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[Visperas]

I'm planning on playing Dwarf Fortress for the first time and I'd like to use a graphic pack. I've been doing some research and I think that the best graphic packs are May Green pack, Ironhand's Graphics and Phoebus but there are some things I'd like to know to decide which one to use.
First of all, which one would you recommend? Which is the most complete for the DF2010? What are the differences between them, different tiles aside?

As a sidenote, I've seen the Masterwork mod which seems to include many fixes and additions to the game but is it stable? Would you recommend it to a dwarf-noob?

Thank you!!

[rephikul]

Ironhand is 18x18, so if you have small screen (less then 1440 wide), stick to phoebus or mayday which require a minimum of 1280. They are all complete so the difference is only atheistic. I recommend to just pick up vanilla and play for a while before trying out mods.

[inEQUALITY]

Or else pick up the Lazy Newb pack, which is made for someone who just began to play. It's supposedly very helpful, though when I first started playing, the game was still in 2D and I had no idea what I was doing... came back later and managed to figure it all out AFTER the Z-axis update. But I digress

[rephikul]

LNB is not so helpful when you dont have any idea what's going on.

[Visperas]

Or else pick up the Lazy Newb pack, which is made for someone who just began to play. It's supposedly very helpful, though when I first started playing, the game was still in 2D and I had no idea what I was doing... came back later and managed to figure it all out AFTER the Z-axis update. But I digress

Yeah, I've checked that one out too but it includes too many things. I'm thinking about using DF vanilla, a graphic pack and the Dwarf Therpist. That's all. Anything else would only complicate things further I think.

[inEQUALITY]

EDIT: Dammit, that modify button is always right next to quote...

[inEQUALITY]

You're probably right, though at this point, even DT might complicate things unnecessarily. The only way you'll get used to it is through experimenting (and then after a bit, eventually watching peoples LPs and reading through the wiki).

[Visperas]

Mmmmm...
So I have to make a decision between Phoebus and Mayday's graphic sets... What's your preference and why? Well, another doubt: What's the difference between DFG and DFGs in the Mayday webpage (http://mayday.w.staszic.waw.pl/df.php)? I've read what the page says but I'm not sure I understand. Less weirdness?
Thank you all!! I'm anxious to start playing this fabulous game!!!!

[StephanReiken]

-Nevermind-

As for Phoebus, ::shrug::. I use Ironhand, I like it because I've gotten used to it over the time that I've used it. Its simple and straightforward, it looks nice. I have used Phoebus but found I preferred Ironhand after being introduced to it by the Genesis mod.

As this is your first time playing Dwarf Fortress, ensure that you get the latest Dwarf Therapist. To quote the Utilities thread stickied to this forum..

Dwarf Therapist <--- It makes Dwarf fortress playable.  It's that good. Get it!

To decide yourself, just take the one that looks better to you. And keep that Dwarf Fortress Wiki handy for all sorts of useful information on everything you find and then some.

If you really can't decide, flip a coin or roll some dice .

[Mike Mayday]

As I recall, and mind you I'm recalling from a much older version of Mayday going back about 10 DF versions or so when I last used it, it modifies the base raws farther than just implementing spites. It adds creatures and who knows what else since it doesn't tell you. Someone correct me if this isn't true anymore, but this is the reason why I do not use Mayday.

Heyyy, I have no idea where this misconception came from. The only modification to the raws serve to replace the symbols used to display creatures and plants that cannot be assigned graphics.

Visperas: DFG is pretty similar to Phoebus' set.
DFGs has graphics for creatures (dwarves, people and animals) and walls (legend on the main page) but all else uses the default DF symbols. "Less weirdness" means that (unlike in Phoebus' or DFG) the additional symbols do not mess up the text (especially the punctuation).

[rephikul]

What's DFG, death fire grasp?
And I have never noticed that cause I have never played with mayday, even though I do have your pack supported in my mod. Guess I should give it a shot later.

[i2amroy]

It stands for Dwarf Fortress Green. (Only reason I know that is because several people have asked how to install texture packs and the DFG DIY guide is very helpful for explaining that. Never used a texture pack myself personally.)

[StephanReiken]

As I recall, and mind you I'm recalling from a much older version of Mayday going back about 10 DF versions or so when I last used it, it modifies the base raws farther than just implementing spites. It adds creatures and who knows what else since it doesn't tell you. Someone correct me if this isn't true anymore, but this is the reason why I do not use Mayday.

Forget I mentioned it then .

[Malt_Hitman]

So I have to make a decision between Phoebus and Mayday's graphic sets...

Mayday's DFG is just a drag and drop from the zip file.  I've never used Phoebus but I'd assume it's the same way.  If you're comfortable with having multiple copies of Dwarf Fortress you could always download both and stick them in separate folders.  Two different shortcuts on your desktop and you can try both packs for a few days/forts and see which one you like better if you're not taken with one right off the bat.

I've only used DFG but I found the tileset easy to understand and the creature graphics had good character to them.  It was also the only graphics set on the DF wiki that showed a screenshot of the tileset and creature graphics in action.

[Greendogo]

Just to put out a voice for the opposition, I prefer Phoebus and Ironhand to Mayday (Sorry Mayday! I don't like your walls and water )

I would recommend playing all three of them, because you might like one more than the other.  Since the file size for all three packs with the graphics preinstalled are so small I don't see any reason not to try all of them out.