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[Logiwonk]

Hello! Longtime DF play but my first post here. I played the previous version of DF a lot and have enjoyed 2014, but mostly play Masterwork now because of the extra threats available and all the extra content.

My problem is that I find my fortress design stagnating. I think I'm probably like a lot of players who end up building very similar forts over and over. Here is my common fortress design, largely based off of the High/Middle/Low Core design I read about but can't remember who's post it was.



The general principles of utilizing the Z axis, keeping stockpiles close to workshops, bedrooms far from noise, etc I get and feel I have incorporated. But this is DF and efficiency is a never ending quest, so any advice would be appreciated.

[Eldin00]

If improved efficiency is what you're after, you might consider a connection between the mining core and the central core at roughly the level where smelters and masonry workshops are located, and using a minecart setup to move the ore/stone from the mining core to the stockpiles in the central core (and possibly to move it up/down the mining core as well).

[Logiwonk]

Oh, thanks for the tip! I haven't really used minecarts at all since I tend to dig down rather than sideways, but this is an excellent idea! Thank you.

[Eldin00]

you can use minecarts to move stuff up and down the cores, too. You just need to provide power via either rollers or impulse ramps for the upward portion of the trip.

[Logiwonk]

Okay, I'm really excited about minecart systems now, can't wait to see how many dwarves manage to drink too much Sewer Brew and get run over by a speeding minecart.

[Naryar]

That cistern right on top of your main quarters looks Fun in case you do some poorly thought out digging. (It happens to us all)

Also yes... make more links between your main quarters and your mining quarters.

Also I feel that minecarts are poorly suited to their original use. (Moving up metals). They need lots of building and preparation, then you move stuff, then you must expand your minecart system when your veins are used.

Wheelbarrows, however, are awesome for stone/ore/heavy furniture hauling. Abuse them.

[Logiwonk]

Thanks Naryar, I am a big fan of wheelbarrows. The main reason for isolating the mining core of the fort was to channel any cave denizens, HFS, etc through the barrack area but it does impose a significant cost in terms of efficiency. It may be best to make more connections using bridges which could be raised in time of crisis, or just more trapped hallways connecting the two.

[Eldin00]

Also I feel that minecarts are poorly suited to their original use. (Moving up metals). They need lots of building and preparation, then you move stuff, then you must expand your minecart system when your veins are used.

I find that minecart systems are easy enough to set up and work well for moving heavy items across long horizontal distances. I agree that using minecarts for vertical transport is a lot more of a pain, and only sometimes worth the effort.

[taptap]

Don't make squares, boredom and stagnation problem solved. Also, you could settle in and around a cavern right away.

[Logiwonk]

Hmmm, no square rooms...that's intriguing, will try it.

[Fairin]

circular rooms have the benefit of being pretty, and that little extra storage i use for their specific manual quantum stockpile.

also if you open the caverns up (min 50) in the world gen, settle down there! nice wide open caverns, and the food comes right to you! well more often than not they think your food.. but still meat bones and stuff for everybody!

and funny story.. my last fort was designed nearly identical to that, 48 bedrooms, 12 per floor centered around a lobby and the central shaft, each one 3x3 luxury apartments leading down to a 3zlevel dining room with ample storage for food (above) and drink (below) with several barrels IN the dining room itself. the fort eventually produced a legendary carpenter / mason / boneworker / smith so i made them their own little forts with their own little workshops and quantum stockpiles >:3

[Logiwonk]

I have thought about settling the caverns, and sealing myself from the surface for a change of pace - trade is nice but not essential, but seige defense is one of the highlights of the game for me so perhaps settle caverns but still keep surface access.

[rjs71053]

The only thing that came to mind was the narrowness of the cores, specifically the mining core.  Since most of the really useful ores are in the uppermost layers (sedimentary) they tend to be minded out a lot more.  If your mining core is only accessing a small (if deep) cross section, you won't get that much out of the more useful top.

[Deboche]

Why make 2 or 3 different shafts? That seems very inefficient.

Why not have a 3x3 area with 3 or 5 tiles of up/down stairs go all the way from the surface to HFS and have everything branch off from that? That makes travelling between places much much faster. Then you wouldn't need to provide booze everywhere because when a dwarf gets to the stairs he goes up and down really fast.

Also you don't need to keep bedrooms at a distance from anything. When they complain about noise, it's because they don't have a door.

[Logiwonk]

Rjs, deboche thanks for the feedback.

Rjs - good point, the mining core does tend to sprawl a bit. I do a lot of horizontal mining on the appropriate layers. Just illustrating the idea of a single connection.

Deboche -you're absolutely right that a bit central stairway is more efficient but it'seems also harder to defend and masterwork is a threat-rich mod So there is a difficult balance between efficiency and safety.