In my experience, the ascii graphics in DF was the least of the contributors to the steep learning curve in the game. Many people would complain and be turned o

In my experience, the ascii graphics in DF was the least of the contributors to the steep learning curve in the game. Many people would complain and be turned off by its ascii graphics, but you really do get used to it pretty quickly. Think of that matrix quote "All I see now is blonde, brunette, redhead", after a while of playing you really do just see trees, water, dwarves, etc. In my experience, the difficulty of the game comes about because of the sheer complexity of the simulation and the clunky UI (the menus not the graphics). The latter of the two really a minor annoyance when compared to the former. While stonesense may encourage more players to start previously turned off by the ascii (as did the 2d tileset mods before it), it will not help the actual difficulty of the game. New players aside, current players also seem ecstatic about the mod.