Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

v0.31 Talk:Wound

2010-08-11T15:44:17Z

Existent: /* This page needs more info */

==Broken heart?==
I have seen a creature, while testing in the arena, with a broken heart.
My creature was modded to have a uncontrolled dust attack with a humanoid body without arms and with 4 legs. As 7 of them fought against a dragon, one of the surviving creatures had a broken heart. Either it has lost a loved one, or it had just broken its heart!--[[User:Niggy|Niggy]] 18:13, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

==Inhibited Dwarves==
Dwarves with some kinda of lasting status such as inhibited flash with a yellow '+'. How this effects the dwarf is on the hospital screen (weak grasp, etc.) Do not know to what extent inhibited dwarves are effected in work and combat.--[[Special:Contributions/99.67.238.66|99.67.238.66]] 04:06, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

== Lasting Injuries ==

One of my dwarfs has injuries to her left arm and lower leg. These are listed in her personality section as "tiny curving scars" rather than dents or bruises as would be the case for combat injuries. Scarring causes permanent injuries? Needs corroboration.--[[User:Nimblewright|Nimblewright]] 09:54, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

:After checking around this applies to all my dwarves that have scars. Scarred areas are listed in the personality section, and remain permanently brown or yellow - i.e. minor/inhibited.--[[User:Nimblewright|Nimblewright]] 09:54, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

== Function Loss ==

"From the description above, the new cyan "Function loss" appears to be paralyzation or numbness."

I've had about fifteen dwarves wrestling an ettin for about a month now, and the only things that turn cyan are internal organs (pancreas, kidney, lung). No limb or appendage has turned cyan that I've seen. I suspect that it is used for things that would not be, say, bruised or broken, but otherwise damaged. --[[User:Zombiejustice|Zombiejustice]] 18:40, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

:After another week and some dogs joining in, the eyes went cyan, too. So it's not just /internal/ organs, but I think my earlier conclusion is still sound. --[[User:Zombiejustice|Zombiejustice]] 21:55, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

== Post Traumatic Stress ==

I've only found limited references to what I think is a bug: after one of my military dwarves was brain-damaged during a goblin ambush (and after the goblins were dead or long-gone) she kept spamming "Urist McMacedwarf cancels rest: interrupted by goblin mace man". Although sporting a whole range of grievous wounds, she would ''not'' be carried to a hospital bed as the rest of the wounded, since she apparently retained consciousness albeit a strange dementia wherein she kept thinking goblins were still all around her. I thought this a bit comical at first, and after all, suffering brain damage could now be liable for myriad of behavioral quirks but when the spam messages -- about 5 per second -- went into the 1,000 range, and the dwarf kept sitting there, not having eaten or drank for over a month, I began getting concerned (especially when this eventually led to the game crashing, I assume from congestion of the spam messages). Recently, however, I had the same thing happen to a dwarf who had ''not'' suffered any brain or head injury, and yet the same thing's happening with her, leading me to believe it's a bug. The only solutions offered on the Bay12 forums involve deconstructing the bed of or killing the said dwarf on the pretense that he/she is underground, in one's fortress, specifically in the hospital. My wounded hospital dwarves have never spammed these messages (and why would they -- they're already resting) and both these instances occurred with dwarves still outside. I cannot have my squads kill them and see no way of ending the stream of messages. Any ideas? --[[User:Bronzebeard|Bronzebeard]] 12:45, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

:Good news: I've found a way to fix this bug! Apparently, the confused (or bugged, as the case may be) dwarves have to sustain another injury to snap them out of it. With a heavy heart, I built a menacing spike right under the troubled dwarf and connected it to a lever nearby, and had it pulled. To my disappointment, as I wanted to at least afford her a quick death, it only wounded her. I was going to have it pulled again before I discovered the spam messages had stopped and, despite the dire injuries, she was no longer trying to rest but attend a combat drill, but nonetheless, a dwarf nearby headed toward her to carry her off to a hospital bed. Problem solved, evidently. --[[User:Bronzebeard|Bronzebeard]] 02:59, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

== Broken Skulls? ==

I've been controlling creatures in the Arena, and something strange happened. I was wandering around with nothing but a maul, trashing goblins because I could, and I hit a goblin in the head. It said that it broke its skull, so I moved on to another creature, and didn't notice that it started following me. Focusing on the actual threats, I killed everything else, and then it killed me by stabbing me in the lung. Has this happened to anyone else?--[[User:Mad Fencer|Mad Fencer]] 23:02, 22 May 2010 (UTC)

:Propably you damaged only the cranial bone, but left the brain intact enough to not kill him instantly.--[[User:Gnarker|Gnarker]] 20:02, 28 May 2010 (CEST)

== Pale ==
Just discovered a Hoary Marmot badly wounded by a Troglodyte, which had the 'pale' descriptor in the wounds-screen. I think that came from the heavy blood loss.--[[User:Gnarker|Gnarker]] 20:06, 28 May 2010 (CEST)
:Yah, that was present in 40d as well. It goes 'Faint', then 'Pale', and then the creature dies. Sorta the same way 'Hungry' and 'Starving' work, except it's referring to running out of blood instead of running out of food. Happens to your dwarves too, along with every creature that bleeds. --[[User:DeMatt|DeMatt]] 20:31, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

== This page needs more info ==

RIght now it should say what different injuries effects are.--[[User:Toybasher|Toybasher]] 12:10, 29 May 2010 (UTC)

I added in a section describing what effects missing limbs (specifically, arms) have. --[[User:Existent|Existent]] 15:44, 11 August 2010 (UTC)

== Death by workshop? ==

So, my woodcutter is happily working on some bins, when suddenly an announcement pops up. "Cog Dalzatkikrost, Woodworker has bled to death." His corpse is still in his workshop. There appears to be no units on the unit list aside from my dwarves and embark animals. This workshop is outside, but very close to a meeting zone that has other dwarves on break and animals present. The Thoughts and Preferences screen says "His upper body is gone". Being the woodworker, he had a copper battle axe, but I'm not sure if that's relevant. What on earth happened here? --[[Special:Contributions/174.0.202.59|174.0.202.59]] 22:21, 17 June 2010 (UTC)
:A few seconds after this happened, a stray dog just randomly died in what I can only assume is a similar fashion. "His upper body is gone" --[[Special:Contributions/174.0.202.59|174.0.202.59]] 22:27, 17 June 2010 (UTC)
::A horse standing in the same general area as both the dog and the woodcutter just got some random leg wounds, but didn't die. I was sitting here watching this happen. I didn't see anything approach it, and neither did my dwarves apparently. It just suddenly ran off in one direction, leaving a trail of blood, and stopped a few tiles away closer to my other dwarves which were in the meeting area on break.
:::Can be magma one level below, or melting rain bug, or other temperature bug. -Afoninv
::::Or El Chupacabra.
:All dead dwarves show with "upper body is gone" afterwards, it's not an actual indicator of what killed them. You can now press R to get combat reports though with the same details from adventure mode. [[User:Scikar|Scikar]] 18:42, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

v0.31:Wound

2010-08-11T15:41:31Z

Existent: cleaned it up a bit, as well as added a section describing missing limbs. Page could still use work.

