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[proxn_punkd]

You can go in and raise the pop cap later.

[MagmaMcFry]

Pop cap is specified in the init files, which aren't copied to the save and are therefore modifiable independently of the saves. But that does mean that you have to change these files every time you switch between two saves in which you wish to have different pop caps.

[Jacob/Lee]

What would be your favorite weapon to use? I used to use a combination of weapons, 6 swords, 1 hammer, 1 axe and 2 spears per squad, but Gimli has taught me that axes are the only real dwarven weapon and I'm going to outfit my squads with nothing but steel axes and armor.

What would be the "best" weapon to use with steel technology? I don't want hammers, though.

[proxn_punkd]

Mixed-weapon squads apparently cause your dwarves to try and train in all of them, which results in dwarves who are jack-of-all-blades-master-of-none. When I get access to steel, I tend to try and have a squad each of swords, axes, spears, (silver) hammers, and (copper) crossbows, all clad in steel but the crossbow dwarfs (because the default for marksdwarfs is leather and I'm too lazy to change their preferences).

[Garath]

bismuth bronze or silver would be better for hammers anyway

squads train better if they all have the same weapon
Axes do have a lot going for them. They cut, so they can cause opponents to bleed to death, and opponents immune to that kind of damage they can cut to pieces (bronze colossus), while hammers have a big problem going up against enemies that dont die from a crushed skull or crushed lungs. They are more useful against armored opponents. Spears can get a lucky strike to the heart, throath or other vital area and end a fight quickly and seem to be again slightly better against armored opponents. Short swords are a mix between axe and spear, stabbing and slashing

i usually have an axe squad, spear squad and hammer or mace squad, in addition to a crossbow squad or 2

[Lordraymond]

bismuth bronze or silver would be better for hammers anyway

squads train better if they all have the same weapon
Axes do have a lot going for them. They cut, so they can cause opponents to bleed to death, and opponents immune to that kind of damage they can cut to pieces (bronze colossus), while hammers have a big problem going up against enemies that dont die from a crushed skull or crushed lungs. They are more useful against armored opponents. Spears can get a lucky strike to the heart, throath or other vital area and end a fight quickly and seem to be again slightly better against armored opponents. Short swords are a mix between axe and spear, stabbing and slashing

i usually have an axe squad, spear squad and hammer or mace squad, in addition to a crossbow squad or 2

This actually isn't true in all cases. If you're going with small-squad sparring, having same weapon squads is a BAD THING, at least for initial training. Sparring is infinitely faster than demonstrating, and if they have different weapons they won't waste time demonstrating to eachother and just spar.

Anyway, for my question, my military keeps standing around after they kill whatever they've been told to kill with Solder (Cannot follow order) until I go and manually cancel their orders from the squad menu. I've had squads almost starve because I forgot to cancel them because they just stand over the corpse doing nothing. Is there any way to get them to automatically cancel the kill order once everything is dead?

[Garath]

no, you'll always have to manually cancel kill and station/move orders

[Iton Ibrukrithzam]

What would be your favorite weapon to use? I used to use a combination of weapons, 6 swords, 1 hammer, 1 axe and 2 spears per squad, but Gimli has taught me that axes are the only real dwarven weapon and I'm going to outfit my squads with nothing but steel axes and armor.

What would be the "best" weapon to use with steel technology? I don't want hammers, though.

I tend to favor single weapon squads, favoring spears when I do.  I use either danger rooms, arena training, or both(depending on whims and how good my traps are doing).  Spears aren't the best against humanoids, but if you have superior gear and skill, it ain't a thang, and spears penetrating power is nice against larger foes.

[NonconsensualSurgery]

What would be your favorite weapon to use? I used to use a combination of weapons, 6 swords, 1 hammer, 1 axe and 2 spears per squad, but Gimli has taught me that axes are the only real dwarven weapon and I'm going to outfit my squads with nothing but steel axes and armor.

What would be the "best" weapon to use with steel technology? I don't want hammers, though.

I tend to favor single weapon squads, favoring spears when I do.  I use either danger rooms, arena training, or both(depending on whims and how good my traps are doing).  Spears aren't the best against humanoids, but if you have superior gear and skill, it ain't a thang, and spears penetrating power is nice against larger foes.

They also allow the squad to equip a shield at the same time, for added bashing and protection against firebreath and such. Swordsdwarves are similar except they dismember instead of stab.

However, while my speardwarves and swordsdwarves are going toe to toe with the monster of the month and trying to stab it in the foot my top marksdwarf will casually walk up behind them, assess the situation and put a masterwork steel bolt through the cephalothorax of whatever. I imagine that my speardwarves are getting a little annoyed at being kicked in the head by yellow jasper quadrupeds while the marksdwarves chill in the back.

Question: What's the point of stairs? Seems I can build ramps everywhere.

[Lagslayer]

Stairs can be built on top of eachother, so they are more space efficient.

[Zeebie]

My marksdwarfs sometimes carry around buckets instead of waterskins. Anyone know why this is?  I have tons of skins available.

[Fishbulb]

My marksdwarfs sometimes carry around buckets instead of waterskins. Anyone know why this is?  I have tons of skins available.

I have a theory about the phenomenon I call flask exhaustion.

If you look at the inventory screen of a fully uniformed military dwarf, you'll see he's carrying his flask or waterskin in one of his upper-body garments, like a coat or mail shirt. It's in a pocket, is how I look at it.

I think whenever dwarves take off that upper-body garment (to change uniform or swap out an item, for instance) without first putting down the flask, the flask becomes forbidden. I haven't actually observed this happening directly, but I often find forbidden flasks laying around in the stockpile where my body armor is stored. So make sure none of your flasks are forbidden. I find the easiest way to do this is from the stocks screen; flasks are listed on the second screen from the bottom, I think, and you can mass-unforbid them there, if some of them have gotten forbidden.

Flasks in general seem to me to be kind of quirky. I typically set all my dwarves to train all the time — and make up for the bad thought by letting them sleep in their bedrooms, which are nice. So in theory, they should train for months straight, only refilling their flasks a time three or four times a year, since each flask is supposed to carry like three or four drinks. But I often see my soldiers (who are supposed to be on duty) drinking in one of the booze rooms. It seems like even if they're carrying flasks, they aren't always inclined to use them.

More likely, I just don't fully understand flask mechanics.

[Spinning Welshman]

Is it possible to spread mud on a wooden floor with water so I can place a farm on it? I have a little project involving a multi-level wooden fortress and I thought it'd be cool/amusing to have a farm several levels off the ground 

[proxn_punkd]

Underground plants only grow underground. Surface plants only grow on muddied natural stone or soil. (I once wanted to make a multi-story glass greenhouse with muddied clay floors, so that's how I know!)

[Sphalerite]

Plants won't grow on muddied constructed floors, but I have heard that farms can be placed on muddied constructed floor and still work.  I haven't tried it on wood, or with aboveground plants however.  Try it and tell us.