Here is a link to my first LP video of this mod, if u wanna check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWjPsq1Di3s
Awesome. I noticed that the bog trolls were missing in worldgen, which is a bug that seems to just keep coming back. I *think* it's finally dead and buried in v0.11, which will be out in a few days.
Also, it's difficult to really get a feel for the mod in a short session, especially at the beginning. The only two things that were really noticeable were the civilizations and a few plants (bluebells are the blue mushrooms, mousebulbs are the yellow ones). Expect things to get more exciting when you start digging deeper and get attacked.
Also, I have been tossing around an idea for castes, which, as you mentioned, are not elaborated on. The intention was to leave as many default files untouched as possible for compatability's sake, but as the mod continues to develop, this may not be an option after a while. I have been playing with the idea of "savants," dwarves with [SLOW_LEARNER] tokens that have a single, very high natural skill. Sometimes, a birth would result in something like an "Armor Prodigy," who starts with an expert level armor smith skill, but takes longer to learn any other roles. If I do decide to implement this idea, it will probably be a fair way down the road.
Well Patchouli does have a point in that if there is no way for less advanced techs to get started, the "unupgraded" gameplay would need to remain interesting, I suppose. Unless that's the point they were trying to make the entire time. If so I apologize for getting this hubbub started.
None of the current (and, indeed, few of the planned) features will be back-adjusted for a tech tree. Mithril will always occur in rock. Iovium will always be there to be mined. Ether will always be a rare product of alchemy, and anything currently doable by the dwarves will be doable without even touching the tech tree. The tech tree idea is simply there to reward the fortresses who succeed and overcome certain challenges (either by luck or by skill). I will never tie a weapon to a tech tree workshop that is essential for a job or for fighting an enemy, nor will I provide tech tree advancements that rely entirely on fortune's favor, such as a megabeast drop, without alternative methods for accomplishing a similar advancement. I also have no plans to ever create a metal that surpasses adamantine in either value or combat strength. The base system is set up to allow prepared dwarves to go toe-to-toe with any enemy (the voidwalkers are difficult, but by no means immortal) and survive and prosper without ever needing to advance the tech tree. The tech tree is just going to be there to provide alternate methods of advancement and goals for established, successful fortresses.