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Difference between revisions of "Legends"

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[[File:Vanitas still life.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Only two things are certain in ''Dwarf Fortress'': [[Fun]], and the legends you leave behind.]]
  
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'''Legends''' mode is one of the three main methods of interacting with an already generated [[World generation|world]]. You cannot start Legends mode (or [[Dwarf fortress mode|Fortress]] or [[Adventurer mode|Adventurer]] mode) until you create a new world.  
+
'''Legends''' mode is one of the three main methods of interacting with an already-generated [[World generation|world]]. In Legends mode, players can view maps, histories of each civilization and any figure who has lived or died in the generated world. Any noticeable achievement made by the player in [[Dwarf fortress mode|Fortress]] or [[Adventurer mode|Adventurer]] mode is recorded and is viewable in Legends mode. You may explore Legends mode after you generate a new world.  
−
 
 
−
Legends mode allows you to inspect the history of a world. Many players choose to design a world where the option '''Reveal all history''' is set to YES. However, if you set the option to NO, then the vast majority of the world's history will be hidden from Legends mode, and only uncovered by brave adventurers. In fact, there are many ways for an adventurer to uncover the past. Talk to people in civilized sites and they will tell you of their families, surroundings and local histories. Past events can also be found by viewing [[coins]] or items with images, or by visiting abandoned [[fortress]]es and viewing the [[engraving|engraved]] tiles within.
 
  
−
You don't have to have an adventure or fortress game active in order to use legend mode. Some players simply enjoy Legends mode for the option of looking at the interactive historical map, or to read about the last time their favorite kingdom went to war, or for the ability to export lists of all the sites and governments active in the world.
+
Many players choose to generate a world where the option '[[Advanced_world_generation#Reveal_All_Historical_Events|Reveal All Historical Events]]' is set to YES (the default) - however, if you set the option to NO, then the vast majority of the world history will be hidden in Legends mode until uncovered by brave adventurers. Even when set to YES, some things may not be revealed; all ''events'' will be revealed, but some [[historical figure]]s, [[site]]s, [[region]]s, and [[civilization]]s and other entities may ''not'' be, possibly because they are not known to any civilization.
  
−
==Legends information==
+
Ways for an adventurer to uncover events and other things include:
 +
* talking to people in civilized sites and asking them various questions
 +
* viewing items with images, like [[coin]]s, [[armor]], [[engraving]]s, [[statue]]s, etc
 +
* finding artifacts and [[book]]s and other written works
 +
* possibly reading written works{{verify}} or by listening to stories and songs{{verify}}
  
−
=== Number of Events Undiscovered ===
+
You don't ''have'' to have had an adventurer or fortress game active in order to use Legends mode - some players simply enjoy it to read about the last time their favorite kingdom went to war, or learn about the dwarven civilizations before choosing to embark, etc. In fact, Legends Mode cannot be entered if there is an active adventurer or fortress in the world. However, a copy of such a world can be made, loaded in the game and the current mode retired or abandoned, then opened in Legends mode.
−
A self-explanatory number indicating how many "legends" are still lost in the mists of time. If you chose to reveal all history during world generation, the number displayed should be 0. Otherwise, better get out there and adventure some more.
 
  
−
=== Historical Figures ===
+
== Accessing Legends Mode ==
−
The number to the right indicates how many historical figures exist in this world's history. Historical figures include entries on [[megabeast]]s, [[forgotten beast]]s, [[demon]]s, gods, [[Dwarf|dwarves]], [[human]]s, [[goblin]]s, [[kobold]]s, and named [[creature]]s.
+
When you choose "Start Playing" in a world that doesn't have a current active game, the options include Legends mode. By accessing Legends mode, you are deciding to reveal all the knowledge of the world that would otherwise be discoverable only in pieces, through Fortress or Adventurer Mode.
  
