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[GoombaGeek]

It was a toss-up between Ńing an old thread or making an unnecessary new one. In the end, option two won.

So, have we ever devised an effective and tested giant sponge capturing method? Previous threads are full of disagreement and not much experimental science. I need to know the best method. Here's why I ask.

Four giant sponges. With luck, the river doesn't freeze in my location, because four giant sponges. They are in different parts of the river: one is against a shoreline (but it only goes two tiles before turning and the sponge is not in the corner), one is one tile diagonally away from a shoreline corner, and the other two are in the open river. So, we have a few questions.

1. How do catch?
Submerged cage traps could work, but how do you move an immobile creature without getting murdered? Some people suggested gravity. Do cage traps prevent airdrowning? I sure hope so. A method that works from below is preferred, as anything requiring a shoreline only gives me a 25% net sponge gain.

2. How do use?
Can we safely chain a giant sponge? Can they break chains despite being immobile? Can we even train them (NO_THOUGHT)?! My best use for them would be to keep them in an "aquarium" that can be easily refilled. When goblins arrive, a lever (better yet: auto pressure plate, except then kobolds are home free) opens floodgates leading to the main hallway, flooding it (as other floodgates or bridges have sealed it off - are bridges watertight when raised?) and leaving the giant sponges to clean up the rest (amphibious mounts, assuming they're hostile to wild animals or that sponges are trainable).

In fact, using them raises many further questions. For instance, how do we get the goblins to fight them? Well, let's say the aquarium has 1x1 pastures for the sponges in it. Below it is a floodgate for easy sponge caging and subsequent aquarium draining (for maintenance, etc.). This way, we can periodically cage and remove the sponges for animal training, so that invaders don't ignore them and instead try fighting them (and fail).

Of course, the cage-pit-trap-thing should be bigger than 1x1, so that a sponge dodging away won't be unrecoverable. Here's my basic diagram:
Entrance hallway, (S) stands for Sealing Mechanism

Code: [Select]

╔═══╦(S)╦═══╗
║≈≈≈X+++X≈≈≈║
║≈S≈X+++X≈S≈║
║≈≈≈X+++X≈≈≈║
║≈S≈X+++X≈S≈║
║≈≈≈X+++X≈≈≈║
╚═══╩(S)╩═══╝The sealing mechanism and floodgates are hooked up to the same lever, flooding the area with slightly shallower (but not lethally shallow and still drownable for land creatures). The larger the aquarium is compared to the entrance hallway, the better. Of course, after all the water drains out again (grates after the sealing mechanism hooked up to the caverns maybe, or even better leading to an underground mud greenspace), the overall level will be diminished, requiring more filling up. A reservoir one level up could prevent these issues and maintain 7/7 water throughout.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Because I've got four giant sponges to catch and you could too!

[GreatWyrmGold]

Suggestion?
Get to work and report!

[Kofthefens]

Where in the river are the sponges? Screenshot?

[Hurize]

See if giant sponges can be killed by Bisected by a sword (Chopped in half)

[imperium3]

Why are you worried about sponges dodging or being chained/not chained. They can't move, right? So none of that matters.

(This being DF though, I wouldn't be completely surprised if immobile things can still dodge)

[Broseph Stalin]

See if giant sponges can be killed by Bisected by a sword (Chopped in half)

The upper body is an indivisible unit.

Why are you worried about sponges dodging or being chained/not chained. They can't move, right? So none of that matters.

(This being DF though, I wouldn't be completely surprised if immobile things can still dodge)

Not only can they dodge they can attack.

[GoombaGeek]

Where in the river are the sponges? Screenshot?

Spoiler: Large-ish image (click to show/hide)

Why are you worried about sponges dodging or being chained/not chained. They can't move, right? So none of that matters.

(This being DF though, I wouldn't be completely surprised if immobile things can still dodge)

Even if they were perfectly immobile (which they aren't, because they can actually dodge across tiles despite being blobs of sponge), they could still be pushed around by waterflow and attacks, like how bronze colossi can punch dwarves across twenty tiles.

[Talvieno]

My mind is a bit cloudy atm, but is it possible to find a way to place a trap on the z-level below, and then ramp out the section beneath them? If the flow of water pushed them, it might be able to force them onto a cage trap. Even if they're trapimmune, they'd probably be briefly stunned by the fall, and thus get caught anyway.

edit: ooh, they're in the river. That will make for an interesting de-swamping project, if you want to recover the cages... Or wait til winter, assuming you're in an appropriate biome.

[GoombaGeek]

My mind is a bit cloudy atm, but is it possible to find a way to place a trap on the z-level below, and then ramp out the section beneath them? If the flow of water pushed them, it might be able to force them onto a cage trap. Even if they're trapimmune, they'd probably be briefly stunned by the fall, and thus get caught anyway.

edit: ooh, they're in the river. That will make for an interesting de-swamping project, if you want to recover the cages... Or wait til winter, assuming you're in an appropriate biome.

I found some nice schematics in the trap thread:

Code: [Select]

Side View
▓≈≈≈≈S≈≈▓
    ┼X▓▓▓
▓▓▓▓▓B▓▓▓
▓▓▓^^^^^┼
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓(thanks i2amroy)

However, the issue on how to weaponize them is still, well, an issue. If they're trainable then that'll be much easier, but I have a sneaking suspicion that [NO_THOUGHT] prevents that. I might have to do some modding in this case.

EDIT: I've looked at the raws and I can verify that giant sponges are as susceptible to traps as an untrained goblin ambush.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Give them TRAINABLE in the region raws and look at Sphalerite's old sea serpent farm thread.

[GoombaGeek]

Well, when we're into modding, anything's possible!

I've added [TRAINABLE] to get over the hassle of training/having untrained giant sponges, but remember that they're still [IMMOBILE]. Luckily, there's a recent thread about immobility that still allows reproduction, which would come in handy for a giant sponge ranch. I just like doing things like this in vanilla because it feels more challenging to work around the game's limitations.

[misko27]

So, immobility does not prevent sex? Finally, A solution for nerds and couch potatoes the world over.

[Di]

Post a save with sponges and you'll get more of experimental science.