Shape

v53.16 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

Shapes are a particular type of descriptor present within the game.

Descriptive Uses

Along with colors and patterns, shapes are one of the three main classes of descriptors used by the game when defining or generating visually descriptive text to be presented to the player.

Defined shapes can be invoked in a variety of ways:

• Preferences - along with materials, creatures, and plants, dwarves can also like certain shapes.
• Images - used in engravings and decorations, most simple images (not depicting historical events) will simply depict a shape, generally one of the ones preferred by the engraver.
• Symbols - shapes can be used as the core element of group symbols generated during world generation and activity.
• Cut gems - cut gems (and stones) can have a particular shape. Gizzard stones are treated as a specific type of gem cut.
• Dice - dice come in different shapes, both as platonic solids and as polygonal prisms (long dice).

List of Shapes

Vanilla Dwarf Fortress has the following shapes pre-defined:

ID	NAME	WORD	ADJ	FACES	TILE1	CATEGORY
STAR	star, stars	STAR	three-pointed, four-pointed, five-pointed, many-pointed		'*'	SIMPLE
CRESCENT	crescent, crescents	CRESCENT	narrow, thick,		'('	SIMPLE
CROSS	cross, crosses	CROSS_NOUN	broad, tall, thin		'+'	SIMPLE
SQUARE	square, squares				254	SIMPLE
CIRCLE	circle, circles				9	SIMPLE
DIAMOND	diamond, diamonds				4	SIMPLE
SUN	sun, suns	SUN	shining, blazing		15	SIMPLE
MOON	moon, moons	MOON	hidden, full, crescent, half		7	SIMPLE
WAVE	wave, waves	WAVE			247	SIMPLE
MOUNTAIN	mountain, mountains	MOUNTAIN			30	SIMPLE
CLOUD	cloud, clouds				236	SIMPLE
GIZZARD_STONE	gizzard stone, gizzard stones				9
SMOOTH_PEBBLE	pebble, pebbles		smooth		9
OVAL_CABOCHON	cabochon, cabochons		oval		9
ROUND_CABOCHON	cabochon, cabochons		round		9
CUSHION_CABOCHON	cabochon, cabochons		cushion		254
RECTANGULAR_CABOCHON	cabochon, cabochons		rectangular		254
POINT_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		point cut		4
TABLE_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		table cut		4
SINGLE_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		single cut		4
ROSE_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		rose cut		9
BRIOLETTE_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		briolette cut		9
EMERALD_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		emerald cut		4
MARQUISE_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		marquise cut		4
OVAL_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		oval cut		4
PEAR_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		pear cut		9
SQUARE_BRILLIANT_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		square brilliant cut		4
RADIANT_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		radiant cut		4
TRILLION_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		trillion cut		4
ROUND_BRILLIANT_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		round brilliant cut		4
BAGUETTE_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		baguette cut		4
TAPERED_BAGUETTE_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		tapered baguette cut		4
CUSHION_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		cushion cut		4
OCTAGON_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		octagon cut		4
SQUARE_CUT_GEM	gem, gems		square cut		4
PLATONIC_TETRAHEDRON	tetrahedron, tetrahedra		tetrahedral	4	30	PLATONIC
PLATONIC_CUBE	cube, cubes		cubic	6	254	PLATONIC, DICE
PLATONIC_OCTAHEDRON	octahedron, octahedra		octahedral	8	4	PLATONIC, DICE
PLATONIC_DODECAHEDRON	dodecahedron, dodecahedra		dodecahedral	12	4	PLATONIC, DICE
PLATONIC_ICOSAHEDRON	icosahedron, icosahedra		icosahedral	20	4	PLATONIC, DICE
LONG_DIE_4	four-sided prism, four-sided prisms		four-sided long	4	45	DICE
LONG_DIE_6	six-sided prism, six-sided prisms		six-sided long	6	45	DICE
LONG_DIE_8	eight-sided prism, eight-sided prisms		eight-sided long	8	45	DICE

Notes

1. Numbers correspond to tile coordinates. The equivalent ASCII characters can be found on the Character table.

Modding

See: Descriptor shape token