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[Afghani84]

Hi everyone,

I am planning to integrate an indoor waterfall for my next fort. I want to use it for the happiness boost and also to make sure that my dwarves stay clean at all times. I have a layout in mind but don't think that it is optimized yet. Some specific questions are below but apart from that, any suggestions on how to improve it are welcome.

Symbols used:
W - Water channels (supply&drain)
S - Stone walls
X - U/D stairs
F - Floodgates
G - Floor grates
D - Dug-out tiles

Level 1
It starts with the upper layer where I get the necessary water from a nearby river and redirect it around my central staircase:

S S S S S S S S S SS
S WWWWWWWWWS
S WS S F  S F S SWS
S WS G G G GG SWS
WWF G X X X G FWS
WWS G X X X G SWS
WWF G X X X G FWS
S WS G G G GG SWS
S WS S F  S F S SWS
S WWWWWWWWWS
S S S S S S S S S SS

Ideally I want the water to spread over all grates equally, thus having a steady and balanced waterfall all around my staircase. I'm not sure that floodgates are ideal here since the water is probably only going through the grates right after the gates and the ones in between would be left without any water. Another issue is the timing...floodgates are usually connected to a lever one by one. Is there an option to link multiple floodgates to one lever or use another method to open all my entrance ways to the floor grates at the same time? Lastly, is a 3-tile supply channel enough or should I widen it to ensure that I have enough water supply for a 16-tile waterfall?

Level 2-x
This is where I will have the happiness benefit and the integrated shower for all my dwarves. The water is falling down all around my central staircase without the danger of the staircase and my fortress to be flooded by it. I want to use this for multiple layers where my workshops, dining hall, hospital etc. are located around the staircase. That way all my dwarves automatically walk through the mist multiple times a day, happy and clean. Level X is the last level of my central staircase and thus has upward staircases instead of U/D.

D D D DD D D
D G G GG G D
D G X X X G D
D G X X X G D
D G X X X G D
D G G GG G D
D D D DD D D

Level X+1
This is the final layer of the waterfall. Here I collect all of the water and let it drain (fortifications in the map edge). As with level 1, how big should I design the draining channel? Is a 3-tile channel wide enough?

S S S  S S S S
S D D D D D S
WD D D D D S
WD D D D D S
WD D D D D S
S D D D D D S
S S S  S S S S

[Nagidal]

I doubt that the water would spread evenly in any of those layouts. The floodgates on the far end from the water supply will probably not get any water because all of it drops through the earlier drains.

I you want to have a hollow cylindrical or cuboid waterfall around a staircase, you'd need a water source directly above the staircase, either from an aquifer or a large tank. If your staircase is 3x3, then you'd want at least a 5x5 tank. If you use aquifer, you can tap it directly at the right circumference above the stairs, i.e. a hollow 5x5.

I also think that the amount of water in the waterfall would be too high. My guess is that much less is needed to fill a staircase with steam without flooding it. I'd suggest going slightly smaller. Make a 2x2 staircase and have it supplied by two source tiles of aquifer. like this:

Code: [Select]

SSSSSS
SWDDDS
SDXXDS
SDXXDS
SDDDWS
SSSSSS

The impact on FPS won't be that high of you go small. However, FPS will suffer badly in any case.

Have you considered forcing your dwarves to wade through a pool instead? You won't get happy thoughts, but you could extend it to a public bathroom, with soap. Dwarves get happy thoughts when they have a soapy bath, too.

[muldrake]

Have you considered forcing your dwarves to wade through a pool instead? You won't get happy thoughts, but you could extend it to a public bathroom, with soap. Dwarves get happy thoughts when they have a soapy bath, too.

One of the funnier things I had happen with water was after creating a set of wells and designating the area they were in a temple and filling it with statues, dwarves simply turned it into a bathhouse, and would constantly bathe in the uncovered pools and waterfalls I hadn't turned into wells.  Over the course of about a year, when I had more or less forgotten I'd even done this, they filled it nearly entirely with partially used bars of soap so the entire room was stacked with piles of bars of soap.

