Dwarf Fortress Steam edition video demonstrates convenience of seeing what's happening
The premium edition's graphics are so welcome!
"You will not believe what the hell just happened in Dwarf Fortress!" my pal will tell me, proceeding to share a screenshot which, to me, is indistinguishable from e.g.:
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████()ht23htuhqIJg.......UG.uos\kjk:███/,,p,c.xz/,c./z,c;\/.
██'z,c./xz,c./zx,cpaswf/w.qfw.,/f,aa███,g.ew/t,3wq./t,,2..@|
█3/.6t,.esg,f.e/sg,./ewt,./w4t4..,1t6,m42ijpnz\kuiys8fun/.|█
█|?|..../\/\..|@@@%%$|"(((|..FHzFhLlk@A}||||....*|JGH,.3████
zZ./@Z@@'Z'@@LSXCl;a,sl;FLZL;@'A:@,;'F":%T@:H^OQHOh8^£$.\/.█
"That's wild!" I will reply, not wanting to hurt their feelings. But how delightful, then, to watch the latest video from the upcoming premium edition, where co-creator Zach Adams demonstrates defending against a goblin attack and you can actually see it's a goblin attack.
The paid version of Dwarf Fortress is exactly the same game at its core, mind, only with a swish official graphical tileset and music. This means it's still incredibly complicated, with so many simulated parts moving and interacting in often-surprising ways. We've called it one of the best management games and even best RPGs but that's with the full awareness that many will find the ASCII art too overwhelming and never even try it. I'll admit that I'm one of those people.
I'm sorry Nate. I'm sure The Bird Hole was really cool. I mean, you were really excited about it, and I trust your excitement.
Modders have made graphical tilesets for Dwarf Fortress for years now, but the game coming with pictures out the box is huge. This looks great, too. The new official tileset is made by Michał "Mayday" Madej and Patrick Martin "Meph" Schroeder, who've previously made their own graphics packs and have now collaborated on this fresh one. The graphical menus also look so very much friendlier.
Published by Kitfox Games, the fancy version of Dwarf Fortress is coming to Steam and Itch.io... at some point? The ASCII version still is, and still will be, available free from its website.