Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

Pick

2014-08-28T05:24:52Z

ESharpAxe: Added list of links to metals that can be used to forge a pick.

{{Migrated_article}}
{{quality|unrated}}{{av}}
[[Image:Pickaxe.jpg|thumb|220px]]
A '''pick''' is a [[equipment|digging implement]] / [[weapon]] that can be [[Metalsmith's forge|forged]] from most weapon-grade [[metal]]s, such as, [[iron]], [[copper]], [[bronze]], [[steel]], [[bismuth bronze]], and [[adamantine]]. Picks cannot be made from [[silver]] although other [[weapon]]s can be forged from silver. Picks are essential for a properly functioning fortress: [[miner]]s require picks to strike the earth, dig tunnels, carve staircases and everything else related to the removal of rock and soil tiles. You will need to purchase or create picks on embark as miners won't bring their own. Without picks, your dwarves will be stranded on the surface, forced to live like [[elf|elves]]. The [[quality]] and [[material]] of a pick have no effect on its speed digging through rock; that depends solely on the user's [[Mining]] skill level.

Picks can also be used as weapons. They inflict [[attack types|EDGE type]] damage, tend to impale or dismember enemies, and gain damage bonuses by the user's Mining skill level. Picks are brutally effective, combining slashing and impaling and generally far better than anything that isn't a [[whip]] or [[scourge]]. Unlike when digging through rock, [[quality]] and [[material]] are both important when using a pick as a weapon. Since a [[steel]] pick can penetrate most armor, picks are effective weapons against any foe, armored, [[Forgotten beast|forgotten]], [[Bronze colossus|bronze]], or otherwise.

== Forging and Melting ==
* Metal picks cost '''one''' [[metal]] bar to [[forge]], or '''four''' [[adamantine]] wafers.
* When a non-adamantine metal pick is [[melt|melted down]], it will return '''1.2''' metal bars, for an '''efficiency of 120%'''.
* When an adamantine pick is melted down, it will produce '''1.2''' wafers, for an '''efficiency of 30%'''.

{{Gamedata}}
{{Weapons}}
{{Category|Weapons}}

Workshop

2014-08-28T04:31:20Z

ESharpAxe: /* Tier 3 Workshops */

{{Migrated_article}}
{{Quality|Superior|13:14, 20 April 2013 (UTC)}}{{av}}
[[Image:DFflowchart.png|thumb|200px|'''Production flowchart for most workshops'''.<br /> Not all items are represented!<br />''(Click to enlarge)'']]

'''Workshops''' are where materials are processed by dwarves into more valuable or useful items.

==Description==

Anything that is created, refined, cooked, altered, or decorated, or generally "produced" is processed at a workshop. There are many different types of workshops, for different purposes and different finished products. Just as they have specific products associated with them, they have specific labors that are required by dwarves to build them or to work there, and dwarves with more of the appropriate skill tend to produce higher [[quality]] objects*, and/or produce them faster.

(* If the finished product has any quality modifiers - not all do. Processed milk is just [[cheese]], a [[stone]] block is just a stone [[block]], and a tanned hide is just [[leather]], etc.)

You can use [[manager#Setting_workshop_profiles|workshop profiles]] to restrict the use of individual workshops to named dwarves, or to dwarves with specified minimum and maximum levels of skill.

Almost all workshops measure 3 tiles square, 3x3, but a few are 5x5, or even a single tile. Not all squares of all workshops are passable, in fact some, like the jewelry workshop, have three [[impassable tile]]s down one side. These squares appear a dark green color during initial placement. Be careful not to block access when building.

===Operation===

When there are items ordered at a workshop, the workshop will generate item creation jobs until it finds a suitable dwarf with appropriate labors (and skill level and so on if those are set in the workshop orders). When the dwarf is found, an A will appear next to the job in the workshop queue, and the following will happen:

# The dwarf comes to the workshop.
# The dwarf finds a suitable nearby raw material. (if any stockpiles are set to {K|g}ive to the workshop, only linked stockpiles will be looked in!)
# The dwarf fetches all the necessary ingredients and brings them to the workshop.
# The dwarf labors in the workshop for a while and creates the item.
# The dwarf brings the finished item to the nearest suitable stockpile. (see #2 for linked stockpiles)
# At this point the workshop goes to the next queued item, and starts looking for a suitable dwarf again - it's most probable that the dwarf who just finished the item is nearby and will be recruited again for another job.

If you have no [[stockpile]]s to put finished objects in, workshops will become [[clutter]]ed. You can see the clutter by checking the contents of the workshop with {K|t}. The more items there are, the longer tasks will take.

If you have only one dwarf with the appropriate labors, and the task of fetching items takes a long time because the stockpiles are far away, then he will execute far fewer jobs before it's time for a break. If you have many dwarfs, then recruitment of another one will waste time since he is far away. Therefore, in either situation, it's in your interest to put the stockpiles as close as possible to the workshop.

