Post by: clinodev on June 14, 2019, 09:34:20 pm
This is a repeater post for the Steam Community/Kitfox Email info released every other Thursday. It has lots of great interesting stuff in it, but it's probably not the best place to actually discuss it. You can, of course, but this isn't an official thread you should expect the developers or artists to read or even be aware of, and isn't intended to distract from official threads.
clinodev
---
[Historical first post]
There's an official Steam announcement tonight, that some folks (like me.) who don't have Steam always open might have missed. Mostly old news, but some new things, like the new music is done, apparently.
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1607137032975591160
Text:
Development Progress: Plots and Villains
Jun 13 @ 2:10pm - kiwihotaru
Hi! This is Tarn Adams, a.k.a. Toady One.
Ha ha, yes, we have a Steam News section! We thought we'd start posting here when I was able to work on the graphics code in earnest (I'm completing the half-finished villain features before that begins), but we've been reminded that a lot of people don't see our regular development logs over at Bay 12, and additionally, the artists have been hard at work and we can certainly start sharing what they are creating before the coding begins.
To start, I'll just use this opening post to make sure everybody is broadly on the same page with the odd creature that is Dwarf Fortress development.
Back in July of last year, before there was a publishing contract or much thought of one, we finished our last major release cycle, and started up on the next version for what we now call Dwarf Fortress Classic. Basically, the fortresses that you play in the game will be subject to devious plots of NPCs in the world well beyond the normal sieges that have been in the game since the beginning.
We thought this would take several months, though it's not that unusual that we're rolling up on almost a year now. And of course, something unusual happened in the meantime! We're have a Steam page now, and the work toward a Steam release has begun. The new music and sounds are complete, thanks to Dabu! Meanwhile, Mike and Patrick are producing lots of great sprites for the game. We'll have more on the art progress to date in a future news post.
For now, I'll just try to join the stream of dev logs, what we've been doing for the last months, up into the News section here. Due to the layered nature of the game, where a world history leads to a dynamic in-play world where you control either a fort or a single character, new features are generally added in the following fashion:
1: the broad contours of the feature are added to the world map+history generator. For this release, that means hundreds of plots unfolding over decades or longer, operating all over the map simultaneously, but without a lot of actual moving creatures. Most of the logistical details are abstracted away.
2: make it work in play, in the detailed ongoing world simulation, away from the player. The logistics are handled here. Most of the data and code can be transferred over from world generation, but we often need extra information and mechanics. For instance, a villainous plot that used to rely on a plotter contacting a saboteur with an intermediary, easily and abstractly, now has to actually see more than one person moving over the map, arriving to meet the person they want to meet in a defined location, and advancing the plot step by step (where many steps didn't even exist before.)
3: handle it in Adventurer Mode, the RPG side of the game, which is quite underdeveloped compared to the main Fortress Mode, but it has the advantage of being very granular. If something is wrong with a feature, it's much easier to spot it if you are walking around inside of it, interacting with each detail. For villains, this means two things - adventurers that can be villains, and adventurers that can investigate villains.
4: make the new feature work in Fortress Mode. Having worked with the feature for some time by this point in detail, we can focus on the player experience and getting the new mechanics hooked up in an interesting fashion that interacts with other player-facing pieces of the game. With the villain release, for example, this includes the existing fortress justice system, and the existing ability to send dwarves out on missions.
So where are we in this process, and when can we get started on the Steam features and graphics coding (while the artists continue working)?
We're in the middle of step two. The hard foundational part, world generation, is complete. The villainous plots are done in history, all of their main pieces work, and they can be quite entertaining! Assassination, sabotage, embezzlement, theft, coups, corruption, bribery, counter-intelligence and surveillance, with mercenaries, merchant companies, guilds, religions, and new relationships thrown in to give the plotters and their adversaries more connections and tools to work with.
I've now moved on and completed the initial basic update of the assassination plot in play, which involved adding the logistical mechanics all of the other plots will also use. You can read an in-depth description of our first complete plot pulled off in play after world generation was complete over on the Bay 12 blog[www.bay12games.com], featuring a dwarven necromancer named Ustuth, the dwarf Count Limul Treatyvessels, and Jonu the human assassin.
It's important to note that the villain release I'm talking about here will be the classic, free version (without graphics, so, not yet the Steam release) -- though of course it will then be included in the Steam release. After the villains release is complete, we'll be able to start in on the code for the graphical version, which of course will have all the villain features along with everything else.
I'm sorry that the development plans are a bit convoluted here, with this unusual initial step to complete. The DF boat has been sailing along and gaining tonnage for many, many years now, and turning it can be quite a process, but we will arrive at our destination, as we have many times before. Never anywhere this shiny, though, he he he. It is good to be seeing the pixel cats and alpacas.
We'll be keeping everybody updated regularly here on Steam News from now on, as well as continuing the Bay 12 development logs as usual.
- Tarn
Post by: voliol on June 16, 2019, 11:59:10 am
Post by: clinodev on June 27, 2019, 01:15:46 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1610515908963717519
Text:
Hiring Assassins is Hard Work
Jun 27 @ 12:03pm - kiwihotaru
Hello!
As we noted in the last news post, I'm finishing up the villain work that was in progress before we move on to getting the Steam release together, and this work had just hit the 'post world generation' phase, where we take our foundational but abstract data and code that was used to make the world's history and get it into a form that can be used in player fortresses and in Dwarf Fortress's RPG mode. In the previous post, I'd just finished a basic assassination plot.
The next step was to get the villain's lieutenants and handlers to work with assassins. In our existing plots from DF history generation, the villains don't always contact the assassin directly, in order to better conceal their identities. This adds some complications once you get into play, because the villain needs to contact the handler, and then the handler needs to hire the assassin, and each of these pairs need to meet in some location, which isn't always simple since the desired assassin (or the handler) might be doing something else, making an immediate meeting impossible. There are various sorts of possible missed connections, some unavoidable, but the basic two-step plots are working now.
However, sometimes a villain or handler is just too important to go on a lengthy secret trip (they are a ruler, say). To solve this problem, I've allowed sufficiently important people to send messages more abstractly. An important villain might send a message to a handler, who then travels physically to hire an assassin, or a villain might physically travel to speak to a highly-placed corrupt official, who then sends word to an assassin via message. The messages still take time to travel, and they'll be a form of evidence when we get to the investigation process, where you as a fortress mode player or adventurer are trying to unravel whatever plot you've encountered.
But in most situations, there will be people moving around, going about villainous business, and these will be the same people that arrive at your tavern in fort mode, looking to meet a conspirator or otherwise cause trouble for you.
Some supporting features from history generation have also needed to make the transition to play. For instance, as I mentioned last time, we added some religious information (on top of mercenaries, merchant companies, etc.) in order to give the villains more connections for their plots, and I spent some time transferring that into a form that can be used once play starts. Each culture now tracks religious demographics and certain historical data (such as persecution and famous sermons) in a way that the in-play civilians can see. These include dwarves immigrating to your fortress, and the people you meet as adventurer.
Additionally, I began updating the other (non-assassination) plots - there's still a bit to do there, right where the action of the plot happens (whether it's sabotage or a theft), but they mostly use the same code, because concepts like 'handlers' work the same regardless of the plot.
- Tarn
(P.S. a note from Kitfox Games: talk about this and other DF lore on the official, friendly Discord[discord.gg]! This past week we've had great discussions of hatching forbidden eggs, coffin advantages, and disarming prisoners...)
Post by: clinodev on July 11, 2019, 02:51:18 pm
Text:
Petting Animals is Important (and Maybe Deadly)
Jul 11 @ 12:13pm - manavee
Hi!
Way back in July of last year, I added the ability to add party members and pets to character creation in the Adventurer Mode of Dwarf Fortress (which is the RPG part, rather than the fort management sim.) Back then, I left some bits unfinished, and for last week and next week, I'll be cleaning that up so that I can get started on adventurer villainy and investigations.
Last year, we'd already completed the ability to start with named pets, the ability to lead them around and pack items on them (if they are an appropriate animal like a mule or horse, rather than, say, a cavy. There are a score of options, and the elves have more than a hundred), and the basic ability to ride mounts. Relative mount velocity impacts weapon damage. However, I didn't handle the party aspect of riding and some other issues.
That's done now! You can change the speed of your mount. If it's something normal like a horse, it has traditional gaits like gallop, canter, and trot. Your party members will mount when you mount, and dismount when you dismount, if they have their own mounts and you aren't in the heat of combat, and they'll try to follow you around and adjust their speeds as best they can.
Somebody asked a long time ago about undead mounts, and I didn't have an answer. But after a bit of work, necromancer adventurers can ride any mountable undead creature that they raise.
Also, importantly, after this update is finished you'll be able to pet animals. They don't have to be friendly (or not undead) for you to try, but assuming that risk is up to you.
Next up, I'll be handling tactical party combat. That is, the ability to indirectly command or directly control the multiple characters you can start with now, as well as giving commands to others you recruit later. Then we'll be to the main matter of adventurer interactions with villains, then to fort mode.
- Tarn
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Kitfox's Note
There's no way we can talk about animals without letting you see what they might look like, so here's a small peek at some of the sprites that Meph and Mayday have been working on. Nothing is set in stone, but it's nice to see!
https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/b25f5fcd7bb94d17ffecc1cfe0e0736871625570.png
They are small but powerful. :') Also, we do have a Dwarf Fortress newsletter sign up https://steamcommunity.com/linkfilter/?url=http://eepurl.com/dB4bFv for these updates in ~email format~ if that tickles your fancy. But otherwise, see you around!
- Victoria
Post by: Telgin on July 11, 2019, 04:22:23 pm
Petting animals is such a small thing too, but I really like that it was added anyway.
Post by: PlumpHelmetMan on July 12, 2019, 06:41:11 am
Post by: PatrikLundell on July 12, 2019, 08:04:02 am
Should be interesting IMO to see how the various cavern critters are visualized, considering just how bizarre some of them are.This is the thread for those interested in the graphical development: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=173474.0 (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=173474.0).
Post by: PlumpHelmetMan on July 12, 2019, 08:56:25 am
Post by: clinodev on July 25, 2019, 04:11:07 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2716152328152380000
Post by: Superdorf on July 25, 2019, 04:51:11 pm
I find Toady's efforts to explain the old features as the explains the new entertaining. It's interesting to see the cautions he takes when approaching the Steam community.
Thanks for keeping us posted on this, by the way; I'd not thought to keep tabs on it. :)
Post by: clinodev on July 25, 2019, 05:39:58 pm
Thanks for keeping us posted on this, by the way; I'd not thought to keep tabs on it. :)
Hey, cheers!
I'm one of the reddit mods and I wanted to be sure people there see them, then I figured, "What's one more post?"
I'm honestly not sure how to set up Steam to give me alerts for these, but I was able to get my RSS reader to check it. I'll keep copying the links here!
Post by: Bumber on July 26, 2019, 08:10:56 am
Post by: clinodev on August 08, 2019, 02:48:54 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1610519806188046048
Post by: PlumpHelmetMan on August 08, 2019, 05:14:30 pm
Post by: clinodev on August 22, 2019, 02:30:05 pm
Technically it's August now, the last announcement was in late July. :P
Mmmhmm.
Here's another.
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1607143370744128433
Post by: Knight Otu on August 23, 2019, 10:10:23 am
I swear they told me there would only be one of these a month like three days ago, lol.Considering these are clearly coming out every two weeks, that seems odd.
Post by: clinodev on September 05, 2019, 03:57:43 pm
Anyway the new one. Sorry for the lazy links, it's my birthday and I'm frazzled:
Steam Community Update: "Dwarf Fortress LIVE and System Design Recordings from PAX West" https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1603766940169574852
Dwarf Fortress LIVE and System Design Recordings from PAX West
Tarn and Zach are back from PAX, and we have recordings of their panels! Plus - Fit For A King is out!
Hey everyone!
As we mentioned in the last update, Tarn and Zach have been busy attending an academic conference and PAX West this past week. So no new progress reports, but we DO have recordings of the two panels they were on!
Dwarf Fortress LIVE panel
Interview with Tarn Adams and Zach Adams, the co-creators of Dwarf Fortress, and Victoria Tran of Kitfox Games, about the commercial release of DF, its past and its future - all structured around a live game of Dwarf Fortress.
https://youtu.be/WW_dHPtC2wg
System Design, on Fire, All the Time: Controlling Chaos
How do you design for chaos? Join designers from Dwarf Fortress, Destiny 2, Into the Breach, Industries of Titan, King of Dragon Pass, and Six Ages in discussing how to handle system-driven design. Whether it’s a world that’s procedurally generated or creating rules of asymmetrical multiplayer, deep systems make design, playtesting, and the whole game dev process more interesting—but also full of surprises…
Recording starts at the 2 hour mark: Watch it here https://www.twitch.tv/videos/475872864
It was also just great meeting a ton of you at PAX! We had so many people telling the brothers the stories of their forts and asking for pictures, it filled my heart with warm fuzzy feels. Thanks for all the support!
Fit For A King Release
Aaaand in exciting news (for Kitfox!) (but maybe for you??) -- we released our game Fit For A King today!
Marry everything, execute everything, and humiliate your rivals with your wealth and excess or die trying in this ultimate Henry VIII simulator! If you're a fan of Ultima or bankrupting your country, this is the game for you. Tarn mentioned it was "the funniest game I've played in a long time" so uhhh heck thanks Tarn! You can buy it NOW here.
That's it for now. Updates will resume as usual after this. :)
See ya!
Victoria
Post by: clinodev on September 19, 2019, 03:54:07 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1597012808112280309
Villainous Networks and Investigations
Hello!
We've been cleaning up the villainous network issues I mentioned in my last news post. In order to connect the networks more fully, we mostly focused on criminal organizations operating in cities. They can now compete with each other, subordinate each other and skim off of each other's profits, and fully fuse into single larger gangs. They can also establish new branches in other cities to give the networks some additional geographic spread, which should help to make investigations more interesting.
With those new additions as a backdrop, we allowed position-holding villains (who might be, for instance, nobles, priests, or bookkeepers) to contact the criminal organizations through intermediaries. Once in contact, they can contract out their assassination, sabotage, theft and kidnapping plots. This creates additional links for our investigations, and also opens up opportunities for the criminal leaders to exploit the link the other way, through blackmail and so forth.
So, overall, the evidence and investigation situation is looking a more healthy now. This is the reason we focus on the single-character/party-based adventure mode once we get through with history generation, since it operates like a microscope on features as we bring them into play. Everything we improve here will also impact how fortresses interact with and investigate villains.
Reminder: we're working on villains and investigations to finish off the material we were working on for the last DF Classic release before we transition fully over to work on Steam (the artists are already way ahead of me.) This is the third of four stages of that release. We completed villains in history generation, and moved those elements into the world during play. Now we're focusing on adventure mode before we tackle fortress mode in the final stage.
- Tarn
Post by: Meph on September 21, 2019, 06:57:12 am
Post by: Auxxiliary on September 26, 2019, 04:15:00 pm
*waves at people.*waves back
This is an exciting time for DF, ive been playing and lurking since 2010 and its good to see the progression.
Post by: clinodev on October 03, 2019, 01:06:23 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1599265790201749123
Text:
Interview of Suspected Villains Underway
Hello!
The work on investigations is now underway. We're starting with the interrogation or interview of suspected villains and criminals, because no matter how the rest of our work on evidence shakes out, you'll eventually be confronting your targets, and we want that core fact to guide the rest of what we implement here.
The first pass was just plopping my debugging character, the Manifestation, into the center of the most mobbed-up tavern in town and having friendly chats with the denizens, who are all to happy to tell me everything they know, responding even to vague desperate questions like "Who do you work for?!" and "What are you scheming?!". The plan as we go now is to make them more resistant to these queries. We've had skills like "intimidation", "persuasion", "lying" etc. in the game for years, but they've only mattered in other contexts, most of which were not that important. Now they'll get a chance to shine. Bribes, reputation, presented evidence and the new relationship variables 'loyalty', 'trust/distrust', 'fear', 'love/hate', and 'respect' are all in the mix. Given how the game world is, a fighter-style character will be able to resort to fisticuffs and ask questions afterward (the non-lethal combat and yielding systems will be used here), but this will be much more likely to make the villains higher up in the network eager to retaliate. If you use softer interrogation techniques, a villain's lieutenant might not even know they've given you the information you are seeking, or might not think anything of it.
Once we're done in adventure mode, this interrogation process will also make its way over to fort mode, though you won't control the process line by line. The evidence obtained by your sheriff, captain of the guard, or other interrogator or investigator will be placed in the Justice screen, where you'll be able to make decisions about what to do next about whatever trouble is brewing.
Reminder: we're working on villains and investigations to finish off the material we were working on for the last DF Classic release before we transition fully over to work on Steam (the artists are already way ahead of me.) This is the third of four stages of that release. We completed villains in history generation, and moved those elements into the world during play. Now we're focusing on adventure mode before we tackle fortress mode in the final stage.
- Tarn
Post by: PlumpHelmetMan on October 03, 2019, 01:10:40 pm
Post by: clinodev on October 17, 2019, 02:40:55 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1576749150328682950
Full text:
Investigations and Interrogation
Hi again!
We've been continuing our work on investigations and interrogation. The main task for this time around was to set up a framework for transient conversation states and conversation tone/tactics, so that interrogations aren't just a rote process of asking questions and gathering evidence. For example, if your character decides to approach an interrogation by intimidating the subject, you now select that skill to pair with your question. The subject can attempt to resist, based on how afraid they are of you, and how well they understand social interactions. If you succeed, the intimidation decreases the composure of the subject; failure to intimidate increases it. Regardless of success or failure, an intimidated subject will dislike talking to you and want to leave. But if their composure is broken, they'll answer your question. Other conversation tactics like persuasion work differently, and some tactics like 'pacify' can affect attitude without asking a question at all, if you find the interrogation slipping away from you. The questions and tactics also affect the long-term relationship variables mentioned last time, like trust, respect and fear, as well as your various reputation levels with the subject.
If you are a good judge of character, you'll get a more refined/correct preview of your chances to succeed with a given question+tone pairing, similar to how combat aiming works. In this way, player characters that swap in some social skills and attributes to balance or replace their fighting skills will have a significant advantage here. We might not clear the bar this time, but the aspiration is that these interactions will grow to be as interesting as regular combat. It's a tall order, but at least we have a richer set of player decisions to work with now, and something that's starting to feel like a contested investigation, which is the main goal for this stage of development.
Reminder: we're working on villains and investigations to finish off the material we were working on for the last DF Classic release before we transition fully over to work on Steam (the artists are already way ahead of me.) This is the third of four stages of that release. We completed villains in history generation, and moved those elements into the world during play. Now we're focusing on adventure mode before we tackle fortress mode in the final stage.
-Tarn
Post by: clinodev on October 31, 2019, 12:27:53 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1611653315351340258
Full text:
Hello!
In order to circumscribe our last classic release, where development has been running a little over a year now, we've started up on fortress mode work! Adventure mode work is still in progress, but we have enough there from the investigations and in particular the criminal organization evidence/display framework that we can make the fortress mode justice system function.
The broad strokes for fort mode are as follows: the schemers of the world, attracted by your wealth (measured by exports or known artifacts), or due to your meddling on raids, will be able to turn their attention to your fortress by sending agents under cover identities to try to turn your dwarves against you. This might be for simple theft at first, but can lead to sabotage, assassination or kidnappings, and ultimately, to the toppling of your government. You'll be able to use witness reports and other evidence to counter this threat (as with the current vampire investigations), with new interrogation powers to make the process more engaging. Successful investigations will allow you to track down responsible villains in the wider world, but it'll also lead to vengeful actions on their part. If you use the arrest power in a ridiculous fashion, you'll see your fort turn against you, whether there's a villain there or not.
So far, we've got the first infiltrators at the fortress doorstep, and we'll be getting our first traitors soon! We'll also be bringing some other fort features into line with our history generation work: this time, we've allowed your temples to be dedicated to the new organized religions which exist in the world now.
Reminder: we're working on villains and investigations to finish off the material we were working on for the last DF Classic release before we transition fully over to work on Steam (the artists are already way ahead of me.) Since we completed villains in history generation, we're now focusing on adding these elements to the play modes. Adventure mode is underway, and work on fortress mode has now begun.
- Tarn
Post by: scourge728 on October 31, 2019, 03:06:06 pm
Post by: clinodev on November 14, 2019, 02:07:28 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1608276884523197532
Full text:
Hello again!
We've continued on with our two threads of fortress mode work for the villains release. Concerning villains themselves, the infiltrators now roam about the fort using appropriate secret identities. This is something the vampires used previously, but because fort vampires were always dwarves, they could just assume another name and otherwise use the same profession and skills they had in life. Since our infiltrators can be humans or elves or goblins, or any of the animal people, and they can also have jobs that don't typically travel, they need to come up with a more plausible identity. They do this by scanning the sites near your fortress for matching population types, and pick professions that those sites use. So a villain might send a corrupt human justiciar to your fortress under cover as a visiting astronomer, if you have a library and there is a human civilization that values scholarship nearby. The infiltrator then seeks out dwarves to corrupt, using flattery, intimidation, promises of revenge, etc. Next up we'll see what these treacherous dwarves have in store for you.
The other thread of work was finishing the temple additions by adding priests and religious petitions. When an organized religion has enough representatives in the fortress, they can petition you to build an appropriate temple space for them and to appoint a priest, and then make a second petition later to appoint a high priest over a larger temple complex.
Reminder: we're working on villains and investigations to finish off the material we were working on for the last DF Classic release before we transition fully over to work on Steam (the artists are already way ahead of me.) Since we completed villains in history generation, we're now focusing on adding these elements to the play modes.
- Tarn
Post by: clinodev on November 28, 2019, 03:31:12 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1709609055941920902
Full text:
Hey!
The push toward the villain release has continued along the two lines of work we have in fortress mode. With fort villains themselves, we've had our first artifact heist! For years, simple thieves and even animals have been able to sneak into the fort and swipe whatever they could get their hands (or mouths) on, but now treacherous or compromised dwarves can spirit away an item to a co-conspirator in the tavern. We force them to 'plan' the operation for a year or so in order, as the co-conspirator dips in and out of your fort, to give you a chance to investigate and stop the plot before it happens, but there'll also be plenty of witness reports to examine even if you fail, once we get to the new justice system. Which is next!
Over in the rest of fort mode, which is coming into line with our history generation additions, we've brought craft guilds back to the game. When dwarves in the different professions (stonecarvers and armorsmiths, but also miners and fisherdwarves, etc.) reach critical mass (currently ten dwarves), they'll formally organize themselves into named guilds and petition you to build a guildhall for them. For now, this is a place for them to hang out together and become friends, and we'll add more functions to it over time. For now, dwarves can join the guild corresponding to their specific profession and also one for their broader group (e.g. craftsdwarves and then a subchapter for bone carvers), depending on their actual skills rather than their labor settings.
Reminder: we're working on villains and investigations to finish off the material we were working on for the last DF Classic release before we transition fully over to work on Steam (the artists are already way ahead of me.) Since we completed villains in history generation, we're now focusing on adding these elements to the play modes.
- Tarn
Post by: Atomic Chicken on December 01, 2019, 02:22:01 am
Post by: clinodev on December 12, 2019, 01:52:22 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3177783990870478424
Full text:
Hello again!
The first step on the villain release this time around was to build up justice information around the artifact heist from last time. This includes several sorts of witness reports: dwarves can notice when artifacts are missing from position or when they have been moved, and they also keep track of who has been admiring artifacts in case that ends up being of use (the thieves can hesitate before snatching the item when witnesses are around, and this leads to extra admiration, so it works out.) Your sheriff or guard captain can detain and interrogate anybody regarding the crime. That is, anybody you tell them to interrogate, as sifting through witness reports and deciding on a course of action is your job.
The second part of this most recent fortnight of work took place while I was on call for jury duty, so I didn't try to start any major push where I might be called to the court house the next day. This was a good time to do some of the pre-release testing that needs to be done. The main subject was the variously-improved undead invasions that can now happen in fort mode. We've done a lot of work with undead lieutenants and experimental creature and so forth, but hadn't tested invasions, which'll be a key method of interacting with them. It was good to see the failed experiments still manage a showing, with some procedurally-generated scaly horned maggots bringing up the rear behind the typical zombies. For some reason the two lieutenants (pale ghouls in this case) were obsessed with casting pain spells on my poor horse, but they also managed to make short work of all my test civilians.
To finish dwarf mode for the villains release, the main bits we need to complete are the wider investigations and some interactions with them (for instance, villains taking revenge.) Combined with the other additions already completed, this should be good enough to move on from Classic-only releases and get to the Steam work!
Reminder: we're working on villains and investigations to finish off the material we were working on for the last DF Classic release before we transition fully over to work on Steam (the artists are already way ahead of me.) Since we completed villains in history generation, we're now focusing on adding these elements to the play modes.
- Tarn
Post by: clinodev on December 30, 2019, 04:43:46 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1706233347202798713
Full text:
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays everybody!
Holidays have been hectic and enjoyable as usual, and there's not much specific to report, as the days where work does happen are more for testing and administrative stuff. However, we can say now that the final pre-Steam Classic DF release will be in January. After any fires are put out, my full-time Steam programming work to catch up with the artists will finally begin.
I hope all of you have a great New Year's!
- Tarn
Kitfox's Note
Hey everyone!
Nothing much to report on our end either, but thanks for all the support and excitement this year. :) Can you believe we only announced the Steam version this year? Thanks for being a part of the community! Hope your 2020 goes well, and remember that wishlisting Dwarf Fortress on Steam helps us out a lot in the backend. Otherwise, we'll see you next year here (or Twitter/the newsletter!)
Cheers,
Victoria
Post by: clinodev on January 16, 2020, 01:37:22 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3330909474103825899
Hello again, and welcome to 2020!
We're still on track for January to be the month where the update to Classic DF is released. (Remember, the Steam version of DF is called Premium DF.) I've been cleaning things up and adding the last few features. For instance, dwarves in craft guilds can now hold skill demonstrations, and priests can give various types of sermons and console worshippers that are stressed out. Player adventurers can also give sermons if they choose.
Once that release is up, and we've handled whatever issues arise, the code work on a Premium DF will begin. I imagine that'll change the nature of these news posts a bit! The first order of business will likely be getting the artists fully up and running with the ability to see more of their work in play. I have to rework most of the guts of the display, so it'll take some time before we have new screenshots together. We'll be doing that before moving on to the broader interface updates and quality-of-life changes.
This should be an exciting year! I'm looking forward to seeing it all come together.
- Tarn
Post by: Loud Whispers on January 17, 2020, 04:49:24 pm
Post by: clinodev on January 30, 2020, 03:43:51 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/1711866668247680497
Full text:
Babies control moms with random crawling AI
Hello!
Yesterday we put up the last major solo release of Classic DF! There'll be some bug fixing now (which applies to all versions, including the future Steam release), and then we'll be pivoting entirely to Premium DF graphical work, which should be pretty exciting.
So far, the bugs don't look so bad... we did change the mount code, and apparently babies carried by their mothers (who are treated as 'riders') now control their mothers' actions with their random crawling AI, making the mothers wander aimlessly. It's straightforward to fix, but another odd tale for the DF chronicles. A mercenary company was hired to attack its own fort... a world history crash... it all seems manageable. We also need to fix an old raid crash, something to do with equipment settings. Once the worst is handled, the next era of DF can begin in earnest.
- Tarn
---
Kitfox's Note
Don't forget to sign up for the DF newsletter (https://steamcommunity.com/linkfilter/?url=http://www.kitfoxgames.com/sendy/kitfox-subscribe)! Once work on Premium DF starts, I'll be sending emails out there so you get these updates right in your inbox. :) Or, of course, find us on Twitter (https://steamcommunity.com/linkfilter/?url=http://www.twitter.com/kitfoxgames) and the like.
- Victoria (manavee)
Post by: Loud Whispers on January 30, 2020, 04:09:09 pm
Post by: Peyotle on February 04, 2020, 12:28:36 am
Post by: clinodev on February 04, 2020, 01:52:25 am
Is it getting a macOS version?
From the most recent DevLog:
In terms of the Steam release, yeah, I do not personally have the experience to sell a Mac or Linux product. If I can't easily get the build working, and I can't marshal the expertise in whatever way, then it won't come to those platforms, whether that's eventually paying somebody to help or however it'll work. I can't afford it now and don't feel comfortable asking for volunteers in this context, and I doubt my ability to put together a 'properly bundled' OSX app that works on whatever version is the latest and to keep it working through future deprecations. Additionally, I haven't been closely following where the current notarization issues are at, and that might be prohibitive as a separate matter, depending on exactly what's going on. I know some of my peers decided to leave the platform, but their situation might be different. Others have struggled through it. I'm all for getting it worked out, but it'd need to be a solution that sticks and which I can maintain more reliably.
So, not right away, anyway.
Post by: Criperum on February 04, 2020, 02:39:16 pm
Post by: clinodev on February 13, 2020, 03:11:18 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3735110149834154834
Hi again!
We've been keeping up the bug fixes as the last standalone Classic DF release stabilizes. Now-corrected highlights include the game getting confused about who owned the tomb after a mummy came back from the dead, leading to the mummy's zombies sieging themselves, and two dwarven spies diligently maintaining their enemy cover identities even when they came to live in the player's fort, confusing the local soldiers and starting civil wars. And lots of more mundane fixes.
It has been an adventure steering this fairly massive ongoing project from the villain work toward the Premium DF work since the Steam announcement last year. We should be ready to fully switch gears and work on Premium DF around the change of the month. Fewer news items about odd quirks and strange features, and more about graphics and user experience, but I imagine we'll still see some strange things happen, ha ha. They'll just be shinier now.
Scamps, my cat, turned 11 this week! (Picture included.) I have to revert most of his code additions, but he's always kept up his confidence and continues to try his best on the keyboard nearly every day.
- Tarn
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/8eaa744fe0e525217951df18ae442ffcd9f61515.jpg)
Post by: clinodev on March 04, 2020, 02:34:22 pm
Full text:
Necromancer experiments are potential citizens
Hello!
Soon we'll be done patching the last major standalone Classic DF release. Fixed some oldies, like an ancient bug causing dwarves to teleport through walls when they are charged by an opponent and tumble backward in a certain way, and some new ones. For instance, the new necromancer experiments can sometimes escape from the tower and try to eek out a life in a village, and this sometimes means they can migrate to your fortress, as visitors or potential citizens. That's all fine, but they still casually ripped out doors and broke furniture. This is now fixed, ha ha.
March is here, and with that, the code work on Premium DF kicks into full swing. It'll be an interesting change of pace, to say the least, and it'll be cool to see all the artwork Mayday and Meph have been working on come to life.
- Tarn
---
Kitfox's Note
This update was originally going to be posted a week ago, but we were at PAX East! Sorry about the lateness. :)
It was nice to see some of you in person! The floor was packed with people, and it's always refreshing to be able to talk to fans of the game in real life. We only had the trailer of DF showing but even then... y'all are excited!
- Victoria
Post by: Pancakes on March 07, 2020, 04:02:08 pm
Post by: clinodev on March 07, 2020, 06:05:23 pm
Has there been any talk about steam trading cards, custom chat emoticons, or profile backgrounds (https://steamcommunity.com/tradingcards/) being available for the steam release?
Hey there!
This would probably be better asked in the Future of the Fortress (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=169696.0) thread (remember to color your question lime green), but I'll link it to the Kitfox folks just in case they want to comment. I vaguely remember Toady being asked about trading cards, and giving a "that's interesting, we'll see"-style response, but that would be about a year ago, so it's probably worth asking again now that he's actually working on the Premium Steam/itch release.
Incidentally, this thread is really just a mirror of the actual Steam announcements (https://store.steampowered.com/app/975370/Dwarf_Fortress/), because they often contain little news tidbits not shared elsewhere, and not everyone is on Steam. The announcements are official, not this thread, which I maintain just to keep everyone in the loop (I also post them on Steam, and in a Discord bot channnel that gets distributed to over 50 other Discords). I would be shocked if anyone at Bay 12 or Kitfox reads this thread at this point, and despite a couple rumors, nobody's sent me any money yet!
Post by: Pancakes on March 07, 2020, 06:08:00 pm
Post by: clinodev on March 12, 2020, 10:16:37 am
Full text:
The code work on DF Premium is underway!
Hi again!
We released the last standalone Classic DF patch at the end of February, and therefore: the code work on DF Premium (AKA the Steam version) is underway! The artists have sent me their work to this point, and now my first job is to get them a test version they can use to improve existing tiles and add new ones.
Since Dwarf Fortress's display to this point has just been a uniform grid, the initial step was to rework the innards so that we can display multiple tile grids of different sizes or whatever else we need. This is done now. Next I'm implementing the first pass list of the hundreds of identifiers the artists will be using to plug their work into the game.
