Official DWARF FORTRESS Thread!

[crownjules]

Gotta say, I had long snubbed this game due to the painful to look at ASCII graphics. Not because I'm a graphics snob, but because the learning curve of remembering that % is a pile of rubble and & is a female cat and # is a locked chest (I made those up). The Newb Pack helps this a TON by replacing the ASCII with decent graphical representations. So now I don't have to concentrate on trying to decipher what represents what (as much) and actually focus on how to play the game.

I've been watching the 51ippycup tutorials (an SA Let's Play video series) and he does a good job putting together a beginner tutorial/walkthrough. I'm about 30 minutes in on my first city and I'm already starting to see why some people get addicted to this game.

 

[lord_emperor]

Try 51ppycup's tutorial, mentioned earlier. He uses the Lazy Newb Pack and goes through all the basics. I got started by playing while watching the videos.

I can see he covers game play, but I can't even get the lazy newb pack doing what it's supposed to.

 

[crownjules]

I can see he covers game play, but I can't even get the lazy newb pack doing what it's supposed to.

What exactly do you mean?

Tutorial 0 explains the various parts of the pack and what the packaged utility programs do for the game. But other than that, you just need to run DF and you should be good to go.

 

[lord_emperor]

What exactly do you mean?

Tutorial 0 explains the various parts of the pack and what the packaged utility programs do for the game. But other than that, you just need to run DF and you should be good to go.

I run DF and just get the normal ASCII interface.

 

[Wardawg1001]

I run DF and just get the normal ASCII interface.

The interface is still ASCII. AFAIK (I haven't run a non-graphical version for a long time) the menu and interface will not change at all, the only thing that changes are the graphics during world generation and game play. Its still not really a graphical game though, everything still looks like it was torn out a of NES game, the difference is that in the normal version everything in the game is represented by ASCII characters (such as a piece of dirt being a ',' or a dog being a '&' or whatever). The Phoebus graphic pack that comes with the Newb Pack just puts poorly done graphics in place of those so people like me can actually understand what they are looking at. There is a utility that comes with the graphics pack call Stonesense which will show a real graphical (if still poorly done) representation of your game, but unless I'm missing something you cant actually play the game from it, its just screenshots.

In the event that you really are getting the ASCII graphics still, I suggest re-downloading. Like mentioned above, all you should have to do is run the Dwarf Fortress exe from the Phoebus Graphics Pack sub folder when you unzip the download.

 

[Ganeedi]

Thanks for the Newb Pack link and the youtube tutorials link. I tried playing DF a few years ago and couldnt get into, most likely due to the ASCII characters... Just adding the tiny graphical icons found in the newb pack made this game so much more enjoyable for me.

Been addicted for the last week.

 

[crownjules]

Ugh.

I was playing for awhile last night. Started churning out rock dwarf crafts, some traps, etc. Then I get message "Some migrant dwarves have arrived!". Of course I was happy because I need more dwarves to get all the work done around the fortress so I fire up Therapist to go check out their stats and set their labor duties. My jaw dropped upon learning that this wave was 22 dwarves strong, bringing my total dwarves from 13 to 35 and making pretty much all of them only content. I'm fortunate that I built more than enough individual bedrooms but I'm hoping my food and drink stocks can withstand the new demand.

Funny thing is, the exact same thing happened to the guy doing the tutorials at pretty much the same time. I think it was even the same wave (3rd migrant wave).

 

[Ganeedi]

Similar thing happened to me, third migrant wave brought in about 25-30 dwarves, now my total is about 40. However, the fourth wave brought 0. I think the number of migrants you attract is related to your wealth/happiness/etc.

It doesnt seem too hard to keep them all fed with primarily underground farms. However, keeping the alcohol in stock is more of a challenge. Those little guys can DRINK.

I've got my military up and training - they are looking forward to some action now... bring on the raids!

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I tried this last night and wow I am a dummy I can't even figure out where to start off with my 7 dwarves. wow....any tips?

 

[crownjules]

I tried this last night and wow I am a dummy I can't even figure out where to start off with my 7 dwarves. wow....any tips?

Go look up the tutorials on Youtube. There are several well done series that will lead a complete noob through the basics.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Definitely a great time waster. This is a perfect netbook game, IMO.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

can anyone give me some farming tips? I've cleared an underground area to farm mushrooms but it says I need to irrigare the area also it tells me I do not have seeds but I do in the wagon. I've watched a couple of videos but none of them mention irrigating caves.

