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[PiCroft]

Has anyone got any neat stuff they've built that you feel really proud of? Something that defined a particular fortress? It can be a particular layout or design, a certain structure, even a certain theme.

An example I sadly no longer have: I found a pretty tough start point in a wintry land that happened to have lots of flux, metals, a magma pipe and so on. I couldn't get crops outside and there was no (unfrozen) exterior source of water so I had to rapidly dig in, find the water pool I knew was there cos of the prospector, and set up an elaborate "trickle-down" method of flooding rooms, then opening a floodgate in the floor to drain off the water.

Its very basic, I know but I haven't constructed anything even remotely close to the level of sophistication and ingenuity some people here have, so it was something I was quite proud of for one of my first attempts.

Be sure to post some details, if possible, on how you built it. I for one would love to kow how one goes about constructing a Clocktower!

[Mephansteras]

My current large project involves a very large bridge across a valley. It's only midly necessary, since technically there are slopes around to get from one side to the other. But I felt the bridge was a nice touch.

Taking forever to build, though. That fort is in year 6, and we've used about 1000 Gabbro Blocks building the bridge and surrounding roads already. And it's not even close to complete yet. I have finally gotten the main crossing done, though, and I've seen a few caravans actually use it. Always a nice feeling.

[MathijsBuster]

I remember being so happy getting my first underground irrigation project done.

It's such a simple concept, but the thrill when it finally works the first time is great!

Basically it consisted of an underground room, two canals connecting to a nearby river, two floodgates and a lever. And a big hole were the excess water could poor into.

Turned out underground tiles only need to get wetted once in order for them to become muddy and useable for farming forever more.

Still, it was my first 'big' project.

Later I build things such as outside towers, barracks, etc.
But they felt less rewarding when finished. I guess if it involves water there's always more chance of it going dramatically wrong. xD

[Soadreqm]

One of my earliest forts was (and still is) a canyon. I walled off a section, with floodgates, and now I have a huge water reservoir I can empty with a single lever. And a windmill farm providing power to a stack of pumps, and several rooms filled with levers in case I ever need to individually open or close any floodgates instead of just flooding everything. And most of the rooms with levers in them can be shut off of rest of the fort with a lever operated floodgate, as a security measure in case everything starts flooding.

The same fort has also expanded outward a bit from the initial hole in the cliffside. Outdoor fortifications and bridges and stuff. And the gem mining operation in the chasm is an unintentionally complex maze of bridges, tunnels and stairs. I'm going to have to build something important or valuable down there, just to have an excuse to take an adventurer there later.

[corc]

I made a pretty big arena, but I think I'm more proud of the glass hallway I made through the center of a lava pipe.

http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-2933-lancethinned

[Dareon Clearwater]

I was really happy to get my obsidian works up and running.  On a desert map with aquifer and magma pipe, I basically had three buildings:  The magma reservoir and water tank, the pump tower from the aquifer, and a perpetual motion power plant (That actually didn't work quite right, since the water still evaporated during summer.).

It took me a few tries to get the obsidian mining setup working right (Eventually went with grates as bridges, a little more work to mine, but it eliminated miners getting stuck and pools of still-hot lava that I had with the first couple tests.), but it was still a great feeling to get everything roofed over and sealed up properly.  Plus it was hilarious to go into the fort in adventurer mode, turn on the water pumps, and walk into the water tank.  Half the time I'd just start drowning, the other half I'd get shoved back by the flow and fall down the stairs.

[Derakon]

I made a pretty big arena, but I think I'm more proud of the glass hallway I made through the center of a lava pipe.

How in blazes did you accomplish that?

[aelystur]

   with my current fort I am quite proud of my irrigated traders entrance. (im playting ina  2x2 map with 1 layer of auifer. saves on cpu, and makes for easy flooding/draining when properly set up)

   off to the edge of the map I have a road built with walls on either side and a floodgate 3 wide at entrance, and a series of pumps to flood the entrance. The road is 3x36 with a ramp leading down 2 levels. then takes sharp 90 degree turn and heads in 3x16 with a  ramp heading north up 1 level (drain at the end here 3x floodgate and floor grates leading to aquifer and a 1x wider tunnel for access to leavings of drowned invaders/traders)

  At the top of the ramp is another flood gate. road takes another turn for another 3x5 distance with a flood gate to lock off trade depot.  the trade depot area has just enough room for the depot and a blank 1x5 area jsut before the depot lock. theres a door for access to depot for trading I only make passable during trading.

   Just before the depot lock I have  a 2x wide tunnel in a U shape as a trap lure for invaders with 2 chains to put anmimals in as an alarm. the beginning fo this tunnel starts witha  flood gate. just inside the lure tunnel (with enough room so the "alarm animal doesnt block the gate) I have chained an animal (usually a mule. last longer than the cougers I managed to get) then just past the corner in the tunnel is another chained animal. 

