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[shadowform]

It would be nice to be able to have some control over statues (and engravings, but those aren't assigned to a workshop).  Maybe have an option to create a random statue, or go into specifics (which might require more time than normal).

It doesn't seem like a big deal, but especially if you could make statues in the likeness of your dwarves (or even general figures, like "a dwarf" or "a goblin") there are a lot of cool things you could do with the ability:

-Creating a masterwork statue in the likeness of a fallen hero and erecting it on the spot where they fell

-Filling a hero's tomb with statues so future generations will know all that he had slain

-Having a noble mandate the construction of a statue of themself

-Lining a hallway with statues of all of the leaders of a settlement (this could become particularly incredible if it was implemented in worldgen cities, and could really make the mountainhome more interesting)

-Creating murals of past battles  and then constructing windows around them to make a museum

[Kilo24]

This does make me want to fulfill a noble's self-statue request by making it out of lignite, then suffer an "accident" near magma during its delivery.  Not that it's an omen or anything.

I think just linking into a sub-menu when ordering statues would be sufficient with the options requested.

[Bricks]

Though carving a statue and carving a bench are two very different things.  They could stand to be separate (but linked) skills.

[Sir Finkus]

Toady is adding statue descriptions in the next update.  I think they'll work like engravings.

[Sysice]

I'm pretty sure that is what he's talking about. He wants to choose the description of a statue, instead of having it be random.

[Warlord255]

The problem with commissioned engravings (and now, statues) is that Toady doesn't want to remove Dwarven autonomy. For example, if you were to commission dozens of engravings of goblins burning to death, but your dwarves would rather have nice happy images to help them forget the horrors of battle, you'd be forcing their hand.

That said, the touted autonomy needs some serious work before it can be justified. I'm looking at you, engravings-of-dwarves-and-dwarves-founding-the-fortress guy.

[Shurhaian]

Indeed, if there was a greater tendency to variety amidst that commemorative artwork, there wouldn't be that much need for specific orders. A dwarven hero posing, well, heroically, or striking down one of his foes, or each individual leader's ascension to expedition leader/mayor, or the promotion of the nobles... If all of that was likely to happen, instead of a master engraver who just likes waxing narcissistic and engraving himself doing a prior masterwork engraving... it'd make the engravings that much more interesting.

Addendum: Come to think of it, a sculptor's workshop might be a good place for the engraving skill. The specifics of material differ, but not that much more than for soft/hard rock. Metal could be explained by the lost-wax process - making a wax positive, moulding a clay negative around it, and casting, I believe. But anyway, this might also be a place to create figurines as trade goods(the little cousins of statues, essentially), maybe with the same sort of variety.

Statues would need careful work to place the right ones, but if the dwarves making statues specifically avoided duplicates until all notable themes were covered, it might be handy. (Sculptors want their work to be unique, right?)

[Bricks]

Unless dwarves get really good at context-sensitive engraving and statue making, I would like to have at least some way to order special engravings and statues for temples, tombs, dining halls, etc.

[Shurhaian]

Perhaps engravers could get unhappy thoughts if their artistic vision is overly restrained, by too many works that don't meet their preferences?

[EvilTwin]

Perhaps engravers could get unhappy thoughts if their artistic vision is overly restrained, by too many works that don't meet their preferences?

i see it coming... you keep your engraver at "quite content" level, and suddenly, his wife dies... the legendary dining room is already counted in for the "quite content" level. it would make the engraver job dangerous like hell...

another possibility would be that the mason/engraver is listening to the player's wishes, but not always. remember the two versions of the Madonna On The Rocks by da Vinci. the painting was ordered by some cleric, i think, but da Vinci built in things the cleric disliked, so he had to it again...

a mason/engraver who gets a lot of specific statue wishes that don't meet his preferences could be doing less and less of the work you want him to do and instead make more statues that he likes...

[Silverionmox]

Perhaps engravers could get unhappy thoughts if their artistic vision is overly restrained, by too many works that don't meet their preferences?

That would be a good way to restrain the player's urge to determine every single engraving in the fortress.

But we'll still need engravings on demand. It's not different from specifying the stone type you want your tower to be built in. Context-sensitive will never be able to account for megaprojects.

Dwarf's choice as the standard, player's choice optional.

[Warlord255]

Angry engravers might be a good counterbalance, but some context sensitivity would help.

[buman]

perhaps the plan for an engraving could be made as an image on a cloth. Then taking that image an engraver carves it into the wall and the quality would be adjusted based on the original. the plan is consumed in its use.

This allows for the dwarves to maintain the autonomy normally but the industrious player can forbid undesirable images in much the same fashion that bars can be forbidden to make a desirable artifact.

[Shurhaian]

Oh, in case I wasn't clear, I did indeed mean that dwarves could still be left to their own devices. Also, if it doesn't already, making a masterpiece in a manner in line with the dwarf's prefs should contribute a happy thought(perhaps a separate one from the "satisfied at work" that's in the current version, perhaps just a higher magnitude of it).

So you can specify that such-and-such room be decorated just so. Or you can let the dwarves go nuts, in that meeting room where the main point is that it be well-engraved. The former might be good if the dwarves like that subject, but could lower their moods somewhat if they're getting frustrated by sculpting that dwarf striking a menacing pose and that goblin making a plaintive gesture, again and again.

[shadowform]

I understand the idea, but there's a fine line to autonomy, and that line should be whether it has a general or specific use.  Rock crafts are fine to automate since it makes little difference if you get rings or idols.  Rock furniture, not so much.  Admittedly rock isn't exactly in short supply so constructing furniture until you get the last table you need for your dining room, but you end up with 20 extra armor stands you have no use for.

My argument is essentially that if you make statues more than an abstract decorative object, you open up enough new possibilities for their use that it makes some set to allow the player to have some ability to determine what comes out when you make a statue (hence: making them their own seperate workshop).  Admittedly in terms of game statistics it's still all the same - a statue is a statue, it's used to make a statue garden and bring up your fortress's wealth.

But beyond that, I think that it just makes sense.  Whoever runs things around the fortress might want to use statues to create a memorial, or decorate a tomb in a specific way - if for no other reason than he was possessed by the same strangely deviant thought that caused him to demand the construction of a 20-story obelisk that serves no purpose other than being an obelisk.