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Forts Glossary

By Romerolagus

List of common Forts Terms

Award

Created by

Romerolagus
Offline

Category: Gameplay Basics, Modding or Configuration, Secrets, Story or Lore, Walkthroughs, Workshop

Languages: English

Posted

Updated

18 Jun, 2018 @ 5:20am

5 Oct, 2021 @ 6:27am

2,079	Unique Visitors
32	Current Favorites

Guide Index

Overview

Introduction

Comments

Introduction

An ongoing work in progress, if you have suggestions or corrections please contact the author on the Official Forts Discord.[discord.gg]

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

1 by

1 square

A distance of 1 grid square, typically referenced when building.

2 by

2 squares

A distance of 2 grid squares, typically referenced when building.

1v1

A match between 2 players.

2v2

A match between 2 teams of 2 players.

20mm Cannon

Light Artillery. Repeating Cannon that fires 9 shots in succession, unlocked by Munitions Plant.

3 by

3 squares

A distance of 3 grid squares, typically referenced when building.

3v3

A match between 2 teams of 3 players.

4v4

A match between 2 teams of 4 players.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Anti-Air

Weapons used to shoot down incoming Projectiles.

Ability

Commander Ability

The active ability of a Commander.

Ablative Armour

Sacrificial Bracing

Wooden Armour that is meant to Absorb damage while being destroyed in the process.

Absorb

Soak

Re: Damage, a measure of how much something can withstand. ie a Sandbag can absorb 1/3 of a Cannon round.
Re: Shields, the passive ability of Shockenaugh's shields to steal energy from Plasma Laser/Firebeam shots hitting them.

Accuracy

The correlation between an exact point of aim and the actual striking point of a weapon. ie a Plasma Laser has extremely high Accuracy while a Machine Gun has extremely low accuracy.

Active Ability

Ability, Commander Ability

The Commander power that must be charged by causing or receiving damage and then activated by pressing 't' or the Commander button.

Advanced Tech Structure

Factory and Munitions Plant, Tech Structures unlocked by the Workshop or Armoury.

Artificial Intelligence

Re: AA, Autofire enabled. Re: opponents, a team controlled by the computer.

Aiming

Generically, to point a weapon.
Re: Firing Arcs, the position of the Targeting Reticle and the length of the radius of the Firing Arc, affected by the presence of Snipers with Line of Sight and some Commanders.

Angle

A measurement of the distance between two points on a circle, relative to the full circle itself. Expressed in degrees.

Angled Armour

Slanted Armour

Metal Armour or Doors built at enough of an Angle to deflect bullets while taking no damage.

Anti-Air

Weapons used to shoot down incoming Projectiles.

AoE

Area-of-Effect

A geometrically defined space to indicate the extent of the influence of an event. ie a Repair Station automatically repairs everything within a set radius. The circle defined by that radius being the Repair Station's Area of Effect.

AoE Damage

Area of Effect Damage

Damage caused to everything within an Area of Effect.

AP Sniper

Armour Piercing Sniper

Upgraded Sniper able to pierce through 3 layers of Wood, or 1 layer of Metal + 1 layer of Wood. Slower Reload than Sniper. Cannot Paint target for Missiles. Unlocked via Upgrade Centre.

APM

Actions Per Minute: A measure of the speed at which a player can perform actions.

APM Sink

Tactics that require extremely high APM investment.

APM Hero

A player known for extremly high APM, or reference to a map with high APM requirements.

Arc

Bullet Drop, Projectile Drop

The parabolic trajectory of a Projectile under the effects of gravity.
Re: Firing Arc, the aiming UI.

Architect

Builder

Dragon Army Commander. Passive abilities include cheaper Structure, faster Structure build, 50% increase in Storage Device Capacity. Active ability: 4x build speed.

Area of Effect

AoE

A geometrically defined space to indicate the extent of the influence of an event. ie a Repair Station automatically Repairs everything within a set radius. The circle defined by that radius being the Repair Station's Area of Effect.

Armour

Metal

A Strut or Beam comprised of the Metal Material, used as protection. Also Foreground or Wooden Bracing used in large quantities.

Armour Piercing Sniper

AP Sniper

Upgraded Sniper able to pierce through 3 layers of Wood, or 1 layer of Metal + 1 layer of Wood. Unlocked via Upgrade Centre.

Armourdillo

Turtle

Iron Bear Alliance Commander. Passive Abilities include cheaper Armour and Shield, fast Doors, and larger Repair Station radius. Active Ability: Fast, half cost Repairs, reveal hidden Armour and Shields.

Armoury

Tech Structure that unlocks Flak and EMP Rocket Weapons and Factory and Munitions Plant Tech Structures.

Artificial Intelligence

Re: AA, Autofire enabled.
Re: opponents, a team controlled by the computer.

Asymmetric

Maps in which the two sides are not mirrored.

Attachment point

Ground Strut, Terrain Node

The Node at which a Strut or Rope attaches to Terrain.

Autofire

Machine Guns and Flak automatically attempting to shoot down Projectiles.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Background Bracing

BG Bracing

Struts composed of the Background Bracing Material. Passes Projectiles and Wind.

Ban

Boot, Kick

Being removed from a Lobby by the Host.

Barrel

Explosive object containing hazardous waste included in maps or placed by Shockenaugh Commander Active Ability. Shockenaugh Barrels may be removed for a cost of 1000 Energy and significant time. Structures connected to map Barrels remain controlled by players even when Detached.

Base

The Structure and Core under a players control.

Battery

Storage Device that increases Energy Cap by 2000, or 3000 with the Architect Commander.

