40d:Cave-in

A cave-in can occur if an area is detached from all supporting tiles. A room can be as large as you want to make it, as long as it is supported by at least one tile from below. The system is a bit buggy right now, since it is only a placeholder.^{v0.27.169.33a} Toady has stated he intends to implement more realistic cave-ins in future versions.

Cave-ins can be disabled through the init file, by changing [CAVEINS:YES] to [CAVEINS:NO].

How cave-ins work

Any unconnected section of rock (rock that is completely isolated from the rest of the world) will cave in. The game checks for rock connections in all 8 horizontal directions, up, and down. Stairs and supports count as supports for the rock.

Results of a cave-in

• Any creature caught under the falling material is crushed and killed.
• Obviously, anything standing -on- the area that caves in falls and may be wounded.
• A large amount of dust is generated; Any creature caught by the dust from the collapse is knocked unconscious, and may recieve injuries
• All buildings and constructions under and above the falling area are destroyed
• Rock remains mostly intact, while wood constructions become logs
• Unmined rock and soil crashes through multiple floors, and stops only upon reaching solid ground, where it piles up
• Mined stairs and ramps will settle like unmined rock: Stairs down that fall onto previously empty floors will reveal the level below
• Anything falling into a flow (like water) sinks to the bottom^{v0.27.169.33a}

Avoiding cave-ins

Do not make unconnected sections of rock.

Actually, you're quite unlikely to cause cave-ins unless you are actively trying to cause them. In which case, you'd be wondering how to avoid cave-ins that cause damage to your folks. That's simple: Add a support under the stone mass, and link it to a distant lever. When you're done, hide everyone, pull the lever and watch the fireworks.