Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Markatta]

I had a giant cave spider roaming around a bit south from my main gate. A plan started to form in my mind, unlimited giant cave spider silk...

My dwarves started producing cages and mechanisms, my carpenter built a narrow hall to lead the spider through. The traps were set and my bravest peasant volunteered as bait.

The spider took the bait, they both ran. The peasant entered the hallway and success was certain. Or so I thought. The spider ran over the first trap, the second, the third and the fourth. Nothing. The brave peasant showed what he was really made of, and it wasn't bravery. The spider chased him through the main gate and then... Webs, blood, body parts... Everywhere...

Losing is fun  

I had just gotten my first wave of immigrants and my "fortress" didn't stand a chance.

WHY haven't anyone told me that giant cave spiders don't give a large rat's ass about traps?

[Keilden]

Becuse seeing others loose is even more fun.

[Markatta]

True.

I'm still smiling from the carnage so I'm glad I didn't know.  

Hope you appreciate the little story.

[RustedAxe]

quote:Originally posted by Markatta:
<STRONG>I had a giant cave spider roaming around a bit south from my main gate. A plan started to form in my mind, unlimited giant cave spider silk...

My dwarves started producing cages and mechanisms, my carpenter built a narrow hall to lead the spider through. The traps were set and my bravest peasant volunteered as bait.

The spider took the bait, they both ran. The peasant entered the hallway and success was certain. Or so I thought. The spider ran over the first trap, the second, the third and the fourth. Nothing. The brave peasant showed what he was really made of, and it wasn't bravery. The spider chased him through the main gate and then... Webs, blood, body parts... Everywhere...

Losing is fun    

I had just gotten my first wave of immigrants and my "fortress" didn't stand a chance.

WHY haven't anyone told me that giant cave spiders don't give a large rat's ass about traps?</STRONG>

there's a topic on this in the bug thread, and the general consensus is that native creatures don't get trapped (bug), but that migrating creatures will get caged.

[martinuzz]

Is that a bug? Native creatures just know the terrain so well they are suspicious of anything new. Including traps.

[Markatta]

Spiders are considered bugs I think. Although they are really arachnids.

Hrrm... Enough of that.

Yeah, that's probably it.
It could also be that the trigger mechanisms for the cage traps were constructed in a way that doesn't work well on spiders, for example, a tripwire would be bad for a creature that spends it's free time clinging around in a web dodging it's own sticky-lines.
She was also pretty near when they set up the traps, she probably saw the construction of them and knew how to dodge them, which also means they are quite intelligent   :eek:

[Anti-Paragon]

quote:Originally posted by martinuzz:
<STRONG>Is that a bug? Native creatures just know the terrain so well they are suspicious of anything new. Including traps.</STRONG>

I disagree, personally. From a 'realistic' standpoint; Native creatures tend to be curious of new things, and the dwarves and hallway were all brand new, not just the trap.
Not only that, it was chasing something. Remember playing tag as a kid (if you did)? When you're hunting or chasing something, it's usually fairly difficult to also keep an eye on your surroundings. I'd imagine moreso when you lack higher cognitive powers. Unless all the giant cave spiders are beyond the intelligence of the dwarves...

Anyway, from a game point of view, I think all hostiles, save ones it makes sense (Roguish critters and characters), should heed all defensive equipment. It  isn't a convenience, it's a necessity. But, hey I could be wrong. It's up to the community, not me. And even then, it's ultimately up to Toady.

[YolkFolk]

Perhaps a good giant spider trap/farm could be made with toggleable floodgates in a square pattern.

if you had a large chamber, say 16x16, and you then made a grid of floodgates in that chamber which when toggled on would split the chamber into 16 smaller rooms, you could let the giant spider live trapped in the large chamber, and periodically  activate the floodgate "walls" Each one of the smaller chambers could then be accessed from above or below my means of stairs protected by toggleable grates. You could investigate all of the small chambers (excecpt the one with the giant spider currently in it) and take any web you find, and then remove the floodgate walls to allow your captive giant spider to spin more webs across the larger room again.

I have no idea if that would work, but it certainly sounds like fun.

[Shooer]

quote:Originally posted by YolkFolk:
<STRONG>Perhaps a good giant spider trap/farm could be made with toggleable floodgates in a square pattern.

if you had a large chamber, say 16x16, and you then made a grid of floodgates in that chamber which when toggled on would split the chamber into 16 smaller rooms, you could let the giant spider live trapped in the large chamber, and periodically  activate the floodgate "walls" Each one of the smaller chambers could then be accessed from above or below my means of stairs protected by toggleable grates. You could investigate all of the small chambers (excecpt the one with the giant spider currently in it) and take any web you find, and then remove the floodgate walls to allow your captive giant spider to spin more webs across the larger room again.

I have no idea if that would work, but it certainly sounds like fun.</STRONG>

You could possibly use Fortifications and have people stand behind them to lure it into new rooms.

It even might shoot web through the fortifications which just means there should be more web to collect.

[Markatta]

I read in another topic that they don't shot web through fortifications, I had in mind to dig out a channel around a 3x3 plot or something and place the cage there (before realizing it didn't want to go in my cage) and see if it will shoot over channels.

Sadly it turned out like this: Marksdwarf accidentally shoots spiders heart. I think, o well gotta reload. Before reloading it turns into a new season and autosaves.  

I abandoned and now I've got a fortress on a glacier with a cave river instead.

[Arkose]

I think the easiest way to trap a giant spider would be to use YolkFolk's method, but with locked/unlocked doors instead of floodgates, since that way you won't need to have a dwarf pull levers in order to get it to work. (Always risky.)

Alternatively, you might be able to get a giant spider onto a square surrounded by channels (using retractable bridges), if they are able to shoot webs over them.

[ December 06, 2007: Message edited by: Arkose ]