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Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates

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Re: Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates

#201

Post by Keyframe »

joemi wrote: post #20
Our_Benefactors wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Friendlier” and still one of the worst UIs available. It’s nearly impenetrable and the game has no tutorial to speak of, no on-ramps for new players, and is probably the most overrated game I’ve ever had the displeasure of playing. I’m convinced from articles about dwarf fortress that it’s a game that few actually play and enjoy, but like talking about as if it’s fun. The promise of dwarf fortress is far more intere…

Minecraft was very fun and was selling like hotcakes when it had "no tutorial to speak of, no on-ramps for new players". Even nowadays there's no tutorial as far as I know and much of how to play is left to discovery. The achievements tree is a bit of a guide, just by telling you some of the things that are possible, but it sure doesn't tell you how to do anything. I think having an official tutorial or an on-ramp fo…

I think the old adage from film industry applies, in that you shouldn't underestimate your audience.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates

#202

Post by VikingCoder »

UltraSane wrote: post #5
Mobius01 wrote: post #3

I wish nothing but success to Tarn and Zach, it’s great that releasing on Steam and adding a friendlier UI helped the game reach new audiences. It’s the proverbial time black hole.

In a documentary about them putting Dwarf Fortress on Steam Tarn talked about how he had to split the $7 million first payment from Steam with his brother and it turned out the easiest way was to just use the bank app.

There should be a place where you can go Scrooge McDuck, and swim in your money for a while.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates

#203

Post by Al-Khwarizmi »

Waterluvian wrote: post #107
UltraSane wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a documentary about them putting Dwarf Fortress on Steam Tarn talked about how he had to split the $7 million first payment from Steam with his brother and it turned out the easiest way was to just use the bank app.

I’ve never received $7M but a few times I’ve handled large sums (when buying a house and previous startup exit) and it felt so weird to be how completely normal it was. Like just… oh yeah go ahead and write a cheque for six figures. Or do an e-transfer into your chequing account for six figures. It felt like… no there has to be a whole special world for large sums, no?

In Spain, if you try to casually use your bank app to transfer a big amount, you hit a limit. If you need to do that, you can go to a bank office or do a phone call, tell them, and they will temporarily lift the limit, and then yes, you can just go to your regular everyday app and type the large amount and it will work. Doesn't it work like that where you are?

Re: Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates

#205

Post by RHSeeger »

zdragnar wrote: post #24
Our_Benefactors wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s the games job to create an on ramp to understanding. It’s not mine to spend 200 hours grasping every concept before I can play “the real game”, that’s just shitty game design.

Somebody didn't grow up with early console games.

To this day, I never managed to get ET out of that ditch

Re: Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates

#206

Post by taneq »

rmunn wrote: post #110
Waterluvian wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve never received $7M but a few times I’ve handled large sums (when buying a house and previous startup exit) and it felt so weird to be how completely normal it was. Like just… oh yeah go ahead and write a cheque for six figures. Or do an e-transfer into your chequing account for six figures. It felt like… no there has to be a whole special world for large sums, no?

I'm sure there is special handling for large sums... but six figures isn't it. Businesses routinely write checks for half a million dollars, two million dollars... it's perfectly normal to see such amounts within the banking world. There might be some extra scrutiny on the back end that you don't see, but since it's well within the realm of normal operations that the bank sees happen every day, it's nothing special.…

As a ‘normal’ person it sure feels weird sending (or receiving) a purchase order or invoice for six figures though.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates

#207

Post by nonethewiser »

frollogaston wrote: post #4
Mobius01 wrote: post #3

I wish nothing but success to Tarn and Zach, it’s great that releasing on Steam and adding a friendlier UI helped the game reach new audiences. It’s the proverbial time black hole.

Weirdly the ASCII art was what drew me in the most. Once accustomed to it, feels like The Matrix where they're reading the world.

Love DF, havent played the steam version.

The menus and lack of native ui controls for some things (dfhack) were by far the biggest problem, not the ascii. I get that the ascii is noisy and a matter of taste - not disputing that - but there were much bigger UX problems.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates

#208

Post by satvikpendem »

db48x wrote: post #162
satvikpendem wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And in the same way, it's a game's job to make sure their players have fun, one of which is to have a good onboarding experience.

No, that’s not a game’s job. You will not enjoy every game. Those games that you did not enjoy are not necessarily failures. They are simply games that _you_ did not enjoy.

Sure, that's not what I'm saying though. It's the job of the game to be fun in general, not in specific to some individual, and one of those ways is to have a good onboarding experience. People saying DF is fun are having fun despite its terrible onboarding, not because of it; in other words, cope.

Re: Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates

#209

Post by jaggederest »

krige wrote: post #169
totetsu wrote: post #144

It’s 2011, you’re laying awake after midnight and can’t quite seem to switch off. You put on the latest episode of DFTalk and listen to Toadie1 and Rainseeker talking about their road map for the magic release but first they’ll have to do night creatures and armies and a completely redo the whole world gen, and you gently fall asleep to Tarn’s classic guitar melody.

That guitar stays with you. I haven't played DF in forever but I can still conjure up lengthy chunks of it from memory.

Like Matt Uelmen's work in Diablo and Diablo 2... I haven't played the original in probably 25 years and I can still hear the Tristram soundtrack
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