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[c32]

So I like games that are engrossing but never have I felt like this. I literally have no idea what to do or how to start. Since i know better than to ask what to do on a game like this I just want to explain how I feel. I feel like my girlfriend when a friend of mind and I are discussing a game. Such as Diablo. She literally has no idea what we are saying and although she tries to piece together the words that come out of our mouths it gets her no where. I now know how that feels. I've been reading forum posts and I just can't possibly peace anything together or make any sense. So I'm just curious as to what you guys first did when you got into this game? Did you just dive into it or did you read up first? I'm not trying to get people to walk me through I just want to hear other peoples experience on their coming into this game.

[hjd_uk]

Once I saw just how expansive, detailed, engrossing and full of emergent stories and history DF is, i was hooked.

The UI is awkward to begin with but now i know the commands off by heart and its actualy faster than clicking around on icons would be.

Get Dwarf-Therapist (although im not sure its been fixed for the new version yet) - it becomes indespensible.

Also get a texture-pack version, IronHand is a nice one, there are plenty of others though, the Wiki is also a fountain of knowledge, use it well.
http://df.magmawiki.com/

There are also a bunch of lets plays and tutorials about.

[nenjin]

I read up extensively after my first fort collapsed. I started several games with the intention of just experimenting. I'd say after a week or two, I was actually ready to play DF for real reals.

[geail]

I failed a few fortresses then watched tutorials on youtube.  df.magmawiki.com became my most visited site.  Over time (about a month), I was playing with ease.

[Loud Whispers]

Did you just dive into it or did you read up first? I'm not trying to get people to walk me through I just want to hear other peoples experience on their coming into this game.

A mix of mashing buttons, the wiki, the forum and embarking on the most difficult biomes available.

Mostly mashing buttons.

[c32]

Holy hell you guys respond fast, that's great. Nothing keeps me more interested in a game than a live community. Thanks for the tips, I will definitely dive into the wiki.

[Garath]

I first played this in a slightly older version where on embark you got a breakdown of different soil layers. I read a quickstart and I tried it a bit and backed off. Then a while back I thought, hey it's a work in progress, let's see what has changed. Well, a lot, so I re-read a quickstart guide and I just kept trying. Since then I just keep on trying whatever I feel like, occasionally checking the forum for fun stuff to try. The graphics scared me first, but now I sometimes have to explain what is so funny about @d& (axedwarf charging a demon, wardog got there first and bit it in two).

And seriously, ask anything you like here, or in the df gameplay questions sub-forum (little questions thread for preference), though it's also prefered that you use the wiki and forum search function first. We're always very friendly, especially if we can help you get into more trouble.

And really, the wiki is your friend! DF Therapist is your best friend! Dwarf Fortress is not and will try to destroy you, your fort, your dwarfs and your social life.

More or less official motto: Losing is fun!

Before I got some skill I was losing forts before year 3 through invaders, flooding, tantrums, cave-ins, lack of booze and more. It's part of the fun to find out what went wrong and do netter next time around.

[c32]

My question now is what are the texture packs?

[Garath]

original game is in ASCI, graphic packs change it for pictures, so > (downstairs) will actually look like stairs

[Ross Vernal]

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=59026.0

Always been a fan of the Lazy Newb Pack.

Read the DF Wiki, made mistakes, asked questions, browsed through raws, read the forums... mostly, a lot of trial and error.

EDIT: You being sneaking...

[rtg593]

Google Lazy Newb Pack.

Those texture backs turn ASCII text into 2d graphics, like more common games.

LNP also has therapist.

Check out the fortress tutorial on the wiki. Helped me a lot.

Edit: sigh... Ninja'd.

[geail]

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Graphics_set_repository
They are different ways of viewing DF other than ASCII.  Many people use them and it is a bit of a self-mocking joke when people call you a newb for using one.  That being said, asking for help on the forums while posting pics with the graphics pack enabled will reduce your responses because many people, myself included, can't read most graphics packs.

[Andrakon]

I just used the dwarf fortress wiki quickstart guide, and read up on anything else I wanted to try as I went. I lost a lot of forts and abandoned a lot more but I learned a lot!
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Quickstart_guide

[rtg593]

I just used the dwarf fortress wiki quickstart guide, and read up on anything else I wanted to try as I went. I lost a lot of forts and abandoned a lot more but I learned a lot!
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Quickstart_guide

^^this.

Lots of dead forts. Where the guy with the sig, the mastering different steps of dwarf fortress, with steps omitted for failure? Love that sig

[gorge]

For me it was a lot of trial and error.  I'd make an embark and say, This time I'm going to learn how to do x.  Where x is something simple like brewing, farming, or making clothes.  Then if I'm successful and the goblins didn't kill me I'd try something else like building real bedrooms or making a well or getting metalworking up and running.  Then when the fort falls apart or the goblins kill you it's time to try something different. 

The wiki was my best friend.