Dwarf Fortress Coming to Steam

So this was a couple weeks ago but I was readi.g through this thread about healthcare and it reminded me of it so I thought i'd make a thread about it.

store.steampowered.com...



For those of you that don't know. Dwarf Fortress is an extremely complex fantasy world simulator...well...here some of its features:

The world is randomly generated with distinct civilizations spanning centuries of detailed history, hundreds of towns, caves and regions with various wildlife.

The world persists as long as you like, over many games, recording historical events and tracking changes.

The combat model includes skills, body parts, individual tissues, material properties, aimed attacks, wrestling, one-time opportunities, charging and dodging between squares, bleeding, pain, nausea, various poison effects and much more. Attacks and other movements extend over several instants, allowing you to deliberately catch enemy blows or plan your counter-attack.

Generated poetry, musical forms, instruments and dances. Watch the dwarves perform, or try it yourself!

Hundreds of animals and other monsters, including many that are randomly generated for each world.
Multi-tile climbable trees and many, many kinds of plants. Fruit, flowers and falling leaves.

A dynamic weather model tracks wind, humidity and air masses to create fronts, clouds, rain storms and blizzards.

Over two hundred rock and mineral types are incorporated into the world, placed in their proper geological environments.

The game's been developed by two brothers for the better part of the last two decades and released freely on their website. They've been supported solely by donations for most if this time. The game will still be freely available but they've decided to release a version on steam that comes preinstalled with graphics and a some quality of life mods due to some sudden unexpected healthcare costs for mental health issues and cancer

Dwarf Fortress is a great game. I've been following its development pretty much since it began. Tarn and Zach are both awesome and have put a ridiculous amount of work into this game for years while living solely on donations from their players.

The reasons behind them having to do this kind of suck, but I hope they do well on steam. They've put a lot of work into Dwarf Fortress, for a long time it'd be nice to see them at least not have to worry about going broke over having to treat cancer.

I play RimWorld which is very similar except it's a space colony sim. You crashland or start with a tribe on a seed generated planet so you type in a word and it's different each game. You can use the same seed if you'd like.

There's endless mods for it and it's on Steam. I play a free copy I acquired. There's Star Wars mods, Warhammer mods, 40k mods, LoTR, Medieval.

Dwarf Fortress gets mentioned on the RimWorld reddit sometimes and I've been meaning to try it.

RimWorld - sci-fi colony sim

RimWorld follows three survivors from a crashed space liner as they build a colony on a frontier world at the rim of known space. Inspired by the space western vibe of Firefly, the deep simulation of Dwarf Fortress, and the epic scale of Dune and Warhammer 40,000.

Manage colonists' moods, needs, individual wounds, and illnesses. Engage in small-team tactical gunplay. Fashion structures, weapons, and apparel from metal, wood, stone, cloth, or futuristic materials. Fight pirate raiders, hostile tribes, rampaging animals, giant tunnelling insects and ancient killing machines. Tame and train cute pets, productive farm animals, and deadly attack beasts. Watch colonists develop relationships with family members, lovers, and spouses. Discover a new generated world each time you play. Build colonies in the desert, jungle, tundra, and more. Manage quirky colonists with unique backstories, traits, and skills. Learn to play easily with the help of an intelligent and unobtrusive AI tutor.

Sounds like a really interesting game. I can't get passed the visuals though. It looks like the first video game ever made.

a reply to: dug88

Say that fast enough and you're playing something called "Dwarftress," which actually sounds a lot more exciting.

Yes, I've heard really good things about Dwarf Fortress, and I also am stuck into Rim World. My current colony is a group of literal Scruffy Nerf Herders thanks to a Star Wars animal mod. They are farming nerfs, alpacas, and just got started with cassowaries.

One of the things I love about games like these is that the developers manage to make them managementsurvival type games while still letting the characters have their own personalities. You can only micro-manage the individuals so far. For example, my colonists recently held a mayoral election, and a mostly female colony freely elected an abrasive, misogynistic cannibal to be their mayor *after* he beat one of the ladies into a miscarriage right in the front of everyone in the main dining area (and she was well-liked). And no, you can't control the vote! Go figure ...

originally posted by: r0xor
I play RimWorld which is very similar except it's a space colony sim. You crashland or start with a tribe on a seed generated planet so you type in a word and it's different each game. You can use the same seed if you'd like.

There's endless mods for it and it's on Steam. I play a free copy I acquired. There's Star Wars mods, Warhammer mods, 40k mods, LoTR, Medieval.

Dwarf Fortress gets mentioned on the RimWorld reddit sometimes and I've been meaning to try it.

RimWorld - sci-fi colony sim

RimWorld follows three survivors from a crashed space liner as they build a colony on a frontier world at the rim of known space. Inspired by the space western vibe of Firefly, the deep simulation of Dwarf Fortress, and the epic scale of Dune and Warhammer 40,000.

