Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: [1] 2

Author Topic: How tall is a Z-level  (Read 10542 times)

Nitrousoxide

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
How tall is a Z-level
« on: March 21, 2009, 11:47:46 pm »

I'm wondering because I'm starting a new fortress and I want giant 40-60 foot pillars lining the entrance to my mountain home, but I can't be sure of how many Z levels these need to span in order to really be that tall.

Here's an idea of how it will look at the base level.


That entrance hall will be copied over each z-level until I reach the hight I'm looking for.  I'll engrave all of the walls on each z-level before finally channeling out all of the floors except for the bottom.   All of that stuff behind the entrance hall will be space for defenders to fire from in the event of a siege.  My drawbridge to completely seperate my fortress from the outside world will be inside of the fort itself so as to not mar the appearance of my entryway.
« Last Edit: March 21, 2009, 11:49:59 pm by Nitrousoxide »
Logged

Jim Groovester

  • Bay Watcher
  • 1P
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2009, 11:54:02 pm »

It's anyone's guess. I sort of imagine them as about as tall as each story on a skyscraper, so ten to twelve feet, I suppose.

But really, use as many z-levels as it takes to make you feel satisfied about its height. If that's twenty z-levels, then make it twenty z-levels tall.
Logged
I understood nothing, contributed nothing, but still got to win, so good game everybody else.

Scruga

  • Bay Watcher
  • Urist McDwarf cancels eat: Interupted by goat
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2009, 01:04:18 am »

That's a lot of stone ::)
Logged
New question! If I were to remove elves [INTELLIGENT] tag in the raws, would it work?
Dwarf Fortress: Where taking a creatures intelligence is an accepted way of modding.

inaluct

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2009, 01:12:06 am »

A z-level is tall as your I M A G I N A T I O N
Logged

SHAD0Wdump

  • Bay Watcher
  • Hiding in SPAAACE!!!
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2009, 06:05:00 am »

Especially due to the fact any megabeast,no matter how large its name suggests,will fit on a z-level.
Logged

martinuzz

  • Bay Watcher
  • High dwarf
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #5 on: March 22, 2009, 06:16:04 am »

When we assume the blocks in the game are square, your height is pretty small, seen that 2 dwarves cannot pass through a 1-wide corridor at the same time, meaning the corridor is less wide than 2 dwarves are fat.
However, it is also very, and probably infinitly large, seen the herds of elephants you can squeeze into 1 tile..
Logged
Friendly and polite reminder for optimists: Hope is a finite resource

We can ­disagree and still love each other, ­unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist - James Baldwin

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=73719.msg1830479#msg1830479

LegoLord

  • Bay Watcher
  • Can you see it now?
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2009, 07:00:04 am »

When we assume the blocks in the game are square, your height is pretty small, seen that 2 dwarves cannot pass through a 1-wide corridor at the same time, meaning the corridor is less wide than 2 dwarves are fat.
Wrong.  An infinite number of any creature will fit into a one tile wide passage, and can indeed pass through it.  They just prefer not to and it slows them down.
Logged
"Oh look there is a dragon my clothes might burn let me take them off and only wear steel plate."
And this is how tinned food was invented.
Alternately: The Brick Testament. It's a really fun look at what the bible would look like if interpreted literally. With Legos.
Just so I remember

Nitrousoxide

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #7 on: March 22, 2009, 07:42:15 am »

That's a lot of stone ::)

I like my entrances to be giant and imposing.  Even if it takes a year for my initial 7 to dig out, dammit, they'll spend that year in the rain.
Logged

Duke 2.0

  • Bay Watcher
  • [CONQUISTADOR:BIRD]
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #8 on: March 22, 2009, 08:08:58 am »

 A tile is small enough that two kittens walking through one will force one to crawl over the other, and large enough for titans to rampage through.
Logged
Buck up friendo, we're all on the level here.
I would bet money Andrew has edited things retroactively, except I can't prove anything because it was edited retroactively.
MIERDO MILLAS DE VIBORAS FURIOSAS PARA ESTRANGULARTE MUERTO

Scruga

  • Bay Watcher
  • Urist McDwarf cancels eat: Interupted by goat
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #9 on: March 22, 2009, 08:24:00 am »

That's a lot of stone ::)

I like my entrances to be giant and imposing.  Even if it takes a year for my initial 7 to dig out, dammit, they'll spend that year in the rain.

I allways build a huge gatehouse from all the stones i've got by carving ou their bedrooms  :P
My dwarves have beds ;D
Logged
New question! If I were to remove elves [INTELLIGENT] tag in the raws, would it work?
Dwarf Fortress: Where taking a creatures intelligence is an accepted way of modding.

Kagus

  • Bay Watcher
  • Olive oil. Don't you?
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #10 on: March 22, 2009, 08:41:00 am »

A Z-level is roughly as tall as two tiles are wide.

When you're dealing with DF dimensions, you can really only measure it against itself.

Tormy

  • Bay Watcher
  • I shall not pass?
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #11 on: March 22, 2009, 08:55:03 am »

When we assume the blocks in the game are square, your height is pretty small, seen that 2 dwarves cannot pass through a 1-wide corridor at the same time, meaning the corridor is less wide than 2 dwarves are fat.
Wrong.  An infinite number of any creature will fit into a one tile wide passage, and can indeed pass through it.  They just prefer not to and it slows them down.

Correct. 1 tile / 1 z-level has no real size as it is now...they are infinite big basically. Yeah it makes no sense, but I am pretty sure that Toady will make the necessary changes in the future.
Logged

Exponent

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #12 on: March 22, 2009, 09:00:11 am »

A suggestion on the digging:  Instead of digging normal floors, and then channeling them when you're done engraving, build up stairs on the lowest level, and up/down stairs on all levels above.  Once engraving is done, mark the highest level stairs for channeling.  Once that level is done, do the same for the level below.  Finally, remove stairs/ramps on the lowest level.  You won't need to worry about dwarves getting themselves stuck this way, nor will you have to micromanage the channeling on each level.
Logged

Chromie

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #13 on: March 22, 2009, 02:58:57 pm »

As far as building goes, I sort of imagine the xyz plane as a cube. So for pillars I'd worry most about their proportions (do they look too squatty etc) than what "real" height they translate into.
Logged

Danarca

  • Bay Watcher
  • [MILL_CHILD:ONLY_IF_GOOD_REASON]
    • View Profile
Re: How tall is a Z-level
« Reply #14 on: March 22, 2009, 03:05:15 pm »

IIRC someone a while back made some math based on water and whatnot and got 1 z-levels height to 2.5 foot or something like that..
Logged
Clutter god the god of godly gods.
Om Nom nom nom nom
Ah yes the god of stone stockpiles, long randomly generated names, and gods.
Pages: [1] 2