do light aquifers ever run out?

[MattFright]

I've basically dug holes to a deep cave to allow the obnoxious aquifers to run down to... But the water is flowing very slowly and it's starting to "clog" the stairway and causing upper floors to flood a little.

My question is: will the light aquifer near the surface ever run out, or am i dealing with a time bomb?

[Teemo]

It will never run out, you're sorta dealing with a time bomb, here's a light aquifer tutorial:

https://youtu.be/CicawtANFZ0

[Tikigod]

Originally posted by MattFright:

I've basically dug holes to a deep cave to allow the obnoxious aquifers to run down to... But the water is flowing very slowly and it's starting to "clog" the stairway and causing upper floors to flood a little.

My question is: will the light aquifer near the surface ever run out, or am i dealing with a time bomb?

If unsure how something works, DFWiki has you covered with more information then you'll ever likely need about the subject.

https://www.dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Aquifer

[Robert]

Aquifer tiles generate water, out of nowhere. Every x ticks, without having a finite supply to draw from. Light aquifers generate it more slowly than heavy ones.

Rivers work (or used to work) the same by the way, the river tiles on your map's edge generate lots of water every x ticks which will then start flowing sideways or downwards if it can.

If you ever played minecraft, dwarf fortress mechanics are quite similar in that regard.

[Teemo]

Also, you may be well past what my tutorial I gave you can deal with, I would recommend trying to find a way to cut that section of your fort off from the rest of your fort and penetrate the aquifer layer the safe way in a different spot. You can later open this area back up if you learn how to do pumping to then seal up the aquifers. However even this advice might be off, it's tough to know without sitting down with you with your actual fort and making an assessment on how salvageable that section is at this point, you still might be in a window that you can save it all, just tough to tell through the forums.

If you want to post some floor by floor screenshots of what we're working with, I can give you some steps to save it.

Just remember, with the screenshots, you'll need to explain how deep the water is in the shots.

[MattFright]

So, if i understand this correctly, only the tiles that were already damp can generate water, so while my built walls have the water icon they won't actually generate water?

[Tikigod]

Originally posted by MattFright:

So, if i understand this correctly, only the tiles that were already damp can generate water, so while my built walls have the water icon they won't actually generate water?

Seriously, your best best is to just hit up the DFWiki. It covers full explanation of the mechanics and several solution approaches, how they work and how to execute them.

[Teemo]

Originally posted by MattFright:

So, if i understand this correctly, only the tiles that were already damp can generate water, so while my built walls have the water icon they won't actually generate water?

Mostly correct, tiles will have the water drop for 2 reasons: They are an aquifer tile, or there is water/aquifer that will be exposed if you mine this tile. So all the tiles that were natural to the aquifer level will generate water, new tiles you produce there will not.

[The Trashman]

Originally posted by MattFright:

So, if i understand this correctly, only the tiles that were already damp can generate water, so while my built walls have the water icon they won't actually generate water?

That's right

[Robert]

Originally posted by MattFright:

So, if i understand this correctly, only the tiles that were already damp can generate water, so while my built walls have the water icon they won't actually generate water?

afaik, damp tile means either an aquifer tile, or a tile which was soaked wet because it's right next to a water source (like a pond or river or aquifer tile). So, sorry, the water icon is not a 100% reliable info if that specific tile will produce water, or if it just got wet because a neighbor tile is producing water, or holds water.

[Robert]

To know for sure, dig into the tiles with the water icon and watch the effects.
(just kidding, you better avoid them and try to smoothe them and hope for the best)

[MattFright]

I got it then, so i'm 99% sure i can solve the whole issue pretty easily thankfully since i have plenty of miners and stuff to build with. Thanks for the help :)

[Robert]

Originally posted by Tikigod:

Originally posted by MattFright:

So, if i understand this correctly, only the tiles that were already damp can generate water, so while my built walls have the water icon they won't actually generate water?

Seriously, your best best is to just hit up the DFWiki. It covers full explanation of the mechanics and several solution approaches, how they work and how to execute them.

The forum desperately needs a sticky with links to the wiki. Sadly, the wiki is outdated in some sections for this new release, and some confusion might occur. But it still covers around 95% of all gameplay questions asked here.

[Tikigod]

Originally posted by MattFright:

I got it then, so i'm 99% sure i can solve the whole issue pretty easily thankfully since i have plenty of miners and stuff to build with. Thanks for the help :)

Aye, light aquifers really aren't a big deal and are easy to manage once you understand the basics of their behaviour.

Heavy ones are more the problem

[Tikigod]

Originally posted by Robert:

Originally posted by Tikigod:

Seriously, your best best is to just hit up the DFWiki. It covers full explanation of the mechanics and several solution approaches, how they work and how to execute them.

The forum desperately needs a sticky with links to the wiki. Sadly, the wiki is outdated in some sections for this new release, and some confusion might occur. But it still covers around 95% of all gameplay questions asked here.

Indeed.

Especially when it comes to all the people posting about how "Stairs are bugged".

Some kind of bot that can link to the DFWiki to explain how stairs, ramps and such actually work and that the dig designation isn't some magical "Just make me stairs" button would be awesome. lol

[Holmes108]

Sometimes you just need to talk it out with actual people, getting examples and stuff. The Wiki can be confusing, assume you know other things about the game, or just be plain out of date. That's what forums are for.