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[Tsarwash]

I did have a nice water trap for goblins. 2 pumps, pushed them away from the entrance into a pit with spikes. There seems to be a bug with wall grates that lets some creatures get pushed through currently.

[TolyK]

Code: [Select]

######
$~~~~#
#~~~~##
#~~~~XF g  #
########## #
         # #
Fort <-- X.#
         # X  --> Drain
         ###

#Wall   X Floodgate   F Fortification   ~ Water   . floor bars   g invader  $ End of pump

My contribution. It should work, just flush them into there, let them drown, drain the water (into reservoir, aquifer, off-map, caverns...) and collect condensed goodness.

[KhazâdAimênu]

Regarding TolyK's design, I'd replace the two floodgates in the pit with raising bridges, in case you end up flushing a troll down there without enough water to keep him busy...

[Tonic]

In .14, water would push enemies through fortifications.  Don't know if that's changed.

[mrtspence]

Just use doors behind fortifications to contain the water. They open instantly and are ideal for this application. I built a pressure washer trap that blasted enemies into my 3rd cavern. It was highly entertaining AND effective.

I am a strong advocate of traps like this.

[Uzu Bash]

Code: [Select]

######
$~~~~#
#~~~~##
#~~~~XF g  #
########## #
         # #
Fort <-- X.#
         # X  --> Drain
         ###

#Wall   X Floodgate   F Fortification   ~ Water   . floor bars   g invader  $ End of pump

My contribution. It should work, just flush them into there, let them drown, drain the water (into reservoir, aquifer, off-map, caverns...) and collect condensed goodness.

I could reroute water to set this up, but I'd like to try something like this:

Code: [Select]

####################
HPP~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~F
####################
But longer. The Hatch behind the top Pump of a reactor stack stays closed. Anywhere above the course a retractable bridge can drop creatures in, the nearer the pump when opening the hatch, the better. When opening the hatch, the power supplied by the entire stack jumps by almost double and the full pressure of the water launches down the course to be released through the Fortification.

Like a big slip-n-slide with a fatal impact at the end. This kind of release always overloads the stack so it shuts down soon after, but getting it restarted takes a couple switches and a visit from a pump op.

[TolyK]

Code: [Select]

######
$~~~~#
#~~~~##
#~~~~XF g  #
########## #
         # #
Fort <-- X.#
         # X  --> Drain
         ###

#Wall   X Floodgate   F Fortification   ~ Water   . floor bars   g invader  $ End of pump

My contribution. It should work, just flush them into there, let them drown, drain the water (into reservoir, aquifer, off-map, caverns...) and collect condensed goodness.

I could reroute water to set this up, but I'd like to try something like this:

Code: [Select]

####################
HPP~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~F
####################
But longer. The Hatch behind the top Pump of a reactor stack stays closed. Anywhere above the course a retractable bridge can drop creatures in, the nearer the pump when opening the hatch, the better. When opening the hatch, the power supplied by the entire stack jumps by almost double and the full pressure of the water launches down the course to be released through the Fortification.

Like a big slip-n-slide with a fatal impact at the end. This kind of release always overloads the stack so it shuts down soon after, but getting it restarted takes a couple switches and a visit from a pump op.

set these up side-by-side (and yes I meant bridges not floodgates) and have them pass through your part, then trap the rest using mine, great overload idea though.

[Hyndis]

Another design would be forcing invaders to walk across a 1 tile wide walkway over a pit. Above the walkway drop water from a hole in the ceiling, or pump, onto the ledge where it then washes from the ledge into the pit below, carrying anything with it.

The key is that you don't want too much water. You want enough to have a constant flow but not so that its 7/7 water, since no creature will path into 7/7 water. Pressurized water is completely overkill unless you're trying to drown things, in which case it is extremely effective.

[Uzu Bash]

So the impact with the fortification at the end wouldn't kill them? Or at least horribly and humiliatingly break them? That's kind of the fun of it; if it has to be a -z drop, I wouldn't build the long sluice.

[Hyndis]

A long drop is best. 10 levels will kill almost anything. 15-20 and everything explodes on impact.

