Dwarf Fortress Review

[@IdgaradLyracant]

No one reads the combat log? How else do you find out the 7 year old dwarf child smashed the goblin in the head knocking our his teeth sending them scattering across the floor? Here is a fun tip to do when you create a new world. Start a fortress, name the initial dwarves after your friends or recognizable names. Immediately retire the fortress. As you play you may come across your friends and after a few decades in-game you can go to legends mode and take a gander at what your friends did in this world without your influence.

[@matthewp4046]

Neat tip!

[@KubinWielki]

Yep, the combat log is great! I've almost choked laughing when my macedwarf decked a kobold across its face so the teeth went flying, and one tooth has hit another kobold, gouging its eye out. Pure gold.

[@halwakka504]

The combat log is amazing. One of my favorites so far: The hydra bites the outpost liaison in the head and the severed part sails off in an arc! The outpost liaison has been knocked unconscious!

[@GameNinja13]

That suggestion of the friends and such is awesome. Do the Dwarves you retire try to build their fort at all?

[@tefnutofhoney2832]

That is... an amazing idea

[@frantisekzverina473]

"...years away from being finished." oh you optimists

[@monst3rderek259]

In the 41 millennium, one of khorne demon princes is Armok.

[@totalbrainfail1812]

Dwarf Fortress, The GNU Hurd of Games.

[@davidburton9690]

years is plural, it means more than one year

[@freefiremclin9379]

lol

[@kivikallo4313]

I feel like the game can never be finished

[@maracachucho8701]

This is a masterful review video. All craftdwarfship is of the highest quality. It is encircled with bands of finely crafted voice work and menaces with spikes of spot-on observations. On the item is an image of a toad and dwarves in adamantine. The dwarves are surrounding the toad. The image relates to the foundation of Dwarf Fortress in the year 2002.

[@jayamiheiyang1602]

This comment is just as much a masterpiece

[@doxazo5512]

Show me another game that keeps track of the health of every single finger and toe that has ever existed, I dare you

[@ianw.5047]

shit

[@aydenlinden9661]

RimWorld

[@doxazo5512]

Ayden Linden, iirc Rimworld does feet but not toes. And they definitely don’t do teeth

[@admiralackbar4767]

@@aydenlinden9661 Rimworld is a fine game. For a one Z-level game.

[@drakekay6577]

Reality..... We get scars that remain fixed in position and never have a graphics glitch. :D hee hee

[@スティックディナ]

One time playing adventure mode I got a quest to track down a bandit, after 20 minutes of trying to get there and UI noob fails I finally got there, saw 3 men and the person asked me what I'm doing there, to which I obviously answered with an axe to the _upper_Body_. After slaughtering him and his friends with 30 hits to the body the village nearby runs in panic, I try yo figure out what happened and why my quest wasn't complete yet, I realized I just murdered a local king and his son and then started beating his guard with my helmet. Good times

[@nicedreams7192]

10/10 would beat guard with helmet again.

[@rickjohnson1719]

Plot twist: you were the bandit the whole time

[@MrTonemaster]

Every game I've ever played has lead me to Dwarf Fortress.

[@matrixarsmusicworkshop561]

beautiful

[@YuubiTimberwolf]

I play Dwarf Fortress since about 4 months now, my entry was kruggsmashs videos. Its interesting, you set your own goal and try to reach it, learn. I currently have a fortress in a tropical savanna, between two rivers that split from a major, bigger one on map. My goal here is lorewise to establish breeding ground for future war animals. I manage to survive the first three years training dogs for war, i caught a hippo for the same purpose and later two saltwater crocodiles and a few alligators. Breeding them takes much time and my FPS droped once the eggs hatched, it was a mess and i had to cheat and kill of the babies to keep playing. My first enemy appeared, a Werepangolin, i was prepared but still lost two dwarfs (one of which bite the werepangolins right hand off, legendary!), later i met a bigger more !FUN! creature that my crocodile army killed, i caged the surviving reptiles as proven war animals. Life is good. But we, the Master of Taming from Steelscale, need better, stronger beasts. Its time to enter the caves.

[@simonstewart2514]

Please update us ohh master of taming

[@coolchrisable]

yeah dude dont leave us hanging

[@arthurwegele8613]

Come one give us a Update

[@matrixarsmusicworkshop561]

dude

[@f3rn4n2x3str3ll4]

yo

[@seamuspikey]

You had me at "sweet, supple puppy leather".

[@seamuspikey]

@@chadfiction Ha! Still would have been applicable!

[@Teadon86]

