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[Illanair]

Right - So I've embarked on a volcano and would like to use the natural lava to defend my entrance.

My preliminary idea was to dig out an area above my corridor and make a release system every other square to speed up the coverage of the sealed entry - but do hatches work like vertical floodgates, or would I have to channel out the holes and put floodgates around all access to the hole?

What happens with the excess lava? Can I make it flow back into the volcano like Aquifers? Lets say I have a three level trap. Top level is a resevoir of lava to be released onto the middle level (the corridor), and then when whatever is in my corridor is dead, I release the lava on the middle level into a bottom level which is already filled with lava from the volcano - will it drain? Or just keep filling up my corridor?
I have already begun testing some of these things out - it's just unbearably slow having two miners right after embark do all these things.

Bonus question : Like above but with lava "pillars" constantly flowing from top, through middle and into lower level with floodgates positioned on the lower level to shut off lava from the corridor to flood it  would that work? (I like mah lava)

[askovdk]

I've had good experiences by using bridges in by lava traps.
The core idea I use is to have a 'flooding chamber' where the roof is retractable bridges up to the lava container. At the two ends of the chamber I place raising drawbridges that seals the chamber when raised, and the floor is retractable drawbridges as well, so the lava (+ left over metals) can quickly be dumped.

But for your question, - Yes, hatches linked to levers DO work like vertical floodgates/doors.

[Illanair]

Ah! Drawbridges - excellent suggestion, and much much cheaper than an ocean of floodgates

But where does your lava go when it's "spent" ? A large chamber below which will "flatten" the lava down to a density of 1 so it evaporates, or do you send it back into the volcano pipe?

[shlorf]

Just make sure it doesn't go into your valuable forest land. I think I just set a quarter of the map on fire.

[gtmattz]

Just make sure it doesn't go into your valuable forest land. I think I just set a quarter of the map on fire.

trees do not burn...

[twilightdusk]

Dig all the way to the edge of the map, smooth the last row of stone you're not allowed to dig, and then carve it into a fortification. Magma and Water will happily drain through the fortification and off the map where you don't have to worry about it anymore. Volcanoes also periodically replenish themselves, so you shouldn't have to worry about running out of volcanic lava to use.

[Quietust]

Just make sure it doesn't go into your valuable forest land. I think I just set a quarter of the map on fire.

trees do not burn...

No, but the grass certainly does...

[Illanair]

@Twilightdusk: You just saved the day. My volcano (and the base) is in a corner, so that should be easy to do. (Completely ignores the neighboring lands now slowly being flooded by magma and demons. Oh well)

[twilightdusk]

Eh, who cares what's next door. Probably some pansy elves anyway, to anyone else the Magma would be a generous gift!

[win32anon]

Wow, that is just what I was looking for. Are you a wizard?

I'll do that on my fort too.