Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

Llama

2015-05-19T14:25:54Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Exceptional" to "Superior" using the rating script

{{Quality|Superior|14:25, 19 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{Creaturelookup/0
|contrib=no
|bone=12-18
|meat=12-13
|fat=12
|skull=1
|lung=2
|intestine=1
|spleen=1
|kidney=2
|brain=1
|heart=1
|liver=1
|tripe=1
|sweetbread=1
|skin=hide
|wool=15
|wiki=yes
}}
{{av}}
{{creaturedesc}}

'''Llamas''' are common domestic livestock available to most any civilization. Llamas can be [[shearer|sheared]] to yield [[wool]], which can be used to make low-value [[cloth]]. In addition to the standard [[meat industry]] products, llamas also supply wool when [[butcher]]ed.

Female llamas can be milked, and that [[milk]] can then be [[cook]]ed or made into [[cheese]].

As [[grazer]]s, llamas require a moderately-large [[pasture]] to survive; however they still eat significantly less grass than [[cow|cattle]], making them an excellent base animal for combined meat, cheese, and cloth industries.

Notably, Llamas are the largest and provide the most meat of all the [[shearable]] creatures, though llama wool is equivalent in value to all other wool.

Some dwarves [[preference|like]] llamas for their ''long necks'', their ''jutting teeth'', and their ''wool''.

[[File:Lama3.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Admired for their ''wool''.]]

{{Gamedata}}
{{Creatures}}
{{Category|Animals}}

Dwarf Fortress Talk

2015-05-19T09:58:36Z

Minifan:

Dwarf Fortress Talk is a podcast where [[Rainseeker]], [[Capntastic]] and [[Toady One]] talk about Dwarf Fortress and answer questions from the forum.

== List of Dwarf Fortress Talks ==

For credits, teasers and more info see the ''[http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/df_talk.html Dwarf Fortress Talk page on the official bay12 website]''.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Date
! Summary
! Download
! Transcript
|-
! 1
| Aug 6, 2009
| During our first time out, Toady One answers a wide variety of questions that Rainseeker and Capntastic collected from the forum.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_1.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_1_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 2
| Sep 1, 2009
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic, Ampersand and Toady One discuss sieges with a sprinkling of megabeasts and other topics, followed by a forum Q&A session.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_2.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_2_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 3
| Oct 15, 2009
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One talk about the underground caverns, followed by questions from the forum.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_3.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_3_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 4
| Nov 3, 2009
| In this episode, Rainseeker and Toady One talk about world generation, legends, crafting and do some forum questions while pondering Capntastic's crimefighting-related absence.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_4.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_4_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 5
| Dec 5, 2009
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One talk about the future of the game's cultures and do some forum questions.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_5.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_5_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 6
| Jan 7, 2010
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One talk about the future of adventure mode and answer some email questions.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_6.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_6_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 7
| Feb 22, 2010
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One talk about artifacts.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_7.mp3 link]'' ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/df_7_missing_segment.mp3 link to missing segment]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_7_transcript.html link]'' ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/df_talk_7_transcript_2.html link to missing segment transcript]''
|-
! 8
| Apr 17, 2010
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One talk about some of the sciences with respect to Dwarf Fortress and answer some email questions.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_8.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_8_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 9
| Aug 4, 2010
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One talk about the new dev page, individual combat, and answer some email questions.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_9.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_9_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 9b
| Aug 4, 2010
| There's also a heat-addled extra hour with Capn and Toady concerning parts of the dev page which we recorded afterward, when the temperature had begun to take its toll.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/df_talk_9_extra.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/df_talk_9_transcript_2.html link]''
|-
! 10
| Oct 11, 2010
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One talk about the upcoming release, answer questions and carry on. We had difficulty scheduling a time for this recording, so we recorded two segments with Toady and each co-host on different weeks and we didn't attempt to cover a listener suggested topic. Toady also forgot the credits at the end of the second segment, so here they are amplified in the description: Ollieh did the music. mallocks did the transcript.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_10.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_10_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 11
| Feb 22, 2011
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One talk a little about personalities, answer questions, and ramble on at length about the upcoming releases.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_11.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_11_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 12
| Mar 24, 2011
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One discuss inns, talk about the past and future of DF, and answer questions.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_12.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_12_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 13
| Apr 23, 2011
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One discuss cities and answer questions.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_13.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_13_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 14
| May 31, 2011
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One discuss the new night creatures and answer questions. The first half was recorded back in the middle of May, but it's all still relevant.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_14.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_14_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 15
| July 6, 2011
| In this short episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One perform the main task of reminding listeners of the Redding meetup (Saturday, July 16!) and then ramble a bit about recent developments.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_15.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_15_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 16
| September 25, 2011
| In this episode, recorded in August, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One discuss legacies of forts and adventurers as well as a bit about planes of existence.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_16.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_16_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 17
| November 13, 2011
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One discuss Dwarf Fortress play styles and answer your questions.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_17.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_17_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 18
| April 21, 2012
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One discuss the latest release of Dwarf Fortress and what's coming next. Threetoe makes his first appearance to answer questions with Toady.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_18.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_18_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 19
| November 14, 2012
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One return to discuss the development of Dwarf Fortress. Threetoe appears again on the question and answer segment.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_19.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_19_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 20
| February 13, 2013
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One discuss the continuing development of Dwarf Fortress (at least up until succession which I was working on during the time of the recording). Threetoe and Toady answer a small fraction of your questions, which appeared in great numbers.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_20.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_20_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 21
| May 23, 2013
| In this episode, Rainseeker, Capntastic and Toady One discuss the recent developments in combat and conversations, among other things. Threetoe and Toady answer between two and three dozen questions as they continue to work on the pile.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_21.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_21_transcript.html link]''
|-
! 22
| Nov 13, 2014
| In this emergency episode, Threetoe and Toady One discuss the new development plans and answer the entire gigantic backlog of questions.
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_22.mp3 link]''
| ''[http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_22_transcript.html link]''
|}

[[Category:Game development]]

Workshop design

2015-05-19T09:54:47Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Superior" to "Exceptional" using the rating script

{{Quality|Exceptional|09:54, 19 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
Most [[workshop]]s in Dwarf fortress are represented by 9 squares in a 3 by 3 square pattern. Some are 5 by 5 ([[Siege workshop]]), or 1 by 1 ([[Quern]], [[Screw press]], and [[Millstone]]). Getting a proper work flow is very important to the success and [[wealth]] of your fortress.

Laying out your workshops in the most efficient way possible is quite a science. There are several points that should be considered.

== [[Industry|Industries]] ==
Keeping workshops of a specific industry together is a great way to see if you need more workers creating [[alcohol|booze]] or making [[leather]] [[trade good|toys]]. If you have all of the [[food]] related workshops in a single [[room]], you can tell with a glance that your [[cook]]s are slacking off.

== [[Stockpile]]s ==
Just as you want your [[loom]]s close to your [[clothier's shop]]s, and you want your [[tanner's shop]] next to your [[butcher's shop]], you will want logical stockpiles close to your workshops.
It makes sense to put your raw food stockpile right next to the [[kitchen]], so that your cook doesn't spend all of his time walking from one end of the fortress to the other. If the correct stockpile is close at hand, those roasts will be coming out of that kitchen in no time.

== [[Artifact]]s ==

=== Using stocks ===
When a dwarf claims a workshop for his very own, you have a 50/50 chance of the artifact he's about to make being really awesome. He could make an artifact [[throne]] out of three lumps of [[bituminous coal]], and it will be worth a whopping 4800 [[currency|dwarf bucks]]. However, if you forbid every [[stone]] in your fortress except for the natural [[platinum]], he'll make you something very near a six figure artifact.

There are a few ways to control what he chooses. A start is to have the workshop that he claimed be in a room that is only reachable through a [[door]]. As soon as he claims it, lock the door so that he'll just sit there yelling out the things he needs. Now you can go on making only the items available you want him to use (usually the most expensive). You can forbid unwanted items both from the stocks (may require highest precision achieved by your bookkeeper, especially for stones) or ''after'' he has collected them (will retask search for that item), dump items inside the workshop or near the door (the latter won't work if he has a preference). If you use mass-forbid take good care to allow everything after the artifact is finished!

=== Artifact Construction Complex ===

Alternative solution is to build Artifact Construction Complex, containing every mood-able workshop and small stockpiles of most precious types of ore, metal bars, gems, etc. When not in use, ACC should be either locked, or everything in it forbidden (including workshops). Forbidding is better, because in this case these workshops won't receive orders from your [[Manager]]. You can also deal with it by filling workshop's job queue with 10 suspended jobs. Once the dwarf is struck by the mood, ACC is opened, and all claimable workshops not belonging to ACC is forbidden.

This way the normal operation of the workshops is disrupted only for the time needed for moody dwarf to claim workshop, instead of all artifact construction time in first method. Further more, only one type of workshop is nonoperational, instead of all workshops that use forbidden materials.

=== [[Tantrum]]s ===
When the very worst happens and your triple [[legendary]] dwarf fails his strange [[mood]] and goes on [[Fun|a rampage destroying the faces of all the pets and dwarfs around him]], it's good to be prepared.

The easiest form of protection is a simple door on the room the workshop is in. Lock for the few months it takes for him to die of [[thirst]]. You can spend the time waiting for him to die by getting his [[coffin]] made and situated.

Putting [[trap|cage and weapon traps]] around the common [[stair]]s is always a good idea, for both tantrummers and for possible [[Fun#Ambush|invasions]].

==Workshop plans==

===Basement stockpiles ===

This design gives workshops easy access to input and output stockpiles.

<diagram>
Level 1: Level 2 (below, as shown, but could be above as well)

╔══════╦══════╗ ╔══════╦══════╗
║WWWWWW║WWWWWW║ ║iiiiii║iiiiii║
║WWWWWW║WWWWWW║ ║iiiiii║iiiiii║
║WWWWWW║WWWWWW║ OiiiiiiOiiiiiiO
║..>>..║..>>..║ ...<<.....<<...
╚══════╩══════╝ OooooooOooooooO
║oooooo║oooooo║
W = workshop ║oooooo║oooooo║
i = input item ╚══════╩══════╝
o = output item
</diagram>

Alternatively you can place input above and output below the workshops or the other way round, depending, for example, on the location of your trade depot, or other workshops involved in the chain of production. Additional stairs may be useful.

=== 3x3 rooms ===

This design makes it easier to contain berserk dwarves.

(Beware access may be blocked depending on a workshop's pattern of internal [[impassable tile]]s. Different workshops have different internal patterns of passable and impassable floor tiles. When building a workshop, Dwarf Fortress indicates which tiles are passable/impassable by pattern of light/dark green X's. The central tile is always passable, so for those using tilesets, similar tiles to the middle tile are passable.)
<diagram>
╔═══╦═══┼..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
╩══┼╩┼══┼..
....X......
╦══┼╦┼══┼..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
║WWW║WWW║..
╚═══╩═══┼..

W = workshop
X = up/down staircase
. = floor
</diagram>
Access and stockpiles are placed above and below the room. Similar workshops can be grouped together for easier checking on, and doors can be locked should a moody dwarf's wishes be unmet. This concept can be used for your entire fortress:

Below you can see a piece from around the central staircase, to see how the design should start. Notice that it is pretty modular, you can have two workshops pushed together, or you can separate them all, and you have a couple options on how you set up your entrances, connecting two workshops with one door, or leaving them with separate entrances. Up to you. Notice the initial diagonal terminates at a workshop, and starts the grid pattern.
<diagram>
║WWW║.║```║.║WWW║`
║WWW║.╠═══╣.║WWW║`
║WWW║.║WWW║.║WWW║`
╩═══┼.║WWW║.┼═══╩═
......║WWW║.......
══════┼═╦═┼═══┼═══
WWWWWW║.O.║WWW║WWW
WWWWWW╠OXO╣WWW║WWW
WWWWWW║.O.║WWW║WWW
══════┼═╩═┼═══┼═══
......║WWW║.......
╦═══┼.║WWW║.┼═══╦═
║WWW║.║WWW║.║WWW║`
║WWW║.╠═══╣.║WWW║`
║WWW║.┼WWW┼.║WWW║`
╚═══╣.║WWW║.╠═══╝`
````║.║WWW║.║`````
````║.╠═══╣.║`````
</diagram>
The floors alternate workshop/storage. On workshop floors the diagonals immediate to the main stairway are mined out a couple spaces to make room for the first workshops; around those you can start mining in straight lines and start a grid pattern. For storage floors you can leave a wall of stone around the staircase with only one or two walls mined out for access; then mine out everything around it. On the ground level you start by mining into a cave, clear out space for a trade depot, and mine out one spot where you build a single downward staircase; here the entire fortress starts. It works great and is very efficient, though it takes a while to get setup right.

=== Decentralized Workshop Complex ===
Designed for use with the [[Bedroom_design#Decentralized_living|decentralized living]] plan, this plan emphasizes fine-grained planning with many small, specific stockpiles and planned workshop quarters. It therefore requires some micro-management to get going. However, once you have it working, things work extremely smoothly and you should never have a significant delay in production again.

[[Image:Workshops.GIF]]

Total workshop loadout for 1 floor:
* Sixteen (16) 3x3 workshops
* Four (4) 4x3 workshops
* Two (2) 5x5 workshops

Maximum walk to stockpile on same wing: 18.

The light gray crosses are optional doors. They can be useful for sealing off a Kitchen or Butcher's Shop to keep [[miasma]] from annoying the neighbors. Beyond that, the blue field is the stairwell access (recommend separate up stairs and down stairs for safety reasons), and the gray fields are stockpiles.

4x3 workshops are useful for workshops with strange blocked square formations (the Bowyer's shop is an example). They can also be nice for setting up a tiny 1x2 or 1x3 stockpile for a specific workshop - with bins, this can be a significant reserve of material. Imagine a Clothier or Leatherworker with 3 full bins of cloth or leather right next to them.

The 5x5 workshops are useful for [[shop]]s, [[kennel]]s, and [[siege workshop]]s. You can even put your [[trade depot]] in one of them if you've got a mind to. Maintaining proper security can be a nightmare in that situation (remember that [[troll]]s and others can break down doors and floodgates), but if you manage to get it done it can be a trader's dream come true. They can also be useful for making a specialty shop with a few stockpiles designed to accomplish only one thing (encrusting statues with gems, for example).

The 3x3 workshops are best organized into wings, where a pair of workshops share a similar function with the pair directly next to them. They share stockpile space better this way. When set up correctly, less than 10 dwarves will regularly use each stockpile room, so traffic is a non-issue. There tends to be a lot of dwarves in the halls, though, because [[peasant]] haulers visit the workshops frequently, hence the 3-wide corridors.

Finally, this design offers lots and lots of wall space for smoothing and engraving. Free wealth is good.

=== Interconnected 6x6 rooms with stockpiles ===

<diagram>
╬══┼┼══╬══┼┼══╬
║.****.║.****.║
║**..**║**..**║
┼*....*┼*....*┼
┼*....*┼*....*┼
║**..**║**..**║
║.****.║.****.║
╬══┼┼══╬══┼┼══╬
║.****.║.****.║
║**..**║**..**║
┼*....*┼*....*┼
┼*....*┼*....*┼
║**..**║**..**║
║.****.║.****.║ * = pathway
╬══┼┼══╬══┼┼══╬
</diagram>

In this design, each room functions as workshop, hallway, and stockpile. A workshop is placed near the center of each room, preferably so that only a walkable tile overlaps the (*) pathways. The pathways form a virtual double-wide diagonal hallway, allowing dwarves to move through the fortress easily. The pathways, as well as the remainder of each room, are filled with the appropriate stockpiles. Each room should have at least one set of stairs for easy access to adjacent z-levels.

Each workshop has a short path to several nearby workshops on the same and other z-levels, allowing for a lot of flexibility in which workshops are placed in which rooms. Each room is also lockable if necessary. Optionally, the corner can be replaced with a door to allow faster movement between diagonally adjacent workshops.

=== Fluid workshop locations ===
Alternatively, you can employ a "work site" methodology where workshops are constructed and destroyed as necessary. For example, if you mine out a huge dining hall and it is completely filled with stone, build a masonry shop in the hall to manufacture tables and chairs. This eliminates the need for a stone hauler because your mason only has to travel a few squares to get raw material. In addition it makes furniture hauling more efficient because the tables and chairs are right next to their eventual location. And of course it clears stone out of your dining hall, eliminating the need for a refuse hauler to dump it all.

=== Smelting Operations ===
In very resource-heavy maps, 10-12 [[smelter]]s may be necessary to keep up with mining operations. I've had very efficient results with this setup - and it looks good, to boot. The stairways lead down into a high Z-level mining operation (keeps the [[noise]] away from the bedrooms, too), with additional [[bar]] storage 1-2 levels below. One or more [[magma forge]]s would be down the hall from the bar stockpiles.

<diagram>
╔════════════╗
║SMSSMSSMSSMS║
║SSSSSSSSSSSS║
║SSSSSSSSSSSS║
║OOOOOOOOOOOO║
║OOOOOOOOOOOO║
║OOOOOOOOOOOO║
╠┼┼═══┼┼═══┼┼╣
║............║
║............╠══════╗
║..╔═....═╗..┼OOOSMS║
║..║>>BBBB║..┼OOOSSS║
═════╝...>>BBBB...║OOOSSS║
.........BBBBBB...║OOOSMS║
.........BBBBBB...║OOOSSS║
.........BBBBBB...║OOOSSS║
═════╗...BBBB>>...║OOOSMS║
║..║BBBB>>║..┼OOOSSS║
║..╚═....═╝..┼OOOSSS║
║............╠══════╝
║............║
╠┼┼═══┼┼═══┼┼╣
║OOOOOOOOOOOO║
║OOOOOOOOOOOO║
║OOOOOOOOOOOO║
║SMSSMSSMSSMS║
║SSSSSSSSSSSS║
║SSSSSSSSSSSS║
╚════════════╝

*S = Smelter
*M = Magma access (lines up with unpassable tile on magma smelter)
*B = Bar Stockpile
*O = Ore Stockpile
</diagram>

=== Pillars ===
See Midna's page on [[User:Midna/Pillars|pillar design]].