Many years ago, almost a decade, I embarked in a temperate zone in the middle of a forest without an aquifer. An easy start, by any standards. Soon enough one of my hunter dwarves discovered a cave as she chased some animal into its mouth. Instead of ceasing the hunt the dwarf ran after the animal and a few steps inside she had to descend into the dark depths. I considered having her turn back to the fortress by assigning her to a burrow and then after she'd entered the fortress area I'd release her from her assignment to the burrow, allowing her to return to the hunt for another animal. I restrained myself and observed her mad dash into the bowels of the earth, knowing that she may stir !FUN! to visit the fortress. After fearlessly heading down a slope she emerged into a wide cavern, sprawling out in three directions she could observe mushrooms large as trees standing in shallow water, small dry patches of rock in this underground lake could be seen as well just as there were cliffs that fell several levels down into an unreachable section of this cavernous realm. When she moved towards one of the cliffs she noticed a large family of plump helmet men foraging about. Beyond this deeper level, at the higher level she'd at first entered, wildlife was sparse and avoidant of the huntress; a few purring maggots, cave swallows, one spider spreading its webs. The flora, however, were richer than the animal life. Lots of cave moss and floor fungus covered the rocky floor and inching towards the fungiwood. She explored parts of the area and didn't find anything to hunt. What became of the animal that ran down there was a mystery. As time went on I kept a watchful eye on the cavern entrance to see if anything emerged from the depths or if anyone decided to explore the area. No one did, except the occasional cat. Many years into this fortress, one day, a mother cat decided that she'd run down followed by her kittens. Leaving the light of the day behind them, they tentatively moved down into the cave system as the dwarves were completing a tiny entrenchment and barrack alongside the main road commonly used by elven and human merchants. It took some time for the cats to move into the larger cave but soon enough their paws were forcing through mud and water. Running between the fungiwood they hunted vermin and occasionally encountered larger docile wildlife - nothing to threaten the mother cat or her kittens. They moved through the cave forest and began exploring. A kitten made its way up an unexplored narrow path as the rest moved around the fungiwoods and back and forth into other tunnels. Revealing bit by bit of the tunnel it soon widened to a room, in this room there was a red patch. The kitten didn't hesitate to move past the red patch, neither did it care for the body parts of animals strewn on the cavern floor, it moved into another narrow path. It encountered something, something big, and more big things. Several big entities clustering together, hardly moving at all. The cat ran back returning the way it came, they ran after. Stampeding down narrow cave tunnels like a tidal wave crashing into a narrow bay! Meanwhile, the huntress who had discovered the cave system was slaying prey with iron and silver bolts with her masterwork crossbow made of cat bone and other materials - silver and a gem if I don't misremember its making. An expensive piece of weaponry used for hunting. As she hunted, the military was put on high alert and sent towards the entrance of the cave to save the straying mother cat and her kittens. She stalked around the cave. The cat and kittens burst forward into the light, dispersing into the wider forest like a hand holding sand opening up so the wind may take each grain. And then they emerged, a family of very angry Dralthas. The huntress fled! Knowing one thing to nothing about Dralthas I foolishly sighed in relief as I read that they're herbivores, thus they do not attack dwarves. I ordered my military to stand-by and observe the Dralthas. As they gathered, the Dralthas charged and tore every last soldier dwarf to pieces! One Draltha fought two hammer dwarves alone that were also very good wrestlers that belonged to a group of soldiers that once dodged their way into an army of elves to then toss them down cliffsides and into trees or just shatter them with their warhammers. These two warhammerers was backed by two other dwarves firing bolts wildly into the fray as they attempted to slay this Draltha. One of two dwarves moved closer to the Draltha to have his head kicked clean off. In the time it takes to draw breath the Draltha moved its' massive weight around and kicked again, twice. It landed both kicks on each of the dwarf's arms, tearing them free from the torso. It kicked again and again and again; each kick took another body part off; bolts thwacking into trees or taking flight into the air to never be seen again. It gave no mercy to the dwarf, who after losing his arms drifted in and out of consciousness, as it dismembered him to protect its family. The last kick was towards the head. A hindleg forced its way through teeth, sending them in a bloody arch, but the force was enough to also rip the head off its neck. The two other dwarves were quickly slain. About twenty soldiers lay butchered, only one Draltha was serious injured by several hits by bolts and falling over due to severe pain. The family of Dralthas slowly returned to their home in the depths, except that one Draltha who had slain four dwarves and earned a name for slaying two renown champions that did lay low an entire goblin army and helped a few elves to reconsider living by having them explode in a gory mess by slamming them into trees. That Draltha, for some reason, remained by its victims. Fearing another murderous rampage I, in desperation to save my fortress, recruited the huntress. I sent her on a mission of holy vengeance against the beast who'd humiliated a tiny culture that managed goblin invasions so well it could as well be a moth helplessly flapping its brittle wings in a playful kitten's mouth, and where elven armies were put in their place by rampaging wrestlers. With considerable slowness, she shuffled through the forest, stopping at random for reasons I couldn't fathom. I kept an eye on the Draltha. In a burst of activity, it charged at a seemingly random direction! Something thin flew past several trees and hit the Draltha. It stopped in its dash. It fell unconscious. It awoke and crawled one tile and then fell unconscious again. Then it died without a duel, it had unceremoniously bled to death. Relieved and amazed at what she managed to do I began reading the combat log, what it accounted for had me laughing. My laugh was not caused by the lucky strike of the silverbolt that pierced its heart but because that an infant tried to crawl away from the Draltha but its mother refused its' escape. Without knowing it I had sent a mother and her infant child in a suicide mission to kill this beast. The family of cats had returned to haunt the stockpiles beneath the fortress. And that is the story of how my fortress was saved by a mother exceptionally skilled using her crossbow made by cat bone.

[@gronkiusmaximus]

I'm new to the game and stories like these just make me like the game more and more :D

[@saibgassanov3378]

That was over exhausting read my guy. Could've done with 5 less remarks on how your dwarves killed elves and goblins. 1 time was enough

[@pagatryx5451]

@@saibgassanov3378 Hardly. The greatness of DF comes from its detail. If you don't like reading, don't read. Simple as.

[@reviewreaper8508]

Nah I'll agree. It's a lot more info than required to keep it detailed. Heck, even the initial cat story mattered barely in the greater picture. But hey, that's dwarf fortress for you. Everyone that plays it saw and cared for different parts, and the game offers enough to satisfy everyone in that regard.

[@SirRickTheNick]

You hit the nail on the head with the general mindset, at least of mine, towards this game. It's always sounded interesting and I've heard funny stories about it but, trying to look into it, it always just seemed way too daunting. So this was a fantastic overview/ beginner's guide/review that gave me insight into what this game is actually like. I think it actually gave me inspiration to take the leap and download it myself and see if I can't get into that feedback loop. so I just wanted to end this by saying that I love your channel and the videos you make and I hope you keep making them

[@NeverKnowsBest]

Thanks for the kind words and I hope you enjoy the game if you do play it.

[@derekredgate1982]

Situation report! Playing Dwarf fortress yet?! Inquiring minds want to know! >.> =D

[@bloodcrusader2701]

Welcome to dwarf fortress there is fun at the bottom

[@TheLordboki]

And candy.

[@poopymcfartass1640]

@@TheLordboki inside the bottom of those glorious adamantine pinata pillars.

[@Berserk_Knight]

It's a joyous circus down there full of clowns!

[@derekredgate1982]

@@Berserk_Knight Yes, ICP is down there! >.>

[@settratheimperishable4093]

Yall are getting very close to spoiling I'm just about to dig deep so don't say anymore.

[@MystRunner916]

I know im five years late to this vid butive been watching your vids and reached this one. DF stands as one of my favorite games of all time. I bought it a total of three times when .50 released on Steam. One of the greatest games of all time and diserving of its home in the MOMA. As a note though I'd LOVE to see DF get a long form vid like your more recent vida as this game changed so much. Or at least another short form update to this one as MUCH of the UI has changed drastically. Much dorfy love for this vid.