{{quality|Fine|08:00, 22 May 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}

There are five different levels of injury in the game, ranging from none whatsoever to complete part loss.
Shown using the default* colors, they are:


:{| border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=1 style="background: black"
|-
| '''NONE: No recorded active wounds on the part.'''
|-
| '''MINOR: Any damage that doesn't have functional/structural consequences (might be heavy bleeding, though).'''
|-
| '''INHIBITED: Any muscular, structural, or functional damage, without total loss.'''
|-
| '''FUNCTION LOSS: An important function of the part is completely lost, but the part is structurally sound (or, at least partially intact). '''
|-
| '''BROKEN: The part has lost all structural integrity or muscular ability.'''
|-
| '''MISSING: The part is completely gone. '''
|}

:''(* The [[color]] of wounds can be changed in {{L|Init.txt}}.)''

== Missing Limb ==

As the name implies, this signals that a limb has been completely severed. Dwarves with severed limbs frequently either die of blood loss or linger in the hospital permanently. Those who recover, however, may find themselves unable to perform the same tasks as they had in the past.

Dwarves without arms are unable to haul items, however, they are still able to gather crops or work in a workshop. Once created/gathered, the items simply remain where they are until another dwarf comes along to move them. They are also unable to equip armor/clothing, but this won't stop them from biting/kicking in combat. Finally, armless dwarves are unable to operate screw pumps.

== Function Loss ==

The new cyan "Function loss" appears to be impairment of an organ for which "broken" or "bruised" would not make sense. Internal organs and eyes have been observed to turn cyan, signalling failures of sight, liver function, and other maladies.

A dwarf can also suffer nervous damage in the form of sensory and/or motor nerves. For example, motor nerve damage to a leg means that the dwarf will never be able to stand up again, which will show as "Ability to stand lost" in the specific dwarf's personal health screen, in addition to nervous damage information. It is unclear what, if any, effect sensory nerve damage has as of .31.12.

v0.31:Irrigation

2010-08-11T15:34:10Z

Existent: /* via Buckets */ added some information I was not privy to before.

{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional}}

Irrigation is the process of adding water to an underground or rock tile so that it can be {{L|farm plot|farmed}}. This is done by flooding the tile with {{L|water}}. Any amount of water will suffice but the less water, the better — farms cannot be built on any square containing water of {{L|water depth|2/7 or deeper}}. Tiles of depth 2/7 will flow into nearby tiles until the area is 1/7 if possible, so this is only an issue if deep water is placed in an enclosed area.

Once the water has evaporated or been allowed to flow away, the tile will remain muddied unless a {{L|construction}} is built over it. Viewing the tile will cause it to display 'a pile of mud', 'a small pile of mud', or 'a dusting of mud' in its contents.

Farms must be built on muddy tiles. Farms cannot be built on underground tiles (rock or soil) unless those tiles have been muddied. This is not the case for above ground farming, where you can {{L|gather plants}} and {{L|Still|brew}} them for alcohol or even farm in above ground soil with the gathered seeds. But underground farming is a generally quicker, safer and more reliable (and dwarven) way to gain {{L|food}} and {{L|alcohol}}. Plus, you can only embark with seeds for underground crops. So, it is useful to know how to irrigate with as little investment in workshops and mechanisms as possible.

Farms can be built on unsuitable ground but doing so will display a warning message. If even a single square of the farm is not irrigated, it will be unusable.

{{L|Magma}}, for obvious reasons, cannot be used to irrigate{{verify}} but can cause {{L|fun}}.

== Easy Irrigation ==

One obstacle to early irrigation is the time required to build mechanisms (which cannot be taken when {{L|embark|embarking}} and take time to set up). They can also be daunting to newer players and mistakes can result in floods or famine - common sources of {{L|fun}}. The methods below are designed to work without mechanisms.

=== via Murky Pool===

Most areas contain {{L|murky pool|murky pools}}, which provide one of the quickest, simplest methods of starting a farm. Digging out an area near a murky pool and draining the pool into it is an easy way to make the ground muddy and farmable.

You should first locate a pool near where you wish to put the farm. While any finite water source works, you need to drain the excess water somehow or allow it to [[evaporate]], so smaller pools are usually preferable. Once you find a good location, dig out the room and dig a tunnel that ends with only 1 tile between it and the pool. If you want to simply allow the water to evaporate after irrigation, the floorspace in the farm should about about 5 or 6 times that of the pool. Otherwise, you can dig another room out underneath the farm via stairs placed on the opposite side from the pool to drain the water after irrigation.

Finally, channel out the one tile between the tunnel and the pool and the water will flow in.

If you miscalculate the area, there are two possible outcomes, both easily solvable-

:* If the dug area is too large, some tiles will be left unmuddied. While muddying these squares is a lot of trouble and arguably not worth it, these tiles are perfect for seed stockpiles.
:* If the dug area is too small, there will be at least one tile of 2/7 depth. Until some of the water {{L|evaporation|evaporates}} (which will still happen, albeit slower, in the 1/7 tiles), you won't be able to farm it. However, unless you've drastically miscalculated, dwarves will be able to wade through the water and dig more tiles to expand the farm to the correct size.

=== via Buckets===

It is possible to irrigate an area by carrying water in {{l|buckets}} from virtually any source, such as a {{L|brook}}, a {{L|river}}, or a good-sized {{L|murky pool}}.

To do this, select a subterranean area to locate your farms. You must then dig out two identical rooms, one above the other. The bottom room is where your farms will eventually be built, and the top room is where the actual filling will occur. Once you have dug out both rooms, you will need to channel out the floor of the upper room, making sure to leave a walkway around the perimeter.

Once you've dug the {{L|channel|channels}} in the upper room, you should have something like this:

Top Floor
++++
+..+ legend
+..+ . = channeled tile
++++ + = floor

Bottom Floor
++++
++++
++++
++++

(If you haven't {{L|Dig|dug}} the farm level by this point, you will have down ramps in your channeled tiles. Tunnel out the z-level below, as that is where your farms will be. Also note that if you carve the channels on the surface, the below farm will be listed as Above Ground, restricting certain crops.)

