https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FceoVwmybyY&index=31&list=UUOds19L0u-CKAIv6XNop2cQ[/url]
His words at first 25 seconds: "I've never actually played dwarf fortress without this mod and i honestly really dont see reason to."
EDIT: Also i played vanilla with stonesense only for while to overcome graphics barrier and get used to dwarf fortress UI. Now i dont even use stonesense (i used it once to get better orientation to not dig deeper without breaching cavern roofs.)
I just asked how to set up "easy learning world". I did not complain about anything in Masterwork (i love it ♥)
What we are saying is that the best learning environment is the lazy newb pack, or other "starter" packs.
They add the graphics, DFHack, and have the basic tools installed, without having to deal with mod added content off the bat.
That way, you can follow a lot of very detailed tutorials to the letter, from the basic ones to the very specific ones.
Masterwork adds and changes a lot of content, meaning that it makes it harder to learn all of the basics before getting overwhelmed with things that are not in the tutorials.
By the way, a let's play (disguised as a "tutorial") is in no way enough to learn, because they are directly influenced by their ow basic knowledge and what is happening in their fort.
Written tutorials don't waste your time, as they can "pause" or skip ahead, and you can find what you want easily.
Not saying that videos don't help, but it is all over the place, not necessarily in the right order, not covering everything, and are mostly entertainment, with bits of knowledge in between.
Also, the vanilla sections have many people willing to help with learning the game, as long as it is with a starter pack.
You can have a lot of specific tutorials, or updated ones when you can't figure out where to find them, and a few people will go as far as to teach you the game directly.
You will find a few people that answer mod specific questions here, but for the basics, we tend to have a similar view that is that you shouldn't go heavy modded before having your basics down.
Anyway, if you are fine with not having the same environment as the tutorials out there, then it's fine, as long as you don't come asking for help with a tutorial in a field that is altered by the mod (the vanilla people won't be able to help, and you will be told "told you" here).