Editing Frequently Asked Questions

{{migrated article}}
{{Quality|Unrated}}
{{av}}


This page documents commonly asked questions and answers. Some of these questions were taken from the Bay12 Gameplay Questions page.

<!---To add a new question, COPY the following line and PASTE it BETWEEN the ###### comments lower on this page.
{{FAQ2||Your question exactly as you want it to be read by others}}
--->
==General==
{{FAQ2-head|Game Basics}}
{{FAQ2|Z-axis|What is the Z-Axis?}}
{{FAQ2|Things to Do|What is the point of the game?}}
{{FAQ2|Losing|Fun}}
{{FAQ2|Time|How quickly does time pass in ''Dwarf Fortress''?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

{{FAQ2-head|Game Interface}}
{{FAQ2|Controls guide|Menu interface guide}}
{{FAQ2|Tilesets|What do these symbols represent?}}
{{FAQ2|Status icons|What do the flashing icons mean?}}
{{FAQ2|Maximizing framerate|How do I make the game run faster?}}
{{FAQ2|Efficient_gameplay|How do I accomplish tasks with fewer keystrokes?}}
{{FAQ2|Key bindings|What are good key bindings if I have a laptop or unusual keyboard?}}
{{FAQ2|Color Tiles|Where can I get color graphic tiles for this game?}}
{{FAQ2|Stocks#Inventory|On the z stocks page, why are numbers displayed in yellow such as 10? 20? etc}}
{{FAQ2|Reports|What do the {{Tile|C|4:1}} {{Tile|H|2:1}} and {{Tile|S|3:1}} in the top left border mean?}}
{{FAQ2|Technical tricks|What configuration options are available?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

{{FAQ2-head|Beginner's guide}}
{{FAQ2|Quickstart guide|Basic getting started guide}}
{{FAQ2|Quickstart guide/Starting site|Where in the world should I settle?}}
{{FAQ2|Starting build|What skills and items should I equip my dwarves with?}}
{{FAQ2|Where in my area should I build my fort|Where in my area should I build my fort?}}
{{FAQ2|What should I build first|What should I build first?}}
{{FAQ2|How do I assign tasks to specific dwarves|How do I assign tasks to specific dwarves?}}
{{FAQ2|Immigration|How do I get more dwarves?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

==Environment==
{{FAQ2-head|Magma}}
{{FAQ2|Magma|Practically everything Magma related}}
{{FAQ2|Magma-safe|What can I use to make magma-proof items?}}
{{FAQ2|Channel|How do I channel magma?}}
{{FAQ2|Digging designation canceled|Digging designation canceled: Warm stone located}}
{{FAQ2|Magma#Finding_magma|Where can I find magma?}}
{{FAQ2|Garbage disposal|Can magma cremate dead dwarves instead of burying them?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

{{FAQ2-head|Wood}}
{{FAQ2|Wood|Do I really need wood?}}
{{FAQ2|Wood industry|Where can I get wood?}}
{{FAQ2|Tree farming|Where can I get even more wood?}}
{{FAQ2|Tower-cap|Is it possible to grow trees underground?}}
{{FAQ2|Tree farming|How long do tower-caps take to grow?}}
{{FAQ2|Tree|Do dead trees spawn new trees?}}
{{FAQ2|How much protection does wood armor provide?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

{{FAQ2-head|Water}}
{{FAQ2|Screw pump|How do I move water up levels?}}
{{FAQ2|Water pressure|How do I stop water moving up levels?}}
{{FAQ2|Swimmer|Can dwarves swim to the surface for air?}}
{{FAQ2|Swimmer|How long does it take for a dwarf/goblin/creature to drown?}}
{{FAQ2|Water#Water depth|How deep is the water?}}
{{FAQ2|Ice#Melting Ice|Is it possible to melt ice?}}
{{FAQ2|Well|How do I build a well?}}
{{FAQ2|Channel|How do I channel a path for water?}}
{{FAQ2|Flow|Will water push items around?}}
{{FAQ2|Dam|Can I build a dam to stop the water?}}
{{FAQ2|Digging designation canceled|Digging designation canceled: Damp stone located}}
{{FAQ2|Dryland|What is the best way to proceed on a map with no rivers? Will my dwarves die of thirst?}}
{{FAQ2|Fishing industry#Industry management|How can I divert a river to allow safe(ish) indoor fishing?}}
{{FAQ2|Aquifer|How can I dig through an aquifer?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