==Tier System==

The tier system was developed to help understand how far removed a workshop is from the basic raw materials that can be found throughout your average map. A Tier-1 workshop processes raw materials directly; a Tier-2 workshop processes the output of a Tier-1 workshop (but may also include new raw materials); and a Tier-3 workshop processes the output of a Tier-2 workshop (but may also include inputs from lower levels) Note that containers (cloth and leather bags) are considered Tier 1 materials even though they are produced at a higher tier. This is because these items are reusable; your dwarves will not need to create a new bag each time they want to mill some flour. In some cases, a workshop may fit into multiple tiers, (ex. [[Mechanic's workshop]]). In these cases, the workshop is listed in the lowest applicable tier for its primary purpose.

Tier 1 workshops use Tier 0 materials (animals, ore, wood, plants, bone, etc.).

Tier 2 workshops use Tier 1 materials (processed Tier 0 materials) and possibly Tier 0 materials.

Tier 3 workshops use Tier 2 materials (processed Tier 1 materials) and possibly Tier 0 and/or Tier 1 materials.

===Tier 1 Workshops===
*{{K|b}} [[Bowyer's workshop]]:
**Uses Tier 0 material: [[Wood]]
**Can also use higher-tier material: [[Bone]]
**Produces Tier 1 Weapon: [[Crossbow]]
*{{K|c}} [[Carpenter's workshop]]: Uses wood from trees to produce various goods.
**Uses Tier 0 materials: [[Wood]]
**Produces Tier 1 materials:
***Armor: [[Buckler]], [[Shield]]
***Weapons: [[Training weapon|Training Axes]], [[Training weapon|Training Swords]], [[Training weapon|Training Spears]]
***Containers: [[Barrel]], [[Bin]], [[Bucket]], [[Casket]]
***Building Materials: [[Block]], [[Grate]], [[Pipe section]]
***Furniture: [[Bed]], [[Chair]], [[Table]], [[Cabinet]], [[Chest]], [[Armor stand]], [[Weapon rack]]
***Furniture: [[Door]], [[Floodgate]], [[Hatch cover]]
***Trap Components: [[Cage]], [[Enormous corkscrew]], [[Menacing spike]], [[Spiked ball]]
***Finished Goods: [[Crutch]], [[Splint]]
***Tools: [[Animal trap]]
*{{K|j}} [[Jeweler's workshop]]:
**Uses Tier 0 Item: Rough [[gem]]
**Can also use higher-tier items: Cut [[gem]]s, Encrustable objects
**Produces: Cut [[gem]], Encrusted objects
*{{K|m}} [[Mason's workshop]]:
**Uses Tier 0 Item: [[Stone]]
**Produces Tier 1 Items: [[Armor stand]], [[Block]], [[Throne]], [[Coffin]], [[Door]], [[Floodgate]], [[Hatch cover]], [[Grate]], [[Cabinet]], [[Coffer]], [[Statue]], [[Table]], [[Weapon rack]], [[Quern]], [[Millstone]], [[Slab]]
*{{K|u}} [[Butcher's shop]]:
**Uses Tier 0 Items: [[Tame animals]], Corpses of untamed non-sentient animals
**Produces Tier 1 Items: [[Skin]], [[Fat]], [[Meat]], [[Bone]], [[Prepared organs]], [[Skull]], [[Scale]], [[Hoof]], [[Ivory]], [[Tooth]]
*{{K|t}} [[Mechanic's workshop]]:
**Uses Tier 0-1 Items: [[Stone]], [[Table]], [[Rope]]
**Produces Tier 1 Item: [[Mechanism]]
**Produces Tier 3 Item: [[Traction bench]]
*{{K|w}} [[Farmer's workshop]]:
**Uses Tier 0 Items: [[crop]], [[Animal]]
**Can use Tier 1 Reusable Items: [[Container|Bags, barrels, vials]], [[Bucket]]s
**Produces Tier 1 Items: [[Pig tail]] or [[Rope reed]] [[thread]], [[Quarry bush]] leaves, [[Dwarven syrup]], Plant [[extracts]], [[Milk]], [[Cheese]]
*{{K|h}} [[Fishery]]:
**Uses Tier 0 Items: Raw [[fish]]
**Produces Tier 1 Items: [[Meat|Fish meat]], [[Shell]]s, [[Captured live fish]]
*{{K|r}} [[Craftsdwarf's workshop]]:
**Uses Tier 0 Items: [[Stone]], [[Wood]]
**Can also use higher-tier items: [[Bone]], [[Shell]], [[Ivory]], [[Tooth]], [[Horn]], [[Pearl]], [[Cloth]], [[Leather]], [[Slab]]s
**Produces: [[Finished goods]], [[Pot]]s, [[Jug]]s, [[Tool]]s, [[Memorial]]s
*{{K|s}} [[Siege workshop]]:
**Uses Tier 0 Item: [[Wood]]
**Can also use higher-tier item: [[Ballista arrowhead]]
**Produces: [[Catapult]] parts, [[Ballista]] parts, [[Ballista arrow]]s
*[[Wood furnace]]:
**Uses Tier 0 Item: [[Wood]]
**Produces: Fuel ([[Charcoal]]), [[Ash]]
* [[Magma smelter]]: (Requires [[magma]] access)
**Uses Tier 0 Items: [[Coal]], [[Ore]], [[Flux]]
**Can also use higher-tier items: Fuel ([[Charcoal]], [[Coke]]), [[Metal]] [[bar]]s, scrap [[weapon]]s, [[armor]], etc.
**Produces: [[Metal]] [[bar]]s, [[Coke]]
* [[Magma kiln]]: (Requires [[magma]] access)
**Uses Tier 0 Items: [[Gypsum]], [[Alabaster]], [[Selenite]], [[Satinspar]], [[Kaolinite]], [[Clay]], [[Silty clay]], [[Sandy clay]], [[Clay loam]], [[Fire clay]], [[Cassiterite]]
**Can also use higher-tier items: [[Ash]], [[Potash]]
**Produces: [[Pearlash]], [[Gypsum plaster]], [[Ceramic]]s ([[Jug]], [[Block|Bricks]], [[Statue]], [[Large pot]], [[Craft]]s, [[Hive]]), [[Glaze]]d items
* [[Magma glass furnace]]: (Requires [[magma]] access)
**Uses Tier 0 Items: [[Sand]] [[bag]], Raw [[rock crystal]]
**Can also use higher-tier item: [[Pearlash]]
**Produces: Raw crystal/clear/green [[glass]], [[Block]]s, [[Vial]]s, [[Toy]]s, [[Instrument]]s, [[Goblet]]s, [[Trap]] [[weapons]], [[Window]]s, [[Furniture]]

