One large dormitory, or alot of rooms?

[Red Heifer]

I usually have all my dwarfs in separate rooms, but i was wondering, if i had fine meals and a mist generator, could i get by in a huge dormitory, or a lot of dormitories? I think this would be suicide for werewolf attacks, but might help catch vampires. What do you think?

[Jetrel]

Ive always went with lots of small rooms, easier to lock sick people in and see if they turn werefolf.

[AlP]

"Separate room" can be just a bed with a bedroom 1-tile zone on it. Dormitories are not good.

[Raz]

Dormitories are good at first, it gives your dwarves and new migrants a place to sleep so they don't have to sleep on the floor, avoiding bad thoughts and grumpy moods.
But, having their own individual rooms and furniture gives them even happier thoughts, so its something to do later if you've got free time.

[Sinclair]

I usually have a small dormitory of 10 or so beds to receive new migrants, until I can carve and furnish new rooms for them. Individual rooms are superior for the dwarven sanity, and look really nice on the map.

[Morkonan]

I built a dormitory at first, then small bedrooms. I either convert the dorm or leave it as is... Dunno why, but I used to think it'd be useful to have as an option. (It's not, really)

I don't make huge apartment blocks, though. I make mid-sized ones and put them on different levels depending on how many dorfs may need to be close to where they work and the entertainment/drink they should have access to.

I overbuild services... too. I build multiple taverns, etc. It's a fault, I guess, but I like building the occasion "cozy tavern" somewhere. I've never once had any issue that came up that was caused by doing these things. /shrug

[𝘌]

Small rooms are objectively better compared to large dormitories since dwarves always get a bigger mood buff from them and they are more organized (slightly less lag?). It is kinda hard to make a lot of small rooms look good though since it usually just ends up looking like a soviet apartment block. Lots of good builds on youtube that manage to make room management look good if your interested.

[gooberwoc]

I try to make sure every dwarf has at least a 2x2 room with a bed, a storage container, and a chair. It makes them very happy. Nobles and officials get correspondingly nicer rooms than their normal cousins.

[Bystandard]

I centralize dorms off the main shaft and combine them sorta with workshops. Then add a separate noble quarter which sometime grows past noble needs...

[Morrocco Mole]

Originally posted by 𝘌:

Small rooms are objectively better compared to large dormitories since dwarves always get a bigger mood buff from them and they are more organized (slightly less lag?). It is kinda hard to make a lot of small rooms look good though since it usually just ends up looking like a soviet apartment block. Lots of good builds on youtube that manage to make room management look good if your interested.

One way to avoid the cookie cutter blocks is to find a cavern layer, and dig around the generated open spaces. You will need to take some care to not breach, but it can be much more visually interesting than a grid of, y'know, 30 2x3's connected by a hallway.

[Gopher]

You should always gravitate towards personal rooms. Later on in your play you will be incredibly wealthy and it's one of the few things you can spoil your dwarves with. Also keep in mind gov positions require certain rooms with certain types of things in them.

[Jetrel]

With how frequent massive bar brawls are, I try to keep a separate tavern for my more VIP dwarves. I have had too many forts end with a massive brawl and 30+ deaths. I always make the same VIP's rooms as close to their work areas and personal storages as possible. For the majority, the maze of bedrooms on a deeper safer layer. Each in separate district and their own stairway for ~10 rooms each district to make it easy to lock down with a lever in case someone transforms or something.

[𝘌]

Originally posted by Jetrel:

With how frequent massive bar brawls are, I try to keep a separate tavern for my more VIP dwarves. I have had too many forts end with a massive brawl and 30+ deaths. I always make the same VIP's rooms as close to their work areas and personal storages as possible. For the majority, the maze of bedrooms on a deeper safer layer. Each in separate district and their own stairway for ~10 rooms each district to make it easy to lock down with a lever in case someone transforms or something.

Really?? I'm not sure I have ever had a tavern brawl in my 200+ hours of gameplay, let alone one that could end a fortress. What are you putting in your dwarves beer?

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by 𝘌:

..
Really?? I'm not sure I have ever had a tavern brawl in my 200+ hours of gameplay, let alone one that could end a fortress. What are you putting in your dwarves beer?

Tavern brawls aren't terribly uncommon. Maybe you just haven't noticed any? There are dorfs that like to argue and start fights as well as interpersonal issues that develop.

The catastrophic result is a Loyalty Cascade:

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Faction#Loyalty_cascade

Essentially, the fortress breaks down into intra-faction conflict.

[𝘌]

Originally posted by Morkonan:

Originally posted by 𝘌:

..
Really?? I'm not sure I have ever had a tavern brawl in my 200+ hours of gameplay, let alone one that could end a fortress. What are you putting in your dwarves beer?

Tavern brawls aren't terribly uncommon. Maybe you just haven't noticed any? There are dorfs that like to argue and start fights as well as interpersonal issues that develop.

The catastrophic result is a Loyalty Cascade:

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Faction#Loyalty_cascade

Essentially, the fortress breaks down into intra-faction conflict.

Dang that's still in the game? I thought that was a bug they fixed a couple versions ago. Ive made probably around like 10-12 fortresses and I've never had a loyalty cascade. I've made lots of different shapes and sizes of taverns but the most violence I've ever had is the occasional visitor mercenary beating up a bard for no reason, which has only ever happened a few times.

[Raz]

Originally posted by 𝘌:

Originally posted by Morkonan:

Tavern brawls aren't terribly uncommon. Maybe you just haven't noticed any? There are dorfs that like to argue and start fights as well as interpersonal issues that develop.

The catastrophic result is a Loyalty Cascade:

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Faction#Loyalty_cascade

Essentially, the fortress breaks down into intra-faction conflict.

Dang that's still in the game? I thought that was a bug they fixed a couple versions ago. Ive made probably around like 10-12 fortresses and I've never had a loyalty cascade. I've made lots of different shapes and sizes of taverns but the most violence I've ever had is the occasional visitor mercenary beating up a bard for no reason, which has only ever happened a few times.

I had it happen a few weeks ago lmao.

A goblin swordsman showed up to take an artifact or something, but a bunch of guards jumped him in the main hallway outside my tavern. He took down 6 dwarfs before he died.

There was an elven singer/dancer who got upset at the sight of all the blood and death in the hallway, and she punched another elf girl, who punched her back.

This upset her friend, who happened to be a human soldier, who promptly cut her down on the spot with his sword.

Unfortunately, she was a friend of one of the dwarfs, who attacked the human in retaliation, starting the race riots.

Within just a couple minutes, one dead goblin caused an entire human genocide in my fortress. It was a mess lmao.