Dwarf Fortress Wiki - User contributions [en]

v0.34:Magma

2013-12-14T06:44:09Z

Brinedog: link magma sea

{{av}}{{Quality|Exceptional|21:13, 6 July 2010 (UTC)}}
'''Magma''' is a red-hot [[flow|fluid]] that wells up from deep within the earth (but not so deep that it cannot be found by dwarves), entering your map either by the edges or by the area beneath a magma pool. Magma that is above the ground is called '''Lava'''; the substance itself remains the same. Magma is very [[Fun]].

Magma serves as a heat source, replacing [[fuel]] in [[magma smelter]]s, [[magma forge]]s, [[magma glass furnace]]s, and [[magma kiln]]s. Magma is ''extremely'' hot which can lead to even more [[Fun]]. Workers that dig into a magma reservoir are not instantly killed as the magma touches them, but they are set on fire, which will kill them very quickly. For this reason, taking steps to ensure there is adequate water available to extinguish flaming dwarves running in random directions is advised before digging into any magma pools from the side. Channeling a single square wide pit across the planned magma pipe one tile away from the wall to breach and filling it with water using the [[Activity zone#Pit/Pond|pond zone]] tool is recommended, so the panicking dwarves have no choice but to run through the water, and the water itself turns into an obsidian wall as soon as the magma flows into it.

The list of materials that are '''[[magma-safe]]''' is extensive.

Magma never cools, but can [[evaporation|evaporate]] if left at a depth of 1/7 for long enough. When magma is mixed with water it forms [[obsidian]]. Note that magma located above [[semi-molten rock]] will be listed as a Magma Flow and cannot be cooled into obsidian.

Without [[screw pump]]s to impart [[pressure]], magma flows rather slowly (though no more slowly than unpressurized water). A pipe to bring magma across the full map can take as much as a year to fill. This, combined with the fact that it will evaporate, can make filling a reservoir difficult and tedious. As a rule of thumb, the area coming out of a 1-wide-pipe shouldn't be more than three squares wide and 20 squares long, or else it will evaporate as fast as you fill it.

== Bringing Magma Up ==

Magma can be brought to the surface by three different methods: [[pump|pump stack]]s, magma pistons, and minecarts. Pump stacks are conceptually the simplest, but require an enormous amount of in-game time to make. Magma pistons tend to be faster to make, but require more time to understand how to build them. Minecarts are a simple solution, but require more management than pump stacks because they can overfill a reservoir.

=== Pump stacks ===
Pumping magma up from the [[magma sea]] via a conventional [[pump#Example layouts#pump stack|pump stack]] is a lot of work, requiring dozens of pumps and significant amounts of power. Making all of the pumps [[magma safe]] also requires a lot of precious materials like steel or glass.

=== Magma pistons ===
[[Magma piston]]s are another way to move magma near the surface. Magma pistons require less time and fewer precious materials to construct than pump stacks. However, magma pistons are a bit more complicated than pump stacks, so it takes more time to understand how to operate and build them.

=== Minecarts ===
[[Minecart]]s submerged in 7/7 magma will fill with magma. Minecarts full of magma can be tipped at track stop, which will pour the magma in a specified direction from the stop. Mine cart tracks can be built from the magma sea to the surface. Minecarts used for this must be magma safe. It may also be necessary to build rollers in magma to pull the minecarts out, which would also need to be magma safe. A minecart track can be operated by dwarves or fully automatic, using powered rollers. Depending on the placement of the track stop, dangerous overflow can be prevented by making the track stop of a material that will melt/burn once the reservoir begins to overflow.

[[Minecart#Impulse ramps|Impulse ramps]] can be used to get magma-filled carts to whereever they need to go without having to provide power to an extensive system of rollers, and will fully automate bringing magma to the surface. Since such systems require comparatively little designation and magma-safe materials, work can be begun much earlier than some other methods of bringing magma to the surface.

In [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=125679.msg4217863#msg4217863 one design] posted to the forums by gchristopher, a pump can provide power the roller, making the ramp eligible for building the roller, and keeping the trench at 7 magma so the carts fill instantly.

{{diagram|spaces=yes|\
▒▒▒
▒#▒ # {{=}} floor grate
▒%▒ % {{=}} south facing pump
▒%▒▒
▒▲▲▒ Left ramp ▲ has a left-pushing roller
▒▒▒▒ Right ramp ▲ has a retracting bridge
}}

If you drop minecarts in directly from at least 2 z-levels above onto the right ramp, this setup has the magical property that it can handle an arbitrary number of minecarts, and dispense them at a constant controlled rate. Carts are pushed up the left ramp by the roller.

If you extend the right bridge, that tile ceases to be a ramp. Exactly one minecart will fall onto the tile and stay there, and all other minecarts dropped from above will form a quantum pile 1 z-level up.

The last time I {{who}} built one, I timed the cart dispensing rate at 1 per 8 ticks. This is slow enough that carts can be brought to the surface using an impulse ramp spiral, but fast enough that you can still quickly cover a large area with magma.

The same design works with water, for giving you a lot of flexibility creating tall waterfalls without pump stacks, quickly and cheaply.

==Magma pools==
{{main|Magma pool}}
Although the name suggests them as pools, they are more like pipes. They can be found underground, however they rarely reach the upper z-levels (40+). Most end a few z-levels above the magma sea, though some may span more than 100 z-levels.
Magma pools seem to be always connected to a magma sea, and the sea and pipe can occasionally reach up to the same level, making them hard to separate. However, magma pools can be identified by the obsidian walls which surround them.
Magma pools will slowly refill themselves, giving the player an infinite source of magma. The entire embark tile containing the pool will produce sporadic bursts of magma until the magma within it is at its natural level (ie. the magma level at embark) or until it is halted by a bridge, floor, or bottom of a wall.

==Volcanoes==
[[Volcano]]es are magma pools that extend all the way to the surface. Volcanoes are an endless source of magma as they will always refill themselves. They never erupt, unlike their real-life counterparts.

Magma in volcanoes does not exert [[pressure]] unless you pump magma into it so it is possible to cause magma to flow safely out of the volcano for use in industry or defense. One of the main difficulties of doing so is the risk of the miner getting engulfed by the magma. There are ways to minimise this risk however:

'''Digging From Above:'''
If you can find a suitable position, at least in the top of the volcano you can, standing on one level above and dig a channel.

'''Diagonal Digging:'''
Magma moves more slowly diagonally than orthogonally, giving the miner more time to escape. However, slower flow means you must keep in mind the evaporation. You should dig a smaller channel, wait for it to fill up, and extends the channel by Digging From Above.

'''Busy To Leave:'''
[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=111883.0]
Dwarves who dig into magma often die not because they are unable to flee but because they choose not to. By ensuring a dwarf has another task (ideally far away) they will run away from the ensuing magma flow.

Simply mine up to the corner of a lava tube and then smooth the last tile. Dig a staircase within a few tiles of the place where you will be breaching that leads up and back into your fortress, this will allow your dwarf to get out before the magma gets him. Now designate the smoothed corner to be carved into a fortification. Now immediately when the dwarf begins to carve the fortification, (and this is the most important part!), designate a bunch of other tiles to be smoothed/carved. It's not important that your dwarves actually smooth, carve, or engrave those tiles, what is important is that your dwarf immediately takes another smooth/carve/engrave task elsewhere in the fortress when they finish the current one. If they do not then they will pause for the briefest of instants as they pick a new task, resulting in their death. If they have the job though, they will instantly turn and head up the staircase, stopping the magma from catching and killing them."

'''Exploit From Below:'''
[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=110724.0]
Miners are able to mine out tiles diagonally above them '''even if there is a bridge over their heads'''. First you dig out your magma tunnel to feed magma to wherever in your fort you need it and dig it right up against the volcano pipe. Then you channel a trench against the pipe that can be the width of the tunnel if you wish. Build a magma-safe bridge over the trench, making sure to cover it completely, and then seal off access to the magma tunnel. Dig a new separate path to access the now bridged-over trench. Finally, designate the volcano pipe wall '''on the Z level of the magma tunnel''' for mining. Your dwarves will stand in the trench beneath the bridge but will somehow still mine out the squares diagonally above them, causing the magma to flow safely onto the bridge leaving your dwarves unscathed."

Example:

{{Diagram|spaces=yes|
Z 0
═════╗[#F00]≈[#F00]≈[#F00]≈
....[#080]╥[#000][#880]║[#F00]≈[#F00]≈[#F00]≈
....[#080]║[#000][#880]║[#F00]≈[#F00]≈[#F00]≈
....[#080]╨[#000][#880]║[#F00]≈[#F00]≈[#F00]≈
═════╝[#F00]≈[#F00]≈[#F00]≈

Z -1
║.║[#F00]≈[#F00]≈[#F00]≈
║▲║[#F00]≈[#F00]≈[#F00]≈
║▲║[#F00]≈[#F00]≈[#F00]≈
║▲║[#F00]≈[#F00]≈[#F00]≈
║.║[#F00]≈[#F00]≈[#F00]≈
}}
Make sure the top z-level is sealed off from miners and '''[[dig]]''' ({{k|d}}-{{k|d}}) the highlighted tiles on the upper z-level.

==Properties of magma==
Magma behaves the same way as water with the exception of not being affected by [[pressure]] (except when being moved by a [[screw pump]]) and apparently not showing [[flow]]. Magma will turn into [[obsidian]]1 if it touches [[water]]. In the game, magma's temperature is {{ct|12000}}. See the list of '''[[magma-safe]]''' materials for more information on what can (or cannot) be safely submerged in magma.

Tiles directly adjacent to magma will be heated to a temperature of {{ct|10075}}, causing revealed unmined tiles to flash with {{Tile|☼|6:4:1}} when placing digging designations and causing unrevealed mining-designated tiles to cancel their designation (with a "warm stone" warning) once they are revealed.

1 - specifically, one of the inorganic materials having the [LAVA] tag, selected randomly ''per biome'' during worldgen.

==Dangers of magma==
Any contact with magma results in nearly instant immolation, followed by death if water is not close at hand. Additionally, dropping items into magma can generate clouds of [[magma mist]] which can set your haulers on fire if you aren't careful.

{{D for Dwarf}}

Magma is very well known for being the perfect solution to any problem encountered by dwarves. Giant badger invasion? Pour magma on it. Noble being his usual snotty, useless, arrogant self? Pour magma on it. Door locked due to invaders? Pour magma on it! Flooded your fortress with magma? Pour... Um, wait a minute...

{{gamedata|{{raw|DF2012:hardcoded_materials.txt|MATERIAL|INORGANIC}}}}
{{Magma FAQ}}

{{Category|Physics}}

Template:Magma FAQ

2013-12-14T06:41:55Z

Brinedog: Magma#Finding_magma doesn't exist

{{FAQ-head|Magma FAQ}}
{{FAQ|Magma|Practically everything Magma related}}
{{FAQ|Magma-safe|What can I use to make magma-proof items?}}
{{FAQ|Channel|How do I channel magma?}}
{{FAQ|Digging designation canceled|Digging designation canceled: Warm stone located}}
{{FAQ|Garbage disposal|Can magma cremate dead dwarves instead of burying them?}}



{{FAQ-tail|Magma_FAQ}}
<includeonly>[[Category:FAQ - Magma]]</includeonly>
<noinclude>[[Category:FAQ templates]]</noinclude>

v0.31:Stone

2013-12-13T06:59:19Z

Brinedog: uses for stones, incl. cabochons

{{quality|Exceptional|18:46, 24 August 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}
''(For the beginning player, see also [[The Non-Dwarf's Guide to Rock]])''
----

'''Stone''' or '''rock''' is a naturally occuring solid aggregate of minerals. It sometimes [[stone management|leaves behind]] material after being mined or [[cave in|collapsing]]. Other types of [[Mining|minable]] tiles include [[soil]] and [[sand]].

