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Author Topic: mechanized ballistas and catapults  (Read 2190 times)

martinuzz

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mechanized ballistas and catapults
« on: August 12, 2014, 06:20:18 am »

I would love to see catapults and ballistas be linkable to levers / pressure plates.
They would forego any bonusses they would get from siege operator proficiency, they would normally get when fired manually, but mechanization would make for a nice new addition to our defense designs.
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Adrian

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #1 on: August 12, 2014, 10:14:19 am »

Levers not so much, but i would love to set a ballista ready to fire and linking the trigger to a pressure plate.
Much like crossbow traps they'd need to be manually reloaded after projecting death down a corridor.
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Alev

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #2 on: August 12, 2014, 12:42:01 pm »

Levers not so much, but i would love to set a ballista ready to fire and linking the trigger to a pressure plate.
Much like crossbow traps they'd need to be manually reloaded after projecting death down a corridor.
Or you could mechanize that as well, though it would be harder. For example, a crank to pull the ballista string back and a chute that leads down to the ballista to load it.
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Sirbug

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #3 on: August 13, 2014, 04:18:21 am »

You still need to load new ammo in it, you just add a magazine to it.

I support this idea. I always wanted a ballista trap, otherwise, I find siege engines somewhat useless and awkward to use.
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Neonivek

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #4 on: August 13, 2014, 04:30:57 am »

For a second I thought you were talking about Ballistas and Catapults moving on wheels being pushed since that would technically be another definition of mechanized.
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Adrian

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #5 on: August 13, 2014, 06:22:03 am »

Looking over on the dev page, near the bottom there's a section called "Improved mechanics", which details among other things energy storage and multi-tile traps.
Once Dwarf Fortress gets to that point, i'm sure we'll see a whole slew of new things for goblins to play with.
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Urist Mc Dwarf

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #6 on: August 13, 2014, 08:59:49 am »

Like the toy brigade from The Legend of Drizzt Do-Urden.( A giant spiked wheel essentialy)

Alev

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #7 on: August 13, 2014, 01:46:22 pm »

You still need to load new ammo in it, you just add a magazine to it.

I support this idea. I always wanted a ballista trap, otherwise, I find siege engines somewhat useless and awkward to use.
I covered that in my post. And ballistae don't have magazines.
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Bumber

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #8 on: August 13, 2014, 03:39:27 pm »

You still need to load new ammo in it, you just add a magazine to it.

I support this idea. I always wanted a ballista trap, otherwise, I find siege engines somewhat useless and awkward to use.
I covered that in my post. And ballistae don't have magazines.
But they could: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repeating_crossbow
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Alev

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #9 on: August 13, 2014, 03:40:51 pm »

You still need to load new ammo in it, you just add a magazine to it.

I support this idea. I always wanted a ballista trap, otherwise, I find siege engines somewhat useless and awkward to use.
I covered that in my post. And ballistae don't have magazines.
But they could: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repeating_crossbow

Yes, I know. The chute would basically work as a magazine, however.
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Waparius

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #10 on: August 13, 2014, 06:48:10 pm »

First I'd like to see catapults and ballistas that work in 3D; then I'd like to see siege weapons that can take out walls natural and constructed. Or at least battering rams.

(And before that a massive farming nerf, but that's outside the scope of this thread).
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Defacto

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #11 on: August 14, 2014, 01:07:57 pm »

I don't think Chu-ko-nu-like Ballistas would work. I think in a Chu-ko-nu the lever is also used to wind up the string, but you can't do that with a ballista.
I would like Ballista traps, though. They look like great fun  :D
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Bumber

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #12 on: August 14, 2014, 02:12:57 pm »

I don't think Chu-ko-nu-like Ballistas would work. I think in a Chu-ko-nu the lever is also used to wind up the string, but you can't do that with a ballista.
I would like Ballista traps, though. They look like great fun  :D
Obviously you'd use a ratchet for drawing the bowstring. You just need a similar lever mechanism for timing and placing the bolts properly.
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King Mir

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #13 on: August 14, 2014, 02:32:47 pm »

Definitely support this.

Catapults should work if a rock is rolled into them, which of course requires better stone fall traps.

Ballista traps are really upscaled weapon traps. I'd remove the ability for weapon traps to use bows and crossbows, in favor of a separate impassible building that can fire them. Mechanized ballista would be the same, but wider. Have fireing triggered by pressure plate or lever. Limit one shot per pull of the ballista, and one shot per ranged weapon used in trap construction.

Maklak

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Re: mechanized ballistas and catapults
« Reply #14 on: August 14, 2014, 03:04:30 pm »

I'd like targetable siege engines. Basically a stationary, oversized crossbow that when manned can track and shoot at anything in range of 50+ tiles.

Re-winding of a repeating crossbow is done by hand, but in theory it could be done by mechanisms drawing power from a water mill. It would just be more complex and less moveable and therefore less practical.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2014, 03:06:01 pm by Maklak »
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