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[Linkxsc]

So wait. Can you deconstruct "constructed wall, carved fortifications"?
If so, and it ises engraving. Thatd be 1 way to train engravers outside of engraving and smoothing areas on repeat

[gunpowdertea]

Or you can just construct a fortification directly. I believe it's b-C-F? It should be easy enough to find.

That results in a fortification without a ceiling on the z+1 which usually results in marksdwarf jumping over the said fortification.

… 
all the stuff I went through when constructing towers & stuff
thanks for pointing this out, it is incredibly useful. I likely thought "oh, if engraving does not work, carving a fortification does not work as well"...

[Repseki]

So wait. Can you deconstruct "constructed wall, carved fortifications"?
If so, and it ises engraving. Thatd be 1 way to train engravers outside of engraving and smoothing areas on repeat

It would also be a lot slower, since you would have to wait for the wall to be deconstructed and then rebuilt. Just carve minecart tracks, smooth, repeat. Don't need any art defacement madness.

[taptap]

If you manage to send an ON signal shortly followed by an OFF signal to e.g. a door behind a fortification you can get shots off while the countershots / dragonfire / demonspittle are blocked by the door.

E_______+FA

With E being the enemy, F the fortification, A the archer and + the door. That the enemy has a certain distance is what makes this possible. It takes a few steps to pick up the target and an arrow flies at 1 tile per step. So if both pick up the target at approximately the same time and the door closes shortly after your arrow / bolts passed, you can't be hit by return fire.

In practice it is probably easier to give your marksdwarves a good shield and dodge training and equip them accordingly. (Good shield, some armor.)

[Fleeting Frames]

An alternate FPS-friendlier option to exhaust enemy arrows would perhaps be to put bolt splitting holes in the path to your fortress. I've failed to get them to work myself despite following and doublechecking the designs (and I know some others likewise in the original thread), but if they work for you it might exhaust and/or slow down enemy ranged forces, allowing yours to attack with no return fire.

(Note that even adamantine doors linked by adamantine mechanisms are melted by dragonfire in 43.03, though.)

[Werdna]

My quick and dirty "arrow defense" for enemies kills two birds with one stone.  I create an animal pen on the other side of a moat that the enemies will encounter (but cannot path to) before they get to my dwarves; and I fill it with my unwanted animals.  Mostly, the annoying menagerie of named pets that start to clutter a fortress when it hits 80+ dwarves.  The larger the animal, the better the arrow soak they are, but quantity is also good.  The enemy Bowmen will stop here to dump their arrows on the pen.  This is an easy way to defend against Elite Bowmen, I find.  Once the Bowmen tunnel vision on to the animal pen, you're free to trash them however you please.  I find it enjoyable to pull a lever to reveal a room full of War Dogs right next to them.

[Broseph Stalin]

d-F = "Carve" Fortification on either a Smooth Wall, or Constructed Wall. 

mind=blown

[Goatmaan]

If you have no justice system (no captain of the guard, hammerer, jail) the noble will slowly get upset. This has one benifit, if that noble meets with the elven diplomat. Once they are upset enough they won't hold the meeting, and it will end the logging aggreement!! "If" they get happy again, they'll meet and get a new agreement, till then chop every tree on the map!

If you want a justice system, choose the weakest dwarf you have for Captain of the guard, so he's not one punching violators to death, same for hammerer. Unless you want that +5 armorer who didnt make 3 bucklers dead of course.

  Goatmaan

[Urist McShire]

I remember one fortress I made where I had an entrance to be opened during sieges and then a main entrance. The siege entrance funneled the enemies through a long corridor where they had traps in place and marksdwarves overlooking them from a couple z-levels above. If they survived they then passed into a room where numerous grizzly bears trained for war would meet them, while also being in position to be shot by overhead marksdwarves. If they passed through that, then they went to an area where they would fight my trained militia and even more war grizzlies, while also being shot at by marksdwarves.

As far as I can remember, nobody made it to the first grizzly pen.

[Dunamisdeos]

Here's what I do.

The main thing I run into is dwarves being out-ranged by enemies. This blind stops that.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Goblins only come into visual range when my crossbows can shoot at them. If you use multiple blinds, you can ensure that different squads/groups within squads of marksdwarves positions past each blind do not shoot at the same target.

[Baffler]

The best I've managed to come up with is a setup like this:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Code: (Z=0) [Select]


      ↑ REST OF THE FORTRESS
               ║+++║
     ╔══┼══╦═══╝+++╚════════════════
     ║+++++║.+++++++++++++++++++++++
     ╠══┼══╣.++++++++O███O++++++++++
     ║++++┼╬.++++++++█████++++++++++
     ║+++0=║.++++++++██O██++++++++++   → OUTSIDE
     ║++++┼╬.++++++++█████++++++++++
     ║+++0=║.++++++++O███O++++++++++
     ║++++┼╬.+++++++++++++++++++++++
     ╚═════0════════════════════════


Being on the same level maximizes their range, the pit in front of them protects them from enemies trying to close to melee range or shoot through the other side of the fortifications, the indoor area leaves enemies with no cover, and the doors behind the fortifications allow them to safely disengage. It requires a defend burrows order to get them to stand in the right place sometimes, but doing it that way comes with the benefit of preventing them from charging or withdrawing without orders. Assign the rest of the squad to the room behind it so they can take their comrades' places if they need more ammunition or manage to get themselves wounded.

[Urist McShire]

Right now a setup that I've had really working for me is the standard 9x9 2 storey archery tower/pillbox. Ammunition is stockpiled on the ground floor with no los to the enemies, and there is no risk of the marksdwarves running off to engage in melee due to breaking their line of sight when they disengage to get more ammunition. Have yet to suffer a loss from any opponent shooting  at my dwarves and they have racked up lots of kills from the setup.