[@diggoran]

5:02 "stop looking here". Here's a tip: If you need a clean desktop for sharing your screen, but you don't want to close everything to do so, you can create a new desktop using Win+Tab. Once you have two or more desktops open, you can switch between them using Ctrl+Win+Left/Right, or just by using Win+Tab again and clicking on the one you want. I use this all the time when I need to share my screen for work. I put all the stuff I want to share on a temporary desktop separate from the rest, and then when I'm done, I can close that desktop and all its windows will move back to join my primary desktop.

[@stephenchurch1784]

Such fond memories of this game. Blew away my digital logic professor by building a mechanical arithmetic processing unit powered by vampires and minecarts for a final project

[@rodrigosouto9502]

Best review about DF I've ever seen. Thank you very much.

[@DaKussh]

The point is, DF won't matter if single core processing isn't dealt with, the Adams brothers keep adding content, systems and features that demand more processing power and shorten the time you can play before the FPS get so low the game becomes unplayable. 5 years ago you could have a stable colony of 250 dwarfs and play at 30fps with a decent processor, now you have 24fps at most with 200 and optimized processor specifically for DF. Tbh, I would prefer to get an updated software for multithreading in 5 years over new features. *OPTIMIZATION, OPTIMIZATION, OPTIMIZATION*

[@Latronibus]

Despite it being more popular, fort mode dev isn't really the target. It gets updates when a world-level system is added that is related, but really the focus is on adventure mode, because Tarn just isn't that interested in fort mode. And adventure mode doesn't have FPS death issues. In any case, multithreading most of the game would require a full rewrite essentially. There are only certain things that can be isolated into deferred threads, such as pathfinding (which can also often be cached, since the map topology doesn't change all that much on a tick-to-tick basis). But admittedly just parallelizing pathfinding would make a big difference in fort mode.

[@Varian-Killbot]

@@Latronibus Pathfinding IS the FPS killer. Optimizing it would fundamentally change the game in terms of performance. It should be top priority.

[@Latronibus]

@@Varian-Killbot It's not the only one, but it is the one that players are most likely to encounter, yes. But it won't be top priority, because the overall development focus is on world-level tasks. And some of these features have essentially zero gameplay significance, like the procedurally generated music and dancing. It adds a bit of flavor, sure, but it's hard to care about flavor when your FPS is plummeting, or when basic features require considerable workarounds to get them to function. (Example: "empty bags" is a manager filter that you can get out of a job like "process plant to bag". You cannot construct the "empty bags" filter manually in the manager screen. This means that if you want your dwarves to make bags whenever there are no empty bags available, you have to come up with another way. One trick people have come up with is "empty sewn-imageless boxes & bags" which is just stupid.) Also when "cheese" strategies (like airlocking yourself from the surface with bridges) are just...reasonable things to do, and totally break the challenge of the game. (There is a reason Rimworld has sappers, but even with that, Rimworld is still highly susceptible to "killbox" gameplay.)

[@nathantoy5711]

Toady would have to rewrite the entire code to do that tbh

[@Latronibus]

@@nathantoy5711 As I was mentioning, at least pathfinding can be moved into deferred threads so it doesn't always block the main thread. The reason is simple: a dwarf going from A to B doesn't need to know exactly how he's going to get all the way to B as soon as he starts moving from A. He can divide up his path into pieces, and compute the later pieces of the path while he's actively traversing the earlier pieces of the path. This can be implemented even with the rest of the game logic being kept serial, provided that some stutters are acceptable when circumstances change (causing an FPS drop so the pathfinder threads can rebuild their buffers)

[@candiedskull9841]

As a Rimworld player hearing that the Dwarfs work too hard is refreshing. Lazy humans.

[@Minastir1]

I really like you addressing the experienced player complaints too and not just the new player ones. Challenge modes or scenarios would really make the game more fun for uncreative people like me.

[@ironicturnofevents]

just to point something out that you said around the 11:00 minute mark. so the DF starter pack comes with DF hacks which is a small mod that adds alot of conveniences like being able to use the mouse. I just wanted to mention that encase anyone got the base game and noticed that wasn't the case. but yeah I would recommend the starter pack, i didn't learn about it until way later but by then i was already using masterworks(kinda like a mod organizer for dwarf fortress). on a side note, cool channel and cool video!!! being part of the DF community i love seeing this game get some love.

[@vytisagafonovas3887]

I once faced narcoleptic dragon with one leg and no wings, bastard wreaked havoc in my fortres. Wasnt prepared for his fire breath

[@MrSeventyAce]

Never skip shield training

[@towermoss]

This is my desert island game. FYI in regards to manual saving: it is possible if you are using DFHack that comes with the starter pack. Set up a bookmark and name it "quicksave", with no quotes. The associates shortcut will save whenever you want without exiting to the menu.

[@Defylar]

Couldn't agree more with this. Dwarf Fortress isn't a hard game, it's one that takes patience and learning. You'll lose a lot early one (!FUN!) but you'll find that it's still enjoyable. It's a game about incremental achievements. You learn something then move on to the next little thing. Eventually you get to the point where you know so many little things it's insane. That's without all the real world knowledge you learn about geology and the like.

[@lelagrangeeffectphysics4120]

Now how many times have you pierced the clown car for cotton candy?

[@_CoderX_]

I've made a fort once with the sole purpose to get to the circus and play with the clowns, and of course have FUN

[@lelagrangeeffectphysics4120]

@@_CoderX_ Eh I prefer when it isn't made specificly for that its nice seeing the clowns prettying around an a natural roomscape

[@MCArt25]

It wouldn't be a hard game if it had a GUI, yes.

[@TNTspaz]

Thank you for introducing me to my favorite game. Before I watched this video I had always heard of df but never tried to play it before. I have now put over 100 hours in and probably many more to come. Df also got me into mod creation. Again I can't thank you enough for introducing me to this game last year.

[@NeverKnowsBest]

Thanks for taking the time to come back here and leave this comment. I'm happy to hear you found so much enjoyment in the game and its good to know that I played some part in that. Good luck with the mod creation.

