Where do immigrants come from? Seriously, where are these people coming from? Do they appear out of thin air around the outskirts of wealthy cities, or are they real already existing people attracted from surrounding cities?
Immigrants need background.If I cheat and get enough wealth to attract a full 200 dwarves in a few years, the surrounding cities should be empty. Your starting dwarves should be pre-existing people, as well as the immigrants. Right now, I believe only the royalty is. I want my retired adventurer to migrate to my fortress (or multiple
). Each dwarf attracted should be attracted for personal reasons. If you have a load of ore but no metal workers, metal workers should be attracted to your fort. Or a load of cloth, and no clothiers. Raw gems, but no jewelers. If there is work available for that dwarf at your fort, and they think they'd be better off at your place, then they should immigrate. If you see a lot of action, and a dwarf's personality is blood-thirsty, then they come. If their family was killed and/or their home destroyed (army arc FTW!), they come to seek another that is close by. If your legendary craftdwarf is killed, craftsdwarves come to try and fill in his shoes.
Bit of a bloat here, but sending off caravans with requests to attract particular professions of dwarves, regardless of your fort's job situations. Another bloat to tack on, reading a dwarf's background on their thoughts and personality screen. "Was born in ___ at ___. Parent died in ___ at ___ by ___. Became a ___ because the last local one ___. Came here seeking ____." Final bloat to tack on, that dwarves will migrate from your fort and back to other cities. Too unhappy, too much tragedy, more work available elsewhere, etc.
Same with your adventurers. You should be able to pick someone existing to play. You'd get a background history as well that way too. Have them change their name (or not) when you posses them, and acquire whatever skills you pick to have on top of their existing. I want to play as an armless hammerdwarf or a blind marksman from one of my failed forts. Or some random farmer whose wife was killed and go about avenging. Or some town drunk that I suddenly turn his life around into a master swordsman.
Do still keep the option to create immigrants on the spot (init.txt?), and to create adventurers from nothing. Probably easier to run the current immigrant spawning than this.
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On a side note, my last wave of immigrants to spring up out of the ground around my fort included a "Soaper". Not a "Soap Maker", but a "Soaper". WTH? Job list showed soap-making highlighted, so if that is what "Soap Maker" appears as on the info screen, fixing that should be on the 'to-do' list. "Soaper" is just a little queer sounding.
"What do you do?"
"I soap."
"I see..."