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[slink]

Someone posted that they tried to use the exit edge of a dammed underground river and that didn't seem to work.

I tried this myself once, actually. Wagons and other traders aren't willing to ARRIVE by such a route, but are perfectly willing to DEPART through it. So as long as ye can get them inside when they first arrive, then you can seal yer main entrance with no berserk-trader worries. I kept that fort up for at least 5 years after discovering the trick; I can only imagine how many poor caravans in that riverbed despaired of ever seeing the surface again...

Tonight I settled a fortress near a tunnel between two Dwarven mountain fortresses belonging to the civilization from which my Dwarves supposedly came.  I sealed them underground and built a depot attached to the underground passageway.  The depot tested as accessible.  However, when autumn arrived the Dwarven caravan bypassed my "inaccessible site".  It looks as if Dwarven-built tunnels fall into the same classification as underground riverbeds, with regards to caravan access.

[Grendus]

No, unfortunately that's a myth.  Caravans will spawn on whatever side they please - but if there's only one accessible route from that side of the map they seem to spawn there.

No, it's not a myth.  I have used the method of using bridges and channels to force caravans to appear in only one spot on many fortresses and have never once had a caravan refuse to appear on the side of the map I wanted it to.  It may be that if your map is bisected by some natural impassable barrier like a river that a caravan will only be able to appear on one side of it, but otherwise it does work to force the caravan to appear in only a specific spot.

I can confirm that it's not a myth. There is only one path to my fortress. The other three sides can't reach my fort through the thick forest surrounding it. I've only had one caravan bypass my site, and it was when a sapling matured along the only path while I wasn't watching. After I put up a block road, I've never once had them refuse to show up.

However, it may be hard coded for rivers, so caravans will decide which side of the river to spawn on. Would explain why this only happens when rivers bisect a map.

[melkorp]

Goblin highway style, anyone?  5 tile wide ramps from all edges of map to a central depot rather far underground? 

[orbcontrolled]

I've experimented with completely underground tunnels before. I dug a tunnel to the edge of the map, then used tweak to remove the remaining tiles.
Didn't work. Depot accessible, but wagons always bypassed.

Then I used tweak again to make all tiles in the vicinity of the edge "Outdoors, Light, Above Ground". Still nothing.

I even fooled around with Dtil, trying to find any difference I could between real surface squares and my fake surface squares. Nothing.

Caravans certainly have some really confusing rules about how they enter the map.

[darkflagrance]

I've experimented with completely underground tunnels before. I dug a tunnel to the edge of the map, then used tweak to remove the remaining tiles.
Didn't work. Depot accessible, but wagons always bypassed.

Then I used tweak again to make all tiles in the vicinity of the edge "Outdoors, Light, Above Ground". Still nothing.

I even fooled around with Dtil, trying to find any difference I could between real surface squares and my fake surface squares. Nothing.

Caravans certainly have some really confusing rules about how they enter the map.

Most likely, the game records underground rivers, as well as tunnels built during world construction, as continuing off the map, and therefore being valuable access points. Thus, even if you removed the tiles at the very edge of the map underground, the game knows that next set of tiles (the ones you can't see) are solid.

[Retro]

Hm. So then, if you tweaked away the tiles at the edge of one map underground, then did so in the same spot on another, would caravans be able to enter underground that way? That could make for an interesting game - select a spot you want to embark (in a terrifying biome or somesuch), create four forts on each side of the planned embark area, and remove the tiles bordering the destined area at the same Z-level. Then when making the fort you actually want, do the same across the entire border. You may end up with zombie/skeleton monstrosities plagueing you from underground!

[melkorp]

[create four forts on each side of the planned embark area, and remove the tiles bordering the destined area at the same Z-level. Then when making the fort you actually want, do the same across the entire border.

Science!

[Rakonas]

Dragon Age is very dwarfy!

I had planned to recreate Orzammar in DF to post on launch date, but I wanted to wait for the new version of DF to come out and sadly that wound up being after DA:O came out.

Same here. First thing that came to my mind in Orzammar was how well this would work once boroughs and offmap functions were implemented. Personally I'm pretty sure that DF had an influence on DA. I've never heard of Tolkien Dwarves with magma, gladiatorial combat, and strict segregation of classes.

[Echelon3]

My current fortress has the Trade Depot suspended over a bottomless pit (which I'm working on flooring over at the bottom and using as a central reservoir), surrounded by Fortifications one z-level above.  The entrance bridge is covered by 3 ballistae dug into the south side of the pit, and bridges to the left and right lead to the rest of the fort.  It was the best way I could made the Depot both secure and accessible.

Edit:  The rest of the post did not get posted.

The connection from the depot to the map edge was, in my case, along a bridge.  An underground road should work just as well.  Anyways, it ramped down to ground level at five tiles away.  Constructions cannot be made within five tiles of the edge, but channels can be made to within one tile.  This is enough to force the wagon to spawn there, and ONLY there.

[atomfullerene]

I had a fort where I tried to relocate caravans to one entrance.  I channeled all around the edge, one tile from the edge of the map, leaving only one entrance.  And the caravans tried to spawn constantly on the 1 tile wide edge sections, and bypassed the site, except sometimes for donkey traders and whatnot who got caught on the very edge.  Along with migrants and liasons.  It was all very annoying.

[Hyndis]

I use magma and raised drawbridges to block off the entire perimeter of the map except for the entrance.

Without fail every caravan spawns right at the entrance. So do goblins. Its hilarious when they both spawn at the same time. Also the barracks and sparring grounds are within sight of the spawning point, so should any goblins spawn they will be rushed by my soldiers and even royal guards.