Size - Revision history

Quietust: link to source

2026-03-02T20:41:03Z

link to source

Quietust: need to reference this bit :)

2026-03-02T19:37:15Z

need to reference this bit :)

108.85.197.99 at 18:37, 2 March 2026

2026-03-02T18:37:03Z

108.85.197.99 at 17:37, 2 March 2026

2026-03-02T17:37:36Z

108.85.197.99: tighter

2026-03-02T17:33:41Z

tighter

108.85.197.99: less editorializing/whinging, more simple "this is how DF works"; shift TOC up

2026-03-02T17:31:49Z

less editorializing/whinging, more simple "this is how DF works"; shift TOC up

Ziusudra: /* Items */ changed large gem link to gem page section

2026-02-08T20:26:16Z

Items: changed large gem link to gem page section

Silverwing235 at 08:40, 23 November 2025

2025-11-23T08:40:47Z

GeloMor at 03:21, 23 November 2025

2025-11-23T03:21:09Z

GeloMor at 10:02, 21 November 2025

2025-11-21T10:02:25Z

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 Size has many important effects on the game, many through its direct effect on item [[weight]], one of the many [[material science|material properties]] in Dwarf Fortress. Size directly affects such things as [[Weapon#Size|which weapons]] your dwarves can equip, [[butcher]]ing returns, [[storage]] limits, and [[combat]] effectiveness for both creatures and weapons.
-As far as in-game location and movement, size does ''not'' matter; one item or creature always is located in just one tile, regardless of size. If a [[path]] is open to a dwarf, it's open to every other creature in the game, no matter how large.  A hundred full grown [[dragon]]s can occupy a single square (so long as 99 of them are lying down), and a common [[rabbit]] blocks a [[door]] or fills a [[cage]] as completely as a gigantic [[bronze colossus]].
+As far as in-game location and movement, size does ''not'' matter; one item or creature always is located in just one tile, regardless of size. If a [[path]] is open to a dwarf, it's open to every other creature in the game, no matter how large.  A thousand full grown [[dragon]]s can occupy a single square (so long as [http://www.bay12games.com/media/b12_call_1_transcript.html 999 of them are lying down]), and a common [[rabbit]] blocks a [[door]] or fills a [[cage]] as completely as a gigantic [[bronze colossus]].
 __TOC__

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 Size has many important effects on the game, many through its direct effect on item [[weight]], one of the many [[material science|material properties]] in Dwarf Fortress. Size directly affects such things as [[Weapon#Size|which weapons]] your dwarves can equip, [[butcher]]ing returns, [[storage]] limits, and [[combat]] effectiveness for both creatures and weapons.
-As far as in-game location and movement, size does ''not'' matter; one item or creature always is located in just one tile, regardless of size. If a [[path]] is open to a dwarf, it's open to every other creature in the game, no matter how large.  Multiple full grown [[dragon]]s can occupy a single square, and a common [[rabbit]] blocks a [[door]] or fills a [[cage]] as completely as a gigantic [[bronze colossus]].
+As far as in-game location and movement, size does ''not'' matter; one item or creature always is located in just one tile, regardless of size. If a [[path]] is open to a dwarf, it's open to every other creature in the game, no matter how large.  A hundred full grown [[dragon]]s can occupy a single square (so long as 99 of them are lying down), and a common [[rabbit]] blocks a [[door]] or fills a [[cage]] as completely as a gigantic [[bronze colossus]].
 __TOC__

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 Size has many important effects on the game, many through its direct effect on item [[weight]], one of the many [[material science|material properties]] in Dwarf Fortress. Size directly affects such things as [[Weapon#Size|which weapons]] your dwarves can equip, [[butcher]]ing returns, [[storage]] limits, and [[combat]] effectiveness for both creatures and weapons.
-As far as in-game location, size does ''not'' matter; one item or creature always is located in just one tile, regardless of size. If a [[path]] is open to a dwarf, it's open to every other creature in the game.  Multiple full grown [[dragon]]s can occupy a single square, and a common [[rabbit]] blocks a [[door]] or fills a [[cage]] as completely as a gigantic [[bronze colossus]].
+As far as in-game location and movement, size does ''not'' matter; one item or creature always is located in just one tile, regardless of size. If a [[path]] is open to a dwarf, it's open to every other creature in the game, no matter how large.  Multiple full grown [[dragon]]s can occupy a single square, and a common [[rabbit]] blocks a [[door]] or fills a [[cage]] as completely as a gigantic [[bronze colossus]].
 __TOC__

