v0.31 Talk:Caverns

I'm not sure 'When should I move in' is a relevant topic for this page. It goes from being informative to prescriptive. As this is not a guide page, it should probably avoid recommendations and focus on facts about Caverns. (Relevantly, the answer to 'when should i move in' may well be never, based on considerations entirely unconnected to the dangers of the cavern). --Squirrelloid 18:58, 1 April 2010 (UTC)

Well, it needed something, and I'm not the best writer in the world, so you're right. Someone should also take a picture of a cavern for when the images work again, I might if no-one else does. --Tarran

I haven't found ruins. Instead I used an adamantium pillar to mine through a magma sea layer, and found glowing pits with about eleventy-billion demons in them. Good to see that while going deep is GAME OVER, there are dozens of different ways to die.--Alkyon 03:38, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

Should this page be considered/have a link to a Biome page? All creatures that exist in these caverns have a the tag [BIOME:SUBTERRANEAN_CHASM] and appear use the [UNDERGROUND_DEPTH:1-3:1-3] to control the depths they can be found in. This would be quite useful for organization. -EricBlank

I think it should have a link from the biome page, since this page is more specific, and it is a biome itself.--Tarran 02:22, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Geography - I have a game where I didn't breach the caverns until z-level 59. In my current game after breaking through a double aquifer I hit the caverns immediately at z-level 6. It doesn't seem like z-level 15 is typical.--Dextradei 16:21, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

Of magma and pools

Can anyone verify if the first level will likely have a gigantic pool, and that the magma is really part of the cavern an not the separate Template:L? --Tarran 08:24, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

There is a world gen setting for "cavern water" ranging from 1-100, also one for "force magma at bottom layer". the latter is on by default. So, dont know, maybe merge or link the articles? Maybe i´ll try a world without forced magma later. --Arin 08:28, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Maybe the "force magma at bottom layer" means the magma sea, so I don't think it is a part of the cavern, if someone doesn't disagree, then I'll remove it from the cavern page. --Tarran 08:31, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

I agree, but i think the page should link to Magma sea, as a reference to what you get when you got past the caverns. --Arin 08:39, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

You made a link to 'Magma_Sea' instead of 'Magma_sea' :p (yes it matters), anyway, changed the main page around a bit. --Tarran 08:51, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

downward passage

As adventurer I entered a cave with a dragon in it from the surface, it let to one of these caverns. upon exploring it for about two hours I got an announcement that I found a downward passage. What followed was a series of small caves much like the one that let from the survace into the caverns, only that this one led to the second level. Does one get this announcement also in fortress mode?

Yes I got it in fortress mode too, I think they are there to let adventurers get deeper into the caverns24.255.86.193

Underworld article

There is a more generic article about subterrean features: Template:L what do? merge/redirect?

This page should stay, since it is larger and more specific, and 'Cavern' is the correct meaning, 'Underworld' just means everything beneath the ground. So it is unneeded, we should just wait for Briess or someone more experienced then me to decide. --Tarran 08:44, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Edge of the Map

I spent like 30 minutes Googling to try to find out how to get rid of an infinite water supply drawn from a river now that there are no more chasms, and after a while I learned that water flows out of the edge of the map and that caverns can breach the edge of the map, creating a drain with the same effect that chasms had before. I think someone should mention this since it's much less difficult to build a large-scale water system if that water has somewhere to drain instead of flooding your fortress. --129.252.122.38 14:49, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

I wonder, is that possible to drain water from the cavern, which goes out of the edge of the map? Will water flow from the edge to the cavern or not? WFrag 04:59, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

World Generation

I don't know if this should be here on in the World Generation article, but there are a bunch of variables related to caverns in the worldgen parameters which let you customize the cavern layout, and it's not particularly obvious what they do. Turning the cavern layer count to 0, for example, makes it so you can't embark with seeds for some reason (bug?)

One explanation could be that your starting civilisation gathered seeds for subterran crops from natural occuring underground plants in caves. So a world without caves would be a world without underground crops. But this should of course also imply that there are no crops or their products (like any pigtail items) or towercaps in the world. --80.187.102.242 16:33, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

and I'm not entirely sure what Openness and Passage Density are referring to. Raising "levels above layer 1" makes you encounter the first cavern later (obviously) which I think creates a more relaxed fortress-building experience should you want it. --129.252.122.38 14:49, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

Underground lakes

If an underground lake is connected to the edge of the fortress map will it fill up as it is drained (thus giving an unlimited supply of water) or is the water limited to whats in it on embarkation?

Caravan spawning into the caverns

Amusingly, as of v0.31.03, I've witnessed that instead of spawning at the side of the map ABOVE GROUND, the dwarven caravan sometimes spawns at the side of the map in the CAVERNS. This invariably leads to carnage.

Spoilers

I'm labeling the article as a spoiler, since I believe players should explore the caverns by themselves, without knowing what waits in there. Possibly there could be a simple unspoiled paragraph that says something along the lines of: "there are huge caverns underground with interesting plants and creatures. Dig down an unspecified number of Z levels to find. Have Fun." But everything else is a spoiler, IMHO. --Markus cz 16:49, 15 May 2010 (UTC)

It's not a major spoiler, since everyone knows about in now, and it is mentioned many times, nothing is particularly 'spoilery, you don't ruin the entire gaming experience reading the page, it's about as 'spoilery as adamantine. --Tarran 00:26, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

I would argue that both caverns and adamantine are spoilers, perhaps not for us, but definitely for starting players, but I didn't know there is a Minor spoilers tag. I think it works well enough, thanks.--Markus cz 09:28, 17 May 2010 (UTC)