[@Nohbdy_Ahtall]

So far lovin' all the video, but (and as a non-ASCII user actually) ASCII adds something else very specific.... it's the same effect of reading a book vs. watching a movie.... that "lack of detail" does wonders for the imagination. There is a difference between seeing danger as a tile-sized, drawn-out sprite and seeing it as a simple letter. Sometimes it is the shape of the letter that seems to be given a life, and other times it feels more like a coordinate system, letting your mind fill in all the spots beyond what is given in position as its supplemented by its position or your past experiences with it.

[@MCArt25]

The lack of UI really makes the game beautiful, like typing your own code, which it literally is, except even stupider

[@evil001987]

I started playing Dwarf fortress relatively early, I missed the first version, but I started on 40d in 2007. I learned all of the UI key-strokes muscle memory and I've still to this day never liked the graphics packs, and I am glad I did, I wouldn't want to learn it from the bottom today. The reason is just like you describe it. the ASCII adds more. By removing the graphics it becomes more alive. The graphics packs aren't well enough detailed to ever have a match against your own imagination.

[@Thalanox]

I always insist on one thing: a square aspect ratio in ascii. I want to be able to accurately judge distances, but the 8x12 default font ratio is aggravating.

[@evil001987]

@@MCArt25 That is possible to change in the base game, no additional downloads needed, but you need to go into the init-file to change it. This program he uses can change it easier.

[@matrixarsmusicworkshop561]

Every creature no matter if as a letter or as a texture is still an enemy of same complexicity

[@EliosMoonElios]

This is THE REAL GOD SIMULATOR, all the other like populous and Black & White are mere puzzle games with extra steps.

[@malalalalalala]

Man i've been thinking about trying it out for so long now. I love Rimworld and love the stories i hear from people playing Dwarf Fortress. Even though i'm really scared of the UI i'll give it a try!

[@tunktungu9145]

How did it go?

[@Soulsphere001]

Aesthetics is what really matters, not graphics so much. Gameplay is the most important aspect of a video game, which is why games like Dwarf Fortress, Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead, Into the Breach, Don't Starve, and others are great games that have more staying power than games with the top graphical quality and will be remembered for a long time to come. That said, graphical quality is becoming much easier to implement, video game developers don't have to waste as much time and effort on graphics. So we're getting to the point where gameplay can be prioritized again. The question is: Will gameplay be prioritized?

[@derekredgate1982]

Cataclysm DDA, Tales of Maj'Eyal, and of Course Dwarf Fortress are the greatest games in existence I would argue! Factorio gets my booby prize as I do love that game as well! Happy to see that it has been the catalyst to more games of the like.

[@leifybear2286]

This has made me pick up this game and it is incredible! thank you for this review.

[@NeverKnowsBest]

Good to hear, hope you have fun with it.

[@JoriaanPanda]

Genuinely interesting reflections on what it'd mean if a paradigm shift of focus in game development would happen, something that we should muse on more as entire videogaming community as a whole. Also legit informative and surprisingly concise video on what is, without a doubt, a game that's very hard to explain in adequate detail without writing a novel about it. Very impressed! Liked and subbed, glad I found your channel.

[@allenwold4097]

I'm a late subscriber, so I just discovered this, and decided to watch it because your insight, writing, and analysis are so good. That said, other sim games cannot be compared to this. The degree of detail is incredible. I played The Sims, and Sim City for a while, and enjoyed them, but I am no longer part of the market for this kind of game, though I can understand why it is so important for some people. You are right about that. I'll keep on watching your videos, hoping that you'll review a game that, despite its commercial success or failure, is exactly what I want. Until then, being a writer, I'll keep on writing the stories I want to write, the way I want them to be, despite market advice. I do have a few fans, which makes it all worth while.

[@studionomad6206]

Started playing again the past couple of days and this was great motivation. Been waiting for good DF videos for a while

[@Destragond]

Can't stand Spacefox because it's way too hard to differentiate between walls and floors. "Stress has been made too easy." Haha, this must have been written before version 44.10.

[@JezaGaia]

My thoughts exactly on the dwarf happiness and tantrum spirals, it's been brutal again in the last few versions

[@treyholman8440]

Ironhand is best for clarity but I guess we could always just edit the tile sets too.

[@TheLordboki]

Remember that time you remembered remembering that you remember you got wet in rain? Your Axelord does.

[@anthonybracuti6898]

@@JezaGaia i was always disappointed by the "nerfing" of the old thoughts system, i'm rather glad its become a lot harder again

[@babycloud1597]

@@treyholman8440 yes, finally an ironhand user

[@Phrenotopia]

I was interested in DF that I heard so much of, so I just wanted to watch a review and this was quite OK, until I came to 23:32 and onwards and was BLOWN AWAY! You, sir, uncover some very important observations about the gaming industry and I applaud you for that. This has been my own gripe for many years. Whereas I love games like Civilization in most of its incarnations, the gameplay has barely changed since the eighties, only its graphics! Instead of going into mere detail of building a civilization, a society, they instead went into more detailed graphics with every iteration. Imagine if the game was developed towards DF philosophy instead with modern day processing power!

[@Latronibus]

3D brought new gameplay potential. Super Mario 64, for example, has gameplay elements that its predecessors couldn't implement. It revolutionized shooter games too, with the advent of games like Quake and Goldeneye 007. It's after that where things started to slip away, and the focus on graphical fidelity started to really detract from gameplay. DF's 3D is kind of a double-edged sword just because of how hard it is to determine "is there any path from A to B?", which is a real issue once you breach the caverns. Also because the cave-in mechanics make zero sense.

[@davidburton9690]

@@Latronibus DF and Civilization aren't twitchy games, though. How many poorly voiced Ghandi mumbles do I really need in diplomatic talks? Now, hitting him with a rail gun, I totally get that!

[@Latronibus]

@@davidburton9690 It's true that the graphical improvements to Civ haven't really changed the gameplay; they could've stopped at Civ III graphics and it would still be perfectly intelligible with no "graphical learning curve". But 3D affected more than just twitchy games, at the very least it also affected puzzle games. And strategy games with height elements just barely snuck by by taking advantage of isometric depictions.

[@Skullybot]

Man i have been binge watching your videos, and every single one of them is rock solid and enjoyable. Even your older ones! Hope you get to 100k soon.

