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[Fox-Of-Doom]

I've noticed that I will have to perform exploratory mining through the earth to find metal veins. This task, while realistic, is tedious and I do not particularly enjoy digging out possibly useful area, making the underground ugly, ecetera. It is even possible to run out of metal veins on a map, particularly on smaller fortresses.

I am also looking forward to the feature of having underground creatures attack the fortress from the depths...

I was thinking, why not tie in the exploratory mining with this feature? If there is a metal ore going to the edge, why not allow players to mine into it and create an 'offmap' mining site; this will allow a constant stream of ore, at a highly lowered rate (say, 1000x the time it would take for the miner to dig out a normal tile of that ore). There could be a chance that there is an invasion through this tunnel and some miners would die, some would run out being chased by baddies. This would make the feature dangerous as well as time consuming to those who attempt it.

The miners would still be effected by hunger, thirst, and tiredness, but the player could not interact with them due to their distance from the fortress. This would also allow fortresses to have an interest in having more than one or two legendary miners, especially those centered around metalworking.

What do you fine gentlemen think?

[EDIT: 10:19 PM] To relate this to another feature, more off-fortress activity would be nice. Why only send armies to invade places from above ground? You may want to send a skirmishing party into the mines, to protect the miners.

[profit]

You are a little vague in some parts.. BUT, I think you have a decent idea..

It would be really kinda cool to have off map mining, based on what is available in your area.  Just so we are on the same channel here, your thinking about having the ability to dig to the edge of the map and have like a "offmap mine" designation on that ore that's at the edge and have them mine it forever at a reduced rate, just dropping the occasional block of ore they find at the square next to them?

While just that idea in and of itself seems good... May I offer a slight change.  How about a "Offmap mineshaft" construction that is required to be placed partly on the  edge of the map, partly in a tunnel, at least 1 level below the ground.  Inside this Workshop type construction you can select any stone you have on your map and miners can mine that stone at the rate of Normal/(5xThe value of the ore)  so... if you were mining a 1 value stone it would go 5x as slow as normal mining, if you were mining a 500 value Adamantium it would go 2500 times as slow.  And the stones can pile up in it like any other workshop, just they would use miners instead of another crafter.

[Fox-Of-Doom]

@Profit
Well, I would like for the miners to come out, carrying every ore they have; this would make the long work period be seen and having more miners be important. Since it would take such a long time for the miners to dig out an ore, they would probably have to come out and eat/sleep/drink a lot compared to normal vein mining. Perhaps designating a nearby mining camp or some equivalent would be beneficial, maybe even give them rations and they can sleep on the ground (or bedrolls, in a far off version).

On the token of workshops, that could work; say, if you want your miner working there to come out, you could cancel the order and a few days later they would leave. I would enjoy a unique feature here in that you cannot communicate with them until they come out, but that may have no place in DF. In relation to the tunnel and workshops, the tunnel would be unable to be closed (unless you wall it up); the workshop would not be the connection to the mines and possible invasions, it merely allow miners to go into the mine and dig for ore.

[Dakk]

Fortress mode won't be limited to a single site forever, so its already sorta planned, not quite in the way you described it, but still planned in someway.

[Fox-Of-Doom]

@Dakk
Well, yes, it is planned, but I've seen nothing about sending out miners to get ore.

[Dakk]

Wound't walking off the edge of the fortress site to mine some stone, and then bring it back, be the same thing? 

[Fox-Of-Doom]

Yes, but I have not seen that in future goals either. I would like to see off-site mining implemented into off-site invaders.

[Granite26]

Yes, but I have not seen that in future goals either. I would like to see off-site mining implemented into off-site invaders.

Sounds good to me.

Could also do some 'all sites have magma' stuff in a similar vein...

[Neonivek]

Offsite mines is in there but it is under the umbrella of things outside the main site.

Though it may not include offsite mines anyhow.

[Pilsu]

Any offsite mining should really be done downward, otherwise it remains unexplained as to why a new site built right next to your old one has no evidence of tunnels

[profit]

Any offsite mining should really be done downward, otherwise it remains unexplained as to why a new site built right next to your old one has no evidence of tunnels

Come on... let us have a little bit of abstraction.... we really don't need to simulate every creature in the world breathing... Just the dwarves at the fort.

[profit]

@Profit
Well, I would like for the miners to come out, carrying every ore they have; this would make the long work period be seen and having more miners be important. Since it would take such a long time for the miners to dig out an ore, they would probably have to come out and eat/sleep/drink a lot compared to normal vein mining. Perhaps designating a nearby mining camp or some equivalent would be beneficial, maybe even give them rations and they can sleep on the ground (or bedrolls, in a far off version).

On the token of workshops, that could work; say, if you want your miner working there to come out, you could cancel the order and a few days later they would leave. I would enjoy a unique feature here in that you cannot communicate with them until they come out, but that may have no place in DF. In relation to the tunnel and workshops, the tunnel would be unable to be closed (unless you wall it up); the workshop would not be the connection to the mines and possible invasions, it merely allow miners to go into the mine and dig for ore.

Yeah workshop was just a placeholder object name..  I want it to look like a tunnel, and act like one, and be an invasion location like you want, and maybe even have dwarves unable to be interacted with while in it (doubt the game engine would like that).  Just the Actual thing rather than being a physical hole in the wall or just a designated spot, would be somewhat tangible to the game engine, giving it a way to interact with the fortress without creating an entire new system, and part of the workshop could be the things you would see at the entrance to a long tunnel, like barrels, torches, maybe a rail system head and an ore cart *not one that works, just it being there as flavor*   And it would give an interface that would allow the stones you wished to get to be selected.

Basically it is just a little difference, but would allow it to be implemented much easier, and with less work to toady(I think), and would make the interface more uniform since people could get a menu, like the smelters and everything else has rather than a new designation or whatever for the dwarves.   

[Granite26]

Any offsite mining should really be done downward, otherwise it remains unexplained as to why a new site built right next to your old one has no evidence of tunnels

Come on... let us have a little bit of abstraction.... we really don't need to simulate every creature in the world breathing... Just the dwarves at the fort.

heresy

[Bricks]

The county arc will basically make this possible.  I'd like to see some abstraction as far as zooming out and managing your surrounding territories, either explicitly like in dorf mode, or telling the dwarves "go dig quarry here" or "prospect for iron-bearing ore."  Along with anything else you'd like the dwarves to do - farm, gather lumber, hunt, build military outposts, trading outposts, roads, bridges.  The game will need the AI to simulate all of these things during world gen - might as well use them in dorf mode, too.

[alfie275]

Offsite constructions are planned, such as aqua or magma ducts, roads and tunnels.