Stone is divided into a few key categories:
* [[Ore]]: stone that produces [[metal|metal bars]] when [[Smelter|smelted]]
* Rough [[gem]]s: rough gems can be [[gem cutting|cut]], then used to [[encrust]] objects and create [[window]]s.
* Other stone: Stone that is not an [[ore]] or a gem. These can be used for constructing items and structures, or can be cut into cabochons at a [[Jeweler's_workshop]]. A few, such as [[Obsidian]], have special uses.

[[Economic stone]]s are types of stone that can be reserved for a special purpose. For [[ore]]s, this is smelting and for [[flux|fluxes]], this is steel production. [[Bituminous coal]] and [[lignite]] can be reserved for making [[coke]].

Having created loose stone, many times you'll want to get rid of it or at least move it someplace else. See [[stone management]] for advice.

''This article is about DF geology and the distribution of stones, and does not contain the specific locations of [[ore]]s or [[gem]]s.''

== Main layer types ==
{{main|Layer}}

There are four types of stone [[layer]]s (plus [[soil]], which is not stone). The type of layer is the primary indicator of what kind of [[ore]]s you are likely to find on the map, as well as a sign of [[volcano|volcanic]] activity.

The types are [[sedimentary layer]]s, [[igneous intrusive layer]]s, [[igneous extrusive layer]]s, and [[metamorphic layer]]s.

The primary types of rock only occur in their own layers. (e.g. you won't find [[limestone]] in a [[marble]] layer.)

== Stones forming entire layers ==
These types of stone occur as entire layers, containing some [[vein|veins and pockets]] of other minerals (see below). If one of the following types of stone is present on your map, it will be listed in one of the [[biome]]s on the embark screen. 
{| border = 1 cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" -valign="top"
|-
! style="background:#efefef;" | [[Sedimentary layer|Sedimentary]]
! style="background:#efefef;" | [[Igneous intrusive layer|Igneous intrusive]]
! style="background:#efefef;" | [[Igneous extrusive layer|Igneous extrusive]]
! style="background:#efefef;" | [[Metamorphic layer|Metamorphic]]
|-valign="top"
|style="padding: 0"|
* {{Raw Tile|░|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}} [[Chalk]]
* {{Raw Tile|=|6:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:0}} [[Chert]]
* {{Raw Tile|,|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}} [[Claystone]]
* {{Raw Tile|∞|6:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:0}} [[Conglomerate]]
* {{Raw Tile|`|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}} [[Dolomite]]
* {{Raw Tile|▓|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}} [[Limestone]]
* {{Raw Tile|≈|6:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:0}} [[Mudstone]]
* {{Raw Tile|#|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}} [[Rock salt]]
* {{Raw Tile|#|6:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:0}} [[Sandstone]]
* {{Raw Tile|.|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}} [[Shale]]
* {{Raw Tile|%|6:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:0}} [[Siltstone]]

|style="padding: 0"|
* {{Raw Tile|░|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}} [[Diorite]]
* {{Raw Tile|▒|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}} [[Gabbro]]
* {{Raw Tile|▓|7:0:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:0}} [[Granite]]

|style="padding: 0"|
* {{Raw Tile|∞|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}} [[Andesite]]
* {{Raw Tile|#|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}} [[Basalt]]
* {{Raw Tile|.|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:0}} [[Dacite]]
* {{Raw Tile|▒|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}} [[Obsidian]]
* {{Raw Tile|,|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}} [[Rhyolite]]

|style="padding: 0"|
* {{Raw Tile|=|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:0}} [[Gneiss]]
* {{Raw Tile|▓|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}} [[Marble]]
* {{Raw Tile|-|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:0}} [[Phyllite]]
* {{Raw Tile|-|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}} [[Quartzite]]
* {{Raw Tile|`|6:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:0}} [[Schist]]
* {{Raw Tile|%|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}} [[Slate]]

|}

== Other Stone ==
Stones found on this table will occur as [[vein|pockets and veins]] inside their respective stone layers (see above). When your miners newly encounter one of them you will receive an announcement, even for the ones that have no use other than to build constructions of unusual colors. Note that the veins or clusters can spread into other layers, and may cause some layers to contain stones they usually wouldn't. A few of these stones, such as [[Olivine]], have other, more interesting minerals appear inside them.

Non-layer stone formations occur in one of three shapes: large clusters, veins, and small clusters. ''(See [[Vein|Veins & Clusters]] for full info.)''

''The following table does not contain [[ore]]s and [[gem]]s.''

{| class="wikitable" cellspacing="0" border="1" cellpadding="5"
|-
! Icons
! Name
! Found in
|-
|{{Raw Tile|^|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}}||[[Alabaster]]||[[Gypsum]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|`|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}}||[[Alunite]]||All [[Igneous extrusive]]'''(L)''', [[Kaolinite]]'''(L)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|v|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:0}}||[[Anhydrite]]||[[Gypsum]]'''(S)''', [[Satinspar]]'''(1)''', [[Alabaster]]'''(1)''', [[Selenite]]'''(1)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|+|4:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|4:0}}||[[Bauxite]]||All [[Sedimentary]]'''(L)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|☼|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|☼|0:1}}||[[Bituminous coal]]||All [[Sedimentary layer|Sedimentary]]'''(V)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|`|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}}||[[Borax]]||[[Gypsum]]'''(S)''', [[Rock salt]]'''(L)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|%|6:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:1}}||[[Brimstone]]||All [[Igneous extrusive]]'''(S)''', [[Gypsum]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|"|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}}||[[Calcite]]||[[Limestone]]'''(S)''', [[Marble]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|=|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}}||[[Chromite]]||[[Olivine]]'''(V)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|£|4:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|*|4:1}}||[[Cinnabar]]||All [[Igneous extrusive]]'''(V)''', [[Shale]]'''(V)''', [[Quartzite]]'''(V)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|£|1:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|*|1:1}}||[[Cobaltite]]||All [[Igneous]]'''(V)''', All [[Metamorphic]]'''(V)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|-|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}}||[[Cryolite]]||[[Granite]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|o|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}}||[[Graphite]]||[[Gneiss]]'''(S)''', [[Quartzite]]'''(S)''', [[Marble]]'''(S)''', [[Schist]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|#|6:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:1}}||[[Gypsum]]||All [[Sedimentary]]'''(L)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|"|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}}||[[Hornblende]]||All [[Igneous]]'''(S)''', All [[Metamorphic]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|.|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}}||[[Ilmenite]]||[[Gabbro]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|░|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}}||[[Jet]]||All [[Sedimentary]]'''(L)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|=|4:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|4:0}}||[[Kaolinite]]||All [[Sedimentary]]'''(L)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|%|1:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|1:0}}||[[Kimberlite]]||[[Gabbro]]'''(V)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|*|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}}||[[Lignite]]||All [[Sedimentary]]'''(V)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|%|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}}||[[Marcasite]]||[[Kaolinite]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|v|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}}||[[Mica]]||All [[Metamorphic]]'''(L)''', [[Granite]]'''(L)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|%|3:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|3:1}}||[[Microcline]]||All Stone'''(L)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|%|2:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|2:0}}||[[Olivine]]||[[Gabbro]]'''(L)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|-|6:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:1}}||[[Orpiment]]||All [[Igneous extrusive]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|%|6:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:1}}||[[Orthoclase]]||All [[Igneous intrusive]]'''(L)''', All [[Metamorphic]]'''(L)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|,|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}}||[[Periclase]]||[[Marble]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|%|4:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|4:1}}||[[Petrified wood]]||All [[Sedimentary]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|*|5:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|5:0}}||[[Pitchblende]]||[[Granite]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|Θ|6:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:0}}||[[Puddingstone]]||[[Conglomerate]]'''(L)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|%|0:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|0:1}}||[[Pyrolusite]]||All [[Igneous]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|%|4:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|4:1}}||[[Realgar]]||All [[Igneous extrusive]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|`|5:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|5:0}}||[[Rutile]]||All [[Metamorphic]]'''(S)''', [[Granite]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|x|6:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:1}}||[[Saltpeter]]||All [[Sedimentary]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|-|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}}||[[Satinspar]]||[[Gypsum]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|;|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}}||[[Selenite]]||[[Gypsum]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|≈|2:7:0}} {{Raw Tile|•|2:0}}||[[Serpentine]]||[[Olivine]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|%|7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:0}}||[[Stibnite]]||All [[Igneous extrusive]]'''(S)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|=|6:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|6:1}}||[[Sylvite]]||[[Rock salt]]'''(L)'''
|-
|{{Raw Tile|||7:7:1}} {{Raw Tile|•|7:1}}||[[Talc]]||[[Dolomite]]'''(L)'''
|}
:'''(L)''' - occurs in large clusters
:'''(V)''' - occurs in veins
:'''(S)''' - occurs in small clusters
:'''(1)''' - occurs in individual tiles

== DF Geology and real-world Geology ==
The geology and stones of Dwarf Fortress are based on real-world geology and mineralogy. To understand the terms used here, you may want to crack open a geology textbook (a high school one should suffice). If you don't happen to have one close by, the Wikipedia articles for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology geology], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineralogy mineralogy], or the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_layers terms in question] might help.

== By Color ==
For those concerned with aesthetics and wanting to know which stones are available in each color.

