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[gralcio]

I was thinking about building a shooting tower for my non-yet-existant crossbow wielders.

But I have a few questions I can't find answers to.

Through how many z-levels dwarves can (effectively) see/shot?
If I don't build fortifications on borders of tower, will they fall? E.g., by dodging opponent's arrows.
If I build fortifications on borders of tower, will they limit visibility a lot?
Does it change anything if fortifications have empty space directly 1 z-level under them?

[darkflagrance]

1) Only build them 1 level above the ground. I don't know the max range of a dwarven sniper, but I do know each z-level above their targets decreases their range by 1.
2) Fortifications not only prevent falls by dodging, but they also decrease the chance that normal enemy archers will hit your men through them, while barely affecting the accuracy of your dwarves stationed behind them.
3) I don't think fortifications affect visibility.
4) Don't know for sure, but don't think so.

[gralcio]

Thanks a lot.

[Shoku]

The way fortifications work is that the shot is penalized for every tile away the shooter was standing. So right next to fortifications is like nothing but a long ways away and there's very little chance of projectiles making it through. Highly skilled shooters easily shoot through them from much farther away, even shooting through 5-thick walls of them and such.

Or at least that was the 40d situation.

With empty space just below the fortifications I can only think of one possibly problem: if an arrow went from that tile below and diagonally up skipping the fortification. I don't know if this can actually happen but given what I said before you could just build more fortifications on the lower level to get an effect like having nothing below. If you can channel out like three rows around the base of the tower you can guarantee that the invaders would always at least have a few tile disadvantage with the fortifications (while retaining range because of the rest of the ground being the right height.) They probably wouldn't get right next to the tower anyway between being shot at and the whole shooting-once-in-range thing themselves but you build the tower 1 level up just in case anyway. Technically you could build it at ground level if you were willing to dig enough to make a sort of sunken tower just to have that 1 more tile of range.

They do need to shoot in a straight line so having solid crap below the fortifications would limit some angles of fire, though at the same time you want to keep enemy archers a little ways away so it works out. You probably can't gain very much by trying to give them perfect field of view.

[gralcio]

Arrows coming diagonally indeed might be tricky.

Ok, will see how ranged combat works Never bothered with it, was just hammersmashing through enemies.

[LoSboccacc]

just remember to make it so there is not a short path from the tower innards to the shooting area, because when they finish their bolts they tend to charge mindlessly instead of reloading from the near placed stockpiled stuff.

[gralcio]

Oh, reminded me about all those crossbow-bashing topics.

But no worries, they would need to run to the through half of the map twice to reach their targets in melee.

[Pan]

Hmm... I remember hearing about how only elite (cross)bowmen can shoot up z-levels through fortifications? Normal enemy ranged units cannot shoot through fortifications on a higher z level. Is this still true?

[Shades]

I don't think that was ever true, however the extra square of distance the height gives will stop most of the lower skilled ranged units at the fortification anyway.

[Pan]

No, I just remembered. In the Dig Deeper mod (40d), a squad of bow orcs would ignore the marksdwarves up the walls, all of them but the elite crossbow orc. At least that's what I recall.

[Shoku]

No, I just remembered. In the Dig Deeper mod (40d), a squad of bow orcs would ignore the marksdwarves up the walls, all of them but the elite crossbow orc. At least that's what I recall.

They had some notion of how much trouble the fortification would be so they wouldn't just waste all of their ammo shooting at a fortification they had no chance of getting through. Otherwise we'd have probably made some strategy of placing cat towers around the map to turn the ranged units into melee.

[Diacritic]

Dig at least a dry trench in front of your archer towers and remove the resulting ramps, so that enemies can't get right up next to your marksdwarves.

[Darkmere]

I didn't get around to testing it on my current fort because multiple FB's slime-coated two cavern layers and FPS'ed me to death, but you might want to consider building extra block supports on the outside of your towers and placing lever-linked doors in front of the fortifications to shut the area off in case of elite archers trying to pincushion your marksdwarves. There's no delay with lever-operated doors like there is on floodgates, so it's instant safety and (possibly) easier wounded recovery in case someone does catch a stray arrow to the arm.

I've been planning a similar system at ground-level with 2-tile raising drawbridges for siege engine work as well.

[Pan]

No, I just remembered. In the Dig Deeper mod (40d), a squad of bow orcs would ignore the marksdwarves up the walls, all of them but the elite crossbow orc. At least that's what I recall.

They had some notion of how much trouble the fortification would be so they wouldn't just waste all of their ammo shooting at a fortification they had no chance of getting through. Otherwise we'd have probably made some strategy of placing cat towers around the map to turn the ranged units into melee.

)

Oh... Well, that means the marksdwarves at the upper z levels, behind fortifications are more or less invincible, right? (Didn't really get your meaning. Your saying they can see the marksdwarves, but refuse to shoot through them because they think it's a waste of ammo?

[JAFANZ]

I didn't get around to testing it on my current fort because multiple FB's slime-coated two cavern layers and FPS'ed me to death, but you might want to consider building extra block supports on the outside of your towers and placing lever-linked doors in front of the fortifications to shut the area off in case of elite archers trying to pincushion your marksdwarves. There's no delay with lever-operated doors like there is on floodgates, so it's instant safety and (possibly) easier wounded recovery in case someone does catch a stray arrow to the arm.

I've been planning a similar system at ground-level with 2-tile raising drawbridges for siege engine work as well.

That's actually sorta elegant, expensive, but elegant. Thanks for the idea.