Mist

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v50.12 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

Feels good on the skin, maybe.

Mist is created by water falling from one Z-level to another, from ocean waves, and from items or creatures skipping across water. The mist is generated on levels below the top level (from which the water drops), but spreads out similarly to miasma and, therefore, can appear even on the top level. Walking through mist generates a happy thought for a dwarf.

Mist is separate from magma mist and steam.

Rampant screw pumps are a great mist source.

Generating Mist

Ring generator

AncientEnemy [1] devised a convenient way to generate mist. This method relies on the fact that screw pumps pump water faster than water spreads out.

AncientEnemy's original simple mist generator.

Simply put, screw pumps are daisy-chained (output to input) in a circle and then water is added to the system. Water is typically added by designating one of the inputs to the pump as a Pond and having dwarves fill it up. Once water is dropped from the floor above it is immediately sucked up by the next pump. Since there is falling water, mist is generated. Ahh, lovely waterfalls!

Below is an example of a simple mist generator. The Z=0 level can be anything, a booze stockpile, barracks or even your atom smasher. The z=-1 layer can also be identical to the z=0 level. Mist will also be generated there. Because the water never touches the floor there, you don't have to worry about muddy tiles.

Pump Floor (z=1)
▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒.÷÷.▒
▒÷  ÷▒ The water can go clockwise or counter clockwise.
▒÷  ÷▒ Make sure your pumps are correctly aligned.
▒.÷÷.▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒

A movie [2] best illustrates the operation.

Stack generator

A two-pump-stack can be used to lift a single tile of water and drop it back into the reservoir, generating mist (and cleaning dwarves, if desired).

	s	i	d	e	v	i	e	w
			%	%	_
			%	%	_
	░	░	░	░	▄	░	░	░
	░	░	░	░	░	░	░	░

The brown pump (pumping left) raises the water to floor level, then the green pump (pumping right) raises the water to the air above the reservoir. The water then falls through the floor grates ( _ ) into the reservoir, and the cycle can be repeated. Pump build order is important; build the green pump first, then the brown pump, to ensure the water is raised in a single tick. Since the water never sits at floor level, no containment walls are necessary (though mud will be created in the tile left of the brown pump). You can toggle power to the pumps as often as desired to provide happy thoughts without constant lag. If used for dwarf-cleaning, a water level of 2/7 or 3/7 will avoid job cancellations.

Notes

• Evaporation is nonexistent as long as the pumps are working and the water is moving even above ground.^[Verify]
• Job cancellation spam is possible if the water is filled to greater than 4/7 and a dwarf walks where the water falls. Even then, this can be prevented by blocking access to these tiles without blocking the water, such as by placing a statue underneath or greatly reduced by setting them as restricted traffic areas.
• Mud will form wherever the water falls. Subterranean trees can sprout up and clog the system. Solutions to this problem include: statues, paved roads, constructed floors or fortifications, or to simply channel out the space once the mist generator is running.
• These systems work best with a single tile of water (7/7, at most) due to the way water descends z-levels. Any additional water will overflow into nearby tiles.
• Automated mist generators may significantly lower your FPS, particularly if multiple generators are used.^[Verify] This might be remedied by triggering via a repeater with a long delay or by one or more pressure plates (perhaps set to activate by a passing dwarf).^[Verify]

"Mist" in other Languages Dwarven: sôd Elvish: enure Goblin: guslo Human: sitsu