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[smigenboger]

First I wanted to share I got my first major aqueduct and obsidian farm working! XD
Unfortunately, I forgot the temp was turned on, and had to wrestle with a few problems, including my first water flooded fortress, it was a world of firsts.

Anyway, I have a few questions about obsidian farming and casting projects.

-I originally wanted to farm two shift squares (400) at once, and after I mined it out, I realized there's still a floor. Is there an easy way to solve this, other than mining it all out and then collapsing the floor?
-Is it best to pump a layer of magma first, or a layer of water, for casting a massive monolithic slab?
-What projects have you done with obsidian casting, and if you used multiple locations, how did you transport your magma? (My magma and brook were on two diagonal corners of the map, so I had to make a great bridge to make them meet in the middle. Is it worth having two very tall aqueducts and a large amount of floodgates to direct the fluids where they need to be ahead of time?)

[FallingWhale]

I think the first issue just needs channeling, but I haven't done this so I'm useless for the rest.

[Eagle_eye]

1: channeling will work, but as always with a large area being channeled, try not to cave the thing in.
2: I prefer to pump the magma first, as I find water pressure can quickly push too much in
3: I've dammed a few rivers, and *attempted* to make a dwarf-livable chamber at the bottom of the magma sea, but mostly I just use it for crafts, and swords when steel and bronze are scarce.

[smigenboger]

Oh I should add I've been doing this in 40d, because of the horrors of trying to pump magma so far up, but I'd love to hear what you've done in the new version too.

[Eagle_eye]

I typically just embark on a high volcanism area, practically guarantees a magma vent in the caverns somewhere.

[Rotten]

Instead of mining, dig ramps, then remove them.

[Internet Kraken]

Can someone explain to me why so many people say obsidian is valuable? I don't get what is so great about it. I had a map covered in obsidian on the top layers and I never found it to be any better than the other stones lying around. I'm guessing there is something I'm missing.

[Djohaal]

Can someone explain to me why so many people say obsidian is valuable? I don't get what is so great about it. I had a map covered in obsidian on the top layers and I never found it to be any better than the other stones lying around. I'm guessing there is something I'm missing.

In-game wize obsidian is far more valuable than other stone. Check its article at the wiki.
Plus it can be used to make obsidian swords.
That's pretty much it, most people make obsidian stuff just for the fun, as it is the byproduct of magma+water.

[Crowbar]

Can someone explain to me why so many people say obsidian is valuable? I don't get what is so great about it. I had a map covered in obsidian on the top layers and I never found it to be any better than the other stones lying around. I'm guessing there is something I'm missing.

In-game wize obsidian is far more valuable than other stone. Check its article at the wiki.
Plus it can be used to make obsidian swords.
That's pretty much it, most people make obsidian stuff just for the fun, as it is the byproduct of magma+water.

Quite literally, just for the Fun.

[Vattic]

Instead of mining, dig ramps, then remove them.

This is how I do it.

I'm guessing there is something I'm missing.

All my forts tend to have one, mostly because I like building them and automating parts of the system. On nano-forts it's a useful supply of stone. This was especially the case in 40d where a magma pipe took up most of the embark.