=== Organics processing complex ===

[[Image:Organics_processing_complex.png|thumb|right|Big squares are 7x7, smaller squares are 3x3, black squares are workshops and colored rectangles are stockpiles]]

This is a nice, rectangular design which puts the food/drink industry, and the many other industries that feed of its by-products, together in one neat arrangement.

The green stockpile should accept brewable plants, and plants which can be processed: [[Pig tail|Pig tails]], [[cave wheat]], [[sweet pod]], [[quarry bush]], [[dimple cup]], [[kobold bulb]], [[longland grass]], [[valley herb]], [[rope reed]], [[blade weed]], [[hide root]], [[sliver barb]], [[whip vine]]. The red stockpile should accept their products. Optionally, an 8 tile stockpile can be placed around the quern which holds the millable plants.

Expansion options include a finished good stockpile to the right, a soap stockpile nearby if you make a lot of soap, a stone stockpile below the bone one for input into crafters and masons/mechanics, a wood stockpile below which feeds into the same furniture stockpile as the mechanics and masons, and a jeweler. With the latter additions, the craftsdwarves can now decorate furniture as well as finished goods with bones and (if you include the jeweler) gems.

Also, this plan is only meant to expand to the right and bottom-right. So you can safely plug its top and left sides flush with the rest of your fortress without worrying about future expansion. The number of workshops should be sufficient for all but the largest forts.

{{Category|Design}}

Minecart

2015-05-19T08:15:54Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Fine" to "Masterwork" using the rating script

{{Quality|Masterwork|08:15, 19 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
A '''minecart''' is a [[tool]] intended for [[hauling]], introduced in version 0.34.08. It can be made of [[wood]] at a [[carpenter's workshop]] or [[metal]] at a [[metalsmith's forge]] (using the [[Metal crafter|metalcrafting]] labor.) Minecarts store up to five times as many items as [[wheelbarrow]]s and are quite a bit faster than dwarves hauling objects by hand, but have the disadvantages of requiring a dedicated track network, a complex route planning phase, and the possibility of dwarves [[Fun|blundering into the path of carts filled with lead ore]]. Tracks may be carved into stone, or [[Construction|constructed]]; the latter allows above-ground routes, but these are more difficult to set up due to their additional [[building material|material requirements]].

Just like wheelbarrows, minecarts are considered [[item]]s and are stored in a [[furniture]] [[stockpile]]. Despite their five-times-greater capacity, they are only 33% larger than wheelbarrows and are identical in base [[item value|value]] when made from the same [[material]] (the value may differ due to the [[item quality]]). [[thief|Thieves]] or even mischievous animals can steal minecarts, even when they are moving on a track{{cite forum|109460/3289070}}. However, minecarts moving fast enough or being ridden cannot be stolen.

Although most of the utility of minecarts is in [[fortress mode]], an [[adventure mode|adventurer]] can also ride in a minecart. Adventurers can also pick up and relocate minecarts.

The invention of minecarts revolutionized the [[minecart logic|Science of Dwarfputing]] by enabling smaller, faster logic systems to be built.

== Basic Minecart Usage ==
Minecarts can be used to swiftly transport dwarves, [[flow|fluids]], and/or large amounts of items, but before you have a functional minecart there are several preconditions that need to be met. First of all you need an actual minecart, constructed either in a [[carpenter's workshop]] or [[metalsmith's forge]]. For the minecart to be able to move you also need to carve (with {{k|d}} {{k|T}}) or construct (with {{k|b}} {{k|C}} {{k|T}}) a track, which could be as simple as a straight line. Finally you need to construct stops on your track (with {{k|b}} {{k|C}} {{k|S}}) where the minecart will start and stop.

After you have created the stops and assigned a cart to the track, you must create logic routes connecting several stops and designate starting conditions for each stop. This is done with the {{k|h}}auling key. The most basic conditions are how the cart's movement is initiated and in which direction the cart should start moving. Carts can be either be Pushed (a dwarf stands at a stop and gives the cart a single push) or Guided (a dwarf continually pushes the cart forward, guiding it along the track). The [[hauling]] [[labor]] required for pushing and guiding carts is called "Push/Haul Vehicles" and is turned on by default.

To control which items to transport you can add conditions specifying: (1) which kind of items to be loaded, and unloaded, (2) stockpile links to define which stockpile(s) the items should be un/loaded to and from.

===Capacity and weights ===
Minecarts have five times the [[Weight|capacity]] of [[wheelbarrow]]s.

'''Examples of the capacity of one cart'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Item
! Amount
|-
| [[stone]]
| 5
|-
| [[wood|log]]
| 10
|-
| [[block]]/[[bar]]
| 83
|-
| [[Kitchen|prepared meals]]
| 500
|-
| [[Trap_component#Spiked_ball|spiked balls]]
| 500
|-
| [[Weapon#Native_weapons|mace]]
| 625
|-
| [[Weapon#Native_weapons|spears]]
| 1250
|-
| [[cloth]]
| 2500
|}

The weight of the loaded minecart does not affect the initial velocity received from pushing or launching from a roller. However, the load of a minecart ''does'' affect whether a [[pressure plate]] triggers or not, based on the pressure plate's setting.

'''Weights of different carts'''

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Type of cart
! Empty cart
! Fully loaded (items)
|-
| oaken minecart
| 28Γ
| 378Γ (10 oak logs)
|-
| platinum minecart
| 856Γ
| 10482Γ (83 gold bars)
|}

The weight of a minecart is one twenty-fifth (1/25) the [[density]] of its material in Urists. Because pressure plates can be set to trigger at intervals of 50 Urists, minecarts with weights just under a multiple of 50 are ideal for switching based on whether they're full or empty. The best minecart materials for full/empty switching are as follows:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Material !! Minecart weight !! Content weight required to trigger !! Banana roasts required to trigger (for scale)
|-
| [[Bismuth]] (moods only) || 391 || 9 || 15
|-
| [[Brass]] || 342 || 8 || 14
|-
| [[Electrum]] || 596 || 4 || 7
|-
| [[Fine pewter]] || 291 || 9 || 15
|-
| [[Glumprong]] || 48 || 2 || 4
|-
| [[Lay pewter]] || 291 || 9 || 15
|-
| [[Nickel silver]] || 346 || 4 || 7
|-
| [[Tin]] || 291 || 9 || 15
|-
| [[Trifle pewter]] || 291 || 9 || 15
|}

=== Creating tracks ===
Minecart tracks are made up of contiguous track, tracked ramp, or bridge tiles. Track tiles and tracked ramp tiles have a direction or series of directions associated with them. These directions dictate which directions a minecart on a given tile may move from that tile. For example, a Track NE (northeast) tile allows a minecart on it to move either north or east from its present position. Therefore, if you want your minecart to move east along a straight piece of track, then return west using that same track, you would need to use EW tracks so that the cart could travel east initially, then return west over the same track. Excluding designs in which the cart will "jump" tracks via a drop or other ramp, tracks must be valid end to end to work for most looped or straight-track applications. A single east only track tile in your line of east-west tracks will cause any route using the track to fail the moment it tries to go the wrong way over that tile. Minecart tracks can be built in two ways: Engraved/carved or constructed. A given minecart track need not use engraved or constructed elements exclusively, as the two methods can be used interchangeably depending on the needs of a given section of track. The way the tracks are built is slightly different between the two, as explained below.

====Simple tracks====

'''Carved'''

A single-tile wide strip of natural stone can be designated to be [[Engraver|carved]] (with {{K|d}} {{k|T}}), which will create a straight two-way track. The creation of corners, crossings, and T-junctions is as simple as designating another strip of track that overlaps an existent or newly designated track. Engraved tracks are removed by [[smoothing]] the rock they're on, which results in a smooth floor (that can be re-engraved if necessary), or by building a [[floor]] on top and subsequently removing it. Dwarves can carve corner tracks in one pass by designating the track carving twice and canceling unwanted carvings (with {{K|d}} {{K|x}}). Tracks can be engraved in any natural floor tile, rough, smooth and even over engravings, providing an easy method to remove low-quality or undesired floor engravings. Once a track has been engraved, it's important to check the track directions for each tile in the route carefully to make sure no mistakes were made by yourself or the game's track engraving logic.

'''Constructed'''

Tracks can also be built as regular [[construction]]s (through {{K|b}} {{K|C}} {{K|T}}). This method is resource-expensive, since each track tile requires one stone, [[bar]], or [[block]] for construction, and time-consuming, since you can't designate strips longer than 10 tiles at a time. Corners, crossings, T-junctions, and ramps also have to be designated individually. However, it is usually the only way to build tracks above ground or on soil (barring the [[Obsidian farming|creation of obsidian]]). Constructed tracks are designated for removal like any regular construction; be aware that removing track ramps built on top of natural ones will also remove the original ramp, leaving a flat floor.

====Ramps====

'''Carved'''

The carving of natural ramps is a little more confusing: to carve a two-way track on a ramp (natural only, does not work on constructed ramps), you must designate the track '''starting on the ramp and one square beyond''' in the direction you want the track to go. For the side of the ramp square you want to head upward, there '''must''' be either a natural or constructed wall in the square next to it, otherwise the game assumes you are trying to carve it on the same level -- this can result in the track being carved underneath a door or other object. If you have accidentally done this, you can correct it by smoothing the ramp and constructing a single square of wall next to it, then re-carving the ramp correctly. (However, the wall must stay there permanently; removing it will disconnect the track.)

'''Constructed'''

When constructing track ramps, the stated direction should be the same as the connected tracks. For example, a track going up from West to East would require, starting from the West, a Track (EW), a Track/Ramp (EW) and a Wall behind the ramp, underneath the section of track above it. Incorrectly placed ramps result in minecarts ignoring the ramp and crashing into the supporting wall. They will not, however, display as unusable as when the supporting wall is missing.

'''Examples of ramps'''

A simple ramp would look like this:
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
z +0 z +1
░░░░ ░░░░
═▲o ░▼═
░░░░ ░░░░
o : wall
}}

Carving track corners into ramps is rather unintuitive and complicated. Since engraving tracks always requires two tiles to connect in a straight line as input, you have to give two separate designations for a single job: a track bit from the ramp tile to the "below" direction and another one to the wall of the "upward" direction. If you wanted to change direction on a ramp from east to north:
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
z +0 z +1
░░░░░ ░░░░░
░░░░░ ══╗░░
=▲░░ ░░▼░░
░░░░░ ░░░░░
}}
you would need to connect the ramp on z +0 both to the west and to the north by issuing two "carve track" commands, one selecting the ramp and the track tile to the west, and another connecting the ramp tile with the wall to the north. An engraver would then carve a NW track corner into the ramp, allowing carts to pass the corner correctly both going up and down. Such track corners are perfectly serviceable for guided carts, but moving down a route of several of them by pushed or ridden cart is problematic - ramps on corners behave very counter-intuitively, resulting in loss of speed when going down and diagonal movement when going up.

Moving to and from ramps (or between ramps "pointing" in different directions0 causes some non-trivial adjustments to speed and even moving along the tiles at a fixed speed ''unrelated to the entry/exit velocity values'', because transitions to/from ramps are processed differently and are not to be "skipped". This affects compact track/ramp combinations (such as e.g. a simple 2x2 ramp spiral) most, and combined with bouncing often makes them work not in the way one could expect. {{cite forum|144328/5705102}}

{{anchor|Tracks}}

=== Hauling route ===
A hauling route is a list of directions describing how and under what conditions a minecart will move. The proper setting up of routes is essential for a working rail system. Routes, stops, departure conditions and stockpile links are managed from the {{k|h}}auling menu.

==== Route ====
A route defines the path a minecart will take along a track, as well as under what conditions it will move or stop moving. A route is made up of stops. Stops are precisely what they sound like, a position on the track at which you want a minecart to stop. A minecart track might use as little as a single stop for a looped track, which will serve as both a starting and stopping point for the cart, or it could contain many stops, perhaps to load supplies or wait for a bridge to be manually lowered, before reaching its destination or returning to its starting point. It is important to note that you only need to place stops on a route where you actually want the cart to stop and wait for some action to occur. They are not needed to help navigate the cart along the track beyond telling it where on the track to stop.

New routes are created with the {{k|h}}auling key. Existing ones can be removed (without confirmation) with the {{k|x}} key, and also {{k|n}}icknamed. Before operating, the route must have a {{k|v}}ehicle assigned to it (this can be done with either the route or a stop selected). Assigning a full minecart to a route may result in a slow hauling job if the contents are heavy.

==== Stops ====
Stops are the individual waypoints that make up a hauling route. A given stop consists of the location of a tile, as well as conditions describing when, where, and how a cart should be moved after being stopped at that tile. Stops can be created from within the {{k|h}}auling menu, by placing the cursor over a tile and hitting {{k|s}} while highlighting the route (or a stop within) you've already designated. A minecart will begin its route at the first stop created, and continue through each subsequent stop, being guided, pushed, or ridden from each stop to the next depending on the conditions specified. In many basic minecart applications, the cart will end up at the same stop it began at, though this is not always the case. It is important to note that hauling stop order is enforced, even if there is no track. A dwarf will drag the cart overland back to a skipped stop in the route's list if your tracks bypass it somehow.

Once a stop has been placed, it is given a default set of conditions under which to move the minecart if it is stopped there. Each new stop gets the same default conditions regardless of the track it is placed upon (e.g. guide the cart to the north). For this reason new stops might get marked by yellow exclamation marks ({{DFtext|!|#ff0}}) due to invalid directions. One important thing to note is that as you place additional stops, the display will show paths between the stops you have defined. However, this is '''not''' necessarily the actual route the minecart will take once the route is in operation. For example, if a route were defined with two stops at opposite ends of a track with many twists and turns, a line will be drawn directly between those stops to show the order in which they will be visited. These route lines may crisscross all over the tracks, but so long as the track is valid end to end, the cart will follow the track from one stop to the next, even across twists, turns, and z-level changes. Stops, which are the steps that make up a route, should not be confused with Track Stops, described below.

===== Stockpile links =====
By placing the cursor on top of a stockpile and using {{k|s}}, you can create stockpile links while defining a hauling stop. Links can also be redefined by selecting them, placing the cursor over a different stockpile, and pressing {{k|p}}. The cart will then be filled by items present in its various linked stockpiles in preference to other items. Note that bins should be used with caution in stockpiles that are linked to minecarts. Bins cause problems when used with the "Desired Items" list in a stop's conditions. For example, if a minecart is set to accept only granite blocks, and to depart north when it is 100% full of granite blocks, it will not depart if any of those granite blocks are in bins, even if bins are also included in the desired items list. Two solutions to this problem exist as of v0.40.24. First, bins can be disallowed in stockpiles that are linked to stops. Alternatively, bins '''can''' be used in conjunction with minecarts provided that the minecart's departure conditions use only "any items" instead of "desired items." This option can be toggled in the advanced conditions menu for a stop, accessible via the {{key|C|}} key. The cart's contents can still be controlled by specifying what items are allowed in the linked stockpile.

===== Departure condition =====
Departure conditions involve setting conditions in which the minecart will leave on the route. Each condition includes:
# A departure mode (Guide, Ride or Push).
# An initial departure direction (NSEW). Note that this defines the initial direction of movement only. Even if a track includes many turns, as long as the initial movement direction is valid the cart will follow the minecart track thereafter.
# A timer, before which the departure condition cannot be met.
# Conditions on the amount of items in the cart.
Departure conditions are created with the {{k|n}} key. A new departure condition will read: "guide north immediately when empty of desired items". This condition can be changed between basic presets with {{k|c}}. "Advanced" mode ({{k|C}}) allows for more precise control over departure conditions: fine tuning the percentage from 0 to 100 in 25% steps ({{k|f}} and {{k|F}}), switching it being either the maximum or the minimum amount of items for the condition to be met ({{k|m}}), and whether the cart accepts all or only a specific set of items ({{k|l}}). Common to both screens are the departure mode ({{k|p}}, Push, Ride or Guide), {{k|d}}irection, and timer ({{k|t}} and {{k|T}}) options.

To have a cart only carry a specific set of items, the stop can be set to only carry "desired" items, opening the selection screen with the {{k|Enter}} key while having said stop condition selected, and toggling as desired, or it can simply be linked to a stockpile and set to depart once it is full of items from its linked stockpiles, regardless of type.

=== Track Stops ===
A Track Stop, not to be confused with a route stop, is an optional, single-tile construction which serves two purposes. First, it can be used to cancel a cart's momentum in order to slow or stop it as it passes over the Track Stop. This might be necessary if a cart were pushed down a series of ramps to its destination. Second, a Track Stop can cause a cart to automatically dump its contents as it passes over the Track Stop. Track Stops are constructed via {{k|b}} {{k|C}} {{k|S}}, and must be constructed atop an existing piece of track. If a Track Stop has been set to automatically dump a cart's contents, the cart will dump its contents in the direction indicated when it passes over the Track Stop. Depending on the friction settings chosen for the Track Stop, the cart might then stop after dumping, or it might continue on its route to another destination.