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 Size has many important effects on the game, many through its direct effect on item [[weight]], one of the many [[material science|material properties]] in Dwarf Fortress. Size directly affects such things as [[Weapon#Size|which weapons]] your dwarves can equip, [[butcher]]ing returns, [[storage]] limits, and [[combat]] effectiveness for both creatures and weapons.
-As far as in-game location, size does ''not'' matter; one item or creature always is located in just one tile, regardless of size. Even multiple full grown [[dragon]]s occupy a single square, and a gigantic [[bronze colossus]] fills a [[cage]] as completely as a common [[rabbit]].
+As far as in-game location, size does ''not'' matter; one item or creature always is located in just one tile, regardless of size. If a [[path]] is open to a dwarf, it's open to every other creature in the game.  Multiple full grown [[dragon]]s can occupy a single square, and a common [[rabbit]] blocks a [[door]] or fills a [[cage]] as completely as a gigantic [[bronze colossus]].
 __TOC__

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 '''Size''' is a measure of how big a [[creature]] or [[item]] is, as volume in cubic centimeters{{cite forum|30026.msg831163#msg831163}}, and called {{token|BODY_SIZE|c}} or <code>[[Item_definition_token|[SIZE]]]</code> in the [[raw file]]s.
-Size has many important effects on the game, many through its direct effect on item [[weight]], one of the many [[material science|material properties]] in Dwarf Fortress. As far as in-game location, one item or creature always is located in just one tile, regardless of size. Even multiple full grown [[dragon]]s occupy a single square, and a gigantic [[bronze colossus]] fills a [[cage]] as completely as a common [[rabbit]].
+Size has many important effects on the game, many through its direct effect on item [[weight]], one of the many [[material science|material properties]] in Dwarf Fortress. Size directly affects such things as [[Weapon#Size|which weapons]] your dwarves can equip, [[butcher]]ing returns, [[storage]] limits, and [[combat]] effectiveness for both creatures and weapons.
 __TOC__
 == Game mechanics ==

