one turn with guard dogs. With fortifications for walls and a barracks all around the tunnel with ballistas.

Well I think I have a fort design thought out. Thanks man.

[vvAve]

I am currently trying to design an entire fort to upload into quickfort. My levels go like this:

• Maze with traps
• Barracks
• Tavern/food
• Wood industry
• Stone industry
• Furniture stockpile
• Cloth industry
• Soap/Hospital
• Finished Goods stockpile
• Meat/Leather
• Metal industy
• Farms (To set up a challenge and I don't like how dug out soil looks like)
• Water/Magma reservoir
• Cave outpost

Did I forgot anything? Also, where would you put places like nobles chambers, library or temple in my layout?

[PlatinumSun]

I am currently trying to design an entire fort to upload into quickfort. My levels go like this:

• Maze with traps
• Barracks
• Tavern/food
• Wood industry
• Stone industry
• Furniture stockpile
• Cloth industry
• Soap/Hospital
• Finished Goods stockpile
• Meat/Leather
• Metal industy
• Farms (To set up a challenge and I don't like how dug out soil looks like)
• Water/Magma reservoir
• Cave outpost

Did I forgot anything? Also, where would you put places like nobles chambers, library or temple in my layout?

1. A 5-9 tile wide tunnel with traps and guard dogs and barracks (With quarters for military and a lever room) and ballista with the trade depot at the end with the finished goods stock pile surrounding it.

2. Non-specific industry/s with its own respective stock pile and quarters for the dwarves who work in said industry.

3. Non-specific industry/s with its own respective stock pile and quarters for the dwarves who work in said industry.

4. Non-specific industry/s with its own respective stock pile and quarters for the dwarves who work in said industry.

5. Non-specific industry/s with its own respective stock pile and quarters for the dwarves who work in said industry.

6. Non-specific industry/s with its own respective stock pile and quarters for the dwarves who work in said industry.

7. Lever-room, tavern, meeting hall, temples, crypt, museum, library, hospital, medical dwarf quarters, furniture stockpile, aqueduct (leading from aquifer, river or caverns), prison, colosseum, statue garden, and quarters for special dwarfs (Nobles, manager etc.)

8. Non-specific industry/s with its own respective stock pile and quarters for the dwarves who work in said industry.

What ever you want to do in caverns. EDIT: Set up farms and sheep and tanning and buthering in the caverns.

Before you can get lava furnaces just have regular furnaces for your metal industry a few levels above the magma level so later on you can upgrade you furnaces.

Between all the numbered layers have at least 3 blocks between them. Also if you want mine carts place everything with them in mind. So you have 4 wide corridors throughout the fort. Place and atom smasher on each floor to get rid of rocks and corpses and worn out items. Also place gates on each level to block stuff off.

EDIT: Also dont be afraid to be creative.

EDIT: I meant 3 layers between floors not 2.

[crazyabe]

Tips from me:
 1) Keep your butchers near your animals AND your refuse Quantum stockpile, it saves a lot of time and rot
 2) Building Vertical Piles of rooms may sound inconvenient, but when you consider that a stack of rooms seven deep takes less time to climb down through then a horizontal line does to walk past, while also requiring far less doors it starts to make more sense.
 3) Its a good idea to train your military dwarves near any entrance you breach into the caverns, it will save you a few dead dwarves when a jabberer decides to wander up your central stair case.
 4) Stone is heavy- Your stone stockpiles should be near your Masons and smelters because of that.

[Leonidas]

Think cube. Big horizontal layers look impressive, but they're inefficient. Instead, spread your fort over many z-levels, with lots of stairs or ramps. Try to keep your planned spaces less than 30 tiles square.

[SpeardwarfErith]

All these tips are good for maximizing efficiency, but you people are forgetting to account for the #1 killer of fortresses: FPS death.

Fortresses designed around multiple Z levels are horrible for FPS, especially ones with a central staircase, since it seems that preference is given to pathfinding on the current level this has been disproven thanks to Fleeting Frames. However, going down a level is still better than a sprawling hallway that takes you across the map. The most efficient design, FPS-wise, would be compact, with short hallways leading directly from one place to another- Side rooms are bad for FPS, since the pathfinder needs to look at them before moving up the hallway. A wide open space is better for pathing than a mazelike series of rooms, so keep that in mind when creating bedrooms.

You can play around with this site to see a demonstration of the pathfinding algorithm that dwarf fortress uses: https://qiao.github.io/PathFinding.js/visual/

[Fleeting Frames]

Is there?

Quick test with this setup:

||

Ordered two construction jobs at the end of tunnels.

Right one was marked for construction later, and was construced while moving over leftmost floor:

||

Returned over floor, then left one was constructed, moving into trench.

||
(screw blinking, I had to reshot that five times)

Then returned over ramp trench.

It seems preference for using left tunnel of two equal ones overrides whatever malus is there for z-level changing.

[SpeardwarfErith]

Try it again with stairs, ramps are a whole different mess.

[Leonidas]

You can play around with this site to see a demonstration of the pathfinding algorithm that dwarf fortress uses: https://qiao.github.io/PathFinding.js/visual/

Which algorithm on that page does DF use?

[Fleeting Frames]

Try it again with stairs, ramps are a whole different mess.

k

Setup:

||

Right:

||

Same as with ramps, moved to build from the left, returned through stairs on the right.

Left:

||

Same as before, moved to construct through stairs, returned over floor.

[vvAve]

Between all the numbered layers have at least 2 blocks between them

For water, magma and mechanisms I assume?

[PlatinumSun]

Basiclly. Also it gives you more room and you wont accidently dig holes in your floors. Also 3 layers not 2.