40d Talk:Magma

Are you certain that steel is a requirement for metals in contact with magma? This info conflicts with the Magma smelter article, which state that using Fire-safe materials is enough. Don't have a fort with magma yet, but could someone check which one is correct?Thexor 19:23, 31 October 2007 (EDT)

If i disable temperature can my dwarfs swim through the magma unharmed? Will it still cause water to steam? Diabl0658 22:28, 31 October 2007 (EDT)

Does the type of rock around the mountainous areas hint at magma? If you check out this article and this site list a bunch of common volcanic rocks: Granite, Rhyolite, Diorite, Andesite, Gabbro, Basalt, Peridotite and Komatite. Perhaps some clues as to where to find magma?

It may be possible to find magma vents by searching for extrusive igneous rocks (such as basalt, felsite, rhyolite and andesite), but continental shelves and deep earth are just naturally made of intrusive igneous rock (such as granite, diorite and gabbro). It's generally indicative of rock that has been pushed up to the surface (or erosion has withered the rock down), and not a volcano.

So areas with surface igneous rocks such as basalt, felsite, rhyolite and andesite have a high chance of finding a source of magma below the surface? I'd like to know if it's entirely random or if there is some order or pattern to it. Schm0 08:38, 5 November 2007 (EST)

On a completely different topic: I keep setting up on magma vents but not actually having a magma chamber visible. I assumed one problem was the lack of a border on my plot (so somehow the volcano was actually outside my plot), but even after making it bigger there was still no magma (...but it did have a fancy cave)...This has happened the last 4 times I've tried to start on a volcano, and the world regenerating takes quite a while for ~10 named volcanoes, and then all of the livable ones don't actually have magma.--UltimaGecko 16:50, 3 November 2007 (EDT)

You might try using reveal.exe to see if the volcano is underground. I just built on a site with a volcano which was not visible from the surface, and used reveal to make sure I hadn't lost my mind (then I killed DF and restarted it so I wouldn't still have the map revealed) - The volcano was entirely underground, covered by layer(s) of rock. I've also added a note to the article saying that it is possible to find a volcano which is visible on the starting screen but not from the surface on-site.--SL 21:54, 7 November 2007 (EST)

I think this is related to the temperature of the area. I've got a map with a magma vent in the middle of a glacier. There was no surface magma, but there was a nice flat, round patch of obsidian surrounded by ice. After digging down three levels through this "cap", I hit live magma. It's actually a nice setup, as I've basically set up a small fort *in* the cap--basically my dwarves are living in the mouth of the volcano, with the basement level dedicated to magma smelters, forges, glass furnaces, etc. --RedKing 04:26, 9 November 2007 (EST)

Magmapool/pipe section

Zara, you recently added some info about all magma pipes having cliffs over them -- this is incorrect. I've played a very large number of magma pipe maps, and very often they are completely exposed to the air. I've also removed the line about them being "as small as two z-levels!", because it needs better phrasing. I may fix it later. MOOMANiBE 22:39, 26 February 2008 (EST)

in the meantime I had figured that out, too. But what is the difference between a magma pipe and a volcano, then? – unsigned comment by Zara

As far as I know, the distinction comes down to whether it reaches the surface. If so, some would then call it a volcano rather than a magma pipe. I believe that magma pipes which reach the surface (or volcanoes, if you will) are the only ones which actually show up on the embark map, while underground magma pipes and magma pools do not (unless you use the Regional Prospector tool). --Janus 23:07, 10 March 2008 (EDT)

No, similar to Moonanibe,I've played on several maps where, on the embark screen, the magma pipe was only visible using regional prospector. However, as soon as I took a look at the place, I found the magma partly (or completely) exposed on the surface. Zara 01:59, 11 March 2008 (EDT)

Added new section

I added a section regarding "Built objects vs. Magma". I think it's absolutely vital we establish what does and doesn't melt in magma, in a clean list. There are quite a few things that could be added to that list (Constructed floors for one) so please, do add to it. MOOMANiBE 17:31, 18 February 2008 (EST)

Have you tested the bridges? I conjecture that all buildings and constructions without mechanisms are perfectly fine with magma contact. VengefulDonut 10:37, 19 February 2008 (EST)

The bridges part was cut from another section of the article and moved in there. Since it was already here, I assumed it was accurate. I haven't actually checked myself. MOOMANiBE 16:54, 19 February 2008 (EST)

I will verify bridges one way or the other. I'm pretty sure they cant melt, though. VengefulDonut 21:03, 19 February 2008 (EST)

they dont melt, as they arent actually within the magma. that was copied over from the 2d wiki and nobody removed it -Chariot 22:29, 19 February 2008 (EST)

I noticed you removed the line about bridges. It seems silly not to mention them at all, so I've written up a line about them working no matter what the material and stuck it in. MOOMANiBE 23:12, 19 February 2008 (EST)

yea they should definately be mentioned, wasnt thinking when i removed it completely(recovering from a bad cold and brain is still a bit foggy) -Chariot 00:49, 20 February 2008 (EST)

Tested. Non-magmaiproof bridges -over- magma are fine. Non-magma-proof submerged in magma will melt. VengefulDonut 12:39, 21 February 2008 (EST)