Battery Bomb

Weapon Bomb

A collection of Batteries inside a base that would cause a chain reaction when one is destroyed.
Re: Historic, a Battery (or Explosive Weapon) deliberately dropped into a base from above to cause damage. Battery Bombs specifically have since been coded out, but Weapon Bombs are still viable.

Battleforts

Forts in Space

Forts with Zero Gravity Mod enabled allowing mobile bases using Recoil for propulsion.

Beach

Sandbags

A base containing a large number of Sandbags.

Beam

Bracing, Strut

The connecting Structure between Nodes, comprised of a Building Material.

Background.

Black Penguin Oil

BPO

A faction within the Forts Campaign.

Black Smoke

Smoking

A series of puffs of Black Smoke emitted by Cores, Warheads, and some Devices to indicate that they have taken damage.

Blocked

Re: Weapons, a Weapon unable to fire due to Structure or objects in front of it is referred to as Blocked.
Re: Turbines, a Turbine with reduced Efficiency due to FG or Metal Bracing/Doors in-line with it is referred to as Blocked.

Blocking

Objects placed in front of Weapon rendering it unable to fire are referred to as Blocking that Weapon. Foreground or Metal Bracing or Doors placed in-line with Turbines reducing its efficiency are said to be Blocking that Turbine.

Boot

Ban, Kick

Being removed from a Lobby by the Host.

Boxes

A square or rectangular arrangement of nodes and struts which forms a box.

BPO

Black Penguin Oil

A faction within the Forts Campaign.

Bracing

Strut, Beam

The connecting Structure between Nodes, comprised of a Building Material excluding Ropes.

Break-Even-Point

The point at which the Resource investment for Building or Upgrading a Collector is paid off. Also factors in lost Income while Collector is disabled while Upgrading.

Bridge

A construction that allows a gap to be spanned by Building Materials, often involving additional Ground Struts and or Ropes.

Build

To place something.
Re: RTS, a specific design including the order and timing of Structure, tech, and weapons.

Build Speed

The time required for an object or Structure to complete.

Builder

Architect

Dragon Army Commander. Passive Abilities include cheaper Structure, faster Structure build, 50% increase in Storage Device Capacity. Active ability: 4x build speed.

Building Materials

Materials

Foreground Bracing, Background Bracing, Armour, Armoured Door, Shields, Ropes. May also reference the Materials Toolbar.

Bullet Drop

Projectile Drop

The parabolic trajectory of a Projectile under the effects of gravity.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Campaign

The single player Forts Campaign.

Cannon

Heavy Artillery firing an Explosive Round.

Cannon Snipe

To hit a specific target with a Cannon. ie, he Cannon Sniped an incoming Warhead.

Cap

Capacity

The maximum amount of a given Resource able to be stored at once.

Capacity

Cap

The maximum amount of a given Resource able to be stored at once.

Claim

To connect to an unattached piece of Structure, making it part of your base.

Classic

Forts with the Tons of Guns Mod disabled. Gameplay closer to the original release before game updates.

Collapse

Topple

A Base no longer able to support itself that breaks its supports and falls is said to Topple or Collapse. Either through damage to its supports, the addition of weight, or leaning or being pushed too far in one direction.

Collectors

Reactors, Mines, and Turbines that generate Resources.

Collision

A Projectile making contact with a solid object, such as Foreground Bracing.

Commander

Personalities from the Forts Campaign chosen by each team, with Passive and Active Abilities affecting gameplay. May be disabled.

Commander Ability

Ability, Active Ability

The Commander power that must be charged by causing or receiving damage and then activated by pressing 't'.

Commander Button

The star logo button in the lower left hand corner of the screen next to the Commander image. Mouseover displays current Commander properties. Includes a Commander Charge meter. Clicking on the logo activates Commander Ability when Charged.

Commander Charge

The circular meter surrounding the Commander button indicating when a Commander can use his Active Ability. Increased by causing or receiving damage.

Concentrate Fire

Focus Fire

To target the same base or spot within a base with multiple Weapons at once.

Conflagration

When everything is on fire.

Console

Chat Window

The command line interface. Accessed by pressing '`' in game, allows Chat, and Team Chat (toggled with the Tab key) and access to additional game messages.

Control Group

Group

A set of similar Weapons selected at once, and assigned to a numeric hotkey by pressing "Control-<#>" Dissimilar weapons may not be grouped, nor Snipers/AP Snipers.

Conversion

Convert, Replace

To change an existing Strut from one material to another, either by right clicking and selecting, or by first selecting a Material and then drag-clicking from one Node to the next.

Convert

Conversion, Replace

To change an existing Strut from one material to another, either by right clicking and selecting, or by first selecting a Material and then drag-clicking from one Node to the next.

Coop

Cooperative game type in which all players on a team have full control of all bases and shared resources. Causes all Pre-Built bases to be available even when the number of players is lower than the number of bases.

Core

Reactor

The primary Structure, produces Metal and Energy. Highly explosive. Losing all Cores results in losing the game.

Core Swing

Swing the Core

A maneuver in which the Core is physically moved by means of Ropes and detaching it from connected Structures. High risk.

Coreshot

Coresnipe

A shot that goes directly into a Core.

Coresnipe

Coreshot

A shot that goes directly into a Core.

Cross-Bracing

Double Braced

A Box that has had all Nodes connected, forming an X, or Cross in the center. Stronger than a Box that is not Cross Braced, but also heavier.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

D/C

Disconnect, Desync

Loss of connection between players.

Death Spiral

Spiral

RTS, the process of beginning to lose slowly and then faster and faster as you are unable to recover.

Decoy

Re: AA, inexpensive Weapons such as Incendiary Mortars fired to trigger an opponents AA ahead of more substantial attacks.
Re: APM, exposed sections of Fort or Machine Guns placed with the sole purpose of distracting an opponent from more significant threats.

