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[Masennus]

I am planning a one dwarf megaproject. The entire megaproject will be one dwarf's lifelong fey mood. My plan is to have one superdwarf do all construction, pumping, mining, engraving, furniture creation and placement, etc. by himself. He'll work on it singlemindedly and without help. He's going to develop a lot of legendary skills in the process, so I figured I should finish the job. I'll be borrowing heavily from the experiences shared in this thread once the tower is finished. I probably won't be worrying much about the skills that required modding to get legendary.

The obsidian tower I have planned will be circular and peak in a mushroom shape. At the base of the tower will be two oblong reservoirs, one for water, and one for magma. From there a system of pumps will lift liquids through the center of the tower where they will pour from the top.

I plan to leave the land untouched so the tower will appear to rise directly out of the wilderness. This means that the dwarves will be forced to live in constructions built above ground until a few layers of obsidian have been poured. Then they'll deconstruct everything as they move inside. The central pumps will allow me to build upward without marring the landscape, the connection to the magma pipe and the aquifer will be underground. I haven't decided yet if the liquid reservoirs should be above- or below-ground. If above, they'll be hollowed from cast obsidian to match the tower.

Here are the questions I don't have answers for yet:

Should the tower extend below-ground? I've thought of taking it all the way to the lowest z-level of the map, to make the tower as tall as possible. I don't know that I'll need/want all that space. If anyone can suggest a way to cast obsidian in a space with a roof I can start at ground level and work down if I'm dissatisfied with the topside tower. Without one-level obsidian casting technology I will have to pour the lowest level first, which requires more planning.

Can I turn off immigration temporarily? I'm thinking that the six dwarves in the embark crew will be the friends of the supermoody dwarf, who follow him out of curiosity/loyalty and keep him protected and fed, since these petty concerns won't trouble him. I don't want to worry about keeping any other dwarves entertained during construction. I want to have immigrants arrive and live in the fort once it is already started. (The less above-ground housing I have to build, the better.)

Should I play with orcs? Originally I had planned to include them, but if I am going to limit myself to my 7 embark dwarves orcs may be more trouble than they're worth.

[detinith]

I think immigration waves are calculated by your fortress's desirability and the population cap set in the init.txt file. If you set it very low (like 7 ) that should do the trick. Changing it again should immediately take effect.

You can make your other 6 military/social to scare away thieves and baby snatchers while keeping morale maxed. Once you think your wealth will attract more numbers, you could just channel out a big 1-tile-wide trench surrounding any fortress entrances.

I do think orcs would be fun to test your wargalith on.

[Chicostick]

Although I don't really know much about the logistics, I feel like making a giant obsidian penis that spouts magma and water is probably a worthy goal.

[Masennus]

Come now, let's not spell it out so explicitly. I want people to have to imagine it before they figure it out. It's the "ahha" moment that really makes it memorable.

Also, I think I'll just embark with a thousand dogs for security. I am hoping a small-scale dogsplosion can combat a couple of orc sieges. So that is my plan for dealing with the orc question. I still want to hear if anyone has a strategy for casting obsidian downward.

Edit 1: I loaded up the Dwarven Dream site with orcs, and found this fellow was among my seven:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Who better to build the tower I've planned than a dwarf who loves a good thrill, is immodest, and is self-disciplined?

Edit 2: Ok, my embark group has Zasit with the dissection skills like his idol Morul, Urvad the Carpenter, Tekkud the Mason, Zefon the Architect, Tholtig the Grower, Kol the Cook, Nish the Brewer, and ... 64 dogs. Zasit's six friends are also proficient Marksdwarves, just in case.

Edit 3: Heh, somehow Zasit was chosen as expedition leader. I've appointed Zefon to be the Manager, Bookkeeper, and Broker, and I think I'll start a narrative from his perspective.

[Masennus]

Logbook of Zefon Thikutod:

Dwarfkind is familiar with the moods that sometimes overcome us. Our most famous artifacts are created by dwarves in these moods. My friend Zasit has entered a mood unlike anything I've ever seen. Five other dwarves saw the change come over him. He was walking past the archery range when he got that look in his eyes and turned on his heel. We thought he would find a workshop, hunt down a few materials, and produce a giant olm leather scepter like any regular dwarf. Instead he mumbled something about a tower and walked off into the forest.

We didn't have much time if we were to follow him. We dumped a few barrels of food and drink into a wagon and set out after Zasit. Urvad thought to run for tools, and caught up with us carrying a pick and an axe.

We walked for weeks, tracking Zasit. Even though he left at a steady walk, he always seemed to stay a few steps ahead of us. A few days into our trek we started to notice other tracks. A pack of wolves was tracking him as well. Every day their numbers grew. Zasit's tracks were eventually completely obscured. The pack continued to walk in a perfectly straight line, so we could only assume they hadn't caught him yet.

This morning we saw them. Not wolves. Dogs. Lots and lots of dogs. Zasit had stopped. He was standing like a possessed dwarf who can't find the workshop he needs. I have no idea why all these dogs followed him, but they seem entranced, standing around him. We're dangerously close to goblin and orc cities, I suppose it will be good to have all these dogs around as sentries.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

When Zasit saw the wagon he walked toward us. I wondered for a second if his mood had passed, but he just took the pick (our only pick) and set off a few paces down the mountain. He's digging in the sand as we speak. I guess we'll set up some temporary shelter above ground until we can get our hands on another pick. At least we still have the axe.