Track Stops are not mandatory; in fact, their main use is in automated rail systems. However, even in basic rail systems it can be useful to set a Track Stop to dump items: this saves time that dwarves would otherwise spend in removing items from the cart, time that is better spent driving the cart back to where it's needed. Dumping will occur even with a guided cart. '''Take care not to set Track Stops at a loading site to dump their contents''', or dwarves will never be able to fill the cart. It will dump any contents the moment they are loaded.

Counter-intuitive to their construction method, Track Stops are considered [[building]]s and must be removed by {{k|q}} {{k|x}}.
* See [[#More_on_Track_stop |More on Track Stops]]

=== Step-by-step tutorial ===

Let's construct a simple minecart route. This route will move stone blocks from an input stockpile to an output stockpile. We'll begin by creating the stockpiles:

[[File:minecart-example-1.png|Stockpiles designated.]]

The input stockpile is on the left; the output stockpile is on the right. We'll be moving blocks from left to right. Disable bins in both stockpiles, and set the input stockpile to accept only from links. Then make the stockpile take from the mason's workshop where the blocks are being produced.

Next, carve the track:

[[File:minecart-example-2.png|Track carving designation.]]

Note that the ends of the designation are uniquely shaped; this is automatic, and not anything you need to control. Now, wait for your engravers to come along and carve the track into the stone. (Your haulers will probably also fill up the input stockpile while you wait.)

In addition, while we're waiting for that to happen, we'll build an iron minecart in the forge.

[[File:minecart-example-3.png|Track carved.]]

When the track has been carved, it will look like the above (the track will be solid instead of flashing). Now, order a track stop to be constructed next to the output stockpile:

{|
| [[File:minecart-example-4.png|Track stop designation.]]
| [[File:minecart-example-5.png|Select dumping direction.]]
|}

You must press {{k|d}} three times to select the dumping direction ''before'' placing the track stop. We want our blocks to be dumped into the output stockpile east of the track stop. Then wait for a mechanic to come along and build the track stop.

[[File:minecart-example-6.png|Track stop constructed.]]

Now we'll define the actual ''route''. This is done in the {{k|h}}auling menu. Press {{k|r}} to begin defining a route. Next, move the cursor to the input end of the track, and then press {{k|s}} to define the first stop:

{|
| [[File:minecart-example-7.png|Stop 1 designation.]]
| [[File:minecart-example-8.png|Route definition, in progress.]]
|}

Move the cursor again, to the output end of the track, and press {{k|s}} again to define the second stop:

{|
| [[File:minecart-example-9.png|Stop 2 designation.]]
| [[File:minecart-example-10.png|Route definition, two stops.]]
|-
|
| [[File:minecart-example-11.png|Stops are not defined yet.]]
|}

There are several user interface features to note at this point. The stops have been positioned, but they haven't been ''defined'' yet, so there is a warning {{DFtext|!|#ff0}} symbol by each of them. In the lower right corner, we see what the {{DFtext|!|#ff0}} means. Also, note that the second stop is labeled in white, while the other two lines are grey. The white text is a selection indicator, and can be moved up and down by pressing {{k|+}}/{{k|-}}.

Next we need to define what our stops do. We want the minecart to be filled with blocks at the first stop, then travel to the second stop where it will dump its cargo, and then return. Press {{k|-}} to move the selection up to stop 1, and {{k|Enter}} to open it up. By default, the stop has three conditions:

[[File:minecart-example-12.png|Default stop definition.]]

We don't want any of these, so press {{k|x}} three times to delete them. This leaves us with a blank stop. Now we can add the conditions we actually want. Press {{k|n}} to begin adding the first condition, then {{k|d}} twice to change the direction from north to east. Then press {{k|c}} to change the condition from empty to full. This will instruct the minecart to be guided east when full of desired items.

To set the desired items, we create a stockpile link. Press {{k|s}}, then move the cursor to the input stockpile, then press {{k|p}} to select that stockpile. Now press {{k|Enter}}; this opens up a selection screen that resembles the stockpile customization screen. Move down to Blocks, {{k|e}}nable them, then (if you wish) restrict it to stone blocks.

When you've done all that, stop 1 should look like this:

[[File:minecart-example-13.png|Stop 1, defined.]]

Stop 2 is much simpler. All we need to do is have the minecart return to the input stop. So, make a condition and change the direction:

[[File:minecart-example-14.png|Stop 2, defined.]]

Finally, we just have to assign our minecart. Go back to the route definition screen, and press {{k|v}}. Select the minecart, and press {{k|Enter}}.

Now we've got everything set up:

[[File:minecart-example-15.png|Route, fully defined.]]

The V is red because the minecart hasn't been moved onto the track yet. Some dwarf will have to haul it from the forge to the first stop, by hand; this will take a while, especially if the forge is far away.

Once the minecart is in place, dwarves should fill it with blocks from the input stockpile, which will in turn be filled with blocks from the workshop where your mason has been toiling dutifully. When the minecart is full, the blocks will be dumped into the 1x1 stockpile on the right. Automatic quantum dumping!

=== Troubleshooting ===

Because of the complexity of the system, all but the most careful and experienced minecart users will encounter issues. Most route issues can be diagnosed and fixed from the {{k|h}}auling menu.

'''Symptom:''' {{DFtext|! Set dir/connect track|6:1}} message appears to the right of one or more stops

'''Possible Causes:'''
* The departure direction of the stop might be invalid. Edit the stop using {{k|Enter}} and press{{k|d}} until it is pointing in a valid direction.
* The track stop might not be built on top of a track. The track stop must be deconstructed to remedy this issue.
* Your track might not be built correctly. Make sure all connected tracks between destinations are not one-way tracks.
** This can be especially confusing with ramps. To carve a two-way track on a (natural) ramp, you must designate the ramp and one square beyond in the direction you want the track to go.
** Ramps '''must''' have a solid block on the side opposite to the track, or they will neither work nor be marked as "unusable". The solid block can be natural or constructed.
* The desired/kept items might not be configured correctly.

'''Symptom:''' The status '''0% V''' always appears to the right of one stop.

'''Possible Causes:'''
* The stop may not be set to take from a stockpile. Edit the Stop using {{k|Enter}} and make sure you see a message like "Take from Stockpile #1".
* The take conditions must correspond with the contents of the stockpile.
* The track stop may be set to dump. A track stop set to dump cannot be filled. You must either set the stop to a time-based departure or deconstruct the track stop and rebuild it without dumping. (Alternatively, with [[DFHack]] you can modify "Dump on arrival" to "No" using the {{key|q}} menu without rebuilding the stop.)
* Make sure the minecart itself has not been designated to be dumped (such as when using mass-dump).

'''Symptom:''' Dwarves fill the minecart properly, but will not move it thereafter.

'''Possible Causes:'''
* The minecart may contain items which are not included in its current stop's desired items. Check inside the minecart using the {{key|k}} and {{key|z}} keys and ensure that all items in the cart are desired items.
* The minecart may contain desired items in bins. Minecarts seem to have problems realizing that they are in fact full of desired items if some of those items are in bins, even if bins are also among the desired items for that stop. '''This cannot be solved by adding the appropriate bins to the stop's desired items.''' Either disallow bins in stockpiles you intend to load minecarts from, or set the departure conditions to rely only on percentage of total load rather than percentage of desired items using the advanced conditions menu ({{key|C}} key).

'''Symptom:''' Dwarves repeatedly attempt to load the minecart, but no items are ever loaded into it.

'''Possible Causes:'''
* This can be caused by using a Track Stop with autodumping enabled at a loading site. Every time a dwarf places an item into a cart resting on such a track stop, the item will be immediately dumped, causing unlimited, useless cart loading jobs. Autodumping Track Stops should never be used at a loading site.

'''Symptom:''' A dwarf picks up the minecart and carries it to its destination.
* See [[#Quirks|Quirks]]

=== Danger ===
Minecarts are not without <strike>danger</strike> [[fun]]. Although designating a track automatically sets the [[traffic]] designation to low, dwarves ''may'' still walk on them, and [[creature]]s ignore traffic designations altogether. If an unlucky dwarf or creature fails to [[dodger|dodge]] a minecart, they can be injured. Most of this danger can be avoided by setting the minecart {{k|h}}auling commands to guide instead of push or ride (dwarves guiding minecarts will ignore traffic restrictions), as well as by [[pasture|pasturing]] domestic animals and preventing the access of other creatures to the tracks. Note that removing the track doesn't reset that tile back to normal traffic priority, so you may wish to manually clean up traffic designation afterward. Also note that bridges that are used as tracks don't have their traffic priority changed automatically (since they're just normal bridges), which could cause dwarves to pathfind normally through dangerous minecart entrances in your fort's walls if you're not careful.

The only <s>fool</s>''dwarf''-proof method is to make the tracks inaccessible. There are several ways to create a track which works for minecarts but doesn't allow creature-traversal; the simplest is perhaps building a [[statue]] on the tracks. Other options include adding single-tile holes (minecarts moving at reasonable speed will jump the gap), vertical drops, minecart-triggered doors, small pools of liquid (4/7 water or 2/7 magma), and hostile creatures overlooking the tracks. For safety, both ends of the track should be isolated, making the dangerous center sections completely inaccessible (though maintenance access can be provided by a locked door).

Danger does not always involve living victims: careless route designation can also result in minecarts careening off tracks or colliding with each other. If this occurs, the [[item]]s may be scattered; this can cause even more hauling jobs than the minecart aimed to eliminate. Even <s>better</s> worse, scattered items, especially [[weapon]]s, can injure passing [[dwarf|dwarves]] or other [[creature]]s; in the words of Toady One the Great, "Accidental grapeshotting of the dining room should be possible now."

Of course, the danger of using minecarts means they can also be [[Trap_design#Minecarts|used as weapons]] by imaginative players.

== Advanced usage and automation ==
Minecart-specific effects are implemented via track stops, rollers and [[pressure plate]]s with "track" condition set. Since all three are considered [[building]]s, they can't be built on the same square (however convenient track stop + pressure plate would be) nor a simple ramp, and are removed by {{k|q}} {{k|x}}.

=== More on Track stop ===
Track stops are constructions that allow further automation of minecart systems via adjustable features such as braking by friction and automatic dumping of contents. They can be built from logs, bars and blocks through {{K|b}} {{K|C}} {{K|S}}; friction amount, dumping toggle and dumping direction must be set '''before''' construction, and these settings can be neither changed nor seen thereafter; however, track stops can be linked to [[pressure plate]]s or [[lever]]s to toggle friction and dumping On or Off (trigger state is inverted: switch On = track stop Off).

If a [[stockpile]] is placed on the tile that a track stop is set to dump to, it can act as a [[Exploit#Quantum_stockpiles|quantum stockpile]] and any items dumped from a minecart that match the storage settings of the stockpile will remain there and accumulate. Normally trackstops are built on top of existing track to operate on moving minecarts, but they can also be used without tracks to create [[Exploit#The_Minecart_Stop|automatic quantum stockpiles]] (see also [[#Step-by-step_tutorial|step-by-step tutorial]]). It is not always desirable to collect ALL of certain items into one quantum stockpile, such as when distributing a material to multiple separate industries. You can link your quantum stockpile to various other stockpiles, ensuring that your dwarves will keep them supplied as necessary. Because quantum stockpiles never fill up like regular stockpiles, it may be a good idea to add a switch to turn them off.

Items dumped from a minecart at a track stop (or dumped by any other means) into open space fall through z-levels until they land on a solid surface. Items falling onto a designated [[stockpile]] will automatically be considered part of that stockpile, even if the stockpile is set to disallow those items (they will, however, be automatically moved to a more appropriate stockpile, if available). Items falling on top of a minecart will '''not''' fall "inside" the minecart. Use with caution; dwarves have fragile skulls.{{bug|5945}}

=== Automated propulsion ===
==== Roller ====
{{Main|Roller}}

A '''roller''' is a [[power]]ed [[machine component]] for the automated propulsion of minecarts. They are built over the top of existing tracks with {{K|b|M|r}}, requiring a [[mechanic]], ''(length/4)+1'' [[mechanism]]s and a [[rope]]. Rollers may also be placed directly on ramps to help pull carts up Z levels. Rollers are very useful to maintain a cart's momentum along long routes, to get them to climb Z-levels without dwarfpower involved, and to get them to reach speeds unattainable by guiding dwarves. These devices are variable-length (1-10), variable-direction and variable-speed ([[Minecart#Numbers_behind_the_scene|see below]]), all traits that can be set at construction time; a roller uses two units of power per tile it is long.

Single-tile rollers transfer power in all four cardinal directions, while other rollers generally only transfer power perpendicular to their activity direction. Longer rollers can also transfer power along their activity direction if built in the correct order, although this can be hard to accomplish and is easily broken. Rollers cannot be powered from above.

Rollers have great acceleration and capped speed. Carts going faster than the roller are unaffected. If a cart moves across an active roller in the direction the roller works and moves slower than the roller's specified speed, the cart will be set to the roller's speed. A cart going against a roller's movement direction will be sent back the way it came (once again at the roller's speed), unless it was moving extremely fast: speed increment of 100000 allows to reverse carts from the full "highest" (50000) speed roller to full "highest" speed back, but ramps can accelerate a cart beyond this. {{cite forum|144328/5702453}}
A cart crossing over a roller perpendicular to its current movement direction will gain the roller's amount of speed in the perpendicular direction without directly changing its forward motion. Without an adjacent wall to constrict its movement, this will typically send a cart off the rails on a diagonal path, completely unable to follow any tracks until it collides with a wall or is otherwise brought to rest. However, if the roller is placed over a track turn and pushes ''from'' the direction of that turn's track, the turn affects carts ''after'' the roller, so they will be forced into the turn rather than derailed in a diagonal direction. {{cite forum|144328/5702453}}

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
tracks: full:
║ ║
═╗═ ═╢═
║ ║

╢ : roller pushing from W to E
}}
If the roller is powered, carts from ''all'' directions (unless too fast) exit S, because speed imparted by the roller forces carts toward E and ''then'' into the turn.
If not powered, carts from W and N exit S, carts from E and S exit W. Carts above derail speed will ignore the turn, of course.

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
║ ║
═╗═ ═╟═
║ ║

╟ : Roller pushing from E to W
}}
Carts from the E or W: exit W.
Carts from N: derailed diagonally, exit SW.
Carts from S: derailed diagonally, exit NW.

Rollers affects carts on a track - if placed on a floor or ramp without any tracks, they are ignored. Depowered rollers are also ignored, friction is determined by the tiles underneath.

Because of their one-way nature, rollers are unsuitable for most two-way minecart tracks (unless you set gears toggling roller A->B off while toggling A<-B rollers on). However, a minecart set to be ''guided'' is not affected by rollers at all{{cite forum|109460/3286235}} — this allows a one-way track to be used in both directions. In addition, unpowered rollers do not affect minecarts.

Care must be taken in [[glacier]]s and other extremely cold [[biome]]s, since rollers (and the machinery used to power them) will not operate when constructed on natural [[ice]] floors.

==== Impulse ramps ====
Carts can be given momentum without rollers or changing z-level through a phenomenon called "impulse ramps". A track ramp which is connected both to a wall and to a floor will ''always'' accelerate a cart towards the connected floor tile, no matter where the cart enters the tile from. This means carts can be accelerated as though dropping z-levels, even if the cart doesn't actually change z-level at all. If a track ramp faces three directions such as ╩, then two of those directions need to be facing walls for the cart to be accelerated towards the remaining direction.

Example of straight impulse acceleration:

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
═▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲═ ═╚╚╚╚╚╚╚╚╚╚═
▒ : Wall
═ : Normal track
▲/╚ : N/E Track/Ramp
}}

If a cart enters from the left, it will speed up on every track/ramp and exit to the right going very very fast - more than one tile every step. If it enters from the right then it will bounce back impulsed by the ramp if it's going slow enough.

As another oddity, carts coming from ramps will in some cases "teleport" through most of the next tile. This can be used to send carts up levels with minimal loss of speed. You can just make an upward spiral alternating impulse ramps and regular upward ramps. It takes no power, is quick and cheap to build, requiring only channeling and track carving, and the cart goes up fast, but not so fast that it launches its contents.

Example of an impulse elevator:

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
z +0 z +1 z +2 z +3
░░░░░ ░░░░░ ░░░░░ ░░░░░
░╔░░░ ░▼╚╗░ ░░▼▼░ ░░░░░
░╝░░░ ░▼░░░ ░░░╔░ ░░░▼░
░▼▼░░ ░░░░░ ░░░╝░ ░╚╗▼░
░░░░░ ░░░░░ ░░░░░ ░░░░░

░ : Wall
╔,╚,╗,╝ : Track/Ramp
▼ : Down Ramp (empty space)
}}

A sort of opposite effect to impulse ramps also exists: ramps lacking the proper "up" and "down" connections are treated as flat track, even if they actually go up or down z-levels. This allows building "anti-impulse" slopes consisting entirely of ramps only connected up, which a minecart can travel up forty levels and more, needing no more than a single push.

=== Controlling traffic ===

==== Switching ====

As constructions or tile features, [[door]]s and other furniture can be built on tracks. A [[door]] or [[floodgate]] can be turned on or off by a [[lever]], effectively controlling the flow of automated minecarts. This may be <s>dangerous</s> [[fun]], however.
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
->
A ════┤≡════ B
┤ : roller pushing to East
≡ : door
}}
The roller pushes the cart east, but until the "departure condition" is fulfilled, the door remains closed and blocks the path.

