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I've never been able to get into DF but I would suggest people check out RimWorld. I've heard it described as "Dwarf Fortress is Rimworld for people who hate fu

I've never been able to get into DF but I would suggest people check out RimWorld. I've heard it described as "Dwarf Fortress is Rimworld for people who hate fun" [0] and people often draw parallels between the two [1]. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/RimWorld/comments/7dm7j8/how_does_rimworld_compare_to_dwarf_fortress/ https://www.reddit.com/r/RimWorld/comments/7dm7j8/how_does_r... [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/RimWorld/comments/6xeie3/coming_over_from_dwarf_fortress_i_feel_like_my/dmfb8rm/ https://www.reddit.com/r/RimWorld/comments/6xeie3/coming_ove...

rjbwork 8y ago
I love RimWorld, and have hundreds of hours in it, but I'd say it's really more like Babby's First DF game than truly comparable to DF. It just doesn't have the depth, or capability to present a deep challenge forever. It also takes place in a single layer, whereas DF has gobs of layers.
- apk-d 8y ago
  I actually really enjoy the way RimWorld's gameplay is simpler and more focused. Feels more like a game you actually get to play and less like a simulation you feel compelled to tweak every few hundred ticks. Obviously, you're not going to get "infinite hours of gameplay" out of it the way you can with DF, but it can be a fun ride for hundreds of hours.
  - MrZongle2 8y ago
    The other thing going for Rimworld is Steam Workshop integration and a very robust modding community. You want Warhammer 40K in Rimworld? Got it. You want Lovecraftian horrors in Rimworld? Got it. You want different types of cats, or barbed wire, or typewriters? Got it.
  - jredwards 8y ago
    RimWorld has a giant and engaged modding community. I know many people with multiple thousands of hours in the game. There's also a very active subreddit at r/RimWorld
- danso 8y ago
  Same. I haven’t played DF nearly as many hours as Rimworld, but I can still grok that DF contains far more surprises and emergent gameplay. That said, Rimworld has proven to me how useful a pleasant GUI can be. Even though the gameplay loops are ultimately very predictable I’m always surprised at how I can get sucked into a session with it’s relaxing rythyms.
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 8y ago
    I played DF many years ago when the modding scene was a lot younger and found it’s complexity to be too intimidating. I eventually quit playing after a few weeks because of it. I’ve been playing the hell out of RimWorld over the past few weeks. It really is a great entry to the kind of game DF is. The creator did a really good job of designing mechanisms to hold your hand in the beginning. The warnings on the right hand side of the screen were a godsend for me picking up RimWorld to make sure that my housekeeping was in enough shape to keep exploring without having an entire colony wipe for some ridiculous reason. It’s made me ready to try to tackle DF again after successfully running colonies in RimWorld. I suspect someone can mod DF to give the same kind of gentler entry experience (if they haven’t already).
    - Aromasin 8y ago
      "The Lazy Newb Pack" has always been a must for me, and for me made it finally playable and enjoyable. One you get the hang of the "Dwarf Therapist" component, the game suddenly becomes much more approachable.
  - rjbwork 8y ago
    That is a really good point. Rimworld has a predictable and fairly simple loop, but it's a good one, and the UI lets you easily and fully manage everything and react to situations appropriately.
- bduerst 8y ago
  >It just doesn't have the depth Literally. There's no z-levels, which really kills it for me in a post-apocalyptic sim where you can't dig a defensive moat or put riflemen in towers.
chobeat 8y ago
Rimworld is kinda lame if you've played DF. They are not even comparable.
- Pfhreak 8y ago
  Rimworld is wonderful if you've played DF. They are very similar games with different levels of complexity and detail.
- LoSboccacc 8y ago
  how so? the production chain is almost as deep. the damage model it's close in detail, and it's not terribly broken (whips anyone?) which should count as far as features go. you can actually caravan, explore people and exterminate faction without being restricted into adventure mode. and when you ask a neighbor for something in the caravan, you get what you asked. weather and climate is much more prominent, including more dangerous event like dry thunderstorm; the storyteller driven game is also quite ahead of seasonal invaders. husbandry is about the same and farming has terrain and light modifiers. as far as game mechanics go rimworld lack building on multiple z levels and fluids. and then you have gnomoria.... the real differentiation is the depth world history that df has that's quite unique. I love dwarf fortress, but let's not put that on a golden pillar.
  - mlindner 8y ago
    * Simplistic world generation that doesn't really have a concept of weather or geography/climate. * No liquid simulation (water/lava) with little physics simulation (falling/flying objects etc) * Simplistic combat simulation * No world politics simulation that dictates what happens in the world * No 3D is the biggest one. RimWorld is Dwarf Fortress as it was a decade ago with a single 2D sheet.
    - LoSboccacc 8y ago
      * true, mentioned it * true, mentioned it * not really, you get layers and damage type and bleeding and organ failures impacting pawn abilities * not really you can do diplomacy in rimworld between the colony and factions and it's deeper than current fortress mode options. diplomacy in worldgen is non actionable. * true, mentioned it the issue is 4/5 of those thing you repeat from my post don't add to gameplay (fluids) and some detracts even (path has severe issues caused by stairways).
billfruit 8y ago
I heard some people recommend Oxygen Not Included, as also being in a similar vein, albeit at a smaller scale(ie, you have only 2 or 3 people in your colony), but with nice visuals (Klei are generally good with the animations, most things are animated, machines have cranks and pinions that move, water and other liquids actually flow with gravity, and visuals match the simulation as far as I have seen). ONI has a somewhat detailed array of systems like electrical wiring, plumbing( separate systems different for liquids and gases, with pumps, sumps, valves, etc), thermal management, people management (food, sleep, breathing air quality, lighting, waste management, morale, etc.)
- Faark 8y ago
  Hardly comparable to Rimworld. ONI doesn't have combat beyond slaughtering animals. You can end up with your colony starving or suffocating, but you usually caused it yourself / were not careful enough. It also feels like the later part of ONI was quite a bit influenced by Factorio, leading to lots of automation while Rimworld pretty much only only tech subsystem is an electrical grid that explodes whenever you do well.
  - ConnorG 8y ago
    My first somewhat successful ONI run resulted in me over producing oxygen. Cut to the mid game and now all the tunnels are packed full of bacteria laced oxygen that I can barely keep up scrubbing. All the while my dudes' ears are constantly popping due to the high amount of pressure from the sheer amount of oxygen being pumped into the base.
mlindner 8y ago
RimWorld doesn't really compare. The world is dead comparatively.
billfruit 8y ago
Also (since RimWorld has been mentioned) Prison Architect, may also have some similar qualities, like complex intertwined systems, and emergent events like prison riots, etc.
Symmetry 8y ago
After the second time I stayed up to 2 AM playing that I deleted it from my computer. Too much fun :(
- joshstrange 8y ago
  Then you should never install Factorio... :) I’ve put an ungodly number of hours into that game.

