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[Hanslanda]

I am multiple levels below the 'top' of the volcano, and I wanna tap this bad boy for its sweet, sweet magma, but without murdering a starting seven miner to get to it. I got a floodgate and hatchcover set up so it won't flood my fortress, and I recall hearing somewhere that magma doesn't pressurize without pumps. I am ALSO aware from previous attempts that the miner that breaches is (afaik) hopeless. Anyone have a different method for me?

[ydaraishy]

What I always do is to pump the magma directly from the caldera into the magmaduct, all dug into one tunnel.  If you have really steep cliffs, this might be slightly harder to do, but it's still manageable with constructions.

[ivanthe8th]

I understand that you can use a door to hold back magma. Install a magma-safe door on the inner side of your channel. Then dig through, your miner will run back through the door, which will close behind him. Be careful to have some water available to put him out.

Then you can have a mechanic attach the door to a lever, to act as your floodgate.

[Rakushun]

These are bad solutions. You don't have to bother with a pump or with letting your miner catch on fire in the first place. Either dig stairs up to the top of the caldera and channel the final square from above magma level, and let it flow down the stairs to where you want it, or build a magma-safe bridge right up to the side of the volcano at any level with a channel under it and a separate hallway leading there one z-level below. Block access to the top hallway and then designate the wall to be mined. The miner will go under the bridge in the bottom hallway and mine the wall from the ramp through the bridge from below, and the magma will just flow over the bridge and never touch him.

[Hanslanda]

I uh... It worked out. My dwarf outran the magma.
>.>
<.<
But your solutions are going in my future notes for next time. I like the bridge thing alot, its very ninja.

EDIT: And then my dumbass mechanic tried to link the door to a lever FROM THE VOLCANO SIDE. Facepalm.

[Rakushun]

Yeah, if you want to live dangerously, just make sure the miner has other things to dig after he digs out the wall, so he doesn't stand there in the flowing magma wondering what he should do next. It's still risky that way though.

[Anathema]

If you don't mind a slightly slower magma flow (plenty if you're setting up forges, maybe not enough to power your magma cannon), smooth and carve fortifications instead of digging. If the fortifications are diagonal from the magma, i.e. at one of the corners, and you have a second engraving job designated somewhere else so the guy will immediately run away, well.. I'm not saying he's guaranteed to be safe, but I've never lost a dwarf this way. And even if you do lose him, any peasant can do this with no equipment, you won't even lose a mining pick if he gets melted.

[Starver]

I've mentioned my solution many, many times.  Let's try a summary (and if you don't understand it, you can go searching for one of the longer ones)....

Tunnel at a level underneath your chosen workshop level until you have just one tile separating this future magmaduct from the main magma-source.  Make this one tile be diagonal to either the current tunnel end or the magma-source.  Or both.  Smooth this tile with an engraver.  Now fortify this with an engraver.  You should have plenty of time to get your engraver out before the magma gets anywhere near where the engraver is going to exit, if you've done it right.

But I finesse it even more:

Spoiler: Unnecessarily complicated points (click to show/hide)

• Magmaduct is entered/exited through ramp (at opposite end of tunnel) into prepared magma-workshop layer, at least just before breaching.
• I 'liberate' any magmaduct-wall material (ores, gems) that I really want, and re-wall those gaps in their stead, especially any gaps that I've used as convenient temporary same-level access.
• Other holes for magma-access are pre-cut into the magmaduct (and the magmaduct made to sit under the optimally-placed holes for the magma-workshop type).
• Such holes as are not yet covered by a workshop awaiting magma are covered by a bridge
• Before cutting the final fortification, a magmasafe floodgate/mechanism is linked to a lever.
• The floodgate is opened for the fortification-carving and closed upon that being carved (just in case the engraver wants to go to sleep).
• Once this dwarf has got out, I open the floodgate for as long as necessary to completely fill the magmaduct to 7/7ths (you may need to wait for a single 6/7ths to 'bubble' out of the end) I close the floodgate again.  This solves a number of problems that I won't go into here.
• It's possible to plan ahead to create additional tapping-points (and thus additional floodgates for both these points, and to doubly-isolate the current main magmaduct) to save you the trouble of having to do anything much more complex than a bit of lever pulling in the future.
• I really like to smooth the whole magmaduct, anyway (floor and walls, and use blocks to replace removed bits of wall, rather than raw rock), and remove every bit of rubble from it, but that's just me.
  

