Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Gazanfer]

Hello. I thought i should at least register to the forums of the game which i tried to play dozens of times  

first, some info about me:
I love rpg games, i love hybrid rpg/[insert any genre here] games, i love independent games. i'm not a graphics whore by any means. I have never played a game and yelled "OMG this textures are awesome, even tough the game is shit! I'm gonna play this for hours everyday!". I value playability, replayability, game system and story much more than any other aspect. I played and loved roguelikes (almost all of them) before. I love random map / dungeon generation and non-linear gameplay.

Because of all those things above, when i first heard about dwarf fortress, i thought this is the game i've been waiting for (It's been several years). I downloaded the game, read a few guides, and tried to play the game. User interface was too cryptic, there were almost no in-game guides, and everything was left to the player. I tried playing for hours, but in the end i couldn't even understand the interface, let alone having accomplished something in-game. So i deleted the game.

But from time to time, whenever i see a screenshot or story even remotely related to dwarf fortress, i downloaded the game, opened up wiki, and tried to play again, failed, deleted...

I swear, i must have downloaded dwarf fortress at least 20 times since it's first release.

Now, i am gonna try to play it again, but this time i want to do it the right way. Please help me...

- Is there a graphical interface? i'm not sure i want to play ascii games after all those years.
- Are there any in-depth but step-by-step guides covering all aspects of gameplay?

Thank you.

[ April 19, 2008: Message edited by: Gazanfer ]

[Helmaroc]

Welcome (back?) to Dwarf Fortress, and welcome to the forums. The wiki is what helped me BY FAR to figure out the game. It took me about a week to get down the basics, and from then on, it's experimentation.

Here is the wiki main page: http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/Main_Page

Here is guide with screen-shots, which got me started: http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/Indecisive%27s_illustrated_fortress_mode_tutorial

Don't get frustrated if your dwarves get eaten by monkeys on your first few tries, or you flood your fort or something. It takes a long time to get the hang of everything. There are tilesets that somewhat ease the graphics into understandability, but I never used them.

[McDoomhammer]

www.dwarffortresswiki.net  has a number of helpful guides and pretty much all the information you will need, and you will need some.  There are also some alternate tilesets there.  These are made by fans and not supported, neither are they perfect.

Good luck.  Perhaps someone can help you get it working if you describe the nature of the problem.

[Akroma]

http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/Your_first_fortress

this one was my guide when learning how to play DF

on a side note, no fortress I ever played lived longer than 3 years, but that's not because of the guida, I am sure

[Deon]

I've learned through that guide to. Whoever wrote it must be prayed upon.
Some time later (I don't remember how long exactly) I began to press hotkeys automatically. I mean if I want to build a wall, I build a wall in a sec., though I don't keep the combination in my head - my fingers do it by themselves.
Just be patient. You'll be rewarded greatly.

[ShunterAlhena]

quote:Originally posted by Deon:
<STRONG>I've learned through that guide to. Whoever wrote it must be prayed upon.
Some time later (I don't remember how long exactly) I began to press hotkeys automatically. I mean if I want to build a wall, I build a wall in a sec., though I don't keep the combination in my head - my fingers do it by themselves.
Just be patient. You'll be rewarded greatly.</STRONG>

Yeah. I'd actually vote say "no please" if someone offered me a vastly improved interface but said that I can never use the old one again. Once you play a couple hard hours, the commands just become muscle memory. Once you can interface with the game properly and you get to the point where you don't have to look up how you issue a command, you just think about it and it's done... then you become one with your fortress and a whole new world of awesomeness opens up.

As someone put it, it's not a learning curve, it's a learning cliff. But the reward is epic if you manage to climb it.

[ April 19, 2008: Message edited by: ShunterAlhena ]

[Lord Licorice]

If you're looking for a nice graphical change-of-pace from the ASCII, give the May Green set a shot: http://mayday.w.staszic.waw.pl/df.htm

[Gaulgath]

There are a few problems with tile sets like that. Instead of changing it font-wise, they try to model the ASCII characters after certain objects. This causes a few issues when two different objects share the same character. Personally, I think they look ugly for the most part. But several people seem to enjoy them, so you may as well. Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.

