So as of lately my mind has wandered and many ideas for things that could be added to DF have been swimming through my head so i want to compile them all on to one big post. I'll say now that I may be putting in suggestions that have already been suggested or Toady has confirmed/denied for the game, if such is the case please tell me, I'll put links to other topics that have already suggested the same thing of me and ill make note if they've been confirmed/denied.
ScaffoldingIt's no secret that building in DF can be slow and painful, Dwarves trapping themselves in construction, having to build stairs to make a roof, having to make platforms next to walls when building on top of walls, sometimes there's just so many things that get in the way of building an awesome fort that you can show off in a 3D render. My solution is simple, scaffolding, it would be easily contructed with raw would, could be climbed like stairs and stood on like a floor, but here are some factors that would make it more fun, first when dealing with collapses it only factors in other scaffolding when it comes to support, and it would work vise versa ie you cant support a cavern or a wall with scaffolding, this would also make it easy to dissemble as long as your Dwarves are clear of the area, but it would aslo be considered a building so when building destroyers come along they would target and quickly destroy it which could easily cause your masons to be crushed by a splintery mess.
Dwarven Entertainmentthis next section will deal with things Dwarves can do to keep themselves happy in their off time
TheaterA theater would be a room that would consist of an area designated for a stage and an area designated for an audience most likely with some chairs, Dwarves would come to theaters during their breaks in order to relax and enjoy music or a play which I will mention later.
MusicThere's already insurments in the game so why not music, certain Dwarves may play music, some being bards playing in the hallways of your residential district or in the dining hall during dinner, some may assemble bands and orchestras playing for large groups in theaters, some dwarves will compose music, it would be a skill that you wouldn't be able to force a dwarf to do they would do it on their own time, it would take up no resources, when complete it will state what the song is about even though you cant hear it, much like how an engraving states what it's about even though you can't see it, it would say how many Dwarves would be required for the song, 1 if the dwarf is a solo bard, or maybe 10 or more if the Dwarf is an orchestra director, it would also say the amount of instruments and vocal parts it would need, some songs may need lots of stage room and some may need none at all, Dwarves will react positively or negatively based on how well the piece is performed and written and the writer will react positively or negatively based on how well their piece is enjoyed.
Playsplays would be very similar to music in a way, Dwarves would write them on their own time, the amount of Dwarves and possibly even trained animals needed would be displayed along with what its about, It may also require props, training weapons statues ect, and if a Dwarf has music talents they may write a musical.
Arena FightsAn arena would consists of 2 areas a pit and the viewing stands, a pit would be an area were anyone watching will be entertained by fights and won't run away from monsters if their in the pit, unless the monster flies up to attack them or is spitting acid or something, and th stands would be a viewing area with seats,the arena could be used to amuse your dwarves by having military dwarves beat up unarmed goblins, but each fight would give more hapiness the closer the fight is, ie the more even the amount of damage each side has dealt to each other is, you could pit monsters against each other or elves against unarmed goblins (goblins would still probably win).
I have a lot more but I'm gonna post it later, tell me what you think so far and feel free to give suggestions.