Dwarf Fortress > DF Gameplay Questions
Closing Caverns
Maikcollos:
Does it affect creatures entering my caverns if I close every opening to the cavern except one side per floor which is armored with cage traps?
PatrikLundell:
As long as there are critters that can enter, they should continue to do so even if you restrict possible entrance to a single entrance.
I typically block off all sides with one entrance per side open that's one tile thick with a wall outside of that (and a wall above, if it's higher than one Z level. These entrances are then connected to airlock with cage traps in them (plus a door bait for building destroyers), and I build repeating spike traps as needed to eliminate FBs.
One issue with a single opening per cavern is if your embark has a savage, as savage biomes allow two critter groups to be on the map at the same time, and a single opening means they all enter at the same place, which may result in more fighting and dead critter pieces than you want.
smithist:
I've been wondering this exact thing!
So monster spawning isn't a function of open edge tiles at all? That is really good to know. I was always hesitant to slow down the meat farm!
PatrikLundell:
No.
Each level (surface, each of the caverns) supports one critter group at a time (two with savage biomes. I don't know if that applies to the magma sea or not. The circus follows rules as well Spoiler (click to show/hide)one critter group, regardless of savagery. The invasion horde doesn't count, but it is spawed only once and isn't topped up, except through births). Campers take up one critter group spot for that level, thus blocking spawning. It can be noted that critter that are wild and "free" within an enclosed area act as one critter group (cages don't count), so if you e.g. have a yeti breeding program, the yetis will block one critter group on the surface (Yeti's can't be tamed, so the only way to breed them is to have them in free range captivity).
This behavior can be exploited to block cavern levels from spawning new critters so your wall builders can work in relative safety (but FBs do not belong to critter groups: they arrive when they feel like it...).
smithist:
Thank you.
That is a really cool thing to get confirmation on. Makes sense now that I think about observed spawning mechanics in caverns: killing one group to trigger the next.
I've also tried, unsuccessfully, to figure out if a species can go extinct. Maybe they get killed off during history gen? Do you know anything about that?
I've spent ~20 years waiting for some Jabberers to capture to no avail.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version