Interesting. I'll edit the article to say as much. MOOMANiBE 15:30, 21 February 2008 (EST)

This is what I've found: ANY Construction is safe from magma (even wooden ones. Walls, stairs, fortifications, etc). Any building is unaffected by magma if the magma doesn't occupy the same tile as the building. Example: a door is safe if it's closed, even if it's made of non-safe rock or wood. If you lock it open with a mechanism, or if it's jammed, then the magma interacts with the components, burning/melting them if they can't stand the heat. A pump made of wood or any other material is also safe, as long as the magma doesn't flow *over* it. Since the "out" side acts as a wall, if it's correctly isolated from the magma it won't get damaged and will pump the magma without any trouble. --Sergius 01:41, 21 May 2008 (EDT)

Replenishing Magma

Since magma replenishes now, I've rewritten that snippet from the article. If I've missed something(a kind of magma not regenerating, though this always worked for me on several maps), feel free to correct things. --Romantic Warrior 15:47, 18 February 2008 (EST).

I have a very good feeling that the replenishing magma is just "pressurized" magma. I haven't tested fully, but i have poured water over a magma pipe and re-mined it, and in that case the magma flow was upwards. --Sphexx 03:49, 23 May 2008 (EDT)

Temperature

Does magma increase the temperature of things around it? Can it be used to melt ice? --Ikkonoishi 20:26, 3 November 2007 (EDT)

I'm not sure how the temperature calculations are done, but I CAN tell you that magma will melt nearby ice. Check out http://mkv25.net/dfma/movie-153-meltingwateronglacier to see it in action. Zaranthan 15:23, 26 January 2008 (EST)

It should be a flow, just like the magma itself. One of the other visible results is warm stone. The same can probably be said for water and damp stone as well. --Edward 17:01, 26 January 2008 (EST)

Flow?

I have a magma pipe (pit) in my current fortress... I breached the pipe from the lowest level because of the diagonal bug when I discovered it, and it filled some long exploratory shafts. Since then, the top magma layer is down to 5/7 and 6/7 running all over the surface. After a little while, it's easy to see that magma act curiously: instead of bouncing from wall to wall like real water physics, in my game the 5/7 (the flow) seems to all move in the same direction at the same time. The direction change often, and seem to change randomly. --Eagle of Fire 22:43, 26 November 2007 (EST)

There is another way to stop a flow of magma that's moving through a tunnel. You can go one z-level higher, dig to a spot above the magma-filled tunnel, then build a channel above where the magma is flowing and assign it as a Pond Zone. So long as you have buckets and a viable Water Source zone, a dwarf will come along and drop water on the magma, instantly turning it into obsidian and blocking the tunnel. --User:Stromko January 6th, 2007

I've tried this - it rarely works. Usually you just destroy 1/7 of the magma per bucket, along with the water from the bucket, and nothing turns to obsidian. You need to hit it with larger quantities of water at once to get reliable results. --SL 10:35, 6 January 2008 (EST)

Actually, you have to hit it from two levels up. Just one won't do anything.--Demosthenes 17:07, 18 February 2008 (EST)

Criteria for Magma Buildings

Is there a special condition that must be met before Magma Smelters/Forges/Furnaces and so on will appear on the build menus? I have a magma pit and some channels over it so that I can access it for magma, but I cannot build any magma-using buildings. - Confused Rat

Magma furnaces and forges need a hole somewhere on the ground where they are built. This is to allow the furnace/forge to take the heat from the magma as they are used. --Eagle of Fire 19:43, 25 January 2008 (EST)

What he means is that the magma furnaces don't even appear in the build menu. This is because you haven't discovered magma through natural means. The only way this can happen is if you used reveal to find the magma. You'll have to use the Enable Magma Buildings utility to make them appear. --Valdemar 20:03, 25 January 2008 (EST)

Infinity Generators?

Because magma is currently a finite resource, would it be a good idea to add how to make an infinity generator as workarround untill Toady gives us some more of the stuff?—Preceding unsigned comment added by Highlord Asehujiko (talk•contribs)

Not on the main article as it would easily be considered cheating. In here, or the cheating article itself would be fine, the latter probably more appropriate as it could be applied to water as well for those scorching maps. --Edward 19:16, 27 January 2008 (EST)

Magma regenerates in most cases, which pretty much means it's infinite. --Someone-else 19:19, 26 April 2008 (EDT)

Lava vs. Magma

I hadn't noticed it until just now, but both Lava and Magma occur in the game. I haven't seen this fact referenced in the wiki. Magma is a fluid which occurs in Magma Pipes, and in areas directly connected to Magma Pipes. Lava appears to occur in disconnected areas. I'm not sure what happens if you reconnect. If you use k to view a square, you'll see either Magma or Lava depths given. I'm not clear on what difference there is between the two fluids. --Doctorlucky 02:58, 23 March 2008 (EDT)

There is none, just the name. --Savok 10:30, 23 March 2008 (EDT)

both in df, and irl, molten rock in open air is called lava, while subterranean is called magma -Chariot 15:40, 23 March 2008 (EDT)

Ah, so magma which is Outside is lava. Cool. I guess my disjoint areas are all also outside :) I suppose we ought to mention this somewhere on the page? --Doctorlucky 19:19, 23 March 2008 (EDT)