40d:Color scheme

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xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼

(For a discussion of how DF displays different items and decides which colors get altered and when, see color.)

Dwarf Fortress uses color schemes to determine how the game will be presented during play, whether a ranger will appear bright Spring green or dark forest green, or whether microcline will be "eye blasting blue" or something more calm. The default scheme is quite bold and dark - other schemes are easily possible, even to better accommodate those of us with problems seeing standard color mixes, or just can't take "eye blasting blue".

A color scheme is broken down into 16 color labels, mated into 8 pairs:

BLACK, DGRAY

BLUE, LBLUE

GREEN, LGREEN

CYAN, LCYAN

RED, LRED

MAGENTA, LMAGENTA

BROWN, YELLOW

LGRAY, WHITE

The color scheme data is located at the bottom of the init.txt file, found in the Dwarf Fortress/data/init folder.

What colors show up where

The easiest place to see all the colors next to each other is in the units list, where the different professional categories all have their identifying colors. In that order (and with the default color values), they are...

BLACK   background LCYAN   current job listing* LGRAY   Miners YELLOW   Woodworkers

WHITE   Stoneworkers GREEN   Rangers DGRAY   Metalsmiths LGREEN   Jewelers

LBLUE   Craftsdwarfs BLUE   Fishery worker BROWN   Farmers LRED   Engineers

MAGENTA   Administrators CYAN   Peasants RED   Children LMAGENTA   deceased

(* "On Break" is displayed in CYAN.)

Some other color uses:

• Magma is LRED. (Magma 1 level lower than current view is RED.)
• Water is LBLUE. (Water 1 level lower than current view is BLUE.)
• Rivers and brooks are LCYAN on their surface (w/ water below).

Default Scheme

The default Dwarf Fortress color scheme is based off the 16 standard HTML colors, as discussed here. (Some have been renamed in DF, but the tones themselves are the same.)

These are broken up into 8 pairs, one darker, one lighter, as ordered below. When a color is flashing or a displayed tile is "dark/bright" according to the game display, these colors are the two that work "together" to create that contrast. Keep this in mind if creating a custom color scheme, as described below. (See Color for a more complete discussion.)

If you lose the default scheme and neglected to make a backup (didn't we warn you to use "care and caution" when modding?), you can find the standard scheme below, without having to download DF again.

Open Dwarf Fortress/data/init/init.txt, and copy the text as seen below over the values found at the very bottom of the file. Save that file, restart Dwarf Fortress, and you're set.

BLACK	DGRAY
BLUE	LBLUE
GREEN	LGREEN
CYAN	LCYAN
RED	LRED
MAGENTA	LMAGENTA
BROWN	YELLOW
LGRAY	WHITE

[BLACK_R:0]
[BLACK_G:0]
[BLACK_B:0]
[BLUE_R:0]
[BLUE_G:0]
[BLUE_B:128]
[GREEN_R:0]
[GREEN_G:128]
[GREEN_B:0]
[CYAN_R:0]
[CYAN_G:128]
[CYAN_B:128]
[RED_R:128]
[RED_G:0]
[RED_B:0]
[MAGENTA_R:128]
[MAGENTA_G:0]
[MAGENTA_B:128]
[BROWN_R:128]
[BROWN_G:128]
[BROWN_B:0]
[LGRAY_R:192]
[LGRAY_G:192]
[LGRAY_B:192]
[DGRAY_R:128]
[DGRAY_G:128]
[DGRAY_B:128]
[LBLUE_R:0]
[LBLUE_G:0]
[LBLUE_B:255]
[LGREEN_R:0]
[LGREEN_G:255]
[LGREEN_B:0]
[LCYAN_R:0]
[LCYAN_G:255]
[LCYAN_B:255]
[LRED_R:255]
[LRED_G:0]
[LRED_B:0]
[LMAGENTA_R:255]
[LMAGENTA_G:0]
[LMAGENTA_B:255]
[YELLOW_R:255]
[YELLOW_G:255]
[YELLOW_B:0]
[WHITE_R:255]
[WHITE_G:255]
[WHITE_B:255]

Custom color schemes

Players who are not satisfied with the default color scheme can alter things to suit their aesthetic tastes. The 16 colors are not fixed, except by their definitions in init.txt. If you wanted to change YELLOW to something slightly brighter or darker, or more orange, or into deep purple, you can by changing the values listed under the label "YELLOW". Note that the color names are case sensitive - the color is "YELLOW", not "yellow".

