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[Andrew425]

Hey i'm starting a new fort and I was wondering what is the trendy way of fortress design right now.

All my forts consist of a 4x3 staircase with each level devoted to a different thing.

The first few levels consist of farms and mass stockpiles, then the bedrooms use the rock levels. What i'm wondering is how you guys are able to build forts without the central design that always creeps into my fort.

[Aspgren]

Hey what's up.

Trendy fortress design? I'd guess that would be irresponsibly large and dangerous and ineffective constructions.

Don't think efficient or smart. Think "I need a fisherdwarfs' workshop" and then focus all your energy and dwarves on making a 5x5 building to house the fishery workshop and maybe an appartment or two I don't know.
 Make sure it's also at least 5 Z levels tall so it won't look like complete crap in stonesense.

 Add things like that piece by piece. Mine and chop and work and work and work! Roundabout! Accident-prone! Inefficient! Unplanned! Randomly thrown together!

 GLORIOUS

[Quantumtroll]

I've got two design philosophies:

1. Brick houses, wooden fenceposts, earthen cellars for food storage, flagstone floors, and lots of Fun whenever something nasty decides to show up.  Houses have a workshop section and a living section, often with a basement or attic storage area, and dwarven artisans will live next-doors to their work. It helps to build a keep on a hill as an emergency refuge or even a town wall to keep things out, but I've never really gotten them up in time.  My first attempt at this settlement ended by Bronze Colossus, and the second by goblin ambush.

2. Build and expand as needed.  My current fort has its main dining room above the workshop floors, and the bedrooms below.  Farms near the top.  For some silly reason I still haven't moved a jewelry workshop down from the farm level, even though I put it there expressly as a temporary measure to satisfy an early mood...

[King DZA]

Building a gigantic deathmaze around your fortress is always fun. Besides that, I hear dodge-me traps and battle arenas are all the rage right now.

[eggrock]

I build like the OP more or less:

Farm
Depot (and misc. plumbing, trap mazes, hives etc.)
Storage
Workshops - First stone level
Bedrooms
Barracks (trapped entrances lead here) + Pump room (exercise) + Hospital
Tombs + Jail
Nobles + Mist room (meeting hall)
...
Storage
Magma Forges
 
The soil layers eventually get mined out as much as possible for spore farming.

I'm getting pretty tired of building the same thing every time. I'd like to switch to a fully compartmentalized setup so dedicated workers can be isolated via burrows and supplied by haulers. That way they can continue working while a raging force of darkness murders most of the rest of the fort.

"You hear something, Urist?"

"Eh?" Urist chipped a few more flakes from a stone goblet, then paused, listening closely. "What is that?"

"Sounds like screams, or howling."

"Yeh." Urist listened for a moment longer, then shrugged and returned to his task. "Probably just another of those mad nobles on a rampage. Did you hear what happened to Kol last week?" Several nearby dorfs began clamoring for the story, and talk among the workers resumed. The screams eventually faded into the distance.

[Garath]

above ground: first maze + critter slaughterer
1st level: 2nd killing ground, depot, farming, natural crafts
2nd: good storage
3rd: crafts
4th: raw materials

after that i never plan ahead

[Loud Whispers]

Build wood furnace. Make charcoal. Make smelter. Make pick. Make axe.

Chop down trees.

Build house.

Build farm.

Dig quarry.

Build fortress.
BUILD FORTRESS.
BUILD FORTRESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
I favour large domes, pain to designate, but looks awesome when it's done.

[gabandre]

modular 
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=92779.msg2597626#msg2597626

[Garath]

i tend to simple square boxes. While aesthetics may be unsatisfied, I'm satisfied with less micro

[UristMcFan]

I've been interesting in trying to comparmentlise my fortress also, putting each industry in it's own wing, with it's own dining room, bedroom and drinks facility, with a few haulers going around keeping everyone fed.

Seems to be very efficient, also Dwarfy, I doubt the Metal workers want to talk to the farming dwarfs. I mean they are practically elves.

[Talvieno]

Trendy? Aspgren said it all.

Imagine you're driving a car. Push the gas pedal to the floor. Close your eyes. Remain this way for ten minutes while turning the wheel at whim. This is Dwarf Fortress.

Reckless is good. Unspeakably insane is better.

[Doughnut189]

I always like to experiment with new designs. I also like symmetry, and inlets in walls, and support columns that serve no purpose.

I was just trying out this a few minutes ago:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Andrew425]

That's an interesting design. Do you channel instead of using stairs?

Does anybody ever build double story rooms? Does it increase the value?

[Talvieno]

I always like to experiment with new designs. I also like symmetry, and inlets in walls, and support columns that serve no purpose.

I was just trying out this a few minutes ago:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I actually do the same thing with the support columns... I just like the feel. The taller the better.

EDIT:

That's an interesting design. Do you channel instead of using stairs?

Does anybody ever build double story rooms? Does it increase the value?

I build 2-story rooms, but it's usually only main rooms. I haven't built any in my current fort, though - I'm just trying to survive. Successfully, but come on - elves, a siege, a titan and a forgotten beast all at once, as well as two groups of skeletal yaks and a group of skeletal blind cave ogres. This place is trying to kill me. I'll leave the two-story rooms for the next fortress.

[Starver]

Tendy?

Difficult, there are loads of different trends.

Flat fortresses (one layer, perhaps on Z-1, on a plain, otherwise into the hills from a hand outside area on a more hilly layour) vs. vertical ones (Ten, twenty or so tiles wide at the most, except perhaps for mining).

From purely subterranean to as little underground as necessary to get materials for the aboveground bits built (and stuff like magma-using/pumping).

Towards a Grand Design plan, v.s. "Oooh, I need more <foo>, let's build some <foo>dwarf workshops!".


My current fort is http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-10796-castledales (really need to update that, only I haven't progressed more than a couple of seasons since I uploaded that).  You probably don't want to do that sort of thing.  It's a "Control as much of the surface as possible" design, with a big side-order of Extreme Pre-Planning, and a light dusting of Disappointment That There's Apparently No Iron.