There won't be anything new to show for a while still, but it was exciting to see the larger graphical grid displaying some grass and stone underneath the existing menus, rather than by itself as in the trailer. Like, welcome to 1987 or something, I know, ha ha, but this is going to be pretty cool. There's always some iffiness in dealing with technical hurdles, rather than the more straightforward work of updating existing content, so this is good from the standpoint of removing uncertainties as well.
- Tarn
Kitfox's Note
Hi!
So I've been posting lil' peeks at the new sprites in DF Premium via Twitter, but might as well share them here too, right? Place your votes on the most deadly DF hump, heh.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/8a00ebe179823fcfac6be3a114d7d2474f7833f6.png)
From the Wiki. (https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Camel)
Cheers,
Victoria
Post by: clinodev on March 26, 2020, 03:07:39 pm
Full text:
Hello!
Okay, now I can show you what I meant about the graphical improvements last time instead of trying to explain in words, ha ha.
For reference, here is a hillside in Classic DF:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/4d7e0340cef571460ca4768c949807056c5c4b3e.png)
This is a cutaway view at one altitude. This view has been pretty confusing for new players. All you need to know is that it's a grid of uniform size, and the upward triangles are ramps. Dwarves can walk up those to the next highest level.
Here is a similar view in Dwarf Fortress Premium. First off, you can see the new graphical tiles displaying alongside the old to-be-updated interface instructions.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/4a360e5968f494f8d4a69938b727daa9dd3014a0.png)
Our work from last time got us away from the Classic's DF uniform text grid. The artists have done a great job with preparing shadows and shading to indicate that those ramps go up, and not down. For any of its faults, the upward triangles did give us that, and now we have it here. We'll do some additional work later on in the process that further bolsters the three dimensionality of the game.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/80f59625a8cc0f0940bd9ccd02eb5069bbdead77.png)
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/1435da95aa53c8b576231f1606a44e94f86c0c24.png)
The ramp situations can get pretty complicated! There are still some shadows and situations to patch up, but it's going well. In the second image there, you can see some brown jasper gems in the lower wall, and some hematite ore striping the upper wall at one spot.
But that's not all we've been working on:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/d666af8bcd842c12e5d5c4b6be011a8716ac5114.png)
This is a small fort with a carpenter's workshop, log pile, and constructed block wall outside. Inside, we have a mason's workshop with a stone stockpile, some doors placed, a metalsmith's forge under construction, and a larger meeting hall. The dwarves have smoothed the walls in the meeting hall - they generally like smoothed stone better when it comes to the value they place on their bedrooms and so forth. By the end, the smoothed stone color will match the surrounding stone.
Here are some domesticated animals by a pool of water.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/b5725ad4a8abb6e791b0d9a9eb27eec5f0d085e1.png)
The artists are still way ahead of me, but I'll keep working to support all of their creations. The process continues!
- Tarn
Kitfox's Note
Hey everyone! Hope you've all been staying safe and inside. <3
Remember you can get all of these updates in your email inbox if you sign up for the newsletter. (http://www.kitfoxgames.com/sendy/kitfox-subscribe).. with exclusive bonus pics of Tarn's cat, Scamps!
Cheers,
Victoria
Post by: Loud Whispers on March 26, 2020, 04:11:47 pm
Post by: Bumber on March 26, 2020, 04:33:52 pm
Remember you can get all of these updates in your email inbox if you sign up for the newsletter. (http://www.kitfoxgames.com/sendy/kitfox-subscribe).. with exclusive bonus pics of Tarn's cat, Scamps!
I think we'll be needing some bonus content in this thread soon.
Post by: clinodev on March 26, 2020, 04:57:38 pm
Remember you can get all of these updates in your email inbox if you sign up for the newsletter. (http://www.kitfoxgames.com/sendy/kitfox-subscribe).. with exclusive bonus pics of Tarn's cat, Scamps!
I think we'll be needing some bonus content in this thread soon.
Why, whatever do you mean?
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: voliol on April 20, 2020, 02:54:51 am
Steam Community Update 9 April 2020: The power of having more than 16 colors! (https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2197135853628166899)
Full text:
Hello again!
I hope everybody finds themselves well. We've been continuing to plug away on the graphics for Dwarf Fortress and have some more goodies!
Beyond the ASCII ramp pictures we showed earlier, one of the main problems with visualizing the map in Dwarf Fortress is that the Classic game only shows one z-level at a time. This might be a very thin strip of sloping hill, or just the bottom or top of a river canyon. Lacking visual context, players sometimes resort to sliding the view of the landscape up and down to form an image in their mind. Now, we can more easily show many elevation levels at once, through the power of having more than 16 colors!
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/fca054d5a5cc0ac76514096916db013049b62577.png)
This is much easier to read as a desert hillside. This is still a work-in-progress, and there's more we can do with the shading and tile boundaries, but the main obstacles are overcome.
Here's a small animation moving down three levels of the hill to see it in action:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/461820b88c8063c835c813583e9903a8d15d94b0.gif)
We've been working on a variety of other improvements as well recently. In Classic DF, we used background color to denote planned furniture. In Premium DF, we can use transparency:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/f1d86da9ff67df8911bdb8c5b4fad471daf2e260.png)
There is a finished room on the left, and a similar room in the planning stages on the right.
Creature graphics have also seen some additions:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/03fda2f622a10c894c33de2916872be1615979b3.png)
Although Dwarf Fortress creatures always occupy just one tile (unless they are a wagon... or somebody is dragging their entrails...), we have an opportunity now to make the largest creatures at least slightly larger. On the left is a blind cave ogre, very large as you might expect. On the right, a gorlak, a small friendly head with tusks, arms and legs that occasionally takes up a profession like a poet or a scholar.
Expect them in your taverns from time to time!
- Tarn
Post by: clinodev on April 20, 2020, 03:04:05 am
Things are weird, I just plain forgot.
Post by: voliol on April 20, 2020, 05:44:09 am
Post by: Loud Whispers on April 20, 2020, 06:08:45 am
Post by: Iä! RIAKTOR! on April 20, 2020, 06:56:24 am
Post by: clinodev on April 23, 2020, 02:51:01 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2197137123005129623
Full text:
Beasts, night trolls, and werecreatures, oh my!
Hi!
Dwarf Fortress has a few hundred real world animals and some dozens of fantasy creatures, but the most distinct part of the bestiary is the critters that are generated by the program. These include forgotten beasts, various demons, night trolls, werecreatures, experiments, and others. It's a pixel art challenge to accurately reflect what is stated in the text, and our first step is the night trolls! The body positions are a bit restricted due to inventory and piece-matching requirements.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/5106a3f9e179fc9c587cbea3e7a9b55237faf3c4.png)
In other critter news, we also have visual distinctions between domestic animals like the peacock and peahen.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/67204a9ebaeae01447ff24ef93ef4128cf8fcbb9.png)
Here are some updated stockpile pictures, where signs distinguish the sort of stockpile (clockwise from top left: food, furniture, finished goods, lumber). Since it is an initial DF embark, the finished goods pile is mostly crutches and splints, for the inevitable. You also have a look here at the base level of DF's multi-tile trees. We're using the foliage shadow to clarify that this is the base of a tree and not just a trunk.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/3e1824acddc3b578f11b104f2af1072011cacf56.png)
Finally, here is a windmill turning some axles and gear assemblies.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/ed0782f888a7abb1c93b77165e6c7d5fa1cb10c3.gif)
You can use such machines to pump water, mill grains, and turn rollers to propel minecarts. Power can be provided by windmills and water wheels, and vertical axles and gears allow you to transmit it downward into the mountain as well.
- Tarn
Post by: clinodev on May 07, 2020, 04:32:22 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2181375791413994147
Full text:
A whole new world (map) 🗺️
Hello!
One of the main things we've been working on recently is updating the world map. As with almost everything in Classic DF, the world map is displayed using ASCII symbols. It looks like this:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/1cdce382b2f359b2e6d9a0af56954fd91b2eedd0.png)
This particular world is a medium sized 129x129 one (currently you can make a large world at 257x257, down to a pocket world at 17x17). If you haven't played before, even from the ASCII image, you can probably tell what is water versus land, and that the top is the icy part. And maybe find some trees and deserts. However, some of the other symbols are likely more difficult to distinguish, or maybe it just looks entirely unreadable.
Here is our work-in-progress graphical map of the same world:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/5d712302395bff2c14d8560aa164d478a0f1f5e2.png)
The image is larger and square since we've moved from 8x12 ASCII glyphs to 16x16 tiles. There's still quite a bit to do with river mouths and wetlands and oceans and mountains and trees and so on, of course. But we've arrived at a point where it accomplishes the goal of making the world map more easily understood and thought it would be fun to share.
- Tarn
[note from clinodev: It's remarkable how much bigger those images are here than there!]
Post by: voliol on May 08, 2020, 06:58:07 am
I see that the good desert gets its own color. Can we expect the same for red/black/white deserts or are they all yellowish pale for the sake of visual clutter? (would be a shame, I think, but might be necessary)
Post by: bmhathaway on May 11, 2020, 03:09:49 am
Post by: voliol on May 11, 2020, 06:20:37 am
Looks cleaner than before, keep the good work up :)
I see that the good desert gets its own color. Can we expect the same for red/black/white deserts or are they all yellowish pale for the sake of visual clutter? (would be a shame, I think, but might be necessary)
I would be thrilled to discover that any of Toady, ThreeToe, Mayday, or Meph were reading this repeater thread I post for the courtesy of people who don't use Steam much, but you'll probably have better luck in the Steam/Itch tileset thread, where I know you're already active. :)
Woops, I forgot which thread I was in... That explains its strange disappearance in that thread, I never posted it there to begin with! :p
Thank you.
Post by: clinodev on May 21, 2020, 03:04:09 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2181377058339263734
Full text:
Dwarves scared up a tree 🌲
Hi!
The main part of the game we've been updating for the last while is the tree display.
Way back when the classic game was first released in 2006, and for some years after, trees were simply a single text tile, an up arrow for a pine tree, say, and you'd chop them down and get a piece of wood. As the game progressed and got a third dimension of terrain, this became insufficient, and we moved over to multi-tile trees.
Even using text, growing and display these was a bit of a challenge. Here are our tree trunks from the text version:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/330deb45e76c232b3d894fca7a48b539b1650eb3.png)
Don't strain too hard if you don't see them, but spot the brown and white O's? Those are tree trunks down on the ground level. The first part we tackled was getting these displayed, and making sure they were distinguishable from the trunks of trees that had been chopped down. The artists accomplished this with foliage shadows and lively roots:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/9f2af8d3b404580bf3a939c732db65e6f99dfb19.png)
Now, once you go upward, the situation gets more complex. In Dwarf Fortress, there are thick trunks that can be climbed, heavy branches that can be walked across, light branches that can't be walked upon, and even groups of leafy twigs out at the very edges. Jumble all of that together in text, and you have the old display:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/33fc7d1a938bfc2557fe6a60647e769db7210b87.png)
This is one altitude level up from the previous text picture. All of those tile types are there, but it's difficult to parse, to say the least. We wanted to make that easier to understand.
So let's take a look at one of our new trees:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/01efce18e7e3254194373ff5a048841c921f784f.gif)
We are going up and down the tree with the camera - the trunk branches north and south immediately, and then thins out as we move vertically, until only leafy twigs remain at the top.
When we put it all together in a forest, and move the camera up one level, we obtain the following:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/275a77ee725d3b17edfa9c2f27a63a4a66a9369e.png)
There's still a lot to take in, but the trees can be distinguished from each other (the leaves of different trees don't touch each other. This is called crown shyness.) The 'trunk' tiles which cannot be traveled through all have a pillar to distinguish them.
So if one of your dwarves is scared up a tree by a wild predator, you'll expect to see them clinging next to a trunk or sitting on one of the heavy branches. On the other hand, if they are using a stepladder to pick fruit, you'll find them in the leafier sections without heavy branches where the fruit grows.
Don't forget you can sign up for these updates to appear straight in your inbox by joining the newsletter.
- Tarn
Post by: Manveru Taurënér on June 04, 2020, 01:36:46 pm
Quote
Hey.
The main project we've been focusing on recently is the depiction of bodies of water. In Dwarf Fortress, that can mean a lot of things: still pools, rocky brooks, wide rivers, oceans, lakes, underground lakes, city sewers, and channel and cistern and noble-drowning facilities you produce in your own fortresses.
This is the current status of the rocky brooks.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/3a541b918d3ad1f4f23835298f3dc7d6bc6b60f7.gif)
We're using sixteen frames of animation, which is a first for DF, ha ha, and we might touch this up with some flow direction indications and variants. Dwarves can walk across these, so it's important that they don't look very deep.
This is a deeper, more opaque pool of water that the dwarves prefer not to drink from, but which can have turtles and moghoppers for the dwarves to catch, to add to their food variety and allow for shell crafts. Or to keep as pets. Or for your zoo terrariums and aquariums.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/9d0847937c3187afd057c52a95b27f158066c5c7.gif)
Here are the larger workshops - the kennels and the siege workshop. Many animals can be brought from a wild to a semi-domesticated to a tame state.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/3a3c8cd7c107b79856a6428c1012bcd92124d450.png)
This is not entirely safe! But it is good to have mostly friendly critters running about the fortress.
Here are some minecart tracks! Build them with wood, stone or metal, or carve grooves into cavern floors or glaciers.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/16f81ac407d262e8988b5e1c51b804918c487b2a.png)
With the availability of wheelbarrows, it's not always practical to produce a lot of infrastructure just to cart off stone, but you can always use them to do routine hauls of finished goods, or let your dwarves take a fun ride. Take a ride yourself in adventure mode. Or fill a cart with rocks and crash it against an obstacle as an improvised boulder shotgun. Or use serrated discs. People always find a way to turn DF features into weapons!
- Tarn
Post by: Manveru Taurënér on June 04, 2020, 01:37:26 pm
Post by: clinodev on June 15, 2020, 04:32:13 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2378411445035127532
Full Text:
Dwarf Fortress First Look Gameplay & Commentary ⚒️
Heya!
A bit of a mini-interruption from the regular updates you've been getting from Tarn (don't worry, they're still happening), but as part of the Guerrilla Collective showcase on June 13, we revealed a first look at the work-in-progress gameplay of the Dwarf Fortress Steam Version!
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp7DEUzWOfo&feature=youtu.be
Note: Gameplay UI is in progress, and is not indicative of the final look.
The gameplay video includes:
Developer commentary from co-creator, Tarn Adams
Real time footage of a world map being generated and a first embark
New graphics including workshops, bodies of water, dwarves, and trees
Hope you enjoy. We're excited! :)
Cheers,
Victoria
Post by: voliol on June 18, 2020, 11:28:57 am
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2453847373783055559
Full Text:
Serrated discs jammed by goblin bits ⚔️
Hello!
Workerly progress on items and other art the last few week. It's an eclectic mix, as in the first image here:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/bb7d284426c499280fa95dd6bda2447fe256f233.png)
Glass block floors, wooden floors, and dwarves, of course, like metal floors. Some of their favorite weapons are here as well, and shields, and trap components. You can use an enormous corkscrew to make a screwpump to move liquids around the fortress, but you can also place one in a weapon trap.
And why not add a giant axeblade, a serrated disc and various spikes? Hmm... dwarves have to clean them when they are jammed up with goblin bits, that's one reason, but a resilient dwarf can handle that job just fine.
Here are swords made of various materials being shown off by the proud Debug Creature that arranged them on the arena floor.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/1557fdfeae602a3a9916e83224f6f029d21e52cd.png)
And more weapons and tools, along with a few reasons why you might want your dwarves to keep weapons around. These critters can all be found underground.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/4078187e8e6a6c443cda9e6fbea5a56684176d1a.png)
On the left we have a naked mole dog and a molemarian. The naked mole dog is like the real world naked molerat, but it is bigger, hence dog. The molemarian... is like a centaur, but instead of placing a human upper torso on a horse body, you place a moledoggy human upper torso on a naked mole dog, and then replace the head with a mole dog head... so it's just a lot of naked mole dog with some grabby arms.
Up top, the voracious cave crawler and the magma man. Occasionally, legendary generals will make a journey to the depths during world generation and tame voracious cave crawlers for use in war. Magma men, on the other hand, are just not safe to have around at all.
On the right, longer critters! A giant earthworm and a giant olm. You'll find that Dwarf Fortress has a lot of giant creatures...
- Tarn
--
Kitfox's Note
The Debug Creature's face is such a mood.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/13726495285435743f38a1cbcc8cc129e082d2a5.png)
- Victoria
Post by: clinodev on July 02, 2020, 11:42:11 am
https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/app/975370/view/2504513502276761103
Full text:
Guilty lizards and the DF Talk Podcast!
Hi!
Creatures and items, creatures and items. Here are lots of different seeds.
You can grow all sorts of different real world and fantasy plants. Our dwarves like to farm a variety of mushrooms underground, but you can try aboveground plants if you like.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/fa9d01595e2c578379424c6ebad356572f7b9c7c.png)
I put them on a glass block floor, since I accidentally put an ice floor in the last news posting when I said it was glass, ha ha. I then spread some of the new treasure items around everywhere, in each of the currency materials. You can also make coins and treasures out of non-currency metals and materials.
There were a few other treasures to lay out, but I took the screenshot early, as a lizard started eating my seeds (the guilty party still sits happily in the stockpile.) Normally you can protect seeds from vermin by using bags and barrels, and also by having some trusty cats around to hunt them and bring the remains to their dwarves.
Mike in the meantime has drawn many animals over the last several days, among them the remaining birds. Can you name them all?
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/d9f705b664f57eb3228924adac2feb111641f1ba.png)
I've also been experimenting with the mouse and clickable buttons and other fancy widgets. Animals next to the animal buttons, items next to the item buttons, rather than text text text. DF has had a little patchy mouse support in the past, but we're going to improve that situation for Steam. Hopefully I'll have some to show soon! Artists have to do a pass on my programmer art first, he he he.
-Tarn
Kitfox Note
After a 6 year hiatus, the DF Talk podcast has restarted! Join Rainseeker, Capntastic and the Toady One (Tarn!) as they talk about Dwarf Fortress and answer questions from the forum.
You can listen to it here, but fair warning... the volume levels are wonky. (In the words of Tarn, they "suck". Heh.) I figured it was still worth sharing though - think of this as the test run of better and more volume-controlled episodes to come! ;)
https://steamcommunity.com/linkfilter/?url=https://bay12games.com/dwarves/df_talk.html
- Victoria
Post by: Starver on July 02, 2020, 12:35:54 pm
Post by: Nordlicht on July 03, 2020, 01:14:54 pm
Post by: Salmeuk on July 06, 2020, 03:27:04 pm
Post by: Iä! RIAKTOR! on July 15, 2020, 11:45:08 am
Steam Community Update 18 June 2020: "Serrated discs jammed by goblin bits ⚔️"Design of some weapons images is unrealistic and/or doesn't fit to ingame characteristics. Creatures is better, but whats about proportions? Also olms have two legs only.
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2453847373783055559
Full Text:
Serrated discs jammed by goblin bits ⚔️
Hello!
Workerly progress on items and other art the last few week. It's an eclectic mix, as in the first image here:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/bb7d284426c499280fa95dd6bda2447fe256f233.png)
Glass block floors, wooden floors, and dwarves, of course, like metal floors. Some of their favorite weapons are here as well, and shields, and trap components. You can use an enormous corkscrew to make a screwpump to move liquids around the fortress, but you can also place one in a weapon trap.
And why not add a giant axeblade, a serrated disc and various spikes? Hmm... dwarves have to clean them when they are jammed up with goblin bits, that's one reason, but a resilient dwarf can handle that job just fine.
Here are swords made of various materials being shown off by the proud Debug Creature that arranged them on the arena floor.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/1557fdfeae602a3a9916e83224f6f029d21e52cd.png)
And more weapons and tools, along with a few reasons why you might want your dwarves to keep weapons around. These critters can all be found underground.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/4078187e8e6a6c443cda9e6fbea5a56684176d1a.png)
On the left we have a naked mole dog and a molemarian. The naked mole dog is like the real world naked molerat, but it is bigger, hence dog. The molemarian... is like a centaur, but instead of placing a human upper torso on a horse body, you place a moledoggy human upper torso on a naked mole dog, and then replace the head with a mole dog head... so it's just a lot of naked mole dog with some grabby arms.
Up top, the voracious cave crawler and the magma man. Occasionally, legendary generals will make a journey to the depths during world generation and tame voracious cave crawlers for use in war. Magma men, on the other hand, are just not safe to have around at all.
On the right, longer critters! A giant earthworm and a giant olm. You'll find that Dwarf Fortress has a lot of giant creatures...
- Tarn
--
Kitfox's Note
The Debug Creature's face is such a mood.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/13726495285435743f38a1cbcc8cc129e082d2a5.png)
- Victoria
Post by: PatrikLundell on July 15, 2020, 11:58:27 am
The graphics thread is a bit hidden away in the Tilesets and Graphics section, but it's found here: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=173474.0 (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=173474.0)
Post by: clinodev on July 16, 2020, 12:42:12 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/4396027342293765009
Full text:
Giant rats for the ratdom 🐁
Hello again!
Giant creatures are a staple of generic fantasy worlds, and since Dwarf Fortress strives to generate worlds which are almost as generic as possible, we have giant versions of most real-world animals in the game. You can tack giant in front of almost anything. Sometimes, this can be trouble - the pandas in our game are just called 'pandas', but a more proper name for the real-world creature is 'giant panda', so that's why we have 'gigantic pandas' for the giant version instead. The same thing happened with the 'giant tortoise.'
The rule in Dwarf Fortress is that a giant creature should be at least as large as a black bear, even if it's a giant version of a small insect. As the real-world creatures approach black bear size, and then beyond, we apply a curve, so that the largest ones are only roughly twice as large in every dimension as their counterpart. Giant whales are very, very large, but they are just eight times as massive as a normal whale, rather than the kind of scaling you see when you go from a spider to a giant spider.
Here are some giant underground creatures:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/76f5bb2242f3934145a58dbdfda7fd0e6648cc9e.png)
The giant cave spider has been one of the more notorious DF creatures for many years. The paralyzing venom is quite serious, webs are nasty, it can spring from ambush, and it can also just bite dwarf-sized creatures into pieces. It is an enlarged version of the cave spider, which has a stunning venom (which is merely extremely annoying.) Giant rats are classic beings, of course. We also have large rats since it felt like there needed to be extra size gradations for ratdom.
I feel most bad about the poor giant moles that blunder into fortresses. The art doesn't make me feel better about it! Cave swallows are surprisingly colorful birds.
And here are some more modest creatures, a sample of small-but-not-too-small mammals:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/2b1d5ee4f9664cd0f461c92e5bd56569793b1726.png)
As you can imagine, once we got up to a certain level of animal coverage in the game, it was important for us to get the two iconic monotremes in the game, and fortunately the community pulled through when they selected a few hundred animals to be added to the game back in 2009.
The platypus has poisonous spurs, as in real life, which can cause painful swelling. Perhaps your fortress would benefit by allowing a platypus person adventurer to become a resident monster slayer?
--Tarn
Post by: voliol on July 30, 2020, 10:34:57 am
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2725193056659428990
Full text:
Mischievous gremlins & vacationing dogs 🐕
Hi!
The base creature pictures have been completed! As you can tell from some of the previous posts, that's a lot of animals, ha ha, as well as various fantasy critters. This also frees up Mike to do a pass on my ghastly programmer-art screens, which we should be able to show next time, while Meph continues work on items and buildings, as well as some additional work with derived creature types, like baby animals and zombies.
Here is one of the fantasy creatures, a mischievous gremlin.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/fb2ae27a4fa1e13a39c49aaf26bff1055cd9faeb.png)
Mischief here can be quite serious mischievous; gremlins like to jump on pressure plates, free animals from cages, and pull levers. Since pressure plates and levers are often linked up to important floodgates or drawbridges, they can be troublesome indeed.
Gremlins are good at sneaking, but a war dog placed at an entrance or strategic intersection is an option (you can always take them off the ropes if you want them to have a vacation from work with all their dwarf friends.)
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/4db28e7501e03be7b0f60b0dc142743092773eee.png)
Placing dwarf guards on patrol routes or having mechanically important areas behind some general bustle is also feasible, though gremlins wait in hiding for opportunities and can often slip through during breaks in hallway traffic. It's important not to leave a lever that can destroy your entire fortress too close to the deep cavern entrances, ha ha. If you are feeling ambitious, you can set up false levers near the caves to lure gremlins, and link them to traps that collapse or flood the lever room.
- Tarn
P.S.
Episode 24 of Dwarf Talk is here (https://bay12games.com/dwarves/df_talk.html). The volume levels are a bit better this time, and the other host returned, so the original lineup is all back together, talking about the interface and playing with the myth generator.
Post by: Capntastic on July 31, 2020, 02:42:54 pm
Post by: clinodev on July 31, 2020, 03:22:11 pm
I love lever gremlin
Right?
Also, thank you so much voliol for jumping in and putting these up when I haven't yet, and keeping my formatting! They seem to inevitably post when I'm off-line for an hour or so.
Post by: Iä! RIAKTOR! on July 31, 2020, 06:26:01 pm
Post by: Starver on July 31, 2020, 06:56:50 pm
b) Who says that the sole known sexual dimorphisms[2] are even obvious at that scale of image?
Not every mammal (always, even if they do when nursing) has prominent lady-lumps of however many they might sport while obviously priapic man-junk probably isn't on the cards either,
[1] If there were two, in that abbreviated tableau, would we theoretically get a lever-fight?
[2] A rare chance that their litter is multiple, vs being geldable, SFAICT.
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on July 31, 2020, 08:57:42 pm
Gremlins are mammals, they need two sprites - for male and for female.Don't worry, tilesets are moddable. You can add different male/female sprites as you like when you mod in the differences between male and female gremlins.
In vanilla, I'd say it's impossible to tell at this scale, as they're the same size and colour accoridng to the raws, so really no need to bother.
Post by: Iä! RIAKTOR! on August 01, 2020, 01:03:23 am
I can play ASCII. Do you want to not create tiles just because they are moddable? Gremlins are hairless mammals, so all is visible. Did you seeing bald cats breeds?Gremlins are mammals, they need two sprites - for male and for female.Don't worry, tilesets are moddable. You can add different male/female sprites as you like when you mod in the differences between male and female gremlins.
In vanilla, I'd say it's impossible to tell at this scale, as they're the same size and colour accoridng to the raws, so really no need to bother.
In raws, they are more green, only eyes and nails are yellow. Why you also forgot pupils? In raws they have black pupils (except when in dark, glowtile is for yellow eyeshine).
Post by: clinodev on August 01, 2020, 01:44:41 am
This post is unfortunately almost the least likely place on the Bay 12 Forum to expect the artists or other developers to find your advice and questions.
The original intent for this post is so that the small portion of the community that is both signed up for the Forum and not interested in signing up for Steam alerts can easily find the Steam announcements. The artists almost certainly are getting these updates directly from Kitfox or via Steam, and are very unlikely to look here, so your advice is wasted on people who have virtually no influence on the process at all. There's no point in convincing any of us!
You're welcome to post here, of course, and we all want to make newer posters feel welcome on the Forum, but if you want the artists to see it, you want to use the Steam/Itch.io tileset - Mayday/Meph - Discussion and Suggestions (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=173474.0) post.
Post by: voliol on August 13, 2020, 11:56:20 am
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/4639224265623959694
Full text:
⚒️ New UI Art! ⚒️
A look at the improved interface for Dwarf Fortress - scrolling, filters, and so many cats.
Hello again!
This time, we have an example of the new interface to show you. First, let's look at the old version of the embark screen:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/616d119e203ef20192fb9d2e7b8aacf211eccfb3.png)
Dwarf Fortress of course has been a text game up to this point, but even in that limited framework there are some elements lacking here! There's no indication for instance that both of these lists scroll or how to do it. The bottom options are a random jumble.
When you press the key to buy a new item, it takes you to a whole new screen:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/305a70c161bc5953b96133c08de6be20e7371ecc.png)
This one does have scrolling instructions but still no indication of how many pages there are. The mouse doesn't work anywhere.
Here is where we are in the version we are working on:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/13f662e9694091cf4b49053b2bc2b52b39d88f2a.png)
This screen is mainly mouse-driven. The scrolling and purchase options are more clear, and we've cleaned up the options on the bottom as well.
You can continue to narrow your selections with a text filter as below:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/dc8f6cdb95be4479cfbcf321f20442c2b0241acd.png)
The animals have been moved to a third tab:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/66cae0e4e50804ca13d4d6ad8a0a7914729c7733.png)
Meph drew the border and Mike drew the buttons, bars and the rest, and also gave me various layout advice. Mike also has a widescreen monitor, which has helped correct issues there - this screen currently uses a customizable working area ~2000 pixels wide, centered, while the main screen uses the full width of the display for the more graphical play area.
This screen also sizes down fairly well, to a point. The menu widths compact and finally the border is removed (except for the tabs at the top), so the game is playable at smaller resolutions and window sizes.
We haven't yet finalized the order of the listed items (which are still somewhat random, as opposed to, say, sortable alphabetically or by point value.)
We're continuing to work on the main screen to get it up to this new standard. It'll be exciting to share that when it is ready!
- Tarn
Kitfox's Note
If you sign up for the newsletters, you'll be able to see the full size versions of the images! (And they'll be delivered to your inbox.) You can sign up here and view the web version of the newsletter here.
- Victoria
Post by: clinodev on August 27, 2020, 05:18:57 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2851296383029179867
Full text:
Mini maps and disembowelment 🗺️
Hi again!
The work on the main screen continues. This time, we'll show a preliminary version of the minimap. In Classic DF, we try to give the player some notion of their surroundings with a text image:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/e42b4c4cd4ef6411098cd7aa82235045dda0df86.png)
For a given elevation slice of a hillside, you get some sky, some terrain, and some solid rock. As you move up and down, the minimap gives you a basic picture of what's going on. But of course now, we have the power of pixels to improve this:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/c0d7eaf0962b36ab14bf7acfadb166d7fd3c91f7.png)
You can see here a pixel-perfect representation of the tiles of a fort, including a large room and some little rooms that I carved out at this elevation. These are colors I picked myself, so we'll likely see some improvements here. But along with the ramp images and the multi-level display, this should help you visualize how your fort looks. Here it is in action, complete with trees going up into the sky area as the camera repositions:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/743584653069ea705665d06525965d1e95d8cb29.gif)
We also have the date and some additional information here which used to be hidden away in a different screen. We haven't finalized the main screen layout, so this is more subject to change than usual.
Next, we have guts, courtesy of Meph. We haven't been showing a lot of dwarves to this point, since they are still in progress, so the following image is of our placeholder dwarves... our placeholder dwarves after having been subjected to the disembowelment debug function.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/75abf2b4c5cbc99edfd603c6a88ce0b0655e561a.png)
Note the directionality -- as the dwarves walk about, the earthworm-like viscera drag around behind them. This normally involves a bit more blood, but we're still working on it.
- Tarn
Post by: Meph on August 27, 2020, 08:54:21 pm
Hey there, Iä! RIAKTOR!Don't underestimate how much time I spend here. :P
This post is unfortunately almost the least likely place on the Bay 12 Forum to expect the artists or other developers to find your advice and questions.
The original intent for this post is so that the small portion of the community that is both signed up for the Forum and not interested in signing up for Steam alerts can easily find the Steam announcements. The artists almost certainly are getting these updates directly from Kitfox or via Steam, and are very unlikely to look here, so your advice is wasted on people who have virtually no influence on the process at all. There's no point in convincing any of us!
You're welcome to post here, of course, and we all want to make newer posters feel welcome on the Forum, but if you want the artists to see it, you want to use the Steam/Itch.io tileset - Mayday/Meph - Discussion and Suggestions (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=173474.0) post.
Post by: clinodev on August 28, 2020, 04:49:07 am
Hey there, Iä! RIAKTOR!Don't underestimate how much time I spend here. :P
This post is unfortunately almost the least likely place on the Bay 12 Forum to expect the artists or other developers to find your advice and questions.
The original intent for this post is so that the small portion of the community that is both signed up for the Forum and not interested in signing up for Steam alerts can easily find the Steam announcements. The artists almost certainly are getting these updates directly from Kitfox or via Steam, and are very unlikely to look here, so your advice is wasted on people who have virtually no influence on the process at all. There's no point in convincing any of us!
You're welcome to post here, of course, and we all want to make newer posters feel welcome on the Forum, but if you want the artists to see it, you want to use the Steam/Itch.io tileset - Mayday/Meph - Discussion and Suggestions (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=173474.0) post.
To be fair, you're replying to a post from 4 weeks ago, lol. Good to see you though!
Post by: Mohreb el Yasim on August 28, 2020, 06:49:47 am
As i see hardly that for (some simple at least) mods people will be able to draw all the sprites (think of some that adds a bunch new creatures), external and internal (organs showed for the wounded dwarfs) ones ...
Also can mouse support be desactivated (or at least do keyboard support stay the same 100%)?
