4.3 Closed source Unlicensed 2008-03-23T10:52:29+00:00 Dwarf Fortress is a highly-acclaimed and complex roguelike game that also combines aspects of strategy and "god" games. There are two modes: Fortress Mode, where you take run a settlement of dwarfs, and Adventure Mode, which is like a typical roguelike game. 13 18 false true Dwarf Fortress 112 2008-01-01 14 dwarf-fortress 2009-08-16T01:22:40+00:00 18 11 11 Sim sim 18 13 13 Roguelike roguelike 238 2008-03-23T10:52:29+00:00 6.5 MB 18 17 false true http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/df_27_176_38c_m.zip 2 2009-11-03T01:07:36+00:00 http://s3.amazonaws.com/tigdb-games/dwarf-fortress/17/df_27_176_38c_m.zip 707 2008-03-23T10:52:29+00:00 5.3 MB 18 18 false true http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/df_27_176_38c.zip 1 2009-11-02T23:44:26+00:00 http://s3.amazonaws.com/tigdb-games/dwarf-fortress/18/df_27_176_38c.zip 2 Custom custom United States 2008-03-23T10:47:59+00:00 Bay 12 Games is composed of two brothers: Tarn and Zach Adams. They are best known for their ambitious roguelike-strategy-sim, Dwarf Fortress, which Tarn programs and Zach helps conceptualize. 13 18 13 Bay 12 Games bay-12-games 2008-06-06T02:44:53+00:00 18 1 Windows 1 windows 18 2 Mac OS X 2 mac-os-x I like sandbox freeform gameworlds in which you make up your own story. Even more so, if it feels like a living world which doesn't rotate only around me. So, i should love DF, right? Well, besides of the above criteria, i also value an efficient accessable interface and polish - both are perhaps the biggest current flaws in the game. So, DF is a bit like a love-hate relationship for me. More details: DF isn't just a normal roguelike - it is a simulation of an entire fantasyworld, including as "trivial" things as weather patterns. The sheer quantity of things which this game simulates in the background is incredible. Depending on which game-mode you choose, you either play on the makro-level by managing a colony, or on the micro-level by being an adventurer in the world. You can even start an adventurer and visit the colony which you previously created in macro mode. So, we are really talking about simulated worlds here, from macro-level down to micro-level. In this regard, the game is a sandbox-lovers dream. However, the game also shares the same typical flaws as other roguelikes - because of the high complexity, even in an escalated way. First, we of course obviously have the dreaded ascii graphics. For some strange reasons, roguelike developers as well as players up to today seem to think that it has to be either immersion-killing high-res graphics, or inaccessable ASCII graphics... as if obfuscation were synonymous with immersion. Well, here's a wake up call: Imagination and immersion has nothing to do with obfuscation - not even with low-res graphics... it has to do with symbolism. If you only give the player "symbols" which tell him what to imagine, then he knows what is meant, and he constructs the details in his mind. The key misunderstanding here is the meaning of the word "symbol". Symbol here does not necessarily mean ASCII-chars - it simply means "something" which symbolizes something else. For example, the most efficient symbol for a dragon is not a D, but some shape which intuitively is associated with a dragon. Very old CRPGs did that all the time. You dont even need to be a pixel artist to create such "symbolic visuals". That way, you dont need to obfuscate the display, dont need a horde of pixel artists, dont run out of chars to use and still keep the immaginative aspect. The other typical roguelike flaw which DF shares with the rest - perhaps even more so than usual - is the input-interface. Keys are inconsistently and unintuitively mapped. Why do i need multiple different keys to "go back/cancel"? Why do i need multiple different keys to "accept/continue"? Why does every single minor action need to have a seperate key, thus making the keyboard-map as complex as a flight simulator (no joke!), instead of grouping similiar actions and then accessing them via menus? Ironically, the keymapping complexity goes so much out of hand, that it is possible to in the key-assignment options, unintentionally lock yourself out of making any changes, so that you can only fix it by... yep, resorting to editing configuration files in a text-editor. Its things like these which make sure that such games stay "geek-games". DF is an example by the book for a game, which under the hood is very impressive, has endless possibilities and regarding gameplay is a milestone... yet, it struggles to communicate this awesomeness to the player, because of a horrible interface (again, these flaws are not specific to DF, but most roguelikes... its just especially a shame for DF, because DF is much more than typical other roguelikes). In summary: DF is like someone who has a vast, incredible, wonderful and amazing message for you - you just have to decrypt it. 2008-11-23T07:17:12+00:00 0 18 278 88.128.55.69 3