{| border = 1 cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"
|-
!width="90"| Color
!width="45%"| Non-economic stones
!width="25%"| Economic
! Ore
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|7:1}} White
|[[Alunite]], [[Borax]], [[Cryolite]], [[Marcasite]], [[Periclase]], [[Quartzite]], [[Rock salt]], [[Talc]]
|[[Alabaster]], [[Calcite]], [[Chalk]], [[Dolomite]], [[Limestone]], [[Marble]], [[Satinspar]], [[Selenite]]
|[[Galena]], [[Horn silver]], [[Native aluminum]], [[Native platinum]], [[Native silver]]
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|7:0}} Light Gray
|[[Anhydrite]], [[Dacite]], [[Gneiss]], [[Granite]], [[Phyllite]], [[Stibnite]]
|
|[[Bismuthinite]]
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|0:1}} Dark Gray
|[[Andesite]], [[Basalt]], [[Claystone]], [[Chromite]], [[Diorite]], [[Gabbro]], [[Graphite]], [[Hornblende]], [[Ilmenite]], [[Jet]], [[Mica]], [[Pyrolusite]], [[Rhyolite]], [[Shale]], [[Slate]]
|[[Bituminous coal]], [[Lignite]], [[Obsidian]]
|[[Magnetite]], [[Sphalerite]], [[Tetrahedrite]]
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|6:0}} Brown
|[[Chert]], [[Conglomerate]], [[Mudstone]], [[Puddingstone]], [[Sandstone]], [[Schist]], [[Siltstone]]
|
|[[Cassiterite]], [[Native copper]]
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|6:1}} Yellow
|[[Brimstone]], [[Orpiment]], [[Orthoclase]], [[Saltpeter]], [[Sylvite]]
|[[Gypsum]]
|[[Limonite]], [[Native gold]]
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|4:0}} Dark Red
|[[Bauxite]]
|[[Kaolinite]]
|[[Hematite]]
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|4:1}} Red
|[[Cinnabar]], [[Petrified wood]], [[Realgar]]
|
|
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|2:0}} Green
|[[Olivine]], [[Serpentine]]
|
|[[Malachite]]
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|2:1}} Bright Green
|
|
|[[Garnierite]]
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|3:0}} Teal
|colspan="3"| None
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|3:1}} Cyan
|[[Microcline]]
|
|[[Raw adamantine]]
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|1:1}} Blue
|[[Cobaltite]]
|
|
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|1:0}} Dark Blue
|[[Kimberlite]]
|
|
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|5:0}} Purple
|[[Pitchblende]], [[Rutile]]
|
|
|-valign="top"
|{{Raw Tile|•|5:1}} Magenta
|colspan="3"| None
|}

{{Category|Stone|*}}
{{Category|Materials}}

v0.34:Farming

2013-12-12T08:36:32Z

Brinedog: /* Above Ground Farming */

{{quality|Exceptional|14:06, 26 July 2012 (UTC)}}{{av}}
[[Image:Df-crops-diagram.png|thumb|200px|General farming flowchart.]]

'''Farming''' is the act of growing [[crop|crops]] for [[food]], [[alcohol]] production and [[cloth]] manufacturing. While small forts can easily be sustained by plant gathering, [[hunting]] and trading, farming is vital to large settlements.

Farming is done at a '''farm plot''' building ({{k|b}}-{{k|p}}, resize with {{k|u}}{{k|m}}{{k|k}}{{k|h}}). Building uses no resources, and can only be done on soil or muddied rock. Mud-free stone will not allow the building of a farm plot on top. The "Farming (Fields)" [[labor]] must be enabled. Farm plots only display the kind of crops that they are able to grow when selected with the {{k|q}}uery key.

Depending on where the farm plot is constructed, different crops may be planted. Farm plots built [[above ground]] are not suitable for the crops grown on [[subterranean]] farm plots and vice versa. Note that the attributes {{DFtext|Inside|6:0:0}}, {{DFtext|Outside|3:0:1}} are of no relevance. You can grow surface plants indoors by channelling out the roof above the desired plot and then constructing a floor ({{k|b}}-{{k|C}}-{{k|f}}) over the open space. Doing this changes the tile from {{DFtext|Dark|0:0:1}} to {{DFtext|Light|6:0:1}}, despite there being a roof (you do '''not''' need to make the roof out of [[glass]] for this to work).

Note that although you can construct a farm plot anywhere there is either a soil floor or a mud covering, this does not always mean seeds can be planted there. Certain biomes will not allow planting certain seeds, and some biomes will prevent the planting of '''all''' above-ground crops.

The yellow warning message, {{DFtext|No mud/soil for farm, Mud is left by water|6:0:1}}, is displayed on all above-ground tiles, regardless of whether the farm will function.{{version|0.34.11}} This warning may be ignored. Tiles that actually lack mud or soil are excluded from the construction entirely with a red warning message (either {{DFtext|Blocked|4:0:1}} or {{DFtext|Needs soil or mud|4:0:1}}).

See the article on [[crop]]s for details on the conditions needed to grow the available plants.

== Introduction to Farming ==

First, build a farm plot "building" ({{k|b}}-{{k|p}}, resize with {{k|u}}{{k|m}}{{k|k}}{{k|h}}) on [[soil]] or [[irrigation|muddy]] rock. Keep your farms ''small'' -- 2x2 up to 4x4 or so. Farms are surprisingly productive. You can always make more farms later if you run low on plants, and having several small farms lets you diversify your crops. (Each farm plot can only grow one kind of plant per season.)

Once the farm plot has been built, you must select which crops to grow. Press {{k|q}} and move the cursor over the farm. You will see a list of crops you can select to grow in the current season. You can change which season is displayed by pressing {{k|a}},{{k|b}},{{k|c}}, or {{k|d}}. Move the blue selector up and down with {{k|-}} and {{k|+}}, and press {{k|Enter}} to choose a crop to plant during that season (highlighted in white).

You must have the appropriate [[seed]]s to plant a crop on a plot. To easily see how many of each seed you have, you can go to the Kitchen menu ({{k|z}} {{k|right}} {{k|Enter}}).

Since your dwarves require food, booze and clothing, you should set up a combination of plants that will supply all of these. [[Plump helmet]]s are a good beginning crop for a first cave farm, and [[wild strawberries]] are a good choice for outdoor fields -- both can be eaten raw, or brewed. [[Pig tail]]s produce cloth, which will become important once your clothing starts to [[wear]]. Check the [[crop]]s page for details on different seeds.

Cooking plants destroys their seeds, so you should disable the cooking of plants in the Kitchen menu. Eating them, brewing them, or processing them through a farmer's workshop, quern or millstone will produce seeds.

Instructing a plot to remain fallow ({{k|z}}) during a particular season will tell dwarves not to plant in that plot during that season. Note that, unlike in real life, crop rotation is not necessary; soil productivity is only affected by fertilizing, and the same crop may be grown indefinitely without a decrease in performance, even without fertilizer.

=== Fertilization ===
{| border="1" align="right"
! Farm Size !! Potash !! Per Square
|-
| 1 || 1 || 1.000
|-
| 2 || 1 || 0.500
|-
| 3 || 1 || 0.333
|-
| 4 || 2 || 0.500
|-
| 5 || 2 || 0.400
|-
| 6 || 2 || 0.333
|-
| 7 || 2 || 0.286
|-
| 8 || 3 || 0.375
|-
| 11 || 3 || 0.272
|-
| 15 || 4 || 0.266
|-
| 19 || 5 || 0.263
|-
| 23 || 6 || 0.260
|-
| 27 || 7 || 0.259
|}

Fertilizing a farm plot increases the yield (the number of plants that grow in each planted tile). The exact improvement is not known. To fertilize a farm plot, one needs [[potash]], which is produced by processing [[ash]]. The plot must be re-fertilized each season, requiring ''floor(plot_size / 4) + 1'' potash. The table on the right illustrates the efficiency of potash as a function of plot size. Generally, larger farms use less, approaching a limit of 1/4 bar per square. The worst sizes are multiples of 4; if one plans to fertilize, it's most efficient to have plots of size ''4n - 1'', where n is the number of potash used. Suitable sizes are 1x3, 1x7, 3x5, 3x9, 5x7, and 7x9.

Fertilizer may be applied to a plot by pressing {{k|f}} while viewing the plot. Only dwarves with the Farming (Fields) labor will apply fertilizer; this grants 30 XP of farming experience for each unit of potash used. Pressing {{k|s}} toggles seasonal fertilization. This does nothing until the next [[season]], at which time the plot will be automatically fertilized. Note that if you do not have a potash stockpile near your farm plots, your legendary farmers may spend all of their time hauling single bars of potash from all the way on the other side of your fortress, rather than growing food.

=== Subterranean Farming ===

To grow the six "dwarven" plants, you will need an underground farm plot. The seeds and spawn available to your dwarves at embark will only grow underground. Underground farm plots must be placed on soil or [[mud]]dy stone.

Muddying a stone floor requires temporarily covering it with water; common methods include a [[Irrigation#via_Buckets|bucket brigade]] or '''controlled''' [[flood]]ing (see: [[Irrigation]]) by temporarily diverting a river or pool, using a [[floodgate]] or [[door]] to stop the flow. You may also find a muddied area in a [[cavern]], but note that each tile underneath the farm plot must be muddied. Most caverns have entire open areas which will be permanently covered in mud, but if you dig into the walls of a cavern or chisel away a pillar, the freshly cut floor area will not be muddied until you get it wet. Underground caverns are dirty, and frequently contain [[Mud|piles of mud]] that are perfect for quickly setting up farms. However, given the wide variety of creatures found in caverns, you may want to take precautions. Consider keeping a [[squad]] close at hand to guard the farm, or walling off a muddied area for your dwarves' exclusive use.

Underground farming is not restricted to soil layers and caverns; underground floor of any material -- rough stone, smoothed stone, ore, gem -- can support subterranean farm plots once there is a layer of mud covering it. See [[irrigation]] for tips on getting the right amount of water to the farm plots.

=== Above Ground Farming ===
*Above ground crops farming is impossible on tiles that are part of [[Mountain]] [[biome]]s (or any other "freezing" biome such as [[Glacier]] or [[Tundra]]), regardless of how much mud or soil is present.

Above ground farming is basically the same as underground farming, with the simplifying distinction that above ground plots typically do not require preparatory work. However, there are some complications.

The first complication is that seeds cannot be chosen at embark, as dwarven civilizations do not have access to those sort of plants. They can be bought from [[Elves|elven]] and [[human]] caravans; above-ground plants can be gathered using the [[Plant gathering]] designation, and then [[brewer|brewed]], [[miller|milled]], [[thresher|threshed]] or [[food|eaten]] directly (depending on the plant) to produce seeds.

The second complication is that the farming must be done on [[soil]] or muddied rock, which is [[above ground]]. Typically, it is done on the surface, which is dangerous (due to aggressive animals, ambushes and sieges). However, any land which has ever been exposed to sunlight becomes permanently marked as "above ground". So, if you have multiple Z-layers of soil, you can channel some above-ground land, remove the resulting ramps, then construct a floor above, where the surface once was. The (now inside and protected) lower soil will still be suitable for farming outdoor plants like [[wild strawberry|wild strawberries]], [[longland grass]], [[rope reed]], and anything else you may find. If your soil is not thick enough, you may still get a secure above ground farm by doing the same with any stone and muddying it. Alternatively, you may build a greenhouse by [[wall]]ing around some soil.

Some crops require a particular temperature range to grow; so although it may be possible to plant them in any season, to obtain optimal usage of farm plots it may be necessary to coordinate planting with seasonal temperature variations.{{verify}}

''Note: when creating an above ground plot, the interface may incorrectly display "No mud/soil for farm", even though mud is present. The message can be ignored.''

== Farm plots in action ==

Once a farm plot has been built and crops have been selected for the current season, dwarves with the [[growing]] labor enabled will begin planting the selected seeds. One seed is used per tile. The higher a Dwarf's grower skill in planting, the more plants will be harvested from each seed planted. The farming labor is fairly low in priority, so if you want a full time farmer, it is best to disable all other labors.

Plants take time to grow, depending on their type. Once a plant is fully grown, a dwarf will harvest it. By default, any dwarf will do this. Harvesting plants is not affected by any skill, although it provides a small amount of grower experience. So it's a good idea to set only your planters to harvest, not anyone. To do that, set option "Only Farmers Harvest" {{k|o}}{{k|h}}. This is useful only to train your planter faster; once they're skilled enough, everyone can be allowed to harvest again so the haulers can take care of half the farming work.

