Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How Dwarf Fortress is built

stackoverflow.blog

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 407 posts

Re: How Dwarf Fortress is built

#51

Post by Philip-J-Fry »

markus_zhang wrote: post #36

IMO that's one of the best ways a single programmer can spend his career. No weird requirements, no deadlines, no nothing, nada. Just one's passion and a product. Whether it is successful is irrelevant. Kudos Mr. Adams for making the achievement and moves gaming history. Going back to the interview, I found this line (and the logic attached) interesting: >Making the item system polymorphic was ultimately a mistake, b…

I have a passion for programming but I need something to drive me. I'm useless when I try and make stuff on my own. But if I've got someone telling me "I need a system that does X", I just get highly motivated in delivering it. Like I need requirements.

Re: How Dwarf Fortress is built

#52

Post by ljp_206 »

100011_100001 wrote: post #35

This is a little bit of a hijack but if I wanted to start coding games as a side project, where would I start? Which platform? Mobile, PC, console? Any good introductions on the subject of solo game development? I know I can google this, but I trust HN users more than the Google algo.

I'm not much of a game programmer, but lurk /r/gamedev. The common advice is to start small - think toys rather than MMOs. From there, it's said one should follow what they're interested in, and focus on follow-thru, not tacking on features to their dream game that is supposed to compete with Skyrim. Console development is always going to be more trouble than the more open platforms of computers and phones. Myself, I've always thought it'd be pretty fun to make a menu-heavy game with just web technology, which then of course CAN be played anywhere.

There are lots of engines out there that can take care of things for you, or act as full fledged studios, like Game Maker. Some prefer to start from scratch of course. Again, the idea should be follow what you're interested in so that you can actually get something done.

Re: How Dwarf Fortress is built

#53

Post by anthk »

jandeboevrie wrote: post #18

Df is just like OpenTTD. Both are like Chess, easy to start, fun to play casually but it takes years to master. Great games, complex if you want to and a time sink if you don't keep an eye on it. Have had many hundreds of fun hours in both games

Eh, Chess it's much more complex than Slashem to me, and I never ascended in Nethack/Slashem/DCSS.

Re: How Dwarf Fortress is built

#54

Post by short_sells_poo »

jandeboevrie wrote: post #18

Df is just like OpenTTD. Both are like Chess, easy to start, fun to play casually but it takes years to master. Great games, complex if you want to and a time sink if you don't keep an eye on it. Have had many hundreds of fun hours in both games

I agree with the spirit of your post, but Dwarf Fortress and Easy to Start do not fit in the same sentence in my opinion. I mean, the game is legendary for it's arcane user interface and the vast number of things that can go wrong even for experts.

Dwarf Fortress is something like vim, where usually on the first interaction people don't even know how to start the game, let alone do anything in it.

Chess is easy to start, the rules fit on a post it note basically. Dwarf Fortress is difficult to start, and even more difficult to master.

Re: How Dwarf Fortress is built

#55

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

mabbo wrote: post #33

> What’s your favorite bug and what caused it? > A: It’s probably boring for me to say, but I just can’t beat the drunken cat bug... That was the one where the cats were showing up dead all over the tavern floor, and it turned out they were ingesting spilled alcohol when they cleaned their paws. I think that bug explains very well just how deeply complex Dwarf Fortress really is. Drinks can be spilled. Some drinks ha…

Unfortunately it remains unexplained (by the article) why this is considered a bug. It would be unethical to test, but this seems like perfectly cromulent behavior one might actually see in real life.

Re: How Dwarf Fortress is built

#56

Post by markus_zhang »

mabbo wrote: post #33

> What’s your favorite bug and what caused it? > A: It’s probably boring for me to say, but I just can’t beat the drunken cat bug... That was the one where the cats were showing up dead all over the tavern floor, and it turned out they were ingesting spilled alcohol when they cleaned their paws. I think that bug explains very well just how deeply complex Dwarf Fortress really is. Drinks can be spilled. Some drinks ha…

Not sure what's in the code, but I think each cat (which is some sort of entity by itself) is composed by body parts, which at the lowest level owns a bunch of attributes/components. Would that make sense?

Re: How Dwarf Fortress is built

#57

Post by tonyedgecombe »

potatoman22 wrote: post #24
AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but it also removes most of the reason to use Git.

In my experience, most people use git as version control. Branching etc is very useful, but not necessary for a 1-person project.

I find branching useful whilst working on my own, I certainly wouldn't want to go back to CVS/SVN.

Re: How Dwarf Fortress is built

#58

Post by markus_zhang »

wly_cdgr wrote: post #47
markus_zhang wrote: post #36

IMO that's one of the best ways a single programmer can spend his career. No weird requirements, no deadlines, no nothing, nada. Just one's passion and a product. Whether it is successful is irrelevant. Kudos Mr. Adams for making the achievement and moves gaming history. Going back to the interview, I found this line (and the logic attached) interesting: >Making the item system polymorphic was ultimately a mistake, b…

Everything about it is wonderful (I really mean that) except the fact that he's sponging off his mother to do it. I can't help but feel that it's a drop of vinegar that spoils the whole cup of milk

I think it's OK as long as they feel it's OK. We can say that his mother "sponsors" the project.

Re: How Dwarf Fortress is built

#59

Post by paavohtl »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #55
mabbo wrote: post #33

> What’s your favorite bug and what caused it? > A: It’s probably boring for me to say, but I just can’t beat the drunken cat bug... That was the one where the cats were showing up dead all over the tavern floor, and it turned out they were ingesting spilled alcohol when they cleaned their paws. I think that bug explains very well just how deeply complex Dwarf Fortress really is. Drinks can be spilled. Some drinks ha…

Unfortunately it remains unexplained (by the article) why this is considered a bug. It would be unethical to test, but this seems like perfectly cromulent behavior one might actually see in real life.

IIRC the actual bug was that cats licking their paws made them consume an entire tankard's worth of beer with each lick, which made them drunk (and dead) with just a few licks.

Re: How Dwarf Fortress is built

#60

Post by Octopodes »

100011_100001 wrote: post #35

This is a little bit of a hijack but if I wanted to start coding games as a side project, where would I start? Which platform? Mobile, PC, console? Any good introductions on the subject of solo game development? I know I can google this, but I trust HN users more than the Google algo.

Check out this itch page for some suggestions:

https://itch.io/jam/game-off-2020

Scroll down to the " Help—I’ve never created a game before!" section and there are some suggestions like Phaser or Godot.

Post reply on HN