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[darkflagrance]

You can loot the stuff of dead traders from the ground. As a matter of fact, you should do so, if you don't do it, kobolds will steal even forbidden wares from outside and send ambush squads against you. And you could just massacre traders who waltz into your fort but refuse to trade, and take their stuff too. Unless of course they are fellow dwarves, you'd better not hurt those.

Yes, I discovered this. It's a consolation prize. Instead of getting just what I want from the caravan, I get random stuff for free.

It's a bit of an exploit, but I routinely build a 3 tile wide walled path from the trade depot to the map edge, and then seal off the last 5 tiles where you can't build walls with raising bridges, so nothing can get into that path from the rest of the surface.  Caravans will only appear in that path.  Diplomats and Liaisons will still appear randomly on any surface edge tile, so I need to have an alternate way into the fortress set up for them.

I did this on rephikul's suggestion. But it didn't quite work. One trader spawned in the 3 tile zone. The others spawned way outside of it forcing me to drop the bridges, set an alert, and post squads in hopes, once again, that the traders could get in before getting run down. It does make the fort easier to defend though. So I'm grateful.

rephikul's other suggestion, checking the D key, gave unexpected results. The wiki says D is currently inaccurate and misleading but regardless, I just get a green blob island around the depot in a sea of red. "No access", it says. Incidentally, the green blob does have a 3-tile wide arm that extends a short distance from the depot. But these 3 green tiles are in the middle of a 5-tile open path.

Thoughts?

...This should land you some goblinite to melt down and then use in your own fort

I have no fuel for this "melt" that you speak of.

If there are boulders in the path, your dwarves can walk on them, but I think they might disrupt the caravan.

[NecroRebel]

The (D)epot thing isn't actually misleading, you just need to know how to read it (as with... everything in DF, really).

A lot of things block wagon access to the depot (which is what the D-thing shows), even things that are otherwise passable. All stairs, for instance, block it, as do hatch covers, boulders, doors (open and closed), passable tiles of workshops, and lots of other things. If the route to the map edge isn't completely made from floors, roads, bridges, floor grates, and ramps, you're likely to have problems. If there's anywhere you can't draw a 3x3 square of wagon-passable tiles, the wagon won't be able to pass by there, and wagons can't move diagonally, either.

When in doubt, pave the whole path except for ramps and bridges with roads. Anywhere you can't build a road should be assumed to be wagon-impassable. Alternatively, show us your setup and maybe we can spot what's wrong where you can't.

[i2amroy]

This is of course, assuming that you have the fixed SDL or have used DF Hack to bring wagons back. Elsewise no wagons are going to show up regardless of what you do since they are currently bugged.

[Sphalerite]

This is of course, assuming that you have the fixed SDL or have used DF Hack to bring wagons back. Elsewise no wagons are going to show up regardless of what you do since they are currently bugged.

Irrelevant.  Even if wagons never show up, the game still checks for a path that a wagon can traverse when deciding where the caravans will appear.

[i2amroy]

Of course. I was simply pointing out that whether or not you have a path you can still get traders to arrive, it's just that having a wagon path makes it easier if you wish to control where they will arrive on your map.

[Poindexterity]

you have a legendary axedwarf. melt down some goblinite and give him a proper weapon.
assign some flunkies to him and send him.
you'll be amazed at how well straight up ol elbow grease does the trick.

[Edges]

you have a legendary axedwarf. melt down some goblinite and give him a proper weapon.
assign some flunkies to him and send him.
you'll be amazed at how well straight up ol elbow grease does the trick.

Yeah, again it's that word "melt" that's the snag. My fuel comes from the caravans that I don't get. Perhaps my smelter will burn this grease of the elbow that you refer to.

The (D)epot thing isn't actually misleading, you just need to know how to read it (as with... everything in DF, really).

A lot of things block wagon access to the depot (which is what the D-thing shows), even things that are otherwise passable. All stairs, for instance, block it, as do hatch covers, boulders, doors (open and closed), passable tiles of workshops, and lots of other things. If the route to the map edge isn't completely made from floors, roads, bridges, floor grates, and ramps, you're likely to have problems. If there's anywhere you can't draw a 3x3 square of wagon-passable tiles, the wagon won't be able to pass by there, and wagons can't move diagonally, either.