rjbwork 8y ago

I love RimWorld, and have hundreds of hours in it, but I'd say it's really more like Babby's First DF game than truly comparable to DF. It just doesn't have the depth, or capability to present a deep challenge forever. It also takes place in a single layer, whereas DF has gobs of layers.

apk-d 8y ago
I actually really enjoy the way RimWorld's gameplay is simpler and more focused. Feels more like a game you actually get to play and less like a simulation you feel compelled to tweak every few hundred ticks. Obviously, you're not going to get "infinite hours of gameplay" out of it the way you can with DF, but it can be a fun ride for hundreds of hours.
- MrZongle2 8y ago
  The other thing going for Rimworld is Steam Workshop integration and a very robust modding community. You want Warhammer 40K in Rimworld? Got it. You want Lovecraftian horrors in Rimworld? Got it. You want different types of cats, or barbed wire, or typewriters? Got it.
- jredwards 8y ago
  RimWorld has a giant and engaged modding community. I know many people with multiple thousands of hours in the game. There's also a very active subreddit at r/RimWorld
danso 8y ago
Same. I haven’t played DF nearly as many hours as Rimworld, but I can still grok that DF contains far more surprises and emergent gameplay. That said, Rimworld has proven to me how useful a pleasant GUI can be. Even though the gameplay loops are ultimately very predictable I’m always surprised at how I can get sucked into a session with it’s relaxing rythyms.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 8y ago
  I played DF many years ago when the modding scene was a lot younger and found it’s complexity to be too intimidating. I eventually quit playing after a few weeks because of it. I’ve been playing the hell out of RimWorld over the past few weeks. It really is a great entry to the kind of game DF is. The creator did a really good job of designing mechanisms to hold your hand in the beginning. The warnings on the right hand side of the screen were a godsend for me picking up RimWorld to make sure that my housekeeping was in enough shape to keep exploring without having an entire colony wipe for some ridiculous reason. It’s made me ready to try to tackle DF again after successfully running colonies in RimWorld. I suspect someone can mod DF to give the same kind of gentler entry experience (if they haven’t already).
  - Aromasin 8y ago
    "The Lazy Newb Pack" has always been a must for me, and for me made it finally playable and enjoyable. One you get the hang of the "Dwarf Therapist" component, the game suddenly becomes much more approachable.
- rjbwork 8y ago
  That is a really good point. Rimworld has a predictable and fairly simple loop, but it's a good one, and the UI lets you easily and fully manage everything and react to situations appropriately.
bduerst 8y ago
>It just doesn't have the depth Literally. There's no z-levels, which really kills it for me in a post-apocalyptic sim where you can't dig a defensive moat or put riflemen in towers.

