Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[mustafa2812]

So apparently wagons can't go over weapon traps anymore so I am curious how I can make a path into my fortress for wagons without lining it with traps.  I included a picture of the ground level of my fortress with my moat and trap "corridor".  Should I make a snaking path around my fort that is longer than my trap "corridor"?  Would the goblins choose the shorter path even though its full of traps?  Suggestions please! 

[Garath]

in general goblins and other nasties choose the shorter path. I'd suggest using the search option of the forum, since even on this very page (first in gameplay questions) is someone with the question why it is inaccessible, plus suggestions what to do. The question has come up a lot, as you can imagine... I hope a short use of the search function isn't too much.

to answer anyway: yes, a long, winding path, preferably 6 wide (to let caravans pass eachother) however you can put some traps on the turns (enemies cut the corners) as additional security, and don't forget to include raisable bridges. The short, direct route can be as usual

just in case you're lazy:
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=113361.0

one of the later posts has pictures too, but uses spoilers, which is easier on slower connections and computers as it makes pictures hidden untill you open them

[mustafa2812]

Thanks, using the search function actually turned out to not be too much effort for me.  I used it before this post and didn't really find the direct answer I was looking for.  Your link was very helpful though and I think I can figure it out from there.  Only other question is:  If my depot is inaccessible because my drawbridge is up and a caravan comes, will it bypass my site right away or will I have time to register that the caravan is here and lower my bridge?  I just ask because I don't want to have a minimally guarded entrance to my fort for caravans and have to leave it open.  Thanks for the help

[Garath]

it will not arrive, you need to have the depot accessible right away, no matter where, for wagons to get there in the first place. Please don't try to make several depots, that way lies a lot of problems. More than one depot tends to mess the traders up a lot.

[JLT]

The caravan will bypass your fort if the depot is not accessible. Lowering the bridge after the announcement won't turn the wagon around.

An easy solution is to build the trade depot outside of your current fortress walls. Build a wall around it, with a bridge to the outside and a bridge to the inside of your "court yard". The outer bridge can be left open indefinitely.  If the inner bridge is closed, the worst that can happen is that trolls destroy your trade depot (they're building destroyer) if you don't close the outer bridge during a siege (or massacre the traders, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing...). The caravan just checks accessibility of the TD, there doesn't need to be a path to the inside of your fort.
Only open the inner bridge once the caravan has arrived in your trade depot, close the outer bridge, and trade in safety. To let the caravan out, do the opposite.

Btw, sometimes weapon traps to the sides of a bridge/opening directly at the wall can be very effective, too, because goblins tend to go the shortest route. If they don't turn up directly opposite of your bridge, they'll "hug the wall" to get to an opening, and directly over/into your weapon trap.

[WealthyRadish]

If you want to leave the two corridors open all the time to allow for traders, I'd recommend digging a 1x1 pit somewhere in the center lane of the trap corridor, and pasturing a war dog or some other animal in there with a floor grate over it. Building destroyers will occasionally deconstruct the grate, but it'll detect kobolds before they reach your depot, which is rather important. Multiple trap entrances may also be handy, in case those weapon traps get clogged with corpses and let invaders through during a particularly gnarly siege. That, or having a bridge at the beginning and end of the corridor, to seal it off and let dwarves clean up before letting another batch of gobbos in. Also, some repeating spike traps couldn't hurt, since titans avoid standard weapon traps.

[Leonidas]

Carvans only arrive in predictable narrow time windows, usually the 15th of the last month of each season. So if you're worried about security, stay buttoned up until the 10th, close back up once the merchants are inside, then open back up when they're ready to go.