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[CLA]

As the titles says, I suggest to rename the up stairs, down stairs, and up/down stairs to "stairs (top)", "stairs (bottom)", and simply "stairs" or "staircase" respectively.

It seems like I see new players misunderstanding what each stair designation does and asking "why is my miner stuck" or "how do stairs work" every other day.
Of course if DF would have tooltips, problems like this could be solved more expansive, but I think this is already enough.

[Bumber]

Better yet would be to do away with down stairs entirely and add a "remove floor" designation. They'd work automatically like ramps. I suppose that then one would also want to be able to build floors separately from everything else.

[AceSV]

I do find the "X" up/down stairs to be a bit gamey, but they are very convenient, especially when you just need to get that magma. 

Maybe a smoothed ramp could be called a staircase, or a ramp can be turned into "stairs" similar to a fortification. 

[Bumber]

I do find the "X" up/down stairs to be a bit gamey, but they are very convenient, especially when you just need to get that magma. 

Maybe a smoothed ramp could be called a staircase, or a ramp can be turned into "stairs" similar to a fortification.

What's gamey about up/down stairs? I just think down stairs shouldn't be required, much like we don't go around building "down ramps" everywhere.

[AceSV]

I do find the "X" up/down stairs to be a bit gamey, but they are very convenient, especially when you just need to get that magma. 

Maybe a smoothed ramp could be called a staircase, or a ramp can be turned into "stairs" similar to a fortification.

What's gamey about up/down stairs? I just think down stairs shouldn't be required, much like we don't go around building "down ramps" everywhere.

I guess I feel like a staircase should take up more space.  If you've got a long stair case, it should have to take up horizontal space as well as vertical space.  If you want a spiral staircase, then you should build a spiral staircase, like the automated dwarven cities do. 

[Bumber]

I guess I feel like a staircase should take up more space.  If you've got a long stair case, it should have to take up horizontal space as well as vertical space. If you want a spiral staircase, then you should build a spiral staircase, like the automated dwarven cities do.

They probably are spiral. Might be a tight fit, though. Steps would have to be less than a meter wide.

[SixOfSpades]

I've also always felt that up/downs were just a little too convenient, and too steep to be realistic. Rename them to "Ladder" and make them usable only by creatures who can climb (or fly), and I'll be happy. Actual stair stairs should always traverse at least 1 horizontal tile per vertical tile--just mark the top (or bottom) of the stair, and use the WASD keys to define the "path" of the stair . . . although that would only allow the player to designate staircases just 1 tile wide. Hmm.

Ramps should be improved in the same way. I always feel guilty about making my dwarves push heavily-laden wheelbarrows up ramps with a freakin' 50% grade.

[Bumber]

I've also always felt that up/downs were just a little too convenient, and too steep to be realistic. Rename them to "Ladder" and make them usable only by creatures who can climb (or fly), and I'll be happy. Actual stair stairs should always traverse at least 1 horizontal tile per vertical tile--just mark the top (or bottom) of the stair, and use the WASD keys to define the "path" of the stair . . . although that would only allow the player to designate staircases just 1 tile wide. Hmm.

Ramps should be improved in the same way. I always feel guilty about making my dwarves push heavily-laden wheelbarrows up ramps with a freakin' 50% grade.

Spoiler: I disagree: (click to show/hide)

If it had support from the sides, you might be able to carve one out of solid rock.

I'm fairly certain stairs are the way they are because of pathing calculations. Retractable ladders are planned.

It's worse than 50%. Tiles are speculated to be taller than they are wide.

[LordBaal]

I'm fine with the up/down stairs being a single tile, you can imaging them as spiral stairs, but they should give a slightly bigger speed penalty to dwarves using it, more so if two use them at the same time.

Ladders would pretty much function like up/down stairs but could be usable only by one dwarf at the same time (or several IF they are moving on the same direction) and give a even larger speed penalty and leaving out the possibility of carrying things in their hands (back packs would be useful for this).

And then regular stairs that would work like the current up stairs and down stairs do. With the less speed penalty but requiring more space and moving horizontally between floors.

Also, we could use elevators for heavy loads of rocks and the like.