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v0.31:Temperature
| This article is about an older version of DF. |
For temperature as it relates to choosing an embarkation site, see Climate.
Temperature scale[edit]
Dwarf Fortress uses its own temperature scale in most cases, often called "Degrees Urist" on this wiki. So if you see something like [HOMEOTHERM:10067], don't be amazed.
For example, magma's temperature is 12,000° Urist.
The highest possible temperature in Dwarf Fortress is 60,000°U - the temperature 60,001°U is used internally for temperatures which have been set to "NONE".
Conversion[edit]
[DF scale] = [FAHRENHEIT] + 9968
[DF scale] = [CELSIUS] * 9/5 + 10000
[DF scale] = [KELVIN] * 9/5 + 9508.33
[DF scale] = [RANKINE] + 9508.33
(Note: Mod-makers may find this Temperature Conversion Utility handy if they find themselves having to convert a lot of temperatures to and/or from Degrees Urist.)
Reference Chart[edit]
| Significance | DF Scale | Fahrenheit | Celsius | Kelvin | Rankine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boiling Point of Water | 10180 | 212 | 100 | 373.15 | 671.67 |
| Human Body Temperature | 10066.62 | 98.6 | 37.0 | 310.15 | 558.27 |
| Freezing Point of Water | 10000 | 32 | 0 | 273.15 | 491.67 |
| Absolute Zero | 9508.332 | -459.67 | −273.15 | 0 | 0 |
| DF Scale's Zero1 | 0 | -9968 | -5555.555... | -5282.40555... | -9508.33 |
- 1 - Yes, temperatures in Dwarf Fortress can go far, far below absolute zero, which is physically impossible. Considering Dwarf Fortress also allows perpetual motion, it's best not to ask questions.
- 2 - Technically, fractional/decimal temperatures are not possible in Dwarf Fortress, as they are stored as unsigned 16-bit integers. For instance, body temp for humans in the raws is rounded to 10067.
Some general information about temperatures in DF (copied from somewhere on the forums):
| Event / location | Temperature |
|---|---|
| alcohol freezes | 9850 U |
| water freezes | 10000 U |
| underground | 10015 U |
| outside (varies) | 10048 U |
| dwarf/human body temp | 10067 U |
| floor above magma | 10075 U |
| fat melts | 10078 U |
| water boils | 10180 U |
| material is fire-safe | 11000 U |
| common stone melts | 11500 U |
| burning coal (max) | 11640 U |
| magma | 12000 U |
| titan/forgotten beast fire | 14000 U |
| dragon fire | 50000 U |
Melting point[edit]
This is the temperature at which the material will melt.
Boiling point[edit]
This is the temperature at which the material will evaporate.
Ignition point[edit]
This is the temperature at which the material will catch fire.
Heat damage point[edit]
This is the temperature above which the material will begin to take heat damage. Burning items without a heat damage point (or with an exceptionally high one) will take damage very slowly, causing them to burn for a very long time (9 months and 16.8 days) before disappearing.
Cold damage point[edit]
This is the temperature below which the material will begin to take frost damage.
Specific heat[edit]
This determines how long it takes the material to heat up or cool down. A material with a high specific heat capacity will change temperature more slowly.
Fixed temperature[edit]
A material's temperature can be forced to always be a certain value via the MAT_FIXED_TEMP material definition token. The only standard material which uses this is nether-cap wood, whose temperature is always at the melting point of water. If a material's temperature is fixed to between its cold damage point and its heat damage point, then items made from that material will never suffer cold/heat damage. This makes nether-caps fire-safe and magma-safe despite being a type of wood.
Due to the way fixed temperature is handled, giving a material a fixed temperature will not cause its actual temperature to change accordingly - instead, its temperature will simply be permanently locked at whatever it was previously. Removing a material's fixed temperature, however, will cause all items made of it to heat or cool until reaching equilibrium with their surroundings.
The fixed temperature of a container does affect its contents, but you can't freeze water by putting it into a bucket made from nether-cap because water will not freeze until it cools below 10000 °U .
The fixed temperature of an inorganic material has no effect on unmined walls made from that material, though boulders will take on that temperature as they are produced via mining.