Print

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

[Ganthan]

First off I want to let everyone know:  I did NOT discover this method.  My apologies to whoever DID discover it but I don't know or remember who it was. 

Someone described this method in one of the many threads about volcano breaching and my thought was, "Whaaaa?!  There's no way something like that would work!"  So I made a new embark at a volcano and did some testing and, sure enough, this method works.

Here's the basic premise:  Miners are able to mine out tiles diagonally above them EVEN IF THERE IS A BRIDGE OVER THEIR HEADS.  First you dig out your magma tunnel to feed magma to wherever in your fort you need it and dig it right up against the volcano pipe.  Then you channel a trench against the pipe that can be the width of the tunnel if you wish.  Build a bridge over the trench making sure to cover it completely and then seal off access to the magma tunnel.  Dig a new separate path to access the now bridged over trench.  Finally, designate the volcano pipe wall ON THE Z LEVEL OF THE MAGMA TUNNEL for mining.  Your dwarves will stand in the trench beneath the bridge but will somehow still mine out the squares diagonally above them, causing the magma to flow safely onto the bridge leaving your dwarves unscathed.

I'm sorry if this is difficult to visualize but I'm terrible at making graphics in discussion threads.  If someone who understands this method can illustrate it I'd appreciate it.

The positive points of this method are many;

1. 100% safe.  There is no danger to your dwarves whatsoever.

2. Any dwarf can do this, whether Legendary +5 Miner or an unskilled peasant who's never touched a pick before.

3. Can make your breach any size you like.  No more having to tolerate slow flow rates from breaching a single tile.

4. If your bridge raises you could use it to stop or redirect the magma flow right from the source if you wished.

[guitarxe]

Wow, all this sounds like you're trying to sell me something...
Also, sounds like an exploit.

[wierd]

No. It sounds dorfy.

The "dig through the SMR straight to the HFS!" Post a month ago was pure dorf, and also pure exploit.

Likewise with purpetual motion power plants, zero point power plants, and a host of other dorfy things.

Those little things are what make the game fun after you learn how.

Ever suspended a fortress from the top zlevel?

[khearn]

 Here's what I think is being described:

Code: [Select]

Side view
XXXXX~~~   X = rock    # = rock to be dug out
   _#~~~   ~ = magma
XXX☺X~~~   _ = bridge
XXXXX~~~   ☺ = miner

Make sure to make your bridge from a magma safe material.

I'd call this an exploit. But it's s single player game, so use it if you feel like doing that sort of thing.

[Urist Da Vinci]

First off I want to let everyone know:  I did NOT discover this method.  My apologies to whoever DID discover it but I don't know or remember who it was. 

Someone described this method in one of the many threads about volcano breaching and my thought was, "Whaaaa?!  There's no way something like that would work!"  So I made a new embark at a volcano and did some testing and, sure enough, this method works.
...

I've posted it in at least one volcano thread, but I learned about it by reading the wiki.

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Bridge#More_useful_uses_for_a_retractable_bridge
See "ocean drains".

...
Ever suspended a fortress from the top zlevel?

"Nailed to the sky" only appears to work for a single column of tiles, and not an entire fort.

[Sabreur]

I'm not the one who discovered it, but I posted about it in another thread - and was immediately ridiculed by another poster.

Take THAT, guy I can't be bothered to look up!

[chris_strain]

This method works wonders and has become my default method for draining volcanos to build inside them. It's worth noting that the dorfs can mine any tile within the span of the trench, not just ones in the diagonal. So if you have ramps the entire width of the bridge, you can mine out the entire row, plus one extra on each end. This is risky with a wooden bridge though as it only lasts a couple of seconds before it burns off, but a non-magma safe stone bridge give you plenty of time to clear out before melting.

[rtg593]

Nice. Engraving into a diagonal from a diagonal still works fine for me, no deaths, less work. But this is cool too :p

[Uristocrat]

Meh, I'm a traditionalist.  I send in a potash maker with a copper pick and have a slab on standby.

[Blizzlord]

Meh, I'm a traditionalist.  I send in a potash maker with a copper pick and have a slab on standby.

Why not station the physically retarded potash maker in the tunnel as well as mining from under the bridge? He wouldn't even have served soldier duty well in his current state...

[Uristocrat]

Meh, I'm a traditionalist.  I send in a potash maker with a copper pick and have a slab on standby.

Why not station the physically retarded potash maker in the tunnel as well as mining from under the bridge? He wouldn't even have served soldier duty well in his current state...

Because there is no bridge.  In fact, he usually gets walled in before breaching the volcano.  His last moment is the dwarfiest thing a potash maker could aspire to.  It's almost too good for him, really.

[hjd_uk]

Also, be mindful any Magma-Safe Building destroyer could destroy your bridge.

[Urist_McDrowner]

Also, be mindful any Magma-Safe Building destroyer could destroy your bridge.

Pfffffft. I've never had a bridge broken by a level 2 BD.

[DrKillPatient]

Also, be mindful any Magma-Safe Building destroyer could destroy your bridge.

Actually, creatures cannot destroy bridges except if they're very large and the bridge breaks over their head. See Quietust's post here.

[Iosyn]

People use this same method for draining oceans, if I recall.