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[Uristocrat]

So far I've been able to explore about 3-4 z-levels of the magma sea by dropping kittens and such as lookouts, but they don't last very long.

Are there any creatures that would work better if dropped into the magma sea?  I really want to see more of it so that I know which parts of this adamantine spire are safe to mine out...

I suppose I could dig a huge waterfall from the sea in one of the caverns down to the magma sea, but I'm not sure how well that works.  I fear getting just one tile of obsidian and having my waterfall get plugged up.

[Zidane]

I think if you modded cats to be made out of nether-wood they would last quite a bit longer.

[Osmosis Jones]

A cave in works just as well as a kitten for exploring, the problem in both cases is they eventually hit the semi molten rock and fall off the map, so to speak. To make an actual magma scout, you'll need to make a creature that can both survive in magma and swim in it, then let it get into the magma of it's own accord (falling objects keep falling until they hit an obstacle, IIRC, which means the only exploring a dumped kitten will do is straight down).

[gtmattz]

Why not simply use dfreveal from the dfhack tools?  Tossing kittens into the volcano is not really going to tell you whether those spires are actually safe to mine, since the real safety lies in whether the spires are hollow or solid, and no amount of kittens sacrificed to volcanoes will tell you that...

[Fellhuhn]

... no reason to stop sacrificing kittens, though.

[gtmattz]

... no reason to stop sacrificing kittens, though.

Well, you do have a point...

[Uristocrat]

Why not simply use dfreveal from the dfhack tools?  Tossing kittens into the volcano is not really going to tell you whether those spires are actually safe to mine, since the real safety lies in whether the spires are hollow or solid, and no amount of kittens sacrificed to volcanoes will tell you that...

The top few levels were solid.  I don't know if they hollow out somewhere below that or not, so I was going to send down as many "explorers" as I could.

Would it work better or worse if blizzard men were available?

[gtmattz]

Why not simply use dfreveal from the dfhack tools?  Tossing kittens into the volcano is not really going to tell you whether those spires are actually safe to mine, since the real safety lies in whether the spires are hollow or solid, and no amount of kittens sacrificed to volcanoes will tell you that...

The top few levels were solid.  I don't know if they hollow out somewhere below that or not, so I was going to send down as many "explorers" as I could.

Would it work better or worse if blizzard men were available?

There is no way, short of digging or revealing, to tell if the INSIDE of the columns is solid, I am not sure what you are trying to accomplish.  The magma sea does not drain into the columns, so revealing the entirety of the magma sea via wandering creatures will STILL not answer your question.

[Uristocrat]

I have dug into the column, and that column is solid.

But it moves all over the place, so I can't see very well where I need to dig downwards at any given level.  When I dropped explorers down, they showed me a few z-levels down, so that I could see where the outside of the spire was.  But they didn't show me where the bottom goes.

I guess magma isn't pressurized, so it's okay if I dig a down stairway that happens to be over magma, but...

[WrathNail]

dfreveal is the best solution.

Second best is save-scumming and digging into the column to see where they start to become hollow, then reload and mine everything above that.

[JarinArenos]

The problem with dfreveal is that it triggers the HFS release. Even if they're still trapped, this can slow your framerate notably. Especially if there's hundreds of them.

[Skorpion]

Why not simply use dfreveal from the dfhack tools?

IMO, because it feels like cheating.

In reply to the OP, try employing tougher creatures. Large animals, goblins wearing armour?

[gtmattz]

The problem with dfreveal is that it triggers the HFS release. Even if they're still trapped, this can slow your framerate notably. Especially if there's hundreds of them.

Not if you do not unpause...

[Graebeard]

I have dug into the column, and that column is solid.

But it moves all over the place, so I can't see very well where I need to dig downwards at any given level.  When I dropped explorers down, they showed me a few z-levels down, so that I could see where the outside of the spire was.  But they didn't show me where the bottom goes.

I guess magma isn't pressurized, so it's okay if I dig a down stairway that happens to be over magma, but...

If you're just worried about not flooding the spire w/magma I'd do this:

Channel down (not dig) or dig a stair down where you "know" you'll hit magma.  Voila: you've just breached the cavern in a new place and should be able to see quite far from the new breach.  The magma will not flow up the channel into the spire because it's not pressurized.  Simply floor over the exposed channel and dig safely to your heart's content.

[JarinArenos]

The problem with dfreveal is that it triggers the HFS release. Even if they're still trapped, this can slow your framerate notably. Especially if there's hundreds of them.

Not if you do not unpause...

Really? Awesome! I did NOT know that. I could have sworn the one time I tried it, I released them, even though I didn't unpause between reveal and unreveal. I... must have unpaused and not realized it.