Plants that remain in the field for too long will wither. These plants will eventually [[rot]] away. There's no use for withered plants. Farmers plant up to the last day of the growing season; if, when the seasons change, the previous crop can not grow anymore, all immature plants will be destroyed yielding neither seed nor plant. Therefore, it's recommended not to grow crops on the last season they're able to (for example, pig tails in autumn), to prevent losing seeds.

Depending on the number of growers and their experience and the rate at which the plant grows, not all squares of large plots may be used.

Any farm plot that has both Above Ground and Subterranean tile attributes within the plot will only be partially planted, if at all. Verify using {{k|k}} over each square of the plot and remake as needed to follow the proper attributes.

== Management ==

Create a custom [[stockpile]] near your [[farm]] which only accepts [[seed]]s. This will consolidate your seeds into one place, instead of having them littered all through the [[dining room]]. As a single barrel can hold up to 10 seed [[bag]]s (each of which can hold 100 seeds of a specific type), and there is a maximum of 200 seeds of each type in the whole fortress, this stockpile need only be three or four tiles. Unfortunately, due to an outstanding bug, consolidating your seeds will increase the amount of planting job cancellation spam; see the [[#Bugs|Bugs]] section below for workarounds.

It may also be a good idea to set aside a few seeds from each type of crop and [[forbid]] them, as a seed bank in case of [[fun|fun times]].

You can also create a custom stockpile that will only accept [[plant]]s, to avoid having it all mixed up with your [[meat]] and [[drink]]s. It would be a good idea to have this stockpile near your [[still]], [[farmer's workshop]], [[kitchen]], etc. If you suffer from plump helmet overflow, create a plump-helmet-only stockpile, forbid plump helmets from all other food stockpiles, and let the crops in the field die if they can't be picked. It is worth noting that withering crops in the field do not produce miasma.

Use the [[stocks]] menu, and go to the Kitchen tab. From here you can see how many of each kind of food you have. If you're running out of a certain kind of seed, toggle the corresponding plant "Cook" setting to red. [[Cooking]] plants doesn't leave a seed. If you have too many of a certain kind of seed, or of plump helmet, as noted above, toggle the seed "Cook" setting to blue. Just make sure you check on the stocks and toggle it back before you run out, or use the seed bank idea above.

===Managing Seeds===
[[Seed]]s are what are used to grow [[crop]]s. You may begin the game with a certain number of seeds, [[trade]] for them, or [[plant gathering|gather]] them. In addition to this, eating, [[mill|milling]] and [[brewing]] plants often yield a seed (assuming your fortress hasn't hit the seed cap for that plant). [[Cooking]] plants does not yield seeds, and cooking seeds makes them unusable for planting, so you may want to watch out and make sure you don't convert the last of your plants into +sweet pod roast+ without the ability to make more.

You can create a custom [[stockpile]] near your [[farm]] which will only accept [[seed]]s. This will consolidate your seeds into one place, instead of having them littered all through the [[dining room]]. Seeds are stored in [[bag]]s (up to 100 seeds per bag), and seed bags can be stored in barrels.

Each plant has a seed cap set at 200. [[Brewing]], [[mill]]ing, and [[food|eating]] raw plants will not generate additional seeds once the cap is reached, although your [[trader]] may still barter for additional seed bags and thus exceed this limit. Once the count of seeds falls below 200, new seeds will again be generated.

Most seeds may be toggled for [[cooking]] on the Kitchen tab of the [[stocks]] menu. The exception, [[quarry bush|rock nuts]], may be eaten raw. Disabling seed cooking will keep most of your seeds safe from starving dwarves; unfortunately there is no way to prevent your dwarves from consuming rock nuts short of [[forbid]]ding them all.

===Managing Crops===
When ripe, your dwarves will [[farming|harvest]] your [[crop]]s from the [[farm plot]]s. This will yield one or more [[stack]]s of [[plant]]s, which will be [[hauling|hauled]] to the appropriate [[stockpile]]. It is generally a good idea to have sufficient [[barrel]]s to hold the food, as [[food]] is subject to [[wear|withering]] and the predation of [[vermin]]. [[Metal]] barrels are especially effective against vermin.

You can create a custom stockpile that will only accept [[plant]]s, to avoid having it all mixed up with your [[meat]] and [[drink]]s. It would be a good idea to have this stockpile near your [[still]], [[farmer's workshop]], [[kitchen]], etc. You may also choose to make more specialized stockpiles, for instance if your [[mill|windmill]] is located far away from your farms, you might have small nearby stockpiles dedicated solely to millable plants and [[flour]] so as to save on hauling.

The Kitchen tab on the [[stocks]] menu allows you to control which crops, if any, your dwarves will use as ingredients when cooking. Be careful when you are cultivating new crops or running low on others, and make sure you don't cook the last of them instead of recovering the valuable seeds. Note that experienced [[farmer]]s and crop [[fertilize|fertilization]] significantly increase the return on planted seeds, and can be quite useful when attempting to build your seed stockpile.

==Bugs==

* Haulers will frequently take a full, heavy seed barrel from a stockpile to go pick up a single seed bag, having the unfortunate side effect of making all of the hauled seeds unusable for planting and spamming job cancellations. {{bug|5964}}
** Workaround #1: set your seed stockpile to only take from links ({{k|a}}). When seed supplies run low, toggle it back to "anywhere" temporarily to gather up all the loose seeds.
** Workaround #2: disable barrels ({{k|E}}) in the seed stockpile. This means making the stockpile larger, as only one seed bag will be stored per tile. However, at 100 seeds per bag and with the 200 seed cap per seed type (cf. [[seed]]), this still only amounts to 12 tiles for a full underground-crop seed stockpile, assuming each seed type is only stored in 2 bags. Haulers will still take a whole bag to gather individual seeds, but this is better than taking a whole barrel full of seed bags.
** Workaround #3: create two custom [[stockpile]]s which only accept [[seed]]s. Disable barrels in the first stockpile, and set it to give to the second stockpile. Set the second to only take from links.
** Workaround #4: disable seeds in all stockpiles and recruit a few extra farmers. No hauled seeds means no planting job cancellation spam.

{{Farming FAQ}}

== See also ==
* [[Irrigation]]
* [[Tile attributes]]
* [[Crops]]

{{Category|Buildings}}
{{Industry}}

v0.34:Farming

2013-12-12T08:36:06Z

Brinedog: /* Above Ground Farming */ bug: http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/mantisbt/view.php?id=5571

{{quality|Exceptional|14:06, 26 July 2012 (UTC)}}{{av}}
[[Image:Df-crops-diagram.png|thumb|200px|General farming flowchart.]]

'''Farming''' is the act of growing [[crop|crops]] for [[food]], [[alcohol]] production and [[cloth]] manufacturing. While small forts can easily be sustained by plant gathering, [[hunting]] and trading, farming is vital to large settlements.

Farming is done at a '''farm plot''' building ({{k|b}}-{{k|p}}, resize with {{k|u}}{{k|m}}{{k|k}}{{k|h}}). Building uses no resources, and can only be done on soil or muddied rock. Mud-free stone will not allow the building of a farm plot on top. The "Farming (Fields)" [[labor]] must be enabled. Farm plots only display the kind of crops that they are able to grow when selected with the {{k|q}}uery key.

Depending on where the farm plot is constructed, different crops may be planted. Farm plots built [[above ground]] are not suitable for the crops grown on [[subterranean]] farm plots and vice versa. Note that the attributes {{DFtext|Inside|6:0:0}}, {{DFtext|Outside|3:0:1}} are of no relevance. You can grow surface plants indoors by channelling out the roof above the desired plot and then constructing a floor ({{k|b}}-{{k|C}}-{{k|f}}) over the open space. Doing this changes the tile from {{DFtext|Dark|0:0:1}} to {{DFtext|Light|6:0:1}}, despite there being a roof (you do '''not''' need to make the roof out of [[glass]] for this to work).

Note that although you can construct a farm plot anywhere there is either a soil floor or a mud covering, this does not always mean seeds can be planted there. Certain biomes will not allow planting certain seeds, and some biomes will prevent the planting of '''all''' above-ground crops.

The yellow warning message, {{DFtext|No mud/soil for farm, Mud is left by water|6:0:1}}, is displayed on all above-ground tiles, regardless of whether the farm will function.{{version|0.34.11}} This warning may be ignored. Tiles that actually lack mud or soil are excluded from the construction entirely with a red warning message (either {{DFtext|Blocked|4:0:1}} or {{DFtext|Needs soil or mud|4:0:1}}).

See the article on [[crop]]s for details on the conditions needed to grow the available plants.

== Introduction to Farming ==

First, build a farm plot "building" ({{k|b}}-{{k|p}}, resize with {{k|u}}{{k|m}}{{k|k}}{{k|h}}) on [[soil]] or [[irrigation|muddy]] rock. Keep your farms ''small'' -- 2x2 up to 4x4 or so. Farms are surprisingly productive. You can always make more farms later if you run low on plants, and having several small farms lets you diversify your crops. (Each farm plot can only grow one kind of plant per season.)

Once the farm plot has been built, you must select which crops to grow. Press {{k|q}} and move the cursor over the farm. You will see a list of crops you can select to grow in the current season. You can change which season is displayed by pressing {{k|a}},{{k|b}},{{k|c}}, or {{k|d}}. Move the blue selector up and down with {{k|-}} and {{k|+}}, and press {{k|Enter}} to choose a crop to plant during that season (highlighted in white).

You must have the appropriate [[seed]]s to plant a crop on a plot. To easily see how many of each seed you have, you can go to the Kitchen menu ({{k|z}} {{k|right}} {{k|Enter}}).

Since your dwarves require food, booze and clothing, you should set up a combination of plants that will supply all of these. [[Plump helmet]]s are a good beginning crop for a first cave farm, and [[wild strawberries]] are a good choice for outdoor fields -- both can be eaten raw, or brewed. [[Pig tail]]s produce cloth, which will become important once your clothing starts to [[wear]]. Check the [[crop]]s page for details on different seeds.

Cooking plants destroys their seeds, so you should disable the cooking of plants in the Kitchen menu. Eating them, brewing them, or processing them through a farmer's workshop, quern or millstone will produce seeds.

Instructing a plot to remain fallow ({{k|z}}) during a particular season will tell dwarves not to plant in that plot during that season. Note that, unlike in real life, crop rotation is not necessary; soil productivity is only affected by fertilizing, and the same crop may be grown indefinitely without a decrease in performance, even without fertilizer.

=== Fertilization ===
{| border="1" align="right"
! Farm Size !! Potash !! Per Square
|-
| 1 || 1 || 1.000
|-
| 2 || 1 || 0.500
|-
| 3 || 1 || 0.333
|-
| 4 || 2 || 0.500
|-
| 5 || 2 || 0.400
|-
| 6 || 2 || 0.333
|-
| 7 || 2 || 0.286
|-
| 8 || 3 || 0.375
|-
| 11 || 3 || 0.272
|-
| 15 || 4 || 0.266
|-
| 19 || 5 || 0.263
|-
| 23 || 6 || 0.260
|-
| 27 || 7 || 0.259
|}

Fertilizing a farm plot increases the yield (the number of plants that grow in each planted tile). The exact improvement is not known. To fertilize a farm plot, one needs [[potash]], which is produced by processing [[ash]]. The plot must be re-fertilized each season, requiring ''floor(plot_size / 4) + 1'' potash. The table on the right illustrates the efficiency of potash as a function of plot size. Generally, larger farms use less, approaching a limit of 1/4 bar per square. The worst sizes are multiples of 4; if one plans to fertilize, it's most efficient to have plots of size ''4n - 1'', where n is the number of potash used. Suitable sizes are 1x3, 1x7, 3x5, 3x9, 5x7, and 7x9.

