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[Larix]

The baby that got orphaned at two weeks finally hit his first birthday, so i finally could stop the regular "remove hunger/thirst" raw re-edits. I generally just switched eating and drinking off whenever Likot was dangerously in need and switched it back on thereafter, so the rest of the fort could eat and drink at least a bit. Miraculously enough, Likot received water _twice_ in that year, but food only once. The second gift of water was had after another NO_DRINK update, i.e. the job was generated in the tiny time window between unpausing and the thirst reset, in the split second when Likot was a thirsty unit with the NO_DRINK flag.

I formulated the basic concept of the unjammable speedy minecart grinder.

Spoiler: why a speedy grinder instead of an impulse clover leaf? (click to show/hide)

It's well-known that very small perpetual-motion grinders are possible, but they won't gain much speed: the smallest design is this:

Code: [Select]

#▲▲#   #══#
both ramps must be unusable, i.e. with ceiling directly above or walls on top of the surrounding walls. There's also a four-impulse-ramp design, but it does nothing fundamentally different from this one - the cart accelerates "down" the ramp it is on, bug-teleports "up" the other ramp, bumps into the wall and accelerates in the opposite direction.
Why don't i use this grinder design? Because it's laaaame. The cart spends eight steps on each tile, i.e. it moves quite sluggishly.

For a speedy powerless grinder, you need to take the corners on proper corner track, without the abrupt, speed-nullifying wall bumps in all-impulse-ramp designs. You can do this by using flat corners:

Code: [Select]

#║##
#╔╗#     #╔╗#
#▲║#     #╗║#
#▲║#     #╗║#
#▲║#     #╗║#
#╚╝#     #╚╝#
#+##
with optional input/output connections - push track from the north, lever-operated (or invader-opened) door to the south. Cart cycles counter-clockwise.

A nice railgun design, since it achieves maximum ramped speed. It's less useful if you want invaders to walk through it, because if the cart stops on flat track, it'll stand still, putting the grinder out of operation until it's re-set and restarted, which usually requires getting the invaders out first, and the non-operational grinder no longer helps getting rid of them.

If the cart stops on a legal ramp, however, it will keep accelerating, bumping into and sometimes running over the creature blocking its path. But to do this, we need to take corners on legal corner track _and_ on a proper ramp. I.e., we need to change z-level.

Code: [Select]

##+##     ##+##
#▲#▲#     #╔#╗#
#▲#▲#     #╗#╚#
#▲#▲#     #╚#╝#
##+##     ##+##
z+1
#####     #####
#▼▲▼#     #▼╗▼#
#▼#▼#     #▼#▼#
#▼▲▼#     #▼╚▼#
#####     #####
Cart moves counter-clockwise.

The up/down ramps in the corners allow the cart to take the corners without losing all speed, the impulse ramps on the upper level are absolutely required: carts coming from flat track will only take a down ramp if they're going at less than derail speed. They will take the ramp if they're already coming from a down ramp, which _can_ be an impulse ramp.

The impulse ramp on the lower level, between the down and the next up ramp, is also required, to give the cart a sufficiently straight trajectory so it takes the next corner properly. Down and up ramp immediately adjacent do _not_ work. The cart will circulate, but it keeps bouncing back and forth once per round, stopping and starting again and wasting ~30 steps.

This minimal design still doesn't provide much speed: it takes 65 steps for 6 full rounds. Yes, it's not a per-cycle period, the pattern shifts through various positions; five rounds will take eleven steps each, the sixth will only take ten. Of course, it still moves eight tiles in ~10,85 steps, meaning it's on average above derail speed.

The basic design can be expanded by adding more impulse ramps. It doesn't seem to matter whether those are added on the lower or upper level, i usually opt for extra ramps on the lower level, since those offer an easily viewable layout for an actual grinder, using doors where they're shown above.

