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[Tacomagic]

I finally finished the first draft of the tutorial for the Pump-stack method based on the aquifer pierce posted by kingubu.  Unfortunately, the original video he submitted through twitch is no longer available.  I've liked using this method so much that I thought it should live on as a vaible alternative to the 2-slit method.

As I've not seen the method posted elsewhere, I created a wiki-page for it here:

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Pump-stack_method

I'll be updating that page with a few more things as I document them. Since it's still a first draft, and I have some more stuff I'll be ading over the next few days, I haven't linked to it from the aquifer main page yet.

I also plan on doing a new video showing a work-through of the method to replace the original that was lost.  That's waiting on my new headset to arriving.

Any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, and/or grammatical help are appreciated.

[khearn]

Looks really nice, I'll have to try it. Thanks!

BTW, when you're instructing to remove the up/down stairs, you say to remove them one row at a time, I think you really mean one column at a time. To most people, a row is horizontal and a column is vertical.

   Keith

[Tacomagic]

Looks really nice, I'll have to try it. Thanks!

BTW, when you're instructing to remove the up/down stairs, you say to remove them one row at a time, I think you really mean one column at a time. To most people, a row is horizontal and a column is vertical.

   Keith

You are correct.  I shall fix that, thanks.

I think in my mind everything on any level is a row, and a column is vertical.  But since I'm already using "shaft" for vertical stuff, using column here is probably better for specificity.

[khearn]

Yeah, the terminology can be pretty squishy. I understood what you meant because your pictures are very clear. It's a good, easy to understand write-up. Easier to understand than the description of the two-slit method.

   Keith

Edit: Fixed a doozy of a typo.

[BirdBrainf4]

Yeah, the terminology can be pretty squishy. I understood what you meant because your pictures are very clear. It's a good, easy to understand write-up. Easier to understand than the description of the two-clit method.

   Keith

I think you mean two-slit method

[khearn]

Oops! Fixed.

[Tacomagic]

Yeah, the terminology can be pretty squishy. I understood what you meant because your pictures are very clear. It's a good, easy to understand write-up. Easier to understand than the description of the two-clit method.

   Keith

I think you mean two-slit method

So... many... jokes...

[Tacomagic]

Added the section on doing it without stone.  Next up, the 2-slit conversion... if I can get it to work correctly.

After that, the video.

ADDENDUM: Woof, 2-slit conversion is possible, but not practical in the slightest.  In the time it took me to do the conversion, I probably could have pierced a 30 level aquifer.  Gonna drop that idea entirely.

This weekend sucks for anything at all, but hopefully I'll be able to work on the video next week.

[Tacomagic]

Finally got the video made.  Had to do it several times before ending up with one that didn't totally suck.

You can check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FmXM6PGUXA

I'll be adding it as a reference to the wiki.  There is a high likelyhood that I'll go back and redo the video.  My narration is terrible and I cringe listening to it.  Even so, it was the best of like 5 attempts, which is pretty sad, really.

[Thormgrim]

Yeah, the terminology can be pretty squishy. I understood what you meant because your pictures are very clear. It's a good, easy to understand write-up. Easier to understand than the description of the two-clit method.

   Keith

I think you mean two-slit method

http://coub.com/view/47nhv4j
"I've made my choice"

[Thisfox]

Well, I've followed this tute, easily made my first ever dwarven reactor (yaay!) and the only thing I can't seem to do is dig the up/down staircase in the first aquifer level after the reactor "kicked off". I don't think I've done anything wrong: I'm checking and checking, and there doesn't seem to be anything different, other than the fact that I'm in tetrahedrite instead of sandstone (don't ask me why, that's just what it is). I even went and watched the video just in case.

It's not that it isn't draining, and I've carefully tried to dig out in strips exactly as shown, first the ones on the west side, then the next line over. But I can't get that strip -that "column"- dug. It won't dig. I just get constant repeated "cannot find path" spam and cancellations. It stops being dig designated, and I tell them to dig it again, and the same thing happens. I've tried ten times in a row (counted, just to be sure that I wasn't just being impatient).

...so, any tips on what I've done wrong? I obviously have missed something obvious, and I'm damned if I know what it is...

[Tacomagic]

Well, I've followed this tute, easily made my first ever dwarven reactor (yaay!) and the only thing I can't seem to do is dig the up/down staircase in the first aquifer level after the reactor "kicked off". I don't think I've done anything wrong: I'm checking and checking, and there doesn't seem to be anything different, other than the fact that I'm in tetrahedrite instead of sandstone (don't ask me why, that's just what it is). I even went and watched the video just in case.

It's not that it isn't draining, and I've carefully tried to dig out in strips exactly as shown, first the ones on the west side, then the next line over. But I can't get that strip -that "column"- dug. It won't dig. I just get constant repeated "cannot find path" spam and cancellations. It stops being dig designated, and I tell them to dig it again, and the same thing happens. I've tried ten times in a row (counted, just to be sure that I wasn't just being impatient).

...so, any tips on what I've done wrong? I obviously have missed something obvious, and I'm damned if I know what it is...

Sounds like you've run into a very, very rare situation.  You hit ore in just the right spot and it's acting as a non-drain, which means that the water that SHOULD be draining into the tetrahedrite (which can't drain 'cause it's ore) is instead just pooling below, which isn't helpful.  Because it isn't draining, there's nowhere for the miners to stand to get that second row dug.  There might still be some hope.  Can you post a pic of your drain layer?  If there's something next to the tetrahedrite, it can still be salvaged.

That's related to the warning in the video that sometimes you'll hit ore.  I should have covered that a bit better, because you can also hit damp ore that will totally screw you up... just like this.

[pisskop]

Hey, cool.  Good work.

[Thisfox]

The rock that isn't tetrahedrite is granite, and I can't dig any further in it, it just gets cancelled. My fort site is next to a lovely little lake, which might mean that -5 is not the lowest level, but I realise now that was confused by your description of how to tell if there's another level of aquifer (sorry) and still don't know or understand that bit as well as I first thought, now that I've watched the video.

I would have thought that granite would end the aquifer levels though?

The waterwheel is going chugchugchug on the side that you actually TOLD me to put it (the other one is a newbie trying to make the pumping go faster, I'm sorry) I was stupid, and instead of waiting for advice, built more stuff (because of course THAT would work) and I don't think I've made it worse /yet/ but yeah, please excuse the mess.

[khearn]

Looks like you hit the bottom of the aquifer and kept digging, rather than switching to the "Draining the lowest layer" section. You might be able to build some hatch covers and get them installed and proceed downward, but with the water in there already it might not really be possible.

Maybe if you give your miners some swimming lessons, they might be able to dig while in the water on level -5. But I ecpect they'll just cancell because it's dangerous terrain, no matter how good they are at swimming.

Another option is moar pumps, built on -4 to drain -5 while you install hatches and then dig the drain downward.

I'd wait and see what Tacomagic has too say, he may have a way around this.

   Keith