New to the forum and still new to the game. I have been attempting to learn off and on for years but now finally think I have a grip on things...ish. My fort survives, I am smelting iron weapons (need more anvils but I know how to make them) got lots of food and drink. (Also a whole butt load of shells from fishing) Also I figured out trading and how that works so yay to me! However there are a few things I want to ask.
Is there any way to make a lot of bedrooms fast or does each one need to be manual? I made the rooms and thought I set them up as free to claim but didnt do it right so now I have 100 bedrooms to label as free to claim. Everything is built and placed, just not set for specific dwarves.
There's an option to make a bedroom a dormitory, making it a room (ideally that you've placed multiple beds in) that any dwarf can stop by and sleep in
If you mean a bedroom for each dwarf? Nope, the manual way is the only way
How deep does a moat need to be? Max depth of 7 or would 2 or 3 work fine? Will it drain off map if I put it right to the edge?
Depth isn't important (except for falling damage and that needs to be something on the order of ~35 z levels to be reliably kill goblins), width and an overhang is important, invaders can climb and leap now so you're going to want a floor tile overhanging the pit preventing things from climbing up (and it has to be a floor, walls will let them climb over, I don't think a two tile overhang have that issue) also it should be at least 3 tiles wide to keep invaders from leaping across (wider is better but I don't think non megabeasts will make the jump).
And yes, water will drain off the edge though you can't dig edge tiles (you can smooth then carve into fortifications which will let water drain though)
Do logs rot outside? Can I cut down all the trees on the map without worry? I understand hauling and storage in my fort doesnt want to get bogged down but I mean other than that. Will trees grow back faster if there are none to compete for space?
No, logs don't rot.
Yes you can cut them all down
No, I don't think space affects tree growth
Someone was found dead drained of blood, do I have a vampire?
Yes, happy hunting
Other than growing subterranean crops, anything else NEED to be underground? If I wanted to build a castle, should I carve it out of a mountain or build it free in the open? Aside from labor involved. If I make a castle, should it be in the middle of a map or right in the corner against the edge?
You don't NEED things underground, it's a lot easier though
I prefer to carve things out, think it looks nicer (and I'll admit to using DFhack's tiletypes to fix any mistakes) not to mention you'll be making a LOT of bricks (or heaven forbid hauling tons of stone) if you build it
And unless you KNOW invaders will only come from one direction (goblins usually will, megabeasts will come from wherever), building it in the middle (or at least the only entrance in the middle) is my advice
I have a lost artifact, how did someone loose it? (Its a scroll) I havent been able to find a way to trade artifacts since they are so valuable, not that I really needed too but I want to know if I can.
You can't trade them and I don't think artifacts can be atom smashed, they might be loseable in the magma sea but odds are it was stolen by a goblin or a kobold, guard your stuff better
Ive got a lot of coke laying about, will it get stored in bins eventually? I noticed some bins for iron and copper getting set but the coke is filling my stockpiles with iron and copper lingering around as well.
Yes, coke are bars, stockpiled under bars: other materials
You may just be lacking stockpile space, bins, and/or haulers
I told my military squad to equip metal armor but they are leaving iron and copper stuff on the ground without wearing any armor themselves, am I missing something with the game logic?
There are tons of guides to help with military given how confusing it is, but did you ever actually schedule them to be active so they'll go on duty and get suited up?