chobeat 8y ago

Rimworld is kinda lame if you've played DF. They are not even comparable.

Pfhreak 8y ago
Rimworld is wonderful if you've played DF. They are very similar games with different levels of complexity and detail.
LoSboccacc 8y ago
how so? the production chain is almost as deep. the damage model it's close in detail, and it's not terribly broken (whips anyone?) which should count as far as features go. you can actually caravan, explore people and exterminate faction without being restricted into adventure mode. and when you ask a neighbor for something in the caravan, you get what you asked. weather and climate is much more prominent, including more dangerous event like dry thunderstorm; the storyteller driven game is also quite ahead of seasonal invaders. husbandry is about the same and farming has terrain and light modifiers. as far as game mechanics go rimworld lack building on multiple z levels and fluids. and then you have gnomoria.... the real differentiation is the depth world history that df has that's quite unique. I love dwarf fortress, but let's not put that on a golden pillar.
- mlindner 8y ago
  * Simplistic world generation that doesn't really have a concept of weather or geography/climate. * No liquid simulation (water/lava) with little physics simulation (falling/flying objects etc) * Simplistic combat simulation * No world politics simulation that dictates what happens in the world * No 3D is the biggest one. RimWorld is Dwarf Fortress as it was a decade ago with a single 2D sheet.
  - LoSboccacc 8y ago
    * true, mentioned it * true, mentioned it * not really, you get layers and damage type and bleeding and organ failures impacting pawn abilities * not really you can do diplomacy in rimworld between the colony and factions and it's deeper than current fortress mode options. diplomacy in worldgen is non actionable. * true, mentioned it the issue is 4/5 of those thing you repeat from my post don't add to gameplay (fluids) and some detracts even (path has severe issues caused by stairways).

billfruit 8y ago

I heard some people recommend Oxygen Not Included, as also being in a similar vein, albeit at a smaller scale(ie, you have only 2 or 3 people in your colony), but with nice visuals (Klei are generally good with the animations, most things are animated, machines have cranks and pinions that move, water and other liquids actually flow with gravity, and visuals match the simulation as far as I have seen). ONI has a somewhat detailed array of systems like electrical wiring, plumbing( separate systems different for liquids and gases, with pumps, sumps, valves, etc), thermal management, people management (food, sleep, breathing air quality, lighting, waste management, morale, etc.)

Faark 8y ago
Hardly comparable to Rimworld. ONI doesn't have combat beyond slaughtering animals. You can end up with your colony starving or suffocating, but you usually caused it yourself / were not careful enough. It also feels like the later part of ONI was quite a bit influenced by Factorio, leading to lots of automation while Rimworld pretty much only only tech subsystem is an electrical grid that explodes whenever you do well.
- ConnorG 8y ago
  My first somewhat successful ONI run resulted in me over producing oxygen. Cut to the mid game and now all the tunnels are packed full of bacteria laced oxygen that I can barely keep up scrubbing. All the while my dudes' ears are constantly popping due to the high amount of pressure from the sheer amount of oxygen being pumped into the base.

mlindner 8y ago

RimWorld doesn't really compare. The world is dead comparatively.

billfruit 8y ago

Also (since RimWorld has been mentioned) Prison Architect, may also have some similar qualities, like complex intertwined systems, and emergent events like prison riots, etc.

Symmetry 8y ago

After the second time I stayed up to 2 AM playing that I deleted it from my computer. Too much fun :(

joshstrange 8y ago
Then you should never install Factorio... :) I’ve put an ungodly number of hours into that game.