Dwarf Fortress now on Steam with a graphical overhaul

[Makabb]

20 years from now dwarf fortress will enter early 3d of 2000

Gross.

 

[Andronovo]

It sounds stupid but I guarantee it will work. A lot of normies will exposed to DF now. I hope they fix the UI but that seems unlikely considering it would take them hundreds of thousands of manhours. If they did fix the UI I would pay the whole fucking $20 easy, that would definitely be worth the money. Assuming the game is as moddable as vanilla DF.

 

[Makabb]

Is dwarf fortress a dungeon keeper with open world ?

 

[Andronovo]

Is dwarf fortress a dungeon keeper with open world ?

It's whatever you want it to be. Roguelike, city builder, dingo wrestling simulator, you name it. If you want, you can mod the game so you can tame a whole variety of monsters, then bait human civilizations into attacking you, which is sort of makes it like a dungeon keeper. I think once the villain update is released that will become significantly more viable.

 

[Voids]

A man of refined tastes, I see.

 

[Space Satan]

I have no idea why toady puts so much effort to adventure mode - the least played mode of the game and completely ignores fortress mode. He spends years designing how some bandit would act and where it will move on the map and how wells would function in a bandit camp, while almost noone have interest or asked for that.
He could used that time to make magic work, to add more functions to fortress mode, to make training and assigning less complex, add industries, implement economy, add money, make them work, add banks, treasuries, make nobles more reasonable and add functions to them.
Yet month after month he does this:

his week I mostly pushed forward the ideas from last time. Plots can propagate out into dedicated criminal organizations from the non-criminal position holders (often through intermediaries), and criminal organizations can also expand out into other cities, forming branches much as the merchant companies do, where they then try to muscle out and subordinate local groups. These together have led to even more pleasantly rich and geographically-varied networks. We'll take a few more steps along these lines before trying to implement player-led investigations, but we're almost ready to give them a shot.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

he's too busy adding tranny dwarves to work on the actual game

 

[RoBoBOBR]

adventure mode - the least played mode

Adventure mode is cool, and all those additions with villains will make it cooler still.

 

[Perkel]

I have no idea why toady puts so much effort to adventure mode

DF always was supposed to be simulator of world. The end game goal for DF according to Toady is to play game how you want. So for example you play fortress mode then you pick one dwarf and then you switch seamlesly to adventure mode or in reverse.

 

[Grandlion1981]

I tried to play this game a few time and failed the UI/Keymapping was really unpalatable. It was just poor design. Although I really wanted to play this game I couldn't

 

[RoBoBOBR]

Keymapping can be customized ingame, it allows remapping. UI is convoluted, but you get used to that. DF wiki has a ton of info on every aspect of the game, there are quite a lot of YT tutorials and stuff, so it's just chipping away at unknown untill you're comfortable with it.

 

[Konjad]

Might as well wait for the consolized update and check out if the new UI is to your taste.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

I have no idea why toady puts so much effort to adventure mode - the least played mode of the game and completely ignores fortress mode.

Because it's not a colony game. Fortress mode is just the most developed now because it's the first one they handled, but the game is NOT about running colonies. It's a fantasy world generator/simulator. Meaning it will generate a procedural fantasy world (one run maybe a MIddle Earth, another run Westeros, another run something else), and then you can play any entity within it. Play a dwarf colony in Moria OR play Aragorn OR play Frodo OR play Gandalf or play Sauron.

 

[anvi]

I tried to play this game a few time and failed the UI/Keymapping was really unpalatable. It was just poor design. Although I really wanted to play this game I couldn't

I tried a few times and kept getting scared away by the terrible controls and ascii. But eventually I played for a while and found it really boring. I don't like building a village and not knowing what is going on beyond my area and what may attack me etc. I got bored and quit. I will try it again soon, but I am hoping the steam version will look better.

 

[RoBoBOBR]

http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/index.html#R2020-01-29

Here is the villains release! There are various bits we're going to have to loop back around to after the graphics work is complete (see previous lengthy dev log), so perhaps this should be called the first villains release, or more "the guilds and temples and adventurer parties and pets release which also has artifact heists and extensive historical villainy, with lots of new mostly evil magical stuff", ha ha. We will get to the fortress plots beyond artifact heists when we return, as well as the ability for the adventurer to be a villain and to investigate them more effectively.

The features are listed below. For fortress mode, the most important new elements that will be commonly encountered are petitions for guildhalls and temples. When enough believers or laboring dwarves are in the fort, you'll receive a petition, and it's up to you if you want to try to build the location for them or not. To satisfy the temple petitions, you must assign a priest (the game will remind you with an announcement when your temple is ready for one, after a certain value threshold is crossed.) The main benefits of guildhalls and priests currently is the ability of guild members to share knowledge, and of priests to give inspiring sermons and comfort stressed-out dwarves.