Fertilizer may be applied to a plot by pressing {{k|f}} while viewing the plot. Only dwarves with the Farming (Fields) labor will apply fertilizer; this grants 30 XP of farming experience for each unit of potash used. Pressing {{k|s}} toggles seasonal fertilization. This does nothing until the next [[season]], at which time the plot will be automatically fertilized. Note that if you do not have a potash stockpile near your farm plots, your legendary farmers may spend all of their time hauling single bars of potash from all the way on the other side of your fortress, rather than growing food.

=== Subterranean Farming ===

To grow the six "dwarven" plants, you will need an underground farm plot. The seeds and spawn available to your dwarves at embark will only grow underground. Underground farm plots must be placed on soil or [[mud]]dy stone.

Muddying a stone floor requires temporarily covering it with water; common methods include a [[Irrigation#via_Buckets|bucket brigade]] or '''controlled''' [[flood]]ing (see: [[Irrigation]]) by temporarily diverting a river or pool, using a [[floodgate]] or [[door]] to stop the flow. You may also find a muddied area in a [[cavern]], but note that each tile underneath the farm plot must be muddied. Most caverns have entire open areas which will be permanently covered in mud, but if you dig into the walls of a cavern or chisel away a pillar, the freshly cut floor area will not be muddied until you get it wet. Underground caverns are dirty, and frequently contain [[Mud|piles of mud]] that are perfect for quickly setting up farms. However, given the wide variety of creatures found in caverns, you may want to take precautions. Consider keeping a [[squad]] close at hand to guard the farm, or walling off a muddied area for your dwarves' exclusive use.

Underground farming is not restricted to soil layers and caverns; underground floor of any material -- rough stone, smoothed stone, ore, gem -- can support subterranean farm plots once there is a layer of mud covering it. See [[irrigation]] for tips on getting the right amount of water to the farm plots.

=== Above Ground Farming ===
*Above ground crops farming is impossible on tiles that are part of [[Mountain]] [[biome]]s (or any other "freezing" biome such as [[Glacier]] or [[Tundra]]), regardless of how much mud or soil is present.

Above ground farming is basically the same as underground farming, with the simplifying distinction that above ground plots typically do not require preparatory work. However, there are some complications.

The first complication is that seeds cannot be chosen at embark, as dwarven civilizations do not have access to those sort of plants. They can be bought from [[Elves|elven]] and [[human]] caravans; above-ground plants can be gathered using the [[Plant gathering]] designation, and then [[brewer|brewed]], [[miller|milled]], [[thresher|threshed]] or [[food|eaten]] directly (depending on the plant) to produce seeds.

The second complication is that the farming must be done on [[soil]] or muddied rock, which is [[above ground]]. Typically, it is done on the surface, which is dangerous (due to aggressive animals, ambushes and sieges). However, any land which has ever been exposed to sunlight becomes permanently marked as "above ground". So, if you have multiple Z-layers of soil, you can channel some above-ground land, remove the resulting ramps, then construct a floor above, where the surface once was. The (now inside and protected) lower soil will still be suitable for farming outdoor plants like [[wild strawberry|wild strawberries]], [[longland grass]], [[rope reed]], and anything else you may find. If your soil is not thick enough, you may still get a secure above ground farm by doing the same with any stone and muddying it. Alternatively, you may build a greenhouse by [[wall]]ing around some soil.

Some crops require a particular temperature range to grow; so although it may be possible to plant them in any season, to obtain optimal usage of farm plots it may be necessary to coordinate planting with seasonal temperature variations.{{verify}}

''Note: when creating an above ground plot, the may incorrectly display "No mud/soil for farm", even though mud is present. The message can be ignored.''

== Farm plots in action ==

Once a farm plot has been built and crops have been selected for the current season, dwarves with the [[growing]] labor enabled will begin planting the selected seeds. One seed is used per tile. The higher a Dwarf's grower skill in planting, the more plants will be harvested from each seed planted. The farming labor is fairly low in priority, so if you want a full time farmer, it is best to disable all other labors.

Plants take time to grow, depending on their type. Once a plant is fully grown, a dwarf will harvest it. By default, any dwarf will do this. Harvesting plants is not affected by any skill, although it provides a small amount of grower experience. So it's a good idea to set only your planters to harvest, not anyone. To do that, set option "Only Farmers Harvest" {{k|o}}{{k|h}}. This is useful only to train your planter faster; once they're skilled enough, everyone can be allowed to harvest again so the haulers can take care of half the farming work.

Plants that remain in the field for too long will wither. These plants will eventually [[rot]] away. There's no use for withered plants. Farmers plant up to the last day of the growing season; if, when the seasons change, the previous crop can not grow anymore, all immature plants will be destroyed yielding neither seed nor plant. Therefore, it's recommended not to grow crops on the last season they're able to (for example, pig tails in autumn), to prevent losing seeds.

Depending on the number of growers and their experience and the rate at which the plant grows, not all squares of large plots may be used.

Any farm plot that has both Above Ground and Subterranean tile attributes within the plot will only be partially planted, if at all. Verify using {{k|k}} over each square of the plot and remake as needed to follow the proper attributes.

== Management ==

Create a custom [[stockpile]] near your [[farm]] which only accepts [[seed]]s. This will consolidate your seeds into one place, instead of having them littered all through the [[dining room]]. As a single barrel can hold up to 10 seed [[bag]]s (each of which can hold 100 seeds of a specific type), and there is a maximum of 200 seeds of each type in the whole fortress, this stockpile need only be three or four tiles. Unfortunately, due to an outstanding bug, consolidating your seeds will increase the amount of planting job cancellation spam; see the [[#Bugs|Bugs]] section below for workarounds.

It may also be a good idea to set aside a few seeds from each type of crop and [[forbid]] them, as a seed bank in case of [[fun|fun times]].

You can also create a custom stockpile that will only accept [[plant]]s, to avoid having it all mixed up with your [[meat]] and [[drink]]s. It would be a good idea to have this stockpile near your [[still]], [[farmer's workshop]], [[kitchen]], etc. If you suffer from plump helmet overflow, create a plump-helmet-only stockpile, forbid plump helmets from all other food stockpiles, and let the crops in the field die if they can't be picked. It is worth noting that withering crops in the field do not produce miasma.

Use the [[stocks]] menu, and go to the Kitchen tab. From here you can see how many of each kind of food you have. If you're running out of a certain kind of seed, toggle the corresponding plant "Cook" setting to red. [[Cooking]] plants doesn't leave a seed. If you have too many of a certain kind of seed, or of plump helmet, as noted above, toggle the seed "Cook" setting to blue. Just make sure you check on the stocks and toggle it back before you run out, or use the seed bank idea above.

===Managing Seeds===
[[Seed]]s are what are used to grow [[crop]]s. You may begin the game with a certain number of seeds, [[trade]] for them, or [[plant gathering|gather]] them. In addition to this, eating, [[mill|milling]] and [[brewing]] plants often yield a seed (assuming your fortress hasn't hit the seed cap for that plant). [[Cooking]] plants does not yield seeds, and cooking seeds makes them unusable for planting, so you may want to watch out and make sure you don't convert the last of your plants into +sweet pod roast+ without the ability to make more.

You can create a custom [[stockpile]] near your [[farm]] which will only accept [[seed]]s. This will consolidate your seeds into one place, instead of having them littered all through the [[dining room]]. Seeds are stored in [[bag]]s (up to 100 seeds per bag), and seed bags can be stored in barrels.

Each plant has a seed cap set at 200. [[Brewing]], [[mill]]ing, and [[food|eating]] raw plants will not generate additional seeds once the cap is reached, although your [[trader]] may still barter for additional seed bags and thus exceed this limit. Once the count of seeds falls below 200, new seeds will again be generated.

Most seeds may be toggled for [[cooking]] on the Kitchen tab of the [[stocks]] menu. The exception, [[quarry bush|rock nuts]], may be eaten raw. Disabling seed cooking will keep most of your seeds safe from starving dwarves; unfortunately there is no way to prevent your dwarves from consuming rock nuts short of [[forbid]]ding them all.

===Managing Crops===
When ripe, your dwarves will [[farming|harvest]] your [[crop]]s from the [[farm plot]]s. This will yield one or more [[stack]]s of [[plant]]s, which will be [[hauling|hauled]] to the appropriate [[stockpile]]. It is generally a good idea to have sufficient [[barrel]]s to hold the food, as [[food]] is subject to [[wear|withering]] and the predation of [[vermin]]. [[Metal]] barrels are especially effective against vermin.

You can create a custom stockpile that will only accept [[plant]]s, to avoid having it all mixed up with your [[meat]] and [[drink]]s. It would be a good idea to have this stockpile near your [[still]], [[farmer's workshop]], [[kitchen]], etc. You may also choose to make more specialized stockpiles, for instance if your [[mill|windmill]] is located far away from your farms, you might have small nearby stockpiles dedicated solely to millable plants and [[flour]] so as to save on hauling.

The Kitchen tab on the [[stocks]] menu allows you to control which crops, if any, your dwarves will use as ingredients when cooking. Be careful when you are cultivating new crops or running low on others, and make sure you don't cook the last of them instead of recovering the valuable seeds. Note that experienced [[farmer]]s and crop [[fertilize|fertilization]] significantly increase the return on planted seeds, and can be quite useful when attempting to build your seed stockpile.

==Bugs==

* Haulers will frequently take a full, heavy seed barrel from a stockpile to go pick up a single seed bag, having the unfortunate side effect of making all of the hauled seeds unusable for planting and spamming job cancellations. {{bug|5964}}
** Workaround #1: set your seed stockpile to only take from links ({{k|a}}). When seed supplies run low, toggle it back to "anywhere" temporarily to gather up all the loose seeds.
** Workaround #2: disable barrels ({{k|E}}) in the seed stockpile. This means making the stockpile larger, as only one seed bag will be stored per tile. However, at 100 seeds per bag and with the 200 seed cap per seed type (cf. [[seed]]), this still only amounts to 12 tiles for a full underground-crop seed stockpile, assuming each seed type is only stored in 2 bags. Haulers will still take a whole bag to gather individual seeds, but this is better than taking a whole barrel full of seed bags.
** Workaround #3: create two custom [[stockpile]]s which only accept [[seed]]s. Disable barrels in the first stockpile, and set it to give to the second stockpile. Set the second to only take from links.
** Workaround #4: disable seeds in all stockpiles and recruit a few extra farmers. No hauled seeds means no planting job cancellation spam.

