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[dragonflare]

I'm currently trying to find an undead GCS, but I've been having trouble finding them. Is there any easy way of finding them a map? Reveal doesn't actually reveal them, so I can't see if they are undead or not.

Also, if I have a map with a GCS, is it possible to regen the world, maybe with slightly different good-evil settings, and get it undead?

[martinuzz]

I think there are no undead variants of GCS. I'm playing on a map with only terrifying biomes. All animals, chasm creatures and magma creatures are undead on this map. The 3 GCS on it, though, are not undead.

[smjjames]

huh? There are undead variants of GCS, I've heard people mention them. You probably have to embark on evil mountains though.

As for detecting GCS and their webs, I'm wondering about this as well. Although I mean normal GCS, not undead ones.

[Quietust]

While reveal won't tell you where they are, Dwarf Companion can - just expand the list to include all creatures, then right-click on it and choose "zoom". Incidentally, this will also tell you whether it's living or undead.

[pushy]

huh? There are undead variants of GCS, I've heard people mention them. You probably have to embark on evil mountains though.

As for detecting GCS and their webs, I'm wondering about this as well. Although I mean normal GCS, not undead ones.

Detecting a normal GCS is easy - breach a chasm or bottomless pit (or cheat and use reveal), and search each z-level of those for webs. Most of the time it'll just be cave spider webs, but on occasion it'll be giant cave spider webs. If you find those, you've then got to reveal the damn spider itself, by sending some bait in. This could be a puppy or kitten dropped down to that z-level, and if it survives the fall then it'll bundle its way into the spider web or the GCS will attack it by itself. Alternatively, dig down and breach the chasm/pit at that z-level and send in an expendable peasant to do the puppy/kitten's job

Zombie GCS are also apparently rather easy to find. They're still hidden but they release a visible cloud of miasma, which gives them away just a wee bit

As for skeletal GCS, I'd hazard a guess that it's luck of the draw, and short of using Dwarf Companion (if that works as Quietust says. I wouldn't know as I've never used it) I don't think there's any way of knowing if you've got a normal one or a skeletal one; I've only ever seen a single picture of one and have never personally come across one (or a zombie GCS, for that matter) - they exist, but they appear to be exceptionally rare.


Can't find the piccy of a skeletal GCS, but here's one of a zombie
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/Pheonix-IV/ZombieGCS.jpg

[Quietust]

Detecting a normal GCS is easy - breach a chasm or bottomless pit (or cheat and use reveal), and search each z-level of those for webs. Most of the time it'll just be cave spider webs, but on occasion it'll be giant cave spider webs. If you find those, you've then got to reveal the damn spider itself, by sending some bait in.

That doesn't actually work - the small clusters of GCS silk webs are not on the same Z-level as the spider itself, but merely replace the small clusters of normal cave spider silk webs that get generated during embark. In my current fort, I had GCS silk webs spawn on several levels, and the GCS itself was on a completely different floor.

[smjjames]

I've tried pitting critters down the pits to try and have them hit the web, but that doesn't seem to work. Not sure why.

Also, in one game a fortress or two ago, a GCS somehow revealed itself without any of my pets or dwarves anywhere close. I had simply got the Ambush! Drive them out! message and there the spider appeared. To me, it seemed to have spontaneously revealed itself. Although in that same game, two ratmen strangely had red injuries (not from me, it was before I set a marksdwarf on them) and I have no clue where they are from. So it's possible a caravan passing the pit (it was open at the surface) had a few guards shoot at them, no idea.

Just because you see GCS webbing on the stocks screen and the small clusters, doesn't mean that there is a GCS present. I've had plenty of pits with bits of GCS webbing but never found any GCS or web, even when I checked all levels.

As for using reveal, you don't need to use it as they show up on the stocks screen.

[SquirrelWizard]

Magma detects them both quietly and efficently.

though it does put a dampener on long term silk gathering prospects.

[smjjames]

I don't know whether its the fact that falling critters are effectively invisible until they hit an obstacle is the reason why that method doesn't seem to work. I also tried using falling rocks, but those are more likely to punch through the web.

So, is there a working method of using falling objects/critters that will detect the webs? because that is what I really want to know about.

[RebelZhouYuWu]

MASS MINING!