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Author Topic: A quick question about stairs...  (Read 1625 times)

Dragonchampion

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A quick question about stairs...
« on: December 26, 2010, 12:25:45 pm »

Quick question. I have a 1x2x50 pit that I want to make. One 1x1 square is completely dug out. The other is a set of stairs leading alongside it.

If I was to build a support holding a single floor tile above it, could I then remove the support and have the floor tile collapse and destroy the entire stairway? Will it stop at a certain point? Or is this an effective method of making a straight down 1x2 width pit?
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Dzenaiya

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Re: A quick question about stairs...
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2010, 12:50:22 pm »

I don't know if stairs get destroyed in collapses, but you may want to build a WALL on the support, not a floor. IIRC, floors are demonstrably less destructive than walls in collapses.
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Sphalerite

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Re: A quick question about stairs...
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2010, 12:57:37 pm »

IIRC, floors are demonstrably less destructive than walls in collapses.
I'd like to see that demonstration.  I don't know of any difference in the destructiveness of falling floors versus falling walls.
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twilightdusk

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Re: A quick question about stairs...
« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2010, 01:08:56 pm »

Natural walls are more destructive than anything constructed, as they will not deconstruct when falling. Walls will stop a cave in from going further while a cave in will continue through a floor, but there shouldn't be any difference between dropping a constructed floor VS constructed wall.
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Dragonchampion

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Re: A quick question about stairs...
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2010, 01:10:24 pm »

But the question is, are stairs destroyed by caveins?
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morgoththegreat

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Re: A quick question about stairs...
« Reply #5 on: December 26, 2010, 03:49:52 pm »

But the question is, are stairs destroyed by caveins?

Nope. Quick experiments (which you should have just done yourself) reveal that no cave-in, construction or natural, will destroy stairs, constructed or natural.
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doomdome

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Re: A quick question about stairs...
« Reply #6 on: December 26, 2010, 04:25:25 pm »

If you're going about causing cave-ins, you may want to skip the channeling (on the part of the pit next to the stairs) altogether. You can leave a floor in the second half of the pit because a cave-in will destroy it anyway. On the other hand, I think you might want the thing you're caving in to be natural stone, because the floor will just decontruct when you try to drop it. As opposed to destroying the stairs, you may want to expand the thing to 1x3 and just floor over the top staircase when you're done. Or perhaps you could make the whole thing a bunch of alternating ramps instead, which may be more destructable than staircases.
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jaxad0127

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Re: A quick question about stairs...
« Reply #7 on: December 26, 2010, 10:24:58 pm »

Or an exit at the bottom and wall that back in. Maybe try to remove the stairs from the bottom up.
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Trouserman

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Re: A quick question about stairs...
« Reply #8 on: December 27, 2010, 10:18:47 pm »

On the other hand, I think you might want the thing you're caving in to be natural stone, because the floor will just decontruct when you try to drop it.

A constructed floor or wall, when caved in, will smash stuff below it before deconstructing, including smashing through floors.
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Namfuak

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Re: A quick question about stairs...
« Reply #9 on: December 28, 2010, 05:21:32 am »

If you were willing to do the micromanagement, you could just construct the whole staircase.  It will get destroyed in that case.
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kaapelikala

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Re: A quick question about stairs...
« Reply #10 on: December 28, 2010, 01:59:39 pm »

Windows 7 Ultimate x64
C2D E6600 stock
4GB DDR2 800

Mobo doesn't like overclocking without burning my PCIs and USBs so I haven't done that :/
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Trouserman

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Re: A quick question about stairs...
« Reply #11 on: December 28, 2010, 08:29:27 pm »

If you were willing to do the micromanagement, you could just construct the whole staircase.  It will get destroyed in that case.

No, constructed stairs are still durable when collapsed upon.  I suggest a shaft and a stair well separated by a wall.

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Whatever dwarf digs the shaft can dig his way out at the bottom.  Then, construct a wall sealing off the shaft from the stairs out.

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#.O<#
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Or, floor over the stairs at the top.  Whatever.
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