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Author Topic: Giant aquarium/zoo  (Read 2367 times)

Inarius

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Giant aquarium/zoo
« on: May 21, 2012, 02:10:09 pm »
I want to make walls made of glass to create a big room next to my meeting hall, and fill it with with either megabeasts, or fill it with water or make a giant aquarium (and fill it with water, of course)

Are walls made of glass transparent, and do you think this can work ?

Do you think the view of water next to them can make my dwarves happy (if they like "the color blue" ?) or not ?

thanks !
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Dorfimedes

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Re: Giant aquarium/zoo
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2012, 02:27:19 pm »
Glass walls aren't really transparent, strangely, but glass windows are. Unfortunately, windows can also be broken and it would only take a single tantruming dwarf in your meeting hall to send his fist through the window and drench your meeting hall, probably killing whatever is inside if it's an aquarium. You can surround the windows with fortifications to prevent this.

Your dwarves only get a happy thought from seeing a creature if it's mentioned in their preferences, so that's the only reason you would really want to make sure it's transparent. I believe the preferences for color are used for dyed clothes. Putting a hostile creature like a megabeast in an area where your dwarves can see it will cause them to panic though, so that's probably not the best idea.
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Dorfimedes

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Re: Giant aquarium/zoo
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2012, 02:28:10 pm »
Quote from: Dorfimedes on May 21, 2012, 02:27:19 pm
Glass walls aren't really transparent, strangely, but glass windows are. Unfortunately, windows can also be broken and it would only take a single tantruming dwarf in your meeting hall to send his fist through the window and drench your meeting hall, probably killing whatever is inside if it's an aquarium. You can surround the windows with fortifications to prevent this.

Your dwarves only get a happy thought from seeing a creature if it's mentioned in their preferences, so that's the only reason you would really want to make sure it's transparent. I believe the preferences for color are used for dyed clothes. Putting a hostile creature like a megabeast in an area where your dwarves can see it will cause them to panic though, so that's probably not the best idea.

e: Oh, if it's not an aquarium all you really need are fortifications to safely contain something.
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Inarius

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Re: Giant aquarium/zoo
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2012, 02:39:30 pm »
Yes, but fortifications can be destroyed by Building destroyers...

I could make grates and after windows, but windows can only be placed between two walls.

It's quite strange that walls made of glass aren't transparent...

And what if i built a drawbridge made of glass ? Is it transparent ? I could make water flowing BELOW the dwarves (or above), that would be cool. But not if it's not transparent...that's a weird bug. Too bad !
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Dorfimedes

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Re: Giant aquarium/zoo
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2012, 02:49:56 pm »
Whoops, I meant to edit, not quote. I didn't know fortifications could be smashed up either.

As far as I know, a raised drawbridge acts as a constructed wall and, hopefully, should be invulnerable to building destroyers, but that means it's opaque too. I think the easiest solution is to just dig some channels around the windows, and unless the creature is a flyer and a building destroyer they should be safely contained.

And there's nothing stopping you from doing that with the water, really. It's aesthetically pleasing! There doesn't have to be a gameplay reason for everything you do, sometimes you do it because you can. If you want to actually put something in the water that could work even better since the water won't drain if someone smashes a grate (which are transparent I believe), at worst a dwarf could fall in and drown.
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Sphalerite

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Re: Giant aquarium/zoo
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2012, 02:59:53 pm »
Fortifications cannot be destroyed by building destroyers.  Nothing built with the (C)onstructions menu can.

If you want a wall that can be seen through, but also blocks water, and can't be destroyed by a tantruming dwarf, you could always build a line for fortifications with a line of windows behind it.

Dwarf fortress does not know glass is transparent.  There's nothing in the material tags that tells it that creatures can see through glass items, so a glass wall or floor or bridge or whatever will be just as opaque as a stone one, while a window made from stone 'gems' is transparent somehow.

The main problem with making a zoo your dwarves can see into is that they will be interrupted and run away when they see wild animals.  Dwarves only like seeing an animal if that animal is in a cage.  If it's running around loose they get scared, even if in an enclosed box of windows or fortifications, you'll get job interruptions.
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Dorfimedes

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Re: Giant aquarium/zoo
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2012, 03:06:39 pm »
Quote from: Sphalerite on May 21, 2012, 02:59:53 pm
Dwarves only like seeing an animal if that animal is in a cage.  If it's running around loose they get scared, even if in an enclosed box of windows or fortifications, you'll get job interruptions.
Hmm. Do you know if they get happy thoughts from seeing an animal running around freely if it's tame or do they really have to be in a cage? I always wondered this myself.
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Sphalerite

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Re: Giant aquarium/zoo
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2012, 03:09:42 pm »
I'm pretty sure they'll get happy thoughts from seeing a tame animal that they like running around loose.  It's just loose wild animals that scare them.
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Inarius

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Re: Giant aquarium/zoo
« Reply #8 on: May 21, 2012, 03:23:53 pm »
Ok, so i suppose it's not a good idea :p

Such a pity ! I dreamt of a meeting hall made with glass floor, glass roof, glass walls and fill water all around. But if they can't see it,...or worse, if they are afraid,it's not such a good idea.

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Dorfimedes

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Re: Giant aquarium/zoo
« Reply #9 on: May 21, 2012, 03:42:21 pm »
Quote from: Inarius on May 21, 2012, 03:23:53 pm
Ok, so i suppose it's not a good idea :p

Such a pity ! I dreamt of a meeting hall made with glass floor, glass roof, glass walls and fill water all around. But if they can't see it,...or worse, if they are afraid,it's not such a good idea.
No man. You FOLLOW that dream. All you gotta do is tame them! Most large fish aren't tameable though, so I don't know how to get around that. Does anyone here have experience with modding fish to be tamed? How would that even work, do you just catch them in cage traps?
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Sphalerite

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Re: Giant aquarium/zoo
« Reply #10 on: May 21, 2012, 03:47:54 pm »
Catch them in cage traps.  Designate them to be tamed.  They should be tamed while still in the cage.

After that, you might not be able to re-train them as they forget their training, as you can't take them to a training zone without air-drowning them.  I'll be testing this as soon as I get some tamable fish in my community fortress.
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Dorfimedes

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Re: Giant aquarium/zoo
« Reply #11 on: May 21, 2012, 04:00:50 pm »
That makes some sense. It looks like fish give birth, so you could domesticate the spawn and not have to worry about re-training them in the first place, hopefully. Yes, I think this could actually be quite viable. And if they're tamed, they should report hostile ambushes, no? Sentry fish, fuck yeah!
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GreatWyrmGold

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Re: Giant aquarium/zoo
« Reply #12 on: May 21, 2012, 05:26:19 pm »
Even wild animals have been reported as revealing ambushes.
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