Live data from Hacker News

Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

polygon.com

111–120 of 333 posts

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#111

"No access to the source code" is a seriously weird thing to note. Is this going to be like one of the existing memory-injecting/manipulating mods, with all the downsides that implies?

No. Tarn is modifying Dwarf Fortress to support the graphics and sound. Kitfox/graphics people will tell Tarn what they need to support the graphics/sound and he'll add it.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#112
post #78

The problem with DF was never the graphics but the UI itself. See Rimworld which is hugely popular but much more "playable". Basically the UI is holding back the game to become a much bigger success

Rimworld is also a MUCH simpler game. It's simpler to the point when I played it Rimworld felt "dead" as compared to how "alive" the DF simulation felt.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#113
post #35

One thing that amazes me about Dwarf Fortress is that the creator(s) don't use version control[1] (as of 2014, things may have changed): "I don't use version control -- I didn't like the feeling of having the code get committed into a black box thingy with no immediate upside." I can't fathom how you can manage the complexity of a game like DF without a VCS. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1avszc/im_tarn_a…

Tarn isn't known for being a good developer. He's just very dedicated :)

In fact it's pretty well known that Dwarf Fortress has a horrible code base and it would be a huge project to bring it up to a good standard.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#114
post #50

I've often wondered if DF will ever get an open source version that tries to recreate the same experience but focuses on consistent interface design, performance and multithreading, and ease of extensibility. DF has a huge head start, and two of the most incredibly passionate developers out there, but it's also clear they prioritize expanding the model first and foremost rather than trying to tackle any of the user e…

I feel like every time someone sets out to create a F/OSS successor to DF, they end up mired in creating dungeon and world generators and never produce a functional game.

Really, that's what DF is anyhow; they even call it a "story generator" IIRC. Tarn just managed to put enough of a playable game together before getting lost in the details of world generation, and people have stayed engaged enough with it to keep him involved in the project.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#115
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since they live around Seattle, maybe they should consider immigrating a few hundred miles north to Canada? They might qualify under the self-employed artist category? https://www.settler.ca/english/immigration-to-canada-for-art...

If you are able to pay, American healthcare can be higher quality and more timely than Canadian care. Especially the hospitals and doctors in and around Seattle. That's why wealthy Canadians come to the US for some treatments. The hope is that they earn enough from the Steam royalties (which should happen given the popular rumor and storytelling around the game among gamers). Also, Canada has medical requirements and…

"The U.S. spends about twice what other high-income nations do on health care but has the lowest life expectancy and the highest infant mortality rates, a new study suggests."

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-spending/u-s-healt...

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#116
post #113
post #35

One thing that amazes me about Dwarf Fortress is that the creator(s) don't use version control[1] (as of 2014, things may have changed): "I don't use version control -- I didn't like the feeling of having the code get committed into a black box thingy with no immediate upside." I can't fathom how you can manage the complexity of a game like DF without a VCS. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1avszc/im_tarn_a…

Tarn isn't known for being a good developer. He's just very dedicated :) In fact it's pretty well known that Dwarf Fortress has a horrible code base and it would be a huge project to bring it up to a good standard.

Well they say hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard...

DF is definitely an admirable and awe-inspiring project, regardless of the beauty of its innards

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#117

I've played DF a lot. Biggest problem that I had is that it eventually becomes a challenge to manage the framerate. I realize there are ways to fix this that are intertwined with the gameplay, but I'd rather play the game instead of butchering kittens and other things in an effort to keep the game performant. Second issue is with military organization. I never really became confident in my ability to get the squads d…

> The barrier to entry is still pretty high, and I don't think the announced additions are going to change that.

This would be a problem for a new game, especially in Steam's early access program - but at this point DF has a huge "brand", and people know what they're getting into. I think it could even be argued that the difficult UI is part of the experience, as weird as that sounds.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are able to pay, American healthcare can be higher quality and more timely than Canadian care. Especially the hospitals and doctors in and around Seattle. That's why wealthy Canadians come to the US for some treatments. The hope is that they earn enough from the Steam royalties (which should happen given the popular rumor and storytelling around the game among gamers). Also, Canada has medical requirements and…

I'm pretty sure the wealthiest go to the US because they have some of the best doctors, and they can afford to pay for it? There are private clinics here if you have money and don't want to wait, but of course it doesn't cover very specialized things. When I wanted to see a dermatologist, I would have had to wait 1-2 months for my first appointment in the public sector. I went to a private clinic and paid 200$ (plus…

[deleted]

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#119
Dont know why this remembers me a Story from HackerNews...

I call this story by the xiaoming of "The Black Dice on White Table"

In October of 1994, I’d just started as an honest-to-goodness videogame programmer at a small startup called SingleTrac which later went on to fame and glory (but unfortunately not much in the way of fortune) with such titles as Warhawk, the Twisted Metal series, and the Jet Moto series. But at the time, the company was less than 20 employees in size and had only been officially in business for about a month. It was sometime in my first week possibly my first or second day. In the main engineering room, there was a whoop and cry of success.

Our company financial controller and acting HR lady, Jen, came in to see what incredible things the engineers and artists had come up with. Everyone was staring at a television set hooked up to a development box for the Sony Playstation. There, on the screen, against a single-color background, was a black triangle.

“It’s a black triangle,” she said in an amused but sarcastic voice. One of the engine programmers tried to explain, but she shook her head and went back to her office. I could almost hear her thoughts… “We’ve got ten months to deliver two games to Sony, and they are cheering over a black triangle? THAT took them nearly a month to develop?”

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#120
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand what you've written at all. Are you in favour of the US healthcare system, or against it?

I don't understand what you've written at all. Are you in favour of the US healthcare system, or against it? There's this thing called "nuance." In very general terms, I'm for personal liberty and autonomy. However, I also recognize that people don't care about that, when they are hungry or fear bankruptcy and illness. [1] The US healthcare system is broken, in that large numbers of people are left in a state of risk…

How does a national health care system (say such as Canada or UK) encroach on personal freedom? (Short of say the obvious...increased taxes for you.)

I've found a lot of "opponents" of universal healthcare actually support a safety net for less fortunate people - they just don't want to pay for it. This is a perfectly valid reason, but I wouldn't call it encroaching on personal freedom, so I'm curious as to how else you see it affecting liberty?

Post reply on HN