Pressure Plate Traps: Citizens Do Not and Citizens Do: Both get my dwarfs killed!

[Der Liebe Frankie]

When setting up pressure plate traps (spike traps), I have had them set to both settings:

Citizens Do Not (the box is unchecked): I thought I had set everything up this way and still I had citizens getting killed.

Citizens Do (the box is checked): This definitely got dwarfs killed.

This whole mechanic is just not fun at all. Why would anyone want their citizens to get killed on these traps?

[High Lord Denix]

Have you tried not setting them up in high traffic areas?

[Der Liebe Frankie]

Originally posted by High Lord Denix:

Have you tried not setting them up in high traffic areas?

It's a chicken and egg problem. Of course as soon as they are finished getting set up they will be in a low traffic area, but the people going in to set them up by definition have to go into that area, and they are getting slaughtered. Which will be great if they have to be used against enemies, but I am not sure there isn't a problem with how the plate set up works for not attacking the citizens. Where's the guide? Where are the step by step instructions that I can follow and say "yep that is where I screwed up. Now they work as expected." ?

[kheftel]

Originally posted by Der Liebe Frankie:

Originally posted by High Lord Denix:

Have you tried not setting them up in high traffic areas?

It's a chicken and egg problem. Of course as soon as they are finished getting set up they will be in a low traffic area, but the people going in to set them up by definition have to go into that area, and they are getting slaughtered. Which will be great if they have to be used against enemies, but I am not sure there isn't a problem with how the plate set up works for not attacking the citizens. Where's the guide? Where are the step by step instructions that I can follow and say "yep that is where I screwed up. Now they work as expected." ?

This might help? https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Pressure_plate

[AurelianDio]

pressure plates aren't necessarily specifically for traps, you might want to use them to open close certain doors or hatches only when someone steps on them and who knows what, it just opens up the possibility of different uses,

[Der Liebe Frankie]

Originally posted by AurelianDio:

pressure plates aren't necessarily specifically for traps, you might want to use them to open close certain doors or hatches only when someone steps on them and who knows what, it just opens up the possibility of different uses,

Ah! That is helpful to know.

Originally posted by kheftel:

Originally posted by Der Liebe Frankie:

It's a chicken and egg problem. Of course as soon as they are finished getting set up they will be in a low traffic area, but the people going in to set them up by definition have to go into that area, and they are getting slaughtered. Which will be great if they have to be used against enemies, but I am not sure there isn't a problem with how the plate set up works for not attacking the citizens. Where's the guide? Where are the step by step instructions that I can follow and say "yep that is where I screwed up. Now they work as expected." ?

This might help? https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Pressure_plate

Yes this is roughly what the UI provides. I'll have to revisit it and make sure I just didn't fool myself.

Alternatively, I'm starting to think I need to arrange the pressure plates and traps in such a way that I have doors closed and an specific order in which they will be connected together to prevent people from endangering themselves while hooking everything up.