When designing a custom color, 3 "lights" of color are used: Red, Green, and Blue (RGB), on a scale of 0-255. The more light (the higher the value), the brighter the color; the less light (the lower the value), the darker. Using "light" is not the same as using "pigment" (the standard "paint mixing" formulae we learned in school, where Red, Yellow and Blue are the 3 basic ingredients) - B+R does not give "purple" in this format.

Since we're using Red, Green and Blue light, some form of those three colors is relatively easy to achieve - but look at examples of the other standard colors below to understand how they mix together and how to "shade" or "tint", or brighten or darken a color - or you can simply find a color below that you like and go from that, or use one of these standard RGB colors. Always use caution to avoid ending up with colors that are "too similar".

To change to a new color scheme, copy/paste a color list (or part of one or more) found below (or make your own up) over the existing scheme - don't worry, if you don't like it, the original, default scheme is listed above.

In order for any scheme changes to take effect, the init.txt file must be Saved, and the game must be Quit and re-Started.

(Note also that when posting screenshots to this wiki (and the forum boards), custom color schemes (or tilesets) can cause confusion with players who do not use those specific mixes. This wiki requests you use one of the default set-ups that come with the game to post screenshots here.)

---

Lee's Colour scheme

A quest to provide the optimal set of colours: all colours very easily distinguishable and earthy/natural without being washed out or too bright and garish. I'm picky and I went through many different colour schemes but I think this is almost there, so enjoy.

BLACK	DGRAY
BLUE	LBLUE
GREEN	LGREEN
CYAN	LCYAN
RED	LRED
MAGENTA	LMAGENTA
BROWN	YELLOW
LGRAY	WHITE

[BLACK_R:0]
[BLACK_G:0]
[BLACK_B:0]
[BLUE_R:30]
[BLUE_G:85]
[BLUE_B:165]
[GREEN_R:70]
[GREEN_G:125]
[GREEN_B:55]
[CYAN_R:45]
[CYAN_G:145]
[CYAN_B:135]
[RED_R:170]
[RED_G:20]
[RED_B:0]
[MAGENTA_R:130]
[MAGENTA_G:40]
[MAGENTA_B:115]
[BROWN_R:120]
[BROWN_G:80]
[BROWN_B:50]
[LGRAY_R:160]
[LGRAY_G:160]
[LGRAY_B:160]
[DGRAY_R:100]
[DGRAY_G:100]
[DGRAY_B:100]
[LBLUE_R:90]
[LBLUE_G:130]
[LBLUE_B:210]
[LGREEN_R:110]
[LGREEN_G:180]
[LGREEN_B:55]
[LCYAN_R:70]
[LCYAN_G:215]
[LCYAN_B:195]
[LRED_R:215]
[LRED_G:60]
[LRED_B:0]
[LMAGENTA_R:210]
[LMAGENTA_G:85]
[LMAGENTA_B:190]
[YELLOW_R:235]
[YELLOW_G:180]
[YELLOW_B:0]
[WHITE_R:250]
[WHITE_G:250]
[WHITE_B:250]

---

"Natural" scheme

This mix softens the glaring colors of the original to earthtones.

BLACK	DGRAY
BLUE	LBLUE
GREEN	LGREEN
CYAN	LCYAN
RED	LRED
MAGENTA	LMAGENTA
BROWN	YELLOW
LGRAY	WHITE

[BLACK_R:0]
[BLACK_G:0]
[BLACK_B:0]
[BLUE_R:13]
[BLUE_G:103]
[BLUE_B:196]
[GREEN_R:68]
[GREEN_G:158]
[GREEN_B:53]
[CYAN_R:86]
[CYAN_G:163]
[CYAN_B:205]
[RED_R:151]
[RED_G:26]
[RED_B:26]
[MAGENTA_R:255]
[MAGENTA_G:110]
[MAGENTA_B:187]
[BROWN_R:120]
[BROWN_G:94]
[BROWN_B:47]
[LGRAY_R:185]
[LGRAY_G:192]
[LGRAY_B:162]
[DGRAY_R:88]
[DGRAY_G:83]
[DGRAY_B:86]
[LBLUE_R:145]
[LBLUE_G:202]
[LBLUE_B:255]
[LGREEN_R:131]
[LGREEN_G:212]
[LGREEN_B:82]
[LCYAN_R:176]
[LCYAN_G:223]
[LCYAN_B:215]
[LRED_R:255]
[LRED_G:34]
[LRED_B:34]
[LMAGENTA_R:255]
[LMAGENTA_G:167]
[LMAGENTA_B:246]
[YELLOW_R:255]
[YELLOW_G:218]
[YELLOW_B:90]
[WHITE_R:255]
[WHITE_G:255]
[WHITE_B:255]