The biggest issue is that the diagonally-restricted slow incursion of magma can be painfully so, if you're in a rush.  But unless you've managed to make yourself a magma-evaporation room somewhere along its length, it will fill eventually.

Also, my method doesn't actually risk a miner (skilled or not, he/she has got to be carrying a valuable pick), but even if the worst happens, it's an engraver 'on the front line'.  Who should still be perfectly safe!

[Hanslanda]

I understand it.
It is a very efficient design. Fortifications slow magma flow, I'm guessing? Which is much safer than mining, as the magma 'rushes' to fill the gap, not as instantly as water, but still fast enough to be dangerous. And then it being diagonal from the flow tunnel slows it even further, unless fortifications don't and then it just slows it. I like it.

[Starver]

I understand it.

Good!  (Although I also realised I was ninjaed, while writing it, so you may not be directly refering to me. )

It is a very efficient design.

Well, I make it complex, as you see from the spoilered bits, but intrinsically it is.

Fortifications slow magma flow, I'm guessing?

I think it is just the diagonal, to be honest.  I'm sure that digging that diagonal-link out would make it the same speed, but (even though I skipped your plea to save the starting-seven miner, when first reading the OP) the security of knowing you're risking a possible nobody at most is probably the biggest advantage to the fortification.

(At some stages of the flowing-magma game, the fortification will also stop 'nasties' from wandering into your magmaduct, but if you've also capped the duct with workshops/temporary bridges, then that shouldn't be an issue anyway, and it would also be mitigated by having that floodgate I suggest.)



I know I'm not the only person to use this method, but I'm wondering whether I should consider taking some of my more diagramatic versions of 'my method' and adding it to the Wiki, I've suggested it and rephrased it so many times in this forum.  Assuming there isn't something like that on there already.  However, looks like (for now) nothing so complex is currently needed in your case.

[Hanslanda]

Yeah, with a door I'm somewhat worried about magma-safe Titans or FBs busting down my door and getting through a workshop somehow.

And you should add it to the wiki, possibly under volcano or magma. It seems like it would very useful in a multitude of superheated scenarios.

[Anathema]

You can always combine methods! Diagonal fortification + door triggered by lever + one-tile drawbridge triggered by a different lever, raise it to block off invaders once you have enough magma. But really if you go with the diagonal fortification method, you (probably) won't need any door to protect the engraver, so fortification+drawbridge should do it. Just make sure there is a second engraving designation somewhere (and no one else with engraving enabled) to prod him along his merry way before he starts getting melted alive.

I really like to smooth the whole magmaduct, anyway (floor and walls, and use blocks to replace removed bits of wall, rather than raw rock), and remove every bit of rubble from it, but that's just me.

I thought I was the only one. Usually the first thing in my fort I bother to smooth, because, well, you won't be able to later..

[Martin]

I thought I was the only one. Usually the first thing in my fort I bother to smooth, because, well, you won't be able to later..

I do it too. I smooth everything.

[Callista]

Yup, same here. It makes the walls more visually distinctive so I can see things better. And I like to have my engravers properly trained before they start on the walls of the dining room.

[Panando]

Like others, I use the diagonal technique.
Or pumps. What I like about a pump is it quickly delivers the magma and fills it up to 7/7. A pump isn't useful for tapping the side of a volcano, but it's good otherwise. Doesn't have to be magma-safe, as long as it's not wood (I tested... it does indeed burst into flames and the dwarf operator isn't happy. But silver pump is fine).

For the sake of completeness, the other thing which can help, is nudity. What often kills dwarves who are exposed to intense heat, is burning clothes. Now being naked doesn't provide complete protection from magma and fire, but nudity will often save the life of a dwarf who is only momentarily exposed to magma. If you slip up and let magma touch a dwarf, you might even be able to save him by putting him in a squad with naked uniform (replace clothing). They strip naked the instant they are activated which can save their life, and also being in a squad makes it possible to tell them to run their dumb ass away. It's better of course to make sure they have some other job to run off and do, but that's just for if you slip up.