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Author Topic: Dwarf Fortress Mathematical Paper (Of Sorts)  (Read 1435 times)

Urlance Woolsbane

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Dwarf Fortress Mathematical Paper (Of Sorts)
« on: April 03, 2020, 08:12:50 am »

It's no secret that Dwarf Fortress counts a great multitude of nerds among its playerbase, so it is not entirely surprising that, when one Rami Luisto decided to write a mathematical paper in the form of a novelette, he depicted a world forged on Armok's anvil. As he himself puts it: "The specific format of this text is not a derivative work of the game Dwarf Fortress, but DF has had a large effect on this work, which we gratefully acknowledge."

Will Urist McMapmaker succeed in mapping a world in which space itself has been shattered? Will the necromancer's terrible curse ever be lifted? To find out, you'll have to read A Non-Euclidean Story Or: How to Persist When Your Geometry Doesn't, available from any well-stocked caravan.
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Aristharus

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Re: Dwarf Fortress Mathematical Paper (Of Sorts)
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2020, 07:33:45 am »

Cool, I need to check this out! And not only because I know Rami, I studied mathematics with him in Uni some 10 years ago.
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Solitarian

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Re: Dwarf Fortress Mathematical Paper (Of Sorts)
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2020, 03:53:50 pm »

This is without doubt the strangest paper I have read. I have a small job as a research paper proofreader, so this prose one is a droll but welcome change from the shibboleth-filled nonsense I normally must parse. Thank you for posting this here! I sent it to some people I thought might find it interesting, among them Teal Deer (a Youtuber who sometimes reads research papers on his stream).
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mko

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Re: Dwarf Fortress Mathematical Paper (Of Sorts)
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2020, 04:05:23 pm »

Quote
Necromancers are up to all practical purposes immortal, but luckily the specific one here has been quiet since the latest alteration. This has probably something to do with being encased in a massive block of solid obsidian which is displayed as a major attraction near the main gates of the fort.
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Loud Whispers

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Re: Dwarf Fortress Mathematical Paper (Of Sorts)
« Reply #4 on: April 12, 2020, 01:02:03 pm »

This is so absurdly niche that it fits with DF like a foot in sock. I like the idea that original DF Dwarves always had the Y axis, they only noticed the Y axis later... And so began the lamentations o' the Y

*EDIT
Wait, almost finished reading it now. Did Urist discover Y, or did he create Y?
« Last Edit: April 12, 2020, 01:12:27 pm by Loud Whispers »
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