Designating digging and constructions with shapes

Our digging design tool, gui/design has had a major usability overhaul.

There are now icons for selecting modes and shapes, and the overall experience of designating shapes, stretching, rotating, and moving them, and finally applying them to the map is much easier than it was before.

Have fun with those curves!

Interactive map editing

You may have heard of tiletypes as the command to use for editing the map. It has a reputation for being difficult to understand, and startlingly easy to get wrong. Thanks to community member tatoyoda600's efforts, we now have gui/tiletypes, which turns map editing into simple point and click!

You can now easily fill in gaps in accidentally-dug areas, spawn tiles of the material of your choice for digging, or reshape the surface terrain to your liking!

Quick find and zoom for people, locations, and artifacts

The new gui/sitemap tool helps you find and zoom to things quickly.

It works in both adventure and fort mode. In adventure mode, its primary use is to find what you're looking for when you get to a site. If you have a quest to talk to a specific person or find a specific artifact, it can be very frustrating to arrive at the correct site but then be completely unable to find what you're looking for on the map. It doesn't help that nobody at the site can give you directions! gui/sitemap will list all the people, places, and things of interest and let you zoom the screen to their location with a click. You'll still have to find your way over there, though, which can be a challenge if it's deep underground.

In fort mode, it serves as a faster alternative to the vanilla overview screens. It also has the unique benefit of telling you both the Dwarven and the English names of artifacts. Now, when you get a notification that Thunderbanner has been stolen, you can search for the artifact in gui/sitemap and see that it's actually warning you about Amudzulban. Then you can zoom to its current location and search some pockets.

Controlling rate of immigration

A common complaint is that very large migrant waves can overwhelm fort infrastructure. If you enable the pop-control tool in gui/control-panel (Gameplay tab), you can limit migration waves to a reasonable size. The default is 10, but you can adjust it to any number you feel comfortable with.

Note that this tool will overwrite the population caps set in the vanilla settings, so if you have those numbers customized, be sure to update the setting for pop-control itself. For example, if you want a maximum population of 100 (along with the default per-wave maximum of 10 immigrants), run

pop-control set max-pop 100

after you enable pop-control.

Plant and tree manipulation

For those looking to meddle in the natural order, we now have the commandline plant tool for spawning, growing, and removing plant life.

For example, to grow a sapling into a tree, enter mining mode, enable the keyboard cursor, and highlight the tile with the sapling on it. Then, run plant grow here to increase the sapling's age. Once you unpause the game, the sapling will instantly grow into a tree!

Locale-sensitive number formatting

DFHack tools can display a lot of large numbers, especially where prices and weights are involved. We have traditionally formatted those numbers exactly the same as DF itself does -- that is, no formatting; just numbers. For example, one million is written as 1000000.

This can be hard to read, but it's also not perfectly clear how else the numbers should be formatted. In English, we often add commas to numbers, one comma every third digit, so one million would be written as 1,000,000. That would make it easier to read, assuming English is your native language. People from India might prefer to see one million as 10,00,000, and people from Germany might prefer 1.000.000.

So now you have a choice. In gui/control-panel, in the Preferences tab, there is now a Large number formatting preference that you can set.

You have several options:

• None (the default), which formats the numbers without embellishment like vanilla DF does (e.g. 1234567)
• English, which formats the numbers with commas every third digit (e.g. 1,234,567)
• System locale, which formats the numbers according to the locale settings for your operating system (system-dependent)
• SI suffix, which shows up to three significant digits and a metric-system suffix (e.g. 1.23M)
• Scientific, which shows numbers in scientific notation (e.g. 1.2e+06)

Your choice will apply to DFHack displays, such as gui/unit-info-viewer or the prices on the DFHack trade screens. Vanilla DF displays will not be affected.

Behind-the-scenes changes

This release marks a significant step forward in aligning the DFHack names for variables with the actual names used internally by the Dwarf Fortress code. Not only does this help smooth communication between DFHack and DF devs, but it opens up a whole new world for modders who can now access large new sections of the game state. Expect new tools soon that capitalize on this improvement in accessibility, especially in regards to the world map!

