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[Civillain]

I've just started up my first ever seaside fortress, with the goal of ultimately making it into a full on beach resort. Obviously the security of my guests is my highest priority, so I'd love some ideas on how to go about this. I want to try to preserve those beautiful views of the sea and beaches for the guests.

I'm currently thinking of just building walls around the resort, then leaving one side open to the sea, but I feel like there must be a way of harnessing the sea to aid in my resort defense. I could also just wall off the resort part, but leave lots of gates to allow easy access to the sea. I could have a few defensible taverns inside the fortress, and essentially abandon the outside whenever danger approaches. I could even abandon all the guests, but that seems against the spirit of building a seaside resort. Maybe I could surround the resort with drawbridges I can close!

I don't have much experience engineering with water, so this should be fun...

[Fleeting Frames]

For  security, uninvited guests arrive only by land, so if you use raised bridges to wall off the sea from land except for the resort they'll be unable to use that direction as attack vector expect by air, as one cannot climb a building.

As for sea itself as defence, beyond the usual water weaponization maybe a drowning/dodge-me trap that relies on the fact that sea waves move around units? Won't work on anything that flies, is aquatic or doesn't need to breathe. You could also tame sharks, and force the enemy units to travel adjacent to their pools of water.

[vvAve]

Water

Safety

Pick one. Only safe thing that I can think of is some sort of a kid pool with water not higher than 4/7.

[Civillain]

For  security, uninvited guests arrive only by land, so if you use raised bridges to wall off the sea from land except for the resort they'll be unable to use that direction as attack vector expect by air, as one cannot climb a building.

As for sea itself as defence, beyond the usual water weaponization maybe a drowning/dodge-me trap that relies on the fact that sea waves move around units? Won't work on anything that flies, is aquatic or doesn't need to breathe. You could also tame sharks, and force the enemy units to travel adjacent to their pools of water.

So you're saying I should wall off the whole sea on my map? I love that idea, it's so extra. Shark taming would also be amazing. I'm not sure if I can manage to make a dodging type trap, but I'll have a go. Thanks for all the ideas! You've given me plenty to think about.

[Civillain]

Water

Safety

Pick one. Only safe thing that I can think of is some sort of a kid pool with water not higher than 4/7.

Okay, so maybe not total safety. Just enough safety that we can claim to our guests that we care about their safety. Like a bare minimum of safety, even if in the event of actual siege the dwarves all retreat underground where the actual defenses are.

Visitors dying doesn't make their civilisation hate you, does it? I hope not.

[Broseph Stalin]

Pick one. Only safe thing that I can think of is some sort of a kid pool with water not higher than 4/7.

I had a 1/7 water trench so my dwarves could wipe their feet. Someone brought a cage with an ice beast through it and they were instantly frozen solid. Water Bad.


You could always build an above ground fortress suspended over the sea by terrifyingly narrow strips of constructed floor. You could improve upon it later through exceedingly elaborate dwarven engineering to pour magma into the ocean, creating a block of solid obsidian you could then mine and smooth into a glorious sea spire.  You could also have your resort area walled off and protected by drawbridges that, when closed, make it so that the only way to attack your fort is to walk down a 1z with the ocean on one side and a wall/fortification on the other. Let's see how tough those gobbos are when half their force has been swept into the sea by a rogue wave. Sort of like a dodge trap where they're dodging the ocean and all of it's fury.

[Immortal-D]

Build walls around the entire edge of the map, and then flood the surface.

[Fleeting Frames]

You could always build an above ground fortress suspended over the sea by terrifyingly narrow strips of constructed floor.

Using invisible bridges/floating supports instead, can make it look like they're walking on water.

Though beware of waves on that thin strip, if there's not a z-level between it and water.

[Civillain]

You could always build an above ground fortress suspended over the sea by terrifyingly narrow strips of constructed floor. You could improve upon it later through exceedingly elaborate dwarven engineering to pour magma into the ocean, creating a block of solid obsidian you could then mine and smooth into a glorious sea spire.  You could also have your resort area walled off and protected by drawbridges that, when closed, make it so that the only way to attack your fort is to walk down a 1z with the ocean on one side and a wall/fortification on the other. Let's see how tough those gobbos are when half their force has been swept into the sea by a rogue wave. Sort of like a dodge trap where they're dodging the ocean and all of it's fury.

That sounds glorious but also possibly beyond me engineering skills, with the magma at least. I'll have to go have a look at the wiki!

[Fearless Son]

I would go for a moat.  Steep sides, a couple levels deep and a couple tiles across ought to protect you against most threats, except those you let across a few strategic bridges.  Make the bottom of the moat about two levels deeper than the ocean, then cut some channels through the beach until the moat begins flooding with seawater.  Maybe build a couple walls at each end of the beach along the moat to double-up the protection. 

The only point of wariness I can think of is that aquifers tend to be common around coastal areas, and it might interfere in your digging.  A good seaside cliff though should have plenty of room for digging out an interior area. 

[bloop_bleep]

I would go for a moat.  Steep sides, a couple levels deep and a couple tiles across ought to protect you against most threats, except those you let across a few strategic bridges.  Make the bottom of the moat about two levels deeper than the ocean, then cut some channels through the beach until the moat begins flooding with seawater.  Maybe build a couple walls at each end of the beach along the moat to double-up the protection. 

The only point of wariness I can think of is that aquifers tend to be common around coastal areas, and it might interfere in your digging.  A good seaside cliff though should have plenty of room for digging out an interior area. 

Trolls, undead, etc. can swim across water moats, which is why it's generally considered better to use dry moats.

[mikekchar]

I suppose you could have an overhang above the moat to strand swimmers in the water.  Can creatures jump from swimming?

[Heliman]

Clearly we're not bastardizing the concept enough.

You should make an entirely artificial beach powered by screwpumps and hatches that use pressure plates to periodically flood and drain a "beach" to mimic waves. Let them live in the lap of DWARVEN luxury. Bonus Points if you get the beach on a layer of sand, or cover the roof of the area with a glass ceiling, separating beachgoers with a lake of lava overhead for 'suntanning'.

[bloop_bleep]

You could always build an above ground fortress suspended over the sea by terrifyingly narrow strips of constructed floor. You could improve upon it later through exceedingly elaborate dwarven engineering to pour magma into the ocean, creating a block of solid obsidian you could then mine and smooth into a glorious sea spire.  You could also have your resort area walled off and protected by drawbridges that, when closed, make it so that the only way to attack your fort is to walk down a 1z with the ocean on one side and a wall/fortification on the other. Let's see how tough those gobbos are when half their force has been swept into the sea by a rogue wave. Sort of like a dodge trap where they're dodging the ocean and all of it's fury.

That sounds glorious but also possibly beyond me engineering skills, with the magma at least. I'll have to go have a look at the wiki!

I just recently watched Kruggsmash's new Short Forts episode. He made an underwater fort by first digging out a cavern, building a tower in the middle of it, then flooding the cavern with the seawater.

Of course you could just cast an obsidian tower above the sea held up from the bottom by supports on floors (not walls). When you release the supports the tower will come crashing down through the floors onto the sea bed. Note you cannot build the tower out of constructions because falling constructions get destroyed in cave-ins. Also be aware that the water underneath the tower will experience a magma piston effect, teleporting up on top of the tower and quite possibly (temporarily) flooding the whole map.

[Fleeting Frames]

Probably the fastest way to create the obsidian tower would be take advantage of the mechanic that 2z-water + N-deep magma = N-deep obsidian tower. Won't have to create it layer by layer, though you'll end up using more magma.