v0.31:Mega construction

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v50.13 · v0.47 · v0.34 · v0.31.25 · v0.28 · v0.23 This article is about an older version of DF. More Info · V

There comes a time in every dwarf's life when he says to himself - why not? ("Because it's insane" is not considered an automatic fail condition). Be it magma waterfalls, huge castles, skyscrapers, great cathedrals, inverted pyramids, the Statue of Dwarferty - you can build anything!

While building a fully automated sacrificial temple to the dwarf god with magma-falls is quite an undertaking, the techniques are mostly the same as those to build a simple wall or tower, just putting one stone on top of or next to another - so we'll start there.

(And it's recommended you do too - start with some smaller projects, a defensive wall, and then some simple archer towers to secure your area, and build on your experience from there. It's very easy and frustrating to build a complete disaster. But fun is in the eyes of the player.) (Source 1)

Even though those projects listed above may seem hard, they are all simply a combination of walls, floors, ramps, and mabye the occasional magma pump. We'll start you off at the basics, and leave you to have fun once you get started.

Basic Constructions

The building blocks of every sucessful fortress. While in combination they can produce insane constructions, even by themselves, they are useful. Want to build a bridge across that river? Mabye build a wall to keep the goblins at bay? Even just build an up/down stairway to get from level to level? You've used basic constructions!

Wall

Walls are built by the pressing of the b, C, and w keys, in that order. Walls are simply tiles where no one can walk, but can be walked on, provided you are one layer above the wall. You can build floors off of them and they can be used to close in buildings that are built outside, or even can be used to wall in your fortress from the outside. The cost of one wall is equal to one economic building material.

Floor

Floors are built by the pressing of the b, C, and f keys in that order. They can be walked on, but no constructions (eg. walls, ramps, etc...) can be built upon them. However, things such as beds and doors can be put upon floors. Building a floor above an open tile outside will desinate that tile inside, so furniture could be placed there. The cost of one floor is equal to one economic building material.

Ramp

Ramps are built by the pressing of the b, C, and r keys in that order. They can be used to get from level to level of your fortress and are similear to stairwells. If a floor is build on top of the Z level the ramp is placed on, the ramp will not be useable. The cost of one ramp is equal to one economic building material.

Mega Construcions

Mega constructions, also deemed mega projects can incopriate almost anything, whether it be beneficial to the fortress or not. The deffiniton of a "mega construction" will vary by user. Some examples of mega constructinos are listed below, along with thier relative difficulty and usefulness.

Above ground fortress

Usefulness: none

Comments: This is rather hard to do, as you will find that you will always need more stone. It becomes a challenge to build freestanding homes for each new colinist, as instead of mining out 5 squares for a 2 by 2 room with a door, it will take at lesat 16 constructions, including 1 ramp, 4 floors, and 11 walls, not including furniture.

Pyramids

Usefulness: low

Comments: This can be an interesting starting projet for people who would like to try a large construction project, but need to figure out how construction works first. It only has a usefulness of low as you can place beds or coffins (mabye both) in each level of the pyramid. For extra cool points, try to make each layer of the pyramid out of slightly more valuable materials as the layer before.

Massive statues

Usefullnes: none

Comments: A neat idea. A gifted few have figured out how to get magma in the eyeballs of the statue.

Large scale flooding

Usefulness: Low-Medium

Comments: A last resort agianst the goblins. This can be done with water or magma. Take note that this usually fails, resulting in lots of fun.

Hippie Exterminator

Usefulness: medium

You gotta water those trees man, and let the treehuggers that care so much for them take share in this watery gift!

Basically, construct a megalong wall all the way around an elf-village, then use flooring to put a lid on the entire village. Hook up some pumps from the local river to fill this box with water. This will kill all of the elves enclosed inside, and your fps in the process. Totally pointless and timeconsuming, thus making it a worthy megaconstruction. (Source 1)

Dwarven Arcology

Usefulness: low

This is ideal for your patently insane Stupid dwarf trick needs. Essentially it's building your entire fortress above ground in ONE structure. A subterranean level (the basement) on the bottom floor provides plump helmets, pig tails, and so on. On the ground floor, grow above-ground plants and carve fortifications into all the walls. From here, it's all about absolutely huge levels packed with food stores, refuse dumps, wood stockpiles, workshops, archery ranges, and bedrooms. The only subterranean activity permitted is digging, although you may be able to get away with building your depot below ground. This consumes ridiculous amounts of time and stone, placing walls is extremely fiddly, and as soon as goblins control the ground floor your fortress will starve unless you can exterminate them. So, pointless, frustrating, and borderline suicidal...in short, a perfect megaconstruction.

SUPERBONUS: Cast the entire thing in Obsidian using magma and water and engrave all the sides with your greatness. (Source 1)

I'm not great. I can't make this all up by myself but fortunately someone did!

Sources:

1. http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/40d:Mega_construction#ixzz0pMjWMxMK