I was kind of flabbergasted when I first clicked back to check on this room and had no idea what it was full of before paging through all these items.

I renamed it the Temple of Soap.

[Thisfox]

I tend to make flat waterfalls, which are easier to distribute water to, and have the dwarves walk through the curtain of water, making them happy and clean all at once.

Top level:

SSSSSSSSSSS
SDHHHHHHDS
SDDDDDDDDS
SDSDSDSDSDS
SDDDDDDDDS
SSDDDDDDSS
SSSDDDDSSS
SSSSDDSSSS
SSSSDDSSSS

Where S is wall, D is dug, and H is channelled. Then I put whatever I want wet underneath, put floodgates in the distributer, put a channel to the fortified edge of the map to get rid of waste water from a level under the dorfwash, and hook it up to an aquifer. First time I did it, I expected two things:
1. My FPS to hit the roof
2. Dorfs to get splattered on the floor or walls due to falling water.
Neither of these things happened. My dorfs walked through and had immediate "happy waterfall thoughts" and the FPS didn't take a hit. Later it became a wonderful lifesaving idea, as I had put the food/drink stockpile at the far end of the Waterfall Corridor to tempt everyone to have a shower. Some !!DORF!! got thirsty, ran through the waterfall, got his coating of fire removed, and had a drink. Automatic fire extinguisher! I now always put one in.

[muldrake]

I tend to make flat waterfalls, which are easier to distribute water to, and have the dwarves walk through the curtain of water, making them happy and clean all at once.

I like putting things like this right at the entrance, specifically anywhere between the entrance and the trade depot or any tavern open to visitors, so anyone coming or going gets exposed to the waterfall.  If you're lucky enough to have a smoothed, engraved area with precious metal or gemstones in the walls, it seems to work even better.

[Afghani84]

thanks for the suggestions, guys!

@nagidal
I don't play with aquifers, so it would be water from a river. I agree that with the current setup the water would not reach the floodgates on the far end. with m current fortress setup there is no room for a tank/reservoir directly above the staircase. and I do want to stay with a 3x3 staircase since the middle tile will be used for statues.

in general, the way I design my fortress is to optimize pathing efficiency, so that my dwarves don't waste too much time in between tasks. a bathing room might work but that also means that I have to create an incentive for all of my dwarves to path through it, so I was looking for something more integrated to the paths that they have to take every day anyway. thus the idea to build it around the central staircase.

To address the issue of water reaching all floor grates and (as you mentioned) the amount of water not being too high, I came up with another setup that would work with my current fortress design as well:


I am planning to surround my fortress with a water-filled moat and the water entries would pierce into that moat from above on all four sides. the channel widens to 4 tiles and the water should slowly and equally spread out before hitting the floor grates that surround my staircase. just in case that I have to stop the flow of water at some point, I would also install retractable bridges on all sides. thoughts about the new design?

[Mostali]

I think you could work in some corners to even out the distribution of water from a source like a river.  Water flows through the corners slower than pressure from the river fills the channel that surrounds the stairs.  You could then either use bridges or floodgates one either side of the corner as an on/off switch:

SSSSS
SWWWW
SWFSS
SWS
SWS

(Sorry didn't align it, just passing on the idea to help solve the even distribution.)

[muldrake]

I think you could work in some corners to even out the distribution of water from a source like a river.  Water flows through the corners slower than pressure from the river fills the channel that surrounds the stairs.  You could then either use bridges or floodgates one either side of the corner as an on/off switch:

SSSSS
SWWWW
SWFSS
SWS
SWS

(Sorry didn't align it, just passing on the idea to help solve the even distribution.)

I'm terrible at those ASCII map things, but I have noticed if you have a water flow from some source and use it for multiple waterfalls, the ones even a couple squares further away usually get very weak flow, and sometimes none at all.  If you want those multiple waterfalls to work evenly, provide water pressure from multiple directions.

I like doing this straight from a river and almost always embark on riverine terrain for this reason.