Moving one step diagonally takes about 1.4 times longer than moving one step orthogonally.For example, when you need to build more bedrooms it can be a lot more efficient to dig down one level than to place the new rooms 20 tiles farther from the center of your fortress. A dwarf climbs or descends one z-level in the same time it takes to move one step horizontally. An efficient fortress must make good use of all three dimensions.It's a good idea to store your booze in a centralized location, and to designate a meeting hall in a similarly centralized place. To reduce the amount of time that your dwarves spend walking, common areas should be placed near the center of your fort.Otherwise your dwarves will be constantly running into each other and productivity will be slowed. Major hallways should be at least two tiles wide, preferably three tiles. There are a few other things to consider for basic fortress efficiency: When utilizing a large storage stockpile, for food or wood for example, the optimal approach is to place a small stockpile next to the workshop and have the small stockpile "take" from the large stockpile. If you can spare the space, you can carve out a 5x5 room and place the 3x3 workshop in the center, leaving 16 surrounding tiles for input storage. An efficient arrangement is to place output stockpiles directly above or below your workshops and connect them with stairs. Some workshops will need more if multiple raw ingredients are needed. Is your still near some empty barrels and plants? Does your mason have easy access to stone? A smelter must have quick access to both ore and fuel.Īs a general rule of thumb, each workshop should have at least a 3x3 stockpile area associated with it. Almost every workshop job needs raw materials. Some players also like to place a training barracks near the entrance to the fort so that the militia can quickly respond to attackers. Usually this includes placing fortifications (possibly in archer towers), ammunition stockpiles, and cover for your melee dwarves to protect them from approaching archers. Many players like to design their forts with a militia staging area at the main entrance. However, be warned that some enemies are immune to traps. Choke points at major entrances (including entrances to the caverns) make good trap locations. When designing your fort, think about where you want to place traps. Traps are a great way to protect your fort from small groups of attackers. Although you don't have to protect the traders, their civilizations might hold your fortress responsible for any casualties. Is your trade depot going to be inside or outside your main line of defenses? This is another factor to consider when designing your fort. When designing your fort, just give some thought to the placement of scouts and be sure to leave room for them. If your scouts are far enough from your main gate then you ought to have enough warning to lock down the fort, activate the militia, etc. In the event of an ambush the animal will spot the attackers (shortly before dying). The way to avoid these unfortunate events is to use scouts / lookouts.įor small forts, effective scouting could be as simple as tying a war dog (or even a donkey) up near the entrance of your fort. A party of goblin archers might sneak past your main gate before being spotted, or a kobold could make off with your masterpiece crafts when nobody is looking. Swimming beasts might crawl up through your well.Īmbushes and thieves can sneak up on your fortress. Unfortunately, even drawbridges can be rendered inoperable in rare circumstances.įinally, don't forget about attackers from above and below! Flying attackers might use skylights to bypass your doors and drawbridges. Just be sure to connect it to a lever that your dwarves can access quickly and safely in an emergency. You don't need a moat the bridge itself is sufficient since it functions as a wall when raised. Don't rely on doors alone for security, though, as you'll eventually encounter enemies that can break down doors and pick locks.įor more security, place drawbridges at all the entrances. Doors can be locked instantly in an emergency. This can buy you some time while your dwarves prepare their defenses.įor small forts, this could be as simple as placing doors at all the entrances to your fort. In the event of an attack by hostiles you can't handle, you need a way to lock them out. Regardless of specifics, it's important to have a plan for dealing with the several different types of inevitable attacks. Everyone will have their own preferences regarding fortress defense and how to deal with undead, wildlife, hostiles and goblin invaders.
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