Less commonly, but also important, a villain may target your fortress, especially when you get up to having artifacts they might covet. If you notice an artifact has been stolen in a non-kobold way (the announcements will be different, make sure you have a sheriff to receive the reports), you will be able to interrogate anybody about the crime - witness reports might be useful with a name, or they might just indicate the artifact is missing. Interrogation leads to a report indicator on the left, which you can read in the usual way (with 'r'.) This also opens up the counterintelligence screen, which will keep track of information for you. If you manage to interrogate the handler of any treacherous dwarf, generally on a return visit, you might even get the name of their master, if they have one, or get details of other plots throughout the world, though most of them cannot impact your fort directly (yet.)

Dwarves have some more general relationship types now (especially the historical ones, who can arrive as war buddies or athletic rivals), and they can also have multiple lovers or get divorced or have children before they are married.

Most aquifers in the fort are now slower filling. You still have to act pretty quickly (this makes them remain useful for wells and other liquid matter), but it is very possible to just wall them off or otherwise deal with the water if you are ready. You can still place a wall on top of shallow water. If you want an old-style aquifer, just embark where there's a "heavy aquifer."

Your fort may also be invaded by horrible things if the necromancers or demons have been entertaining themselves.

The main new bit in adventure mode is right in the beginning - well, not quite. Don't be fooled by the first character creation screen (which is unchanged), you'll get to the good stuff right after. There are a lot of new options there (starting background, religion, starting site selection, equipment including quality, mounts/pets), including the option to make party members, who can be from different civilization. Mounts greatly speed up travel if everybody has one (make sure the mount is their pet.) If you forget a mount or meet with tragedy, you can claim a new mount generally from the pastures of human cities, or wherever tame animals can be found. You do not have to purchase them currently. Just press 'h' near one (the same key you use to mount and lead animals.) If the wrong party member claims it, that party member can give it to the right one as a gift (a new conversation option which can be applied to anybody.) Pack animals (including many mounts) can also carry items. Press 'p' to place an item on a creature. This can greatly increase your capacity to carry food or treasure. If you claim a pet that is unnamed, you can name them as a conversation option (with the pet.)

In adventure mode, if you have judge of intent, you'll be able to see the new readout of your conversation partner's mood/relationship with you (without that skill, you still get some basic info.) You have the ability to interrogate people, using the persuade and intimidate skills, though this is limited now because we didn't get to most evidence. People can confess to schemes, and sometimes that'll even be meaningful, but it's mostly a giant mush of data until we add more structure. But it shouldn't be hard to find some even without proper story/evidence hooks - just go to a nearby castle in a human town, and some portion of the nobles and administrators there will be up to something. But it'll be ultimately unsatisfying until we get to more. As a small note, only confessions of schemes will show up in the new adv mode intrigue view currently (confessions of masters/handlers don't have a proper evidence link yet.) Finally, there were a ton of existing conversation options and most are not linked to the new conversation variables (like confidence and agitation and how much they want to leave.) But you should see them in action if you interrogate, argue about values, flatter, tell jokes or pacify. Additionally, depending on personality, most people slowly loses patience with a conversation no matter what the subject is, unless they are kept entertained. These ephemeral conversation values are reset every two hours, so don't worry if you lose a chance to speak to somebody at a given time.

If you want to play with divination dice, you'll need to find a pedestal with some at a shrine. About half of the shrines should have them, though a lot of the smaller road and intersection shrines won't have room and will just have statues. Shrines labeled in text on the travel map have the best chance, since they are large. Temples can also have them in the basement with the relics. To roll dice, make sure they are in your hand and 'I'nteract with them. Rolling should be an option there. Once you do that, the roll announcement has a lot of information. Statues generally give some idea as to whose shrine you are at. Shrines can be both for organized religions or generally to a deity, and both types can have divination traditions.

New stuff

• Guilds organize and petition for guildhalls, guild members can do skill demonstrations
• Members of organized religions can petition for temples and priesthood recognition, priests give sermons and comfort stressed dwarves
• Traitor dwarves, artifact heists, interrogation for crime from the justice screen, counterintelligence readout with organization charts
• Most aquifers are much slower filling
• Can start with a party in adventure mode
• Specify background and starting location and beliefs in adventure mode (most labor skills still meaningless)
• Can start with specified equipment and pets in adventure mode
• Tactical combat mode for adventurer party
• Adventurer can ride mounts, place items on pack animals, lead animals, claim pets, gift pets, and name pets (rider skill matters for melee/ranged rolls currently)
• Can pet animals in adventure mode
• Addition mood information in adventure mode conversations, (simple) interrogation options, flattery, joke-telling, calming remarks, (very simple) sermons
• Simple intrigue display with actors and charts discovered in interrogation in adventure mode (in 'Q')
• Divination shrines with dice and various effects
• Lots of new intermediate positions (mostly without new mechanics) in entities (chamberlains etc.)
• Alliances against world-ending threats in world generation
• Various villainous activity in world generation, in play off-site, and (more limited) in fort mode, world generation surveillance, interrogation and punishment. Historical plots include theft, sabotage, abduction, assassination, coups, corrupt advancement promises, embezzlement, starting wars, and framing enemies.
• Romantic relationship changes (multiple lovers, affairs, children outside marriage, divorces, etc.) as well as other relationship changes and details (friendship/rival types, variables like trust, respect and loyalty)
• Merchant companies, military orders and mercenary companies, craft guilds in world generation
• Individual mercenaries and companies can upgrade their equipment, and richer world gen people can purchase houses and build up their own city towers
• Various religious interactions (shrine building, sermons, persecution) in world generation, lots of religious demographics tracking which influences shrine creation, religious sites and sermons influencing membership numbers, holy cities and a few levels of priest
• Various horrifying new necromancer/mummy/demon/vampire etc. matter - snow-balling zombie invasions, multiple experiment types, intelligent undead lieutenants with new powers, nightmarish summons, spreading evil zones, promises of immortality in villainous plots
• Dwarves can trigger dig-deep disasters in world generation, with repercussions coming to other sites, including fort mode
• Some new locations, some map details still in-progress, monasteries, private city towers, guildhalls, merchant counting houses, forts (bandits and mercenaries), castles have returned (basically unchanged), better necromancer towers and simple outlying buildings

