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[Huggz]

I have been playing DF for around a week now, and what I have played is great. However, my question is, why does it seem to actually be designed as complex as possible? I mean, the mouse can be used on some menus but not others, the plus and minus keys are used to scroll, some of the menus have counter-intuitive names, eg. Query... Also, why isnt there a tileset that comes with the game? Why is there no way of playing it on a 3Dwarf-like map, as I find it very hard to understand the Z-Tile system. I am sure you can get used to all of these things, but it makes it so hard for beginners. I have probably spent almost 10 hours on DF, not just playing but browsing the wiki etc, and I still understand very little. Its frustrating, because I can see that its a great, deep and interesting game but it is so hard to understand!

[Derakon]

The UI is complicated because Toady is waiting until the game is more complete before revamping it. In the meantime, new features get shoehorned in wherever they fit. This creates inconsistency and complexity. This is a common complaint, but he's not budging on the issue, so my best advice at this point is to simply get used to it.

[Shurikane]

I'd better go at it sentence by sentence. 

I have been playing DF for around a week now, and what I have played is great. However, my question is, why does it seem to actually be designed as complex as possible? I mean, the mouse can be used on some menus but not others, the plus and minus keys are used to scroll, some of the menus have counter-intuitive names, eg. Query...

Navigation issues are known, and Toady had recently queried players about game turnoffs - the interface came up rather high on the priority list, and a bit of work is planned to happen sometime in the future to make it more streamlined.  Don't worry about it too much though; you usually end up using only a small portion of the interface and the hotkeys become second nature after a while.

Also, why isnt there a tileset that comes with the game? Why is there no way of playing it on a 3Dwarf-like map, as I find it very hard to understand the Z-Tile system.

At the root, DF is meant to somewhat emulate the roguelike games of olde in which most entities were represented using letters, numbers and symbols.  Some people like to play that way; others prefer to use a tileset.  For the moment though, this is not a high priority since you can always go pick up a tileset of your choice, plug it in, and go about your business (some tilesets like Mike Mayday come pre-packaged with a working version of Dwarf Fortress, making installation easy and painless.)

There is, I believe, a real-time 3D tool called LifeVis, but I am not aware of its specifics.  Could be something to consider.

For the moment though, view the map as if you've passed a knife through it several times, turning the area into slices.  When you change Z-levels, you are really looking at a slice of the map from above.

I am sure you can get used to all of these things, but it makes it so hard for beginners. I have probably spent almost 10 hours on DF, not just playing but browsing the wiki etc, and I still understand very little. Its frustrating, because I can see that its a great, deep and interesting game but it is so hard to understand!

Your First Fortress is perhaps the best crash course on the DF Wiki.  That should give you an introduction to basic things like food and drinks, lodging, and basic military management.  Everything on top of that is luxury: fashioning better space, decorations, smooth walls, engravings, etc.  There's a ton of stuff to be discovered, so don't lose hope. 

Consider also taking part in a succession game, so that you can view what others have done and take inspiration for your own management style.

[Ieb]

Read Boatmurdered, and do exactly the opposite than what happens there.

Serious answer: The controls are a bit... hard to get used to, but at the same time, give it a week or two and you have those key-combo's memorized.

Also, I suggest not reading about pumps and irrigation until later on to playing. Those things still get me and I've been playing for months now.

[Huggz]

Thanks for your help to both posters
I just wish simplification was more of a priority for the game maker I will try out LifeVis, thanks for that tip
Also, I have 2 questions:
How do I get my guys to move all my animals into one area? I have a 4x4 pen set up with a door etc, but I cant get them in there..

and

How can I tell Dwarves to hunt down a specific animal, or is the only way to send military dwarves nearby and hope that they attack? Also how do I tell dwarves to pick up a weapon, because the wrong guy had an axe, so I forbade it but the other guy wouldnt pick it up...

Thanks everyone

[Satarus]

If you want to herd up tame animals you gotta stick them in a cage or on a chain, or by pitting them (although this can hurt them).  That is the only way to make them stay put.  I wouldn't recommend locking them in a room because they will continue to try and path out.  Best answer is to stick them in a cage in a high traffic area like outside a meeting area or by booze stocks.  Dwarves see the animals they like in there and get happy thoughts.