Try to think of it like this: dwarves won't fill a pond that they are standing in. Therefore, you must dig another room above the farm and channel out the floor, so they can pour water ''down'' into the room.

Next designate an {{L|activity zone|activity zone}} over the channeled tiles on the upper room, and set it to {{L|pond|"pit/pond"}}. By default, the zone will be set as a pit. To change it to a pond, press {{k|P}} then {{k|f}}.

There is some debate over which tiles need to be zoned- whether the channeled tiles must be designated as the are to pour water into, or the walkway must be designated as the tiles water is to be poured from. To be safe, just include both.

If you designate each channeled tile individually as its own pond, you can quickly muddy your planned farm tiles- as only one dwarf can fill a pond activity zone at a time- and you can also control the spread of the water more precisely.

As each pond tile gets its first filling of water (bringing it to 1/7 depth), dezone that pond tile, leaving behind an exact match of mud on the floor below. This process creates "a dusting of mud" on the floor below, which is all that is needed to plant underground crops. Place your farm plots over just these muddied tiles.

When you are finished, the lower floor will look like the following:

++++
+mm+ legend
+mm+ m = muddied tile
++++ + = floor

You can vary the basic square to any rectangle, so long as it remains 2 tiles wide or 2 tiles long. Otherwise, your dwarves will not be able to reach the central tiles.

If you accidentally add too much water, you can wait for some of the water to evaporate or spread to nearby tiles. Even so, as long as you keep an eye on the dwarves and dezone that pond tile on the upper gallery as soon as it is no longer necessary, you shouldn't have any problems.

Other ways of creating an upper irrigation gallery and a lower resulting farm level are possible, but this is left up to the fortress designers to experiment with. This is simply a guide for players just starting out.

== Irrigation via Corkscrew Pump ==
This method ranks somewhere between easy and complex irrigation as it's set up relatively quickly while not necessarily looking as cool as the complex method. It needs a pump and a river/brook in a chasm though. A lake will do well too.

You start by digging out a tunnel of one tile and a rectangular room near the river exactly one level above the river. The floor of the room has to be at the same level as the surface of the river. It doesn't have to be walled on the side of the river as you'll need some open space for the water to get out. If you have dug it farther away from the river, you should dig another tunnel from the room to the water source so that the pumped in water can get out.

Secondly, at the end of the one tile wide tunnel you'll set up the pump. You'll need a free place next to the light green part of the pump for a dwarf to be able to operate it. It will only be operated once, so you don't need any axles or gears or waterwheels or whatever. Manual pump operation is all it takes.

After setting up the pump (whose dark green end has to be between the tunnel's walls) you can start pumping water into the room. If you have set up everything strategically smartly you should have a pump filling up the room with water. The water should flow through the room and out of it at the open side of the room. After having enough muddy ground tiles you can stop the dwarf from operating the pump and deconstruct it (the pump, not the dwarf!) if you like. After some time the water should have completely left the room or oozed away and you should have some beautiful muddy ground tiles to farm on.

You should also consider a bridge for the farmers to reach the farming plots. The bridge at the exit point of the water should be long enough so that the water won't flow over it and damp the ground at its far end. You can do without that second bridge though as you can deconstruct the pump after the irrigation. So there is already a passage for the farmers to get to the plots.

Good luck! Here's a diagram of this method...

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
▓...▓▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈ ▓ stone
▓.....[#880]%[#880]%[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~ . floor
▓...▓▓▓[#0F0].[#FFF]+[#FFF]+[#FFF]+ [#880]%[#880]% pump
▓...▓▓▓▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#00F]≈[#00F]~ water
▓.......[#FFF]+[#FFF]+[#FFF]+ [#FFF]+ "bridge" (constructed floor tiles)
▓...▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~
▓▓▓▓▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~
}}

== Complex Irrigation ==
The following method of irrigation takes longer to build, but it is more reliable, looks cooler and of course it's more {{L|fun}}.

=== via Reservoir ===
[[Image:Irrigation1.png‎|thumb|right|A reservoir system which provides enough water for 8 fields. Upper level]]
[[Image:Irrigation2.png‎|thumb|right|The irrigated bottom level.]]
First you need a sufficient source of {{L|water}}. The best would be a {{L|brook}} or {{L|river}}, but it is also possible to use a bigger murky pool (it depends on how many fields you want to irrigate).

For every 7x7 farm plot you need
:* a floodgate
:* a hatch cover
:* 4 mechanisms (for linking)
:* a door

You also need
:* 2 Mechanisms for the levers
:* at least one additional door (if you have enough time to set up a wall or floodgate as well)

Use the following pattern:

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
▓...▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓...▓ ▓ stone
▓.[#0FF]¢..[#888][#CCC]X.......[#888][#CCC]X..[#0FF]¢.▓ . floor
▓...▓▓▓▓▓.▓▓▓▓▓...▓ [#0FF]¢ floor hatch
▓▓▓▓▓▓[#FF0]1▓▓.▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ [#888][#CCC]X floodgate
▓[#FFF]<.[#888][#CCC]┼.▓ ▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈ [#00F]≈ water source
▓[#0FF]2▓▓.▓ ▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#888][#CCC]┼ door
▓▓▓▓.▓▓▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#FFF]< up stairs
▓▓[#FFF][#444]▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈▓▓ [#FF0]1 -> lever 1
▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~▓▓▓ [#0FF]2 -> lever 2
▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~▓▓▓
upper level, plumbing}} 
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▓.[#FFF]t[#FFF]o.[#FFF]f[#FFF]o[#FFF]r[#FFF]t.▓ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓...▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ [#880]≈ farm plot
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓...▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ [#888]═ stockpile
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓...▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ (customized
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓[#888]═[#888]═[#888]═▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ for seeds)
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#888][#CCC]┼[#888]═[#888]═[#888]═[#888][#CCC]┼[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓[#888]═[#888]═[#888]═▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓▓▓▓▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ ▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
lower level, farms}}

After your miners have dug the pattern, channel the tile under each hatch cover's location. Now place the hatch covers and link them to lever 1. After that you can place the floodgates and link them to lever 2. To start the irrigation, channel out the last tile to the river / murky pool. Pull the floodgate-lever to fill the reservoirs and pull it again when they are 7/7. Finally pull the hatch cover's lever and release the water to the lower level.

