So, is Dwarf fortress some Ultimate game to end all games?

[lRookiel]

I tried playing Dwarf fortress last week, and I just couldn't figure out the frickin game controls AT ALL.

so yeah I was left high and dry on my own and tried finding tutorials, and the ones I found wanted me to download alternate versions or assumed I knew basic controls.

so can someone direct me to a link with a Decent tutorial or give me some pointers please!!

 

[albinoterrorist]

The wiki's about as close as there is to a tutorial.

...
Yeah, good luck, kid.

 

[El Luck]

No, its not some ultimate game to end all games, its just hard

 

[Argtee]

http://df.magmawiki.com/

Play with this open.

ALWAYS!

 

[Versuvius]

Dwarf Fortress is awesome. Hard. But awesome. Get a tileset like ironhand or dr.phoebus and find a youtube guide. Other than that? Go nuts.

 

[Tharwen]

The only reason it's hard is that it has the most obtuse interface ever conceived.

Use the wiki, ask questions [a href="http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?board=7.0"]here[/a] and avoid spoilers. There are also a couple of complete tutorials at the top of that page.

 

[The Madman]

Dwarf Fortress in some respects just might be. For a game boasting visuals from the early 80's it does a number of things most other games can only dream of someday achieving. Creating entire living worlds and hundreds to thousands of years history, not to mention accurately simulating potentially hundreds of little characters personalities and lives in a way that would make even the Sims envious.

It really is amazing... That said it's also pretty damned hard to get into. Of the many things the games developer has on his to-do list, user interface and graphics are actually near the bottom of his concerns.

Hopefully this might help however, pretty sure this is the same guy who did he tutorial I used to get into the game although that was years ago so I'm not certain. Either way I've always found it easier to learn through video tutorials than written ones:


Good luck and enjoy!

 

[Ickorus]

I tried a tutorial once, I still got lost.

I think if they made it a bit ('a bit' as in 'a lot') more user-friendly I think it could be really awesome and much more widely played.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I tried playing Dwarf fortress last week, and I just couldn't figure out the frickin game controls AT ALL.

Yeah, that happens to everyone.

First, get Dwarf Therapist. (always use this)
Second, watch CaptnDuck's Videos:
Remember to get the 2010 version with the new farms as well.
Third, print out Magmawiki's great start guide [http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/DF2010:Quickstart_guide] and use it constantly.
Fourth, Fail.
Fifth, Fail.
Sixth, read Internet Kraken's astounding LP [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.245167], where I might have a bit part.
Seventh, start not to fail.
Eighth, read Boatmurdered.

Remember: Losing is fun. You will NOT get a successful Fortress within, say, 60 hours of play.

 

[Erana]

Well, if you're completely lost and alienated, there's always jumping into NetHack with wizard mode turned on.

It will at least put you in the ASCII/ tons of random shortcuts mindset. I couldn't make heads or tails of Dorfort until I played roguelikes.

 

[Elijah Newton]

I'm going to add my voice to the chorus of people saying the interface is awful because it really, really is.

The wiki linked above and that poster's advice to keep it open while playing the game is what I tell any of my friends who I convince to play the game. It is the missing manual and, until the game's interface is improved, it is absolutely vital for starting players.

With that caveat in mind...

Goddamn what a game. Seriously, if there is one game I wish everyone could play, it's this one. And I don't mean just load and scoff at the user interface, but play until they have that moment where they think, 'aha, this is why this game stands out.' And if everyone can't be made to play it, then at least every would-be game designer.

One of the things I like is that it scales well as you learn. And there is a huge variety of different games in it, in a sense : I've felt like I'm playing everything from an Oregon Trail-esque survival sim, to a weird little RPG, to an RTS, to a city simulator. Consider the max population of dwarves you get to be like your high score.

I hope you keep at it. It's been one of the most rewarding games I've ever played.

Oh - and a link to Boatmurdered (http://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Boatmurdered/) - this is what I usually would send to friends to let them know just how crazy a game was hidden in those ASCII characters.

 

[AnAnemicTurtle]

It's a game that I WANT to get into, but I just don't have the time to pour into learning the ropes. Even then I might not even like it and feel like I've wasted my time.

 

[Gennadios]

Of the many things the games developer has on his to-do list, user interface and graphics are actually near the bottom of his concerns.

