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[andrian]

So, I know this has been a problem for quite awhile, but I thought I'd had a solution for it, and instead it keeps happening despite my best efforts.

My primary fortress defense strategy (at least in the early years) is to assemble a gauntlet of cage traps to capture invaders and break sieges. This is all fine and dandy until I try to deal with these captives. Well, that's no big deal, right? Just drop them down a little pit onto a weapon trap and problem solved, or so I'd think. Well, I've learned the hard way that apparently dwarves can get frightened just seeing uncaged enemies, even if they're currently being hauled by another dwarf. And, of course, frightened dwarves stop whatever they're doing to run away, including releasing any prisoners they might be transporting at the time. I have lost so many dwarves this way.

Well, that's something I can deal with, right? Just designate the prisoners to be transported to the execution chamber one at a time, and everything should be okay. That way no dwarves will get scared and release their prisoners, right? Wrong. Even doing this, sometimes a prisoner will escape for reasons I have yet to discover. I'm doing my best to limit the damage by surrounding my cage stockpiles with traps to either kill or recapture any escapees, but I'm still winding up with more dead dwarves than I can reasonably sustain.

Now, I can think of ways to overcome this as well - ways that will work and will not require enemies to be transported outside of their cages at all. I could build myself a magma or obsidian trap if I really really have to, for example, but I'd still like to know how these prisoners keep escaping the grasp of my dwarves, and how to prevent it! It's much more fun to drop them onto traps and watch them get bashed to death by spiked green glass balls!

[PatrikLundell]

It's a known problem with no known solution. Hauled prisoners sometimes escape for unknown reasons, and when they do, every subsequent prisoner designated for hauling at the same time escape as well, even if the first escapee has been put down well before the next hauler arrives.

My execution method is to load the prisoner cages into a mine cart and use the minecart shotgun effect to propel them out of their cages and into an execution facility. It doesn't work perfectly, as maybe 10% of the prisoners fail to be thrown out of their cages (and have to be sent for a new run), and a small percentage get stuck in the fortification, from which they'll have to be extracted and put down by militia).

[Fleeting Frames]

Hm. I know shotgunned result speed can vary a bit, as they get random x and y component (visible on any watergun video). What speed does your minecart collide with the wall at?

[andrian]

Thanks for letting me know. I guess I'll just make a drowning chamber. A lot more work, but it'll be more reliable.

[PatrikLundell]

I have no idea what the minecart speed is. I've just built a bunch of impulse ramps (5-15?), based on the general layout of the execution device, and just as likely as not a different number in the different fortresses (2 or 3, I think, all eventually abandoned due to raid equipment corruption).

[Bumber]

Try quantum stockpiling (using minecarts or dump designation) the filled cages next to the pit. Put a hatch cover over the pit and lock/forbid it. The captives should end up quickly in the pit without the hatch even opening.

[Fleeting Frames]

As demonstrated by the save in the 3-page mass pitting Q&A thread, that still results in releases.

@PatrikLundell: 5 should indeed result in the behaviour you describe, but does it also occur with 15 straight unbroken ones?
The latter should result in speed *runs numbers* thrice over expel velocity. (broken ones such as on turning corners can result in 1 ramp accelerating less or not at all).

[Bumber]

As demonstrated by the save in the 3-page mass pitting Q&A thread, that still results in releases.

Does keeping military dwarves away from the area help?

[Fleeting Frames]

Nope. As 123 mentioned, pitting a particular Troll, even by themselves, results in release.

[PatrikLundell]

I'll try a stretch of 15 ramps in the next fortress then, but it will likely be a fair while, as I'm not starting a new fortress until the raid equipment corruption bug has been fixed. It's very useful info, though.