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[Zed Oud]

WARNING: I am recommending something below.
_____________

I started reading about Dwarf Fortress around Christmas four and a half years ago. Since then I've managed all of fifteen minutes of DF and each minute I was reminded I should take it easy, and go back to playing the pansy economy in Eve Online. 

But I've always kept my eye out for great DF stories. I've gone through the dfstories.com archives, I've read Boatmurdered and Bronzemurder. And all this time, I've kept an eye out for anything DF related, and anyway I could contribute or share in the epicness that brings about stories like The Hamlet of Tyranny ( http://dfstories.com/the-hamlet-of-tyranny/ ).

I am a physics major and CS minor with a huge interest in economics, so the promise of DF will fascinate me for, at the very least, decades. I consider the effort and depth singularly invested into creating the system behind DF and its ASCII or tileset world to be unlike any other in development in creating (a) fictional world(s).

So imagine my surprise when I stumbled on a story that so closely resembled DF - it's skill systems, combat, stats, level of mechanics, economic realism - that I think it's a Dwarf Fortress fan fiction! 

In fact, even this story's name is just as off putting as DF's full title: The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor.
It's a about a Virtual-Reality MMORPG (vrmmorpg) called Royal Road set in the future (maybe 20-30 years) and in Korea (yes translated from Korean, 13 out of 40 volumes).

As I read, I was blown away by how many comparisons I could make between Royal Road and Dwarf Fortress.
The systems of skill, weapons, leveling skills, creating works of art... so many things are so similar.
It is so much like where I see DF progressing towards one of these days, you know, plus the development of immersive virtual-reality and weak AIs.

This series has only recently started having many of its chapter translated, and its world is amazing enough that for its small English fan base, there is enormous amount of (high quality) fan written fiction based on the universe. (Though, I'll have to say, I do not enjoy fan fiction normally, I am just drawing a parallel to how many awesome stories DF has created as well.)

_____________
TL:DR
After years of enjoying stories of DF, I've stumbled across a story set in a game that looks way too much like DF.
Give it a try, you won't be disappointed, the main character alone is worth the read. 

http://www.royalroadl.com/lms-volume-1/   

[Skyrunner]

Hmmmmmmm.

* Skyrunner looks at the korean title.

* Skyrunner looks at the Korean blurb

Nope, not for me.

Also, I highly doubt that it's anything similar to DF. O.o Game fantasy fiction is hardly the best literature out there >_>

[Pnx]

After I read the thread title my immediate thought was, "Lord of the Rings"? Yeah, it's totally DF fan fiction.

[Frumple]

Also, I highly doubt that it's anything similar to DF. O.o Game fantasy fiction is hardly the best literature out there >_>

Actually about chewed through the first volume and... I'unno. It's not that bad. I'd even call it somewhat decent so far, at least the translation. Well, insofar as content goes... dunno if the original korean has different meanings and whatnot. Translation itself, skill wise, seems decent on this end... some occasionally noticeable hiccups, but gods know I've seen (much, much) worse. Definitely seems to be leaning toward a wank-style piece, and I can tell there's korean cultural artifacts I'm missing, but it's been fairly readable going into it more-or-less dry.

It probably helps that I've not exactly been saturated with korean media, though. Still. Probably going to keep reading, see how far I can get before I get sick of it/things get more interesting.

DF relation probably coming from the incremental skills thing and an apparent focus on crafting boosting physical capability and whatnot. Least through the first volume, there's not been much else that I'd call connective, hrm.

[Zed Oud]

O.o Game fantasy fiction is hardly the best literature out there >_>

http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=59588
>Rated in the top 5 or top 10 of all of its genres (Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-fi)

Also, I highly doubt that it's anything similar to DF.

O.o I am unsure of how best to relate that, yes, in fact its various mechanics and underlying systems do so closely resemble DF that I felt compelled to post about it on a video game forum, a place ripe for the bashing of non-video game Asian media, especially, Korean media.
I can only attempt to relay that it does incredibly resemble dwarf fortress.

I've noticed many a story or log show a dwarf be all the more hardy for having a wide range of non-combat skills. This series, and its title, hinges quite a bit on this premise, much to the main characters initial and long-standing dismay.

The author also enjoys stats quite a bit, which he actually displays in the story's text. Crafted items have some generated history and background to them, the best player crafters must go into a fugue state after which the game will announce their creation of magnums of their art, or even artifacts which will go down in history. And on.

Ultimately, the major difference between the story's game (Royal Road) and Dwarf Fortress: all the players are the equivalent of DF's individual dwarves in RR, only on a grander scale (population wise). Plenty of innocent and lulzier "fun" to be had.


