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[durt101]

Hey guys, is there a way to get shot rocks from a catapult drop z-levels once they're in the air? ramps do not work, to my knowledge.

[Albedo]

No.

Well, not and be dangerous.

Siege Engines are single-z-level weapons. If they hit an object like a wall, and there's space under them (or reach their max range, with is something around 100 tile), the ammo will fall harmlessly.

Good to move rock a long distance - bad if you want drop stoney death on enemies.

[durt101]

Well, crap. Thanks man.

So, this was my original plan:

C-> F   B   F <-C
C-> F   B   F <-C
C-> F   B   F <-C

B is bridge, F are fortifications, Cs are catapults with indicated firing directions.
The idea was to put the catapults a z-level above the bridge in closed off chambers, then use ramps to drop the rocks down a level before they flew forward, clearing the bridge. And if the rocks hit the other side, they'd hit the wall below the other catapults, and be neutralized.
Would there be another way to do this in the absence of z-dropping ramps then? Is there a One-way tile or something?

[Footkerchief]

No way I can think of.  You could fire lengthwise along the bridge though, that's a classic setup.

[Saber Cherry]

No.

Well, not and be dangerous.

Siege Engines are single-z-level weapons. If they hit an object like a wall, and there's space under them (or reach their max range, with is something around 100 tile), the ammo will fall harmlessly.

Right now I have raised catapults aimed at a raised wall so that the rocks fall down a z-level and can be reclaimed.  I always worry that a rock will fall on someone's head when they are grabbing a different already-fallen rock.  By "harmlessly", do you mean that I don't need to worry, and this is perfectly safe?  Like, should I take "Danger" out of the middle name of my dwarfs assigned to siege operating (and more importantly, un-label the rock-collection area as "restricted traffic")?

[Footkerchief]

^^^ Yeah, it's perfectly safe.  Which is kind of a bummer in some cases.

[Albedo]

Dwarfs can meander safely thru archery and catapult practice, never get hurt. Not true w/ ballistae, which will blithely skewer anything in their path.

The best way to get that effect is some sort of triggered collapse. Even 1 tile of collapsing tile will create a dust cloud that both knocks nearby's unconscious AND possibly throws them a tile or two - if it's a bridge, that's a good chance for a long fall.

In the wiki, under "trap design" is a "land mine" - a pressure plate, a support, and a raised floor tile - that's all you need, but it can be more elaborate if you prefer.

If you could put some ballistae firing along the bridge, instead of across, that would be spiff too. See wiki "siege engine" for design thoughts (and more info).

[Reese]

Well, crap. Thanks man.

So, this was my original plan:

C-> F   B   F <-C
C-> F   B   F <-C
C-> F   B   F <-C

B is bridge, F are fortifications, Cs are catapults with indicated firing directions.
The idea was to put the catapults a z-level above the bridge in closed off chambers, then use ramps to drop the rocks down a level before they flew forward, clearing the bridge. And if the rocks hit the other side, they'd hit the wall below the other catapults, and be neutralized.
Would there be another way to do this in the absence of z-dropping ramps then? Is there a One-way tile or something?

you could put your catapults far enough back that one battery is far enough out of range of the other battery they can't hit each other (make each about 50-75 tiles back from the bridge)

problem with having the catapults sideways like that is any enemies are very likely to clear the firing zone between shots...

[Albedo]

you could put your catapults far enough back that one battery is far enough out of range of the other battery they can't hit each other (make each about 50-75 tiles back from the bridge)

Catapults cannot hurt your own dwarfs or buildings. (Catapults are "buildings")

Can. Not.

[quinnr]

Using catapults to shoot into the open may provide some meat: as said above, the operators will target animals if there are any. However, elephants don't take nicely if you slay some of them. You also have a slight risk of killing your own dwarves or caravan escorts if they happen to be hunting the selfsame animal (and hence are close to it).

If the target is near the building, it sounds like it could get hurt.

[Albedo]

<shrugs>

I've had catapults splash near unarmored dwarves of mine, and they've never taken a hurt. Don't know about a direct hit. And I've never personally targetted near caravans or wagons, but that wouldn't surprise me a bit.

Sometimes wiki editors get creative (read "sloppy with accuracy") when they get chatty - not sure if that one spoke from personal experience or just "logic" (which is the same as a blind guess in DF). 

(edit - or, since that phrasing was in the original article copied/pasted from the old wiki site almost 2 years ago (and Armok knows how old it was before it was copied!), it is quite probably a legacy caution from an earlier version that never got caught - those are all over the place.)

[Aspgren]

Hey guy.

Remember that your siege operators are civilians. They will freak and run away at the sight of a goblin, even if there are fortifications and pits between them. I am not sure about the distance ... I just know that it's alot.

IMO siege engines are practically worthless.

[Time Kitten]

not compleatly useless. perhaps.  Just need to have them the full hundred tiles back from where they need to be, so they never get in sight range.

[Neruz]

I have never witnessed a Catapult rock hurt a friendly Dwarf. I've seen a rock pass right over a Dwarf and cause him no harm at all, i've also seen one slam into a wall in the same tile that a Dwarf was standing in, again, no harm.

Ballista's on the other hand, i have witnessed 'firing backwards' and somehow killing the operator as he fires the weapon...

[Quietust]

Remember that your siege operators are civilians. They will freak and run away at the sight of a goblin, even if there are fortifications and pits between them. I am not sure about the distance ... I just know that it's alot.

From my experience, the distance is around 20 tiles, possibly a few more.