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[mrchace]

So i have been trying to build an above ground only fort with a few "quarrys" to supply stone and metal but have come to the realization that i cant place beds outside.

how to i make my exterior buildings register interiors as well as the proper construction method for multiple story above ground structures?

on a side note is it possible to embark with more then 7 dwarves, and how can i use nobles and military commanders with different civs in fortress mode after making a new world after editing raws?

i am fairly comfortable with a majority of standard porcedures while starting a standard fort. just trying to broaden my building horizons.

Edit: If anyone has any suggestions, edits, vague ideas, or revamps feel free to let us know.

[Agent_86]

Place floors 1 Z level above your walls to create a "roof".  That will allow you to place beds above ground.

[Reverie]

I love making fortresses topside! One major caveat you will face while making one, however, is the need for time and copious amounts of building materials. I find that starting in a temporary underground shelter improves fortress security. Even nicer, perhaps, is digging out the basement of an intended building to serve the same purpose, such as in what would eventually be a roomy chapel undercroft!
As for your bed issue, the previous poster has it right; the bed needs to be indoors.

[Fidna]

I mod in various human and other civs to play as, and like making elaborate topside fortresses (with storage usually underground, and mines outside of the fort itself). It's a slow process though. It's key to make sure you have plenty of access to stone or wood, naturally, though trying to make an adobe fort is kind of fun (clay bricks for all!...it's really slow going). To place beds and such topside you'll need to build roofs as Agent said.

I'll usually generate a world with slightly more starting points than usual sometimes to buy extra basic building materials to get a few buildings up necessary. It can be quite rewarding and fun in a thematic sense though; laying out an elaborate fortress with housing, communal spaces, and substantial defenses takes a long time but it can look really cool.

Also, for the nobles and commanders, look in your entities under the entry for dwarves; at the bottom of their entry you'll see all the nobles they have, and there are tags that define what they do. You don't need to copy them outright, but it might be helpful if you don't feel comfortable making your own at the time (though it would probably be pertinent to rename some).

[orrey]

Yeah, you need to construct a roof out of floors.  The tiles beneath will then be labeled "Inside, Light", and you can place any furniture you like on them.


A few other tips for building vertically -


Dwarves can remove constructions horizontally, but need to be in one of the four cardinal directions to build them.  Keep in mind while designating walls.

Dwarves tend to get stuck behind walls while constructing them.  Placing a suspended construction in the square you don't want them to go will prevent them from moving there while building, such as a statue or wall (then cancel it entirely afterwards).

Constructions are built in order of the last one designated to first one designated.

Up/Down stairs make for good scaffolding, which can be removed much easier than floors since you can do so from below the tile.

If you don't want to quarry too much, you can create an ice (climate permitting) or obsidian farm to produce an infinite amount of building material.  There's information on the wiki about building those.

[RAKninja]

So i have been trying to build an above ground only fort with a few "quarrys" to supply stone and metal but have come to the realization that i cant place beds outside.

how to i make my exterior buildings register interiors as well as the proper construction method for multiple story above ground structures?

on a side note is it possible to embark with more then 7 dwarves, and how can i use nobles and military commanders with different civs in fortress mode after making a new world after editing raws?

i am fairly comfortable with a majority of standard porcedures while starting a standard fort. just trying to broaden my building horizons.

building topside is great fun.  dont forget to carve some walls into fortifications for your marksdwarves.

[mrchace]

Wow guys thanks a lot for your input.

To go about constructing a roof I need to place an Up-stair on the floor the needs the roof, build the roof then destroy the stairs, is it possible to cover the square that once provided access to the roof with a floor before removing it.

Ok and this leads to another question.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

What is the benefit to turning stone into blocks before using them to build with? By doing so are you essentially making it possible to carry more then one piece of one material at a time since I think blocks are stored in bins right?

Also while its on my mind,

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Lets say I've got a 4 x 4 embark site with a elevation variation from 0 - 2 like:
0000
0110
0220
0110

is it possible to use my dwarfs to level that site? I'm sure it would take an extremely long time and meticulous planning...

The reason for the topside fort is a challenge I've invented for myself.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I am going to create the Bastion of Hope. A hyper-fortified Forgotten Beast Bomb shelter essentially which in turn is a super trap in itself. The idea pretty much being, without cheating, to create a topside fortress using no natural defenses, no stupid dwarf tricks, and no elaborate traps (drowning chambers, lava) and that is completely self sufficient (Including wood from cavern access). The entire city/fort itself is going to be a labyrinth of death with every turn and corner being a quick delivery to hell system employed by a mix of a highly trained military with several choke off points throughout the design in case the invading force is superior to my death dealing systems. These choke off points are what I would consider impassable barricades of torment and despair where my archers will pincushion anything in sight. Between the Dwarfs on the ground, a trapped entrance, and my archers I doubt anything will make it past the first chokepoint. In the actual case of a FB each checkpoint will probably be needed as I manage my military though the crazy tunnel systems. Each chokepoint will have Dwarf-only passages to the entrance and each other checkpoint so I can continue to recycle manpower as I play with what I caught in my devious trap...


