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[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

You know you do it. You'll have a flash of inspiration for some epic new idea, and you'll scribble it down somewhere, be it a simple windmill or an upside down pyramid made of soap full of magma. Post those mad, mad unworkable plans in the hope that someone even madder than you will take it on, or that those less insane bow to your towering madness.
Yeah.
Here's mine, a prison tower of ULTIMATE EVIL.

[PTTG??]

A fortress under a lake, with the only access being a trapdoor in a little wood cabin by the shore.
The cabin, fortress, and lake are all made from scratch.
I'm right now digging out the lake.

My idea: pour lava into the sea to make a hill of obsidian, then make this your fortress.

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

Do want pics.
I wanted to recreate Lincoln Cathedral as a cathedral of Armok.

[Duke 2.0]

 Idea: 1x1 magma pipe fortress. But no mere magma pipe fortress, for it is located in one region square that contains the magma. Tear down the first couple of z-levels to turn the magma pipe into a volcanic crater around said magma pipe. Build a castle on supports over magma crater. Have a shaft down said pipe into the real fortress, built around the pipe.

 Because you will need to drain a bit of the pipe to make the entrance shaft, build windows everywhere and pray your population won't tantrum.

[Rhenaya]

right now i am working on a huge project, its secret so i cant tell the name, and i am running at 10 fps so it will take a while >: but i will post it someday then i get to finish it, in this version or start it again in the next version

[Greiger]

I always wanted to create the Blackbird from Chrono Trigger.

But even with gravity off and the new construction stuff it's still to daunting for my patience.  I mean the thing was big enough to be an entire dungeon.  Imagine trying to recreate it room for room.

[Rilder]

Fortress plan

When I first saw that I thought:

"Dwarven Rocket"

[Sinergistic]

So what do you guys generally do when looking for inspiration for a fortress design? What websites to you browse? Books?

Trying to figure how I want the interior to look, and I just can't put my finger on it, so I've been googling things like "crazy architecture" and "fractal architecture" looking for ideas.

Also; Hi Rilder.

[Jim Groovester]

I got this maddening idea to build a giant ice block on a test tundra fortress when I discovered that ice walls can be built by bucket brigade.

So my next fortress will be a giant ice fortress, carved from a giant ice cube, that will make my enemies tremble in the cold fear.

So what do you guys generally do when looking for inspiration for a fortress design? What websites to you browse? Books?

I find watching and remembering the Lord of the Rings movies sets me in the perfect mood for architectural megalomania.

[Dareon Clearwater]

I've tried creating dwarven Rapture off and on.  My last attempt, I actually drew up plans on grid paper for the large brass lighthouse that would be the only aboveground structure.  That plan was cut short by carp.

[Splendiferous]

I always have a central staircase in my fort wrapped around a circular pillar of un-mined stone. I've always fancied hollowing it out and filling it with lava, placing floodgates in it at every level first. and when the time comes (read: when my computer begins to lag) my current leader goes suicidal, shuts all the doors, pulls the lever, and watches 120 dwarves trying to avoid the white hot magma encroaching on every square in the fort, until it slowly envelopes the entire place. there is no greater end to a fortress than that.

So what do you guys generally do when looking for inspiration for a fortress design? What websites to you browse? Books?

I think of Moria. The rest is easy.

[A_Fey_Dwarf]

I planned this fort out a while ago but I never really finished it:


The map file of what i eventually got to (and then gave up on): http://www.mkv25.net/dfma/map-3805-gearedripe

[TettyNullus]

So what do you guys generally do when looking for inspiration for a fortress design? What websites to you browse? Books?

Trying to figure how I want the interior to look, and I just can't put my finger on it, so I've been googling things like "crazy architecture" and "fractal architecture" looking for ideas.

Also; Hi Rilder.

Historical huge buildings, esperically those huge churchs ( catheridels? I forget how to spell it ) and movies, novels can provide for the inspirations. Though some's come out of imagination or natural result of working and expanding 

[krukef]

Shh, such petty plans.

Sigh, I just spent a day building 300 hatch covers and 1000 mechanisms just for the first 'welcome' trap of my dungeon. Unfortunately the enourmous wealth created by my godlike chefs attracted a dragon just before it was completed. And the dragon, dont you know, rushed in to set fire to my on-going trade at the depot, thank you very much. I don't have to describe the ridiculous consequences that befell my emotionally unstable dwarves after that.

That's where plans come from. VENGEFULLNESS. It inspired my current plan of creating a large upward spiraling tower, just 3 tiles wide to allow the caravans to enter. I am looking forward to watching them roll their wagons 15 Z-levels up into the air, and down again). It will of course take ages to build, but at least I get to ponder a million ways to create the perfect kill-chamber 1000 feet up in the air.

My favorite so far: At the top of said spiraling tower I will create a corridor. It will consist of two 5x3 drawbridges and a single 1x3 wall section between them, upon which are 3 pressure plates. Step on the plates and the bridges retract, and if my calculations are correct, they will land exactly outside of the tower entrance. If anyone survives, feel free to try again!

For an added bonus, I'll make the landing site a large 10x10 drawbridge with a pit beneath, so that I can open it every once in a while to claim the growing pile of loot and bones.

Yes, I can see it now. My fortress, it will be like a big monster, eating the miniscule goblins and tiny dragons. Ah, we'll see who's mad yet!

...now let me get back to my 5-hour and counting search for the perfect site (I thought I had it, finally, half an hour ago, until I realized the 'white sand' the embarkment screen had advertised was non-existant.................)

EDIT: Oh, I found a site, and there's a sweet magma-pipe here! I wonder how hard it will be to mold the entire entrance from pure obsidian... ^^

[Neoskel]

One big idea i've been knocking around for a while is that of an obsidian tower jutting out of a flat, featureless glacier. The tower would be built right on top of a magma pipe (on top of an obsidian plug preferably) and have magma powered internal heating including magma right under the roof to keep snow from accumulating there. The tower would be made of obsidian blocks or be cast and smoothed. The tower will have obsidian, ice and wind farms around it and something else to keep it symmetrical. Maybe a gobbitorium or arena. The whole compound will be surrounded by a peripheral ice wall with at least two entrances: one for caravans and one full of cage traps for goblins. The fortress would be protected by tame polar bears tied up at the trade entrance, and untamed polar bears will also be bred for use in the arena if i make one.

Another idea i had was to make a 'mining guild' base. It would be made entirely out of cast obsidian and would contain various obsidian farm chambers. Any peasants or unskilled miners would be locked in an obsidian farm chamber until they become legendary miners. Then they'll be enlisted in the mason, mechanic or crastsdwarf sub-guilds and make blocks/mechanisms/crafts out of obsidian. Once they've reached legendary in that skill they'll continue to make things until another dwarf reaches legendary in that skill. Then they'll join one of the other sub-guilds. Once They're legendary in all stone related skills, they'll move on to metal related skills. Once they're legendary and then replaced by another legendary in all metal based skills they go on enforced leave. Once they're legendary in all social skills, they go into the military. The resulting godlike dwarves will each be outfitted in the best steel equipment they've been making and an opulent tomb containing any artifacts they make. Dwarves will get titles based on the number of stone/metal related skills they're legendary in.

Non-miners that come to the guild will either start mining training or work at the various jobs required to keep the guild running, cooking, vermin trapping, bed making, etc. They'll never be allowed to reach legendary in those skills and will go into mining training once at a certain skill level, except for one legendary carpenter and one legendary cook to make masterpiece beds and meals for the guild members. Nobles have no place in the guild and will either be locked into tiny spartan chambers until they tantrum themselves to death or turned into an obsidian statue.