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[Fenwah]

I had an idea for a high speed switch which would activate a magma defence system using a direct command from the player without involving dwarves, as I'm sure most of us have suffered at the hands of lazy dwarves who are late to reach a lever at the crucial moment. While playing around with this idea, I found a simple combination which allows floors that only permit one way travel to specified creatures too be built. I couldn't see anything about it on the wiki, so I've made this thread.

The one way floor is just a hatch over a channelled out tile linked to a pressure plate:

Code: [Select]

# #    # = wall
#H#    H = Hatch over channelled tile
#^#    ^ = Pressure plate
# #
A creature moving top to bottom will pass, but a creature moving from bottom to top will trigger the plate, lifting the hatch which breaks the path. This is different to the one way ramps exploit in that the creatures don't know its one way until they get there, and will try to path through it. This allows you to capture and manipulate creatures in some interesting ways.

High speed super switches

These use a trained animal sealed off with a system of doors and one way hatches

Code: [Select]

#D#    D = Door
#H#
#^##     <--- Attached to the adjacent hatches
#HD#
#^##     <--- This plate is linked to whatever you want to trigger
#HD#
#^##     <--- Attached to the adjacent hatches
#H#
#D#
This is basically two sets of traps each consisting of two one way hatches. Remember that the hatchess must be set to citizens trigger. Drop an unassigned hunting dog (war dogs also work but they are slower) onto either the top or bottom plate, then assign it to any random dwarf. The doors on the top and bottom are passable and provide paths for the dog to return to its master. The doors on the side are forbidden and they are how we operate the switch. As soon as the dog hits the plate it will be trapped on that tile. To trigger the switch unforbid the side door diagonal to the dog. It will immediately path to its owner, trigger the pressure plate in the middle, and then walk into the other trap. Make sure to reforbid the door you just used before using the switch again.

This could also be used as a crude repeater by unforbidding both side doors, however I think the dogs give up trying to return after a while. More testing is needed.

A modified version which will have a slightly longer response time, but will be able to hold the trigger down and operate in the same manner as a lever.

Code: [Select]

#D#   
#H#
#^##     <--- Attached to the adjacent hatches
#HD#
#HD#
#^##     <--- This plate is linked to whatever you want to trigger + adjacent hatches
#H#
#D#

Automated goblin grinder

This design is basically a modified version of the switches, used for fort defence.

Code: [Select]

#H#
#^#
#T#    T=Trap
#T#
#^#
#H#
Just make two one way hatches and fill the space between with weapon traps or spikes. Goblins go in, but can't leave, and try to path up and down, running over traps the whole time, and end up grinding themselves into teenie tiny bits. Alternatively just make fortifications on the walls and have some target practice for your marksdwarves, or have the floor drop away underneath them. Be creative.

The main problem with this design is that as soon as one goblin goes in, no more will be able to enter untill the first goblin moves off the plate. I suggest making an array of two or more of these next to each other, so when a goblin hits the first plate, the other goblins have another trapped path to take.

I have a couple of these systems up in my fortress, but they are brand spanking new and havent had any goblins through yet. I'll update with results when I get them.

For a simpler defence, you could just have a single one way floor at your entrance to filter out undesirables. Unlike a door, you can ensure dwarves can always pass but goblins never can.

Whenever using these to keep out nasties, make sure the channelled tile under the hatches do not open into your fortress or you could have some problems.

Other uses?

I think could use modified switches to build logic gates, so I might try my hand at some simple dwarfputing. So far I know I could make OR, NOR, NOT, and possibly AND and NAND gates (haven't thought too much about how to make the others yet).



Please feel free to post any ideas of your own, or improvements to any of these designs. Dwarfputing advice would be appreciated as well

[Biag]

I like the automated goblin grinder; I might use that to get rid of the pesky animals in my evil biome. (2nd year, 3 deaths so far- all by beak dog!)

Question: Don't you have to manually reset the hatches every time? A creature coming from the "top" will still trigger the pressure plate and open the hatch behind it, am I right?

[Fenwah]

Question: Don't you have to manually reset the hatches every time? A creature coming from the "top" will still trigger the pressure plate and open the hatch behind it, am I right?

Pressure plates which reset only send an 'on' signal when there is something triggering them. As soon as the creature steps off the plate the hatch will close again. This is what causes the creatures to run up and down the grinder.

There is no need to have a dwarf reset any of the plates (though they may have to reset the traps you put in. depending on what you use)

[thijser]

I like the automated goblin grinder; I might use that to get rid of the pesky animals in my evil biome. (2nd year, 3 deaths so far- all by beak dog!)

