Bay 12 Games Forum

As many others here, I start my entire population training in Wrestling long before anything else.  I tend to have my entire citizenry on a one month per six month training rotation.  As quickly as I can, I equip them all with a helm just in case of accidents.  I add more armor over time until everyone is decked in at least iron.  Once I start noticing Proficient Wrestlers, only then do I give them a weapon.  Similarly, only once they are Proficient in Armor do I equip them with Shields.

As long as I've been doing this, I've never had a sparring accident.  Other than of course the Dodging/Teleporting through walls into open space and falling several z-levels.  That part sucks.

So I'm still unclear how or why you want pumps, but that part isn't actually important.  Let's just assume you have pressure to your satisfaction.

The exit:  Digging an exit to the map edge and carving a fortification is clearly optimal.  There are two types of flow, let's call them natural and artificial.  Natural flow is when water is connected to a map edge - such as an exit I've described or any river edge.  Any water on the same z-level as that map edge will have natural flow.  Natural flow is also consistently directional so water wheels don't falter when there's natural flow.  Artificial flow is harder to create and control - it comes from when water literally spills over from one tile to another.  Without natural flow, a water wheel sitting over three 7 deep tiles won't move or generate power.  You have to create a local imbalance in the water levels so that water spills from one side of the water wheel to the other.  Pumps at the end of your canal might achieve this, but you'll have to maintain some perfect balance of water levels gradually rising from the end to the beginning.  This is in fact the theory behind water reactor designs.

So again, my recommendation is to use natural flow with diagram B.  (And I still think you can forget the pumps).  It won't matter how you arrange water wheels then, everything will be powered.  If you insist on artificial flow, then you'll just need to experiment and constantly tweak the design.  You will likely need more like diagram A to keep water from rising to 7 and never falling.

Hi.  First let me apologize for not directly answering your question(s).  I don't entirely understand your description or your picture.  However, I do have a pretty good grasp of flow, so I will make a recommendation based on your objective.  I'm going to assume you've read the wiki on pressure, flow, pumps, etc and so I'll try not to just repeat the info from there.

I'd recommend forgetting about pumps.  Pumps cause pressure, and pressure kills flow.  You're better off letting gravity and obstacles do all the work.  Don't just use a few obstacles, use a lot.  Most designs seem to like a few blocks across a channel - for a channel n tiles wide, yielding n-1 flow points - but I've found that to be too few to really get water flowing.  Instead, dig a channel four tiles wide with the center two alternating blocks and you can make as many flow points as you want, depending on space.  With one side pressured and the other not, you might be surprised how fast water fills an area with ten flow points.  The unpressured side can be open and should be able to support all the water wheels you want.

The part I didn't catch is what you plan to do for an exit, and that's the most important part.  If you're not providing an exit at all, then flow will be very difficult if not impossible.  If you can get your water to a map edge then flow will just happen.  If you can drain it into an aquifer or a cavern lake then it should work fine as well.  If you're trying to pump it back up into the river or loop it back into the canal again, then it can be tricky.  I've made it work and also failed to make it work - I think it's a matter of tweaking volume control.  I've never tried a 'portable hole', but I'd bet that would be a way to get flow in your canal as well.

As for fish, I have no clue.  I don't recall ever getting vermin fish in my artificial canals, but I also didn't really pay attention.  The consensus of a quick search seems to be what Patrik said - either the area will support them or it won't.

Hope that helps, good luck!

Just seeking general advice.  I've taken a long break - like 9-10 months - and I want to try the new build.  I'm somewhat paralyzed though.  I've gone to the world creation screen several times and I sit and look at it for several minutes, then wander off to do something else.  My inner voice keeps saying, 'just make a world, save it, embark, save it again, then just play - you'll get ideas'.  But it hasn't worked so far.  I guess it's very similar to writer's block.

Anyone else had this?  What did you do to get past it?

To add to YetAnotherLurker's point about pieces being hauled, a piece can also end up in a bin making it inaccessible whenever anything else is being put into or taken out of the bin.

This is probably what I read at some point.

From the previous recent discussion on marriages, I want to burrow 8 dwarves - three lover pairs and one married couple.  I want to overlap zones in a very small room to maximize contact.

I seem to remember there being some issue with overlapping taverns, libraries, and temples.  But I don't remember what the issue was or where to find the discussion.  Does anyone remember?

I want to burrow 8 dwarves with their bedrooms and their workshops plus one room that overlaps a barracks, tavern and temple.  I suppose I could just try it and see, but I'm in no hurry so I'd rather plan it first.

What version are you playing?