About
Losing is fun!
Dwarf Fortress is a construction and management game in fortress mode, which shall be reviewed here. It comes in two versions, the Steam version with pixel art graphics and the orginal ASCII art version. Note that the Steam version is now updated to have ASCII graphics.
The game is deep and complex with a sharp dificulty curve. You will loose due to all your dwarves dying from monsters, player mismanagement of resources or tantrum spirals, potentially a lot; If loosing the game isn't fun then Dwarf Fortress may not be for you.
Here is the mature content warning from Steam for context about the game's content:
'Dwarf Fortress contains textual descriptions of violence, and static 2D sprites that may have violent ends. Alcohol consumption is required for a dwarven fortress to run smoothly, as described in text. Dwarves can experience mental anguish, and in extreme cases this can lead to them taking their own lives or the lives of others.'
Graphics
All screenshots are from the Steam version pixel art or ASCII graphics, I can't play the classic version as I do not get on with the UI.
The below images show the two graphic modes for the game. The ASCII graphics and the pixel art graphics. Personally I think ASCII graphics are lovely but find the pixel art graphics easier to parse.
Here's a useful image of all of the pixel graphics floor and wall materials. My favorites are cinnabar, orpiment, orthoclase and jet.
Dwarves
Dwarf fortress generates complex characters with different values traits and each character is affected by the things they experience. This also affects how they interact with dwarves and deal with different situations.
A lazy dwarf is more likely to go down the pub and get drunk rather than do work immediatly, no matter how highly skilled they are.
As you can see in the above image, dwarve's experiences affect their behavior long term. These can be positive or negative. A dwarf who has seen their fellow dwarves die in combat may become dedicated to peace.
Dwarves have complex emotions based on personal likes and dislikes as well as their personal needs. One dwarf may hate spiders and express this though making statues of spiders, another may love dogs and express this though adopting a pet dog. Or three.
Dwarves have detailed physical appearances. Dwarves have diffrent colours and styles of hair, which is shown on their sprites. Theit hair may be messy or neat depending on their personality. And Dwarves who eat lots of tallow based food without exercise become fat.
Tips
As the game is so complex I advise asking questions on the reddit, these tips are not everything you'll need to know as a new player or this webpage would be a mile long. Folks on the reddit are pretty nice (yes, I know what reddit can be like but trust me) and happy to help.
The wiki is also useful for new players, information about the Steam game is still being added, but the ASCII version's information is still relevent in terms of game mechanics.
- If you have never played, make sure to take advantage of the Steam version's tutorial.
- Dwarves need alchohol to make it through life. Set up a still quickly.
- Get a manager and learn how to use work orders, it will redude micromanagement greatly.
- Check Dwarves thoughts to get a sense of what is making them happy/unhappy.
- Be careful to manage your cat and dog population via gelding i.e. neutering them.
- Get to the first cavern level, it will help with farming and alternative wood sources.
- Keep a stock of leather, bones and cloth for strange moods.
Chart
This is a useful game chart by Reddit user Mxsifr.
Summary
Loosing is fun, but I've yet to loose this game as of 08/01/2023. I will update you when the Fun ends my current fortress.
However, loosing aside Dwarf Fortress is fun. I have played this game far too much, laughed at the Fecici Nutclap reddit post and enjoyed watching my dwarves dworf. Worth every pound.
Link
Here are links to download the Steam game and the classic version.
There are also offical forums for the game and a reddit forum.