Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[GrizzlyAdamz]

So, I was in the middle of constructing a new, larger, underground farming complex,(preparing to feed more immigrants in my second year), when I stumbled upon a vast cavern. It seems to go down several levels, being mostly empty space with multi-colored, exotic looking stones decorating the walls and spires. All along the cavern on multiple levels are terraces with nice, large muddy pits containing several indigenous underground species, including tower caps, fungiwood, and a plethora of different shrubs. The bottom is about 9 levels down, and at a tapering end it concludes with a moderate-sized underground lake. (11x18x 7+ deep, with a large network of streams spanning a large area, possibly connected to other larger bodies off-screen).
Now, my question is, this is all just underneath all the rest of my fortress, and in the primary construction zone I had been planning.
How will this impact my fortress, and what should I do to best capitalize on the situation? I figured constructing catwalks criss-crossing the cavern on several levels could be a viable option, but I am asking here to make sure.
As far as I know, this could be many times larger than I can see, as the open spaces and walls cut off at flat lines a certain distance from my stairs and dig operations.

-edit
Btw, by just under, I mean only 5 levels below my surface entrance, and one below my largest chamber.

[Tokkius]

Completely normal. It's what they're talking about when they say "underground features".

[Hokan]

There is much wealth to be had in the caverns, namely silk that can be gathered down there.

Please note that after breaching caverns, underground trees such as tower caps will grow in all muddied, underground areas.

[GrizzlyAdamz]

heh, I see what they did there. But what do I do about it? Off the top of my head, I figured I could farm along the terraces, build pathways across the open spaces and construct additional rooms off of the terraces.
But, do I need to worry about nasty little goblins running around down here? Or is it better to exploit the multitudes of minerals the place is littered with? Just a groundwork of do's and don'ts would go really far for me.

[Poot]

Lots of stuff down there can kill your dorfs if you're not careful/not paying attention. Set some traps near the stairs or a guardian pet so that stuff doesn't slip through into your main fort.

[GrizzlyAdamz]

ah, I already see some silk.
some of the minerals I see include platinum, tons of olivine, of gabbro, tanzanite, opals, garnierite, kimberlite, zircons, turqoise, tons of agates (is banded good?), bauxite, hematite, tons of magnetite, sapphires, coal, and I have to go for a moment so I'll leave it at that. 

[Roder Agak]

If you are going to try to colonise the caverns, be aware that there are flying creatures down there, and that monsters will spawn from the map edge.  It's probably best to wall off the breaches and build around them until you have a decent army.

[nonobots]

If you don't mind being spoiled everything is explained here: http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Cavern

What I do usually, and I think a lot of players do that, is simply wall off a portion of the cave to keep hostile fauna outside while keeping a zone to harvest colourful wood and plant some underground stuff. Be careful to wall off to the ceiling: there might be some flying creatures.

Keep us posted on your progress!

[Dearnen]

Caverns can have some very nasty monsters, so I agree with sealing it off until you have a solid army.  My current fort has a similar issue to yours with the first cavern zone starting on the first level below the soil layers.

[GrizzlyAdamz]

hmm, haven't even gotten to the part where I start building an army, nor how to construct walls nor post guard dogs. But I think I can find my way to the wall menu. Good to know about the flying creatures and such, If I want to colonize, should I wall off the edges of the map, or wall off a section and post guards at any opening I leave? If so, I have three crossbows lying about, would that be enough to start constructing walls around a moderate-sized area, or should I just leave it for the next year and construct my farm a level above what I was planning?

[GrizzlyAdamz]

if it matters, I don't have anything on the u menu.

[(name here)]

Things show up from off-map all the time, and some things might be hiding in unexplored places. They'll menace you eventually.

[GrizzlyAdamz]

well, I think I'll wait a year and go for the fun method; send in a squad to scout around and start constructing walls. btw, when it comes to that, what does one do? I assume you construct walls, make an upward starway next to them, then construct more and make an up/down stair, then rinse and repeat.

[Dearnen]

It is best to assume there are monsters down there even if you can't see them.  Your three crossbows and lack of trained marskdwarves won't be much good against anything.  For now just plug the tunnel(s) that breached the cavern with a wall section. (b-C-w to construct it).  Nothing can get through a wall that completely blocks the tunnel, so any threats in the caverns won't be able to get in.  Once you've sealed the breach, you can go back to business as usual.  You may need to shift your planned construction zone to underneath the caverns.  There will be many levels without caverns there (you will probably find more caverns further down, though).  Just be careful to avoid the caverns you know about and quickly plug any you discover.  The resources of the caverns themselves really aren't safe this early on.

[eataTREE]

Build walls and other constructions through the Constructions submenu: b -> C. Walling yourself off from the hostile fauna of the caverns until you're sure you're ready to handle it is probably a good idea.

I have never, personally, been bothered by flying creatures in the caverns; if you guard/trap/wall all the land-based approaches from the deeps to your fortress, you probably don't have to worry about holes in the ceiling. In fact my well is usually simply a deep shaft placed over an underground sea, and nothing's ever flown up my well-shaft. (Snerk!)