v0.31 Talk:Giant cave spider

Cave Wide Web

Does anyone know where giant cave spiders create their web? I've captured one in a cagetrap and released it in a room (in a layer of clay, if that matters). I hoped it to fill it with webs, cagetrap it again and gather the precious giant cave spider webs safely. But it doesn't make a single one web. I wonder why? --Doub 17:05, 24 April 2010 (UTC)

If it's like the previous version, a better way to get them to web is to provoke them with animals or dwarves that they'll shoot at (for example, you could have your spider be an engine that turns kittens into high-quality clothing!). --Vaniver 05:05, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Yep, that does the trick, thanks. Well, dogs do, the most of them at least, for most of them attack the spider, which then fights back with web, leaving about 6-7 webs per dog. --Doub 14:46, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Another Web Question

There's plenty of giant cave spider webs underground, as my adventurer can attest. He hasn't met any so far, and I'm sure he's relieved :D Are the webs randomly generated, or are they actually giant cave spiders running around and avoiding my hero? --Dagoth Urist 19:42, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

In fortress mode, where there are webs there are spiders. Sometimes they are in stealth mode, though, until it is too late!--Kwieland 20:13, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Farming

Is the method on the main page verified? In previous versions, the spider had to be able to pathfind to the target before it would spit webs (just like all other breath weapon users). I suspect this is another 'great idea' by someone who's never tested it, much like the oft-mentioned dragon/fireimp turrets that are far more difficult to construct than most people think. 98.212.62.219 18:15, 9 June 2010 (UTC)

I'm trying to verify it now. I modified the object testing arena a bit and added this (top view):

 ...FFF...
 .G.FDF...
 ...FFF...
 G=Giant cave spider
 F=Fortification
 D=Dwarf.
 .=Floor

Nothing happened. The reverse, where the cave spider is in the fortification cell and the dwarf outside, didn't work either. What did work was having them standing on two platforms like this:

 #####
 #G#D#
 #####
 G=GCS
 D=Dwarf
 #=Empty space

What happened here was that the GCS sporadically shot at the dwarf. They didn't do it as fast as they do in a fight, but they did shoot web. They seem to shoot more web the more targets there are, but I can't really verify this. I did two similar setups with platforms as above, where one platform had ~70 dwarfs on it. The one with more target seemed to shoot more frequently.

SO: A viable way to farm GCS silk is a bit hard. The silk doesn't seem to fall down z-levels, and can hang in the air. Just having two pillars would make the collecting part a bit difficult, as noone could reach the silk. Perhaps one could let the GCS shoot at his enemy for a while, and when you're satisfied, a retractable bridge could form a floor to walk on from the main fortress. This would of course let the GCS reach the populated parts of your fortress, but a simple cage trap would solve this issue. This wouldn't work if a retractable bridge destroys raw silk. I haven't tested this, but it's a thought. And if this doesn't work, one could always pit cats in the same room as the GCS.

/Josj 02:53, 10 June 2010 (UTC)

The web doesn't seem to stack, so it would be smarter to have an animal that runs around the GCS all the time than one just standing on a pillar to maximise the produced web. /Josj 02:57, 10 June 2010 (UTC)

Although the web object spans empty space and not stack, my experience in 40d is that a bridge (particularly a retracting bridge, which tosses objects when it both opens and closes, as opposed to raising, which crushes objects when it lowers) will toss the webbing, creating a loose "web" that can then fall and stack together. However, I have not yet caught a GCS in .31 so I am not sure if certain rules (particularly regarding the silk) have changed. That said, it does appear that the method listed in the article should be removed as fortifications still do not appear allow pathfinding/webshooting. Niveras 18:48, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, you could probably go without a bridge. Just having the GCS in a 2x1 indentation in the wall to room, with a channel in front of it, and a creature it will attack in the main room. One could even make this setup:

 WWWWWW+WWWWWW
 WWWWW   WWWWW
 WWWWW d WWWWW
 WWWWW   WWWWW    W=wall
 WWWWWW+WWWWWW    #=open space
 W   WW#WW   W    +=door
 + d +#G#+ d +     =floor
 W   WW#WW   W    G=GCS
 WWWWWW+WWWWWW    d=dog (or whatever creature that the GCS will attack)
 WWWWW   WWWWW
 WWWWW d WWWWW
 WWWWW   WWWWW
 WWWWWW+WWWWWW

Let the GCS shoot at one of the dogs. Close the door from the GCS to the room where you want to farm and open another door. Rinse and repeat. The dorfs won't run away from the GCS and the GCS is always free to shoot. One could remove the micromanagement from the exercise by creating a timer that opens and closes doors automatically. You can even put looms in the spaces between the dog rooms, if you'd like. But this plan borders on stupid.

Finally caught a GCS in order to test this method. As somewhat expected, the empty spaces do not allow pathfinding and thus the spider does not shoot the chained animals. (Aside: confirmed that my slightly modified [increased frequency of traveling through and in additional caverns layers] untamed spider still shoots silk by letting it run free in a test case.) Also moved the chain one block closer (such that part of the 3x3 square of allowed movement would overlap slightly with the walls), still did not allow web. You could add fortifications around the doors (mechanised doors apparently still allow pathfinding, even when closed) but of course them your silk collectors will get job cancellations from seeing the spider. It would seem that if you want to produce silk you will need to rely on the standard fortifications-with-forbidden-door (with retracting bridge pits depending on desire complexity/automation). Incidentally, despite having building destroyer:1, untamed GCS do not destroy doors. Niveras 20:12, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

I'm removing the farming section in the article as noone seems to have posted a working solution that has been tested in DF mode. I've just played around with it in arena mode in v.31.06.

Goblin Pit

Is there a reason why the goblins I drop into my giant cave spider pit aren't being attacked? They have no weapons and armor, and the spider isn't tamed. Will it eat them when it gets hungry?