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Author Topic: Make enemies path in, but keep dwarfs out WITHOUT BURROWS  (Read 740 times)

vassock

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Make enemies path in, but keep dwarfs out WITHOUT BURROWS
« on: February 15, 2016, 06:02:16 pm »

I know this can be done with burrows, but setting them up is very time-consuming. I want invaders to path through my traps, but obviously want to keep my dwarfs from going outside for any tasks. Anyway to do this, like by setting up doors to a certain setting?
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mobucks

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Re: Make enemies path in, but keep dwarfs out WITHOUT BURROWS
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2016, 06:06:33 pm »

Setting up a civilian alert in the military screen and using burrows hardly takes any time at all. You can literally start the burrow in one corner of the map, 1z below the surface, then change z to the bottom of the map and the opposite corner and hit enter and you're done.
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Salmeuk

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Re: Make enemies path in, but keep dwarfs out WITHOUT BURROWS
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2016, 01:40:26 am »

Mobucks is right. The easiest way to do what you're asking is to designate all the safr parts of your fortress as one burrow, and when the invaders come you set up a new alert for the civilians, forcing them into the designated safehouses. I'm certain the wiki can walk you through this, search for military alerts or something like that.
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PatrikLundell

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Re: Make enemies path in, but keep dwarfs out WITHOUT BURROWS
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2016, 03:45:39 am »

Safe houses are NOT safe, as dwarves pass through non burrow territory to reach destinations within the burrow (e.g. when getting hungry).
I typically have 4 burrows for civilian alert activation purposes. One excluding the surface, and 3 excluding each of the caverns. You set them up once and are done with that. Of course, you may need to tweak them occasionally, such as when you decide to strip mine the surface somewhere, and need to remove the parts newly exposed to the surface from your surface civilian alert burrow.

The alternative is quite time consuming, as it requires you to remove every reason for dwarves to move to a location outside of the safe areas. That means you manually have to forbid cages in cage traps (and unforbid them afterwards), disable outdoors refuse hauling (or they'll rush out as soon as the siegers either are killed or slaughters some wildlife), all pieces of wood, etc. on the surface. After the siege you'll probably have to undo what you've done.
You probably should disable all refuse hauling if your traps are "indoors" or the dorfs will rush to the traps to remove any gobby bits stuck in them.
Locking doors is not a good option, since that will also block the path for siegers, so they won't go through your traps. Trolls, if they get close enough to detect the doors, might path to them, but goblins will not.
Oh, you probably have to forbid the parts of regular traps, or your mechanics will rush to fix them when gobbo bits gum them up.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2016, 03:47:24 am by PatrikLundell »
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MobRules

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Re: Make enemies path in, but keep dwarfs out WITHOUT BURROWS
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2016, 10:13:42 am »

For a civilian alert burrow, you don't need to assign the dwarves to burrows individually. You create one "safe areas" burrow covering all the rooms and levels you want (and overlapping solid rock doesn't hurt anything, so you don't need to be precise), and assign it to the civillian alert on the military screen. Then whenever you activate the alert, all dwarves will be limited to the safe-burrow, and when you de-activate the alert the dwarves will no longer be thus limited.

The functionality was designed specifically for the use-case you are describing; any attempt to do it without a civilian alert burrow will therefore be more complicated, finicky, and flakey.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2016, 10:18:47 am by MobRules »
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Diamond

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Re: Make enemies path in, but keep dwarfs out WITHOUT BURROWS
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2016, 10:41:30 am »

Covering your entire fortress in one burrow is as simple as designating from one corner of the map to the other through all below-ground levels the your fortress covers. Restricting all civilians to it can be done through alerts menu. and is simple as well.

Harder (but more flexible) alternative is to turn off all above ground activities, such as refuse gathering from outside and set activity zones like water/fishing/sand underground. And then put the "restricted" traffic area at you entrance. This way dwarves will never wander outside except when you explicitly tell them to, like plant gathering or tree chopping designation.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2016, 10:43:35 am by Diamond »
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greycat

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Re: Make enemies path in, but keep dwarfs out WITHOUT BURROWS
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2016, 11:34:05 am »

A restricted traffic designation will do absolutely nothing to stop a dwarf from crossing through that terrain if there is something on the other side that he wants.  Traffic designation only allows you to influence the path-finding algorithm to prefer one path over another.  It won't prevent pathing.
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Crashmaster

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Re: Make enemies path in, but keep dwarfs out WITHOUT BURROWS
« Reply #7 on: February 18, 2016, 03:37:06 am »

You could test something that used to work;

Make a magma-proof raising bridge that's only one long and spans the hall you wish to keep dwarves out of. Magma-proof connections to it's lever of course. Now encase the lowered bridge in obsidian walls. If it still works the same nothing passes a closed bridge ever but enemies could path through an open bridge encased in obsidian walls while dwarves could not. They do not see through it either unless the obsidian is carved to fortifications. Now I wonder if ballista bolts would pass though a cast wall while preventing civilians from seeing the enemy.