For the cherry on top of the whole deal, im going to build a super castle with a throne room made of gold and a custom room (probably each out of a different material) for every noble in my fort. The castle will be staffed with the strongest (Legendary) military and is the last thing reachable in the fortress. We're talking probably a 10 to 20 Z-level castle with spires and the whole gambit... made of precious material most likely.

On the side:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

If I were to take the time to custom design each races nobles would I A) Have to start over on the new version and B) would I have to create a new world. Edit: (i do cuz im adding to the raws... poop)

Edit: Another side note on mods, when using a race such as humans that do not have alcohol dependency in the raws do they live off of nearby rivers and if there arnt any do I need to make a well my first priority in this case? Also when playing a Dwarf in adventure mode (probably in the future when Eating and Drink become necessary again) are they still Alcohol Dependent?

If you only need temporary access to the roof you should use a ramp, otherwise you'll remove the top part of the stairs and get stuck.

Genius.

on a side note is it possible to embark with more then 7 dwarves, ---

[Newbunkle]

Wow guys thanks a lot for your input.

To go about constructing a roof I need to place an Up-stair on the floor the needs the roof, build the roof then destroy the stairs, is it possible to cover the square that once provided access to the roof with a floor before removing it.

If you only need temporary access to the roof you should use a ramp, otherwise you'll remove the top part of the stairs and get stuck.

[mrchace]

If anyone has any suggestions, edits, vague ideas, or revamps feel free to let us know.

[Reverie]

If anyone has any suggestions, edits, vague ideas, or revamps feel free to let us know.

About what you have asked...I can say that the embark may take a little while to dig out, but a solid group of miners could finish the job with relative ease. Just know that if you were to dig out those layers, little time would exist when you finish for you to build a wall or some sort of shelter before you start getting harrassed by goblins and kobolds. I would wait until you had a sizable migrant wave before you draft some miners, because from the start, you will need masons and/or carpenters (whichever applies to what materials you want to use) to make your fortress defensible.
Also, I don't think adventure mode dwarves mind drinking water, such as long as they don't get thirsty.
As for vague ideas, I have plenty I could share that I find makes surface-dwelling an enjoyable experience!
If you like variety, and plan on creating a town surrounding the bastion, try and make buildings set to specific purposes you can relate to. For example, create a bartender profession, and assign a single dwarf to it. I find that building a pub (complete with a dining hall) is much more flavorful than just assigning him/her to a still to just churn out alcohol. For food, build a restaurant, and for berthing, houses and elaborate apartment blocks. I find the game to be infinitely more enjoyable when I do not build symmetrically, or even too efficiently.
If two dwarves were to marry, try giving them a house to live in. In doing so, marriage becomes a memorable occasion in place of what seemed like just flavor text and impending children. The party following the ceremony might happen at the pub, or the restaurant, or possibly even in the newly assigned dining room of the house that was gifted to them! I have always remembered these parties over those in fortresses containing all-purpose meeting halls for everyone that is not nobility.
These fun little details come easily to me only for surface fortresses, for the simple reason that I can relate to them. Other reasons exist, and I could go on and on about things I love to do in these fortresses, but this post could go on forever that way. Good luck with the bastion--it sounds very ambitious!

[Urist_McArathos]

Easy but somewhat exploity method for getting building materials fast:  find a site with clay.

Have three or so kilns set to gather clay on repeat.  Clay in its gathered form counts as a stone, so you can build with it WITHOUT baking it into bricks.  Since even one square generates infinite clay, just set down a 3x3 or so zone for clay gathering, and with three kilns spamming the gather order, you'll have over 100 clay stones in no time.  As you may have learned already, that amount isn't NEAR enough to build even a halfway decent surface fort (especially when you consider that a simple 10x3 dormitory requires almost 90 stones just to wall and roof).

[SinisterMinisterX]

To go about constructing a roof I need to place an Up-stair on the floor the needs the roof, build the roof then destroy the stairs, is it possible to cover the square that once provided access to the roof with a floor before removing it.

Make the roof level stairs a down stair, and cover it with a hatch when you're done.

[Urist_McArathos]

To go about constructing a roof I need to place an Up-stair on the floor the needs the roof, build the roof then destroy the stairs, is it possible to cover the square that once provided access to the roof with a floor before removing it.

Make the roof level stairs a down stair, and cover it with a hatch when you're done.

You could also build the stairway OUTSIDE the building (adjacent to the outer wall), then deconstruct the stairs when you're done. 

[Kay12]

Protip for topside constructions - clay provides infinite building stone.

[RAKninja]

Protip for topside constructions - clay provides infinite building stone.

but a clay fort isnt as dwarfy as a hulking box of obsidian.