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[fritz04]

Not normally a FF7 Fanatic, but got an idea I wanted to try out on DF while watching my roommate play through the beginning of FF7.  Basically I want to construct an elevated city with sections supported by pillars rigged to collapse independently.  Since I've not really messed with obsidian casting yet either, I figured this would be a "fun" way to try and get into it.  The fort i'm working on is still quite aways from being able to start construction, only about a year into the fort so far. (stupid work eating up valuable playtime) 
Basic design idea (no where near final, just thoughts on what I want to do)  Basically each tier would be attached to a single pillar, with the pillars for the higher tiers going through open holes in the tier.  The tiers would encompass the entire map, divided into several quadrants (thinking 8, based around a solid center pillar, and each linked by bridges for movement from one to the next, with stair cases inside the pillars for movement from one tier to the next.  The end idea being able to drop the lower tiers, with the upper tiers still standing for later dropping.

Side View:
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Its going to be a pyramid shape, mainly because i want to construct the top point out of gold or something for king's chambers.  Maybe leave the bottom tier made out of wood or cheap stone so that dropping the nobles i house there won't be such a pain to rebuild.

For my design though, I had a few questions. 

1: i've read that constructed walls will deconstruct when they collapse.  If the structure is cast from obsidian, will it retain its shape or convert to rubble when it falls?

2: In a collapse, does the rubble destroy constructions that are not directly beneath it?  Ie, would dropping a lower tier cause the destruction of the pillars thar run through it?

3: if anyone managed to follow my brainstorming, would you recommend casting it from obsidian, or constructing it from obsidian blocks?

Random idea is random.

[darkflagrance]

Cast obsidian is treated like natural wall; it will not revert to stones upon collapse but retain its shape.

When a collapsing piece of terrain hits a construction, I believe it will immediately stop on top of it.

If you are collapsing it but don't want 100% casualties, casting is the better option.

[CapnUrist]

Anything dropped the way you're thinking cannot retain its shape (thus the frustration of constructing a dwarven submarine); if it's constructed, it will deconstruct into its constituent materials, while natural stone drops straight down, with any area above empty space falling down to the lowest possible point. To illustrate:

Code: [Select]

Constructed Room:
Before:
WWWWW
W...W
W...W
W...W
WWWWW

After:
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....(logs/stone/bars sitting on the ground)

Natural Rock:
Before:
WWWWW
W...W
W...W
W...W
WWWWW

After:
W...W
W...W
W...W
WWWWW
WWWWW
In either case, the falling material will destroy any floors between it and a solid wall, so if you have platforms overlapping above/below one another, I would suggest reinforcing the roofs with solid walls, not just floors; otherwise, you'll have the dwarves in the lower platform being rather rudely interrupted by someone else's scheduled punishment. The rubble will not destroy constructions that aren't below them, though, so a pillar that runs through a platform won't be affected by that platform's collapse.

The difference between casting the structure and constructing it is the time and complexity involved. I don't really bother with obsidian much myself, but if I were to do it I'd cast the structures directly as that will allow for engraving. It would be rather difficult and require a huge amount of planning, however.

[CapnUrist]

Cast obsidian is treated like natural wall; it will not revert to stones upon collapse but retain its shape.

When a collapsing piece of terrain hits a construction, I believe it will immediately stop on top of it.

If you are collapsing it but don't want 100% casualties, casting is the better option.

Either way, there will be lots of nasty dust and dwarves will get hurt, especially if they're in/on the platform while it falls.

[darkflagrance]

Incidentally, if you want to cast a large structure, it's probably better to cast a cuboidal block and then carve it rather than to cast in the shape of what you want to make immediately.