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[antymattar]

HOW DO YOU MAKE A DAMN ARENA!? I HAVE TOO MANY CAGES!!!

[ikkonoishi]

1 Build cages
2 hook to levers
3 pull levers
4
5 Fun!

[Omath Erius]

There isn't any special "arena" building, just make a sealable room, build all the cages in there, and hook them to levers to release on command.

[antymattar]

But when I try to hook them up to levers the lever says: "There is nothing to connect."

[Omath Erius]

Are the cages constructed as buildings, or just laying in a stockpile as items?

Are you absolutely sure you're selecting CAGES to be hooked up?

Do you have enough mechanisms? (You need two to make a connection, plus one to build the lever)

[Naryar]

Yeah, you must build the cage (b->j) in order for it to be linked to a lever.

[antymattar]

So what if I want to assign new creatures to the cages. They will escape!

[ElthMysterius]

Preferably, you build the cages that already have your prisoners inside. When selecting which cage to build, press 'x'. It'll give you a list.

[antymattar]

But that just waistes a crapload of mechanisms!

[PCpaste]

But that just waistes a crapload of mechanisms!

What? You do realise that mechanisms only take one rock to make, and it only takes three to link a lever to a cage? One for the lever, one for the lever's link, and one for the cage's link.

[monk12]

If mechanisms are a limited resource (above ground forts, for example) you can instead create a large room with several 1x1 rooms around it. Build doors blocking off access to the main room, and attach them to levers. On the zlvl above, create pits above those 1x1 prisoner cells. Then you can pit creatures into their cells, and release them in whatever order you want.

Many extra steps, but it allows you to save mechanisms because doors don't deconstruct when opened/closed. To reset any survivors, create a cage trap hallway outside the main room that leads to sweet freedom. Open the doors, and wait for the winner of the match to fall into another cage. You may also want to consider making one of the walls of the main room consist of fortifications, to give your marksdwarves some live fire practice.

[antymattar]

If mechanisms are a limited resource (above ground forts, for example) you can instead create a large room with several 1x1 rooms around it. Build doors blocking off access to the main room, and attach them to levers. On the zlvl above, create pits above those 1x1 prisoner cells. Then you can pit creatures into their cells, and release them in whatever order you want.

Many extra steps, but it allows you to save mechanisms because doors don't deconstruct when opened/closed. To reset any survivors, create a cage trap hallway outside the main room that leads to sweet freedom. Open the doors, and wait for the winner of the match to fall into another cage. You may also want to consider making one of the walls of the main room consist of fortifications, to give your marksdwarves some live fire practice.

If I wish to pit something then wouldn't t escape?

[monk12]

If mechanisms are a limited resource (above ground forts, for example) you can instead create a large room with several 1x1 rooms around it. Build doors blocking off access to the main room, and attach them to levers. On the zlvl above, create pits above those 1x1 prisoner cells. Then you can pit creatures into their cells, and release them in whatever order you want.

Many extra steps, but it allows you to save mechanisms because doors don't deconstruct when opened/closed. To reset any survivors, create a cage trap hallway outside the main room that leads to sweet freedom. Open the doors, and wait for the winner of the match to fall into another cage. You may also want to consider making one of the walls of the main room consist of fortifications, to give your marksdwarves some live fire practice.

If I wish to pit something then wouldn't t escape?

Depends what you're pitting. Goblin thieves will almost always escape once the dwarf opens the cage, so you should have your military on standby, or at least that extra layer of cage traps for insurance. Regular soldiers of any race will be pitted as though they were tame animals, although they may escape if the job gets interrupted for some reason. Hostile wildlife can be trickier, since the last I knew dwarves would attempt to flee the creature shortly after removing it from the cage. I THINK that if you first build the cage next to the pit, then the brief moment of confusion the animal experiences after being freed is sufficient for your dwarf to shove it in the pit.

You should build the cage near the pit anyway, in order to reduce the likelihood of escapes in any event. The method works best for handling soldiers- If your cages are full of wildlife, you are probably better off taming them. The safest method, in my experience, is to pit the soldiers and build the cages with dangerous wildlife in the main arena room, then release them from the cages via the previously mentioned lever method.

[Naryar]

That may be of interest to you

http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/DF2010:Stupid_dwarf_trick#Mass_Cage_Recycling_System

[monk12]

Oooh, that's a good idea. Saves a step from my plan. Think I'll incorporate it into my next fortress.