Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Author Topic: Bug or feature? Fortifications.  (Read 1088 times)

MikeyW

  • Escaped Lunatic
    • View Profile
Bug or feature? Fortifications.
« on: April 09, 2009, 11:16:00 am »

Ok, so basically I'm on my second fortress (my first is still going after 7 years, but ive left it for now because it's a calm area and nothing happens). I decided to go for a place with underground river and magma pipe to try them out, and while it is very different and a challenge (bloody harpies everywhere) I've had a problem trying to irrigate.

I had to mildly cheat and use reveal because there was no farmland anywhere and I wanted to find the water so I could at least make a go of it. However when I saw the river it was filled with a huge number of lizarmen, snakemen and giant toads. As such, I decided rather than channeling down to let the water into my holding area to irrigate a field, I'd carve a fortification to let the water through. I knew this would be risky for the dwarf who had to carve it, but I figured that not being slaughtered by snakes would be worth it.

So I set up my little system of levers and floodgates to stop the water when i wanted it, then carved a fortification. Yet a soon as I did the water rushed through,as well as loads of the lizardmen etc. I've got it blocked off now, but in the hurry my "field" is now covered it 5/7 water and my draining chamber filled with the corpse of my miner and several lizardmen and toads. Woops!

Are fortifications meant to let enemies through them or is that a bug? Going to carry on anyway of course, I'll purge them out eventually, but was just wondering.
Logged

Chromie

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Bug or feature? Fortifications.
« Reply #1 on: April 09, 2009, 11:29:52 am »

Post screenshots? I'm gonna guess there was a way for them to get in OTHER than the fortification, possibly the flow of the water forced them through (I've heard of a bug where water pushed a caravan through a -constructed wall-, but that was a super-pressurized water trap)

You don't have to sacrifice a miner to carve a fortification... you can do this:

"surface of the cave river" level, mined out to one-tile-back from cave river, with a door and maybe some traps for the beasties
Code: [Select]
#########~~
Dxxxxxxx#~~
#########~~
7/7 water, "next" to the cave river body level.
carved fortification one tile BACK from the cave river, on the level below, and channel to your farms (floodgate/whatever installed on the business end)
Code: [Select]
#########~~
xxxxxxxF#~~
#########~~

When you're ready do go, carve a ramp on the far end of your carved fortification, it will be carved from the top level, left side. Your dwarf will go "oops, dangerous terrain" at the end, and run out the door, but the traps and door should stop the river beasties. The ramp lets water flow through, and the Fortification OUGHT to stop creatures moving through.
Logged

MikeyW

  • Escaped Lunatic
    • View Profile
Re: Bug or feature? Fortifications.
« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2009, 11:48:09 am »

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

That's a screenshot from just now. The cursors on where the fortification is, as its covered in water. The top room is my attempts now to drain off the large amounts of water, and the miasma is where my miner and a couple of snakemens bodys are.
Logged

Duke 2.0

  • Bay Watcher
  • [CONQUISTADOR:BIRD]
    • View Profile
Re: Bug or feature? Fortifications.
« Reply #3 on: April 09, 2009, 11:53:32 am »

 My theory: Walls and such don't actually stop things, instead they don't allow creatures to pathfind into them and thus they never walk into a wall. Things being knocked back may have an exception for walls and such because they were made to have enemies being flung into walls. Water, however, has no such checks.

 Fortifications work because water can flow through them, pushing things through. I'm sure the caravan was pushed through a wall because of the buggy nature of multi-tile wagons.
Logged
Buck up friendo, we're all on the level here.
I would bet money Andrew has edited things retroactively, except I can't prove anything because it was edited retroactively.
MIERDO MILLAS DE VIBORAS FURIOSAS PARA ESTRANGULARTE MUERTO

MikeyW

  • Escaped Lunatic
    • View Profile
Re: Bug or feature? Fortifications.
« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2009, 12:07:52 pm »

Ah cool. Least its not just me being a fool then. My miner will be missed, but he was sacrificed for a worthy cause. And at least he didn't die of drowning. Died of having all his limbs ripped off in different directions...but not drowning at least.

Logged

Elvang

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Bug or feature? Fortifications.
« Reply #6 on: April 09, 2009, 02:55:14 pm »

Creatures/Dwarves can get pushed through grates and bars as well, even if there are several layers of them.
Logged
The Practicalities of Fire Imp Defense
Tileset fonts for dfterm/telnet
Win 0.34.11 SDL with 7 binary patched bugfixes
Quote from: They Dig
I have come here to drink booze and breach HFS... and I'm all out of booze.

varkarrus

  • Bay Watcher
  • Insanity and a knife go well together.
    • View Profile
Re: Bug or feature? Fortifications.
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2009, 07:52:48 pm »

Now if only it could be done, and they DON'T come out whole the other side.

Dwarf Slice Sandwhich anyone?
Logged
Dip Stick! The newest candy! Just dip it, then lick it!
Or try FUBAR! The best chocolate bar ever!
And you can't eat them, either, sadly. Even though it'd make sieges so much more fun; dwarves lining the walls, drooling and carrying sharp knives and forks, ready for the upcoming meals.

Aspgren

  • Bay Watcher
  • Every fortress needs a spike pit.
    • View Profile
Re: Bug or feature? Fortifications.
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2009, 10:31:17 pm »

next time set up a pump system.
Logged
The crossbow squad, 'The Bolts of Fleeing' wouldn't even show up.
I have an art blog now.