As for hunting a specific animal. You have to use military for that.  Hunters will just go after whatever the closest animal is.  Doesn't matter if it is a Giant Lion or a Rhesus Macaque.

[Huggz]

Thanks loads for your help Satarus, but considering I am a complete noob:

If you want to herd up tame animals you gotta stick them in a cage or on a chain, or by pitting them (although this can hurt them).

How do I tell my dwarves to put them in cages, and how do I set up a pit (As I tried to after looking at the wiki but it failed badly...)

Also, if I stick them in a cage can they still breed?

As for hunting a specific animal. You have to use military for that.  Hunters will just go after whatever the closest animal is.  Doesn't matter if it is a Giant Lion or a Rhesus Macaque.

How do I tell my military to hunt specific animals? Sorry, I dont know anything

[Randomonioum]

How do I tell my military to hunt specific animals? Sorry, I dont know anything

You need to station them near to the animal, and have Harass dangerous wildlife on. And don't worry, it takes a while to get into the game, but it is worth it!

[Shurikane]

How do I tell my dwarves to put them in cages, and how do I set up a pit (As I tried to after looking at the wiki but it failed badly...)

You can build the cage (b -> j).  This will instruct the dwarves to install a cage at a specific spot of your choice.  You can then select the cage using the Q key and opt to assign one or more animals to it specifically.  Animals will not do the nasty with each other in a cage, but if you cage a PREGNANT animal, it will give birth sometime later inside the game.

For pitting, you need to designate an activity zone (i) that touches an empty space (like a hole, or the edge of a cliff, etc.)  And then use the hotkeys shown afterwards to make the zone as a pit.  You can then hit P to tell the dorfs to send a specific animal to this pit and drop it there.

[The_Fool76]

I have to confess I actually find DF's interface to be fairly simple.  Then again I'm an old time MUD and Nethack player and use VI as my text editor of choice.

I suppose it is all a matter of perspective.

The way I dealt with learning it was just through playing and going through every menu and sub-menu I could find.  The worst ones are the build and designate menus since those have sub-menus

[Viroath]

I started up DF not too long ago, and it took me about half way through my first fortress before I figured out how to change Z-levels.  Yeah, I knew they were there from the start, but I had a bloody time finding the key binding for it.

And I lost that fortress to a Kobald Thief.  Yes, a Thief went nutso and killed over half of my embark team before running off.  I start to do something about that, and a cat popped a Goblin Ambush.  So yeah, that fort ended rather quickly.

In other words, it's a lot of fun, but it takes a bit of time to get used to.  I've even forgotten some of the real names for the things on the menus, just now muttering a name related to the letter.

Oh, and if you really want to learn some new stuff really fast, check out the Facepalm moments thread.  Learn from the blindsightedness of others!

[Darkerson]

As everyone else said, just play around with the menus and goof around with what does what and eventually you'll get the hang of things. Ive been playing for a little over a year and am still learning new things every time i play!   

[Scope]

dont refrain from things you dont know. instead experiment with them and get the hang of things and trust me you'll have a blast finding new things out

[slink]

Just remember that Excel acts really weird if, after several hours of playing DF, you try to move quickly across a spreadsheet using Shift-cursor.   

[Dark Dude]

Eh, having grown up like The_Fool, with MUDs and NetHack and whatnot, this interface seems rather intuitive to me... But eh, I've always been a gameplay-over-graphics person. Tis a shame that most recent games are more concentrated on making their water look all realistic, than having ridiculously engaging, well-thought out gameplay ideas...

Tis well worth getting into Dwarf Fortress though. It tells a completely new story every time you start a new game, with each game, depending on how you play it, lasting many, many hours real-time. Insanely engaging, very diverse, ridiculously dynamic, and yes, highly complex. But I can guaruntee you, even in the harshest of environments, like glaciers, games can still last up to 30 hours real time easily. I think I clocked 120 hours on my second fortress in very favourable conditions. You just don't get games with such intense longetivity these days...

Bar that, if you need to get right in, I strongly recommend Captnduck's YouTube tutorial, and the Your First Fortress page on DF Wiki p_o