Okay, I have a crazy idea. I want to build a fortress consisting of a tower. It'll have farms around it, then a moat with some sort of bridge. Every dwarf but the miners live in the tower ( or maybe I'll make them live fairly close to the ground ) and I want to have alternating floors with workshops/stockpiles and rooms. It doesn't seem so hard, except for the absurd amounts of stone I'll need. But here's the kicker: I want to also add a permanent waterfall in the middle of the tower. I was thinking of ways to get the water go up, but I can't design that part. At all. Any help?

This is all I could think of for doing that: http://dwarffortresswiki.net/index.php/Pump

Pumping up multiple levels.The easiest way to do this is to stack the pumps directly on top of each other in alternating directions, also known as a pump stack. The first one pumps North to South, the one directly above it pumps South to North, the next one above that pumps North to South again, ad infinitum. Make sure to fully surround the area the water will fill with walls, including diagonals, or water will leak out very fast.

Adjacent pumps automatically transmit mechanical power. If the pumps are "open" (that is, built on channeled tiles) to each other across z-levels, then a stack only requires (sufficient) power to be transferred to one pump. All others will be powered by association with the first. You can transmit power to each pump by simply channeling out the floor at the front (aka output side).

Solution for a freestanding tower - fire escape! You can also consolidate the up and downstairs into a single up/down stair tile. Just build these on top of each other, flipping horizontally each time. Minimal yet aesthetic multi-level water pumping.

There's a diagram on the site.

Hmm, I've almost finished my first weapon.

It's basically a very tall tower ringed by a number of 10x10 retractable bridges that act as a reservoir. While I pull the switch, it can dump 600 tiles worth of molten rock on the poor fools standing beneath it.

To make it appropriately dwarvish, I've named it Flamecascades the Epiphany of Burning.

It can actually be fired right now - the only part to be finished is a safety device.

The safety device dumps the same amount of water on top of the lava.

I hope the next siege appears on that edge of the map!

EDIT: I have tested it.

I'm... I'm so happy!http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...amecascade.png

I've got a kitten breeding pit setup. If all goes well I should have more than enough material for the most incredible mega project in dwarf fortress history. The only problem will be getting the kittens and such out of the pit without causing a kitten flood.

I should really do something with my cage full of cats.

I've just been shoving them in there as the kittens get born.

I had to cull my livestock too - left 'em wandering around and had over a hundred animals clogging up the place.

Now you're thinking with Dwarves

The only animals in my game given free reign are the dogs.
Cats, cows, horses, whatevers... everything aside from a breeding pair immediately gets sent to the butcher's.

In the next release, I'm going to be a bit more careful with my dogs too. Nothing beats a pack of red-furred warhounds rushing down towards your enemies. EDIT: Or if red is out (no doubt) it'll be pitch-black hounds.

The best use for war dogs is to put 'em in cage near the entrance and release them all at once when the enemy gets near. They're bound to do something before being slaughtered.

Aaaanyway. I've been trying the Dig Deeper mod. It's interesting, but the creator obviously hasn't heard of playtesting before. There's so much god damn clutter and extra, unnecessary crap around. For instance, he added something like 50 different instruments and toys (including dozens of different types of "figurines"), each. And if you recall, you can't order a specific type of toy or instrument made; only orders for "toys" and hoping you get the "right" one is permitted. Exactly what am I supposed to do when a noble mandates a specific one of them? It was enough trouble fulfilling their demands when there were only five kinds of toys.

So I'm further modding the raws, pruning out some of the sillier things as I go, and struggling to achieve a happy, balanced Orc nation wherein the defensive options against them aren't limited to (a) creating a long drowning trap or (b) creating a long chasm trap.

Also, I removed the [AQUIFER] tag from every stone and soil type. Life is bliss.

I might actually need upwards of 100 cats, preferably kittens, for my plan. So I'm just gonna keep em all in that pit and hope for an exponential cat growth.

I think the population caps off at something like 50 per animal type.