Print

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

[smeeprocket]

There is the chance any retractable bridge built will deconstruct when I try to retract it to drop GSWs into the lower tank. I have experimented with hatch covers, and neither cages not bridges can be placed on them for any sort of release mechanism.

Retracting bridges don't deconstruct due to too much weight; they just won't retract.

The quickest way to test whether or not a GSW will prevent a bridge from retracting, I think, would be to make a throwaway test world with rocs modded [PET][COMMON_DOMESTIC]. Buy a roc, pasture it on a bridge, see if the bridge will retract.

Adding onto that, if you wanted to see whether water makes a difference you can use DFHack to fill one or more tiles with water instead of doing a bunch of extra engineering to get your bridge submerged.

Regarding your map borders, you should be able to build walls in the spots you can't build bridges.

It's not just that, I need to block off all tiles along the edges to minimize land animal spawning. This is not possible with the ramps.

I have no problem getting my bridge submerged, it is finding out if a swimming giant sperm whale will deconstruct the bridge if I try to retract it.

I thought hatch covers might be a solution, but they don't seem to be.

[Dirst]

I thought hatch covers might be a solution, but they don't seem to be.

I wonder if giving them [CANOPENDOORS] would help.  Then trying to picture that actually happening.

[smeeprocket]

It's not them getting through the hatch covers, I just have to designate keep tightly closed off and water and they will rush through, but here is my problem using 2 dimensions

|  w     w       |
|----------------|
|  [c]  [c]        F

the mid line be a retractable bridge if that could work. Or a hatch cover if cages could be placed on them.

The [c] is a cage trap, originally F (floodgate) is opened to lure the whale or whales in. Once they enter the traps the room is drained. At that time the upper room is also without water. Thr cages are then placed in the upper room and it is filled with water. The cages are opened with a lever.

Male whale and female whale cavort and do birds and bees stuff and baby whale is born. The room below has had it's cage traps reset. The bridge retracts and the water and the tank contents go into the lower room and the whale family all get trapped in cages. Baby whale is taken out of the cage and air drowns. She is butchered very nearby and dwarves rush to put the delicious meat in a nearby stockpile with a ton of barrels available.

Bottom is drained, whales are set back up in there levered cages up top. Top is flooded. repeat.

The problem right now is whether or not a swimming giant sperm whale will simply deconstruct any retracting bridge I try to retract while on the top.

[rmblr]

I would like to draw this thread's attention to a minor thread in the modding forum that will likely be of interest to fellow Great Sperm Whale aficionados.

Modding the Sperm Whale; a Monomaniacal Quest

[rmblr]

The problem right now is whether or not a swimming giant sperm whale will simply deconstruct any retracting bridge I try to retract while on the top.

I don't think anyone knows TBH, no one whose gazing at the forums and is likely to respond anyways. You might have to conduct some !!Science!! for us all!

[Button]

Retracting bridges don't deconstruct due to too much weight; they just won't retract.

I have no problem getting my bridge submerged, it is finding out if a swimming giant sperm whale will deconstruct the bridge if I try to retract it.

 

[GavJ]

Dude just make the breeding pools go sideways, whatever.

_______
|~~IXX|

~ = breeding area
I = 1 wide raising bridge
X = underwater cage traps. Open and wait a minute for them to swim in sideways all of them into traps.

[rmblr]

Good idea. To ensure they swim to the new area place some dogs on chains, behind glass (?) and a bridge, to scare them over.

[WDDworf]

I actually don't have a lot to add about Whales specifically, but wanted to share my current fort.
(The previous one was 100% predesigned, but didn't work out great and went for the adhoc approach).

Inspiration for this fort came partially from this thread.
I embarked on a 4x4 embark, only having 3 tiles land; includes an arctic, freezing, ocean and a cold temperate ocean.
It's frozen about 50% of the year, might be 1 or 2 weeks longer frozen than thawed.

