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Difference between revisions of "Silk farming"

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(update)
(→‎Simple silk farm: update/simplify)
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==Simple silk farm==
 
==Simple silk farm==
 
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# Dig out (and optionally smooth) a sufficiently large room (example shown is 11x11).
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# Dig out (and optionally smooth) a sufficiently large room (example shown is 9x11)
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# Channel out the "S" square and the "g" square and build retracting bridges over the gaps. Link these bridges to a lever and place a cage trap underneath whichever square will eventually hold the hostile creature. Separate levers for each bridge may also be used. Do not use any creatures with a size of over 1,000,000 as bait! The weight of these creatures will jam the bridge in place. This step is optional, and allows a creature or corpse to be removed from the silk farm and either repositioned or recaptured without military involvement.
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# Build a [[cage]] containing an *untamed* spider at the gray "S", and link it to a lever
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# [[Construction|Construct]] all of the red [[fortification]]s.
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# Build a '''non-wooden''' [[door]] above the spider cage, and mark it forbidden and pet-inaccessible
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# Build the 3 green [[bridge]]s, all raising lengthwise to form long walls.
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# Recommended: build a [[cage trap]] on the green "^" to recapture your spider later
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# Construct a [[lever]] somewhere convenient in your fortress and link it to the 3 bridges.
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# [[Construction|Construct]] all of the red [[fortification]]s
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# Build one of the 2 [[floodgate]]s and link it to the lever. Pull the lever to open the floodgate and allow access to the room, then build the second floodgate and link it to the lever. Pull the lever until both floodgates are closed.
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# Build the green [[bridge]], raising lengthwise to form a long wall.
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# Using a pit/pond [[activity zone]] on the Z-level above, drop a tame giant cave spider into the gray "S" square and a hostile creature (such as a goblin) into the gray "g" square. Alternatively, use a hostile spider and a tame creature - the main concern is that the spider must be hostile toward its target.
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# Build a [[lever]] somewhere convenient in your fortress and link it to the green bridge
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# Pull the lever to release the spider
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At this point, the spider will begin blasting the bait creature with webs, and most of the webs will fly through the fortifications and land on the floor to the left. Once enough webs have accumulated, pull the lever to open the chamber for collection and raise the 3 bridges. These bridges enclose both spider and bait, and while the spider will continue to web the bait this does not cause the same lag as the old door method.
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# Order a *non-ranged* military dwarf to station or patrol in the room (but *not* on the green bridge)
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# Raise the green bridge periodically to allow your bait dwarf to escape, then lower it again to resume production
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Silk can be farmed from a wild spider with a few changes. A dwarf volunteer can be used in place of the goblin for a wild spider, but make sure you have a means to retrieve the dwarf periodically.  It's recommended that you place a backup [[cage trap]] to reposition the spider if your first design doesn't meet your needs, but remember that should any webbing fall on the cage trap, it will trap your dwarves as easily as it will the spider.  Wild spiders can be placed via [[lever]]-controlled deconstructing cage (which would have to be placed inside the chamber prior to building the fortifications), or [[pit]]ted from above.
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# Your weavers *may* collect webs during production if they have sufficient discipline; if not, leave the green bridge raised while they collect the webs
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Note that tame spiders may be hostile to wild animals.{{verify}} This means that you might be able to use a benign wild animal, such as a [[grasshopper man]] or a [[large rat]], as a bait animal, instead of a hostile creature like a [[goblin]]. Dwarves are not as frightened of wild animals as they are of hostiles, and this can make the shutter bridges and surrounding walls entirely unnecessary--the weaver can simply walk up to the webs as the spider shoots them. This may cause the occasional cancel spam when an errant web hits the weaver directly, but there is no real danger.
 
  
 
==High-volume silk farm==
 
==High-volume silk farm==

Revision as of 19:43, 8 September 2014

xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼
Part of a number of articles on
Projects
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Basic
Aqueduct • Archery tower • Atom smasher • Danger room • Dam • Garbage dump • Mass pit • Moat • Pit trap • Reservoir• Sally port • Swimming pool • Tower • Tree farm
Advanced
Drowning chamber • Magma piston • Obsidian farm • Pump stack • Silk farm • Water reactor
v · t · e
v50.14 · v0.47.05
This article is about the current version of DF.
Note that some content may still need to be updated.

Silk farming is the process of harvesting large quantities of silk from webslinging creatures like giant cave spiders. Several setups have been devised to farm silk quickly and safely, but successful silk farms have a few traits in common:

  1. The webslinging creature must be aggressive toward the bait, and willing to web it. Tame giant cave spiders are not willing to web invaders[Verify], while wild spiders appear to only be willing to web dwarves. Various other untamable creatures remain willing to web most tame animals (with cats being a possible exception). Tame spiders are not aggressive toward animals on restraints.
  2. The webslinging creature must not be able to reach its bait; if it can, the bait (or creature) will die and no further silk will be generated. Spiders can destroy wooden doors but not stone or metal doors. They cannot pass through forbidden doors or doors that have been "tightly closed". Other silk-spewing creatures can destroy all non-artifact doors, requiring drawbridges or walls for containment
  3. Web collection cannot occur in sight of wild webslingers or invaders serving as bait; either will cause dwarves to interrupt collection. Drawbridges work well to block line of sight in either case, as webs will not prevent them from raising.