 

[endlessmike]

can anyone give me some farming tips? I've cleared an underground area to farm mushrooms but it says I need to irrigare the area also it tells me I do not have seeds but I do in the wagon. I've watched a couple of videos but none of them mention irrigating caves.

In older releases farming/irrigation worked a little differently - soil needs to be muddied now, so if the tutorials are older they may not show how since it wasn't always necessary to do. These changes do make it more work to start out now, especially frustrating for a new player. You will need to build some floodgates and mechanisms to control the flow of water from the source, and/or provide some way for the irrigation water to drain away from the field.

As far as the seeds go, are you sure you have the right kind of seeds for what the field is designated to grow?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

So when you start in the new version it's better to have a river or stream close by. Seems like my boys will starve before I find water and build that stuff. Thank for the tip

 

[Ganeedi]

This video illustrates a good method of irrigating underground farms.

http://www.youtube.com/user/51ppycup#p/c/6/Vl8cfQXdTVw

 

[daishi5]

I am not sure if I should curse or thank you all for showing this to me. I have been playing for one day with the lazy newb pack (very helpful), and I am already addicted.

I have to get farming worked out before my food supply runs out, and I was really worried I would flood out my fortress, so I am going to check out the youtube link when I get home.

 

[Liet]

Dammit, one more game I'm going to have to try. The ability to farm mushrooms pushed me over the edge.

Is it as fun as the old ASCII game Moria was? Man, I played that all the time as a kid and never even met the damned Balrog.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

the tutorial was pretty simple, I almost made a decent mushroom farm last night. Stupid farmer was being real slow & I think I had too many guys gathering plants & wood. I'll try again later this evening.

 

[crownjules]

Dammit, one more game I'm going to have to try. The ability to farm mushrooms pushed me over the edge.

Is it as fun as the old ASCII game Moria was? Man, I played that all the time as a kid and never even met the damned Balrog.

I never played, but Moria sounds more like Nethack where you control a single guy and dungeon crawl around. While DF has a similar mode, the most popular mode is Fortress which plays like a Simcity but with way more micromanagement. You start with a handful of dwarves with some supplies and you need to build them a fortress.

 

[Liet]

Gotcha. Thanks!

 

[Fanatical Meat]

hahahah I had a losing is fun moment last night, I started again and was doing pretty well so I decided to expand my mushroom farm by draining a pond above me. Well the pond was attached to another larger pond that held a TON of water and I flooded half of my cave. I was up until 2am with it.

 

[heat901]

this is good but you def need a walk through just to figure out what does what and how do it .

 

[CU]

I just started playing it but when I save and quite it seems to take forever ie. I waited several minutes and used the task manager to kill it both times so far. The save games appear to have been saved though. Anyone else experience this?

I wonder if it will ever get out of alpha. It is pretty cool. Needs better graphics than the tilesets, something like Stonesense, but better (Yeah I like cool graphics), better gui with mouse support, in game help (something like Civ has) and sounds. Funny thing is the guy who writes it still has alot he wants to add like better physics, economics (your dwarfs have to pay rent or get kicked out), and some other things. Plus the backstory for your world is huge, but largely unused. It would make a great full blown AAA title if a gaming company would develop it. Are there any retail games like Dwarf Fortress? I don't think the learning curve is that steep, it is just the gui and lack of in game help that hurts it.

Hope to play it some more tonight. I got a brook I need to tap to get some water in my fortress. I hope I don't have to much "fun" doing that.

 

[QuantumPion]

I just started playing it but when I save and quite it seems to take forever ie. I waited several minutes and used the task manager to kill it both times so far. The save games appear to have been saved though. Anyone else experience this?

I wonder if it will ever get out of alpha. It is pretty cool. Needs better graphics than the tilesets, something like Stonesense, but better (Yeah I like cool graphics), better gui with mouse support, in game help (something like Civ has) and sounds. Funny thing is the guy who writes it still has alot he wants to add like better physics, economics (your dwarfs have to pay rent or get kicked out), and some other things. Plus the backstory for your world is huge, but largely unused. It would make a great full blown AAA title if a gaming company would develop it. Are there any retail games like Dwarf Fortress? I don't think the learning curve is that steep, it is just the gui and lack of in game help that hurts it.

Hope to play it some more tonight. I got a brook I need to tap to get some water in my fortress. I hope I don't have to much "fun" doing that.

Closest comparison to this game would be dungeon keeper I think.

 

[heat901]

I just wish the mouse was used more. Also the game wants me to lose, I am already on my 4th or 5th fortress and I have a bronze colossus killing everyone!!