How do you group time periods in the game, and what do you expect to accomplish in each period? In a very general sense, I mean.
For example:
1) Arrival - Build a carpenter/mason/fishery shop, collect wood/stone/fish and start pumping out essentials (beds/chairs/tables/food). Lay out all the stockpiles.
I've seen people either dig a single tunnel right for the river or build a temporary pseudo-fort (common bedroom and such) while they search for the river.
2) Flood recedes - You've found the river and are ready to get serious. Add a mechanic for floodgates (if you want to go beyond river-adjacent farmlands), maybe a craftsdwarf to make stuff for the impending caravan. Start building individual bedrooms, a well...
I haven't gotten much past that stage with any coherent plan (each time I learn how to better handle the period I just hit for the first time).
A rough guess of other periods/markers to expand on:
- First winter
- Migrants arrive
Some thoughts/questions:
- When do you start adding the "advanced" workshops (metalsmith/forges/cloth/leather...
- Do you ever move entirely indoors, or is that not possible because of the need for wood?
- How do you plan/defend against intruders from the cave river? I've tried putting "locked" doors between the main fort and the river, but I don't know if that works or if I just haven't been unlucky. Can random baddies pass through closed floodgates?
Feel free to add...