v0.31:Channel

2012-04-17T10:27:24Z

Elina Schroder:

{{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 [[mine]]d 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 differs from version 0.28.x.x - it creates a [[ramp]] on the level below instead of an open space. Remove the bottom ramp by {{K|d}}esignating it to be removed ({{K|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)]]
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v0.34:Ambusher

2012-04-17T10:26:56Z

Elina Schroder:

{{Quality|Exceptional|10:50, 12 July 2010 (UTC)}}
{{Skill
| color = 2:0
| skill = Ambusher
| specialty = Hunter
| profession = [[Ranger]]
| job name = [[Hunting]]
| tasks =
* Hunt
| attributes =
* Agility
* Focus
* Spatial Sense
* Kinesthetic Sense
}}
{{av}}

[[Dwarves]] with the '''hunting''' [[labor]] enabled automatically use the '''ambusher''' skill while hunting outside of the fortress, which allows them to sneak up on their prey. The ambusher skill is listed among the 'misc' skills. Dwarves using the ambush skill move more slowly, but, if successful, cannot be seen by enemies. Once close enough, the ambusher skill is no longer relevant, and the hunter will engage in standard [[combat]] with their prey using their crossbow.

Since hunting is employed by players with varying success and your military will go after any game that looks at them funny anyway, you might be better off doing the good old 'hunt with your military'. After all, your military can be told to pick a specific target, and, more convenient, to ''stop'', too. One must remove the hunting labor from the hunter to get them to stop.

==Caveats==
A dwarf with the hunting labor enabled will sleep outside, causing unhappy thoughts. It may thus be necessary to watch the mood of a full-time hunter and take him off the job in time.

Animals will appear randomly on the edge of a map, especially once the map is cleared of all wildlife. This can result in your [[hoary marmot|marmot]] hunter suddenly having an unpleasant chitchat with an [[elephant]], [[giant eagle]], or worse. That said, a seasoned and well-equipped hunter is more than a match for a giant eagle, and can be a good preemptive defense for your above-ground workers.

Hunters using crossbows must have a [[quiver]] to hold their bolts. Due to this change of behavior in version 0.31.x, the standard load for embarking now includes 3 quivers.

An unskilled hunter will crawl in ambush mode, making the hunter unable to reach fast animals like badgers. Fortunately, an experienced one will be able to rapidly bring down even swift prey.

Ten novice hunters working together can take down even very large, very fast animals.

A highly skilled and agile hunter will be able to single-handedly take down nearly anything.

== Adventurer mode ==
In [[adventurer mode]], ambusher skill is gained by moving around while {{key|S}}neaking, during which hostile [[creatures]] will not target you. Sneak mode remains active until toggled off, until detected by an enemy, or during sleep and fast travel (so it's impossible to sneak against a random encounter.) At lower skill levels, speed is greatly reduced, but the penalty gradually reduces until negated at Legendary skill, and it's possible to sneak at full movement rate. Chance of detection is also reduced, and a more skilled ambusher can remain in close combat for longer without being detected. The yellow announcement text "You have been spotted!" indicates that sneak mode is no longer active against any hostiles in range.

== Hunting ==
A hunter picks a mark at random, which he then pursues. Hunters seem to switch marks under certain circumstances. As an ambusher gets closer to his prey, there is a greater and greater chance he or she will be spotted by the animal and stop ambushing. Higher skill allows dwarves to get closer before being spotted, and also increases the speed at which a dwarf can move while sneaking.

Generally, when the dwarf is within shooting range the dwarf will move to engage. From there, the ambusher skill has no effect, and only combat skills are used.

