I'm using d13. Seems to work fine, aside from the mouse being worthless (not really, but annoying rather than helpful).
The method for deep excavation depends on the desired outcome. Ramps are good for access and shaping, but since I wanted the dirt and a high aspect (not constantly sloping wall), I let my laptop crunch through the cave in calculations after mining out layers and then doing a +1 radius channel around the edge. Of course, I used a support hooked up to a lever.
I believe I was able to do the big drop in five years from embark. Cleanup is ongoing, though.
The design was pretty much:
1. Find the center. You can see the marks at the bottom of the map, around the royal tomb, where I was counting out the distance.
2. Create the lake template. It was at this point that I realized I could just designate the start of a dig block (I mean, the flashing plus sign), go to the other corner, and then go up/down a z-level to copy the design from layer to layer. If I'd tried that with ramps, it would have been a real mess.
3. Let the dwarves go from the embark shaft and dig it out. Since I'd designated the whole area at once, this meant just finding other things to do for a year or two.
4. Build and link the support, then dig the channel around the outside edge.
5. PULL THE LEVER (from a safe walled-off and forbidden doored distance).
6. Go get something to eat/drink/grab a book to read/play another game while the calculations grind through.
Pretty simple to do, but definitely time-consuming.
I'm not too happy, either; I tried planning things out, but the magma pipe got in the way, so I had to compensate. It's easy to mass-copy circles/ovoids, but the more complex geometries are brutal. Also, I ran into problems with the edge of the map limiting walls, and didn't want to completely redesign everything.
I only found out about the farming problems because I'd just started transferring my food production lines out of the topsoil as part of the transition to the permanent fortress. There's a lot of temporary scaffolding, and the tree-level wall was built in one season after a siege, before I'd dug out the larger section. I'll also be removing the current entrance and barracks once I get those areas set up.
And would you believe that I've only "lost" 2 dwarves? One of them was the countess consort, who demanded dragonscale items. The other was a tax collector hung up on crystal glass. There may have been a kidnapped child, but I don't think they count.
Submitted: 2009-11-19 (View map)
I'm using d13. Seems to work fine, aside from the mouse being worthless (not really, but annoying rather than helpful).
The method for deep excavation depends on the desired outcome. Ramps are good for access and shaping, but since I wanted the dirt and a high aspect (not constantly sloping wall), I let my laptop crunch through the cave in calculations after mining out layers and then doing a +1 radius channel around the edge. Of course, I used a support hooked up to a lever.
I believe I was able to do the big drop in five years from embark. Cleanup is ongoing, though.
The design was pretty much:
1. Find the center. You can see the marks at the bottom of the map, around the royal tomb, where I was counting out the distance.
2. Create the lake template. It was at this point that I realized I could just designate the start of a dig block (I mean, the flashing plus sign), go to the other corner, and then go up/down a z-level to copy the design from layer to layer. If I'd tried that with ramps, it would have been a real mess.
3. Let the dwarves go from the embark shaft and dig it out. Since I'd designated the whole area at once, this meant just finding other things to do for a year or two.
4. Build and link the support, then dig the channel around the outside edge.
5. PULL THE LEVER (from a safe walled-off and forbidden doored distance).
6. Go get something to eat/drink/grab a book to read/play another game while the calculations grind through.
Pretty simple to do, but definitely time-consuming.
Submitted: 2009-11-19 (View map)
Thanks.
I'm not too happy, either; I tried planning things out, but the magma pipe got in the way, so I had to compensate. It's easy to mass-copy circles/ovoids, but the more complex geometries are brutal. Also, I ran into problems with the edge of the map limiting walls, and didn't want to completely redesign everything.
I only found out about the farming problems because I'd just started transferring my food production lines out of the topsoil as part of the transition to the permanent fortress. There's a lot of temporary scaffolding, and the tree-level wall was built in one season after a siege, before I'd dug out the larger section. I'll also be removing the current entrance and barracks once I get those areas set up.
And would you believe that I've only "lost" 2 dwarves? One of them was the countess consort, who demanded dragonscale items. The other was a tax collector hung up on crystal glass. There may have been a kidnapped child, but I don't think they count.
[Message edited on 2009/11/19 at 04:56 by Shrike]
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