The funny thing is that for the first four expansions, the circulation time stays exactly the same (i.e. the exact six rounds in 65 steps). The layout below will cycle at the same rate as the minimal design, but the cart's about twice as fast:

Code: [Select]

##+##     ##+##
#▲#▲#     #╔#╗#
#▲#▲#     #╗#╚#
#▲#▲#     #╗#╚#
#▲#▲#     #╗#╚#
#▲#▲#     #╗#╚#
#▲#▲#     #╗#╚#
#▲#▲#     #╚#╝#
##+##     ##+##
(with the usual connecting impulse ramp on the level above - not shown)

Expanding it by one more ramp pair will finally break the pattern - the cart'll take twelve steps precisely per round.

Carts will keep hold of their cargo while in such a cycle, but will typically jettison it when colliding with a heavy creature. The grinders can also get clogged by large creatures like trolls and forgotten beasts - they'll keep hitting and hurting them, but can't move past the creature until it dies or dodges out of the way.

To stop operation, a retracting bridge on one of the corner tiles should be used. Carts can be inserted via hatch from above - this also gives trolls and other building destroyers a nice target, to keep them in the grinder.

[FallenAngel]

Hilariously, wild warthogs seem to love to wander into my traps, be they weapon traps (filled with green glass spikes) or my cage traps. I only use weapon traps to protect my livestock which are behind clay walls.

[magnum2016]

City Orbsdream has just withdrawn from the Dwarven Kingdom,

After much loss of support from there so called motherland they declared independence from the Dwarven Kingdoms and immediately declared war on the Elven and Human Kingdoms.


The Human and Elven Diplomats were put to rest by quick arrows to there skulls and the Dwarven people are preparing plans to destroy The Elven and Human Caravans that are soon to arrive.

[FallenAngel]

The filthy rat weed-smoking hippies elves have arrived.
Since I have no need for anything they bring, I'll seize anything I want from them and slay all but one of their merchants.
Because screw elves.

[TheFlame52]

I know the standard opinion of elves on this forum, but I personally don't really mind elves. Yes, they are treehuggers. Yes, they don't bring wagons or merchant guards. Yes, they only have wooden equipment. But they sell exotic animals, booze, and surface seeds. I often embark in wood-poor areas, so one more caravan bringing wood is always welcome. And in adventurer mode, wooden arrows are just as deadly as metal ones while elven companions will not go chasing after random wildlife. I'm not going to make myself a set of elf leather clothing - I'm going to make myself a set of dwarf, human, goblin, kobold, and elf leather clothing. All in all, elves are pretty ok.

Also, a shameless plug for The Great Elven General Yonali Smithwings.

[FallenAngel]

I have no qualms about killing them (at least in this embark, as the main obstacles for existence here is the piece of ocean splitting the embark in half), especially since I modded my race to bring exotics, too. Plus, if they're stupid gutsy enough to send another caravan, I'm stealing their wooden gear as well as their wood, clay, and cloth. And butchering their animals.
With swords.
I'm mostly doing this to get some cannon fodder since I'm friends with the goblins. They bring metal, wood, and cloth, making them rather helpful.

[Revlakius Javensky]

Just started my third fortress. Hopefully They won't eat all the plump helmets and die of thirst again...

PS Tons of these creatures called "Badger Boars" are constantly making runs by my newly established territory, and have attacked two of my people already. There are like 6-10 of them, any ideas?

[FallenAngel]

Going to do a controlled partial fill of the meeting area to remove contaminants.

[klefenz]

I had a FB with noxious extracts that caused necrosis. It didnt affect any of my dwarves because of clothing, but it caused a bunch of cats to rot alive. These cats decided to got rot in the meeting hall filling it with miasma. I wrongly thought the cats would die or something and focused on other things.

The miasma caused a spiraling tantrum, and after a while of tantrums and berserker dwarves i sent everyone to the barrel of the shotgun and pulled the lever.

[fourpotatoes]

Two more loyal workers have been interred in the tomb complex. They never distinguished themselves in battle or produced any stunning artifacts, but their quiet service contributed to the success of the fortress.

(I also lost a tame gremlin I'd bought and then forgot about. It starved to death in a cage in the third overflow animal stockpile on the bulk warehouse level a month ago and nobody's noticed yet. Oops.)