[@ismaelsantos5378]

Little tale: I play both Dwarf Fortress and Warframe. On my fort (at the time) I had a blacksmith, who got possesed and made an artifact adamantine dagger. In Warframe I play the frame Ash, who is a ninja that throws stars, casts smoke bombs and has deadly wristblades. What was the name of that dagger my blacksmith made? "Smokefields, the blades of ash". So I built a giant altar for it, and a royal room for the blacksmith (who proceeded to sleep on the floor despite having a bed in it). Eventually that room became his mausoleum (well, with the death toll on the fort, pretty much every room was a tomb, including the dinning room which was full of filled caskets which the ones eating paid no mind to). Eventually the fort fell and the dagger was lost, so I started an adventurer to retrieve it, and I succeeded after losing an arm to the Kobold that took it. Then I ventured into a forsaken vault and oneshotted the resident archangel in it. Sadly I got severely wounded on my way out, but my adventurer managed to crawl to a deep cavern and jump into a magma pool. To this day that dagger is still there, and it's better that way.

[@Thalanox]

Both Dwarf Fortress and Warframe are notorious for being incomprehensible for stupid people to learn. I like to think that this generally increases the quality of the userbase.

[@april5054]

@@Thalanox If you're a good representation of the majority of the userbase it clearly makes it worse.

[@Thalanox]

@@april5054 I've looked through the Dwarf Fortress forums and the Minecraft forums. The DF community is worlds better than the Minecraft one. Dumbing things down to the lowest common denominator lowers the overall quality of the userbase. Other games with significant intelligence gating, like some space-themed games, also stand out as having amazing communities. They make tons of guides and user materials specifically for newer players (just like DF's community), make playthrough videos that have a story in them, and sometimes even turn their playthroughs into published stories. The more intimidating and challenging the hobby is, the more friendly, open, and generous the community is. It's necessary to have filters of some kind to build a good community. Take bus transit during late rush hour in an environment with lots of low income people, and compare that to the people on the commuter bus at 5:45 am. You get radically different selections of the population. The selection that has more hoops to jump through to get there (having a job that starts super-early, having to get to an early plane (being goal-driven), etc.) is the kind that you'll enjoy being in more.

[@YahyaFalcon]

@@Thalanox I have a question: why is this game so boring to watch?

[@Thalanox]

@@YahyaFalcon The game is meant to be played, not watched. Not everything is a spectator sport.

[@Themaxxrad99]

I remember the first time I played dwarf fortress and had my mind blown. My brother was helping me and said 'hey probably gotta get some food soon' so I ran after a lama. Didnt know it was gonna be a battle but and battle it was an in the middle of which I had clawed off the lama's ear as I had lost my dagger in it's ribs and didnt know how to get it back. After it was all said an done I looted the lama and saw the ear I had clawed off was lootable now, my jaw hit the floor. The new journey of magog toot and his collection of enemy skulls began. Wonderful game where you really make your story and it had so much to provide it's amazing. Magog began carving bone sculptures when I retired him all depicting events of his battles but often the battles with animals and not humans even if the bone hes carving on was a humans/elves.

[@rylandrc]

17:05 Dwarves are also too happy, particularly when they don't do any work" Seems about right XD

[@animorph17]

The best story I've read from a Dwarf Fortress game is the tale of Boatmurdered. I really wish I could find more dwarf fortress stuff along those lines.

[@clispyleaf]

DF being the antithesis to a modern AAA game is exactly why I love it so much. And yes, I am one of those people who use ASCII and laugh at the plebs using tilesets :P

[@imbaplayer7]

I use ascii tilesets. What now?

[@Thalanox]

Every time I make a new installation of the game, I always have to have square tiles. So I install a square ascii tileset. I've tried image-based tilesets, but they screw with the UI more than I'd like.

[@imbaplayer7]

@@Thalanox One of the reasons why I use ascii and the default game + dfhack instead of the lnp. Too many things at work that are messing with the game. All main functions in the launcher you can easily modify yourself in d_init.txt and init.txt

[@Thalanox]

@Francisco Justo Using a square ascii tileset is exactly what I was doing. I don't thik your suggestion changes things.

[@evilbob840]

Most likely, your dwarf in the tree was picking fruit. Then either 1: they kept working after getting thirsty and only went for a drink after dehydration started kicking in, 2: they had originally climbed up the trunk and couldn't find the path to get back down, or 3: they climbed up on a stepladder, and then another dwarf stored the ladder in the furniture stockpile. Disabling picking fruit in a gathering zone prevents this problem.

[@ferusgratia]

Whenever I look at footage of Dwarf Fortress I feel like I'm looking at the Matrix.

[@jpa3974]

I've always been very curious to play this game, but unfortunately the barrier it puts to the player is almost insurmountable to "normal" people who don't have much free time. In my case, the barrier was not the graphics (you learn to "read" the game after a while) but the interface and the menus. It's all so anti-intuitive and convoluted that I had the feeling that the author of the game does not care about the players. He seems like the genius who obsessed with creating his masterpiece but does not care to make it accessible. A masterpiece that will never have the deserved appreciation out of a niche. An example: Directional arrows move the cursor in the menus. However, when you enter the "help" menu (the first thing we do), the arrows no longer work to navigate the menu, now you need to make use of the + and -. There is no warning at all and I literally had to search Google for the solution to navigate the game menu!

[@benjaminblack91]

The secret is to always use all the graphics/interface mods you can. DF with mods is 100x more playable than without. The PeridexisErrant's Starter Pack is the best collection of these mods I have found, making a wide array of mods accessible to those without technical expertise. The other secret is to always google everything. This game was created to make it fun to play even by the creator, googling everything will enhance your experience of the game, not diminish it.

[@mistry6292]

I literally just started playing 2 days ago

[@mistry6292]

Just watch nookorium's video tutorial (the 40 minute one) and play along with it

[@jpa3974]

@@benjaminblack91 Thank you! I'll follow your suggestion.

[@jpa3974]

@@mistry6292 Thanks for the sugestion.

[@atimholt]

I highly recommend the Meph tileset. It comes with a launcher based off the one recommended in the vid, but the tileset includes hundreds, if not thousands, of textures for basically everything in every material. It even has transparency so you can see the floor underneath things.