---

Another natural scheme

BLACK	DGRAY
BLUE	LBLUE
GREEN	LGREEN
CYAN	LCYAN
RED	LRED
MAGENTA	LMAGENTA
BROWN	YELLOW
LGRAY	WHITE

[BLACK_R:0]
[BLACK_G:0]
[BLACK_B:0]
[BLUE_R:73]
[BLUE_G:95]
[BLUE_B:157]
[GREEN_R:89]
[GREEN_G:117]
[GREEN_B:55]
[CYAN_R:101]
[CYAN_G:144]
[CYAN_B:158]
[RED_R:146]
[RED_G:0]
[RED_B:0]
[MAGENTA_R:165]
[MAGENTA_G:54]
[MAGENTA_B:101]
[BROWN_R:138]
[BROWN_G:105]
[BROWN_B:59]
[LGRAY_R:128]
[LGRAY_G:128]
[LGRAY_B:128]
[DGRAY_R:80]
[DGRAY_G:80]
[DGRAY_B:80]
[LBLUE_R:111]
[LBLUE_G:138]
[LBLUE_B:165]
[LGREEN_R:160]
[LGREEN_G:200]
[LGREEN_B:82]
[LCYAN_R:159]
[LCYAN_G:196]
[LCYAN_B:210]
[LRED_R:206]
[LRED_G:73]
[LRED_B:1]
[LMAGENTA_R:239]
[LMAGENTA_G:150]
[LMAGENTA_B:207]
[YELLOW_R:255]
[YELLOW_G:198]
[YELLOW_B:0]
[WHITE_R:255]
[WHITE_G:255]
[WHITE_B:255] 

---

Higher-visibility scheme

Tired of trying to see your metalsmiths (dark grey) and fishery workers (navy blue) against a black background? This scheme "brightens" most of the colors, while trying to stay true to the original tone when possible. (Except BROWN, which is now actually "brown", not olive green.)

BLACK*	DGRAY
BLUE	LBLUE
GREEN	LGREEN
CYAN*	LCYAN
RED	LRED*
MAGENTA	LMAGENTA
BROWN	YELLOW
LGRAY	WHITE*

(* unchanged)

Original on the left, this scheme on the right...

DGRAY   Metalsmiths GREEN   Rangers BLUE   Fishery worker LBLUE   Craftsdwarfs BROWN   Farmers MAGENTA   Administrators RED   Children

DGRAY   Metalsmiths GREEN   Rangers BLUE   Fishery worker LBLUE   Craftsdwarfs BROWN   Farmers MAGENTA   Administrators RED   Children

[BLACK_R:0]
[BLACK_G:0]
[BLACK_B:0]
[BLUE_R:45]
[BLUE_G:136]
[BLUE_B:222]
[GREEN_R:32]
[GREEN_G:143]
[GREEN_B:27]
[CYAN_R:0]
[CYAN_G:166]
[CYAN_B:166]
[RED_R:170]
[RED_G:8]
[RED_B:8]
[MAGENTA_R:175]
[MAGENTA_G:55]
[MAGENTA_B:160]
[BROWN_R:120]
[BROWN_G:94]
[BROWN_B:47]
[LGRAY_R:176]
[LGRAY_G:176]
[LGRAY_B:176]
[DGRAY_R:120]
[DGRAY_G:120]
[DGRAY_B:120]
[LBLUE_R:145]
[LBLUE_G:202]
[LBLUE_B:255]
[LGREEN_R:66]
[LGREEN_G:232]
[LGREEN_B:40]
[LCYAN_R:128]
[LCYAN_G:223]
[LCYAN_B:215]
[LRED_R:255]
[LRED_G:0]
[LRED_B:0]
[LMAGENTA_R:255]
[LMAGENTA_G:84]
[LMAGENTA_B:250]
[YELLOW_R:255]
[YELLOW_G:236]
[YELLOW_B:45]
[WHITE_R:255]
[WHITE_G:255]
[WHITE_B:255]