Simple silk farm

╔ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ╗
║ + + + + + + + + + ║
║ + + + + + + + + + ╠ ═ ╗
║ + + + + + + + + + ┼ + ║
┼ + + + + + + + + ╥ ║ ^ ║
║ + + + + + + + + ║ ╬ ┼ ╣
║ + + + + + + + + ║ ╬ S ║
║ + + + + + + + + ║ ╬ ═ ╝
┼ + + + + + + + + ╨ ║
║ + + + + + + + + + ║
║ + + + + + + + + + ║
║ + + + + + + + + + ║
╚ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ╝
  1. Dig out (and optionally smooth) a sufficiently large room (example shown is 9x11)
  2. Build a cage containing an *untamed* spider at the gray "S", and link it to a lever
  3. Build a non-wooden door above the spider cage, and mark it forbidden and pet-inaccessible
  4. Recommended: build a cage trap on the green "^" to recapture your spider later
  5. Construct all of the red fortifications
  6. Build the green bridge, raising lengthwise to form a long wall.
  7. Build a lever somewhere convenient in your fortress and link it to the green bridge
  8. Pull the lever to release the spider
  9. Order a *non-ranged* military dwarf to station or patrol in the room (but *not* on the green bridge)
  10. Raise the green bridge periodically to allow your bait dwarf to escape, then lower it again to resume production
  11. Your weavers *may* collect webs during production if they have sufficient discipline; if not, leave the green bridge raised while they collect the webs

High-volume silk farm

z z - 1 z - 2
╔ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ╦ ┼ ═ ═ ╗ ╔ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ╗ ╔ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ╗
║ ╔ ═ ═ ═ ╗ ┼ + + + ║ ║ ╔ ═ ═ ═ ╗ ┼ ║ + + + + + ┼
║ ║ + + + ║ ╬ + ║ ^ ║ ║ ║ + + + ║ ╠ ═ ┼ ╗ ║ + + + + + ║
║ ║ + + + ║ ╬ + ╠ ┼ ╣ ║ ║ + + + ║ ║ + + ║ ║ + + + + + ║
║ ║ + + + ║ ╬ H ╬ S ║ ║ ║ + + + ║ ║ + + ║ ║ + + + + + ║
║ ║ + + + ║ ╬ + ╠ ═ ╝ ║ ║ + + + ║ ║ + + ║ ║ + + + + + ║
║ ║ + + + ║ ╬ + ║ ║ ║ + + + ║ ╠ ═ ═ ╝ ║ + + + + + ║
║ ╚ ═ ═ ═ ╝ ║ ! ║ ║ ╚ ═ ═ ═ ╝ ║ ║ + + + + + ║
╚ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ╩ ═ ╝ ╚ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ╝ ╚ ═ ═ ═ ═ ═ ╝
  1. Dig out the three chambers as shown.
  2. Smooth and carve the red fortifications.
  3. Channel out the areas in green and cyan, linking all three levels
  4. Build the large green bridge (retracting) and large cyan bridge (retracting)
  5. Construct a pressure plate in a well-traveled area (or a repeater) and link it to the green bridge
  6. Build a lever and link it to the cyan bridge
  7. Build a cage containing an *untamed* spider at the gray "S", and link it to a lever
  8. Build a non-wooden door above the spider cage, and mark it forbidden and pet-inaccessible
  9. Channel the yellow "H", build a hatch cover there, and link it to a lever. This will allow you to remove the bait dwarf and stop production.
  10. Recommended: build a cage trap on the green "^" to recapture your spider later
  11. Evacuate the upper two chambers and forbid the bridge-access doors
  12. Pull the lever linked to the cage to release the spider
  13. Station or order a melee dwarf to patrol to the blue '!'; lock the door after he enters the chamber
  14. The spider will blast the bait with webs. When the green bridge automatically retracts, the webs will fall and stack on the cyan bridge
  15. Pull the lever linked to the cyan bridge to drop the stacked webs to the bottom level for collection
  16. Remember to release your bait dwarf periodically

Note that a simple pit in the harvesting chamber will not work--the bridge is required to cause the "web objects" to drop to the next level (and stack). Because falling items are deadly (a falling web managed to break the spine of one of my aspiring weavers), it is necessary to collect the webs on the "holding" bridge and only drop them into the collection chamber when your weavers are clear. Also, webs "tossed" by the retracting bridge can injure anything they hit, so your bait dwarf may require occasional replacement. One spider can easily keep several weavers busy, and collecting all the webs provides a great opportunity for cross-training.

Notes on exotic webslingers

Farming silk from other procedurally generated creatures is somewhat more difficult and less rewarding. As level 2 building destroyers, these creatures can only be contained by bridges or artifact doorways. They are also immune to traps, making positioning in the farm rather more complicated. Finally, without a value modifier, the collected silk will be equivalent in value to common cave spider silk. They do still provide a nearly-inexhaustible source of silk thread, and with some effort their webs can also be used to cage other trap immune creatures. Also, webslingers with modified material properties (e.g. IGNITE_POINT) can produce webs that retain those properties (e.g. fire-safe or magma-safe silk).

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