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[ToxicFrog]

Specifically, down stairs and up/down stairs cannot be built even if they have supports, unless there is a pre-existing up stair one Z-level below. This is mostly a problem when you are trying to build down from some location - it simply cannot be done unless you (a) carve a staircase into the rock, or (b) contrive to get a mason and building supplies down to the bottom without a staircase, then have him build from the bottom up.

Test case: channel a pit one (or more) Z-levels deep. Now try building a staircase down into it.

[Crafty Barnardo]

This isn't really a bug.  Constructions can only be built horizontally, i.e. dwarves can't build something that's above their head or in a hole.  A down staircase built into a channel without something underneath it would essentially be floating in mid air, whereas, if you carve a down staircase into the ground, it is supported by adjacent rock squares.

[ToxicFrog]

quote:Originally posted by Crafty Barnardo:
<STRONG>This isn't really a bug.  Constructions can only be built horizontally, i.e. dwarves can't build something that's above their head or in a hole.</STRONG>

Except they can; you can, for example, build up stairs that are "floating in empty space" provided there is something adjacent to them to support them, and once you've done that, you can build down stairs directly on top of them even if the dwarves can't reach that Z-level (although they will be able to once they finish building the down stairs...which are on the z-level they can't reach).

In effect, they can build horizontally and upwards, but not downwards, regardless of what supports are present.

[Devastator]

That's because the floor is incuded in up stairs.  Down stairs have no floor under them, or roof above them.  If you build just up stairs, you're also building a floor under them.

Dwarves can build vertically, but only directly above them.  This limits them to building down stairs only above up stairs, because they have to be standing on up stairs to get to the other side of the down stairs.  They can't build directly down.

If you're trying to build them in an open space square, they do not have supports.  The only way they have supports is if they are built on up stairs.

What you're asking them to do is attach rocks to the bottom of rocks below them.  Not particularly easy to do.

[Exponent]

My post Ropes for Building Downward contains a suggestion that would work around this limitation, and is hopefully easy enough to implement and realistic enough to not cause complaints.  I'm curious what people's thoughts are on it.