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[Fist_Of_Armok]

I decided to make my first fort in 31.18 in the middle of the frozen tundra, because I enjoy ice forts.

It's on the top of a frozen river, and I suspect that if I mine out the blocks that look like "river sources" I might be able to get liquid water.

Is this so?

Furthermore, water freezes directly upon contact with ice, correct?

[NecroRebel]

You won't be able to get liquid water from mining out the river sources because those river source tiles will remain aboveground, which is what causes water to turn to ice when temperatures are cold enough. If mining them out doesn't outright destroy them, they'll rapidly produce water on themselves which will instantly freeze, undoing your work and possibly eating one of your dwarves.

Water doesn't freeze on contact with ice; it freezes on contact with cold temperatures, specifically those above ground in cold enough areas. If you've got an aboveground water source that feeds into an underground cistern, for instance, the water will freeze right up to the point where the fill tunnel comes onto the surface, and be liquid from there down.

If you want liquid water on the surface, you're going to have A) to turn off temperature or B) put magma adjacent to the ice, melting it. Usually, B) involves putting the magma below the ice with a floor separating the magma from the ice, but you could also put it above.

[Fist_Of_Armok]

So let me get this straight.

If it's open to the air, it will freeze-but if I build a channel underneath it to direct it into a cistern, it will produce liquid water.

Correct?

[NecroRebel]

Um... No. Probably, at least; I'm 95% certain that river source tiles produce water only on top of them, and that square will always and forever be above ground. So a tile below it won't actually fill. And if you dug a channel through the river source, you will surely destroy it forever.

What I mean by directing it into a tunnel is something like this:

Side view:
_    __
=IIII7=
=====77   -> to cistern
=======

With I's as ice walls, _s as natural-ground floors of the surface, =s as other walls, and 7s as the water.

The cistern that you fill would have to access the water horizontally, not vertically, since if it accessed the water vertically that shaft would also be aboveground and so would freeze. With horizontal access, the water goes underground.

The problem you have is that your river source tiles can't actually produce any water because they're frozen, and will remain frozen unless artificially heated, with magma or (maybe) fire, though given how difficult fire is to get ahold of without magma, you might as well just use magma instead.

[Fist_Of_Armok]

That...might be a problem, as my fortress has, to my knowledge, no magma-though if I dig down deep enough, I'll probably get some. Wonderful thing about the 31.x series, that.

Just have to hold out for the Elves to bring booze. Downside of a fortress named Frozenhell the God-Forsaken Death-Chill of Despair. At least there's not much hostile to worry about-except Night Creatures.

Amusingly enough, my dwarves' group name was the Mansion of Traders. Hahaha yeah folks, you just keep thinking that.

[CaptRory]

Question:

Of you mine ice, you end up with a ice bit like if ou mined stone right? I haven't actually gotten to mine ice yet.

Could you throw the ice into a chamber and let it melt into useable water? Sounds unlikely.

[Fist_Of_Armok]

Question:

Of you mine ice, you end up with a ice bit like if ou mined stone right? I haven't actually gotten to mine ice yet.

Could you throw the ice into a chamber and let it melt into useable water? Sounds unlikely.

Apparently. Though I don't know how exactly.

[Dutchling]

afaik know ot will be a puddle of water or something similar, dwarves can't drink that

[Ibid Straydrink]

afaik know ot will be a puddle of water or something similar, dwarves can't drink that

A puddle of water that doesn't leave mud. I've heard rumors that if you dump enough of it into a cistern in will become deeper and deeper, though.

I also heard a rumor once, that if you built your fortress near a cave adventurers would come and visit, and you will become the King of Sunshine.

[ShinWalks]

Question:

Of you mine ice, you end up with a ice bit like if ou mined stone right? I haven't actually gotten to mine ice yet.

Could you throw the ice into a chamber and let it melt into useable water? Sounds unlikely.

You get flowing, useful water when an ice wall melts, but not when ice chunks (ice as a stone) produced by mining melt.

[Ibid Straydrink]

Correct me if I am wrong, but you could just build a cistern around a chunk of ice, right? The ice would then be indoors.

[Davichococat]

Question:

Of you mine ice, you end up with a ice bit like if ou mined stone right? I haven't actually gotten to mine ice yet.

Could you throw the ice into a chamber and let it melt into useable water? Sounds unlikely.

You get flowing, useful water when an ice wall melts, but not when ice chunks (ice as a stone) produced by mining melt.

Yes, but it has to be natural ice wall. Builded ones never melt.

[NecroRebel]

Correct me if I am wrong, but you could just build a cistern around a chunk of ice, right? The ice would then be indoors.

It doesn't matter whether or not the ice is indoors, it matters whether or not it's above ground. And nothing can change a tile from above ground to not except perhaps hacking, and I don't know of any hacking tools that accomplish that task in 31.x anyway.

[blue sam3]

You have water, just go down some.

[proxn_punkd]

You have water, just go down some.

Quoted for truth. Caverns can be a hassle once the wildlife notices your dorfs moving in, but they do have useable water year-round because they're so far down, and muddy floors to grow 'shrooms on.