I've set up some new raw modifications along with Modest Mod and am testing them out in 42.05. One mod I got elsewhere puts season restrictions on all crops and makes them take longer to grow (like, multiple seasons longer). The other mod I did myself with help from Deeper Dwarven Domestication; basically, I removed the [COMMON_DOMESTIC] tag from everything except dogs and gave the animals that previously had them wild populations (I also made all hauling animals ubiquitous to their environments, to ensure that every civilization always got haulers). My intent was that every civilization would (realistically) only have domesticated local animals. Other than the fact that only hauling animals seem to get domesticated, it's working as planned.
So, to test it all out I'm making a long-term fort. The embark? 3x3 savage tundra. Perfectly flat, except for the upper right corner which contains some evil cliffs and a volcano. I've got no neighbors, not even goblins, and my civilization is dead or dying. No trees, and almost no plants. There's no river, though the first cavern contains water. It's got soil, sand (no clay unfortunately), tetrahedrite all over the surface, some hematite in the first cavern, no flux spotted yet. I embarked with 3 miners, a mason, a mechanic and 2 farmers (brewing/herbalist and cooking/herbalist) as well as plenty of dogs. First thing I did was carve out a little underground living space below the tundra and dug until I hit the caverns, then set up some wells. First migrant wave had nothing but farmers, one of whom happen to also be a miner. Second migrant wave had a woodcrafter (who's going to be reassigned to being a glassmaker), a furnace operator and a blacksmith. I made the furnace operator my manager (because he had the organizer skill) and my book keeper (to conserve furniture), then he became king in the spring. Sold some statues to the caravan in the fall for food, booze and more dogs. No outpost liaison showed up. Third migrant wave contained, among other less important dwarfs, a mason, a stoneworker, an armorsmith, a doctor and a great potential scholar (Competent in Mechanics, Optics Engineer, Reading, Writing and Wordsmith). Oh, and the cliff throw the odd undead beastie my way now and then.
It's......different from what I've done before.
But you know what?
I love it!
Without any neighbors and a dead civilization, no one will come along and bug me. There's no need to make trade goods since there's no caravans, and without any sieges to worry about my defensive trapline needn't be tremendously large. And of course, without any sieges to come along and clog up my cage traplines, I can capture and tame surface creatures to my heart's content. I will have giant polar bears trained for war guarding my fort, and herds of elk, muskox and reindeer supplying me food and wool! Just need to get the magma smelter and magma forge set up, as well as the magma glass furnace. You need glass for greenhouses, after all!
Edit: woodcrafter just had a strange mood. Good thing I got wood from the caravan too. Also, I got my fourth batch of immigrants in early summer (including a weaponsmith and another 2 mechanics, WOOHOO!), so maybe my civilization isn't dead.