[@Ubertrio]

Excellent video. Without wanting to sound like an echo chamber, I agree with everything you said.

[@NeverKnowsBest]

thanks

[@images650]

I learnt to play dwarf fortress without the starter pack and still play without it.

[@Thalanox]

Me too. I browsed the wiki for a bit for my fun for a few days before playing it.

[@mikolajrowinski7794]

Man, you point out a realy big problem, under this long and indepth analysis of dwarf fortress is realy powerful meaning Thank you for your meaningful opinion

[@TheAwillz]

I found it easy to get into after changing the graphics set. My favourite game of all time. Edit: Good video as well mate!

[@MaxSDSF]

TheAwillz what set do you use?

[@gxldbvby6425]

The graphics section of this vid seems to overly diminish the spectrum of graphics and it seems a little disingenuous. There IS an issue with the industry and photo-realistic graphics - but that doesnt mean the concept doesnt have a particular value nor that there isnt a sleugh of other approaches to graphical style that dont have have just as important a value. I mean your review touches on it somewhat - in many ways Dwarf Fortresses lack of a visual pass makes it ACTIVELY less useable as software. If triple A devs busting their game design over visual fidelty is one type of negative extreme, Dwarf Fortress IS occupying the other extreme in a mirrored way

[@Vikn01]

Agreed. Well put. It's some faux-hot take to express constant disdain for graphical quality which bothers me a lot. It seems like some who perceive themselves to be "hardcore" gamers have an obligatory issue with impressive visuals. I think it comes from people wanting to feel like a true gaming sommelier and due to a lack of critical thought they opt to be overly critical of popular mechanics, features, series, etc...I could be wrong, but it seems to me it comes from people trying so hard to be a thoughtful "true and knowledgeable critic" but don't want to put forth the effort and develop thoughtful opinions. Basically, they want to appear to have depth but don't. That's an easy/lazy way to appear intelligent while avoiding the (minimal) cerebral investment required to develop fleshed out opinions. My point in mentioning my long term interest in this game was that I very often care a lot about graphics. I've spent two weeks modding out and reshading every Total War game since Rome II to achieve top tier graphics. I'm far from a thoughtful critic or anything of the sort, but it just tells me that anyone should be capable of putting forth the minimal effort to think about their critical nature with something as ubiquitous as "good graphics". Like you said, there IS an issue with an over reliance on them in SOME cases...but often pseudo critics will bitch and moan about anything with high end visuals, dismissing it based on that in an effort to appear thoughtful while really just advertising their inability or unwillingness to think about their opinions, instead basing them on what is trendy or hipster-hottakes...such as an overarching disdain for the pursuit of photo realism in games. I only use myself as an example with Dwarf Fortress and Total War because to me, as a borderline retarded person, if I can figure out how transparent that shit seems then anyone should be able to. I have more disdain for someone choosing not to apply thought to the things they vocalize than someone who is incapable of doing so. Plus, having hipster opinions/trying to have the hottest take is pretty embarrassing. I have a theory on why this type of hyperbolizing, negative, false critic/simpleton is more prevalent in "nerd" communities, but this comment is already too long and I need to practice some form of brevity online to lessen my unwilling periodic "reflecting on all the long comments then cringing because slow people can easily dismiss it as an insane person thing to do". And I don't say nerd in a derogatory manner, more a descriptor for lack of another term. I am into obscenely nerdy shit and, while I didn't have the "nerd" experience in school or whatever, I am certainly nerdier than a vast majority of people so I feel like I can describe people that way.

[@samuelleumas6157]

@@Vikn01 this whole comment is some tryhard poser stuff, maybe just say your opinion on the matter at hand and don't get meta on your comment habits and how they may be perceived by "slow" people. Jesus.

[@TSZatoichi]

FYI, you can quit without saving through the Windows Task Manager, you'll still be attacked by the Forgotten Beast that made you quit in the first place, but it's randomized, so instead of a creature that shoots webs you may get one that just spits fire.

[@YaGirlJuniper]

Much as I love this game, the reason Dwarf Fortress isn't more popular is first and foremost the controls, which are *at best* cumbersome and unintuitive. There are no mouse controls by default. There's a hotkey for everything, but that's the only way to operate those functions, so you NEED to know it, as well as what's behind the menu it pops up, to have a chance to find what it is you're looking for. For the past week, I forgot where the button was to stop dwarves from cooking Plump Helmets in meals, which is important because cooking Plump Helmets rewards no seeds and they're better off being brewed into drinks (which does reward seeds). I frantically searched everywhere until I realized it was under z > Kitchen > scroll to Plump Helmet and press c. There are also a LOT of bugs which make the game behave in a silly way but which you need to know in order to master it. Did you know that Building Destroyers can't destroy adjacent buildings if they don't have some means of standing next to it on the same Z-level? Did you know that workshops have impassable tiles which are darker in color, and that if you build a Magma Workshop whose only open spaces are covered by those impassable tiles, building destroyers can't get in? That's important! If you cover it with the wrong spaces, Magma Men can still get in and wreck your fortress! There's also a LOT of mistakes you can make which will never become apparent to a new player until DAYS into playing the game, but which can either end your fortress or condemn it to a slow death by tantrum spirals, and it's very possible that by the time you discover the mistake, it's too late to fix it and you have to just start over in a new location. Now, of course, a big part of the fun of Dwarf Fortress is losing to these game-ending mistakes, but because of the long turnaround time on each of these mistakes, that also means you have to have a lot of free time with which to lose. Free time is rare and valuable these days. It's also greatly inhibited by how heavy Pathfinding and Fluid Mechanics are on the CPU, compounded by the fact that it's single-threaded and will probably never be multi-threaded. Every fort has to take steps to carefully manage its FPS or be condemned to FPS death. That's not even a fun way to lose, mostly because you didn't actually lose, it just stopped being fun to play, and it's also virtually impossible to actually discover what's actually killing your FPS. If anything limits your creativity, it's that. It's the least fun way to lose imaginable. I love this game, but let's be real, it took a looot of work to get here, and you need a lot of patience to deal with its bullshit.

[@user-ze7hp2jf5x]

I played it, first game of dwarf fortress was trying to build a haunted fortress at a sinister place, needless to say it was a total success, that game haunts me till this day...

