Well, I'd like to win in a less boring way, but I can see that unofficial exploits, (or at least tactics that feel like exploits,) may be my only option. I have a decent store of adamantine, but it is still limited, there is a lot more further down, but that opens up the pit to Hell. I have read that the demon fortresses lead to hell. Is there any safe way to block that off until I am ready? I have an artifact hatch cover and that is it.
Also, I am currently setting my dwarves on active/training civ mode so they train their skills. I have been getting regular goblin raids, which is weird since I killed their master, (overlord guy,) and I'm not even sure how they are organizing the raids. I suffer minimal casualties, but since I can't find a good underground grazing area, my animal population is down to almost nothing. I like to keep it around in case food stores run thin, (I have about 3k roasts atm, and birds laying eggs regularly.)
The bug where you need to remove jugs from the stockpile to extract honey from honeycombs also still seems to be in place, I thought this was fixed. It's a bit of a pain. I like to keep mead in stock.
Sorry for asking so many random questions, they have been building up for a long time. I have been progressing through trying different things. I still haven't played with pressure plates, levers, or megastructures, (I can't find a reason to build the last one.)
Is there a way to tell which ore will be available in an embark area? I'd like to try out a fortress with iron and flux stone. Making steel sounds like a lot of fun. It's pointless for me now because I have to buy all the components, and I have better materials. Two of my fortresses have produced only silver in some form, and that drives me nuts.
Also, I've read up on this, and it sounded hopeless, but do you have any advice for aquifers? The place I originally wanted to set my fortress in was haunted, for more of a challenge, but all of those areas had aquifers. I have read the wiki, but I didn't quite understand if it was even possible, or if it was just a toos up that it might be possible.
There's some cool areas with aquifers, I'd really like to try one.