If the economic stone thing is intended, then wonderful. I can understand and appreciate the functionality that is introduced into the game through it, but I was simply unaware of the mod having implemented it, and so it seemed as more of a bug than an actual intention, especially since my "Other Stone" List in my Status menu seemed to lessen over time in items than actually start empty with all of it's contents in the Economic Stone list.
That said,
As clever as you are you're going to take causalities. That's war. If you don't like it I'm sorry but I suggest you take another mod. In World War Two which was supposedly one of the West's greatest triumphs the VICTORIOUS side took over 61 million casualties while the LOSING side only took 11 million. No struggle may be won without loss and sacrifice. And no true struggle has ever been easy. This mod aims to do a good deal of things realistically and war is one of these things. Dwarves must fight all the way down their great halls if they are to keep their vast treasures from falling into the wrong hands. And without careful planning many will die. Even with careful planning their will be causalities. War is bloody. If you want to fight off Sieges with a few conscripted wrestlers with no military experience or equipment and suffer no losses then I'm sorry but this is not the mod for you.
I am happy with the fact that you are providing feedback and constructive criticism but when you say things like "this mod has the potential to be great" or "this mod does not reach its full potential" (As seen on the download page) then that kinda rubs me the wrong way. Don't get me wrong... You are allowed to hate this mod and everything in it. I'm alright with that. However I feel that the mod is good and I believe the silent majority also believe this. And I didn't pour tens... Probably even a hundred or two hours into this mod to just fulfill your expectations. If you would like to tweak the mod, I am fine with that. If you would like to make the tweaks available to the wider community also (I give you my blessing) but I will not accept that the mod is bad or 'doesn't fulfill its potential' because you take issue with it. At the end of the day I did what I thought would complete the dwarf fortress experience (in my eyes) and I thought other people might also enjoy it. It clearly isn't everyone's cup of tea but I wasn't aiming at satisfying the entire community when I made it. So please don't make sweeping statements such as "this mod doesn't fulfill its potential when what you're really trying to say is it doesn't meet your individual expectations. With that said I'm not at all trying to attack you or discourage further criticisms and advice. As I said before... I very much appreciate your input and I take everything into consideration.
On the first issue, I must disagree. I am fully aware of what war is, and the likely consequences and results of it, and while I would not call myself Sin Tzu, I believe I have more knowledge of it than you give me credit for. Even so, I do not blame you, this being the internet where everyone has ten degrees of science in every field, simply because, and everyone is government agents, etc..
But, even in World War II, which I've more often heard of as poorly campaigned and a tragedy than a "Great Triumph", there was always room for improvement on all sides. None of them lived up to their full potential, and none of them were absolutely perfect. To say that it was impossible to come out of the war without any casualties is a logical assumption, based on experience of how wars usually play out, but it is still an assumption. Assumptions rely on guesswork, and if the condition that they bank on is not fulfilled, they are faulty.
Beyond that, you mention that I wanted to "fight off sieges with a few conscripted wrestlers", or seemed to imply such, which I believe comes from your interpretation of my initial post. Believe it or not, my usual method of defending from sieges comes from Ballistae, Bridge/Magma/Water traps (Obsidianization Traps. Like Carbonite, but better and more fun.), Cage traps, and a sleugh of Well-trained Marksdwarves and Hammerdwarves. I mentioned that I was forced to use the conscripted wrestlers, in so many words, because of the sudden siege and the steep climb of the orc numbers year after year. Each time, the fortress survived, albeit with heavy casualties. I don't mind losing dwarves or getting them injured. "Fun" as losing is, I simply like to test myself with coming up with better designed, both functionally and aesthetically, fortresses with an endgame goal to aid my dwarves to a maximum of never -having- to suffer any attack. I'll still send them out to glorious battle every now and then, or accidentally have a noble fall down a well or pit or chasm.
At this point, I have to point out that I really don't -mind- the orc sieges and their exponentially increasing numbers each year, so much as I mind that this, in my humble designation, -significant- change by the mod was not documented much beyond some vague implications that the orcs were strong enough to swarm megabeasts. Simply put, I look at things as I do when I have one of my designers make something. Being a Level designer for a local game company, as well as occasionally an art director, the paperwork is everything; If something is on the paper, and it is in the game: Wonderful. All milestones and expectations are usually met. If something is on the paper and not in the game: Needs work, as we are missing something we need. Likewise, if something is not on the paper, but is in a game: Needs corrections, as this is a bug.
Your mod has none of the second, that I could see, but the orc sieges were along the last. That's rather good, and personally, saying the mod has "The Potential to be very good, but is not quite there, yet" is not so much as bad thing, that I would consider. My expectations, as you say, were built as I read what the mod contained, as were the rest of your players, I'd imagine. I did expect you to cater to them, because you were the one who detailed what I was expecting in the readme, and I can hardly consider myself or anyone at fault for that. I listed my concerns, frustrated admittedly, on what I thought were bugs due to their nonexistant, or maybe unobvious, or even unseen documentation, as well as their extreme differences from normal gameplay. These combined justified my reasoning to comment and rate as I did. Not because I personally just disliked the mod, or because it beat me (Which you could say it technically did, with my 2 healthy dwarves flailing about angrily while the eight bled to death dragging their intestines along the ground.). It really does look good on paper, or perhaps it would be on LCD, for the current scenario, as that is why I picked it up in the first place, and -will- still be playing it, because I will not allow something this trivial to conquer my ability to progress and be better in the facets that I choose to employ. It is simply my concern that such significant changes or implementations should and must be documented. Knowing that you intended them makes me a little easier about the mod, but that still does not change that it seems to be less than adequately able to communicate this outside of gameplay and suprise! Fun!
Once the criteria of a good mod are met, whether that be by documentation improvement, or content improvement, I will certainly change my rating and comment. I do not intend to shoot you down for the admirable attempt, nor for the mod's performance, but I will comment on it's nature opposed to it's presentation.
With all that out of the way, I also must say that I just encountered a caravan with no items, as well, but that is potentially a different scenario than the other reports here, being from a 'Fae' race that I modded in after installing and testing the mod. (I personally love having many civilizations, making the world more diverse and fun. This is especially why I wanted to see Goblins and Orcs both sieging, though I cannot seem to find the goblins, still) They only have a size of '2', which might explain not being able to craft much or anything, though I am not sure.
