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Difference between revisions of "40d:Well guide"
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| − | A [[well]] is | + | A [[well]] is a vital emergency precaution for any fortress in case the [[alcohol]] runs out. It can also save a [[wound]]ed dorf, as it would be unthinkable for anyone to waste good booze on a useless eater. A well provides a supply of [[water]] that doesn't dry up or freeze. Because it isn't stagnant, the dorfs won't wait until they're thirsty and miserable to drink should they need to. It's indoors, so there's no threat from [[carp]], [[goblins]], or [[animal]]s (however, dorfs ''will'' fish in it). You can even use it safely during a [[siege]]. Using it provides your dwarves with happy [[thoughts]], especially if you make it with masterwork golden chains and buckets or the like. |
| − | + | The important part about the well is to make sure that you don't create a situation where the water comes up out of it into the fortress, fed by a tunnel to an inexhaustible river far above. Because water does ''not'' return up to the level from which it was tapped, but only one level below that, this isn't that large of a risk, but if water drains downward from a large region of "open space" above another level of water, it will move at warp speed and fill up large areas of the fortress in seconds. | |
| − | + | You don't need a [[floodgate]] for miner access to reservoirs and aqueducts - just build [[door]]s, which are water-proof and can be "forbidden" to keep anyone from blundering in and drowning, or randomly abandoning a task during construction and leaving a stone holding the door open (which they love to do). You should use a floodgate somewhere near a water source such as a river or ocean so that you can dry out your tunnels for future projects, and also if feasible near a [[chasm]], [[bottomless pit]], or [[glowing pit]] to allow quick drainage. Bear in mind that the game lag produced by water flowing constantly from source to drainage can be as devastating as any flood. | |
| − | + | Channels are very handy for moving water, but don't leave open water where it isn't necessary. A dry channel makes a great [[moat]], but a wet channel is a random hazard. If you dorf runs into a rat he can jump in and drown to save himself. Mothers dutifully take their babies with them to the channel, which then jump in and die. [[Insane]] dorfs love to jump in and foul the water, though I don't think the other dorfs notice the taste. Instead of digging long wet channels, have a dorf mine out one level down, bring him back out e.g. through a door, then channel the last square to the water source. Up+down stairs or a ramp on the level below can substitute for a channel for moving water, but be warned that any effort to "channel" out these to create empty space for a well means that the dorf goes to the bottom level and gets rid of his means of escape upward. It is best to carve a ramp or two adjoining any open water without hostile inhabitants, such as muddy lakes, for dorfs to escape if they choose to. | |
| − | + | To build a well you will need a [[stone]] [[block]], a [[Restraint|chain (or rope)]], a [[bucket]] and a [[mechanism]]. You don't ''need'' to plan wells in advance if you have a long water-filled space not under pressure, but it is helpful to do so and dig an extra square of ramp or channel at the bottom of the aqueduct/reservoir so that they won't go dry every time you think up an expansion. | |
| − | 1. | + | == Long aqueducts == |
| + | As of the current version, water flows very slowly or very fast. If you need to get water from a brook at the edge of the screen, it's never going to make it down that 1-square wide passage you mined out... and more surprisingly, it's not going to make it down a 5-square wide passage either. Not until it's become irrelevant, anyway. The solution is that you need to put the aqueduct ''below'' the level of the river or brook, 1 square wide. Channel out a connected area of open space underground at the level of the brook bed, separated from the brook by one square of rock. Make sure you include a [[lever]]-controlled floodgate, get your miners out, and channel the edge of the brook. The amount of ''open space'' at the level of the brook bed controls how fast the water fills. Then dig wells down into the aqueduct normally. | ||
| − | + | == Aquifers == | |
| − | + | If you have an aquifer, just channel a 1x1 square in any open stretch of floor above it and build the well. You'll have other construction projects to worry about. | |
| − | |||
| − | + | == Using ponds/pools == | |
| − | + | The highest priority for well building is if only "muddy pond" is available in a hot climate. These can dry out within a season or two after starting the game and will ''never'' return. Carve out a fairly large space to use as a [[reservoir]] and get that water down to an unexposed area. A reservoir can also be a handy precaution when tapping underground rivers with waterfalls or in other cases where you may not really be sure what the water level is. | |
| − | + | Heavy rain means that it rains more in a year than a pool needs to be full, though pools or other existing water sources found on a map do not overflow. Being in a region with heavy rain has one big advantage - your pools will have more water than they need to be full. This allows them, over the course of a year, to provide more water than they can hold at any one time. Note that only naturally occurring tiles that are "murky pools" will collect rain - an identically size excavation next to a murky pool will not. Expanding a murky pool will allow the water to expand, but rain will only be "collected" in the original murky pool tiles, and any water that is 1/7 deep in the excavated tiles will tend to [[Evaporation|evaporate]] as normal for water. Aside from rain refilling murky pools, there is no way to actually collect rainwater in DF. | |
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| − | + | ==Style points== | |
| − | * Widen the area around the well, and make it a meeting hall. Smoothed or engraved walls and floors will make your dwarves happy. The well has to be in a stone layer, not soil. | + | * Widen the area around the well, and make it a meeting hall. Smoothed or engraved walls and floors will make your dwarves happy. Smoothed and especially constructed floors will guard against [[tower-cap]] blockages, if that is a concern. The well has to be in a stone layer, not soil. |
* Add a gap between the channel and the stairs, then construct walls in the gaps. This avoids the aesthetic problem of muddy stairs inside your well. Be careful, your well will need to be twice as deep. | * Add a gap between the channel and the stairs, then construct walls in the gaps. This avoids the aesthetic problem of muddy stairs inside your well. Be careful, your well will need to be twice as deep. | ||
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{{Water FAQ}} | {{Water FAQ}} | ||
[[Category:Guides]] | [[Category:Guides]] | ||
[[Category:Design]] | [[Category:Design]] | ||
Revision as of 01:10, 11 November 2009
A well is a vital emergency precaution for any fortress in case the alcohol runs out. It can also save a wounded dorf, as it would be unthinkable for anyone to waste good booze on a useless eater. A well provides a supply of water that doesn't dry up or freeze. Because it isn't stagnant, the dorfs won't wait until they're thirsty and miserable to drink should they need to. It's indoors, so there's no threat from carp, goblins, or animals (however, dorfs will fish in it). You can even use it safely during a siege. Using it provides your dwarves with happy thoughts, especially if you make it with masterwork golden chains and buckets or the like.