This reservoir contains 70 units of water (10x7). 9 units of water are lost to the ground of the reservoir (61 left). Roughly 10 units evaporate while spreading (~51). The water should be just enough to cover the whole farm plot and evaporate quickly.

{{Farming FAQ}}

v0.31:Irrigation

2010-08-11T15:13:26Z

Existent: /* via Buckets */

{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional}}

Irrigation is the process of adding water to an underground or rock tile so that it can be {{L|farm plot|farmed}}. This is done by flooding the tile with {{L|water}}. Any amount of water will suffice but the less water, the better — farms cannot be built on any square containing water of {{L|water depth|2/7 or deeper}}. Tiles of depth 2/7 will flow into nearby tiles until the area is 1/7 if possible, so this is only an issue if deep water is placed in an enclosed area.

Once the water has evaporated or been allowed to flow away, the tile will remain muddied unless a {{L|construction}} is built over it. Viewing the tile will cause it to display 'a pile of mud', 'a small pile of mud', or 'a dusting of mud' in its contents.

Farms must be built on muddy tiles. Farms cannot be built on underground tiles (rock or soil) unless those tiles have been muddied. This is not the case for above ground farming, where you can {{L|gather plants}} and {{L|Still|brew}} them for alcohol or even farm in above ground soil with the gathered seeds. But underground farming is a generally quicker, safer and more reliable (and dwarven) way to gain {{L|food}} and {{L|alcohol}}. Plus, you can only embark with seeds for underground crops. So, it is useful to know how to irrigate with as little investment in workshops and mechanisms as possible.

Farms can be built on unsuitable ground but doing so will display a warning message. If even a single square of the farm is not irrigated, it will be unusable.

{{L|Magma}}, for obvious reasons, cannot be used to irrigate{{verify}} but can cause {{L|fun}}.

== Easy Irrigation ==

One obstacle to early irrigation is the time required to build mechanisms (which cannot be taken when {{L|embark|embarking}} and take time to set up). They can also be daunting to newer players and mistakes can result in floods or famine - common sources of {{L|fun}}. The methods below are designed to work without mechanisms.

=== via Murky Pool===

Most areas contain {{L|murky pool|murky pools}}, which provide one of the quickest, simplest methods of starting a farm. Digging out an area near a murky pool and draining the pool into it is an easy way to make the ground muddy and farmable.

You should first locate a pool near where you wish to put the farm. While any finite water source works, you need to drain the excess water somehow or allow it to [[evaporate]], so smaller pools are usually preferable. Once you find a good location, dig out the room and dig a tunnel that ends with only 1 tile between it and the pool. If you want to simply allow the water to evaporate after irrigation, the floorspace in the farm should about about 5 or 6 times that of the pool. Otherwise, you can dig another room out underneath the farm via stairs placed on the opposite side from the pool to drain the water after irrigation.

Finally, channel out the one tile between the tunnel and the pool and the water will flow in.

If you miscalculate the area, there are two possible outcomes, both easily solvable-

:* If the dug area is too large, some tiles will be left unmuddied. While muddying these squares is a lot of trouble and arguably not worth it, these tiles are perfect for seed stockpiles.
:* If the dug area is too small, there will be at least one tile of 2/7 depth. Until some of the water {{L|evaporation|evaporates}} (which will still happen, albeit slower, in the 1/7 tiles), you won't be able to farm it. However, unless you've drastically miscalculated, dwarves will be able to wade through the water and dig more tiles to expand the farm to the correct size.

=== via Buckets===

It is possible to irrigate an area by carrying water in {{l|buckets}} from virtually any source, such as a {{L|brook}}, a {{L|river}}, or a good-sized {{L|murky pool}}.

To do this, select a subterranean area to locate your farms. You must then dig out two identical rooms, one above the other. The bottom room is where your farms will eventually be built, and the top room is where the actual filling will occur. Once you have dug out both rooms, you will need to channel out the floor of the upper room, making sure to leave a walkway around the perimeter.

Once you've dug the {{L|channel|channels}} in the upper room, you should have something like this:

Top Floor
++++
+..+ legend
+..+ . = channeled tile
++++ + = floor

Bottom Floor
++++
++++
++++
++++

(If you haven't {{L|Dig|dug}} the farm level by this point, you will have down ramps in your channeled tiles. Tunnel out the z-level below, as that is where your farms will be. Also note that if you carve the channels on the surface, the below farm will be listed as Above Ground, restricting certain crops.)

Try to think of it like this: dwarves won't fill a pond that they are standing in. Therefore, you must dig another room above the farm and channel out the floor, so they can pour water ''down'' into the room.

Next designate an {{L|activity zone|activity zone}} over the channeled tiles on the upper room, and set it to {{L|pond|"pit/pond"}}. By default, the zone will be set as a pit. To change it to a pond, press {{k|P}} then {{k|f}}.

If you designate each channeled tile individually as its own pond, you can quickly muddy your planned farm tiles- as only one dwarf can fill a pond activity zone at a time- and you can also control the spread of the water more precisely.

As each pond tile gets its first filling of water (bringing it to 1/7 depth), dezone that pond tile, leaving behind an exact match of mud on the floor below. This process creates "a dusting of mud" on the floor below, which is all that is needed to plant underground crops. Place your farm plots over just these muddied tiles.

When you are finished, the lower floor will look like the following:

++++
+mm+ legend
+mm+ m = muddied tile
++++ + = floor

You can vary the basic square to any rectangle, so long as it remains 2 tiles wide or 2 tiles long. Otherwise, your dwarves will not be able to reach the central tiles.

If you accidentally add too much water, you can wait for some of the water to evaporate or spread to nearby tiles. Even so, as long as you keep an eye on the dwarves and dezone that pond tile on the upper gallery as soon as it is no longer necessary, you shouldn't have any problems.

Other ways of creating an upper irrigation gallery and a lower resulting farm level are possible, but this is left up to the fortress designers to experiment with. This is simply a guide for players just starting out.

== Irrigation via Corkscrew Pump ==
This method ranks somewhere between easy and complex irrigation as it's set up relatively quickly while not necessarily looking as cool as the complex method. It needs a pump and a river/brook in a chasm though. A lake will do well too.

You start by digging out a tunnel of one tile and a rectangular room near the river exactly one level above the river. The floor of the room has to be at the same level as the surface of the river. It doesn't have to be walled on the side of the river as you'll need some open space for the water to get out. If you have dug it farther away from the river, you should dig another tunnel from the room to the water source so that the pumped in water can get out.

Secondly, at the end of the one tile wide tunnel you'll set up the pump. You'll need a free place next to the light green part of the pump for a dwarf to be able to operate it. It will only be operated once, so you don't need any axles or gears or waterwheels or whatever. Manual pump operation is all it takes.

