Color

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v50.14 · 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

(For an overview of graphics in DF, see Graphics)

(For user compiled colors see color scheme)

DF can use 16 colors to give every tile a foreground and background color. These 16 colors make up the color scheme. Which of these colors are assigned to a given tile is often decided by values in its raw file. Whether a pixel shows foreground, background, black or anything in between is influenced by its brightness and opacity. Color is used to express various information, from a dwarf's profession to the natural color of a terrain feature to the material an item is made of.

Overview

In the simplest case, A pixel on a tileset is either white (foreground) or transparent* (background). However, black, and anything in between is possible as well (even color):

• a white pixel will show the foreground color
• a transparent* pixel will show the background color
• a black pixel will stay black

The darker a white pixel is (i.e. a shade of grey), the darker the foreground color will be displayed. Similarly, a more opaque (i.e. 'not transparent') and black transparent pixel will result in a darker background color. A partially transparent, non-black pixel shows both the background and foreground color.^[Verify]

To decide which colors to use, DF looks at raw values for that object (color value or color token) and selects a foreground and background color from the 16 colors in the color scheme. When a color value is defined, it directly picks it from the 16. When instead a color token is defined, the game compares the color token definition to all 16 colors in the color scheme and picks the closest match.

*magenta for .bmp files.

How Colors are assigned

Colors of Status icons, professions, text and the interface in general are hardcoded. Items, furniture, constructions, and geographic features get the color of their material. Dyes and material contaminants use color tokens.

Wall and floor color

Phyllite (to the left) has DISPLAY_COLOR:0:7:1 and BASIC_COLOR:7:0. The white sand present has DISPLAY_COLOR:7:6:1 and so the actual floor color is 7:1 (white).

While the foreground, background and brightness shown in the RAW files will be applied to walls, the mineral's "secondary" color will end up different. Here is how it works:

• If the BASIC_COLOR tag is specified, it will use that color. Note that the BASIC_COLOR tag only has foreground and brightness as arguments.
• If BASIC_COLOR is left out:
  • The background color is forced to 0 (effectively stripping it).
  • If the foreground color is 0, the game will display it as dark grey, color 8 (in other words, color 0 with brightness 1).

This is effective for stairs, floors, ramps, and constructions (in the case of stone). When stone is engraved, it uses the material's TILE_COLOR (which is the same as the DISPLAY_COLOR unless overridden).

Color values

Colors are primarily defined using the [COLOR:x:y:z] or [DISPLAY_COLOR:x:y:z] tokens. The three arguments are:

1. Foreground color [0-7]
2. Background color [0-7]
3. Brightness of the foreground color [0 or 1]

The brightness of the background color is always 0.

By default*, the following 8 pairs of colors are displayed:

Col. Bri. Name 0 0 Black 1 0 Blue 2 0 Green 3 0 Cyan 4 0 Red 5 0 Magenta 6 0 Brown 7 0 Light grey

Col. Bri. Name Alt. 0 1 Dark grey 8 1 1 Light blue 9 2 1 Light green 10 3 1 Light cyan 11 4 1 Light red 12 5 1 Light magenta 13 6 1 Yellow 14 7 1 White 15

(* See color scheme for information about how to change the actual various colors as displayed.)

Sometimes the color numbers are part of another token, e.g. [LEAVES:quarry bush leaf:quarry bush leaves:6:7:0:0:0:0:1:LOCAL_PLANT_MAT:LEAF] specifies the colors "7:0:0" for quarry bush leaves and "0:0:1" for wilted quarry bush leaves.

Values 8-15

If the brightness value is 1 or another nonzero number, it adds 8 to the foreground color. If the final value of the foreground or background is 8-15, it appears as a "bright" color.

As these values can be manually typed in instead of using the brightness value, you can also give the background a bright color with this method. For example, for a white background color, add 8 to 7 = 15. For a light green background color, you add 8 to 2 = 10.