[[Bridge]]s can also act as tracks, but only if they're lowered or not retracted. This property can enable levers to turn tracks on and off. However, care should be taken to ensure that such bridges are never operated while a cart is on top of them, as the cart will be flung off the track. It's worth noting that it's often faster, and cheaper, to construct large bridges than long sections of constructed track.

A powered track switch can be constructed by building an "inverted" corner as illustrated below.
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
B B
║ -> ║
║ ║
════╚═══ ════├════
A C A C
├ : roller pushing to West.
}}

If the cart is pushed East from the stop at 'A' while the roller is activated, it will arrive at 'B'. If the roller is not running, it will arrive at 'C'. The switch works by the roller first reversing the incoming cart's movement and the cart ''then'' following the track corner.

This switch is very reliable, reacts instantly to on/off signals, and carts of any speed can be switched by this design, although very fast carts will require rollers that are several tiles long, up to three. The requirement for power can be inconvenient or impractical. Non-powered solutions may use controlled derailment, or a connecting bridge.
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
B ╥
║
║
╞════╝ ════╡
A D C
}}
Here the track between A and C is not continuous. The only continuous track is A->B, with a corner (not a T section). Fast moving carts will tend to derail at D and rejoin the track to C. Placing a door at D will prevent the derailment, so the cart continues to B. The door is operated by mechanisms elsewhere (typically, a lever, but some fun can be had with pressure plates).

Since it depends on derailing, this switch requires a very fast cart, faster than what can be achieved with rollers alone. To gain sufficient speed, a cart must be accelerated further, usually by descending several levels or through impulse ramps. The high speed makes the cart much more dangerous and harder to control.

If carts are moving too slowly to derail at the corner, a retractable bridge may be used as a connector between A and C.
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
B╥
║
║
A╞════bbb════╡C
}}
The bridge must overlap the corner. Bridges behave like a track crossing, allowing carts to pass in a straight line. When retracted, the corner reappears, so the carts will continue to B. Bridges take 100 steps to react to a signal, necessitating rather long "lead times" when switching tracks via bridge.

As mentioned above, special care must be taken to make sure the bridge doesn't change state while the cart is passing over it. Retracting bridges will throw the cart, causing it to stop dead. Raising bridges can even crush the cart.

==== Controlling Speed ====


Minecarts can reach extremely high speeds, especially when descending multiple Z-levels. A minecart will derail at a track corner if its speed exceeds 0.5 t/st (tiles per step), '''unless''' the route in the direction of travel is blocked:

Will derail at > 0.5 t/st:

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
in ══╗ -> derailing
║
out
}}

Will not derail at > 0.5 t/st:
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
in ══╗O
║
out

O : wall/column.
}}

This behavior can be used to build a "speed limiter", that will ensure that when a minecart exits it is traveling below derail speed:
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
░░░░ ░░░░░ ░░░░░
in ═╔═╗░ ░╔S╗░ ░╔S╗░
out ═╬═╝░ out ═╗═╝░ out ═╗═╝░
░╚S╝░ ░╚═╝═ in ░╚S╝░
░░░░░ ░░░░ ║░░░
in
░ : wall
S : Track Stop (High Friction or lower)
}}
If the minecart is traveling below derailment speed, it will not be affected; if above, will be slowed down and checked again. Granted, you could do the same just with track turns, but it may take a lot of turns and time.

Since all the derailings, bounces and ramps can impart a sideway component of speed small enough to start visible drift many tiles away (say, [[Fun|in the middle of a bridge]]), track turns have one more use: forcing the carts to move strictly along the grid directions. Carts passing a turn below derailing speed convert one component of velocity into another, thus eliminating the drift.

=== Loading liquids ===
[[Water]] and [[magma]] can also be loaded into minecarts by submerging them to a depth of at least 6/7 while standing still or moving at speeds of at most 10000. Loading fluids onto minecarts can be difficult because the added friction provided by fluids can stop a cart in a submerged tile. Curiously, filling a minecart with magma does not injure a dwarf ''riding'' it. A minecart will hold enough fluid to increase the depth of a single tile by 2. This amount is listed as 833 units, which weigh 459Γ (water) or 999Γ (magma). An iron or steel cart filled with magma weighs 1313Γ, while an adamantine cart filled with magma weighs 1007Γ. Since you need a minecart above the liquid's level, possible arrangements may include pressure-activated sluices, rollers (with magma-safe chains for magma), pouring from above to "submerge" it briefly on the same level and drain excess away (dig deeper and leave a vaporizer, though if you could have power for rollers, may as well use a pump) and exploits with ramps (not necessarily impulse ramps, "same height" passing dip does it).
The liquids can be dumped by a constructed track stop.

== Quirks ==
This little quirk concerns dwarf-managed minecarts. If a track which was previously open becomes blocked (ex. flipping a switch connected to a floodgate you've built on the track to raise it) and the conditions for departure are met, instead of refusing to ride/guide the minecart or ride/guide it until it reaches the obstacle, the dwarf will pick up the minecart off the tracks and haul it to its scheduled destination on foot. If the distance is long enough and the weight of the cart heavy enough (due to being filled with heavy items such as stones), the dwarf may drop the cart because of fatigue/hunger/thirst before reaching the destination. This will cancel that vehicle setting job and make another dwarf come by and attempt to haul the cart to the nearest appropriate stockpile where another dwarf will pick up the cart and attempt to haul it to its initial stop. If the stockpile is far enough from initial stop, this second dwarf who is attempting to place the minecart on its tracks may also drop the minecart out of fatigue/hunger/thirst creating a loop that will go on until a dwarf with enough endurance manages to place the minecart where it belongs.

In fact, it seems dwarves are more than happy to attempt to carry a minecart from one stop to another even if just waiting until the track is open again would be the more sane option.

Dwarves will also carry a minecart to its next stop if the direction specified is incorrect (or invalid). This can often occur when using the default departure settings and forgetting to set the direction of each condition.

Dwarves can admire buildings while riding mine carts. Dwarves will not fall asleep during a ride (at least not from being drowsy). If riding on a continuous powered track loop, the dwarf will die of dehydration/starvation as they can not jump off to get sustenance{{cite forum|109460/3377228}}. Dwarves riding in submerged minecarts will gain experience in [[swimming]].{{cite forum|129889}}

Tracks block wagon access to trade depots, unless they're on a ramp. [[Bridge]]s can also be used, as they function as tracks but do not block wagons.

== Physics ==


Minecart physics depend greatly on the departure mode set in the route stop conditions.

When set to "Push" or "Ride", minecarts will move according to the regular laws of momentum, gaining speed when going downhill, losing it slowly due to friction when on a flat plane, and more quickly when going uphill. In these modes, minecarts will move in a straight line until they either are brought to a stop by friction or an obstacle, or until they encounter a turn. A minecart will roll straight past "blocked" ends of T-junctions or track ends, they have no power to restrict a cart's movement. The cart's behavior is largely independent of the weight of its contents (including fluids and dwarves): heavily loaded carts gain more momentum when accelerating, but this only plays a role in collisions: a heavy cart gains just as much speed and is as easy to stop as a light one. In either case, dwarves can not push nor ride an unpowered cart up a ramp, bouncing back the direction it came. At best, this is a waste of time; at worst, it will give your cart-pushing dwarf a [[fun|fun surprise]]. To solve this, the player can either use Rollers (see below) or set the cart to be Guided.

The difference between "Push" and "Ride" is whether the dwarf will go along with the cart or not.
{{DFtext|Push}}: the dwarf will give the cart an initial push, not enough to go up a ramp, but enough to go some way along flat track, and the dwarf will remain at the first stop, ready for a new job.
{{DFtext|Ride}}: the dwarf will give the cart the same initial push and then hop aboard the cart riding with it to the next stop.
{{DFtext|Guide}}: minecarts seem to ignore all laws of physics. That is:
*Ignore the weight of any and all items inside. Therefore:
**Move at the speed of the dwarf that is guiding them. It is thus recommended to pick the most [[attribute#Agility|agile]] of your dwarves for cart-guiding tasks.
*Ignore working rollers.
*Will ''not'' collide with other guided carts even when a full frontal collision would be expected.
*Will go up ramps like nobody's business.
This is therefore the recommended method of transport for simple non-powered rail systems, despite it diverting a dwarf from other, potentially more important tasks.

Some samples with behavior:
{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
A <-> B A <-> C A <-> B
B B B
║ ║ ║
A══╝ A══╩══C A══╬╗
You can only go A->B ╚╝
Works when the cart Works
is in Guide mode.
}}
In the second example above, a cart "pushed" from B will go over the junction and roll off into the unknown south.

=== Skipping ===
If a minecart is moving fast enough, it can skip over [[water]] or [[magma]], making splashes of [[mist]] (or [[magma mist]]) as it attempts to move on them horizontally. This horizontal movement is independent of the minecart and its content's [[weight]].

=== Track Jumping ===
If a minecart encounters the end of the track or a T junction with no "exit" in its movement direction, it will simply leave the track and continue on its course in a straight line until it encounters an obstacle, slows to a stop, or encounters another (properly aligned) Track even if the tile at which it joins the new track instantly sends it around a corner.

=== Falling ===
When falling, a minecart appears to cause no damage upon collision, possibly to allow cart "stacking" across Z-levels.{{cite devlog|2012|04|06}} A dwarf riding in a minecart that is dropped multiple z-levels suffers normal fall damage. Minecarts can fall through up/down stairs.
The cart falling (from a hatch, thus with no horizontal speed) onto a track ramp is accelerated as if starting from the middle of the ramp - i.e. to the same speed, no matter how many Z-levels it was dropped, vertical velocity is negated. {{cite forum|144328/5701211}}

=== Stacking ===
If a minecart lands on top of another minecart, they may form a stack, with the upper cart on the z-level above the lower. Subsequent carts do not form a stack, but rather quantum stockpile in the same space. This behaviour is useful for [[megaprojects]] and [[trap design]] with minecarts as the weaponry. Moderation should still be exercised: carts take longer to fall into a "stacking" tile already occupied by other carts and will spend that time "hanging" in the air above the stack. This can lead to following carts striking them, which can cause all kinds of malfunctions. The extra time is two game steps for every cart already in the stack, which doesn't hurt stacks of ten carts very much but makes stacks of 100+ rather impractical.

These minecarts on the upper level generally need to be struck with another minecart to move out, or have their support removed. The latter option is safest done by shooting it away with another minecart, manual removal of a stack-supporting cart typically causes the next cart from the stack to [[fun|fall on top]] of the hauler.

=== Numbers behind the scene ===

According to early research by '''expwnent'''{{cite forum|112831/3536975}}:

The minecart has a variable for speed. Speed is measured in tiles/100000 ticks, so a speed of one hundred thousand means one tile per tick. By going down a large number of ramps, a maximum speed of 270,000 can be reached, which presents the limit for most practical applications. Short bursts of (much) higher speeds are possible through carefully planned collisions of high-speed carts {{cite forum|137557/5145499}}.

Every tick the cart accumulates distance units, as well as slows down depending on current tile (speed is reduced by "friction" of the tile). The cart will move to the next tile the tick before accumulating 100000 distance units, (or several tiles in case of great speed), then the leftover distance units are added to the default 100000 distance u. of the next tile. Since most deceleration and acceleration is applied per step, with the notable exception of corners, a cart going at twice the speed of another one can cover about four times the distance in a straight line, but only twice the distance along a winding track with very many corners.

A push will teleport a cart to the beginning of the next tile (NOT the middle!) in one tick with 19990 speed (10 speed is lost due to track friction), while a roller will give a cart the roller's set speed, and it will start to accumulate regular track friction past the middle of the roller tile. Some track features will affect a minecart when it is past the middle of the previous tile: entering a ramp or a hole/drop will happen when the cart has left the middle of the previous tile, and the ramp will gain additional distance unit depending on the leftover units from the previous tile. When a cart leaves a ramp it will emerge after one tick in the middle of the next regular tile, so its entry coordinate is "50000-speed+friction". Rollers also affect the speed of minecart from the middle of the previous tile.

Friction of tiles:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Tile
! Friction
! Comment
|-
| Tracks
| 10
|-
| Ground/Floor
| 200
|-
| Unusable ramp
| 10
|-
| Upwards ramp
| 4910 (10+4900)
|-
| Downwards ramp
| -4890 (10-4900)
|-
| Roller
| ±100000 (but capped by the set speed)
|-
| Corner track
| 10
| Speed reduced by 1000 upon leaving the corner tile
|-
| Track stop (highest)
| 50000
|-
| Track stop (high)
| 10000
|-
| Track stop (medium)
| 500
|-
| Track stop (low)
| 50
|-
| Track stop (lowest)
| 10
|-
| Water 1-6
| Additional (WaterLevel - 1) * 100
| rowspan="2" | [[#Skipping|See Skipping]]
|-
| Magma 1-6
| Additional (WaterLevel - 1) * 500
|-
| Empty space
| 0
|}

Water of depth 7/7 provides a friction of about 10000 per step, as does maximum-depth magma. This higher friction may not apply to very slow-moving carts.

Impulse sources:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Feature
! Speed
|-
| Push
| 20000
|-
| Roller lowest
| 10000
|-
| Roller low
| 20000
|-
| Roller medium
| 30000
|-
| Roller high
| 40000
|-
| Roller Highest
| 50000
|-
|}

== Non-standard uses ==
Minecarts include some interesting characteristics that have motivated uses beyond hauling. They can be useful for creating fully-automated [[exploit|quantum stockpiles]] and [[garbage disposal]]s. Storing perishable goods (meat, meals, etc.) inside a minecart appears to guard against rot and vermin.
Minecarts can be [[Trap_design#Minecarts|used as weapons]], or as (hopefully non-fatal) triggers to restart stalled [[healthcare]]. They can also be used to time/control game events, either using a basic [[repeater]] or much more advanced [[minecart logic]].
Minecarts trigger [[pressure plate]]s, which means a trap can be designed to trigger when a thief attempts to steal a minecart.
A pressure plate can be used as automatic and more precise custom "launch when full enough" system - as long as weight of your minecarts stays the same. You cannot build a hatch or roller on the same tile, so launch by bumping with another cart. {{cite forum|15096/4580050}}
Dwarves riding minecarts can attack enemies within reach (which goes back to dev log). This applies to shooting, and they actually can hit targets while riding by.{{cite forum|109460/5266119}} Whether a minecart protects the rider and how it interacts with dodging is not known yet. Minecart riders can also [[Swimming#Minecart_training|train swimming]] and [[Megaprojects#Surveillance_Track|detect ambushers]].

== Adventure mode ==
In addition to being used for hauling, minecarts can also be ridden in [[adventure mode]]. (Adapted from forum thread {{cite forum|122903/4258212}})

# If the minecart is in your inventory, drop it. If it is already on the ground, proceed to step 2.
# Press {{k|u}} when you are 1 tile away from the minecart (or standing on the same tile as the minecart).
# You will be presented with the following options:
[[File:minecart adventure mode menu.png|left]]
{{clear}}
* If you {{DFtext|Push}} the minecart, it will move a few tiles in the direction you chose. Physics comes into play here, so it will gain/lose speed depending on the usual factors.
* If you {{DFtext|Ride}} the minecart, you will hop into the minecart, even if you were a tile away, and it will move in the chosen direction with you in it. It will gain/lose speed depending on the usual factors. Whilst the minecart is in motion, you should press {{k|.}} to skip your turn; if you attempt to move whilst the minecart is still in motion, the laws of physics come into play, and you will take [[wound|damage]]. Alternatively, you can push the minecart whilst it's still in motion (although it's unclear how one can bend [[physics]] so as to push a moving minecart whilst inside the minecart). If you push it in the same direction you are already travelling in, you will greatly increase the minecart's velocity. You can also push it in different directions, and this will cause it to gradually change direction-the amount of pushes this requires depends on the minecart's velocity. Once the minecart has stopped moving, you may move out of it safely, or you may want to give it another push. Note that if you push a minecart right after having ridden it (still on the same tile as the minecart), it will act as though you chose to ''ride'' it.

If you want to test this out without creating an adventurer, the [[object testing arena]] allows you to spawn minecarts ({{k|k}}-{{k|c}}-{{k|n}})

== Forging and Melting ==
* Metal minecarts cost '''two''' [[metal]] bars to forge, or '''six''' [[adamantine]] wafers.
* When a non-adamantine metal minecart is melted down, it will return '''1.8''' metal bars, for an '''efficiency of 90%'''.
* When an adamantine minecart is melted down, it will produce '''1.8''' wafers, for an '''efficiency of 30%'''.

== See also ==
* [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=109460.0 The "How Does Minecart" Thread] by '''Girlinhat''' et al.
* [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=112831.0 SCIENCE: Quantifying minecart physics] by '''Snaake''' et al.
* [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=129676.0 How to build a Multi-cart Ore to Magma Minecart Project without needing power] by '''WanderingKid'''.
* [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=144328.0 My very own Minecart Education Thread. Ten Lessons, now complete.] by '''Larix'''.

