With the pond method, each pond will only generate 1 water hauling task at a time, in order to fill it in any decent amount of time, create as many ponds as you can. With your example you could fill it 6x as fast if you created 6 pond zones instead of 1
Just wanted to add you can create pasture like this as well. Once the caverns are reached, the 'spore' will spread through the mud/dirt areas and will feed your pasture animals while they are underground. You can seal off the caverns right away if you want to - all you need to do is 'crack' it open momentarily.
I wanted to share my setup. It consists of two main parts, a reservoir and a pumping station. It's basically TOP: Pumping station (drain grate -> screw pump -> intake ramp) BOTTOM: Reservoir (massive pool -> door -> farm plot -> lever) The setup works by flooding water into the farm (via lever & door), then pumping water up a ramp into the drain. Water makes a "loop" from reservoir to farm, then back into the reservoir. It's stupid simple and cheap to build, hardest thing is just building the channel to your reservoir
Very nice guide thank you, very helpful . If only i had seen this 3 days ago, As a funny old thing happend to my fort, i was trying to move water a couple of Zs down from a river to my to be farm zone, 2nd level was my farm area 3rd level was my rooms for 23 Dwarfs under that the work area, my farm area didnt have any doors why would i, its only a farm and water (i didnt even know you could use a lever with doors) Anyway, i did have a flood gate set up near the river with a lever that was in my rooms zone. i opend the flood gate and the water ran in slowly , Ah cool i thought i have done it muhahha. OOH a trader has come i better deal with him so i fidled about and did a bit of trading feeling happy this are going well, i come out of the trader scroll down only to see from the farm layer down is completely flooded Farms - rooms- work zones, on the bright side 4 dwarfs did make it out alive i think they brought the bits to the trader, But i cant get to the lever to close the flood gate, and im unsure even if i did get to it, how i could drain the water out. lol Love Df
If the flooded area is close to one of the map edges, you can create a spillway to outside the map. You dig around the flooded area, linking it to spillway, but without breaching the last wall. Then on the z level above it, you channel down to safely drain the water. As soon it gets lower enough, like 3 or even 4, order the lever linked to the gateway to be push. This is roughly what i think should work to drain your workshops and everything else. Be sure to place doors around to stop any water rushing from the placed where you channeled down. Good luck
This is a very nice tutorial with some really good information. One criticism... if I may. The constant quick jumps back and forth, up and down layers, several steps to the left, then eight steps back to the right, is reeeeeaally hard to follow. I have played DF for a little while now, so I get the jumping around thing with how the direction keys make things jump on screen. But from a "learning/tutorial" stand point, it makes following directions (and certain explanations) super difficult. Maybe setting up some predefined F keys to hop directly to (and stay on) the thing you are trying to discuss would be helpful? I don't know... I'm literally grasping at straws here.
Thanks for your comment! And I like your idea, the ingame menu allows me easily to fixate some screens and this will surely enhance the flow of these videos. Thanks for being constructive, I'll incorporate it in future videos cause that'll make things a lot easier to follow for sure =)
@@Ic0nGaming following on from that, even just mention if you're going up or down z levels. Watching someone go up or down z levels in an unfamiliar fort is very tough to know which way it's going
@@Ic0nGaming I would agree with the jumps in Z level especially since this game doesn't make it too clear if you don't know or can't see the elevation on the right.
I have developed my own method. Keep in mind that you need a light aquifer for it. I dig a 5x5 channel through an aquifer as deep as I need. While it's filling up, I dig all space I need to get flooded. Then when the time comes, I enclose the channel with walls to prevent the aquifer from further filling it up, then flood the floor and wait for the water to evaporate. I have a flooded floor and a 5x5 greenhouse as a nice side bonus.
Question, is an irrigated plot better than planting in a natural dirt, clay, or sand area? I've always just looked for places that have natural dirt or sand instead of going with the irrigation method. Though I will admit that sometimes it's not easy finding areas that have the large areas of dirt I would like to have for the volume of farm plots I want.
Totally! Everytime I think I have learned it all, I notice that I haven't thought about some other side-scenario or other thing influencing the system and boom - Fun emerges :D Can't tell you how many dwarves have drowned in my fortresses for science :D
You coulld also build a cistern immediately above the farm area and fill that with buckets. Think back yard pool that you buy from the big-box store, but has a drain in the center. Multiple z-levels and slopes would help ensure immediate full drainage too. If you want to go faster, build an aquaduct from your water source and hook up to a pump. Might as well hook the pump up to a watermill while you're at it, and get tons of water flowing without labor.