Post by: Starver on August 28, 2020, 07:27:47 am
But someone has to reply to repeat what (I think) we know, to you and any other future stumblers-upon, and here I am.
IIRC, and assuming I get your meanings correctly...
o Yes. The intention is that modding will be completely as open as before (maybe tweaked due to the extra bits of support.
o Yes. This is the Steam Tileset and it should be switchable to the 'Vanilla' (ASCII) tileset or any other.
o Hopefully. It is certainly a very strong feeling that mousing not be required, over keyboard, so if the UI revamp (which may include rationalising current menus, thus changing hierarchies if not bindings) actually removes existing key-access, rather than merely change them (in a visibly indicated way), then it's already assumed there'll be dissatisfaction.
Spoiler: Diversion on the latter point... (click to show/hide)
Post by: clinodev on August 29, 2020, 05:02:46 am
All good questions, already raised and (perhaps) answered elsewhere. (OP should perhaps link to the Mephday thread/etc in first post, if not already, for newly-stumbling-upon readers?). This thread is supposed to be just a local echo of the source announcements.
But someone has to reply to repeat what (I think) we know, to you and any other future stumblers-upon, and here I am.
Cheers, Starver!
I've edited the first post to reflect my thoughts on the thread's purpose, and added the tileset thread and the FotF thread.
To other later readers, again, the point isn't that we don't want you to post here, it's just that you're unlikely to get the attention of the developers and artists here, and Voliol, Starver, etc., and I who are regularly here are also watching official threads like the Steam/Itch.io tileset - Mayday/Meph - Discussion and Suggestions (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=173474.0) and the Future of the Fortress (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=169696.0) where the artists and developers will assuredly see your comments.
Post by: clinodev on September 10, 2020, 11:44:33 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2880571131802961718
Full text:
Activity Zones & The Sanctum of Lunch ⚒️
Hello!
This time in Main Screen News, we have activity zones. These are places where dwarves perform tasks or socialize without requiring construction materials like workshop do.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/c955d9d5849eafdb9818edc50ade4c3a01ac824a.png)
Dwarves need buckets of water for a variety of reasons, they can also fish, gather fruit from trees with stepladders, dump unwanted items, fill a pit, pond or moat with various beings, keep animals in a pasture, grab sand or clay for further use, fix each other up in the hospital, train animals, or just hang out.
The process begins by painting a zone:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/49421cc51a2835dd26b778fd83c72ac4f83a41b0.png)
This currently works by placing rectangles or free painting with the mouse. The Classic version also has a wall-sensitive paint we'll pick up later. This zone has been designated as a meeting area, where dwarves will come and chat. Importantly, the meeting area can be given a specific function with the assign location button (one of five icons that still have Tarn-placeholder-art in this image, the rest done by Meph.)
Here I've pressed the assign location button, and we have four choices.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/7a2c082eb4170436076461fb7f071fe1ebb06d83.png)
The space below gets filled with locations as you create them. You can have as many locations as you want, and the same location can be attached to multiple zones to create larger multi-purpose complexes under the same umbrella.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/306428cdbcd04934207b97a2704139981b2a1502.png)
I've selected the temple option and scrolled down through the deity list to the organized religions.
These are currently listed in chronological order, which is why we see a native dwarven religion for this world, the Creed of Sport, above a deity selection, Utag Loafivory. Utag Loafivory is a human god of trade, wealth, and hospitality that made their way to the dwarves several decades prior, through a few different organized religions, and two of our dwarves are members of the Utag religion "The True Stick-Fellowship." I'll pick this one for our new temple.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/5e8897052dc29f691edc892510774b1ade5a6e5b.png)
Annnnd the game leaned heavily into the hospitality aspect - "The Sanctum of Lunch." Very good. There's a new Tarn icon there to go into location details, where you'll be able to rename the location if it comes up with something unfavorable, as well as setting priests and other attached occupations.
Unlike placed buildings, zones can overlap. (I recorded the gif at 10FPS in GifCam, so it's a bit choppier than the game itself.)
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/03fb7b57f4677acdfb09d69d06020467b7279bd1.gif)
This doesn't come up all the time, but if you do decide to overlap zones, you can now switch between them in a few different ways with the mouse, as seen above.
We also have the ability to repaint zones, if you'd like to expand a given zone without creating it again from scratch, or even move it somewhere entirely different.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/c134ad5fecf861503970842d0d604890bf0b9608.png)
The boxed text is from a tooltip, which is also a DF novelty! There are many tooltips available here, and we'll continue adding them as we go.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/784d2c16b9e7c793260655edc600101ebed7fce0.png)
Zones can be suspended temporarily or removed permanently. Zones are currently visible only from the zone mode, as in Classic DF, so they won't clutter up the display otherwise.
- Tarn
Kitfox's Note
Hiya!
PAX Online is coming up, and that means Tarn will be on some panels... and they're completely online and free!
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/60a3c3cb56940e88b50996ba8df7e4a4b315f22a.png)
This is our entire schedule in terms of PAX panels, but there are two that will involve Tarn in particular:
Sept 12, 4:15pm PST - Meet Tarn Adams (https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2880571131802961718#)
Sept 15, 6pm PST - Procedural Generation (https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2880571131802961718#)
All information on where to watch, description, and who else is involved in the links provided. Here's a thread of links for the other panels we're involved in too. (https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2880571131802961718#) Hope to see you at a few of them. :)
Cheers,
Victoria
Post by: Toady One on September 11, 2020, 07:42:18 am
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on September 11, 2020, 07:56:02 am
(just a note that the time is 1:15pm PDT for the PAX meetup - the times listed on the poster there are actually on east coast time)Luckily Pax schedule seems to update itself automatically according to the time zone you're in. You're on Sunday morning 5:15 AM according to my schedule. Grumble, grumble....
Post by: Starver on September 11, 2020, 08:44:51 am
((And the Procedural one was a no-go on first assumption. Haven't yet worked out if the shift now makes it possible.))
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on September 11, 2020, 05:59:16 pm
(So, to be clear, times quoted as Pacific Standard Time on the graphic are actually Eastern Daylight Time? Not entirely sure I can make use of either, given my likely schedule here in BST, but I thought that if I could, I could have done a ¿9?-hour difference to catch the PST instant, if publicly livestreamed as I take it they are doing. The 5-hour-shift one would clash with a period of probably-notness, though. Eventual Youtube/whatever availability, post facto, by any chance?)https://online.paxsite.com/schedule
((And the Procedural one was a no-go on first assumption. Haven't yet worked out if the shift now makes it possible.))
Post by: Toady One on September 11, 2020, 06:29:24 pm
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on September 12, 2020, 05:16:06 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGcvmgxmpEg
Post by: clinodev on September 13, 2020, 05:26:56 am
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/739163545
Post by: clinodev on September 22, 2020, 03:15:38 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2880571683990778448
Full text:
Video Dev Log! Gameplay, Menus, Zones
Hello!
Victoria here from Kitfox Games. Dropping in to let you know that we just uploaded an Autumn Dev Update that shows all the things Tarn and the team have been working on -- with gameplay! This includes items we've previously discussed before like the new menus and zones, but now you can see it in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYS-kNvgXR8
This video update is in lieu of the usual text update you'd normally get on Thursday. But things will continue like normal after this. :)
Also if you missed it, Tarn was on Rock Paper Shotgun to play Dwarf Fortress with Nate Crowley, the author of the run longing series The Basement of Curiousity. You can see that here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIGk_BrGwy0
That's all from me! Hope you enjoy the update.
Post by: voliol on October 08, 2020, 01:36:36 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2891832587105130224
Full text:
Representing dwarves graphically ⚒️
Hey!
This time around, we'll take a look at where we are with representing dwarves graphical on the screen. Keep in mind these are still WIP, but we decided it was at a showable stage.
Back in ASCII land, dwarves were little smiley faces, with fewer pixels than the average emoji. Now, here's a fisherdwarf:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/54de741fa39ce6d7b24c5c6e0b3c0a56340bf2a0.png)
A neatly combed beard, some styled hair back there, and the blue clothing of a fisherdwarf. This is in the basic profession=clothing display mode. You can still see the actual clothing the dwarves are wearing, but it is recolored based on their job, so you can easily spot them. This one has gloves and a dress; each dwarven civilization generated by the game chooses different preferred clothing types as well as hair styles (on top of a ton of other information.) Typically, they'll have a variety of options, and you order them up to be made in the workshops once you have a leather, silk, wool, or plant-based fabric industry going.
This stoneworker for instance, has stuck with the same basic fashion plan clothing-wise, in stoneworker-white, but has shaved her head.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/abb710a582b8bdbcd019e21b482dca7f739e8bf5.png)
There are of course other ways to display dwarves, and other preferences that can vary even with the same player based on what they are doing. At the bare minimum, you'll also be able to see the items in their actual colors. This makes the fort look more drab, especially before you start up your dye industry or trade, but sometimes you don't want to see the profession colors when looking at your dwarves dance in the tavern. Also generally expect a lot of this to be updated as we see other screenshots in the future. These are the most important graphics in the game, in some ways, and they'll receive a lot of iterations.
There's also the question of the military dwarves. Here are variously dressed dwarves I set up in the arena mode, where you can outfit anybody and then watch them fight (or take control of one of the creatures yourself.)
We have some fully geared-up dwarves, in bronze, with and without helmets at the top.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/63cace2b76b7736efbc1ec7ce2994ca0b973f7bb.png)
Their beard-style is similar because dwarves and everybody else in arena mode don't have a civilization and so just kind of let it all grow wild, ha ha. At the bottom, we have a hooded cloak and face veil with iron mail, and on the lower right, a mask and headscarf combo with a tunic, skirt and a steel-tipped spear.
Although we haven't focused on the following mode *at all* yet, we can also check out the new dwarves in adventure mode.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/b3219fbb27b8c99008a3ba8ffec56cc4bf03f577.png)
I went ahead and made a dwarven character to play in this (very odd) RPG. Historically in this particular world, a bunch of dwarves have emigrated over to the nearby human villages, so I decided to start there, because I wanted the humans' iron meat cleaver for my look, ha ha. So I'm the one with a meat cleaver in the image, as you might expect. I have a leather vest, and leather trousers and boots.
Ah, and that's my pet black bear Bolli on the left. And another dwarf lives here in this starting dirt-floored cabin, also a head-shaver, but her dress is dyed that color (her purple gloves are another story - still a work in progress!) On the right is a human. I mean, what humans look like now, before they also receive this treatment!
- Tarn
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on October 08, 2020, 05:14:47 pm
Was worried with all this lobbying for "Dwarf clothing must be shown in its true colours" that the actual game had somehow been forgotten. Two modes for colours sounds good.
Post by: Eric Blank on October 08, 2020, 06:06:19 pm
Post by: Pillbo on October 09, 2020, 11:43:51 am
I love the default sprite creature. It is so disappointed with it's life.
I want a mod for them as a pessimistic cavern society.
Post by: clinodev on October 22, 2020, 03:03:58 pm
Steam Community Update 22 October 2020: "Dwarven storage solutions ⚒️"
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2930114451182913856
Full text:
Hello again!
As we continue the work adding graphics to replace all of the text characters, the work on menu updates continues as well. Most recently, I updated the process for setting up stockpiles. Like the activity zones from before, stockpiles used to be placed by keyboard presses and couldn't be redrawn. Now we can paint stockpiles with the mouse, using rectangles or free painting, as with zones, and also resize them freely.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/ef81fa1f1c519c07ec64dcdfa200a6d27b7b6f33.png)
Dwarves use stockpiles to get items out from the mines, workshops and the trade depot and into more useful locations. Most typically, you'll want to set a type for the stockpile to tell the dwarves what kind of things you want to store there. In this example, I've created an armor stockpile.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/b41b42aa088dbcb80aed3ac2550ae2857596eb26.png)
The extra commands there allow you to rename the stockpile, repaint the stockpile, get rid of it entirely, or set up how its links work. Links tell a stockpile where to get its supplies and how to send them down the line. You don't have to set links up at all, but as your fort grows, you might find you want to do so to improve the flow of resources and products.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/e203bddb5e0725d06a37aa8d0b6ffe7f98cab4b0.png)
Stockpiles can be set to accept items from absolutely anywhere, or only from designated donor stockpiles and workshops. A stockpile can also designate which workshops and stockpiles it'd like to give its items to in turn. Here I've set the armor stockpile to accept armor from the nearby metalsmith's forge. Of course, in practice, the items from that forge would go to that pile anyway, since it is so close.
You aren't limited to the basic categories listed. Stockpiles accept a lot of customization:
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/e76b579c80dc377b2069b8eb4db49a7c19cd6921.png)
This pile has been set to accept only bronze armor, for example. Not just that, but it'll only accept bronze armor which can be worn by dwarves. If the armor with the X at the top is turned on, it would also accept bronze armor for humans, which might show up in an invasion. This allows you to separate out junk, for example, so you can melt it down more easily. Note also that you can rule objects in and out by type, by quality, and so on. The text filter is new for the Steam version - the old lists weren't even alphabetized, ha ha.
Veteran players will notice a few missing options - the ability to reserve bins and barrels, for example, and a way to copy custom settings. These are all in the works.
- Tarn
Post by: voliol on November 05, 2020, 03:11:03 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2922234420229173816
Full text:
Hi!
Alongside the dwarves and the interface work, there are lots of other bits Meph and Mike have completed recently. Here's another little eclectic fort to show some examples.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/6fc53dce10f801690289e4a9b8d1b5a5d9f695ec.png)
I placed a stone bridge in front of the entrance of my fort. The rails on the left and right don't block traffic, but rather distinguish the draw direction -- this bridge draws up to the north. Bridges can also be set to retract rather than getting a cardinal direction, in which case they are displayed without rails.
You can also see a stone door here above the bridge, a wheelbarrow in the stone stockpile, and dwarves down in the lower left with different features/clothing than the last set.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/cba2b87e6620cfb715067c10342ecd3eb2e18e74.png)
Here I've connected a lever up to the bridge and drawn it up, and you can see it blocking the entrance. I placed some supports in the hallway to the lever for no reason other than to display them. These used to prevent cave-ins, and still do when you otherwise disconnect the fort in 3D by digging totally around them, but mostly they are decorations now.
You can see some stone tables I've lined up in preparation for a dining room to the right - we're messing around with variations here. By the time we're done, you should have some control if you don't want a mish-mash of leg types in a room. The tabletop images will depend on quality (crafted DF items have six quality levels, plus artifacts.)
I set up a wood burner and a glass furnace, and dug out some ramps to get at the sand you can see at the very bottom.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/053fdf8ef07b7f9bbb1043f46f5ee4e340908aac.png)
This let me make glass furniture (the wood burner gives us charcoal from felled trees, and we use that and sand collected in bags to make glass.) I set up some glass tables, and a wood table for comparison.
If you look closely, you can see some rain droplets on the wooden table. It was made in a carpenter's workshop outside and was rained upon. Those will soon dry off and disappear. Also, I didn't make the full glass industry pipeline incorporating lye/potash, so these tables are actually green glass instead of clear glass. Those two materials aren't currently distinguished by the tiles.
Here I've taken one of the stone tables and decorated it with some phyllite and lignite cabochons - bands of one and a general encrusting of the other.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/67c7888bee28ff1bab5a13a61d3aab9847684ec6.png)
These decorations show up on the core furniture types now, along with quality, material, and any spattering of blood, vomit, water, and/or mud.
I forgot I left the debug accelerated invasions option on and everybody died after this when 17 goblins showed up despite it only being the first Spring. We've drawn and implemented a lot of corpse pictures over the last few weeks, but not the dwarves, sadly, so we'll have to wait for a future disaster for an image, ha ha.
- Tarn
Post by: Starver on November 05, 2020, 04:15:44 pm
May be related, but going to the steamcommunity page itself even the text is 'blurred' (undersampled and cubically interpolated back to 1:1 resolution?) as I scroll to a new bit of the page. It's as if it's (slowly) being pushed as an image with 2d interlacing (as in PNG) rather than text, but that'd not be right. And then, when it settles down, I scroll back up again and previously clear text is blurred again. Probably way too much HTML5/javascript handling, but I've not checked the Steam page's source to confirm that, either.
...actually, checking the Topic Summary below tbis edit, all four images feature. Maybe it's fixed. Or whatever magically needed doing has now bedn magically done. Still putting it here in case anybody else has noticed this. If you haven't, never mind.
Post by: clinodev on November 05, 2020, 04:37:00 pm
Post by: Starver on November 05, 2020, 05:03:13 pm
Post by: Criperum on November 05, 2020, 06:18:11 pm
Post by: clinodev on November 19, 2020, 04:18:17 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2889584591061807863
Full text:
Constructing Construction and Dwarf Thirst Traps
Build with a mouse, make dwarves thirsty, and a bonus Chinchilla!
Hello!
We've been working on the building construction interface, which covers everything from workshops to bridges to farmplots to walls, and are making good progress there. Placing and sizing rectangles with the keyboard sometimes require a lot of keypresses, as you can imagine, and we've got that all up and running with the mouse now, which is much more efficient. We should be able to show that in a bit. In the meantime, let's take a look at wells!
Now, dwarves drink in the game, hard stuff, lotta drinkin'. This is fine for them. They work slower without it. But sometimes water is needed, for bathing or for the hospital, say. If you want to control the water supply, or you want to stay away from giant cave crocodiles, it can be prudent to carve out a cistern and place a well several Z levels above the water itself.
For demonstration purposes, since we haven't finished the graphics for flowing liquids away from natural sources, I set up a well on a wooden platform above a river. Here's the stilts and a block stairway upward:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/54b2c53993296b4b6ce51bf09c04a7ffdd406caf.png)
Two levels up, we have the platform and the well itself:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/28ed0b423e8d179895e01eeb767f96d9efcc2d2c.png)
This well uses a rope. You can also use a chain. A well also requires a bucket, some blocks for the low wall, and a 'mechanism', which is used in Dwarf Fortress for any machinery, included levers and certain workshops.
Once I got the little demo area set up, I cruelly used a debug command to destroy all the booze in the fort and also make all the dwarves thirsty. Here you see them rush up the platform to quench their thirst, and you can see the empty bucket plop down into the river and come up full of water a few times.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/69897d93003c9cc2bc68167c6f79715a745b6b38.gif)
There are some other little work areas that, like the well, are smaller than the typical 3x3 workshops. In the following image we have a screwpress and a quern on the right:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/d9dfe720927150f632bcb389fdcc858562441524.png)
The screwpress's construction requires a few mechanisms, made at the mechanic's workshop on the left, and our stonemason used the mason's shop at the center to carve the quern. Flour is ground from grain at the quern - you can see the little handle at the top where the stones are spun against each other. You can also set up a powered system using a millstone and a windmill or watermill, along with some axles and a gear assembly - we should be able to show that when the building interfaces are a little further along.
(I mined out the work space and placed the shops immediately - I was debating whether to haul away or use the hide option to obscure the loose stone for the final image, or otherwise smooth the place over, when I noticed the small visitor on the left and knew it was time to take the screenshot. A wild chinchilla!)
Tarn
Post by: voliol on December 03, 2020, 01:06:48 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2889585858320538190
Full text:
Equipment, War Elephants, and Giants
Nice-looking armor you have there. Would be a shame if an elephant or giant hedgehog stomped on it...
Hello again!
Sometimes during testing, I have to press the accelerated invasion button to test things. Coming in from the left side of the screen, we have some new friends:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/11e3b0607fc38bcb27cffc92da36bea7ff6d551d.png)
Normally, you don't have to worry overmuch about human invasions if you don't get greedy with the trade caravan or send raiding parties out to harass your neighbors. But when it comes to blows, they bring armor, and sometimes war elephants.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/18223f309001631a14eadc8d8bb31174739fa5fa.png)
Here my human adventurer leading their one-humped camel, which can be used to carry heavy equipment or for riding. I was expecting to find some more humans in this village, but I found this heavily-armored dwarf out patrolling the streets instead, carrying with a human pole weapon. They were part of a historical migration wave that adopted human ways, however cumbersome those might be in this case!
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/cf7bfc26f7e01d3fc32750ca1e840b077587fdd5.png)
These are some additional equipped humans and dwarves for comparison - the human set is a work in progress, and the dwarf set is also undergoing a few touch-ups, but this is the basic amount of differentiation we are going with. There'd realistically be a bit more height difference, but the relative thinness and small-headedness of the humans captures it well enough.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/6391109d31cc5aacee2c649ecd35fc6ffe1508d6.png)
Here are some more in the default cyan peasant clothing. These all have the arena hair style (that is, long and uncombed.)
-
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/383bdb795b34123bcef817f830e1015e1c98f579.png)
Finally, let's take a look at some giant critters! When embarking in the more dangerous wild areas of a Dwarf Fortress world, almost any of the ~200 real-world wilderness creatures can either take on a giant or humanoid form. This includes all of the critters that are normally too small to have combat calculations, like the slug and cardinal and hamster seen here. Though the pictures can be quite cute, the giant critters come in at a minimum of grizzly-bear-sized, so exercise caution when trying to make friends!
- Tarn
Post by: clinodev on December 17, 2020, 03:58:23 pm
Full text:
Looking Deeper into Your Fortress 🔎
Greetings all!
Yes, it's that time again, the quarterly Dwarf Fortress video update from Tarn brought to you by me, Fiona! Hello, I'm the new Community Manager for Kitfox Games and I'm excited to work with Tarn to bring you all the future DF news! I've highlighted most of the main points in this newsletter but feel free to watch the video in its entirety over on the Kitfox Youtube channel (https://youtu.be/YqH1ZgZHpRs).
For now, let us begin.
The trade-depot graphics are placeholders however, you can see the wagons pulling up, along with some humans (ugh) and their bodyguards. Hope they have some decent things to trade and are not here just to waste our time (look, there's lots of digging to be done).
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/529d1dc844f626356e9fd0f8ab537e3dfaa1b207.png)
I'm hoping they won't judge us on our murderous cats. Or with any luck maybe they'll be intimidated. Look at all those carcasses sheesh. who's going to clean this up? Speaking of intimidation, there's a whole room full of coffins, which are currently being depicted by, placeholder images, you can't see it but trust us, that's one grim room.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/f88ea71f68e2cf9656b9566231f7fe2dfe04d9cc.png)
Hovering over anything on the map will now show a tool-tip popup, giving you more information about what it is you're looking at. This replaces the look command in the classic version.
It's true, there are indeed two horses at that trade depot.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/5edfed9695446ce1a381b1f86d65b4f5e81d199e.png)
We've been hoarding this information but now we're ready to release our stash. Stockpiles! You can see here the miner has been busy digging us another room in which we can click into the stockpile interface and drag a little rectangle to designate our new storage room.
In order to designate this room for particular items to store we head into the custom set, which we can deselect everything, type in "mech" which will isolate "mechanisms". Clicking that then tells our dwarves to only store that item in the stockpile.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/d706c5a27c8ce9033f2c576d1a9b1f619629f0c6.png)
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/5d4ac392a8d447fd42398a79aa2d1c01dbe66b57.png)
Last of our updates this month is a peek into the building interface. Here we can see the items that can be built in the building menu. Once clicked and the blueprint placed, we'll be able to select what construction materials to use, based on what's currently in our stockpile.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/068ea1f030ab148dbe4b7958ffac295c79ac8735.png)
On the left our architect is having a good look at these blueprints, you can see the railings on the bridge showing that it's travelling east to west but as it is a blueprint it will not block anyone from walking through it. And on the right, it's complete, safe even for cats to travel on!
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/7ed7e0be28d1dac6129c65cef4ddb7bc98c2c705.png)
There are lots more graphics that have been added, little items like wheelbarrows, stepladders but sadly, no mussel shells yet.
Thank you for supporting Dwarf Fortress this year. It means a lot to Tarn, Zach and everyone at Kitfox Games. <3 You can catch us and other rad Dwarf Fortress fans over at the Kitfox Games Discord.
We'll be back for the next update on the 14th of January but for now, we leave you with Scamps who, as usual, is enjoying sitting in his box.
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/b267f2974ac2a85e99b55fcbf703b9fb3ff24c99.jpg)
Happy Holidays!
See you next year,
Fiona, on behalf of Tarn, Zach, and the Kitfox team
Post by: voliol on December 17, 2020, 04:51:27 pm
Code: [Select]
[url=https://thelink.com]the descriptive text[/url] clinodev. Though I doubt it was anything but the reddit muscle memory kicking in :p.
Post by: clinodev on December 18, 2020, 05:20:12 am
What happens is I do the reddit one first, then copy and paste it here and fix the links. At least worse case it's like this one, and I look dumb but all the info is there.. ;D
Post by: Engineer Gaming on December 23, 2020, 03:44:48 pm
also, everything is looking mighty fine
Post by: em312s0n on December 27, 2020, 07:38:29 pm
Post by: clinodev on January 09, 2021, 04:20:15 pm
Post by: clinodev on January 14, 2021, 03:20:27 pm
Full text:
Inspecting the details of your Dwarf Fortress
Happy New Year!
The holidays have passed, though we've moved on to not exactly calm and workerly times. But we're mostly back to the game and can show you our in-progress Look command.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/28ab9b9889580a0dc5e343fd4b53bfaedea7e6ae.png)
We haven't had an artist pass on this dwarf view yet, but it's starting to come together! The old text version of Dwarf Fortress made it unnecessarily difficult to find information about dwarves and other game objects. Not only was the data hidden behind many (many) keypresses as you might expect, but it was also scattered through many different windows and screens. We're trying to bring it all together here. We might end up with more icons and less text as we go.
The tabs and overview boxes are still in flux but the screenshot here is where we are so far in-game. Between physical attributes, mental attributes, personality facets, and beliefs, the game picks the strongest or most unique six and displays them in the overview. You'll still be able to get at the full set of data within the tabs; the intent of these boxes is to answer simple questions and provide the best flavor and context. The same is true for items, skills, positions and the rest. The full data and options can be found in tabs, with a short summary at the top level.
We'll also be adding some of the missing options like camera follow and custom naming to the uppermost box.
The game can still run unpaused when this popup is displayed, so you can see e.g. the current job and thought list update in real-time. It's also pretty common to have multiple dwarves/creatures in a single tile, especially with pets tearing about and babies being held. Instead of the cumbersome 'Next' command, which is how we used to deal with this before, we have little tabs that pop up on the right side. If there are too many critters in a tile for right-side tabs to work (which doesn't happen often, but industrious players sometimes drop all of whomever in a narrow pit), clicking gives a scrollable list. The tabs also include items and buildings and engravings, with similar solutions for high object counts.
As a bonus, we have an image to put a cap on last month's winter video update, where I showed a small hallway that Zach had carved out for the coffins, but we didn't have the artwork added in at that time. Now we have the wooden caskets! And, um, the hallway got quite a bit longer... the open ones are unoccupied. Can't say the same for the closed ones.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/55662b1eaba808e464aef94b6260e275c945a2b7.png)
Talk to you again in 2 weeks!
- Tarn
Post by: voliol on January 14, 2021, 03:27:47 pm
The overview sceen looks really nice I must say, it being fit into a much tighter more orderly window highlights how much there is to a dwarf. 11 tabs plus an overview? Incredible.
Post by: Urlance Woolsbane on January 14, 2021, 10:02:23 pm
Post by: clinodev on January 28, 2021, 05:07:36 pm
Full text:
28th January - Bugs, Balances Fixes & Baby Unicorns
[Hey folks, Feeona here! As today's update is a little smaller than usual, rather than doing steam announcement, we figured it would be best to just pop the information straight into the forum. Thanks!]
Hello again!
It's a brief news post this time as I've been doing a promised interim patch of the old DF, the text graphics one that people currently play. That'll be finished tomorrow and I'll be back to work on the Premium version - elves and goblins coming soon!
It's just as well since all of the work I've been doing the last few weeks were bugs and balance fixes that also apply to the Premium version as well, among them a few crashes and a rework of the stress system that had up until now been causing some people headaches.
Here are a unicorn and baby to tide you over! (https://www.kitfoxgames.com/sendy/uploads/1611851546.png) I'm not sure if there are baby unicorns in the real world, but Dwarf Fortress has them.
- Tarn
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on January 28, 2021, 05:20:55 pm
Happy weekend. :)
Post by: Toady One on January 28, 2021, 07:15:09 pm
Post by: Rekov on January 28, 2021, 08:24:54 pm
Ah, whoops, I wrote that on Wednesday and forgot it would be posted today ha ha. Patch for old version is up.
Thank you so much! I suspect it isn't nearly as exciting working on bugs as it is working on features, but these bug fixes and tweaks are like a bright light in this bleak winter of discontent!
A Toady One strikes a Bug from flight
(https://i.imgur.com/ffCVXs5.gif)
Post by: clinodev on January 28, 2021, 10:33:29 pm
Ah, whoops, I wrote that on Wednesday and forgot it would be posted today ha ha. Patch for old version is up.
I just think of it as maintaining a long, proud tradition of not quite getting the release date bang on, ;D
It did post before the release, at least!
Post by: Feeona on February 11, 2021, 03:52:45 pm
Full text:
11th February - Refining the Workshop Interface
Hi!
This time in Adventures in Clicking on the Main Screen, we have workshops!
(https://www.kitfoxgames.com/sendy/uploads/1613058616.png)
This window has popped up after clicking the mason's workshop. In the old Dwarf Fortress, looking at the items in a workshop and looking at the tasks to be performed at a workshop were two separate commands. Now that information has been combined into one window. (Like last time, none of the interface art is final here.)
There are various ways to interact with tasks and items which are now accessible through the little buttons. These include setting up repeat tasks, high priority tasks, shuffling the order of the tasks in the list, examining the details of the task in the list, suspending a task, and cancelling a task.
In the bottom list, the distinction between the two pieces of granite is that one of them makes up the physical workshop (the one with the house-shaped building icon), and the one at the end with the 'TASK' icon is the one currently being worked on in the active task. The other icons allow you to do some of the actions also accessible from the lower left menu - forbidding items, dumping items, melting items (not pictured here since none of these are meltable), and hiding items.
(https://www.kitfoxgames.com/sendy/uploads/1613059272.png)
Here's what you get when you add a new task. The potential task list alphabetized now and has a search filter. I've changed some of the old job names to make the alphabetization work.
All of this can run unpaused (also new). Missing is the ability to rename the building, the worker profiles, and the ability to destroy the building. Those'll all be in soon.
I've also redone the old jeweller's workshop screen (the old gem cutting interface was very baroque, to say the least.) It now works like a regular workshop. The same is true of seven other workshops previously inaccessible to our modding infrastructure. They all work like regular workshops now (the loom, the mechanic's workshop, the dyer, etc.)
- Tarn
Kitfox's Note
Hello folks! Just a quick wee message from myself to say, happy (belated) birthday Scamps!🎉 I couldn't resist getting this birthday boy in here this week and, with full blessings from Tarn, I can share a new picture with you of the third Dwarf Fortress developer.
(https://www.kitfoxgames.com/sendy/uploads/1613059895.jpg)
(https://www.kitfoxgames.com/sendy/uploads/scamps_wild_birthday.jpg)
Thanks and speak to you soon!
-Fiona
Post by: voliol on February 11, 2021, 04:36:46 pm
That second picture of Scamps is just lovely.
Post by: clinodev on February 11, 2021, 10:24:08 pm
Post by: thvaz on February 13, 2021, 06:58:56 am
But I'm just nitpicking. It looks great.
Post by: clinodev on February 13, 2021, 07:45:47 am
Seeing as the cabinets have drawers... drawers were first invented in the 17th century, beyond Toady's limit of 14th century or so. Before that people used wardrobes and chests, both without drawers.
But I'm just nitpicking. It looks great.
Graphics suggestions will probably be seen and remembered better in the graphics threads. :)
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?board=31.0
Post by: thvaz on February 13, 2021, 10:02:39 am
Seeing as the cabinets have drawers... drawers were first invented in the 17th century, beyond Toady's limit of 14th century or so. Before that people used wardrobes and chests, both without drawers.
But I'm just nitpicking. It looks great.
Graphics suggestions will probably be seen and remembered better in the graphics threads. :)
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?board=31.0
It is not a suggestion anyway, just pointing out . It is a very minor thing.
Post by: Pillbo on February 17, 2021, 04:51:14 pm
Seeing as the cabinets have drawers... drawers were first invented in the 17th century, beyond Toady's limit of 14th century or so. Before that people used wardrobes and chests, both without drawers.
Maybe they became common in the 1600s but after a little googling I found older examples from the 1500s, but nothing about the oldest known furniture with a drawer.
https://www.neumeister.com/kunstwerksuche/kunstdatenbank/ergebnis/143-196/-/
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on February 17, 2021, 05:16:15 pm
I reckon dwarves with magical "mechanisms" could be let off for inventing the drawer a few years early. Or just use the "proper cabinets" mod, no doubt available in Steam Workshop on day 1 due to the obsession people have with historical accuracy in fantasy games.Seeing as the cabinets have drawers... drawers were first invented in the 17th century, beyond Toady's limit of 14th century or so. Before that people used wardrobes and chests, both without drawers.