Delete

Scrap, Sell

To remove an object or Structure either by right clicking and selecting the trash icon or by selecting and pressing the delete key. Done for the purposes of Reclaim, or to make space. Sometimes used to describe act of Converting Metal to Wood for Reclaim. Also refers to removing Barrels.

Derrick

Oil Derrick

A Metal Resource collector from the Campaign.

Desync

D/C, Disconnect

Loss of connection between players.

Detach

Sever

To destroy the connections between parts of an opponents base, causing them to lose control of the disconnected portion.

Detonation Range

Manually setting the explosion point of Flak as designated by the outer arc when moving the Targeting Reticle.

Dev

Devs, Developers

The people who created Forts.

Device

Mines, Turbines, Metal Store, Battery, Sandbags, and Repair Station. May also refer to the Devices Toolbar.

Devices Toolbar

The toolbar along the bottom of the screen in which you can select from Devices to build. Accessible via the Devices hotkey, "x." Pressing x repeatedly cycles through available Devices.

DFLR

Dirty Filthy Laser Rusher

A pejorative for people known to Laser Rush.

DFMR

Dirty Filthy Missile Rusher

A pejorative for people known for Missile Rushing.

Disable

Re: Mods, enabling Mods that disable certain game features, such as Gravity.
Re: EMP's, anything under the effect of an EMP is said to be disabled.

Disconnect

D/C, Desync, Detach

Loss of connection between players.
Re: Structure, To destroy the connections between parts of an opponents base, causing them to lose control of the disconnected portion.

Door

Armoured Door

A Strut made of Armour that can open and close, allowing it to Pass Projectiles and Wind while opened.

Door Snipe

To hit something in an opponents base through an opened door.

Double Braced

Cross-Bracing

A Box that has had all Nodes connected, forming an X, or Cross in the center. Stronger than a Box that is not Cross Braced, but also heavier.

Double Foundation

Double-Basing

Building additional Ground Struts and connecting them to provide additional support for a base. May also reference additional internal Struts not aligned with existing Boxes.

Double Shot

2 rounds from a Sniper or AP Sniper at once, possible with the Scattershot Commander.

Double Shot Snipers

Scattershot Passive Ability allowing Snipers and AP Snipers to fire 2 bullets at once.

Double-Basing

Double Foundation

Building additional Ground Struts and connecting them to provide additional support for a base. May also reference additional internal Struts not aligned with existing Boxes.

Double-Door

Protecting a Weapon with 2 (or more) Doors for additional protection. Often used as an imperative, ie "You need to double door that!"

Drag-Build

Extrude

Building by clicking and dragging upon an existing Strut to create connected Boxes. Generally faster than building via Single Struts. Almost always better aligned.

Dragon Army

A faction within the Forts Campaign.

Drop the Core

Suicide, Forfeit, Disconnecting

Deliberately Selling portions of your base in order to end the game. Sometimes references falling upon a teammates base for the purposes of Teamkilling.

Dropping

Re: Internet, a loss of connection between players. Re: Battery Bombs, dropping objects upon a player below your base. Re: Cores, to sever a Hanging Fort such that it lands upon a Fort below it.

Drunk Nuke

A Warhead that has been damaged and begins emitting Black Smoke and weaving erratically. Harder for Autofiring AA to hit, also less likely to hit the intended target. When damaged immediately upon leaving its Silo, frequently swerves into its own base.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Eagle Empire

A Faction within the Forts Campaign.

Eagle Eye

EE, Marksman

Eagle Empire Commander. Passive Abilities include 2x Sniper Build Speed, Sniper Lasersights (may be adjusted via Page Up and Page Down keys), better Aiming, increased MG magazines (9 vs 7) and reduced Minigun magazines (11 vs 13). Active Ability: Explosive rounds from Miniguns, AP Snipers, and Shotguns.

EarthWork Games[www.earthworkgames.com]

EarthWork Games[www.earthworkgames.com], the makers of Forts.

Efficiency

A measure of the amount of Wind reaching a Turbine, and thus its Energy output.

Eco

Economy

The Resource Income and associated Collectors which generate Resources. To lack Eco is to lack Resource Income.

Eagle Eye, Marksman

EMP

EMP Rocket

Electromagnetic Pulse, or Electromagnetic Pulse Rocket. Can be shot down by AA. Upon detonation through collision or being shot down, disables everything within its AoE. May be Upgraded to Rockets.

Energy

Power

One of the two primary resources in Forts.

Energy Shield

Shield

A special Material, Reflects bullets, Lasers, Firebeams, and 20mm Cannon. Weak towards Explosives. Does not Block Wind in moderate numbers. Has an associated Energy Upkeep cost. See Scattershot Commander.

Environmental Effects

Cosmetic graphical effects in Forts such as wind and rain, may cause additional CPU strain.

Exhaust

Re: AA, to cause Autofire AA to expend their shots such that they are Reloading when the primary attack occurs.

Explosives

Weapons which cause an Explosion or AoE damage upon contact, including Incendiary Mortars, Heavy Mortars, Swarm Missiles, Warheads, EMP, Rockets, and Cannon. See Eagle Eye Commander.

Exposed

Anything placed where it is not protected from Projectiles, or is able to be seen by an opponent.

Extrude

Drag Build

Building by clicking and dragging upon an existing Strut to create connected Boxes. Generally faster than building via Single Struts. Almost always better aligned.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Facetank

To Absorb the full damage of an attack with no active defenses (such as AA) reducing the amount of damage taken.

Factory

Tech Structure that unlocks Firebeam and Plasma Laser.