Do note that farm plots can go past 10 blocks from water in a channel provided it is soil (Even Silt works). A singular irrigation channel on one side of the room that branches off from an aqueduct that feeds into your fortress via a series of floodgates is more than enough to turn soil into farmland, you can even cover the channels with flooring for navigation as well if you wish to make a grid for diversifying your crops., water that is more than 3 levels deep will not evaporate. You will need a central aqueduct to make a reservoir for your hospital, so branching from that is an efficient way of making a farm for your dwarves.
Really love the videos! But is it just me or your videos are kinda in the lower side of the volume compared to most other videos? I have to cram my volume up to watch yours haha
Remember: building detroyers can destroy the doors (not the hatches) and cause chaos. Use Floodgates instead of doors. Plus, floodgates arr aesthetically cooler to use.
Great video, thanks! One additional question: I started a fort in a flat area and also have issues with stones on the surface. Since I cannot channel anything down (the area where the farms should go being the highest altitude), what options do I have? Even using buckets needs a zone one z-level above, right? 🤔
Thanks! I appreciate these guides very much.🙂 Does making a thicker layer of mud add anything of value? I was experimenting with water, and realised that flooding a floor several times would cover it with a very thick layer of mud.
When I first heard about "irrigation" I was thinking about real irrigation, canals and water supply. But it turned out that the stones need to be rinsed with water. I'm disappointed, the name is extremely misleading
Yeah, I totally get it. That's why I defined the term inside of DF right at the start of the video. But it's DF, it might get fleshed out more in the future.
With the pond method, each pond will only generate 1 water hauling task at a time, in order to fill it in any decent amount of time, create as many ponds as you can. With your example you could fill it 6x as fast if you created 6 pond zones instead of 1
Ah thanks a lot for that! I was already wondering if and how to speed that up - very helpful comment!
Just wanted to add you can create pasture like this as well. Once the caverns are reached, the 'spore' will spread through the mud/dirt areas and will feed your pasture animals while they are underground. You can seal off the caverns right away if you want to - all you need to do is 'crack' it open momentarily.
I wanted to share my setup. It consists of two main parts, a reservoir and a pumping station. It's basically
TOP: Pumping station (drain grate -> screw pump -> intake ramp)
BOTTOM: Reservoir (massive pool -> door -> farm plot -> lever)
The setup works by flooding water into the farm (via lever & door), then pumping water up a ramp into the drain. Water makes a "loop" from reservoir to farm, then back into the reservoir. It's stupid simple and cheap to build, hardest thing is just building the channel to your reservoir
Very nice guide thank you, very helpful . If only i had seen this 3 days ago, As a funny old thing happend to my fort, i was trying to move water a couple of Zs down from a river to my to be farm zone, 2nd level was my farm area 3rd level was my rooms for 23 Dwarfs under that the work area, my farm area didnt have any doors why would i, its only a farm and water (i didnt even know you could use a lever with doors) Anyway, i did have a flood gate set up near the river with a lever that was in my rooms zone. i opend the flood gate and the water ran in slowly , Ah cool i thought i have done it muhahha. OOH a trader has come i better deal with him so i fidled about and did a bit of trading feeling happy this are going well, i come out of the trader scroll down only to see from the farm layer down is completely flooded Farms - rooms- work zones, on the bright side 4 dwarfs did make it out alive i think they brought the bits to the trader, But i cant get to the lever to close the flood gate, and im unsure even if i did get to it, how i could drain the water out. lol Love Df
If the flooded area is close to one of the map edges, you can create a spillway to outside the map. You dig around the flooded area, linking it to spillway, but without breaching the last wall. Then on the z level above it, you channel down to safely drain the water. As soon it gets lower enough, like 3 or even 4, order the lever linked to the gateway to be push. This is roughly what i think should work to drain your workshops and everything else. Be sure to place doors around to stop any water rushing from the placed where you channeled down. Good luck
This is a very nice tutorial with some really good information. One criticism... if I may. The constant quick jumps back and forth, up and down layers, several steps to the left, then eight steps back to the right, is reeeeeaally hard to follow. I have played DF for a little while now, so I get the jumping around thing with how the direction keys make things jump on screen. But from a "learning/tutorial" stand point, it makes following directions (and certain explanations) super difficult. Maybe setting up some predefined F keys to hop directly to (and stay on) the thing you are trying to discuss would be helpful? I don't know... I'm literally grasping at straws here.