Maybe they became common in the 1600s but after a little googling I found older examples from the 1500s, but nothing about the oldest known furniture with a drawer.
https://www.neumeister.com/kunstwerksuche/kunstdatenbank/ergebnis/143-196/-/
Post by: Uthimienure on February 17, 2021, 07:16:58 pm
:P Anyone who questions their use of the "universal" mechanisms should be banned from this forum :P
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on February 17, 2021, 08:39:21 pm
That's funny, I find the dwarves' use of their mechanisms to be completely historical and realistic!Oh, I quite agree. All historical accounts of 14th century dwarf fortresses mention mechanisms...
:P Anyone who questions their use of the "universal" mechanisms should be banned from this forum :P
Post by: scriver on February 18, 2021, 09:05:20 am
Post by: clinodev on February 25, 2021, 11:04:22 am
Full text:
The Complexities of Statues
What kind of material should a sunfish statue use? What pedestal? What decorations???
Hello!
Statues are one of the pieces of furniture in Dwarf Fortress. You generally use them to increase the value of a room, or as the center of a room when you designate an area to be a sculpture garden. This is a place for dwarves to hang out and admire the architecture, which generally makes them happy. The statues can depict particular people, historical events, abstract shapes, artifacts, and more. Of course, up to this point, we used the same text symbol for every statue, made the material give it one of a few colors, and left the rest to a sometimes lengthy paragraph description, including whatever engravings or other decorations might be found on the object.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/76f5676c1faa37515eea272c9432a3e0e559c4ef.png?t=1614268368)
After Patrick drew lots of new images and adapted many additional images to the statue format, we're finally able to begin showing some portion of the details! This is my coati hall, with eight coatis and a coati person. There's also a sunfish enjoying some time in the waves under the moon. The colors of the statue give some indication of their material, various stones I located in the mines. It's a strange room, and I shouldn't be in charge of decorating anything, but my dwarves enjoy the space, because they don't know any better. There's also a visiting human monster hunter there, possibly confused.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/eaccb2ddc7de60470f2f81c74c595318e1f27c11.png?t=1614268368)
The pedestal indicates the quality of the statue, and also reflects all of the decorations (spikes, hanging rings, engravings, etc.) Damage and spatter are also indicated. This statue has been encrusted with oval cabochons and given little menacing spikes.
- Tarn
Post by: Starver on February 25, 2021, 11:44:58 am
It's the plinth!
Post by: Nordlicht on February 25, 2021, 12:55:36 pm
Post by: Manveru Taurënér on February 25, 2021, 01:15:59 pm
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on February 25, 2021, 05:25:58 pm
Nice, but honestly I think this is over the top. But maybe I just want the Myth and Magic arc to finally start.Funny thing is, it doesn't even represent what the statue looks like. That statue of a sunfish is likely "three sunfishes prostrating themselves before a hydra. The hydra is laughing".
Post by: Urist McVoyager on March 03, 2021, 05:41:54 pm
Nice, but honestly I think this is over the top. But maybe I just want the Myth and Magic arc to finally start.
The big reason for a graphical update is to attract a bigger crowd that's turned off by the current graphics. The more of an idea we can have of something just by looking at it, and the less we have to read to figure out if we're even interested in something, I figure the more of a crowd Toady can attract with this thing.
All in all, it's for the good. Hell, we now have a secondary studio involved in the game. It's possible we could see a future where Toady shares some of the workload with them (without giving up control) and development speeds up. Between that and the money this will draw in, I can see it helping a lot.
Post by: Tsov on March 04, 2021, 07:27:54 am
Nice, but honestly I think this is over the top. But maybe I just want the Myth and Magic arc to finally start.
Let's be real for a moment.
It will take the better part of 2021 for Toady to finish up the Steam Release at best. Maybe 6 extra months working on the rough edges and more prominent bugs reported by new players.
Then it will take at least one year and half for him to finish what he promised for the Villains release but couldn't do before the Steam Release, and work on the Army and Siege Improvement release.
It will then take 3 years for the Big Wait - and remember, that's just a map rewrite. For Myth and Magic to be actually done one should expect at least 2 years.
So it's safe to say that we'll be at the end of this decade before Myth and Magic is done. So whenever someone says "after Myth and Magic", you should really understand "by 2030".
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on March 04, 2021, 07:41:51 am
Post by: PatrikLundell on March 04, 2021, 11:58:58 am
It can also be noted that the Premium version happened, and that will affect the work flow through updates to the latest release during the Big Wait, which will require some effort taken from the Myth & Magic work (I don't consider a bit more polishing, minor features, and bug fixing to be a bad thing, but opinions vary).
Post by: Manveru Taurënér on March 04, 2021, 02:26:39 pm
Post by: voliol on March 04, 2021, 02:40:04 pm
Post by: Tsov on March 05, 2021, 05:38:57 am
Post by: [HYBRID BEING] on March 05, 2021, 09:32:19 am
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/69897d93003c9cc2bc68167c6f79715a745b6b38.gif)Say, i was looking at the bucket and rope over the unanimated water tile (i guess it will be changed later to match the surrounding tiles?) and it got me thinking - would have been nice if there were some kind of ripple or splash animation when objects come into or out of water.
Post by: Starver on March 05, 2021, 09:54:24 am
(Though if there's a bank, I suppose you could double-overlay with the flipped/opposite offset of ripple to show a reflected arc. That'd be something for Toady to allow for, before it can be made usefully graphical.)
Post by: [HYBRID BEING] on March 05, 2021, 02:30:45 pm
The ripple overlay might need to disipate before getting to the centred tile's edge. Or else do so within a 3x3 set of tiles, applied to water only...I was thinking of a simple single-tile animation, but multi-tile ripples do sound nice. They might be a deal more complex, though, with currents affecting them (well, that might concern single-tile ripples as well), banks/shores reflecting them and ripples themselves interfering with each other.
(Though if there's a bank, I suppose you could double-overlay with the flipped/opposite offset of ripple to show a reflected arc. That'd be something for Toady to allow for, before it can be made usefully graphical.)
Post by: Starver on March 05, 2021, 04:15:40 pm
Interfering ripples mostly would look like they pass through each other (yes, high+low should look like flat, and double-high/low ought to be more prominent, but unless you're spamming ripples you can probably assume the highlights cross each other in a suitably pleasing way without arranging any special redrawing). And with banks being at tile-edges, if you have graphics for a 3x3 'splash' in 9 tiles and you have the left three tiles actually as ground you can not-draw the left three ripples on the bank and instead overdraw the right three ripples (assuming symmetry, otherwise flip the left three as you translate them) over onto the middle column to give a suitable bank-reflective effect. You could simarly fudge the effects of round-the-corner propogations (and ignore it if its a built floor with water beneath, not solid bank).
The issue here still isn't much an artist issue, but whether the calculations (that already include whether to apply grass-edging/etc to paint over adjacent tiles where slope or stream exists) want to be done to allow such fairly simple art to work.
(And maybe, after such a mock-up, it might need a tweak. Though I'm under no impression it would exactly match Real World fluid-dynamics, just that it could sufficiently look like that to satisfy (most) people, aesthetically. Then you just need to add 'wakes' (standing V-shaped waves) to bridge-footings/similar in sufficiently rapid waterflows (skewed by flow-rate) and it'd be amazing. But probably a Stretch level aim.)
[1] Fast enough and there'd be a wake, essentially the equivalent of a supersonic/near-supersonic wavefront.
[2] I was thinking of an animation that's something like: splash-dot; small circle; largish circle and splash-dot; largest circle (fading) and small circle; largish circle; largest circle (fading)... This being six frames. But if you had four frames of just a single dot/circle and overlayed then they could be frame-dragged by any current, you could activate on entry/exit of any item (or if used for fishing as well, a potential bite) and would be less overall raw graphics (for more layering).
Post by: Meph on March 05, 2021, 06:38:31 pm
Post by: clinodev on March 11, 2021, 03:17:53 pm
Full text:
Just Some Typical Elves 🌱
Elves, wearing wooden armor, being a general nuisance
Hi again!
This time I've brought some elves, the third of the major critters you can find in the game, after dwarves and humans.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/a5b711c8ee78066d769cb7bf6ac91913b3aabeee.png)
Brought to you by Mike, they are slighter than humans, as we can see here, and their hair comes in autumn colors, though some have mossy green or silvery white. I have everybody in the same clothing here to focus on the physical features. (Note that some of the beards of the dwarves have been shaved since my creature placer doesn't respect their normal customs.)
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/c07a78f2f76c4ead457d42befd61d28312e4ad0b.png)
These elves grow wooden weapons and armor and don't like to trade any items made from butchered animals or wood they suspect came from felled trees. In the image above, you can see their heavy armor, and a more lightly armored warrior, with some humans in metal equipment for comparison.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/26b4618ce70f10cd9513eff3ead869c650a8dea4.png)
And this is the variety of their typical clothing, using profession colors. A few of these professions are atypical for elves, but you can find them in human settlements where they'll often find themselves working in jobs that don't exist in their forest retreats, even those wood-working professions which the elves living among the trees might find offensive. Similarly, fully-acclimated city elves don't appreciate that forest elves eat the people they kill in the ongoing timber skirmishes, so it kind of evens out.
- Tarn
Post by: Silverwing235 on March 13, 2021, 07:42:50 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4623480703067173288
Full text:
Just Some Typical Elves 🌱
Elves, wearing wooden armor, being a general nuisance
[snip]These elves grow wooden weapons and armor and don't like to trade any items made from butchered animals or wood they suspect came from felled trees. [snip]
A use of FotF question colour to draw attention to the moderate error of fact here - methinks a correction, if no such has been done yet, would perhaps be in order? Summary: (https://www.reddit.com/r/dwarffortress/comments/m2zjhr/steam_community_update_11_march_2021_just_some/gqmnucg/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Edit: correcting a rather large post facto setup blunder of my own, as it happens.
Post by: PatrikLundell on March 13, 2021, 11:37:41 am
(I'm not a fan of excessive scrolling).
Post by: Starver on March 13, 2021, 01:41:15 pm
In short (but not short enough) I'd have suggested something like the following:
Quote
[*delete point(s) as inapplicable, or just concentrate on the animal products one - I presume that's what was meant, BICBW]https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4623480703067173288There's a comment on a reddit thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/dwarffortress/comments/m2zjhr/steam_community_update_11_march_2021_just_some/gqmnucg/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) that says:
Full text:
Just Some Typical Elves 🌱
Elves, wearing wooden armor, being a general nuisance
<snip>
- The dwarf heads look too large relative to every other being...
- There seems to be an issue with consistency of viewing angles
- Do elves actually complain about trading animal butchery products?
This is now more of an in-thread summary (that will survive any unforseen catastrophe that may befall reddit's eventual end-of-life shutdown, should that happen before the current Bay12 data is finally consigned to its own particular terminal bitbucket), but I can also have it act as a rough example/suggestion too, right?
Post by: clinodev on March 25, 2021, 02:22:51 pm
Full text:
They Live! Mushrooms and moss growth 🍄
Hey everybody!
This time we have a look at the expansive cavern system that you can find underneath your fortress.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/2d56b19aa655b538017412a41d44c31557549fb9.png)
There are all sorts of mushrooms down there, which Patrick has prepared for you. Big ones, little ones, really big ones... in the image above we have tower caps and fungiwood growing in the subterranean water pools, and the floor is entirely covered with smaller fungus. The largest multitile growths can be used for lumber if you manage to reach them and recover the fallen material, and the smaller ones can be used for food, dye, and clothing. These can also be cultivated. Your dwarves can use the water for all sorts of purposes, especially if the surface level lacks a river or brook. (We still have to handle the blue water behind the tree images, and the ramps cut off prematurely sometimes.)
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/5df4ae1f10519bb70679bf5f0f8ed9c93c9ca1da.gif)
Since the largest mushrooms occupy multiple vertical levels, you see slices of them as you move up and down through the levels of your fortress. In the gif, we start at the mossy floor with a spattering of webs and small vegetation (and a cave ogre) and move up three levels, viewing the caps as they round out at their tops.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/f6a163ae2888a494bb606eaa5755e0ff0ba259da.png)
You can see three different gem clusters in this image of a lichen floor. The open cavern makes it easier to prospect for ore and other useful minerals, but also leaves you exposed to visits from various creatures if you don't take precautions!
- Tarn
Post by: jecowa on March 25, 2021, 03:41:58 pm
Post by: Bumber on March 25, 2021, 07:44:54 pm
Did the gem clusters used to be larger and stick out from the walls instead of being flush with the walls?
Sort of:
(https://i.imgur.com/9RU8kQ3.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/OhQKB6E.png)
The stone was definitely rougher. (Unless these examples are inside-out instead of pillars.)
Post by: Starver on March 25, 2021, 09:33:20 pm
ICBW, but my the open-edge roughness and inner-edge 'crystaline fingers merging into the unseen' are comparable with the more explicit recent map-slices we've just seen (albeit for different rock-types/forms) so I'm convinced my original interpretation is indeed still right.
Post by: Meph on March 26, 2021, 12:21:01 pm
Post by: Buttery_Mess on April 06, 2021, 05:22:01 am
Post by: clinodev on April 08, 2021, 03:25:11 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3084377958517709650
Full text:
Video Dev Update: A Huge Fortress to Explore
Bedrooms, zoning and tombs!
Greetings all!
Alexandra here with the Spring video dev update showing off all the latest features in Dwarf Fortress with Tarn. This time, we have some new, exciting developments in the Fort including bedrooms, tombs and a visit from an elven caravan! We have have big updates on the building interface and zoning placement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5x_ZCo2B2k (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5x_ZCo2B2k)
That's it from me today, see you next update!
-Alexandra
Post by: kitfoxgames on April 22, 2021, 12:28:30 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3043846829248372175 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3043846829248372175)
Full text:
New Lever System and Filling Barrels
Hello!
Levers in Dwarf Fortress can be hooked up to all sorts of buildings and machines, such as doors, floodgates, gear assemblies, cages, spikes, and bridges. In the old game, this was a reasonably painful process, where mechanisms had to be manually selected, lists scrolled through, and afterward it was very difficult to figure out which lever was linked to which building without just pulling it and seeing what horrible things happened.
This has been changed now! In this video, you can see what we currently have: https://youtu.be/VUnbgGmqOhI (https://youtu.be/VUnbgGmqOhI)
When you click "link lever", two appropriate mechanisms are chosen by default. You decide what to link the lever to by clicking on it, and once you've hooked it up, both the lever and the linked building have a list of links with a recenter option. So hopefully there will be fewer unnecessary tragedies.
Patrick has also drawn up some new barrels, with their contents, so that you can get some information about your food stocks at a glance.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/88aa664fa62cba0be3da81aed3b1061acf7f52a6.png)
Here we have some dwarven wine and rum, as well as meat, fish, plump helmets and seed bags.
- Tarn
Post by: clinodev on April 22, 2021, 12:33:13 pm
Also, mmm, fish barrel.
Post by: scriver on April 22, 2021, 02:08:40 pm
Post by: Uthimienure on April 22, 2021, 02:44:20 pm
(When do we get to see a barrel of monkeys?)
Post by: scriver on April 22, 2021, 02:50:06 pm
Post by: kitfoxgames on April 23, 2021, 08:35:42 am
Post by: Meph on April 23, 2021, 01:09:32 pm
(https://i.imgur.com/GX97PEc.png)
Post by: brewer bob on April 23, 2021, 01:19:26 pm
(https://i.imgur.com/GX97PEc.png)
Look behind you! A three-headed monkey!
(Wonderful work, btw)
Post by: scriver on April 23, 2021, 04:40:48 pm
...wait is that monkey giving us the finger?
Post by: voliol on April 23, 2021, 05:21:47 pm
I'm truly sorry for the long wait, it's obviously the first thing I should have done.
(https://i.imgur.com/GX97PEc.png)
Wait... aren’t those the chimp and gibbons you showed us earlier? Those are apes you buffoon!
(jk I love them)
Post by: clinodev on April 23, 2021, 05:23:07 pm
Post by: Thisfox on April 25, 2021, 05:00:29 pm
.... and afterward it was very difficult to figure out which lever was linked to which building without just pulling it and seeing what horrible things happened.
...See, I was always mystified by this. I put the lever in a room near where the thing it was connected to was, and never had trouble working out (months later) what it was hooked up to. I honestly think it depended on your architectural control of visual context, rather than game design. But I guess it was seen as a problem rather than a feature for everyone else?
I mean, it was one of the driving forces of the entertainment value of reading Boatmurdered, once apon a time, a series of architects who purposefully put the levers in random locations around the map and then left the mystery in their inheritance.
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on April 25, 2021, 05:17:24 pm
Can see how you might forget I suppose.
Post by: Meph on April 25, 2021, 05:33:37 pm
Post by: Starver on April 25, 2021, 05:56:41 pm
Spoiler: I *might* also use colour-coded mechanisms in their construction (click to show/hide)
Anyway, my personal CDO is not important.
I would do all this whether or not I could later go and 'rediscover' what was connected to what. But it's also a good idea to give that opportunity. Even if I wouldn't personally just set out new levers next to the last added lever, whatever it was/wherever it was connected to to form up ranks and files of levers, it wouldn't be a bad thing to let someone do this if they wanted and then quickly confirm (or correct) their memories of what a specific one actually might do when then do (or don't!) want it pulled.
Right now, I think the way I'd do that is to try to connect Lever X123Y456 with VitalSupportB3579, and I'd be unable to attempt to make that connection if I'm right (and not go that far if it shows that I'm wrong).
PPE: Oh look, doubly-ninjaed, making the more important parts of the points I made, but with less words. (And I absolutely have forgotten about labelling. Never use raw labelling for anything, because I'm so used to not being able to and dealing with it as already described in leiu. ;) )
Post by: PatrikLundell on April 26, 2021, 02:30:32 am
Post by: brewer bob on April 26, 2021, 06:17:32 am
I can't remember how I managed not to mess up my typical fort waterworks that had dozens of levers and floodgates before labelling became a thing (or maybe I messed them up, but refuse to remember the horror of flooding my fort).
Post by: orius on May 03, 2021, 01:06:01 pm
Post by: kitfoxgames on May 06, 2021, 12:47:46 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3064114295970997879
Full Text:
New Trade Depot + Animals and Wagons
...And is that Adventure Mode?
Hello again!
Over the last few weeks, part of what we've been doing involves trade in the fortress, both making it look better and adding some new practical pieces as well.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/74dd14a52faea48cf9be748c7ded493f2b37eeae.png)
Here we have some full wagons on the bottom of the screen bringing much-needed supplies to the player, through a bamboo forest. There's also a yak with some bags packed on it that is part of the caravan as well, and a few bodyguards. On the wagons and animals, there's not a lot of graphical real estate to work with, so the images reflect the amount of stuff being carried (there are four levels), rather than specific items.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/3e48b57ce9c1a42a9c882d79a5962e29d5ed82a4.png)
Once we get to the newly redesigned depot, though, the situation changes, and we can show specific trade goods on the tables. The tables at the top are for the visiting merchants, and they also get the northern stool. The bottom tables show the goods the fortress is willing to trade (which are selected by the player), and the fortress broker sits on the southern stool.
In the image above, the left side is before the wagons arrived, and on the right side, the wagons have unloaded (you can see the wagons resting at the very top.) I've also brought the, um, goods I had on hand in my little test fortress, ha ha. It is a bin of wooden crafts and some turtles we caught. I'm sure the thriving capital of the dwarves will love my little turtles.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/56060e93588ed712661c9e21eccaca4caeb45371.png)
Just for fun, here's an image of the depot in the old version. I've circled it in green in case you have trouble picking it out! The separate tables and the ability to tell who is trading which item are new to the graphical version.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/d03a04ad6a33e9a12776a115179ee4cf42226c59.png)
We're still working through the trade screens. Here you can see what we have for bringing items to the depot so far. It's a little easier to select groups of items now, as well as bins containing various objects, but we're also going to allow direct selection at stockpiles and from the items themselves, so you won't have to handle everything from the depot, which could be very cumbersome to say the least.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/d3d3d72de5a109b1269d81db5c47b113b3bd05a6.png)
A little of this applies to adventure mode as well! Here I've packed some items on my trusty donkey, and that is visible now as I lead the critter through the village.
- Tarn
Post by: Fleeting Frames on May 06, 2021, 01:22:22 pm
➁ I wonder if bamboo will have more gameplay impact as side-effect? I don't expect it though with the schedule being so full already...
➂ Tarn has got to be first person, ever, I've seen selling turtles! The big Toady One sure plays game on a different level.
➃ Entering adv mode changes? Whoa, the steam release might come sooner than I expected.
Post by: Mr Crabman on May 06, 2021, 04:02:27 pm
Steam Community Update 6 May 2021: "New Trade Depot + Animals and Wagons"
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3064114295970997879
I posted this feedback on reddit too, but I'll do it here as well:
It looks mostly great, but there are a few bits that are a bit off.
In the trade depo, a dwarf is being rendered on top of the "sell" sign, which makes the perspective a bit funky; the sign should render in front of the dwarf. The bison on the top right IS rendered behind the sign correctly, so this is probably either an oversight or is planned and just hasn't been gotten around to yet.
Next, it looks strange seeing a second dwarf standing on top of the bottom right table; maybe it should be a flat wooden panel on the ground rather than a table? Something about dwarves (and the bison on the top left frankly) just happily walking across tabletops doesn't sit well with me personally.
Also, something about the wooden bin on the left table looks off, and I'm not sure why/what aspect is causing the issue; it just looks like it's edited in somehow?
The bamboo in the wide shot also looks photoshopped in/artificial, it has no sense of presence like the bushes, saplings and boulders in the same picture do; probably just needs some shadow and/or a more natural transition with the grass?
Post by: Starver on May 06, 2021, 06:53:40 pm
The solution might be to 'reserve' the non-diagetic signage for even-toppermost over-layering. Or to rework "any character in the footprint of a workshop/etc" out of the more general landscape and slot them into the workshop's layer-construction scheme[1] as a localised under-to-over and rear-to-near stacking to produce the completely accurate 'occupied Depot' stack (front tables and signs show in front of such midway-standing characters) to then place onto the ground (showing in front of the characters standing just beyond the rear). But there might be other considerations[2].
I mean, I'm just guessing at the current internally-coded approach, so my 'solutions' might be starting off from the wrong premise. I could just be putting the
[1] In this case, it looks like only the buy/sell-signs poke over tile boundaries beyond (the five tables, and the two bargaining stools, stay within), but some workshop worktops/decorations might also extend. And some creature-sprites (esp. Giant <Foo>s) might themselves poke downwards and sideways in a manner that should go 'under' those tabletops..?
[2] Going with the possibility of Giant Foos being widthwise beyond the tile boundary, you'd want one just off the side of a Depot/similar to layer above the flooring element but sneak beneath the table-top? That'd require keeping layering as a deconstruction (which would also solve the sign) by putting ground-texture, specialist floor texture (first constructed, then 'built room', if constructed isn't already subsumed into earth/grass/etc ground), grounded furniture and creatures[3] with rear-to-near overlaying enforced for all overlaps and perhaps a firm lateral policy for the Giant things vs tables, then repeat for things on the tables (goods, buy/sell-signs, workshop-worktop-tools, etc).
[3] Further separating potentially flying creatures? And the 'table-top' dwarf ought to be deferred at least until the sign's level (if in the same tile) to appear on the table where casually allowed to walk across it, as apparently this one is.
[4] Which, with reference to recent "face left or right?" discussions in mind, I expected to be the main point-of-order in discussing this particular release of images!
Post by: PatrikLundell on May 07, 2021, 03:30:13 am
- The ability to change the tile set between the graphical and character one (which is available in the current version, and won't go away) doesn't say anything about transferability between the Classic and Premium version. However, it's been mentioned in the past that save games should be compatible between the two versions (naturally requiring them to be of the same version), allowing for both community games and community member fault finding regardless of which version different participants use.
- Bamboo is currently a kind of grass. There's no reason to assume that will change in the near term, even though the graphical representation of it makes it prominent.
- The presented adventure mode image just showed that some of the graphical efforts carry over to adventure mode: The effort put into displaying a caravan pack animal also works on adventure mode pack animals, so it's not a sign dedicated adventure mode efforts have started.
Post by: Starver on May 07, 2021, 04:21:33 am
Spoiler: I *also* also meant to mention, w.r.t. overlayering (click to show/hide)
Post by: Fleeting Frames on May 07, 2021, 07:51:13 am
Yeah, maybe bamboo and adv mode is bit too hopeful.
Post by: Teddy on May 11, 2021, 04:03:37 pm
[...]
Patrick has also drawn up some new barrels, with their contents, so that you can get some information about your food stocks at a glance.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/88aa664fa62cba0be3da81aed3b1061acf7f52a6.png)
Here we have some dwarven wine and rum, as well as meat, fish, plump helmets and seed bags.
- Tarn
A little suggestion: How about putting taps on liquid-containing barrels? I think it would give them a nice bit of extra visual clarity. Large pots could have a pouring lip instead.
Post by: kitfoxgames on May 20, 2021, 10:16:30 am
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3025834967790391684 (https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3025834967790391684)
Full text:
Hello!
This time we'll revisit bridges, which Patrick has done another pass on.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/9c5819acf9644a666fe5d540b24e7a989d201b4b.png)
Here I've set up a double wooden drawbridge. You can see now where the mechanisms are, and thus can tell from the image itself which way the bridge will raise. (The fisherdwarf has been busy catching salmon, steelhead trout, and mussels, but I didn't make a food stockpile, so they are littering at the riverside.)
This is the bridge in action:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/ab66569db03d397759f66fab3b0c2b9c6595b04e.gif)
This might keep some invaders out of your fort, but you'll often want to build further defenses deep underground in case things go terribly wrong.
Here's a stone bridge over an internal moat:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/88abb8737b5a90aab1d8052d1d2673a26ab182ac.png)
The water isn't necessary if you dig a deep enough pit, but it's fun to play around with nonetheless. For this moat, I connected a surface stream to my fort using a channel and then a staircase. The water flows into the moat from a submerged hallway at the northern side. Of course, due to water pressure, this is incredibly dangerous, so a submerged hallway on the southern side connects to a staircase which drains the water further down into the natural underground caverns. Lots of giant mushrooms currently being rained upon down there. You can avoid this by using floodgates and only admitting as much water as you need.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/a1d1f368379a58d7d31519c6946ec528c574532c.png)
When the bridge goes up, dwarves in the hallway are safe from arrows, though the way I've set this up, the initial lever puller would be exposed.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/9111f0ac966b3e07b289608641a214266d3aa401.png)
Here's a steel bridge, or diving board, above a volcano, along with a pit zone. The game doesn't care what's below the pit zone particularly - once a prisoner or beast is designated, a dwarf will bring them over and throw them in. You can use this to create lion pits and stuff like that, or you can use it over volcanoes and other such places, as you like, for captured thieves or invaders.
- Tarn
Post by: Starver on May 20, 2021, 12:48:40 pm
But I'm probably most interested, in that last picture, in the "room-type as zone" implementation. (As long suggested was going to happen...) Not sure if I've missed a previous 'and now it is so...' announcement, somewhere along the way.
Might that be an interesting subject for a Steam Official Announcement of the near future, if it's sufficiently working as well as prepared-for? *subtle, non-binding nudge...*
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on May 20, 2021, 04:49:25 pm
March 8th and March 19th devblog covers the new rooms and archery zones.
And this Steam update on bedroom and tomb zones and room zones in general:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3084377958517709650
Post by: Starver on May 20, 2021, 06:13:00 pm
I know the principle has been discussed at length under the Bay12 umbrella (in both fanon-terms and WoG stuff in devlog/DFTalk/etc), but if it hasn't already been illustrated properly and is operational then I thought maybe it could be.
[1]
Spoiler: Tech moan (click to show/hide)
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on May 20, 2021, 07:12:55 pm
Sorry. I just didn't recall anything here (as a Steam Official Announcement), but maybe I somehow missed it. I'll scan back and see it. And I don't lurk on the Steam fora themselves[1] enough to catch everything at source or keep my eye on that side of the community[2]. Ditto reddit, etc.Bay12 devblog, March 8th, March 19th.
I know the principle has been discussed at length under the Bay12 umbrella (in both fanon-terms and WoG stuff in devlog/DFTalk/etc), but if it hasn't already been illustrated properly and is operational then I thought maybe it could be.
[1]Spoiler: Tech moan (click to show/hide)
No need to venture into Steam or Reddit territory.
Post by: Starver on May 20, 2021, 08:04:09 pm
I know the principle has been discussed at length under the Bay12 umbrella (in both fanon-terms and WoG stuff in devlog/DFTalk/etc), but if it hasn't already been illustrated properly and is operational then I thought maybe it could be.A conditional, and an obvious requirement, neither of which I'm sure are fulfilled, but otherwise I was suggesting it might be as interesting to others as to me, and I'd certainly appreciate an eyeball on this "bunch of enclosed potential rooms of that kind" stuff that's promised, amongst other aspects.
Maybe there's other things sitting more prominently in the queue to announce. I also don't think it was worth an argument over.
edit: ...and as such I'm going to PMs on this, in answer to the following.
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on May 20, 2021, 11:26:09 pm
Now, yes, it may all be broken on release (in true Dwarf Fortress tradition), but the work is done and has been demonstrated at Steam. What more do you want?
Post by: Fleeting Frames on May 23, 2021, 02:42:37 am
And, heh, heh, that pitting is pretty unsafe. If the goblin doesn't escape, their magma mist plume is liable to splash on your dwarves.
Interesting that Toady didn't use 1x1 bridges. While Meph did post the WIP images, no garbage compactors? Seems to be just bridges that go over a gap in air.
Post by: kitfoxgames on June 03, 2021, 10:22:46 am
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3026962135264045409 (https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3026962135264045409)
Full text:
Hello again!
Mostly I've been spending these last two weeks moving apartments after 13 years in one place. So much junk... and my vacuum caught on fire, ha ha ha. But there was still a bit of time for work, and now we can show you the very important DF industry, beekeeping!
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/1ffda07947e1c10c90d7504960c17048cd578485.png)
This industry came about after the community voted on which of some hundreds of animals should be added to the game over a decade ago. Being a practically minded community, the animal that led to naturally to several new industries was the overwhelming favorite! Above you can see some artificial hives, ready to accept wild colonies.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/2d61720cd186bce48492dad5a50309a646a681c5.png)
Hives can be populated either using a wild colony, or by splitting an existing colony in an artificial hive. You'll want to balance your splitting and gathering of products, since gathering products destroys the hive in question.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/752fcf754b398c5bfb91db048e3d1e3589d4dbd7.png)
Natural hives can take some time to appear and aren't on every map. Above, I've used debug commands to place all of the possible wild hives together. From the top going counterclockwise, there's a bumblebee colony, an ant hill, termite mounds, and then the one we are looking for, the honey bee hive!
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/4be205a5a8031066c4244a7e8b133cae06f00785.png)
Once installed, the bees will begin working (the second hive down on the right side has little bees buzzing around it.) You can also see an individual wild bee above the right column. These pop up around artificial and wild colonies, and are mostly okay, but will occasionally sting!
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/f1154dc7199cf2fcb9d466716857defde03417b2.png)
After a time, the bees' work is done and products are ready to collect! I've also split the first colony to another colony on the left side. In this way you can keep expanding your industry.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/c3c457c4d84c8533ce2327fde0259614e45321a0.png)
Here you can see the products in the hive building, wax honeycombs and some royal jelly. Royal jelly can be collected in a jug and used in cooking (though as old hands know, there are some jug storage issues there we're still working on!). Honeycombs themselves must be brought to a screw press. The pressing produces a wax cake and also some honey which can be stored in a jug. Honey can be used in food or made into mead, and wax can be used for crafts.
- Tarn
Post by: clinodev on June 03, 2021, 05:39:03 pm
(https://i.imgur.com/JOeJjwC.jpg)
Post by: hedgerow on June 06, 2021, 01:52:00 pm
Post by: Spriggans on June 17, 2021, 02:29:21 am
PTW
Post by: kitfoxgames on June 17, 2021, 09:24:32 am
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2989808708279045151
Full text:
Hello again!
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/bf4d40390f2d60c84661c34922d51271024b3d6b.png)
Here's a little setup I've carved out at the underground level where the water flows in a brook. Near the bottom of the image, a stone floodgate holds the water back. The channel to the north of it has a ramp for access from above, coming down from the grassy field by the brook. We also have vertical bars forming a few large cells in the upper right. The shape shown in the individual bar tiles adjusts according to what is nearby. Patrick drew the new bar and floodgate pictures.