−
=== Sites ===
+
:Note: If you are already playing a fortress on the save you want to use, you can save to a new timeline after choosing to retire or abandon, both leaving the active fortress and allowing access to Legends mode in the new timeline.
−
The number to the right indicates how many [[site]]s have existed throughout this world's history. [[Site]]s include things like [[town]]s, [[Tower (necromancy)|tower]]s, [[fortress]]es, forest retreats, and [[cave]]s.
 
  
−
=== Regions ===
+
=== Navigation ===
−
A list of the various regions of the world, along with the various historical events that occurred within those regions.
+
Upon entering legends mode, the player is presented with a list of categories.
 +
To the right of each category is the number of entries for that category.
 +
[[File:Legends menu v50.png|thumb|Legends Mode landing page]]
  
−
=== Civilizations and Entities ===
+
Clicking into a category opens a tab for that category, with a list of entries for that category.
−
The number to the right indicates how many civilizations, local governments, and religions have existed throughout this world's history. The histories of these various groups can be viewed as well, detailing events like when a site was founded, when a person was kidnapped, or when a road was completed.
+
The entries will be displayed with a name on the left, and (usually) a pertinent piece of information on the right.
 +
[[File:Legends artifacts list.png|thumb|Example of Artifacts entries]]
  
−
=== Structures ===
+
Clicking into a specific entry opens the entry's legend page, consisting of a
−
Structures are buildings found throughout the world. Fortress, towers, shops, taverns, temples and more can all be found in this list.  
+
* Title (dwarven name, english translation, what it is)
−
Temples are the central location of religions, and can be 'profaned' by historical figures, though it is not explained what this involves.
+
* Description
 +
* Events
 +
* Notable Stats (kills,  relatives, etc)
 +
** Some entry types don't have any stats, such as sites
 +
[[File:Legends artifact entry rulnimak.png|thumb|Legends mode entry for the artifact Rulnimak]]
  
−
=== Historical Map ===
+
On the entry's legend page, all highlighted phrases are hyperlinks to other entries (the color of the highlight indicates what category the entry is in).
−
The historical map is a relatively new and very cool feature of Legends mode. From here you can view the territorial disputes between different civilizations and entities, including those who were destroyed before your starting year. If you are new to Dwarf Fortress, reading the map may be a little difficult, but play around with these buttons and you might get a better grasp of what you are seeing. Press {{k|Enter}} while looking at the map to change between the political and geographical view of the world. The geographic map is colored (blue seas, gray mountains, green forests etc.) while the political map's background is tan (think parchment) with colored fields corresponding to the territories of different civilizations. Civilizations can lay claim to the same area, causing the colored territory markers to overlap. You can also see how territories changes over time by moving 10 or 100 years forward and back through time. Pressing {{k|c}} while looking at the political map will show local government territories instead of civilizations, but that's generally a pretty messy scene.
+
Clicking on one of these will open a new tab for that entry.
  
−
=== The Age of... ===
 
−
During world generation, the [[Calendar#Ages|Ages]] are named for the greatest powers extant in the world. Ages commonly advance during world generation (e.g. Age of Legends, Age of Heroes, Age of Humans) due to the death of megabeasts, and they sometimes even regress due to the creation of [[night creature]]s and the birth of new [[megabeast]]s. When you choose to look at the history of an [[Calendar#Ages|Age]], you will be given a list of all historical events in chronological order. Here you can read the battle reports from various wars, or the duels that took place between long dead champions, or the <s>burninations</s> rampages of [[megabeast]]s amongst the [[peasant]]s.  See [[Calendar#Ages|here]] for a list of ages and their conditions.
 
  
−
==Exporting information from Legends Mode==
+
===Categories===
  
−
Legends mode has built-in tools to export lists of events, maps at various scales, and data such as locations of sites.  This is particularly useful as input data for the utilities described below; there are even tools to make this export process easier.
+
The following table provides a brief description of the different categories
 +
of entries accessible in legends mode.
 +
The "List Detail" is the information that is visible to the right of the name
 +
when viewing the category, and the "Stats" column describes what sort of information
 +
is available beneath the event list when viewing the entry's legends page.
  