One of the major reasons for this beta is to test the existing DFHack tools and ensure they were all properly migrated to the new naming scheme. Please be on the lookout for commands that you know worked before but that now spit out errors.

Dreamfort has been updated

The Dreamfort quickfort blueprints have seen significant updates in this release. If you are in the middle of building from the Dreamfort blueprints, expect some minor errors or misplaced furniture if you started building from the Dreamfort blueprints in the previous DFHack version.

Starting from a new embark, of course, will work perfectly fine.

If you're not already familiar with it, Dreamfort is DFHack's marquee blueprint set for a complete fort layout. It demonstrates good design patterns for new players and shows what the game is capable of. For more experienced players, it provides a simple, yet complete fortress that you can quickly get up and running when you want to focus on specific aspects of the game and not worry too much about infrastructure.

Screenshots are available here: https://docs.dfhack.org/en/latest/docs/guides/quickfort-library-guide.html#dreamfort

and the walkthrough is available via the blueprint notes (which you can display with gui/quickfort) or online here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15TDBebP8rBNvsFbezb9xuKPmGWNzv7j4XZWq1AsfCio/edit?gid=0#gid=0

PSAs

As always, remember that, just like the vanilla DF game, DFHack tools can also have bugs. It is a good idea to save often and keep backups of the forts that you care about.

Many DFHack tools that worked in previous (pre-Steam) versions of DF have not been updated yet and are marked with the "unavailable" tag in their docs. If you try to run them, they will show a warning and exit immediately. You can run the command again to override the warning (though of course the tools may not work). We make no guarantees of reliability for the tools that are marked as "unavailable".

The in-game interface for running DFHack commands (gui/launcher) will not show "unavailable" tools by default. You can still run them if you know their names, or you can turn on dev mode by hitting Ctrl-D while in gui/launcher and they will be added to the autocomplete list. Some tools do not compile yet and are not available at all, even when in dev mode.

If you see a tool complaining about the lack of a cursor, know that it's referring to the keyboard cursor (which used to be the only real option in Dwarf Fortress). You can enable the keyboard cursor by entering mining mode or selecting the dump/forbid tool and hitting Alt-K (the DFHack keybinding for toggle-kbd-cursor). We're working on making DFHack tools more mouse-aware and accessible so this step isn't necessary in the future.

New Tools

• advtools: collection of useful commands and overlays for adventure mode
• bodyswap: (reinstated) take control of another unit in adventure mode
• devel/tree-info: print a technical visualization of tree data
• fix/occupancy: fixes issues where you can't build somewhere because the game tells you an item/unit/building is in the way but there's nothing there
• fix/population-cap: fixes the situation where you continue to get migrant waves even when you are above your configured population cap
• gui/sitemap: list and zoom to people, locations, and artifacts
• gui/tiletypes: interface for modifying map tiles and tile properties
• plant: (reinstated) tool for creating/growing/removing plants
• pop-control: (reinstated) limit the maximum size of migrant waves

New Features

• buildingplan: dimension tooltip is now displayed for constructions and buildings that are designated over an area, like bridges and farm plots
• gui/notify: new notification type: injured citizens; click to zoom to injured units; also displays a warning if your hospital is not functional (or if you have no hospital)
• plant: can now remove shrubs and saplings; list all valid shrub/sapling raw IDs; grow can make mature trees older; many new command options
• prioritize: new info panel on under-construction buildings showing if the construction job has been taken and by whom. click to zoom to builder; toggle high priority status for job if it's not yet taken and you need it to be built ASAP
• tweak: named-codices: display book titles instead of a material description in the stocks/trade screens