The lever in the top left has been connected to the floodgate. I've used a hasty and risky method! As you can see in the animation below, a dwarf can run down and pull the lever, escaping upward just in time before the water comes rushing in.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/2c250ad3541a695981999afcd6e2b226c1651a55.gif)
You can see in the image how water blockages works. Water can rush through vertical bars, but it is blocked by floodgates and doors. Floodgates are safer since dwarves can open doors by default and it's a bit dangerous to rely on them. Players make drowning chambers in a variety of designs for various reasons.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/5a1be8c13f5e11b0b8d2e3025d557cf3d572f817.png)
I've also more or less completed the trade screen, where you actually exchange items with the merchants that arrive periodically throughout the year. This is reasonably similar to the old trade screen, aside from all the mouse support, as well as the search filters. You can also collapse both headings and container lists by clicking on them, though I should probably add a specific button for that. The dwarf merchant there up at the top is placed so low since we need to support much larger creatures, though I should get a chance to even that out for different sizes. So, a few things left to do, but it's going pretty well.
- Tarn
Post by: Fleeting Frames on June 17, 2021, 09:04:33 pm
- It took me much longer to realize those are top-down walls next to the pair of doors.
I don't usually mind the different perspectives - it's even, dare I say, necessary for recognizition - but it throws me here.
Though as the purely NS pierces are not recognizably grates (the overlap onto the wall being even little odd here though not ery noticeable), there's probably room for improvement.
o Tbh I initialy thought the channel was on level below.
o I like how water initially wets floor! But after seeing the beautiful brooks and ponds, I can assume that's only a placeholder.
Trade screen: Took me a bit to realize it, but know what'd be neat? Icon view. At the moment, they resemble, to use a Windows OS file explorer term, detailed view.
However, the items already have concrete appearance and normally take colour from material*.
So having them zoomed out into into icons would be nice "Flexibility and Efficiency of Use" (https://www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-heuristics-applied-video-games/) idea for people who already know the caravan contents and want to mass-select objects in it with mouse.
* not sure why the bars and blocks look the same when the gems are distinct, but I hope that probably gets fixed - I won't be able remember every stone colour off the top of my head, despite experience & even though I care about it.
Post by: Uthimienure on June 17, 2021, 10:13:48 pm
Post by: Starver on June 17, 2021, 11:45:55 pm
The channels by the flood gate baffle me. Can someone show it to me in ASCII so I can understand? (I'm being honest, not sarcastic.)
It seems to be a couple of ▲ tiles depicting a maybe slightly odd profile[1] for those not familiar with old conventions This I deduced from the in-article description, though IRL I'd be more familiar by that point which shading-convention there is (is it a /\ or a \/ profile, and I'm worried now that it's the latter, though still ▲ and not ▼in CodePage graphics) and of course entirely sure of how I built/dug it, with level up/down scrolling as second nature if I needed to check.
[1]
Code: [Select]
__. .__ - presumed level above
##|/\|## - this level
(Two characters per tile, plus one per tile-boundary.)
...or it may not be a slit-trench at Z+1, but an end-of-corridor down-slope, but then I'd half expect a single slope to be shown, according to orientation. The implication, I presume, is that it's an either-side access from above to land down here, and vice-versa.
Post by: Mobbstar on June 17, 2021, 11:48:02 pm
The channels by the flood gate baffle me. Can someone show it to me in ASCII so I can understand? (I'm being honest, not sarcastic.)
The way I see it:
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/422069774206631949/855301443337453568/ramps_ascii.png)
(If they were underneath, they'd have incline towards the north and south.)
It's difficult to tell with ramps. They're something I've mulled over eversince they got shown. It may be possible to give them a bleed-over (similar to the water splashes around water tiles) to clarify when they're on the same level. Here's a (bad) mockup for what I mean.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Uthimienure on June 18, 2021, 07:30:44 am
In the video, the ramps act like "up" ramps because the water neither takes extra time to fill up a channel in the floor, nor drains away into a level below.
However, the shading on the ramps being darker in the middle, suggests to me that the ramps are "downward". It definitely looks like a trough rather than a peak is formed in the center by the ramps. Thus, the graphics mislead my eyes. Shouldn't a peak be lighter shaded with the shading getting darker as a ramp goes deeper?
Post by: clinodev on June 18, 2021, 08:42:10 am
Post by: Bumber on June 18, 2021, 12:29:53 pm
It definitely looks like a trough rather than a peak is formed in the center by the ramps. Thus, the graphics mislead my eyes.
If the dwarf in the gif can use it, doesn't that mean it must be a trough?
Post by: Starver on June 18, 2021, 02:00:57 pm
Look, I think[1] I understand the physicality of the example. The graphics just take getting used to. I didn't have any problem identifying the bar-tops of the N-S stretches for what they are, although the "top down sliced view" of the (constructed?) walls sat either side of the doors then look like a stone 'portal' seen side-on, even though I've seen enough isolated rock/masonry pillars already to know they're not in oblique view.
But I'm not worried about me, more the newbugs who will undoubtedly be helped with much of the non-437 graphics. I think anybody commenting here would grasp the reality (link the new appearance to the right internal map) with just a little stumbling.
[1] In leiu of any official word otherwise, the topology is firmly settled in my mind, in the form already explained.
Post by: DwarfStar on June 18, 2021, 02:49:34 pm
When I go to mine out a multi-z level area from below, the first thing I do is carve out the whole thing with ramps. So units can walk up and down from any level to any other level, in any direction. How will that be rendered in the Steam release? It’s hard to imagine how to communicate the full range of motion units have in a situation like that.
Post by: Starver on June 18, 2021, 03:01:51 pm
Post by: kitfoxgames on July 01, 2021, 09:53:49 am
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2966165443311320630
Full text:
Hi everyone!
We've started up work on the main information display, where you'll be able to check on and manage all sorts of things about your fortress. The old version of the game had this information scattered all over the place. This time we're trying to collect it all together:
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/af5b0c0d2e9d9c0ee8b13be9f459baf26e573ec2.png)
Please note that most of this is placeholder graphics as I'm still tweaking bits and pieces. I drew a little red outline for 'remove work from job', but it'll probably end up being something different, ha ha ha. Some of the categories are also likely to change a bit.
We're more or less going to implement/update these going left to right, though there are lots of relationships between all the types of data so it isn't as simple as that. For instance, even on smaller screens (like the 1366px wide laptop image displayed here), there's still room on the right side for, say, some labor, health and military information for each citizen in the fortress. I'll be adding that as I go. And 1920px screens won't need the ellipses on dwarf names for the most part. In any case, when each of the tabs are done, we'll be through a hefty chunk of the remaining menus and screens from the old game.
Also new here on the Creatures tab (the old units screen), we have sorting! Lots of sorting. There's also a stress display, which players of the old version will recognize as something we just didn't have before. Now you're one click away from finding all of the dwarves in your fortress that are closest to throwing tantrums or otherwise having a miserable time. And it's cool to see them all there in a column with their little outfits! You'll note that we don't have a dwarf baby image in yet, he he he.
- Tarn
Post by: FantasticDorf on July 01, 2021, 10:25:24 am
The job icons are still a little bit vague, because the red outline of a person (absent, i think) and what i assume is the "Going to" first button are closely the same in what they are saying in my opinion. Still for new players it'd be nice to see if these have hover-over contexts or a icon-legend on "?" help/tutorial if that will still exist on the premium version. I wonder what Toady will do to sort the C screen world map, now that everything lives on tabs.
Post by: Varjo on July 02, 2021, 05:59:28 am
Post by: Salmeuk on July 02, 2021, 09:54:08 pm
I am seriously concerned DF will become a very slow game, beyond just a change in muscle memory, if there are no shortcuts. Mouse + GUI is just slow.
Though, perhaps the (finally!) ability to sort lists of things will bring speed in other places.
Post by: uioped1 on July 05, 2021, 08:28:43 pm
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on July 05, 2021, 08:50:44 pm
I don't remember, seeing, will the steam version support Linux?Maybe later, but Toady says he won't commit to it yet.
Most likely scenario is support via a dedicated Linux team/programmer from Kitfox. (Just a guess, but I don't see Toady trying to keep a Linux version up to date any more).
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on July 05, 2021, 08:52:08 pm
Will any of these new menus have associated hotkeys for opening the various category tabs?Yes. Confirmed many times previously.
I am seriously concerned DF will become a very slow game, beyond just a change in muscle memory, if there are no shortcuts. Mouse + GUI is just slow.
Though, perhaps the (finally!) ability to sort lists of things will bring speed in other places.
Post by: Starver on July 06, 2021, 05:19:18 am
Now, obviously it would have been (and will be) a little less efficient to translate-on-the-fly/whatever rather than (near-)natively coded, and if the newer programming features exceed WINE's not-an-emulator capabilities then it's broken straight off the bat, the blindingly fast (for the time) AMD X2 CPU, IIRC, probably helped take the sting off that. But obviously that'd be an initial option. Or, I suppose, the whole VM-containerised-whotsit business that's all the current rage (worst case scenario is if you're trying to pretend it's running on a different codebase set at the level of the metal, I suppose, but that already needs thinking about under official cross-compiled forks to help at least part of the Mac userbase, who also might need reassurance).
i.e., I'm sure it'll not be impossible, but platform-specific non-Toadys will also surely be found for the current spread of systems, to wrangle the compilers accordingly without necessarily drawing Tarn into the relative philosophies of those system families.
(Less of an answer than a vaguely informed expectation, sorry.)
Post by: clinodev on July 06, 2021, 07:11:28 am
I don't remember, seeing, will the steam version support Linux?
Toady's statements on this (and Mac) since the beginning have been in the format "Sure we'd like to, but only if we can do it to the same quality"
My totally-unsupported-by-anything-he's-said opinion is that he'll probably find it's trivial to do for Linux, for whichever Debian-style distro Steam is supporting these days.
I suspect that supporting Mac probably would mean only supporting one version at best, though, which he may well find is not "Beyond Quality".
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on July 06, 2021, 10:01:45 am
He's run into huge problems with Linux and Mac in the past and the community have helped him out each time. Never seemed trivial at the time.I don't remember, seeing, will the steam version support Linux?
Toady's statements on this (and Mac) since the beginning have been in the format "Sure we'd like to, but only if we can do it to the same quality"
My totally-unsupported-by-anything-he's-said opinion is that he'll probably find it's trivial to do for Linux, for whichever Debian-style distro Steam is supporting these days.
I suspect that supporting Mac probably would mean only supporting one version at best, though, which he may well find is not "Beyond Quality".
I suspect as a paid game it's going to be hard to justify the "well, someone will help me out, probably" approach. (But, Kitfox might step in with help instead).
Post by: [HYBRID BEING] on July 06, 2021, 11:22:46 am
Steam Community Update 1 July 2021: New Information HubThat was probably discussed before, but how moddable is UI going to be? Somehow looking at the image made me think that HUD would've been better double it's current size, at least buttons at the bottom (and maybe Speed/Menu/Help buttons). That said, if the idea is to have windows and displays NOT overlap HUD, that would leave less space for them.
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2966165443311320630 (https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2966165443311320630)
Full text:
Hi everyone!
We've started up work on the main information display, where you'll be able to check on and manage all sorts of things about your fortress. The old version of the game had this information scattered all over the place. This time we're trying to collect it all together:
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/af5b0c0d2e9d9c0ee8b13be9f459baf26e573ec2.png)
Please note that most of this is placeholder graphics as I'm still tweaking bits and pieces. I drew a little red outline for 'remove work from job', but it'll probably end up being something different, ha ha ha. Some of the categories are also likely to change a bit.
We're more or less going to implement/update these going left to right, though there are lots of relationships between all the types of data so it isn't as simple as that. For instance, even on smaller screens (like the 1366px wide laptop image displayed here), there's still room on the right side for, say, some labor, health and military information for each citizen in the fortress. I'll be adding that as I go. And 1920px screens won't need the ellipses on dwarf names for the most part. In any case, when each of the tabs are done, we'll be through a hefty chunk of the remaining menus and screens from the old game.
Also new here on the Creatures tab (the old units screen), we have sorting! Lots of sorting. There's also a stress display, which players of the old version will recognize as something we just didn't have before. Now you're one click away from finding all of the dwarves in your fortress that are closest to throwing tantrums or otherwise having a miserable time. And it's cool to see them all there in a column with their little outfits! You'll note that we don't have a dwarf baby image in yet, he he he.
- Tarn
The bar on top, on the other hand, could've used some shrinking and mouse hover screens - Pop and Idle could be merged into a single column (there are clearly two now), happiness display could be replaced with average happiness or a small graph, Meat, Fish and Plant could definitely be hidden under the Food, and different categories could take their place (like Wood and Stone, with different types on hover?). Not sure about date display, but maybe something like
Code: [Select]
17th
HEM
132with color for season. I'm itching to suggest an icon (https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Calendar#Months_and_seasons) for month instead, but they are kinda confusing by themselves - shapes and sometimes even colors are the same.
Post by: kitfoxgames on July 15, 2021, 09:44:41 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4429837322771386150 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4429837322771386150)
Full text:
Hi again!
After the record-breaking heatwave in late June, it cooled off to more normal Summer temperatures, and this has allowed us to continue on smoothly! There's a healthy grab bag of menus left to complete, relating to the military, justice, labor and so forth, and we're just going through them one by one in whatever order seems to make the work go fastest. Most lately, we've been working on the ability to produce work orders. Much of the art here on these fresh new menus is still placeholders.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/c8b5d81bb3e92d610dd73e5b4d115d8423b90716.png)
Work orders are used to automate tasks in your fortress. The most simple order is something like "make ten beds". The manager (one of the administrator dwarves you appoint) validates the order, and then the jobs are automatically assigned to any carpenter workshop you have available, which saves you the trouble of setting them all manually. Work orders can also be assigned to specific shops.
But there's a lot more you can do with work orders. They can be conditioned on the stocks of the fortress. For instance, you can set a work order to produce drinks at the still 25 times if your supply drops below 100 drinks, and the order will renew itself at the proper time. You can also set key furniture orders, like the beds above, to renew based on the number of beds you have, or seasonally, etc. Orders can also be conditioned on the completion of other orders, if you want to make sure you have the supplies available. For instance, you could create 10 cloth, then have a 10 cloak order ready to go immediately afterward. You can also leave all of this alone and get along just fine, but the system is pretty powerful and now it's less difficult to use!
The screen above is a basic work order being selected. In the old Dwarf Fortress, this was an opaque mess. Now it should be a little easier to find jobs, and also to see which jobs are available by shop. We're still finishing up the menu by which you select conditions to place on orders (like the aforementioned "when drink supply is less than 100.")
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/7215458d17d3d07fa63ccc568f0f60f98341f773.png)
Another bit we finished up is the ability to link workshops to stockpiles from the workshop. We had already finished the ability to do this from stockpiles, but oftentimes it's more convenient to add links while you are in the shop thinking about production. In this screen, we've set up the metalsmith to take metal bars from a particular pile and to give finished goods to a different pile. Both of these piles are close to the shop, and so as long as the goldsmith is working and the piles are supplied by other dwarves, gold craft production will be happening as quickly as possible. If you use the ability to nickname piles, it's also easy to remember what your setup is (I've neglected to do this in the screenshot!)
As with work orders, it's also possible to ignore stockpile links completely if you like. But as you start to notice your dwarves wandering farther and farther to get job items, it becomes more natural to start optimizing storage and routes a bit, and you can begin to use these tools to fit your playstyle.
- Tarn
Post by: FantasticDorf on July 15, 2021, 09:55:51 am
Another bit we finished up is the ability to link workshops to stockpiles from the workshop.
- Tarn
Nice, but i uh, can't functionally see how wording this differently changes much of the perspective unless it fixes the age old problem that once something is in the workshop it can't be sent via the same stockpile attachment because it can't be recursively sent back to the source without jumping over a proxy stockpile, which is another step for dwarves to pick it up and reset etc and creates unnessecary labor to compared to just dumping it in the right place in a private depot.
So
Source Stockpile ----> Workshop
Source Stockpile <----- Workshop + Workshop centric link, while recieving the source-stockpile link.
Much hype!
Post by: Bumber on July 15, 2021, 10:36:02 am
Nice, but i uh, can't functionally see how wording this differently changes much of the perspective...
You've misunderstood what the change is. It just gives the workshop UI the ability to create stockpile links. Right now you can only do that from the stockpile UI.
Post by: FantasticDorf on July 15, 2021, 11:54:07 am
Nice, but i uh, can't functionally see how wording this differently changes much of the perspective...
You've misunderstood what the change is. It just gives the workshop UI the ability to create stockpile links. Right now you can only do that from the stockpile UI.
Seems like complete UI overkill in that case to supplant a click and some words from linking the stockpile manually. I still hold a candle for my interpretation of parallel stockpile location links without more elaboration by Toady at a later date on what exactly the nature of the addition is, but it would be disappointing if it wasn't. I guess if im wrong its unlikely to bother a DF classic player like myself somewhat comfortable with austere GUI too much who wont see it.
The narrow silver lining assuming your interpretation is correct, it seems like a good menu for connecting workshops to things that explicitly aren't stockpiles in a more effective manner. Like say... lists of shearable sheep.
Post by: voliol on July 15, 2021, 03:10:39 pm
Post by: Fleeting Frames on July 15, 2021, 06:51:01 pm
Post by: FantasticDorf on July 16, 2021, 05:20:32 am
For now, workshops set to take from another workshop or pasture can be done via burrow restriction in vanilla. Though yeah, this is less than ideal if you want to have free-wandering troll pseudo-citizens doing jobs while also only shearing the ones with teal gray wool.
It works plenty well just on regular farm animals, trapping jobs and web collection burrows besides the very niche troll harvesting operations when you set up burrowed workshops.
Post by: Timeless Bob on July 17, 2021, 11:29:00 am
Post by: Secretdorf on July 24, 2021, 11:15:38 am
Post by: Stiqy on July 25, 2021, 04:57:43 am
Nice, pity to see there's no agents/intrigue panel, i guess we'll have to wait for the villian release to be more rounded but a page to itself just for counterintelligence will help bundle up stuff nicely.
There is a tab that literally says "counterintelligence"...
Post by: clinodev on July 29, 2021, 10:58:20 am
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/2967294514063792898
Full text:
The Summer of menus!
Greetings all!
Tarn is back with an update on development in the last few months. This time it's all about efficiency and lots and lots of menus.
The video includes:
Wagons arriving to trade
A microline figurine of a goose
The Trade Screen
Gem stockpiles
The New Unit Screen
Work Orders
Cute pictures of Scamps and Jojo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlzCrJS1Fho
You can catch us and other rad Dwarf Fortress fans over at the Kitfox Games Discord (https://discord.gg/kitfoxgames).
See you next time,
Alexandra+ Kitfox
Post by: jocke the beast on July 30, 2021, 02:41:39 am
Post by: voliol on August 12, 2021, 01:10:05 pm
More menus!
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/4507526949779184381
Full text:
Hello!
More work on menus! There are so many menus. First, a small menu - the worker assignment for workshops.
Spoiler: image (click to show/hide)
Here you can assign a master to a workshop, and you have the option to dedicate the master to just their workshop jobs (and any other assignments.) This part is a little less flexible than the old DF system, where you could assign multiple dwarves and set skill ranges, but this new way works about as well with the new labor system and it'll additionally hook up to our ideas for guilds and apprentices as we expand it later, so, one master per shop now!
Spoiler: image (click to show/hide)
As details like this come in, we're placing the information on the creature list. You can see the workshop assignment and related icons here now, with room to expand, and some brighter text colors! The artists haven't had a chance to take a pass on them yet, so the hues and saturation levels might get shifted, but legibility on the gray background is the main goal.
The current labor system is now a large departure from the old DF. In the old one, narrow labor assignments, like 'miner' or 'gem setter', had to be set manually on every dwarf, and often new players would have no idea why a workshop task was not being completed, or why a building wasn't being constructed. Now you still need to have the correct resources, but the jobs will be done by anybody available, starting with the most talented.
By itself, this change takes a lot of control away, which you may find yourself wanting back as you become more skilled with the game. For instance, the workshop master is one way to have control, since the dedicated dwarf will become more skilled than random job takers, and ultimately produce better trade goods, weapons, and so on, with the same resources. The automatic labor assignment system does account for skill and tends to build up some skilled dwarves by itself, but the different is noticeable.
However, this isn't nearly enough! For instance, many tasks in Dwarf Fortress don't even occur at workshops. Mining, woodcutting, wall engraving, hauling, and several others take place elsewhere in the play area. The automatic labor system will muddle through here as well, but we've also added a new system: work details.
Spoiler: image (click to show/hide)
Here are the default work details, including the jobs I listed above. If dwarves are assigned to these work details, then by default, they'll be the only dwarves that do them. This allows you to set up dedicated wall smoothers and haulers for instance, so that other dwarves aren't constantly doing these things, whether they are dedicated workshop masters or not. If nobody is assigned to the haulers, then everybody will do it. You can also deactivate the work detail so that nobody at all does it, which can come up if you have other priorities or if there's some trouble in the fort to iron out before they return to work.
(Note: we still need to display relevant skills and order the dwarves properly! The order on the screen there is random. The automatic system also doesn't yet cover miners, woodcutters, and hunters, who use special equipment for their jobs, which complicates everything.)
Spoiler: image (click to show/hide)
Default work details alone don't capture the versatility of the old DF labor assignment system. It was very, very clunky, to the point that many people preferred working with a gigantic spreadsheet, but the ability to set custom labors is powerful as well, so it's important to recapture while trying to avoid making the system too laborious. To this end, we've added custom work details. Here you can see a new "Stone haulers" work detail I've created, with only the stone hauling labor enabled. In a dwarf fortress, stone gets everywhere, and you can set up some dedicated dwarves to grab the wheelbarrows and move stone slowly into piles where the carvers can more easily use it. I've set up some placeholder icons (just a bunch of roman numerals), so our first custom work detail got the 'I' symbol.
Spoiler: image (click to show/hide)
Rangers and animal dissectors assigned to stone hauling duty! You can dedicate anybody to their assignments, not just workshop masters, so we could also press the dedication buttons to the left of the 'I' symbols there to make sure these dwarves aren't distracted if there's a lot of hauling to be done. You can also turn off a custom work detail, and that job will be disabled for everybody, or re-enabled for everybody, depending on the option you select.
We're still in the midst of the labor interface! We still have to set up menus for doctors, farmers, fisherdwarves, and dwarves that work specific locations like tavern keepers, scholars, and performers. We'll also continue keeping our eye on feedback as we know the labor system is a concern for a lot of veteran players.
Spoiler: image (click to show/hide)
We've also been going through other menus and getting them sorted out. Here for instance is the standing orders menu. For the moment, it remains mostly unchanged from old DF, but could undergo some revisions as we continue. For now, we just need to get them all done! The chores tab there is new; young dwarves will do some hauling, cleaning, and other bits and bobs to be helpful around the fort.
Spoiler: image (click to show/hide)
Here's the stone usage menu. Again, this is a pretty unaltered transfer from the old DF, but there are lots of pretty stones now, courtesy of Patrick, and it's easier to see their various uses. This menu doesn't come up a lot, but it allows you to save or expend specific stone types according to your needs.
Spoiler: image (click to show/hide)
Finally, a first pass on the nobles and administrators menu as well! The central text column is a little cramped, ha ha. This is also reasonably similar to the old screen, but shinier, and allows you to set certain important jobs and to see how well you are doing in meeting those dwarves' room and furniture needs. A bookkeeper for instance needs an office to work in, and you can also set how precisely you'd like them to set the numbers. There's plenty of hover information to clarify the symbols, but it's also good to be able to take them in at a glance quickly.
We'll keep on working!
And congratulations to Kitfox on the Boyfriend Dungeon release! Lots of dwarfy weapons, and a cat, and an axe is coming!
- Tarn
P.S Have some more Jojo and Scamps!
Spoiler: images (click to show/hide)
Lots of big pictures in this one, so I put them under spoiler tags.
Post by: clinodev on August 12, 2021, 06:13:02 pm
There was some miscommunication about who was doing the post today, alas, but you had us covered here!
Post by: voliol on August 13, 2021, 08:02:40 am
Post by: FantasticDorf on August 13, 2021, 10:50:21 am
On the other hand, when it eventually may roll around, it'd be very sweet to get legendary dwarves teach your non-dwarf-fort residents directly, given races that don't live very long (comparatively) like humans to immigrate with well developed skills could really use the boost of a few 'Junior Apprentices' well into their 80's taught by long term resident dwarven dancers took by a mood, turning out consistent masterwork equipment for a high skill chain reaction.
Post by: DrudeFiegler on August 23, 2021, 10:22:00 am
Post by: Su on August 23, 2021, 07:30:30 pm
one thing i like about the spreadsheet aproach to labours is that you can be very specific, customising them specifically for each dwarf. this new system is certainly a step up from the interface in df classic, but i do hope that spreadsheets will still be possible in conjunction with it - in dfhack at least, if not ideally in vanilla.
Post by: Schmaven on August 24, 2021, 05:14:45 pm
Post by: clinodev on August 24, 2021, 06:32:14 pm
Thanks again for bringing the steam update posts here. I find it much easier to just expand a spoiler tag than to open a steam image in a new tab to see the full sized image with readable text and so forth :)
Cheers!
Yeah, I was super excited to see we would get more information, but I made it a priority to make sure the older communities here and on reddit and Discord saw them as well. :)
Post by: Crabs on August 25, 2021, 04:04:18 am
Post by: clinodev on August 25, 2021, 05:15:06 am
Just a quick question, will the Steam Version with the very much apprieciated UI changes still work with ASCII tileset? Because I'm seeing tons of icons in the new UI which I can't picture with ASCII.
It's honestly probably not the best place to ask questions in general, because there are threads for that, but we've been told since the beginning that both "Premium" and "Classic" will retain a traditional vanilla graphics mode.
I've read elsewhere that people who list games on Steam commit to providing all the features available elsewhere for a game to Steam customers as well for the same average price. This is apparently the reason that games on Kickstarter will have a hard end of Kickstarter sales for exclusive bonus stuff before the game releases on Steam, and probably why Paradox games for instance always seems to go on sale on Steam a week after Paradox has a sale on their own site.
Post by: PatrikLundell on August 25, 2021, 11:08:26 am
Just a quick question, will the Steam Version with the very much apprieciated UI changes still work with ASCII tileset? Because I'm seeing tons of icons in the new UI which I can't picture with ASCII.As far as I understand Premium will have Premium stuff on top of Classic stuff (plus vendor specific things). It's been said several times that the UI translation issues from Premium UI to Classic UI will be handled once the Premium UI has been stabilized, and that key bindings should be added in this phase as well.
The statements haven't been iron clad guarantees, though, so I'm still worried the release track stop will be run into at full speed before these things have been done.
Post by: Crabs on August 25, 2021, 02:58:08 pm
Well I probably won't miss classic UI but I will miss the ASCII tileset if it isn't compatible with the UI overhaul.Just a quick question, will the Steam Version with the very much apprieciated UI changes still work with ASCII tileset? Because I'm seeing tons of icons in the new UI which I can't picture with ASCII.As far as I understand Premium will have Premium stuff on top of Classic stuff (plus vendor specific things). It's been said several times that the UI translation issues from Premium UI to Classic UI will be handled once the Premium UI has been stabilized, and that key bindings should be added in this phase as well.
The statements haven't been iron clad guarantees, though, so I'm still worried the release track stop will be run into at full speed before these things have been done.
Post by: PatrikLundell on August 25, 2021, 04:39:00 pm
Regardless, if it devolves into mouse only fortress it's a death sentence as far as I'm concerned.
Post by: clinodev on August 26, 2021, 01:31:33 pm
Everything's fine on Tarn's end, just a Kitfox related delay. They're taking a well-deserved break after a game release. It should be back on schedule going forward.
Post by: Starver on August 26, 2021, 05:03:37 pm
They'reHow I read that.. :Ptaking a well-deserved breakdoing post-Beta real-time community-interactive gamepwning'testing' after a game release.
(Not that I'd blame them.)
(edit: From the looks of recent release info/chatter, "Boyfriend Dungeon". Which, from initial appearances, isn't as bad as it might sound, given some such games out there that pop up al the time in Android ads, for me. But I still need to continue to not get Kitfox and Fenoxo confused with each other on the naming basis alone.. ;) )
Post by: clinodev on August 27, 2021, 02:52:07 am
They'reHow I read that.. :Ptaking a well-deserved breakdoing post-Beta real-time community-interactive gamepwning'testing' after a game release.
(Not that I'd blame them.)
(edit: From the looks of recent release info/chatter, "Boyfriend Dungeon". Which, from initial appearances, isn't as bad as it might sound, given some such games out there that pop up al the time in Android ads, for me. But I still need to continue to not get Kitfox and Fenoxo confused with each other on the naming basis alone.. ;) )
There's clearly some games industry insider stuff there I'm missing, but I honestly think they're actually on vacation! Tanya X. Short (Captain of Kitfox, co-editor of two books with Tarn Adams) has been a long-time and outspoken anti-crunch advocate. What I've seen this week is that while the rest of the team is checking their messages from time to time, (out of habit if nothing else) Tanya herself has been the one taking bug reports and answering pressing questions.
Heh, Boyfriend Dungeon is way cuter and yet deeper, than it has any right to be.
Post by: kitfoxgames on August 27, 2021, 10:36:04 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/2948156842580837110
(https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/2948156842580837110)
Full text:
Hi again!
The game has several special locations that can be given names and which can spread out over several meeting/bedroom/etc. zones, even across different z levels. Dwarves that work in places like this have always had special labor assignments, even before we added the work detail system from the previous news update, and we need to support this in the new interface. Locations also have various other functions we've also supported now.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/7ee453ce2eead44276d028efbf6ffe246df265c6.png)
Traditionally, Dwarf Fortress has had four types of locations you can set up: taverns, temples, libraries, and, more recently, guildhalls. Taverns and libraries allow you to opt-in to more visitors from the outside world, as people come to relax and study. Since, multiple zones like meeting areas and bedrooms can be assigned to a single named location, you can make, for instance, a library which has both a scriptorium and a place for scholars to meet, or you can allow the priests in your temple to have their own private quarters which are still accounted as part of the temple.
In the tavern above, both of these tavern keepers are part-time. The first isn't specialized (the green hammer), so they'll do odd jobs all over the fort. The second is specialized, but they are also assigned to a carpenter's shop. Of course, they have little to do without any goblets! You can set the level of items stocked using the controls there. Most locations need items of different sorts.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/c58e19a595d507a2b8a8e25dd4076180a582e86d.png)
Some locations, the temple and guildhall, can be affiliated with organizations in the fortress (and in the case of religions, the entire world.) As their value increases, for instance, you can recognize the priesthood which allows you to assign the fort's priest and then high priest of that religion. The temple in the image has risen from "shrine" to "temple" status, but more migrants that belong to the Creed of Walls need to arrive before a priest can be assigned. Religions are generated during the world historical process, and priests can comfort stressed-out dwarves. Functioning guilds allow dwarves to share their skills in demonstrations.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/446566326076552ef7d6a4152143195ded9640ea.png)
For the Steam release, hospitals have joined the list of multi-zone locations! They were always one of the more involved single-purpose zones, and doctors one of the more complicated professions, so it sped up the interface-making process to just pull them over rather than trying to support their in-between oddness, ha ha. Now you can make big named multi-level hospitals now with specialized operating rooms and traction benches in the osteo ward or whatever you like, and bedrooms for the doctors to sleep in - or just throw everything together in one zone as before.
- Tarn
Post by: clinodev on August 27, 2021, 12:13:11 pm
I'm terrified that hospitals have a power requirement now, but it's probably just a typo. ;D
Post by: voliol on August 27, 2021, 01:29:58 pm
I'm terrified that hospitals have a power requirement now, but it's probably just a typo. ;DNo clino, this is proof that they have swerved over into the myth&magic arc, doctors will need magic power to cast healing spells. I'm afraid this unexpected change of direction will mean Dwarf Fortress Premium won't release until sometime in 2026. /s
Post by: saharo on September 02, 2021, 04:19:47 pm
I'm terrified that hospitals have a power requirement now, but it's probably just a typo. ;DI rather guess it’s a typo. Powder for casts, as in https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Health_care#Casts
Post by: clinodev on September 02, 2021, 07:18:11 pm
Post by: Starver on September 02, 2021, 07:37:30 pm
A waterwheel requirement for traction benches is much more interesting, though!
Spoiler: Why not both? (click to show/hide)
Post by: Urist McVoyager on September 06, 2021, 06:33:42 pm
Post by: kitfoxgames on September 09, 2021, 01:52:17 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/2949283920390370566 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/2949283920390370566)
Full Text:
Hello!
We went back this time and did some cleanup to make sure it didn't pile up on us too badly. For instance, you may have noticed in the seasonal update videos when I had the camera over three-dimensional terrain, like the hills outside, that dwarves, buildings, and items would disappear whenever they were on the lower levels - it would only print those play elements when they were on the top level being viewed. Not so hard to handle, but I never got around to it. Until now!
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/030b03b5888447dd0d029144b141fb2c20142b7e.gif)
Now you can see everything down below, not just the terrain.
