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[beekay]

Did your format form blocks that dropped instantly, or did you have to pull the bridges up to make the blocks drop, or what?

They definitely would have dropped. The game seems to sort-of treat bridges as capable of supporting walls, in that you can construct walls hanging off them, but they instantly collapse.

[Calenth]

Ah, that explains it then. So obsidian won't form completely in midair, but will form in "midair" off the end of a bridge, then immediately drop.

[Gazz]

Would it be possible to build a Moses-o-tron style entrance to a fortress, with magma to each side and pumps that constantly keep a central path clear, but a switch to send waves of magma down on a siege? Here's what I'm thinking:
        g    g
Wm%%   %%mW
Wmmm    mmmW

m=magma, w=wall, %%=pump, and g=Gear assemblies connected to a power supply and an on/off switch.

I'm not sure if this would work however, or how much magma it would need.

*musing*
What if the whole thing were to be constructed on the principle of a dead-man-switch?

Somewhere in the hall there is a confined creature that intruders want to and can kill.
Of course, this trigger area (or prison) is to be made safe from magama, putting drains before it or the likes.
Might be tricky if the creature is to be killable by melee but that's a technical issue.

The creature's aliveness keeps pressure plates triggered regularly.
When the aliveness becomes absent (from intruderish action), the pressure plates are no longer triggered.

The pumps stop working.
There is a sudden silence in the room.
Followed by many very loud (but brief) screams.

The obvious advantage: the intruders intentionally trigger the trap themselves (they just don't know that), making it far more satisfying than a mere bangyouredead trap.

Only trouble is, you'll have to reload it manually, putting a new creature into the prison.
But who knows? Maybe a better dwarven engineer could design a bait magazine that releases a new creature into the trigger area.
That would mean that the trap can reset and fire repeatedly during a single siege without supervision and every time it can toast-a-host of enemies at once.

Hmm. Toast-A-Host^tm trap. Sounds like a marketable name!

Bonus points for letting the magma fill the hall from both ends (exits), letting the intruders watch the walls of fiery death close in on them.

[jokermatt999]

I can't recall my pressure plate knowledge, but it should be easy to set it up so there's an animal on one square that if killed by an intruder releases magma doom.

Code: [Select]

FDF
DAD
FDF
F=fortification or wall, depending on your preference
D=door, *set to tightly closed, but not forbidden
A=animal. Livestock is usually plentiful.
The animal stands on a pressure plate which prevents the magma from pouring out (more mechanical logic needed here). The doors, set to not allow pets through, keep it in place, but allow intruders to get to it. Make sure this 3x3 square is set as a restricted traffic area, so your dwarves won't pass through it. Alternately, only put doors on one side of the area.

However, I'm not totally sound on my pressure plate logic, nor am I sure how you'd set up the trap to be triggered on the absence of an animal. Lastly, always have a killswitch. One would probably be necessary to reset the magma flood and put an animal back in.

[Andir]

I can't recall my pressure plate knowledge, but it should be easy to set it up so there's an animal on one square that if killed by an intruder releases magma doom.

Code: [Select]

FDF
DAD
FDF
F=fortification or wall, depending on your preference
D=door, *set to tightly closed, but not forbidden
A=animal. Livestock is usually plentiful.
The animal stands on a pressure plate which prevents the magma from pouring out (more mechanical logic needed here). The doors, set to not allow pets through, keep it in place, but allow intruders to get to it. Make sure this 3x3 square is set as a restricted traffic area, so your dwarves won't pass through it. Alternately, only put doors on one side of the area.

However, I'm not totally sound on my pressure plate logic, nor am I sure how you'd set up the trap to be triggered on the absence of an animal. Lastly, always have a killswitch. One would probably be necessary to reset the magma flood and put an animal back in.

Your "kill switch" could just be an isolated pool of magma with a floodgate that is closed when the animal is killed (in the same action that opens the magma gate) so that only a small amount of magma is dropped.  It could then evaporate.  Placing an animal on the pad would close the drop gate and open the fill gate.

[UristMcHuman]

I like this. In my view, it's sort of like a crude bombard cannon, but without the need for the Secret Sauce (aka Black Powder, aka Gunpowder), or a lump of stone.

[Doro]

nice necro, did you notice that last post was february 2010?

[UristMcHuman]

Sorry...