Moonsyrups - 20 Early Autumn by Noble Digger

DF Map Archive:

Points of Interest

Δ 59. 08. Burial Site
Death came to Moonsyrups like Jehovah's Witnesses: Repeatedly, unexpectedly, unwelcome. To the left are small burial nooks where deceased pets rest. In the large cavern are the bones of the infamous Giant Bat that murdered Ashe the Gilded Edge, the beloved expedition leader and legendary metalcrafter and miner. The tomb above this cavern is the highest point on the mountain, originally designed to serve as the King's tomb (should he ever die) however, the disgrace surrounding the King's death prompted me to assign this tomb to Ashe instead.

To the right are the burial chambers of the three founding members of Rhombus Legion, who dove bravely into the volcano to wrestle Fire Imps when their single Batman Bone Bolt proved insufficient to kill them. A number of dwarves have died of attacks, fallen into the volcano, tripped and fallen down the magmazines, etc.

A second founding dwarf to die, Chere the True Woodsman (female, incidentally) is buried a few levels down from here to the lower right, in another rock pinnacle tomb. - Noble Digger
Δ 54. 09. Pond Drill Shaft
I knew approximately where to find the underground pond from the survey report I obtained before embarking here, but with such a huge mountain in the way, I had no idea at what depth I might find it. I picked a happy-looking spot and drilled straight down into the mountain, eventually piercing a dry, sand-filled cavern devoid of water.

While I suspect there is water and wildlife beneath this layer of sand, I dare not puncture it until the chasm sewage system is in place and pumps are constructed to refill the pond in case of its drainage. My long-term plan is to use the pond as a reservoir, perhaps even involving excavation of its ceiling high into the mountain above.

Tunnels for water delivery, drainage, etc. are all in place deep below, and the sewage system at the chasm connects to the magmazine complex and the central areas of the fortress. - Noble Digger
Δ 40. 12. Pond Cavern
Upon piercing the ceiling of the pond from above, I found only sand! There's probably water below, but I have BIG plans for this feature so I'm leaving it alone until all the works are finished up. You can see the drainage pipe to the south and the pump access ramps to the east. Five pillar blocks inside the pond room will be barred up and punctured to allow water and fish (but not creatures) to pass between the reservoir and the pool below it.

The water drains east out a crack in the mountain which, conveniently, opens directly onto the center of the chasm, making it an excellent drain. Just for cool points I built a bridge across the chasm underneath the path of this water and it's mostly constructed of grates, so it should serve as a mist generator while draining.

The ramps go deep, deep down to the underground river and actually cross the chasm via a bridge, after which they become the sewer that connects all the fortress underworks. (See POI 13) - Noble Digger
Δ 37. 02. Chasm Opening
There were once 6+ GCS lingering around this opening. They either froze to death or were killed by other creatures while my founding dwarves hustled to get their shit indoors, but their enormous webs will remain forever as a testament to their legacy since nothing can reach them. - Noble Digger
Δ 36. 10. King's Gate, Great Cliff
As efforts to isolate the mountain slopes from the ground moved forward, I realized that the northern extent of the mountain was connected to the edge of the map. It had to go, pure and simple. Thus began an enormous labor sink and the seeds of a tragedy took root.

The initial plan, which I began immediately, was to simply destroy a thin strip of the mountain, leaving all slopes connected to the edge of the map disconnected from my mountain. This, I completed successfully, and around then a miner struck a 2x1 vein of Adamantine in the deepest bedrooms. The King hastened to the side, and arrived at the far northern edge, isolated from the map and stranded on the cliffs with 7 or 8 mountain goats.

The king lingered disinterestedly out of range of the goats' fury, never moving, even after I killed all the goats and built a great system of bridges to ensure nobody would be in danger of falling when traveling from the separated cliff down to the ground. I even connected the cliffs to a massive system of ramparts, stairs, fortifications, hallways, and turrets looking out on the cliff so that soldiers could safely shoot at goats romping the great cliff.

Despite all these efforts, the king's obstinate bitterness precluded his leaving the area and eventually goats kicked him off the cliff to his death. Muttering to myself, I quickly disabled the coffin in the tomb I'd prepared for him, and enabled one in the common burial area instead. This marvelous tomb was no place for such a weenie.

The great cliff's rampart occupies the entire northern face of my mountain and is innervated by stairways. Fortifications give marksdwarves a clear shot at the bridges across the cliff (and thus any invaders) and the King's Gate can be raised to prevent access to the rampart from the upper cliff.