===Tier 2 Workshops===
*{{K|n}} [[Tanner's shop]]:
**Uses Tier 1 Item: [[Skin|Hide]]
**Produces Tier 2 Item: [[Leather]]
*{{K|o}} [[Loom]]:
**Uses Tier 1 Items: [[Adamantine]] strands, [[Cave spider]] [[silk]] [[Cloth|thread]], [[Giant cave spider]] [[silk]] [[Cloth|thread]], [[Phantom spider]] [[silk]] [[Cloth|thread]], [[Pig tail]] [[Cloth|thread]], [[Rope reed]] [[Cloth|thread]]
**Produces: [[Cloth]]
*{{K|l}} [[Still]]:
**Uses Tier 0 Item: [[Alcohol#Brewable plants|Brewable Plant]]
**Uses Tier 1 Reusable Item: [[Barrel]]
**Produces: [[Drink]]
*{{K|y}} [[Ashery]]:
**Uses Tier 1 Item: [[Ash]]
**Can use Tier 1 Reusable Item: [[Bucket]]
**Produces Tier 2 Items: [[Lye]], [[Potash]]
*{{K|z}} [[Kitchen]]:
**Uses Tier 1 Items: [[Meat|Fish]], [[Meat]], [[Cheese]], [[Dwarven syrup]], [[Milk]], [[Prepared organs]], [[Fat]]
**Can also use lower-tier items: [[Plants]], [[Seed]]s, [[Egg]]s
**Can also use higher-tier items: [[Alcohol]], [[Dwarven sugar]], [[Flour]], [[Tallow]]
**Produces: [[Food|Prepared meals]], [[Tallow]]
*{{K|p}} [[Screw press]]:
**Uses Tier 1 Items: [[Honeycomb]]
**Uses Tier 1 Reusable item: [[Jug]]
**Can also use higher-tier item: [[rock nut|Rock nut paste]]
**Produces: [[Honey]], [[Wax]], [[rock nut|Rock nut press cake]], [[rock nut|Rock nut oil]]
* [[Smelter]]:
**Uses Tier 1 Items: Fuel ([[Charcoal]], [[Coke]])
**Uses Tier 0 Items: [[Coal]], [[Ore]], [[Flux]]
**Can also use higher-tier items: [[Metal]] [[bar]]s, scrap [[weapon]]s, [[armor]], etc.
**Produces: [[Coke]], [[Metal]] [[bar]]s
*{{K|q}} [[Quern]]:
**Uses Tier 0 Items: [[Blade weed]], [[Cave wheat]], [[Dimple cup]], [[Hide root]], [[Longland grass]], [[Sliver barb]], [[Sweet pod]], [[Whip vine]], [[Rock nut]]s
**Uses Tier 1 Reusable Item: [[bag]]
**Produces: [[Flour|Dwarven wheat flour]], [[Dwarven sugar]], [[Flour|Longland flour]], [[Whip vine flour]], [[Dimple dye]], [[Emerald dye]], [[Redroot dye]], [[Sliver dye]], [[rock nut|Rock nut paste]]
*{{K|M}} ({{K|Shift}}+{{K|m}}) [[Millstone]]:
**Requires: Mechanical Power Source ([[Water wheel]] or [[Windmill]]), and a Millstone (Constructed at [[Mason's workshop]])
**Uses Tier 0 Items: [[Blade weed]], [[Cave wheat]], [[Dimple cup]], [[Hide root]], [[Longland grass]], [[Sliver barb]], [[Sweet pod]], [[Whip vine]], [[Rock nut]]s
**Uses Tier 1 Reusable Item: [[bag]]
**Produces: [[Emerald dye]], [[Flour|Dwarven wheat flour]], [[Dimple dye]], [[Redroot dye]], [[Flour|Longland flour]], [[Sliver dye]], [[Dwarven sugar]], [[Whip vine flour]], [[rock nut|Rock nut paste]]
* [[Kiln]]:
**Uses Tier 0 Items: [[Gypsum]], [[Alabaster]], [[Selenite]], [[Satinspar]], [[Kaolinite]], [[Clay]], [[Silty clay]], [[Sandy clay]], [[Clay loam]], [[Fire clay]], [[Cassiterite]]
**Uses Tier 1 Items: Fuel ([[Charcoal]], [[Coke]]), [[Ash]], [[Potash]]
**Produces: [[Pearlash]], [[Gypsum plaster]], [[Ceramic]]s ([[Jug]], [[Block|Bricks]], [[Statue]], [[Large pot]], [[Craft]]s, [[Hive]]), [[Glaze]]d items
* [[Glass furnace]]:
**Uses Tier 0 Items: [[Sand]] [[bag]], Raw [[rock crystal]]
**Uses Tier 1 Items: Fuel ([[Charcoal]], [[Coke]])
**Uses Tier 2 Item: [[Pearlash]]
**Produces: Raw crystal/clear/green [[glass]], [[Block]]s, [[Vial]]s, [[Toy]]s, [[Instrument]]s, [[Goblet]]s, [[Trap]] [[weapons]], [[Window]]s, [[Furniture]]

