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[ElGourdo]

I will freely admit that I am fairly new to this game, first time playing actually, so I finally managed to build those damned stairs even with all those monkeys running around with their beady eyes... Then I use Shift+< to go down a level and tell the dwarfs to excavate a cavern down there but they wont go down the stairs and do it, can anyone help I must be missing somthing. I have 3 two-way stairs there and 2 down stairs but still nothing... Please help.

[Darvi]

Should go up to DF Gameplay Questions.

Also, did you put some stairs beneath those that you made? Because dwarves cannot simply descend into an empty tile.

[Virex]

^That, they'll give you better advise


Anyway, you need to excavate an up staircase under any down staircase you build to connect the two levels.

[ElGourdo]

Yes, sorry I just relised that this is in the wrong spot.

[Darvi]

Don't worry, there's a Move Thread button for just this.

[ElGourdo]

Where would the move button be?

[Darvi]

Lower left corner. Right beside Lock Topic.

Oh hey you figured it out already.

[ElGourdo]

Yeah, thanks.

@Virex, I have a two way stair that is supposed to do that right? plus as I said my dwarves wont go down to build the up stair in the first place...

[Sphalerite]

You have a down-stair that they can reach, and a solid rock layer beneath it, right?  Designate a up/down or an up stair to be dug out immediately beneath the down stair.

[Calech]

I will freely admit that I am fairly new to this game, first time playing actually, so I finally managed to build those damned stairs even with all those monkeys running around with their beady eyes... Then I use Shift+< to go down a level and tell the dwarfs to excavate a cavern down there but they wont go down the stairs and do it, can anyone help I must be missing somthing. I have 3 two-way stairs there and 2 down stairs but still nothing... Please help.

3 two-way stairs and 2 down stairs? You may have disconnected your staircases by accident if I'm interpreting it right.

A staircase on any z-level has to be connected to a corresponding staircase on the appropriate adjacent z-level to work; the two-way staircases will work as both up and down stairs in the same tile.

So, in pictoral format;

>
X
X
< Accessible

>
X
X
X Accessible

>
X
X
> Not accessible (no 'up' stair on this level to connect)

Think I did something similar to this on my first-ever fort, stranding half my dwarves and half my resources until I figured out what I'd done.

Hmm... oh, also, rereading your post, make sure your miner hasn't gone on break - if the designated area is accessible you'll still need a willing and able (or, at least, Mining-enabled and pick-equipped) dwarf to carry out the order.

[forsaken1111]

I will freely admit that I am fairly new to this game, first time playing actually, so I finally managed to build those damned stairs even with all those monkeys running around with their beady eyes... Then I use Shift+< to go down a level and tell the dwarfs to excavate a cavern down there but they wont go down the stairs and do it, can anyone help I must be missing somthing. I have 3 two-way stairs there and 2 down stairs but still nothing... Please help.

You say 'two-way' stairs. I assume you mean up/down stairs? That's great, but you then need a stair below that to connect to it. You have built half of a stairway.

On the top level, you have a hole with some steps going down into the dirt. On the level beneath that, you have solid rock. You need to designate UP stairs on the level below the up/down stairs (or another up/down stair beneath it) so the dwarves can access the lower level.

http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/40d:Stairs

[knutor]

Channel out a Donut, then drop a level and channel out a hallway to a staircase, keep going down.  Once ya hit stone, go back to surface and build above ground stairs, right above your staircase, then expand around it. 

+1 level, . represents air.
...
.X.
...

Top, ya need a stone or wood to build that X, _ represents green surface.
___
_X_
___

Channel, 1 down.  Build donut channel from surface, then pop the middle out with an up/down stair.

>>>
>X>
>>>

Keep going down, 2 levels down, etc... til ya hit stone.  = represents black unknown.  Then go back to surface and build up, with b>C>x.

===
=X=
===

Since ya can build up/down stairs with wood, I do next to my wagon.  And can get 3 stories high, right off the bat.  If ya embark with a board, ya can start down, immediately, with up/down stairs made out of wood.