Bay 12 Games Forum

Dwarf Fortress => DF General Discussion => Topic started by: Drewigi on October 05, 2014, 10:00:34 pm

Title: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Drewigi on October 05, 2014, 10:00:34 pm
1.You don't need experience for Minecraft.
You just pick up whatever you have and just play it, Dwarf Fortress, on the other hand, requires patience. Rushing through the game is absolute suicide, you have to play the game carefully, like being polite and not being a glutton when it comes to the masterwork wedding cake.
2.Minecraft forums are chaos incarnate.
I saw the Minecraft forums back when I played it, trust me, It was like an internet tantrum spirals and loyalty cascades (By that I mean 7 year olds screaming vulgarities and flame wars en masse.).
3.Your floating island is stupid, get used to it.
Minecrafts constructions are, in  my opinion, inferior, you can do cool stuff with blocks, but they lack the awesomeness of Dwarf Fortress.
4. Your "hardcore" mode is easy.
I hate how easy hardcore mode is, while sleeping heals in adventurer mode, you can run into horrible things like an ambush with a giant lion (from experiences, they will maul you early on.) minecraft? just hide and heal, placing torches makes the bad things go away. Dwarf fortress is not easy,, the night WILL MURDER YOU.
5.Minecraft is pricey.
It costs around 20.00 just to play the experience that Dwarf Fortress does.

Now, I'm not saying Minecraft is a bad game nor am I attacking it (I play it with friends when I'm lonely.), it's just that it dosen't have the feeling that Dwarf Fortress has.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Parsely on October 05, 2014, 10:23:02 pm
You can't compare Minecraft to Dwarf Fortress..
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Orange Wizard on October 05, 2014, 11:07:16 pm
Sure you can! One's a survival sandbox, and the other's a roguelike/management sim. They're pretty much indistinguishable.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Dyret on October 05, 2014, 11:08:52 pm
You can't compare Minecraft to Dwarf Fortress..
Depends what you're after. If you're into crafting and shaping worlds or megaprojects or the whole survival experience thing you can definitely compare the two. Not that I think threads like this are massively helpful.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Putnam on October 05, 2014, 11:12:57 pm
1. subjective advantage
2. results of being the third largest game on earth with a userbase primarily made up of children
3. subjective advantage
4. no, I actually disagree with this; you lose the entire world with Minecraft, while in DF you just lose some people and keep the world (thus "losing is fun")
5. no comment

Here's a couple advantages for Minecraft:

1. You don't need experience for Minecraft.
You just pick up whatever you have and play it. There are mods available that require more investment and experience, and the gap between uncreative/unskilled and creative/skilled people is gigantic, but anyone can play and enjoy and appreciate the difficulty inherent in some of the crazier stuff.
2. Minecraft modding is far more open.
Simply, Minecraft is more moddable. Dwarf Fortress does not have anything even remotely resembling programming. Interactions are turing complete, but as a system it's harder to use than brainfuck and nearly impossible to actually get output that's really meaningful to people. Minecraft uses Java, a fairly popular programming language that you can write whatever in, and it has wonderfully skilled programmers working to make it even easier for you.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Drewigi on October 05, 2014, 11:29:04 pm
1. subjective advantage
2. results of being the third largest game on earth with a userbase primarily made up of children
3. subjective advantage
4. no, I actually disagree with this; you lose the entire world with Minecraft, while in DF you just lose some people and keep the world (thus "losing is fun")
5. no comment

Here's a couple advantages for Minecraft:

1. You don't need experience for Minecraft.
You just pick up whatever you have and play it. There are mods available that require more investment and experience, and the gap between uncreative/unskilled and creative/skilled people is gigantic, but anyone can play and enjoy and appreciate the difficulty inherent in some of the crazier stuff.
2. Minecraft modding is far more open.
Simply, Minecraft is more moddable. Dwarf Fortress does not have anything even remotely resembling programming. Interactions are turing complete, but as a system it's harder to use than brainfuck and nearly impossible to actually get output that's really meaningful to people. Minecraft uses Java, a fairly popular programming language that you can write whatever in, and it has wonderfully skilled programmers working to make it even easier for you.
You actually make a pretty good point. I like it mainly for playing with friends. However, dwarf fortress is still, in my opinion, superior.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: StagnantSoul on October 05, 2014, 11:36:36 pm
1: Please, unless you're just some kid running around with your fist in your mouth, you definitely need patience and experience for Minecraft. Please, go tell Captain Sparkles, the team at Smosh, and Pewdiepie how any six year old can do everything they've done, because you don't need experience for Minecraft. Tell the people who built Moria and Minas Tirith and massive cruisers from Star Wars that they needed no experience to do that. Or the fully automatic, self repairing castle designs. Yes, any six year old could do that.