After setting up the pump (whose dark green end has to be between the tunnel's walls) you can start pumping water into the room. If you have set up everything strategically smartly you should have a pump filling up the room with water. The water should flow through the room and out of it at the open side of the room. After having enough muddy ground tiles you can stop the dwarf from operating the pump and deconstruct it (the pump, not the dwarf!) if you like. After some time the water should have completely left the room or oozed away and you should have some beautiful muddy ground tiles to farm on.

You should also consider a bridge for the farmers to reach the farming plots. The bridge at the exit point of the water should be long enough so that the water won't flow over it and damp the ground at its far end. You can do without that second bridge though as you can deconstruct the pump after the irrigation. So there is already a passage for the farmers to get to the plots.

Good luck! Here's a diagram of this method...

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
▓...▓▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈ ▓ stone
▓.....[#880]%[#880]%[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~ . floor
▓...▓▓▓[#0F0].[#FFF]+[#FFF]+[#FFF]+ [#880]%[#880]% pump
▓...▓▓▓▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#00F]≈[#00F]~ water
▓.......[#FFF]+[#FFF]+[#FFF]+ [#FFF]+ "bridge" (constructed floor tiles)
▓...▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~
▓▓▓▓▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~
}}

== Complex Irrigation ==
The following method of irrigation takes longer to build, but it is more reliable, looks cooler and of course it's more {{L|fun}}.

=== via Reservoir ===
[[Image:Irrigation1.png‎|thumb|right|A reservoir system which provides enough water for 8 fields. Upper level]]
[[Image:Irrigation2.png‎|thumb|right|The irrigated bottom level.]]
First you need a sufficient source of {{L|water}}. The best would be a {{L|brook}} or {{L|river}}, but it is also possible to use a bigger murky pool (it depends on how many fields you want to irrigate).

For every 7x7 farm plot you need
:* a floodgate
:* a hatch cover
:* 4 mechanisms (for linking)
:* a door

You also need
:* 2 Mechanisms for the levers
:* at least one additional door (if you have enough time to set up a wall or floodgate as well)

Use the following pattern:

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
▓...▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓...▓ ▓ stone
▓.[#0FF]¢..[#888][#CCC]X.......[#888][#CCC]X..[#0FF]¢.▓ . floor
▓...▓▓▓▓▓.▓▓▓▓▓...▓ [#0FF]¢ floor hatch
▓▓▓▓▓▓[#FF0]1▓▓.▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ [#888][#CCC]X floodgate
▓[#FFF]<.[#888][#CCC]┼.▓ ▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈ [#00F]≈ water source
▓[#0FF]2▓▓.▓ ▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#888][#CCC]┼ door
▓▓▓▓.▓▓▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#FFF]< up stairs
▓▓[#FFF][#444]▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈▓▓ [#FF0]1 -> lever 1
▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~▓▓▓ [#0FF]2 -> lever 2
▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~▓▓▓
upper level, plumbing}} 
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▓.[#FFF]t[#FFF]o.[#FFF]f[#FFF]o[#FFF]r[#FFF]t.▓ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓...▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ [#880]≈ farm plot
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓...▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ [#888]═ stockpile
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓...▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ (customized
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓[#888]═[#888]═[#888]═▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ for seeds)
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#888][#CCC]┼[#888]═[#888]═[#888]═[#888][#CCC]┼[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓[#888]═[#888]═[#888]═▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓▓▓▓▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ ▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
lower level, farms}}

After your miners have dug the pattern, channel the tile under each hatch cover's location. Now place the hatch covers and link them to lever 1. After that you can place the floodgates and link them to lever 2. To start the irrigation, channel out the last tile to the river / murky pool. Pull the floodgate-lever to fill the reservoirs and pull it again when they are 7/7. Finally pull the hatch cover's lever and release the water to the lower level.

This reservoir contains 70 units of water (10x7). 9 units of water are lost to the ground of the reservoir (61 left). Roughly 10 units evaporate while spreading (~51). The water should be just enough to cover the whole farm plot and evaporate quickly.

{{Farming FAQ}}

User:Existent

2010-08-11T05:10:21Z

Existent: Created page with 'Hey, I'm existent, and I'm existent on the Bay12 forums as well. I'm there more than I'm here. Feel free to hop on over there and PM me if you need something.'

Hey, I'm existent, and I'm existent on the Bay12 forums as well. I'm there more than I'm here. Feel free to hop on over there and PM me if you need something.

v0.31:Irrigation

2010-08-11T04:49:48Z

Existent: /* via Buckets */ whoops typo

{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional}}

Irrigation is the process of adding water to an underground or rock tile so that it can be {{L|farm plot|farmed}}. This is done by flooding the tile with {{L|water}}. Any amount of water will suffice but the less water, the better — farms cannot be built on any square containing water of {{L|water depth|2/7 or deeper}}. Tiles of depth 2/7 will flow into nearby tiles until the area is 1/7 if possible, so this is only an issue if deep water is placed in an enclosed area.

Once the water has evaporated or been allowed to flow away, the tile will remain muddied unless a {{L|construction}} is built over it. Viewing the tile will cause it to display 'a pile of mud', 'a small pile of mud', or 'a dusting of mud' in its contents.

Farms must be built on muddy tiles. Farms cannot be built on underground tiles (rock or soil) unless those tiles have been muddied. This is not the case for above ground farming, where you can {{L|gather plants}} and {{L|Still|brew}} them for alcohol or even farm in above ground soil with the gathered seeds. But underground farming is a generally quicker, safer and more reliable (and dwarven) way to gain {{L|food}} and {{L|alcohol}}. Plus, you can only embark with seeds for underground crops. So, it is useful to know how to irrigate with as little investment in workshops and mechanisms as possible.

Farms can be built on unsuitable ground but doing so will display a warning message. If even a single square of the farm is not irrigated, it will be unusable.

{{L|Magma}}, for obvious reasons, cannot be used to irrigate{{verify}} but can cause {{L|fun}}.

== Easy Irrigation ==

One obstacle to early irrigation is the time required to build mechanisms (which cannot be taken when {{L|embark|embarking}} and take time to set up). They can also be daunting to newer players and mistakes can result in floods or famine - common sources of {{L|fun}}. The methods below are designed to work without mechanisms.

=== via Murky Pool===

Most areas contain {{L|murky pool|murky pools}}, which provide one of the quickest, simplest methods of starting a farm. Digging out an area near a murky pool and draining the pool into it is an easy way to make the ground muddy and farmable.