---

(Yet) Another scheme

BLACK	DGRAY
BLUE	LBLUE
GREEN	LGREEN
CYAN	LCYAN
RED	LRED
MAGENTA	LMAGENTA
BROWN	YELLOW
LGRAY	WHITE

[BLACK_R:0]
[BLACK_G:0]
[BLACK_B:0]
[BLUE_R:32]
[BLUE_G:48]
[BLUE_B:144]
[GREEN_R:48]
[GREEN_G:144]
[GREEN_B:32]
[CYAN_R:32]
[CYAN_G:128]
[CYAN_B:144]
[RED_R:151]
[RED_G:26]
[RED_B:26]
[MAGENTA_R:112]
[MAGENTA_G:32]
[MAGENTA_B:144]
[BROWN_R:144]
[BROWN_G:112]
[BROWN_B:48]
[LGRAY_R:176]
[LGRAY_G:176]
[LGRAY_B:176]
[DGRAY_R:112]
[DGRAY_G:112]
[DGRAY_B:112]
[LBLUE_R:40]
[LBLUE_G:56]
[LBLUE_B:255]
[LGREEN_R:48]
[LGREEN_G:240]
[LGREEN_B:32]
[LCYAN_R:56]
[LCYAN_G:208]
[LCYAN_B:255]
[LRED_R:255]
[LRED_G:48]
[LRED_B:32]
[LMAGENTA_R:208]
[LMAGENTA_G:56]
[LMAGENTA_B:255]
[YELLOW_R:255]
[YELLOW_G:224]
[YELLOW_B:32]
[WHITE_R:255]
[WHITE_G:255]
[WHITE_B:255]

---

True CGA Scheme

This scheme uses the genuine CGA palette, in case you're an old-school purist.

(Note that the CGA "brown" can be difficult to distinguish from "red" unless it is immediately nearby. For a slightly more readable version, you can "cheat" and replace the [BROWN_G:85] with [BROWN_G:170]. )

BLACK	DGRAY
BLUE	LBLUE
GREEN	LGREEN
CYAN	LCYAN
RED	LRED
MAGENTA	LMAGENTA
BROWN	YELLOW
LGRAY	WHITE

[BLACK_R:0]
[BLACK_G:0]
[BLACK_B:0]
[BLUE_R:0]
[BLUE_G:0]
[BLUE_B:170]
[GREEN_R:0]
[GREEN_G:170]
[GREEN_B:0]
[CYAN_R:0]
[CYAN_G:170]
[CYAN_B:170]
[RED_R:170]
[RED_G:0]
[RED_B:0]
[MAGENTA_R:170]
[MAGENTA_G:0]
[MAGENTA_B:170]
[BROWN_R:170]
[BROWN_G:85]
[BROWN_B:0]
[LGRAY_R:170]
[LGRAY_G:170]
[LGRAY_B:170]
[DGRAY_R:85]
[DGRAY_G:85]
[DGRAY_B:85]
[LBLUE_R:85]
[LBLUE_G:85]
[LBLUE_B:255]
[LGREEN_R:85]
[LGREEN_G:255]
[LGREEN_B:85]
[LCYAN_R:85]
[LCYAN_G:255]
[LCYAN_B:255]
[LRED_R:255]
[LRED_G:85]
[LRED_B:85]
[LMAGENTA_R:255]
[LMAGENTA_G:85]
[LMAGENTA_B:255]
[YELLOW_R:255]
[YELLOW_G:255]
[YELLOW_B:85]
[WHITE_R:255]
[WHITE_G:255]
[WHITE_B:255]

---

For the Chromatically Challenged

Colour blindness can result in colours being too similar, such as red and brown, so this scheme sacrifices true colour accuracy for a greater difference in hues. If you have normal colour vision, then this probably looks really weird.

