Thanks for the response folks, I'll try to reply to everyone's comments in order.
About the typos and minor grammar errors, this was the first draft. I had to use some ackward gramatical constructs in the later versions, to follow the rules.
As for the comments on length, it is kinda long for a forum post.
@Vaiolis on details: The idea was to describe DF as it is now, and it's actually longer than it was supposed to be...
@Mulch: Not here, please. -_-
@ Bromor on classes: composition. why?
@Strife: My thoughts exactly:) not sure what you mean by "writting workshop", tho
@Lumen: Thanks for the laugh, but I'm not sure what you mean about the flow and thesis statement... I did change the order of the paragraphs by the final version.
Finally... (
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The biggest changes were the re-ordered paragraphs and I used a different example for how the ASCII characters can be confusing. Did a little research in the raws and thought this sounded a little better.
Dwarf Fortress
Although far from finished, Dwarf Fortress is already an amazingly complex game. It even defies simple categorization. Its two game modes play so differently that they feel like different games.
Both "Dwarf Fortress" mode and "Adventurer" mode are united by a common world that must be generated before you can play. While you can change a number of options to customize the world, an element of randomness makes every game unique. First, the game generates terrain, places rivers, calculates erosion effects, and figures in rainfall and temperature to create a fairly realistic world. Then it places civilizations on the terrain, and simulates expansion and conflict. Finally, if the necessary requirements are met, such as a playable civilization still existing, it saves the world and allows you to choose a game mode.
In the less refined "Adventurer" mode, you play as a lone adventurer with no specific goals. However, you can wander the countryside, fighting various wild animals, exploring caves, talking to villagers, and occasionally dying in amusing ways. While both modes use the same combat system, only "Adventurer" mode allows you to use of it directly. You can disarm your opponents --either by taking their weapon or removing their arm-- break their joints, and even cause internal injuries that have realistic effects.
The more popular, and more complete, "Dwarf Fortress" mode places the player in control of a new Dwarven outpost. After choosing a location for your fortress and purchasing equipment and skills for your first seven dwarves, you must direct them in digging or building lodgings, farms, and a variety of workshops. There are a number of industries you can take advantage of, including cloth production, metal working, and glass making, limited only by the available resources. You must also provide food and drink, or your dwarves will eventually die of malnourishment. Another important consideration is keeping your dwarves happy, as an unhappy dwarf may throw a tantrum, possibly damaging property or injuring other dwarves, and can even succumb to one of several forms of insanity.
For all of its values and interesting aspects, Dwarf Fortress still contains a couple of major flaws. Its depth and complexity lead to a steep learning curve, and it lacks a built-in tutorial. Also, instead of pictures or 3D models, in-game creatures and object are represented by colored ASCII characters; for example, an uppercase "C" may represent a mundane and harmless cow, a far from harmless cougar, or even a neither mundane nor harmless cyclops, all distinguished only by the color of the "C". While there are plans to resolve these problems, they will likely not get much attention in the near future; however, despite its flaws, Dwarf Fortress remains quite playable and can easily provide hours of entertainment.
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Topic: A DF essay (Read 1005 times)