Fixes

• Mortal mode: prevent keybindings that run armok tools from being recognized when in mortal mode
• assign-profile: fix handling of unit option for setting target unit id
• buildingplan: properly identify appropriate construction items for modded buildings built from thread
• caravan: fix errors in trade dialog if all fort items are traded away while the trade dialog is showing fort items and the confirm trade confirmation is shown
• confirm: fix confirmation prompt behavior when overwriting a hotkey zoom location
• control-panel: restore non-default values of per-save enabled/disabled settings for repeat-based commands
• dig: don't leave phantom dig designations behind when autodigging warm/damp designated tiles
• gui/create-item: allow creation of adamantine thread, wool, and yarn
• gui/gm-unit: correctly display skill levels above Legendary+5
• gui/sandbox:
  • spawned citizens can now be useful military squad members
  • spawned undead now have a purple shade (only after save and reload, though)
• item: don't match uncollected spider webs when you search for "silk"
• makeown: set animals to tame and domesticated
• quickfort:
  • fix incorrect splitting of disjoint stockpiles that are given the same label (indicating that they should be part of the same stockpile)
  • allow farm plots to be built on muddy stone
• regrass: don't remove mud on regrass, consistent with vanilla behavior
• seedwatch:
  • display a limit of - instead of 0 for a seed that is present in inventory but not being watched
  • do not include unplantable tree seeds in status report
• suspend: remove broken --onlyblocking option; restore functionality to suspend all
• tiletypes: make aquifers functional when adding the aquifer property
• Buildings::containsTile: fix result for buildings that are solid and have no extent structures
• Gui::makeAnnouncement, Gui::autoDFAnnouncement: fix skipping index 0 when iterating reports vector

Misc Improvements

• Dreamfort:
  • add a full complement of beds and chests to both barracks
  • redesign guildhall/temple/library level for better accessibility
  • walkthough documentation refresh
  • add milking/shearing station in surface grazing pasture
  • integrate building prioritization into the blueprints and remove prioritize checklist steps
  • add plumbing template for filling cisterns with running water
• autobutcher: do not butcher pregnant (or brooding) females
• autonestbox: wait until juveniles become adults before they are assigned to nestboxes
• blueprint: capture track carving designations in addition to already-carved tracks
• buildingplan: add option to ignore items from a specified burrow
• caravan:
  • optional overlay to hide vanilla "bring trade goods to depot" button (if you prefer to always use the DFHack version and don't want to accidentally click on the vanilla button). enable caravan.movegoods_hider in gui/control-panel UI Overlays tab to use.
  • bring goods to depot screen now shows (approximate) distance from item to depot
  • add shortcut to the trade request screen for selecting item types by value (e.g. so you can quickly select expensive gems or cheap leather)
• changevein: follow veins into adjacent map blocks so you can run the command once instead of once per map block that the vein touches
• exterminate: add all target for convenient scorched earth tactics
• gui/civ-alert: you can now register multiple burrows as civilian alert safe spaces
• gui/control-panel: highlight prefrences that have been changed from the defaults
• gui/create-item: allow right click to cancel out of material dialog submenus
• gui/design:
  • significant redesign of UI for much improved usability
  • circles are more circular (now matches behavior of digcircle)
• gui/launcher:
  • "space space to toggle pause" behavior is skipped if the game was paused when gui/launcher came up to prevent accidental unpausing
  • refresh default tag filter when mortal mode is toggled in gui/control-panel so changes to which tools autocomplete take effect immediately
• gui/notify: notification panel extended to apply to adventure mode
• gui/quickfort:
  • you can now delete your blueprints from the blueprint load dialog
  • allow farm plots, dirt roads, and paved roads to be designated around partial obstructions without callling it an error, matching vanilla behavior
  • buildings can now be constructed in a "high priority" state, giving them first dibs on buildingplan materials and setting their construction jobs to the highest priority
• gui/unit-info-viewer:
  • now displays a unit's weight, relative to either dwarves, elephants, or cats
  • shows a unit's relative size compared to its race's average.
  • add precise unit size in cc (cubic centimeters) for comparison against the wiki values. you can set your preferred number format for large numbers like this in the preferences of control-panel or gui/control-panel
• logistics: automatically forbid or claim items brought to a stockpile
• nestboxes: increase the scanning frequency for fertile eggs to reduce the chance that they get snarfed by eager dwarves
• quickfort:
  • support buildable instruments
  • new delete command for deleting player-owned blueprints (library and mod-added blueprints cannot be deleted)
  • support enabling logistics features for autoforbid and autoclaim on stockpiles
• regrass: now accepts numerical IDs for grass raws; regrass --list replaces regrass --plant ""
• suspendmanager: add option to unsuspend that unsuspends all jobs, regardless of potential issues
• tiletypes:
  • performance improvements when affecting tiles over a large range
  • support for heavy aquifers
  • new surroundings property for autocorrecting adjacent tiles when making changes (e.g. adding ramp tops when you add a ramp)