You should first locate a pool near where you wish to put the farm. While any finite water source works, you need to drain the excess water somehow or allow it to [[evaporate]], so smaller pools are usually preferable. Once you find a good location, dig out the room and dig a tunnel that ends with only 1 tile between it and the pool. If you want to simply allow the water to evaporate after irrigation, the floorspace in the farm should about about 5 or 6 times that of the pool. Otherwise, you can dig another room out underneath the farm via stairs placed on the opposite side from the pool to drain the water after irrigation.

Finally, channel out the one tile between the tunnel and the pool and the water will flow in.

If you miscalculate the area, there are two possible outcomes, both easily solvable-

:* If the dug area is too large, some tiles will be left unmuddied. While muddying these squares is a lot of trouble and arguably not worth it, these tiles are perfect for seed stockpiles.
:* If the dug area is too small, there will be at least one tile of 2/7 depth. Until some of the water {{L|evaporation|evaporates}} (which will still happen, albeit slower, in the 1/7 tiles), you won't be able to farm it. However, unless you've drastically miscalculated, dwarves will be able to wade through the water and dig more tiles to expand the farm to the correct size.

=== via Buckets===

It is possible to irrigate an area by carrying water in {{l|buckets}} from virtually any source, such as a {{L|brook}}, a {{L|river}}, or a good-sized {{L|murky pool}}.

To do this, select a subterranean area to locate your farms. You must then dig out two identical rooms, one above the other. The bottom room is where your farms will eventually be built, and the top room is where the actual filling will occur. Once you have dug out both rooms, you will need to channel out the floor of the upper room, making sure to leave a walkway around the perimeter.

Once you've dug the {{L|channel|channels}} in the upper room, you should have something like this:

Top Floor
++++
+..+ legend
+..+ . = channeled tile
++++ + = floor

Bottom Floor
++++
++++
++++
++++

(If you haven't {{L|Dig|dug}} the farm level by this point, you will have down ramps in your channeled tiles. Tunnel out the z-level below, as that is where your farms will be. Also note that if you carve the channels on the surface, the below farm will be listed as Above Ground, restricting certain crops.)

Try to think of it like this: dwarves won't fill a pond that they are standing in. Therefore, you must dig another room above the farm and channel out the floor, so they can pour water ''down'' into the room.

Next designate an {{L|activity zone|activity zone}} over the channeled tiles on the upper room, and set it to {{L|pond|"pit/pond"}}. By default, the zone will be set as a pit. To change it to a pond, press {{k|P}} then {{k|f}}. Note that when you are designating the zone, you must also include at least one tile of walkway adjacent to the channeled tile. Think of this as the tile the dwarves will stand on while filling the "pond".

If you designate each channeled tile individually as its own pond, you can quickly muddy your planned farm tiles- as only one dwarf can fill a pond activity zone at a time- and you can also control the spread of the water more precisely.

As each pond tile gets its first filling of water (bringing it to 1/7 depth), dezone that pond tile, leaving behind an exact match of mud on the floor below. This process creates "a dusting of mud" on the floor below, which is all that is needed to plant underground crops. Place your farm plots over just these muddied tiles.

When you are finished, the lower floor will look like the following:

++++
+mm+ legend
+mm+ m = muddied tile
++++ + = floor

You can vary the basic square to any rectangle, so long as it remains 2 tiles wide or 2 tiles long. Otherwise, you will be unable to have a walkway adjacent to every tile.

If you accidentally add too much water, you can wait for some of the water to evaporate or spread to nearby tiles. Even so, as long as you keep an eye on the dwarves and dezone that pond tile on the upper gallery as soon as it is no longer necessary, you shouldn't have any problems.

Other ways of creating an upper irrigation gallery and a lower resulting farm level are possible, but this is left up to the fortress designers to experiment with. This is simply a guide for players just starting out.

== Irrigation via Corkscrew Pump ==
This method ranks somewhere between easy and complex irrigation as it's set up relatively quickly while not necessarily looking as cool as the complex method. It needs a pump and a river/brook in a chasm though. A lake will do well too.

You start by digging out a tunnel of one tile and a rectangular room near the river exactly one level above the river. The floor of the room has to be at the same level as the surface of the river. It doesn't have to be walled on the side of the river as you'll need some open space for the water to get out. If you have dug it farther away from the river, you should dig another tunnel from the room to the water source so that the pumped in water can get out.

Secondly, at the end of the one tile wide tunnel you'll set up the pump. You'll need a free place next to the light green part of the pump for a dwarf to be able to operate it. It will only be operated once, so you don't need any axles or gears or waterwheels or whatever. Manual pump operation is all it takes.

After setting up the pump (whose dark green end has to be between the tunnel's walls) you can start pumping water into the room. If you have set up everything strategically smartly you should have a pump filling up the room with water. The water should flow through the room and out of it at the open side of the room. After having enough muddy ground tiles you can stop the dwarf from operating the pump and deconstruct it (the pump, not the dwarf!) if you like. After some time the water should have completely left the room or oozed away and you should have some beautiful muddy ground tiles to farm on.

You should also consider a bridge for the farmers to reach the farming plots. The bridge at the exit point of the water should be long enough so that the water won't flow over it and damp the ground at its far end. You can do without that second bridge though as you can deconstruct the pump after the irrigation. So there is already a passage for the farmers to get to the plots.

Good luck! Here's a diagram of this method...

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
▓...▓▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈ ▓ stone
▓.....[#880]%[#880]%[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~ . floor
▓...▓▓▓[#0F0].[#FFF]+[#FFF]+[#FFF]+ [#880]%[#880]% pump
▓...▓▓▓▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#00F]≈[#00F]~ water
▓.......[#FFF]+[#FFF]+[#FFF]+ [#FFF]+ "bridge" (constructed floor tiles)
▓...▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~
▓▓▓▓▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~
}}

== Complex Irrigation ==
The following method of irrigation takes longer to build, but it is more reliable, looks cooler and of course it's more {{L|fun}}.

=== via Reservoir ===
[[Image:Irrigation1.png‎|thumb|right|A reservoir system which provides enough water for 8 fields. Upper level]]
[[Image:Irrigation2.png‎|thumb|right|The irrigated bottom level.]]
First you need a sufficient source of {{L|water}}. The best would be a {{L|brook}} or {{L|river}}, but it is also possible to use a bigger murky pool (it depends on how many fields you want to irrigate).

