Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[oldark]

I embarked with a freshwater lake filling the top 2/3s of the embark zone. My goal is to build a constructed tower in the center of the lake and run my entire fortress from it once its completed. The problem I'm having is that I want the tower to have direct access to the earth beneath the lake as well (for stone/magma ect) and I've not been able to find a way to make a dry area in the center.

There's no aquifer below so draining a part of it and fast building walls isn't working. And I also tried to collapse a bunch of constructed walls and floors but they all deconstruct. Anyone have an idea on how to make this work? Thanks!

[cvar]

Have you tried pumps?  I remember that as being an aquifer clearing trick and should work for this as well.  You'll probably need a ton of them though.

[oldark]

I was thinking of giving them a shot but I wanted to empty out a 2 z-level deep cube about 20x20. Not sure if even lining it with pumps would have enough draw power to dry that with the rest of the lake pouring in (its on a map edge so infinite water right?) Also I've never used much power production before. What would be the best way of keeping that many pumps going?

[oldark]

Update: (sorry if there's an edit button I failed to see)
Was looking through this thread
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=75780.0
and it looks like something I might could use. How do I use the map edge to act as an infinite drain?

[MagmaMcFry]

How do I use the map edge to act as an infinite drain?

Pump your water off the edge of the map, simple as that.

Also, you can't pump out square sections out of the middle of a lake without draining the whole lake, because when you start pumping out the second z-level water pressure starts to kick in and floods your second z-level with all the water left on the first z-level. You have to pump water away as close to edge-of-map as possible.

[oldark]

I just tried test placing a few pumps and it seems you can't pump off the map edges any longer. I get an error "too close to edge" if I try to place one within 5 tiles of the edge. Looking at trying to drain a section of lake into the caverns maybe resulting in a dry spot in the middle. 
                           ~~~~
                           ~....~
                           ~.X..~
                           ~....~
                           ~~~~    with 'X' being the island I want to build on, ~ being water, and . being the area to channel into the caves.

[Spish]

I don't see how pumping it dry would ever work. If the lake is connected to the edge of the map (which I'm assuming it is because lakes are hueg), it'll just quickly flow back in.

Magma is the key. Build a magma tower and pump it onto the spot you want to build your fortress; the magma will dry and cave-in (which, unlike constructed rock, will not break down), eventually creating an island of obsidian. Then you can dig through so as to connect your water fortress to the caverns below.
...
Granted I've never actually done this because it would take way too much effort, but I'm pretty sure it'll work.

It's much easier to just embark on a temperate lake and mine it out during winter.

[Sphalerite]

How do I use the map edge to act as an infinite drain?

Dig a tunnel underground the lake to within 1 tile of the edge.  You won't be able to dig out the last tile at the map edge.  Instead, smooth it, then carve fortifications in the smoothed edge wall.  That is your map-edge drain - any water that reaches those fortifications will drain off the map.

Now build a way to shut if off.  Either a raising drawbridge that completely blocks the tunnel, or a row of floodgates.  Connect them to a lever somewhere in your fortress.

Finally connect the tunnel to the lake.  You can do this by digging upwards from the tunnel, if you don't mind probably drowning the miner, or collapse a constructed floor from above to punch through the floor of the lake.

[Dwarfus]

@Sphalerite: Clever.

[Wannazzaki]

Would suggesting trapping magma crabs in there to boil it be redundant?

[Bloxace]

Would suggesting trapping magma crabs in there to boil it be redundant?

It would be dwarfy.

[Loud Whispers]

Nuclear coal bin.

[oldark]

Well I'm going for the tunnel through fortifications method right now, already started digging a path for pump stack to bring up magma if that fails. Problem is I was so focussed on it that I forgot that sometimes things seige you.  Last two dwarves are hiding in a corner tantruming at each other with all their limbs broken while the seigers run around. Looks like I'll reclaim and try to continue where I left off in a few minutes. Thanks for the advice all!

[Dalkar]

I think you can turn off invaders through the init files if you want to embark on your project uninterrupted.

[Triaxx2]

If you connect to the lake by carving a fortification, that should save the miner.

Personally I like to pump up over the top of the edge of the lake. Less hazardous to your miners, a bit less dwarfy than mining out the side of the lake.