v0.31:Mega construction

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xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼

Introduction

There comes a time in every dwarf's life when he says to himself - why not? ("Because it's insane" is not considered an automatic fail condition.) Be they magma waterfalls, huge castles, skyscrapers, great cathedrals, inverted pyramids, the Statue of Dwarferty (bonus points for magma eyes) - you can build anything!

While building a fully automated sacrificial temple to the dwarf god with magma-falls is quite an undertaking, the techniques are mostly the same as those to build a simple wall or tower, just putting one stone on top of or next to another - so we'll start there.

(And it's recommended you do too - start with some smaller projects, a defensive wall, and then some simple archer towers to secure your area, and build on your experience from there. It's very easy and frustrating to build a complete disaster. But fun is in the eyes of the player.) [1]

Even though those projects listed above may seem hard, they are all simply a combination of walls, floors, ramps, and mabye the occasional magma pump. We'll start you off at the basics, and leave you to have fun once you get started.

Basic Constructions

The building blocks of every sucessful fortress. While in combination they can produce insane constructions, even by themselves, they are useful. Want to build a bridge across that river? Maybe build a wall to keep the goblins at bay? Even just build an up/down stairway to get from level to level? You've used basic constructions!

Wall

Walls are built by the pressing of the b, C, and w keys, in that order. Walls are simply tiles where no one can walk, but can be walked on, provided you are one layer above the wall. You can build floors off of them and they can be used to close in buildings that are built outside, or even can be used to wall in your fortress from the outside. The cost of one wall is equal to one economic building material.

Floor

Floors are built by the pressing of the b, C, and f keys in that order. They can be walked on, but no constructions (eg. walls, ramps, etc...) can be built upon them. However, things such as beds and doors can be put upon floors. Building a floor above an open tile outside will designate that tile inside, so furniture could be placed there. The cost of one floor is equal to one economic building material.

Ramp

Ramps are built by the pressing of the b, C, and r keys in that order. They can be used to get from level to level of your fortress and are similar to stairwells. If a floor is built on top of the Z level the ramp is placed on, the ramp will not be usable. The cost of one ramp is equal to one economic building material.

Mega Construcions

Mega constructions, also deemed mega projects, can incoporate almost anything, whether it be beneficial to the fortress or not. The definiton of a "mega construction" will vary by user. Some examples of mega constructions are listed below, along with their relative difficulty and usefulness.

Massive Temple

Usefulness: None

Comments: Massive cathedrals filled with the corpses of goblins and engraved with your victories, surrounded by solid platinum statues of your leaders. On the inside it's filled with benches and rows so your dwarves can relax and enjoy family time together during services where they hopefully learn not to kill each other.

Above-Ground Fortress

Usefulness: Location-Dependant

Comments: This is rather hard to do, as you will find that you will always need more construction materials. It becomes a challenge to build freestanding homes for each new colonist, as instead of mining out 5 squares for a 2 by 2 room with a door, it will take at least 16 constructions, including 1 ramp, 4 floors, and 11 walls, not including furniture. However, this method of fortress-building becomes useful on a map where there is an Aquifer and wood is relatively easy to get.

Pyramids

Usefulness: Low

Comments: This can be an interesting starting project for novices who, before taking on larger projects, need to figure out how construction works first. It is not incredibly useful, but you can place beds or coffins (maybe both) in each level of the Pyramid. For extra points, try to make each layer of the pyramid out of slightly more valuable materials than the layer before.

Massive Statues

Usefulness: None

Comments: A giant, hollow statue of a Dwarf built out of constructions. A gifted few have figured out how to get magma in the eyeballs of the statue.

Large Scale Flooding

Usefulness: Location-Dependant

Comments: A last resort against the goblins, this project causes the outside world to be flooded with water or magma. Take note that this is a rather difficult project to co-ordinate, due to the complicated nature of fluids, possibly resulting in lots of fun. Most famously employed in Boatmurdered.

Hippie Exterminator

Usefulness: Dependant on Preferences

Comments: You gotta water those trees, man, and let the treehuggers that care so much for them share in this watery gift! Essentially, a gigantic drowning chamber for Elves.

Basically, construct a very long wall all the way around an Elf-village, then use flooring to put a lid on the entire village. Connect some screw pumps from the local river (or other water supply) to fill this box with water. This will kill all of the Elves enclosed inside. Totally pointless and time-consuming, thus making it a worthy megaconstruction.

Additional: This can be a very processor-intensive operation. Small-scale suggestions are building the box around your Trade Depot, and flooding it only when Elves are inside. Drainage can be done with a floodgate to release the water from the depot.

Dwarven Arcology

Usefulness: Low

Comments: This is ideal for your patently insane Stupid dwarf trick needs. Essentially, this project consists of building your entire fortress above ground in one singluar structure. A subterranean level (the basement) on the bottom floor provides plump helmets, pig tails, and so on. On the ground floor, grow above-ground plants and carve fortifications into all the walls. From here, it's all about absolutely huge levels packed with food stores, refuse dumps, wood stockpiles, workshops, archery ranges, and bedrooms. The only subterranean activity permitted is digging, although you may be able to get away with building your depot below ground. This consumes ridiculous amounts of time and stone, placing walls is extremely fiddly, and as soon as goblins control the ground floor your fortress will starve unless you can exterminate them. So, pointless, frustrating, and borderline suicidal... in short, a perfect megaconstruction.

Additional: Cast the entire thing in Obsidian using magma and water and engrave all the sides with your greatness. [2]

Notes

[3] Magmawiki Link to 40d Mega Construction Page