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[TheAngryMongoose]

What is the best way to supply a magma forge from a source that is above me?  All suggestions i've found for accessing fluids suggest accessing it from above using channels, but the volcano my magma is coming from ends considerably higher than my fortress. Am I just going to have to build down, breach the wall, and hope my miner runs away in time? Because last time I tried it, he bled to death. Luckily, pressure wasn't a problem.
-------------------------~~~~-----
-------------------------~~~~-----
... Down a few hundred layers...
-------------------------~~~~-----
---------------forge-----~~~~-----
.-----------------channel~~~~-----

[Kidiri]

Pressure isn't a problem, as you said. However, I prefer using an engraver instead of a miner. Smooth and carve fortifications in  the tile, instead of digging it out. This way, nasties can't get into your channels. And use a diagonal tile, instead of one straight ahead. Have no other smoothing/engraving active. As soon as he goes in to carve the fortifications, designate a large zone to be smoothed in a different place. He should run off rather quickly to smooth/engrave that part. At least, I've always done so and have lost very few dwarfs that way.

[Grax]

What is the best way to supply a magma forge from a source that is above me?  All suggestions i've found for accessing fluids suggest accessing it from above using channels, but the volcano my magma is coming from ends considerably higher than my fortress. Am I just going to have to build down, breach the wall, and hope my miner runs away in time? Because last time I tried it, he bled to death. Luckily, pressure wasn't a problem.
-------------------------~~~~-----
-------------------------~~~~-----
... Down a few hundred layers...
-------------------------~~~~-----
---------------forge-----~~~~-----
.-----------------channel~~~~-----

Use the least important dwarf and the cheapest pick - to breach the pipe.

You can wall him inside. Before. For the glory of Armok.

[Fourdots]

One rather smart suggestion I saw recently was digging an access tunnel, and then channeling out the entrance tile from above, so magma would flow down, leaving the miner safe, like so:

####77777#
____C77777#
____#77777#
####77777#

(# is solid rock, 7 is magma, _ is floor/mined out areas)

By designating the square marked C for channeling, both it and the one below would be removed, so magma would flow down into the empty access channel. Secondary flooding would occur once it fills, but there would be plenty of time to wall it off first. Whatever measures one was going to take to keep nasties out could then be implemented within the access channel, without worrying for the safety of dwarfs.

[TheAngryMongoose]

You talk about nasties, what are they? This is my second fortress, and I've not yet been at war...
"Use a diagonal tile, instead of one straight ahead"
Will that slow down magma flow or miner escape speed?

Thanks Fourdots, i'll try that.

[Kidiri]

You talk about nasties, what are they? This is my second fortress, and I've not yet been at war...
"Use a diagonal tile, instead of one straight ahead"
Will that slow down magma flow or miner escape speed?

Thanks Fourdots, i'll try that.

Nasties in the case of breaching magma are fire imps, magma and fire men. Although only the first one is supposed to be a danger (I wouldn't know, I wouldn't know, I've never had any of them running around in my forts). The scare our dwarves and pelt them with fire balls. Which will then spread around your fortress like, well, a wildfire. And for the diagonal one, no idea if it does, but I always do it, and again, I've never had an accident since I perfected the technique.

[Grendus]

At least in 40d, fluids flow slightly slower diagonally than they do orthogonally. In 2010, it's not as big a deal since magma is less deadly.

I'd use a sacrificial hauler, personally. Most other methods require risking a more valuable dwarf, sacrificial hauler has a low guaranteed cost instead of a high possible cost.

[0x517A5D]

fluids flow slightly slower diagonally than they do orthogonally.

This is because pressure doesn't transfer diagonally, so the only flow is done by the ordinary liquid spreading algorithm.

If there are several levels of magma above the forge plumbing, pressure will move the magma very quickly, and probably burn the miner/engraver.

On the other hand, if your only connection is a diagonal one, it may take several years to get 4/7 magma levels under your forge and smelters.

I personally would breach via smoothing/fortification a Z-level below the forge plumbing level, and pump magma back up from there.  I would not use a diagonal, but would make the tile next to the fortification an up-down stairs tile so that hopefully the worker could get out in time.  Below the breach level would be a cistern level to catch the first few seconds of magma flow, again hopefully allowing the worker to get out.

Side view

Code: [Select]

0 |>______FFF____SSS____   forge and smelter level
-1 |X %%^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   plumbing level, note pump
-2 ‡X^                      breach level, note channel for pump
-3 |<____________           cistern level
Planning ahead, the cistern should have a few alcoves with steel floodgates installed.  Mechanisms can be installed later from the other side of a floodgate once a tunnel has been dug to it.

[Kanddak]

If there are several levels of magma above the forge plumbing, pressure will move the magma very quickly, and probably burn the miner/engraver.

On the other hand, if your only connection is a diagonal one, it may take several years to get 4/7 magma levels under your forge and smelters.

Not quite. Aren't we forgetting a certain major fact about magma and pressure?