I was thinking it would be interesting to start a fortress where every migration wave founds a new minifort. Every one would have a unique size depending on the wave that started it, they would all have different projects, and in general it would be a cool simulation of some sort of simplified dwarven nation.
There are a few hitches though. The first is supplies, while the initial wave would have the necessary tools and some food and seeds the immigrants could show up with no tools. I would like to solve this with some sort of interfort trading system, but I'm not sure how to do it. I was thinking I could make a burrow linking two forts and activating dump sites in the target fort, then I mark the items I want traded for dumping, and then removing the burrow and reclaiming the items. FUN could be increased by only allowing trading after the initial setup to happen through the caverns.
The next issue is the real trading. If I build a depot at each minifort would the traders visit the same one every time or at random? Perhaps I could use interfort trading to move crafts to the capital then return some of what I purchase to each minifort. It might be enjoyable to make every minifort specialize in something, one is a source of metal, another crafts it, another breeds animals...
Finally there is the question of military, I like the idea of every minifort defending itself as best it can, but that could be pretty hard when big sieges start showing up. Perhaps in the event of a major incursion all miniforts will send out their soldiers in a coordinated group.
So does this all sound feasible and enjoyable? Any other ideas and suggestions would be welcome.