Major bug fixes

• Fixed visitor crash related to broken meetings
• Fixed crash related to broken crimes and travelers/sent-away dwarves

Other bug fixes/tweaks

• Changed werecreature trigger condition
• Bogeyman limited to a few regions and given new powers
• Fixed error where bandit groups would be deleted prematurely in worldgen
• Fixed size issue with certain werecreatures
• Fixed bug where only last half of performance sentence was shown
• Fixed problem where biome and landmass names were sometimes split on the same biome/landmass

Steam version is next (but villains will definitely require some bugfixing, so i guess Steam version is a year or so away)

 

[Grandlion1981]

Any chance they will fix the terrible...terrible controls? This was a turn-off. Feels like you have to press a key to open the door, another key to close it. A different key to open a window, and another key to close a window. This kind of things.

 

[RoBoBOBR]

read the OP:

It sounds like underneath the new graphics and sound, Dwarf Fortress is essentially unchanged. But in putting the game in front of a wider audience, are you now thinking about bigger changes? Controls, UI, that sort of thing?

We've been talking about this, yeah, and by necessity, just due to the 32x32 tiles, some elements of the UI are going to change and we'll take advantage of that to make things a little easier on people. We're hopeful that we can do accessibility work beyond the addition of graphics and ease of installation that'll come with the Steam/itch version. It's still too early in the process of hashing out interface designs etc. to have specific information, but we've been having these discussions.

 

[Turisas]

Any chance they will fix the terrible...terrible controls? This was a turn-off. Feels like you have to press a key to open the door, another key to close it. A different key to open a window, and another key to close a window. This kind of things.

Haha. No.

 

[dehimos]

Dwarves can trigger dig-deep disasters in world generation, with repercussions coming to other sites, including fort mode

 

[Perkel]

Most aquifers in the fort are now slower filling. You still have to act pretty quickly (this makes them remain useful for wells and other liquid matter), but it is very possible to just wall them off or otherwise deal with the water if you are ready. You can still place a wall on top of shallow water. If you want an old-style aquifer, just embark where there's a "heavy aquifer."

Holy fuck. This instantly changes a lot fortress mode. It will be finally possible to build tunels in aquifers without being autistic.

 

[Space Satan]

A year and some of developement for a new designation and a slower filling aquafier and a ton of fingernail simulation. That's the very very very typical developement process for toady.

 

[RoBoBOBR]

What are you talking about? You can now pet animals! PET ANIMALS!!

Jokes aside adventure mode got a lot of new shit, but even if you only care about fort mode:
• Traitor dwarves, artifact heists, interrogation for crime from the justice screen, counterintelligence readout with organization charts
• Members of organized religions can petition for temples and priesthood recognition, priests give sermons and comfort stressed dwarves
• Alliances against world-ending threats in world generation
• Various villainous activity in world generation, in play off-site, and (more limited) in fort mode, world generation surveillance, interrogation and punishment. Historical plots include theft, sabotage, abduction, assassination, coups, corrupt advancement promises, embezzlement, starting wars, and framing enemies.
• Merchant companies, military orders and mercenary companies, craft guilds in world generation
• Various horrifying new necromancer/mummy/demon/vampire etc. matter - snow-balling zombie invasions, multiple experiment types, intelligent undead lieutenants with new powers, nightmarish summons, spreading evil zones, promises of immortality in villainous plots
• Dwarves can trigger dig-deep disasters in world generation, with repercussions coming to other sites, including fort mode

those will either enrich the world's lore and uniqueness or directly affect fort gameplay.

 

[Valky]

Since there are tranny and homo dwarves has toady added in the ability for your dwarves to impeach the expedition leader?

 

[Mayday]

Meanwhile, I need to think of something great for my 1000th post !

Ok, I guess "Hey, I'm making the graphics for this, but apparently you already know" is as good as I'm going to get.
Happy 1000th post, me! Wow, that last one was... 8 years ago?

 

[you know what time it is]

 

[Bibbimbop]

Multi-threaded yet?