Color tokens

Material contaminants and dyes do not use color flags; instead, they reference color tokens defined in descriptor_color_standard.txt. Color tokens are simply referenced by the token name, e.g. [STATE_COLOR:SOLID:DARK_GREEN] or [POWDER_DYE:EMERALD]. However, the defined RGB values are never actually displayed in-game - instead, the game uses one of the above 16 colors, choosing the one with the closest RGB values.

The following colors are defined via tokens:

Token RGB BLACK 0 0 0 CLEAR 128 128 128 GRAY 128 128 128 SILVER 192 192 192 WHITE 255 255 255 TAUPE_ROSE 144 93 93 CHESTNUT 205 92 92 MAROON 128 0 0 RED 255 0 0 VERMILION 227 66 52 RUSSET 117 90 87 SCARLET 255 36 0 BURNT_UMBER 138 51 36 TAUPE_MEDIUM 103 76 71 DARK_CHESTNUT 152 105 96 BURNT_SIENNA 233 116 81 RUST 183 65 14 AUBURN 111 53 26 MAHOGANY 192 64 0 PUMPKIN 255 117 24 CHOCOLATE 210 105 30 TAUPE_PALE 188 152 126 TAUPE_DARK 72 60 50 DARK_PEACH 255 218 185 COPPER 184 115 51 LIGHT_BROWN 205 133 63 BRONZE 205 127 50 PALE_BROWN 152 118 84 DARK_BROWN 101 67 33 SEPIA 112 66 20 OCHRE 204 119 34 BROWN 150 75 0 CINNAMON 123 63 0 TAN 210 180 140 RAW_UMBER 115 74 18 ORANGE 255 165 0 PEACH 255 229 180 TAUPE_SANDY 150 113 23

Token RGB GOLDENROD 218 165 32 AMBER 255 191 0 DARK_TAN 145 129 81 SAFFRON 244 196 48 ECRU 194 178 128 GOLD 212 175 55 PEARL 240 234 214 BUFF 240 220 130 FLAX 238 220 130 BRASS 181 166 66 GOLDEN_YELLOW 255 223 0 LEMON 253 233 16 CREAM 255 253 208 BEIGE 245 245 220 OLIVE 128 128 0 YELLOW 255 255 0 IVORY 255 255 240 LIME 204 255 0 YELLOW_GREEN 154 205 50 DARK_OLIVE 85 104 50 GREEN-YELLOW 173 255 47 CHARTREUSE 127 255 0 FERN_GREEN 79 121 66 MOSS_GREEN 173 223 173 GREEN 0 255 0 MINT_GREEN 152 255 152 ASH_GRAY 178 190 181 EMERALD 80 200 120 SEA_GREEN 46 139 87 SPRING_GREEN 0 255 127 DARK_GREEN 1 50 32 JADE 0 168 107 AQUAMARINE 127 255 212 PINE_GREEN 1 121 111 TURQUOISE 48 213 200 PALE_BLUE 175 238 238 TEAL 0 128 128

Token RGB AQUA 0 255 255 LIGHT_BLUE 173 216 230 CERULEAN 0 123 167 SKY_BLUE 135 206 235 CHARCOAL 54 69 79 SLATE_GRAY 112 128 144 MIDNIGHT_BLUE 0 51 102 AZURE 0 127 255 COBALT 0 71 171 LAVENDER 230 230 250 DARK_BLUE 0 0 139 BLUE 0 0 255 PERIWINKLE 204 204 255 DARK_VIOLET 66 49 137 AMETHYST 153 102 204 DARK_INDIGO 49 0 98 VIOLET 139 0 255 INDIGO 75 0 130 PURPLE 102 0 153 HELIOTROPE 223 115 255 LILAC 200 162 200 PLUM 102 0 102 TAUPE_PURPLE 80 64 77 TAUPE_GRAY 139 133 137 FUCHSIA 244 0 161 MAUVE 153 51 102 LAVENDER_BLUSH 255 240 245 DARK_PINK 231 84 128 MAUVE_TAUPE 145 95 109 DARK_SCARLET 86 3 25 PUCE 204 136 153 CRIMSON 220 20 60 PINK 255 192 203 CARDINAL 196 30 58 CARMINE 150 0 24 PALE_PINK 250 218 221 PALE_CHESTNUT 221 173 175