Manage colonists' moods, needs, individual wounds, and illnesses. Engage in small-team tactical gunplay. Fashion structures, weapons, and apparel from metal, wood, stone, cloth, or futuristic materials. Fight pirate raiders, hostile tribes, rampaging animals, giant tunnelling insects and ancient killing machines. Tame and train cute pets, productive farm animals, and deadly attack beasts. Watch colonists develop relationships with family members, lovers, and spouses. Discover a new generated world each time you play. Build colonies in the desert, jungle, tundra, and more. Manage quirky colonists with unique backstories, traits, and skills. Learn to play easily with the help of an intelligent and unobtrusive AI tutor.

It's funny I keep hearing about rimworld and it's one of those ones I keep meaning to try but always forget about. I added it to my wishlist so I remember next time I put some money on steam.

originally posted by: blueman12
Sounds like a really interesting game. I can't get passed the visuals though. It looks like the first video game ever made.

There's different graphics sets you can get, and even some isometric visualizers. There's a lazynoob pack that comes with a bunch of tile and graphics sets and some mods and tools to make a few things easier. The version on steam will include these and a few other things made for that version.

originally posted by: dug88
It's funny I keep hearing about rimworld and it's one of those ones I keep meaning to try but always forget about. I added it to my wishlist so I remember next time I put some money on steam.

Warning: It'll consume all of your free time until you're done riding the learning curve and the ideas that come with it. The possibilities are endless.

originally posted by: dug88
There's different graphics sets you can get, and even some isometric visualizers. There's a lazynoob pack that comes with a bunch of tile and graphics sets and some mods and tools to make a few things easier. The version on steam will include these and a few other things made for that version.

I read that the graphics are being re-done for the Steam release.

I'm telling you, with a straight face, that this is the biggest PC gaming news of 2019: Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam, with graphics and Workshop mod support. Dwarf Fortress is as famous for its ASCII graphics as it is for its unparalleled depth as a procedurally generated simulation of existence. And while it's always been moddable, the new Steam (and Itch.io) release, coming this year, will make an infamously complex game just a little bit easier to get into.

Kitfox Games, makers of Moon Hunters and the upcoming Boyfriend Dungeon, are handling publishing and working with artists and a composer for the new release. The new 32x32 pixel graphics tileset is being created as a collaboration between two long-time Dwarf Fortress modders. Under the surface, Dwarf Fortress will otherwise be the same game. The free version will remain available and be updated same as the version available on Steam, which will cost $20.

I asked creator Tarn Adams for some more details about the new version. Here's what I learned.

www.pcgamer.com...

The classic version will be free and there remodeling for the pay game. With graphics and mod support it sounds like it's going the way of RimWorld which would be excellent.

Dwarf Fortress...
I played int a long time ago when it was ASCII only. The possible complexity of it is absolutely bonkers, and makes Rimworld look like an infant's toy. Im not saying Rimworld is bad, it is a very good game. But Toady (one of the two brothers that are the devs for DwarfFortress) have made and modeled so much stuff in that it would take you real in life years of playing to discover some of the intricacies.

The uniqueness and detail put into this game boggles the mind, to the point that there are multiple sites dedicated to stories told through gameplay. If you have an evening to waste, I recommend things like www.dfst.org...

and a specific example
www.timdenee.com...

originally posted by: dubiousatworst
Dwarf Fortress...
I played int a long time ago when it was ASCII only. The possible complexity of it is absolutely bonkers, and makes Rimworld look like an infant's toy. Im not saying Rimworld is bad, it is a very good game. But Toady (one of the two brothers that are the devs for DwarfFortress) have made and modeled so much stuff in that it would take you real in life years of playing to discover some of the intricacies.

The uniqueness and detail put into this game boggles the mind, to the point that there are multiple sites dedicated to stories told through gameplay. If you have an evening to waste, I recommend things like www.dfst.org...

and a specific example
www.timdenee.com...

Yeah, dwarf fortress is ridiculous, especially once you start reading things in legends mode and realized almost everything in the game has its own life and history. Just some of the things you read in there can be stories on their own. I tend to get sucked in for a while after new versions cone out and take breaks for a bit. Every time i come back there's been enough added that it almost feels like a new game. The modding community's great and editing the data files is easy enough that i've made my own tweaks and edits from time to time. There's just so many ways to enjoy the game. I'd also recommend Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead if you've never tried it. It's a zombie apocalypse with a ridiculous amount of detail in a different way.

There's something to be said about cruising through a post apocalyptic wasteland while smoking a doobie and drinking whiskey as a mutated cyborg in your own home made death mobile, crafted out of a mobile meth lab and a tank, #ing zombies, triffids, alien fungi, robots, mutated animals, and the jabberwocky up with .50 cal mounted turrets and atomic death lasers.