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That’s right. Finally, after about 3 years of work, it’s here. Dwarf Fortress is now on Steam. Not the old version on Steam. No. This is a complete rewrite, and with a friendly GUI.
So what is Dwarf Fortress? Well, you should first realise that it is often billed as being ‘the most complex video game ever made’. Which, I’d say, is true. It was the inspiration for a little game called Minecraft. And was the inspiration for many a ‘rogue-like’ game such as RimWorld, and any other game where you mine, craft, and manage a colony.
Basically, you manage a fort, which you build, using your initial seven dwarves. From there, you try to stop your fort falling apart, fight off sieges, see dwarves doing silly things, and see how long your fort can last. There’s no end goal. It’s completely open ended.
Installation
Way back in FCM#132 I discussed how to install Dwarf Fortress, but, this time, we’re using Steam. Full disclosure here: it’s not officially out yet for Linux, but it is coming. So although I’m all for the mantra of ‘no tux, no bucks’, I know Linux is coming, and that’s good enough for me to give these guys $30.
First, load up Steam and go into the menu Steam > Settings. In the window that pops up, click ‘Steam Play’ on the left and (on the right) check both boxes for Steam Play. Done.
Now, after you purchase Dwarf Fortress, you’ll get the option to install it, and it’ll install Proton and Dwarf Fortress.
On First Run
Once it’s all installed and you click to run Dwarf Fortress, I urge you to go into the Settings and click to make DF windowed. I found that if you leave it full-screen, it’ll run fine, but if it loses focus (you ALT+Tab to something), it’ll freeze. This doesn’t happen in windowed mode.
Strike The Earth!
You begin the game by creating a random map with about 100 years of history. And that’s not just junk history. That’s history that’ll be referenced in the game and can be browsed in Legends mode.
Once you have a map you need to find a place to set up a fort. You can use the handy search function for certain areas. Once you have a place chosen, it’s time to embark.
You can either choose to set off with preconfigured dwarves, or you can fine tune them to bring certain things. I usually go with the preconfigured stuff.
Diggy Diggy
You’ll see the map, your wagon, dwarves, and any animals you have with you. It’s time to get to work. From here you’ll chop down trees, gather plants, dig down or into the side of a mountain, and start your fort.
There’s no set way to do things, so from the outset it’s up to you how you want to go. This is the first new big thing in DF. A tutorial? Yes, for the first time DF will guide you through the basics of mining, gathering, and whatnot. Not everything, but enough that by the end of the tutorial, you have a teeny tiny little fort that’s functioning.
The other big thing is, of course, having a GUI! Previously DF was all keyboard driven and looked… well… dated. Here it looks much nicer, and the GUI is easy to learn after a few minutes. Popup windows are closed with a right-click, and everything from the old DF is in there somewhere. All the madness of goblin sieges, necromancers, tavern fights, moody dwarves, accidental floods… you name it.
Needless to say, I love it.
!!FUN!!
I urge you to do yourself a favour and buy this. These two brothers deserve the money. They’ve worked tirelessly on this game for the best part of fifteen years! And they’ve never charged a penny for it.
There’s so much story to read too. You can check the thoughts and history of every character in the game. You can read through the insane battles where a dwarven baby will rip apart a beast with its bare hands. Marvel at the random thong artefacts they create. Gasp in horror as a dead dwarf returns to haunt their spouse who is rather annoyed at the fact.
As I write this (early December 2022), there are nearly 13,000 reviews for it and it is listed as ‘overwhelmingly positive’. This warms the cockles of my heart.
I’m giving this 6 dwarves out of 5.
Make that 5 out of 5. That sixth dwarf was launched into space by another dwarf closing the drawbridge while he was on it. Fun!