Gigantic potential, roguelike interface

2009-02-04T20:23:33+00:00 665 1 3 Persistent, procedurally generated game world. Complex fluid physics. Bloody, bloody combat. Dwarf Fortress is everything next generation developers have been promising for years, today! Sure, its graphics are rather spartan, but that just means they don't get in the way of the gameplay! Well, that's a lie, you'll be very confused at first. Once you get used to the ascii characters, though, you'll be surprised with how much depth those little smiley faces can have. I feel a lot more sorry for my dead dwarves than I do for characters in glitzier RPGs! Dwarf Fortress is overflowing with great ideas that are sometimes not so well implemented. It's always under development, though, and it's an amazing effort for a game with only one programmer. It's a fantastically complex game, and you'll be surprised with how much stuff you can do in it. Don't think about it, just download it, fire up the Dwarf Fortress wiki, and dive in. Once you know what you've got it all figured out, you'll have a great time! 2008-07-01T22:07:45+00:00 0 18 65 75.64.137.222 5

2008-10-06T01:20:01+00:00 451 0 1 Dwarf Fortress is a game that some people may (read: do) find too complex. It is hard to get in to, but, at least in my case, once you are in, you're not coming out. It supports many play-styles, meaning that you can do what you do however you want. Some people on the official forums have come up with some very interesting experiments, such as leaving the dwarves alone, seeing how long they can survive. As my second-to-last note, I suggest that you read the wiki! It's quite helpful. Finally, I believe that it is good to remember that "Losing is Fun!" 2008-07-01T19:03:26+00:00 0 18 50 24.9.49.52 5

A Complex but Rewarding Game

2008-07-09T12:35:47+00:00 444 0 1 Dwarf fortress is a game about managing seven (at least until more arrive)dwarves as they start a new fortress. Most people say in a mountain, but you can have it anywhere, from in the jungle to the desert. Another mode is adventurer where you control an individual dwarf/human/elf. This game is probably the most complex game I've ever played. It keeps track of weather patterns, wars between cities you can't even interact with or see, and thousands of other things. The interface is easy to use once you get used to it. Before that it's an incomprehensible mess of menus. The learning curve isn't so much a curve as a wall. And then of course there are the ASCII graphics. When you really get into the game though you don't see a little smiley face for your dwarf and a g for a goblin. You see them in pitched combat. Now that I've mentioned the bad (and that's really all that's bad about it) I'm going to mention the good. Already mentioned is the combat. In Adventurer mode, where you control a single adventurer instead of a fortress, you get to see how detailed the combat really is. It takes into account all internal organs, broken bones, fear, pain, prior wounds, EVERYTHING. Next is the addictiveness. For two weeks after downloading this game I got home and immediately went to my fortress. After my eyes started to hurt, I told myself I should stop. I couldn't stop. Now that my fortress died (and your fortresses WILL die) I've reached a bit of a lull until I start my next one. The last is the biggest one: Creativity. Now, because of the INSANE complexity, there are many problems. MANY problems. And the best part is the game doesn't give you answers. It's not like in other games where if you want to make people happy you give them this item, although there is a certain amount of that here. Mostly it's up to YOU to solve problems. The entrance to your fort unprotected? Well, you could build a wall, moat, a long passageway lined with traps, a magma chamber that activates on your command, and anything else you can come up with. The game doesn't let you just say "put a dining hall here and the bedrooms over there." you have to select and mine out every room and try to arrange it in the most efficient way possible. The barracks should be close to the entrance to fend off attack, but dwarves don't like to sleep near noisy workshops. How close will your workshops be to your stockpiles in the limited space available? WHY ARE YOUR DWARVES PARTYING WHEN THEY SHOULD BE HARVESTING!!! My final word is that this game is addictive. About as addictive as it gets. It's fun too. It makes you think while you play, and crafts a living breathing world around you. It's gonna take a while before you see what I mean, but soon you'll find that you're thinking about the game when you're not playing it, thinking out your next swath of rooms and trying to find the most efficient layout. If graphics can make or break a game for you, then don't try it. If you HATE micromanaging then it's not for you. But after you get into it,this game will suck you in like no other commercial or otherwise. P.S. Probably the main reason I was able to get into the game so quickly was because of some tutorial videos by captnduck on youtube. You don't have to watch them all, but I would recommend watching at LEAST the first five, just to get started. 2009-06-14T00:17:12+00:00 0 18 455 76.123.166.242 4

Amazingly hard, amazingly awesome

2009-06-14T00:17:12+00:00 1146 0 0 2008-03-23T10:52:29+00:00 18 12 2009-01-20T10:43:57+00:00 /screenshot/image/12/onland.png /screenshot/image/12/medium/onland.png /screenshot/image/12/thumb/onland.png 2008-03-23T10:52:29+00:00 18 13 2009-01-20T10:43:57+00:00 /screenshot/image/13/mill.png /screenshot/image/13/medium/mill.png /screenshot/image/13/thumb/mill.png 2008-03-23T10:52:29+00:00 18 14 2009-01-20T10:43:57+00:00 /screenshot/image/14/ground.png /screenshot/image/14/medium/ground.png /screenshot/image/14/thumb/ground.png