This is quite possibly the most beautiful creation I have seen since before 0.31.
Thank you, that's quite a compliment. But I'm afraid you give me too much credit.
All you need now is a series of candy bridges covering the entire path to the tombs from the edge of the map. To suit the name.
I've mined out 1 piece of candy so far. But I'm cheating with it. I altered the make wafers reaction to not only give wafers, but also give back one piece of raw adamantine. It's too much of a micromanagement hassle to abuse on a large scale, but I really wanted to give my champion an adamantine breastplate. Breaching hell will come when I feel the time is ripe for that. Need more dwarves first. And capture a GCS.
I commend your patience, sir. How long did this project take? (IRL)
I've had 18 out of my 25 days of holiday from work behind me, so I guess 18 days.
What else occupied you during your masterpiece's construction?
some !!SCIENCE!! on jailing and hammering dwarves to keep them happy and toughen them up. Periodically jailing your dwarves is a very good way to increase general happiness. (happy to be free thought).
Also, this is a 'generation fortress'. I capped migration at 100, and have a child cap of 30. Over the past 40 years, my fort is slowly growing in population (166 now). I'm gaining about 5 adult dwarves per year and losing 2-3 to old age. Soon, the 100th child will be born in the fort, and I'm bound to see the first great--grandparents. I was declared a mountainhome some 20 years ago, and the Queen died of old age. I might start a community story once the Duke passes away. I've had that thought ever since I started the fort, but I'm still playing to let it's history build up, and inspiration grow on me.
Apart from that, I've just been trying to create a fortress that, while based on a 11x11 design doctrine, still looks natural and 'feels right'.