   Just before the next corner is my hammer traps (had to do something with the hammers my weapon smith was pumping out) 22 traps in total atm. this allows me to keep the lure open just a bit longer in case of a larger invasion. at the inside end of lure tunner is 2 pumps to flood the tunnel block and entrance into fortress. (due to leaking I had to wall off this area and used a door. switch for the lure tunnel gate and pump are on this end.) the main flood controls are in my dining room area.
 
  when I'm invaded, the traders are either safely in trade depot, or have decided im not worth the trouble, I close the depot lock.   

   when the invaders reach my hammer trap, I turn on the lure tunnel pump, close the main gate and turn on the main flood pumps. (I usually waite for invders to hit hammer pumps to get as many as them as possible. they are my main source of iron after all.)
 
   when invaders are safely drowned, I turn off all pumps, and open the drains. ( I later added 2 drain tunnel with gates to my lure tunnel to speed up drainage) when everything is drained, I lock off the lure tunnel for safe recovery of junk. when traders are finished and ready to leave I unlock trader depot and open main gate, and close drain (if finished draining) when traders are gone, I lock main gate, and open everything inside for easy recovery.

   my largest invasion toook 2 seasons with 40 hauling dwarves. close to 40 invaders I believe. (half my haulers have legendary skills and walk a fair speed) I usually suspend whatever production tasks are set to speed up recovery

[Doppel]

I made a pretty big arena, but I think I'm more proud of the glass hallway I made through the center of a lava pipe.

How in blazes did you accomplish that?

Seconded, i would love to know how you did that. I assume pumping magma out somewhere?

[Danaru]

Be sure to post some details, if possible, on how you built it. I for one would love to kow how one goes about constructing a Clocktower!

Jennifer McUrist cancels escape: Interrupted by Scissordwarf

[SirPenguin]

My only grand engineering project was my 'lungcrusher' death chamber.

I made a 10 z-level water reservoir. The bottom level had floodgates surrounding a 5x5 section. The next level had a 3x3, and the last 1x1...if you can visualize it, it looked basically like a funnel connected to a large bottle of water.

Anyways, the 1x1 channel dropped into a single room. This room was at the end of a long hallway where I kept my jails. As needed, I'd plop goblins in there, and a pull a lever...thousands upon thousands of gallons of water would suddenly land on top of his head. Oh sure, the game TELLS me he drowned...but I know he actually died of a very bad case of the 'crushed the death'.

[Deon]

This is the one I'm a bit proud of. It lacks mechanisms or malevolent designs, but it's beautiful for me.
http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=17311.0

[Grek]

A carp meat factory. Carp infested water goes in one side and the carp are filtered out with grates and spike traps. Tasty meat and carp bone artifacts are made.

[Joseph Miles]

I'd have to say the WireShove death drop. 14-15  z-level drop, some landing on spikes. The drop platform was a 10x10 platform, all bauxite. Along the edges of it was a 3 space walkway, all made of bauxite, as were both walls. It took a total of two straight years working on only the dead drop until it was finally finished, then I unleashed my beautiful death drop upon the entire fort, the all piled in for a special meeting. Little did they know it would be their last. The lever was pulled! Dwarves fell! Cats fells! Kittens and puppies were crushed on the ground and spikes below! Body parts flew everywhere BWHUAHAHAHA! MY BEAUTIFUL CREATION! KILL THE MEAN LITTLE DWARVES! KILL! KILLLL!!!!! MWHUAHAHA-ha...ha.... Ahem, okay I think I'm done now...

[Tenebrous]

I also played a fortress over a river valley once... It seemed that no traders wanted to appear on the side of the valley where my Dwarves were, so I built a road over the valley for them, isolated from my expansive private gardens.

Thus was the Ilral Highway. I named it after an immigrant hauler who de-constructed the wrong wall early during construction. It took a lot of constructions and most of my Rhyolite, but eventually I had a road which encompassed every possible entry point for traders on my map, including several walled bridges (to keep invaders from sniping my Dwarves) which crossed the valley and ended on my entrance tower (above my inviolate gardens).

I was quite happy with it, until I realized that Goblin ambushers (slow as they are) were almost always infesting the highway, preventing trade and immigration. At least the Goblin leader (Master Thief) came in person to my fortress to admire my war dogs architecture before I abandoned...

I was also a bit happy with a failed Obsidian Farm, which resulted in spear of obsidian over the valley below and a lot of collapsing (I actually couldn't turn it off due to damages and bad lever placement). Basically, I demanded to know what happened when a waterfall and a magmafall collided.

There was a nice goblin drowning chamber too, but in retrospect it wasn't too impressive... I also had to add bars after my first few uses, because captured goblins/macaques/HFS crazies would tend to swim up the pipes to freedom . It did introduce me to the idea of destroying items with a dishwasher design, though.