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This isn't really about the post, but after the article about Dwarf Fortress a couple of weeks ago, I decided to give it a try. I find the gameplay fun and ther

by lutorm 15y ago

This isn't really about the post, but after the article about Dwarf Fortress a couple of weeks ago, I decided to give it a try. I find the gameplay fun and there's definitely a lot to master, but the UI and the difficulty of visualizing what's going on are big obstacles. (There's a program called Stonesense that does isometric drawing of the world, but that seems to be it.) The Minecraft graphics are pretty basic, but even such a simple movable 3D view in DF would do wonders for situational awareness.

Natsu 15y ago
Of the two, I think Minecraft is more accessible, but both of them have their charm. Minecraft, I think, is the better sandbox, because you have more exact control over everything that goes on. But I love DF, too, in spite of the incredibly steep learning curve. It has, indirectly, caused me to learn about the soil triangle, material densities, farming, geology, bee keeping, soap making and quite a few other strange things. I think I've posted on that before, but there are a lot of interesting things in that game. It's weird seeing yourself go from wondering what on earth you're doing to getting to the point where you barely have to think about designating all the goblinite for melting or smelting limonite into iron or setting up an auto-locking magma death chamber with an easy reset switch.
sorbus 15y ago
Yeah, UI/graphics are a big learning curve for DF. It's great for people who were into roguelikes before they found it, but even so. Tile-sets make visualization a lot easier (although if you've gotten into the game without one then they might be unbearable), but they're not perfect. The main problem I have with Stonesense is that, whenever I've tried it, the latest version of DF wasn't supported - as I understand it, the memory offsets change with each version, since all of these tools work by looking at what DF has in memory, so with each new release someone has to go in and figure out the changes. I remember seeing a 3D visualizer for DF a while back. After a quick trip to the Wiki (an invaluable resource), here it is: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=63484.0 http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=63484.0
- lutorm 15y ago
  Nice, that looks exactly like what I wanted. Unfortunately it seems to be Windows-only, so I can't try it for a while.

by lutorm 15y ago

Natsu 15y ago

Of the two, I think Minecraft is more accessible, but both of them have their charm. Minecraft, I think, is the better sandbox, because you have more exact control over everything that goes on. But I love DF, too, in spite of the incredibly steep learning curve. It has, indirectly, caused me to learn about the soil triangle, material densities, farming, geology, bee keeping, soap making and quite a few other strange things. I think I've posted on that before, but there are a lot of interesting things in that game. It's weird seeing yourself go from wondering what on earth you're doing to getting to the point where you barely have to think about designating all the goblinite for melting or smelting limonite into iron or setting up an auto-locking magma death chamber with an easy reset switch.

sorbus 15y ago

Yeah, UI/graphics are a big learning curve for DF. It's great for people who were into roguelikes before they found it, but even so. Tile-sets make visualization a lot easier (although if you've gotten into the game without one then they might be unbearable), but they're not perfect. The main problem I have with Stonesense is that, whenever I've tried it, the latest version of DF wasn't supported - as I understand it, the memory offsets change with each version, since all of these tools work by looking at what DF has in memory, so with each new release someone has to go in and figure out the changes. I remember seeing a 3D visualizer for DF a while back. After a quick trip to the Wiki (an invaluable resource), here it is: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=63484.0 http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=63484.0

lutorm 15y ago
Nice, that looks exactly like what I wanted. Unfortunately it seems to be Windows-only, so I can't try it for a while.