Raws

[COLOR:AMBER] [NAME:amber] [WORD:AMBER] [RGB:255:191:0] [COLOR:AMETHYST] [NAME:amethyst] [WORD:AMETHYST] [RGB:153:102:204] [COLOR:AQUA] [NAME:aqua] [WORD:AQUA] [RGB:0:255:255] [COLOR:AQUAMARINE] [NAME:aquamarine] [WORD:AQUAMARINE] [RGB:127:255:212] [COLOR:ASH_GRAY] [NAME:ash gray] [WORD:GRAY] [RGB:178:190:181] [COLOR:AUBURN] [NAME:auburn] [WORD:AUBURN] [RGB:111:53:26] [COLOR:AZURE] [NAME:azure] [WORD:AZURE] [RGB:0:127:255] [COLOR:BEIGE] [NAME:beige] [WORD:BEIGE] [RGB:245:245:220] [COLOR:BLACK] [NAME:black] [WORD:BLACK] [RGB:0:0:0] [COLOR:BLUE] [NAME:blue] [WORD:BLUE] [RGB:0:0:255] [COLOR:BRASS] [NAME:brass] [WORD:BRASS] [RGB:181:166:66] [COLOR:BRONZE] [NAME:bronze] [WORD:BRONZE] [RGB:205:127:50] [COLOR:BROWN] [NAME:brown] [WORD:BROWN] [RGB:150:75:0] [COLOR:BUFF] [NAME:buff] [WORD:BUFF] [RGB:240:220:130] [COLOR:BURNT_SIENNA] [NAME:burnt sienna] [WORD:SIENNA] [RGB:233:116:81] [COLOR:BURNT_UMBER] [NAME:burnt umber] [WORD:UMBER] [RGB:138:51:36] [COLOR:CARDINAL] [NAME:cardinal] [WORD:CARDINAL_COLOR] [RGB:196:30:58] [COLOR:CARMINE] [NAME:carmine] [WORD:CARMINE] [RGB:150:0:24] [COLOR:CERULEAN] [NAME:cerulean] [WORD:CERULEAN] [RGB:0:123:167] [COLOR:CHARCOAL] [NAME:charcoal] [WORD:CHARCOAL] [RGB:54:69:79] [COLOR:CHARTREUSE] [NAME:chartreuse] [WORD:CHARTREUSE] [RGB:127:255:0] [COLOR:CHESTNUT] [NAME:chestnut] [WORD:CHESTNUT] [RGB:205:92:92] [COLOR:CHOCOLATE] [NAME:chocolate] [WORD:CHOCOLATE] [RGB:210:105:30] [COLOR:CINNAMON] [NAME:cinnamon] [WORD:CINNAMON] [RGB:123:63:0] [COLOR:CLEAR] [NAME:clear] [WORD:CLEAR] [RGB:128:128:128] [COLOR:COBALT] [NAME:cobalt] [WORD:COBALT] [RGB:0:71:171] [COLOR:COPPER] [NAME:copper] [WORD:COPPER] [RGB:184:115:51] [COLOR:CREAM] [NAME:cream] [WORD:CREAM] [RGB:255:253:208] [COLOR:CRIMSON] [NAME:crimson] [WORD:CRIMSON] [RGB:220:20:60] [COLOR:DARK_BLUE] [NAME:dark blue] [WORD:BLUE] [RGB:0:0:139] [COLOR:DARK_BROWN] [NAME:dark brown] [WORD:BROWN] [RGB:101:67:33] [COLOR:DARK_CHESTNUT] [NAME:dark chestnut] [WORD:CHESTNUT] [RGB:152:105:96] [COLOR:DARK_GREEN] [NAME:dark green] [WORD:GREEN] [RGB:1:50:32] [COLOR:DARK_INDIGO] [NAME:dark indigo] [WORD:INDIGO] [RGB:49:0:98] [COLOR:DARK_OLIVE] [NAME:dark olive] [WORD:OLIVE] [RGB:85:104:50] [COLOR:DARK_PEACH] [NAME:dark peach] [WORD:PEACH] [RGB:255:218:185] [COLOR:DARK_PINK] [NAME:dark pink] [WORD:PINK] [RGB:231:84:128] [COLOR:DARK_SCARLET] [NAME:dark