It's a bit of a shame how much some people love toiling in obscurity. No matter how great the game may be, some people just don't have the hours in the day to dedicate 6 hours to just figuring out the interface in a game.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

It's a game that I WANT to get into, but I just don't have the time to pour into learning the ropes. Even then I might not even like it and feel like I've wasted my time.

DF gives back as much as it takes.

I challenge you not to feel a real emotional attachment to the Dwarves when you've finally got a Fortress running.

some people just don't have the hours in the day to dedicate 6 hours to just figuring out the interface in a game.

6? Hah! Took me a week before I was ready to try it out.

 

[McMullen]

The tutorial by after-action reporter was how I got in. It had the same exact save file that the writer used, so I could copy what he did verbatim. Doesn't cover everything (in fact it leaves out quite a lot that's interesting) but will help you learn to survive. Unfortunately it's for the old, pre-2010 version so it's not very relevant anymore.

 

[georgelangham]

Dwarf Fortress in some respects just might be. For a game boasting visuals from the early 80's it does a number of things most other games can only dream of someday achieving. Creating entire living worlds and hundreds to thousands of years history, not to mention accurately simulating potentially hundreds of little characters personalities and lives in a way that would make even the Sims envious.

This kind of thing has been done many a time and always worked rather well, the idea of using game engines that are rather old (but theoretically have no limit, were just stopped using cause a newer shinier engine came round) then supercharging them to do more than ever before. So the reason it has so much depth is that is was built using an engine that inherently uses very few resources then giving it more resources than it could ever need = awesome.

Anology times : It's a bit like playing snes on a supercomputer.

 

[Takuanuva]

Don't worry. Once you master the controls (it won't take as long as you might expect) and basic fortress managing, it will be a breeze.

The main problem with Dwarf Fortress is, that it's learning curve looks like Mt Doom. Start playing, lose a few times (losing is Fun!), you will get it eventually.

 

[The Madman]

Of the many things the games developer has on his to-do list, user interface and graphics are actually near the bottom of his concerns.

It's a bit of a shame how much some people love toiling in obscurity. No matter how great the game may be, some people just don't have the hours in the day to dedicate 6 hours to just figuring out the interface in a game.

He honestly doesn't seem to care. I recall an interview with the games sole developer awhile back on the New York Times website (link) and one of the things which stood most is that he's not making the game to try and achieve internet fame +1 or even wealth and fortune, he's making it because it's the game he has always wanted to play. And I for one not only respect but admire that: he's not only doing what he enjoys doing but is making a living doing it from the support of fans and admirers. He's apparently had offers from publishers to buy the game before but turned them down as he doesn't want to be restricted in his goals or objectives.

And before you think he's simply being stubborn or stupid keep in mind the man is unquestionable extremely smart. I quote:

Tarn applied to 17 Ph.D. programs, got into 15 and, wavering briefly between M.I.T. and Stanford, chose the latter. He earned his doctorate in 2005 with a dissertation called "Flat Chains in Banach Spaces," a rumination on concepts in advanced geometry that he describes as "not that interesting to that many people, but a nice little paper." He published a version of it in The Journal of Geometric Analysis and, landing a postdoc at Texas A&M, seemed destined for the academic career he envisioned since his undergraduate days.

He knows what he's doing. Certainly smarter than me anyway, and he seems to be enjoying his work.

So no, not a shame. Not in my mind anyway.

 

[steeple]

I tried playing Dwarf fortress last week, and I just couldn't figure out the frickin game controls AT ALL.

so yeah I was left high and dry on my own and tried finding tutorials, and the ones I found wanted me to download alternate versions or assumed I knew basic controls.

so can someone direct me to a link with a Decent tutorial or give me some pointers please!!

the game itself has some kind of an explanation in it about how to do certain stuff, but it doesnt give nearly half as much info as this [http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/40d:Your_first_fortress] single page could...

and to the question, yeah, it's the chuck norris of gaming...

thing is, it's estimated to be completed in about 20 years...

 

[GloatingSwine]

Part of the charm of Dwarf Fortress lies in the somewhat unfocused nature of its development, leading to it being a detailed psychological simulation of beings which literally cannot tell that they are on fire (maybe this has changed, but when I used to play it Dwarves were completely oblivious to the concept of fire, happily going about their complex daily routines setting everything and everyone else on fire until Terminal Fun occurred).

The fact that the interface is basically impenetrable, however, leads to the odd conundrum that reading the changelog to see the latest mad thing that is being implemented is probably more fun than trying to play the game.