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[ISGC]

I have 239 caged creatures and I'm running out of cages.  So, I got the idea to start recycling cages.
what's the most efficient way to empty them if they run off when I try and haul them.
magma is readily accessible, but like I said, I would like to use the cages a second time.
I have a limited amount of mechanisms, so I could probably accomplish most small projects for recycling.

[Thelogman]

Build a restraint using a chain or rope (b =>v).

Assign a caged creature to it.

This is, however, fairly dangerous if you have dangerous creatures, but you can have your military kill the chained up guys if you want.

Or, you can build the cage in a sealed arena, connect it to a lever, and then pull it, which will empty the cage of whatever is inside.

[ISGC]

Build a restraint using a chain or rope (b =>v).

Assign a caged creature to it.

This is, however, fairly dangerous if you have dangerous creatures, but you can have your military kill the chained up guys if you want.

Or, you can build the cage in a sealed arena, connect it to a lever, and then pull it, which will empty the cage of whatever is inside.

yea, I didn't even count the tame creatures, they all just escape immediately if I try and move them.  as for the room, there are two problems.  1, then the creature is released around the cage, which I can easily just drop some military in, but (2) it's not the fastest way ever and (being in a terrifying biome with all three caverns open) I will probably end up still capturing more then I can replenish my cages.

EDIT: so, there is an amethyst monster without any limbs (presumably) rolling around my fortress.  what happens to unbuilt cages when I return?  and will the beast still be here?  I'm wondering whether or not I should pull the flood with magma switch.

[Frumple]

With 40d, I liked to make a little box of fortifications, with a rising bridge somewhere along the edge to provide access. I'd put all my filled cages in the room, link them up to a lever, close the room (raise the bridge, that is), and pull the cage lever, letting the creatures free. I'd station whatever marksdwarves I was training at the time outside of the box and let them get some quality 'training' time in, by filling the contents of said box with bolts.

When everything was dead, the bridge got let back down, the butchers came in, and all was clean and happy again.

It's not terribly efficient in terms of player-time, though, unless you've got high skilled mechanics to deal with the lever/cage connections. On the flip side, a sufficiently large box of such nature can deal with however many cages you feel like, simultaneously.

[ISGC]

With 40d, I liked to make a little box of fortifications, with a rising bridge somewhere along the edge to provide access. I'd put all my filled cages in the room, link them up to a lever, close the room (raise the bridge, that is), and pull the cage lever, letting the creatures free. I'd station whatever marksdwarves I was training at the time outside of the box and let them get some quality 'training' time in, by filling the contents of said box with bolts.

When everything was dead, the bridge got let back down, the butchers came in, and all was clean and happy again.

It's not terribly efficient in terms of player-time, though, unless you've got high skilled mechanics to deal with the lever/cage connections. On the flip side, a sufficiently large box of such nature can deal with however many cages you feel like, simultaneously.

aside from marksmanship's supposed inneffectiveness, the same problem still remains, I would gain more caged creatures then I could get rid of them

[Shrike]

I assume butchery won't work? Probably has the same escape mechanics as chaining, though.
But, putting the cage stockpile inside a walled-off area with access to the butcher's shop and some cage traps to prevent escape could help with those creatures that tend to get away.

Dwarves will haul cages around, so you could designate a main animal stockpile and a single-tile animal stockpile by the place you're hoping to release the critter. Set the small stockpile to take from the big stockpile, and the whole cage will be hauled to near the destination, where you can have defenses ready.

It'd take a bit of micromanagement with the amount of forbidding to do, but it should work out.

[Coidzure Dreams]

With 40d, I liked to make a little box of fortifications, with a rising bridge somewhere along the edge to provide access. I'd put all my filled cages in the room, link them up to a lever, close the room (raise the bridge, that is), and pull the cage lever, letting the creatures free. I'd station whatever marksdwarves I was training at the time outside of the box and let them get some quality 'training' time in, by filling the contents of said box with bolts.

When everything was dead, the bridge got let back down, the butchers came in, and all was clean and happy again.

It's not terribly efficient in terms of player-time, though, unless you've got high skilled mechanics to deal with the lever/cage connections. On the flip side, a sufficiently large box of such nature can deal with however many cages you feel like, simultaneously.

aside from marksmanship's supposed inneffectiveness, the same problem still remains, I would gain more caged creatures then I could get rid of them

Well, what did you expect, waiting so long to deal with your backlog of over 200 cages full of nasty wossnames?  @_@  The sheer number of cages you've built to have that many full with their replacements out there already to catch more beasties... gah.

Yeah, my vote goes to building an arena to unleash them all in and have them kill one another off before having magma sanitize the place for the next batch.

Or if you want to have a lot of fun

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

, rig up the entrance way for the HFS to come into your fort with all of the nasty buggers so that when you breach hell, the lever is pulled  so the demons have to wade through an orgy of other enemies to get at your defense force/army.

[bmaczero]

If you've got caverns opened up, dig a long channel through the ceiling of one of them, like this:

Code: [Select]

DDD
DHD
DHD
DHD
DHD
...
DHD
DDD

D = Dig
H = Channel

Designate the entire thing as a Pit area.  Build all the cages around the channel.

Once all the cages are in place, designate all the creatures in them to be Pitted.  Dwarves run in, throw everything in the channel, splat!

Only snatchers and thieves can escape in the short time it takes the dwarf to chuck the creature in the pit.

[Skorpion]

1. Dig a channel all the way down to the magma sea.
2. Designate it as a pit.
3. Order the animals hauled, still in cages, over to the pit area.
4. Pit them.

[bmaczero]

1. Dig a channel all the way down to the magma sea.
2. Designate it as a pit.
3. Order the animals hauled, still in cages, over to the pit area.
4. Pit them.

I favor mine because you can build a couple sets of butchers/tanneries and get a lot of product out of the...pieces.

Bonus points for using magma though 

[liadis]

Instead of recycling those cages you should build cage traps with them, release by a single lever, in a room wher gremlins have to pass to get to your fortress. Anti-gremlin trap.

Of course, you have to clean up AFTER the gremlin gets ripped to pieces, or maybe even have FUN while doing it. Small price to pay, I say! Anti-gremlin trap, coming near your local dorf store.

[Shoku]

You can build cages. You can haul their residents to a pit or another cage. And you can attach levers to cages. None of those are very fast so the solution is fewer cage traps. Kill things outright if you can't process them fast enough. Maybe make some raising bridges instead or put up with the squalor of less that ten entrance points to your fort.

[ISGC]

so, the amethyst forgotten beast wouldn't die and, after building all the cage traps in a single room and walling it off, I flooded the fort with magma and then abandoned.  Upon reclaim, I found the creatures had been slain and their bodies scattered, so... problem solved!
on a different note, does anyone know what world gen prefs are best for a good, one or two level cavern?
also, what happens if I hike the cavern layer number up something ridiculous, like 50?
cave ins?

[Ilmoran]

also, what happens if I hike the cavern layer number up something ridiculous, like 50?
cave ins?

If you mean Cavern Layer Count from world gen, it only goes up to 3.

[ISGC]

If you mean Cavern Layer Count from world gen, it only goes up to 3.

ah, alright.