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[Ledi]

Hi all, Ledi back again with a silly idea to crash her computer again!

I found a .18 embark which included a volcano and lake in a 3x3 (I tried a major river before but the moving water killed my frame rate). I've had the... idea... of flattening the area and building above ground as it really is a pretty area and I've themed the dwarves after some characters which live above ground - I want to somewhat recreate their city. This requires removing quite a large mountainous area.

The two ways I've thought of are

a) channeling out the mountain level by level, starting at the top (channels or upward ramps)
b) channeling the ground layer out, with one support linked to a lever, then pull the lever.

Option b seems a lot faster, and as I have one pick and my miner has no skill (part of the challenge) the way to go - if my computer can handle the collapse.

My question is - how exactly do I go about setting up this scenario (if it is indeed possible). I'm sure people have done it before, and a step-by-step walkthrough of it would be awesome.

The only downside to this is that it'll remove all my trees... will trees grow on muddied rock (ie if I flooded the area after flattening it) or would I have to step down into the caverns for wood?

[Nekudotayim]

1. Dig away the entire area on the z-level, you want to flatten it down.
2. Build a support there and connect it to a lever.
3. Channeling away the corners could be dangerous, if assigned to multiple miners or even one. Maybe channel away one hole from the top to the bottom, then another hole and again and again. That way only one miner will do the job and finish it, cuz there will be no exit.

If there is rain in your area, grass and trees will grow there again.

[Girlinhat]

The problem is, this won't work.  A natural wall will drop solid, instead of deconstructing into junk.  So, when you cave-in the mountain, you'll just have a mountain 1 Z lower.

Use [SPEED:0] then turn invasion off.  Set your miner to Dig (not channel, he's stupid and will kill himself) the entire mountain, every layer.  Then go have dinner.  By the time you come back, it'll be smooth as a dwarven baby's beard.  Turn invasions off for added benefit, and embark with plenty of food (you have a lake, no need for booze!).

[Naros]

Mind that natural soil or rock does not 'deconstruct' if you drop it.

[Ledi]

Yargh. >.<

See, this is why I ask before dropping a mountain. XD

...look's like it's digging time!

Digging will definitely work, and I won't just have a mountain that is full of hollow layers with a very thin ceiling and floor?

[Girlinhat]

Mine the whole thing out, THEN cave it in.  Floors, natural or constructed, break when something caves in on them.  So, when the mountain is turned into a series of stacked disks, you crash it down, and end up with the top-most disk sitting on the ground, and nothing else.  This will also get rid of all that pesky stone in the process, since anything under a cave-in is destroyed.  Just have a few stockpiles for good metal ores and gems, because any digging of that size will turn up at least something valuable.

[NecroRebel]

If you follow Girlinhat's method to the letter, you'll have a mountain that is full of hollow layers with thin ceilings and floors in the best case, or a smashed miner in the worst case. Probably the latter. If, instead, you mine a row of up/down stairs through to the top of the mountain before digging everything out, you'll surely have a mountain of hollow layers with thin ceilings and floors, without (much) danger of a smashed miner. You can then build a support beneath the lowest level, remove the bottommost staircase, link the support to a lever, get everyone out of the way, then pull the lever. This will result in the floors left by the mining atomsmashing each other while you're left with just the single-tile staircase to channel out, level by level.

Designating the uppermost level for channeling (after removing trees) will be completely safe if you haven't hollowed out the mountain at all, but if you designate more than just the top level at once you'll have trouble. This approach won't leave floors behind, and ideally no collapses should occur.



Outdoor trees and shrubs don't grow on mud. If you drop soil from the top of the mountain with a cave-in, they'll sometimes grow on it, however.

[Ledi]

Ah, thankyou for the clarification!

... *grumbles about multiple z-level designations not working (or never existing, I'm not sure)*

I feel like I'm giving the volcano a very close haircut. XD My flat plain is going to have a chimney.

I may just go the safe route and start from the top, channeling level by level.

Edit: .... "Safer" meant that my miner got caught in a cave-in and dropped into the magma sea, taking the fort's only pick with him. XD Saaaaaavescum!