Fan

Turbine, Wind Turbine, Windmill

Collector that generates Energy from Wind. Technically an inaccurate term as Fans use power to generate wind, but the usage persists. Can be Upgraded.

Foreground.

Fire Alarm

The alert sound that plays when a base is on fire.

Fire Laser

Firebeam

A photonic Weapon with enhanced Incendiary properties. Can also ignite Projectiles causing them to become Incendiary, as well as burn up over time. Unlocked via Factory.

Firebeam

Fire Laser

A photonic Weapon with enhanced Incendiary properties. Can also ignite Projectiles causing them to become Incendiary, as well as burn up over time. Unlocked via Factory.

Firebird

Fireman

Eagle Empire Commander. Passive Abilities include larger Incendiary effect, slower fire spread, increased Firebeam duration, increased Firebeam penetration. Active Ability: All Weapons Incendiary.

Fireman

Firebird

Eagle Empire Commander. Passive Abilities include larger Incendiary effect, slower fire spread, increased Firebeam duration, increased Firebeam penetration. Active Ability: All Weapons Incendiary.

Firing Arc

The UI for firing weapons. Also, the endpoints of that arc as determined by any Blocking factors.

Firing Arc Radius

The distance spanned by the radius of the Aiming Arc UI.

Firing Cost

The cost in Resources to fire a Weapon.

First Load

The increased amount of time required to begin the first game of Forts during a session. Caused by the initial loading of graphics and sounds and other data into memory. It is considered polite in multiplayer games to load a Replay or Skirmish or single player game prior to joining in order to avoid First Load delays.

Flak

Advanced AA weapon that fires 4 round bursts of shrapnel bombs. Detonation range may be Manually set by moving the Targeting Reticle and noting the position of the outer arc in the Aiming Arc UI. Useful for indirectly attacking Weapons such as Mortars. May be Upgraded to Shotguns.

Floating Resources

Hitting Cap

To reach your current Resource Capacity, causing any additional Income to be lost.

Focus Fire

Concentrate Fire

To target the same base or spot within a base with multiple Weapons at once.

Forfeit

Specifically, quitting a Ranked multiplayer game while losing.

Foreground Bracing

Struts composed of the Foreground Bracing Material. Does not Pass Projectiles or Wind.

Foundation

Ground Strut

The Struts of your base that connect to Terrain and support the majority of the weight.

FPS

Frames Per Second

A measure of game performance. Low FPS is often described as stuttering gameplay. Highly influenced by map size, number of onscreen projectiles, Ping Times, and CPU and GPU performance.

Frames Per Second

FPS

A measure of game performance. Low FPS is often described as stuttering gameplay. Highly influenced by map size, number of onscreen projectiles, Ping times, and CPU and GPU performance.

Friendly Fire

Weapons fire hitting teammates bases whether deliberately or by accident, as in the case of Autofiring AA.

Fuse

Detcord

Slow burning material used to spread a fire from one point to another. Unavailable as a player resource, typically used in Pre-Built maps.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Good Game

General acknowledgement of respect between players concluding a match. Occasionally sarcastic.

Grid

When a Node, Strut, Mine, Swarm Missiles, or Warhead is selected, it causes a Grid to be visible when sufficiently zoomed in. Available Ground locations for Mines, Swarms, and Warheads are also shown. The Grid is often referenced when describing the sizing for building Boxes and other Structure. The Grid may be toggled on or off with the 'g' key. When the Grid is disabled, Snap to Grid is also disabled. See Snap to Grid.

Grid Building

Building Structure with Grid enabled. See Snap to Grid.

Grid Spaces

The number of squares as seen in the building Grid.

Ground Collision

Any object making contact with Terrain, causing the destruction of that object.

Ground Strut

Foundation

The Struts of your base that connect to Terrain and support the majority of the weight.

Group

Control Group

A set of similar Weapons selected at once, and assigned to a numeric hotkey by pressing "Control-<#>" Dissimilar weapons may not be grouped, nor Snipers/AP Snipers.

Group Fire

To fire all Weapons within a Group at once.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Hanging Fort

Forts with their Foundations attached to Terrain above them.

Heavies

Slang term for Heavy Weapons.

Heavy Mortar

Upgraded Incendiary Mortar. No longer causes fires, but significantly increased damage. Can be shot down by AA. Unlocked via the Workshop and Upgrade Centre.

Heavy Weapons

Warthog

Re Commanders: Eagle Empire Commander. Passive Abilities include, better aim, faster Reload of Heavy Weapons, reduced Heavy Mortar Reload time. Active Ability: 25% increased damage to Heavy Weapons. Re: Weapons, Plasma Laser and Cannon, unofficially includes Warhead, 20mm Cannon and Firebeam.

Host

The player who opened the Lobby.

Hotkey

Keyboard shortcuts to rapidly perform actions.

Hurricane

Speed Demon

Passive Abilities include 10% building speed increase, faster repair, faster removal of Barrels. Active Ability: Fast Reload.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Incendiaries

Any weapon that can cause fires. May also specifically reference Incendiary Mortars. See Firebird.

Income

The rate at which your Collectors generate Resources.

Individual Strut

Reference to building one Strut at a time. Usually slower, and less aligned than Drag Building.

Instant Replay

Replays

Available after the conclusion of a match. Game Replays saved by Forts in-game recording system. Can also be saved as video or Gifs. Stereo Mix must be enabled to record sound.

Iron Bear Alliance

A faction within the Forts Campaign.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Joint

Node

The termination point of a Strut, and connecting point for multiple Struts.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Keybinding

Keymapping, Remapping

Changing the default hotkeys to custom settings.

