So my idea is a draw bridge. The bride would be able to be switched up and down. When it is down Hearthlings and enemies can walk over it but when up they can not. This could be used in castles and other structures. This could be implemented in either a set object like furniture or a more advanced form where you must craft gears and rope and construct it that way, It would make castle more practical.
TLDR: We should add draw bridges.
Wow, crafting ropes. How cool is that - weaver would have more things to do! I LOVE this idea, only concern i have is how would ropes look in-game. But the idea to make bridge like that, together with gates, walls and moats, seems great to me!
You could also use blacksmith for chains, or a possible reinforced draw bridge?
This is something the game definitely needs; I hope it will come witht he planned engineer class.
the question is… how it works? do the hearthlings toggle the bridge or the player toggles the bridge? if the hearthlings will toggle the bridge, how will it be toggle? lever? where is it connected? if the player toggles the bridge, how will the system prevent the player from spamming it on/off? how will the system detect if there is an obstruction that prevents the bridge? or simply place the bridge?
sorry for too many questions but I really like the idea. 
I’ll just stick to moats and mazes in a meantime.
I’d imagine this would work similar to how doors work, but maybe with a locking feature when drawbridge is selected. The locking would mean toggle for pass-ability. In other words the thing will not open when hearthling is near. When unlocked it will act as normal like a door; when hearthling is near the bridge will go down to simulate opening.
I’d imagine the space for the animation would be the furniture’s placement box, like the tunnel doors; it can be placed free from the building editor.
Getting the hearthlings, more or less the enemy to walk on it would be the tinkering part to make look properly.
Alternative with the locking could be as mentioned above with toggle, except the drawbridge will always be down when unlocked, and always up when locked. This might be a better way of it for less frames to be active at any given time. Basically not having to always play the animation open and close when hearthling is near.
Plus with the alternate it would be easier to tell whether or not enemies could pass or not.
I can see it quite possible within the mechanics to make one of these, if I am correct. Think of fences and how they work; specifically the gate. The direction determines which way is passable by enemies, while hearthlings could enter at their whim.
The main thing that would have to be setup would be the size/area it takes up, hearthling interaction so they don’t look like their feet are in the bridge itself, animation for open/close for locking, and the actual button for locking/unlocking entry. The primary ones I would think. Oh and recipe(s) for it depending on how many versions to make.
Well that is about how much I can simplify how it can be done roughly. The actual coding is another matter, but I would think not too much; I’d hope. Regardless I think it is a fine idea to have such a device.
Now only if seige machines were about to counter such a defense, so the enemies have a way to counter respectfully. Ok back to watching the arrowless undead get their bones handed to them by kobolds and kobolds get handed their hats to by a pack of wolves… lol
here is a quick draw bridge
yeah I just realized that the gate is standing on the door, but that can be fix with a little paint.
How i pictured it to work was that the player would select to open and close it and similar to building something or harvesting it a hearthling would go and do it, Or you could have an option to get it to automatic similar to door where they come and go as they please though just leaving it down could do that as well.
Dwarf Fortress uses a lever mechanic. Devices are attached to levers, players select the levers to be switched like it’s a job like a block of wood to be hauled or w/e, eventually a dwarf pulls the lever.
Just going to say that I suggested player-toggled doors/gates before and like the idea still. +1
this is a amazing idea and should be added into Alpha 17
In theory I think I have thought of a way to make it work… might be a few collision errors for villager navigation… Might have to toy around with this if you dont mind
I love the imagination in this thread!
Just an idea to try and balance draw bridges: while you have them up, merchants won’t appear. So if you want to see merchants, you’ll have to take a chance and expose yourself by keeping it down.
But in case of a battle or attack, draw it up and protect your townspeople!
Ok, I think this is an AWESOME feature and something that is needed in this game badly! Most people are thinking of a drawbridge as an accessory to a castle, and that isnt the right way to look at this…
Having something you can walk over, and then switching it to NOT allow walking over it is the key. Let me explain. If you start a game on a small island, nothing touching land, everything you need on the island to survive. play far into the game, nothing ever touching land 
the game quickly ‘breaks’ itself. most invasions cant even reach you so they just kinda hang out at their base ( and reproduce CRAZY by the way, like unbeatable crazy lol ) . if you touch to the mainland ‘late’ into the game. They finally find a way to get to you and swarm you crazy lol. Once you touch the ‘mainland’ the computer knows how to get to your area. Further invasions happen around that point, there is no ‘cut-off’ besides sending workers to MINE the connection to mainland.
I use the Island to explain because basically the computer thinks of your town that way. If you start on a ‘shelf’ in the mountains. Again basically your on an island of land. Larger chunk of land, some of your ‘shelf’ streches around the mountain… even being far enough from your town to have a goblin camp spawn on it or some other monster. If you never build a ladder/stairs up or down a ‘shelf of land’ … you would never have to deal with anything on another ‘level/shelf’ of land. Monsters dont build ladders 
if you start in the middle of a flat field, and completly surround your town with wooden picket fence, no gates. Again, your on an island. Might as well be surrounded in water You dont go past your fence, and monsters will never come to break it. That all changes when you throw up a gate or door on this fence, mobs will come to break that. And will swarm your town.
So getting back to Drawbridges, I hope you understand now why something that is ‘toggle-able’ being able to walk across or not, would be a great addition to this game. If the AI of the game knows how to get to your town ( like thinking it needs to bust 3 gates and its there ) the game plays normal. If the computer AI DOESNT know how to get to your town (ie. you built walls, or fences no gate, or water blockage. ) it seems to trigger it into wired monster growth patterns that get crazy and unbeatable.
That is just my 2 cents worth. I hope we eventually see a drawbridge that lets me…
. build the castle of my dreams lol
. lets the AI know the path mechanics of a drawbridge, it isnt down yet cough AMBUSH cough lol
. gives me the ‘defense’ piece I have needed! Ill let the mobs in slowly, defeat them bit by bit! New Legendary difficulty? HA! I laugh at you now
@Chris_G massive necro there XD, also this exists in mod form! look for the fortify mod 
!
Thanx havent seen that mod before, checking it out now!