2: And we're the most normal people in the world? Any forum full of kids will be off a bit, but you just have to find the right thread for a similar experience to here. And please, we are probably more insane than them. It's one of the reasons I love this forum.

3: http://www.planetminecraft.com/project/recreation-of-godcrafts-moria-v3/
http://www.planetminecraft.com/project/osgiliath---ancient-capital-of-gondor/
I'm never going to see something like this from Dwarf Fortress. Please, tell me how those are not awesome? Minecract incredibly trumps Dwarf Fortress in building, and I actually prefer Dwarf Fortress. It's pretty much a fact though that Minecraft trumps Dwarf Fortress. Unless, you like flat.

4: So you take the easy way out. Not everyone does. Try not putting yourself in a hole that's lit up. Actually fight out on a mountainside all night. It's easy because you make it easy.

5: And we'll be paying 20$ in the future, once it hits version 1.0.0. Do you expect Toady to be giving the game away for free forever? There was a massive amount of time when Minecraft was free.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Putnam on October 06, 2014, 12:41:53 am
Oh, yeah, and you can only build in a fairly small area in DF.

5: And we'll be paying 20$ in the future, once it hits version 1.0.0. Do you expect Toady to be giving the game away for free forever?

That's a completely unreasonable thing to say unless you actually know the plans involved.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Drewigi on October 06, 2014, 01:06:08 am
1: Please, unless you're just some kid running around with your fist in your mouth, you definitely need patience and experience for Minecraft. Please, go tell Captain Sparkles, the team at Smosh, and Pewdiepie how any six year old can do everything they've done, because you don't need experience for Minecraft. Tell the people who built Moria and Minas Tirith and massive cruisers from Star Wars that they needed no experience to do that. Or the fully automatic, self repairing castle designs. Yes, any six year old could do that.

2: And we're the most normal people in the world? Any forum full of kids will be off a bit, but you just have to find the right thread for a similar experience to here. And please, we are probably more insane than them. It's one of the reasons I love this forum.

3: http://www.planetminecraft.com/project/recreation-of-godcrafts-moria-v3/
http://www.planetminecraft.com/project/osgiliath---ancient-capital-of-gondor/
I'm never going to see something like this from Dwarf Fortress. Please, tell me how those are not awesome? Minecract incredibly trumps Dwarf Fortress in building, and I actually prefer Dwarf Fortress. It's pretty much a fact though that Minecraft trumps Dwarf Fortress. Unless, you like flat.

4: So you take the easy way out. Not everyone does. Try not putting yourself in a hole that's lit up. Actually fight out on a mountainside all night. It's easy because you make it easy.

5: And we'll be paying 20$ in the future, once it hits version 1.0.0. Do you expect Toady to be giving the game away for free forever? There was a massive amount of time when Minecraft was free.
for number 1, I was referring how you can easily play minecraft, I like the difficulty in games, for 4 I was referring to how you can easily beat hardcore by using strategies that render the whole game tedious. I don't want to start another flame war, and yes, I was being an asshole. Although I never said sanity was involved in 2, and number five is something I don't understand, not all games turn into a paid game.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Orange Wizard on October 06, 2014, 02:22:49 am
Do you expect Toady to be giving the game away for free forever?
Yes, actually.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Jake on October 06, 2014, 04:10:34 am
Minecraft uses Java...
That's not necessarily an advantage.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: miauw62 on October 06, 2014, 09:55:04 am
Is there going to be a circlejerk or not? I don't have all day, you know.

Comparing DF and Minecraft is like comparing Bach and noise to find out which is in an absolute sense superior. That doesn't even include the obvious bias you have. People need to stop comparing DF to other games and trying to circlejerk about how DF is so much better and everybody else is an uneducated barbarian skrub.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: penguinofhonor on October 06, 2014, 10:07:42 am
this thread is so upper boards
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: PrimusRibbus on October 06, 2014, 10:08:38 am
Is there going to be a circlejerk or not? I don't have all day, you know.

