Bay 12 Games Forum

The default behavior is to go after the last generated stone first.

That's the default behavior for *stockpiles* requesting stones. It is *not* the default behavior for dwarves/workshops. Upon taking a mason job, a dwarf will select the "closest" (as the worm tunnels) stone to himself, pick it up, and then carry it to the workshop, all the way across the map if necessary. Linking a stockpile to the workshop forces the mason to choose from that stockpile instead, potentially saving a long, slow trip with a heavy boulder. Conversely, *not* linking the stockpile will result in wasted time hauling stones from wherever the mason happened to be when accepting the job, even if the pile around the workshop is full.

The stockpile filling logic is completely different: it ignores distance and selects items in a LIFO manner (likely as a performance optimization).

From what i understand, dwarves only dig (or interact) with tiles that are besides them on the same z-level or directly above or below them (Only happening with stairs) I never saw a dwarf interact with something in such situations as yours, because truthfully i don't think it would be physically possible either. When have you seen it happen before. I sure didn't see it in DF2014.

Physically possible or not, dwarves can dig ramps vertically-diagonally (here's one well-known use). They prefer, however, to path next to the dig tile if possible, which is likely why you haven't seen it before.

Quote from: Loci on December 31, 2015, 05:12:05 pm

If you absolutely want a vertical shaft, you can dig channels in a 2x1 pattern, alternating which tile on each level. This will prevent the miner from falling, thus forcing him to complete the job just like in the old days. Then a simple cave-in to remove the ramps left will create a 2x1 vertical shaft straight down.

I'm interested in how to do that exactly.
Edit: Just tried to do this, now the miner lies dead at the bottom of the shaft 

side view:

_V__
##V#
#V##
##V#
#V##
##V#
#V##
##V#

V - channel
# - undesignated wall

Only one channel job is available at a time (so no multi-miner mishaps), each channel job is completed by a dwarf standing *beside* the tile (so no falls/climbing), and each successive channel job "breaks" the ramp on the previous level (so no leaving early). After the tiles are channeled, a simple cave-in will clear out the remaining ramps.

What about a 1x1 stairway, and cave-in from the top to clear the stairs?

Cave-ins don't destroy stairs.

In this instance, it was a garbage chute, so stairs aren't an option.

Refuse falls down stairwells just fine if you channel out the top level. As do minecarts, prisoners, and liquids.

Maybe if the miner had no way to climb out he'd stay in the hole and finish the job?

Nope. The problem isn't that the miner is *choosing* to climb out of the hole (they climb out as freely as they climb back in, that is, never), it's that channeling under himself causes the miner to fall, a falling dwarf will attempt a wall-grab, a successful wall-grab results in a climbing dwarf, and a climbing dwarf will not path to jobs (they seem to path to a "safe" location, possibly a meeting area or their previous-idle location).

You can work around this issue by using up/down staircases instead of vertical shafts in most cases. Water will flow freely down a staircase, and refuse, minecarts, and even prisoners will fall down as well (prisoners have a fair chance of grabbing the walls, which is true in the case of a single-tile shaft too). You do need one tile of "free fall", so channel out the top of the stairway after it has been dug.

If you absolutely want a vertical shaft, you can dig channels in a 2x1 pattern, alternating which tile on each level. This will prevent the miner from falling, thus forcing him to complete the job just like in the old days. Then a simple cave-in to remove the ramps left will create a 2x1 vertical shaft straight down.

How do you micro manage the logging?

You can pause the game when a dwarf reaches a tree, check the z-levels above, and cancel the chopping if there's anything above. You could also harvest every other tree in a checkerboard pattern to (hopefully) leave any suspended logs on the remaining trees. Or you could probably build bridges as an "awning" to catch falling logs--trees can grow through them (v0.40), but falling objects should be stopped.

An extinct civilization sends no caravans, so your liaison must have been missing for some other reason.

No; the logs from a cut tree fall harmlessly. However, if some of those logs get caught in another tree, cutting down that second tree will cause the stuck logs to fall with lethal force. You can try to prevent injuries with careful micromanagement, or just recruit a few more cheesemakers for tree cutting.

e: As a sort of lore note, the missing upper floor tile burned quite a few people who built fortifications in their water inlet.

Submerged fortifications, with or without a roof above, allow swimming creatures to move through freely.

Constructed walls can't be _smoothed_ but you can carve them into fortifications (with floor above). Natural walls can be both smoothed and carved into fortifications (but ones without a floor above).

All walls and all fortifications carved from walls have a floor above them. Only constructed fortifications lack the implied floor above.