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Polygon sat down with one of the creators of Dwarf Fortress

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Re: Polygon sat down with one of the creators of Dwarf Fortress

#41

Post by criley2 »

codezero wrote: post #27

Are there any good newbie tutorials? I always start it but just get way too lost right away.

Find a multiyear walkthrough that will take you hours to just play the game according to how a manual tells you.

Why? It's like learning Ruby on Rails with Michael Hartl. You follow his instructions to learn more than just mechanics, but the Rails Way of doing things.

Same with Dwarf Fortress. You need to learn the DF way of doing things, the DF way of solving problems. Easiest way to learn it is to follow deep instruction for a while.

I cannot find the exact tutorial I followed a while ago (and I'm not sure it's even valid for the latest versions) but this wiki ought to help start: http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Quickstart_gui...

Maybe a current DF player can link you to the best multi-year walkthrough :)

Re: Polygon sat down with one of the creators of Dwarf Fortress

#42

Post by voronoff »

Holbein wrote: post #33
coder23 wrote: post #10

I think it a loss that a game with such original complexity has the most primitive graphics. Nobody wants 3D acceleration, but an upgrade to a simple 2D with sprites and effects with a better interface, would open it to a wider crowd.

The funny thing is, Dwarf Fortress is simulated in 3D. With the 3D viewer, you can even look at your terrain in 3D: http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r21/khyron2k/Dwarves/Dwar... If DF would look like that during gameplay, I'd immediately start playing.

You can play in Stonesense, though it's still early days yet and only works on the last patch.

http://www.wired.com/2014/07/dwarf-fortress-3d/

Re: Polygon sat down with one of the creators of Dwarf Fortress

#43

Post by XaspR8d »

codezero wrote: post #36
LanceH wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Follow along with some youtube examples of how to start. There are a couple out there with good explanations of moving between the different modes.

Thanks, I assume just searching for Dwarf Fortress videos will lead me to a useful starting point?

The YouTube series by captnduck is noted for being particularly helpful and comprehensive. But I think seeing several people's playstyles is good once you figure out how to not starve.

Re: Polygon sat down with one of the creators of Dwarf Fortress

#44

Post by dpeck »

Scuds wrote: post #34
dpeck wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it will crush a core. It actually is a concern as DF in game (dwarf mode anyway) does a huge amount of pathfinding for the little buggers and other creatures. Not to mention item tracking and other bits. This means that once your fortress gets somewhere around 200 dwarfs you start getting into FPS death because it doesn't scale. So it actually as is a problem, and development of the game is going against the gra…

> He, by design, doesn't owe anyone anything. A commercial game would have a tutorial mode and other bells and whistles to make it more approachable. Thing is, I have one hour a day before sleep to screw around, so is it Bob's Burgers or Dwarf Fortress?

I'm confused by what you're getting at here

Re: Polygon sat down with one of the creators of Dwarf Fortress

#45

Post by glittershark »

codezero wrote: post #27

Are there any good newbie tutorials? I always start it but just get way too lost right away.

I learned from YouTube user captnduck back in the day - they're great tutorials made all the more appealing by the guy's incredibly soothing Dutch accent.

Re: Polygon sat down with one of the creators of Dwarf Fortress

#46

Post by glittershark »

hibikir wrote: post #38
zyxley wrote: post #15

To quote myself from the last time I commented on an article about DF: I will continue to have no interest in Dwarf Fortress until it has an actual UI instead of whatever insane random combinations of controls the developer felt like adding on any particular day.

There's an entire subgenre of games trying to make less ambitious, prettier versions of Dwarf Fortress. Banished, for instance. You could argue that even Minecraft attempts to be a 3d dwarf fortress, where you control your one dwarf. The extra effort in the UI tends to leave far worse games than Dwarf Fortress though.

Minecraft was actually started as an explicit DF clone and then deviated from there

Re: Polygon sat down with one of the creators of Dwarf Fortress

#47

Post by redblacktree »

coder23 wrote: post #10

I think it a loss that a game with such original complexity has the most primitive graphics. Nobody wants 3D acceleration, but an upgrade to a simple 2D with sprites and effects with a better interface, would open it to a wider crowd.

You might be interested in Gnomoria[1]. It's not Dwarf Fortress, but is inspired by it.

[1] http://gnomoria.com/

Re: Polygon sat down with one of the creators of Dwarf Fortress

#48

Post by skaevola »

Scuds wrote: post #34
dpeck wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it will crush a core. It actually is a concern as DF in game (dwarf mode anyway) does a huge amount of pathfinding for the little buggers and other creatures. Not to mention item tracking and other bits. This means that once your fortress gets somewhere around 200 dwarfs you start getting into FPS death because it doesn't scale. So it actually as is a problem, and development of the game is going against the gra…

> He, by design, doesn't owe anyone anything. A commercial game would have a tutorial mode and other bells and whistles to make it more approachable. Thing is, I have one hour a day before sleep to screw around, so is it Bob's Burgers or Dwarf Fortress?

> A commercial game would have a tutorial mode and other bells and whistles to make it more approachable.

Does Jackson Pollock have a tutorial? Duchamp? The beauty in Dwarf Fortress is that it doesn't cater to the lowest common denominator. It's the vision of Tarn and Zach Adams manifested without the filter of commercial interests.

Nobody's opposed to a tutorial (and there are plenty of community created ones: http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Tutorials ).

Commercial games are like corporate art. A company would never create a game like Dwarf Fortress.

Alternately, you can spend your hour before bed watching reality television.

Re: Polygon sat down with one of the creators of Dwarf Fortress

#49

Post by OWaz »

codezero wrote: post #27

Are there any good newbie tutorials? I always start it but just get way too lost right away.

I read Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress[1] to understand the game. DF is not intuitive at all and this book helped me wrap my head around DF.

[1]:http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920022565.do

Re: Polygon sat down with one of the creators of Dwarf Fortress

#50

Post by coolp_jim »

grimgrin wrote: post #22
zyxley wrote: post #15

To quote myself from the last time I commented on an article about DF: I will continue to have no interest in Dwarf Fortress until it has an actual UI instead of whatever insane random combinations of controls the developer felt like adding on any particular day.

At least many of these "insane random combinations of controls" follow a pretty OK mnemonic naming convention. b>c to build a chair b>d to build a door b>w>l to build a still (type of workshop, many other things under b>w)

Exactly. Which is exactly like games like Starcraft or Warcraft, where there are any number of things you can "do" as a player. No one complained about those games' UI. DF has this and more. Therefore, the UI becomes more involved. I think what this really boils down to is "I haven't played the game and everyone says it's really hard, so I guess I won't try. Instead I'll go online and complain about the UI I've never used."
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