Dwarf Fortress: a strategy, rpg, colony and storytelling sim has just released on Steam

[Ex-User (9086)]

If you're a fan of Rimworld or other colony simulations and you've never tried Dwarf Fortress because it had an unfriendly user interface or no graphics then you might want to check out the newest Steam version that solves these accessibility issues.


It's one of the better RPG / Strategy games out there and it's easily the game that has more features than any other game in the genre, the biggest replayability and is in active development that's going to add more content every year. The dev has been making it for 20 years and doesn't plan to quit for the next 20 at least.

Been playing this game on and off for the last 15 years because:
1. Each new game state is very different from the previous one and randomly unique. You can choose very different worlds and starting conditions to try something new every time.
2. There are more features added each year.
3. It's a very simple and relaxing game that you can pause so it's a perfect break game. You can play it for 15 minutes or 10 hours and it's interesting no matter how much time you set aside for it
4. Modding this game is relatively easy and I've probably spent about the same time writing mods as playing. With modding, this game can become anything you like with new self-imposed objectives, mechanics and entities.
5. Engine scope and possibilities are huge. For example it is Turing-complete. You can make logic gates, calculators and other circuits just like in Minecraft (another one of my favorites).

Sadly, it has no multiplayer which is a feature I'd want to see the most. You can screen share with others to play one map in a collaborative fashion and that's the extent of multi that you can get.

 

[EndogenousRebel]

Been waiting for this. Pretty hype.

 

[Hadoblado]

I bought it and played all yesterday.

I wouldn't call it simple, but I'm sure it becomes a lot easier as you begin to understand the mechanics a bit more.

The steam tileset looks good, the scope of the game is great, the controls are bleh (although again, I'm sure you learn to navigate the menu labyrinth efficiently). I'm just starting to realise you can automate production which I'm thankful for, I was very frustrated with the limited options prior to setting up a management team.

It feels like rimworld, but with the addition of the z axis, which is a huge upgrade IMO. It's got so much more scope as a result.

ATM I'm toying with vertical organisation, so I've got a whole level for housing, for carpentry, for stonecrafting etc. Not sure if this is a good idea but it does simplify a lot for my poor overwhelmed brain.

 

[Cognisant]

I used to watch DF videos on youtube by Kruggsmash, his art really made watching a video about the game more entertaining.

A great intro to the appeal of Dwarf Fortress for anyone wondering what it's all about.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

I wouldn't call it simple, but I'm sure it becomes a lot easier as you begin to understand the mechanics a bit more.

It's one of the games where complexity comes from knowledge rather than skill. If you learn enough concepts then this game becomes a sandbox. UI is still difficult to use and requires time getting used to.

Contrast it with starcraft which is a skill based game. If you don't play for a year then your performance quickly drops even though you already know some of the best solutions to execute, it is the execution that matters most.

In DF, after you know enough, the open ended nature of the game and infrequent, unpredictable threats make it seem like there is no challenge at times. That's why it's useful to set your own goals, aim for efficiency, optimize, design and even use tools like DFHack to spawn armies or bring more problems to the game.

I recommend Dwarf Therapist and DFHack once they become available for the steam version. They're community made open-source tools. Therapist is a job allocation utility that lets you micromanage and give every Dwarf new jobs to learn or turn off unnecessary work.

It feels like rimworld, but with the addition of the z axis, which is a huge upgrade IMO. It's got so much more scope as a result.

Lack of vertical floors was why I couldn't get used to Rimworld. 3D coordinate space almost feels necessary in these kinds of games.

ATM I'm toying with vertical organisation, so I've got a whole level for housing, for carpentry, for stonecrafting etc. Not sure if this is a good idea but it does simplify a lot for my poor overwhelmed brain.

Walk-distance, 0 idle workers and path-finding optimization are easily my top priorities and I had a lot of fun designing the most dense bedroom floor with minimal walk distance to the main staircase.

Look for tools like QuickFort. It lets you store your dig/build/other designations in excel and executes your designs when you want to repeat them on new maps or across z levels.

Feel free to post your floor designs. I think a good design is a work of art and they're fun to look at

Also keep in mind that there's a separate roguelike rpg game mode that you can try. It shares the world so you could visit your own fort after you've abandoned it. Small details like this really help sell the immersion and this game is full of them.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

@Cognisant
I take it you've been playing DF as well? Good to see more people finding out about this rough gem

--
The game has its flaws and issues, lack of consistent challenge, incomplete expedition and war systems, no multi, but it's getting better , maybe in the next 20 years the modders will fix what the dev couldn't.

Would be real helpful if they made it open source. Currently the most advanced modding happens in DFHack and people have to jump through a lot of hurdles to even get memory addresses of objects so they can modify it or inject new stuff.

 

[Cognisant]

Not yet, I've played a lot of Rimworld and the addition of a z-axis honestly intimidates me.