scarlet] [WORD:SCARLET] [RGB:86:3:25] [COLOR:DARK_TAN] [NAME:dark tan] [WORD:TAN] [RGB:145:129:81] [COLOR:DARK_VIOLET] [NAME:dark violet] [WORD:VIOLET] [RGB:66:49:137] [COLOR:ECRU] [NAME:ecru] [WORD:ECRU] [RGB:194:178:128] [COLOR:EMERALD] [NAME:emerald] [WORD:EMERALD] [RGB:80:200:120] [COLOR:FERN_GREEN] [NAME:fern green] [WORD:GREEN] [RGB:79:121:66] [COLOR:FLAX] [NAME:flax] [WORD:FLAX] [RGB:238:220:130] [COLOR:FUCHSIA] [NAME:fuchsia] [WORD:FUCHSIA] [RGB:244:0:161] [COLOR:GOLD] [NAME:gold] [WORD:GOLD] [RGB:212:175:55] [COLOR:GOLDEN_YELLOW] [NAME:golden yellow] [WORD:GOLD] [WORD:YELLOW] [RGB:255:223:0] [COLOR:GOLDENROD] [NAME:goldenrod] [WORD:GOLDENROD] [RGB:218:165:32] [COLOR:GRAY] [NAME:gray] [WORD:GRAY] [RGB:128:128:128] [COLOR:GREEN] [NAME:green] [WORD:GREEN] [RGB:0:255:0] [COLOR:GREEN-YELLOW] [NAME:green-yellow] [WORD:GREEN] [WORD:YELLOW] [RGB:173:255:47] [COLOR:HELIOTROPE] [NAME:heliotrope] [WORD:HELIOTROPE] [RGB:223:115:255] [COLOR:INDIGO] [NAME:indigo] [WORD:INDIGO] [RGB:75:0:130] [COLOR:IVORY] [NAME:ivory] [WORD:IVORY] [RGB:255:255:240] [COLOR:JADE] [NAME:jade] [WORD:JADE] [RGB:0:168:107] [COLOR:LAVENDER] [NAME:lavender] [WORD:LAVENDER] [RGB:230:230:250] [COLOR:LAVENDER_BLUSH] [NAME:lavender blush] [WORD:LAVENDER] [RGB:255:240:245] [COLOR:LEMON] [NAME:lemon] [WORD:LEMON] [RGB:253:233:16] [COLOR:LIGHT_BLUE] [NAME:light blue] [WORD:BLUE] [RGB:173:216:230] [COLOR:LIGHT_BROWN] [NAME:light brown] [WORD:BROWN] [RGB:205:133:63] [COLOR:LILAC] [NAME:lilac] [WORD:LILAC] [RGB:200:162:200] [COLOR:LIME] [NAME:lime] [WORD:LIME] [RGB:204:255:0] [COLOR:MAHOGANY] [NAME:mahogany] [WORD:MAHOGANY] [RGB:192:64:0] [COLOR:MAROON] [NAME:maroon] [WORD:MAROON_COLOR] [RGB:128:0:0] [COLOR:MAUVE] [NAME:mauve] [WORD:MAUVE] [RGB:153:51:102] [COLOR:MAUVE_TAUPE] [NAME:mauve taupe] [WORD:MAUVE] [WORD:TAUPE] [RGB:145:95:109] [COLOR:MIDNIGHT_BLUE] [NAME:midnight blue] [WORD:BLUE] [RGB:0:51:102] [COLOR:MINT_GREEN] [NAME:mint green] [WORD:GREEN] [RGB:152:255:152] [COLOR:MOSS_GREEN] [NAME:moss green] [WORD:GREEN] [RGB:173:223:173] [COLOR:OCHRE] [NAME:ochre] [WORD:OCHRE] [RGB:204:119:34] [COLOR:OLIVE] [NAME:olive] [WORD:OLIVE] [RGB:128:128:0] [COLOR:ORANGE] [NAME:orange] [WORD:ORANGE] [RGB:255:165:0] [COLOR:PALE_BLUE] [NAME:pale blue] [WORD:BLUE] [RGB:175:238:238] [COLOR:PALE_BROWN] [NAME:pale brown] [WORD:BROWN] [RGB:152:118:84] [COLOR:PALE_CHESTNUT] [NAME:pale