Upon killing the prey, a hunter will usually carry it home to the [[butcher's shop]]. A hunter may kill other [[creatures]] that are closer to them than the fleeing mark he is intent on catching. They will ignore the accidental carcass and only bring home a carcass they have marked beforehand. This means that sometimes multiple dead critters per hunt will be lying about and start rotting around the map if you do not set the refuse orders to 'gather refuse from outside' ([[corpse|corpses]] count as refuse). If you do this and have a good system of [[stockpile|stockpiles]], available dwarf [[hauling|haulers]] and a map free of menacing critters (like with calm [[surroundings]]), then you should have the outside of your fort just as tidy as the inside, and will be able to salvage the corpses. If you do that on the wrong map, you will see some dwarf carcasses added instead.

A hunter armed with a [[crossbow]] will increase his [[Marksman|marksdwarf]], ambusher and [[archery]] [[skill|skills]].

After a period of time, most hunters will eventually cause the extinction of the wild animals in the biomes where your fort is located. There are two ways to prevent this. The first is to ensure that some animals always escape; many animals spawn on the map in groups or herds, and as long as at least one member of this group survives to leave the map later, the population of that creature will not decrease. Another method is to capture the wild animals, breed them, and then either release them back into the biome or hunt the offspring.

==Postprocessing==
Caution is advised in the slaughtering process. Hunters will drop carcasses directly into the [[butcher's shop|butchery]], which will make it [[clutter|cluttered]] very fast. Animals upon being butchered explode into many many parts, and the clutter will make the [[butcher]] work many times slower. [[Stockpiles]] and [[hauling|haulers]] are suggested, or your animal corpses will rot even while in the butchery and you will lose the valuable byproducts: [[skin]], [[meat]], and ([[food]]). Bones and skulls can be salvaged from non-sentient skeletons once processed by a butcher. ([http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/mantisbt/view.php?id=1180 doesn't work?]). It can also happen that your butcher is not fast enough and a hauler takes a corpse from the butchery and puts it on a refuse pile. This shouldn't be a problem as your butcher will pick it up from there.

If you don't have a good stocking and hauling system, some of the food will rot. Also, the [[craftsdwarf]] unfortunate enough to need the bones, hooves, etc, from the rotted critters will have to endure the [[miasma]] of rotting corpse. All these things can place a strain on production speed and safety. Corpses stored outside do not produce [[miasma]] so placing refuse [[stockpiles]] either outside or in rooms with a skylight will remove the risks [[miasma]] would normally present.

==Dogs==
You can assign [[Dog#Hunting_Dogs|hunting dogs]] to your [[hunter|hunters]], which can sneak alongside their masters and attack the hunter's prey. You can also assign [[Dog#War_Dogs|War dogs]], which are much stronger and can help take down bigger game, but cannot sneak and may rush into combat early.

== Weapons and Tactics ==
You should consider training hunters in wrestling in order for them to defend themselves. Wrestling will help them to break the jaw-grips that the enemy critter places on him, and will help the dwarf wrestle on his own and even place his own jaw grips if both of his hands are incapacitated, and is the only option if a weapon is dropped or stuck in the animal. You should also consider training them in the [[Weapon skill|hammerdwarf]] skill, as a crossbow is used with this skill if an animal engages in melee against a marksdwarf. Hunters will fight to the death if engaged, but get a job cancellation if they run out of [[bolt|bolts]]. Without bolts assigned, he must fight with the butt of the crossbow, which functions similarly to a [[Dwarven_weapon#War_hammer|hammer]].

Using your military to hunt can be safer and more efficient than using hunters, particularly if they are agile enough to simply outrun the creatures.

Be warned that hunters will not stop their current hunt if you disable their hunting labor; hence, your dwarf may end up hunting whatever creatures spawn next, with potentially suicidal results. This may be avoidable by disabling the labor while hunting or returning the kill.

== Free equipment ==
Any [[immigration|immigrating]] hunters will receive a full set of proper equipment.

==Bugs==
*Weapons of hunters might not be assigned properly. Even if a hunter has a quiver and bow, and assigned ammo, he may not have the ''right'' bow. Disable his hunting skill so he stockpiles his equipment, then re-enable hunting when he's done.

{{Skills}}
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v0.31:Channel

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