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[slothen]

Its been about a year since I stopped playing my last fort.  Now I'm about ready to make a new fortress.  I'd like for it to be a nice test-bed for various military training regimens, trap design, and other stupid dwarf tricks.  I'm looking for suggestions and comments such as strategies for running a test fort, suggestions for things to test, and suggestions for utilities to use.

embark plan:
wooded, non-evil area.  Surface river or aquifer (want to test aquifer based waterwheels).
Two dwarves will be military training experts:
1: Teacher 5, Axe 1, Shield User 3, Organizer 1
2: Teacher 5, Hammer 1, Dodger 3, Organizer 1
I'll also bring a mechanic, weaponsmith, miner, brewer, administrator, farmer, doctor.

defense plan
early: cage and weapon traps.  steady supply of prisoners should be a big help.  I don't plan to use my military at all.
sieges:  snaking dodge-trap corridor with floodable/drainable holding room.
caverns: I'll probably leave them blocked, but I'll set up a few traps for creatures i see down there.

training plan
-2 trainers train together in axe, then later switch both to sword to observe effects.  May also train them in wrestling (never used wrestlers since 40d).  I'll give these guys a civi skill so they won't get mad if i ever let them off duty.
-most migrants will be assigned to squads.  Each squad will get its own burrow, barracks, dorm, meetingroom, and stockpile.  Eventually I will break the to trainers up to lead their own squads.
-there will be at least one squad dedicated to training marksdwarves
-various forms of live combat training will be implemented.  there will be a secure prisoner beat up room for wrestling (or beating with wooden sticks) chained and disarmed goblins
-pump room
-swimming room

Stupid Dwarf tricks and other design elements
-reactor or aquifer based power supply
-swimming pool for military
-automated swimming pool with a powered pump and pressure plates to regulate water level.
-mechanism tricks such as repeaters.
-large underground tree farm and actual farm
-maybe a child destroyer of some kind?

Utilities to use
-Therapist (i use this all the time)
-Runesmith (never used this before, i think i would use this to normalize migrant and starting 7 attributes so i can observe rust/improvements without recording each dwarfs' starting point.  Furthermore, would eliminate the effect of physical and soul attributes on training speed and behavior, so observed effects will solely be from their training regimen).
-DF Hack.  - quick and easy obsidian walls for above ground traps and training facility, easy water/magma access so i can focus on science.

[Girlinhat]

My biggest tip is simple.  Everyone is expendable in the name of science.  Say it.  Say it aloud.  Look at your militia commander and say it.  Look at your Legendary +5 armorsmith and say it.  Everyone is expendable in the name of science.  Do not become attached, do not feel like you owe the dwarves anything, do not stop science in order to improve dwarven liveleyhood.  Everyone is expendable in the name of science!

[Nil Eyeglazed]

Runesmith isn't working yet for v34.0x.

I checked, because I'm interested in how zombification and vampirification affect stats-- particularly attribute rust.  (I feel that I might now be able to build a creature logic clock, thanks to critters without attribute rust.)

Personally, I'm interested in a lot of things involving zombification, but I suppose you won't be able to test that without embarking on an evil biome.

[Loud Whispers]

Be as ruthlessly conservative as possible. Anything that could ruin the fort and stop the science, stop it. Unless it's intended of course, then proceed. Legendary soldiers optional, expendable and should be treated as resources.

[slothen]

think i might make everyone sleep in dorms except for children.  Vampire bait.

[Nil Eyeglazed]

Oh, I know!  I've never gotten around to testing whether flyers set off pressure plates or not.  That'd be useful science.