That Boatmurdered epic is seriously one of the funniest things I have ever read, right up there with the transcriptions of some of the games at [www.paranoia-live.net]

If you've never heard of Paranoia, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Runiko

This game is notable for being easier to make than it is to actually play.

Narsil

OMG my dwarves are bitching about the lack of seats, but we don't have any way of making them! Or do we? I DUNNO! Mine damnit! No pickaxe? WTF! Some animal I never heard of stole my meat! We are starving! AHHH!

excaleranth

Here is the Boatmurdered Something Awful tale:
[fromearth.net]

tei

@tei: Imprenetrable, eh? I think that actually works.

Dwarf fortress is awesome but once I got too much stuff I go crazy. Too many dwarves need to make too many rooms argh

I never get very far but I still enjoy it.

MonsterKingRen

This game is a imprenetrable jewel.

tei

We interviewed Tarn Adams on the GeekNights podcast awhile back. Have a listen over at [www.frontrowcrew.com]

Apreche

If you dig on Dwarf Fortress, of course check out its predecessors, the other roguelikes. It's merely another in a long line of fantastic games. Check out Angband and it's variants in particular Zangband. They're still in active development and have been around for a zillion years. Some people swear by NetHack too, though I personally don't care for it.

otakucode

Dwarf Fortress is the ultimate in gameplay over graphics. The game is so incredibly, vastly deep it can make your head explode. I love it, though.

Burguois

@Satsuz: I loaded up both that tileset and have the wiki open at all times, just got into that game this week.

It's worth noting that the tileset does have a target resolution, but if you are running lower then that resolution is a pretty easy fix. In data/init/init.txt you can just change GRAPHICS_WINDOWEDX and GRAPHICS_WINDOWEDY to something that fits your monitor a bit better.

Also, reading the story of boatmurdered had me laughing my butt off, and motivated me to get past the interface:
NOTE: link below is probably NSFW (language).
[fromearth.net]

NateN

Dammit, Dammit, Dammit!

With the tile sets this game looks too much like one of my favorite series of all time, The Ultima series by Richard Gariott and Origin Systems.

I've been jonein' for some old skool tile-based adventure for a while now and now this falls in my lap.

JohnnyLA

To lower the barrier of entry slightly, a nice fellow maintains a version of DF that comes with a tileset built-in. Pre-configured to work for you. If you don't like the particular pixels on display, you can always get a new set or edit them yourself.

[mayday.w.staszic.waw.pl]

It's the last straw that finally got me playing, to be perfectly honest. If you need help learning the game, there are some great tutorials out there, especially in the DFWiki. I like the "Your first fortress" one, myself.

Satsuz

It took me a while to actually get a handle on the game. I've gone through at least 10 fortresses before I actually got one up and running. I'm still on that fortress even after a winter without food AND water. There were only three dwarves left after that winter.

I picked a nice safe 3x3 spot. Shallow river.. plenty of rock.. Barely any enemies. It's actually sort of boring.

Kenzya

I played for a few hours with the ASCII and couldn't stand it. loaded a tile and graphics set and now i play it more than crysis. I'd definitely suggest that anyone who hasn't at least give it a few hours play. If you're determined enough to get the hang of the controls then you'll fall in love with DF.

Foamy

@0xdeadc0de: Oh, then I might try. Seems a lot more interesting with actual graphics

PeterQC

For me its not the graphics, its the interface, that makes the game impenetrable.

Vydas

Dwarf fortress is insane

Making fortresses in volcanos fighting magma men

Nothings comes better than that

Jackjoe500

dudes, for ones that could not play in ascii mode, just download a different tileset, some users made nice pixel art graphic tilesets for DF too!

0xdeadc0de

Looks like a great game, but not one that I'd have the patience for...

4dSwissCheese

Having the wiki opened while playing is a must the first hours. I couldn't get adventure mode running in the start.

But after you get the way it works, it's a deep and very addictive game. I even stopped playing because it kept me off my work too much at home. But for everyone who has a strong will and wants to try a really hard game where losing is fun, try this.

marlblank

I really, really wish that I could get into DF. It's absolutely engrossing to read about, but my brain simply cannot make the translation of ASCII into real-world gameplay, particularly when the real world is so complicated. It's like trying to read the code in "The Matrix".

I don't have any problem with ASCII in particular, but I tried playing DF for several hours and couldn't figure out how to do the slightest thing. I finally gave up when my ego imploded.

Mrclumpy

You can get non-ASCII tilesets for it.

The game's so fucking engrossing and fun...

ImmortalZ

I thought this was a TF2 mod. Whatever.

nman

Never liked ASCII games, don't know why.

PeterQC

Dwarf Fortress is one of the greatest games ever designed. Just remember that it is in EARLY alpha :) Yeah, it's that good... imagine a 1.0 release

termitehead

So I was getting attacked by goblins and a bastard sniper archer was set up on a cliff above the entrance to my fortress. The jerk was so good, he would snipe anyone who exited and kill them near instantly. One of my dwarfs was taken by a strange mood and required turtle shells to complete their mad plan. I had locked my dwarfs in to the fortress for their own safety because of the sniper so I waited out the mood to see what would happen, hoping for the best. Well... the dwarf went mad after being unable to complete their magnum turtleshell opus and flung themselves, newborn baby in arms, into the depths of my magma forges. Talk about drama. I ended up digging a tunnel and coming up right underneath that sniper. He didn't last long at point blank range.

Mobius