At the base of the Great Cliff is a long hallway bored through the rock which reaches the other end of the mountain, crossing the chasm and connecting to a large natural-looking tunnel that zigzags through the heart of the mountain back to the Old Fortress. (See POI 15) - Noble Digger
Δ 30. 05. Geofront
Hand-carved using the ramp tool, this huge missing chunk of the mountain will eventually work like a geo-front, containing numerous bedrooms and offices. I'm just finishing clearing out all the furniture that was being stored below and preparing to crush the hollow ceiling which covers up the cavern that used to be the entire fortress.

Directly at the cursor is a goblin whose party attacked the work site a few layers before the cliff's completion. The ground was ramped out from under him while unconscious and so he remains airborne for all eternity unless I decide to rescue him.

Alongside work on this project, I also de-ramped the entire mountain so access to the slopes is only possible via the front gates of the fortress. Since the mountain extends slightly to the north of my visible map, I had to undertake a MASSIVE earthmoving project to do this properly, and created a second megaconstruction in the process. (See POI 10) - Noble Digger
Δ 27. 07. Castle Loft, Rooftop, Meeting Area
Used to store masterwork and exceptional metal weapons and armor. Note the black bronze and silver weaponry, which I have modded to use as training equipment or ceremonial weaponry. They do crap damage!

Above is the refuse stockpile, butchery, and tanning workshops, and a small bridge connecting to the remaining rock plateau below the geo-front, which is soon to be removed.

Below is the fortress lobby, an ice-based area containing the trade depot and a separate path to the kitchen, and a hole leading down to the prepared food stockpile.

South of the POI, perched atop the outer wall, is the meeting area. It's outdoors and at its center is the famed Black Diamond Statue idolized by all glacier-goers.

Each and every castle turret around the outer wall has been used to kill one or more flying creatures that was harassing the fortress. - Noble Digger
¶ 26. 01. Entrance, Defensive Wall, Furniture Yard, Moat, Gate
When I arrived here, the western slope of the mountain which had given way in huge cracks and set free a cluster of Giant Cave Spiders from the depths was draped in thick, ropey webs. (See POI 02)

It was necessary to get my dwarves and my things underground and behind a secure drawbridge as fast as possible, for in addition to the spiders, over six dozen flying creatures had also begun to trickle out from the chasm opening. (See POI 03)

I saw what looked like a nice, rounded corner at the very edge of the glacier and dug a small, 5-tile-wide entrance to serve as a protected trade and storage area. The last vestiges of this arrival burrow are seen in the upper left of this POI; the sandy area and surrounding flat space was once the entirety of the fortress. The three alunite grates mark what was once the only entrance to the deeper areas of the fort: three ramps leading into the sandy kitchen cavern. (See POI 04)

As the dwarves grew needy for space and wary of possible goblin incursions from the mountains overlooking their entryway on the glacier, I chose to smash away a large corner from the mountain to the upper left of the fortress entrance, making a flat and inaccessible area upon which to store furniture and to stage efforts to render the mountain slopes inaccessible to invaders. (See POI 05)

Three gray ramps just inside the fortress walls (look behind the row of 5 statues) lead down into the moat, which is currently dry and used to store junk crafted items while they await atom-smashing, so they don't clog up the workshops. (See POI 06)

The enormous gray castle sitting on the ice is still being added onto. I love the statues, ramparts, fortifications, and general stone-ish-ness of this manner of castle so it will probably end up a bit thicker and higher. Refuse, butchery, and tanning are managed on the rooftop while a number of weapons and armor are kept in the loft above the ramps that lead down into the fort behind the twin drawbridges. (See POI 07) - Noble Digger
Δ 26. 03. Chasm Terminus
Just to the north of where I started to build the fortress, a massive open section of the chasm, which swarmed with Batmen and Giant Cave Swallows as numerous as bees. These have killed a number of dwarves and pets, as evidenced by the growing burial site. (See POI 08) - Noble Digger
Δ 26. 04. Old Fortress
This small, barren area was once the entire world to the 7 dwarves that bravely colonized this dangerous place. Once they trucked all their gear into the small cavern and set up a temporary depot outside, a drawbridge was quickly built and raised to protect against attacks. It was not lowered again until the caravan arrived and cleared the area outside.

The castle which now stands is partially constructed and partially made up of the native rock face which was changed and hollowed out early on; A thin wall remains at left which is partly glacier and partly basalt.