And just a whole lot of other random hanging stuff over the two weeks. It's possible to deconstruct buildings now, set bins and barrel numbers on stockpiles, and place weapon traps. It highlights which object you've recentered the screen on, you can shift the info pane between contained objects and their containers, and you can pop the info pane from held items up to the creature holding them. You can move the camera now by holding and dragging with the middle mouse button in additional to the previous WASD option. It's clearer now which stockpile options are set. Flowers, cloth, and grassy stairs print correctly. You can recenter on announcements, certain mouse clicks don't bleed through menus to the map underneath, and more. Nothing earth-shattering, but all either necessary or very helpful.
But enough of that for now! We've started in on the remaining chunky to-do items, and we'll be back with some more interface updates for next time.
- Tarn
Post by: clinodev on September 09, 2021, 02:00:13 pm
It seems so soon after the last one, lol, I genuinely looked to make sure this wasn't back to back weeks this time.
Post by: Su on September 11, 2021, 06:56:03 am
Post by: kitfoxgames on September 23, 2021, 11:18:45 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/2865968678818124363
Full text:
Hello!
Tarn has been busy working on all the menu updates so while he's busy with that, we have 10 minutes of new gameplay footage from Zach in a new desert fortress! You'll be able to see many of the new menus discussed in previous updates in action:
https://youtu.be/tQfg4OxvrAQ (https://youtu.be/tQfg4OxvrAQ)
Watch as Zach digs out new areas for workshops and bedrooms using the labor and nobles menus to designate the proper spaces.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/c3e50fb6ecccb802c4c9c0c4febbbbc17b51f055.jpg)
Here is a first look at the desert terrain:
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/0191a797b9a2f0d61a55c64d47e3016f65944e50.jpg)
Here is what it looks like underground where you can see a well and some mushroom trees:
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/f580c06ba3ee00d2e0b47df80c404212228e4563.jpg)
For the full video and a list of timestamps, check out the video on Youtube. During this menu period of development we thought that showing more videos a couple times a month would be a bit more interesting so let us know what you think!
-Alexandra and Bay 12 Games
Post by: PatrikLundell on September 23, 2021, 11:57:52 am
However, I'm someone who only watches videos of games when I can't find the info in written form (where I can process it at my own pace, dwelling on things of interest and speed over the boring/irrelevant bits).
I'd probably find it of use if the videos followed the normal teaching format of first telling you what they're going to show, pointing out particular new features, then show it at a pace at which you can actually follow what's happening. The interface is unfamiliar, so watchers won't immediately know what the menus they see are, where they'll show up, and what they contain, so the pace ought to match that.
Post by: Uthimienure on September 23, 2021, 12:50:15 pm
One small thing that annoyed me right from the start was when dwarfs drop boulders down the hole, you can't see the boulders as they fall down. It made me wonder if they were dropping them or canceling their job and carrying them off as they left.
Thanks for the update... Cheers to the Adams brothers & KitFox!
Post by: Schmaven on September 23, 2021, 05:28:54 pm
Post by: Mobbstar on September 24, 2021, 04:24:29 am
I hope the music from the video is part of the premium version's sound track, it was quite nice to listen to :) Also, due to my youtube streaming quality, I appreciate the still screen shots a lot as much of that artistic detail was not apparent. Keep up the great work!
According to a comment on youtube/steam (can't recall which) it is the default Autumn track.
Youtube lets you buffer high quality if you set it manually and wait.
btw I greatly appreciate the video!
Post by: DwarfStar on September 25, 2021, 12:33:04 pm
https://youtu.be/uwprO_VRGsY
It's a bit like how DF development often leans on community support, which is one of the more interesting things about its production.
Post by: kitfoxgames on October 07, 2021, 01:24:04 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/2996574255984686354 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/2996574255984686354)
Full text:
Hello!
We have another video update this week. We have listened to your feedback so this time, we will be showcasing one specific task. This video shows digging out an underground well and setting up the cistern/water supply for it.
https://youtu.be/d6XnQyl_c84 (https://youtu.be/d6XnQyl_c84)
It's a little confusing because of the Z level changes, but I think that'll always be true without a voice over, and even then, it's still there. It's much easier to understand Z levels when you play, so this may end up being one of the more challenging subjects for a video, since it involves several Z levels.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/071665499fa06e5117f43c0cbf39d28e2b24acd5.jpg)
Over in Tarn land, I've been working on the military screen, and progress has been good.The internal rewrite that I thought might take days or even a week or more is done, quickly, so we're in good shape. I've done all the squad assignment stuff and the new order interface. Now, having done the internal equipment rewrite, I need to do the equipment and scheduling interface.
For the full video and a list of timestamps, check out the video on Youtube. Please continue to give us feedback on these videos as we continue to go through these menu-heavy updates.
-Alexandra and Bay 12 Games
Post by: PlumpHelmetMan on October 07, 2021, 02:01:43 pm
Post by: clinodev on October 07, 2021, 04:37:01 pm
Post by: Schmaven on October 07, 2021, 06:40:52 pm
Youtube lets you buffer high quality if you set it manually and wait.
That makes all the difference, wow!
Post by: scriver on October 08, 2021, 04:16:54 am
Over in Tarn land
What in tarnnation
Post by: CohentheBarbarian on October 12, 2021, 03:16:24 am
Quote
What in tarnnation
I've herd those places are all Tarnished
Post by: [HYBRID BEING] on October 12, 2021, 03:35:28 pm
- Smooth camera movement (with adjustable speed). Right now camera jerks a lot, especially with Shift, it'd be easier to follow if camera actually moved instead of jumping around.
- Toggleable snapping of the camera to grid. Without snapping, using middle mouse button to drag camera around would be way more convenient (although, i didn't see current implementation in action). WASD could in turn move camera at adjustable speed, with Shift multiplying that speed.
- Moving camera by moving mouse against screen borders (with snapping either on and off). Would work in the same manner as WASD, may or may not be modifiable by Shift. Biggest concern is playing in non-fullscreen, but that's solvable.
- Some kind of noticeable elevation change indicator (up/down)? Might not be very useful for players themselves, but would probably help a lot for streams and recordings.
- Smooth transition between elevations? Not sure how that could be pulled of, though. Maybe make top layer grow a bit and fade (simulating getting closer to camera) to show descent, and reverse - to show ascent? Might work as "indicator", but, then again, no idea how that would look when elevation is changed rapidly...
Post by: kitfoxgames on October 21, 2021, 11:56:41 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3029226631979231617 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3029226631979231617)
Full text:
Hello!
We a special video this week featuring Zach Adams of Bay12 Games showing how to defend your fort from a goblin siege.
https://youtu.be/hAznS9QBKME (https://youtu.be/hAznS9QBKME)
This time, Zach has set up a waterfall fort with a pen of exotic large animals. It's a very appealing site for goblins! But as you'll see, in the video, they will face a hallway full of different traps to stop them.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/08bf0d6c184d9bd0d23dc8b990a60e2f0700b1d0.png)
For the full video and a list of timestamps, check out the video on Youtube. Thank you to everyone for the feedback on these last few video updates. Please continue to do so and as always, come visit us on the Kitfox Discord: https://discord.gg/Zcm2q8MMxh (https://discord.gg/Zcm2q8MMxh)!
-Alexandra and Bay 12 Games
Post by: PatrikLundell on October 22, 2021, 03:38:00 am
- I believe the setting to forbid stuff during a siege is a new one (and a really handy one, if it works as it ought to, which the kid behavior indicates it either wasn't, or there should be a second setting that wasn't activated).
Post by: Gentlefish on October 25, 2021, 05:05:18 pm
It's much easier to understand what the video wants to showcase now with Zach's commentary, although I'd still want to see a bit more highlighting of new features, such as dwelling a bit on the modified squad screen.I think kids just like to misbehave. That'd be neat, and make Dwarven Childcare relevant again lmao.
- I believe the setting to forbid stuff during a siege is a new one (and a really handy one, if it works as it ought to, which the kid behavior indicates it either wasn't, or there should be a second setting that wasn't activated).
Lovely video, though the webcam overlay unfortunately blocked the squad commands mentioned by Zach. Can't wait for subjective time to catch up to reality!
Post by: Timeless Bob on October 26, 2021, 07:41:16 am
Post by: clinodev on October 27, 2021, 06:52:45 am
Post by: kitfoxgames on November 04, 2021, 10:26:53 am
This week's video is all about setting up patrol routes with the new military screens. The gameplay is from Zach but we also have guest commentary from Dwarf Fortress Youtuber and Twitch streamer, Blind: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcqk8pdIsCFU32ofbjJkzOg (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcqk8pdIsCFU32ofbjJkzOg).
Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/c3JQH_IXVwQ (https://youtu.be/c3JQH_IXVwQ)
This time, we see a fort in need of defending and we must create and equip squads of dwarves to patrol the outside walls. In the military screen, we can designate the type of equipment each dwarf should use, allowing them to seek it out and equip it.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/e76c63cc42304e473ee4bfa6eefca1885d91e15b.jpg)
Once we have our squads formed, we can map out the patrol route (as shown below with the dotted lines) and watch as the dwarves follow the path.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/adab0aaebac90e05f837912aea9525745d519d0a.jpg)
For the full video and a list of timestamps, check out the video on Youtube. Thank you to Blind for helping us with this week's update. If you're a Dwarf Fortress content creator (or want to be one), please visit us on the Kitfox Discord:https://discord.gg/Zcm2q8MMxh (https://discord.gg/Zcm2q8MMxh) and/or say hi to me (Alexandra#0007) and the rest of the urists!
-Alexandra and Bay 12 Games
Post by: Mobbstar on November 04, 2021, 11:36:24 am
Post by: FantasticDorf on November 04, 2021, 01:17:29 pm
- also, designing art and UI for button functions that currently dont work? I really hope toady gets to it sometime pre-release dev cycle, since if it is being shipped out in still a bit of a broken state, you could add the buttons back in when they're ready.
Looking good! Is it still possible to select individual squad members (instead of the whole squads)?
Toady's covered it in the main bay12 blog post in writing as being possible, a demonstration though of perhaps moving a individual dwarf to scout out the new foggy underground would be quite appreciated.
Post by: [HYBRID BEING] on November 14, 2021, 02:41:04 am
Post by: kitfoxgames on November 22, 2021, 02:18:00 pm
Unfortunately, we've decided to end our partnership with Meph, although we wish him well in the future. Meph was working on many of the sprites for the Steam version of Dwarf Fortress. It is disappointing to all of us personally, but only a minor setback for the project - Kitfox is already talking to a couple of other artists to help us finish things up. We believe this is the best way forward, and that it won't delay the game significantly.
We'll need to rework some of the art behind the scenes, so there might not be screenshots or videos for a little while, but programming on the menus and things is ongoing. There's still some months of code work to do while the new artist(s) get up to speed, so everything should end up on track
-Tarn and Kitfox Games
P.S. We at Kitfox hope you have a cozy day with your loved ones this weekend, whether you're celebrating American Thanksgiving, Indigenous history, or just for fun!
Post by: Blomquistador on November 22, 2021, 02:45:43 pm
Unfortunately, we've decided to end our partnership with Meph,
Don't know if you can say, but does it have anything to do with the art licensing Fiasco with Meph's tileset? Wish everyone the best of luck.
Post by: Rekov on November 22, 2021, 03:11:17 pm
Post by: Uthimienure on November 22, 2021, 04:13:29 pm
Post by: Rekov on November 22, 2021, 05:23:19 pm
For anyone that's been reading the forum, the answer to Blomquistador's question is as obvious as a sore thumb.Right now we can make a whole bunch of guesses and nothing else. You are obviously referring to the uncredited/questionably acquired content that is part of Meph's mod/tileset, but that is all that I know.
Did Kitfox fire Meph for something he did in a free tileset several years ago?
Or did Kitfox fire Meph for doing something in the present, while working on a paid project?
That is not a trivial difference.
We'll need to rework some of the art behind the scenes.Why is this content being reworked? Was it of questionable provenance, as before? Or was it merely unfinished content? Again, this is not a trivial distinction.
Will Kitfox be redoing all of Meph's work so far, or merely some? In other words, are they willing to take his work, but just not him?
All of these questions bear a lot of weight on how Kitfox and Meph should be judged going forward.
Post by: clinodev on November 22, 2021, 05:35:28 pm
To do so would potentially open at least Bay 12 up to lawsuits.
Seriously, if he'd burned their offices down, filmed himself doing it, and uploaded it to YouTube for the world to watch, they'd be advised to say pretty much the same thing.
Post by: Starver on November 22, 2021, 06:08:09 pm
Did Kitfox fire Meph for something he did in a free tileset several years ago?...Or did Meph even make the decision, for any number of reasons possibly even not majorly anything to do with what we think we know, but in the language of business "We decided to accept his resignation" (such a cliché of its own, that it positively invites possible (mis)reading between the lines) is not a valid option with which to officially convey this.
Or did Kitfox fire Meph for doing something in the present, while working on a paid project?
I was going to stay quiet, but I've just been at a meeting where I've had to disentangle the between-the-lines meanings of various proposed agenda items for a future meeting and I'm still largely reprogrammed to analyse everything down to the exact punctuation. But respecting Meph (and all the other 'names' known as being in this project, Tarn on down) and also Kitfox (as an organisation) I'm not in this instance going try to pin them all down and get them to explicitly say what they all may have no wish, need and/or authority to say.
And by begging various questions (or even saying things that, in the absence of an impossible-to-give denial, might end up resulting in much further misconstruing) the situation isn't helped.
I advise caution, and not jumping to (or leaping into) conclusions. There's no benefit in doing so.
Post by: Blomquistador on November 22, 2021, 09:27:11 pm
Post by: Criperum on November 23, 2021, 04:11:28 pm
Post by: Meph on November 24, 2021, 04:35:05 am
- I added uncredited art in my private tileset in 2016/17. Back then I didn't knew better, it was the first time working with sprites. I came from modding, I was more interested in actually putting pictures in the game using TWBT and dfhack, not drawing pictures myself.
- Over the years I learned about licencing and starting taking it more serious; I also started drawing my own sprites.
- I then got hired by Kitfox to work on the Steam release. They initially wanted to use my tileset as the base, but I told them that's not possible because a lot of sprites are from other sources.
- We then decided to start a new tileset from scratch, with Mike as the designer and me mostly doing variations/edits of his sprites and working out the intricacies of where to add which sprites, how to display ingame info, etc. Things I'm used from modding.
- Mike ended up having far less time than expected, so I had to step up and draw original sprites too.
- Vettlingr stumbled over my copyright violations from 2016/17 in my private set and very publically alerted both me and Kitfox about it.
- I took my personal tileset down and Kitfox convened with their laweyrs about what to do. The safest course of action for the Steam release is to distance themself from me, so my contract was terminated and all original artwork I did for them removed. They will probably keep the edits I did of Mikes sprites.
The situations sucks for everyone involved, but please refrain from attacking anyone, be it vettlingr, Kitfox or me. Vettlingr did something right, just in a rather blunt way. Kitfox acts like a responsible business, just a tad bit inpersonal. And I did something wrong, and now I'll carry the consequences, which is fair.
I know that Tarn is still working on the UI and I foresee a lot of time for optimization in that regard, because the UI is, as everyone here knows, not the strong suit of DF. In the meantime Kitfox is asking around other community artists that might replace me and help Mike finish what was started.
I myself will take a break from DF, since I can't work on the Steam release any longer; my own project of the last 5 years imploded; and working on a new community tileset with all the insider knowledge I have of the Steam release would be... odd? Unfair? I'm not sure.
I'll answer Rekovs questions for now, but I probably won't be around here much, so please don't send more my way. I'm not even sure what Kitfox thinks about me posting those answers.
Quote
Did Kitfox fire Meph for something he did in a free tileset several years ago?Yep.
Quote
Or did Kitfox fire Meph for doing something in the present, while working on a paid project?Nope.
Quote
Why is this content being reworked? Was it of questionable provenance, as before? Or was it merely unfinished content?To be extra safe. Technically I am a "questionable provenance" from their point of view.
Quote
Will Kitfox be redoing all of Meph's work so far, or merely some? In other words, are they willing to take his work, but just not him?As far as I know, they plan to redo the original sprites I did; they plan to keep the edits/variations I did based on Mikes sprites. I have no idea what happens with the replaced sprites, but I assume that they will never see the light of day. Would be cool to see them as community assetts for non-commercial tilesets in future, but I don't expect that to happen.
Post by: PatrikLundell on November 25, 2021, 03:36:43 am
It's the sanest thing so far in this mess. Explaining exactly what happened staves off speculation (and people wonder where conspiracy theories come from when all the available info is "no comment", "non disclosure", "classified", etc. bullshit?).
Good luck in the future. If nothing else, you've got some rather valuable experience that hopefully can be of use in future endeavors.
Post by: Novaris on November 26, 2021, 09:07:20 am
Post by: kitfoxgames on December 02, 2021, 11:52:12 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3108043507796301622 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3108043507796301622)
Full text:
Hello!
We are happy to announce Jacob Bowman to the Dwarf Fortress Steam edition team as our new pixel artist. You might be familiar with his work as Ironhand, as he created a rather popular tileset some years ago. We're excited to work with him, and he's already off to a great start making brand new tiles for us.
Here is a look at some of the art (both are works in progress!!) Jacob has made so far on the world map:
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/5825ffd417bc6b1e936942d4762af2746bcc71d1.png)
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/041bc92ab41abdd81b8ae320e2b9f9be3419708d.png)
Look at those wormy hills and deep water! A world worth generating and spiralling into madness in, surely.
We will have more detailed updates with more images and video coming in the future as Jacob and the team works together, but I'm sure you'll agree that it's best not to rush Tarn and Zach so much that we add more bugs in haste. Thank you for being patient with us while we sort things out.
We are also still interested in talking to content creators (streamers, YouTubers, etc) interested doing more with Dwarf Fortress. If that is you, then let's chat on Discord! (Alexandra #0007)
-Alexandra, Tanya, and Bay 12 Games
Post by: Strife26 on December 04, 2021, 10:44:41 pm
Post by: PatrikLundell on December 05, 2021, 05:06:31 am
Definitely a shame all around.That comment makes little sense, at you haven't produced any reference as to what the general all around thing you think is shameful actually is. I don't see anything in the preceding official post itself that would warrant condemnation. I can make guesses about other events that you might refer to, though, but that would be just that: guesses.
Post by: scriver on December 05, 2021, 07:51:44 am
Post by: Shinotsa on December 05, 2021, 09:46:57 am
Post by: gchristopher on December 06, 2021, 01:18:47 pm
Post by: Nopal on December 06, 2021, 05:43:31 pm
We are happy to announce Jacob Bowman to the Dwarf Fortress Steam edition team as our new pixel artist.I will now buy your game.
We are also still interested in talking to content creators (streamers, YouTubers, etc)cringe
Post by: PatrikLundell on December 07, 2021, 07:34:09 am
It's pretty reasonable to assume by context it's about Meph having to leave?It's not an unreasonable speculation, but it remains a speculation (or guess, if you will).
Post by: DogsRNice on December 10, 2021, 08:37:10 pm
Steam Community Update 2 December 2021: New Artist and World Map Progress:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3108043507796301622 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3108043507796301622)
Full text:
Hello!
We are happy to announce Jacob Bowman to the Dwarf Fortress Steam edition team as our new pixel artist. You might be familiar with his work as Ironhand, as he created a rather popular tileset some years ago. We're excited to work with him, and he's already off to a great start making brand new tiles for us.
Here is a look at some of the art (both are works in progress!!) Jacob has made so far on the world map:
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/5825ffd417bc6b1e936942d4762af2746bcc71d1.png)
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/041bc92ab41abdd81b8ae320e2b9f9be3419708d.png)
Look at those wormy hills and deep water! A world worth generating and spiralling into madness in, surely.
We will have more detailed updates with more images and video coming in the future as Jacob and the team works together, but I'm sure you'll agree that it's best not to rush Tarn and Zach so much that we add more bugs in haste. Thank you for being patient with us while we sort things out.
We are also still interested in talking to content creators (streamers, YouTubers, etc) interested doing more with Dwarf Fortress. If that is you, then let's chat on Discord! (Alexandra #0007)
-Alexandra, Tanya, and Bay 12 Games
For a “work in progress” this looks better than a lot of entire games
Post by: JonathanStrangeBT on December 12, 2021, 10:21:00 am
We are also still interested in talking to content creators (streamers, YouTubers, etc) interested doing more with Dwarf Fortress. If that is you, then let's chat on Discord! (Alexandra #0007)
Friend request sent, as I see no way of sending messages before hand. I'm starting my first Twitch run of the current game soon (2nd run overall).
Post by: clinodev on December 12, 2021, 04:02:39 pm
We are also still interested in talking to content creators (streamers, YouTubers, etc) interested doing more with Dwarf Fortress. If that is you, then let's chat on Discord! (Alexandra #0007)
Friend request sent, as I see no way of sending messages before hand. I'm starting my first Twitch run of the current game soon (2nd run overall).
The easiest and most common way to get enough of a connection to send messages would be to share a Discord server, such as the Kitfox Games Discord (https://discord.gg/kitfoxgames).
Post by: kitfoxgames on December 16, 2021, 12:33:53 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/5973460047023572527 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/5973460047023572527)
Full text:
Greetings all!
Yes, it's true! Tarn is back with a new video for an update many of you have been waiting for.
This time around we get to see the new and improved embark screen in all it's glory!
https://youtu.be/6l0HB8Qb2Cw (https://youtu.be/6l0HB8Qb2Cw)
The highlight for old players is that it is not at all like the stunningly crappy embark screen from the ASCII version. This isn't an overstatement at all - the old embark screen is remarkably bad; people have made many remarks in fact.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/471d2b565a0b5e2e8727ff1a53d71c3ceef2bcf9.jpg)
For new players/future players, the highlight is perhaps that you can embark anywhere in a massive generated world with various meaningful differences, and also the general new shininess, and of course the new artist!
Check out the full video on the Kitfox Youtube channel.
You can catch us and other rad Dwarf Fortress fans over at the Kitfox Games Discord.
Thank you to all the Dwarf Fortress content creators for reaching out so far, it's been lovely meeting all of you and please do continue to reach out if you haven't yet!
See you next time,
Alexandra and Bay 12
Post by: Starver on December 16, 2021, 06:05:41 pm
...but then with the caveat that it took work to find similarly least-unmatching sites, because it would send you to just the one (you had to manually trawl over green-matching spots on the megamap to maybe find the others.
What would be good is a hierarchical fuzzy-matcher. Perhaps keeping a list of the top 100-or-so matches (dribbling into least-unmatched by hardcoded or user-definable metric of acceptibility) and/or when Site-Finding with initially loose parameters seeing hints that asking for higher temperatures would reduce the current sitelist from 50 to 20, while asking for low rainfall would reduce it to none!
(Ah, what I did here was change from "looks good, but don't forget..." into suggestions for game changes that are probably already covered by either Toady or potentially 3rd-parties. And someone'll point out I missed this actually existing. Ah well...)
[1] And maybe it's covered in the video, that I have yet to see, but I rather got into the cycling through elevation/slopiness/etc views to build up a 3+dimensional mental map. I hope that isn't removed. I presume like a Google Maps switch between default, terrain and photographic, there's something available here...
Post by: voliol on December 16, 2021, 08:47:10 pm
Post by: Starver on December 18, 2021, 06:39:33 pm
Certainly gives a more newbie-friendly view. And no doubt I could get used to it along with everything else that's being
Post by: Fortressmaker on December 25, 2021, 02:08:50 am
Even happier
Post by: kitfoxgames on January 13, 2022, 11:33:01 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3108047224245566889 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3108047224245566889)
Full text:
Hello! Back to work in 2022, and something different: Legends Mode! When you start Dwarf Fortress, you generate a world that you can play several games in, and this world's history can be quite involved. Sometimes it's fun for a change of pace to sift through the details. Once you've played a fortress, your fortress's characters and events are also incorporated into the legends.
In the text version of Dwarf Fortress, navigating legends is quite difficult; you can only view one page at a time, and you cannot move directly from one entry to another. To build up any kind of meaningful story or to view even a few different pages of information, you'd pretty much need to be writing things down on paper or in an outside text editor. Now, we enter the Age of the Hyperlink:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/53dc91377f54e1a26b9a467fd906765d096ef872.png)
Every colorful word, which I'll probably also underline before the end, can be clicked to open up a new page. You can keep as many tabs open as you like.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/f4ab442af45d0dd7bade7561376c80971de13666.png)
I wanted to figure out a little bit about the master goblin poet and their spouse and such. It only took a few seconds and I didn't need to take any outside notes, ha ha. So far, so good!
- Tarn
Post by: scriver on January 13, 2022, 12:44:13 pm
Post by: Immortal-D on January 13, 2022, 06:28:31 pm
Post by: dash2 on January 26, 2022, 09:37:12 am
Post by: kitfoxgames on January 27, 2022, 12:25:46 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4975916532672871198
Full text:
Hey!
It's Alexandra here from Kitfox. We have just a bit of news this week building off of the major update to Legends Mode. During world generation, a text box will appear displaying the significant events of the area.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/95ce4ba53840fc668053509a0aadccfd08603d1c.png)
The most important of the last 1000 events are added every second. Players will be able to pause and browse the chronicle at their speed so you can dive into the lore of your world before it's even saved! Unlike in Legends mode, the colourful text isn't clickable although this could change in the future.
Work is moving along very well but the news for the next while will be a tad dry and lacking graphics. This means that there might not be an update every two weeks, but rest assured we are moving forward. To make up for it, here are some new pictures of Scamps and Jojo:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/8432f294ea4f4443891c04396084e5107efcd556.jpg)
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/7af8579a0c49db928eae8dd2f14fcaa7efb5e471.jpg)
-Alexandra + Bay12
Post by: scriver on January 28, 2022, 08:59:21 am
Post by: kitfoxgames on February 10, 2022, 12:28:28 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/5893526236318022998 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/5893526236318022998)
Full text:
Hey!
It's Alexandra again from Kitfox with a bit of dwarfy news. I know I said last time things were going to be a bit slow, but we still have a few things to share. We wanted to show you what a fully generated world looks like and Jacob has created a map legend with all new sprites!
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/bc12d7061e4b8d4de7af790710e02a085e1a4d79.png)
See full size map: https://imgur.com/a/StnOP0J (https://imgur.com/a/StnOP0J)
This is a medium sized world and we are still working on a few visual details here. You'll notice there are no caves for example, because they end up being very numerous and mess up the look a bit. The rivers are also a little wonky at the moment but they will be fixed. The underworld spire goblin cities should be distinguished - right now they look like the regular goblin forts (in ASCII, these were the difference between dark magenta and the much rarer light magenta symbols).
In our next update, we will be sharing a roadmap of what is left to do and approximate time it will take to finish. These aren't going to be firm, but we want to be as transparent as we can about development.
See you next time!
- Alexandra + Bay 12
P.S.
An earlier version of this post said the sprites had been created by Patrick. I later edited it to reflect the correct artist, Jacob. Sorry about that to both artists!
Post by: Mobbstar on February 10, 2022, 01:00:12 pm
Are the dark brown blobs dark pits? If so, what's the difference between them and other two variants with a structure on them? As plentiful as they are, they look strange to me.
I assume the light brown castles are an old symbol for camps.
Volcanoes and mountains look fantastic. Will volcanoes always have the mountain appearance regardless of elevation? (Context: Currently, flat volcanoes are possible, albeit rare. They're essentially lava lakes.)
Post by: Nordlicht on February 11, 2022, 08:51:44 am
Post by: Eric Blank on February 11, 2022, 06:01:17 pm
What looks weird is the Itty bitty hamlet and hillock hovels next to the huge monastery and fort symbols. And you can't tell right off the bat if a town has a keep. Including a little keep with the houses for human market towns would look great.
Post by: scriver on February 14, 2022, 05:31:45 am
Volcanoes and mountains look fantastic. Will volcanoes always have the mountain appearance regardless of elevation? (Context: Currently, flat volcanoes are possible, albeit rare. They're essentially lava lakes.)
I can't tell what is a volcano, what to they look like?
Post by: Ziusudra on February 14, 2022, 05:45:09 am
I can't tell what is a volcano, what to they look like?There's an island one on the right side, just below the legend on the latest image (https://i.imgur.com/Aj5QCiH.png).
Post by: scriver on February 14, 2022, 03:53:19 pm
Post by: kitfoxgames on February 23, 2022, 01:27:30 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3099043827445055732 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3099043827445055732)
Full text:
Hello!
Work has now progressed to the point that we feel like we can share a plan for the next several months of development, all the way up to the release. It has been a long road of course, and I'm sorry it has taken so much time to get to this point, but as it turns out there was an awful lot of stuff to do ha ha. And there's still quite a bit left to go.
We need to maintain some flexibility to react to feedback or emerging circumstances, so the following can't be set in stone. But hopefully it offers something of an idea about what's up. I know there are various levels of patience out there. All we can do is keep at it and try to plan the next steps carefully.
Here's the rough roadmap:
1. Finish the menus that haven't been upgraded yet. These include the graphics and layout for justice, health, diplomacy, and hauling. These aren't small tasks; each will take weeks. I'll also be working with Jacob during this period on the sprites we need to update throughout the project. He submitted the new weapons recently, for instance, and I also got a new batch of music from the composer. It's important to get these things incorporated in a timely fashion so everybody can keep working.
2. As the menus are finished, and the graphics updates are completed, we'll move on to some important interface and usability improvements (tooltips everywhere, Xs to close windows, hotkey support, etc). Some of these can be done fairly quickly, but a few are chunky additions, and there are lots of them to do. After this part is done, the game should be much easier to get into. At the same time, we'll also be continuing to add graphics (flows, the ocean and beach, some more shadows, etc.)
3. All this time, of course, we've been fixing old bugs and making new bugs and fixing them, and here we'll need to focus and spend some quality time with them, so that we have as smooth a launch as possible.
4. We're not sure what level of Steam Workshop will be needed for modding support, and it needs investigation.
5. The old ASCII version has other game modes - Adventure mode, Legends mode, and Arena mode. We've made significant progress on Legends mode, but we haven't done anything with Adventure mode and Arena mode yet. We also have the Classic ASCII mode to support, and we are also working on Mac and Linux builds.
6. There's the matter of Steam achievements and the other various Steam features. We'd like to support whatever people are into here, eventually.
When we finish the first three points, we'll have the playable fort game on Windows. The path ahead is now shorter than the path behind, and looking at the amount of graphics left to produce and the amount of menus to update, it looks like our earliest possible launch date would be in the fall. Many of the things from #5 or #6 will delay the launch significantly, and this leads to some very hard questions indeed! I know most of you want us to launch the game as soon as it is feasible, so we've been thinking about what it might look like to do some of #5 or #6 post-launch.
We'd been hoping to have more of these later items done faster, of course, but a few things happened. Well, 2020 and 2021 happened, ha ha. Also, my original plan for how Classic mode might be implemented has only partially panned out. I made an ASCII friendly interface layer, which'll be a great help, but I underestimated how long it would take to retool all of the smaller clickable buttons into an ASCII-friendly state. A few menus will need to be redone from scratch, and my current thinking is that doing ASCII versions of the menus alone would take a few months. I'd mostly been accounting for keeping and adapting the ASCII glyphs we already had in place, with some alterations to support for example the ability to see multiple Z levels, but the menus have changed so much it's now a much larger project. The hard question then is do we want to delay the initial release to do this? Or launch, and then do the free update after.
Adventure mode is straightforward in its way. I don't expect it'll have many real development gotchas, but it does have dozens of menus, some of them quite complex. So similarly, that'll be months of work to complete. It's an important part of the game and has figured into some of the most well-known DF community stories, but it's also separate enough from Fortress mode that we can conceive of letting people get their hands on fort mode first. Again, delay or launch?
We'll be pondering this and considering feedback. We'll eventually get to everything; it's just a matter of the best order to do things, with a different right answer for different players, frustratingly enough! I'm grateful for how patient people have been in general, especially with everything going on, and thankful for the support we've gotten from the community and Kitfox as we try to get this initial release together.
We'll continue to keep you posted with regular news updates.
-Tarn
Post by: ruiruirui on February 23, 2022, 03:40:19 pm
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on February 23, 2022, 10:32:29 pm
Can't be helped I suppose. But also can't help feeling that there will never be a "let's implement Adventurer" focused few months development period and it'll just be put off constantly.
Post by: Eric Blank on February 23, 2022, 11:23:21 pm
Post by: Mr Crabman on February 24, 2022, 04:03:14 am
An early access sounds nice, but adventure mode is a must-have for me. and that's a lot of gameplay missing. I would personally like to see that at least playable without graphical support, but it sounds like it won't be possible to play it at all until the menus are done, so the graphics for them will come along with.
My guess from what we've seen before is actually that it would work exactly the same as it does now, just with the better graphics for the world/things in the world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYS-kNvgXR8
You can see in that video the stockpile interface (and worldgen) was still there; it looks like Toady has to actually manually remove the old ASCII interface and keybinds and then re-implement them. That video, plus the fact that we've seen graphical screenshots of adventure mode before (there was a donkey with lots of stuff packed on its back in one), indicates that adventure mode will work as it does now, just with the different rendering for the world itself.
