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[Erk]

I'm against this. I prefer the idea i saw a while ago of being able to turn off display of certain item types, so that the excess stone was removed from view. Its primary offense, besides blocking a few kinds of stockpile, is just that it looks annoying. If that were turn-offable, it would not be a problem.

I already find the excavation methods semimagical. Making something even more evapourative than Mine would be really pushing it.

[Mikademus]

Unskilled miners take many swings of the pick to clear a space, and each swing makes a small chip of stone. Skilled miners carve out large swathes of rock with each swing. The point isn't that the unskilled miners are destroying rock; it's that the rock they generate isn't useful for crafts, and thus isn't shown.

Yeah, I've heard that explanation, and I'm sure it was the intention, but I just can't accept it; I can't suspend my disbelief in this case.  The fact of the matter is that the unskilled dwarves hack at the stone so much that it evaporates into the air, and the air manages to circulate it all out such that the dwarves don't end up getting lung cancer or something.  However, maybe that at least could explain why unskilled dwarves take so long to mine out a single tile.  It takes a while to turn rock into microscopic particles small enough to be picked up easily by air.  But by golly, those unskilled dwarves are stubborn and don't know any better, and actually think they're serving a good purpose.  And of course they actually are, in many cases.  Maybe legendary dwarves just get attached to the rocks too much to be willing to obliterate them, except in those rare occasions where they just accidentally hit the rock a single time so hard that it vanishes.

Stones in the DF universe have different atomic couplings than ours. When hit in the wrong way they can even disintegrate. Thus, it takes skill to excavate it so it remains. This also explains why it is very fast to dig through, why it can be carried around is it is, and why craftdwarves waste so much of it when doing small trinkets.

On a related note, sand is less viscous than on Earth, and can be excavated. Water too is thicker, which is probably why it wreaks havoc with dwarves' digestion.

Actually, it ends up being just short of 40 cubic feet of stone- that's assuming 1/7 of water is enough to keep someone alive for a month. I've talked about that elsewhere. Anyway, It still works out that for each tile you mine out of the mountain, there should be a new tile of debris filled in somewhere else.

Please, I implore you, use a sensible measurement system!

[Royal Surveyor]

I agree with UI tedium for dumping stone; it seems to be a good way to get carpal tunnel.  What about having a Designation for dumping (make it a capital Z or X or something) and then designate a room full of stone (or idols) for the trash heap?  It could work like the forbid/claim settings in designate.

I am with Tamren here. As long as no reasonable hauling improvements are implemented, an excavate option is mandatory for large building projects. Currently, even 200 haulers can't keep up with 10 legendary miners. And then there is the even bigger problem of the UI-tedium for the player.

[Neoskel]

Just cover the place in kennels/workshops except for one spot where you want the stone, the builders will move all the stone into nice compact piles from the building site, then you can deconstruct the kennels/workshops and do whatever you want with the wide open space. Just one dwarf will concentrate on the one task of moving all the stone in each 5x5 or 3x3 area, so your other 199 slackers can go eat, drink and sleep.

[Quift]

Meh, hauling is what excavation is really about. having DF mines look more like RL mines with a few miners at the bottom, and most of the "miners" doing hauling, compacting and gravel outside the mine would be a huge benefit.

I agree that one time of unmined stone should create 7/7 tile of stone and slag elsewhere. Slag should get dumped in wheelbarrows and would create gravel-tiles outside. you could build hills outside in gravel that would count as landscaping, or use it as landfill in huge construction projects.

Good miners create usable stone which means less slag. about 3/4 instead of 7/7.

[Granite26]

I've never had any problems with excess stone...  (Of course, I built a large stone warehouse with crafters workshops on repeat, but hey)  The short answer is a large crafts pile with bins, and a couple of full time craftsdwarves.

The best way to deal with stone is large construction projects.  Think 5x5 defense towers with Catapults.  (I've also got 7 catapults on 'fire at will' for practice).  Two stories up is the outlook for the archers.  Anyway, a 5x5 tower actually runs 7x7, which is basically 50 stone per floor, and 3 stories.  Keeps the masons happy and paid when I don't need furniture, gives me bonus storage space, and uses stone.

Map I'm playing now has a 10x10ish tower running up the side of the cliff, with bridges across at certain points.  It's 7 stories.   Every other story has a craftsdwarf on repeat trade goods and a 3x4 bin laden goods pile.  The odd stories are just stone piles.

The only problem with this setup is that the caravans aren't big enough to trade away all the crafts you make. 

[Draco18s]

With the help of the utility DFWall I've been building a desert Hanging Gardens.  55x55x10 or so.  Up two levels, shrink by 6, up two levels, shrink by 6, up 2 levels, shrink by 6 to meet with the walls of the central water tower, which itself is 13x13 and runs a double-helix of water up from two levels underground to 8 levels in the air).

I've currently used over 2000 stones.

[Granite26]

With the help of the utility DFWall I've been building a desert Hanging Gardens.  55x55x10 or so.  Up two levels, shrink by 6, up two levels, shrink by 6, up 2 levels, shrink by 6 to meet with the walls of the central water tower, which itself is 13x13 and runs a double-helix of water up from two levels underground to 8 levels in the air).

I've currently used over 2000 stones.

dude... how do you power that?  (10 levels * 2 pumps = 20 = about 10 windmills, not crazy, but damn....

[Draco18s]

Aquifer.  I've got a 4 waterwheel physics-breaker.

[Tamren]

180x27x27. beat that . Its been hollowed out since but its still damn huge.

I agree with quifit in that good miners generate more usable stone instead of simply more boulders. If and when we get an upgraded mining system then tracking things like slag and waste rock would have to go in. But until then, excavate would be great.

[Puzzlemaker]

Zomg mass dump is implemented!

HOORAY!

[Login]

Just a question.

Why are there no mining carts (15 or 30 stone max)horse or dragon powered.
Or a big conveyer belt system? Powerd by a windmill? 

The point is you need to keep the drop of zone for rocks so close as possible. And let the machine (conveyerbelt) do the long transport of the stone to the factory. This would limit the amount of hauling for your dwarfs.   
                * |          |          |         |   *
D+stone in_========================_out stone (for mass projects)
                \STONE/  \STONE/   \STONE/


D   lots of STONE  lots of STONE
D+ \_________/ + \__________/ = STRONG DWARF with lots of stone. 
D    0           0      0            0           

For clearing up rooms fast. And only let the dwarf leave untill the room is 
empty. The skill of the Dwarf limits the amount of carts the dwarf is allowed to push. [novice 2 grandmaster 6?].
                                   

[Techhead]

Slag, a common byproduct of steel, I heard makes great fertilizer.
Finally something more sensible than using burnt trees.

Waste rock I heard has its uses too. Like gravel. And landfill.
See also, Construction aggregate

[Erk]

I honestly don't think there'll be much worry about excess stone after the new update is out...

[Tamren]

Yes, its a great solution. Now it will be possible for dumping to keep up with stone production.

The next time we need to worry about it is when stone in general gets revamped. And we get to do more complex stuff with it.