I thought windows would stop fluids... Not that I've ever tried that, though.
They may now, but I don't think they used to. Or maybe it's only missiles that they don't stop. I do seem to remember some enterprising designer had decided that he wanted his nobles to live in fear of the water stored outside their bedroom in a "change of regime" system they'd built only to discover that the window didn't hold back water, and consequently his fortress ended up looking like Australia does at the moment. But it could have been a bug that was fixed or I could be remembering it wrong.
-D.B.
Good God, you mean his Fortress ended up being full of Australians? How horrid...
More to the point, back in 40d, the Fortress and the Royal Guard were autonomous, and I liked that. They seemed to have some kind of guarding, patrolling wander they'd do from time to time, and they'd break up the monotony of their day by occasionally bludgeoning a citizen if the Hammerer was otherwise indisposed. I shouldn't need to use the militia to guard my fortress if I have a group who's very job description is already "Guard".
On a generalized 40d-31 bitch, I hate that they keep their civlian identities when their off-duty. If I needed you to still identify as a potash maker, I wouldn't have drafted you into a medical research squad, would I? Yes, I pine for the simplicity of 40d military dynamics. At least until the interface problems are solved. And there is more... permanentness in the draft.