Design & Balance
The rates and systems that make the colony tick. Time is measured in discrete ticks — ten per second at normal speed — and every rate below is per-tick, so real-time behaviour is just "× 10 per second".
The clock
| Setting | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Ticks per second | 10 at 1× | one tick = 100 ms of game time |
| Speeds | Pause · 1× · 2× · 4× | single-player only; the public world runs at 1× |
| Day | 1000 ticks (~100 s) | a flavour clock (Spring → Summer → Autumn → Winter) |
Needs (0–100, drain per tick)
| Need | Drain/tick | Empties in | Acts below | Restored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thirst | 0.025 | ~6.7 min | 35 | drinking (−1 drink) |
| Hunger | 0.015 | ~11 min | 30 | eating (−1 food) |
| Rest | 0.020 | ~8.3 min | 25 | sleeping |
Dwarves act on a need well before it hits zero. Only at a genuine zero does health erode — about 200 seconds from full to death, with clear on-screen warning the whole time (health bar + red glyph). When fed, watered, and rested, health heals back on its own.
Work durations (nothing is instant)
| Job | Ticks | ≈ seconds @1× |
|---|---|---|
| Mine a wall | 30 | 3 s |
| Chop a tree | 25 | 2.5 s |
| Dig down-stairs | 40 | 4 s |
| Channel | 35 | 3.5 s |
| Build a wall | 40 | 4 s |
| Build a workshop | 120 | 12 s |
| Lay a farm plot | 60 | 6 s |
| Craft a good | 70 | 7 s |
| Move one tile | 3 | ~3.3 tiles/s (slower while hauling or exhausted) |
Real completion time is always travel + work — a dwarf walks to the job site first (via pathfinding), then works.
The colony loop
Mine stone/ore and chop wood → haul to a stockpile → build workshops → a Smelter turns ore into metal bars; a Craftsdwarf turns bars, stone, or wood into crafts (wealth). Wealth draws migrants; farms keep everyone fed and watered.
| System | Details |
|---|---|
| Depth | 10 z-levels: soil near the surface, rock below; deeper = better ore = more danger. |
| Ore bands | coal/copper shallow · iron mid · silver deep-mid · gold deepest; gems richer with depth. |
| Magma | pools the deepest levels — impassable and dangerous. |
| Farming | a harvest every ~90 s untended; tending a plot is much faster. About three plots sustain a colony. |
| Workshops | Mason (stone → blocks), Smelter (ore → bars), Craftsdwarf (bars/stone/wood → crafts), Carpenter (wood → beds). |
| Skills | dwarves gain proficiency at jobs they repeat, working up to +80% faster at Legendary. |
| Wildlife | harmless surface animals (deer, boar, rabbit, fox) wander and flee — atmosphere. |
Starting out
An expedition of 7 dwarves arrives with 30 food and 30 drink. Because they only consume when a need crosses its threshold, a completely idle colony survives comfortably for several minutes; a couple of tended farm plots make it self-sufficient indefinitely.
Threats & cave-ins
Nothing hostile appears for the first several minutes. After that, creatures arrive on a paced schedule and grow stronger over time (giant rat → wolf → troll); dwarves defend themselves when cornered.
Cave-ins can strike only when you mine into a large unsupported space (most of the surrounding tiles already open). They're rare, riskier the deeper you are, and disabled during the forgiving early game — so small, careful tunnels are always safe. The lesson: leave pillars.
Prosperity
Wealth is the sum of your stored goods, buildings, and population — with deeper materials worth more (ore → bars → fine crafts). It draws more migrants and scales the threats you face: the intended risk and reward of digging deep.