chestnut] [WORD:CHESTNUT] [RGB:221:173:175] [COLOR:PALE_PINK] [NAME:pale pink] [WORD:PINK] [RGB:250:218:221] [COLOR:PEACH] [NAME:peach] [WORD:PEACH] [RGB:255:229:180] [COLOR:PEARL] [NAME:pearl] [WORD:PEARL] [RGB:240:234:214] [COLOR:PERIWINKLE] [NAME:periwinkle] [WORD:PERIWINKLE] [RGB:204:204:255] [COLOR:PINE_GREEN] [NAME:pine green] [WORD:GREEN] [WORD:PINE] [RGB:1:121:111] [COLOR:PINK] [NAME:pink] [WORD:PINK] [RGB:255:192:203] [COLOR:PLUM] [NAME:plum] [WORD:PLUM] [RGB:102:0:102] [COLOR:PUCE] [NAME:puce] [WORD:PUCE] [RGB:204:136:153] [COLOR:PUMPKIN] [NAME:pumpkin] [WORD:PUMPKIN] [RGB:255:117:24] [COLOR:PURPLE] [NAME:purple] [WORD:PURPLE] [RGB:102:0:153] [COLOR:RAW_UMBER] [NAME:raw umber] [WORD:UMBER] [RGB:115:74:18] [COLOR:RED] [NAME:red] [WORD:RED] [RGB:255:0:0] [COLOR:RUSSET] [NAME:russet] [WORD:RUSSET] [RGB:117:90:87] [COLOR:RUST] [NAME:rust] [WORD:RUST] [RGB:183:65:14] [COLOR:SAFFRON] [NAME:saffron] [WORD:SAFFRON] [RGB:244:196:48] [COLOR:SCARLET] [NAME:scarlet] [WORD:SCARLET] [RGB:255:36:0] [COLOR:SEA_GREEN] [NAME:sea green] [WORD:GREEN] [WORD:SEA] [WORD:OCEAN] [RGB:46:139:87] [COLOR:SEPIA] [NAME:sepia] [WORD:SEPIA] [RGB:112:66:20] [COLOR:SILVER] [NAME:silver] [WORD:SILVER] [RGB:192:192:192] [COLOR:SKY_BLUE] [NAME:sky blue] [WORD:BLUE] [RGB:135:206:235] [COLOR:SLATE_GRAY] [NAME:slate gray] [WORD:GRAY] [RGB:112:128:144] [COLOR:SPRING_GREEN] [NAME:spring green] [WORD:GREEN] [RGB:0:255:127] [COLOR:TAN] [NAME:tan] [WORD:TAN] [RGB:210:180:140] [COLOR:TAUPE_DARK] [NAME:dark taupe] [WORD:TAUPE] [RGB:72:60:50] [COLOR:TAUPE_GRAY] [NAME:taupe gray] [WORD:TAUPE] [WORD:GRAY] [RGB:139:133:137] [COLOR:TAUPE_MEDIUM] [NAME:taupe] [WORD:TAUPE] [RGB:103:76:71] [COLOR:TAUPE_PURPLE] [NAME:purple taupe] [WORD:PURPLE] [WORD:TAUPE] [RGB:80:64:77] [COLOR:TAUPE_PALE] [NAME:pale taupe] [WORD:TAUPE] [RGB:188:152:126] [COLOR:TAUPE_ROSE] [NAME:rose taupe] [WORD:TAUPE] [RGB:144:93:93] [COLOR:TAUPE_SANDY] [NAME:sandy taupe] [WORD:TAUPE] [RGB:150:113:23] [COLOR:TEAL] [NAME:teal] [WORD:TEAL] [RGB:0:128:128] [COLOR:TURQUOISE] [NAME:turquoise] [WORD:TURQUOISE] [RGB:48:213:200] [COLOR:VERMILION] [NAME:vermilion] [WORD:VERMILION] [RGB:227:66:52] [COLOR:VIOLET] [NAME:violet] [WORD:VIOLET] [RGB:139:0:255] [COLOR:WHITE] [NAME:white] [WORD:WHITE] [RGB:255:255:255] [COLOR:YELLOW] [NAME:yellow] [WORD:YELLOW] [RGB:255:255:0] [COLOR:YELLOW_GREEN] [NAME:yellow-green] [WORD:GREEN] [WORD:YELLOW] [RGB:154:205:50]