So like I don't have to build walls? I can just build trenches? And flood those trenches with water? And have that water push enemies into an oubilette? And murder everything in that oubilette with crossbow bolts fired through iron bars?

I am really allowed to just do whatever my sick little heart desires?

 

[Hadoblado]

Is there an easy way to implement building plans?

ATM I'm limiting myself to underground because the UI for actually building walls feels so clunky => so I dig them. But I would really like to build up as well with watch towers etc.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Not yet, I've played a lot of Rimworld and the addition of a z-axis honestly intimidates me.

You can honestly stick to just the vertical floor you land on and play it out on that rimworld-style. If you do that look at the starting zone elevation so that it is mostly flat with a slope to dig into on one side.

So like I don't have to build walls? I can just build trenches? And flood those trenches with water? And have that water push enemies into an oubilette? And murder everything in that oubilette with crossbow bolts fired through iron bars?

You can mine (dig) into existing soil or stone walls or build your own from the materials like wood from cut trees or stone from previously mined tiles. Trenches require channeling into the level below BUT you can run water or lava pipes without trenching.

How space works in DF:
Every square has a wall tile and a floor tile. So mining into the square removes the wall tile and leaves the floor to stand or build on.
Channeling makes a trench by removing the floor tile and the wall tile of the floor below that leaves the floor tile on the level below to stand on.

So this is what one square has (One W wall space and one F floor space)
W
F - level 0
W
F - level -1
After you mine it (just the floor space left):
F - level 0
W
F - level -1
If you channel that you get this:
F - level -1
You are now one floor lower on level -1 and you removed 2 walls and one floor. Only walls give you building materials, floors are just place to grow plants on or build. Both walls and floors block pathfinding and movement (walls stop horizontal movement, floors stop vertical).

I am really allowed to just do whatever my sick little heart desires?

I hope the system is robust enough for what you have in mind but basically yeah XD

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Is there an easy way to implement building plans?

ATM I'm limiting myself to underground because the UI for actually building walls feels so clunky => so I dig them. But I would really like to build up as well with watch towers etc.

I see 3 approaches here.
1. You can sidestep this problem with digging a few levels down at the start and when you're, say 10 levels, underground you won't need to build your own stuff.
If you want watchtowers this way then simply strip-mine the whole map to the desired shape (or use channel)
Why you might want to have underground rooms in stone: Dwarves prefer to sleep away from noise. At least 8 tiles away from wood cutting or other loud work prevents happiness loss. Additionally room value is better in rooms dug in stone and room value affects the happiness of the owner. (Theoretically you can smelt the mined gold into bars and build a surface castle out of gold and this will have great room value for inhabitants) Any problem you have usually has more than one solution here.

2. They made some changes to the steam version. In vanilla you can turn on box selection and draw lines or rectangles of stairs or walls with arrow keys. Enter to start and enter to stop drawing. Then you're asked to choose what materials to build them with. Not sure if it works across versions.

3. QuickFort reads a spreadsheet with your construction blueprint and places it on the map. Making blueprints is as easy as typing "w" in a spreadsheet cell. Assuming it works for steam.


It's both annoying and hilarious that this is still a problem in the Steam ver. The biggest selling point is graphics and fixing the UI and now you're having a very simple goal that the game doesn't help you achieve. For all the detail work that the dev has put into it, they fail to realize how some aspects are inoperable or too tedious to manage without assistance. Many players have to rely on external programs to manage DF because it is such a mess.

The DFHack team is working to release their utility for Steam ver. This is going to take some time. DFHack is a collection of scripts and tools plus a console that lets you directly affect the game like spawning units, making designations, changing anything, fixing bugs that haven't been fixed by the dev and so on.

I cannot imagine playing DF without Dwarf Therapist and DFHack after I tried it. It's an unofficial extension of the game.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

So like I don't have to build walls? I can just build trenches? And flood those trenches with water? And have that water push enemies into an oubilette? And murder everything in that oubilette with crossbow bolts fired through iron bars?

Just to sell the game *Spoiler alert* *Ideas are spoilers in this game*

What you described? Totally doable in DF. Water does push stuff in the direction with less water, you can make a pool and drown attackers or drain it and use it as target practice pit for your novice crossbowmen or siege engineers.

You can setup pumps and valves and pour lava on nasties, if lava catches a nastie in water then they are encased in pretty obsidian and you can make a statue out of them, put it out there to brag . You can make an arena and open a tunnel to other nasties you caught earlier and get your noble dwarves seated in front to watch...and more XD

In this game you can usually do things the cheat way, the normal way or put extra effort and finish something with style.

Spoiler

Sick ideas? Never tried but you can change [ETHIC:EAT_SAPIENT_KILL:UNTHINKABLE] to [ETHIC:EAT_SAPIENT_KILL:AGREEABLE] with the obvious consequences