So it's finally happened, Dwarf Fortress has an instruction manual

[Bhazor]

Dwarf Fortress (DF) has a reputation as the most complex video game ever made. The game is a construction and management game, with a complex physical modeling engine that belies the crude ANSI graphics. All aspects of the world are modeled, tracked, and affect gameplay: everything from weather patterns, erosion, the flow of magma, the movement of small animals, and the accumulation of garbage. Sound like fun? Apparently it is, but there’s a huge learning curve at the outset. This concise real time book will dampen the curve and serve as a gentle primer on DF gameplay. It’s not really a game guide so much as a celebration of an improbable manifestation of geek culture.

Preorder now
http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920022565.do

[Smashbox]

By O'Reilly! That's very funny.

[Berzee]

!!!
D:

andyetsadlyidonotthinkitwillgetmetoplay =\

[Splynter]

This concise real time book...

What on earth is a real time book? The ones I read are turn based.

Seriously though, what the hell does that mean?

[Bhazor]

I don't know. But I have to imagine it's just to annoy Wizardry.

[Smashbox]

Hmmm. No hyphens and no commas. So it's either concise and real-time, or it's a concise, real time-book. I'd go with the latter.

[pakoito]

improbable manifestation of geek culture

wat?

creator tarn adams sees df as his life’s work; he predicts a version 1.0 release in twenty years or so.

wat?

[clockwerkgoblin]

And the site is offering me the same kind of manuals for the iPad as related products, haha.

[Kodeen]

What on earth is a real time book? The ones I read are turn based.

Seriously though, what the hell does that mean?

You don't have to wait on the book to take a turn, you can flip the pages at will and then stop them at the section where you want to read. Books are RTwP.

[Splynter]

So a real-time book must flip pages with no regard for the reader, and they must do their best to keep up. A real time-book, on the other hand...

[Smashbox]

That must be it. The only explanation that makes sense.

[pakoito]

I guess real time means the same as in the old wiki tutorials. Same savegame, same events happening, same path to follow "realtime" while being guided by the book.

[Bhazor]

I have no idea what it means.
But if it's purely to intrigue me enough to make me preorder a book?

Mission a-fucking Complished

[oyog]

Surely "real time book" means it updates in real time to reflect the updates to DF.

I wonder how long it'll take for someone to hack it to update to reflect future Dwarf Fortress releases...


Also; Woo! First post to the RPS forums!

[Smashbox]

Welcome! ..

[BenWah]

There's still no mouse support on the horizon right

[soldant]

You'd need more than a manual. More like a six-month intensive training course for the UI alone, along with a Bachelor in Dwarven Micromanagement (major in ANSI Interface).

[jnx]

It's not lacking a manual. It's lacking a decent UI. Well not even a decent, just something that isn't plain horrible and counter-intuitive.

[soldant]

It's not lacking a manual. It's lacking a decent UI. Well not even a decent, just something that isn't plain horrible and counter-intuitive.

No, see, it's really awesome, once you get used to it. Sort of like sleeping on a bed of nails. Burning hot, razor sharp nails.

You'll learn to love it.

[frightlever]

UI improvements when soil moisture tracking isn't perfect yet? Pfft.