Hi everyone
I got a comment on my Gnomoiria LP today from a DF player, who posed the question "
Now given that you and I both know DF is awesomely unique, why would I get Gnomoria?" It's a bit of a big question to answer in the text limit of a YT comment, and it's not the first time someone has asked a similar question. So I figured that I would put my thoughts here. That way I can direct the original commenter, and anyone else who asks in the future, here
I figure that this is relevant to the overall topic anyway, so I hope no one minds (
though of course, if you do, just let me know and I'm sure I can ask Toady or ThreeToe to invoke some temporal shenanigans and make it as if I never posted this 
)
Onto my thoughts:
Given that Gnomoria, at its current stage of development is essentially 'Dwarf Fortress-light', I could obviously compare the UI between both games, or, as you've pointed out, the graphics. But whether or not a DF player would feel Gnomoria is a good purchase mostly boils down to what they're looking for in a game.
DF's main strengths can, at times, also be its main weaknesses. The depth of the world leads to levels of complexity which to some are endearing, and to others are overwhelming. Compounding this effect (
good or bad) is the relatively cumbersome display and interface. If (
like me) you're quite comfortable with playing DF without tile-sets and have spent time to learn the interface, then the improvements which Gnomoria makes in these areas aren't likely to be a selling point (
though I'm sure you can still appreciate them). However, if you happen to know someone (
as I imagine many of us DF players do) who you believe would have loved to play DF but were turned off by the daunting task of learning how to play it, Gnomoria might be a good way to introduce them to the potential of a game like DF.
As I've mentioned above, currently Gnomoria is in effect DF-lite, it roughly scoops out the fun game-play and management, untangles it from the grander complexity and depth of DF's modelled populations, and political and economic simulations, and smooths it into a single game experience. What it lacks in complexity it makes up for in the ease with which you can access the fun elements that DF sometimes buries beneath the weight of its own grand design. As a result, I feel that Gnomoria is more open to casual play, picking it up for 20 minutes then putting it down again, without fear of losing track of the grand works you were planning and the sprawling changes you were making to your professions and military infrastructure, though that isn't to say Gnomoria can't suck you in for 4 hours straight, because it certainly can (and has... lol). However, what it does mean is that although you can work on mega projects in Gnomoria and there is an echo of the depth of the kingdom management side of things found in DF, they do tend to exist on a smaller scale.
Right now, Gnomoria is still in the early stages of its development cycle, which means that although there are elements of its own character present, they aren't very well defined, so it makes it difficult to compare the games properly. However, the fact Gnomoria is so early in its development cycle means that it receives frequent updates, which further chip away at the rough stone to reveal more of the statue underneath. The patches (
which come out weekly / bi-weekly) seem to focus equally on building up the basic set of features and further refining the character of the game. Through this process, the developer continues to work on making Gnomoria more of a game that is inspired by games like DF, but is clearly distinct and has its own feel and way of doing things, and less of a game which is merely DF with stone-sense and Therapist built in.
So, with all that said and done, and coming back to the original question: "
[...] why would i get Gnomoria?" If you're comfortable with DFs interface, both the good and the bad of its ASCII display, and enjoy the depth of the game. Then Gnomoria might not bring anything new to the table that you'd be interested in just yet. However, Gnomoira seems to have aspirations beyond being a simple DF clone, and with each update more of what Gnomoria wants to be becomes apparent. So even if it's not for you right now, perhaps you should make a note to check back later, or (
like I have) you could simply pick it up now and enjoy the solidly playable experience it already offers, while getting frequent updates that build on and expand what's already there!
But ultimately, the only person who can tell you why (
or if) you should get the game, is you, and to that end I hope my post is helpful in some way
P.S. If anyone gets directed here who hasn't tried out DF yet. Firstly, would you like me help move that rock you've been trapped under for the past few years? And secondly, do go check it out! If it isn't already clear from my words above, or what I've said in my commentary through my LPs, DF is awesome. Even if you ultimately don't get on with it because of its complexity, at least you'll finally understand the reference whenever I say "Losing is fun" :p
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Topic: Gnomoria: Is this the next DF-Like? (Read 92213 times)