== Bugs ==
*A dwarf will drop her [[child|baby]], if she has one, when boarding a minecart set to be ridden.
*Dwarves have no concept of traffic safety and will walk into busy minecart lines to retrieve objects, often with deadly consequences. This is especially problematic in [[Swimming#Minecart_training|clever applications]] depending on dwarves riding the carts very frequently, because they have a bad habit of dumping their worn clothes on the tracks after a minecart ride. Adding an automatically-operated [[hatch cover]] at the end of such a ride can help prevent [[unfortunate accident]]s.
*Dwarves cannot guide a minecart through an unlocked door unless another dwarf opens the door.{{bug|6056}}
*It is possible for a creature and minecart moving towards each other to pass without collision if they exchange tiles in the same tick.
*After a minecart ride, a dwarf will sometimes haul the minecart to a storage stockpile, leaving another dwarf to haul the vehicle back to the route.
*Minecarts falling onto a floor injure creatures in the tile below the floor.{{bug|6068}}
*A minecart's initial velocity is not affected by weight, when pushed or launched from rollers.{{bug|6296}}
*Removing a stop that has a vehicle waiting on it may cause the game to crash.{{bug|5980}}

{{Category|Fortress mode}}
{{Category|Interface}}

[[ru:Minecart]]

Beak

2015-05-18T18:02:33Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Fine" to "Tattered" using the rating script

{{Quality|Tattered|18:02, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
A '''beak''' is a [[body parts|body part]] that can be generated from killing an animal, but not from [[butcher]]ing. Also, beaks, unlike tails or heads, can not be butchered or used in any way, but may be stored in [[refuse stockpile]]s.

There has been a [[Dwarf_Fortress_Wiki_talk:Improvement_Drive#New_Article.3F|report]] of a beak being claimed for use during a [[strange mood]]; the type of mood, type of craft, and result are unknown.

{{Translation
| dwarven = emuth
| elvish = etini
| goblin = gosma
| human = kes
}}

World generation

2015-05-18T15:09:49Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Exceptional" to "Masterwork" using the rating script

{{Quality|Masterwork|15:09, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
{{buggy}}

To begin playing Dwarf Fortress, you must first create a world to play in. At the game's main menu, you can choose to either {{DFtext|Create New World!}} or {{DFtext|Design New World With Advanced Parameters}}.

World Generation can take long and may seem like a nuisance, but it is the actual heart of the game. This is where Toady invests most of his time, this is the piece of art that makes Dwarf Fortress unique enough for the New York museum. While you wait for the counter to finish, an entire fantasy world with unique geography, history and even language is created. Entire civilizations rise, wage war, fall, rise again, and fall. Countless characters, each with unique appearance and personality, live their lives, some of them a calm one, some go out and influence history. The world's complexity could rival the works of Tolkien himself. Dwarf Fortress is not only a game, it is a gigantic fantasy world simulator. Fortress and adventure mode allow you to influence a tiny part of that tale and write your own chapter. One chapter in an enormous bookshelf.

This article will cover basic world generation using the first option.

:''For information on advanced parameters, see [[Advanced world generation]].''

= Basic World Generation Menu =

The basic world generation menu looks like this.

[[File:BasicWorldGen.png]]
== Parameters ==

Each of the parameters is described below.

=== World Size ===

"This controls the size of the world map" as it says at the bottom of the screen when this option is highlighted. Also at the bottom of the screen is shown the dimensions of the world that will be generated given the currently selected size. Using Basic World Generation, the size options are:

* Pocket (17x17 region tiles)
* Smaller (33x33)
* Small (65x65)
* Medium (129x129)
* Large (257x257)

Setting this to a larger value will cause world generation to take longer, as more events will need to be calculated per step. In v0.40 selecting bigger worlds will reduce the framerate (update speed) of the game in fortress mode. Selecting small or smaller worlds is recommended.

The world size also affects the maximum amount of civilizations, new civilization sites limit and the number of existing forgotten beasts.

{| border = 1 cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
|-
!
!width="80"| Pocket
!width="80"| Smaller
!width="80"| Small
!width="80"| Medium
!width="80"| Large
|-
! Forgotten beasts
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| style="text-align:center;" | 27
| style="text-align:center;" | 75
| style="text-align:center;" | 243
| style="text-align:center;" | 867
|}

=== History ===

"This is the length of pre-generated history." The number of years for the currently selected length will be shown in the lower right. Essentially this means the amount of time that civilizations will have to grow, attack each other, and starve to death before the player can start playing. It also determines the amount of time that megabeasts will have to roam and kill things, get killed, etc. The longer the history, the more historical events will be generated by the time gameplay begins.

Setting this parameter to a higher value will cause world generation to take longer as more events need to be determined. Setting it to a very low value is ok, but will reduce the size of civilizations at game start.

Higher values will also increase the number of abandoned (sacked) towns and fortresses which can matter for adventure mode, but doesn't matter that much for fortress mode. Recommend value for worlds you plan to use for adventure mode are Short or Medium.

History will still progress after world generation, concurrently with normal gameplay, but this will of course be much slower. Therefore it is recommended to set the history length so that the number of sites, megabeasts, and historical events is roughly what one wants it to be during gameplay.

For more information on the history aspect of the game, see [[Legends]] and [[Calendar#Ages|Ages]].

=== Number of Civilizations ===

This controls the number of distinct civilizations exist in a world.

Civilizations are dwarves, humans, goblins, gnomes and elves.

It should be noted that this would refer to different kingdoms of the same races. A smaller number of civilizations ( smaller than 5 - 7) may exclude one or two races from your world but less civilizations will reduce the amount of time history generation takes. Larger numbers of civilizations would increase history generation time and make historical events happen much more often.

The maximum amount of civilizations is affected by the world size. At higher numbers (> 40) humans, gnomes and elves are more frequent than dwarves and goblins.

{| border = 1 cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
|-
!
!width="80"| Pocket
!width="80"| Smaller
!width="80"| Small
!width="80"| Medium
!width="80"| Large
|-
! Very Low
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
|-
! Low
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
| style="text-align:center;" | 20
| style="text-align:center;" | 20
|-
! Medium
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| style="text-align:center;" | 40
| style="text-align:center;" | 40
|-
! High
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| style="text-align:center;" | 15
| style="text-align:center;" | 80
| style="text-align:center;" | 80
|-
! Very High
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| style="text-align:center;" | 20
| style="text-align:center;" | 160
| style="text-align:center;" | 160
|}

=== Maximum Number of Sites ===

This affects the maximum number of [[Advanced_world_generation#Site_cap_after_civ_creation|new sites]] such as towns, hamlets, elf retreats, etc. existing civilizations can expand to during world generation combined. New sites increase the maximum amount of members of the civilization founding the site.

High site numbers increase the duration of history generation by a huge amount of time.
With very low site numbers only the civilizations home settlements may exist after a few years of history with a high probability of getting eradicated by some event.

Turning this up is advised for adventure mode games.

The total amount of sites is affected by the selected world size.

{| border = 1 cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
|-
!
!width="80"| Pocket
!width="80"| Smaller
!width="80"| Small
!width="80"| Medium
!width="80"| Large
|-
! Very Low
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| style="text-align:center;" | 17
| style="text-align:center;" | 66
| style="text-align:center;" | 260
| style="text-align:center;" | 375
|-
! Low
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| style="text-align:center;" | 51
| style="text-align:center;" | 198
| style="text-align:center;" | 780
| style="text-align:center;" | 1125
|-
! Medium
| style="text-align:center;" | 18
| style="text-align:center;" | 68
| style="text-align:center;" | 264
| style="text-align:center;" | 1040
| style="text-align:center;" | 1500
|-
! High
| style="text-align:center;" | 27
| style="text-align:center;" | 102
| style="text-align:center;" | 396
| style="text-align:center;" | 1560
| style="text-align:center;" | 2000
|-
! Very High
| style="text-align:center;" | 36
| style="text-align:center;" | 136
| style="text-align:center;" | 528
| style="text-align:center;" | 2000
| style="text-align:center;" | 2000
|}

=== Number of Beasts ===

This controls the number of megabeasts such as dragons, titans, etc., that exist at the beginning of the world. They can later die (get killed) due to historical events, so the longer the history the more likely some of these will die.

The number of beasts does not appear to impact how often your fortress will be attacked by beasts in fortress mode. In adventure mode it means it will be easier to find more megabeasts. If set very low then you may actually run out of beasts during a game.

Since beasts can attack civilizations, more beasts may reduce the population of the world a little bit.

The total amount of beasts is affected by the selected world size.

{| border = 1 cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
|-
!
!width="80"| Pocket
!width="80"| Smaller
!width="80"| Small
!width="80"| Medium
!width="80"| Large
|-
! Very Low
| style="text-align:center;" | 0 / 1 / 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 0 / 1 / 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 2 / 4 / 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 9 / 18 / 4
| style="text-align:center;" | 37 / 75 / 16
|-
! Low
| style="text-align:center;" | 0 / 1 / 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 0 / 1 / 0
| style="text-align:center;" | 3 / 6 / 2
| style="text-align:center;" | 13 / 27 / 6
| style="text-align:center;" | 56 / 112 / 24
|-
! Medium
| style="text-align:center;" | 1 / 2 / 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 1 / 2 / 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 4 / 9 / 3
| style="text-align:center;" | 18 / 37 / 9
| style="text-align:center;" | 75 / 150 / 33
|-
! High
| style="text-align:center;" | 1 / 3 / 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 1 / 3 / 1
| style="text-align:center;" | 6 / 13 / 4
| style="text-align:center;" | 27 / 55 / 13
| style="text-align:center;" | 112 / 225 / 49
|-
! Very High
| style="text-align:center;" | 2 / 4 / 2
| style="text-align:center;" | 2 / 4 / 2
| style="text-align:center;" | 8 / 18 / 6
| style="text-align:center;" | 36 / 74 / 18
| style="text-align:center;" | 150 / 300 / 66
|}
*Read numbers as: Megabeasts // Semi-megabeasts // Titans

=== Natural Savagery ===

Increasing this value increases the number of [[Surroundings#Savage|savage]] [[Biome|biomes]] in the world. In short, this means that more areas are likely to have aggressive animals which may try to kill dwarves immediately upon embark and attack adventurers more often while traveling.

New players may want to just leave this at the Medium setting (which isn't that hard) or set it lower. Turn this up to make the game more [[losing|fun]].

=== Mineral Occurrence ===

This is a rather important parameter for fortress mode. Sparse means that many areas will only have one or two types of metal ore, if any, which can be very annoying to people until the economy is fully implemented and other metals can more easily be obtained via trade. New players should probably turn this up to Frequent.

More details: [[Advanced_world_generation#Mineral_Scarcity|Mineral Scarcity]]

In adventure mode this can impact the types of metals that civilizations have access to, which can affect the types of items that are available in shops. Therefore it may not be a bad idea to turn this up for worlds in which you plan to play adventure mode games.

= The Generation Process =

Once you're satisfied with your parameter selections, hit {{k|y}} to proceed.

The screen will show something like this:

[[File:WorldGenerationScreen.png]]

The name of the world will be random in basic world generation mode.

== Rejections ==

You may notice that during various phases of the world generation process worlds will be rejected, leading to the rejection count going up and the process starting over. This happens because certain factors such as number of mountain tiles can't be determined ahead of time by the generation process. Instead worlds are generated with parameters which are likely to produce worlds that can support a required number of mountains, and are then checked to make sure they meet the criteria. For example, the random generation of the topography of the land may result in too few high elevation areas to place mountains.

In practice you don't need to worry about this for basic world generation because the preset hidden values that determine acceptable criteria are designed to decrease the chance of rejections, but certain combinations of basic parameters (especially with very large worlds) may make it harder for the process to generate "acceptable" worlds. Basically what this amounts to is that world generation will just take longer for certain parameter selections that are more difficult for the generator to satisfy.

== History ==

Once the world itself has been generated, the process of generating historical events will begin. This can take a very long time for large, heavily populated worlds with very long 2,000 year histories.

== Finishing ==

Once everything is complete, you can take a look around using the directional keys. (Using {{k|Shift}}+directional key will make this faster.) If you find yourself confused about what all the characters actually mean, you are not alone. Check out the [[Map legend]]. At this point you can either abort the process or hit {{k|Enter}} to save the world to disk.

Unfortunately the post-generation-process viewer doesn't give you a way to view much information about the world, so unless you really hate the look of the map or something you probably want to just save the world and load it up in [[Legends]] mode to view more information.

= Getting More Advanced =

At first you will probably be satisfied with basic world generation, but later you may find that you want to create worlds with specific more extreme conditions. Check out the documentation on [[Advanced world generation]] for help with this.

= Bugs =
*Magma sea breaching into [[Main:HFS|HFS]]{{bug|1791}}
*Anti-Gravity Ants - Floating ant hills above river{{bug|3054}}

= Easter Eggs =
*On the 86th rejected world an error report will appear with four options, this is in reference to the term "86ing" something, which is defined in the Urban Dictionary as "To remove, end usage, or take something out or away." [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=86]

{{World}}

Armor

2015-05-18T15:07:45Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Superior" to "Masterwork" using the rating script

{{Quality|Masterwork|15:07, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}

'''Armor''' is the protective equipment used to reduce/deflect damage during [[combat]]. It comes in several pieces, each one protecting a certain area. The purpose of each piece is pretty much self-explanatory. Note that breastplates only protect upper/lower torso areas, while mail shirts also cover the neck, the upper arms, and the upper legs. Ears, nose, lips, teeth, and throat are exposed, even in full armor.

'''The actual effectiveness of a given piece of armor depends on the weapon(s) being used against it.'''

Keeping in mind the armored enemies you are likely to meet, it is advisable to equip your military dwarves with at least iron armor. Testing in the arena shows that armored dwarves have a huge advantage over the unarmored ones, usually taking no casualties while making short work of their enemies. (But you shouldn't need this wiki to figure that out.) With more recent versions, armor slows down dwarves considerably more than it did in the past, making the Armour User skill much more important. In prior versions both movement and attack speeds were slowed by heavy armor. It's unknown whether this is still the case in v0.40.

[[File:Armor Coverage Chart.png|thumb|550px|Dwarven armor coverage chart]]
== Basics ==
=== Purpose ===
Armor's purpose is simple: to allow your dwarves to better withstand damage in combat. Where an unarmored dwarf would invariably suffer injury from a weapon strike, well-armored dwarves have a good chance of taking reduced damage or shrugging it off altogether. Potentially damaging blows become mere bruises and otherwise lethal or incapacitating wounds are reduced to serious ones. [[Clothes]], though not specifically recognized by the game as armor, nonetheless function as such and may block weak attacks.

While a clothed dwarf is a better fighter than a naked one, an unarmored dwarf will still succumb to a [[goblin]] [[ambush]] in seconds. One clad in a full set of exceptional-quality steel armor, however, can absorb most of a goblin squad's ammunition and half a minute of its time before finally being killed. Unarmored or lightly-armored dwarves may suffice to deal with lone thieves and the local wildlife, but a serious [[military|army]] requires equally serious armor.

=== Types of armor ===
In terms of classifications, armor can be classed into three different types. The first is [[clothing]], made of [[leather]] or [[cloth]]. Clothing can only deflect very weak attacks - say, a [[raven]] bite - but nonetheless can dampen damage. Most dwarves will be wearing clothing; those that aren't will usually be very [[tantrum|unhappy]], [[children|babies]], or [[insane]]. The second type is [[leather]] and [[bone]] armor, which is specialized for the purpose from clothing; it is very weak, but still better than nothing. The last type is true [[metal]] armor, made at a [[metalsmith's forge]]; it is this armor that is made by an [[armorsmith]], and should be used by a serious military.

Though all clothes can protect from damage, a "true" suit of armor consists of the following pieces, one cell from each column.

{|border="1" cellpadding="5" style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0;background:#F9F9F9;border:1px #AAA solid;border-collapse:collapse;text-align:left"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | Torso
! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | Head
! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | Arm
! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | Leg
! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | Feet
! scope="col" style="background:#efefef;" | [[Shield|Shields]] (block attacks)
|-
|Mail Shirt (upper body + lower body + neck + upper arms + upper legs)
'''and/or''' Breastplate (upper body + lower body)
|Helms
|Gauntlets (hands + wrists)
|Greaves, made of plate
|High boots (feet + lower legs)
|Shield
|-
|Leather armor (upper body + lower body)
|Cap
|Gloves (hands)
|Leggings, made of chain
|Low boots (feet)
|Buckler
|}

The first row is the more effective choice, while the second row is an alternative offering less protection.

Note that if a mail shirt is combined with high boots, explicit leg covering can be omitted. (Dwarves don't have knees to protect, so upper leg from the shirt and lower leg from the boot is complete).

=== Armor skill ===
Armor use trains the [[armor user]] [[skill]]. Where armor quality affects hit block chance, armor user skill affects how quickly the dwarf can move in his armor. In arena tests, a grand master armor user could move at twice the speed of a dabbling user when in heavy armor. Faster speed translates into faster movement, both when walking around and when crossing blades with an opponent; well-trained dwarves will have more opportunities to strike, block, and dodge in combat.

Every time a dwarf reflects an attack with their armor ([[reports|report]]ed as "the attack was deflected by his/her <armor>"), they will receive 30 [[experience]]. The skill can be trained with a [[danger room]], by attacking local wildlife, or through [[live training]] schemes.

=== Shield skill ===
Likewise, shield use trains the [[shield user]] [[skill]]. Shields are a special piece of armor that can be worn on one arm (and cannot be worn with two-handed weapons) and can be used to block attacks better than equivalent armor can (a difference amounting to deflection instead of broken bones), greatly increasing dwarven survivability. The skill modifies how often the dwarf will be able to block an attack with the shield, and is likewise trained every time the shield is used to block an attack, at 30 experience apiece. It can be trained in the same ways.