Comparing DF and Minecraft is like comparing Bach and noise to find out which is in an absolute sense superior. That doesn't even include the obvious bias you have. People need to stop comparing DF to other games and trying to circlejerk about how DF is so much better and everybody else is an uneducated barbarian skrub.

Agreed, stuff like this is the reason why the DF community doesn't have a stellar reputation.

As I've heard it said before: "How do you know if someone plays Dwarf Fortress? They'll tell you."
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Parsely on October 06, 2014, 10:12:15 am
Comparing DF and Minecraft is like comparing Bach and noise to find out which is in an absolute sense superior.
This is kind of what I was trying to say above, I think it's weird to compare DF and Minecraft as if they're anything alike.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Prudent Viper on October 06, 2014, 11:11:00 am
I'm thinking about making a similar proposal.
Ahem,
Why Ice Cream Is Superior To A Ferrari
1) You shouldn't eat a Ferrari.
2) Ice Cream is tasty. Vehicles (especially Ferrari's!) do not taste very nice.
3) You can't hold a Ferrari in each hand.
4) Ferrari's only come in one flavour. Ferrari. However, Ice cream comes in hundreds of flavours.
5) Ice cream is very cheap. You can get a cone for less than a pound. However, a 1961 Ferrari GT sold for $10,976,000. You can buy a lot of ice cream for that price.

I'm willing to listen to counter arguments, but for the most part I am convinced that Ice Cream is better than a Ferrari.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Sizik on October 06, 2014, 11:11:14 am
2. Minecraft modding is far more open.
Simply, Minecraft is more moddable. Dwarf Fortress does not have anything even remotely resembling programming. Interactions are turing complete, but as a system it's harder to use than brainfuck and nearly impossible to actually get output that's really meaningful to people. Minecraft uses Java, a fairly popular programming language that you can write whatever in, and it has wonderfully skilled programmers working to make it even easier for you.

This is really only because it's much easier to decompile Java bytecode back into Java (even if it's obfuscated) than it is to decompile machine code back into C++.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: miauw62 on October 06, 2014, 11:16:31 am
2. Minecraft modding is far more open.
Simply, Minecraft is more moddable. Dwarf Fortress does not have anything even remotely resembling programming. Interactions are turing complete, but as a system it's harder to use than brainfuck and nearly impossible to actually get output that's really meaningful to people. Minecraft uses Java, a fairly popular programming language that you can write whatever in, and it has wonderfully skilled programmers working to make it even easier for you.

This is really only because it's much easier to decompile Java bytecode back into Java (even if it's obfuscated) than it is to decompile machine code back into C++.
This is actually very true. Mojang promised a modding API so many times but they never delivered.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Illogical_Blox on October 06, 2014, 02:49:56 pm
The minecraft forums aren't flamewar paradise, as I should know from spending years on them. I can probably count the number of obscenities I have seen on two hands. Also, its biggest market is 15-18 year-olds, NOT children.

Also... Minecraft is pretty dang hard without a tutorial. Not as bad as DF, but still quite hard.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: tonnot98 on October 06, 2014, 04:00:05 pm
So minecraft forums is chaos, we are insanity/madness, 3arc is anger...

I'm thinking of something, but it is lost on me.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Putnam on October 06, 2014, 04:38:53 pm
2. Minecraft modding is far more open.
Simply, Minecraft is more moddable. Dwarf Fortress does not have anything even remotely resembling programming. Interactions are turing complete, but as a system it's harder to use than brainfuck and nearly impossible to actually get output that's really meaningful to people. Minecraft uses Java, a fairly popular programming language that you can write whatever in, and it has wonderfully skilled programmers working to make it even easier for you.

This is really only because it's much easier to decompile Java bytecode back into Java (even if it's obfuscated) than it is to decompile machine code back into C++.

I'm very aware of that.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Uronym on October 06, 2014, 06:21:39 pm
Comparing Minecraft to Dwarf Fortress is like comparing Kerbal Space Program to Liberal Crime Squad.