==Fortress==
{{FAQ2-head|Buildings, Constructions and Rooms}}
{{FAQ2|Furniture|When I try to build a bed/door/chair why does it say needs bed/door/chair?}}
{{FAQ2|Furniture#Furniture_types_with_multiple_names|How do I make and build chests?}}
{{FAQ2|How do I construct a wall from a particular direction|How do I construct a wall from a particular direction?}}
{{FAQ2|Room|How do I designate rooms or areas?}}
{{FAQ2|Door|Help! My doors are stuck open!}}
{{FAQ2|Furniture|Once placed, can furniture be moved?}}
{{FAQ2|How do I increase the value of a room|How do I increase the value of a room quickly and easily?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

{{FAQ2-head|Moods}}
{{FAQ2|What's the easiest way to check dwarves happiness|What's the easiest way to check dwarves happiness?}}
{{FAQ2|Noise|How do I get my dwarves to sleep peacefully?}}
{{FAQ2|Keeping your dwarves happy|How can I keep my dwarves happy?}}
{{FAQ2|Strange mood|What does "taken by mood" mean?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

{{FAQ2-head|Workshops}}
{{FAQ2|Steel#Production chain|How do I make steel?}}
{{FAQ2|Glass industry|How do I make glass?}}
{{FAQ2|Clothing industry|How do I make cloth?}}
{{FAQ2|Soap industry|How do I make soap?}}
{{FAQ2|Clutter#Remedy|My items are 'stuck' in a workshop; how do I stop this from happening?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

{{FAQ2-head|Error Messages}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels Store Item: Job item misplaced}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels Store Item: Item inaccessible}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels Construct Building: Item blocking site}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels task: Dropoff inaccessible}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels task: Dangerous terrain}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels task: Could not find path}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels task: Forbidden area}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels task: Job item lost or destroyed}}
{{FAQ2|Equipment mismatch|Dwarf cancels Pickup Equipment: Equipment mismatch}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels task: Interrupted}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels task: Handling dangerous creature}}
{{FAQ2|Stymied|Diplomacy Stymied - A diplomat has left unhappy}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels construct "Rock object": Needs non-economic rock}}
{{FAQ2|Cat cancels Store Item in Stockpile: Too injured}}
{{FAQ2|Digging designation canceled|Digging designation canceled: Warm / Damp stone located}}
{{FAQ2|Miner cancels dig: Inappropriate dig square}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels fill pond: Inappropriate building}}
{{FAQ2|Their wagons have bypassed your inaccessible site}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels Construct Building: cannot reach site}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels construct "Rock short sword": Needs sharpenable rock}}
{{FAQ2|Dwarf cancels construction of Wall: Creature occupying site}}
<!--- ########### Insert new errors below this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2|Needs butcherable unrotten nearby item.}}
<!--- ########### Insert new errors above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

==Skills==
{{FAQ2-head|Farming}}
{{FAQ2|How do I build a farm?}}
{{FAQ2|How large a farm do i need|How large a farm do I need?}}
{{FAQ2|What is the best crop|What is the best crop?}}
{{FAQ2|How do I manage my seeds and crops|How do I manage my seeds and crops?}}
{{FAQ2|Using bins and barrels|What does "Reserved Barrels" and "Reserved Bins" mean?}}
{{FAQ2|Farming#Red_crops|Why are crops sometimes displayed with red writing?}}
{{FAQ2|Clothing industry|What do I do with these inedible crops?}}
{{FAQ2|Farming#Introduction_to_Farming|What does the option "Fallow" mean?}}
{{FAQ2|Farming#Farm_Plots_in_Action|My dwarves will only farm on a small part of the fields, why is this?}}
{{FAQ2|Farming|How do I make absolutely sure my farm plot is all set to produce crops?}}
{{FAQ2|Grower|If I don't see any dwarves working my farm plot, does that mean there's something wrong?}}
{{FAQ2|Stupid_dwarf_trick#Greenhouse|Can you grow surface crops on multiple z-levels in a tower if the floors are glass, even though there's soil on the glass?}}
{{FAQ2|What is the "seas fert" option for?}}
{{FAQ2|How do you create a custom stockpile that accepts only prepared foods?}}
{{FAQ2|Meat industry|How do you successfully breed and utilize animals(grazing, non-grazing and poultry)?}}
{{FAQ2|Irrigation|How often do you need to irrigate your farm fields?}}
{{FAQ2|How do I manage my seeds and crops|Having banned seeds from the kitchen, how to prevent dwarves from eating them raw?}}
{{FAQ2|Seed#Seed_Production|Why do my planters keep complaining they have no seeds?}}
{{FAQ2|Breeding#Bugs|Why won't my animals breed?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

