Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[snow dwarf]

Why floodgates if there are bridges?
Also, why use floor hatches?

[Skorpion]

Floor hatches are opened like doors.
Floodgates don't require architecture, and can be masterwork.

[lobster1050]

Also, why use floor hatches?

Floor hatches can be useful, if you want to contain clowns (they can't be destroyed from below unlike doors).

[FantasticDorf]

They are also specifically timed, for when you only want to drop a certain amount of water, rather than the bridge slowly moving.

[Mostali]

Opening floodgates clears horizontally and vertically.  At least I think so - I never use floodgates.  I do use hatches to control vertical flow and doors for horizontal flow anywhere I'm not worried about building destroyers.

[Thisfox]

I use floodgates because they look good, they do indeed control horizontal and vertical flow, and unlike hatches and doors, they stay open (or stay shut) when not in use. Just use a lever to control them, and you're good to go.

Also, dwarves don't path through closed floodgates, and animals have a bug where they try to path through locked doors and hatches, even if they're locked to animals. So I can be certain my floodgate will stay closed when I've hit the lever, and nothing will try to path through it except a building destroyer. They're great for well cistern control and the like.

[Quietust]

I use floodgates because ... unlike hatches and doors, they stay open (or stay shut) when not in use. Just use a lever to control them, and you're good to go.

That isn't actually a distinguishing feature - doors/hatches linked to levers behave exactly the same as floodgates in that respect, only being openable/closeable using their linked mechanism.

Also, dwarves don't path through closed floodgates, and animals have a bug where they try to path through locked doors and hatches, even if they're locked to animals. So I can be certain my floodgate will stay closed when I've hit the lever, and nothing will try to path through it except a building destroyer. They're great for well cistern control and the like.

That's also not notable - animals only try to path through doors/hatches improperly when they are unlocked and tightly sealed (the latter specifically meaning "animals cannot open"), so a mechanism-controlled door/hatch is also identical to a floodgate from a pathfinding perspective.

[taptap]

Floodgates can float (without any walls attached). (Unlike lazy doors.)

[Thorfinn]

Floodgates can float (without any walls attached). (Unlike lazy doors.)

Under what circumstances would this be useful?

[Skorpion]

Floodgates can float (without any walls attached). (Unlike lazy doors.)

Under what circumstances would this be useful?

Flow control, perhaps.

[Thorfinn]

Floodgates can float (without any walls attached). (Unlike lazy doors.)

Under what circumstances would this be useful?

Flow control, perhaps.

I must not be picturing it right. I'm imagining the floodgate without walls on one or both ends, with the water gushing around the end. How would that be different than using a bridge in place of the floodgate?

Re: original question, there might be an application where you can use a combination of pressure plates and the fact that the floodgate will not drop if something is in the way (unlike a bridge, which will atom smash it) to give invaders a view of a cat but flip up and not come back down when they rush the gate. Sounds a little risky, but maybe.

[Mostali]

Floodgates can float (without any walls attached). (Unlike lazy doors.)

Under what circumstances would this be useful?

Flow control, perhaps.

I must not be picturing it right. I'm imagining the floodgate without walls on one or both ends, with the water gushing around the end. How would that be different than using a bridge in place of the floodgate?

Vertical flow - like plugging a hole from below.  A hatch can't be placed in a 1x1 shaft.

[Thorfinn]

Floodgates can float (without any walls attached). (Unlike lazy doors.)

Under what circumstances would this be useful?

Flow control, perhaps.

I must not be picturing it right. I'm imagining the floodgate without walls on one or both ends, with the water gushing around the end. How would that be different than using a bridge in place of the floodgate?

Vertical flow - like plugging a hole from below.  A hatch can't be placed in a 1x1 shaft.

If I'm picturing it correctly, seems to me a bridge would work, too.

Re: OP, couple other possibilities. An entry gate that you don't have to worry about smashing dwarves, or you could set a rock or something in the path of the floodgate and thereby make it immune to gremlins.

If you were into weird constructions, you might find a use for it as a logic gate.

[Fearless Son]

Floor hatches are also extremely useful when trying to build structures below the level of an aquifer.  Open stairs and ramps will allow water to poor through, while a closed hatch will not.  This makes them important safety measures in case there is any seepage or an unexpected breach, to contain the floor until it can be dealt with, but they will not obstruct the normal flow of traffic otherwise. 

[Mostali]

Floodgates can float (without any walls attached). (Unlike lazy doors.)

Under what circumstances would this be useful?

Flow control, perhaps.

I must not be picturing it right. I'm imagining the floodgate without walls on one or both ends, with the water gushing around the end. How would that be different than using a bridge in place of the floodgate?

Vertical flow - like plugging a hole from below.  A hatch can't be placed in a 1x1 shaft.

If I'm picturing it correctly, seems to me a bridge would work, too.

Bridges must be anchored.

I've never used floodgates so I'm only speculating, but it sounds like it would be possible to place a floodgate at the bottom of a drain where no other structure exists (not even floors).  The floodgate could then be used to control flow from the drain.

Also, if you have a 1x1 bridge raised, I suppose it will block vertical flow from the tile above like a closed floodgate.  But when lowered the bridge would block vertical flow from its own tile where an open floodgate would not.

I'm not trying to argue for floodgates, but there is a difference.  And differences in tools mean more possibilities in designs.