It's entirely intentional that Minecraft doesn't have the feeling that Dwarf Fortress has; they are trying to be very different things. Each reason you listed in support of Dwarf Fortress being superior to Minecraft is a reason someone else believes Minecraft is superior to Dwarf Fortress. Some people may even like both, enjoying them for entirely different reasons.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: §k on October 07, 2014, 01:46:03 am
I think Slaves to Armok Chapter One has better graphics than Minecraft.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Putnam on October 07, 2014, 02:05:08 am
I think Slaves to Armok Chapter One has better graphics than Minecraft.

no
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: martinuzz on October 07, 2014, 03:55:26 am
Ever since I've first seen minecraft, I got this image stuck in my head.
Dwarf fortress = Lego (+technics)
Minecraft = Duplo (you know, those extra big blocks for toddlers age 3)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Two on October 07, 2014, 05:18:20 am
If you like Dwarf Fortress and you like Minecraft then try the Terrafirmacraft mod (http://terrafirmacraft.com/index.html). That mod has the same basic idea: keep things realistic, and it does it with style. If you imagine you're a Dwarf stranded somewhere, it almost feels like DF Adventure mode, just with better graphics. ;)

And if you want the full challenge, play on highest difficulty and hardcore mode.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Button on October 07, 2014, 11:24:31 am
Ever since I've first seen minecraft, I got this image stuck in my head.
Dwarf fortress = Lego (+technics)
Minecraft = Duplo (you know, those extra big blocks for toddlers age 3)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I preferred Duplo because I was making houses for my dinosaurs. You need a lot more legos to make dinosaur houses than you need Duplos.

...then I installed electric lighting >>
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Kingbodz on October 07, 2014, 02:34:08 pm
The minecraft forums aren't flamewar paradise, as I should know from spending years on them. I can probably count the number of obscenities I have seen on two hands. Also, its biggest market is 15-18 year-olds, NOT children.

Also... Minecraft is pretty dang hard without a tutorial. Not as bad as DF, but still quite hard.
When it first came out in alpha/beta it was marketed to 15-18 year olds. Now after youtubers like the Yogscast and Sparkle its for kids. Also if you can't find a minecraft tutorial you are probably too dumb to use the internet because there are millions.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Orange Wizard on October 07, 2014, 03:21:53 pm
He didn't say it was hard to find a tutorial. He said the game is hard without a tutorial.

Also, are we watching the same Yogscast? Because if I had kids I sure as hell wouldn't let them watch that.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Kingbodz on October 07, 2014, 06:34:04 pm
He didn't say it was hard to find a tutorial. He said the game is hard without a tutorial.

Also, are we watching the same Yogscast? Because if I had kids I sure as hell wouldn't let them watch that.
I'm sorry to say this but the Yogs largest audience is kids aged 10-15 these days. I know this because I'm in a school that is both high and middleschool and the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders all rage at me when I mention someone better than them.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: StagnantSoul on October 07, 2014, 06:42:05 pm
So your basing the entire fan base off of a few kids? I've met one person under 16 who watches Yogscast.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Kingbodz on October 07, 2014, 06:46:28 pm
So your basing the entire fan base off of a few kids? I've met one person under 16 who watches Yogscast.
I'm not bashing all Yognaughts (as I still watch some of the Yogs. Mainly sips and the hat gang.) But the majority of the fanbase I've seen on Youtube and IRL is fanbois under 16. The only ones I know of that are 16 and above are on the subreddit.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Orange Wizard on October 07, 2014, 06:50:46 pm
Weird.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Dyret on October 07, 2014, 09:30:57 pm
The Yogscast fanbase seems fairly reasonable, if young and emotional. Then again, I really only watch Hannah's stuff these days. In any event, you probably shouldn't be running aroung telling people your youtubers are better than theirs. :P
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Kingbodz on October 07, 2014, 10:09:14 pm
Let's get back on topic shall we? Minecraft is better than DF in one way. Multiplayer. You can play with friends. That's it. Survival is too easy and hardcore is a joke. Sure you can build stuff in 3D but in DF you can control the world. Also I can kill dragons with a giants corpse. I don't you can do that in Minecraft.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: StagnantSoul on October 07, 2014, 10:19:22 pm
You can control the world almost as accurately in Minecraft too. Even have lava oceans.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: lowbart on October 08, 2014, 03:18:33 am
This is a stupid argument. It's pointless to debate which one is "better". They're very different games which are good for different things. It's not like Forza vs Gran Turismo.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: miauw62 on October 08, 2014, 07:08:54 am
Let's get back on topic shall we? Minecraft is better than DF in one way. Multiplayer. You can play with friends. That's it. Survival is too easy and hardcore is a joke. Sure you can build stuff in 3D but in DF you can control the world. Also I can kill dragons with a giants corpse. I don't you can do that in Minecraft.
Do I have to quote my rant again or did you miss it the first time?
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: StagnantSoul on October 08, 2014, 07:38:35 am
Just saying something that someone doesn't agree with wont do anything to convince them. If I sat here all day, saying "You don't play Dwarf Fortress." would that make you think you don't?
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Chevaleresse on October 08, 2014, 07:42:24 am
I like both. DF, I find more amusing at the moment. They're different games entirely, I don't really know why you'd compare them.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: metime00 on October 08, 2014, 07:49:11 am
2. Minecraft modding is far more open.
Simply, Minecraft is more moddable. Dwarf Fortress does not have anything even remotely resembling programming. Interactions are turing complete, but as a system it's harder to use than brainfuck and nearly impossible to actually get output that's really meaningful to people. Minecraft uses Java, a fairly popular programming language that you can write whatever in, and it has wonderfully skilled programmers working to make it even easier for you.