Question: Don't you have to manually reset the hatches every time? A creature coming from the "top" will still trigger the pressure plate and open the hatch behind it, am I right?

I think you can solve this by using logic and connecting a trigger that is first triggered by anybody going down that blocks the hatch from going down (a not gate connected with an and gate)

[Sphalerite]

There is no need to have a dwarf reset any of the plates (though they may have to reset the traps you put in. depending on what you use)

If the traps jamming up is a concern (which it probably will be) you can replace them with a set of spikes driven by a repeater.  The only challenge now is how to retrieve the goblinite.

[Urist Imiknorris]

Between sieges, obviously.

[Noble Digger]

There's something just so Dwarvenly beautiful about being able to wash the goblins away with Magma and have nothing left behind except Goblinite.

[Reese]

Heh, the grinder reminds me of another tactic- you can have two doors at two ends of a corridor with traps between, but that required you to be paying attention or they could slip through the doors.

you could set up a bunch of those grinders in parallel so when one goblin sets off one, there are still places for the other goblins to go- I imagine 5 in parallel should be enough to quickly take care of most ambushes pretty quickly

[Urist Imiknorris]

Just remember to have some easily-drained magma-floodable passages connecting underneath each grinder. Just in case gobbo A trips the plate while gobbo #2 is on the hatch.

[Eugenitor]

Or dig however many levels all the way down to the magma sea.

[Fenwah]

An update on my grinders:

I finished building them and they work like a charm. Right after I finished building the hatches, but before I had enough weapons to make the weapon traps, I was attacked by a squad of goblins with crossbows. They were all trapped, but there was nothing to actually kill them. Since my military was useless at that stage (copper weapons and no armour) I decided to just let them empty their quivers into the traders and some child who had been shot in the leg and was immobile, then clean them up after that. It turned out that the trader guards just dealt with them for me.

After that I put up a wall to stop any ranged weapons from wiping out my dwarves, and filled the grinders with some traps. They have killed an entire squad of goblin swordsmen, a wave of mandrills, and a siege consisting of around 20 human pikemen. It seems around one in ten enemies end up falling down the hatches, so I think I'll prepare a big pit underneath to drop them down.

There's a certain sadistic glee that can be taken in watching as your enemies run across the traps, each time with more wounds and less body parts still attached, until they are eventually crawling across the traps, presumably trying to end their suffering, having realised that there is no escape. I love this game.

[ledgekindred]

I love this.  This shall be implemented post-haste, but also link the pressure plates to my field-of-spikes that I also have waiting in front of my fort's entrance.  (Exploiting the fact that invaders tend to stick around their leader if he gets caught in a cage, I have a bunch of cage traps with retractable spikes in the free space between cages.  If the leader gets trapped, the rest of the siege tends to hang around and I have a dwarf repeatedly pull the trigger and impale the loiterers.  Much more fun to watch them spike their friends themselves instead of having to keep telling some dwarven sod to go pull a lever over and over.)

An easy solution for the creatures falling down the hatches could be a dug out pit underneath containing cage traps.  It's one thing to watch sieges grind themselves into hamburger automatically, but it's just as fun to strip your invaders naked and toss them in a pit full of War Elephants or War Giant Lions or what-have-you.  Or fill the pit with retractable spikes linked to the pressure plates.  Let the guys up top do in their compatriots as mentioned above.

If the traps jamming up is a concern (which it probably will be) you can replace them with a set of spikes driven by a repeater.  The only challenge now is how to retrieve the goblinite.

A lever attached to the pressure plate to disconnect it from the hatch should work, no?

edit: I wonder if there's some way to allow dwarves to get through without anyone else allowed.  I can't think of one though.

[ledgekindred]

Just thought of something.  You'll want to have some kind of backup at the exit since I'm pretty sure the hatches and pressure plates could be destroyed by Building Destroyers, leaving it a straight path into your fort.

A moat with a drawbridge that can be raised would suffice I'd think.

[Urist Imiknorris]

edit: I wonder if there's some way to allow dwarves to get through without anyone else allowed.  I can't think of one though.

####
+^H+ -> dwarf-only area
####

H=hatch
^=pressure plate
Link the plate to the hatch, set the plate to not trigger on citizens.

Just thought of something.  You'll want to have some kind of backup at the exit since I'm pretty sure the hatches and pressure plates could be destroyed by Building Destroyers, leaving it a straight path into your fort.

A moat with a drawbridge that can be raised would suffice I'd think.

"Hatch Over Pressurized Magma"-brand building destroyer landmines.

[ledgekindred]

Link the plate to the hatch, set the plate to not trigger on citizens.

Eurgh, forgot all about that.