Keymapping

Keybinding, Remapping

Changing the default hotkeys to custom settings.

Kick

Ban, Boot

Being removed from a Lobby by the Host.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Lag

Generically, any delays between performing actions and the execution of those actions, whether due to connectivity or system load.

Lasersight

Eagle Eye Snipers and AP Snipers have Lasersights showing a straight line path in their direction of aim. This does not take into account Bullet Drop, but the Lasersight may be adjusted up or down the the Page Up and Page Down keys. This Lasersight is not visible to opposing players. Re: Missiles, in order to fire, a Sniper must first Paint the intended target. Painting causes a Lasersight to appear that is visible to your opponents.

Last Man Standing

The last surviving member of a multiplayer team.

Leaderboard

The official 1v1 and 2v2 Rankings board.

Lightning Icon

Power Symbol

Indicates the Energy cost of building an object. Red numbers indicate that you lack the Energy to perform the action.
Re: Weapons, shown when you lack the Energy to fire a Weapon.

Line of Sight

LoS

The path in front of a weapon free of Blocking obstructions.

Lobby

Game interface where players host and join a game.

LoS

Line of Sight

The path in front of a weapon free of Blocking obstructions.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Machine Gun

Basic projectile weapon and Autofiring AA. Also frequently used to remove opponent AA, or shoot an exposed core. Can Overheat and become unable to fire for a period of time. Can be Upgraded to Minigun.

Manual

Re: AA, taking control of Autofiring AA in order to fire with increased accuracy.
Re: Building, to build with the Grid turned off.
Re: Doors, to convert Struts from Foreground to Background in order to fire, then back to Foreground to protect them. Known APM sink.

Map

Built-in or player created Forts battlegrounds.

Map Control

To hold a decisive advantage in positioning and placement of Weapons, forcing your opponent into a defensive position in order to place Weapons. Usually references the ability to maintain exposed bullet firing weapons while forcing your opponent to build behind protection.

Marksman

Eagle Eye, EE

Matchmaking

System for automatically pairing people in Ranked matches.

Materials

Building Materials

Foreground Bracing, Background Bracing, Armour, Armoured Door, Shields, Ropes. May also reference the Materials Toolbar.

Materials Toolbar

Accessible via the Materials hotkey, 'z.' Pressing z repeatedly cycles through available Materials.

Meatshield

The base most likely to be targeted first by opponents, else the frontmost base.

Metal Up

Advice to immediately place additional Armour within a base.

Metal

Armour

A Strut or Beam comprised of the Metal Material, used as protection.

Metal Attrition

Being forced to spend all Metal Income on Repairs or rebuilding until you can no longer keep up.

Metal Store

Storage Device that increases Metal Cap by 300, or 450 with the Architect Commander.

Machine Gun

MG Tail

Tail

A dangling Structure built soley for placing Machine Guns to provide AA.

MG Wall

An uninterrupted line of Machine Guns tiling vertically meant to provide overwhelming AA.

Mine

Collector that generates Metal income from deposits in Terrain. Has an associated Energy Upkeep Cost. Can be Upgraded.

Minigun

Upgraded Machine Gun. Fires a greater number of Projectiles than Machine Gun, with greater accuracy, but with a more limited Firing Arc and higher Firing Cost. Does not Autofire for AA.

Miser

Pinchfist

Iron Bear Alliance Commander: Passive Abilities include cheap repair, 10% Device Income bonus, 100% Reclaim. Active Ability: Half cost firing.

Missiles

Swarm Missiles

Ground placed weapon that launches volleys of 13 guided Projectiles. Must possess a Sniper with Unblocked Line of Sight to Paint the target. AP Snipers cannot Paint. Can be shot down with AA. Can be Upgraded to Warhead.

Miser

Pinchfist

Iron Bear Alliance Commander: Passive Abilities include cheap repair, 10% Device Income bonus, 100% Reclaim. Active Ability: Half cost firing.

Mod

Modification

Selectable patches that make alterations to the game. Can be enabled or disabled. Includes Mods created by the Developers and built into the game as well as Player created Mods available through the Steam Workshop.

Mortar

Incendiary Mortar

Arcing Projectile Weapon that can ignite targets. Can be shot down by AA. Can be Upgraded to Heavy Mortar. Unlocked via Workshop.

Munitions Plant

Tech Structure that unlocks 20mm Cannon and Cannon.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Needles

Tall, narrow bases with a high risk of Collapsing.

Negative T3

A vertically oriented Weapon facing downwards. Achieved through the use of Ropes and breaking a Platform free of its supports before Reconnecting it.

Node

Joint

The termination point of a Strut, and connecting point for multiple Struts.

Normal Game

A game without custom Mods enabled. Tons of Guns and Repair Station are typically considered Normal as they are selected by default.

Nuke

Warhead

Upgraded Swarm Missiles. Extremely high AoE and impact damage, extremely high Firing Cost. May be shot down by AA. When damaged, becomes "Drunk" and trails Black Smoke while weaving erratically.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Oil Derrick

Derrick

A Metal Resource Collector from the Campaign.

Overclocker

Overdrive

Dragon Army Commander. Passive Abilities include 2x Upgrade speed. Active Ability: 2x income, 2x building speed.

Overdrive

Overclocker

Dragon Army Commander. Passive Abilities include 2x Upgrade speed. Active Ability: 2x income, 2x building speed.

Overheat

Exhausted

A Machine Gun that has fired too rapidly and can no longer fire is said to have Overheated or become Exhausted.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Paint

The act of aiming Swarm Missiles or a Warhead with a Sniper who "Paints" the target with a Lasersight. AP Snipers cannot Paint.