This is really only because it's much easier to decompile Java bytecode back into Java (even if it's obfuscated) than it is to decompile machine code back into C++.
This is actually very true. Mojang promised a modding API so many times but they never delivered.

Minecraft is fun and it's a pretty good game, but the management on it is atrocious. Mojang's management is what happens when you give an unskilled amateur millions of dollars and tell him to head a studio. It's the sort of mess Toady has said he wants to avoid (not Minecraft specifically, but team work on a project). And the programmers who work on Minecraft are either average (at best), or stuck having to interface with bad legacy code from solo Notch days. If you think development is slow with Dwarf Fortress, Minecraft takes months for cosmetic changes like multicolored blocks.

You can argue the developer-side benefits of Java over C++ any day, and I'd probably agree with you on all counts (though both are antiquated and should not be treated as the standards of programming languages they are in so much of the industry). However, even the secondhand knowledge we, as potential fans of both games, have into either's development shows very clearly that as far as actual software creation and programming goes, Toady One is leagues ahead of the Minecraft team.

We should have more threads arguing the meta of Minecraft vs Dwarf Fortress. The "which game would be most likely to make a modern computer scientist cry" competition.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: miauw62 on October 08, 2014, 02:17:00 pm
Just saying something that someone doesn't agree with wont do anything to convince them. If I sat here all day, saying "You don't play Dwarf Fortress." would that make you think you don't?
There is a difference between facts and opinions.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Putnam on October 08, 2014, 03:29:52 pm
How do you determine which is which?
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: StagnantSoul on October 08, 2014, 05:44:59 pm
Any "fact" can be disproven falsely. Really, that "rant" wasn't a rant, it was an average response, and it was completely your opinion.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Orange Wizard on October 08, 2014, 05:56:27 pm
It's not a fact if it can be disproved, silly.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: StagnantSoul on October 08, 2014, 06:17:42 pm
Disproven falsely. Meaning it's not actually disproven, just you make everyone think it is. miauw62 is stating what he thinks is a fact, what might be, but it could be disproven with talk. Meh, nevermind, it sounded smart in my head.  :P
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Orange Wizard on October 08, 2014, 06:25:01 pm
What?

I'm confused :P.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Cheeetar on October 08, 2014, 06:33:24 pm
this thread is so upper boards

I wish I could fully describe the sense of wonder I feel at reading this thread. Your post is probably the most concise statement I would've been able to make.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: MDFification on October 08, 2014, 09:13:35 pm
1: Please, unless you're just some kid running around with your fist in your mouth, you definitely need patience and experience for Minecraft. Please, go tell Captain Sparkles, the team at Smosh, and Pewdiepie how any six year old can do everything they've done, because you don't need experience for Minecraft. Tell the people who built Moria and Minas Tirith and massive cruisers from Star Wars that they needed no experience to do that. Or the fully automatic, self repairing castle designs. Yes, any six year old could do that.

