40d Talk:Channel

Note on FAQ Boxes

The Water and Magma FAQ boxes at the bottom of the article link to the DF2010 version of this wiki, and I don't know how to fix them. I've taken off the red links banner as I fixed the remaining red links - does it need to go on again? --Nimblewright 09:20, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Empty channels as moats

Can land-bound enemies cross empty channels? Or would an empty channel dug around your entire fort suffice to prevent intruders? Julius 19:53, 13 November 2007 (EST)

Probably not... I'm assuming they'd just fall down a z-level, just like your dwarves do.--Tarsier 20:07, 13 November 2007 (EST)

A channel with a constructed wall on the inner side is an ultimate defence against every non-flying creature. Without the wall enemy archers/crossbowmen can deal some damage.--Another 07:10, 22 November 2007 (EST)

to my best knowledge no land-bound creature 1) can willingly enter or cross empty channels except via stairs 2) can get out of an empty channel except via a stair (haven't tested flooding-swimming-climbing out). So yes, an empty channel is a fine keep-out defense. --Koltom 12:48, 21 February 2008 (EST)

A goblin archer just managed to get into my empty channel..he might have fallen in while fleeing in a "panic mode". There also is a slim chance my bridge catapulted him in. Anyway, he is down there now quite a while and cant seem to get out. Lets see if he starves and dies. --Koltom 13:01, 28 February 2008 (EST)

Falling

Can digging a channel, that has a solid floor below it, under a dwarf, that would result in the dwarf falling in, cause death or make the dwarf unable to operate?

Don't see why not, the dwarf is falling so could get hurt (although death would be unlikely) and it's also possible any stone generated from the fall could land after, but I have no idea how that is worked out so that might not be true. --Shades 07:27, 22 November 2007 (EST)

Happened to me more than once. --Jackard 07:55, 22 November 2007 (EST)

What has happened more than once? Falling? Ya, I just asked because it is good to know and I have a big project involving digging through many levels of rock and channels are the most efficient way to do it. --Nerd10101 01:04, 23 November 2007 (EST)

If you dig from the top to the bottom and plan everything out, you should not have a problem. --Eagle of Fire 01:10, 23 November 2007 (EST)

A one-layer fall has never caused serious damage on my fort. -- Zaratustra 01:30, 23 November 2007 (EST)

A dwarf that drops one z-level is not damaged, just temporarialy stunned. --GreyMario 02:35, 23 November 2007 (EST)

I got dwarves suffer very serious injuries from falling one Z in a chasm to the second level while fighting, though. --Eagle of Fire 22:32, 23 November 2007 (EST)

Is it possible for a dwarf to get out of a channel if they fall in? - Znex 04:47, 1 January 2008 (EST)

Other than creating stairs/ramps, I don't believe so. If they could, then channels/moats wouldn't be very effective in defense. --Edward 04:54, 1 January 2008 (EST)

So...it could never get out? - Znex 05:23, 1 January 2008 (EST)

Channels now create a hole to the next Z level down. This mean that the dwarf would need some way to get up, like a stair or ramp. I am not sure if they could just swim to the surface and get up this way if the channel is full of water though. --Eagle of Fire 05:39, 1 January 2008 (EST)

Stairs work fine, though. Have another dwarf dig one beside the channel from above and hope the other dwarf doesn't drown before he/she can get to it.--Maximus 13:34, 1 January 2008 (EST)

Oh, but I haven't made a floodgate or anything yet. It's just the drain pipe. Besides, I already made stairs, but how do you get the dwarf to go up them? - Znex 17:05, 1 January 2008 (EST)

Wait, never mind. I set a mining thing alongside the channel and the dwarf(since he was a miner) got out and started making it. Which would probably mean that the dwarf wasn't really down the channel at all, but rather on a piece of channel that hadn't been made yet. - Znex 17:10, 1 January 2008 (EST)

Will dwarves dig out a floor on which another dwarf or pet is standing? I've never personally seen it happen. --Tachyon 14:28, 3 August 2008 (EDT)

It was fixed a couple of versions back. --Juckto 21:01, 3 August 2008 (EDT)

Andesite

This rock seems to block all of my buildings, doors and workshops especially. Have I just never noticed rock blocking things before now?