{{FAQ2-head|Military}}
{{FAQ2|Military quickstart|How do I get my dwarves to fight?}}
{{FAQ2|Military|Recruiting, equipping, and managing your military}}
{{FAQ2|Sparring|How do I train my dwarves' martial skills?}}
{{FAQ2|Cross-training|How to train civilians into super-soldiers}}
{{FAQ2|Equipment and encumbrance|How do I keep armor from slowing my soldiers down?}}
{{FAQ2|Assign animal|How do I train and deploy animals when needed?}}
{{FAQ2|Help! My civilians keep running into combat!}}
{{FAQ2|Cage|How do I remove weapons from caged prisoners?}}
{{FAQ2|Squad#Troubleshooting|Why can't I get my dwarves equipped?}}
{{FAQ2|How do I stop my marksdwarves from wrestling?}}
{{FAQ2|Military_quickstart#invisible_uniforms|Why do my soldiers keep dropping their equipment?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

{{FAQ2-head|Mining}}
{{FAQ2|How do I get my dwarves to haul stones only from certain areas|How do I get my dwarves to haul stones only from certain areas?}}
{{FAQ2|Exploratory mining|How do I find ores to mine?}}
{{FAQ2|How do I get my dwarves to haul ores and ignore useless stones|How do I get my dwarves to haul ores and ignore useless stones?}}
{{FAQ2|Stone management|How do I get rid of all this stone?}}
{{FAQ2|How do I stop miners from falling in channels as they dig them|How do I stop miners from falling in channels as they dig them?}}
{{FAQ2|cave-in|What causes a cave-in?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

{{FAQ2-head|Smithing}}
{{FAQ2|Melt item|What are the best goods for training?}}
{{FAQ2|Maximizing value#Metal|What are the best goods for trade?}}
{{FAQ2|Weapon|Which weapons are best?}}
{{FAQ2|Armor|Which armors are best?}}
{{FAQ2|Divine metal|What is "flowery" metal, "dark" metal, etc.?}}
{{FAQ2|Armor#Special_procedurally_generated_armors|Why did my moody armorsmith produce a "bulging" breastplate?}}
<!--- ########### Insert new questions below this line ########### --->

<!--- ########### Insert new questions above this line ########### --->
{{FAQ2-tail}}

==Gameplay: Uncategorized==

'''Water Questions'''

Q: ''If you drain water into naturally flooded caverns, will it flow off the map? Or will they eventually start to fill up?''

A: It will flow off the edge of the map.

'''Bones'''

Q: ''I've got someone in a mood and he wants bones. Well, there's a dead bear skeleton just outside the fort, and I've got lots of tame animals tethered or wandering around.''

A: First off, make sure you've got a butcher's shop, and a dwarf with butchering labour enabled.
Then go to the "animals screen"(from {z} screen), and toggle "ready for slaughter" for those you want to kill.
Your butcher will also automatically butcher every dead animal in the refuse stockpile. This includes extracting bones from "partial skeletons". Make a refuse stockpile by the butcher's, and enable refuse gathering from the outside(o->r->o, iirc).

'''Mining'''

Q: ''I have 3 miners in my fort, 1 is a migrant (He's the working miner) the other 2 came on embark. The original 2 won't mine anything. (I checked and they're holding picks) The new guy is steady mining all the time. What gives?''