===Tier 3 Workshops===
*{{K|e}} [[Leather works]]:
**Uses Tier 2 Item: [[Leather]]
**Produces: [[Leather]] [[Clothing]], [[Leather]] [[Armor]], [[Leather]] [[Shield]], [[Leather]] [[Quiver]], [[Leather]] [[Bag]], [[Leather]] [[Backpack]], [[Leather]] [[Waterskin]], [[Decoration|Leather Images]] (decoration)
*{{K|d}} [[Dyer's shop]]:
**Uses Tier 2 Item: [[Dye]], [[Cloth]]
**Can also use lower-tier item: [[Thread]]
**Produces: Dyed [[Thread]], Dyed [[Cloth]]
*{{K|k}} [[Clothier's shop]]:
**Uses Tier 2 Item: [[Cloth]]
**Can also use higher-tier item: Dyed [[Cloth]]
**Produces: [[Backpack]], [[Bag]], [[Clothing]], [[Quiver]], [[Rope]]
*{{K|f}} [[Metalsmith's forge]]:
**Uses Tier 1 Item: Fuel ([[Charcoal]], [[Coke]])
**Uses Tier 2 Item: [[Metal]] [[bars]]
**Produces: [[weapon]]s, [[trap]] components, [[bolts]], [[ballista arrowhead|ballista arrowheads]], [[armor]], [[chain|chains]], [[craft|crafts]], [[coins]], [[goblet|goblets]], [[stud|studding]], [[anvil]]s, [[block]]s, [[furniture]], animal traps and mechanisms.
*{{k|v}} [[Magma forge]] (requires [[magma]] access):
**Uses Tier 2 Item: [[Metal]] [[bar]]s
**Produces: [[Armor]], [[Weapon]], [[Chain]], [[Crafts]], [[Furniture]]
*{{K|S}} ({{K|Shift}}+{{K|s}}) [[Soap maker's workshop]]:
**Uses Tier 2 Items: [[Tallow]], [[Lye]]
**Can also use higher-tier item: [[Rock nut oil]]
**Produces: [[Soap]]

Note that some specific products can be higher-tier than indicated above. For example, production of [[Steel]] weapons requires: producing [[Coke|fuel]], producing [[Iron]] [[bar]]s, producing [[pig iron]] bars, producing [[steel]] bars, then finally forging weapons (a Tier-5 process).

==Management==
As your fortress continues to grow and diversify, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep your workshops fruitfully busy without causing overproduction or underproduction or depleting your resources. Though no process can be truly automated, there are a few tricks to keeping your workshops productive.