[nutzy]

The obsidian tower I have planned will be circular and peak in a mushroom shape. At the base of the tower will be two oblong reservoirs, one for water, and one for magma. From there a system of pumps will lift liquids through the center of the tower where they will pour from the top.

I eagerly anticipate your towercap tower

[Masennus]

Rules I've developed for this project.

1. Zasit may only work on his project, and only he may work on his project.

• 1a. Zasit may not use materials gathered or created by other dwarves, with one exception. He may eat and drink with the assistance of his friends. If I can prevent him from sleeping on one of their beds, I will.
• 1b. No other dwarves may use items produced by Zasit. He has "claimed" the hillside where he works, like a regular moody dwarf claims their workshop.

2. Zasit may eat, drink, and sleep according to normal cycles. He may not take breaks.

3. The nature of the mental focus afforded by the strange mood does not allow Zasit to think outside the box. He won't build any windmills or waterwheels to simplify his efforts. All his pumping will be done by hand.

4. Typical strange moods go in three steps: Claim a workshop, gather materials, work furiously. Zasit will approximate this as well as possible.

• 4a. Claim a Workshop. The first project will be to mine out the space where the tower and reservoirs will eventually stand. The exception here is that one layer of original floor will be left to preserve the "dark subterranean" flags for part of the tower for a tower cap farm and subterranean farm plots. This roof will be removed during obsidian casting.
• 4b. Gather materials. Next Zasit will gather everything he needs to complete the project. This will proceed in phases.
  
  • First raw material will be gathered. Stone, ore, seeds, wood, leather, etc. Quantum stockpiling will likely be needed, but that's ok. A regular moody dwarf would pile everything into a single workshop before he starts to work, after all. This phase will include filling the magma and water reservoirs.
  • Next more complex materials will be created. This includes everything from furniture to windows to screw pump components.
  • Next items will be decorated. Everything in the fortress will be studded with Zasit's favorite metal, iron. The highest quality objects will also be encrusted with any gems located during excavation.
• 4c. Work furiously. This step will be construction, pumping, construction, pumping, construction, and pumping. Then mining for an age. Then engraving for another age. Then hauling for another age.

Problems: He will need an anvil. Creating items to trade for an anvil breaks the spirit of rules 1 and 3. Using the forge built by Zefon et. al. to make his own anvil breaks rule 1a. I suppose technically that rule was broken the moment he picked up his pick. I think this can be the exception that proves the rule. Zefon will be so confused when Zasit shows up in the camp, ignores him, makes an anvil, and hauls it away.

Rule 4 is going to take a LOT of planning. I'll need blueprints of every room that will ever be in the tower, right down to the furniture. I will also need blueprints for the pumping and power systems. This rule also means that my fortress won't be ready to accommodate immigrants until it's nearly complete, so my defense will be entirely up to the 6 original dwarves and their dogs. As the first ever time I've played with orcs installed, that could prove very very fun.

It might be a while before my next update while I draw up plans.

[ChazzyBurger]

Wow, this sounds... Well...

Awesome!

I must say, good luck with it!

[uberubert]

Wow, after completing a megaproject on my own once, I realized how intensly hard it is to get enough dwarfpower to get the thing done. You are going to do most of the work with only one dwarf. Also, you will only have 6 support-dwarves. Also you have rules to follow which complexify things even more. And you are trying to end up with a huge megastructure made out of obsidian through casting. This screams "Failure" in a deep powerful voice that shakes the very core of the Earth itself.
In other words: The most epic worthy dwarvenly megaproject ever attempted! Go for it! Good luck, and hope you succeed!

[Masennus]

I think he might die of old age before he finishes. Especially since I've laid out the plan in such an inefficient manner.

The tower is a circle with a 31 tile radius, and it's going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 z-levels tall. I'm still designing the different floors, especially the engineering level that will power the central pumps. I don't want magma to go everywhere right when I turn it on, and for the spirit of the project the whole thing will be built in one go, with no test runs.

[Psychoceramics]

you probably won't want him to be the manager, bookkeeper or all that. He'll get bogged down doing menial things like running the fortress.

[Masennus]

He's not manager/broker/bookkeeper. I was acutally quite surprised when he was named expedition leader. I immediately gave the other tasks to another dwarf (who's name also starts with Z probably lending to the confusion.)

I get annoyed every time Zasit picks up a "Harvest Plants" task, he's only got mining active currently. Every dwarf tasks are my bane!

[kotekzot]

if you set popcap to 7 you will get 1 wave of migrants but no more until you raise it, i think.

i think your 6 helped dwarves should make a wooden fort around the construction site with fortifications at least 1 z-level about ground. it may be prudent to seal it off during summer and winter until you can purchase a pick from the dwarven caravan during the fall.

[Skorpion]

This is awesome. You should keep us updated.

[Opirian]

He's not manager/broker/bookkeeper. I was acutally quite surprised when he was named expedition leader. I immediately gave the other tasks to another dwarf (who's name also starts with Z probably lending to the confusion.)

I get annoyed every time Zasit picks up a "Harvest Plants" task, he's only got mining active currently. Every dwarf tasks are my bane!

If you go to the O menu there is an option on harvesting that only allows farmers to harvest, that may help there