EDIT: Creature tilesets, on the other hand, work very well. It would be even better with gender support, but there you have it. Alpha and such.

[ April 19, 2008: Message edited by: Gaulgath ]

[SeaBee]

As someone who has, until Dwarf Fortress, never played an ASCII game, I can promise you that it doesn't take too long to get used to. I prefer it now, actually.

That said, the Wiki is where it's at. I started only a short time ago (relative to most people here) and was able to follow along with a tutorial to get a functional fortress off the ground my second time ever starting the game. It's a GREAT resource.

The interface is definitely a challenge. I still forget if I'm supposed to use Up and Down or + and - or Space or F9 ... but it's starting to become second nature.

Either way, good luck and have fun! This is definitely a game that rewards patience and curiosity.

[Mulch Diggums]

I tried to get my friend to play this game and I seemed to be better at explaining it to him than the wiki was. I suggest you ask some one who knows how to play the game to help via a chat messenger thing. If you need help and have xfire add me, zeemasterofcookies (my nick is biggles). Asking a person how to play the game is easier than trying to understand the wiki.

[Kagus]

This coming from someone who was playing Dwarf Fortress out of the .zip file and wondering why he could never load his previous fortresses.

[Mulch Diggums]

Since when does having no experience with computer files mean you have no experience with dwarf fortress? . Twas my first time downloading a file that didnt have a "click to extract this to the propper folder" button.

[Greiger]

Well nobodys perfect.  My first three forts failed misribaly because I didn't know how to use the labor menu.

Helpful tips.  If you want to interact with a building(work orders in workshops) push Q

If you want to see what a building is made of push T. whats inside it too)

If you want basic information about something (is that an elf or an elephant)push k

If you want to interact with a particular dwarf push v (then g for general stats and skills. I for inventory. p for general orders, like the labor menu and military activation. and w for wounds.)

z for an at a glance fort status with submenu controlled with the dir keys

d for digging with mining and choppind down trees and things.  Usually require you to select a zone by clicking on spot of a square then the other corner

p for stockpile designation which is where yer dwarves will try to store relevant items

i for telling where dwarves will do certain things

o for fortwide behavior options...

wow this got long... oh and <and> for going up and down z levels.  

If yer digging straight down you need to designate a downward stair on the surface and then an upward stair directly below it.  so in order to do this you would push...d,(move the yellow X to where you want to dig),j,enter,enter,>,u,enter,enter,space.  Then anybody who isn't busy, that has the mining labor on in their menu and has a pick will dig you a tidy little 1 level deep staircase.  
Now assuming yer not in an aquifer thats yer first small little step into hollowing out the world.

[ April 20, 2008: Message edited by: Greiger ]

[Rictus]

quote:Originally posted by Greiger:
<STRONG>
If you want to see what a building is made of push T. whats inside it too)

</STRONG>

I've been playing this game for over a year now and I didn't know that. Just shows, there's always more depth to this game  

[nerdpride]

DF also has a lot of features that slow down gameplay but help for experienced players.  

I find full-sized worlds to be useless, for all the extra loading and saving time they require.  Instead of generating normal worlds, I'd suggest new players should make "pocket" worlds to speed up start/load times ("Design New World with Parameters"->"F9"->"Pocket").

Searching for magma and water doesn't help you to learn the basics either and often slows the game down.  Any map where rock and soil are readily available would be an excellent site for newbie fortresses (no aquifers!).  Wood helps too, but there are ways to get around a lack of it.

Also immigration can be troublesome.  I'm not sure if disabling it in the init file really works right now.

And finally, I find extreme min/maxing of the preparation screen to not be worthwhile.  Just make everyone a Proficient Miner and a Proficient Grower, grab 7 picks, one axe, one anvil, 50 seeds, and the rest in a 2:1 (aproximately) ratio of dwarven alcohol to turtles (or any other cheap food).  Other jobs can just be declared as you play.  It also wouldn't be so bad to have all 7 dwarves have all jobs enabled.

Disabling sieges might help too, but they only come when you've accumulated a lot of wealth (right?).

So, with that setup, it's just a matter of digging underground and farming.  It would also help that you can survive with any less than 7 dwarves dead.