Critter Containment - How to use water stacks to control your critters

[mathmanican]

I've looked (briefly) for a post that shows this, but didn't find it. It's mostly likely not new to some. If it has already been shared, then I guess I'll share it again (please share links to other posts, as it's always fun to read more).  Hatches (as well as dreckos, pips, shinebugs, pufts, etc. - not shove voles) can have their movement blocked by liquid. A two tall stack of liquid will  trap hatches, pips, and drekkos.  This means you can reduce their movement, even in a large room.

So if you are fond of 4 by 24 rooms, you can still force the little buggers to stay in as small a region as you want (even 1 tile, right on the grooming station and drop food in from above). In the picture below, they won't leave their little 4 tile wide walking region. 

The same trick works with pips and drekkos.

Flying creatures require a tad more structure (you have to have a top as well, and you have to put walls above the liquid stacks, as flyers can move diagonally.

@abud, You were playing with a drekko feeder a bit ago, and wanting to herd drekkos.  I think you can use this principle to block/encourage their movement, as you want.  I tried getting the walls to pop UP with a mechanized door (to no avail), but you can make a quick water wall using a 10g valve. You'll obviously want this behind a shut off. (rough idea below). A few weight plates to detect where the drekko currently is, and you can herd animals as if they were in a dairy farm (one way movement with doors shutting closed behind them after they move where you want them).  

[abud]

I already know that they avoiding 2 tiles deep liquid, but never thought about stacking them like a wall. Good to know, thanks for the info.

[nakomaru]

This is how I keep my pips on the ground. Unfortunately it doesn't work with voles as you mention. I sure did try.

[metallichydra]

does this work with pacu's?

[mathmanican]

14 minutes ago, metallichydra said:

does this work with pacu's?

Define "work".  How about this?

They can live, be happy, and lay eggs, in 10g of liquid, provided there is a liquid above it to form a stack. 

If you meant, "Can I use stacks of liquid to trap them?" then I'm afraid not. I can use stacks of air to trap them though.  

[6Havok9]

42 minutes ago, mathmanican said:

Define "work".  How about this?

They can live, be happy, and lay eggs, in 10g of liquid, provided there is a liquid above it to form a stack. 

If you meant, "Can I use stacks of liquid to trap them?" then I'm afraid not. I can use stacks of air to trap them though.  

I've found this to be unreliable sometimes if there is not enough liquid. For example, if they drop from above while flopping, they'll reach the floor and keep flopping.

Here you can see liquids used to block movement. I also use liquids to reduce the available zone for pufts to a square around the grooming station. I don't normally stack liquids where dupes walk if I don't want to use exosuits, to prevent debuffs.

Here is drecko herding. No weight plates, smaller version in the third post, could be improved.

 

[nakomaru]

I loved that thread too Havok, great share.

[beowulf2010]

I still use a modified version of your drecko sorter, @6Havok9. Great design. 

@mathmanican, that's really neat and worth the wet feet debuff to me. Much easier than tossing down a door with a tile above it and even works on pips. 

[mathmanican]

4 minutes ago, beowulf2010 said:

Much easier than tossing down a door with a tile above it and even works on pips. 

My real reason for using it is that the water does not count as a tile. As such I can herd them without affecting room size.

I ended up with 26 by 4 floors for my base, independent or ranching or any other max room size (my bathroom is centered between two min size great halls - exactly 26 tiles wide for all three rooms with all needed doors). When I finally decided to add a stable as a floor, I needed this to max my stable without redesign.