The three white grates cover up the old ramp leading down into the kitchen, and the sandy area was once used for very small-scale farming. It has since been colonized by tower-cap spores carried on the wind from the underground pond high above. (See POI 09) - Noble Digger
Δ 26. 15. Somewhat-deep Roads
Useful access pathways I dug to facilitate stone retrieval and work in general in the back half of the map. The winding, natural-shaped tunnel is going to be expanded and will have several waterfalls piped from the reservoir above.

Spiders are becoming a huge infestation lately, I don't need them and I really wish my cats would fuck more and explore all these dark passages and eat them. - Noble Digger
Δ 25. 06. Moat, Glacier Access
Yes, it's a moat almost entirely carved out of ice. I plan to fill it with magma for the delicious irony of the fact that it'll work perfectly. Since the moat is still years from being used, I set up a stockpile here which accepts all non-masterwork, non-artifact, non-metal objects which I don't want to keep. Then it's a simple matter to dump them from here into the trash compactor in the upstairs yard. This may seem like a lot of extra hauling, but lots of dwarves idle here anyway and this keeps the workshops uncluttered while dwarves skill up.

A lone Hoary Marmot on a leash stands sentry over the exit to the south, which is currently used by dwarves working on the exterior portions of the wind power plants below. (See POI 11) - Noble Digger
Δ 25. 19. Fertile Earth
How lucky to have an enormous plot of underground soil just waiting to be carved out! I planned this room around the patch of soil and the rest of the fort followed. 10x10 plots, one for each type of plant.

The fortress' main stone dump is there in the center, by the twelve staircases. You can see the trade depot and fortress lobby to the west, and the smoothed path into the vaulted-ceiling dining hall. Staircases in the farm plot rooms lead down to various workshops, though these are not the only paths down. - Noble Digger
Δ 24. 18. Dining Hall
Not the sexiest dining room I've ever made, but considering how I created it and that it was originally just a lobby for the bedroom burrows, I think it serves alright.

Confusing? The ramps against the center, smoothed wall lead up to the kitchen area. Tables and chairs of alunite and basalt are placed here and there; this is a small fortress, after all. Many staff worked together to engrave the dining room. The variety of their creations is not...exceptional. Many dwarves surrounded by dwarves. A few masterwork "Dwarf is striking down the Batman, Batman is making a plaintive gesture" marvels are here and there.

The levers may or may not actually control anything anymore, though I suspect they relate to the drawbridges. - Noble Digger
Δ 24. 24. Archery Annex
How awesome! This was exported while a dwarf was practicing at the archery range. This back area was kept locked down (via the three drawbridges) most of the time in the past, but as the chasm population has dwindled i've found that it's okay to leave it open. This annex connects the raw plant stockpile (east) with the Ore Dump and the Vault (ramps to the north) and the Trade Depot and Lobby (stairs up) which has saved the dwarves immense time when trading.

Far to the east is the cloth and leather workshop; simple and efficient, and below it is a large loom complex and cloth stockpile.

Northeast are all the regular workshops for the kitchen and craftsmanses. - Noble Digger
Δ 23. 20. Smithy
Aww yeah. You ain't a dwarf until you got one of these. For now it's strictly coal-and-wood, but god damn if this fortress doesn't shit metal products. In the upper left is a massive magazine which stores charcoal, ash, and other potentially-explosive materials. Later on the small depression below this magazine will be filled with shallow water to reduce the risk of fires even further, and to cut down on dwarves tracking dust back out of there. All the doors are iron and the room is 100.00% natural-cut basalt.

To the right of that, my future magma forge, also 100.00% basalt. The piping below is simply awaiting iron parts to build its pumps and power system.

Iron and Steel products are kept in the center magazine as they're used most often, while other bars are kept in the big oval rooms. The large stockpiles filled with crap accept any non-exceptional, non-masterwork, non-artifact metal goods, where I can pick and choose what to melt down.

The standard forges are above, up the ramps in the center magazine. - Noble Digger
Δ 22. 11. Upper Windworks
Windmills, gears, and axles. The arctic wind generates enough power to drive the system's components with plenty left over to dredge magma up from the depths. A second plant is under construction to service a much deeper magma pumping system, and it's likely that a few more pumps and power plants will be built in the west to serve the river and reservoir. - Noble Digger
Δ 22. 21. Central Housing
A large number of isolated bedroom and office complexes. Nobody really has offices yet except the founders, who occupy the Deep Bedrooms. - Noble Digger
Δ 22. 22. Ore Dump
All the ore and coal, lignite, etc. end up here. I need more space for this stuff, or more dwarves skilled enough to make use of it. To the lower left is the small hallway that leads to the underworks, it's a cool little winding pathway. East is the woodworks, and you can see I'm low on wood. - Noble Digger
Δ 21. 23. Vault
Not quite a vault yet; I want to have golden quadruple-doors before I call it a vault. But it's a series of cool rooms where gems, coins (don't have any yet), masterworks (a level below) and adamantine (ice room at south) are kept safe from Dikis and his kobold pals.