−
=== XML dump ===
+
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|+ Caption text
 +
|-
 +
! Category !! Link Color !! List Detail !! Stats !! Description
 +
|-
 +
| Historical Figures
 +
  || Blue
 +
  || Birth/Death year
 +
  || Related Historical Figures, Related Entities, Kills
 +
  || [[megabeast]]s, [[forgotten beast]]s, [[demon]]s, [[deity|gods]], [[Dwarf|dwarves]], [[human]]s, [[goblin]]s, [[kobold]]s, and other named [[creature]]s
 +
|-
 +
| Sites
 +
  || Orange
 +
  || Site Type
 +
  ||
 +
  || See [[Site]]
 +
|-
 +
| Artifacts
 +
  || Yellow
 +
  || [[Item]] material/type
 +
  || Kills, Slayer (wielder during the kill)
 +
  || See [[Legendary artifact]]
 +
|-
 +
| Codices, scrolls, etc.
 +
  || Pink
 +
  || [[Item]] material/type
 +
  ||
 +
  || Items with writing from around the world. Includes all sorts of [[books]], [[slabs]], etc
 +
|-
 +
| Regions
 +
  || Green
 +
  ||
 +
  ||
 +
  || See [[Region]]
 +
|-
 +
| Underground regions
 +
  || Purple
 +
  ||
 +
  ||
 +
  || These regions appear to all be "Unnamed underground area", and other events will refer to them as "the depths of the world". Forgotten beasts seem to spawn here.
 +
|-
 +
| Civilizations and other entities
 +
  || Teal
 +
  ||
 +
  ||
 +
  || [[civilization]]s, local governments, and [[religion]]s, etc
 +
|-
 +
| Structures
 +
  || N/A
 +
  || Structure Type
 +
  ||
 +
  || Constructed/erected buildings found in sites. See [[structures]]
 +
|-
 +
| Chronicles by age
 +
  || N/A
 +
  || Number of historical events
 +
  ||
 +
  || A list of all historical events in chronological order that occur within a specific Age in the world history. Here, you can read the battle reports from various wars, or the duels that took place between long-dead champions, or the <s>burninations</s> rampages of [[megabeast]]s amongst the [[peasant]]s.  See [[Ages|here]] for a list of ages and their conditions.
  
−
Once you've generated a world, you can dump much of the historical data into an XML file for external analysis. The XML dump currently doesn't include every detail of world history but it contains many of the important ones. Be warned that a large world with a thousand years of history can produce an XML dump up to a full gigabyte in size, which may prove unwieldy. Press {{k|x}} while in Legends mode to produce an XML dump (it will be placed in the root Dwarf Fortress directory and named the same as your game's save folder) See [[Main:XML dump|XML dump]] for information on the XML file's format.
+
|}
  
−
=== Export Map/Gen Information===
+
==Exporting World information==
−
Another option is to export the map/gen information by pressing {{k|p}} in Legends mode. This produces three .txt files and one bitmap image that are placed in the root directory of Dwarf Fortress.  The exported data files are named by the save file name, and the current world date:
 
−
# (save name)-world_gen_param.txt - contains the world generation settings.
 
−
# [[World History file|(save name)-(year)-(month)-(day)-world_history.txt]] - Includes some information about the deities, and rulers of the Human, Dwarven, Elven, and Goblin civilizations.
 
−
# [[World Sites file|(save name)-(year)-(month)-(day)-world_sites_and_pops.txt]]  - Lists the sites' population, owner, parent civilization and warlord. This one will also list all the animal populations above and below ground including demons.
 
−
# (save name)-(year)-(month)-(day)-world_map.bmp  - This is the full world map as it is shown on the embark screen, and unlike the detailed maps below will depend on the tileset and colour scheme you have installed.
 
  
−
=== Export Detailed Maps ===
+
Legends mode has a built-in tool to export xml. This is particularly useful as input data for the utilities described below; there are even tools to make this export process easier (see next section).
−
Pressing {{k|d}} in Legends mode reveals a list of the different kinds map you can export. The Images are exported to the root directory when you highlight the one you want and pressing {{k|Enter}}.
 