For every 7x7 farm plot you need
:* a floodgate
:* a hatch cover
:* 4 mechanisms (for linking)
:* a door

You also need
:* 2 Mechanisms for the levers
:* at least one additional door (if you have enough time to set up a wall or floodgate as well)

Use the following pattern:

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
▓...▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓...▓ ▓ stone
▓.[#0FF]¢..[#888][#CCC]X.......[#888][#CCC]X..[#0FF]¢.▓ . floor
▓...▓▓▓▓▓.▓▓▓▓▓...▓ [#0FF]¢ floor hatch
▓▓▓▓▓▓[#FF0]1▓▓.▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ [#888][#CCC]X floodgate
▓[#FFF]<.[#888][#CCC]┼.▓ ▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈ [#00F]≈ water source
▓[#0FF]2▓▓.▓ ▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#888][#CCC]┼ door
▓▓▓▓.▓▓▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#FFF]< up stairs
▓▓[#FFF][#444]▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈▓▓ [#FF0]1 -> lever 1
▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~▓▓▓ [#0FF]2 -> lever 2
▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~▓▓▓
upper level, plumbing}} 
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▓.[#FFF]t[#FFF]o.[#FFF]f[#FFF]o[#FFF]r[#FFF]t.▓ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓...▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ [#880]≈ farm plot
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓...▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ [#888]═ stockpile
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓...▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ (customized
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓[#888]═[#888]═[#888]═▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ for seeds)
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#888][#CCC]┼[#888]═[#888]═[#888]═[#888][#CCC]┼[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓[#888]═[#888]═[#888]═▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓▓▓▓▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ ▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
lower level, farms}}

After your miners have dug the pattern, channel the tile under each hatch cover's location. Now place the hatch covers and link them to lever 1. After that you can place the floodgates and link them to lever 2. To start the irrigation, channel out the last tile to the river / murky pool. Pull the floodgate-lever to fill the reservoirs and pull it again when they are 7/7. Finally pull the hatch cover's lever and release the water to the lower level.

This reservoir contains 70 units of water (10x7). 9 units of water are lost to the ground of the reservoir (61 left). Roughly 10 units evaporate while spreading (~51). The water should be just enough to cover the whole farm plot and evaporate quickly.

{{Farming FAQ}}

v0.31:Irrigation

2010-08-11T04:47:40Z

Existent: /* via Buckets */ Rewrote the section to make it more clear to new players. Confusion about the topic seems to be everywhere on the forums.

{{av}}
{{Quality|Exceptional}}

Irrigation is the process of adding water to an underground or rock tile so that it can be {{L|farm plot|farmed}}. This is done by flooding the tile with {{L|water}}. Any amount of water will suffice but the less water, the better — farms cannot be built on any square containing water of {{L|water depth|2/7 or deeper}}. Tiles of depth 2/7 will flow into nearby tiles until the area is 1/7 if possible, so this is only an issue if deep water is placed in an enclosed area.

Once the water has evaporated or been allowed to flow away, the tile will remain muddied unless a {{L|construction}} is built over it. Viewing the tile will cause it to display 'a pile of mud', 'a small pile of mud', or 'a dusting of mud' in its contents.

Farms must be built on muddy tiles. Farms cannot be built on underground tiles (rock or soil) unless those tiles have been muddied. This is not the case for above ground farming, where you can {{L|gather plants}} and {{L|Still|brew}} them for alcohol or even farm in above ground soil with the gathered seeds. But underground farming is a generally quicker, safer and more reliable (and dwarven) way to gain {{L|food}} and {{L|alcohol}}. Plus, you can only embark with seeds for underground crops. So, it is useful to know how to irrigate with as little investment in workshops and mechanisms as possible.

Farms can be built on unsuitable ground but doing so will display a warning message. If even a single square of the farm is not irrigated, it will be unusable.

{{L|Magma}}, for obvious reasons, cannot be used to irrigate{{verify}} but can cause {{L|fun}}.

== Easy Irrigation ==

One obstacle to early irrigation is the time required to build mechanisms (which cannot be taken when {{L|embark|embarking}} and take time to set up). They can also be daunting to newer players and mistakes can result in floods or famine - common sources of {{L|fun}}. The methods below are designed to work without mechanisms.

=== via Murky Pool===

Most areas contain {{L|murky pool|murky pools}}, which provide one of the quickest, simplest methods of starting a farm. Digging out an area near a murky pool and draining the pool into it is an easy way to make the ground muddy and farmable.

You should first locate a pool near where you wish to put the farm. While any finite water source works, you need to drain the excess water somehow or allow it to [[evaporate]], so smaller pools are usually preferable. Once you find a good location, dig out the room and dig a tunnel that ends with only 1 tile between it and the pool. If you want to simply allow the water to evaporate after irrigation, the floorspace in the farm should about about 5 or 6 times that of the pool. Otherwise, you can dig another room out underneath the farm via stairs placed on the opposite side from the pool to drain the water after irrigation.

Finally, channel out the one tile between the tunnel and the pool and the water will flow in.

If you miscalculate the area, there are two possible outcomes, both easily solvable-

:* If the dug area is too large, some tiles will be left unmuddied. While muddying these squares is a lot of trouble and arguably not worth it, these tiles are perfect for seed stockpiles.
:* If the dug area is too small, there will be at least one tile of 2/7 depth. Until some of the water {{L|evaporation|evaporates}} (which will still happen, albeit slower, in the 1/7 tiles), you won't be able to farm it. However, unless you've drastically miscalculated, dwarves will be able to wade through the water and dig more tiles to expand the farm to the correct size.

=== via Buckets===

It is possible to irrigate an area by carrying water in {{l|buckets}} from virtually any source, such as a {{L|brook}}, a {{L|river}}, or a good-sized {{L|murky pool}}.

To do this, select a subterranean area to locate your farms. You must then dig out two identical rooms, one above the other. The bottom room is where your farms will eventually be built, and the top room is where the actual filling will occur. Once you have dug out both rooms, you will need to channel out the floor of the upper room, making sure to leave a walkway around the perimeter.

Once you've dug the {{L|channel|channels}} in the upper room, you should have something like this:

Top Floor
++++
+..+ legend
+..+ . = channeled tile
++++ + = floor

Bottom Floor
++++
++++
++++
++++

(If you haven't {{L|Dig|dug}} the farm level by this point, you will have down ramps in your channeled tiles. Tunnel out the z-level below, as that is where your farms will be. Also note that if you carve the channels on the surface, the below farm will be listed as Above Ground, restricting certain crops.)

Try to think of it like this: dwarves won't fill a pond that they are standing in. Therefore, you must dig another room above the farm and channel out the floor, so they can pour water ''down'' into the room.

