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[kirby2099]

I have a suggestion on a structural support system (it includes mentions moving walls⁵) it goes like this:

every block has a support score, a stress score, and a fortress section ID
explained below

• fortress section ID
  Spoiler (click to show/hide)

  This describes which blocks a block will be connected to essentially if a block with section ID 2 is on top of an ID 1(default ID) The block on top can be pushed by players¹,large monsters² and moving walls. A tile can only be supported by a block of the same ID unless it is below the block in question.
  
• support
  
  Spoiler (click to show/hide)

  Any block supporting the block in question may be considered a support as long as there are not any supports of higher category priority
  
  every block is in a category.  Each category has a support priority based off of its category,
  the categories are listed in order of priority:
  

  • z-level right below
  • same z-level
  • z-level right above
• stress
  Spoiler (click to show/hide)

  This is a measurement of how much weight a block is supporting. A block adds its stress+1 to all of its supports AS LONG AS it is not properly supported³. If a block has a high enough stress level for a long enough time and it is not properly supported³ it will do one of 2 things
  

  • Change its section ID to a random one
  • Or reduce itself to rubble

Water

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Water Does not turn to rubble or change section id(it has none) but it does have stress ID and does pass it on as normal

Notes:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

this system is not meant to replace the cave-in system but rather to add a new system.
In this system a 3x3 column will not deteriorate at AT ALL

¹ Only if they are very strong.
² Only if they are very large.
³To be considered properly supported⁴ a tile must be surrounded by at least 5 tiles on either the same z-level or 1 z-level below.(diagonals count)
⁴o relation to supporting tiles(defined earlier)
⁵ They are currently planned to be added later in development.

[Argonnek]

If I'm understanding this right, then wouldn't a 3X3 column decay? I'm thinking that each corner piece would count as being only supported by 4 blocks - three on the same level and the one right below. The other tiles on the level below wouldn't provide much in the way of support, in my mind, because they're disconnected from the tile in question.

[GoblinCookie]

Really maintenance and the need for structural support beams is one of the main missing elements (along with the need for air, fresh water, soil fertility replacement and sanitation) in the game that make it far, far easier to be a fantasy dwarf that it actually would be.   

Really we should not be able to simply open passage ways using pickaxes.  Instead pickaxes should turn the wall into a rubble wall of the same material, which other dwarves with shovels would then have to haul to the surface or some other empty space, allowing another group of dwarves with pickaxes to potentially carve off usable rock chunks for use in crafting, with each square of rock rubble containing a limited number of such rock chunks (but not actually dissapearing when they are removed). 

The need for support should depend upon the size of the tunnel or chamber AND the strength of the material the ceiling is made of.  You should be able to carve out larger chambers with less support in solid rock than you should in earth.  However weaker structural supports would be needed to hold up earth than to hold up rock, even if far more supports are needed over all; this can all be communicated to the player via a interface display by which the 'ceiling' rapidly takes damage over time unless properly supported while if the supports are installed them slowly take damage instead.  Dwarves would attempt to repair both ceiling and supports to keep the place from collapsing. 

Collapsing rooms would cause damage to nearby rooms, causing them in turn to potentially collapse, so we can get cascade effects for one part collapsing triggering the collapse of a larger area. 

[sstabeler]

1) actually, during the medieval era- which is roughly when DF is set- people drank mostly alcohol, because the water wasn't actually generalyl safe to drink. DF already implements a mechanism for dwarves to die of thirst if they can't get alcohol or water. They just- like in the real world at the time- prefer alcohol.
2) pit props don't actually help with an earth roof- the earth- predictably- simply flows around it. However, the important thing is that caveins normally occur due to cracks in the roof- the weight of whatever's above is pushing down, and where there's a cave, this causes an insufficiently supported roof to gradually sag- eventually causing cracks. Those cracks persist until the roof is no longer supported. When that happens- in DF and in RL- the roof collapses.
3) as for air, I presume that since dwarves have entire outposts that are only connected to the surface via tunnels to other outposts, then they have evolved ways to use either less oxygen, or to not actually need it.
4) as for soil fertility replacement, I think that's mostly because they haven't figured out how to do it yet without making it far too onerous on the player.
5) as for sanitation, again, remember that DF is set in the medieval era. Unless yu had a cesspiit, you generalyl dumped your chamberpot out the window. dwarves may simply take a crap wherever.

[GoblinCookie]

1) actually, during the medieval era- which is roughly when DF is set- people drank mostly alcohol, because the water wasn't actually generalyl safe to drink. DF already implements a mechanism for dwarves to die of thirst if they can't get alcohol or water. They just- like in the real world at the time- prefer alcohol.

A historical myth about the water not being safe to drink. 

2) pit props don't actually help with an earth roof- the earth- predictably- simply flows around it. However, the important thing is that caveins normally occur due to cracks in the roof- the weight of whatever's above is pushing down, and where there's a cave, this causes an insufficiently supported roof to gradually sag- eventually causing cracks. Those cracks persist until the roof is no longer supported. When that happens- in DF and in RL- the roof collapses.

It does work if you pave out the roof with something, but I think you are right there. 

3) as for air, I presume that since dwarves have entire outposts that are only connected to the surface via tunnels to other outposts, then they have evolved ways to use either less oxygen, or to not actually need it.

If that were supposed to be true dwarves would not drown in the water.  The reason is that the devs have not got around to, or given much thought as to how dwarves get air into their undergound fortress; since no fantasy writer has really thought of that problem.

4) as for soil fertility replacement, I think that's mostly because they haven't figured out how to do it yet without making it far too onerous on the player.

At the moment there is not enough work for dwarves to do, causing there be a glut of valuable things. 

5) as for sanitation, again, remember that DF is set in the medieval era. Unless yu had a cesspiit, you generalyl dumped your chamberpot out the window. dwarves may simply take a crap wherever.

Living confined into an underground warren means you cannot get away with behaving like that.