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[existent]

So, there's a brook running through my embark site, and I'm thinking of building a walled off area (read: dam) and flooding everything else, by pumping water out of the river from one Z level up. Would this work? Or would the water all flow off or something?

[Shadowfury333]

If you walled off the map, you could make the water stay in, and have essentially a fort in a lake. However, if you don't make the walls, the water will probably flow away.

[existent]

If you walled off the map, you could make the water stay in, and have essentially a fort in a lake. However, if you don't make the walls, the water will probably flow away.

Ah, I thought that might be the case. In the mean time, construction continues on my to-be island fort.

All hands are needed in this most glorious cause!

[Dakk]

Also, since you can't build contructions too close to the map's edge, its technically impossible to flood the whole map. You should have more then enough space for it anyway.

[JmzLost]

I see 2 options:

  1) A perimeter wall, six tiles from the edge.  Leaves a 5-tile perimeter for animals, immigrants, and invaders to spawn.

  2) Raising bridges (NOT retracting) on the edge tile.  Looks nicer, and leaving a small opening or two lets you control where enemies enter the map.  More work, more time, especially if you link all of the bridges to a single lever, but also more value for the fortress.

Oh, oh! Third option: use magma to create an obsidian border for your lake, because the answer to everything is magma 

@Dakk: see options 2 and 3 above, it IS possible to flood the entire map, minus whatever means you use on the edge tile to contain said flood.

JMZ

[existent]

I see 2 options:

  1) A perimeter wall, six tiles from the edge.  Leaves a 5-tile perimeter for animals, immigrants, and invaders to spawn.

  2) Raising bridges (NOT retracting) on the edge tile.  Looks nicer, and leaving a small opening or two lets you control where enemies enter the map.  More work, more time, especially if you link all of the bridges to a single lever, but also more value for the fortress.

Oh, oh! Third option: use magma to create an obsidian border for your lake, because the answer to everything is magma 

@Dakk: see options 2 and 3 above, it IS possible to flood the entire map, minus whatever means you use on the edge tile to contain said flood.

JMZ

Thanks, I was about to type that out, because it's essentially what I'm doing. Instead of the map-edge bridges though, I'm leaving a small area un-flooded, which will have a ramp down to a glass tunnel under my lake, leading to the fortress.

[JmzLost]

You're welcome.  One warning, closing off the majority of the edge tends to cause wild animals to spawn in a massive wave attack.  At least, mine tend to spawn the next critter as soon as the previous one hits the line of cage traps.  If you have any kind of defenses in your tunnel, they will be swamped by animals seeking a way into an open area where they can roam.  The first time I closed the map I had a 5-wide, 10-deep field of cages.  I still ended up with a pack of wolves roaming around inside my "protected" area.

JMZ

[existent]

Thanks for the heads up, but I'm a loooong way from that point. I'm building the wall 2 Z levels tall, and I've maybe got half the first Z level finished, as well as about half my "island" constructed.

I have even started looking into how to actually start the water flowing.

[Rkui]

It will be nicer if the lake don't cover all the map imo (depend on how large your embark maps are, mine are quiet big), and you better dig one or 2 level on an almost flat map, it will look a lot more natural than a wall to sustain water, well that's the way i would do it if i did, its quiet a nice idea in fact "a castle on a lake".

[Dorten]

The water can also flow back into the brook. Especially into 'brook' tiles, which DEVOUR water. So, channel the 'brook' tiles, then dam the brook's output.

[ed boy]

Oh, oh! Third option: use magma to create an obsidian border for your lake, because the answer to everything is magma 

I'm planning to do this to keep a 3 z-level deep pool of magma lava around my megeproject (when it's done), and I have a few questions:
(1) Can this be done on the extreme border of the map?
(2) Will incoming units spawn on the new obsidian wall, or not?
(3) Normally, things can go on brook tiles as if the brook was solid ground. what happens when magma meets a brook?

[existent]

Oh, oh! Third option: use magma to create an obsidian border for your lake, because the answer to everything is magma 

I'm planning to do this to keep a 3 z-level deep pool of magma lava around my megeproject (when it's done), and I have a few questions:
(1) Can this be done on the extreme border of the map?
(2) Will incoming units spawn on the new obsidian wall, or not?
(3) Normally, things can go on brook tiles as if the brook was solid ground. what happens when magma meets a brook?

1. I don't think so.

2. I know that caravans will magically appear inside barriers, I don't know about enemies.

3. This is what test subjects dwarves are for.

[Ma88hew]

Oh, oh! Third option: use magma to create an obsidian border for your lake, because the answer to everything is magma 

I'm planning to do this to keep a 3 z-level deep pool of magma lava around my megeproject (when it's done), and I have a few questions:
(1) Can this be done on the extreme border of the map?
(2) Will incoming units spawn on the new obsidian wall, or not?
(3) Normally, things can go on brook tiles as if the brook was solid ground. what happens when magma meets a brook?

When magma flows over a brook, it turns the water underneath into obsidian. However, if you floor over the brook, it doesn't. I guess the "brook" tile allows heat through it or something. Yeah, I was sure heat wasn't the case, cause that would just make boiling water.
I tried flooding one map with magma, but the magma evaporated/disappeared before it even reached the walls of the map. And they were only like 20 tiles away. :\ I didn't use pumps though, I just opened up a magma pipe, does pressurized magma flow faster?

[goffrie]

When magma flows over a brook, it turns the water underneath into obsidian. However, if you floor over the brook, it doesn't. I guess the "brook" tile allows heat through it or something.

Heat doesn't turn water into obsidian :p

Brook tiles act as grates, so liquids can flow in and out. So when the magma goes over the brook tile, it "falls through" and turns the tile into obsidian.

[Rumrusher]

one way is to cast obsidian on the border so you can wall off the sides.