User:Kami/Logic gates

ToDo

General

Computing in dwarf fortress is the practice of setting up complex constructions to perform logical operations and calculations, ideally to control some functionality of your fortress. This is a guide leading deep into the topic, giving advanced assistance for people who want to create their own dwarfputer. It does not stick to a special (mechanical, fluid, ...) logic but tries to measure the adventages, disadventages and best practices from all disciplines. This guide adresses to people who are familar with the concept of binary logic and have a basic understanding of computing in dwarf fortress.

Key

█	█	█	█	any tile
█	█	█	█	floor
█	█	█	█	no floor
█	█	█	█	solid
█	█	█	█	█
║	█	o	█	axle
·	█	█	█	channel
┼	█	█	█	door
X	█	█	█	flood gate
*	█	█	█	gear assembly
█ 1	█ …	█ 7	█	magma depth
▲	█	▼	█	ramp
^	█	█	█	pressure plate (reacting on water)
÷	÷ ► ►	█	█	screw pump (pumping right)
█ 1	█ …	█ 7	█	water depth

Logic gates

Power to signal converter

When you are dealing with mechanical logic, you'll finally want or have to trigger something else than machine components, like doors or bridges. Currently, there doesn't exist any trigger in dwarf fortress that reacts on the working state of machine components, thus power on/off. So, you'll have to convert power via pressure plates, screw pumps and fluid into an on/off signal.

Z 0

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ · ÷ ÷ ► ► · █ █ █ █ █ █ █

 

Z-1

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ ^ 7 █ 7 █ 7 █ 7 █ █ █ █ █ █ █

When the pump is connected to power, it will suck water from the pressure plate and pump it to the right. The water level on the pressure plate will fall to 0. The plate can be constructed to react on 0…3 water. You can invert it to get an off signal instead setting it to 4…7. In both cases the off signal will have a delay of 100 steps.^[Verify] This gate is fluid conserving, what means you will neither need internal flow nor have to refill it because of evaporation.