Print

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

[Slogo]

I'm pretty sure the answer is 'no' but is there any way (no matter how elaborate) to lower the z-levels of a magma pipe. On my current fort the pipe is a little bit in the way of a big area I wanted to dig down across my entrance ( I wanted a multi-level chasm that you have to cross to enter the fort). I can have a single z-level drop into magma with my current situation but I wanted to see the splat and retrieve the trinkets.

[Atlas]

Oh, its easy to lower the levels of it. Just dig a BIG room to collect magma, and cut a hole into the side of the magma pipe lower down, to drain it into your new holding tank.

Dwarves WILL die if you have temperature on, but it can be quite fun to have your own giant magma forge area.

[Duke 2.0]

 Step one: Draining. This can be done a number of ways, involving both bugs and features that are not meant to be used they way they are. The simplest would be to use an atom smashing bridge to destroy lava near the bottom of the pipe. Then there is draining it into a large cistern so that it evaporates, as well as pouring water over the cistern if it is too small for evaporation to make obsidian to mine out.

 Step two: Sealing. Once the lava is at the proper level, you have two choices; Use water to cap the pipe or construct floors over the pipe. The floor method is more dangerous, as the bottom tiles of the pipe spawn lava over them at the top of the pipe. So you will likely need to measure the precise amount of water needed to cap the top without flooding it, as to allow your dwarves to collect whatever crap you drop down there.

 Once you have a physical barrier over the pipe, it won't spawn lava at the top anymore.

[Slogo]

So if I put a physical barrier over the pipe at a lower z-level magma won't spawn on the z-levels above it anymore? I thought it still would (making me think the task would be impossible).

I can probably set this up easy then as I already have a large 'cistern' (the pit area below my bridge). I'll just dig out as much as I can (the pipe only partially overlaps) then breech the pipe with some immigrant. I also have an underground river somewhere so when I find that I can cast obsidian to deal with the magma.

EDIT: I do feel kind of dirty for wanting less magma though. Maybe I'll have the entire bottom z-level be magma to compensate .

[pushy]

Oh, its easy to lower the levels of it. Just dig a BIG room to collect magma, and cut a hole into the side of the magma pipe lower down, to drain it into your new holding tank.

Dwarves WILL die if you have temperature on, but it can be quite fun to have your own giant magma forge area.

You don't necessarily have to lose any dwarves. Wall in the "BIG room" and channel away a tile in the side of the magma pipe, and you can dig into the magma pipe without your dwarves ever being at risk of coming in contact with magma.

[Atlas]

Oh, its easy to lower the levels of it. Just dig a BIG room to collect magma, and cut a hole into the side of the magma pipe lower down, to drain it into your new holding tank.

Dwarves WILL die if you have temperature on, but it can be quite fun to have your own giant magma forge area.

You don't necessarily have to lose any dwarves. Wall in the "BIG room" and channel away a tile in the side of the magma pipe, and you can dig into the magma pipe without your dwarves ever being at risk of coming in contact with magma.

Shhhhhh, Stop being an elf.

[Slogo]

I won't lose and dwarves doing it, I think I can manage to get around that. Since it's the entrance way to my fort though I could rig it to lose a few elves though.

[Sutremaine]

So you will likely need to measure the precise amount of water needed to cap the top without flooding it, as to allow your dwarves to collect whatever crap you drop down there.

Nah, just redirect the river down there and sort it out later. You'll be pumping the magma out anyway, so just recycle the system for that.

[Shrike]

Yep. It's not too difficult to drain the maximum z-level for a pipe. Heck, if the terrain supports it, you can just channel out one side and send the magma out into the wild.


Free range magma is happy magma.

Wait. Free range magma is lava.

[gtmattz]

I just finished damming the source of my underground river then diverting my magma pipe into the underground riverbed to drop the top magma level 6 z levels as well as wipe out all the annoying critters in the ug riverbed.  I have the drain of the river on my map so my excess magma is simply falling down the bottomless pit.

[decius]

I just finished damming the source of my underground river then diverting my magma pipe into the underground riverbed to drop the top magma level 6 z levels as well as wipe out all the annoying critters in the ug riverbed.  I have the drain of the river on my map so my excess magma is simply falling down the bottomless pit.

Wait... did you say you made an underground magma river? That is stupid crazy awesome DWARVEN!

[Shrike]

Yes, that's awesome; however, will you be able to keep your magma buildings going off of that? You might want to add a flow control somewhere,  just in case.