{{Farming FAQ}}

== See also ==
* [[Irrigation]]
* [[Tile attributes]]
* [[Crops]]

{{Category|Buildings}}
{{Industry}}

v0.34:Trade depot

2013-12-12T02:31:30Z

Brinedog: /* Depot accessibility */ can place depot behind traps

{{quality|Exceptional|18:32, 8 November 2010 (UTC)}}
{{Building|name=Trade depot|key=D
|job=
* [[Broker]] noble (optional)
|construction=
* 3 [[Building material]]s (non-[[economic]])
|construction_job=
* [[Architecture]]
* and 1 of:
** [[Metalsmithing]]
** [[Masonry]]
** [[Carpentry]]
|purpose=
Trade goods with [[caravan|merchants]].
}}{{av}}

A '''Trade Depot''' allows you to trade with [[caravan]]s that arrive at your fortress. Trade depots can be created from almost any material, and construction requires the [[Architecture]] skill along with the appropriate craft labor ([[Carpentry]], [[Masonry]], or [[Metalsmithing]]). Three materials must be used to build the Trade Depot, and it seems that the second material chosen is the main material, as the Depot takes the color of that substance{{verify}}. There must be at least 10 spaces between the Depot and the edge of the map. They can be built on top of [[construction|constructed]] floors and walls, allowing you to make a trade depot which is elevated above the surrounding land.

== Depot accessibility ==

Hitting {{K|D}} will tell you if the depot is accessible via a [[wagon]], which requires a three tile wide path from the depot to the edge of the map. ''Warning:'' If the map has an extremely large amount of [[tree]]s (Heavily Forested) there may not be any way for the caravan to get to your depot, unless you chop down a path for the wagons.

If you place your depot behind traps, you will receive messages about caravans not being able to reach your "inaccessible" depot, but they will nevertheless turn up at the depot and trade as normal.

[[Boulder]]s (the natural kind) and [[minecart|track]]s also block wagons. Boulders can be removed by [[engraving|smooth]]ing ({{k|d}}-{{k|s}}) or constructing and removing a [[wall]]. [[Bridge]]s can serve as an alternative for tracks.

== Depot building options ==

Press {{K|b}}-{{K|D}} to build a depot. It is a 5x5 structure. Once built, hit {{K|q}} to bring up the building interaction mode, and then move your cursor over the Trade Depot to gain access to the following options:

=== Move Goods to/from Depot ===
{{K|g}}: This command becomes active when a caravan arrives on your map. This screen menu is similar to the [[stocks]] menu ({{K|z}} - Stocks). This is where you select what items you want to trade with the caravan. If you have particular items you want to sell to the caravan, you can {{K|s}}earch for it. This is convenient if you want to export all your prepared meals or finished goods. Also shown is the culling on {{K|m}}andate option. The move to depot screen will not show things that violate an export [[mandate]]. By pressing {{K|m}}, it will change to Ignoring {{K|m}}andates, and you can select banned items for export. For example, if your [[mayor]] has a mandate banning the export of iron, this screen will hide bins that contain iron items. By changing this option, all iron items will be shown.{{Verify}}

After selecting items and exiting the screen, [[job]]s will be queued to move the items to the depot. All dwarves, regardless of [[labor]] settings, can move goods to the depot. Items that have not been moved will show [PENDING], while those that have been brought to the depot and are ready for trade and will be marked as [TRADING].

Items selected for trading will remain at the depot until the caravan leaves. Alternatively you can select the item again. Once no longer required at the depot, items will be available for use or hauling to stockpiles as normal. If you don't want all the items to be returned to their stockpiles, you can optionally {{K|f}}orbid them by looking at the [[Controls_guide#View_items_in_buildings.2C_t|i{{K|t}}ems]] in the depot.

=== No trader needed at depot or Trader requested at depot ===
{{K|r}}: This requests a dwarf to come to the depot. To conduct trades with caravans, a trader must be present at the Trade Depot. Once requested, a job will be created for a dwarf to make their way to the depot and remain there until released with this setting, or the job is interrupted, such as by the dwarf deciding to drink, sleep, or eat. The Trade at Depot job is fairly low-priority, so [[labor]]s may have to be disabled in order to get the broker to begin the job, or the broker can be temporarily added to a burrow which covers only the depot.

=== Only broker may trade or Anyone may trade ===
{{K|b}}: This setting determines who will perform the trade. If '''Only broker may trade''' is active, then only the [[Broker]] [[noble]] will respond to the trader request. This can become a problem when the broker is sleeping or otherwise occupied, but dwarves with low [[Broker skills]] will receive poorer deals when trading. If anyone may trade is selected, and someone other than the broker becomes a better [[appraiser]] than the broker, the broker's appraisal skill is still used.

=== Trade ===
{{K|t}}: This option becomes available once the caravan and your trader are both at the depot. It begins trading. If more than one set of merchants is using the trade depot, you will be given the option of who you want to trade with.

=== Bugs ===
Setting a meeting area over a depot, then removing it, will cause dwarves to act as though it were still a meeting area. This is irreversible.

Having the merchants unloading goods, then releasing any caged hostile creatures near them will remove the option to trade. This does not go away when the hostile creature is dealt with.

Dumping items belonging to the merchants will result in the depot thinking merchants are gone but the merchants hanging around

Slating a depot for removal immediately after causing the caravan trader to be unwilling to do business with your dwarves (e.g. trading wood to the elves) will cause the caravan to leave all their items and embark on their journey, leaving you to claim the items for yourself. This will cause nearly all of your dwarves to carry all of the items left behind to your stockpile, most likely overfilling them and dramatically increasing your fort's wealth. Be warned that this will almost definitely strain relations with the trading civilization...

Large gems, once selected to be traded, will remain at the Depot forever. This bug occurs because no stockpile accepts large gems, and is not specific to the Depot.

{{Buildings}}

v0.34:Forbid

2013-12-11T09:30:34Z

Brinedog: moved some text from Stocks

{{quality|Exceptional|06:16, 1 April 2011 (UTC)}}
{{av}}

An item that is forbidden will never be handled by your dwarves. It is the opposite of [[reclaim]]. For example, [[stone]]s that have been forbidden will not appear in the [[construction]] menu, and will not be used at [[workshop]]s. If a forbidden object is on a build site, the building will be suspended and an announcement will appear informing the player that the build site is blocked.

==Forbidding items==
*In order to forbid a specific item, use {{k|k}} and scroll over the item you wish to forbid. Then press {{k|f}} in order to toggle the forbidden state of the item. You can also go to the stocks menu and toggle forbid for certain items.

*In order to mass forbid entire swathes of items, use the {{k|d}}-{{k|b}}-{{k|f}} keys and designate items with either the keyboard or the mouse.

*In order to prevent your dwarves from using a specific workshop, press {{k|t}} and forbid the materials that the workshop is made of.

==Uses of forbidding items==
*Dwarves in [[strange mood]]s can be directed to materials of your choice by selectively forbidding objects.

*Preventing dwarves from looting the bodies of your enemies (or friends) during a [[siege]] by forbidding items on the battlefield is generally a good idea. You can also go to the Forbid orders menu with {{k|o}}-{{k|F}} to make these forbidden by default.

*You can use the mass designation tool to forbid items in sealed off areas in order to get a more accurate representation of available resources in your stocks screen. Don't forget to reclaim when it's time to go spelunking!

*Forbidding [[egg]]s allows them to hatch

==Getting Items Back==
The mass reclaim function{{k|d}}-{{k|b}}-{{k|c}} can be used to regain access to forbidden items if needed. This is especially useful if you cannot directly toggle the forbidden setting of items.
For example, claiming the weapons of an armed weapon in a cage is only possible with mass reclaim (the {{k|u}}-{{k|i}} menu
is not accessible for caged creatures).

==Forbidding Stone through the Stocks screen==

Note that if you forbid a type of stone (or [[block]]) using the [[Stocks]] screen, you will also forbid ''every workshop and building'' made from that particular type of stone (or block). This is a common cause of dwarves suddenly refusing to perform assigned tasks in workshops. Use {{k|t}} or <d,b,c> to check for forbidden workshops (or other items) and to reclaim them - use Enter to affect a rectangular area, or click with your mouse on specific items or buildings.

Some players make a point to use only [[block]]s for their workshops, so forbidding all of a particular type of stone won't stop work in every workshop built from that stone. (And then they don't use this menu to forbid blocks.)

{{Category|Designations}}
{{Category|Fortress mode}}

v0.34:Stocks

2013-12-11T09:29:56Z

Brinedog: moved stone forbid details to the Forbid page

{{quality|Exceptional|00:30, 14 October 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}
The '''Stocks''' screen, accessible via the '''[[Status]]''' screen, is a careful record of your fort's entire inventory. It is managed by the [[bookkeeper]], who periodically must update the [[stockpile]] records, depending on how quickly your fort's [[wealth]] is growing or being depleted.

==Layout==
The Stocks screen displays a list of product categories on the left side. Next to those categories is the total number of objects you have that fit within that category, split into first column (grey): number available or in use normally, and second column (red): number of restricted items (read more below), both adding up to the total number on the map.

[[Image:Jt_stocks_screen.png|800px]]

==Contents==
*[[Meat]] - [[meat]] and [[prepared organs]]
*[[Fish]] - cleaned [[fish]], [[oyster]]s, [[cave lobster]]s, [[pond turtle]]s
*[[Raw fish]] - uncleaned fish or other food items produced by fishing
*[[Egg]]
*[[Plant]]s - unprocessed plants
*[[Prepared meal]]s
*[[Cheese]]
*[[Powder]] - [[dye]], [[dwarven sugar]], [[sand]], [[flour]], [[plaster]]
*[[Drink]]s
*[[Leaves]] - [[quarry bush]] leaves
*[[Liquid]] - [[water]] in [[bucket]]s
*[[Glob]] - [[fat]] and [[tallow]]
*[[Seed]]s
*[[Weapon]]s
*[[Ammunition]]
*[[Armor]] - mail shirts, breastplates, and "covers" like cloaks
*[[Clothing|Legwear]]
*[[Clothing|Headwear]]
*[[Clothing|Handwear]]
*[[Clothing|Footwear]]
*[[Armor#Shield user|Shields/bucklers]]
*[[Backpack]]s
*[[Quiver]]s
*[[Anvil]]s
*[[Armor stand]]s
*[[Weapon rack]]s
*[[Cabinet]]s
*[[Door]]s
*[[Floodgate]]s
*[[Bed]]s
*[[Throne]]s
*[[Table]]s
*[[Coffin]]s
*[[Statue]]s
*[[Slab]]s
*[[Tanned hide]]s
*[[Cloth]]
*[[Thread]]
*[[Wood|Logs]]
*[[Stone]]s
*[[Gem|Rough gems]]
*[[Bar]]s
*[[Cut gem]]s
*[[Gem industry#Large gems|Large gems]]
*[[Coin]]s
*[[Block]]s
*[[Vermin|Small]] [[Animal training|tame]] [[vermin|animals]]
*Small live animals
*[[Pipe section]]s
*[[Hatch|Hatch covers]]
*[[Grate]]s
*[[Quern]]s
*[[Millstone]]s
*[[Window]]s
*[[Animal trap]]s
*[[Chain]]s
*[[Cage]]s
*[[Coffer|Boxes]] and [[bag]]s
*[[Bin]]s
*[[Barrel]]s
*[[Bucket]]s
*[[Mechanism]]s
*[[Trap component]]s
*[[Flask]]s
*[[Goblet]]s
*[[Toy]]s
*[[Tool]]s
*[[Instrument|Musical instrument]]s
*[[Useless crap|Figurines]]
*[[Useless crap|Amulets]]
*[[Useless crap|Crowns]]
*[[Useless crap|Scepters]]
*[[Useless crap|Rings]]
*[[Useless crap|Earrings]]
*[[Useless crap|Bracelets]]
*[[Catapult]] parts
*[[Ballista]] parts
*[[Ballista arrow|Siege ammo]]
*Ballista arrowheads - ballista arrowheads without their arrows yet
*[[Totem]]s
*[[Corpse]]s
*[[Body parts]]
*[[Remains]]
*Small rock
*[[Splint]]s
*[[Crutch]]es
*[[Traction bench]]es
*[[Cast|Limb/body casts]]
*[[Slab]]s

==Bookkeeping & precision==

Precision determines how well your dwarves are keeping count of all your items. Items are grouped into general categories - for instance, all hand weapons, crossbows and picks are "weapons". The biggest is typically "stones" - all stones you have mined out are included in one category, and viewable by specific type only if your level of accuracy is adequate for that number; anything less, and you will only have a rough total, no ability to view or manipulate the individual items.