The huge indoor furniture stockpile is to the east. - Noble Digger
Δ 20. 17. Deep Bedrooms
The founders and favored dwarves live down here. I accidentally discovered shreds of adamantine here, which ultimately got my King killed (see POI 10) but overall I'm happy with how they turned out. The offices all belong to the fortress managerial staff, as you might expect, though the Expedition Leader doesn't ever use his.

Final design and decorating awaits production of masterworks and decisions on what I want to do as far as engraving. In a small chamber just above, up the ramp, all the fortress' Artifacts are stored and forbidden unless I want them to be used. NEVER AGAIN will I let an Artifact get stuck inside a bin. NEVER. - Noble Digger
Δ 19. 16. Magmazine Temple
Large, mechanical, unnecessarily complicated. Check, check, check. This series of 12 5x5 round shafts reach all the way to the bottom of the map. All of these levers are currently hooked up to floodgates which allow me to control individual tubes. It won't be clear how this works until I add another 500000 magma pumps and get it running!

The area to the north with the Siege Workshop is the secondary magmazine; it can only be filled once the primary (to the south) is already full. Each successive tank is filled up when the previous tank overflows, allowing magma to cross horizontally to the next tank. An absolute mess of pump shafts, access ways, and iron grates, doors, floodgates, and bars are installed in each shaft and all the stone was dumped out onto tiles in the magmazine lobbies.

A lot of work is still to be done, but I have everything straight in my head as far as how this will all work. My one major fear is my poor understanding of pressure and how fortresses get destroyed by irresponsible pumping. Some trial and error will be needed. - Noble Digger
Δ 19. 25. Cave River Dam Temple
This room served as a switchhouse for the support-destroying lever that eventually collapsed the 1x5x2 stone block which dammed the river.

Down below 3 levels is the river, now partially dry, and below that is another small temple made up of 5 circles which prevents anyone from being swept downriver into the chasm (particularly river creatures, which I'd like to tame or enslave) - Noble Digger
Δ 18. 14. Lower Windworks
I like this one more, as it's made up of winding pathways (get it?) carved directly into the ice. The windmills haven't been attached yet, and the construction on the magma pumps deep below is still in its infancy as I'm short on iron.

All gears are made of iron (3 iron bars = iron mechanisms) and all axles are Tower-Cap. - Noble Digger
Δ 17. 13. Fortress Underworks Sewer
A thick rock channel attached to the cave pond, cave river, volcano, and fortress depths. I haven't finished the planning phase for this but a lot of it is already functional. Its main use right now is for fast travel to these deep underground projects!

Look down one level to see the pipe connected to the volcano underworks and magmazine and go east alone the 2-unit-wide hallway to reach the fortress. The river and its attached structures are west, below. - Noble Digger

Related Maps:

Moonsyrups

30 Mid Spring
24 Late Autumn
20 Early Autumn [R]

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Map details:

Fortress Name: Moonsyrups
Map Year: 20 Early Autumn
Author: Noble Digger
Submitted by: Noble Digger
Date Added: 11/01/2010

Submitted by: Silfurdreki - 2010-01-14 to 20 Early Autumn

Holy huge embark Batman!

What FPS do you get? I'm seriously impressed by you CPU if you get good FPS on this map.

Really cool map, though, I really like the winding tunnel from the cliff face to the glacierside castle.

Submitted by: Noble Digger - 2010-01-14 to 20 Early Autumn

You know, this fortress was intended to be my "final DF40 fortress blowout" before Toady finishes the next release... I chose this large embark thinking I'd dick around a bit but it ended up getting good FPS. I have an Intel Core 2 Duo with 2 gigs of ram and it runs smoothly at 35+, slowing into the low 20s when dumping is going on. I haven't started moving liquids at all, which is going to CHOKE it.

The fort is playable despite its size because most of that size isn't being used for anything. :D

Submitted by: ajr_ - 2010-03-09 to 30 Mid Spring

Absolutely fabulous

Submitted by: Demonic Spoon - 2010-03-09 to 30 Mid Spring

Awesome, awe-inspiring fortress.