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Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

polygon.com

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Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#151

Post by Floegipoky »

bradford wrote: post #18

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…

Don't forget how dwarves drop their personal items all over your fortress, even when they have an assigned bedroom. Some ahole leaves their sock in your front door and the vile forces of darkness just waltz on through.

But all of the half-implemented features, years-old bugs, "screw you" approach to UX, and general jankiness are worth it when a fire imp immolates 10 people in your great hall only to have its skull caved in when it tangles with the wrong toddler.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#152

Post by earenndil »

Pfhreak wrote: 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've heard a rumour that DF is planned to be opensourced once zach and tarn die, but they're keeping this a secret in order to keep from being assassinated.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#153

Post by a1369209993 »

chimeracoder wrote: post #87
tom_ wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They take backups, name each folder based on the date, and what feature that was just completed (or just about to be started) that prompted the backup. I bet you a pound. This is what everybody that says they don't use version control does.

> They take backups, name each folder based on the date, and what feature that was just completed (or just about to be started) that prompted the backup. I bet you a pound. All they need to do is to compress those folders with zlib, and then they've reinvented git.

That's what I do (for personal projects where I don't care about complex commit-graphs) and I do call it version control.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#154

Post by gmfawcett »

bradford wrote: post #110
soneca wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First time I heard of it, thanks!

the lazy newb pack is great! I can't play dwarf fortress without it, but even with it the game has a steep learning curve.

Yes, steep is an understatement!

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#155

Post by Macuyiko »

gotocake wrote: post #42
conistonwater wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> bring joy Yeah, right. I bet you'll see it in productivity statistics instead. It's as bad as Factorio.

Every friend I’ve turned onto either game was basically lost for months, then returned to the world like a shipwrecked survivor. It was all long beards and uncut hair, wild eyes and impossible tales. These games are so good they should come with rehab.

I wish these games would still have that effect on me. I mean, I can totally see it happening back when I was 20-25 years old.

When I try to start factorio, df, rimworld today, I can see the systems, I can feel the ocd style appeal and feedback loops grabbing me, until I realize after one hour that 1) this is just the same as work, 2) someone else has already optimized the crap out of this, better then I'd ever have time for and 3) I might be better off doing real work instead, lest I feel guilty.

I then uninstall the game, never to return. It's pretty dreary as ultimately all games end up as thinly veiled optimization or grinding boxes that can be tuned, if you only put in the effort. Recent triple a focus on grinding, addictive elements and microtransactions have made this worse.

I've been thinking a lot about finding a genre or mechanic that would still "work", but I find it sad that I cannot get the long term enjoyment without worry anymore from games as I could years ago.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#157

Post by ilaksh »

tlynchpin wrote: post #125

Interesting choice of Steam and itch. I'd be very interested to hear more about their selection process on platform once they decided to Get The Money. Specifically I wonder if they explored the new Epic platform, guess I'll have to tune into the AMA tomorrow.

Its not that interesting to me to pick Steam and Itch since they have many more users than anything else including something that barely launched.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#158

Post by Macuyiko »

oftenwrong wrote: post #66
ethbro wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No development team , no need for version control. I meta love DF for it's primitive development practices too. Guy decides to make a game with a block of stone and a chisel, development community calls him crazy and says games can't be made that way, but he keeps chiseling away.

This is like stone carving with a chisel, but striking the back of the chisel with your hand instead of using a hammer. A hammer adds a bit of complexity, but you will save yourself a significant amount of pain.

Until you hit your hand with the hammer, then you can't use either the hammer or your hand any more (pedantic, I know, but meant in good spirit)

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#159

Post by ahaferburg »

danielbarla wrote: post #75
umvi wrote: 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…

Honestly, for personal projects where I'm the sole developer, I only use git nominally. I mean, it's there, and sure, I commit; but it's not like I'm spawning feature branches or anything like that. It's a rather linear set of commits, functionally almost equivalent to having a zip of the source every now and then. I'm sure many people are the same.

I don't use branches either, but what I do like to use every now and then is stash. Sometimes you program yourself into a corner, or you realize that you need to take a step back. Or to quickly check what caused that regression you just noticed.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam with graphics

#160

Post by gowld »

odorousrex wrote: post #120
stcredzero wrote: post #101

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? 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…

Taxes are quite clearly an infringement of personal freedom. Government-run healthcare removes (or greatly reduces) the choice of care from the open market and puts it in the government's control. You can't operate or patronize a medical service provider that is insolvent because the government offers a subsidized alternative service.

There are tradeoffs, and well spent taxes can open up opportunities otherwise precluded, NHS might be better than a private alternative, but in the cost/benefit analysis, the costs really do exist.

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