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[Draco18s]

I think ramps are a better balanced gameplay element.

Despite the awful confusion that results from broken ramps because of their unintuitive connective structure?

inuntuitive

I wonder what this word means.

[Kay12]

ASCII graphics

Every time someone calls the default graphics ASCII, Random Number God kills someone's NetHack character.

[Heavenfall]

I started recently, and the biggest hurdles to overcome were... UI and graphics. The UI was simply bad, there was almost no mouse use and there were several ways to select things (k, v, q, t). The graphics were difficult to understand, as there was no "go-to" guide for what the hell everything meant - sure, in fortress mode I can press k to view something, but what about legends map mode, or embark?

Right now, I'm just waiting for the equipment and combat bugs to be fixed until I play again. Got a fortress prepared and everything. 

[Draco18s]

ASCII graphics

Every time someone calls the default graphics ASCII, Random Number God kills someone's NetHack character.

Of course, every time someone sneezes the RNG kills a NetHack* character, so...

*Or other NetHack derived game.

[Kay12]

I think ramps are a better balanced gameplay element.

Despite the awful confusion that results from broken ramps because of their unintuitive connective structure?

Yes. I too think they are confusing, but as a gameplay element, they are much better balanced than "HEY MY DORFS, THEY CAN FLY" stairs.

[Draco18s]

Yes. I too think they are confusing, but as a gameplay element, they are much better balanced than "HEY MY DORFS, THEY CAN FLY" stairs.

Or maybe a tile is bigger than you think it is, and can contain a flight of stairs.

[Footkerchief]

Flights of stairs which can be moved into from any direction with no impediments whatsoever.

[Kay12]

Flights of stairs which can be moved into from any direction with no impediments whatsoever.

This is exactly what I mean. Stairs are imbalanced, they make distances ridiculously short.

[Nanban Jim]

Tricky thing is, all posts in this thread are from players who overcame the hurdles and grasped Dwarf Fortress.

That's why I posted despite being exhausted, I've only got 3 days experience with DF and it's important to get feedback fresh.
 
I'm not saying simplifying the game or making the first part of the learning curve a bit shallower is a good thing. I'm just saying if you want to attract more, you need to lower the barriers to entry. If "you" want DF to be a niche game, guys, look, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Something hit me about 30 minutes ago though, one way to reduce a barrier to entry that I didn't see in the thread (granted, I skimmed every other page):

XBOX360/PS3 versions (Wii? iPhone?). Just having it available as a $1-$5 game or a freebie or something (though I think most of the services require some price as a quality control measure), with prepackaged tilesets that look nice. I'm not saying it would be easy (SDKs are available, though I doubt it would be as simple as 'Project->Build->XBOX360'), and it would take a revamp of the interface (though how many posts have said the interface needs to be rethought anyway?). But the barrier to entry of being Desktop-dependent in a tech culture that encompasses so many more platforms would be gone.

And that made me think of a--UGH!--Facebook version, but please don't do that. Retain some margin of dignity.

[Baughn]

Uh.. this is a game that will bring a modern desktop to its knees, and you want to run it on a cellphone? Without a keyboard, too?

Not to mention that developers kits for pretty much all non-PC platforms (okay, Android is a nice exception) cost rather a lot. No. Not happening.

[Heavenfall]

Just set it to 3 z-levels, 20 dwarves and 2x2 and you'll run it fine on a smartphone.

Not that I'd be interested in that, nor think it's something that they should spend time developing.

[Nanban Jim]

Uh.. this is a game that will bring a modern desktop to its knees, and you want to run it on a cellphone?

I don't think you understand the power of Mac Fandom. It's not "slowdown," it's "time to think of your next move."

OK honestly I thought the warnings about its CPU intensiveness were a holdover from the early 90's, like in MUSH/MUX server documentation.

Without a keyboard, too?

That's actually the best part. Limiting the inputs would require a rethink of the menu system. It might actually get organized according to user requirements.

[Draco18s]

OK honestly I thought the warnings about its CPU intensiveness were a holdover from the early 90's, like in MUSH/MUX server documentation.

Lol, no.  DF will make a 3 GHz machine cry.

[Kay12]

OK honestly I thought the warnings about its CPU intensiveness were a holdover from the early 90's, like in MUSH/MUX server documentation.

Lol, no.  DF will make a 3 GHz machine cry.

Cry? My computer always makes this humming noise, except when I'm playing DF. When playing DF, it's all silent, possibly because it can't spare any extra energy  for humming...

[James.Denholm]

OK honestly I thought the warnings about its CPU intensiveness were a holdover from the early 90's, like in MUSH/MUX server documentation.

Lol, no.  DF will make a 3 GHz machine cry.

Cry? My computer always makes this humming noise, except when I'm playing DF. When playing DF, it's all silent, possibly because it can't spare any extra energy  for humming...

That silence isn't because it can't spare the energy - That silence is because your computer is in a state of complete and total awe.