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[MrWiggles]

Do the caravan come to your fortress at the same point of the map?

If not, is it possible to direct them? I was thinking of having the caravan use an underground road way to less the chance of ambushes. And drop the elves into my eventual labyrinth.

[RAM]

I believe that it does not always come at the same place, but if you dig channels all around the edge of the map, except for one point, lets say at least 5 spaces wide, then they may always start there, but I suggest waiting for someone who has actually tried this...

[MrWiggles]

Hmm...

That a lot of investment. And I will shave a moutian to be an equal z level with the lowest point.


XD And I could make a moat around my entire map!

[Albedo]

If you have the right map, there are easier ways to do it.

Carving the edge of z-levels will do it too, and often a chasm will help, or a rive that's carved down into the terrain with no slopes.

[Sphalerite]

Trade caravans seem to have a preferred entry point, but if you use channels and walls to create a path from your trade depot to a single point on the map border the trade depots will enter at that point.  You don't need to wall or channel off the entire border of the map.  Just make your trade depot fairly close to the map edge, surround it on walls except on one side, and then wall off a 3 tile wide path from the depot to the map edge.  You can't build walls within 5 tiles of the map edge, so you'll have to use channels near the edge.  Wagons need a 3 tile wide clear path to travel, so it's not hard to force them to travel along a set path and enter the map at a specific point.  Controlling the entry points of diplomats and elven caravans is harder because they can walk anywhere.

[Albedo]

...  You don't need to wall or channel off the entire border of the map.  Just make your trade depot fairly close to the map edge...

Actually, it's random unless some paths are closed off. On a map with a lot of trees, chasms, many changing z-levels, paths can be limited, limiting where the caravan starts.

If you put your Trade depot near the map edge, it's easier to force the caravan to appear there.  But if you make the effort to create the walls/channeling/removing slopes (making the terrain to do the funneling), you can have the caravans deliver all their goods to the heart of your fortress, instead of dropping them off where you have to haul each one back individually.  Not to mention getting your trade goods there, and your broker meeting with the traders.

All depends on where your fortress is, and what your priorities are.

[MrWiggles]

How will this affect immigrants and ambushes/seiges ? Will they also be funneled through the bottle neck?

[Albedo]

Immigrants will.

Sieges will only path to your fortress if there's a path to the inside of it.  Often they sit outside and wait.  Some (elves) are invisible at first, relying on ambushes.

It's easy to make your area "too safe", if that's your goal.

[MrWiggles]

Immigrants will.

Sieges will only path to your fortress if there's a path to the inside of it.  Often they sit outside and wait.  Some (elves) are invisible at first, relying on ambushes.

It's easy to make your area "too safe", if that's your goal.

To safe not my goal, I just want an underground road, having various entrances through the map would make it more taxing then fun for me.

But yea, thank for all the answers.

[zchris13]

You can't dig the map edge.  So no underground road.

[Albedo]

You could place ramps around the edges that dive down to underground roads - very dwarfy, and easier to patrol/keep safe.  A variety of bridges that cover the ramps when down and open the path when up would work too.

Some player have a "bait" TD that's always accessible, so that when the Caravan arrives it sees the path and doesn't just leave.  Then, the moment it's on the map, they throw a lever and their "defended" TD path opens up.  They say the caravan then re-paths to the new TD, no problem.  Maybe something like this could work?

(I LIKE the idea of a network of underground caravan roads - very dwarfy.)

This general tactic can also be adapted to create a "thief lock", that allows caravans in thru an outer perimeter that then seals, and if any thieves got in with the caravan they have nowhere to go, and even slow dwarves can corner them and serve them a warm welcome.