Thanks for your comment! And I like your idea, the ingame menu allows me easily to fixate some screens and this will surely enhance the flow of these videos. Thanks for being constructive, I'll incorporate it in future videos cause that'll make things a lot easier to follow for sure =)
@@Ic0nGaming following on from that, even just mention if you're going up or down z levels. Watching someone go up or down z levels in an unfamiliar fort is very tough to know which way it's going
@@219nate Very true, thanks!
@@Ic0nGaming I would agree with the jumps in Z level especially since this game doesn't make it too clear if you don't know or can't see the elevation on the right.
I have developed my own method. Keep in mind that you need a light aquifer for it.
I dig a 5x5 channel through an aquifer as deep as I need. While it's filling up, I dig all space I need to get flooded. Then when the time comes, I enclose the channel with walls to prevent the aquifer from further filling it up, then flood the floor and wait for the water to evaporate. I have a flooded floor and a 5x5 greenhouse as a nice side bonus.
Question, is an irrigated plot better than planting in a natural dirt, clay, or sand area? I've always just looked for places that have natural dirt or sand instead of going with the irrigation method. Though I will admit that sometimes it's not easy finding areas that have the large areas of dirt I would like to have for the volume of farm plots I want.
Yes, it's a massive difference. Irrigated soil is about 3-4 times more effective in terms of yield so it's definitely worth the effort. Always.
@@Ic0nGaming thank you! I was unaware of this until now. Very helpful thing to know! I'll start doing this from here on out!
Fluid dynamics are one of the coolest aspects of this game
Totally! Everytime I think I have learned it all, I notice that I haven't thought about some other side-scenario or other thing influencing the system and boom - Fun emerges :D
Can't tell you how many dwarves have drowned in my fortresses for science :D
You coulld also build a cistern immediately above the farm area and fill that with buckets. Think back yard pool that you buy from the big-box store, but has a drain in the center. Multiple z-levels and slopes would help ensure immediate full drainage too. If you want to go faster, build an aquaduct from your water source and hook up to a pump. Might as well hook the pump up to a watermill while you're at it, and get tons of water flowing without labor.
Do note that farm plots can go past 10 blocks from water in a channel provided it is soil (Even Silt works). A singular irrigation channel on one side of the room that branches off from an aqueduct that feeds into your fortress via a series of floodgates is more than enough to turn soil into farmland, you can even cover the channels with flooring for navigation as well if you wish to make a grid for diversifying your crops., water that is more than 3 levels deep will not evaporate. You will need a central aqueduct to make a reservoir for your hospital, so branching from that is an efficient way of making a farm for your dwarves.
Nice guide! The main thing I'm curious about is why you use floodgates in some locations and doors in others.
I believe it's so dwarves can still travel through the tunnels to build more tunnels.
Yeah, doors are good for areas where I want to expand. At least that was my thought behind it.
@@Ic0nGaming
Prior to this, I didn't realize you could link levers to doors and hatches.
Really love the videos! But is it just me or your videos are kinda in the lower side of the volume compared to most other videos? I have to cram my volume up to watch yours haha
It's a hardware issue which I'm going to fix during January with some upgrade.
Remember: building detroyers can destroy the doors (not the hatches) and cause chaos. Use Floodgates instead of doors. Plus, floodgates arr aesthetically cooler to use.
Sadly Floodgates can be destroyed just like doors by Building Destroyers.
Use bridges instead. Can't be destroyed
Use bridges instead. Can't be destroyed
I use floodgates because using doors to hold in water just seems silly to me.
Great video, thanks! One additional question: I started a fort in a flat area and also have issues with stones on the surface. Since I cannot channel anything down (the area where the farms should go being the highest altitude), what options do I have? Even using buckets needs a zone one z-level above, right? 🤔
Thank you so dearly for this
Sorry if it was already asked. Will mudded stone stay mudded or do you have to repeat irrigation periodically?
Stays like that forever =)
Thanks! I appreciate these guides very much.🙂
Does making a thicker layer of mud add anything of value? I was experimenting with water, and realised that flooding a floor several times would cover it with a very thick layer of mud.
I haven't found any difference between a dusting of mud (minimum) and a fully muddied field.
@@Ic0nGaming Ok. Thanks.🙂
When I first heard about "irrigation" I was thinking about real irrigation, canals and water supply. But it turned out that the stones need to be rinsed with water. I'm disappointed, the name is extremely misleading
Yeah, I totally get it. That's why I defined the term inside of DF right at the start of the video. But it's DF, it might get fleshed out more in the future.
Ditto. It's why I have to constantly come back to these tutorials to remind myself of the real definition.