=== Material ===
:''See also: [[Metal#Weapon and armor quality]]''

{|border="1" cellpadding="5" style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0;background:#F9F9F9;border:1px #AAA solid;border-collapse:collapse;text-align:left"
! Material !! Workshop !! Labor !! Notes
|-
| [[Metal]] || [[Metalsmith's forge]] || [[Armorsmith|Armoring]] || Best choice; see notes below
|-
| [[Bone]] || [[Craftsdwarf's workshop]] || [[Bone carver|Bone carving]] || Leggings, greaves, gauntlets, and helms only
|-
| [[Shell]] || [[Craftsdwarf's workshop]] || [[Bone carver|Bone carving]] || Leggings, gauntlets, and helms only
|-
| [[Leather]] || [[Leather works]] || [[Leatherworker|Leatherworking]] || Light and unencumbering but weak protection.
|-
| [[Cloth]] || [[Clothier's shop]] || [[Clothier|Clothesmaking]] || Limited protection, nearly useless against metal.
|-
| [[Wood]] || [[Carpenter's workshop]] || [[Carpentry]] || Shield/buckler only (except [[Elf|Elves]])
|}

Most armor must be made out of a weapons-grade material (steel, iron, etc.). The only exception to this is when a dwarf is in a [[strange mood]], in which case a piece of armor may be created out of any metal lying around. The material used in armor is extremely important to combat; fully [[iron]]-armored dwarves with iron short swords stand no chance against those clad in [[steel]]. In general, slashing weapons will have difficulty piecing armor made of the same weapons-grade material as the weapon, piercing weapons will be increasingly blunted, and blunt weapons will break bones through armor almost regardless of its material. Rigid armor provides limited blunt protection, and the chain mail shirts and leggings provide next to none. Even adamantine armor only prevents an estimated 13% of blows, demonstrating the utility of the slow but sure war hammer.

Certain weapons are surprisingly good at penetrating armor. Copper whips will shatter skulls through steel helmets. [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=116151.30 science!]

{|border="1" cellpadding="5" style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0;background:#F9F9F9;border:1px #AAA solid;border-collapse:collapse;text-align:center"
! colspan=5|Armor material comparison
|-
! Poor !! Acceptable !! Good !! Excellent !! Best
|-
| Leather/Bone || Copper || Iron/Bronze<nowiki>*</nowiki> || Steel || Adamantine
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>Bronze here also includes Bismuth Bronze as both have the same values and are armor grade metals. [[Black_bronze|Black bronze]] can '''not''' be used for armor.

* [[Bone]] armor can be crafted very early in the game from the bones of livestock or other animals.
* [[Copper]] armor is the lowest-grade type of metal armor, but also the easiest to get, requiring one of [[native copper]], [[malachite]], or [[tetrahedrite]] (next-to-guaranteed on any embark containing more than one metal).
* [[Bronze]] is an [[alloy]] of copper and [[tin]], requiring [[cassiterite]]. It is much improved over copper armor and is slightly stronger than iron, but also weighs more and is more elastic.
* [[Bismuth bronze]] is just bronze alloyed with [[bismuth]], fancier colored and more valuable, but with the same material properties as standard bronze. If you have access to bismuth and want to put it to use, you can save some tin this way.
* [[Iron]] can be smelted from [[hematite]], [[limonite]], or [[magnetite]], and is easiest to find in [[sedimentary]] layers (though [[igneous extrusive]] layers may contain hematite). It is comparable to bronze, but is slightly weaker (but more rigid) and has a less complicated smelting process.
* [[Steel]] is the best non-adamantine armor material, and requires [[fuel]], [[flux]], [[iron]], and [[pig iron]] in its manufacturing. Note that steel is worth its weight in [[gold]]; making lots of armor is a sure way to attract [[siege|attention]], but at least it's going into shiny armor, right?
* [[Adamantine]] is only found beneath the third [[cavern]] layer, plumbing the depths of the [[magma sea]]; it can be used to create unparallelled armor, but is very time-consuming to produce, in addition to being hazardous to mine. It is immensely valuable to boot.

A detailed breakdown can be found [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=53571.0 here]. Note that a full suit of ''any'' non-adamantine metal armor will considerably slow down a raw recruit of average strength, as shown briefly [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=111414.0 here].

[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=92852.msg2601760#msg2601760 Some dwarven science] has also been conducted on the armor values of strange mood armors made from non-weapons grade materials. The results seem to indicate the following ''rough'' order of preference in terms of armor properties (but take note of the artifact multiplier as well): Adamantine, Steel, Pig Iron, Iron, Bronze, Bismuth Bronze, Platinum, Brass, Black Bronze, Billon, Rose Gold, Electrum, Bismuth, Aluminum, Gold, Copper, Tin, Sterling Silver, Silver, Nickel, Zinc, Lead, Nickel Silver, Trifle Pewter, Fine Pewter, Lay Pewter.

=== Quality and strange moods ===
Quality is an important modifier on armor. Armor gets a deflection bonus based on quality level, but its effect is only known for regular (1x), masterwork (2x), and artifact (3x) armor; presumably, the quality ranks in between are progressive.

{{DF2012:Item quality/Table}}

This means that, effectively, masterworks produced by legendary [[armorsmith]]s cut damage done by as much as half. This, combined with the need to produce a lot of armor, makes armorers far and away the most desired dwarves for [[strange mood]]s, and various schemes exist for influencing such an event.

Dwarves in strange moods can produce legendary artifacts, which benefit from a 3x multiplier, three times as good as a more mundane piece of armor. However, artifacts can be made of totally inappropriate materials, and the spectacularly low defensive values of a [[rainbow trout]] [[bone]] mail shirt vastly outweigh any bonuses it gets. This can be problematic when your [[militia commander]] drops everything to retrieve himself his new piece of paper armor. Nonetheless, artifact-quality weapons-grade armor are very strong defensively.

Strange moods are an exception to the number of bars rule; only one bar is required for the item itself, although additional materials may be gathered for decoration.

=== Attachment ===
Dwarves that have used a particular piece of armor for an extended period of time may grow attached to it, becoming unhappy if it is taken away. This is fine if it is a pair of ☼Steel Greaves☼, but a major problem if they are using what is meant to be interim armor. This happens less often with armor than it does for weapons. These events generate announcements.

=== Mechanics ===
There is no hard difference between clothing and armor, something accentuated by regular clothing's ability to block attacks. Armor can be thought of as metal clothing, thicker and made of materials that have a much better chance of blocking attacks. Armor is, however, different in that it is not subject to standard [[wear]], and the fact that only non-clothing garments increase the armor user skill.

The availability of specific articles of clothing varies by [[civilization]], and each has its own set of clothing that it can produce. In Fortress mode, sandals and shoes are in the same clothing class, but only the latter can be produced by dwarves, where the former must be stripped off of dead enemies. It is important to understand that dwarves are gender-insensitive; a male dwarf may well put on a dress.

Non-armor clothing can provide some defense, most importantly to areas that are not covered by regular armor. The ears, nose, lips, and teeth are always exposed, even in full armor. Robes and cloaks will provide a bulwark of low-level protection, making them useful for military dwarves, especially those you plan to send through the [[danger room]].

=== Encumbrance ===
Sometimes it is better to wear less armor than more armor, because armor slows you down. Non-armor users tend to get slowed down significantly if wearing more than 1 piece of armor with 15-25 units of weight. This includes items such as mail shirts, greaves, and breastplates. Gauntlets only weight 1-2 units of weight depending on material and high boots 3 units. Most clothing weigh 1 unit or lower, with the exception of plant cloth clothing which weigh 4 times as much as their silk and yarn alternatives.

Since most dwarves are not danger room trained right away into legendary armor users it is highly recommended that you do not outfit them with the maximum amount of armor possible, as this will make them super-slow, and allow the enemy to get in many hits before they have a chance to fight back. Weight also hinders ranged units like marksdwarves that more or less depend on their first strike and fast reload to cripple the enemy before they get into melee; and which may also spend the majority of their time behind fortifications anyway.

Wearing a combination of 1 pair of metal gauntlets, 1 pair of metal boots, 1 metal helmet, and 1 metal mail shirt gives an armor level 2 layer metal armor that covers all areas without sacrificing speed due to encumbrance on non-armor users. This set-up will prevent most cutting and stabbing attacks from weapons below the armor's metal grade but will still be vulnerable to crushing attacks since no metal greaves or breastplate is worn. Lighter and more weaker types of armor like leather armor and bone greaves can also be worn in addition to the metal layer to provide additional protection without encumbrance, and tend to be at least moderately effective if they are masterworks. Shields should be made of wood when possible because a copper shield could weigh up to 13 units of weight, and material does not matter for blocking attacks.

=== Wear ===

Armor does not currently experience any [[wear]] from use. However, armor (and clothing) stored in a [[stockpile]] with the [[refuse]] category enabled experience accelerated [[wear]]--this is a "feature" intended to dispose of unwanted armor.{{bug|5711}}

== Layers ==

The layers are, in order from inner to outer:
*Under
*Over
*Armor
*Cover

==Types of Protection==
The number of regular metal bars needed to make a piece of metal armor is equal to the material size divided by 3, rounded down with a minimum of one.
The number of adamantine wafers or stacks of adamantine cloth required to create armor is equal to the material size.

===Headgear===
{| style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0;background:#F9F9F9;border:1px #AAA solid;border-collapse:collapse;" class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#F2F2F2;text-align:center;"
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Clothing Type
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Armor Level*
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Material Size
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Materials
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|Size]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|Permit]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Layer
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Coverage %
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Bars to make
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Bars returned on melting
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Melting efficiency %
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cap[S]
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|+
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L,M
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0.3
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|30%

|-
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Helm[S]
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1+
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|L,B,S,M
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|30
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|20
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Armor
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0.6
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|60%
|-
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Hood
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cover
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Mask†[S]
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L,M
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|20
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Under
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Turban†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|20
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Head Veil†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Face Veil†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Under
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Headscarf†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|}

===Upper Body===
{| style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0;background:#F9F9F9;border:1px #AAA solid;border-collapse:collapse;" class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#F2F2F2;text-align:center;"
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Clothing Type
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Armor Level*
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Material Size
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Materials
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|Size]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|Permit]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Layer
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Coverage %
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Coverage|UBSTEP]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Coverage|LBSTEP]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Bars to make
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Bars returned on melting
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Melting efficiency
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Dress
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|5
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Under
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|MAX
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|MAX
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Shirt
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|3
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Under
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|MAX
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Tunic
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|3
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Under
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Toga
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|5
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|30
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Vest
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Robe
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|6
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|20
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|MAX
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|MAX
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Coat
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|5
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|20
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|MAX
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Leather Armor[S]
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|6
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|20
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Armor
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Mail Shirt
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|6
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|M
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1.8
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|90%
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Breastplate[S]
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|3
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|9
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|M
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|20
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Armor
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|3
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2.7
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|90%
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cloak
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|5
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|150
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cover
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|MAX
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cape†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|5
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|300
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cover
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|}
[[Quiver]] and [[Backpack]] are also worn on upper body, counting towards layer permit size.

===Hands===
{| style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0;background:#F9F9F9;border:1px #AAA solid;border-collapse:collapse;" class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#F2F2F2;text-align:center;"
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Clothing Type
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Armor Level*
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Material Size
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Materials
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|Size]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|Permit]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Layer
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Coverage %
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Coverage|UPSTEP]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Bars to make (per pair)
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Bars returned on melting (per pair)
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Melting Efficiency %
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Gloves
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Under
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Gauntlets[S]
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|B,S,M
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|20
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Armor
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1.2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|120%
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Mittens
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|20
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cover
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|150%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|}

Each crafting job produces a pair of gloves, gauntlets or mittens -- one right-handed and one left-handed. The items from a single job may have different quality levels.

===Lower Body===
{| style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0;background:#F9F9F9;border:1px #AAA solid;border-collapse:collapse;" class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#F2F2F2;text-align:center;"
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Clothing Type
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Armor Level*
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Material Size
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Materials
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|Size]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|Permit]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Layer
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Coverage %
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Coverage|LBSTEP]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Bars to make
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Bars returned on melting
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Melting efficiency %
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Trousers
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|4
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|30
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|MAX
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Leggings[S]
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1+
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|5
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|L,B,S,M
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|30
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Armor
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|MAX
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1.5
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|150%
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Greaves[S]
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|3
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|6
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|B,M
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|30
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Armor
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|MAX
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1.8
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|90%
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Loincloths†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|30
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Under
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Thongs†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|30
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Under
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|25%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Skirts (Short)†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Skirts†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Skirts (Long)†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|MAX
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Braies†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|3
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|30
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Under
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|}

===Footwear===
{| style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0;background:#F9F9F9;border:1px #AAA solid;border-collapse:collapse;" class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#F2F2F2;text-align:center;"
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Clothing Type
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Armor Level*
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Material Size
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Materials
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|Size]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|Permit]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Layer
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Coverage %
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Coverage|UPSTEP]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Bars to make (per pair)
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Bars returned on melting (per pair)
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Melting efficiency %
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Socks
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Under
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Sandals†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|25
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Shoes
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|20
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Over
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Low Boots
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|L,M
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|25
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Armor
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0.6
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|60%
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|High Boots
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1+
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|L,M
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|25
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Armor
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1.2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|120%
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Chausses†
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|3
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|C,L
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|10
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Under
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|100%
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|MAX
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|N/A
|}

Each crafting job produces one pair of footwear. Unlike gloves, footwear items are interchangeable (they are not right- or left-footed). The two items from a single crafting job may have different quality levels.

===Shield===
{| style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0;background:#F9F9F9;border:1px #AAA solid;border-collapse:collapse;" class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#F2F2F2;text-align:center;"
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Clothing Type
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Armor Level*
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Material Size
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Materials
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|Size]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|Permit]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Layer
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Coverage %
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|[[Armor#Coverage|UPSTEP]]
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Bars to make
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Bars returned on melting
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:1.2em;"|Melting efficiency
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Buckler
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|L,M,W
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|NA
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|NA
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|NA
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0.6
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|60%
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Shield
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|4
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|L,M,W
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|NA
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|NA
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|NA
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|1.2
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|120%
|}

* * {{=}} Items without an armor rating are considered clothing. Armor levels 1-3 were referred to as 'leather', 'chain' or 'plate' in earlier versions.
* + {{=}} The armor level of an item with a "+" can be increased by one if made from metal.
* † {{=}} This article cannot be crafted by dwarves (except for [[artifact]]s), but may be purchased in trade.
* [S] {{=}} shaped item, max one [S] per body slot (e.g. plate mail cannot be worn with leather armor, but can be worn with chain mail, and greaves and leggings cannot be combined).
* Materials can be Cloth, Leather, Bone, Shell, Metal, or Wood.
Note: Striking with a shield trains both misc object user and armor user skills.

==Special procedurally generated armors==
Some rare entities have their own procedurally generated armors. Currently, these armors are produced by copying the default properties of the "base" armor, and adding an adjective ("bulging", "segmented", "rounded", etc.). Dwarves in [[strange mood]]s which select from all armors with a certain tag may produce one of these procedurally generated armors. Since they retain the properties of their base items, these armors should be as usable as standard armor of the base type.

==Equipping Clothing==

Items in Dwarf Fortress must be equipped in a specific order. A dwarf must equip a layer type of Under before he equips a layer of type Over, for example. The complete order goes: Under, Over, Armor, Cover. It is common among civilians to see a dwarf equip pants with no undergarments due to this restriction, even when an undergarment is available. This is typically not an issue with soldiers, however.

There is no restriction on wearing multiple items of the same type ''(Unless the item is shaped [S])''. You can, for example, wear 3 cloaks without penalty.

===Process for equipping a new piece of clothing===

The following variables will be used in the logic below:
:'''Current Item''' refers to the specific item being equipped.
:'''Total Size''' refers to the [[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|size]] of all items equipped on that body part, excluding the item to be equipped (while including those on a different [[Armor#Size, Permit, and layering armor|layer]]).
:'''Permit''' refers to the maximum allowable size of items equipped on the same or lower level as the item to be equipped.

In order to equip a new item, the dwarf (or other creature) ...
:*will determine if he is eligible to wear the item in question (Perhaps the body part is missing/severed).
:*must start with the lowest layer first, continuing to the next layer when no other items of that layer need to be equipped
:*checks if the item is shaped [S], and will only equip the item if no other shaped items are equipped '''on that body part'''.
:*will equip items with lowest permit level first. If two items share the same permit value, the highest size item will be equipped first{{verify}}.
:*then checks if his total size (excluding the current item) is less than the current item's permit.
:*If all above logic is true, the dwarf will equip the item.

===Equipment process example===

Each item is listed in order of being equipped, the primary focus of this example is that the total size must be equal to, or less than the permit size of the item being equipped. Like above, the total size ''excludes the size of the item being equipped''.

{| style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0;background:#F9F9F9;border:1px #AAA solid;border-collapse:collapse;" class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#F2F2F2;text-align:center;"

!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Item Type
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Size
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Permit
!style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Total Size*
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Mail Shirt
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|0
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Mail Shirt
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Mail Shirt
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|30
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Breastplate [S]
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|20
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|45
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;color:#F00;"|Mail Shirt
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;color:#F00;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;color:#F00;"|50
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;color:#F00;"|65
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cloak
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|150
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|65
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cloak
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|150
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|80
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cloak
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|150
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|95
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cloak
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|150
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|110
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cloak
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|150
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|125
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|Cloak
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|150
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;"|140
|-

|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;color:#F00;"|Cloak
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;color:#F00;"|15
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;color:#F00;"|150
|style="border:1px #AAA solid;padding:0.2em;color:#F00;"|155
|}

* * = Total Size include the size of all equipped items, but does not include the item being equipped
*Red Text = This item cannot be equipped, because the total size is larger than the item's permitted size.

