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[eurydike]

I like trying to keep track of what the dwarves are into and who they are. It is quite arduous to do that properly, thanks to the very in-depth dwarf descriptions (which are great, I think!). Related to this is that with migrants showing up, they tend to flood the fortress and the population starts growing quickly. This makes it difficult to track the dwarves and try and work out what they should be doing. I suppose it's an important feature, affecting with many aspects of the gameplay. Visitors use a petition system, and I think a similar system could work for migrants.

Contract with the civilization regarding migrants
Perhaps the dwarves could negotiate a contract with the civilization regarding migrants? If a contract is formed, it would have positive and negative effects, such as the improving relations or effects on trade. This could for an example enable or disable petitions for the arriving migrants, such as, without a contract, the migrants would petition to stay. With a contract, they could merely show up?

Migrants from other dwarves cities and civilizations
Perhaps there could be somewhat random travellers looking for a new life who would petition to become citizens or visitors.

This suggestion is fairly crude, and I don't know the details of the current migrant system in detail. However, I think there are experienced dwarf fortress players on the forums, who could give perhaps more precise input regarding this feature. Personally I like the migrant system, but I think it would also be nice, if there was some way to affect the number of incoming migrants. One such reason is that it would be nice to try and create a settlement with a group of dwarves, with the idea that they would be the only citizens of the settlement, and you would have to wait for them to have children and for them to grow up, for the population to grow. I also think the player shouldn't have simple and straight control over the matter, but rather complex control, which would involve negotations, and such. What do you think? What kind of system could work with this? Or how would you tweak the pre-existing system?

PS. I also heard that there's some changes related to this in an upcoming version.

[Hamsmagoo]

What if there is a Censor noble who keeps track of the census. You have no access to the 'u' menu at all until you name a Censor and assign them an office. The upside would be that each migrant wave has a leader who needs to meet with the Censor in his/her office before the migrants are admitted into the fort. Then, you would get a report that lists all the new citizens by name and occupation.

[Sarmatian123]

+1 for improved "U"-menu. Go Toady crazy on it! Cheers!

[PatrikLundell]

The "experienced players" who manage migration waves do so using the pop cap by changing the pop cap after each wave and restarting DF to read the new settings.

Petitioning tradesmen would be a nice addition beside the performers and scholars, but I think they're unlikely to be added in the near term. Note, though, that once those performers/scholars have petitioned for citizenship (and been accepted), they're full citizens, which means you can assign them any jobs you like (and some of them turn out to actually have skills: not that the Petition screen will tell you that (or anything else)). This also means you can get multi racial fortresses.

(There are also cruder methods, such as exiling or murdering those that don't have desired skills, with another option being to send those to "conquer" enemy sites.

I'd really hate to have to set up another noble while trying to get a fortress started. If it happened when you get mayors (pop 50) I'd merely dislike it.

Don't expect any significant changes before Starting Scenarios, though.

[Timeless Bob]

Why not have all new possible migrants come as part of the caravan?  That makes more sense anyway, otherwise you have these groups traipsing in from all over la dee da, regardless the undead and necromancy towers all around or the fact your dwarves are on an island.  The caravan gaurds would then be protecting not just the goods, but the new hopeful immigrants to the new site: much more likely a scenario.

That said, it would be awesome if the caravans were treated like the squads sent out to raid a settlement or "an army on the march": they'd have to physically pass through various areas from one point to another, possibly gaining trade or losing gaurds, but then the outpost liason from the Mountainhome would also have a story to tell about their journey, and maybe they'd start with X goods and wagons, but if a Player fortress were too far away, they might end up with far less at the back end in both goods and personnel.  This ties into the migrants following the caravan in another way: The caravan might conscript some of the migrants to replace the caravan guards in the event of heavy losses, giving them "discipline" and "weapon" skills once they reach the end but also combat stress.

Migrants who are unhappy with their lives in the Player Fortress may elect to emigrate with the caravan too.  Up to a certain number allowed by the caravan driver, (much like the weight capacity caravans use now).  Less miserable/starving dwarves in a Fortress means less chance of a fatal death spiral wiping everyone out and there will also be more historic dwarves from your fortress in the Legends files.  Finding out where Cheesemaker Urist finally ended up five years later in the Legends mode is fun if you embark then abandon successive fortresses when all the dwarves are well fed and jubilant.