===Standing orders===
[[Standing orders]] provide a rudimentary form of automation for some specific workshops in Dwarf Fortress. Certain goods or materials are only useful for one thing, having no other use and requiring refinement before they can be made into something useful. Thus, standing orders automate certain tasks, queuing them up whenever input materials are available; this behavior may be configured in the "set workshop orders" menu ({{k|o}} - {{k|W}}). Note that this rudimentary automation performs poorly with multiple workshops, often queuing dwarves to carry the materials to the farthest available workshop.
* The [[Tanner's shop]] will automatically enqueue "{{k|t}}an a hide" whenever a hide becomes available, generally as a [[butcher's shop|butchering]] product. The shop has no other function, and hides have no other use and will [[rot]] if left untreated; thus you can build a tanner's shop (preferably close to your butcher and refuse stockpile), make sure some dwarves have [[tanning]] enabled, and then leave it untouched for the duration of the game.
* Similarly, the [[loom]]'s function is to collect [[web]]s and turn silk, plant thread, and yarn, into usable cloth. All [[weaving]] jobs are automated. However, it can be beneficial to build an additional loom near the caverns specifically for web collection, and assign a profile that keeps your legendary weaver safe making high-quality cloth in the fortress proper. Unfortunately, the automation process cannot adapt to such an arrangement, but the automatic jobs can be suspended to prevent undesirable assignments.
* A [[fishery]] will have "Process a live fish" automation enabled by default. Uncooked fish cannot be eaten as they are, and must be processed before being edible. Additionally, raw fish will [[rot]] if not processed quickly, and have no other uses. Fishery automation, with one or more dedicated [[fish cleaner]]s, is recommended.
* When an animal is marked for slaughter or a butcherable corpse is nearby, "Butcher a dead animal" is added to a butchery automatically; a [[butcher]] will process the corpse into various [[meat]]s and [[material]]s. Butcherable corpses have no other use, and will [[rot]] if not processed quickly.
* The [[Kitchen]] includes automation for [[tallow|rendering fat into tallow]]. The resulting tallow is useful for making [[soap]] and as a low-value "solid" cooking ingredient, however you will likely end up with an overabundance of tallow. Since the original fat apparently doesn't rot, and the rendering job is slow and tends to distract your head cook when he should be cooking the quickly-expiring meat instead, it is often more convenient to disable the automatic rendering and manually queue the job (on an auxiliary kitchen) if you somehow run low on tallow.

===Repetition===
You can queue up to ten tasks in any workshop, and tell the dwarves to repeat any or all of them for as long as possible. This is most useful if you want to process all of a resource that you have into something usable (such as [[lye]] and [[tallow]] into [[soap]]), but don't know how much you have, or can't be bothered with exact numbers. If you want to keep a workshop busy, repeating a task for a period of time is the best way; most fledgling fortresses have craftdwarves making stone crafts 24/7. It is necessary to check back on your stocks every one in a while, however, as you might forget about your mason for a while and upon placing furniture discover that you have 99 doors but no tables. The easiest example would be gem cutting; just queue up all of the gems you've dug up on repeat, and use the cancellation messages to monitor progress through the stack. Note that if you place multiple jobs on repeat your dwarves will cycle through them, so you can have your mason make doors, cabinets, coffers, tables, and thrones (the "welcome to the fortress" package) in equally large numbers.

===Manager===
Appointing a [[manager]] [[noble]] allows you to queue work orders using the job manager interface, though your manager will need time to approve work orders before production begins. Using the job manager interface has two major advantages. Firstly, it allows you to produce an exact number of items as opposed to putting a workshop on repeat, and secondly, it allows easier management of complex tasks: although you will get cancellation spam, the tasks will simply re-queue, to be fulfilled as soon as the prerequisites are in order. This makes complicated processes, such as the production of twenty steel breastplates for your military, much simpler and less time-consuming. You will be notified when your work orders are completed, so it has the advantage of timely organization as well.

===Workflow===
Finally, for those who find the other automation options lacking, the [[Utility:DFHack|dfhack]] "workflow" plug-in allows for automated job processing for many applications (e.g. auto process plants, auto mill plants, auto brew, auto make soap, etc.). Unfortunately, setting up the necessary rules can require some trial and error and a considerable investment of time, but the results can be well worth the trouble, at least until comprehensive automation support is added to the game itself.

{{workshops}}

Channel

2014-08-28T04:03:10Z

ESharpAxe: Add a link to the "Designations Menu"

{{Migrated_article}}
{{av}}{{Quality|Exceptional|10:51, 16 June 2010 (UTC)}}
A '''channel''' is a hole dug in the ground or wall which will mine out the [[z-level]] below too. The [[Designations Menu]] can be accessed by {{K|d}} and provides the means to designate tiles for the dwarves to channel with the submenu {{K|h}}. You can use long channels to act as [[moat]]s, to move liquids such as [[water]] and [[magma]] from one point to another, and other creative purposes. With this option it is possible to either select floor tiles or 'full' tiles. When channeled out, the floor (as well as a wall if it exists) on your layer will be removed and the tile on the layer below will be [[mining|mined]] out. Creating a channel could be described as "strip mining".

In layman's terms: mining an area will carve out a tunnel in the rock to crawl through, whereas channelling an area will also remove the bottom of that tunnel and make a second tunnel one level below, creating a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench Trench] of sorts.

Digging a channel creates a [[ramp]] on the level below. The bottom ramp can be removed with {{K|d|z}}. Channels dug above a layer that has been dug out will not create ramps.

One consequence is that the dwarf can now channel straight down for as far as he likes. This ''will'' happen even if you don't intend it - the dwarf will walk down into the channel he's just made, and dig the next channel down, seemingly in preference to digging a tunnel to access that next channel from the side as perhaps you'd intended. As there is (usually) no surface adjacent to the channel, the dwarf stands atop it and digs under his feet ''(though this depended on psychiatric "confidence" in 0.28.x.x - does it still?{{verify}})'', usually falling to the next level down, usually leaving him stunned, sometimes bruised, but not greatly harmed. This can lead to [[fun]], and it also gets your elevator shaft dug in a hurry, with the dwarf emerging at the bottom atop an absurdly large pile of stones. (Pity they haven't invented the elevator...)