The precision of the Stocks screen depends on the settings of the [[bookkeeper]] [[noble]]. (Use {{k|n}} {{k|s}} to access that screen.) Precision affects three factors - the time spent at that labor (more precision takes more time), the number of significant figures (see immediately below), and whether the Inventory is active or unavailable for a given item type (see Inventory, bottom).

There are five possible settings:

; Lowest Precision
: This is the default setting, precise only to one significant figure. It's only fine for your initial embark until you feel you need the Inventory feature, below, and have time to designate a [[chair]] ''(perhaps in your first [[dining room]], at least to start)'' as an [[office]]/study.
:*Any number from 0 to 9 will be exact. Inventory is available only for categories with 9 items or less.
:*A number from 10 to 99 will be rounded to the nearest 10.
:*A number from 100 to 999 will be rounded to the nearest 100.
:*A number from 1,000 to 9,999 will be rounded to the nearest 1,000.
:*A number equal to 10,000 or more will be rounded to the nearest 10,000.

; Low Precision
: This setting is precise to two significant figures. This is fine for a starting fortress, since few will have over 99 of most items, stone being the usual first exception.
:*Any number from 0 to 99 will be exact. Inventory is available only for categories with 99 items or less.
:*A number from 100 to 999 will be rounded to the nearest 10.
:*A number from 1,000 to 9,999 will be rounded to the nearest 100.
:*A number equal to 10,000 or more will be rounded to the nearest 1,000.

; Medium Precision
: This setting is precise to three significant figures. This is a good and practical level to maintain stockpile records at for an early fort, since typically stones are the only item that will number over 999 in the first years. (Note that although you have many types of stone, it is the total that matters for any one such category.)
:*Any number from 0 to 999 will be exact.
:*A number from 1,000 to 9,999 will be rounded to the nearest 10. Inventory is available only for categories with 999 items or less.
:*A number equal to 10,000 or more will be rounded to the nearest 100.

; High Precision
: This setting is precise to four significant figures, ample for most needs. This setting is most useful for managing stone (like forbidding one type entirely). Eventually other items, like food or drink, could grow to be in this range as well, depending on play style.
:*Any number from 0 to 9,999 will be exact. Inventory is available only for categories with 9,999 items or less.
:*A number equal to 10,000 or more will be rounded to the nearest 10.

; Highest Precision
: This setting is perfectly and completely precise for any number of items in any category. All stockpile records will be exact. Inventory available for all items and all categories, regardless of number.
:Maintaining stockpile records at this level starts out as a full-time job but becomes easier to maintain once that level is achieved.

If a number has been rounded, it will appear with a trailing question mark and will be displayed in brown instead of light grey (for instance, "20?" instead of "17"). Above the lowest precision, your [[bookkeeper]] requires a meager office, and for every level of precision, he or she will spend more time there updating the stock record.

==Inventory==

If you have a sufficient level of precision to count each item in the given category, you will see an inventory display on the right side of the screen. If you do not have enough precision, the right side of the screen will be blank, and you will not be able to see (or manipulate) each individual item in that category.

So, if you are Lowest level precision, and you have 9 weapons, you can see an itemized list of each one, and be able to forbid it, find it, melt it, etc etc from that screen. If you have 10 (or more), you will see only that you have 10? items of that general category, and not which ones.

When active, this inventory display has two modes:
* '''Compacted View''': The default mode, lists objects by type and total number, it doesn't show Unclaimed Items (see below). It is handy to get a general idea of the number of goods you have available.

* '''Detailed View''': hit "Tab" key to toggle, lists each individual object* in your fort, even the Unclaimed Items (see below). This display is useful for selecting individual items to [[forbid]], [[melt]] or [[dump]]. To toggle between either of the two modes, press {{key|Tab}}.

'':(* or individual [[stack]] of objects, in the case of ammo or food)''

In the detailed mode, the items text is colour coded.
====Color Code====

{| width="100%" style="margin-left: .5cm"
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" width="10%"| '''BROWN'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="90%"| 
These items were '''produced by the fortress''' (or obtained and then [[decorate]]d there)
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" width="10%"| '''LGRAY'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="90%"| 
These items are owned but were '''''not'' produced at fort''' (obtained via trading or enemies)
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" width="10%"| '''CYAN'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="90%"| 
'''Built [[furniture]]''', currently part of a '''[[building]]''' or a '''[[trap]]''', currently '''marked for [[Trading|Trade]]''' in a [[Trade depot]], or buried skeleton/corpse
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" width="10%"| '''MAGENTA'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="90%"| 
Currently '''forbidden''' or designated for '''dump/melt''', or part of a '''[[construction]]'''
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" width="10%"| '''RED'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="90%"| 
'''Not owned''' by fort ''(uncollected webs, and trade goods and equipment currently owned by [[trader]]s or [[invader]]s)''
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" width="10%"| '''DGRAY'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="90%"| 
'''Destroyed''' or '''lost''' ([[artifact]]s only)
|-
|}

:''The colors shown reflect the default [[color scheme]].''

====Bracketing====
In addition to items being bracketed to indicate their [[Item_quality|quality]], there are certain symbols that will bracket an item to indicate that it's different from normal.

* Bracketing with '''<code>(round brackets)</code>''' indicates that the item was not produced by your dwarves. This includes all items you start the game with, all items [[immigration|immigrants]] bring with them, and all items belonging to [[caravan|traders]] and [[siege|invaders]]. You can make an item count as being produced by your dwarves either by transforming it into something else (like turning a [[log]] into a [[bed]]) or by [[decoration|decorating]] it.
* Bracketing with '''<code>{curly brackets}</code>''' indicates that the item is forbidden.
* Bracketing with '''<code>xcrossesx</code>''' or '''<code>Xcapital crossesX</code>''' or '''<code>XXdouble capital crossesXX</code>''' indicates that the item is partially [[wear|worn out]]. This applies mainly to [[clothing]] that's wearing out, [[food]] that's going rotten, and [[building]]s that are being attacked by [[building destroyer]]s.
* Bracketing with '''<code>‼double exclamation marks‼</code>''' indicates that the item is on [[fire]].

==Item Categories==
The Items seem to fall into two main categories for the numbers in the Stocks, and its modes:

* '''Available Items''' (Gray Number): includes items ready to be used.
** In-transit items count to stock levels, but are not usable to build with. (i.e. a bed in transit shows as available in the stock menu, but is not usable when trying to place a bed)
* '''Restricted Items''' (Red Number): includes items not ready to be used like:
** Dump / Melt{{verify}} items
** Forbidden items:
*** These are marked with a yellow F
*** In the '''Compacted View''' a brown F indicates only some items in the stack are forbidden.
*** Items in caverns start forbidden:
**** Preserved meat
**** Prepared meat
**** Fish
**** Leather
** Built Items: ''almost'' everything marked as "B" if seen using {{k|t}}, or everything that was used to create a building:
*** Built Furniture: doors, beds, thrones, chairs, tables, floodgates, cages, etc.
*** Traps
*** Building materials: stones, blocks, anvils, etc.
** Construction Materials: used in walls, floors, etc.
** Untrapped{{verify}} Untamed{{verify}} Small Live Animals: live honey bees, etc.
** '''Unclaimed Items''': these are not shown in the '''Compacted View''' and are marked as "B" if seen using {{k|t}}, although they weren't used to create the building:
*** Unharvested Crops: plants grown in the farm plot, are marked as "B" until collected.
*** Planted Seeds: these are put into the farm plot, are marked as "B" and then become full grown plants.
** '''Not Owned by fort''':
*** Uncollected webs in caverns

The modes:
* '''Compacted View''': shows:
** Available Items
** Restricted Items with the exception of:
*** Unclaimed Items
* '''Detailed View''': shows everything

==Forbidding and dumping==

Items can be [[forbid|forbidden]] and [[Garbage dump|dumped]] from the Stocks screen, either individually or en masse for every item of the same type.

==Stone category warning==

''Warning:'' With a mature fort with extensive amounts of rock laying around, simply viewing the Stone category can cause the game to completely lock up as the CPU processes the list, sometimes for several minutes depending on the abilities of your computer. If you experience this, use of the "page up" and "page down" keys can allow safely skipping this section.

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

v0.34:Stocks

2013-12-11T08:28:42Z

Brinedog: /* Color Code */ no such page

{{quality|Exceptional|00:30, 14 October 2010 (UTC)}}{{av}}
The '''Stocks''' screen, accessible via the '''[[Status]]''' screen, is a careful record of your fort's entire inventory. It is managed by the [[bookkeeper]], who periodically must update the [[stockpile]] records, depending on how quickly your fort's [[wealth]] is growing or being depleted.

==Layout==
The Stocks screen displays a list of product categories on the left side. Next to those categories is the total number of objects you have that fit within that category, split into first column (grey): number available or in use normally, and second column (red): number of restricted items (read more below), both adding up to the total number on the map.