[@storytimewiththecrimsondm1318]

I came for a review and found something much better; a love letter to one of my favorite games of all time. This video was great. XD

[@MrMaltavius]

Just accepting that the game isn't made for mouse makes it ALOT quicker. Just use the Numpad for navigating everything and then press the keys. Also learn the Macro record and play feature. Touch typing is a must for everything nowadays anyways so that's not a bad thing

[@bathynomusgiganteus2916]

Learn DVORAK

[@duncanlutz3698]

This. Even when I was running DFHack, I still never bothered with mouse controls. Your keyboard is where all the shortcuts are for quick menu navigation. Taking a hand off the keyboard to grab the mouse means losing access to most of these. So I was constantly having to bounce my hand from the keyboard back to the mouse... and it was terribly inefficient. It takes a little getting used to, but feels much better. The main keybinds are simple enough... b->w->c is Build Workshop Carpenter. While the menus could use some much needed standardization (building stairs uses a different key than mining them out, for starters), most of them make sense like that. The lesser used ones, like grates and beehives? Yeah I'll have to look those up. And all the options in various submenus, like the workshop orders, are all clearly labeled so you don't need to keep them memorized. Oh, and you can hold down shift to jump 10 squares at a time with your cursor. Plus you can save certain locations to a hotkey for easy cycling. Like hotkey the dining room, the entrance to your fort, the mining tunnels, the farms, hospital, etc. Then just tap a key to jump between them for easy navigation throughout your fort. I strongly suspect those that hate the UI the most are those that don't actually know how to type.... you know, the key peckers that can't type without actually looking at the keyboard/hunting for keys individually.

[@Xegethra]

Sort of makes sense to catch a fire breathing dragon in a wooden cage on a fire standpoint, wouldn't want to set itself on fire now. However it probably would be able to break through.

[@hornyonmain7085]

What drew me to Dwarf Fortress were the graphics. In a way I found them strangely beautiful when I first saw them and now I find it strange to see actual graphics

[@jaykelley103]

clicked like for the vid, clicked sub for the channel name. (also clicked sub because of the very professional and thorough nature of the review. good shit, dude.)

[@comyuse9103]

i started my first real attempt at a fortress earlier tonight, it has gone really well! i have a pretty functional fort and i had enough breathing room to go for a few vanity projects (like a massive entry hall/common room), and i am almost done with a channel to re-route the river for a moat and easier access to fresh water! i just gotta mine the last few tiles (and install a floodgate so i can have full mastery of my environment, like any good dwarf). the only problems come from my huntress (who is totally my favorite) who seems to be constantly having a bizarre, ammo-less adventure in the wilderness and some weremoose blood, which is scary to just find out in the woods.

[@snakeinthereeds]

I keep playing with ASCII myself since I'm used to it by now and, after playing with tilesets for a long while and then not playing at all, starting from scratch on a new download felt pleasantly nostalgic somehow so I let it be. Playing without Dwarf Therapist is the actual self-flagelation challenge, though.

[@anthonybracuti6898]

I hate it when a new version comes out and dwarf therapist hasn't caught up yet; its such an improvement to overall fortress management

[@Thalanox]

I find that Dwarf Therapist only becomes mandatory at around 60 dwarves. Before that point, it's kind of manageable.

[@matthewp4046]

Pretty good review video! As others have been saying, it was clearly well thought out and covered a pretty great range of the relevant issues.

[@scc1940]

wow, i'm impressed by your review it's just so good. It's not about what everyone who do not play it say but what someone who has played it say.

[@scc1940]

i've never seen one of your videos, this is the first one and i have to say the way you explained all, the logic behind everything and how you see everything and express yourself is just astonishing. One of the best reviews of all the reviews that i have seen.

[@NeverKnowsBest]

Thank you. I appreciate you saying that.

[@LeggyLegends]

The closing statements of this video get more true and more relevant every single day in this industry. Thinking alot about Cyberpunk and how obsessed everyone is in graphical fidelity instead of systems or even stability at this point. It blows me away how CONSISTENTLY we see more stylized indie games succeed while more triple a "graphics powerhouses" flop as buggy half baked stripped down disappointments, and yet the major outlets and general opinion still hyper focuses on graphics above all else.

[@kanrup5199]

game itself does not need to be more hard than you choose it to be, just the interface is not friendly and there is a learning curve at first. Game difficulty depends on from place where you choose to embark to and settle in.

[@Thalanox]

The game isn't harder than other games, DF just _thinks differently_ than other games. It's no more difficult than learning any other game, it's just that there are fewer elements from other games you've already learned that would transfer over. I played MUDs before DF, and I had zero trouble adjusting. I was just slow as I was learning the new controls and how to do things, but it wasn't difficult.

[@Romalian]

This review basically told me this game is a micromanaging simulator and is a very hard game to have fun with. I can't imagine how you can have fun with this game, judging by the details of this review.

[@NeverKnowsBest]

Its much more of a macro-managing simulator than micro, but you're right that its not for everyone.

[@elcidbob]

90 seconds in: you missed the biggest reason people don't play it: learning the controls. Tons of people can easily get over graphics, especially with tile sets, but much of how you interact with the game, forgetting entirely having to learn the mechanics, is a huge and frustrating slog that tons don't have the patience to push through no matter the reward on the other side. Look at the reaction to rimworld which could be called a dwarf-lite. Complexity is lower, but the biggest thing that makes it more accessible is simply the interface differences.

[@wadegruber2119]

Good critical review. I really wonder if the failure to improve the interface is a form of aspirational branding. As long as the problems remain unfixed, people can say "Someday, the game will be massively better." and it creates a dream. As soon as the problems get fixed, people can say "Sweet, the problems are fixed. I can stop caring now."

[@fearofchicke]

Love me some in-depth gameplay with graphics taking a back seat.

[@murffist]

Thank you for this Video! After watching it several times, I gave this game a try and now it's my favorite game, at the time! Love your other Videos too!

[@GeorgeC-S]

This is a great review, I've watched it through 3 times already

[@mihneacateanu3808]

Great analysis, but I think Rimworld was worth mentioning. If you're intrigued by Dwarf Fortress but the UI and balance issues scares you away, look into Rimworld. It's heavily influenced by DF but with a modern UI (still tile based), fully playable by mouse. It's not as deep or ambitious as DF, but it's still super detailed and not in a perpetual alpha/beta state. It's not free, but imo the 20-30$ price is still great value...if you get into it you can easily put hundreds of hours in.