Any six year old with the same crippling ocd that led to those creations  ;D
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Urist McVoyager on October 08, 2014, 10:53:15 pm
I prefer the tile based graphics of DF over the voxels of Minecraft, and I prefer running a crew of computerized builders over a group of human comrades whose artistic vision could butt into mine. This is, for ME, the reason DF is superior to Minecraft. If I had uncreative friends who were happy letting me lead, and cared to drop a few twenties to get us the game, I might be tempted to start on it. But the graphics still annoy me.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Putnam on October 08, 2014, 11:36:33 pm
I prefer the tile based graphics of DF over the voxels of Minecraft, and I prefer running a crew of computerized builders over a group of human comrades whose artistic vision could butt into mine. This is, for ME, the reason DF is superior to Minecraft. If I had uncreative friends who were happy letting me lead, and cared to drop a few twenties to get us the game, I might be tempted to start on it. But the graphics still annoy me.

...Hmm.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Urist McVoyager on October 08, 2014, 11:59:34 pm
Hmmm what? I talk about this game a lot. People know I play it. That doesn't mean I have to be an annoyance about it and claim it's objectively better than another game. It's all subjective. I hate Voxels. I don't want my characters looking like box people. And working as a solo person without others to share the fun with? that doesn't suit me. If I'm going to build a city, I want there to be a reason for the city. It's not art for art's sake, I want to be able to see the buildings being used. I want to know the people who live there and know that my efforts are making life better for them. Empty buildings are cold shells that just don't interest me.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Putnam on October 09, 2014, 12:52:59 am
No, I find that very interesting and I like the idea and I need to learn java, heh.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Angel Of Death on October 09, 2014, 12:58:43 am
Remember, these kind of threads lower Bay12's reputation as a whole. I know people who refuse to sign up to the forums because they've witnessed the "y df is superir to x" or the "y bay12 is teh smartest forum ^_^". Both the lower and upper boards are guilty making of these threads.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Urist McVoyager on October 09, 2014, 09:09:04 am
I don't even know why people bother with these sorts of threads. I can understand starting a thread talking about why you PREFER this game over others, since that tells Toady what he's doing right, but stating that this game beats out another hands down and should for everybody is just a waste of space, given that every person has their own opinion.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: StagnantSoul on October 09, 2014, 06:04:39 pm
I don't even know why people bother with these sorts of threads. I can understand starting a thread talking about why you PREFER this game over others, since that tells Toady what he's doing right, but stating that this game beats out another hands down and should for everybody is just a waste of space, given that every person has their own opinion.

EXACTLY. This is one of the reasons I generally avoid fan bases. I hate sitting through, say, a DBZ post, going on about how it's better than a completely different anime in a completely different genre. So posts like these are kind of, really, pointless.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Kingbodz on October 09, 2014, 06:08:08 pm
Remember, these kind of threads lower Bay12's reputation as a whole. I know people who refuse to sign up to the forums because they've witnessed the "y df is superir to x" or the "y bay12 is teh smartest forum ^_^". Both the lower and upper boards are guilty making of these threads.
This right here. Elitist assholes aren't liked and we don't want that reputation.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Urist McVoyager on October 09, 2014, 06:22:52 pm
So let's fix that.

First, know WHY I talk about this game as often as I can to my friends? It's a free-form story generator. STORY generator. Stories have always brought people together, and the lack of scripted events means that each person can bring their own stories to the table. The more of us who play it, the more of us can be bound together in a common siblinghood by it. And I do consider all of you my brothers and sisters in Dwarf Fortitude (Dwarven Strength for the win.) Even when I disagree with you. I share this game to grow our family. As we all do.

