Dwarf fortress - new version released, now with z-axis!

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baruk
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Dwarf fortress - new version released, now with z-axis!

Post by baruk »

Mentioned here a few times before, in any case I think the latest version is worthy of a new thread.

For the uninitiated, Dwarf fortress is an ASCII based rogue-alike/godgame. You start by generating a world, a process that can take about 20 minutes. Then you can select one of two modes, adventure, which allows you to explore the entire world with an individual character, or fortress, where you select a small area within the world in which to build a dwarven civilisation from scratch using a small band of dwarvish pioneers.
You don't have direct control over your initial party of seven dwarves, but you can give them things to do by 'b'uilding structures, 'd'esignating areas for various tasks, and by queuing up job orders at workshops ('q' to select and then 'a' to add tasks). Each individual dwarf has a detailed "character sheet", where, among other things, you can tell them which jobs they are allowed to do. So, for example, if your only miner dwarf gets ripped limb from limb by a cave crocodile, enlist one brave volunteer into the mining corps, and he will arm himself with the nearest pickaxe and carry on the previous dwarf's good work.
The interface is, as with other rogue-alikes, labyrinthine in complexity. On the other hand, the variety of things you can do is pretty extensive.

The version released on Oct 27th is the first update for 9 months, and Toady had been working on the game almost every day over that time period, you can see what has been added here:
http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/dev_now.html
The main deal seems to be the z-axis, which allows you to build towers straight up and dig straight down. Many additional refinements include a revamping of Nobles, migrants and diplomacy, and some new engineering toys, such as gear assemblies, water wheels and pumps. I'm fond of the new personality traits your dwarves are now burdened with. My latest miner: "She is frequently depressed. She is self-conscious. She is somewhat reserved. She is a pessimist. She tends not to openly express emotions. She likes to try new things. She is open-minded to new ideas. She is very straightforward with others. She dislikes helping others. She is confident. She is organised. She finds rules confining."


New version can be downloded from here:
http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/
Trau
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Post by Trau »

This game is for masochists. Your dwarfs get trampled by anyone and anything they try to fight, and trampled dwarfs are angry dwarfs, and angry dwarfs are rowdy dwarfs, and rowdy dwarfs trample your other dwarfs, perpetuating the vicious cycle.

I like it. 8)
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Kestenvarn
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Post by Kestenvarn »

I began playing this a few days before the first z-axis release, unaware such a big change was going to occur.

Now I can't get enough of it... always enjoyed the fantasy builder mini-scenarios in other games like Warcraft3. (Dark Deeds, Ice/Island Trolls, etc.)

This however is an entire program of nothing but sweet, sweet building... far outstrips those minigames, even singleplayer.

:(
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DDR
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Post by DDR »

Text-based fun.
bonehead11
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Post by bonehead11 »

I tried this game.Brilliant inovative game.Too sad i got lost in this game after 2 minutes.
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Gauteamus
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Post by Gauteamus »

Alt-Tabbing between the game and the community made DwarfFortressWiki is a must, at least during the first dozen or so learning fortresses - after all, Loosing is Fun is the motto of the game.
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allefant
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Post by allefant »

Hm, is this Windows only?
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Kestenvarn
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Post by Kestenvarn »

Yeah. But looks as though it will be ported to Mac... and apparently it works in Wine.
Darth Jordius
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Post by Darth Jordius »

Wow, what a great game. But I still like BfW better.
Quiz wrote:You are a Dwarvish Fighter. You're surly and handy with an axe. Go chop some trees.
Check out Quietus's Minotaurs!
Lorbi
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Post by Lorbi »

Though it has a somewhat hard learning curve i love this game.

And i have some kind of "Bug" to report. It has about 98% CPU usage with a 2.6Ghz CPU. Is this normal or is it because i use Wine to run it on a Linuxmachine ?

Losing is fun : )
-- ^ --
Deimos
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Post by Deimos »

Lorbi wrote:Though it has a somewhat hard learning curve i love this game.

And i have some kind of "Bug" to report. It has about 98% CPU usage with a 2.6Ghz CPU. Is this normal or is it because i use Wine to run it on a Linuxmachine ?

Losing is fun : )
It really depends on how much your fortress is developed. If you mean that it takes up all of your CPU in the very beginning, no, but if you mean that when you've got hundreds of dwarves running around, with a large fortress that has a stream and a volcano, then yes, it certainly is normal for it to take up a lot of processing power.

Dwarf Fortress for the win!
Lorbi
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Post by Lorbi »

I understand that but the problem is that the 98% CPU usage does appear with the 7 startdwarves already and nothing you can really call a fortress present. Although the game still runs nice when i do have 100 dwarves .. but nothing else will run. So i have to shut done df when i want to check my mails or chat : (

Guess its a matter of running it in wine.

ps: forgot to mention that it is a really great game besides of that annoying "bug" : )
-- ^ --
baruk
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Re: Dwarf fortress - new version released, now with z-axis!

Post by baruk »

Bump - there was a new version released recently, adding hospitals, medical dwarves and guaranteed interesting underground stuff to explore no matter where you embark. The military system was overhauled, resulting in a lot of bugs, which will hopefully be improved by the next patch.
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Ken_Oh
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Re: Dwarf fortress - new version released, now with z-axis!

Post by Ken_Oh »

I played the new release for a bit. The bugs were kind of getting to me but I couldn't figure out the military stuff and there wasn't any documentation yet. I look forward to wasting plenty of time with it when that's all cleared up.
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Issyl
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Re: Dwarf fortress - new version released, now with z-axis!

Post by Issyl »

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