Next designate an {{L|activity zone|activity zone}} over the channeled tiles on the upper room, and set it to {{L|pond|"pit/pond"}}. By default, the zone will be set as a pit. To change it to a pond, press {{k|P}} then {{k|f}}. Note that when you are designating the zone, you must also include at least one tile of walkway adjacent to the channeled tile. Think of this as the tile the dwarves will stand on while filling the "pond".

If you designate each channeled tile individually as its own pond, you can quickly muddy your planned farm tiles- as only one dwarf can fill a pond activity zone at a time- and you can also control the spread of the water more precisely.

As each pond tile gets its first filling of water (bringing it to 1/7 depth), dezone that pond tile, leaving behind an exact match of mud on the floor below. This process creates "a dusting of mud" on the floor below, which is all that is needed to plant underground crops. Place your farm plots over just these muddied tiles.

When you are finished, the lower floor will look like the following:

++++
+mm+ legend
+mm+ m = muddied tile
++++ + = floor

You can vary the basic square to any rectangle, so long as it remains 2 tiles wide or 2 tiles long. Otherwise, you will be unable to have a walkway adjacent to every tile.

If you accidentally add too much water, you can wait for some of the water to evaporate or spread to nearby tiles. Even so, as long as you keep an eye on the dwarves and dezone that pond tile on the upper gallery as soon as it is no longer necessary, you shouldn't have any problems.

Other ways to of creating an upper irrigation gallery and a lower resulting farm level are possible, but this is left up to the fortress designers to experiment with. This is simply a guide for players just starting out.

== Irrigation via Corkscrew Pump ==
This method ranks somewhere between easy and complex irrigation as it's set up relatively quickly while not necessarily looking as cool as the complex method. It needs a pump and a river/brook in a chasm though. A lake will do well too.

You start by digging out a tunnel of one tile and a rectangular room near the river exactly one level above the river. The floor of the room has to be at the same level as the surface of the river. It doesn't have to be walled on the side of the river as you'll need some open space for the water to get out. If you have dug it farther away from the river, you should dig another tunnel from the room to the water source so that the pumped in water can get out.

Secondly, at the end of the one tile wide tunnel you'll set up the pump. You'll need a free place next to the light green part of the pump for a dwarf to be able to operate it. It will only be operated once, so you don't need any axles or gears or waterwheels or whatever. Manual pump operation is all it takes.

After setting up the pump (whose dark green end has to be between the tunnel's walls) you can start pumping water into the room. If you have set up everything strategically smartly you should have a pump filling up the room with water. The water should flow through the room and out of it at the open side of the room. After having enough muddy ground tiles you can stop the dwarf from operating the pump and deconstruct it (the pump, not the dwarf!) if you like. After some time the water should have completely left the room or oozed away and you should have some beautiful muddy ground tiles to farm on.

You should also consider a bridge for the farmers to reach the farming plots. The bridge at the exit point of the water should be long enough so that the water won't flow over it and damp the ground at its far end. You can do without that second bridge though as you can deconstruct the pump after the irrigation. So there is already a passage for the farmers to get to the plots.

Good luck! Here's a diagram of this method...

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
▓...▓▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈ ▓ stone
▓.....[#880]%[#880]%[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~ . floor
▓...▓▓▓[#0F0].[#FFF]+[#FFF]+[#FFF]+ [#880]%[#880]% pump
▓...▓▓▓▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#00F]≈[#00F]~ water
▓.......[#FFF]+[#FFF]+[#FFF]+ [#FFF]+ "bridge" (constructed floor tiles)
▓...▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~
▓▓▓▓▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~
}}

== Complex Irrigation ==
The following method of irrigation takes longer to build, but it is more reliable, looks cooler and of course it's more {{L|fun}}.

=== via Reservoir ===
[[Image:Irrigation1.png‎|thumb|right|A reservoir system which provides enough water for 8 fields. Upper level]]
[[Image:Irrigation2.png‎|thumb|right|The irrigated bottom level.]]
First you need a sufficient source of {{L|water}}. The best would be a {{L|brook}} or {{L|river}}, but it is also possible to use a bigger murky pool (it depends on how many fields you want to irrigate).

For every 7x7 farm plot you need
:* a floodgate
:* a hatch cover
:* 4 mechanisms (for linking)
:* a door

You also need
:* 2 Mechanisms for the levers
:* at least one additional door (if you have enough time to set up a wall or floodgate as well)

Use the following pattern:

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
▓...▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓...▓ ▓ stone
▓.[#0FF]¢..[#888][#CCC]X.......[#888][#CCC]X..[#0FF]¢.▓ . floor
▓...▓▓▓▓▓.▓▓▓▓▓...▓ [#0FF]¢ floor hatch
▓▓▓▓▓▓[#FF0]1▓▓.▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓ [#888][#CCC]X floodgate
▓[#FFF]<.[#888][#CCC]┼.▓ ▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈ [#00F]≈ water source
▓[#0FF]2▓▓.▓ ▓▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#888][#CCC]┼ door
▓▓▓▓.▓▓▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~ [#FFF]< up stairs
▓▓[#FFF][#444]▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈▓▓ [#FF0]1 -> lever 1
▓▓[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]~▓▓▓ [#0FF]2 -> lever 2
▓[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~[#00F]≈[#00F]≈[#00F]~▓▓▓
upper level, plumbing}} 
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▓.[#FFF]t[#FFF]o.[#FFF]f[#FFF]o[#FFF]r[#FFF]t.▓ [#FFF]l[#FFF]e[#FFF]g[#FFF]e[#FFF]n[#FFF]d
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓...▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ [#880]≈ farm plot
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓...▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ [#888]═ stockpile
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓...▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ (customized
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓[#888]═[#888]═[#888]═▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ for seeds)
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#888][#CCC]┼[#888]═[#888]═[#888]═[#888][#CCC]┼[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓[#888]═[#888]═[#888]═▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓▓▓▓▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓ ▓[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈[#880]≈▓
▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
lower level, farms}}

After your miners have dug the pattern, channel the tile under each hatch cover's location. Now place the hatch covers and link them to lever 1. After that you can place the floodgates and link them to lever 2. To start the irrigation, channel out the last tile to the river / murky pool. Pull the floodgate-lever to fill the reservoirs and pull it again when they are 7/7. Finally pull the hatch cover's lever and release the water to the lower level.

This reservoir contains 70 units of water (10x7). 9 units of water are lost to the ground of the reservoir (61 left). Roughly 10 units evaporate while spreading (~51). The water should be just enough to cover the whole farm plot and evaporate quickly.

{{Farming FAQ}}