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[Albedo]

Before I go making plans that will fail utterly if comically (a common theme in this game for newbs, I see)... how high does a "wall" have to be to block siegers, thieves, over-committed  prostelitizers and miscellaneous unpleasant aggressive agrarian reformers?  I'm talking at a basic level, first year, just a minimal barrier between us and "them".

Is 1 z-level enough...

...for a wall?
...for a channeled out side of a hill?
...for a dry/wet moat?
(...and for the moat, width?)

[Footkerchief]

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

The only situation I can think of in which it might be advisable to use more than one z-level is when you have a wall with fortifications for marksdwarves to shoot through -- ability to shoot through a fortification depends on distance from the fortification (and weapon usage skill), so raising the fortifications further off the ground theoretically gives your markdwarves an advantage by ensuring that they'll still be right next to the fortifications while the enemies are at least a few tiles away.

Oh, I just remembered that lots of enemies won't drown unless the water is deeper than 7/7, like 7/7 on the bottom level and 1/7 on the top level.  So a deeper moat might come in handy.

Also larger constructions look cooler.

[Musluk]

A 1x1x1 cube can hold both a dragon and a fluffy wambler. Or both. Or all the stone in your mountain. Plus cats. Plus the sieger equipment. Plus 7/7 magma.

The only exceptions are the wagon-creatures. Also, magma and water in the same cube will mold into Obsidian.

[RAM]

Some things can fly, and vermin teleport, but basically a channel is impassable, but things can still shoot over it, a wall is impenetrable...

[Albedo]

Right, good news - these are just stop-gap measures.  I've got a sand field and a series of small ponds, and a small hill I dove into - it's a quick job to channel them all together and carve a bit out of the first level of the back of the hill, let the water drop to 6 and then fill back to 7 next rain (and it's been raining a lot.)

Thanks all!

(btw - will this stop thieves, or do they just materialize/sneak in with caravans?  I've got traps too, and a dog... and plans...

Oh, I just remembered that lots of enemies won't drown unless the water is deeper than 7/7, like 7/7 on the bottom level and 1/7 on the top level.  So a deeper moat might come in handy.

Good to know!  I'll make sure I leave extra levels below for when I make it a proper moat, with it's own active water source.

Also about the archers - that makes sense, I'm on it, thanks.

Also larger constructions look cooler.

No doubt! Just gettin' warmed up. 

[Eater of Vermin]

Some things can fly, and vermin teleport, but basically a channel is impassable, but things can still shoot over it, a wall is impenetrable...

But for some reason flying creatures won't fly over walls.  They do fly over channels though...  as I found out to my dismay the first time I broached HFS.

[forsaken1111]

But for some reason flying creatures won't fly over walls.  They do fly over channels though...  as I found out to my dismay the first time I broached HFS.

I'm pretty sure this is a side-effect of the two-dimensional pathfinding.

[Keilden]

A 1x1x1 cube can hold both a dragon and a fluffy wambler. Or both. Or all the stone in your mountain. Plus cats. Plus the sieger equipment. Plus 7/7 magma.

The only exceptions are the wagon-creatures. Also, magma and water in the same cube will mold into Obsidian.

Wagons must be some kind of cosmic horror or somthing.

[barny]

Some creatures break bridges, so make sure the bridge draws back behind a moat. Basically, an impenetrable defense is easy to make. Just have a lot of walls, and a small moat in front of the bridge. here is an example:

        |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
        |                                            |
       _|                                           |
       _B                                           |
       _B                                           |
       _B                                           |
       _|                                           |
        |                                            |
        |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

_ = Channel, filling optional
B = Retracted bridge, when extended it crosses moat
| = Wall

Here is a simple example of an impenetrable fort.

[yggiz]

Wait to choose to fill the moat or not after your first winter. Observe a nearby river/pond. That way you'll know if the moat will freeze and allow enemies to charge right across. Even if it freezes, you can build an inner wall behind the moat, and make the moat more then 2 z-levels deep, but only fully fill it 1 z-level, so that it will act as an unfilled channel until you throw something into it.

Right now, wall-type constructions are indestructable bu enemies, but I believe protecting your walls with a channel is a good habit to get into, and a large moat looks awesome.

[forsaken1111]

never forget that some very bad things can fly.

[Smew]

Now there's a necro post for you.
Back when Albedo wasn't handing out advice! 

[forsaken1111]

Now there's a necro post for you.
Back when Albedo wasn't handing out advice! 

Necromancy is fun

[Albedo]

For you.  And you alone.

Now there's a necro post for you.
Back when Albedo wasn't handing out advice! 

No shit! 

From the question, this might be landmark post - from the first day I found and started playing Dwarf Fortress! Holy magma!


forskn - You seem to be going deeper and deeper into the back posts and adding your comments - you've been doing this for the last week or so.  Not always "advice", often just quips. 

Please, stop.  If you notice, no one else does that.  Since few are responding (except to note the necro factor), I'd suggest that not many are really appreciated.  If you have a related question, that's fine - more, that's the way to do it!  But just to add your wit, and not any wisdom, to ancient posts long after the question was resolved and put to bed, isn't really in step with the way these boards flow.

If you care.

[Smew]

It seems like such a long time ago, this has been a long few months. ;_;