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[Kuria]

When I started playing DF, centuries ago, the thing I hated MOST about the experience was how LONNGG it took from feeling the urge to actually getting into gameplay. I'm always starting fresh every six months to a year, so I download the binaries (OKAY the lazy newb pack), roll a new world, search for the perfect location, painstakingly craft my expedition party, and before I can hit unpause I've spent as much as an hour or more, and that's all before untangling the military interface enough to keep me alive.

Well I guess it's true what they say, all things change. With my rising interest in an iterative fortress design that newly incorporates a temple, library, museum, and tavern housing - trying to balance efficiency and my own personal aesthetic moods - I just spent the better part of a day NOT JUST designing the core of a new fortress, but marking the third fortress in the same world, something I haven't really done at all before. (I blame Kruggsmash, honestly.)

After unparalleled economic success in the temperate northern reaches of the continent, around their Mountainhomes, the growing empire Arbostvirzulgar ("The Deified Humble Ship") has launched an ambitious expedition to the heart of the snow-wreathed south. After months of travel, and led by a youthful and brazen woodcutter named Mafol Borushfeb, The Persuasive Claws took refuge in a glade that felt both wild and joyous just in time for a mid-autumn blizzard. When the weather passed, a banner (bearing an image of seven giant bobcats - the expedition members - and a corpse - any opposition. The seven giant bobcats are devouring the corpse. The corpse is unnaturally contorted) had been planted, and the outpost Gast Ushilvumshar ("Cleaves the Icy Gloom") was founded in the year 258 where Elves and Humans dare not tread. Strike the earth!

Well wait, don't strike the earth yet, Madame Expedition Leader, because the architects want to discuss some "ideas" they have. I don't know, Lolor and Dodok have been talking to Alath, and I guess he just finished an annex course in creative design, and, well... take a look at this.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

And here's what they're thinking for the workshops, up one level. They swear it's an ancient symbol of healing, before you get the wrong idea.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Does anyone else enjoy fussing over their forts this much now and then? I feel like if I can nerd out about DF RP and fort design anywhere in this terrible backwater timeline it might be here. Anyone else tinkering with the developing (new, to me) Location and memory (mood) mechanics that feels like sharing? Or just feeling goofy? Questions, comments, or(/and) snide remarks? Bring it!

[Vikram]

You certainly aren't alone in being obsessive about designing your fort. Building grand structures and sprawling underground halls is most of the appeal of dwarf fortress, for me. Now that dwarfs are actually somewhat sane... they've become rather boring. I'd rather play Rimworld for those RP feels. But tearing resources out of the earth and molding the landscape to fit my mind's eye? DF is still king in that regard.

I love the look of your design, and the compactness of everything. When I look at those one-tile bedrooms though, I feel as if dwarves just aren't demanding enough. It's not as satisfying to build ridiculously fancy dining halls and furniture filled rooms for my dwarves when you realize that they'd be more or less satisfied with a hole in the wall.

I'll also take the time to shill my own creation, Speardragon. This is my best fortress yet, in terms how satisfied I am with the aesthetics of it all-

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

https://imgur.com/a/m9XR00e Here's an album showing off each building.

[Immortal-D]

One tip; In DFHack, enter "digcircle filled 24" (radius number).  Enjoy.

[Kuria]

I love Speardragon! Damn, that really looks spectacular, I doubt my computer could run that front end, it chugs along pretty hard with 200 dwarves just using newb pack and Phoebus. Is that Masterwork, or some other cool thing I haven't checked out? Thanks for sharing 

Cleaves the Icy Gloom still lives, and I'm just starting to engrave the bedrooms and attractions. The bedrooms for the common dwarfs are 1x3, and feed into each other, kind of branching up. I've played with this design a lot. My last base it looked more like a maple leaf, with the noble housing (three connected 3x3 rooms that fit into the 1x3 room pattern) breaking up the sections of the leaf. (ETA: Ah! I found a design pic )

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ultimately the smaller rooms will have one each of cabinet and chest in economic stone. I set my fort right in dolomite, so I'm soaking in expensive stone, and my +5 legendary engraver is working his way around the residential level. The dining room just ticked over into legendary happy thoughts!

I mean, I'm basically turtling behind cage traps so far on this fort, don't even have a military yet, but I sort of agree with you about the difficulty level once you understand the mechanics, and I'd love to see (is this a scary thing to hope for?) deeper gameplay. It seems that Toady is interested in making difficult experiences going forward, so I'll be looking forward to whatever comes next. The mood system really is fascinating, and I wonder what models of trauma he's studying to build dwarfbrains.

Rimworld is another great game for sure, but for me DF lands squarely in a sweet spot between hustle-survival games like Rimworld or Don't Starve and gamey builders like Banished or Stonehearth. I've also been spending a loooot of time in Oxygen not included in the last year, as the updates keep coming out and raising the bar relentlessly. But the difficulty is engineering, not gunfights, and it's not quite so arbitrarily punishing as Rimworld. That's more my speed. And cute. Cute is always a plus!

Speaking of cute, I can't wait to post more pictures of this fort once those levels are all smoothed and possibly engraved! Dwarf outposts have followed us out to this frozen, empty part of the world and it's really quite neat to take world development into consideration for my NEXT fort!

Immortal, I am using a few pieces of DFHack stuff, but I haven't really picked at any of the commands. I wasn't trying to make circles on this fort, I was looking for more organic shapes that kind of folded together. Actually, before I added the library/museum "cap" it looked almost like a brain, which was really interesting and I may explore that in a future base - but I had a vision for this three-hall layout this time around. Like, this society reflects on their faith and the wisdom of their royalty, but all stand before the study of and search for knowledge! So of course the library had to be at the top. I even made the museum linked to the "private" library, so only Cleavesfolk may view our greatest treasures!

[Loud Whispers]

Horizontal Forts may not be the most efficient of designs but they do allow for more readily gorgeous aesthetic design. Deeper gameplay is probably the imperative value for DF, and Armok help us all when the goblin learns to dig. How much would you say of DF is executing a carefully planned design, or reacting to the events which unfold? That may help you on your impulse -> gameplay line

[Blucher]

The image in the first picture looks like a dwarf.  (Hands to either side, top is the head, commoner quarters are the flowing beard, etc.  Even the bottom kinda-sorta looks like legs.)

Very nice design.  I really want to steal the workshop setup.

[Pvt. Pirate]

i always go for a rather elaborate multilevel entryway with traps, bridges over a spikepit to drop the invaders onto with fortifications behind/above them leading to the tradedepot, hospital and tavern/temple.
then a few levels below, the real fortress is built of 11x11 rooms(or roomsections like 11x11 bedroom design for 20 bedrooms) with 2 tile thick walls, either 4 or 2 tile wide corridors and a central 24x24 meeting hall, the workshops needing wood or food somewehere near the way down from the entrance and all other workshops and their stockpiles on the levels below.
the hardest part is actually the entryway, because it has to fit the landscape and also have a stairwell downward better nearer to the center of the embark and it's always a struggle between short access ways and security.
a long way from a spotted enemy so triggers can be pulled also means a long way for my dorfs to enter the fort when fishing/hunting/gathering/cutting trees.
i tried a drowning chamber once and it failed because the werebeast could run through it faster than my dorfs could close the gates.