An object wont block construction unless it is tasked for something already. Tasked means there is a job in the job queue that wants to do something with that particular object, so dwarves are not allowed to interact with it unless they are doing it for that particular job. Large stone stockpiles will leave a lot of rocks tasked (because stone hauling is slow), preventing dwarves from moving them out of the way to place doors and buildings. In the stone management article there are methods of dealing with the large amounts of stone your miners produce. VengefulDonut 11:20, 23 November 2007 (EST)

true to the task or just stone dumb?

One of my little fellas in all honesty tried to wade through a filled channel, to stockpile a leftover shale. Okay, there was a stair going down to the channel level, and there was one going up on the other end near the pile and it was by far the shortest way. The best thing is, after a few tiles he decided to get scared and announced "cancel. dangerous terrain". Not that that made him get out of the channel! I then drafted him to get him out..now i wonder, would the goblins take the same route into my fortress? ;) --Koltom 20:29, 21 February 2008 (EST)

Poor Swimmers

Is there a benefit to filling moats with water? Unfilled moats apparently provide an unbeatable defense. However, if enemies charged into filled moats or something, that could definately provide a quick way to end sieges. --Shadow archmagi 11:41, 28 February 2008 (EST)

As far as is known, general pathfinding does not seem to take into account the ability of a creature to swim if it does not naturally (e.g., carp, which has special flags). But it does take into account the existence of open space, like the kind that is one z-level above water; only flying creatures can move through open space willingly, but you will find that drowning a creature that can fly is exceedingly difficult. The significant problem with moats is the potential for them to freeze and create walkable terrain.

It might be possible to entice invaders (as well as your own fools) to attempt to ford a filled moat by building ramps down into it, but they may also find that it is "dangerous terrain" and cancel the attempt. --FJH 19:09, 25 March 2009 (EST)

Filling in Channels

It's not possible right now right?--Seaneat 05:52, 5 July 2008 (EDT)

The closest you can come are:

1. Dwarven Cement Mixer: Fill channel with lava. Cover filled channel with water.
2. building a wall on the spot where you dug the channel out (fills in the gap and makes the level above walkable)
3. building a floor over the spot where you dug the channel out (leaves a tunnel but makes the level above walkable)

In fact a channel 3 squares long (heck even 1 square long) can be used as a place to dump an infinite amount of anything solid - say, rock - just don't dump liquid in there because it can only go to 7 units deep of either magma or water (dunno what happens when you dump 100 blocks of water (AKA "ice") in a channel and it melts...?)GarrieIrons 10:29, 5 July 2008 (EDT)

A cave-in (requiring of course, that the channel was inside and below material) should create new undug tiles where they fall, if the cave-in consists of undug tiles. --Edward 13:35, 5 July 2008 (EDT)

Channeling vs. Mining

I've noticed an odd behavior with regard to channeling water. It seems (and I'm doing some additional testing to confirm this) that Channeled streams don't allow for Fishing (the Zones menu shows zero fishable squares), but Mined streams do. I have no idea why this would be the case, but it's an observable phenomenon that I've had happen in Fortresses dating back almost a year ago. --Nekojin 14:34, 22 August 2008 (EDT)

After doing some testing, it seems this may be just a temporary thing. The channeled area that was unfishable became fishable after the river froze and thawed. So perhaps it only lasts for one season or so. --Nekojin 12:59, 23 August 2008 (EDT)

Area Channeling

When I designate large areas to be channelled I notice that my dwarves mine out the squares in an order such that there won't be any unchannelled islands usually. The exceptions are when some object like walls prevent the dwarves from being able to reach squares making it impossible to just channel without leaving islands, Does the game calculate in what order the squares need to/can be dug for their to be no islands leftover or am I crazy? --71.145.168.229 04:19, 16 February 2010 (UTC)