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[Jfqs6m]

Hey everyone! First time posting, long time lurker. Anyways, I just started a new fortress and I'm planning out my Moria when I realized something. Normally I would designate one part, then the next, then so on and so fourth... When in this fortress I realized I was designating the entire thing, then unpausing.

What do you guys do? Bits and pieces or the whole thing and unpause?

[randyshipp]

I sometimes do a bunch of designating, say for dormitory rooms, then go back and {d}{x} to remove the designation in a few key spots to cut off the excavation I don't need.  Then I basically have the blueprint in place and can just make a few changes to order the digging I need done at any given time.

[Zeranamu]

I tend to designate most of the entire floors and areas at a time, then remove/add parts of the hallways and stuff periodically so the miners actually complete one project before moving to the next.

[NecroRebel]

I usually do the whole thing except for connections between chambers and hallways, then dig out spaces as I need them/have time. Other people, I understand, just dig out spaces as they need them. The two approaches both have their advantages; preplanned forts tend to be more aesthetically pleasing and efficient, while the dig-as-you-go method tends to cause much less wasted space and has an organic feel that many people like. It's also far easier to mix special projects, like an impressive tomb, into a dig-as-you-go fort, as it doesn't interfere with any long-term design you might've had in a predesigned fort.

[Reelyanoob]

Learn the macro system - you can designate one room or something, then "paste" the designation over and over.

[Azated]

I normally designate my Staircase right down to the magma sea, then I build my barracks at the top next to my entrance, Workshops below that, storage below workshops, farm at the closest water source and the dining hall/bedrooms at the most valuable stone layer.

Then I Just add on as the need arises.

[Andal]

I sometimes do a bunch of designating, say for dormitory rooms, then go back and {d}{x} to remove the designation in a few key spots to cut off the excavation I don't need.  Then I basically have the blueprint in place and can just make a few changes to order the digging I need done at any given time.

This is what I do. I prefer setting up the fortress in one go, and then only carving out what is strictly necessary at the time.

[Lexx]

I have a constantly evolving general layout I use with most embarks that happen in planned stages. The initial entry hall plus some rooms on ground level for masons, mechanics and carpenter. The main stairways then leading to wherever I'm siting my farms. Then I start on storage rooms for food whilst the mechanic sorts out the well/irrigation. By that time I usually have my first barracks. From there its the start of whatever industries I'm focusing on for that fort. With later on crypt level and housing scheme levels.

[Crazy Cow]

I usually designate it in bits and pieces. Not knowing where soil, stone, or anything else is, I'll explore a bit before placing a few key rooms, then expand from there.

[SlimyMarmot]

I usually designate a z-level's worth after exploring a bit, but keep connecting entries and hallways cut off until I need the areas dug. If there was a way to prioritize mining I might let the miners have at it but right now the result is rather messy.

[Mungrul]

With DF 2010 I've found aquifers to be more prevalent, so I rarely plan my fortresses in as much detail as I used to in 40d.
Caverns similarly have a tendency to disrupt any planning.
So my fortresses these days are a lot more organic.

I think I'm going to start working on large above-ground structures to compensate, although the inability to engrave on constructed surfaces is a bit of a let-down.

[FritzPL]

(now I look at it it should have been made a little zoomed in)

Here you go,thats the plans of fortress as I do them. At the lower levels also big metalsmith stock room come in handy.

About the farm - yeah,I know I cant actually farm in stone. But if it would be soil(and usually there is a lot of soil near the ground level),that would work.
My old friend told me that 5x5 farm can sustain about 50 dwarves. Of course if carefully held.

You may also wonder why the entrance to the dining room is so large. On both sides of it I also place statues.

[wuphonsreach]

Organic.

The only thing I stress about is trying to find a mostly straight shot from surface to magma.

Major floors every 5 or 10 levels, and those will have smaller stairs/ramps that connect up/down to storage located on the Z +/- levels.  One major level will be dedicated to say "rock making crafts" like masons, mechanics and stonecrafts.

[Flying Dice]

I usually designate everything I plan to dig before I ever unpause, leaving a single tile wide gap between the central staircase and the planned dig on each z-level, so that all I have to do is add that single line whenever I'm ready for the miners to start work on that section. I do the same on individual z-levels with potential expansions of living quarters and workshop space.