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[Electronic Samurai]

I'm looking to try something a little different with my next Dwarf Fortress - hollowing out the the largest mountain I can, with the exception of a series of huge (40x40) cylindrical supports in which my dorfs will live and work.  I hope to connect these towers with retractable bridges, and feed a water source in near the top, trickling down from level to level creating pleasing waterfalls throughout.  Ideally, the lowest level should be flooded with magma, creating a convenient garbage dump.

I'm still working on my layout, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for efficient circular room layouts, what order my levels should be in for maximum dwarven happiness, and the like?

[shadowclasper]

hmmm... not sure what to tell ya... But I can say this. Make sure to have a road/bridge that runs to the edge of the map. Have it be 4x4 with retracting bridges (2 on each side) for the floor. When an enemy invasion comes up to your fort walls, RELEASE! and watch them plummet to their doom ^^

for this to work ya need to have a large valley like thing between your hallowed out mountain and the map edge. You build it so that either 1 tile (the edge most) links into it, or you have ramps running up to it. One or the other ^^

[Jude]

Never really done circular room layouts, but as someone was saying in another thread, you have to think in 3D. If a dwarf on one side of a 40x40 tower has to go get some stone, and the staircase is exactly in the middle, and the stone stockpile comprises either a complete floor which is 20 z-levels up or down, or else a stockpile on the far side of the same floor of the tower, then the former option will actually mean shorter transit time to get the stone and bring it to the workshop. Z-levels may seem far apart but depending on the frequency and location of stairs, they can make things much closer to each other than having things on the same level can.

[atomfullerene]

My best fort is currently a tower (more or less, most of it is just a vertical section of dug out rooms) it's a 23 by 23 square, not round.  I really like the layout, as vertical orientation keeps everything nearby and easy to keep track of.  Some things I really recommend--
1) my central column consists of four stairways in a plus shape, with an open central tile holding a waterfall.  This runs from top to bottom.  Any dwarf changing levels gets some nice waterfall mist, and the four stairways provide multiple pathing opportunities.  The exact arrangement could be different, but something similar is a good idea.  keep stairways adjacent.
2) take advantage of the fact you can stick down some workshops with proper storage right above and below them.
3) it's easier to keep track of your z levels if all your floors aren't exactly alike
(although similarity can be aesthetic)

good luck!  I really like the vertical layout, and I hope you can manage an awesome fort.  Been thinking about doing some sort of multi-column with bridges myself.

[shadowclasper]

3) it's easier to keep track of your z levels if all your floors aren't exactly alike
(although similarity can be aesthetic)

Why not have a few rooms, give them a different color to each one (put some floor tiles down I guess, right outside their doors or something. Each z-level makes the colors shift clockwise. Easy to keep track of that way.

Also. I'm probably going to do a "Sharn" fort as well. CITY OF TOWERS!

[alway]

Remember though, it may not be the best idea to have water and magma flowing all over the place as it will kill you FPS. In my experience, nothing kills megaprojects faster than a terrible FPS making playing the map a chore.