The important part about the well is to make sure that you don't create a situation where the water comes up out of it into the fortress, fed by a tunnel to an inexhaustible river far above. Because water does not return up to the level from which it was tapped, but only one level below that, this isn't that large of a risk, but if water drains downward from a large region of "open space" above another level of water, it will move at warp speed and fill up large areas of the fortress in seconds.
You don't need a floodgate for miner access to reservoirs and aqueducts - just build doors, which are water-proof and can be "forbidden" to keep anyone from blundering in and drowning, or randomly abandoning a task during construction and leaving a stone holding the door open (which they love to do). You should use a floodgate somewhere near a water source such as a river or ocean so that you can dry out your tunnels for future projects, and also if feasible near a chasm, bottomless pit, or glowing pit to allow quick drainage. Bear in mind that the game lag produced by water flowing constantly from source to drainage can be as devastating as any flood.
Channels are very handy for moving water, but don't leave open water where it isn't necessary. A dry channel makes a great moat, but a wet channel is a random hazard. If you dorf runs into a rat he can jump in and drown to save himself. Mothers dutifully take their babies with them to the channel, which then jump in and die. Insane dorfs love to jump in and foul the water, though I don't think the other dorfs notice the taste. Instead of digging long wet channels, have a dorf mine out one level down, bring him back out e.g. through a door, then channel the last square to the water source. Up+down stairs or a ramp on the level below can substitute for a channel for moving water, but be warned that any effort to "channel" out these to create empty space for a well means that the dorf goes to the bottom level and gets rid of his means of escape upward. It is best to carve a ramp or two adjoining any open water without hostile inhabitants, such as muddy lakes, for dorfs to escape if they choose to.
To build a well you will need a stone block, a chain (or rope), a bucket and a mechanism. You don't need to plan wells in advance if you have a long water-filled space not under pressure, but it is helpful to do so and dig an extra square of ramp or channel at the bottom of the aqueduct/reservoir so that they won't go dry every time you think up an expansion.
Long aqueducts
As of the current version, water flows very slowly or very fast. If you need to get water from a brook at the edge of the screen, it's never going to make it down that 1-square wide passage you mined out... and more surprisingly, it's not going to make it down a 5-square wide passage either. Not until it's become irrelevant, anyway. The solution is that you need to put the aqueduct below the level of the river or brook, 1 square wide. Channel out a connected area of open space underground at the level of the brook bed, separated from the brook by one square of rock. Make sure you include a lever-controlled floodgate, get your miners out, and channel the edge of the brook. The amount of open space at the level of the brook bed controls how fast the water fills. Then dig wells down into the aqueduct normally.
Aquifers
If you have an aquifer, just channel a 1x1 square in any open stretch of floor above it and build the well. You'll have other construction projects to worry about.
Using ponds/pools
The highest priority for well building is if only "muddy pond" is available in a hot climate. These can dry out within a season or two after starting the game and will never return. Carve out a fairly large space to use as a reservoir and get that water down to an unexposed area. A reservoir can also be a handy precaution when tapping underground rivers with waterfalls or in other cases where you may not really be sure what the water level is.
Heavy rain means that it rains more in a year than a pool needs to be full, though pools or other existing water sources found on a map do not overflow. Being in a region with heavy rain has one big advantage - your pools will have more water than they need to be full. This allows them, over the course of a year, to provide more water than they can hold at any one time. Note that only naturally occurring tiles that are "murky pools" will collect rain - an identically size excavation next to a murky pool will not. Expanding a murky pool will allow the water to expand, but rain will only be "collected" in the original murky pool tiles, and any water that is 1/7 deep in the excavated tiles will tend to evaporate as normal for water. Aside from rain refilling murky pools, there is no way to actually collect rainwater in DF.
Style points
- Widen the area around the well, and make it a meeting hall. Smoothed or engraved walls and floors will make your dwarves happy. Smoothed and especially constructed floors will guard against tower-cap blockages, if that is a concern. The well has to be in a stone layer, not soil.
- Add a gap between the channel and the stairs, then construct walls in the gaps. This avoids the aesthetic problem of muddy stairs inside your well. Be careful, your well will need to be twice as deep.
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