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[HavingPhun]

I know that normally they can be weak. But if i have 20 - 30 catupults then how effective would they be. Pretend that the operators are legendary and that the catupults are made of masterwork parts. Also I wonder if using different matierials like heavier ores have any effect. Did I spell catupult right?

[Laserhead]

I'd imagine unless you piled all the rocks right on top of the catapult's central tile, the hauling changes that made rocks so much harder to haul without wheelbarrows would also make catapults that much slower to operate, since I don't think an operator will use a wheelbarrow.

[the woods]

Making a catapult effective requires you to arrange most of the map and manage a ton of resources just for making catapults effective. You have to set up walls to manipulate invader pathing, and have huge stone stockpiles that masons won't touch.

Siege weapons can't shoot diagonally or hit anything on a different z level, their operators run away if they see enemies, and if you want to hit a flying invader, you would pretty much have to build or dig a long covered tube to keep them at the same elevation, and make sure the rest of your fortress is covered as well.

I think the reason catapults are so "weak" is related to the way dwarf fortress handles a high-velocity projectile damaging a dude in armor. If the dude has a lot of armor skill, the rock will just "miss" or bounce off the armor without ever denting the metal at all. They're probably still good for hitting herds of giraffes or hippos that wander the map, especially if you are in an evil region and don't want to risk melee.

How would you arrange 30 catapults to be effective on the map you have in mind, and what are you intending to hit?

[Loud Whispers]

You have to set up walls to manipulate invader pathing, and have huge stone stockpiles that masons won't touch.

Stone is rare now?

Siege weapons can't shoot diagonally or hit anything on a different z level, their operators run away if they see enemies, and if you want to hit a flying invader, you would pretty much have to build or dig a long covered tube to keep them at the same elevation, and make sure the rest of your fortress is covered as well.

Multi-zlvl flak tower operated by blind legendary siege operators with quantum stockpiles and multiple interloping fields of fire.

How would you arrange 30 catapults to be effective on the map you have in mind, and what are you intending to hit?

Indeed. Currently catapults aren't a viable Fortress defence; they're a megaproject in of their own.

[chevil]

Lots of little towers and a long raised entrance.
If only I could pay my rent in dwarfbucks.

[MonkeyHead]

I dont touch catapults as of yet - the "only hits one tile" thing makes them less than useful, other than as stone movers. Ballistae on the other hand...

4 ballistae with an overlapping field of fire cover most of my more mature fort entrances. Invaders must path through thier firing cone, and even if I only get one shot off from each, 4 ballistae bolts passing though massed enemies herded into a dense pack tends to break many, many bones. An enemies passed out from pain are easy kills, this works well, assuming metal tipped projectiles.

[MDFification]

Catapults are right now a waste of time compared to Ballistae.

Still, if you want to build a "battery" of catapults, I find it can be kind of effective. Isolating the battery from the invaders and managing an effective ammo stockpile are of course concerns. I don't see why you'd go with 30 though. Just having 10 should be enough. I tend to aim my Catapults at my own entrance.
Making two batteries of five/six catapults each can keep a single-tile wide hallway covered fairly well. But then your entrance needs to be single-tile.

To solve the ammo problem, I burrow each catapult and establish a quantum stockpile at each one. Stops the operator from running to the next 'pult to get his ammo when it's right there. This requires quite a bit of micromanagement in case of seige though. Let's not think about keeping the battery stocked with food and water.

Basically, it's a workable defense, but keeping them loaded, staffed and the amount of building you need to put into even a 10 catapult battery makes me wonder why you wouldn't just use Marksdwarfs. They have roughly the same effectiveness on armor users anyway, but Marksdwarfs carry their own ammo and you can reposition them easily.
As a megaproject though, it's pretty impressive. A fully workable catapult battery is satisfying to build, if overly expensive in time and planning for not that many advantages.

[Koremu]

You have to set up walls to manipulate invader pathing, and have huge stone stockpiles that masons won't touch.

Technically those are called ravelins.

Catapults are right now a waste of time compared to Ballistae.

They are a much cheaper way of training your Ballista operators than letting them loose on crafted Ballista bolts.

They are also a good way to move extensive stockpiles of stone long distances with speed. Put a small stockpile near the source of your stone, and a "catching" area on the other side with a wall & drop into another stone stockpile. This is a system I use whenever I have to use a detached mining operation.

[wierd]

Can catapults fire harvested clay boulders? If so, a quantum dump pile of clay boulders would provide cheap ammunition to a catapult.

[Hyndis]

Siege engines can be useful for building destroyers or the demon hordes.

Construct an artifact furniture item as bait. An artifact armor stand works great for that. It needs to be a passable tile. If the tile is not passable then it will be dismantled, but as artifacts cannot be harmed the furniture will still be in pristine condition.

The building destroyers will attempt to destroy the artifact armor stand forever, but will be unable to harm it. They'll be stuck in place.

Then use crossbows and siege engines to attack them. Crossbows work fine against things that bleed, but against things that do not bleed you may need more firepower. With some pre-planning you can install steel spikes all over the floor, and link them to a lever. A combination of crossbow bolts, flying boulders, and steel spikes from the floor make quick work of nearly anything.

[Gentlefish]

You can have a 3-wide hallway.

It's just that then, the middle one is safe. Which is Fun. Also live training for your military standing at the end of the line.

Or you have the middle line being a single-wide series of bridges that raise in one direction or the other, or simply retract to provide 2 one-wide corridors of doom.

[☼!!Troll Fur Sock!!☼]

Did I spell catupult right?

No, in Dwarf Fortress it's cat-a-pult. If you know what I mean.

[Dangerous Beans]

You have to set up walls to manipulate invader pathing, and have huge stone stockpiles that masons won't touch.

Technically those are called ravelins

oooh, now i want to build a starfort. though with magma cannons instead of catapults

[wierd]

Better take precautions so the magma runs back into the magma moat, without catching the world on fire if you want to avoid "collateral damage" against the merchant caravans.

Rock floors and ramps would be sufficient I think.

[HavingPhun]

I wasn't planning on building this just yet but I want to make a lot of them. The reason is because imagine catapult artillery just firing a crap load of rocks at the enemy. Sorry for the late reply.