  
−
*'''Standard biome+site map
+
In previous versions there were [[DF2014:Legends#Exporting_World_information|additional export options]] (maps, text files, etc), but these are not currently available due to ...[[missing features|well, time constraints]].
−
*[[Advanced_world_generation#Elevation|Elevations]] incl. lake and ocean floors
+
Note that the inclusion of maps and map exports in legends mode is planned to be re-added in the near future.{{cite|putnam-reddit|https://www.reddit.com/r/dwarffortress/comments/15jwh5q/comment/jv36ot3}}
−
*[[Advanced_world_generation#Elevation|Elevations]] respecting water level
 
−
*[[Advanced_world_generation#Temperature|Temperature]]
 
−
*[[Advanced_world_generation#Rainfall|Rainfall]]
 
−
*[[Advanced_world_generation#Drainage|Drainage]]
 
−
*[[Advanced_world_generation#Savagery|Savagery]]
 
−
*[[Advanced_world_generation#Volcanism|Volcanism]]
 
−
*[[Vegetation|Current vegetation]]
 
−
*[[Evil]]
 
−
*[[Water|Salinity]]
 
  
−
<gallery>
+
=== XML dump ===
−
Image:Standard biome and site map.png|Biome & site map
 
−
Image:World_graphic-el-region5-203-10075.PNG|Elevation incl. lake and ocean floors
 
−
Image:World_graphic-elw-region5-203-10075.PNG|Elevation respecting water level
 
−
Image:World graphic-tmp-region5-203-10075.PNG|Temperature
 
−
Image:World_graphic-rain-region5-203-10075.PNG|Rainfall
 
−
Image:World_graphic-drn-region5-203-10075.PNG|Drainage
 
−
Image:World_graphic-sav-region5-203-10075.PNG|Savagery
 
−
Image:World_graphic-vol-region5-203-10075.PNG|Volcanism
 
−
Image:World_graphic-veg-region5-203-10075.PNG|Current vegetation
 
−
Image:World_graphic-evil-region5-203-10075.PNG|Evil
 
−
Image:World_graphic-sal-region5-203-10075.PNG|Salinity
 
−
</gallery>
 
  
−
==Legends Utilities==
+
Once you've generated a world, you can dump much of the historical data into an XML file for external analysis. The XML dump currently doesn't include every detail of world history, but it contains many of the important ones. Be warned that a large world with, say, 1000 years (or even 10,000) of history can produce an XML dump up to a full gigabyte in size, which may prove unwieldy. Clicking the Export XML button (shown below) while in Legends mode to produce an XML dump (it will be placed in the root ''Dwarf Fortress'' directory and named the same as your game's save folder) See [[Main:XML dump|XML dump]] for information on the XML file's format.
 +
[[File:Legends export xml button.png|frame|none]]
  
−
There are many [[utilities]] that work with the data exported from Legends mode, or made exporting that info easier.   
+
== Utilities & Tools ==
 +
{{Main|Utilities#Legends tools}}
 +
There are many utilities that work with the data exported from Legends mode (or at least were before v50), or make exporting that info easier.   
  
 
===Export tools===
 
===Export tools===
  
−
[http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=7696 The dfhack script 'exportmaps'] will export all detailed maps, saving a lot of time on large worlds compared to exporting them individually and waiting for each to finish.  [https://github.com/PeridexisErrant/dfhack/blob/master/scripts/exportlegends.lua exportlegends] likewise exports all detailed maps, as well as their worldgen info and legends XML. 
+
When using [[DFHack]], you can use the built-in <code>exportlegends</code> to export the "detailed" data in an XML. By default with DFHack enabled, this will automatically run when the export XML button is clicked, generating both the vanilla **and** detailed xml files{{cite|DFHack Docs: exportlegends|https://docs.dfhack.org/en/stable/docs/tools/exportlegends.html}}.
−
 
 
−
[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=131307 Export processing script] can automate processing of Legends information, and is included in the Windows [[Utility:Lazy_Newb_Pack|Lazy Newb Pack]]. If GIMP is installed, the script will use Dwarf Map Maker (see below); optipng can be used to compress the images from bitmaps to .png files. This tool also removes non-printing ASCII characters from the XML dump that can crash Legends Viewer (usually caused by DFHack's workflow), and creates a compressed folder for each region suitable for Legends Viewer (or simply compresses the XML if some parts have not been exported).
 