A: If you're mining a tunnel which is only 1 square in width, only 1 dwarf will mine. Ensure they all have picks equipped. 
Did you perchance assign mining through Dwarf Therapist?
Either way, unassign, unpause, and then reassign mining labour. Could be all that's required.
In some of my own tests, it wasn't even necessary to unpause - just going into v-p-l, selecting Mining (or Wood Cutting) and hitting Enter twice was enough to fix it.

'''Immigrants'''

Q: ''Is there any way to edit the frequency or max/min amount of migrants that join your fortress? I keep keeping double digit migrations and I hate being forced to expand quickly. I know I can just draft some into military positions, but I have a picky principle on better to not have labor than to waste labor.''

A: See [[Immigration]]

'''Groups'''

Q: ''I've recently noticed while browsing Legends that some of my dwarves started a group, "The Noiseless Thing". It doesn't say it worships anything/anyone, but dwarves entered it ''en masse'' (though I don't think all of them). Should I be worried? I also have not found anything when searching for "group" on the subject on this wiki.

'''Saving'''

Q: Dwarf fortress automatically quits the game after saving and then loading it up again takes a while. So saving frequently is really inconvenient, however, due to how unstable the game is at the moment, I find it necessary to do so. As such, is it possible to save without quitting?

A: Autosave can be configured in your d_init.txt file to save at the beginning of every year or every season, or to turn off autosaving entirely. If Autosave is on, it can be configured to back up your previous save game before saving. Additionally, DFHack offer an option to Quicksave, you can do so by typing 'quicksave' in its terminal to save the game immediately.

'''Sound'''

Q: Every time I start the game the sound is at 255/255. Is there any way to make it start at a different level?

A: In your init file, you can turn sound off by default with [SOUND:NO] or set the sound to a specific volume with [VOLUME:100] or whatever level you want. The init file can be found in the Dwarf Fortress folder under data/init/init.txt

==Using DF Wiki (Editing policies)==
While browsing the wiki, users are encouraged to contribute by adding information, correcting mistakes, improving links between articles, and researching unconfirmed or incomplete facts.  If you're new to the game, you are even more likely to encounter errors, be confused by inconsistencies or phrasing, or have unanswered questions that should be answered here.  While you gather your answers — from the [[::Forums|forums]], on [[::IRC|IRC]], through playing and testing, or by other means — and figure things out, you're in a unique position to improve the information here for the next person.

A good wiki is not just about quality information, but also quality presentation and accessibility.  There are many editing customs which contribute to quality and consistency of the wiki.  Please take a few minutes to read the [[DF:Community_Portal|Rules]].  You can also look through the [[DF_talk:Manual_of_Style|Style Manual]] and some of the other discussions on the [[DF:Centralized_Discussion|centralized discussion page]] found through navigation panel on the left.  For technical help with editing features, such as linking and formatting, click the [[Help:Contents|Help link]], also on the left navigation panel.

Facts should be verified to be complete and accurate, preferably in game, before adding to the wiki.  When in doubt, but you think it's useful information, just add it and someone will fix it later.  If an item of information is not verified, it should be [[:Category:Verify|labeled for verification]].

Each topic has a Talk page where you can ask questions, discuss your ideas and reasoning with others until the facts are worked out, or say anything that doesn't belong in the actual topic page.  Remember this is not a forum, so don't expect replies or even to be noticed if you didn't use a verify label in the topic page.  Always [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Signatures sign] your talk page comments with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>, and read the [[Wikipedia:Talk_page_guidelines|talk page guidelines]].  Note that not all topics have an existing Talk page.  Clicking a verify link or the Discussion tab on the topic's main page will create one (see Starting a New Page below).

Starting a New Page: There are various ways to [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Starting_a_new_page start a new page].  However, only the "Autoconfirmed" [[Special:ListGroupRights|user group]] may do so.  You will be automatically added to this group once you have contributed a reasonable number of edits (currently 3). Until then, you may request the creation of new pages on [[DF:Page request|this request page]].

==Writing answers policy==
If you know of a page on the wiki that answers a question already, '''don't''' just redirect to it. Edit the FAQ and change the link to point to it directly.

Whether you link to a page, or create a new page to answer the question, '''don't forget''' to add the template code! That would be: <nowiki>{{Name of FAQ}}</nowiki>

{{Getting Started}}

[[Category:FAQ]]
[[ru:Frequently Asked Questions]]