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[NTJedi]

So I created some pen pastures a good distance from my fort which have animals surrounded by fortifications, roof and open pits thus only the elite goblin archer types would be able to attack and waste their ammo on them.  I have some animal questions:
A}  Do some animals have better vision than other animals?
B}  What animals have the best ability to dodge ranged attacks?
C}  Would the larger size animals be better to use since they can take more damage?

[ResMar]

A}  Do some animals have better vision than other animals?
Not that I know of.

B}  What animals have the best ability to dodge ranged attacks?
Smaller ones.

C}  Would the larger size animals be better to use since they can take more damage?
Maybe, but they won't be able to dodge arrows as easily.

[i2amroy]

if you put windows directly inside of the fortifications then the animals will still be able to see out but they will no longer be able to be shot by enemies.

[NTJedi]

if you put windows directly inside of the fortifications then the animals will still be able to see out but they will no longer be able to be shot by enemies.

Someone told me animals can see thru fortifications... even when not standing right next to the fortification so I thought I wouldn't need windows.  Do fortifications block visual sight for animals?

[Sphalerite]

Fortifications don't block line of sight for anyone.

[i2amroy]

if you put windows directly inside of the fortifications then the animals will still be able to see out but they will no longer be able to be shot by enemies.

Someone told me animals can see thru fortifications... even when not standing right next to the fortification so I thought I wouldn't need windows.  Do fortifications block visual sight for animals?

As Sphalerite said they don't block sight.

What I am saying is that if you put a ring of windows directly inside of your ring of fortifications, then the animals will still be able to see out and you won't need to worry about any goblin shooting them, elite or otherwise. This is because the windows stop the bolts from striking the animal, and the fortifications stop building destroyers from destroying the windows.

[NTJedi]

What I am saying is that if you put a ring of windows directly inside of your ring of fortifications, then the animals will still be able to see out and you won't need to worry about any goblin shooting them, elite or otherwise. This is because the windows stop the bolts from striking the animal, and the fortifications stop building destroyers from destroying the windows.

I actually want "only" the elite goblins to shoot at them and with enough animals(& luck) I will be able to empty their quiver before they reach my main fort.

[Garath]

heh. I actually have a few animals above my entrance, reachable only by flyers, that are supposed to do exactly that, soak up the some bolts. I've found larger creatures better for this, especially with "extras" to be hit (4 legs, extra humps, horns and whatnot), since smaller creatures tend to bleed to death after one or two hits. On the other hand, they're running all over the 7x3 area set aside for them, so most bolts miss anyway

[Werdna]

Rather than trying to run an Elite out of arrows, which they tend to be depressingly deadly with, my design goal is usually to get them to stand still firing long enough in one particular place for Bad Stuff To Happen.  Magma shower, surprise atomsmasher, retracting bridge dropping them into your dog pound next to a squad of melee, etc. 

Like Garath I use big animals as bolt soakers too, but I have grazing turned off so that makes design easier than it might otherwise be.  In the past I've also used cats as chaff using a cage; you need a cat-heavy embark and after the first few fort years bundle all the spare cats into a single cage and connect it to a "In case of Elite Archer" lever.  Instant cluster-target!

[theothersteve7]

It's probably more efficient to place animals that can be easily replaced rather than ones that will survive longer.

I'm a big fan of making my towers accessible from underground via a tunnel system, and generally building them large enough to station a marksdwarf squad in.  Tunnel systems are very quick to dig out and very cool; be careful that you don't create an accidental back door to your fort though.

[Garath]

It's probably more efficient to place animals that can be easily replaced rather than ones that will survive longer.

Do you have any clue how fast giant dingos breed? as fast as dogs. So they soak up more bolts and are easily replaced. Or you mean they die, so you don't have crippled animals that don't dodge bolts anymore? well, that's what butchers are for.

[NTJedi]

Rather than trying to run an Elite out of arrows, which they tend to be depressingly deadly with, my design goal is usually to get them to stand still firing long enough in one particular place for Bad Stuff To Happen.  Magma shower, surprise atomsmasher, retracting bridge dropping them into your dog pound next to a squad of melee, etc. 

Like Garath I use big animals as bolt soakers too, but I have grazing turned off so that makes design easier than it might otherwise be.  In the past I've also used cats as chaff using a cage; you need a cat-heavy embark and after the first few fort years bundle all the spare cats into a single cage and connect it to a "In case of Elite Archer" lever.  Instant cluster-target!

   At the moment my soldiers only take damage when an elite archer type arrives or if an ambush gets super lucky since I rarely have dwarves outside fort walls.  For game balance reasons my fort always has a constant open path which leads to the center of my fort... until goblins sieges are provided tools/devices to destroy or get around a sealed fortress.  I don't use any "instant kill" methods such as magma shower or atomsmasher.  The retracting bridge can work when certain conditions are met such as the elite standing in the correct spot and standing long enough for the retracting bridge to open.  The cat cage would work great unless the elite was traveling with multiple goblin friends.  I try limiting the number of animals on maps for battling FPS, so currently only two female cats where only male kittens are kept and female kittens are slaughtered.   
   The other benefit of having these pen pastures which only elites can shoot is the elite are usually a leader of a group, thus during a siege one group will be separated from the main siege attack which makes the fort easier to defend.