Post by: victor11 on March 02, 2022, 11:21:47 pm
Post by: Kooky on March 03, 2022, 11:14:49 pm
I’ve been playing Dwarf Fortress on and off since about 2010. It will hook me, let me go, and get me again later, just like many of you. If you would have asked me the release question 4 weeks ago, I would have been firmly in the delay camp. I haven’t been a long time supporter of Bay12, I sent Toady just a single $5 check what seems an eternity ago.
This last week I was diagnosed with Stage IV bile duct cancer, with a very poor prognosis. Obviously anything can happen, and willpower and new treatments can change things. Even still, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to see graphical DF on the ‘also includes adventure mode’ timetable. So, I will go ahead and say that I choose the earlier ‘Fortress + Legends’ release. And, it’s not just that I want to play it (and I do), but I want the chance to get to watch the gaming world fall in love with this thing Tarn and Zach made that’s just been hiding in plain sight from everyone. Toady, know that I purchased today on Itch.io, so now I’m in for $25. Toady, please know that this is the greatest value deal I’ve ever gotten in my whole life as a gamer.
Thank You
-Kooky
Post by: King Mir on March 04, 2022, 02:00:18 am
Or to put it more politely, most DF players are drawn to DF for fort mode, not adventure mode. Releasing a product that includes only the best parts of DF currently, earlier, is a sound business decision.
Post by: Libertine Angel on March 04, 2022, 06:32:18 pm
Post by: Rumrusher on March 06, 2022, 05:42:50 am
Though I don't know if this is 'adv mode not going to be in premium if launched early' or 'adv mode would be stuck in an 47.05 era-like state if launched early.'
The latter seems more reasonable for me but I can see folks getting slightly upset, the former might burn some folks completely who been waiting to play Premium adventure mode and getting to hear the premium adventure mode music at launch(which now thinking about it probably might be true with the latter on the music side of things).
Oh wait this isn't just adventure mode but also linux and mac builds of dwarf fortress being set to 'patch in later' so window fort mode only players get a chance at the game early.
So yeah I'm for delaying the release.
Post by: Starver on March 06, 2022, 02:33:45 pm
For the players' sakes, those who are actually chomping at the bit for whatever reason[2] I'm appreciative that there's also good reasons for getting something out without too much delay. If it's something that fails to work well, that would be the worst of all worlds, so I hope the right balance is chosen in such a case.
Future players..? I'm less bothered about early-release for them. Anyone who doesn't know what they're missing can probably be better astounded by the more fully-formed game, than enticed in with a retro-featured compromise that underwhelms.
But there are far more concerns. The general passage of time rapidly erodes all potential futures. Such is life. If any of the parties involved disappears/becomes uninterested then there are major hiccoughs to overcome (already seen with the recent artist switch-over, though that itself seems to not be doing much to the schedule). But releasing early might miss out on going with a 'killer app' paradigm (literally a "game changer") that could be advantageous.
Squaring that circle is not easy. I'm inclined to let Tarn decide what works for him. Without his commitment, there's nothing. Adding further external demands isn't going to help, and there are probably far more than enough suggestions. Especially from someone like me, who probably isn't in the primary Steam-release market, though I hope I can still become a later-adopter. (It's for this reason that I thought long and hard about saying anything - hence why I've apparently said everything, to nullify any usefulness at all!)
[1] There will always be incomplete and incompletely-tuned bits. Not a comment about Tarn's approach, it's an issue pretty much universal to any development. At least we know we're likely to get an "Ooops, I'll fix that!" from this developer, wherever possible... Others have been known to patch things up, at best, then call it a day.
[2] @Kooky: All my best wishes for you, BTW. Sincerely so.
Post by: FantasticDorf on March 06, 2022, 05:37:57 pm
I was going to say previously that a lack of adventuremode would deprive exploration of worldy details players like myself get a kick out of thinking about how the fortress is part of this interesting generated world with topography and people building out of strange house materials (stonesense builds are popularly photogenic as ever, especially with ways to show it off naturally with the premium multiz it being natural), but i think there's more ways to get around this if players can just observe from a similar first person perspective, zoom out, jump between, it would definitely tick a checkbox for myself with combat and all other things of being a physical being being optional barriers to the non-violent/non interactive adventuremode touristy option.
Post by: PlumpHelmetMan on March 07, 2022, 09:41:25 am
Post by: darkhog on March 08, 2022, 03:58:38 pm
//edit: There's no need for Workshop/achievement support on release either, that kind of thing can be added later on.
Post by: kitfoxgames on March 16, 2022, 09:52:33 am
Full text:
Hello!
Jacob has been working hard on graphics, and we have some new capabilities there as well. He's prepared palettes for all of the material colors. Some community members (Lexi, Jenifer, and Rose) did a lot of work in particular on wood colors back around 2017, and the ASCII version only ever showed them as one brown color, ha ha, but now you can see all sorts of wood colors. Here are some bedrooms with new furniture images for stone cabinets, wooden chests (the planned ones use the old image), stone doors, and stone hatches:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/d1b68cadb4dcd37a207bde58e91a55447fa08f27.png)
And here's a happy colorful tomb with new wooden casket images, using specialized wood color palettes (so a 'red' wood object and a 'red' stone or metal object use different color sets.)
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/a12716d9fdb6cc8c7173e7c746ec02a86b94793a.png)
The pictures here use a pretty random mix to show the palette variety, but you can select the material while you're building or placing furniture if you'd like to arrange items according to color.
I've been updating the remaining menus as we work through the first step of the roadmap we posted last time. I've finished the justice menu (aside from interrogation reports), the petition system, and I'm about halfway through diplomacy. The dwarven justice system covers crimes from bar fights to vampiric bloodsucking, and punishment can be anything from a few days in jail to a reforging by the hammerer. The petition system is used by people that want to become residents of your fortress who are not from your selected dwarven culture, and also by religions and craft guilds who want recognition and spaces devoted to their groups.
- Tarn
Post by: [HYBRID BEING] on March 16, 2022, 10:19:21 am
Post by: Bumber on March 18, 2022, 02:18:30 am
Weird perspective strikes again!
Post by: Timeless Bob on March 23, 2022, 06:54:17 am
To have that rich history available in stories and books, (rather than the current one line teasers) would make this Steam release really pop. Adventure mode, when it comes along, would benefit from this also.
Post by: Mr Crabman on March 23, 2022, 09:10:06 am
IMHO Dwarf fortress really shines with the creation of historical relevance. As fortress after fortress populates the world, the fact that the histories continue to happen "off the screen" and don't particularly focus on what the Player Fortresses do or don't do (unless the Players decide to go full aggro with armies and suchlike), really sets this game out from all the other roguelike city builders. Legend mode is almost impenetrable without 3rd party "translators", (or people like me who relentlessly research, gathering facts and linking genealogies to reveal historical connections.) To be able to have those histories available in the game as "stories" or "books" would blow all other similar games out of the way. The current single fact story or book about something are hooks into Legend Mode. It woukd be amazing to have those hooks directly access Legend Mode via a link in-game, revealing further links to other names, other histories: an entire wikia of crosslinked rabbit hole exploration. It makes the Dwarf Fortress game that much more massive to come out of one of these deep dives with the realization that your carpenter was once the daughter of the deposed queen or that the reason your new migrant has ranks in discipline and swords is because they participated in a desperate battle last year to retake a cave and had to then defend it from a FB that came rampaging up from below...
To have that rich history available in stories and books, (rather than the current one line teasers) would make this Steam release really pop. Adventure mode, when it comes along, would benefit from this also.
I hear Toady says it would be technically possible (easy even) to make Legends mode browsable while playing fort or adventure mode, but the problem is that it kind of reveals too much; like, vampires wouldn't be able to hide their identity, and you'd know about armies setting off to attack your fort way before you logically should be able to find out; stuff like that.
If that information problem could be solved, this sort of thing would be pretty cool to see.
Post by: Dr. Melon on March 23, 2022, 10:47:12 am
[...][...]
To have that rich history available in stories and books, (rather than the current one line teasers) would make this Steam release really pop. Adventure mode, when it comes along, would benefit from this also.
If that information problem could be solved, this sort of thing would be pretty cool to see.
If it were possible, it'd be interesting if the browser only displayed the history & legends "known" by the fortress civilization, its librarians, and perhaps even sculptures and art produced by the inhabitants. It would give an additional gameplay effect to amassing a large library and having a large engraving chamber, as the available knowledge would expand as citizens of the fort added their knowledge to the pool by creating and cataloguing. It would also allow nefarious actors like vampires to remain hidden (unless someone who knew their true identity moved in to the fort and wrote a book about them or something equally Fun)!
Naturally, browsing Legends outside of the fortress mode would behave as-normal.
Post by: Laterigrade on March 24, 2022, 02:04:21 am
Oh, of course.IMHO Dwarf fortress really shines with the creation of historical relevance. As fortress after fortress populates the world, the fact that the histories continue to happen "off the screen" and don't particularly focus on what the Player Fortresses do or don't do (unless the Players decide to go full aggro with armies and suchlike), really sets this game out from all the other roguelike city builders. Legend mode is almost impenetrable without 3rd party "translators", (or people like me who relentlessly research, gathering facts and linking genealogies to reveal historical connections.) To be able to have those histories available in the game as "stories" or "books" would blow all other similar games out of the way. The current single fact story or book about something are hooks into Legend Mode. It woukd be amazing to have those hooks directly access Legend Mode via a link in-game, revealing further links to other names, other histories: an entire wikia of crosslinked rabbit hole exploration. It makes the Dwarf Fortress game that much more massive to come out of one of these deep dives with the realization that your carpenter was once the daughter of the deposed queen or that the reason your new migrant has ranks in discipline and swords is because they participated in a desperate battle last year to retake a cave and had to then defend it from a FB that came rampaging up from below...
To have that rich history available in stories and books, (rather than the current one line teasers) would make this Steam release really pop. Adventure mode, when it comes along, would benefit from this also.
I hear Toady says it would be technically possible (easy even) to make Legends mode browsable while playing fort or adventure mode, but the problem is that it kind of reveals too much; like, vampires wouldn't be able to hide their identity, and you'd know about armies setting off to attack your fort way before you logically should be able to find out; stuff like that.
If that information problem could be solved, this sort of thing would be pretty cool to see.
Maybe you could tag each bit of information as ‘known’ or ‘unknown’ by each particular civilisation or settlement or people-group. Although with a world full of groups, that becomes a lot to track.
Post by: Starver on March 24, 2022, 04:28:34 am
Obviously this would be cumbersome as an 'everyone vs. every fact' (vs. every degree of knowledge) multidimensional array. Still complicated to maintain as "<foo1> knows <bar1, bar2, bar3, ...> and/or "foo1, foo2, foo3, ...> know <bar1>" (both forms would double the storage needs, and add more time to save developing changes, but would save search-time if you potentially needed to check bidirectionally).
Though with cascading entity grouping it could be quite interesting. When enough of a site is marked as identifying some information, re-store that as the site knowing this. Enough related sites acknowledging a fact shuffles it up to a civilisation-level knowledge dispersion. And racial-level beliefs and even possibly to world-level if a form of concensus (like "who is that god-level exterminator wandering the world?") is established that widespread.
Talk to an individual (or otherwise need to know what they 'know') and you could find that they personally (dis)believe something that is actually differently recorded by one or other group they belong to which might be used to either add uncertainty ("well, I always thought... but my family is convinced that...") or extra commitment ("the fools all think... but only I know The Truth!").
Well, maybe not simpler, and potentially starts to eat up the memory/cycles you'd hoped to save, but could be interesting.
Post by: Schmaven on March 24, 2022, 05:22:01 am
Post by: Mr Crabman on March 24, 2022, 05:54:25 am
Books take time to write, so by that reasoning, if in-game legends browsing only allowed access to data 2 years old (or some other delay) or older, that would nullify the attacking army clairvoyance issue. Having legends somehow accessible in the other modes would definitely bring attention to a largely overlooked aspect of the game, and I think that would be good overall. Even if it made catching vampires easier.
Ehh, I think that would be a poor solution to use, because there can be a lot of data that should not be logically accessible to your fort/adventurer (especially the adventurer) no matter how old it is; for example, information on another continent when boats/ocean travel doesn't exist in the world so you shouldn't be able to know anything that happens there, or just plots/secrets in general (plots could easily span over long periods of time).
And equally, there's a lot of data that should be accessible even if it's less than 2 years old; books don't always take so long to write, and events can happen in your fortress, or later in mythgen they could be known about in distant places very quickly (granted this won't be for a long time, but adding a bunch of temporary mechanics that Toady will need to remember to replace with proper ones later is a bad idea).
It would be better to just take the time to implement a proper solution to the information problem, like what the other repliers talked about (tracking what info different groups actually have access to).
Post by: Ziusudra on March 24, 2022, 06:18:17 am
Post by: Laterigrade on March 24, 2022, 07:41:30 am
In adventurer mode at least, entities, (maybe) groups, and individuals already keep track of known info.Yes, but sometimes they know things they shouldn’t, or don’t know things they should, like the locations of certain individuals or certain things happening in their region, at least in my limited experience.
Tightening that up would be one more thing giving Adventure Mode verisimilitude, and making it fun to play.
Post by: Rumrusher on March 25, 2022, 06:38:03 am
Post by: FantasticDorf on March 25, 2022, 01:12:21 pm
ok so doesn't legend mode have a hide undiscovered info from the player option(this might be a world param thing) for folks who want to play with out having all that info revealed to them and having to slowly discover the stuff by themselves?
From d_init configuration.
Code: [Select]
If you'd prefer to leave the history behind every engraving for your adventurers to discover, then set this to NO.
[SHOW_ALL_HISTORY_IN_DWARF_MODE:YES]Works great on paper, and historically in the context of the game dwarves have made and engraved some nifty stuff but a real-time legends hook (or hooks to common objects for context) would definitely need a interim option, maybe just a informational cache of subjects that are relevant to the civilization's views, knowledge, rumors and reports following a dropdown legends mode reference, without the repetitiveness turning this off currently gives. (mayor was elected x of x year, and repeat sole overblown probably only event until end of time)
That's how i'd tackle it, but im not sure if its actually a serious topic of conversation rather than a off-topic nibble. It'll be strange to see the day when a player loads up a description of a creature/diety on a statue they found and "a image of a skeletal dog, it is a unknown entity" as players are very used to always having the information, usually just a name to hand.
Post by: kitfoxgames on March 30, 2022, 11:38:54 am
We've been working through the remaining tabs on the dwarf character sheets. One of our objectives is to surface some information that has been difficult to find.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/8d6939e341aed504bea2021a7bfbce4659bb9c8d.png)
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/9ff67d80f5debf506a70cf4c7f03bd4f0e9f1a9b.png)
These are the relationships and personality traits of Kikrost the planter. She has several very strong friendships, and you can see in the personality tab that the romance she started with Geshud a few years ago has made her a more joyful person.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/92095b7d327ae665c380df004c2e3ac581b68545.png)
(These item images aren't yet updated.) Notice here that poor Zon has three sutures. We can get some more information about the procedure over on the health tab.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/1739663751c21003d902b05df6e0b8c0b536b4b5.png)
Here's Zon's full medical history, and if we want to know how the injury came about we can zip over to check the combat logs.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/72e6fa826d365c3374ad501aa82887e59ab291a5.png)
This baron has been reading in the library!
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/966784bc655308724a6b9631b00491f9e1af168a.png)
If we want to know more about the culture, we can also access a wealth of details from the knowledge tab.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/82daf17b0e34075acc8df0082aa90ed2c5dc5ac0.png)
When dwarves experience circumstances, there's a chance for the emotion/thought to be saved as a memory. This can cause lesser but recurring emotions and can also change their personalities (as with Kikrust above.) Previously, the player had to cobble together a dwarf's memories from their seasonal thoughts and personality changes, and most memories were not visible most of the time. Now we have this simple chronology.
- Tarn
Post by: kitfoxgames on April 13, 2022, 10:07:08 am
These are new pictures of the wooden weapons grown by the elves. The haughty protectors of the forest would never harm plant nor beast without cause, but beware! Should your dwarves fell too many precious trees, the elves would have a bone to pick with you... and they never waste the flesh of the prey they kill!
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/47b8c084b9e2493c2f44965c56c482472c49e18e.png)
Here we have the new picture Jacob drew of a tombstone.
It's a memorial slab to Kel Balancedclasps, located in a storage room adjacent the drowning chamber where she died (bin palettes also by Jacob.) Would you like to know more about Kel? Would you like to know how crazy Dwarf Fortress actually is? I did a little research in Legends Mode and this is what I found:
The dwarf Kel Balancedclaps began her career as a scout in the army based out of the fortress Letterrough. During half a dozen assaults on the Dark Fortress she and the dwarf fighter Zasit Showerall became lovers. They were soon parted as Kel had to flee to the Hills of Uniting, where she became a spy. Her life of intrigue didn't last long as she was fooled by the goblin Ngoso and was forced to flee again and ended up in my fortress, the fortress of Ragsprays.
It was at that time that Kel redeemed herself, creating the artifact crown "Spiritcrushes," only to be murdered by the dwarf Minkot Browngild in a drunken brawl. Minkot had been convicted (by me) a dozen times for fighting in the tavern and had served half a year in the dungeon. Shortly after being released, Minkot happened to run into Kel who had just forged the wonderous crown.
It was at the half-completed drowning chamber where she died, a place meant only to kill goblin invaders. Minkot happened to attack her, probably the first dwarf he saw, and she dodged the swing, falling off the bridge into the water. I didn't notice for the longest time, and she returned to the fortress as an angry ghost. All I could do was place the tombstone where she died and put her spirit to rest.
- Zach
Post by: clinodev on April 27, 2022, 08:27:22 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3183492026701464510 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3183492026701464510)
Full text:
Animals are People Too. No, really.
A new artist joins the team, and we show some excellent animal-people
Hey folks!
Tanya here, while Alexandra is on vacation. Meanwhile, Tarn and Zach are heads-down integrating interface into their various menus, because... drumroll please... we have an artist working on making new icons and interface elements! In fact, she's a new artist, so please welcome Carolyn Jong, a Dwarf Fortress player and pixel artist, as well as Guido (perhaps better-known among some sprite artists as Neorice). Carolyn, Jacob, and Guido will all work together to get the game fully art-ified.
Speaking of which, Guido drew a few new strangers we can show you. Asked about them, Zach says "Deep under the ground, and in the farthest wilds, there are strange people. Like feral beasts they spend most of their time thinking about food and romance, ignoring the irrelevant, such as your dwarves. For they are not ordinary people... they are animal people. It's best to keep your distance and let them be, for one day they may come to you looking for adventure!"
So, feast your eyes on some top-tier animals and the animal-people they correspond to:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/94d5329ffde856a0fd2df07cd8a64d367a7f1d77.png)
Tarn particularly likes the snowy owl person, and called them, "a good chonky floof". We can all agree.
What animal-people are you looking forward to most? Any favorites from your playing in Classic? Tomorrow, I'll try to prioritize showing a preview of at least the first few answers in the comments in a reply, assuming those exist somewhere in the sprite sheet I have...!
OK going back to work,
Tanya (Captain of Kitfox Games)
P.S.
If you're subscribed to the Dwarf Fortress newsletter, you might have seen this post some hours earlier in your email inbox.. though I suppose it also didn't properly explain who Guido is, and the image would have been less... polished, let's say. You win some, you lose some.
Post by: Eric Blank on April 28, 2022, 06:37:07 pm
We have many stories of animal people like an albatross woman, a black bear man (or two?), an insane monkey man, a crow man, I personally played a wolf woman, and many others I've forgotten, in the Museum III game. The first and second didn't have any I don't think, older versions of the game where animal people either didn't exist or weren't playable
Oh, the cocktoach man looks kinda weird though; it looks like both his head and thorax are just pasted over the top of the tunic sprite. It would look much better if it was just the head segment protruding from the tunic. And if he had eyes!
Post by: Timeless Bob on April 30, 2022, 09:31:08 am
Post by: kitfoxgames on May 11, 2022, 01:51:39 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3183493361467270133 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3183493361467270133)
full text:
Hello!
We're continuing to work through the last fortress management menus. Here I'll go through an example of the job details menu.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/0fbebac05c66f92aafdb552440d7586e3468659d.png)
Depending on the kind of job, you can set further details about it. Clothing can be sized for creatures other than dwarves, decorations can be specified, and many items can be made using particular materials. This rock statue job can have the stone specified and you can even set the image the artisan depicts.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/c133bdfe8b6f8cbbe04e85cebb1199e7dddb7a2e.png)
I'll pick marble here from the list of materials. Materials that are available are listed on the top, but you can also set the job to use materials you're planning to have available later.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/3715162566ddb445b22c94e7b318696726226421.png)
I want a statue of a platypus thinking about stuff, and I can set that up here. You don't need to fully specify the image. If you want the artist to make an image of their choice concerning a historical figure or site, you can do that too. You can also tell them to recreate the symbol of your civilization or group, or go with the default and let them do whatever they want.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/ebe4db8287257c5c920cbfd13a106dd10e1fe5bb.png)
We name the image using the dwarven language. There's only one grammatical form currently, but it's enough for us to specify a variety of names.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/7176fe5a124229fdd7cfaac54983fd64f521cc2f.png)
Finally we can pick a spot for the statue and admire it!
- Tarn
Post by: kitfoxgames on May 25, 2022, 11:29:21 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3317476653526282315 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3317476653526282315)
Full text:
This is the anatomy of a bug that wasn't, and an opportunity to show you how detailed and precise Dwarf Fortress is to the extreme. It is the story of a golden crossbow called Katdiriteb. The weapon was the first unique treasure created in my fortress of Riverdeath, a settlement named after the drowning trap I was using to test pressure plates. The tale of intrigue was decades in the making, revealed by interrogating the surviving conspirators and cheating by looking up the principals in Legends mode.
It all began years ago in 26, when a dwarf named Dakost Busttrust became Captain of the Guard in the nearby capital of Caveclouts. Almost immediately afterward an underworld of necromancers lurking in a nearby tower began to try and turn him to a life of evil. It was his respect of the law, the same quality that made him a good law dwarf, that saved him from temptation. Alas, all things must pass into the night.
It was vanity and his own obsession with mortality that caused Dakost to give up the honest life. In his declining years he went to explain his problem to the necromancer Ineth Kekimmosus. That was the day, in the year 90, Daskost became a villain and his moral flaws became the defining part of his personality.
The dwarven civilization, of which Caveclouts was part, had been at war with the goblins of Hatredmourns for many years when Dakost met Mistem Taderith in 59, three decades before Dakost turned. There, their friendship was forged as they stormed the wicked fort where the goblin warlord had his arm bitten off by one of their war alligators. Mistem was a violent and greedy dwarf, so when the villain Daskot came to her years later she accepted his bribe and in 92 became his professional thief.
In the year 102 Mistem came to the fortress of Riverdeath, disguised as the scholar Id Knifescribes, an expert in agriculture. She had heard of the golden crossbow and immediately went to search for an accomplice. She finds the gullible dwarf Rovod Gemsitthob and turns him with flattery, but he is struck down in a freak giant attack in which he kills the giant that killed him.
It was winter of the next year when Mistem, now Id Knifescribes, tries again. This time she threatens the cowardly dwarf gelder Nish Guildvaults into stealing the crossbow for her. She heads back to Caveclouts after arranging to meet Nish for the crossbow in the spring.
(TL/DR) You can skip the background. It's just for those of you who I know will get a kick out of Legends mode.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/aef945b60e6ae862af48456b689ff1c90c68a868.png)
The handoff. This is where the story collides with my fortress, four years after the default start date of the spring of the year 100. It's standard for villains to find a quiet place for the thief to hand them the stolen treasure. In this case they chose the library. That wasn't smart as the pair were seen by seven people.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/104ae0454f23e5fc3b66aafcbd6270307892e76c.png)
It just happens that there are only two ways out of Riverdeath, and after I close the main gate, that leaves the twisting, and twisted, drowning chamber. You can see the thief running for the exit in the south right after the dwarves throw the lever and trap her inside.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/90317d1ee0ad08642630f94ba06200fd039615b1.png)
Here we see the dwarf calling herself Id Knifescribes, with the artifact golden crossbow Katdiriteb strapped to her body. You can see she is disguised as a scholar interested in farming. I have already interrogated the thief that gave it to her. All that's left is to arrest her, get back the stolen treasure, and question her to get to the bottom of this conspiracy.
This next part is where the game got too clever for it's own good. When we watched Id Knifescribes reach the closed gate at the end of the drowning chamber, she looked confused for a little bit, then turned around and walked about a dozen tiles and just disappeared. I thought to myself, is she like the kobold thieves and became invisible? Did we program the artifact thieves to just path through walls if they get stuck? If so, I had just found a really insidious bug!
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/91cc3ba4c6b564da5412196b8e88fc122e197e24.png)
No. The truth was far more embarrassing. You can see here, one level above the drowning chamber. There is the closed gate. There is the trapped hatch to the death hallway. Circled in red, you can see down through a hole into the wood paneling below. When I was pulling up trees to build my wooden fort, the roots left a hole in the ground through which Knifescribes escaped. We have since erased this bug from our to-do list.
- Zach
Post by: Eric Blank on May 25, 2022, 05:37:42 pm
Post by: Starver on May 25, 2022, 06:16:32 pm
I'm glad to see that bug finally dealt with! I've lost a few forts and a lot of dwarves to invaders crawling down into holes left by tree cutting.I'm not sure you're going to be happy about this. I read it as "Whoops, I overpowered thieves to have teleportation abilities, I must add that to the bug-list!" and then a very basic look around and discovery of the acceptable feature of tree-root-holes plus climbing ability, leading to re-removal off that list.
(My habit is to clear-cut any bit of surface that I might dig under in the Z-1 layer, e.g. for farming, so that when I send in the soil-diggers they may get roots (and their "extended view through solid blocks" effect) but undercutting the the prior sits of the tree does not create your mysterious ground-holes. If this isn't actually as foolproof as I think then I'm probably just being lucky. If your 'bug' of roots-then-tree removal is also solved then it won't hurt for me to continue avoiding it. A good clear-cutting before the (now not-complaining) elves arrive, and using much of the timber in temporary stockade walls, also solves another issue that currently doesn't matter but I'll continue to play as if it does. ;) )
Post by: Mobbstar on May 26, 2022, 02:23:15 am
I wonder if placing a ramp under a tree makes for a good emergency entrance. It'd be much more dramatic than a fake wall (drawbridge), faster to set up, and also gremlin-proof. But it'd be a single-use, one-time door that requires a treecutter + axe to open. Oh well, this thought is something to make a separate thread about if somebody feels so inclined.
Post by: Eric Blank on May 26, 2022, 07:54:18 pm
Post by: LuuBluum on May 26, 2022, 09:33:10 pm
Post by: FantasticDorf on May 27, 2022, 01:28:09 am
For reference, you could just correlate and mark in blue digging designations the areas if it conflicted with your layout, rather than steaming on ahead, which is a good habit i picked up trying to combat tree holes in being more selective in fortress layout for pacing my expansion so that the workflow doesn't over-emphasise or drag on longer than my dwarves can hold out.
Post by: kitfoxgames on June 08, 2022, 12:54:52 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3349003120350094609 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3349003120350094609)
Full text:
Hello there!
When you're starting out in Dwarf Fortress, there's a lot to learn, and we're working now on various forms of tutorialization and instruction to help out new players.
First off, when you are placing your fort, you'll have an option to have the game pick a spot in the world you've made where it can do a more traditional tutorial:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/10205cd7acb3a860bf2f2fbc8771f6079ec694f1.png)
This is the camera controls tutorial. It's important to lead with this since the elevation slices can be a little confusing if you haven't played a game with them before. Once you can operate the camera, we expand out into mining, woodcutting, stockpiles, and workshops.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/f3a347afc71703f7071b0019548ad57f3235fbb1.png)
Another way we can teach people is to have popups on any menu that might be confusing. These are all works in progress, but in the image above you can see the general idea.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/34693670/ff9f6991608e3475b8a25aec607a16696a409eaa.png)
Finally, tooltips, tooltips everywhere. We have 350 so far, and we'll keep on adding them until everything makes sense!
This isn't all we have planned. You may have noticed the help button at the top of the screen. Here we'll have more information, and we're thinking about ways to guide players toward goals and things they might have missed in a more interactive fashion as well.
- Tarn
Post by: DrudeFiegler on June 09, 2022, 03:29:32 am
Question though: will there be a way to rebind the keys ? Because wasd has no sense outside the qwerty keyboard, and i'm not using one ^^
Post by: Giant Dwarf on June 15, 2022, 04:15:29 pm
Really hope we don't have to use the mouse for everything in the end as it would be super cumbersome.
(To me DF plays a lot more fluid than Rim World for example.)
And even if there are shortcuts for everything it will be hard to get into (or even coming back after a longer break) without being able to see them immediatly.
So please add those back. 🙏
Post by: PatrikLundell on June 16, 2022, 12:15:18 am
For the cases where there is text, it ought to be possible to reintroduce key binding indications (like the zone selection and stockpile settings, but not the stockpile icons on the right).
Hm, looking at the displayed tool tip for the stockpile settings, it ought to say what the current value is as well, not just say that you can toggle between two values: I can't guess which value the icon is supposed to indicate...
Post by: kitfoxgames on June 22, 2022, 12:03:52 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3343374889353944956 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3343374889353944956)
Full text:
Hello!
We've been continuing along with our usability work. That isn't just tutorials, but a few final menus to give some helpful overviews and otherwise provide information. Let's take a look at the new Places tab for an example.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/6adc62690f6ff0273a885193dcbce2e628dcd55a.png)
Here's an ordered list of the zones. The most important part is the recenter button - it's easy to lose your garbage dump or dungeon, placed somewhere on the hundred elevation levels and then forgotten until you need it again. The meeting areas all display the tavern/library/temple/etc. they are associated with, and barracks show their squad.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/fb56c8501c36de6a9f9ede1976daf411b4943ca4.png)
The larger locations, which can be made of several zones placed over multiple elevations if you like, also get their own list. Hospitals display the number of patients if you have any.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/e85eef30931cb1a689a9ac8fca462da6a340d52a.png)
Here's the stockpile list. It places stockpiles with custom names at the top of their category (Zach named a few of them here.) Determining how full a stockpile is can be complicated by containers like bins and barrels, but the occupancy number here gives some idea of how close each stockpile is to needing expansion.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/8f2c597fe243ba470b8d13ea9cd3fbb480d7b48a.png)
Like certain zones, workshops can be easy to misplace, and this alphabetical list lets you pop over to a given workshop without trouble. The assigned master of the workshop is shown below the name, and the list also shows the current task. It prints "+ X tasks" if there are additional tasks set for the shop.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/0e51ed3ad2a646dd13a5110e08814a587ae422da.png)
Farm plots aren't as easy to misplace, since there are usually only a few layers where they can logically be set down, but it's nice to have an overview of what's currently growing and ready to harvest.
These are all still subject to change - they're a bit sparse and there's always more information we could display - but things are continuing to come together.
- Tarn
Post by: Strangething on June 25, 2022, 03:23:05 pm
Post by: [HYBRID BEING] on June 25, 2022, 04:48:04 pm
Rather than "Don't show again" checkbox on popups, maybe a "?" button on menus themselves (to bring up a popup) would be better? Would be less obtrusive and helpful if one would need a refresher on smth.Spoiler: Popup (click to show/hide)
Post by: clinodev on July 06, 2022, 11:27:14 am
Full text:
Quote
Hey Urists! For various reasons, the Dwarf Fortress news will be delayed a week, from tomorrow til next Wednesday the 13th.
In exchange for your patience, here's a dog, who may or may not be the heir to your fort, after the clown got possessed by the devil.
There's a picture of a Premium tileset dog as well, which I'd post here but I'm on my phone.
Post by: clinodev on July 06, 2022, 02:35:13 pm
https://twitter.com/lumnmch/status/1543687491819130884?s=19
Quote
People who play dwarf fortress are like “Yeah sorry my clown just got possessed by the devil and killed the king who named his dog as heir so now the king is a dog and he’s making everyone dig for bones until they die of dehydration” then you look at the game and it’s like @ ^ $
Neat that DF is getting viral tweets, I guess?
Post by: voliol on July 06, 2022, 03:38:59 pm
Sooooo, I had to have it explained to me, but apparently the devil clown dog king thing is from a recent viral tweet:
https://twitter.com/lumnmch/status/1543687491819130884?s=19QuotePeople who play dwarf fortress are like “Yeah sorry my clown just got possessed by the devil and killed the king who named his dog as heir so now the king is a dog and he’s making everyone dig for bones until they die of dehydration” then you look at the game and it’s like @ ^ $
Neat that DF is getting viral tweets, I guess?
