Dwarf Fortress

[foliodoe]

Does anyone play DF? I've been playing on and off for almost fifteen years. It's so cool and it's finally out on Steam!

 

[Slime_Punk]

I've been wanting to check out the new version but I'm too broke! Is it good?

I tried playing the free version and I just literally couldn't tell what was going on. Apparently I need a UI!

 

[Misery]

Got it myself the day it hit Steam.

I'd also had the free version for a long time but the interface was too bloody irritating, so I didnt play it all that much. Having to alt-tab out of it every 2 minutes to check the Dwarf Therapist program or anything else that ran alongside it because the UI was so bad got on my nerves way too fast, and actually checking out things about individual dwarves just... I didnt do it. The UI for that part was the worst. And as this game is meant to be about storytelling, not having a bloody clue what any of those guys were like really hurt that.

Now Steam got a version without the UI of awfulness, and it's soooooooooooo much better.

I'm about 7 hours in, not too much has happened yet. Nobody has died or gone insane.

Did I mention the UI is better? Like geez I can actually read about my freaking dwarves. Can see everything about them with one click and it's so much more readable. Like, my last session I did, I sat there for like 30 minutes just reading about them; I needed to get someone in the militia leader position, so it was like, okay... who best fits that? Let's read about a bunch of them and see who is most suited. There's so much personality and such and it all fits into the simulation, and I love that. Took me awhile to choose a guy. Hopefully he does his job well, we'll just have to see. Not that anything violent has happened yet. Only a matter of time though.

Not just the dwarf info screen though, EVERYTHING is more readable. All of the game's functions are so much easier to use.

Best part though is that I dont have to deal with constant keyboard use. I already do a lot of typing every day, and the constant keypresses in DF when playing in any somewhat long session got to be a bit much. Steam version though... only need the mouse. And only needing the mouse actually means I can use my Switch controller. I cant hold the mouse very long without my arm acting up, but the controller emulating the mouse fixes that (and I've gotten really, really good at using it that way).

I've been wanting to check out the new version but I'm too broke! Is it good?

I tried playing the free version and I just literally couldn't tell what was going on. Apparently I need a UI!

The UI is coming to the free version in an update that is due quite soon.

The only things that the free version wont get is the new tileset and the music.

 

[foliodoe]

I've been wanting to check out the new version but I'm too broke! Is it good?

I tried playing the free version and I just literally couldn't tell what was going on. Apparently I need a UI!

I learned how to play with the old text interface and I loved it. That was part of the appeal to me! It was like looking at the binary code from The Matrix lol But now with the new gui and mouse support, it's way more convenient and enjoyable to play.

 

[foliodoe]

The UI is coming to the free version in an update that is due quite soon.

The only things that the free version wont get is the new tileset and the music.

I didn't know this! I have no regrets about buying it at full price on Steam, though. I have been playing DF for so long and have only ever donated a few dollars to them along the way. It's one of my favorite games ever, so I wanted to support them! But this is awesome news for the development of the game itself.

 

[Misery]

But this is awesome news for the development of the game itself.

It's certainly not the only thing that's awesome for development.

The game came out on Steam, and almost immediately, Tarn & Zach (the original devs) were literal millionaires. Yes, really. That actually happened.

And that didnt take like, three weeks or something. That was within the first day or two.

Sure blew my mind.

 

[foliodoe]

It's certainly not the only thing that's awesome for development.

The game came out on Steam, and almost immediately, Tarn & Zach (the original devs) were literal millionaires. Yes, really. That actually happened.

And that didnt take like, three weeks or something. That was within the first day or two.

Sure blew my mind.

That's what made me decide to buy the game at full price! They put it into perspective, though; since the game was free for so long, they divided the Steam income by all those years and the math works out to a pretty standard income. Still, it's awesome that all their work paid off!

 

[Misery]

Ya know, it's funny, but while I was having a look at this very page to see what you responded with, the DF news feed on Steam updated. Classic (ASCII but with UI upgrade) mode just came out.

But more importantly, they just made DF history: Tarn hired another person to help program. 20 bloody years (or however many it's been, I suddenly cant actually remember, let's just pretend I got it right) and that's the first time they did something like that. Never thought I'd see the day.

Though, considering the kind of money they have now it'd be quite odd if they DIDNT hire anyone to help out. Well, that and the fact that they have a publisher backing them. I cant overstress just how much of a difference that part makes when it comes to game development.