BLACK	DGRAY
BLUE	LBLUE
GREEN	LGREEN
CYAN	LCYAN
RED	LRED
MAGENTA	LMAGENTA
BROWN	YELLOW
LGRAY	WHITE

[BLACK_R:0]
[BLACK_G:0]
[BLACK_B:0]
[BLUE_R:0]
[BLUE_G:0]
[BLUE_B:192]
[GREEN_R:0]
[GREEN_G:128]
[GREEN_B:0]
[CYAN_R:0]
[CYAN_G:112]
[CYAN_B:144]
[RED_R:192]
[RED_G:0]
[RED_B:0]
[MAGENTA_R:160]
[MAGENTA_G:0]
[MAGENTA_B:128]
[BROWN_R:96]
[BROWN_G:96]
[BROWN_B:0]
[LGRAY_R:192]
[LGRAY_G:192]
[LGRAY_B:192]
[DGRAY_R:128]
[DGRAY_G:128]
[DGRAY_B:128]
[LBLUE_R:48]
[LBLUE_G:48]
[LBLUE_B:255]
[LGREEN_R:0]
[LGREEN_G:224]
[LGREEN_B:0]
[LCYAN_R:64]
[LCYAN_G:224]
[LCYAN_B:255]
[LRED_R:255]
[LRED_G:48]
[LRED_B:48]
[LMAGENTA_R:255]
[LMAGENTA_G:64]
[LMAGENTA_B:224]
[YELLOW_R:255]
[YELLOW_G:255]
[YELLOW_B:64]
[WHITE_R:255]
[WHITE_G:255]
[WHITE_B:255]

Red/Green Colorblindness

A modification of the chromatically challenged color scheme above, made to the tastes of someone with Red/Green colorblindness.

BLACK	DGRAY
BLUE	LBLUE
GREEN	LGREEN
CYAN	LCYAN
RED	LRED
MAGENTA	LMAGENTA
BROWN	YELLOW
LGRAY	WHITE

[BLACK_R:0]
[BLACK_G:0]
[BLACK_B:0]
[BLUE_R:0]
[BLUE_G:0]
[BLUE_B:240]
[GREEN_R:0]
[GREEN_G:128]
[GREEN_B:0]
[CYAN_R:0]
[CYAN_G:112]
[CYAN_B:144]
[RED_R:240]
[RED_G:0]
[RED_B:0]
[MAGENTA_R:160]
[MAGENTA_G:0]
[MAGENTA_B:128]
[BROWN_R:128]
[BROWN_G:96]
[BROWN_B:0]
[LGRAY_R:208]
[LGRAY_G:208]
[LGRAY_B:208]
[DGRAY_R:112]
[DGRAY_G:112]
[DGRAY_B:112]
[LBLUE_R:80]
[LBLUE_G:80]
[LBLUE_B:255]
[LGREEN_R:0]
[LGREEN_G:224]
[LGREEN_B:0]
[LCYAN_R:64]
[LCYAN_G:224]
[LCYAN_B:255]
[LRED_R:255]
[LRED_G:80]
[LRED_B:80]
[LMAGENTA_R:255]
[LMAGENTA_G:48]
[LMAGENTA_B:240]
[YELLOW_R:255]
[YELLOW_G:255]
[YELLOW_B:64]
[WHITE_R:255]
[WHITE_G:255]
[WHITE_B:255]

Tango Scheme

Color scheme to match Tango palette. Cyan values were missing from palette, so blue/plum values are used instead.

BLACK	DGRAY
BLUE	LBLUE
GREEN	LGREEN
CYAN	LCYAN
RED	LRED
MAGENTA	LMAGENTA
BROWN	YELLOW
LGRAY	WHITE

[BLACK_R:46]
[BLACK_G:52]
[BLACK_B:54]
[BLUE_R:32]
[BLUE_G:74]
[BLUE_B:135]
[GREEN_R:78]
[GREEN_G:154]
[GREEN_B:6]
[CYAN_R:117]
[CYAN_G:80]
[CYAN_B:123]
[RED_R:164]
[RED_G:0]
[RED_B:0]
[MAGENTA_R:92]
[MAGENTA_G:53]
[MAGENTA_B:102]
[BROWN_R:206]
[BROWN_G:92]
[BROWN_B:0]
[LGRAY_R:186]
[LGRAY_G:189]
[LGRAY_B:182]
[DGRAY_R:136]
[DGRAY_G:138]
[DGRAY_B:133]
[LBLUE_R:52]
[LBLUE_G:101]
[LBLUE_B:164]
[LGREEN_R:138]
[LGREEN_G:226]
[LGREEN_B:52]
[LCYAN_R:114]
[LCYAN_G:159]
[LCYAN_B:207]
[LRED_R:239]
[LRED_G:41]
[LRED_B:41]
[LMAGENTA_R:173]
[LMAGENTA_G:127]
[LMAGENTA_B:168]
[YELLOW_R:252]
[YELLOW_G:233]
[YELLOW_B:79]
[WHITE_R:238]
[WHITE_G:238]
[WHITE_B:236]