Kitfox Games are also responsible for the production of the Android and PC versions of Six Ages (i.e., the King of Dragon Pass sequel), and head honcho Tanya X. Short has collaborated on multiple books with Tarn Adams. These are people with a real passion and love for the kind of game that Dwarf Fortress is, and there’s no question that they’ll treat this game with all the respect it deserves. IMO, it couldn’t be in any better hands.
I think that the addition of Steam Workshop support will just rock.
I really hope this brings a second wave of migrants to play Dwarf Fortress.
It will be interesting reading the Steam reviews, at the very least.
My caravan landed, and my dwarves were immediately killed by a legendary giant spider
0/5
(That happened to me once, and it was hilarious)
Though the reasons for going to Steam are depressing, this is fantastic news for the game. More people will play it and Tarn will be more actively involved in collaborating with Kitfox. He always seemed to stubborn to ask for outside help in areas that were not his strength so I think pushing the game in that direction could really pay long term benefits for Dwarf Fortress.
Just having one truly official tileset will go a LONG way.
I know the Adams’ brother probably don’t care very much about competition with DF imitators (or if you’re feeling more charitable, homages), but I will take pleasure in seeing how all the fans of rimworld and prison architect et. al, have their minds absolutely blown by DF.
Yeah, like I love Rimworld, but that is like a good Ruth’s Chris Ribeye to Dwarf Fotresses’s Aged Japanesse Kobe beef.
Sure it is good, but DF is the real shit.
Just reading through some more let’s plays, and watching that awesome series linked above, the depth of the mechanics of this game are so amazing.
Is just great. I love that one of the colonists is immediately made Queen, as he chose a dying society. Reading through her interests, she stated she loved giant weasels because of their “long sleek bodies”, and then when she was taken off dangerous mining duty to become a craftsdwarf, she immediately made a statue of a giant weasel… because she is obsessed with them.
Dwarves in DF feel like real people, and often make really dumb decisions like real people do, wandering off because they are bored etc.
Anything that will help the Adams bros and bring more people to the game is awesome in my book. Can’t wait to purchase this on steam and play again.
I played hundreds of hours of Dwarf Fortress and I would still struggle with the interface. Different screens use different interfaces and keys with contradictory results. This may have changed in the past couple of years - it’s been awhile since I played it. But yeah, the interface was a hot mess.
I like tiles but don’t really need them. I just want a better interface, so I don’t have to use external apps to control my dwarves in a semi sane fashion.
I am however different than a lot of fans of DF, in that the story telling aspect takes a back seat to the game play. This has not been true in DF development for a long time, hence my lack of interest in the latest updates. It’s great reading and watching others play it, but I am a gamer, not a story teller. I just don’t have the energy or desire to delve so deeply into my dwarves lives.
Does the game have a win conditions/way to win and end it yet?
Because that was one of the big attractions of Rimworld for me. I’m fine with ant colony simulator, but I need some type of directed goal(s).
We need to be ready for when one or two fan mods that substantially overhaul the game become phenomenally popular, resulting in a lot of money for the Adamses and Kitfox, but totally remaking everyone’s view of what Dwarf Fortress is.
It’s not like they haven’t had the opportunity to do so already. Game been around.
Sure I guess visibility will increase with steam (and the press surrounding the move), and sure there is talk of perhaps an upgraded UI, but, I just don’t know how much work they’re going to do on that. I’m ready to be proven wrong, but like, Tarn has been dealing with complaints about the UI for over a decade. Color me skeptical that it’ll end up being truly streamlined.
And I don’t know, after a while it just kinda clicked for me. Surely it could be better, but it was never so much of an obstacle that it kept me from playing.
Yeah, that ain’t gonna happen ; )
The real goal is play as long as your PC can handle before it’s so laggy you have to start a new colony.
It’s funny, that’s a genuine problem I always had, even as a kid. I don’t do well with games like SimCity and the like, because I just don’t know what to do. My mind doesn’t work that way. I’d never make a good architect, etc., because I don’t create imaginary things from nothing. I need a given goal, or something to work toward, and I do not do well generating those goals for myself from nothing.
As a kid, I didn’t play with Legos. I was always like, “What the fuck am I supposed to do with these? What am I supposed to make?”
You mike like Legos better now. They have so many preset designs, and when you’re bored with that, the Internet has an endless amount. I don’t like destroying things. Once I built something with Legos the idea of breaking it apart again bothered me.
Rimworld I like a lot, start over all the time whenever I decide I want to try something else really, not an actual goal persay. DF I have played in the past. I hated everything about the UI; it wasn’t fun to learn. It’s not about ability. I just didn’t enjoy it. I am happy to give it another shot though, especially since it sounds like they need the cash.
Hah, I’ve definitely noticed this between my friends and I. Most of us (myself included) are the self-directed sandbox type. One of my friends is exactly as you describe, though, he just fundamentally doesn’t get self-direction and not having explicit goals/tasks in a game. For our part, we fundamentally don’t get him and are always a little bewildered that he needs the game to “lead him by the nose”.
This was most stark when Minecraft first came out and I had set up a server. As a total sandbox, most of us were digging it (Ooooh. That pun wasn’t intended, but I’m going to leave it!) but when he hopped on for the first time his first question was “Okay, I don’t get it. I need you guys to tell me what I’m supposed to build”. For our part, we just didn’t know how to answer that. Build whatever you want to build! That fundamental difference in mindset has interested me ever since, so I had to ramble on with this stupid anecdote when I saw your post. :)
DF definitely directs you, but it’s usually by way of ongoing or imminent disaster. And if you pay attention to your dwarves, migrants, and nobles, there is always some direction you’re being pulled in.
It’s not as chill as Sim City, and it’s not a pure sandbox like Mine Craft creative mode. Shit is constantly breaking down. Social order is usually in tumult. Bouts of insanity! Strange beasts! Enemy armies!
It’s an entire world simulator and you’re not really an all-powerful god, as much as you are a harried parent and barely competent building planner.
Me too. The only thing I do if a game like SimCity doesn’t give me a goal is ‘get bigger’.
I guess. To me, the idea is, with games like DF or minecraft, is to set a goal for yourself and go out to accomplish it. Like, I am going to build this fort with xyz features, and you go out and do that.
I guess, I don’t need a game to tell me what to do to have fun, I like exploring and finding the little stories that pop up organically. I played with legos as a kid a lot, would build a set design, and then tear it down to build my own spaceships.
This is why I find myself gravitating towards minecraft and DF a lot.
Tarn is doing an AMA on Reddit right now.
To survive? Most DF games seem to end in tragedy.