Channels, once the ramps have been removed, can be used to create moats which non-flying enemies will be unable to cross.
Note that if you designate a large area for channeling the ramps in the middle will be automatically removed while the ramps at the edges will remain to be removed manually. This allows you to very quickly build large artificial lakes.

----

Some notes on dealing with channels:

'''Removing ramps''':
[[Image:Rampremoval.png|thumb|154px|Support and floor collapse removing a ramp (cross section)

Not shown: clouds of lethal dust and a hole punched through to your dining area]]

:If you want a channel with no exits at all, then you will have difficulty, as dwarves will only be able to remove the exit stairs/ramps from inside the channel. The easy option is to wall off a separate exit area. If this offends your aesthetic sense and you are willing to go to the effort, there is another solution: Make a constructed ramp to get your miners out, then collapse a tile of constructed floor to reduce the ramp to rubble (which you can then hide). Another way to create a channel with no exit is to use a staircase in the center of the moat not adjacent to the edge but accessible by a floor tile or a bridge. Remove, raise or accordingly retract it after your last miner has left.

'''Preventing channel access''':
[[Image:Safechannel.png|thumb|154px|The miner will not be able to access the ramp from a floor tile (cross section)]]

:You will sometimes want to dig a channel without risking your dwarves entering it (e.g. [[fun]] with [[magma]]). This can be achieved if you (ab)use the ramp access rules. If the tiles adjacent to the critical channeling tile are either impassable or have empty space below, then the ramp will not be accessible after being dug, so your dwarf will remain safely on the upper level.
[[Image:Unsafechannel.png|thumb|154px|A solid tile allows the miner to reach the level below (cross section)]]

'''Be careful of cave-ins'''
:Unsupervised channeling of large areas tends to cause cave-ins. Like a cartoon character that unthinkingly saws the branch he's sitting in, your dwarves will happily punch through the only remaining wall or floor supporting the area he's standing on. This can ''mostly'' be avoided by mining from the top down, one level at a time, but when channeling floors that have already been mined under, further micromanagement may be needed.

{{category|designations}}

Channel

2014-08-28T03:47:34Z

ESharpAxe: changed link for word "mined" to link to the "mining" page. The "mining" page already links to this "channel" page

{{Migrated_article}}
{{av}}{{Quality|Exceptional|10:51, 16 June 2010 (UTC)}}
A '''channel''' is a hole dug in the ground or wall which will mine out the [[z-level]] below too. You can use long channels to act as [[moat]]s, to move liquids such as [[water]] and [[magma]] from one point to another, and other creative purposes. With this option it is possible to either select floor tiles or 'full' tiles. When channeled out, the floor (as well as a wall if it exists) on your layer will be removed and the tile on the layer below will be [[mining|mined]] out. Creating a channel could be described as "strip mining".

In layman's terms: mining an area will carve out a tunnel in the rock to crawl through, whereas channelling an area will also remove the bottom of that tunnel and make a second tunnel one level below, creating a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench Trench] of sorts.

Digging a channel creates a [[ramp]] on the level below. The bottom ramp can be removed with {{K|d|z}}. Channels dug above a layer that has been dug out will not create ramps.

One consequence is that the dwarf can now channel straight down for as far as he likes. This ''will'' happen even if you don't intend it - the dwarf will walk down into the channel he's just made, and dig the next channel down, seemingly in preference to digging a tunnel to access that next channel from the side as perhaps you'd intended. As there is (usually) no surface adjacent to the channel, the dwarf stands atop it and digs under his feet ''(though this depended on psychiatric "confidence" in 0.28.x.x - does it still?{{verify}})'', usually falling to the next level down, usually leaving him stunned, sometimes bruised, but not greatly harmed. This can lead to [[fun]], and it also gets your elevator shaft dug in a hurry, with the dwarf emerging at the bottom atop an absurdly large pile of stones. (Pity they haven't invented the elevator...)

Channels, once the ramps have been removed, can be used to create moats which non-flying enemies will be unable to cross.
Note that if you designate a large area for channeling the ramps in the middle will be automatically removed while the ramps at the edges will remain to be removed manually. This allows you to very quickly build large artificial lakes.

----

Some notes on dealing with channels:

'''Removing ramps''':
[[Image:Rampremoval.png|thumb|154px|Support and floor collapse removing a ramp (cross section)

Not shown: clouds of lethal dust and a hole punched through to your dining area]]

:If you want a channel with no exits at all, then you will have difficulty, as dwarves will only be able to remove the exit stairs/ramps from inside the channel. The easy option is to wall off a separate exit area. If this offends your aesthetic sense and you are willing to go to the effort, there is another solution: Make a constructed ramp to get your miners out, then collapse a tile of constructed floor to reduce the ramp to rubble (which you can then hide). Another way to create a channel with no exit is to use a staircase in the center of the moat not adjacent to the edge but accessible by a floor tile or a bridge. Remove, raise or accordingly retract it after your last miner has left.

