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Difference between revisions of "Map legend"

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Revision as of 03:41, 20 December 2022

This article is about the current version of DF.
Note that some content may still need to be updated.

Dwarf Fortress uses tilesets to draw the game, including maps. This map legend explains what the characters and colors represent in the pre-start embark (or adventure) map.

Tile colors

The colors of a map tile may give information about that region's predominant biome and surroundings; its temperature, alignment, and other handy things. Generally, cyan and blue means the area is "good" aligned. Purple, gray, brown, and red areas have "evil" alignment. Light grey, brown, and yellow areas usually are dry and have sparse vegetation. Green tiles have vegetation and are usually moist. White and cyan tiles indicate snow or ice. The color of trees that change season to season can tell about a tree's current growth.

Biome/Region key

Tiles are listed by alignment, with normal tiles first, then good-aligned tiles, and then evil tiles. Snow and ice-covered tiles are included next to their respective alignments.

Forests

In normal forests, the color changes with the seasons.

Biome/Region Normal Snow/Ice Good Evil Evil snow/ice
Temperate broadleaf forest
Tropical broadleaf forest
Γ
Γ
Γ
Γ
Γ
Γ
Γ
Γ
Coniferous forest

Hills and mountains/Plains

Yellow hills or plains indicate dry vegetation.

Biome/Region Normal Snow/Ice Good Evil Evil snow/ice
Hills
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
Low mountains
Medium mountains
High mountains


Biome/Region Normal Snow/Ice Good Evil Evil snow/ice
Grassland
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Savanna
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
Shrubland
" τ
τ "
" τ
τ "
" τ
τ "
" τ
τ "
" τ
τ "
" τ
τ "
" τ
τ "

Deserts

In normal sand deserts, the color depends on the type of sand.

Biome/Region Normal Snow/Ice Good Evil Evil snow/ice
Sand desert
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
Rocky wasteland
, ´
´ ,
n
n
, ´
´ ,
n
n
, ´
´ ,
n
n
, ´
´ ,
n
n
, ´
´ ,
n
n
Badlands
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V

Wetlands

Biome/Region Normal Snow/Ice Good Evil Evil snow/ice
Swamp
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
Marsh
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"

Ice regions

Biome/Region Normal Good Evil
Tundra
·
·
·
·
·
·
Glacier

Bodies of water

Biome/Region Normal Good Evil
River •┬┴ ┬┴ ┬┴ ╦╩◄ •┬┴ ┬┴ ┬┴ ╦╩◄ •┬ ╩◄
Ocean
Lake
~ ~
~ ~
~ ~
~ ~
~ ~
~ ~

Terrain feature key

Terrain feature Normal Snow/Ice Good Evil
Peak ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Volcano ^

Construction key

Construction Normal
Road •┬┴• •┬┴• •┬┴• •┬┴•

Tree key

Forests and swamps will use the map tiles of the trees they contain. The tiles below are used to specify generic forests, even if no trees that use that tile exist in that forest. Whether the game uses the generic tiles or the tile of the actual tree they contain is randomized on a tile-by-tile basis.

Tiles can vary significantly in forests due to the variety of trees that can be generated.

Tile Terrain
Swamp
Conifer Forest
Broadleaf Forest
Γ Tropical Forest

Site key

Site tiles are organized by columns, from left-to-right: normal populated sites, ruined sites, and sites captured by necromancers or their night creature armies.

Dwarven sites

Site Normal Ruins Night creature
Mountain halls Ω μ μ
Hillocks Ω μ μ
Fortress Ω μ μ

Elven sites

Forest retreats marked as () are market towns.

Site Normal Ruins Night creature
Forest retreat î μ μ

Goblin sites

A light magenta dark fortress (Π) indicates the presence of an underworld spire.

Site Normal Ruins Night creature
Dark fortress Π Π μ μ μ
Dark pits º ª ª

Human sites

For towns, the tiles indicate a town's current population (increases from left to right). Hamlet tiles represent the region the hamlet is in (hills, plains, rivers, etc.).

Site Normal Ruins Night creature
Town + * # μ μ
Hamlet = æ Æ

= æ Æ

= æ Æ

= æ Æ

= æ Æ = æ Æ
Castle

Other sites

Site Normal Night creature
Camp
Cave
Fort
Labyrinth #
Lair
Monastery
Shrine Å
Tomb 0
Tower I I
Vault
Adventurer camp

Embark assistant added sites

Shown when the DFHack plugin is active, list is from the in game plugin information, see there for details.

Site Symbol
Camp C
Cave c
Lair m b l
Labyrinth L
Monument M
Shrine S
Vault V

Fast travel key

Description Symbol
Adventurer(s) @
Other traveling individual or group *
Worlds
General
Map
Biomes
Chasm · Desert · Forest · Glacier · Grassland · Lake · Mountain · Murky pool · Ocean · River · Savanna · Shrubland · Tundra · Wetland
Features
Aquifer · Brook · Deep pit · Island · Magma pool · Passage · Road · Tunnel · Volcano · Waterfall
Underground
Civilization
Sites
Camp · Castle · Cave · Dark fortress · Dark pits · Forest retreat · Fort · Fortress · Hamlet · Hillocks · Labyrinth · Lair · Monastery · Mountain halls · Ruins · Shrine · Tomb · Tower · Town · Vault
Structures
Other