Partial Fire

A Plasma Laser or Firebeam that has been fired without sufficient Energy for a full duration shot is said to have performed a Partial Fire.

Passes

Allows Wind and Projectiles through.

Passive Ability

The Abilities of a Commander that are always in effect.

Pickaxe Icon

Indicates the Metal cost to perform an action, such as building an object or firing a Weapon. Red numbers indicate that you lack the Metal to perform the action.

Pinchfist

Miser

Iron Bear Alliance Commander: Passive Abilities include cheap repair, 10% Device Income bonus, 100% Reclaim. Active Ability: Half cost firing.

Ping

Generically, a query from one computer to another. In gaming, usually refers to Ping Time, or the length of time for a round trip communication between computers.

Place

To begin construction of an object.

Placement Lag

A delay experienced between the user action of Placing and the game acknowledging the action.

Plasma Laser

High damage photonic weapon with an extremely high Energy Firing Cost. Unlocked via Factory.

Platform

A horizontal Strut upon which objects may be placed. Must be Foreground Bracing, and must be within a certain number of degrees of true horizontal. A Platform, regardless of length, may only hold up to one object.

Potato

Derogatory term to describe a slow computer that struggles to run games.

Power

Energy

One of the two primary Resources in Forts.

Power Symbol

Lightning Icon

Indicates the Energy cost of building an object. Red numbers indicate that you lack the Energy to perform the action.
Re: Weapons, shown when you lack the Energy to fire a Weapon.

Pre-built

The starting portions of a base created by the mapmaker. Also references maps that start with fully equipped bases.

Projectile

Individual rounds from Weapons with physical properties.

Projectile Drop

Arc, Bullet Drop

The parabolic Trajectory of a Projectile under the effects of gravity.

Projectile Spread

The distance in strike points between shots from multi-round Weapons. Lower distances equate to higher Accuracy.

Prop

Cosmetic Map features such as houses and flags.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Ragequit

To leave a game in anger, usually during or after a loss.

Random Number Generator

RNG

A description of game mechanics in which chance is a factor. Often believed to favor one player over another at any given time.

Rank

A players position in the official 1v1 and 2v2 Rankings Boards.

Rankings

The official Rankings Board for 1v1 and 2v2.

Ranked Match

A 1v1 or 2v2 Ranked match.

Rating

A players rating on the official 1v1 and 2v2 Rankings Boards.

Ready Up

Common request for players to change their status to Ready so that a game can be started.

Reactor

Core

The primary Structure, produces Metal and Energy. Highly explosive. Losing all Cores results in losing the game.

Reclaim

Reconnect

The act of selling objects to recover some of the invested Resources. Can also refer to conversion of Armour or a Door into Foreground or Background Bracing to recover Resources.
Re: Building, to rebuild the connection to a Detached portion of ones base.

Recoil

Re: Aiming, the built-in inacuracy after firing a shot. The Targeting Reticle will move upwards, simulating physical recoil, although the original point of aim is still shown. Refire Accuracy is highest on the first shot.
Re: Firing, the backwards force exerted by a Weapon in accordance with Newton's Third Law.

Reconnect

Reclaim

To rebuild the connection to a Detached portion of ones base.

Red X

An indicator that appears when a player action is not possible. Includes attempts to build overlapping objects, Converting Background Bracing into solid Bracing that would overlap an object, Placing an object that would necessitate a Platform to Convert from Background to Foreground Bracing and overlap a solid object, firing a Weapon into your own base, and so forth. The X will appear on any obstructing objects.

Refire

Using the 'e' hotkey to automatically refire a Weapon with reduced Accuracy. First Refire has the greatest Accuracy.

Reflect

To bounce a Firebeam or Plasma Laser off a Shield and back towards an opponents base. Can also refer to Shields, particularly with Scattershot, Reflecting other Projectiles.

Reload

The time required before a Weapon is able to fire again.

Remapping

Keybinding, Keymapping

Changing the default hotkeys to custom settings.

Repair

Pressing or holding down the 'r' hotkey causes the area under the cursor to begin extinguishing fires and Repairing damage. Items under Repair that take damage while Repariing will cease Repairs.

Repair Station

Device that automatically initiates Repairs within a certain Radius, increased by the Armourdillo Commander. Repairs 50% faster. Has an associated Energy Upkeep Cost. Generally seen as an aid to newer players and seldom used by experienced players.

Replace

To Convert a Strut from one Material to another, either by right clicking and selecting the new Material, or by selecting a new Material via hotkey or the toolbar and then clicking and dragging between two Nodes.

Replay

Instant Replay

Game Replays saved by Forts in-game recording system. Can also be saved as video or Gifs. Stereo Mix must be enabled to record sound.

Resource Starve

To target a persons Economy, by attacking Collectors, causing damage that needs to be repaired, and Disabling via EMP's.

Resources

Energy and Metal, used for building and firing.

Reticle

Targeting Reticle

Generically, lines or markings used for aiming.
Re: Forts, the Forts logo used in the Aiming UI to point and aim your Weapons.

RNG

Random Number Generator

A description of game mechanics in which chance is a factor. Often believed to favor one player over another at any given time.

Rocket

Upgraded EMP. Fires two high Splash Damage Projectiles. May be shot down. High Firing Cost. Unlocked via Armoury and Upgrade Centre.

Rope

Building Material used to reinforce and create Bridges. Does not qualify as Attachment for Claiming purposes. Often used to stabilize a tilting base. Integral to making Tier 3 Weaponry.

Rush

A set Build order resulting in a specific set of Weapons as quickly as possible, in an attempt to quickly overhwelm an opponent.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Salvo

A round of fire from a group of Weapons.

Sandbag

Defensive Device capable of absorbing a significant amount of damage. A player employing a large number of Sandbags may be described as having a Beach.

