Thought I'd share my fort ideas, various things I do or would like to do to make things a bit harder.
1.Normally I don't change labours on a dwarf. IRL if I knew nothing about metalcrafting and there was no one to teach me, I don't think I'd get very far just working it out on my own. So if I need a metalcrafter I have to wait for one to immigrate (haven't played 0.34 much yet, but I hear with historical migrants this might have got a lot more challenging. Good). When I do have a metalcrafter I will let them have an apprentice when they get past a certain skill level, probably talented ie. turn metalcrafting labour on for another dwarf and let them do some of the work.
2. Above ground fortress. Now you can collect clay and build with that there is no need to dig for stone even. Maybe my starting seven would dig out an underground fort and stay sealed off from the surface and later migrants. The above ground guys would mostly be farmers (I'd try to nerf crop yields a bit maybe, for realism) and military. They'd be living mostly like humans do. To save going crazy designating all their houses I think I could set up macros to build standard designs. And since I'll only have one building material on the list (clay, probaly forbid any wood I have while designating) this should work out. No perimeter wall, just individual houses and workshops etc. I can make various clay products for trade if need be. Of course when the goblins come there will be carnage. But you just wait for more migrants right? My starting seven and probably a few children will be far underground with a small plump helmet farm keeping the site alive even if everyone up top gets slaughtered.
That's it! Anyone else do anything similar?