From my point of view, the problem is, that DF basically allows you to do everything imaginable with dwarves, so as soon as you see another game involving dwarves (or Dwarfs?!), you think that it copied DF and doesn't need to exist, since there is DF, THE ULTIMATE DWARF SIMULATOR! (seriously, tell me any game involving dwarves where you can do something which would be impossible in DF)
Also, you can't argue over the fact that the game in the video has some similarities to DF.
1. Obviously the same setup with the world and anything. Maybe there will be a preset world with a scripted timeline of things happening to your fort and a scripted story developing from this. With heros and villains (real characters with identities and stuff) Maybe the dwarves will be preset and the relationships between them too. We don't know. The story in Df currently is: You travel away from the mountainhall with some dwarves and a wagon for no appearant reason, and build a fort. Maybe the game in the video will be more creative in these manners. DF 1.0, though will probably be too.
2. Map design with z-levels with squares and coordinates to move around in. This isn't anything obligatory, you could do a digging game without that. There's this asteroid digging game, I don't know how it's called, that grid from DF or Minecraft doesn't exist there (IIRC), why not mix DF's setup with that mining system?
I think if you want to make a game "inspired by DF" you gotta look at DF and see, where it's strengths and weaknesses are, how it works and bring something new in, that really gives the game it's own magic. Magic (you know wizards and stuff) for example. Or let the player build a fort for 5 ingame years in "Fortress Mode", then change to "Siege Mode" and let him control the goblins that attack the fortress. Allows multiplayer involvement, which WOULD be quite new in the dig-and-build-fortresses-with-dwarves category. And terriby fun, of course.
____________________________________________________________________
As far as I remember from those threads the few whining where the few always whining and overreacting. How about all the ones simply not caring that didn't post? You are way too busy pointing fingers yourself.
This. I actually count myself to the ones not caring, but I wanted to state my opinion anyway. Let that guy make and distribute his game, why not? It's not like it's illegal and maybe something good will evolve from it. But I'm skeptical.
And of course the discussion is kinda pointless, because I mean, look at that video. You can't even call that alpha state.