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[Fleeting Frames]

Well, they already can see creatures across z-levels, though I have not checked if dwarves can get, say, "admired a fine statue when that statue hangs above their heads". (I'd guess they do, but no multiz rooms yet for me.)

@Logo: Well, I didn't even really know about Dwarf Fortress back in 2014, let alone play it, so I sure wasn't paying attention then - however, posting a link to fortress design thread has a way of getting people to look at it

[BlackBronze]

Sometimes in order to keep things interesting, I look for bizarre places to live. For example, it's really easy to find places where two or three rivers cross each other, creating really great waterfalls and cliffs. Volcanoes can be cool, but don't overdo them. Starting a fot on a known cave can be fun too, as long as no one is already living in them. Heck, I've started fortresses on top of empty titan shrines just to see if I can make a sensible fort from the odd scattered pillars of the shrine.

Other times I try reclaiming spawned forts. I find it cool to pick off where one civilization fought their last battle, travelling their halls, or eating their spawned horse cheese that's two clicks away from rotting to nothing. 
Especially if it's a fort that your civ lost. Most of the time, there's always one dwarf civ that's doing really well and one dwarf civ that's on the brink of extinction. Going on a fort-or-bust with a dying civ in order to reclaim the once great capital of the dwarf kingdom is just one way to pass the time.

Most of the time I just try to create a fortress for a purpose or goal in mind. For example, I once tried making a secluded fort focused entirely on the art of unarmed combat. My dwarf "monks" didn't last long, and my temple of Kisat Dur was lost to chaos. Another time I created a fort for the sole purpose of selectively breeeding luxerious "Cavies" which I thought of after reading about Guinea pig festivals in Peru. You can great pretty creative with why you went through so much trouble to build some ridiculous sculpture or force your dwarfs to live in a swamp. It's just a matter of imagination.

[Waistcoats]

Dig down into the cavern, hollow out a pillar, and build a giant pillar fortress, with ledges and balconies hanging off of the sides of the pillar, and the cavern itself acting as a constant supply of if not challenges at least distractions.

[mirrizin]

Or give the game a rest and come back when you're not so bored of it.

That has worked for me, several times. You might have some new ideas when you get back.

[Immortal-D]

Personally, I'm fond of the Cavern challenge.  Upon embarking, you dig straight to the first Cavern layer, no prep time.  The fortress must be located entirely within the Cavern; so hope you find a large chunk of rock to hollow out, or a small and flat area that you can quickly fortify.  Between the top of the Cavern and the surface; you are allowed to mine, but any Fortress structures must be within the zeds of Caverns.  While the Miners are initially digging, you can setup workshops on the surface and unload the Wagon.

[Z49000]

Try replicating a structure from something you like- like a city from a video game or movie, or go out of your way to build somethin cool. Like building a large pool below your fort.
I once tried to make a giant tower where each floor was either a manufacturing floor, or a residential floor. I think that fort was torn apart by a were-something or other.

[StarWars1981]

Build things like combat arenas to unleash things upon each other; include mechanisms for blasting them around with water, or melting everything to ash with magma, or dropping them. Include a method to reliably and titan-proof-ingly trap anything you put in, in case FPS dies or you want to reuse them. Include magma-proof traps. And heck, dragonfire-safe too.
Build a tower for the express purpose of hurling enemies off the top. Bonus points if it's a minecart-automated system. Double bonus points if it is easy to retrieve equipment from the fallen creatures, as well. Dwarfbonus if mandating nobles can be persuaded to take a look from the upper floor. Super-Dwarf-Bonus if there's a method to create a fireball on top of the tower. Armok Bonus for towers that can also be used to rain other things down on invaders. Mega Armok Bonus if you level the world down to the magma sea, so that only your tower of stone still stands, and one lonely bridge to the edge of the map. Bonus points on THAT if the bridge is trapped six ways from HFS. More points for seven.
And double it ALL for the doomsday lever dropping your tower as a spear into HFS. *Should probably find a way to reliably conquer underground reaches before attempting to construct this mechanism.
Extra Bonus Points: Do it during a siege, and take the siege with you.
And a few more points if the tower is black as the night, and winged creatures upon which black figures ride circle the top.

See, there's all KINDS of idiotic stuff you can do for the heck of it.


Warning: Above may cause dwarf deaths, mutilations, crippling, damage, injury, suffering, unhappiness, tantrums, sickness, wounds, bad luck, bad days, displeasure, sadness, terror, horror, torture, ... (list continues) ... and may also cause severe Dwarfiness, resulting in paralysis of the body due to disuse in front of a computer.
But at least it glows while you watch it!

[PopTart]

Personally, I'm fond of the Cavern challenge.  Upon embarking, you dig straight to the first Cavern layer, no prep time.  The fortress must be located entirely within the Cavern; so hope you find a large chunk of rock to hollow out, or a small and flat area that you can quickly fortify.  Between the top of the Cavern and the surface; you are allowed to mine, but any Fortress structures must be within the zeds of Caverns.  While the Miners are initially digging, you can setup workshops on the surface and unload the Wagon.

I second this idea! I love using the constraints of natural geology to organize my bedrooms, workshops, and public areas. It just looks great, especially in ASCII tilesets. If you're lucky, you get extra trees, fresh water, a thriving crundle industry, GCS, and flux stone. If you're really lucky, you can seal up the surface entrance, and trade caravans can still access your depot from underground.

My other suggestion is to reclaim a procedurally-generated fortress. It's a psychotic mess and you never know what you're gonna get, besides about 200 anvils.

I haven't played the game in several months, but this thread has inspired me to try some new things. Thanks!

[Melting Sky]

Dig strait down to the caverns and

Personally, I'm fond of the Cavern challenge.  Upon embarking, you dig straight to the first Cavern layer, no prep time.  The fortress must be located entirely within the Cavern; so hope you find a large chunk of rock to hollow out, or a small and flat area that you can quickly fortify.  Between the top of the Cavern and the surface; you are allowed to mine, but any Fortress structures must be within the zeds of Caverns.  While the Miners are initially digging, you can setup workshops on the surface and unload the Wagon.

I second this idea! I love using the constraints of natural geology to organize my bedrooms, workshops, and public areas. It just looks great, especially in ASCII tilesets. If you're lucky, you get extra trees, fresh water, a thriving crundle industry, GCS, and flux stone. If you're really lucky, you can seal up the surface entrance, and trade caravans can still access your depot from underground.

I was in the middle of suggesting almost this same exact thing when this post caught my eye. It's a lot of fun using the caverns as basis for your fortress. I usually have the rule that you have to excavate as little as humanly possible just doing stuff like cutting stairs or a very short tunnel to an isolated cavern that could not otherwise be reached. Building walls is fine but all the living area must be natural cavern space rather than excavated areas.