Removed

• adv-rumors: merged into advtools
• devel/find-offsets, devel/find-twbt, devel/prepare-save: remove development scripts that are no longer useful
• fix/item-occupancy, fix/tile-occupancy: merged into fix/occupancy
• max-wave: merged into pop-control
• plants: renamed to plant
• dfhack.HIDE_CONSOLE_ON_STARTUP and dfhack.HIDE_ARMOK_TOOLS are no longer directly accessible. Please use control-panel or gui/control-panel to interact wtih those settings.
• gui.FramedScreen: this class is now deprecated; please use gui.ZScreen and widgets.Window instead

API

• Focus strings have moved for stockpile states: dwarfmode/CustomStockpile is now dwarfmode/Stockpile/Some/Customize and similar for dwarfmode/StockpileTools and dwarfmode/StockpileLink
• Buildings::getName: get a building's name, convenience method for easier use from Lua
• format_number: format numbers according to the configured player formatting preference
• Items::remove: now cancels related jobs and marks the item as hidden and forbidden
• Maps::isTileAquifer: check if tile is an aquifer
• Maps::isTileHeavyAquifer: check if tile is a heavy aquifer
• Maps::removeAreaAquifer: remove aquifers from all tiles in a cuboid, with the option to provide a filter
• Maps::removeTileAquifer: remove aquifer from tile
• Maps::setAreaAquifer: make all tiles in a cuboid into aquifers, with the option to provide a filter
• Maps::setTileAquifer: make tile into an aquifer
• Units::create, Units::makeown: new APIs to use bay12-provided entry points for low-level operations

Lua

• dfhack.formatInt, dfhack.formatFloat: formats numbers according to the player preferences for number formatting set in gui/control-panel
• dfhack.gui.getSelectedJob: can now return the job with a destination under the keyboard cursor (e.g. digging/carving/engraving jobs)
• dfhack.maps.isTileAquifer, dfhack.maps.isTileHeavyAquifer, dfhack.maps.setTileAquifer, dfhack.maps.removeTileAquifer: access to new aquifer API
• dfhack.units.create, dfhack.units.makeown: Lua access to new module API
• dialogs.showYesNoPrompt: extend options so the standard dialog can be used for gui/confirm-style confirmation prompts
• plugins.tiletypes.tiletypes_setTile: can now accept a table for access to previously unavailable options
• safe_index: will now return nil when attempting to index into a non-indexable object
• script-manager: add getModSourcePath and getModStatePath so modders can get the directory path to their own files
• widgets.ButtonGroup: subclass of CycleHotkeyLabel that additionally displays clickable graphical buttons
• widgets.CycleHotkeyLabel: when the widget has both forward and backward hotkeys defined, support moving backwards by clicking on the appropriate hotkey hint
• widgets.DimensionsTooltip: reusable selected dimensions tooltip that follows the mouse cursor around
• widgets.FilteredList: don't restrict the player from inputting multiple successive space characters
• widgets.makeButtonLabelText: create text and graphical buttons from character/color/tile maps and/or dynamically loaded tilesets

Structures

• added several bay12 exported entry points to list of known globals
• canonicalized a wide swath of type names, field names, and structure organization to match DF's internal names and organization. fields that already had useful names were largely left alone, but all unk, anon, and other "placeholder" names have been changed. structures that differed from reality were also corrected (e.g. collections of fields that were actually substructures and vice versa).
• job.item_category is now job.specflag, contains a union of flag fields, and depends on the job type
• plant_flags: rename is_burning, is_drowning, is_dead to Bay12 names unused_01, season_dead, dead
• slab_engraving_type: correct order of items (last two were swapped)
• unitst: correct return type of create_nemesis vmethod
• world_data: identify many fields and substructures

Documentation

• installing: add instructions for how to use Steam DFHack with non-Steam DF (ito benefit from DFHack auto-updates and cloud backups)
• modding-guide: add a section on persistent storage, both for global settings and world-specific settings