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[human_dictionary]

i have a new fort in a heavily forested zone (or whatever it is on the map) and when the dwarven caravan arrived, it didnt even get onto the map before i got the announcement: 'the wagons have bypassed your inaccessible site.' this baffles me as i checked when i built the depot whether it was accessible with [D], and all was fine and gay there. so i think i know what's happened: trees block caravans (like rocks) in a 3x3 square around them, and the caravan where it entered was blocked by a tree. another problem might be that they entered on the other side of an impassible river, and the only path i made across was a single wooden bridge, are there any mechanics with caravans and bridges that i should know about?

1. does this mean i'll have to remove all trees in a 3-wide strip around the map, with a path (or a road) leading to my fortress?
2. does this have any real downsides? (i still managed to get steel and aluminium off them)

please answer these questions if you can, or give any more advice that may be helpful, thanks!

[Trif]

Sure, answering questions is fun!

1. Yes, keeping the area tree-free is a good idea. Paved roads reduce the maintenance effort.
2. The downside is that the big caravan wagons can't enter your fortress, which means that you get fewer trade goods and that they can take fewer crafts with them. If you want to have large scale trading business, wagons are a must.

Caravans can pass bridges as long as they're 3 tiles wide for the wagons. Be aware that traps block wagon access just like trees.

[zooeyglass]

Worth noting - as this was said in a previous thread on here - that each civilisation that trades (elf/human/dwarf) will have access to one, several or all the sides of your map. If they only come from one direction, you only need access from that direction. If they have access to all four sides, you need access to all four sides.

Another thing: as far as I understand it, as long as there is one point on a map-edge that will allow caravan access, the merchants will use that - you don't need to clear the entire map-edge. So potentially four access points, with four roads, leading into the map should be fine.

[EBannion]

I almost always now make a road lined with channels with the ramps removed so that the only way into the Depot is by using that road, and then I pave it with blocks so that nothing grows there.

Like zooeyglass said, if there is only one place they can enter from that has access to your depot, they'll enter on that spot.

[Deboche]

I don't know if you're planning to build a wall but what I usually do is force the caravans to go up a level, cross a bridge, then they go over the wall and back down. If you do this, you can bring them to your depot in a platform.

Of course, you'd have to build 4 of these runways, one in each direction but it's worth it because it blocks sunlight and underneath the bridge you can make a deep moat with spikes at the bottom at the same level as your workshops for easy access goblinite and elf caravans

other than that make sure bridge is 3 tiles wide and caravans also can't go over traps

[Big Bear]

I like embarking in heavily forested areas, and I often had this problem. My approach is to:

1. Cut down trees to create 3 tile wide treeless lanes leading from my fort area to the four edges of the map.
2. Build a road over them.
3. Use 'D' key to check if there are any big red areas on the map, and cut down some trees in those areas just in case.
4. Also, remember to check your bridges from time to time if they don't connect to roads. I've had trees grow up on one side of a bridge before, and it blocked the caravan access.

I once had a human caravan trapped at my depot for a few seasons because a tree had grown in front of the bridge they had come in on. They wouldn't leave using any of the other bridges next to it.  They finally left when I cut down that one tree.