Threads like this? They drive people away from our family. They make it about us vs. others, which hurts us. Every time we stoop to caveman levels and thump our chests saying we're better than others, we're just making them hate our family. Do YOU want to hurt us?
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Kingbodz on October 09, 2014, 07:30:33 pm
I propose all 'df iz betur than x' and 'bay12 is best forum and all uthers are stoopid' type threads be locked immediately and be considered baiting or trolling as all it does is divide the community and drive away others.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Urist McVoyager on October 09, 2014, 07:32:12 pm
Seconded.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: StagnantSoul on October 09, 2014, 07:35:42 pm
WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO HATE DWARF FORTRESS BECAUSE OF US I full heartedly second the locking of "DF is better than X" threads as routine.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Kingbodz on October 09, 2014, 07:38:49 pm
Also all creators of these threads should get a message from a mod saying if they do it again they'll be banned. DF is niche enough without people thinking its fans are mean. We need the community to grow not stagnate.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: StagnantSoul on October 09, 2014, 08:07:50 pm
What do you people have against stagnant things...  :'(
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Kingbodz on October 09, 2014, 08:11:18 pm
What do you people have against stagnant things...  :'(
A stagnant community will soon be a dead community. No offense to you.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: StagnantSoul on October 09, 2014, 08:13:36 pm
I know. I saw the opportunity to make a poorly put joke about my name, so I took it.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Urist McVoyager on October 09, 2014, 08:26:31 pm
Joke accepted, truth established.  :P
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Kingbodz on October 09, 2014, 08:31:26 pm
I should make a thread on this. Where would be a good place?
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Urist McVoyager on October 09, 2014, 08:38:27 pm
Submit a message to ThreeToe about it and get his thoughts. He should be able to find a proper place to post it.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Kingbodz on October 09, 2014, 08:57:31 pm
Submit a message to ThreeToe about it and get his thoughts. He should be able to find a proper place to post it.
Will do. Thanks.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: mifki on October 09, 2014, 11:49:25 pm
Minecraft is single-unit 3D game and DF is multi-unit top-down view game. That's all the difference for me. And I'm more into strategy type of games, so regardless of modding capabilities, graphics quality or community, I just neither want to play this type of game with first-person view nor want to control only one character. So it's totally impossible to compare them.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Urist McVoyager on October 10, 2014, 09:37:10 am
You just did.  :P
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: penguinofhonor on October 10, 2014, 01:13:41 pm
WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO HATE DWARF FORTRESS BECAUSE OF US I full heartedly second the locking of "DF is better than X" threads as routine.
Also all creators of these threads should get a message from a mod saying if they do it again they'll be banned. DF is niche enough without people thinking its fans are mean. We need the community to grow not stagnate.

Okay, nobody likes these threads but this seems a little hyperactive.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Dyret on October 10, 2014, 01:54:41 pm
I feel everyone should be banned for everything. Innocence proves nothing, after all.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Urist McVoyager on October 10, 2014, 02:53:17 pm

Okay, nobody likes these threads but this seems a little hyperactive.

Not really. Hell, let's face it. The rivalries between all fandoms are part of the reason games in general are still seen as the realm of idiotic manchildren living in their parents' basements. Stomping the shit out of that will go a long way to building up credibility. It'll certainly help us gain more players and readers.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: smakemupagus on October 10, 2014, 03:04:55 pm
Gamers aren't seen like that anymore.  Threads like this are rare (where is the most recent one other than this?).  Anyway a more gentle response would be a lot more in the spirit of the inclusive community  than "stomping" on people is.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: starscream on October 10, 2014, 03:12:48 pm
while i agree with the premise of the thread, i don't really agree with the reasons.

i played minecraft on and off for over a year before even knowing df existed.
the reason df is better than mc is because df is a better game.  there are things to do.  mc has an absurdly large world with...nothing to do.  sure you can build a house.  a castle.  a giant penis.  then what?  boring.

df has a much smaller world, but packed with interesting things that happen.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: PrimusRibbus on October 10, 2014, 04:04:56 pm
Gamers aren't seen like that anymore.

Believe me, they are; even in tech among people we grew up playing video games and had Warcraft 3 benders in college. MOBAs, Xbox Live, and gamer entitlement have not helped gaming's image over the past few years... and the criticism now comes from people that have actually played plenty of video games.

