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Gait
v50.14 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF.Note that some content may still need to be updated. |
A gait is a mode of movement which a creature can use. In real life, the word only applies to movement on land; but in Dwarf Fortress, the term describes any mode of movement by a creature, including swimming, flying, and climbing.
Gait Types
There are 5 different types of gaits: walking, crawling, climbing, swimming, and flying.
- Walking gaits are land-based gaits which require the creature to be standing up, and have more than half of their [STANCE] body parts, e.g. legs, intact and working. They can be used to move across flat ground, and go up and down ramps and stairs.
- Crawling gaits are like walking gaits, except that they require neither standing up nor [STANCE] body parts. They are much slower than walking gaits. Please note that an uninjured, slithering snake is considered to be using a walking gait, not a crawling gait: its body is its [STANCE] body part. If a snake is injured in the body, it will revert to a crawling gait.
- Climbing gaits are used for moving up and down vertical surfaces, such as trees or walls, as well as for moving horizontally while supporting oneself against a vertical surface. In order to climb, a creature needs intact body parts to climb with: [GRASP] body parts by default, or [STANCE] body parts if the creature has the [STANCE_CLIMBER] token. Stance climbers include cats and giant cave spiders.
- Swimming gaits are used for moving in the water. In order to swim, a creature needs either the [SWIMS_INNATE] tag, or [SWIMS_LEARNED], [CAN_LEARN] and skill in swimming.
- Flying gaits are used for moving in the air. In order to fly, a creature needs the [FLIER] tag, and for enough of its body parts tagged [FLIER] (e.g. wings) to be intact, if applicable. Flying does not require a minimum speed to stay airborne, and turning while flying is no more difficult than turning while walking.
Speed
Gait speeds are expressed in ticks/100 tiles. This means that "larger" speeds are slower than "smaller" speeds. Currently, the maximum allowed speed is 100 ticks/100 tiles, or 1 tick per tile.
The speeds of each gait are only a baseline for how fast a creature of that species will move. In practice, speed can also be affected by factors such as what a creature is wearing or carrying, as well as its skills, attributes, and even its personality[Verify].
Here are some speeds for reference.
| Gait Speed | kph | mph | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8775 | 1 | 0.6 | average giant earthworm's top speed |
| 100 | 87 | 54 | maximum allowed gait speed |
| 900 | 9.6 | 6 | normal walking speed |
| 293 | 30 | 19 | average dwarf's top speed |
| 5951 | 1.5 | 0.9 | normal dwarven climbing speed |
| 225 | 39 | 24 | average human's/goblin's top speed |
| 6561 | 1.3 | 0.8 | normal human/goblin climbing speed |
| 214 | 41 | 25 | average elf's top speed |
| 2206 | 4 | 2.5 | normal elven climbing speed |
| 251 | 35 | 22 | average kobold's top speed |
| 3512 | 2.5 | 1.5 | normal kobold climbing speed |
| 439 | 20 | 12 | average troll's top speed |
| 1422 | 6.2 | 3.9 | normal ogre walking speed |
| 488 | 18 | 11 | average ogre's top speed |
| 125 | 70 | 43 | average horse's top speed |
| 351 | 25 | 16 | average dragon's top speed |
| 219 | 40 | 25 | average bronze colossus's top speed |
| 390 | 45 | 28 | average beak dog's top speed |
| 176 | 50 | 31 | average roc's top speed |
| 149 | 59 | 37 | average dog's top speed |
| 183 | 48 | 30 | average cat's top speed |
| 293 | 30 | 19 | average giant cave spider's top running and climbing speed |
| 109 | 80 | 50 | average gazelle's top speed |
| 157 | 56 | 35 | average gibbon's top climbing speed |
Standard Gaits
The grand majority of standard DF creatures use predefined gait patterns. While their gaits vary in speed from type to type and from creature to creature, the gaits' relations to each other are mostly uniform.
| Relative Gait | Gait Names | Gait Types | Build-up | Turning | Speed Affected by Physique | Slowed by Stealth | Energy Drain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fastest |
Sprint Gallop Fastest Walk Scramble Maximum Swim Speed Scramble Maximum Flight Speed Scramble |
WALK (biped) WALK (quadruped) WALK (general) CLIMB SWIM CRAWL FLY WALK (no legs) |
10, from a start speed of Fast | No | Yes | 50 | 50 |
| Faster |
Run Canter Faster Walk Faster Climb Faster Swim Faster Crawl Faster Flight Faster Crawl |
WALK (biped) WALK (quadruped) WALK (general) CLIMB SWIM CRAWL FLY WALK (no legs) |
5, from a start speed of Fast | No | Yes | 20 | 10 |
| Fast |
Jog Trot Fast Walk Fast Climb Fast Swim Fast Crawl Fast Flight Fast Crawl |
WALK (biped) WALK (quadruped) WALK (general) CLIMB SWIM CRAWL FLY WALK (no legs) |
No | Yes | Yes | 10 | 5 |
| Normal |
Walk Walk Walk Climb Swim Crawl Fly Crawl |
WALK (biped) WALK (quadruped) WALK (general) CLIMB SWIM CRAWL FLY WALK (no legs) |
No | Yes | No | No | 0 |
| Slow |
Stroll Stroll Slow Walk Slow Climb Slow Swim Slow Crawl Slow Fly Slow Crawl |
WALK (biped) WALK (quadruped) WALK (general) CLIMB SWIM CRAWL FLY WALK (no legs) |
No | Yes | No | No | 0 |
| Slowest |
Creep Creep Slowest Walk Creep Creeping Swim Creep Hover Creep |
WALK (biped) WALK (quadruped) WALK (general) CLIMB SWIM CRAWL FLY WALK (no legs) |
No | Yes | No | No | 0 |
Gaits and Modding
In the raw files, gaits are specified in c_variation_default. A better understanding of how creature gaits work can be found under [CREATURE_VARIATION:STANDARD_BIPED_GAITS] (in c_variation_default.txt), where brief information pertaining to their syntax is found.
To specify one of these predefined gaits,the tag [APPLY_CREATURE_VARIATION] should be used.
Example, taken from the dwarf:
[APPLY_CREATURE_VARIATION:STANDARD_BIPED_GAITS:900:711:521:293:1900:2900] 30 kph
where the speeds are: "walk:jog:run:sprint:stroll:creep". Sprint's and jog's starting speed is equal to jog's max, the rest have NO_BUILD_UP tag.