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[denito]

I'm trying to build an undersea fortress.  Dropping an obsidian bathysphere didn't work (kills the dwarves inside).  Draining into an aquifer?  5 dead miners later I've decided it just won't work.  That leaves:  lignite bin, or drop cast obsidian in the ocean.

I don't feel like messing with the lignite bin, so that leaves making obsidian walls.  But what's always bothered me about that is how do you get rid of the walls afterwards?  I mean, I want the walls 100% gone when I'm done.  Not just water within the walls, but unobstructed view of the whole ocean.  Since they're cast walls, not constructed, the whole wall is not going to disintegrate just because it falls 1 Z level.

I think I've figured out how to completely remove a cast wall in the ocean when you don't want it anymore.  When you're ready to get rid of it, you dig a cavern under it down many Z levels, as deep underneath the ocean floor as the wall is tall.  You dig the cavern 1 tile further out than the wall is all the way around.  Channel out 1 tile around the inside of the wall too.  Then you cast another ring like you did to build the wall, only this ring will be 1 tile farther around on all sides.  So when you drop it, it punctures the floor on the outside of the wall, and falls through all the Z levels puncturing floors until it hits bottom.  Then, since you dug out as many Z levels down as the wall was tall, it falls that many Z levels down and leaves you with a clear view of the ocean.

[Time Kitten]

No mention of giant pumpworks and a tiny pipe to the other side of the map?

[Firnagzen]

The second wall need not be cast, in fact. Constructions will punch through floors just as well when a cave in occurs. Saves much trouble.

[Time Kitten]

actually, I'd still use cast for that, so it creates a surface level plug so you can mine all that stone back out.

Tidy obsidian ring in the seafloor.

[Derakon]

It'll need to be more than 1 tile further out if you drop magma directly, since the magma will hit the water, turn into a natural obsidian wall, notice that there's a wall right next to it, and adhere to that, rather than keep falling. If you cast before dropping you shouldn't have this problem, nor if you use constructions.

[denito]

Oh good idea about using a construction for the final, outer ring.  You know what's really awesome about that idea?  I don't even have to make a special construction for it:  all I have to do is drop the mold I used to make the original castings on it!  The concentric rings of constructed walls I'll need for the mold will by definition be the right size and shape for a destruction ring.

[Canadark]

Let me get this straight... you are talking about pumping magma across a map into the middle of the ocean where it will drop onto the water, instantly freezing and causing a massive pile of obsidian to appear at the ocean floor?

Balls.

[Ubiq]

Am I correct in that this is the basic plan here?

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Be sure that you plug any holes that you use to dig out the cavern that lead into your fort so that you don't flood the fort by mistake.

[Shakma]

Could actually be more like this.  Only need to break the first floor if using constructed material and the stuff should collapes all the way down a 1 tile wide cavern.

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[denito]

Could actually be more like this.  Only need to break the first floor if using constructed material and the stuff should collapes all the way down a 1 tile wide cavern.

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You got it.