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 '''Size''' is a measure of how big a [[creature]] or [[item]] is, as volume in cubic centimeters{{cite forum|30026.msg831163#msg831163}}, and called {{token|BODY_SIZE|c}} or <code>[[Item_definition_token|[SIZE]]]</code> in the [[raw file]]s.
-Size has many important effects on the game, many through its direct effect on item [[weight]], but as [[material science|material properties]] go, its implementation is sometimes underwhelming - witness the incredible compression of matter, space, and time that is the [[QSP]]. When even multiple full grown [[dragon]]s occupy a single square, size becomes a little difficult to contextualize. It doesn't help that a [[bronze colossus]] fits in a basic [[wood]]en [[cage]] (although, so does a [[fire man]].
+Size has many important effects on the game, many through its direct effect on item [[weight]], one of the many [[material science|material properties]] in Dwarf Fortress. As far as in-game location, one item or creature always is located in just one tile, regardless of size. Even multiple full grown [[dragon]]s occupy a single square, and a gigantic [[bronze colossus]] fills a [[cage]] as completely as a common [[rabbit]].
 Size directly affects such things as [[Weapon#Size|which weapons]] your dwarves can equip, [[butcher]]ing returns, [[storage]] limits, and [[combat]] effectiveness for both creatures and weapons.
+__TOC__
 Size is used to calculate an item's weight, along with the [[density]] of the underlying material(s):
-:Weight (in Γ) = Density (in kg/m<sup>3</sup>) * Size (in cm<sup>3</sup>) / 1,000,000 (cm<sup>3</sup> in a m<sup>3</sup>)
+:Weight (in Γ) = Density (in kg/m<sup>3</sup>) * Size (in cm<sup>3</sup>) / 1,000,000 (cm<sup>3</sup> in a m<sup>3</sup>). Through weight, the size of an item has further ramifications in the game, such as [[hauling]] speed, [[pressure plate]] activation, impact momentum, weight restrictions, and so forth.
-Through weight, the size of an item has further ramifications in the game, such as [[hauling]] speed, [[pressure plate]] activation, impact momentum, weight restrictions, and so forth.
+Internally, all custom size numbers are rounded down to the nearest multiple of 10 - thus, if you define an item with <code>[SIZE:15]</code>, it will actually behave as if you had specified <code>[SIZE:10]</code>.{{cite forum|169696.msg8300987#msg8300987}}
-Internally, all custom size numbers are rounded down to the nearest multiple of 10 - thus, if you define an item with <code>[SIZE:15]</code>, it will actually behave as if you had specified <code>[SIZE:10]</code>.{{cite forum|169696.msg8300987#msg8300987}}
+The weight of [[creature]]s is calculated from the densities and sizes of the layers of their body parts, which currently results in corpse weights that are about 1/3 heavier than expected.
 == Buildings ==
@@ Line 24: / Line 23: @@
 == Creatures ==
 When it comes to creatures, size is a rough stand-in for [[weight]] since standard flesh weighs about one gram per cubic centimeter. However, in the typical complexity of ''Dwarf Fortress'', there are a number of ''other'' [[material]]s animals can include ([[ivory]], [[hair]], [[horn]], [[shell]], etc.) which have their own densities, shifting a creature's actual weight relative to its size, sometimes significantly (elephant tusks weigh a ''lot''). Creature size is determined by {{token|BODY_SIZE|c}} tokens, often with multiple tokens to set their base size at certain ages.
 Bodysize determines several things:

@@ Line 378: / Line 378: @@
 |-
-| style=text-align:left | [[Finished_goods#Large_gems|Large gem]]
+| style=text-align:left | [[Gem#Large_gems_and_crafts|Large gem]]
 | 50
+|

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 :''You may be looking for size of [[clothing]], [[armor]], the dimensions of a [[tile]], or the [[List_of_creatures_by_adult_size|list of creatures by size.]]''
-'''Size''' is a measure of how big a [[creature]] or [[item]] is, as volume in cubic centimeters{{cite forum|30026.msg831163#msg831163}}, and called {{token|BODY_SIZE|c}} or <code>[[Item_definition_token|[SIZE]]]</code> in [[raw file]]s.
+'''Size''' is a measure of how big a [[creature]] or [[item]] is, as volume in cubic centimeters{{cite forum|30026.msg831163#msg831163}}, and called {{token|BODY_SIZE|c}} or <code>[[Item_definition_token|[SIZE]]]</code> in the [[raw file]]s.
-Size has many important effects on the game, many through its direct effect on item [[weight]], but as [[material science|material properties]] go, its implementation is sometimes underwhelming - witness the incredible compression of matter, space, and time that is the [[QSP]]. When even multiple full grown [[dragon]]s occupy a single square, size becomes a little difficult to contextualize. It doesn't help that a [[bronze colossus]] fits in a basic [[wood]]en [[cage]] (although, a [[fire man]] fits in it too).
+Size has many important effects on the game, many through its direct effect on item [[weight]], but as [[material science|material properties]] go, its implementation is sometimes underwhelming - witness the incredible compression of matter, space, and time that is the [[QSP]]. When even multiple full grown [[dragon]]s occupy a single square, size becomes a little difficult to contextualize. It doesn't help that a [[bronze colossus]] fits in a basic [[wood]]en [[cage]] (although, so does a [[fire man]].
 Size directly affects such things as [[Weapon#Size|which weapons]] your dwarves can equip, [[butcher]]ing returns, [[storage]] limits, and [[combat]] effectiveness for both creatures and weapons.

@@ Line 558: / Line 558: @@
 |-
-| style=text-align:left | [[Fat|Glob]]
+| style=text-align:left | [[Glob]]
 | 600
+|