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[uncool]

Apparently the wagons pass by even if

Is there a way to have an "impenetrable" fortress and still have the wagons appear? For example, would this work:

Have two walls, an inner and an outer, such that you control movement through the walls (by bridge, etc.). The outer wall is open whenever there are no merchants there yet. Inside the outer wall is a "fake" depot that will never actually be used, but is there to make sure the wagons appear and get inside the outer wall. When all merchants are inside the outer wall, the outer wall is closed and the inner wall opened; the "fake" depot is then forbidden, and the wagons should go to the "real" depot inside the inner wall.
=Uncool-

[Stil]

Do you have a road touching the map border? That helped spawn them for me when I had similar issues.

[Sphalerite]

Having more than one depot confuses the traders.  They won't respect your forbidding the depot.  They'll decide on their own which depot they want to go to, and if they can't reach it, they won't appear.  If they can reach a depot, they'll go to it even if you forbid it.

The preferred method is to have one depot, and have inner and outer gates isolating it from the outside and from your fortress.  When you expect a trade caravan to show up, leave the outer gate open and the inner one closed.  Wait for the traders to appear and make it to the depot.  Close the outer gate, open the inner one, and trade.  Once you are done and the traders are ready to leave, close the inner gate and then open the outer one.

[uncool]

Do you have a road touching the map border? That helped spawn them for me when I had similar issues.

I don't; would that make them think that the depot was accessible even if it wasn't?
=Uncool-

[uncool]

Having more than one depot confuses the traders.  They won't respect your forbidding the depot.  They'll decide on their own which depot they want to go to, and if they can't reach it, they won't appear.  If they can reach a depot, they'll go to it even if you forbid it.

The preferred method is to have one depot, and have inner and outer gates isolating it from the outside and from your fortress.  When you expect a trade caravan to show up, leave the outer gate open and the inner one closed.  Wait for the traders to appear and make it to the depot.  Close the outer gate, open the inner one, and trade.  Once you are done and the traders are ready to leave, close the inner gate and then open the outer one.

I'm not quite sure on how that would work. The traders would still think that the depot is inaccessible because of the inner doors and therefore wouldn't appear in the first place, right?
=Uncool-

[Teneb]

The traders only care about reaching the depot. You can keep your fortress sealed up and only open the inner gates when the traders are in the depot.

[Sphalerite]

Having more than one depot confuses the traders.  They won't respect your forbidding the depot.  They'll decide on their own which depot they want to go to, and if they can't reach it, they won't appear.  If they can reach a depot, they'll go to it even if you forbid it.

The preferred method is to have one depot, and have inner and outer gates isolating it from the outside and from your fortress.  When you expect a trade caravan to show up, leave the outer gate open and the inner one closed.  Wait for the traders to appear and make it to the depot.  Close the outer gate, open the inner one, and trade.  Once you are done and the traders are ready to leave, close the inner gate and then open the outer one.

I'm not quite sure on how that would work. The traders would still think that the depot is inaccessible because of the inner doors and therefore wouldn't appear in the first place, right?
=Uncool-

If the traders can reach the depot, they think it's accessible.  They don't care if none of your dwarves can reach the depot.

[uncool]

Having more than one depot confuses the traders.  They won't respect your forbidding the depot.  They'll decide on their own which depot they want to go to, and if they can't reach it, they won't appear.  If they can reach a depot, they'll go to it even if you forbid it.

The preferred method is to have one depot, and have inner and outer gates isolating it from the outside and from your fortress.  When you expect a trade caravan to show up, leave the outer gate open and the inner one closed.  Wait for the traders to appear and make it to the depot.  Close the outer gate, open the inner one, and trade.  Once you are done and the traders are ready to leave, close the inner gate and then open the outer one.

I'm not quite sure on how that would work. The traders would still think that the depot is inaccessible because of the inner doors and therefore wouldn't appear in the first place, right?
=Uncool-

If the traders can reach the depot, they think it's accessible.  They don't care if none of your dwarves can reach the depot.

Ah, I misunderstood. Will have to try that out.

Unfortunately, that does mean that to keep things away from thieves and building destroyers/etc., I'll have to stockpile all the stuff inside...and my HFS depot is going to probably have some issues. Oh well.
=Uncool-