Even if you disagree with that, this thread certainly doesn't help negate the stereotype that DF's community is highly elitist.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Urist McVoyager on October 10, 2014, 04:09:24 pm
And taking out threads like this will do a lot less harm than letting them sit. The entire gaming culture needs to start mending internal fences, and clamping down on this stuff, or we're eventually going to wind up with a hell of a lot worse than the recent scuffles between indie devs and gaming bloggers.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: penguinofhonor on October 10, 2014, 04:21:13 pm
Please do not make this about gamergate.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Urist McVoyager on October 10, 2014, 04:26:51 pm
It isn't. It really isn't. But it IS about stemming the same sort of junk that eventually lead there. The elitism and the "I'm right, you're wrong, and I'm not going to let it go" mentality that also leads to "why my game is better than yours" threads. You want us to tread softly, then alright. But we can't just let these threads sit, wherever they are. I'll admit I haven't seen very many on here, but how many other sites have Dwarf Fortress subsections? Bet they're rife with this.
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: penguinofhonor on October 10, 2014, 04:32:28 pm
Nobody is letting this sit! It's gotten an almost entirely negative reaction. Isn't that enough?
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: dwarf_reform on October 10, 2014, 04:58:54 pm
Minecraft is perfect for playing the role of a DF dwarf who has amnesia and only remembers how to use a small amount of metals and gems.. Get in touch with yer inner dwarf. Build the fort (above- or under-ground) and dig the moat, plant the garden, catch the fish, pose as mason/carpenter/engraver by constantly upgrading the quality of the fort with increasingly expensive materials, set up stockpiles filled with containers, strip mine the earth and bring home lava, collect villagers and withstand (zombie) siege, set up pens and pastures for animals, construct mega-projects and automated traps..

I can see how these comparison threads come up :> A lot of DF's elemental gameplay bits can be found (usually in much less detail) in Minecraft, and I appreciate both games a bit more for having played both.. Anyway, a more constructive, or less inflammatory, approach to these threads would be discussing playing Minecraft in the most dwarfly way possible, but I'm almost 100% positive thats already been covered here (and there), probably multiple times.. Either way, there's no need for any hostility when there could be clear neutral-to-constructive discussion :> Minecraft and DF, as one! We both crawl around in the dirt looking for shiny things and accidentally fall into lava ;) If you drop us both from a high surface, do we not bleed (or at least lose all our hearts)?! A dwarf pressed into the corner by a plethora of cats feels the same dread as a Minecrafter pressed into the corner by a swarm of sheep!

That being said.. if I had to cite three quick Minecraft complaints, though (bahahaha), they'd be: slow content growth versus graphics quality (bad assumption on my part..), low amount of weapons/armors and gems/ores, and depth of the enemy pool (in both variety and ability..) It also feels like it halfway relies on the modding community to fill in any content gaps, but thats mostly just my personal distaste for mods (specifically falling in love with a mod that gets abandoned or rarely updated).. If they'd only make a Forgotten Beast Generator mod for Minecraft..

If I had to cite three quick DF complaints, for equality (bahahaha), they'd be: framerate death, the military UI, and keas ;)

EDIT: The talk of "the gaming community" and brawls.. I don't think that'll ever end, and its always existed in one form or another.. Some devs will say terrible business-crippling things, because they're that kind of person.. And every game draws its very own fans and trolls, never just one or the other.. As for the "community" I guess I'm a splinter cell :> I will never let a bad community stop me from playing an honestly good game, and if the whole online gaming "scene" evaporated I wouldn't miss it much, and would still have good games to play :D

Good, bad, or ugly, if a dev puts out a great game at a reasonable price I'm going to play it! Just because we get "intimate" with these indie devs and end up seeing some of their ugly parts isn't really a reason to refuse to play a game, far as I go.. I probably played some original Nintendo games that were made by horrible, horrible people, but the internet wasn't there for me to access any of that.. If I found out Dahmer made Maniac Mansion I wouldn't like it any less ;) Even Hitler painted breathtaking landscape portraits, and some of those are probably still hanging and being admired today, originating artist unbeknownst to the viewer (ohmygodohmygawdhitlerreferencenooo).. If you don't care for Hitler or Dahmer, we could just say "Good games do not have to be made by good people." and be boring.. To expect them to be constantly courteous and in control of themselves is the same as expecting everyone in the world to be courteous and in control by default :>

Anyway, insanity aside, we don't live very long, all things considered (you lose a lot of time just sleeping and using the bathroom, and may Gawd save yer soul if you have an 8 hour a day job!), and any endeavor that isn't enjoyable is wasted time :)
Title: Re: Why Dwarf Fortress is superior to Minecraft
Post by: Toady One on October 10, 2014, 06:55:53 pm
I'll go ahead and lock this.  It is making too many people grumpy.