'''Preventing channel access''':
[[Image:Safechannel.png|thumb|154px|The miner will not be able to access the ramp from a floor tile (cross section)]]

:You will sometimes want to dig a channel without risking your dwarves entering it (e.g. [[fun]] with [[magma]]). This can be achieved if you (ab)use the ramp access rules. If the tiles adjacent to the critical channeling tile are either impassable or have empty space below, then the ramp will not be accessible after being dug, so your dwarf will remain safely on the upper level.
[[Image:Unsafechannel.png|thumb|154px|A solid tile allows the miner to reach the level below (cross section)]]

'''Be careful of cave-ins'''
:Unsupervised channeling of large areas tends to cause cave-ins. Like a cartoon character that unthinkingly saws the branch he's sitting in, your dwarves will happily punch through the only remaining wall or floor supporting the area he's standing on. This can ''mostly'' be avoided by mining from the top down, one level at a time, but when channeling floors that have already been mined under, further micromanagement may be needed.

{{category|designations}}

Dwarf Fortress Wiki:Sandbox

2014-07-28T03:42:59Z

ESharpAxe: /* 3x3 rooms */ Break run-on sentences into separate sentences.

{{sandbox}}
{{#df_foreachtag:
[LINK:ACTIVE:DF2012:Cat]
[LINK::v0.31:Cat]
[LINK::40d:Cat]
[LINK::23a:Cat]
|LINK|*link to [[\3:\4]] (\2)
}}

[[DF2014:Healthcare|Wounded dwarves go here.]]

=== 3x3 rooms ===

This design makes it easier to contain berserk dwarves.

(Beware, access may be blocked depending on a workshop's pattern of internal [[impassable tile]]s. Different workshops have different internal patterns of passable and impassable floor tiles. When building a workshop, Dwarf Fortress indicates which tiles are passable/impassable by pattern of light/dark green X's. The central tile is always passable, so for those using tilesets, similar tiles to the middle tile are passable.)
{{diagram|spaces=yes|1=\
╔═══╦═══┼..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
╩══┼╩┼══┼..
....X......
╦══┼╦┼══┼..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
╚═══╩═══┼..

W = workshop
X = up/down staircase
. = floor
}}
Access and stockpiles are placed above and below the room. Similar workshops can be grouped together for easier monitoring. Doors can be locked should a moody dwarf's wishes be unmet. This concept can be used for your entire fortress:

Below you can see a piece from around the central staircase, to see how the design should start. Notice that it is pretty modular. You can have two workshops pushed together, or you can separate them all. You have a couple options on how you set up your entrances connecting two workshops with one door, or leaving them with separate entrances. It's up to you. Notice the initial diagonal terminates at a workshop, and starts the grid pattern.
<diagram>
║WWW║.║```║.║WWW║`
║WWW║.╠═══╣.║WWW║`
║WWW║.║WWW║.║WWW║`
╩═══┼.║WWW║.┼═══╩═
......║WWW║.......
══════┼═╦═┼═══┼═══
WWWWWW║.O.║WWW║WWW
WWWWWW╠OXO╣WWW║WWW
WWWWWW║.O.║WWW║WWW
══════┼═╩═┼═══┼═══
......║WWW║.......
╦═══┼.║WWW║.┼═══╦═
║WWW║.║WWW║.║WWW║`
║WWW║.╠═══╣.║WWW║`
║WWW║.┼WWW┼.║WWW║`
╚═══╣.║WWW║.╠═══╝`
````║.║WWW║.║`````
````║.╠═══╣.║`````
</diagram>
The floors alternate workshop/storage. On workshop floors the diagonals immediate to the main stairway are mined out a couple spaces to make room for the first workshops; around those you can start mining in straight lines and start a grid pattern. For storage floors you can leave a wall of stone around the staircase with only one or two walls mined out for access; then mine out everything around it. On the ground level you start by mining into a cave, clear out space for a trade depot, and mine out one spot where you build a single downward staircase; here the entire fortress starts. It works great and is very efficient, though it takes a while to get setup right.

Dwarf Fortress Wiki:Sandbox

2014-07-28T03:41:04Z

ESharpAxe: /* 3x3 rooms */

{{sandbox}}
{{#df_foreachtag:
[LINK:ACTIVE:DF2012:Cat]
[LINK::v0.31:Cat]
[LINK::40d:Cat]
[LINK::23a:Cat]
|LINK|*link to [[\3:\4]] (\2)
}}

[[DF2014:Healthcare|Wounded dwarves go here.]]

=== 3x3 rooms ===

This design makes it easier to contain berserk dwarves.

(Beware, access may be blocked depending on a workshop's pattern of internal [[impassable tile]]s. Different workshops have different internal patterns of passable and impassable floor tiles. When building a workshop, Dwarf Fortress indicates which tiles are passable/impassable by pattern of light/dark green X's. The central tile is always passable, so for those using tilesets, similar tiles to the middle tile are passable.)
{{diagram|spaces=yes|1=\
╔═══╦═══┼..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
╩══┼╩┼══┼..
....X......
╦══┼╦┼══┼..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
╚═══╩═══┼..

