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[DrKillPatient]

Frankly, why bother with the marksdwarves?

See the discoveries I've recorded below.


Here's a save as proof-of-concept and a demonstration of the strategy in fortress mode. I've stationed an inactive but armed marksdwarf in the same room as a minecart, canceled the station order, and locked the door. This can be made more automatic, of course, such as with a door blocking the minecart so you don't have to mess about with route settings, but it's a start. On the other side of the track is a loop near a husked barn owl, with facilities to recapture and pit it back if it's knocked out of the enclosure.

Discoveries:
- Inactive marksdwarves will still shoot as active ones would
- Minecart speed does not seem to affect the marksdwarves' aim, but enemies' aim will be thrown off considerably because they don't lead their shots
   - Related to this, here's an idea: have a pressure plate that triggers to allow minecarts back into the fortress if they have a dwarf in them, but redirect the minecart to ram incoming enemies if the dwarf's weight is not detected. This way, in the unlikely event that a dwarf is shot while in the minecart, he will fall out and the minecart will still be put to use.
- Melee dwarves will attack if they ride past an enemy at the right time, but doing so does not seem to offer any significant tactical addition in comparison to the marksdwarves

[misko27]

Frankly, why bother with the marksdwarves?

Why bother? Because its cool!

[orius]

Imagine a cart super-accelerator just outside the funhouse. Via waterwheel power and accelerators, you keep sending carts around in a loop until they become cart-sized bullets, and then you puncture Hell and let the beasties into your super-collider. Y'could put lead bars into the carts and add more carts via airlocks, even.

Granted, I haven't actually played around with minecarts yet, so please do shoot holes in my plan if they exist.

I'm surprised no one has tried a dwarven shotgun on the clowns yet.

[flieroflight]

We;ll need a lot of sawblades

[arzzult]

I wonder how viable it would be to use candy clad soldiers as ammo.

[Wrex]

Candy is as dense as styrofoam. I would go for iron.

[arzzult]

Well I was thinking more that the soldiers would use the candy armor to land safely then stand up and start hacking at every thing with in reach to do damage.

[Loud Whispers]

I wonder how viable it would be to use candy clad soldiers as ammo.

If you wrap them in cloth as well... Bubble wrap ammo.

[misko27]

Candy is as dense as styrofoam. I would go for iron.

BUT, With a core of dwarf, candy ammo becomes far more deadly.

[darkrider2]

I suppose a minecart riding marksdorf won't refill his quiver from bolts loaded into the cart, will he?

Most likely not since ammo is only accounted for in a regular stockpile, and minecarts exist as some kind of pseudo-stockpile that is not able to interact with dwarves specifically but only with other official stockpiles. We should probably test this, I believe the military supplies screen only accounts properly stockpiled ammo.

That being said, a dwarf can fit something like a hundred bolts in a single quiver EASY.

Actually, this just makes it better, put the ammo stockpile next to the push/ride point, so they can stock up and be on their way.

EDIT: spelling error and didn't notice there was a second page to the thread already, guess I was just overly excited by this new dwarven ingenuity.

[rhesusmacabre]

I'm surprised no one has tried a dwarven shotgun on the clowns yet.

UnHerpers' Dwarven Auto-Shotgun fired 3500 glass trap components at them with just 17 fatalities.


If you want to use marksdwarves for some kind of perimeter defence, vampires might work best. They may take their time boarding the cart, but the only reason they'll need to stop is to get ammo. It'll keep them useful but occupied.