You could use pumps to push invaders down off of the main path, off the ledge, but onto grates at the bottom of the pit. The grates should (not tested personally) act as a screen, catching goblinite and goblin giblets while allowing the water to drain away below. Since nothing would survive the fall you don't need to worry about building destroyers. The other option is to have automated pumps at the bottom, drawing water up from the bottom through a grate which can't be destroyed from below, and since its machine powered it'll pump even if the pit is completely full. As an added bonus, the more full the pit is the faster the drainage pumps work due to water pressure. Just pump it off the side of the map through fortification, into a cavern, or feeding into a pump stack and cistern up top if water is limited on your map.

If water is in limited supply you're probably best off not using water in your trap.

Use magma instead!

[Uzu Bash]

Hang a sec -- if there weren't any barrier or fortification, do they drop directly down, or can you get a good parabola? If I can't smash them flat on a straight horizontal, there are still possibilities to explore for water-launching.

[Shoku]

You can't really propel things with water like that, no. If the water is spreading out it may push them just one tile but there's no way to "hit" them with a lot of water. With pressure it's just as if the water suddenly condensed out of the air- there's no horizontal component.

[Firnagzen]

Ah the old high pressure shooter topic. Back in the 40d days we had a ton of veterans always spouting off about how pressurized water doesn't push things around- that hasn't changed has it?

If you want to make sure the water drifts about one pump per five to seven tile wide opening should output the right volume of water. May need to delay it slightly so that the initial water in the cistern can make it's way out though.

*Pokes head in*

Yeah, sorry.

Pressurized water doesn't push things around. At all. Read this. It's still accurate and relevant.

[Uzu Bash]

Flow will at least carry a creature down a ramp with a bit more force than a 1 level fall. I doubt this will carry further than 1 tile, so building a waterslide may be fruitless.

Adult dwarves can be carried off by only 2/7 water, and if they hit a ramp or stairway, will fall down it. Children, cats can be swept by 1/7 water; if kobolds can too, then you could set a low flow that caravans can safely traverse, but kobold sneaks would slip from, and be stunned in any potentially trapped tile they land on.

[slothen]

Ah the old high pressure shooter topic. Back in the 40d days we had a ton of veterans always spouting off about how pressurized water doesn't push things around- that hasn't changed has it?

If you want to make sure the water drifts about one pump per five to seven tile wide opening should output the right volume of water. May need to delay it slightly so that the initial water in the cistern can make it's way out though.

*Pokes head in*

Yeah, sorry.

Pressurized water doesn't push things around. At all. Read this. It's still accurate and relevant.

The theory here I believe is that when you flood a dry corridor with a pump, the leading wave of the water is never a solid 7/7 and as it moves forward, would carry creatures with it.


I can comment on the lethality of 2/7 slowly moving water with a 2 z-level drop.

Also, I've gotten terrible luck with my world I've genned to test this on.  I've taken my time setting up the trap, but 5 years into my fort and I've seen mostly kobolds, a few snatchers, and only a single ambush party from the goblins.  I plan to implement the water-down-an-entrance-ramp idea later, for now I'm putting the finishing touches on a large reservoir with a 2 wide path horseshoeing around it.  I made the mistake of making a fortification in a place I didn't intend, and when i tested it the first time, water has been trickling out of the hole down into my drainage.  I thought this wouldn't be much of a problem, but  I didn't have the presence of mind to raise all the bridges at once to equalize the interior water level.  I've had 4 dwarves path by the trickle of water and get knocked off by 2/7 flowing water.  Its funny though, the place they fell is only a 2-z level fall, while the entire rest of the trap is planned to be a 4 level fall.  Each one has shattered at least 2 limbs, and one even died on impact.  This trap should be plenty leathal.  After falling 4 z levels onto grates, the center of the horseshoe will contain a pillbox for my marksdwarves, who will then be able to pick off the stunned and crippled invaders at their lesiure.  The pillbox has a gap so they should be safe from all but elite bowgoblins that haven't broken their hands yet.  In the event of something nasty, they can evacuate the pillbox, and the entire pit area/chamber can be completely submerged for drowning.  Drainage will be handled by pumps with protection from building destroyers.

Now if only they'd send another ambush or siege or something.

Also, when my miners were falling down the last 2 ramps to get to the bottom of the trap before crawling out, at one point the water caused them to collide, further wounding one of them.  This makes me think the 'water down a series of 6-15 ramps and then a pit' would be completely destructive.