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[slink]

Those are called drawbridges, too.  In fact, I don't think medieval castles had drawbridges that retracted.

[malvado]

I'm pretty sure there where some smaller wooden ones that did retract, think I saw some photo of it somewhere ( was inside the castle walls ) but they were not exactly common.
I might be mistaken with another game though...

[bombzero]

I'm pretty sure there where some smaller wooden ones that did retract, think I saw some photo of it somewhere ( was inside the castle walls ) but they were not exactly common.
I might be mistaken with another game though...

there were, it was just used less since you either needed a very narrow moat/trench, or a very thick heavy plank.

[zehive]

I use a moat, have a large keep complex in the centre of what would be an island (i embark on rivers for this reason) with no way for flying baddies to get in, a series of drawbridges spanning the gap and 2 deep three wide floodgates with 2 lines of full weapon traps, a line of cage traps and my barracks containing my most deadly dorfs. Then a trading depot

[slink]

It does work for locked doors, as well as closed floodgates.  Good find, slothen.   

Edit: See my earlier post in this thread for details.  There is a caveat.

[Nil Eyeglazed]

It does work for locked doors, as well as closed floodgates.  Good find, slothen.   

Edit: See my earlier post in this thread for details.  There is a caveat.

Well, I'm a little surprised.  Like I said, I did a lot of BD testing in v31, but I suppose it could have changed, or I could have been mistaken, maybe over-generalized.  In any case, first I verified your results with a couple of captured trolls, then I set-up an experiment using clowns.  (Clowns are sort of the worst-case BD.  I believe they use a different pathing algorithm than normal so that their flyers can get to you.)

Anyhow, probably the easiest way to demonstrate my experiment is with the following picture:



Clowns enter from the left.

First test, locked door, available open space for building destruction.  Clowns did fly up and occupy this space (as well as the ramp space).  I gave them a season to destroy the door.  After a season, I unlocked the door.  Once unlocked, the clowns destroyed the door very quickly.

Second test, locked door, available floor for building destruction, but a change in z-level inbetween the building and the space they'll try to destroy it from.  After destroying the first door, the clowns didn't even move onto this door.  I briefly unlocked the door, and the clowns approached, and I relocked the door, upon which the clowns lost interest again.  Having seen the speed with which they destroyed the first door, I didn't give them a full season to see if they'd destroy this door, and instead opened it for them after a month had passed.  After unlocking it, once again, the clowns destroyed it very quickly.

Third test, locked door, available floor behind the door.  Accidentally left unlocked, clowns destroyed it, previous tests suggest they would have ignored it had I locked it.

Fourth test, hatch, no available floor.  Clowns ignored the hatch and moved on (to my clown trap, where they were summarily destroyed).

Edit: Anther interesting observation-- these small ramps really confused the flying clowns.  They tended to get stuck in the open space above the ramp, and then stop pathing to my clown trap.

[khearn]

Edit: Anther interesting observation-- these small ramps really confused the flying clowns.  They tended to get stuck in the open space above the ramp, and then stop pathing to my clown trap.

I've read things that suggest that clowns always want to path upward, so a W shaped path like you have would presumably give them problems. I haven't tested this myself though, so treat it as hearsay.

BTW, looks like good tests. Thanks.

[Kaos]

My usual fortress design involves:
* locating the center of the map,
* build walls on a small (20x20 or something) perimeter around the center (usually my wagon will be located there, if not protect it with walls and ceiling)
* pasture grazer animals inside the keep
* dig a 3-tiles-wide spiral ramp way on the center (this is the main access for the inside of my fortress)
* outside the walls perimeter dig down a 3-tiles-wide entry, this is the only way in and out of the fortress and the outside world and goes through a dwarven bathtub to keep blood and other contaminants out, an airlock if you will, I place my doggies just past the bathtub so far no kobold has slipped in.

Later I do:
* extend the above ground keep making a bigger ring about 15 tiles away from the keep, this lets me pasture bigger grazers relatively safe.
* keep on digging down
* open entryways in the edge of the map that will immediately redirect invaders and visitors to subterranean tunnels that lead to the center of the map downstairs and into my fortress main hall where my depot, hospital and barracks will be kept.
* eventually I'll build a wall all around the map edges (at tile 6) so the only way into my map is down, where I can trap and monitor at my leisure and there is no scape.
* the entries are covered with a retractable bridge that can be closed to trap invaders in, once they are half the way in one of the long corridors, I can trap invaders in 3 of my 4 corridors and still be able to open the 4th one to let caravans a my dwarves in.
* the corridor goes through several z-levels every 10 or so tiles the corridor ramps down again and can be closed with a retractable bridge, so I can lock sections of the corridor to do maintenance while the enemies are still trapped in a section further up or down.
* I could trap them in the first 3rd of my corridor, while a mechanic place traps further down, then open the corridor have them trapped in the second 3rd, and reset/unstuck traps in the (no closed) first 3rd of the corridor, then let them think they can retreat and trap them again in their way back only to have the exit closed when they get too close (if they survive).

[Nil Eyeglazed]

Another interesting observation: despite my clown trap being located in a reanimating biome, no clowns rose from the dead.

I did another test, after remembering a design that didn't fare well when faced with BDs.  Of course, my clowns blown, I had to make do with a troll.

Code: [Select]


   ###
   #%#
 ###%###
 #/_g_\#
 #######

%% is screw pump, north-to-south; g is grate over channel; \ and / are ramps to a lower level containing a troll

The troll can't actually stand two tiles away from the grate (or the pump) to do his BD work, although there's still enough space to do something like make a magma landmine (for me, what I want to make is a magma curtain).  Remember that the south tile of the screw pump is impassible.

However, the troll destroyed the screw pump-- from below.  Then he stood on the tile next to the grate, seemingly in suspended animation (he had path to other furniture, and to the map edge).  In fact, when a dwarf came along to take the sprung cage, the troll didn't even attack (although of course the dwarf spooked).

As they say, further research is called for.