If you've come across similiar game fiction in the past (Sword Art Online, I'm looking at you). FEAR NOT:
The plot is not driven by any great disaster, coming calamity, or evil genius, I reccomended to the DF community specifically because I think it takes a more... patient constitution to read this series. (Unless you count the main character as an evil genius.)

[Zed Oud]

I can tell there's Korean cultural artifacts I'm missing, but it's been fairly readable going into it more-or-less dry.

DF relation probably coming from the incremental skills thing and an apparent focus on crafting boosting physical capability and whatnot. Least through the first volume, there's not been much else that I'd call connective, hrm.

I am glad someone has the same might as well open a tab and see what this is about itch as I (me?).

There are some artifacts missing, mostly from the first volume, as that was done by a professional translation crew that had no interest in translating Korean light novels (historically less profitable on the English market) before it went bankrupt two years ago while the English translation rights were bought and iced in a bankruptcy proceeding.
More of the Korean cultural bits are explained in translator notes or elaborated on in-line in the following volumes.

There are many more aspects the author goes into later/soon, including the building of towns, fortresses, mines, advanced economies where every single dirty piece of loot hangs around to do something, and on.

The reason I though that DFers would so enjoy this series are the battles, wars, and fights - all decidedly epic - that you are given insight to as they build, just as you would from other DFers' better cataloged stories.

[Skyrunner]

I'd prefer to read the original (the starting few lines make me wonder why they translated this one word as Parliament and not National Assembly, which the dictionary and I prefer, especially seeing that 'Parliament' is usually associated with the UK one, as Congress brings to mind the US one, grumble grumble), but it's not free x3
[IS_POOR][HAS: Language bias]

[Zed Oud]

but it's not free x3

...but it is free.

All of it is accessible from royalroadl.com for free...

The author even gave his blessing to all English fan translations, "as long as its not commercialized, and you have fun."

('Parliament' will be the least of your problems    different translators for different volumes. You know, almost all of the British empire's former territories have parliaments: Canada, New Zealand, Australia, India, etc.)

[Frumple]

Think Sky means the original korean ones, not the translated ones.

That said, yeah, I'm possibly seeing some conceptual relations to some of the hijinks DF seems to engender. Near the end of chapter two, main-character apparently decides to cook and eat a few hundred sentient children. Well, the eggs of a sentient egg laying species. Even thinks about trying to return the eggs to the parents for a reward, but nope. Lunch. Dude looked at the 300 birdpeople eggs and got hungry.

That was kinda'... yeah. The hell dude?

[Zed Oud]

I'd prefer to read the original...

Think Sky means the original korean ones, not the translated ones.

Well in that case, all of it is available on their forums:
http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=641
for the scans of the original books,

and there are various forms of machine translation and raw text here:
http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=4

I should have known - some people here would most likely enjoy the added accuracy and struggle of the original text.
I finished Volume 13, and with the help of Google and Bing, and have read machine translations up to volume 25. It helps to read a summary on the upcoming volume, before getting into the horrific machine translations: I tell myself I'll stop if I get to a summary that does not interest me... I'm still reading.

That was kinda'... yeah. The hell dude?

Yes, the story does get slightly f'd up occasionally... a lot, really.

[Furtuka]

I should have known - some people here would most likely enjoy the added accuracy and struggle of the original text.

Actually it's cause Sky is Korean dude

[Zed Oud]

I should have known - some people here would most likely enjoy the added accuracy and struggle of the original text.

Actually it's cause Sky is Korean dude

Awesome! I look forward to his take on the series.
(It's still free for him to read the original Korean: If he were to summarize it in English here or something.  )

[Flying Dice]

I should have known - some people here would most likely enjoy the added accuracy and struggle of the original text.

Actually it's cause Sky is Korean dude

Awesome! I look forward to his take on the series.
(It's still free for him to read the original Korean: If he were to summarize it in English here or something.  )

*her


As for the LN itself, I might give it a shot when I have a chunk of fair time. I'm always up for something new.

[Zed Oud]

I should have known - some people here would most likely enjoy the added accuracy and struggle of the original text.

Actually it's cause Sky is Korean dude

Awesome! I look forward to his take on the series.
(It's still free for him to read the original Korean: If he were to summarize it in English here or something.  )

*her

As for the LN itself, I might give it a shot when I have a chunk of fair time. I'm always up for something new.

Thank you for the correction, I guess I read "dude" and assumed from there.

...and yes, for those of you unfamiliar with Japanese and Korean literature, this series is published in the light novel format, where one volume may be about 50,000 words (English fiction books usually average a little above 100,000 ish).

I look forward to seeing if my hype and recommendation is justified.