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[Hitty40]

So, I have all my walls up for my fortress, and I was thinking of doing another moat, but I might screw it up like last, and I want to build just a simple gate connected to a lever. Any suggestions?

[ashton1993]

A very short drawbridge

[Teneb]

Or, if you prefer to leave it vulnerable to building destroyers, floodgates.



Please don't quote the OP, especially when there are no other posts.

[Garath]

i usually make a gatehouse, instead of just a gate. it includes 2 bridges and some traps, plus a place for marksdwarfs to stand to do practice on life targets. A dog just outside usually gives enough warning to pull the lever, at the cost of its life. Oh well, i have more dogs

[Mickey Blue]

I sometimes use three floodgates next to one another all linked to a lever (or sometimes a few levers depending on fort size).  This way I have a proper gate to keep out most enemies but stronger ones can still get through creating a challenge.  These days I generally don't use a gate at all (leaving a 3 wide space just open, the rest can be walled) and I am starting to work more towards no walls.. What can I say.. I like hard mode.

That said, while there are no true 'gates' you can accomplish that goal with either floodgates linked to a lever or a drawbridge that is one tile wide linked to a lever.

[Triaxx2]

I like to have something a little nasty trapped between the gates, like magma, or water. Yes, I know water isn't nasty, but when it's being pumped in, and is thus under pressure...

[Garath]

my one tile wide drawbridge crushed more peasants than the bigger ones

[Starver]

How did you screw up your moat?  If it's through drowning, make it dry.  If you've found things can cross anyway, you may need to remove the inner ramps.

What I do for moats is:

Code: [Select]

Start:
____
####

2xChannel  or  1xChannel
_  _           _ __
#\/#           #V##

Remove         Undermine
inner          inner
ramp           side
_  _           _ __
#\_#           #\_#  <- both equally traversable (i.e. not!)

               Optionally
               channel
               overhang
               away
               _  _
               #\_#

Bearing in mind that drawbridges that don't set down on intervening land cannot accidentally crush anyone with the extended part of the bridge:

Code: [Select]


Down    Up

_---    _  |
#\_#    #\_#

...although if you've crushed people with a 1xN drawbridge, you might still be crushing them in this case (as well as flinging them around, if they're on the bridge you're raising).

Effort to make a lever-controlled bridge is, of course, Architect*materials needed (+ creation of blocks/bars, where relevent) to gather together, Mason/Carpenter/Metalworker spends time on construction itself, mechanic creating three mechanisms, mechanic constructing lever, mechanic attaching lever to bridge by other two mechanisms.

Effort to make a lever-controlled floodgate/door is Mason/Carpenter/Other for the furniture (+ creation of raw materials, as appropriate), unspecified dwarf for the emplacement, mechanisms+lever+linkage as above.

Doors default to passable (until linked to lever), floodgates default to impassable (until linked to lever and pulled).  Bridges are passable by default.  (Unless a non-raising one being used to cap a ramp, which is another possible entry-control method, being indestructible from below.)

Erm, I think I got all that right.  Still, experiment.  You know you want to.

[Garath]

I'm pretty sure he screwed his moat by forgetting part of the lower layer was already dug out. you can see it in the movie, water everywhere

[Starver]

I'm pretty sure he screwed his moat by forgetting part of the lower layer was already dug out. you can see it in the movie, water everywhere

Ah, I remember someone recently saying they'd made that mistake.  (All too easy to do by accident.  At least the first time, and possibly more!)  They were wanting to work out how to block/drain the water, IIRC.  Sorry, my memory for names isn't particularly good, if that was the OP of this thread.

In absence of a place to dig a moat (dry or otherwise) how about building one up with walls, ramps up onto the outer one and drawbridge swinging down from the upper level of the inner one.  (Again, make it reach, not cover, the outer part, to prevent crushing anyone standing there.  Unless you want to crush anyone standing there. )


Oh, and I'd go for either dry moats (to avoid amphibious enemies just swimming over), set your wet moat one level down from the top (so that the amphibious ones would have to climb, like out of a 1Z dry moat, which they can't yet do) or essentially do the same as the latter by lining the inside with a wall and raising drawbridge.  Depends on your terrain, resources and manpower, of course.