Farasi Barabarakata was a hauler / secondary mechanic who'd been here since the fortress's early days. She was walking through the east gate, apparently off to fetch something outside, when she was ambushed by maceponies and a lasher. She was cut down in short order. Had she only reached the gate a few moments later, the attackers would have stumbled into the trap field and she'd have lived.

The quick-reaction force reached the site in short order and the attackers are all dead or captured. Next to the prisoner-handling facility, I've begun preparing a dungeon, and now I have its first residents. The minecart shotgun into the kill chamber or the unfinished drop-shaft is too good for them. They can rot on a lead chain in a tiny cell, forgotten behind a locked door, until old age claims them.

In mid-Hematite, I thought the ambush season was over and had the military stand down from its advance position in the courtyard and resumed normal outdoor activity. Shortly thereafter, the high-master woodcutter Sabuni Buckmwathirika, a valued member of the deforestation team, was ambushed by an axe squad outside the walls and cut down like the tree she'd been chopping. I usually marshal my troops and commit them to battle as a group, but in my rage, I ordered all active-duty troops (except for the mace training squad, which has a new mother) to rush the intruders. An impromptu combined-arms team of three flew over the wall and took down most of the enemy with glaives and arrows, and the rest of the troops helped mop up.

Under heavy military escort, another woodcutter removed the tree.

[Larix]

Lancershadow has twenty beards and a net value of ~160k☼. 20520 of those are the Pimpmobile, a massively jewel-encrusted ☼<-fine pewter minecart->☼.

Perhaps i should turn invaders on some time soon, our civ is at war with the elves. Fun times ahead!

[Victor6]

A kobold stole an artifact adamantite mace (one of 2 that my idiot urists have constructed), an event that I couldn't care less about.

After weeks of deliberation I finally pulled the unknown lever on level 15, which fortunately turned out not to be connected to the lava pump, but to the 5 dragon cages in the packed dining hall. Luckily it also sealed the dining hall level to prevent them from escaping. I'm not sure why I built that contraption.

On the upside, the whole level is a raging inferno, which should keep the fort nice and warm for the survivors.

[Alestance]

I just started a new fort after screwing around and not playing seriously. The fortress is only a year old and it has seen four migrant waves.
The first wave was 4 dwarves, a husband, wife, and their two children. The second wave was seven, a husband, wife, and 5 children. The third wave was 48 dwarves strong. I didn't bother to check who was related to what. Same for the last one which had 19 more dwarves coming to join me.

I didn't even have beds for the original 7 dwarves I started with yet. I have 80 dwarves after one in-game year of play. Armok save me.

[jcochran]

Just had a roc come visiting. Immediately sent out the "All underground" civilian alert while sending the marksdwarve squad to the live target range (the live target range has an overhead roof to permit access to the mass pitting area, while is also has cage traps at the entrance to the actual area the dwarves shoot from. This allows me when the targets are whittled down enough to evacuate the area and release 'em so they flee into the cage traps. I figured that the marksdwarves would bait the roc into making a meal run and therefore stumble into the cage traps). The roc spent a bit of time slaughtering my war dogs and some random livestock, then made a beeline towards by experimental unicorn breeding farm. Apparently intending on destroying a floodgate I use as a controlled exit into a cage corridor to allow removal and control of the unicorns in case I have new stock. So far, the breeding experiment is a failure in that no foals have been born, but in any case, the roc landed on one of the cage traps and is now being tamed. I'm not going to butcher the newly tamed roc, and hopefully a potential mate will arrive sometime in the near future. Meanwhile, will continue unicorn breeding experiment until either success, or the captive unicorns have died of old age.
 

[WoobMonkey]

Getting back into DF after a hiatus, and decided to do a SPC.

Turns out, it's the least terrifying biome ever to bear the title terrifying.  No reanimation, haven't yet seen any undead (up to Autumn, first year), and the only weather is a fog that makes creatures... dizzy.

Disappointing, really.