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[AndreaReina]

I hope this hasn't been answered somewhere, I did a search but didn't find anything.

Like it says on the tin, will trade caravans only spawn where there's a path to the depot? So if I carved my embark area into a U-shaped valley like so (green=original ground level, yellow=-1 z-level, red=-2 z-levels):
#########
#########
#########
#########
#########
#DDFFF###
#DDFFF###
#########
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and removed up-ramps so that they're only 1 tile wide (thus impassable to wagons), would that force the caravan to spawn at the northern edge of the map? What about elf caravans, does the fact that they don't have wagons change their spawning behavior, or do they follow the same rules?

[Elvang]

If there is only one 3x3 spot on the edge of the map for wagons to spawn, that is where they will spawn, so long as the trade depot is accessible. Diplomats, traders with pack animals, etc, will spawn wherever.

[Quietust]

Diplomats, traders with pack animals, etc, will spawn wherever.

Not true - caravans will always prefer to spawn at a wagon-accessible location even if they don't have wagons (i.e. Elves). However, caravans won't necessarily spawn at any wagon-accessible location - it needs to be accessible to their civlization as well, so if your embark region is bisected by a river you might need to make sure you've got a wagon entry point on each side.

[Garath]

Diplomats, traders with pack animals, etc, will spawn wherever.

Not true - caravans will always prefer to spawn at a wagon-accessible location even if they don't have wagons (i.e. Elves). However, caravans won't necessarily spawn at any wagon-accessible location - it needs to be accessible to their civlization as well, so if your embark region is bisected by a river you might need to make sure you've got a wagon entry point on each side.

I've had the pack animals spawn some way away from my only wagon accessible point. Still, very close by, so it's not a random "anywhere"

[Quietust]

If that's the case, then something major changed between 0.31.25 and 0.34 with regards to caravan arrival behavior...

[AndreaReina]

Not true - caravans will always prefer to spawn at a wagon-accessible location even if they don't have wagons (i.e. Elves). However, caravans won't necessarily spawn at any wagon-accessible location - it needs to be accessible to their civlization as well, so if your embark region is bisected by a river you might need to make sure you've got a wagon entry point on each side.

Is there a way to check whether a spot is accessible to the civilization? I'd like to run a road to the traders will actually use, though I understand I better have an army first as it will count towards wealth and therefore siege bait.

[Garath]

If that's the case, then something major changed between 0.31.25 and 0.34 with regards to caravan arrival behavior...

might be. Mostly in 34.07 I've had the pack animals and wagons spawn at close, but not a the same point quite regularly. The distnace was small, 6 to 11 squares at most, but I'm pretty sure I remember this correctly

[Steforian]

Not true - caravans will always prefer to spawn at a wagon-accessible location even if they don't have wagons (i.e. Elves). However, caravans won't necessarily spawn at any wagon-accessible location - it needs to be accessible to their civlization as well, so if your embark region is bisected by a river you might need to make sure you've got a wagon entry point on each side.

Is there a way to check whether a spot is accessible to the civilization? I'd like to run a road to the traders will actually use, though I understand I better have an army first as it will count towards wealth and therefore siege bait.

I believe the key to check for trade access is shift+d

[Quietust]

Not true - caravans will always prefer to spawn at a wagon-accessible location even if they don't have wagons (i.e. Elves). However, caravans won't necessarily spawn at any wagon-accessible location - it needs to be accessible to their civlization as well, so if your embark region is bisected by a river you might need to make sure you've got a wagon entry point on each side.

Is there a way to check whether a spot is accessible to the civilization? I'd like to run a road to the traders will actually use, though I understand I better have an army first as it will count towards wealth and therefore siege bait.

I believe the key to check for trade access is shift+d

No, that only tells you which squares are wagon-accessible from your trade depot.

[Triaxx2]

Agreed. even if you build a bridge across the river, they seem to only spawn in a single location. I built a bridge across a canyon and found they wouldn't spawn where it was accessible, so I built the bridge, and then they spawned in the same spot, and went across and around.

[AndreaReina]

Good to know. It'll be some time before the fortress is ready to do major earthworks on the exterior so I'll have time to see where they show up.