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Extended ASCII (Original)

Tilesets (Mayday DFG for instance)

Other (Custom ASCII tiles, etc.)

[Timst]

Since I often see screenshots of game with tilesets and have read quite a lot of debates and suggestions concerning full graphic support, I'm asking this simple question : Which one do you prefer ? The original, ASCII style of DF, or a third-party tilesets ? Or maybe you use another kind of graphics (but which kind ?) ?

Discuss.

[kilakan]

ASCII all the way, i find graphics sets confusing and cluttered, where as ASCII is general and alot easier to tell apart, I mean would you prefer a minuature sized guy and have to try to figure out it's race and profession or a letter with color coding telling you what it does best?

[Shima]

I use a mix of ASCII and graphics.  For units and creatures, graphics (Unless it's a custom mod, of course).  But for the normal tiles, modified ASCII.

[Impaler[WrG]]

Any poll on this issue done on this forum will inevitably fail to reflect the fact that 90% of everyone who ever tried DF uninstalled it after 10 minutes because of the ASCII graphics and horrible UI.  It's classic Fighter-Sim death-spiral logic, you're product excludes anyone who's not 'hard core' and low and behold the fans want things even MORE hardcore so the sequel ratchets of the complexity and realism and pushes out the more casual end of the fan base until the genre is extinct.  You'll probably get about 50/50 results on the poll as this has been tried before but the reality is >90% of potential fans hate ASCII graphics.

[Shima]

I know that.  I know at least one person who wants Toady to basically stop actual work on the game and pump out "graphics" for it, instead of being willing to learn to play.

[KaelGotDwarves]

It's true that the forums here suffer from "hardcore" syndrome, those that like DF enough that we shrug off ill mention of the ASCII - but the truth is whenever I see DF mentioned on any other forums it's ultimately mentioned with mayday's pack, which has gained popularity as the unofficial goto graphics set for those wanting to get into DF but have no idea what's going on. That will skew the vote towards ASCII here.

I wouldn't make a claim that 90% of people uninstall because of UI and ASCII though. A lot of people try the game and have no idea what to do, so it takes time for them to take a stab at it with wiki and tutorials. Some quit and restart. It seems people make the effort mainly because of awesome stories they've heard despite how daunting the game is.

That being said I usually use a modified ASCII, as the base rectangular color scheme hurts my eyes after awhile, and it's a pain to have graphics for every single modded creature I have.

[zecro]

Square versions of the basic tileset. Squares are superior to rectangles, because they are special rectangles.

[kilakan]

I gotta say that basic setup for full screen bugs me, make everything look nice and square and it turns out it's 25x10.........

[Jack_Bread]

I like and usually use ASCII, but graphics make DF look more "clean."

[penguinofhonor]

I use a square, tiny (like 8x8 or 9x9) ASCII tileset.

[Balathustrius]

I really like  the original ASCII, for some reason.  I used to play ADoM and other roguelikes a lot before Dwarf Fortress came out, and it helps that they pretty much all share the same vernacular, but I just like how the symbols stimulate your imagination, rather than presenting everything baldly before you.  So that's what I use; graphic sets are confusing and blocky to me.

[atomfullerene]

Sorry folks, prefer the graphics all the way, although I have learned to parse the ascii fonts from the wiki and the map archives.  I just like using something specifically designed to visually represent the contents of the game, rather than generic symbols originally meant for text document display shoehorned into use as game graphics.  It's amazing how well roguelikes make them work, but it's still the equivalent of building a house out of coke cans.  It's an impressive achievement, it looks pretty neat, but when you get right down to actually living there it's just not as functional.

But yes, I know many people disagree with this, and they have a valid point of view.

[Googolplexed]

ASCII / ANSI here.

The way that ASCII is used in DF actually allows me to visualise it well. Its the only game that I play in ASCII though, I find the bare expanse of nethack/other-rouge-likes difficult.

DF is good at providing eye candy in ASCII, the tilesets seam a bit mashed together, as in you can see the individual tiles, I don't find that with the ASCII

[The Mad Engineer]

I like ascii because its like reading a book that you can change the outcome of.

[Toksyuryel]

With the current state of graphics, I have to put my vote for ASCII. None of the sets currently available can really top it. I don't expect this to change until Toady gets to the overhaul of the user interface code.