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[AncientEnemy]

This is only my second fortress and I'm still trying to figure this stuff out:

1. Some of my dwarves just go Idle even when there's work they could be doing. for example I have 2 carpenters and 2 woodcutters, and one of each has been sitting in my common area for ages while i have workshops set to be constructed and trees designated for chopping. I thought they might be sleeping or eating or something but on the units screen they're just listed as no Job

2. both my miners abandoned their work to 'hunt small creature' and are now spazzing out on one of my lower floors, running around in circles. there isn't even anything down there but stone and dirt! I think it said something about food but I have plenty of food...

How can I put them back to work?

[AncientEnemy]

hooray, the miners starved to death while hunting!

lol what the hell. there's plenty of food...

[Ivefan]

I'd say that your problems together sounds like you've accidentially broken the access between areas/floors.
the woodworkers might not be able to get to the trees and the workshop, it's also possible that the designated construction material is inaccessible.
The miners obviously couldn't get out of the place they was working and started starve and as a last resort tried to find vermin to eat.

[AncientEnemy]

nah that was the first thing i checked. and the woodcutters were in the same place (one woodcutter is walking in and out of the fort, cutting down logs and bringing them inside to the stockpile, the other is idling in the meeting area which is between the stockpile and entrance). I hadn't done anything to the connection between floors, had 3 sets of ramps/stairs and all three were still there...
oh well, started a new fort

[Footkerchief]

You sure you didn't accidentally forbid a bunch of food and equipment?  That would cause all of those symptoms.

[AncientEnemy]

ah, i figured out the woodcutting, only had one axe.

oh well, doesn't matter now.

a new question:

All seed types can be cooked, producing one unit of edible food per seed. Cooking seeds is only recommended for seed types you cannot plant, or when you have more seeds of a given type than you need. Considering that a farm plot of 50 tiles is more than one will ever need, anything upwards from 100 should be more than safe to cook. Caveat: You will have to keep an eye on the cooking and disable seed cooking in time, otherwise your seeds will all be used up.

that last bit happened to my new fortress, my cook used up all my seeds (didn't realize they'd be cooked), i was lucky and a trader came by right after or my dwarves would have probably starved.

how do you disable the cooking of seeds?

[Footkerchief]

Hit Z for the status menu, go to the Kitchen tab, and toggle off cooking for all seed types.

[AncientEnemy]

sweet, thanks

[Geekkake]

This helped me, as well. Thanks, Footkerchief!

[AncientEnemy]

that first problem seems to be happening in several of my games, particularly ramps. ramps will work for awhile and then spontaneously 'disconnect' from each other, rendering areas unreachable. i had a game going where suddenly no one was hauling garbage anymore, and after awhile i realized it was because no one could get to the pit anymore which was yep up a ramp that no longer works. both ends of said ramp are still there, haven't done anything whatsoever (mining/building/anything, it was just an empty pathway), but now they don't connect.

I'm sticking to stairs

[AncientEnemy]

 .

[Savok]

Ramps simply don't do that. Other things that you might not notice could cause that, though.

--So sayeth the Wiki Loremaster

[Ivefan]

that first problem seems to be happening in several of my games, particularly ramps. ramps will work for awhile and then spontaneously 'disconnect' from each other, rendering areas unreachable. i had a game going where suddenly no one was hauling garbage anymore, and after awhile i realized it was because no one could get to the pit anymore which was yep up a ramp that no longer works. both ends of said ramp are still there, haven't done anything whatsoever (mining/building/anything, it was just an empty pathway), but now they don't connect.

There are no "connetion" with ramps so to say, and they needs a supporting wall. I do not know of the reason why it stops working but i have never had any problems myself

[Cogsmith]

I've had this bug myself andalways found it to be one thing.

If you create ramps such that dwarves at the top walk left coming into them, they MUST walk left coming out at the bottom. In other words if you try to double back, or even just give them the opportunity to double back(can enter from left and leave 1 z level up heading right) then the ramps count as an invalid path. Well eventually they do. For some reason they remain valid for a little while, but then dwarves will suddenly not recognize it as a pathway, which to be fair, if you think about it, it's not.

Realistically it's a bit like this:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Horizontal view
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooo
oooooooooo
ooooooooo           oooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooo           oooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooo          oooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooo
oooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Honestly I find ramps to be more useful, but also a bit trickier if you're thinking of long term fortress design.

[AncientEnemy]

I've had this bug myself andalways found it to be one thing.

If you create ramps such that dwarves at the top walk left coming into them, they MUST walk left coming out at the bottom. In other words if you try to double back, or even just give them the opportunity to double back(can enter from left and leave 1 z level up heading right) then the ramps count as an invalid path. Well eventually they do. For some reason they remain valid for a little while, but then dwarves will suddenly not recognize it as a pathway, which to be fair, if you think about it, it's not.

Realistically it's a bit like this:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Horizontal view
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooo
oooooooooo
ooooooooo           oooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooo           oooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooo          oooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooo
oooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Honestly I find ramps to be more useful, but also a bit trickier if you're thinking of long term fortress design.

that could be it.

besides the trade caravans, what makes ramps more useful?