All biomes are savage and neutral; the caverns are 1 big mess. (I think the upper 2 levels are merged into deep pits with breaking paths; got a forbidden beast stuck in a tree)

I have yet to encounter Whales, although they should be available and I picked an arctic area in order to prevent most other animals to come.
Fishing is close to perfect. (made a larger area above the ocean with grates for safe fishing.. using the frozen period to process all raw fish)
Managed to hunt Weasels, Giant Weasels, Weaselmen and a lot of sea others. (giant albatross and such once in a while)

Haven't actually began building a drowning chamber, because there don't seem to be any larger animals in the ocean itself.
Only animals entered by walking on the ice, which were only the Sea Otters and 1 Giant Human. (my only succesful military campaign; where 10-20 dwarves had their heads bitten off within a second in other campaigns)

Does the freezing prevent any larger oceanic creatures to come? (only amphibians come atm)
Follow-up question.. It is possible to melt the ocean layer by running magma in the layer below it, right?

Might not be able to do that, as 75% is aquifer and built my fort in the only larger clean area. (huge ass bridges connects fort with shore on a higher level)

-edit : forgot to mention I managed to get breeding Draltha's, but it's not whale related

[Dwarf4Explosives]

Good idea. To ensure they swim to the new area place some dogs on chains, behind glass (?) and a bridge, to scare them over.

You do need a window rather than just a glass wall, though.

[khearn]

The problem right now is whether or not a swimming giant sperm whale will simply deconstruct any retracting bridge I try to retract while on the top.

According to the wiki page on bridges, "Bridges will not operate if any one creature of size 1200000 or larger is on them." By "operate" they mean raise/retract. It's attempting to lower or unretract a bridge onto a heavy creature that will cause it to deconstruct.

In a way, that's too bad. If retracting it from under a heavy creature deconstructed the bridge, you'd be fine. You'd have to rebuild the bridge after every time you drop the whales into the lower chamber, but it would still work.

But with the way it actually works, it looks like you won't be able to drop the whales at all.

From a real-world physics point of view, it's kind of silly, since you can drop a room full of 7/7 water, and a given volume of space with water and a whale of any weight will weigh exactly the same as the same volume of just water (assuming the whale is completely submerged). But then, we all know that DF physics are a completely different kettle of whales.

   Keith

[smeeprocket]

yes this is the problem I am looking at currently.

Either the fact that the whale is swimming means the bridge will work, ooor I will be stuck with a single whale in one tank.

So here's the next option.

Third floor of the tank I have recessed cages, there are no actual floors. I release the cage with a lever (the sides and backs have walls constructed after the cage is placed.)

When the whale exits (will it exit?) It will, presumably fall into the tank, or would this not work. I could use hatches on the second floor to control the flow of water and move the whales back down to the trapped room as needed.

But I'm wondering if the whale exiting will get stuck on the cage tile itself. Thereby air drowning.

[smeeprocket]

Here it is guys. The levers all work but it is otherwise untested.

There are barrels reserved and a butcher shop right by a pasture outside. They are all very close together and more barrels still need to be made to be reserved. If you want to trap giant sperm whales, enjoy.

http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=10136

[WDDworf]

I think I might give it a shot as well..
No idea wether I can implement the design from within the ocean, but I'll see.

I was wondering about 1 thing.. and not sure wether I read it here..

How much are creatures affected by the water flow?

If you would cause a (large) drain on the ocean, would animals be somewhat diverted to that drain?

[smeeprocket]

to cause a large drain in the ocean, you qould have to drain it somewhat. I'm not sure that would help.

Interestingly, I had some jellyfish gathered at the entrance to my traps as they flooded, but I lost sight of them. So there must be some pull.

I am updating the save file, this one has most of the animals slaughtered and lower chambers with their own floodgates, since it seemed liked creatures wanted to hang around down there more. There are no traps there though because it can't be drained.

All the levers now have notes that are viewable using N, let me know if I marked something wrong.