Genetics - Revision history

Zzedar: /* Caste based color genetics */

2026-05-04T16:05:03Z

Caste based color genetics

Ziusudra: /* Bugs */ added Creature attribute category

2023-06-22T09:12:25Z

Bugs: added Creature attribute category

Zippy: Added image.

2023-02-21T19:45:47Z

Added image.

LethosorBot: Tagging v50 page (1684/4888)

2022-12-21T00:29:27Z

Tagging v50 page (1684/4888)

LethosorBot: LethosorBot moved page DF2014:Genetics to Genetics: Migrating v50 page (1402/4618) (content)

2022-12-20T03:25:48Z

LethosorBot moved page DF2014:Genetics to Genetics: Migrating v50 page (1402/4618) (content)

Voliol: Major rewrite. The picture placement/formatting is subpar but honestly the best I can do.

2020-07-28T20:49:07Z

Major rewrite. The picture placement/formatting is subpar but honestly the best I can do.

Moeteru: Added bug: egg-layers not inheriting attributes

2020-07-12T09:35:17Z

Added bug: egg-layers not inheriting attributes

Silverwing235: toady:(http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=169696.msg8083871#msg8083871) plus desperate stream-of-consciousnessing on my part

2020-02-01T16:54:26Z

toady:(http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=169696.msg8083871#msg8083871) plus desperate stream-of-consciousnessing on my part

Lethosor: rm excessive spaces

2020-01-06T04:13:36Z

rm excessive spaces

Silverwing235 at 15:01, 5 January 2020

2020-01-05T15:01:03Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:05, 4 May 2026
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−	Color definitions can be declared both at the general creature (e.g. CASTE:ALL) level (this is what the 'Simple' tutorial detailed) and at caste level. In turn, creatures with color defined only at the caste level will have genetics bound to these. This means that a child of a certain caste will only inherit genes from a parent of the same caste, e.g. male children will only take after their father, and female children only their mother. How this works if no parent has the same caste as the child is ~~hitherto~~ unknown. In any case, the way this works, is that one of the same-caste parents two genes is duplicated and given to the child. As creatures from off-map have random genotypes{confirm}, this means the first child bred in your fortress may have another color (if that allele was recessive) than its same-caste parent, but its children, grandchildren etc. will always remain the second generation's color. [[File:Genetics_peafowls2.png\|frame\|center\|Here, a modded peacock has a recessive black allele = 'b'. After one generation, no more blue children can be born. G1 stands for 'Generation 1' etc.]]	+	Color definitions can be declared both at the general creature (e.g. CASTE:ALL) level (this is what the 'Simple' tutorial detailed) and at caste level. In turn, creatures with color defined only at the caste level will have genetics bound to these. This means that a child of a certain caste will only inherit genes from a parent of the same caste, e.g. male children will only take after their father, and female children only their mother. How this works if no parent has the same caste as the child is as yet unknown. In any case, the way this works, is that one of the same-caste parents two genes is duplicated and given to the child. As creatures from off-map have random genotypes{confirm}, this means the first child bred in your fortress may have another color (if that allele was recessive) than its same-caste parent, but its children, grandchildren etc. will always remain the second generation's color. [[File:Genetics_peafowls2.png\|frame\|center\|Here, a modded peacock has a recessive black allele = 'b'. After one generation, no more blue children can be born. G1 stands for 'Generation 1' etc.]]

	It is also possible to have a creature with colors defined at ''both'' creature and caste level. In this case, colors defined at the caste level for a certain part/descriptor will override those at the caste level visually (i.e. in the creature description), but the genes for the creature level color will still be inherited. Basically, the creature will have an extra pair of 'hidden' color genes in its genotype. For this example, a modded peafowl is used, where the male colors (dominant blue, recessive black) are defined at the creature level, and female colors (dominant brown, recessive buff) at the caste level for the FEMALE caste.		It is also possible to have a creature with colors defined at ''both'' creature and caste level. In this case, colors defined at the caste level for a certain part/descriptor will override those at the caste level visually (i.e. in the creature description), but the genes for the creature level color will still be inherited. Basically, the creature will have an extra pair of 'hidden' color genes in its genotype. For this example, a modded peafowl is used, where the male colors (dominant blue, recessive black) are defined at the creature level, and female colors (dominant brown, recessive buff) at the caste level for the FEMALE caste.