==Size, Permit, and layering armor==

The '''Size''' and '''Permit''' values govern how much clothing or armor can be worn.

Under the old system the lowest "permit" value for any given body part is used: for instance, if a dwarf is wearing a dress (permit value: 50) and a total of 50 or more ''size'' worth of clothing on the upper body, it cannot put any more clothing on the upper body. (This explains why the old [[40d:dungeon master|dungeon master]]s tend to wear several cloaks: they arrive at the fortress wearing only a cloak on the upper body (permit 150), and can put on a total of 10 of them, at 15 size each.)

Unfortunately, [LAYER:COVER] items are the only items playing by the old rules. This much is certain from testing in arena mode.

:*If the item to be add is a [LAYER:COVER] item, add the total item size on the body part, if this sum is '''less than or equal to''' the item's permit value then evaluate as true.
:*If a [LAYER:ARMOR] item is present or to be added and if the sum of the non [LAYER:COVER] items would be '''less than''' the sum of the [LAYER:ARMOR] size+permit values then evaluate as true.
:*If one or more items of the same non-[LAYER:COVER] layer as the one being added are present and if the sum of their size values is '''less than''' the smallest permit value then evaluate as true.
:*If the sum of the size values for all items on the body part are '''less than or equal to''' the permit value of the item about to be added then evaluate as true.

The item is allowed if all rules either evaluate to true or are not applicable. This is in addition to the rule allowing only one shaped item on a given body part at a time.

Example: A helm (30 size,20 permit) can be worn over two head veils (10,100), and can fit 6 additional hoods if desired.

Example: Wearing a cap (10,15) allows only one face veil (10,100), but a combined total of up to 9 head veils and hoods can be added.

Note that the armor value of socks and other clothing is unknown under the new system - however, wearing them under "armor" such as boots is recommended for an adventurer.

'''[[Adventurer mode]]''' follows the arena rules so it is possible to have three chain mail shirts (15,50), a breastplate (20,50), and 25 capes (10,300) on ones upper body plus a helm and six hoods on ones head. Confirmation is needed to see if [[fortress mode]] follows the old rules or the new arena rules. (I tested this and found that Urist McNopants follows a totally different set of rules than either of these. His rules tell him to forget both caps all of the hoods both socks and his trousers, and each successive time he gets dressed he feels the need to do it differently.)

===Some more workarounds regarding Size, Permit and Layering===

* You can only have one shaped armor piece (marked with '''[S]''') per body part.
* The total size of non-cover items must be ''lower'' than any armor piece's permit + size total.
* The total size of all items of any layer on any body part must be lower than the lowest permit value (excluding that item).
* The total size of all items on any body part must be lower than the size + permit value of any cover item.
* All items are put on in order of their layer.

As an example, lets say you want to kit out your soldiers upper body. Try walking through this in arena mode to get a feel for it.

You start off with a [[steel]] breastplate. This has a size of '''20''' and a permit of '''50'''. It is also '''shaped''', so you can't add any other shaped items; no more breastplates and no [[leather]] armor.

Now you want to add mail shirts. Each one has a permit of '''50''' and a size of '''15'''. You can add three of these if you want. It checks the size against each of the armor pieces permit + size (or rather, the permit value ignoring that items size in the calculation), like so;
* Against each of the mail shirts, you have '''2 x 15 = 30''' total size in mail shirts, '''+ 20''' from the breastplate, matching the '''50''' permit.
* Against the breastplate you have '''3 x 15 = 45 < 50''', fine.
Now if you add a fourth mail shirt these tests will fail. However, because of the layering order (mail shirts being armor layer 2, the breastplate armor layer 3) the breastplate is added after the shirts. This results in the breastplate being dropped.

Because this reaches the '''50''' permit limit for the mail shirts, you can't add more non-cover items without substituting them for existing items. If you want a robe (size '''20'''), for example, you need to remove two of the mail shirts to clear a total size of '''30''', which then lets you add an extra size '''10''' shirt, vest or whatever.

However, you can add cover layer items. In this case, cloaks. Each cloak has a size of '''15''' and a permit of '''150'''. Taking into account the '''50''' size already on the upper body, we can add '''100''' size worth of cloaks. This lets us add '''6''' ('''x 15 = 90''') cloaks over the existing armor.

Going through like this for the rest of the body (most of it is simpler) gives you a final setup of;

'''Armor''' 
1 x breastplate 
3 x mail shirts 
6 x cloaks

'''Armor (cheap)''' 
6 x dress 
3 x robe 
3 x cloak 

'''Legs''' 
3 x long skirts 
1 x greaves

'''Legs (no foreign items)''' 
2 x trousers 
1 x greaves

'''Legs (cheap)''' 
2 x trousers 
1 x leggings

'''Helm''' 
1 x helm 
6 x hood

'''Gloves''' 
1 x pairs of gauntlets 
1 x pairs of mittens

'''Gloves (cheap)''' 
2 x pairs of gloves 
1 x pairs of mittens

'''Boots †''' 
1 x pairs of chausses 
1 x pairs of high boots

'''Boots (no foreign items) †''' 
1 x pairs of socks 
1 x pairs of high boots

'''Boots (cheap) †''' 
1 x pairs of socks 
1 x pairs of shoes

Of course, so long as the bugs are still around, we are likely to see dwarves wearing more than this or refusing to put parts on because they found their boots before their socks.

''Note: "Cheap" implies the set can be made from secondary materials such as bone and cloth with item types not overlapping with the other, more combat oriented set which use metal, leather and cloth (for socks). As a rule of thumb, combat sets provide better protection but cheap sets are lighter and easier to mass produce.''

† It appears that equipping footwear on one foot can affect what can be equipped on the other. For example, if a uniform calls for socks and high boots, a dwarf will only equip 3 of those 4 items between both of his feet.

==Coverage==

The value of coverage of an armor piece is the percentage probability that an attack made against a body part covered by said armor piece actually hits the armor. Example: Helms and caps both cover only the head (facial features excluded). 100% of attacks against the head of a helm-wearing dwarf are affected by the helm's protective capabilities, because helms have 100% coverage. In the case of a cap-wearing dwarf, only 50% of attacks made against the head are affected by the cap - the remaining 50% bypass it and land directly on the head, because caps have only 50% coverage. The value of coverage has an additional role in determining how well the armor protects against contaminants and temperature effects.

By default, armor pieces cover only a single body part, at which they are 'anchored' (hands, feet, lower body, upper body or head){{verify}} . Their coverage is extended to other body parts using the following three tags:

:'''[UBSTEP]'''
This token, when applied to torso armor, controls how far 'up' the body an item of armor reaches. Basically you can think of it as going out in stages along the body. It doesn't cover legs. It doesn't cover body parts with certain tags (notably [HEAD], [GRASP] and [STANCE], or the head). It can cover the children of such body parts (such as parts of the face) if it extends beyond them. The upper body and lower body are counted as 0 steps away, and so both always covered.

Breastplates have a default of 0, meaning they only cover the torso. 
Mail shirts have [UBSTEP:1], so cover the upper arms and neck.

A number of clothing items have [UBSTEP:MAX]. What exactly this covers depends on a certain bug, but unless you are making adamantine robes you probably won't get that much extra protection this way anyway. This would mean, for example, they would cover the upper arm, lower arm, skip the hand, then cover the fingers. The same goes for facial features after skipping the head and the toes after skipping the entire legs and feet. 
The clothes with these properties seem to be robes, cloaks, coats, shirts and dresses. However, of these only robes and dresses also have [LBSTEP:MAX] (see below) and so I'm not sure if anything else would actually cover toes or not. Needs additional testing.

Testing in arena: in three 15x15 dwarves battles where both sides was equipped with iron battle axes and iron full armor and one of the teams was enforced with leather robes, team with robes was a victorious (2-3 survivors).

:'''[LBSTEP]'''
This token, when applied to torso armor or pants, controls how much of the legs an item covers. Legs in this case are defined as [LIMB] body parts that end in a [STANCE] body part (e.g., foot). Arms are [LIMB]s, but end in a [GRASP] hand instead. Because the upper and lower body are effectively zero steps from each other, torso armor can extend this way easily.

Both greaves and leggings have [LBSTEP:MAX] and so cover the entire leg to the best of their ability. 
[[File:Armor Coverage Chart.png|thumb|450px|Dwarven armor coverage chart]]
Mail shirts have [LBSTEP:1] and so can protect the upper legs. A range of other clothes (including cloaks) and leather armor also have this.
As mentioned above, robes and dresses have [LBSTEP:MAX] and so cover the entire legs. These also have [UBSTEP:MAX] and so cover the entire body. Although not the strongest armor, a leather (or maybe adamantine?) robe or dress gives you maximum coverage.

:'''[UPSTEP]'''
This token, when applied to gloves or shoes, determines how far up the limb the armor protects. As with [LBSTEP], this doesn't cover anything but the [LIMB] tag body parts, but it does cover arms as well as legs.

Low boots literally only cover the foot. 
High boots have [UPSTEP:1], so cover the lower leg. If you consider the upper legs can covered by [LBSTEP] from above, you can effectively have an entire layer of chain armor on the legs from high boots and a mail shirt even before adding leg armor. This is why I go with greaves for a plate layer.
Gauntlets have [UPSTEP:1], so cover the lower arms. Because there is no other protection for arms as there is for legs, you need gauntlets and mail shirts to protect your arms fully.
Chausses are a very rare sock substitute, but they are the only items to have [UPSTEP:MAX] and so offer full leg coverage while being exactly the same size as regular socks. The perfect undergarment.

The whole method is pretty nifty, even though faces can't be covered by head armor. This means that mouths, noses, eyes, and cheeks are as vulnerable as if you were not wearing anything at all, even if the name of an article of clothing would normally imply that it protects them. This also applies to teeth, lips, and ears.

Toes and fingers are protected by the relevant armor type (e.g. gauntlets cover fingers and boots cover toes).

== Other Restrictions ==

In fortress mode, "under" layers cannot be put on over "over" layers, so, for instance, a dwarf cannot put on socks unless it first removes its shoes. They can wear over layers without putting an under layer on first, which explains their fondness for "going commando" (trousers without loincloth). Dwarves will only put on the specific armor they are told to put on -- unless they are not told what to wear.

Also, if you do not tell dwarves to replace clothing with a uniform, they will wear it alongside the uniform and possibly come into conflict with layering and sizes/permits, making them unable to wear assigned items. Particularly, caps conflict with helms (both are shaped items), and shoes are too large to fit inside boots.

Military dwarves have a "pecking order" for equipment. The captain of the first squad created has first dibs, followed by his underlings in order, followed the second squad, etc...

In adventurer mode, you have direct control over what armor you put on, and are only limited by permit and "one only" (shaped) restrictions. This means you can wear three suits of chain mail (total size 45) plus another suit of chain or plate on top of them. On top of this, you can add six cloaks.

== Bugs ==

In adventurer mode, putting a pair of socks (or any under-layer foot wear) on before putting on a pair of boots (or any over-layer foot wear) will keep you from putting on the last boot. So the order sock, sock, boot, boot doesn't work, but changing the order to sock, boot, sock, boot does. This is a very minor bug. *bug seems gone in v0.40.24*

In fortress mode it is possible to have (at least) 3 shields equipped.

* Soldiers do not replace tattered clothing that is part of a uniform.{{bug|6039}}
* Getting military dwarves to put on all their assigned equipment can be iffy. Boots are especially problematic (possibly related to the adventure mode bug above.) {{bug|6101}}

{{Translation
| dwarven = tosid
| elvish = datome
| goblin = nuklat
| human = stalcon
}}

{{Industry}}

Aquifer

2015-05-18T15:04:44Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Exceptional" to "Masterwork" using the rating script

{{Quality|Masterwork|15:04, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
An '''aquifer''' is a subterranean layer of [[water|groundwater]]-bearing rock or [[soil]]. Attempts to mine through the layer will result in the mined-out squares immediately filling with [[water]], effectively halting excavation at or below the aquifer level. This, in conjunction with the fact that they are often located in areas rich in [[loam]], and [[sand]], makes it difficult to find great quantities of [[stone]] in areas with aquifers, making for more challenging gameplay.

Aquifers can't be drained - the groundwater is limitless. In stone aquifer layers, [[smoothing]] the walls will stop the production of water. Aquifers do not only produce water - an aquifer tile will absorb any amount of pressurized water from neighboring tiles (effectively draining all layers above the aquifer). As with water production, this ability will not be disabled no matter how much water it absorbs.

Aquifers located in [[ocean]] [[biome]]s will produce salty water; aquifers in other biomes will produce freshwater.

== Where they are found ==

Aquifers appear based on the elevation of the terrain. Low elevations, particularly those near rivers and oceans are more prone to having an aquifer present, while locations closer to mountains are much less likely, but still possible.

Layers which '''can''' contain aquifers:
*[[sandy clay loam]]
*[[silty clay loam]]
*[[loam]]
*[[sandy loam]]
*[[silt loam]]
*[[loamy sand]]
*[[silt]]
*[[sand (tan)|sand]]
*[[yellow sand]]
*[[white sand]]
*[[black sand]]
*[[red sand]]
*[[peat]]
*[[pelagic clay]]
*[[calcareous ooze]]
*[[siliceous ooze]]
*[[sandstone]]
*[[conglomerate]]
*[[puddingstone]]
Layers which '''can't''' contain aquifers, despite their names suggesting otherwise:
*[[clay]]
*[[silty clay]]
*[[sandy clay]]
*[[clay loam]]
*[[siltstone]]
*[[mudstone]]

== What they do ==

Aquifers are tiles which produce water in their ''neighboring'' tiles -- north, south, east, west, and below. They do not produce water in the tile above them, or any diagonal tiles. Note that [[smoothing|smoothed]], mined, or channeled aquifer tiles no longer produce water.

If you are digging an up/down staircase in the downward direction, and you hit an aquifer, the aquifer tile will be revealed as damp soil or stone, and the digging job will be un-designated for that tile. If you are mining horizontally, you will similarly be warned of a "damp stone" before breaching the aquifer.

If you are digging an up/down staircase in the ''upward'' direction, or a ramp, and you hit an aquifer from below, the aquifer tile will immediately start producing water in the stairwell, thus leading to a lot of [[Fun]].

== Dealing with aquifers ==

===Probing an aquifer===

You can discover what layer lies below an aquifer layer by digging up/down stairs into the aquifer. This will reveal the tile below the aquifer layer, and if this is non aquifer (for example, clay, ore or bedrock) then you know the aquifer is only 1z deep at that location. This method can only be used to determine whether the aquifer is 1 layer deep, or multiple layers deep, but this is enough to help plan how to penetrate it. Using a pump-based method is highly recommended for multiple layer aquifers.

===Going around===

If your embark site is covered by multiple biomes, there is a chance the aquifer is not present in every biome. In some maps this may be indicated by an outcropping of stone in a landscape otherwise composed of soil; in other maps the change in biome might be visible as a change in soil type or vegetation type or density. You might be able to dig down through a biome that doesn't have an aquifer, to a Z-level below the aquifer, and then (if you wish) tunnel beneath the aquifer to the previously inaccessible region.

Even if all the biomes of your site contain aquifers, they might not all be at the same Z-level. So you still might be able to dig down in one biome, reaching a Z-level beneath the aquifer in another biome.

Additionally, if your biome contains deep cliffs, for instance in the form of a river gorge, it may be possible to build a staircase down the side of the gorge past the aquifer.

===The double slit method===
{{Main|Double-slit method}}
This is one of the most commonly-used methods, due to its convenience and power. It was originally developed by QuantumMenace, and is also mentioned below under [[#The pump method|the pump method]].

=== The hatch trick ===
The hatch trick is a simple method for putting one or two dwarves through a single aquifer layer, this is not be mistaken with only working for a single layer aquifer, you can use the trick to essentially bypass the problematic final layer of a multi-layer aquifer, allowing access to the rock layers and caverns before you've put a sealed staircase through the aquifer.

First you must dig a pair of up/down stairs into the aquifer (i.e. as in twin slit), while draining one of the tiles with a screw pump, simply build a hatch on the tile (the hatch must be built on a downstairs or up/down stairs for the trick to work). Once the hatch is constructed, with the pump still operating, designate an up/down staircase under the hatch, a miner will dig the staircase out while standing 'on top' of the hatch, he can then pass through the hatch to continue digging, the hatch will let 1-2 water through with him before closing and preventing further water from following the miner. The miner is now safely under the aquifer and can dig down to the caverns or to the map edge and establish a drain, allowing you to use the much faster [[#The drainage method|drainage from below method]] to finish penetrating the aquifer. This can save a lot of time for multiple-layer aquifers where the final layer is sand. It is also quicker and cleaner than cave-in for single layer aquifers if you plan to extend a staircase straight down to the caverns anyway (making the drain essentially free).

===The ore method===

On maps where the aquifer is not held in a layer of soil, but instead is held in a [[sedimentary layer]] such as sandstone, it may be possible to tunnel down through deposits of ore such as [[magnetite]]. For this to work you have to find a spot where there is coincidentally an ore deposit on each Z-level you need to dig through. This is only possible through tiresome trial and error, or through the use of a utility like DFHack's <tt>reveal</tt>. The trial and error method can be accomplished somewhat more easily by digging up/down stairs to reveal the layer underneath them without actually digging into the underlying layer. This method is more complicated with aquifers located in layers of [[conglomerate]], as large clusters of [[puddingstone]] will support the aquifer and thus cannot be used to provide a path through it.

