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[wooks]

I have a giant sponge that's been inanimate under a bridge in my minor river for the better part of 3 years now, and I can't help but think that he would make the best of marksdwarf training targets, but I can't think of a way to trap the darn fellow. Any suggestions? Do they get moved by current?

Pic:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Merendel]

Never tried to capture one to be honest.  if I had to try I'd probably prepare a pool area for it a few Z levels below where its at.  prepare a shaft leading up to right under the sponge with some way to stop the water flow remotely.   Most likely I'd dig an updown stair below the sponge, an updown below that that was then channled out and replaced with a retracting bridge linked to a lever and the shaft of however many levels leading to the pool.   Make sure access tunnles to those two levels below the sponge can be sealed off as they will flood.  once preped send an expendable dwarf with a pick to channle out the square the sponge is on.   once he mines it the sponge should fall down the hole, down the stairs past the bridge and into the pool.  Most likely he will have a swiming partner in the poor dwarf that you sent to mine.   once the pool fills up enough so the sponge wont air drown(and befor it overfills) close the bridge to shutoff water flow.

Alternitively just build a wall around the area and cast an obsidian wall dam downstream and then upstream of it.  have the marksdwarves shoot at it from above.

[ImagoDeo]

Alternitively just build a wall around the area and cast an obsidian wall dam downstream and then upstream of it.  have the marksdwarves shoot at it from above.

This is probably the best idea. My experience with sponges has been anything but happy: they airdrown so fast that it's almost impossible to successfully trap one.

[GhostDwemer]

Make sure you put a bridge in between your trainees and your target, so you can break line of site and disengage your dwarves in case they are needed elsewhere in a hurry.

[Button]

You can create this one of two ways: in-place, or by trapping. Unless you have a blind dwarf to build the in-place framework, I'd go with trapping.

A giant sponge is too big to be pushed by current, so you're going to need to push it with gravity. Here's an idea, though I think the ramp might cause a problem depending on how ramps act on cavein.

Two levels below the sponge, dig a small room (min 4x3) with a bunch of cage traps and fill that room with water.

Three levels below the sponge, make sure that the entire area below the cage room is filled with natural stone/earth or constructed walls.

On the level between the cage room and the sponge, have a patsy volunteer dig out the area above the cage room except for the square underneath the sponge. Then channel around the edges of the room, so that the room is only being supported by the square under the sponge. Make sure this room is watertight before you take the final step: dig a ramp into the square under the sponge.

[wooks]

Okay, so, if I understand what you are saying, I dig a room under the sponge, and lay out a bunch of cage traps. Then create a way to set off a controlled cave-in and fill the trap room with 7/7 water (or however much it takes to keep it from air drowning? 4/7?). Finally I drop the sponge in from below and then set off the collapse to knock it out?

If I've totally misunderstood what your getting at maybe a quick and dirty diagram would help me.

[Merendel]

If I'm reading buttons plan right the cavein isnt to knock out the sponge although it may end up doing that which is why I assume he added the cage traps.  The cavein is more or less the method of droping the floor out from under the sponge so it lands in your containment area.   Basicly you build the area down below, set it up so no extra construction needs to be done for the marksdwarvs to use it later.  Below the sponge you holow out a room but dont touch the wall directly below the sponge.  you channle out the floor of that room so nothing is suporting that bit of wall, leaving only a single tile of floor suported by that wall with a dwarf standing on it.  when that dwarf digs a ramp hopefuly the ramp and floor will end up unsuported and colaps leaving a hole under teh sponge which will also drop.  The only problem I see is I cant think of a good way to shutoff the water flow afterwards so you can use the room short of damning the river after the fact and patching the hole

[HmH]

If you don't want to mess around with cages, keep in mind that you can throw the sponge around with a minecart. Example of a blueprint for doing this:

Code: [Select]

Z-1:
WWWWWWWW
H..D..XW
W.WWWWWW

Z-2:
WWWWWWWW
RRRRRXHW
WWWWWW.W

Z-level of the sponge is Z-0. W is wall, D is a door, . is floor, R is an impulse ramp, H is a hatch over a channel downwards linked to a lever elsewhere. Yes, both hatches need to be linked to levers.
The sponge is above the tiles labeled X, which are walls in which you'll have to dig an upwards ramp: first on Z-1, by a dispensable miner with the door locked behind him, then on Z-2.
Once the sponge has fallen down to level Z-2, put a heavy minecart onto the hatch on the Z-1 and pull the associated lever.
The minecart falls onto the impulse ramps, which accelerate it; five ramps(but better make it eight or ten, water makes impulse ramps less effective) should be sufficient to make the sponge fly back and onto the second hatch.
The second hatch leads to the place where the sponge is supposed to go, which, I assume, is a multiple-Z-level area with a pool at the bottom.
Benefit of this method: doesn't require you to mess with pumps and terrariums after the sponge is caught. Hatches react immediately, so you can micromanage the timing to drop the sponge in without letting much water through. The rest of the construction is going to be drowned, though, so make sure your levers are elsewhere.

That said, I'm only about ninety percent sure it'll work, as I tested the concept in arena mode and didn't know how to spawn impulse ramps there, so back up your save just in case it fails.

[Di]

You could also try moving sponge with accelerated minecarts. You'd need to have a complete control over riverbed to set up the underwater accelerator though.

[Button]

Yeah the point of my cavein idea wasn't to knock the sponge out, but because caving in the floor underneath it is pretty much the only way I could think of to move it! Once it's in a cage you can put it whereever you like.

Sounds like minecarts would work too.