  
 
===Legends viewing tools and visualisers===
 
===Legends viewing tools and visualisers===
  
−
The most famous is likely [[Utilities#Legends_Viewer|Legends Viewer]], an alternative interface that recreates legends mode from exported data with many more features such as graphs, filtering, sorting, and hyperlinks. There are alternative tools with similar functionality, including World Viewer and an [https://github.com/crayZsaaron/df-legends-reader in-progress cross platform version] based on Python.  
+
Unfortunately, it appears that the most famous such utility, [[Utilities#Legends_Viewer|Legends Viewer]], is no longer maintained with the steam release{{cite forum|154617.450}}{{cite|GitHub LegendsViewer|https://github.com/Kromtec/LegendsViewer}}.
−
 
+
Members are working on other utilities, such as [https://github.com/itsiggyboy/DwarvenSurveyor Dwarven Surveyor]{{cite reddit|15jwh5q}}, but they are not at feature parity with what Legends Viewer supplied pre-v50.
−
[http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=73095.msg2261106#msg2261106 The Dwarf Map Maker]] is available as a GIMP script (free software) or a photoshop actionscript.  Both use the detailed maps to produce a pretty fantasy map that looks somewhat like a satellite image.  The GIMP script is called as part of PeridexisErrant's legends processing script, if the dependencies are present.
 
−
 
 
  
 +
{{Translation| dwarven = gomath | elvish = liceva | goblin = olzul | human = en}}
  
 
{{Category|Guides}}
 
{{Category|Guides}}
 +
{{Category|Legends mode}}
 +
[[ru:Legends]]

Latest revision as of 21:07, 2 February 2024

!!UNKNOWN!!  · xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼
v50.14 · v0.47.05
This article is about the current version of DF.
Note that some content may still need to be updated.
Only two things are certain in Dwarf Fortress: Fun, and the legends you leave behind.

Legends mode is one of the three main methods of interacting with an already-generated world. In Legends mode, players can view maps, histories of each civilization and any figure who has lived or died in the generated world. Any noticeable achievement made by the player in Fortress or Adventurer mode is recorded and is viewable in Legends mode. You may explore Legends mode after you generate a new world.

Many players choose to generate a world where the option 'Reveal All Historical Events' is set to YES (the default) - however, if you set the option to NO, then the vast majority of the world history will be hidden in Legends mode until uncovered by brave adventurers. Even when set to YES, some things may not be revealed; all events will be revealed, but some historical figures, sites, regions, and civilizations and other entities may not be, possibly because they are not known to any civilization.

Ways for an adventurer to uncover events and other things include:

  • talking to people in civilized sites and asking them various questions
  • viewing items with images, like coins, armor, engravings, statues, etc
  • finding artifacts and books and other written works
  • possibly reading written works[Verify] or by listening to stories and songs[Verify]

You don't have to have had an adventurer or fortress game active in order to use Legends mode - some players simply enjoy it to read about the last time their favorite kingdom went to war, or learn about the dwarven civilizations before choosing to embark, etc. In fact, Legends Mode cannot be entered if there is an active adventurer or fortress in the world. However, a copy of such a world can be made, loaded in the game and the current mode retired or abandoned, then opened in Legends mode.

Accessing Legends Mode[edit]

When you choose "Start Playing" in a world that doesn't have a current active game, the options include Legends mode. By accessing Legends mode, you are deciding to reveal all the knowledge of the world that would otherwise be discoverable only in pieces, through Fortress or Adventurer Mode.

Note: If you are already playing a fortress on the save you want to use, you can save to a new timeline after choosing to retire or abandon, both leaving the active fortress and allowing access to Legends mode in the new timeline.