===The cave-in method===

Conceptually this method involves removing the aquifer-bearing sand, soil or rock using channeling, and then dropping an island of dry sand, soil or clay into the resulting pond, a staircase can then be dug through the center of the resulting artificial island. This requires at least 2 natural dry layers.

This does not work with [[construction|constructed]] walls since they deconstruct on cave-in.

'''Note:''' There is a bug that may prevent this method from working, collapsed layers may turn into the aquifer layer type that was dug out at that level. So, for example: We have three layers, layer 1 has the caving in section, and is not an aquifer. Layer 2 is a dug out layer that is also not an aquifer. And Layer 3 which is dug out and is an aquifer. Now, the bug, say layer 1's cave-in section lands on layer 3's dug out area, sometimes layer 1's caved in section may change into layer 3's soil type. Making it an aquifer too. Thus making the cave-in method impossible for that area.

====Cave-In Example====

[[File:Aquifer-Plug.png|frame|none|Note: Side View]]

*Dig stairs down to the aquifer. Dig over the aquifer layer but under your "plug". You'll need a 5x5 landmass. (Slide 2)
*Channel out the area the plug will fall into. (Slide 3)
*Leave a single floor tile on top of the plug and dig out the outer layer of your plug. The plug should be a 3x3 landmass now. The single floor tile must keep the plug from falling. (Slide 3)
*Channel out the floor tile holding up the plug. (Slides 4 & 5)
*Construct floor tiles to reach the plug and dig through the middle to get under the aquifer. (Slide 6)

====Cave-In Method for Multiple Layers====

If you build many rings inside one another in your top drop layer, you can breach multi-level aquifers with as little as 2 natural layers of dry soil above it. Drop the rings from the outside to the inside using constructed arms to hold the center rings in place. Once a ring drops into the water below it, pump out the water in the center and dig down another layer. When that is complete, drop the next ring and continue the process until you are through. Since you start dropping rings from the outside it is necessary to know how many levels deep the aquifer is before you begin. 
Tutorial for more than one Aquifier can be found here: [[User:Rhenaya/HowtoDualAquifer]]

A more detailed example with pics can be found here: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=108340.0

===The pump method===

The pumping method uses one or more [[screw pump|pumps]] to keep an area dry long enough to smooth or [[wall]] off the sides, stopping the flow of water. It requires no special environment or resources, other than wood and dwarves (and patience). Most commonly, a modestly-sized section of the aquifer layer is channeled out and several screw pumps are built facing it. Directly behind each of the screw pumps a few tiles are channeled out to receive and dispose of the pumped water. When the pumps are activated, they should pump water faster than the aquifer can produce it, allowing masons to smooth or build walls around your future staircase. You ''will'' get job cancellations during this process, as stray 2/7's of water interrupt the building process. Just unsuspend the construction when this happens, as long a dwarf manages to touch the wall before canceling, it will move incrementally toward completion and eventually finish. Depending on the availability of screw pumps and dwarves, you may need to wall off one corner or side at a time, then move the pumps and repeat. When drilling through more than one aquifer layer, be sure to leave yourself enough room to build additional layers of pumps and water disposal channels on lower levels.

Things to consider:
* Flowing water will cause parents to drop their infants, leading to job cancellations and occasionally [[fun]].
* The smaller your work area, the less water your dwarves will have to remove and the faster construction will finish. For a single-layer soil aquifer, you only need to mine five tiles (your stairway and walls directly North, South, East, and West of it); single-layer stone aquifers require only a single tile be channeled.
* Mechanical [[power]] may come in handy, but dwarf power works just fine and is much more portable.
* Channels can sometimes be used in place of walls, causing water produced by the aquifer on one level to immediately fall and be consumed by the aquifer on the level below.
* This method may take a while.
* Aquifers do not create water in diagonal tiles, but do create water in hollow tiles directly below them. Therefore, you will want to dig two z-levels below the lowest aquifer layer before continuing with your fortress.

==== Specific pump methods in detail ====

QuantumMenace's [[double-slit method]] can pierce an aquifer of any depth using only wood and dwarven labor. Taken from [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=79224.15 this forum post].

Earlier in the same thread, Hans Lemurson laid out a very dwarfy method that can also pierce aquifers of any depth, using several pumps and machinery. [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=79224.0#msg2058307 Find it here].

A convenient method without job cancellation using a [[pump stack]] was presented by kingubu in [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=143064.0 this forum post], see [[Pump-stack_method]]

===The freezing method===

If you are playing in a freezing or very cold landscape, where it snows in winter and instantly freezes water on the map, you can dig out a 3x3 hole in the ground using [[channel]]s, and make it deeper and deeper until you reach the aquifer level. Once you reach the damp rock, tunnel into it with up/down staircases, then channel out the downstairs, the exposed water will turn to ice, digging the up/downstairs before channeling allows the tiles to safely fill with 7/7 water before being frozen, this avoids the hazard of miners being encased in ice and avoids a bug(?) where frozen water which is less than 7/7 deep does not produce a floor above it. The central square of the 3x3 hole should be tunnelable ice, so you can get to the rock beneath.

If your fortress is in a zone that gets warm, build walls around the inside of the hole to stop the water coming in once the ice melts. In order to build a wall around a 1x1 staircase it will be necessary to have a 5x5 hole, since you need to leave an outer ring of ice to seal the aquifer.

If the aquifer is multiple layers deep you will need to start with a sufficiently large hole to account for both an ice wall to seal the aquifer and a constructed wall to seal the ice wall for each layer of the aquifer. A pump based method might be preferable.

As an alternative to building a second wall to seal the ice wall, you can establish a drain into the caverns, and build a constructed wall when the melt comes.

===The magma/obsidian method===

If you have access to a supply of magma, you can create your own obsidian caissons. By channeling into the aquifer layer and then filling these channels with magma, or by digging staircases and pouring magma down the staircases, it is possible to create a wall of obsidian between your working area and the [[water]]-bearing rock or [[soil]]. However, changes to world generation with the last version have made this method more difficult than it once was, as it is now harder to find magma vents that extend above the aquifer level.

===The drainage method===

Having made an initial hole in the aquifer, you may wish to punch another larger hole through, say for example to grow wild strawberries in the caverns. Or you may simply want an additional (natural stone!) staircase. Once you have access from below this is much easier than digging from above, and it has the additional benefit of producing a shaft of exactly the size you want.

Locate the caverns and dig a drainage shaft of up/down stairs or downward stairs up from the caverns to the aquifer (downward stairs function as grates and are far safer than channeling). Once the drainage shaft is complete punch the shaft up through the aquifer (using up/down stairs) until you hit dry dirt. Now mine out the walls around the shaft and build constructed walls to seal the aquifer. It's even faster if the walls are dug out using down stairs instead, constructed walls can be built on the stairs and water falls straight through, thus construction can always be started and is never suspended. Always build the walls from the highest layer down, so the dwarves aren't having water dumped on them from above.

This method can be used to create arbitrarily large (and shaped) holes. Large holes, which would be impractical to dig from above, are very easy using this technique. It's also extremely useful for digging straight shafts through "layercake" aquifers where aquifer tiles and non-aquifer tiles are intermixed.

Just be very aware that your framerate is bound to suffer, if you are not fast with plugging the aquifer walls.

===The Chicken Run Technique===

An extremely risky variation of the above is to have a reasonably fast/skilled miner dig a set of up/down staircases faster than the water from the aquifer can actually fall down the stairs and block movement into the mining tile.

If you can hit the caverns, you can drain the water out into the caverns, and build walls into the aquifer as per the drainage method.

If you fail to mine fast enough, or if you miss the caverns, your miner might be able to simply walk up the stairs to safety, and you can just try another shaft, or your miner might <s>drown</s> have fun.

===The modding method===

By editing the raws and removing the [AQUIFER] tag from all of the appropriate entries in inorganic_stone_layer.txt, inorganic_stone_mineral.txt, and inorganic_stone_soil.txt it is possible to remove all aquifers from the world. This can be done before creating a new world or after, if you find a particularly neat location ruined only by the presence of an aquifer. In order to modify an existing world, you must delete the [AQUIFER] tag from the raws in the savegame's folder.

===== With PyLNP =====
Disable aquifers in the options tab before generating a new world. This works similarly to the command-line method below, but is usually a lot easier.

===== With DFHack =====
The DFHack command "drain-aquifer" removes the aquifer flag from all tiles in your current embark, without requiring raw edits. If you have DFHack, this is the best method.

===== Command-line (Linux/OS X) =====

cd df_linux/raw/objects/
sed -i 's/\[AQUIFER\]/(AQUIFER)/g' inorganic_stone_*.txt

and generate world. To edit an already generated world, run the <code>sed</code> command in the <tt>df_linux/data/save/''regionNN''/raw/objects</tt> folder instead.

OS X requires an argument to the <code>-i</code> flag, which is used as an extension to create backup files:

sed -i '.backup' 's/\[AQUIFER\]/(AQUIFER)/g' inorganic_stone_*.txt

If you want to restore the tags later, you can do it with the command:

sed -i 's/(AQUIFER)/[AQUIFER]/g' inorganic_stone_*.txt

=====Text editor (All operating systems)=====

There are three files. They can be found in two different places.

For every new world you make:
“THE FOLDER DF IS INSTALLED IN”/raw/objects

For worlds that have already been made:
”THE FOLDER DF IS INSTALLED IN”/data/save/"THE WORLD YOU ARE EDITING”/raw/objects

The three files you are editing are:
inorganic_stone_layer.txt
inorganic_stone_mineral.txt
inorganic_stone_soil.txt

Open these in a text editior.
Open the “Find and Replace” function of your text editor.

Replace all instances of
[AQUIFER]
with
(AQUIFER)

Later on, if you would like to reverse the process, replace (AQUIFER) with [AQUIFER]

== Benefits of aquifers ==
While annoying, aquifers can be useful for building a self-sufficient fortress, and for water-related [[megaprojects]]. Since an aquifer can absorb an infinite amount of water, it can function as a drain for anything above it. For instance, digging a pit in a lower Z level of an aquifer, then connecting it to a breached aquifer a level above through a channel dug a level above ''that'' will create a permanently flowing, compact, secure water/power source completely contained within the fortress.

Aquifers outside [[ocean]] biomes also contain fresh water. Since aquifers are almost always located close to the surface, freshwater aquifers can easily be turned into a source of infinite, secure, non-freezing drinking water for your dwarves, eliminating the need for a [[Reservoir|cistern]]. While both of these roles can also be filled by [[Caverns|cavern]] features, an aquifer allows you to get the same advantages without exposing yourself to potentially dangerous cavern creatures.

== External links ==

* [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=79224.15 QuantumMenace's two-slit method] for breaching aquifers of any depth - Illustrated guide
* [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=141600 Hatch trick] described with ascii art.
{{World}}

Taro

2015-05-18T14:22:11Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Teff

2015-05-18T14:21:54Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:21, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* ?
}}
{{av}}

'''Teff''' is an [[aboveground]] [[crop]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Tomatillo

2015-05-18T14:21:23Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Tomato

2015-05-18T14:21:11Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Turnip

2015-05-18T14:21:01Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Two-grain wheat

2015-05-18T14:20:49Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:20, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* [[Alcohol]]
* [[Flour]]
}}
{{av}}

'''Two-grain wheat''' is an [[aboveground]] [[crop]]. It can either be [[Mill|milled]] into [[Flour|two-grain wheat flour]] or [[Still|brewed]] into [[Alcohol|two-grain wheat beer]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Urad bean

2015-05-18T14:20:39Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Watermelon

2015-05-18T14:20:29Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:20, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* [[Food]]
}}
{{av}}

Watermelon is a fruit in dwarf fortress. It, like many other fruits, qualifies as a leaf in the stocks menu. It, unfortunately cannot be brewed into [[alcohol|schnapps]] or [[alcohol|wine]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

White millet

2015-05-18T14:20:17Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:20, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* ?
}}
{{av}}

'''White Millet''' is an [[aboveground]] [[crop]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

White yam

2015-05-18T14:19:58Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Wild carrot

2015-05-18T14:19:39Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Winter melon

2015-05-18T14:19:27Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

World gen.txt

2015-05-18T14:18:56Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:18, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{av}}
{{file|DF/data/init/world_gen.txt}}

The '''world_gen.txt''' file stores presets for [[advanced world generation]].

{{gamedata|title=Default world_gen.txt}}
{{files}}

Radish

2015-05-18T14:18:11Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Raspberry

2015-05-18T14:17:51Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Red bean

2015-05-18T14:17:24Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Red spinach

2015-05-18T14:17:13Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:17, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* ?
}}
{{av}}

'''Red Spinach''' is an [[aboveground]] [[crop]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Rye

2015-05-18T14:16:55Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:16, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* ?
}}
{{av}}

'''Rye''' is an [[aboveground]] [[crop]]. It can be [[DF2014:Milling|milled]] into rye flour, or [[DF2014:Brewing|brewed]] into rye beer, making it about as effective a crop as [[DF2014:Longland grass|longland grass]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Single-grain wheat

2015-05-18T14:16:42Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:16, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* [[Alcohol]]
* [[Flour]]
}}
{{av}}

'''Single-grain wheat''' is an [[aboveground]] [[crop]]. It can either be [[Mill|milled]] into [[Flour|single-grain wheat flour]] or [[Still|brewed]] into [[Alcohol|single-grain wheat beer]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Soap maker's workshop

2015-05-18T14:16:32Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:16, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{Workshop|name=Soap maker's workshop|key=S|job=[[Soaper|Soap maker]]
|construction=
* [[Bucket]] (empty)
* [[Building material]] (non-[[economic]])
|construction_job=
* [[Soaper|Soap maker]]
|use=
* [[Lye]]
* Animal [[tallow]]
* [[Oil]]
|production=
* [[Soap]]
}}{{av}}

This building is used by a [[Soaper|soap maker]] to produce [[soap]].

{{Workshops}}

Soft wheat

2015-05-18T14:16:22Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:16, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* [[Alcohol]]
* [[Flour]]
}}
{{av}}

'''Soft wheat''' is an [[aboveground]] [[crop]]. It can either be [[Mill|milled]] into [[Flour|soft wheat flour]] or [[Still|brewed]] into [[Alcohol|soft wheat beer]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Sorghum

2015-05-18T14:16:05Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:16, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* ?
}}
{{av}}

'''Sorghum''' is an [[aboveground]] [[crop]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Soybean

2015-05-18T14:15:53Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Spelt

2015-05-18T14:15:42Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:15, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* [[Food]]}}
{{av}}

'''Spelt''' is an [[aboveground]] [[crop]]. It can either be [[milling|milled]] into [[flour|spelt flour]] or [[brewing|brewed]] into [[alcohol|spelt beer]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Spinach

2015-05-18T14:15:29Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:15, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* [[Food]]
}}
{{av}}
Sadly eating this plant does not raise your or your dwarves strength.
Its just another leaf vegetable.
{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Squash

2015-05-18T14:15:14Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:15, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* [[Food]]|wiki=Cucurbita
}}
{{av}}

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

String bean

2015-05-18T14:15:05Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Sweet potato

2015-05-18T14:14:44Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:14, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* [[Food]]
* [[Alcohol]]
}}
{{av}}
{{distinguish|potato}}

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Oats

2015-05-18T14:13:34Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Superior" using the rating script

{{Quality|Superior|14:13, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* ?
}}
{{av}}

'''Oats''' are an [[aboveground]] [[crop]]. Some dwarves like oats for their ''beer'', which dwarves are currently incapable of actually [[still|brewing]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Onion

2015-05-18T14:13:24Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:13, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* ?
}}
{{av}}

{{Translation
| dwarven = anön
| elvish = mecifa
| goblin = nubkam
| human = peklod
}}

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Parsnip

2015-05-18T14:13:08Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:13, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
*
}}
{{av}}
Parsnips are an aboveground edible crop with a base value of 4. They can be cooked, brewed or eaten raw.
{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Passion fruit

2015-05-18T14:12:48Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Pea

2015-05-18T14:12:29Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Peanut

2015-05-18T14:12:19Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:12, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* [[wikipedia:George_Washington_Carver|?]]
}}
{{av}}

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Pearl millet

2015-05-18T14:12:07Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:12, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* ?
}}
{{av}}

'''Pearl Millet''' is an [[aboveground]] [[crop]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Pendant amaranth

2015-05-18T14:11:57Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Pepper

2015-05-18T14:11:45Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Superior" using the rating script

{{Quality|Superior|14:11, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* ?|wiki=Capsicum
}}
{{av}}

'''Peppers''' in are based on the American ''Capsicum'' fruits, not on the old world true peppers (genus ''Piper'').

Spiciness is not modeled in Dwarf Fortress, perhaps as a kindness to the poor Urist who decides to eat a raw wild pepper for dinner.

{{Translation
| dwarven = rumred
| elvish = tithithi
| goblin = ugud
| human = tukstis
}}

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Porcupine man

2015-05-18T14:11:27Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Potato

2015-05-18T14:11:15Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:11, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* ?
}}
{{av}}
{{distinguish|sweet potato}}

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Purple amaranth

2015-05-18T14:10:54Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:10, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* ?
}}
{{av}}

'''Purple Amaranth''' is an [[aboveground]] [[crop]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}

Purple yam

2015-05-18T14:10:45Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

Maize

2015-05-18T14:08:05Z

Minifan: Changed quality rating from "Tattered" to "Fine" using the rating script

{{Quality|Fine|14:08, 18 May 2015 (UTC)}}
{{plantlookup|uses=
* ?
}}
{{av}}

'''Maize''' is an [[aboveground]] [[crop]].

{{gamedata}}
{{Plants}}