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[polypusher]

Towns having some method of alerting the citizens in case of emergency is a common thing in both fantasy and the real world. When an emergency such as a siege or demon attack occurs, this missing feature really stands out.

I should be able to build a series of gongs or horns or something to activate an emergency contingency. I should also be able to define exactly what should happen in an emergency, if I want all squads to report in to their patrol points (no matter what they were doing before! Go hungry for 10 minutes to kill these damn goblins!), if I want all non-soldiers to go inside (again, no matter what), and so forth.

We rely too much on traps because the dwarven military is unreliable. Im lucky in a real emergency to get HALF of my active troops even with the best attempt to manipulate their rest and readiness. A system such as this would better balance the military and trap defenses.

You could also attach a negative feeling for dwarves when the emergency system becomes active. Such things are scary and should rattle the civilian populace. This would probably limit the use of the system to actual emergencies, and not for every little kobold that comes knocking.

[Danjo Olivaw]

An alarm system is another item that could be tied to a noble somehow.  Can't get too organized without a bossman.

[polypusher]

That's easy. Captain of the Guard.

I picture the activation working like the 'Pull Lever' command, which any dwarf can do. Doesnt take a genious to blow a horn, but the actual organization and stuff should be handled by the guard captain. Assigned Fortress Guards should also respond, and Royal Guards should get their charges to safety.

[Wahnsinniger]

I think it should be the Mayor or Governor, since those two are in charge of the organization of the whole Fortress, so it would be up to them to get it ready for sieges and attacks. The Captain of the Guard is just a guy who leads the fortress guards around.

[ShaneC]

Something like this is SORELY needed.  I am sick to death of my military dwarves sitting around having a drink while there brother dwarves are dying... this is completely unrealistic behavior...

[Aquillion]

I suggested this a while back:

Here.

It seems to be a fairly common request, and Toady noted that it could also be used for fun things in adventure mode...  setting up interesting large-scale monster reactions against the player, to make raiding enemy fortresses more fun?

[ September 29, 2006: Message edited by: Aquillion ]

[Alan]

I would like to second the request for a war drum / emergency alarm.

It's frustrating to plan tactics and traps and fortifications, to arm and train an army, and then discover at the moment of battle that your civilians WON'T GO INSIDE while half your soldiers are more interested in their meals or their sleep than in fighting the war for which they've been trained.

The system could be pretty simple.  How about this: two alarms, one for military and one for civilians.  Each alarm has its own user-settable rally point.  When the alarm sounds, all personnel suspend their current tasks and head for the alarm's rally point, and they stay there, fighting any enemies who come within range, until the player turns the alarm off.

This system would provide the flexibility to do basically everything that everyone has asked for in this thread.  You can get all the civilians inside the fortress (or out of it, if the enemy is coming from below).

It would also allow you to collect all your military forces together in one place to face an invasion, and would save you from having to manually switch each unit from "stood down" to "on duty" and move their station or patrol path.

It's a simple feature that would really enhance player control in times of war!

- Alan -