Scattershot

Black Penguin Oil Commander. Passive Abilities include perfect Reflect from Shields, Double Shot Snipers, and increased Projectile spread. Active Ability: Reduced Projectile Spread.

Scrap

Delete, Sell

Seep

Black Penguin Oil Commander. Passive Abilities include Warheads split into Swarms when destroyed, reduced Silo launch delay, and EMP sends Missiles back. Active Ability: Higher speed Rockets and Missiles.

Sell

Delete, Scrap

Sequential Fire

Staggered Fire

Firing Weapons that can be shot down by AA one at a time in order to Exhaust Autofire AA.

Sever

Detach, Drop

To destroy the connections between portions of an opponents base. Also refers to destroying enough connections on a Hanging Fort such that the base falls.

Shield

Energy Shield

A special Material, reflects bullets, Lasers, Firebeams, and 20mm Cannon. Weak towards Explosives. Does not block Wind in moderate numbers. Has an associated Energy Upkeep cost. See Scattershot Commander.

Silo

Missile Launcher.

Shockenaugh

Black Penguin Oil Commander. Shields Absorb Energy from Lasers and Firebeams, max Control group size increased to 4. Active Ability: Barrel placed in enemy fort. Barrel may be removed at a cost of 1000 Energy.

Shotgun

Upgraded Flak. Highly effective at destroying enemy Machine Guns. Projectile Spread controlled by the distance of the Targeting Reticle. Does not Autofire AA. Unlocked via Armoury and Upgrade Centre.

Single Fire

Sequentual Fire, Staggered Fire

Firing Weapons that can be shot down by AA one at a time in order to Exhaust Autofire AA.

Single Strut

Reference to building one Strut at a time. Usually slower, and less aligned than Drag Building.

Slanted Armor

Angled Armour

Metal Armour or Doors built at enough of an angle to deflect bullets while taking no damage.

Slanted Mortars

Re: Historic, Mortars built on tilted platforms to manipulate their firing Trajectory to be harder for Autofire AA to predict. No longer functional, Mortars have fixed Firing Arc's.

Slice

To remove a portion of an opponents base with a Plasma Laser.

Skirmish

A single player match against an AI opponent. Also a built-in Mod affecting certain Forts values.

Smart Building

Active by default, Smart Building attempts to convert Foreground Bracing to Background Bracing to clear Line of Sight when placing Weapons, and place a Door if there is sufficient Metal. Can be disabled by holding down Control while placing.

Smoking

Black Smoke

A series of puffs of Black Smoke emitted by Cores, Warheads, and some Devices to indicate that they have taken damage.

Snap

Refers to Struts that break due to the extreme tilting of a base or excessive weight..

Snap to Grid

When Grid is enabled, it automatically attempts to determine Strut length by terminating Single Struts at Grid Vertices.

Sniper

Highly accurate fast firing single shot weapon. Required to Paint target for Swarm Missiles and Warheads. Increases Firing Arc radius for other weapons when it has LoS. May be Upgraded to AP Sniper.

Sniper Handoff

When Swarm Missiles or Warheads switch between multiple Snipers while Painting.

Spaghetti

A haphazardly designed base held together with ropes.

Spam

Any highly repeated action or Structure. ie Machine Gun Spam is repeated firings of large groups of Machine Guns. Wood Spam is a large number of Foreground Bracing Struts used as Armour, etc. Frequently references the Tab-e hotkey combination.

Speed Demon

Hurricane

Passive Abilities include 10% building speed increase, faster repair, faster removal of Barrels. Active Ability: Fast Reload.

Splash Damage

Damage from a Weapon that causes an Explosion with AoE type damage.

Split-Beam

Removal of an existing long strut and substitution of two shorter Struts, for the purposes of creating additional Platforms in the same space or additional Bracing for Armour.

Spook

Spy

Iron Bear Alliance Commander. Passive Abilities include hide damage, display enemy Resource meters, display last built item, highlight enemy Core with Forts logo. Magnifying glass changes fort being spied upon. Active Ability: Reveal enemy forts, steal up to 200 Metal 2000 Energy.

Spread

Projectile Spread

The distance in strike points between shots from multi-round Weapons. Lower distances equate to higher Accuracy.

Spy

Spook

Squares

References Grid Squares.

Staggered Fire

Sequential Fire, Single Fire

Firing Weapons that can be shot down by AA one at a time in order to Exhaust Autofire AA.

Standing Fort

Forts with their Foundations attached to Terrain below them.

Stilts

A base built on tall, non-Cross Braced Foundations in danger of Collapse.

Storages

Batteries and Metal Stores. Devices that increase Resource Capacity.

Structure

The collection of Nodes and Struts that make up your base.

Strut

Beam, Bracing

The connecting Structure between Nodes, comprised of a Building Material, excluding Rope.

Swarm Missiles

Missiles

Swing the Core

Core Swing

A maneuver in which the Core is physically moved by means of Ropes and detaching it from connected Structures. High risk.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Blanket term encompassing any vertically oriented Weapon. Achieved through the use of Ropes and breaking a Platform free of its supports before Reconnecting it.

T3 Mortar

Specifically, a vertically oriented Cannon.

Tab-E

Combination of the Tab hotkey (select next ready Weapon) and 'e' hotkey (refire Weapon) used to extremely rapidly fire everything.

Tail

MG Tail

A dangling Structure built soley for placing Machine Guns to provide AA.

Tank

To withstand damage.

Targeting Reticle

The Forts logo used in the Aiming UI to point and aim your Weapons.

TDM

Team Death Match

Game type in which each player controls their own base. No shared Resources.