[[Image:Jt_stocks_screen.png|800px]]

==Contents==
*[[Meat]] - [[meat]] and [[prepared organs]]
*[[Fish]] - cleaned [[fish]], [[oyster]]s, [[cave lobster]]s, [[pond turtle]]s
*[[Raw fish]] - uncleaned fish or other food items produced by fishing
*[[Egg]]
*[[Plant]]s - unprocessed plants
*[[Prepared meal]]s
*[[Cheese]]
*[[Powder]] - [[dye]], [[dwarven sugar]], [[sand]], [[flour]], [[plaster]]
*[[Drink]]s
*[[Leaves]] - [[quarry bush]] leaves
*[[Liquid]] - [[water]] in [[bucket]]s
*[[Glob]] - [[fat]] and [[tallow]]
*[[Seed]]s
*[[Weapon]]s
*[[Ammunition]]
*[[Armor]] - mail shirts, breastplates, and "covers" like cloaks
*[[Clothing|Legwear]]
*[[Clothing|Headwear]]
*[[Clothing|Handwear]]
*[[Clothing|Footwear]]
*[[Armor#Shield user|Shields/bucklers]]
*[[Backpack]]s
*[[Quiver]]s
*[[Anvil]]s
*[[Armor stand]]s
*[[Weapon rack]]s
*[[Cabinet]]s
*[[Door]]s
*[[Floodgate]]s
*[[Bed]]s
*[[Throne]]s
*[[Table]]s
*[[Coffin]]s
*[[Statue]]s
*[[Slab]]s
*[[Tanned hide]]s
*[[Cloth]]
*[[Thread]]
*[[Wood|Logs]]
*[[Stone]]s
*[[Gem|Rough gems]]
*[[Bar]]s
*[[Cut gem]]s
*[[Gem industry#Large gems|Large gems]]
*[[Coin]]s
*[[Block]]s
*[[Vermin|Small]] [[Animal training|tame]] [[vermin|animals]]
*Small live animals
*[[Pipe section]]s
*[[Hatch|Hatch covers]]
*[[Grate]]s
*[[Quern]]s
*[[Millstone]]s
*[[Window]]s
*[[Animal trap]]s
*[[Chain]]s
*[[Cage]]s
*[[Coffer|Boxes]] and [[bag]]s
*[[Bin]]s
*[[Barrel]]s
*[[Bucket]]s
*[[Mechanism]]s
*[[Trap component]]s
*[[Flask]]s
*[[Goblet]]s
*[[Toy]]s
*[[Tool]]s
*[[Instrument|Musical instrument]]s
*[[Useless crap|Figurines]]
*[[Useless crap|Amulets]]
*[[Useless crap|Crowns]]
*[[Useless crap|Scepters]]
*[[Useless crap|Rings]]
*[[Useless crap|Earrings]]
*[[Useless crap|Bracelets]]
*[[Catapult]] parts
*[[Ballista]] parts
*[[Ballista arrow|Siege ammo]]
*Ballista arrowheads - ballista arrowheads without their arrows yet
*[[Totem]]s
*[[Corpse]]s
*[[Body parts]]
*[[Remains]]
*Small rock
*[[Splint]]s
*[[Crutch]]es
*[[Traction bench]]es
*[[Cast|Limb/body casts]]
*[[Slab]]s

==Bookkeeping & precision==

Precision determines how well your dwarves are keeping count of all your items. Items are grouped into general categories - for instance, all hand weapons, crossbows and picks are "weapons". The biggest is typically "stones" - all stones you have mined out are included in one category, and viewable by specific type only if your level of accuracy is adequate for that number; anything less, and you will only have a rough total, no ability to view or manipulate the individual items.

The precision of the Stocks screen depends on the settings of the [[bookkeeper]] [[noble]]. (Use {{k|n}} {{k|s}} to access that screen.) Precision affects three factors - the time spent at that labor (more precision takes more time), the number of significant figures (see immediately below), and whether the Inventory is active or unavailable for a given item type (see Inventory, bottom).

There are five possible settings:

; Lowest Precision
: This is the default setting, precise only to one significant figure. It's only fine for your initial embark until you feel you need the Inventory feature, below, and have time to designate a [[chair]] ''(perhaps in your first [[dining room]], at least to start)'' as an [[office]]/study.
:*Any number from 0 to 9 will be exact. Inventory is available only for categories with 9 items or less.
:*A number from 10 to 99 will be rounded to the nearest 10.
:*A number from 100 to 999 will be rounded to the nearest 100.
:*A number from 1,000 to 9,999 will be rounded to the nearest 1,000.
:*A number equal to 10,000 or more will be rounded to the nearest 10,000.

; Low Precision
: This setting is precise to two significant figures. This is fine for a starting fortress, since few will have over 99 of most items, stone being the usual first exception.
:*Any number from 0 to 99 will be exact. Inventory is available only for categories with 99 items or less.
:*A number from 100 to 999 will be rounded to the nearest 10.
:*A number from 1,000 to 9,999 will be rounded to the nearest 100.
:*A number equal to 10,000 or more will be rounded to the nearest 1,000.

; Medium Precision
: This setting is precise to three significant figures. This is a good and practical level to maintain stockpile records at for an early fort, since typically stones are the only item that will number over 999 in the first years. (Note that although you have many types of stone, it is the total that matters for any one such category.)
:*Any number from 0 to 999 will be exact.
:*A number from 1,000 to 9,999 will be rounded to the nearest 10. Inventory is available only for categories with 999 items or less.
:*A number equal to 10,000 or more will be rounded to the nearest 100.

; High Precision
: This setting is precise to four significant figures, ample for most needs. This setting is most useful for managing stone (like forbidding one type entirely). Eventually other items, like food or drink, could grow to be in this range as well, depending on play style.
:*Any number from 0 to 9,999 will be exact. Inventory is available only for categories with 9,999 items or less.
:*A number equal to 10,000 or more will be rounded to the nearest 10.

; Highest Precision
: This setting is perfectly and completely precise for any number of items in any category. All stockpile records will be exact. Inventory available for all items and all categories, regardless of number.
:Maintaining stockpile records at this level starts out as a full-time job but becomes easier to maintain once that level is achieved.

If a number has been rounded, it will appear with a trailing question mark and will be displayed in brown instead of light grey (for instance, "20?" instead of "17"). Above the lowest precision, your [[bookkeeper]] requires a meager office, and for every level of precision, he or she will spend more time there updating the stock record.

==Inventory==

If you have a sufficient level of precision to count each item in the given category, you will see an inventory display on the right side of the screen. If you do not have enough precision, the right side of the screen will be blank, and you will not be able to see (or manipulate) each individual item in that category.

So, if you are Lowest level precision, and you have 9 weapons, you can see an itemized list of each one, and be able to forbid it, find it, melt it, etc etc from that screen. If you have 10 (or more), you will see only that you have 10? items of that general category, and not which ones.

When active, this inventory display has two modes:
* '''Compacted View''': The default mode, lists objects by type and total number, it doesn't show Unclaimed Items (see below). It is handy to get a general idea of the number of goods you have available.

* '''Detailed View''': hit "Tab" key to toggle, lists each individual object* in your fort, even the Unclaimed Items (see below). This display is useful for selecting individual items to [[forbid]], [[melt]] or [[dump]]. To toggle between either of the two modes, press {{key|Tab}}.

'':(* or individual [[stack]] of objects, in the case of ammo or food)''

In the detailed mode, the items text is colour coded.
====Color Code====

{| width="100%" style="margin-left: .5cm"
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" width="10%"| '''BROWN'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="90%"| 
These items were '''produced by the fortress''' (or obtained and then [[decorate]]d there)
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" width="10%"| '''LGRAY'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="90%"| 
These items are owned but were '''''not'' produced at fort''' (obtained via trading or enemies)
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" width="10%"| '''CYAN'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="90%"| 
'''Built [[furniture]]''', currently part of a '''[[building]]''' or a '''[[trap]]''', currently '''marked for [[Trading|Trade]]''' in a [[Trade depot]], or buried skeleton/corpse
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" width="10%"| '''MAGENTA'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="90%"| 
Currently '''forbidden''' or designated for '''dump/melt''', or part of a '''[[construction]]'''
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" width="10%"| '''RED'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="90%"| 
'''Not owned''' by fort ''(uncollected webs, and trade goods and equipment currently owned by [[trader]]s or [[invader]]s)''
|-
| bgcolor="#000000" width="10%"| '''DGRAY'''
| bgcolor="#ffffff" width="90%"| 
'''Destroyed''' or '''lost''' ([[artifact]]s only)
|-
|}

:''The colors shown reflect the default [[color scheme]].''

====Bracketing====
In addition to items being bracketed to indicate their [[Item_quality|quality]], there are certain symbols that will bracket an item to indicate that it's different from normal.

* Bracketing with '''<code>(round brackets)</code>''' indicates that the item was not produced by your dwarves. This includes all items you start the game with, all items [[immigration|immigrants]] bring with them, and all items belonging to [[caravan|traders]] and [[siege|invaders]]. You can make an item count as being produced by your dwarves either by transforming it into something else (like turning a [[log]] into a [[bed]]) or by [[decoration|decorating]] it.
* Bracketing with '''<code>{curly brackets}</code>''' indicates that the item is forbidden.
* Bracketing with '''<code>xcrossesx</code>''' or '''<code>Xcapital crossesX</code>''' or '''<code>XXdouble capital crossesXX</code>''' indicates that the item is partially [[wear|worn out]]. This applies mainly to [[clothing]] that's wearing out, [[food]] that's going rotten, and [[building]]s that are being attacked by [[building destroyer]]s.
* Bracketing with '''<code>‼double exclamation marks‼</code>''' indicates that the item is on [[fire]].

==Item Categories==
The Items seem to fall into two main categories for the numbers in the Stocks, and its modes:

* '''Available Items''' (Gray Number): includes items ready to be used.
** In-transit items count to stock levels, but are not usable to build with. (i.e. a bed in transit shows as available in the stock menu, but is not usable when trying to place a bed)
* '''Restricted Items''' (Red Number): includes items not ready to be used like:
** Dump / Melt{{verify}} items
** Forbidden items:
*** These are marked with a yellow F
*** In the '''Compacted View''' a brown F indicates only some items in the stack are forbidden.
*** Items in caverns start forbidden:
**** Preserved meat
**** Prepared meat
**** Fish
**** Leather
** Built Items: ''almost'' everything marked as "B" if seen using {{k|t}}, or everything that was used to create a building:
*** Built Furniture: doors, beds, thrones, chairs, tables, floodgates, cages, etc.
*** Traps
*** Building materials: stones, blocks, anvils, etc.
** Construction Materials: used in walls, floors, etc.
** Untrapped{{verify}} Untamed{{verify}} Small Live Animals: live honey bees, etc.
** '''Unclaimed Items''': these are not shown in the '''Compacted View''' and are marked as "B" if seen using {{k|t}}, although they weren't used to create the building:
*** Unharvested Crops: plants grown in the farm plot, are marked as "B" until collected.
*** Planted Seeds: these are put into the farm plot, are marked as "B" and then become full grown plants.
** '''Not Owned by fort''':
*** Uncollected webs in caverns

The modes:
* '''Compacted View''': shows:
** Available Items
** Restricted Items with the exception of:
*** Unclaimed Items
* '''Detailed View''': shows everything

==Forbidding Stone through Inventory==

Note that if you forbid a type of stone (or [[block]]) using the Inventory menu, you will also forbid ''every workshop and building'' made from that particular type of stone (or block). This is a common cause of dwarves suddenly refusing to perform assigned tasks in workshops. Use {{k|t}} or <d,b,c> to check for forbidden workshops (or other items) and to reclaim them - use Enter to affect a rectangular area, or click with your mouse on specific items or buildings.

Some players make a point to use only [[block]]s for their workshops, so forbidding all of a particular type of stone won't stop work in every workshop built from that stone. (And then they don't use this menu to forbid blocks.)

''Warning:'' With a mature fort with extensive amounts of rock laying around, simply viewing the Stone category can cause the game to completely lock up as the CPU processes the list, sometimes for several minutes depending on the abilities of your computer. If you experience this, use of the "page up" and "page down" keys can allow safely skipping this section.

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