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[Haytrid]

I have been playing this game for years and feel I just hadn't "gotten around" to performing certain functions as there was always so many other things to do.  I finally decided to do embarks that *forced* me to ramp up on something I had been neglecting so I did a string of embarks on islands in the ocean which typically have multi level aquifers almost immediately.  My requirement for success was lumber and dorf power only so I figured the "double-slit" had to be the method I needed to focus on.

This method did not work for me.

I spent three days and probably 20 hours pouring over videos and reading.  Pausing the game, taking each layer step-by-step, with multiple videos, wiki's, and illustrations up on each of my monitors.  I found I had no issue piercing the 1st level and everything worked as it should.  Following that though the 2nd level absolutely would not naturally drain into the 3rd level even though it was a 4z aquifer.  I thought it may be the area so I did about four other areas on the map. . same results.  Chose a new embark on the world. . . same result. 

I did end up doing an expanded two slit, two pump system.  When pumping from one slit to the other and forcing the current aquifer level to be put under pressure it would absorb the additional water though.  I ended up with my janky 2 pump system with some water left over and used a bucket brigade to quickly remove the excess and re-stage the pumps.  It took longer, it wasn't pretty, but it was satisfying and fun just getting it done finally and passing the "aquifer barrier" both literally and mentally.

Has anything changed with the Aquifers and flow that may cause this to no longer naturally drain or at least not in certain conditions or biomes?

Next two embarks ->

Hostile embark to finally force me to ramp up my military faster

Embark to force me to build up rather than down, homes, castles, etc with full roof.  Any recommendation on an embark for this one that would lend itself to reaching for the sky?

[gchristopher]

Congratulations on working through it, regardless of obstacles!

The 2-slit method still works on aquifers. Without seeing your embark or save file, it's hard to say exactly what happened. If you post enough images or the save file here, someone can help figure it out.

Just guessing, but if it's a 4z aquifer, it's possible that you had a sandstone or other aquifer-eligible stone layer. (I sometimes mod in 12 layer aquifers with stone layers for extra fun.) Gems or other non-layer stone won't be aquifer tiles. Those non-aquifer-eligible tiles would not function as drains as expected.

Another potential source of confusion is that if you are looking at the map with dfhack reveal or something, the layer below the bottom aquifer layer will also blink blue as wet, but that layer itself isn't an aquifer. That wet designation is because the layer above it is the actual aquifer and will flow downward if you dig the layer just below the bottom aquifer layer.

For surface building, consider setting extra sky z-levels during worldgen so you have more room to build up? Bug me or Patricklundell to write a better script to fix "sky biomes", which are where the biome changes as you go up.

For challenges in general, at some point they have to be self-imposed by willpower. There's always going to be some trick you decide to use or not use based on how you want to game to go, and I've never been able to get away from the sense that it's my own ability to stick to a restriction that's the make-or-break factor for keeping a game in the spirit of a particular challenge. (My willpower is usually the weak link.)

[PatrikLundell]

Like gchristopher, I suspect the aquifer was actually 3 levels deep rather than 4, which is why things would suddenly fail on the 3:rd level when treated as the second to last level rather than the last one.

The two key unexpected features when using the double-slit method are:
1. Aquifers do not leak diagonally, even though free standing water does.
2. A single isolated aquifer tile is capable of acting as a sink for an unlimited amount of water.

It can be noted that it is possible to recover from a "second to last" aquifer level that's actually the last one by removing a wall built/smoothed to keep the water at bay and reversing the roles of the 3:rd and 4:th section. Removing the wall allows the 3:rd section to act as a sink again, and then you can process the 4:th one as the 3:rd by leaving an isolated aquifer tile as a sink, and then proceed from there.

[Haytrid]

Thank you for the tips!  I got back in front of the save and I do believe that I was confused about the "final" layer but I feel I still should have been able to drain 2 onto 3 but it seems like the level 3 is not fully aquifer but partially?  There are some aquifer tiles?  I have a save file earlier in the process after breaching the 1st layer and I am going to go back through it doing the "final layer" instructions instead on level 2.  I would like to get it refined as I really would like to start doing more challenging embarks as well as performing more *science* with water.

I put a link to the current save as well as the older save if anyone wants to take a look but I agree that I feel I am confused on the "bottom" layer based on the damp stone still around on the layer below what must be the top.

Thank you again for your time, it is greatly appreciated!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aKNcWK05OckHEXVmnC_EbxiLH9DP4LHz?usp=sharing

[PatrikLundell]

The method I use to determine if a new level is an aquifer is to check what material it's made of. I'm getting fairly good at remembering which materials are capable of containing an aquifer and which aren't, but the wiki is a good place to check. There is a recommendation to check whether it's damp or not on the exact tick the tile is dug out, but I find checking the material to be a better method.

If there are other materials inside an aquifer carrying layer (such as e.g. gem clusters), those are usually not aquifer carrying as gchristopher pointed out, and thus won't drain water. Puddingstone is an exception, as it's an aquifer carrying material within an aquifer carrying layer (I'm not sure if there are others).
As indicated, gems can throw a wrench into the machinery, and very occasionally it's possible to dig completely inside a gem cluster (but typically for a single level only).

A DF "save" is the RegionX folder within the Save folder, not the Save folder itself, as that typically contains multiple saves, plus the working Current folder.

Looking at the second save set (region2), I see a normal two level deep aquifer, not 3. Above it you have Clay Loam (too high to up to contain an aquifer, and clay never has one anyway). The aquifer is first in Yellow Sand and then Loamy Sand, and below that you have Dolomite, which isn't aquifer bearing.

Aquifers start at the 3:rd level from the top, never above that, and will be present in every aquifer carrying layer at and below that level (assuming aquifers aren't disabled, of course). The soil thickness is at most 4 unless DF is hacked, and only a few types of rock carry aquifers (Conglomerate, for instance). This means most aquifers are 1-2 levels deep and found in soil only, but when you get rock aquifers they can be quite deep (more than 20 levels, and hitting the first cavern, but without leaking into the cavern).

Note that there are a number of sneakily named soils that sound like they would be Clay or Sand, but actually aren't, which means that the Clay sounding one actually doesn't block aquifers.

[Fleeting Frames]

Aquifers start at the 3:rd level from the top, never above that, and will be present in every aquifer carrying layer at and below that level (assuming aquifers aren't disabled, of course).

Worth noting doesn't necessarily apply to not  flat embarks, though. With more hilly embarks, I've found aquifer in the first tile I channeled into, right below the grassland next to wagon.

This is a danger below too - recently saw another player penetrate aquifer, then do digs 2+ zs below the pierce, only to have part of it start flooding when dug into from below - despite other parts on same z-level being quite dry.

[PatrikLundell]

Interesting. I didn't know that (on the other hand, I only do completely flat embarks because of the pain to keep shifting the display up and down to see the surface). I knew an uneven surface resulted in an uneven aquifer, but not that it could actually reach up to the first underground level: I thought the unevenness just shifted everything up/down.

[Haytrid]

This flashing blue damp stone on lv3 under the two aquifer levels definitely led me to believe it was another layer and so I tried to treat it as such.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1z-8hz3Y86VsXnGuY_676eKNgnYRuCu7x

[PatrikLundell]

It's damp because the water from the aquifer at the level above WILL pour down on you if you dig there. However, since you're digging below your already dug out shaft/staircase, there's no aquifer above those tiles to pour down on you, but try to dig into the sides (beyond the tile frame protected from the aquifer by having their tiles above replaced by walls)...