Navigation[edit]

Upon entering legends mode, the player is presented with a list of categories. To the right of each category is the number of entries for that category.

Legends Mode landing page

Clicking into a category opens a tab for that category, with a list of entries for that category. The entries will be displayed with a name on the left, and (usually) a pertinent piece of information on the right.

Example of Artifacts entries

Clicking into a specific entry opens the entry's legend page, consisting of a

  • Title (dwarven name, english translation, what it is)
  • Description
  • Events
  • Notable Stats (kills, relatives, etc)
    • Some entry types don't have any stats, such as sites
Legends mode entry for the artifact Rulnimak

On the entry's legend page, all highlighted phrases are hyperlinks to other entries (the color of the highlight indicates what category the entry is in). Clicking on one of these will open a new tab for that entry.


Categories[edit]

The following table provides a brief description of the different categories of entries accessible in legends mode. The "List Detail" is the information that is visible to the right of the name when viewing the category, and the "Stats" column describes what sort of information is available beneath the event list when viewing the entry's legends page.

Caption text
Category Link Color List Detail Stats Description
Historical Figures Blue Birth/Death year Related Historical Figures, Related Entities, Kills megabeasts, forgotten beasts, demons, gods, dwarves, humans, goblins, kobolds, and other named creatures
Sites Orange Site Type See Site
Artifacts Yellow Item material/type Kills, Slayer (wielder during the kill) See Legendary artifact
Codices, scrolls, etc. Pink Item material/type Items with writing from around the world. Includes all sorts of books, slabs, etc
Regions Green See Region
Underground regions Purple These regions appear to all be "Unnamed underground area", and other events will refer to them as "the depths of the world". Forgotten beasts seem to spawn here.
Civilizations and other entities Teal civilizations, local governments, and religions, etc
Structures N/A Structure Type Constructed/erected buildings found in sites. See structures
Chronicles by age N/A Number of historical events A list of all historical events in chronological order that occur within a specific Age in the world history. Here, you can read the battle reports from various wars, or the duels that took place between long-dead champions, or the burninations rampages of megabeasts amongst the peasants. See here for a list of ages and their conditions.

Exporting World information[edit]

Legends mode has a built-in tool to export xml. This is particularly useful as input data for the utilities described below; there are even tools to make this export process easier (see next section).

In previous versions there were additional export options (maps, text files, etc), but these are not currently available due to ...well, time constraints. Note that the inclusion of maps and map exports in legends mode is planned to be re-added in the near future.[1]


XML dump[edit]

Once you've generated a world, you can dump much of the historical data into an XML file for external analysis. The XML dump currently doesn't include every detail of world history, but it contains many of the important ones. Be warned that a large world with, say, 1000 years (or even 10,000) of history can produce an XML dump up to a full gigabyte in size, which may prove unwieldy. Clicking the Export XML button (shown below) while in Legends mode to produce an XML dump (it will be placed in the root Dwarf Fortress directory and named the same as your game's save folder) See XML dump for information on the XML file's format.

Legends export xml button.png

Utilities & Tools[edit]

Main article: Utilities#Legends tools

There are many utilities that work with the data exported from Legends mode (or at least were before v50), or make exporting that info easier.

Export tools[edit]

When using DFHack, you can use the built-in exportlegends to export the "detailed" data in an XML. By default with DFHack enabled, this will automatically run when the export XML button is clicked, generating both the vanilla **and** detailed xml files[2] .

Legends viewing tools and visualisers[edit]

Unfortunately, it appears that the most famous such utility, Legends Viewer, is no longer maintained with the steam release[3][4] . Members are working on other utilities, such as Dwarven Surveyor[5], but they are not at feature parity with what Legends Viewer supplied pre-v50.

"Legends" in other Languages Books-aj.svg aj ashton 01.svg
Dwarven: gomath
Elven: liceva
Goblin: olzul
Human: en
Retrieved from "https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php?title=Legends&oldid=297219"