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[Kidsta]

The amount of things you can do and the different play-styles. I, for example, actually like managing a fort serious, while my cousin likes finding creative methods of destroying things. When our powers combine, it results in hilarious joint-games where I create and he destroys.

The point is...there's NO game that allows you to do that and still make it so damned fun. In SimCity, you can cause fires or earthquakes to happen; pre-set disasters that, while powerful, are predictable. In Dwarf Fortress, simply digging one channel can route an entire river into your fortress.

In short, the question is, "What makes Dwarf Fortress so awesome?"

Everything.

[They Got Leader]

The question is: what makes it not awesome?

[ungulateman]

...Everything...

[Retro]

The question is: what makes it not awesome?

Or perhaps the better question is what makes awesome so like Dwarf Fortress?

[Flying Carcass]

I like the fact that I have free range to design my fortresses, rather than simply placing down buildings like in other RTSes. And aye, more Evil Genius/Dungeon Master-like games need to be made.

[They Got Leader]

The question is: what makes it not awesome?

Or perhaps the better question is what makes awesome so like Dwarf Fortress?

Agreed.

[Deathworks]

Hi!

As others have mentioned, the complete freedom of game style is a definite plus. You have a lot of people following relatively aggressive approaches towards their dwarves, but you can just as well care for your dwarves and protect them. The same goes for cats and kittens. Or the elven traders, for that matter.

The other bonus this game has and shares with the original SimCity series (and which makes SimCity Societies such a disappointment) is the unpredictability of the details. Sure, you can tell your dwarves to decorate things and engrave walls - but they choose what to depict and how to comment on it via the title. Likewise, they interact with each other socially.

Despite the aforementioned similarities, DF finally excels in sheer complexity and detail - even if the new features of Societies would have been added to the original SimCity, it would not even be a fraction of what DF is in that regard. There is so much detail that you can always discover something new.

Deathworks

[TiagoTiago]

It's one of the few games praised for it's level of detail in everything from environment to characters and more, without the praising people meaning the graphics.

[gamegreen33]

build a giant stone ass above your fort that craps hot lava on invaders?

Fuck yeah! Post screens when it's finished

[Lytha]

The ASCII, the lego approach to building aboveground stuff, the fact that you can build whatever you want.


But what I find very important is the fact that there are always alternatives in the methods how you accomplish stuff. For instance: you're on a map without any wood? Then you can build your barrels out of that copper that you just found.

Except for beds... and glass (need sand on the map), I can't think of anything that has to be created out of some certain material (and I'd vote for alternatives for the beds, too: if dwarves can construct plant fibre shoes, then they can construct plant fibre beds as well!)


Also, building walls of ice and directing magma through them is awesome. 

[LordSlowpoke]

The fact I can not just drown nobles in water or magma, I can melt adamantine and flood my enemies with it.
All hail the infinite generator!

[Jong]

I really like that you can build anything you can imagine, and the level of detail really draws you into the game in a way that piles of LEGO cannot. I feel like I'm building a real fortress, rather than just rearranging symbols on the screen.

I also love building contraptions of dubious utility. The complexity of the game mechanics allows room for all kinds of creative exploits that are more like emergent phenomena. For example, I managed to build a functioning computer in DF. That's more than you can say for pretty much every other game out there.

I'm sure we've all heard of other more better known creations, such as obsidian farms, mermaid farms, fire-imp pillboxes and such.

[Jopax]

Wheres that sandbox game quote, the one about dropping kittens, i think that one fits nicely here

[Firehound]

Why is DF awesome? personally... the combat system does it for me. mostly realistic hits, arms coming off, people dieing of bloodloss rather then arbitrary hit point losses. and it's one of the few games that show spears and pointy weapons in their full mutilition capabilities as opposed to wimpy weapons that plink away at people.

Also... how many games let you kill people with a artifact weapon made of soap

[jellow belly]

Firehound I think you forgot all the broken brains and livers and other funny stuf

Personally I like DF because of all the things that cause Fun that rapidly escalates into !!Fun!! and Fun and sometimes even !!Fun!!

dwarf fortress the only game where a dwarf burns to death while drowning

gotta love this alpha releases