When in doubt, pave the whole path except for ramps and bridges with roads. Anywhere you can't build a road should be assumed to be wagon-impassable. Alternatively, show us your setup and maybe we can spot what's wrong where you can't.

Ah! This may be it. I did find a boulder in the path which I have smoothed and now D gives me a green line to the desired edge. Here's hoping that traders can get through.

Thanks.

[MarcAFK]

Burn trees?

[Edges]

Burn trees?

They grow so slowly. I embarked in the woodlands but I've long since deforested. One or two pop up each year it seems. After all the sieges, I only have one woodcutter left and he's the mayor. I could risk sending him outside the walls to cut those two trees down like he did last year. I'm not sure that will be enough fuel to melt and forge though. Don't you only get fractional bars from melting and it costs a whole unit of fuel?

[MarcAFK]

You could dig down to the first cavern layer, then you'll get trees spawning on every underground dirt tile.
I suppose digging much further would be easier if you don't mind the FB's etc.

[Edges]

You could dig down to the first cavern layer, then you'll get trees spawning on every underground dirt tile.
I suppose digging much further would be easier if you don't mind the FB's etc.

I did that actually. Those trees grow awfully slowly too. I have a whole bunch of underground saplings. So maybe someday my dreams will come true. There's only one layer of soil here (not counting the surface). And I use a 3x2 embark to keep my Jurassic computer's FPS reasonable. So the arboretum is limited.

[kardwill]

The other half get behind my walls until the battle is over and then promptly depart without ever setting foot in the depot.

Do they have access to the depot when they are here behind the walls? If yes, why not make business DURING the battle?
I thend to build a "trading outpost", with drawbridges at the entrance, and in the tunnel between the tunnel and the fortress. That way, the depot can be accessed without endangering the fort. When the merchants are at the depot, close the gates, open the access tunnel, dispose of any intruder that might have followed the merchants, and trade safely.

[Edges]

The other half get behind my walls until the battle is over and then promptly depart without ever setting foot in the depot.

Do they have access to the depot when they are here behind the walls? If yes, why not make business DURING the battle?
I thend to build a "trading outpost", with drawbridges at the entrance, and in the tunnel between the tunnel and the fortress. That way, the depot can be accessed without endangering the fort. When the merchants are at the depot, close the gates, open the access tunnel, dispose of any intruder that might have followed the merchants, and trade safely.

Thankfully it's a moot point. Since I took the advice upthread of controlling where the caravan spawns, the traders walk safely in without bother from the hoards.

But back when it was a problem, they wouldn't trade. If one or two traders managed to escape the slaughter, they would just cover behind the walls until the danger passed. If I went to the depot, it would say that there were no traders trading now. Believe me, I wanted their precious cargo and would have been happy to trade during battle. It seems that once the caravan gets attacked, trading is off the table.

I like your outpost idea though.

[Babylon]

You could dig down to the first cavern layer, then you'll get trees spawning on every underground dirt tile.
I suppose digging much further would be easier if you don't mind the FB's etc.

I did that actually. Those trees grow awfully slowly too. I have a whole bunch of underground saplings. So maybe someday my dreams will come true. There's only one layer of soil here (not counting the surface). And I use a 3x2 embark to keep my Jurassic computer's FPS reasonable. So the arboretum is limited.

You can also start an underground tree farm by getting stone wet. 

[Edges]

You could dig down to the first cavern layer, then you'll get trees spawning on every underground dirt tile.
I suppose digging much further would be easier if you don't mind the FB's etc.

I did that actually. Those trees grow awfully slowly too. I have a whole bunch of underground saplings. So maybe someday my dreams will come true. There's only one layer of soil here (not counting the surface). And I use a 3x2 embark to keep my Jurassic computer's FPS reasonable. So the arboretum is limited.

You can also start an underground tree farm by getting stone wet.

I did not know that. Thanks for the tip. I presume it only works for rough stone?