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 * [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=176850.0 Experiments conducted in V0.47.04] have shown that attributes are not inherited by the offspring of egg-layers. It is unknown whether this also affects inheritance of appearance modifiers.
-{{Category|World}}{{Category|Modding}}
+{{Category|World}}{{Category|Modding}}{{Category|Creature attributes}}
 [[ru:Genetics]]

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-{{migrated article}}
+{{Quality|Fine|13:44, 21 February 2023 (CST)}}
 {{av}}
-'''Genetics''' is the study of inheritance and genes, the ”things” that decide an organism’s innate traits. ''Dwarf Fortress'' sports a model of [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendelian_inheritance Mendelian genetics], deciding creature colors. According to [[Main:Dwarf Fortress Talk|Dwarf Fortress Talk]] [http://www.bay12games.com/media/df_talk_8_transcript.html #8], [[attribute]]s (e.g. strength, speed and memory) and other appearance modifiers (e.g. nose length) are also affected by genetics, but more research is currently needed to either prove or disprove this.
+[[File:genetics_preview.png|right]]'''Genetics''' is the study of inheritance and genes, the ”things” that decide an organism’s innate traits. ''Dwarf Fortress'' sports a model of [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendelian_inheritance Mendelian genetics], deciding creature colors. According to [[Main:Dwarf Fortress Talk|Dwarf Fortress Talk]] [http://www.bay12games.com/media/df_talk_8_transcript.html #8], [[attribute]]s (e.g. strength, speed and memory) and other appearance modifiers (e.g. nose length) are also affected by genetics, but more research is currently needed to either prove or disprove this.
 Using knowledge of a creature’s genetics, breeding for specific traits can become easier.
-Plants in ''Dwarf Fortress'' do not have genes.
+Unlike real life, plants in ''Dwarf Fortress'' do not have genes.
 ==Simple color genetics==

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-V0.31.01 introduced a system of inheritance and genetics to go along with the [[v0.31:Release_information#Appearances|appearance modifiers]], allowing children to inherit those from their parents. Apart from appearance modifiers, attributes can also be inherited, according to [[Main:Dwarf Fortress Talk|Dwarf Fortress Talk]] [http://www.bay12games.com/media/df_talk_8_transcript.html #8].
+'''Genetics''' is the study of inheritance and genes, the ”things” that decide an organism’s innate traits. ''Dwarf Fortress'' sports a model of [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendelian_inheritance Mendelian genetics], deciding creature colors. According to [[Main:Dwarf Fortress Talk|Dwarf Fortress Talk]] [http://www.bay12games.com/media/df_talk_8_transcript.html #8], [[attribute]]s (e.g. strength, speed and memory) and other appearance modifiers (e.g. nose length) are also affected by genetics, but more research is currently needed to either prove or disprove this.
-Genetic information is saved for every [[historical figure]], from which each culture derives a number of tissue colors and other appearance modifiers that are likely to be found on any given member of that culture.  Abstract entity populations have a (currently mild?) impact on the histfig's genetic profile, drawing from 'subpopulations' which are the cause of eye and skin color being very similar or identical in any given region.  In tissue colors, whether a color is dominant or recessive is determined by the color's position in the list of possible colors for that tissue. The first colors listed are dominant over the colors below them. Genes besides color do not have dominance and recessiveness at this time, to the point that there is apparently considerable room for development.
+Using knowledge of a creature’s genetics, breeding for specific traits can become easier.
 ==Bugs==
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 * [http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=176850.0 Experiments conducted in V0.47.04] have shown that attributes are not inherited by the offspring of egg-layers. It is unknown whether this also affects inheritance of appearance modifiers.
-{{Category|World}}
+{{Category|World}}{{Category|Modding}}
 [[ru:Genetics]]