Team Chat

Accessed through the Console, allows you to send messages visible only to your team during play, but visible to all during Replays. Toggled on and off with the Tab key when Console is open.

Team Death Match

TDM

Game type in which each player controls their own base. No shared Resources.

Teamkill

Defeating a member of your own team.

Tech Structure

Buildings that unlock Weapons, Upgrades and advanced Tech Structures.

Tech Switch

To change strategies mid-game and persue a different tech tree.

Tech Tree

The progression through Tech Structures and Weapon unlocking.

Technology Toolbar

The toolbar along the bottom of the screen in which you can select from Tech Structures to build. Accessible via the Tech hotkey, 'c.' Pressing c repeatedly cycles through available Tech Structures.

Terrain

Ground blocks included in maps. Portions may be attached to, but contact with terrain by objects or Struts outside of attachments destroys them.

Tier 3

Blanket term encompassing any vertically oriented Weapon. Achieved through the use of Ropes and breaking a Platform free of its supports before Reconnecting it.

Tier 3 Mortar

Specifically, a vertically oriented Cannon.

Tier 3 Sniper

Specifically, a vertically oriented Sniper or AP Sniper.

Time Limit

A Mod setting a 10, 15, or 20 minute maximum duration for a match to conclude. If neither team wins outright, victor is determined by Core damage, or total damage if Core damage is equal.

Tinystruts

Minimum length struts designed to fit the maximum number in a given space at the minimum cost.

ToG

Tons of Guns

Free Game update 2017-10-20a that added Armoury, Munitions Plant, Flak, Shotgun, EMP, Rockets, Firebeam, and 20mm Cannon.

Tons of Guns

ToG

Free Game update 2017-10-20a that added Armoury, Munitions Plant, Flak, Shotgun, EMP, Rockets, Firebeam, and 20mm Cannon.

Topple

Collapse

Trajectory

The parabolic path taken by a Projectile under the effects of gravity.

Triple Door

Protecting a Weapon with 3 (or more) Doors for additional protection. Often used as an imperative, ie "You need to triple door that!"

Truce

A Mod setting a period of 3, 6, or 9 minutes during which weapons cannot be fired. Often requested by players who succumb to a Rush. Very, very rarely helps them.

Truce Hides Enemy Forts

A Mod causing opponents bases to not be visible for the duration of a Truce.

Turbine

Fan, Wind Turbine, Windmill

Collector that generates Energy from wind. Can be Upgraded.

Turtle

Armourdillo

Re: Commanders, Iron Bear Alliance Commander. Passive Abilities include cheaper Armour and Shield, fast Doors. Active Ability: Fast, half cost Repairs, reveal hidden Armour and Shields.
Re: Generically, to play defensively and focus on reinforcing a base to withstand as much damage as possible.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Upgrade

Converting a basic weapon or Device into an Upgraded version, either by right clicking and selecting the up arrow, or selecting and pressing the Upgrade hotkey 'u.' Unlocked via Upgrade Centre.

Upgrade Centre

Tech Structure that unlocks Weapon and Device Upgrades.

Upkeep

The associated Energy cost of maintaining a Mine, Shield, or Repair Station. Subtracted from Income.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Vanilla

Generically, a game using default settings. Also a common Map included with Forts.

Vertices

The intersection points of lines on the Grid.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Wall Collision

Objects or Structure coming into contact with Terrain and being destroyed.

Wall Fort

Forts with their Foundations attached to Terrain beside them.

Warhead

Nuke

Upgraded Swarm Missiles. Extremely high AoE and impact damage, extremely high Firing Cost. May be shot down by AA. When damaged, becomes "Drunk" and trails Black Smoke while weaving erratically. Unlocked via Workshop and Upgrade Centre.

Warthog

Heavy Weapons

Eagle Empire Commander. Passive Abilities include, better aim, faster Reload of Heavy Weapons, reduced Heavy Mortar Reload time. Active Ability: 25% increased damage to Heavy Weapons.

Weapon Bomb

An Explosive Weapon deliberately dropped into a base from above to cause damage. See Battery Bomb.

Weapon Group

A set of similar Weapons selected at once, and assigned to a numeric hotkey by pressing "Control-<#>" Dissimilar weapons may not be grouped, nor Snipers/AP Snipers.

Weapons

Generic term for anything in Forts that can shoot.

Weapons Toolbar

The toolbar along the bottom of the screen in which you can select from Weapons to build. Accessible via the Weapons hotkey, "v." Pressing v repeatedly cycles through available Weapons.

Wind

Used by Turbines to generate Energy, Blocked by Foreground Bracing, Armour, and Doors.

Wind Ceiling

A setting on some maps that causes less Wind to be available at lower elevations causing reduced Turbine Efficiency.

Wind Turbine

Fan, Turbine, Windmill

Collector that generates Energy from Wind. Can be Upgraded.

Windmill

Fan, Turbine, Wind Turbine

Collector that generates Energy from Wind. Technically an inaccurate term as Windmills use Wind to move millstones to grind grain, but the usage persists. Can be Upgraded.

Wobbler

Re: Historic, a Firebeam set upon an unstable platform that pivots during firing, causing the beam to strafe across a wide area. While still possible, it now does significantly reduced damage at each point of contact.

Wood

Foreground Bracing

Struts composed of the Foreground Bracing Material. Does not Pass Projectiles or Wind.

Wood Spam

Large quantities of Foreground Bracing used as Armour.

Workshop

Tech Structure that unlocks Incendiary Mortars and Swarm Missiles and Factory and Munitions Plant Tech Structures.
Re: Steam, the Steam Workshop in which player created Maps and Mods may be shared.

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

Term

AKA, Related

Definition

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