Dwarf Fortress

[Kalmah]

I've been playing this game for nearly 2 months now and think I'm starting to get the hang of it. lol. It's been tons of fun along the way though. It's been said to be one of the most complicated games you'll find.

It's another one of those beta indie titles like minecraft but in my complete and honest opinion this game is far superior. He doesn't charge for the beta either. It's free all around. The next update is due to support a full scale economy system for your dwarves which I'm excited about. (they pay rent, buy their own weapons, clothing, .. everything)

If you have the patients, it's well worth the effort. I havn't had as much fun as this in a long long time.

Download the up to date newb pack which includes the best textures and mods you'll probably find here. http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=59026.0

Tutorial to get started here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3pg25RPtvM

Have fun. :thumbsup:

 

[QuantumPion]

When you say have "fun" you're supposed to put "fun" in quotation marks. "Fun" in DF does not necessarily mean what most people think it means

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Awesome game. I haven't put nearly as much time as I'd like into it though.

 

[Kalmah]

I just figured out a trick to turn your trade depot into a flood room. When the elves come to trade, lift up the drawbridge and open the floodgates in that room(trapping them in). Let them drown. Open another floodgate to drain the water then the drawbridge to claim all the loot. lol.

 

[Chriscross3234]

DF is very fun once you get used to the UI and controls (I highly recommend the Lazynewb pack for this purpose). I haven't spent too much time with it, but I'm to the point of having a self sufficient fortress setup. I've just started working on getting my military up and actually mining for stuff, but I've still got a lot to learn, especially more advanced stuff. My last game was ruined when I got 30 migrants in one wave, I'm definitely setting a cap next time I play.

 

[Ganeedi]

Great article on Bay 12 in the NY Times here from July.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/magazine/the-brilliance-of-dwarf-fortress.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

I love the effort these brothers put into this game. Kind of sad the way Tarn's apartement is described.

Tarn and Zach’s parents live on several wooded acres in nearby Bremerton, and Zach, who is 35 and between jobs, has lived with them since 2002. Zach brought over a drinking glass from the house in case I got thirsty, because Tarn owns only a couple of dishes. In the fridge were three sodas and a jug of water and nothing else.

Also interesting comments about Minecraft:

Meanwhile, the smash success of the world-building game Minecraft, which is in many ways a more user-friendly version of Dwarf Fortress (and which has earned its Dwarf Fortress-loving creator millions of dollars), has only been good for Tarn, driving curious new players his way. Still, in the only moment I heard him speak with anything like bitterness, Tarn called Minecraft a “depressing distillation of our own stuff.” He paused, adding more magnanimously that the game “has its own things going for it.” The problem, he concluded, “isn’t with Minecraft so much as it’s with society.”

 

[QuantumPion]

I don't really see what minecraft and DF have in common except that they are both open-ended. DF is more like simcity, MC is more like Oblivion.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I don't really see what minecraft and DF have in common except that they are both open-ended. DF is more like simcity, MC is more like Oblivion.

They're both based on the world being very heavily modifiable by the user by deconstructing/reconstructing the basic building blocks of the world.

 

[Dumac]

Best indie game ever. Blows MC out of the water, IMO.

 

[crownjules]

DF really suffers from a lack of a cohesive UI. Some things you can place with a click, some you can't. Sometimes you hit enter, sometimes hit hit spacebar, sometimes you hit a random key.

 

[p0nd]

Required reading for DORF FORTRESS:

The story of the legendary fortress of Nist Akath:
http://aaron.acephalo.us/nist-akath/elizar/

 

[Chiropteran]

DF really suffers from a lack of a cohesive UI. Some things you can place with a click, some you can't. Sometimes you hit enter, sometimes hit hit spacebar, sometimes you hit a random key.

Agreed. Stupid stuff like that drove me crazy.

 

[AFurryReptile]

My God... I want to play the game but this UI is going to take some getting used to...

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Same here maybe I'll try it again. It is amazing AI but the interface....tab, space, v, b.....ugh

 

[Ganeedi]

For new players, be sure to use the newb pack in the OP. The sprite packs are a huge help - at least they were to me.

Also there are a bunch of youtube tutorials that help immensely.

 

[veri745]

I think the UI is the largest problem with DF. Adventure mode is "fun", too, but managing your inventory is a nightmare.

 

[CurseTheSky]

I agree with most of the other comments here - the game, general concept, and AI are all amazing. The UI completely kills it.

They really need to standardize it into a point & click environment. Give a toolbox, several commands, and make everything virtually the same. Click and drag a marquee to select areas to dig, trees to chop, ground to plant on, etc.

That change alone would make it an irresistible game IMO.

 

[Kalmah]

I agree with most of the other comments here - the game, general concept, and AI are all amazing. The UI completely kills it.

They really need to standardize it into a point & click environment. Give a toolbox, several commands, and make everything virtually the same. Click and drag a marquee to select areas to dig, trees to chop, ground to plant on, etc.

That change alone would make it an irresistible game IMO.

This is exactly what needs to be done. I wish they would stop with the new content and just streamline the gui. Hell, I'd be willing to map out a new one for them. If this was to happen then this game could easily go mainstream.

After a while it's really not too bad though. I have all the common stuff memorized.

By the way,(something that will help a lot of people) using D,B,H to hide unused stone. and use D,B, (dump.. whatever button it is) to remove stone on tiles that you are going to use as stockpiles. (stones actually take up space on stockpiles so you want to actually remove them instead of hide them) (you need to make a 1x1 zone designated as a 'garbage' for this to work)

I was extremely frustrated at the asthetics of my fortress when I first started because I didn't know about this.

 

[paperfist]

Downloaded this game because it sound amazing from all the descriptions I found here and around the web, but how the hell do you guys play it with the graphics in its current state?

I come from the land of C-64, but these are below that level it seems.

 

[DigDog]

When you say have "fun" you're supposed to put "fun" in quotation marks. "Fun" in DF does not necessarily mean what most people think it means

was just about to type that

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Downloaded this game because it sound amazing from all the descriptions I found here and around the web, but how the hell do you guys play it with the graphics in its current state?

I come from the land of C-64, but these are below that level it seems.

I'm with you, just some basic mouse control & better visuals I'd be hooked. Keyboard commands are frustrating.

 

[Kalmah]

I'm with you, just some basic mouse control & better visuals I'd be hooked. Keyboard commands are frustrating.

It's funny that you bring this up. I havn't played in months but decided to launch it up about a week ago. After realizing that I forgot how to work the interface I noped right back out of the game.

Checking back with the developer website, it seems he is still content on adding new features instead of making the interface usable. *sigh*. This could possibly be the last game I ever play if he fixed this. Just checking back every couple months now to see if there is any mention of an interface change.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

It's a shame too with the interface. This game would have been what minecraft is if he put a bit more effort into the interface.

 

[paperfist]

So how hard can it be to make an interface that uses keys, mouse or a combination of both without these esoteric combos? These two brothers obviously have talent so it's curious they ignore it.

I guess my other gripe if I can have one being the game is free is that I'm limited to a tiny set of windows to play in. I haven't messed with the settings much, but I'm guessing you can resize the screen beyond default. I think being able to do that would make the graphics a little more bearable.

 

[HydroSqueegee]

E



... nuff said about 'fun' right there

see also "Boatmurdered"