Note: These numbers may need to be expressed in "hexadecimal" (base 16) notation – a couple good converters can be found here and here. For further information, see this article.

Color Lists

For the different colors used to represent different professions, see Skill categories.

For a list of the colors of items listed in the z-stocks menu, see Stocks.

For the colors of the various creatures, see creature

For the colors of status icons, see status icon

Material By Color

For those concerned with aesthetics and want to know which materials are available in each color.

Color	Stones	Ores	Metals	Other
• White	Alabaster, Alunite, Borax, Calcite, Chalk, Cryolite, Dolomite, Limestone, Marble, Marcasite, Periclase, Quartzite, Rock salt, Satinspar, Selenite, Talc	Galena, Horn silver, Native aluminum, Native platinum, Native silver	Silver, Platinum, Aluminum, Fine pewter, Nickel silver, Sterling silver	Crystal glass, Feather tree, Tower-cap
• Light Gray	Anhydrite, Dacite, Gneiss, Granite, Phyllite, Stibnite	Bismuthinite	Nickel, Tin, Zinc, Billon, Trifle pewter
• Dark Gray	Andesite, Basalt, Claystone, Chromite, Diorite, Gabbro, Graphite, Hornblende, Ilmenite, Jet, Mica, Pyrolusite, Rhyolite, Shale, Slate, Obsidian	Bituminous coal, Lignite, Magnetite, Sphalerite, Tetrahedrite	Iron, Steel, Lead, Pig iron	Black-cap
• Brown	Chert, Conglomerate, Mudstone, Puddingstone, Sandstone, Schist, Siltstone	Cassiterite, Native copper	Copper, Bronze	All other aboveground trees
• Yellow	Brimstone, Orpiment, Orthoclase, Saltpeter, Sylvite, Gypsum	Limonite, Native gold	Gold, Bismuth bronze, Brass, Electrum	Fungiwood
• Dark Red	Bauxite, Kaolinite	Hematite		Blood thorn
• Red	Cinnabar, Petrified wood, Realgar			Goblin-cap
• Green	Olivine, Serpentine	Malachite		Green glass
• Bright Green		Garnierite
• Cyan			Lay pewter	Clear glass, Spore tree
• Light Cyan	Microcline	Raw adamantine	Adamantine	Ice
• Dark Blue	Kimberlite			Nether-cap
• Blue	Cobaltite
• Purple	Pitchblende, Rutile		Black bronze	Glumprong
• Magenta			Bismuth, Rose gold	Tunnel tube

"Color" in other Languages Dwarven: dakas Elven: mima Goblin: zon Human: rusna