W = workshop
X = up/down staircase
. = floor
}}
Access and stockpiles are placed above and below the room. Similar workshops can be grouped together for easier monitoring, and doors can be locked should a moody dwarf's wishes be unmet. This concept can be used for your entire fortress:

Below you can see a piece from around the central staircase, to see how the design should start. Notice that it is pretty modular. You can have two workshops pushed together, or you can separate them all. You have a couple options on how you set up your entrances connecting two workshops with one door, or leaving them with separate entrances. It's up to you. Notice the initial diagonal terminates at a workshop, and starts the grid pattern.
<diagram>
║WWW║.║```║.║WWW║`
║WWW║.╠═══╣.║WWW║`
║WWW║.║WWW║.║WWW║`
╩═══┼.║WWW║.┼═══╩═
......║WWW║.......
══════┼═╦═┼═══┼═══
WWWWWW║.O.║WWW║WWW
WWWWWW╠OXO╣WWW║WWW
WWWWWW║.O.║WWW║WWW
══════┼═╩═┼═══┼═══
......║WWW║.......
╦═══┼.║WWW║.┼═══╦═
║WWW║.║WWW║.║WWW║`
║WWW║.╠═══╣.║WWW║`
║WWW║.┼WWW┼.║WWW║`
╚═══╣.║WWW║.╠═══╝`
````║.║WWW║.║`````
````║.╠═══╣.║`````
</diagram>
The floors alternate workshop/storage. On workshop floors the diagonals immediate to the main stairway are mined out a couple spaces to make room for the first workshops; around those you can start mining in straight lines and start a grid pattern. For storage floors you can leave a wall of stone around the staircase with only one or two walls mined out for access; then mine out everything around it. On the ground level you start by mining into a cave, clear out space for a trade depot, and mine out one spot where you build a single downward staircase; here the entire fortress starts. It works great and is very efficient, though it takes a while to get setup right.

Dwarf Fortress Wiki:Sandbox

2014-07-28T03:39:33Z

ESharpAxe: /* 3x3 rooms */

{{sandbox}}
{{#df_foreachtag:
[LINK:ACTIVE:DF2012:Cat]
[LINK::v0.31:Cat]
[LINK::40d:Cat]
[LINK::23a:Cat]
|LINK|*link to [[\3:\4]] (\2)
}}

[[DF2014:Healthcare|Wounded dwarves go here.]]

=== 3x3 rooms ===

This design makes it easier to contain berserk dwarves.

(Beware, access may be blocked depending on a workshop's pattern of internal [[impassable tile]]s. Different workshops have different internal patterns of passable and impassable floor tiles. When building a workshop, Dwarf Fortress indicates which tiles are passable/impassable by pattern of light/dark green X's. The central tile is always passable, so for those using tilesets, similar tiles to the middle tile are passable.)
{{diagram|spaces=yes|1=\
╔═══╦═══┼..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
╩══┼╩┼══┼..
....X......
╦══┼╦┼══┼..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
╚═══╩═══┼..

W = workshop
X = up/down staircase
. = floor
}}
Access and stockpiles are placed above and below the room. Similar workshops can be grouped together for easier checking on, and doors can be locked should a moody dwarf's wishes be unmet. This concept can be used for your entire fortress:

Below you can see a piece from around the central staircase, to see how the design should start. Notice that it is pretty modular. You can have two workshops pushed together, or you can separate them all. You have a couple options on how you set up your entrances connecting two workshops with one door, or leaving them with separate entrances. It's up to you. Notice the initial diagonal terminates at a workshop, and starts the grid pattern.
<diagram>
║WWW║.║```║.║WWW║`
║WWW║.╠═══╣.║WWW║`
║WWW║.║WWW║.║WWW║`
╩═══┼.║WWW║.┼═══╩═
......║WWW║.......
══════┼═╦═┼═══┼═══
WWWWWW║.O.║WWW║WWW
WWWWWW╠OXO╣WWW║WWW
WWWWWW║.O.║WWW║WWW
══════┼═╩═┼═══┼═══
......║WWW║.......
╦═══┼.║WWW║.┼═══╦═
║WWW║.║WWW║.║WWW║`
║WWW║.╠═══╣.║WWW║`
║WWW║.┼WWW┼.║WWW║`
╚═══╣.║WWW║.╠═══╝`
````║.║WWW║.║`````
````║.╠═══╣.║`````
</diagram>
The floors alternate workshop/storage. On workshop floors the diagonals immediate to the main stairway are mined out a couple spaces to make room for the first workshops; around those you can start mining in straight lines and start a grid pattern. For storage floors you can leave a wall of stone around the staircase with only one or two walls mined out for access; then mine out everything around it. On the ground level you start by mining into a cave, clear out space for a trade depot, and mine out one spot where you build a single downward staircase; here the entire fortress starts. It works great and is very efficient, though it takes a while to get setup right.