[@ScoopDogg]

When a rock cleaves off a chickens anus and dislodges in its spine causing death through slow blood loss while breathing shallow due to its left lung collapsing as it collapsed sideways against a tree ( a Birch Tree may I add) you know you have a bloody detailed game right there. :/

[@drkokolores]

Dwarf Fortress: sixteen thousand times the detail!

[@rogerwilco2]

My biggest reason not to play it, is the user interface and graphics. I don't like that the same sprite/character can represent multiple things. I just find that hard to wrap my head around.

[@_CoderX_]

You can always customize the tileset anyway you like, just look at the ones on the starter pack and tweak at will.

[@Thalanox]

How did you handle learning about algebra in high school, and how "X" could represent multiple things? Knowing that you could just use a "loo*k*" command to check out all the things that were on the tile, I don't think this is a real complaint.

[@Predatornc1]

RogerWilco They are making a steam version with better graphics.

[@CommieG]

This is a fresh ass video

[@bryan0x05]

Anyone else waiting for the steam edition to get into this game?

[@tomorbataar5922]

Have a subscription, mate! Gotta say you're criminally unknown, these reviews and critiques are well thought out and well made.

[@NeverKnowsBest]

I'm glad you enjoy them and thanks for the sub.

[@harishganesan3575]

You sounded like a corporate leader when you said the dwarfs are too happy.

[@DKannji]

Note: Game development does costs more than they did 20 years ago... but they don't cost the ridiculous amount that AAA studios claim. The reason why the games cost more to produce for AAA has more to do with the need to pay licenses, shareholders and other such nonsense.

[@NeverKnowsBest]

Well compare stuff like nintendos big games from the snes era, stuff like mario world and super metroid, to games like god of war and rdr2. Look at how many people worked on big game projects back then compared to now, its around 10x more today. And look at the total development time, something that has also increased. The cost of manpower has went way up.

[@Haltfire302]

I'm not sure where you're pulling the "doesn't cost more than they did 20 years ago" figure from, but I think it's pretty common knowledge that is wrong.

[@DKannji]

Oops, didn't catch that typo. Was maybe thinking a bit too far ahead, as having "doesn't" in both the first and second sentence makes 0 sense, and doesn't represent my view properly.

[@murffist]

I just wanted to say thank you! You caused me to retry DF and it is indeed my favorite game of all time now! I just remembered that you were the Origin! Your other Videos are cool too btw. ^^

[@Captain_Max]

I am sorely tempted to try DF again. Last time I tried was like 5 years ago. I resigned due to potash

[@a_wild_Kirillian]

Yeah, that's the best video not only about the game but the ideas behind it. Nice!

[@baggachippz484]

I was looking for this game all my life now I found my purpose in life

[@RealMisterDoge]

JUST when I forgot what the video was about during your rant about graphics, you looped it back to Dwarf Fortress and tied it all together Not bad

[@andrews2727]

You'll do a lot more reading of that combat log if you try out the adventure mode. Makes it into a permadeath adventure game and was my way of exploring the world and experiencing all that history.

[@roadyroads6408]

Wow. Thank you. For showing me this. I loved this and all your videos. Good job.

[@quickpawmaud]

I like the Obsidian tile set but nobody else seems to everyone goes for Phoebus or Spacefox

[@AksamRafiz]

Thank you so much for doing this , I've always wanted to start but never could.

[@AntsanParcher]

I once started playing DF in text mode on a terminal, using fbterm to force the grid to be square. That gave a really interesting braiding effect with wall corners.

[@thesaltyj6600]

Wow, awesome video, especially your plea at the end

[@Helltamirre]

" Remember, you don't have to kill the elves, but it's better if you do." Have a like.

[@ThisVideoAnnoyedMe]

The original Doom had rooms with 100s of monsters in open spaces which left 100s of corpses once killed and there's still no game today that reaches that level because graphics prevent more than like 20 to ever be displayed at the same time...

[@5ecretcode]

the steam version is going to be interesting if they can fix the UI.

[@ScoopDogg]

Took me a while to get started, till I realised to turn CAPS lock off aaargh

[@DrGuretOnizuka]

This game seems easier to wrap the head around than Amazing Cultivator Simulator.

[@NimhLabs]

One fortress that was finished off by Zombie Chincillas had most of its inhabitants killed by Dwarfs getting stuck in trees. I've now taken it as a requirement that every tree needs to be chopped down as one of the first goals of any new fortress. I will not lose the same numbers to those trees taking up my Dwarfs... Also... apparently there was some bug/glitch that caused Trees to suck up Dwarfs like Cats suck up frame rates.

[@dayvancubensis]

Does anyone know the source of the music playing around 23:00 until the end of the video? The instrumental track with the electric piano heard prominently. It sounds like a track from the Her (2013) soundtrack (scored by Arcade Fire), but I wasn't sure whether it's that or licensed music that just sounds like the soundtrack. Excellent video by the way, I've never even played Dwarf Fortress but in less than half an hour you've made me very tempted to download it. I can already see myself getting sucked into this game...

[@Hgulix62]

Rimwold is a game less complicated and with more pleasant graphics than Dwarf Fortress. Try it if you want to be more familiar with some mechanics. ps : vanilla isn't that deep but mods add alot of mechanics that can make the game pretty challenging!

[@SCUBAelement-Intl]

Wow, you really know your stuff! You taught me so much!! Thanks now I think I can tackle actually playing it!

[@LanzeGames]

It's not like i don't wanna play it... I've tried and failed every time because of the counter-intuitive UI / UX.

[@AlecH1313]

For me, the main thing holding me back with DF was and is the controls. I don't like having to use my keyboard for everything, I like Rimworld a lot better because of that.

[@Thalanox]

Keyboard controls are objectively superior. Mouse-only controls on a game that has enough going on to be interesting are absurdly convoluted.

[@davidburton9690]

Just get a keyboard that you want to use, swap the fapping keyboard in after playing DF

[@V3x0r]

I would love to see this game in the modern graphics age. Spent years at work playing this on the side.