Oh that explains it, I was wondering how
Spoiler: DF Spoilers (click to show/hide)
Post by: Starver on July 06, 2022, 04:34:40 pm
/checks INI to see if that matters
Post by: kitfoxgames on July 13, 2022, 03:15:46 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3365894791522358421 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3365894791522358421)
Full text:
Hello!
Carolyn has completed the update of the interface art and icons and has moved on to the next set of updates: vegetation! Here is where we are at so far with aboveground trees:
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/f9eabbf0697d0466163cae5d2c379303b7e85b3c.png)
Flowers! These are apple, peach, and sand pear trees.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/0d78691854bbf2ae02671f0f70fa85c83d15bfb4.png)
And their fruit! Along with some smaller bayberry clusters over on the right that didn't have visible flowers.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/be8a5b588cbbad21f9496b69c7bea25f72c48755.png)
In autumn, the leaves begin to turn...
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/62ddc35b8fad2d8dd704dcb195d8b75d7c39d9bf.png)
Achieving a rich autumnal glow...
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/4b14aa16882928b92ebc09aeca96d8ea2534183f.png)
And then ready to fall! We have yet to do the falling leaves animation (it has a very crappy placeholder drawn by me right now ha ha), but we'll be there soon. If you look closely, you'll see a few leaves pointing the wrong way, or branches connecting to nothing - those were my fault and we're fixing them up! Some of it also comes from limitations of the system. But for a tile-based system, where the exact tiles matter (dwarves can only scurry up into the thicker branches when treed by wild beasts), I think this looks great!
Of course, your dwarves don't have to embark in the temperate zone with the four seasons (despite the text at the top!):
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/5e24b70b1beb027b70bd6f102670b2b6245d35cd.png)
In this screenshot alone, we have round limes, guavas, coffee berries, carambolas, kapok fruit, avocados, bitter oranges, cashew apples, pomegranates, papayas, citrons, rambutans, lychees, custard-apples, and durians. There are three images for fruit right now, based on size and recolored. This is a candidate for improvement of course.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/2860b0b355842f1163d393acf81da60cea768344.png)
And here they are in flower.
-Tarn
Post by: Bob69Joe on July 13, 2022, 05:25:39 pm
Post by: PatrikLundell on July 14, 2022, 05:11:35 am
Post by: Su on July 19, 2022, 09:14:09 pm
Post by: BlueManedHawk on July 20, 2022, 05:23:56 pm
Post by: [HYBRID BEING] on July 22, 2022, 12:01:51 pm
(http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAEEAAABBCAYAAACO98lFAAAVXklEQVR4XpWce2yX13nHz893G9vYYDDYhEAWCIEkTkhpGihdltJLaNUuS1VtTbVV2u2PZJO2Sds/6x/dH5M2bZo0KdU6TVpV7aas1S5qQqNmVbI0RGsSCJ1gJFSEQMCxDdiAgzG+7fmc9/0eP+/5/Zxuj2T93st533PO9zy38zzP69ovfHhkaWkpRBrq6wihVhxDo1M34u9Grju6MHkj1Fy7oxMz8e76VZ1h/P2Z8Jlt/aF8ZbxO03Xra2FifKnhL43H7d56azM+Uf7q3H5zevbUZOxruCsE+qa/nPL+K+Mv58V8L9hx7dE9I0tMaOPqKgAeBI7fK+YZiQ6EAcfvTc+EgzaQ1y7cSCDQbt26YlIRICY4Vp3ghN1jAeif3/WD1sZNPj5TguCPcxDoW+TWpm4htNi0jZMv+00g0GCov7riR0cLTvAkAEZt4p4O3t4fX/zGxZITmFQ+CVYZYJiYDYBjiMGMGUDxmj0DeTASiPYcXEgfcMJQZ4jHog3dnZXF2b2hOp94Uyxix7wr9l/hhHhleWoehHzSq/vWhrs+f2eYvh7CsX/+YbhvnY3ICPbkGM7SyvpJMIhBW3FNmnOtSGxXckPlGQ3J2h5970ZgLPcOWH821jesvz1f2hvW9PSE577xXGVhNhoo923MgCj7Ow8AJSg1dAJPMug0GLuJPkAENHkm/Wtf/ETs5G+e/n7YfnBHGOzvjednx66GH3/75dDZ0hLPZ+bnC73gWDxNylacfhCViDksyYFYDP1QilCaUclViM8zpg/WGRdMmO6B9v7yvjA3vxRaW2rxF3rr2TfDlalLQZwxWKxPofM8CGX/EQQGO2bADKIWSjnhXAA8dvBjYcumoTh56M6PfTyMTo6G9bcshjbr3CQ7HP7Wy5FFIZRjI27IgfD6IK1KCVACogQSpUr7Z39SKEX1IxASYCUIB/buDN959qUAN4gAIweC+dae/OQDS7CGtL2Uh0CAA0R7HvulMDszm87PnjsZgZifbwpHn34picR5ExGAQE9IzqXg4sPlxJJyzTStdEZqW+oWAYBVgBC9e76wL8zPLIVVq0OYvVlLx3ADBEcICHEE/Q87/VcHAg/KEsAJB371yTA9MR5au60XaH4hhJbmDIiFOABEAk2NKDHAe003ROSNvJLU5CrAe7Vevt0ryah07Z3eNAKAqL2tEAXG4Y8Zk+eGDSVjsNgCYkUQAGD/l349tHe2RxBg/+7VBoDRxsHd4dRbxyIXvH+lWAXJ5Kv/cDhyhLghioUDgufjSpeyGRnDc0IJWGpnBwI1WgTjAilD+lzT0xt1EhMf7F8dj7utDQobAOjfm3dAYDzydVikpBgln3Q+ajoH2w8XwP5z01dCU9+FqIHHJq+G8XNNoW/DUuoMpcIgGBS6Qc6S/AbPEWnpmKwpx0bcgD8RCTNWckDkJgfCzs/sDS2dBftsHiyA0OQ5/+5ThyInjlUteUh6wZ4TEJETjpg/gFIUSR/ACQAgLmjpaAq3DBZA3JwrBjB3fTHJo56XWAgEXcesVbzSnBvKhgCDnpIP4CdPE+kBjgFCk2chEAeIMYgQB2BNfoPz9JJiBG2xDOwCVzCAj3zui6G1ozu+6+zoqSgOALHK2A1zJPmbvbkMIANZ39cbnvn69+JFiQaDkFnDdNHPUGmW9bTGIaskK4AihIXxFPEJ4DjY/acRY0E8BQJz321+QxK/chEiJ/AyDYATBggbSTF6+W/tbIp9wxFnx66FhRuLobmjWA2IwYk9tRqwJQN41+7xi+X4IGo0edpLEdKXdEEjLpBoslACgeelehIQdi1xghogI4iCCBBu3b8/DG9dCuffriVF2NrVFMWgf6ApTF1aDKvXFI6KWNFrZwaJnpB/Tx9vTs2FnvbWOhw0SEACOAgl6K0A1xqB4MFAQY5NXqmIhiwEfdyfeZGJE+S14ZZ6EPb9ykdN/tG8vVEXYA0AASr0QeF7egC8lgYczlFUIjy+TSXncA1LArEXYGW0K9Xqa2UlAv7cK0MmTl+Xr12NHCmLQd+A4P0E9klSDXUgjF5Z1g8MAm4Y+cJHI/tPXrsWbroVZ/I4KtLSuZkSyyIeDEzc4pVWHTvYBcl9/6qecG7iWmziJy5O47pMc/6rezKVgCAfIZrsku0Aog4EmSVeIr2gQXllyH0pRu+3586KdIX3788cK7zOm+fPhAMP7gxbbhkOrx07Ht5480JoG94S1m1pr9P66iN/vxc9AUqf2kfwXOTacn+hhYkWzDzaik6gIcrROy4CQTIpE6SV9RramyetHAMWu8IxE2eKyY8MFrLw6pETCYQz586HS5NT4ejJAgho453VHeBP618Lw68HX+CIO/iNekogaBfJDbm4r5vfIHlBHHBMIO+cSO40SXWUy+/o/1RjEn2lQuxtC+EnJ08lEPQ8YDz/yomwZ/fOcGxs2Q6KO2jnF8GvutdL+XHuQ8RttsUbIif4rTQdcBHnSZoaEOAEdabV9eyWcwTvQUH91wvjadXfMYsATc0Wv4jCvXcMhYE1fVEctENluy4gBm7bFvoMrP6u1gjIlpH2KII5u0v54jUCkCyD1z2emzGb+CqYyqgTtm7dXvqoxVqIRQQE7rO3z5q8WEta2DswoI7cw/aT1+fCVXOmFu2BqyUAcMP46WUuAABWnrbijouXp6KOaASEuEZ9SiEzeT8Ov3mSA8ZcuA4IMpW1B+4aWcI0QRfMh5EjIy8LENize/MkVtNg+PWWARFgorD8lAGgyW/uaY2rii64b8dQWNvfl/QA7wAISLoCsUA/9Nq74Iiz1wouaqQrcuUskUH24zOlicTv0Hl0mhpxgvfTPRBYCD95yX53x6rQ1tqcdnLS/ICg1b/VJt9nkxfFSVrQY8umQgw4fv7wifDwQwaCjcoscR0QbU1NYcOq5opoMHH6n5ye9usRj3PORATkgLFF2FgGWOLG8YlPFG6z/APYplEQ03ttaHpIilKcIBGYMrZ+p1w1D4DtesMPXigsAuR1gbiA674d3HD7jm2JC+CKrX2FjhBHNAqqCBUWDq44feZKOPGMAWGbOPSejEAE4Wtf/gjRsRRgfeOtmeiqQjEyZEREB1KU6dYDO6KTJCCkeRED9MDbpgQRAbE/kzJfKZJnda8EPQiaAG0hry90DgjeYqwUVJGYehAIphCrFC07Sw4IIjoCg10gbiyKBP0AELs+t6Oyi0Nbn3p9GQBeDggA8kEAIAoRiHfNLEoc7FkBVnBFzc5tI1T6FHDGNuMMxMtzQ6OgCs9rM8extxYKBCMBta89bpxQhp7zKC9bV/z8YRffl7nsbOsKE1PXo7nq7+4JP3pxIq68FKEcIoFQ6IFdNtnjaQV0gHjIN6A95DmHc7WRouw3RYnIbbu/o25HmTtz2lLzHuVHzhuza2sfdYKP7qQskEV9IjdYXIFQOmF0SCB0tXeF8ckChJ7O7nDkhxcDyuvm4mKQHsi5gOdZeTggKkEjdITnBm8hNHl+AQlqBALXZapzJynfp6DvFNuIFoMIu3SCUmK8UEFRkiR/+/LlqEwAg4dQnF4kJAryBHGGchBya/Dwz+6MFkDEfYHj2cTrDCzIJfMdcKsh/AdEDk7wzlo+aY0Z9mdboB0qYj6yvfANak+UQRWfGYIbiPMDBiAo0ao9eaNsVATPBgYIXhRYaXyC++/ZFTuUY8SxWN9zhEwm5lPtlfTBk4TkSAkwwuoiH1mO2SdbdhQ7IKAMWdB777DEsUv0RnHwK096TGkyrn/z8OUoR7xIqTYfvaXz7btuL+IA5Sr51QQACBDkDvv7+cpLWcqNzt+l9/jrh196LZ4qTirzxzXGDTALBkbKhbiHmWPtjzCRRiATs8hZivybxglEhVCSMf9n5BMXnO/4uU/FCYrYDXrCM8z3BzkQOUDoBlkG2sp34FicoXf84F/+Ldl9rvl9AOOWhYtcYCKA6PucxrKfUALhM0aK90uuUg7BRYmRs4cf/Xyak8DwQAAC74XFMYfyS3SOeRQVky+sgwfBgyYdQl+IRvfldyuYMiaR6hcQBdUxqFZCEpCsg+IIuhFFwbgAEpICQfF6xALU7yjFgXewK2zEEWvtup8sbWT2vMUoJl8PQm5peOa1H1sgxkSwa74aelYEiT4Aoa+zI0zN3EjOX5qj6b6YBMJPUBK2UlBhYqFiCCVYNWncCq8cfb5S22OZNL9ErLL3AnUsEMQFPOPBkDhwzXOBNlgTx1/PpSs6dxAOnhy9GOy1SaeKGGXG5ScoESs/QQB8aKiI9+fExPc//uEYifrRi+PRLEKnLFCSr2yjSchKeE+QdvgPcpT86nNPbTmW54jDhPsMsZd55/mTsf8//+t/SkNm48RWQCAkxU8tBKUCyjswGVxIX3/UbEu+Un0C+wcf32fzhLMETZ873RiIHnOOXqz6BN5R0m4y30d4juH9AKgQnPwEBXzxW47/exWIik7zdRj2LgCpC6oo7IQigwNYcb/tZRDbD95Rl2MABHZ40MUyYMJq+ZWNHJEB4UXBO02V2ILbdvMOHCUIZ4loE+S3+XCDAPWpeRb0K/vWxNUXN8Tw2n0771nqsCVnfy2ZR44gXGReKNLq+w61mySIyt4BYv8AEFBu6rjmPUitrHej9Zzaqn8fYOEaQRZEgay4gBBHaNxypGTm+SUR7M1kHSfwMsmQD6s1CqMldOzAh9QUT9BWmnZwQO4qK9zuvUj/Tr+ZIvTGpH2USfEEH157/0rxBhVtyI321XUeCNrGQKvK91S3iF5QGYyCEgpi8ivyEVwNhOAqSnKyDKvlQRWelZZfCYR8JylQcwDUP6vft3a5VoE+fI2CdIL3HGmDycd5qosnULGmTRLs71/ow+s++uzrAxRX4DkFV/LwmkCUDuA831lyTcEUxRY9CChEJYMUWVJILd9KK+DKvDxHaBwVEI5YHhJ98Hu/8YtxUIogSeb0kE945ukxOCePMPEcIXZRHlD1LjVtpCxlAZi84gfcf+Ch9Smsrv6nLhXcgNj6xVLBhvcbeAcijw4k4pxA4AZhdnEBPgCsL8XHfV+W0yjinGZpB0q6KNCCovSOFNEhfAqJBC4wYGgPISXIO33uwXOA+vN5CF3zKUIizirnU1peIUPaR52gXZdAQCHm6XUpRnXi64W4lusH7iMaEEDgZfpJa5foQaAtZlUmkNVXGI17Mocc5/VKvnKN+36RJA6N6hNieE0g0AAQEAfC643S6z7n71fBs6DX1BqIxINnfP6Rc3GAErIKlqBHGBP6gMnnNQe+f0QBktjmC+STML4+QRutCggqh/EArJRe1yD0q/RXo/oAxMrnJGMKzuIMA+UWm3cIBMRE4XquI/+yTD69n/efR5s9EAIhliLxYLkLlgTUgeDzCz5S20gBNkq7+0yQT5P5QeNdKhf5oZEi2KJoEbpA9v//2j/vVj4SbpU4SFeoZGfF+gSF12Qa7/ytnWH3bYXH+K9/2RI2f3Y5czT2dlHHmNOmjoGKDuH+/yc17gu2fC0E71kJSI3hg+oVVloknpWyjNYhOktWuSEQHv+LrR8IwCMfvxmOnC62qYAFUDsfXJfQ5yBXkstVbstlq75IwoPAXkXuuV9RrbavSNE1tRMw6t/XRty2pSj01AJVQHjUQBg2EKhJQCmu2lpsTtp3FTvCSCZDjxwo6vQAQJzCuUCQHvGpcT1epjWK97qyOtUH+BJC76j5yVyfqcVKuU2besL5iSL36Cvm9O48BymrIR9CJp+UnDLTNUDQINlzixM0ASYJIOKAJ/cvi8fv/8H1eO9netcm7Z2nxvUer2uUGld9ACBQRQuxEI8d3B+jUPJYAaNpqcWqaxdDV+9SdIg0Ge0RBAK/WpDlVaxyJ9elLOMY9t49sqSqLoHgVxsQfv6358Pe4TI1ZC9g8rHTklsAIU+NDw90h0N/9VwqrlZcgqoXvwqR0YzTVDVHO0CIitJCZ8l1b7NvKWy15pbmKj6AOMKXDngQ8jIiAaO6Z85rDxoIHLCVZuOUK0ZNdPY4ifaCdA3ugN56daMHPR6LI7SLy3MWnKs+AHHDZVfYTjGMOm5YbI2ZMGqxWsmKzc0nhayJ51asEVd4kxlBgBPkSbEKEgdWnhWHC7wiPPQf5sYZCQDu1U731X1vkABraQ8Li0vhlb97IXGFd1hUWK46KZUH+cAIQZzOto5wdXo21jysam0J85bum11wC1MWmKuSRmU9jEPOnCpc46KXJX2x/xyEp54eieOXvPvJSiEeer4tKkqJzX+/PFQxkd5xGVjdHt6fWQjXrszViQH9KLbp6yelHBUdIgsOzd5stn7MTC/UwuJis/0UoqH+8Ac8+cISKWTtIZLPQLgNxciDKtcDBAGgF+ZAwA2DW5ujleBYfsLa3p5w4eJ0ZRfXbqs2a2wLwYYkQEje+E8L9FGWyvJ9XJPnFM5TtOjug3cbdy2E+aaFWLvsSR9/yeRXbtpJ+i6q/NSJ+zEXKR8axYiJRAQ8oRz/9E+6wuHzywEViQXt9piXN3ppefJdtvVtap6r1DkF0+6v/uN/phxGPrh8IpznOc9Gz/jco3+GuEH+SSOrje7z317FGCPVa4q/efPoLYT0A0BAgMF9eZA71gysmBqnva8P4Fx7ez5bpJT6hiUK91oRxAXb0Ykjaaeaqbha9ufqSCp4yLr5Z3MQPAA5mBEExRQBwStBGguA3c1rw5GF5eyv3GlEAp0gWtvVES5dL7bQ+eRVHijHrNHKkgEn16Fssq9OjwAWn0NWSLlHgZAq6vkKtmwp3SNR1I2YTZM4IArePHoAvjw0HPY9NBV6XtlmKbdd4TcPfS9sfmIsvh7QWkf7k6u8Un1Ao/he+ga73NX5r11UEyHOgY2h9KkvbFxOkPcQH2VX6JOx4iB97RfvZ+wUPxf2IMAJ3in66rduhF0n+8Pvbr4l3PXVvvBnf3gqnLAPIi4+cjWc/e5c0h1//ztvp5XJ6wPYnlcivZbmV/1DZcB2olyAkkCRK8yj82UB6sh/95xS8TmLWGP/wVcCsWyX4gnxu8jyYyuZRyaP9odg97NPDYZvPPLpyAEAAKEP5ED1ThRZ4ZXqA/zX9Er/017pcU1M1TKqkPH1UvrGkvH7rHNl9TM20EfhcEouFl6eYlba1zB66yD9wAMDhwq3+fiOyQgQIMh0nvjj9xrWB/jaAJ79yl7L/liil0lWPhYtR+QBQknqO0jlQ1VS6P9tgZ9M4pLyABFpBED+fOUbKNzmNZ+1FJu5yLlJ9NYC86gNFZwy9fVqUYZWivf5PCCrptoAcYIiPZqAz4w/d2wmmkmfPYrtSh1SHtYpSs8pOUi+ikX3/hcpAdQ3iRZZbwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==)Are those pointed cap tiles above them? They look kinda weird, hopefully they are still in progress.
Also, the way leaves tile is far from perfect (especially around big trunks), but since it's still WIP, i'll hold off on pinpointing those graphical artifacts.
Post by: Flinx on July 26, 2022, 02:01:13 am
As you may have noticed, English is not my first language. Will there be a way to highlight text from active windows, such as the Personality/Traits tab, and copy it with CTRL/C to paste it on a second monitor or ALT/Tab out to paste it into open browser window with running DeepL?
Or maybe even a button to copy text from the active window to the clipboard for easy copy and paste?
Post by: Doorkeeper on July 26, 2022, 11:39:57 am
Post by: kitfoxgames on July 27, 2022, 09:56:11 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3369273757573322168
Full text:
The mysterious animal people have come to your fortress to seek you out, some for amusement, others... for revenge! They come from the world's wild places in all shapes and sizes. Should you choose to open your taverns to outsiders they will seek you out. They could be coming for entertainment or work. Some might be adventurers seeking danger, others may be poets or scribes.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/52ebacced3580803319556c15e58e0394ebd3ce9.png)
All of these images show new animal people sprites by Neoriceisgood. There are almost 200 of these new sprites now.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/8631552ae54ed2641c56f11db0bf81888ada366c.png)
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/a2fe5d7e685844888c07445a2daf0092f11185e7.png)
You must remember where they come from. You must always watch yourself around wildlife. Even those recently domesticated are but one step from feral savagery. Respect for nature is the best defense against the animals' wild ways. The environment exists in a state of fragile balance, should the elves be believed. Destroying the animal peoples' habitat makes you their greatest natural enemy. Beware in the savage wilds lest you experience their wrath!
- Zach
Post by: scriver on July 27, 2022, 11:54:58 am
(https://i.imgur.com/cEBQGr5.png)
I totally feel this girl though. That's exactly how I feel about snails too.
Post by: Schmaven on July 29, 2022, 07:49:42 pm
Post by: kitfoxgames on August 10, 2022, 11:29:28 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3369275026624077971
Full text:
Hello!
Alexandra here from Kitfox Games! Zach returns this week with a...video update?! Watch as he gives us a tour of his new fort, while showing off the new artwork and menus in action!
Watch video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqylhBXpvlk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqylhBXpvlk)
Zach one half of a giant that needs to be thrown in the garbage. Following the minecart to the garbage into the underground layers, you will see the giant mushrooms, trees, monsters and flowers.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/93eefa28774595eef7ab916d5632867699c2fcf4.jpg)
You can watch the full video on Youtube. We are happy to return to more video updates now that the art is nearing completion. Stay tuned for more soon!
-Alexandra and Bay 12 Games
Post by: Varjo on August 16, 2022, 01:53:17 am
Post by: clinodev on August 24, 2022, 02:14:07 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3264567603401311874
Full text:
Peaceful Geckos and... Rainbow Troll Blood?
Hello!
Here's a quick update on some new artwork. There are lots of biomes you can embark on in Dwarf Fortress, and we have some new plants and terrain made by Carolyn to make the drier places come alive.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/e746b2a410c4174f9b7f11b5bb59f5b7953abb3e.png)
Here you can see the baby toe succulents and pebble plants in flower (and Neoriceisgood's leopard gecko people). These flowers only show up briefly once during the year.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/a4b016f2484cf4157db9c5d8afcd0e784054b785.png)
We also have sandy deserts of various colors! This is a sure place to find material for glass making, though you'll have to work a little harder to put some fire in the glass furnace without trees for charcoal.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/4fa8999767fbd284deffeae07e739842bcde071a.png)
Now we'll take a look at some more environmental art, but we'll have to create it by giving these dwarven soldiers some friends to play with.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/060890abfb8b03140f8a774c806d29bb270a62e2.png)
I've placed five trolls in the room!
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/ce588e6e290d8071a6e8f1d07bb0832d74230eb9.png)
Our trolls have cyan blood! There's also a touch of dwarven blood spatter here in red, but all the soldiers survived, along with some helpful citizens that jumped in with the dogs.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/08e1ce5872e4373222191e69f0bce15d88abafb0.png)
Here's a combat report, which you can get to by clicking on an alert over on the left side. We only have one troll corpse picture, even though the headlessness lines up in this case, ha ha.
- Tarn
Post by: Eric Blank on August 26, 2022, 03:40:51 pm
Post by: FantasticDorf on August 27, 2022, 02:26:44 am
I like the dead troll sprite, although it being decapitated by default does seem odd. Maybe with its throat cut but not dismembered, at least until they get sprites for dismemberment cases. Toady was talking about keeping the artists on after initial release to keep making sprites, maybe that's a project for them, to make various dismembered sprites and like layers for the animal people sprites (since they don't display anything but the creature currently)
Personally im with you on this, but atleast a generalized, head off by default is a bit like saying intestines ripped out (which we already have mechanic sprite implementation for) artificially in a death sprite where detail is took everywhere else to be consistent but then slips up in this one thing. Whether that's raising the bar too far to say every head should dynamically roll off bodies, i don't know.
There aren't any sleeping/unconcious sprites, so a general deathsprite on this troll would be fine.
Post by: kitfoxgames on August 31, 2022, 11:00:13 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3359143880271758164 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3359143880271758164)
Full text:
Hey there!
It's Alexandra from Kitfox Games with some very exciting news about the new Dwarf Fortress soundtrack. Watch the announcement video from Tarn and Zach on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/KgXQKqGhfIY (https://youtu.be/KgXQKqGhfIY)
Dwarf Fortress Steam edition will have a 15 track soundtrack by Dabu and Simon Swerwer including tracks in the Dwarvish language! You might be familiar with Simon from his work on the SoundSense utility for the original Dwarf Fortress. We are so excited to be able to work with both Dabu and Simon to bring you this new soundtrack that will be available on Steam, Spotify, Bandcamp and more!
Dwarf Fortress at PAX West
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/f07196fde4707a29165ef98efaff98f5149ef904.jpg)
[/url]
Tarn, Zach and I will be at PAX West in Seattle, Washington hosting a demo for Dwarf Fortress Steam edition. It will be taking place this Friday September 2nd at 4:00pm Pacific Time from the Horse Theatre.
This will be the first time you'll be able to see the game in action on stage! If you'll be at PAX West you won't want to miss this! If you can't make it to PAX, the panel will also be streamed live on https://www.twitch.tv/pax3 (https://www.twitch.tv/pax3)with a VOD available shortly after.
Looking forward to meeting some of you soon!
- Alexandra + Bay 12 Games
Post by: scriver on August 31, 2022, 12:50:57 pm
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on September 01, 2022, 01:19:53 am
At least best in this whole Steam graphical update arc thingy anyway. Simon Swerwer has been my soundtrack to Dwarf Fortress and a whole load of other games for years. Terrific news.
Post by: Eric Blank on September 01, 2022, 01:44:58 pm
Post by: clinodev on September 01, 2022, 04:27:09 pm
(Official News from the Kitfox Discord plus a bonus from me.)
Hey folks!
An update to yesterday's Steam Community Update was posted this morning and pushed out to all the subscribers to the Kitfox Discord (https://discord.gg/CZXAUXrj)'s DF official news channel (#mayors-office).
Quote from: Alexandra
Alexandra
Today at 11:11 AM
Hey folks.
We wanted to correct some errors and omissions from yesterday’s Dwarf Fortress Soundtrack update. Firstly, we failed to announce Águeda Macias as the third composer featured on two of the tracks with Dabu and Simon. She makes a lot of really cool video game music and you can find all her work at https://www.aguedamacias.com/.
Secondly there was a typo with one of the song titles: Drink & Industry is the correct title of the third song in the soundtrack announcement video. Apologies to the composers and to you for getting this wrong.
(https://i.imgur.com/5Q7j38G.png)
As a special bonus, some very eagle-eyed viewers of /u/BlindiRL may have noticed there was a *tiny edit* made to the VOD of one of the interviews with Tarn and Zach. I happen to have clipped and downloaded it to save for posterity.
"Ooooh!" "Did I just fuck up?" (https://i.imgur.com/mIhwz2v.mp4)
(Turn sound on.)
Post by: kitfoxgames on September 14, 2022, 12:49:26 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3421069592540788406 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3421069592540788406)
Hello!
My brother Tarn and I recently returned from PAX West, an entire 30 minute ferry ride across the Puget Sound in Seattle. There we met with the Kitfox community manager, Alexandra, who introduced us to the crowd waiting to see the first ever live demonstration of the new Steam version of Dwarf Fortress! The link to the show can be found here (https://youtu.be/uE-FCtGdwMI (https://youtu.be/uE-FCtGdwMI)), where you can listen and watch as we take a ponderous tour through the new controls and give away the Easter eggs - spoilers!
I would like to thank Alexandra and the many fans who showed up in person to visit with us. Extensive Influencer BlindIRL also came out to meet us. His many Fortresses online are an inspiration, including one that aims to span a thousand years! He and the many other streamers have kept our project afloat for almost 20 years and it soon will be accessible to all.
- Zach
Hi everyone!
It's Alexandra, just wanted to thank everyone who talked to us at PAX and everyone online who watched online. We did not have a booth this year so it might have been hard to find us but hopefully we will be back with one for next con! Now that the game is in a more showable state, we can start making more video updates and hopefully working a lot more with any Dwarf Fortress content creators so stay tuned!
-Alexandra
Post by: nenjin on September 17, 2022, 03:40:48 pm
Also really great to hear about Simon. His were some of the tracks for Soundsense that I added to my forever playlists and libraries.
Post by: kitfoxgames on September 28, 2022, 11:49:20 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3267948473376874701 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3267948473376874701)
Full text:
Hello!
We're continuing along with the art. The last bit we need to update is the buildings. Jacob has put together some amazing workshops. Their color reflects the material they are made from. Here are twelve different workshops made from three different woods.
https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/61610046ad42012ac0c5eb8c2c69d4f60d01f8ae.png (https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/61610046ad42012ac0c5eb8c2c69d4f60d01f8ae.png)
These workshops were built in a volcano, sadly. Watch the destructive power of lava here:
https://youtu.be/pZhIyCYWEeI
(https://youtu.be/pZhIyCYWEeI)
- Tarn
Post by: clinodev on October 12, 2022, 01:16:07 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3570816816643761422 (https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3570816816643761422)
Full text:
Losing is Fun... for Everyone! 😈
Dwarf Fortress has the well-earned title of being one of the most torturous games to learn. There is a lot going on, even after we changed all the ridiculous keyboard commands and replaced the Matrix-like interface with some understandable, and awesome, pixel art. It still needs something. Something to ease the need to head straight to a wiki just to understand what's going on. The answer is the tutorial of course.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/535311f285468fdd8fa68a6e44fd615ef5a91647.png)
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/7ac45f4d0ddb46f6281f0e89303bab4edab3e4df.png)
To make the tutorial all it can be, we found the ultimate play tester: my wife Annie. There are a lot of base-building games out there now, enough to make Dwarf Fortress easier to get into. She doesn't play any of them. The closest she gets to DF is Overcooked 2. After one failed attempt with the original, the latest version of the tutorial allowed her to get good enough at the game to tunnel under a bog and drown her fortress.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/d137e4735419b56fd146ec11cf0058fdaad04518.png)
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/51a6fac97b4289686b8504b11009e7d51d6c7096.png)
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/789b0c0a9766529b97c649dd68b75615240a9303.png)
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/a38d4731b8b42240de73735be60c6ccbac2f3e38.png)
Our aim is to make this level of play achievable by anyone. We want the world to be able to lose this game and have fun doing it.
- Zach
P.S.
A note from Kitfox, our publisher: Very soon, Alexandra will be starting a streaming video series on learning this new version of Dwarf Fortress! Follow along and get ready to stock up on knowledge at our Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/kitfoxgames (https://www.twitch.tv/kitfoxgames) or YouTube channels https://www.youtube.com/c/KitfoxGames (https://www.youtube.com/c/KitfoxGames) .
Post by: clinodev on November 01, 2022, 09:55:49 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3369282001880054477
Full text:
After years of hard work, we are thrilled to announce that the highly anticipated, and newly inviting Steam and Itch.io PC release of the fabled Dwarf Fortress will release on December 6 2022 for $29.99 USD! Watch the release date trailer on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K7T5LXQPJI
We are so excited to share the news, we know it was not easy waiting. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding!
We will still want be as transparent as possible about the game's development and wanted to provide an updated roadmap.
As we suspected back in February, we won't be able to squeeze in everything we'd have liked without the potential of a major delay. So here's a bit more information about where we are and where we're going:
CURRENTLY
We're implementing a few last creature and building graphics and fixing more bugs. We already know for sure that launch will include Legends mode.
We're not totally sure whether we'll have Arena mode or Steam Workshop integration or Classic mode at launch, but we do know all are very very close and already partially working. So those three things might end up in the launch or they might end up being patched in in the weeks after.
SOONISH
For the months following launch, we have more graphics we want to add. We'd like specific graphics for more plants (evergreens, real world plants, etc), for example, and we'd also love to put in images for baby animals instead of just scaling down the adult versions. Kittens and red panda cubs and giant eaglets!
We're also not able to approach Mac and Linux by ourselves, since we've never notarized a Mac build or managed Linux libraries, and will need to get help with that to do it properly. But obviously we'd love to get that whole pipeline working so people can play on non-Windows computers.
And of course we'll do whatever necessary work there is to stabilize the release post-launch.
EVENTUALLY
It will take a lot of effort and tons of special menus and interface, but Adventure mode is the biggest thing on the horizon that's missing from launch.
Around the same time as Adventure mode, maybe a bit before or after, we'll probably also put in Steam Achievements. We'll complete the work on villain systems and armies and sieges we were pondering before premium DF work began.
After that, we'll probably enter a lengthier development cycle, designing and coordinating work around the next big improvements to the map system, preparing the game for the addition of procedurally generated myths and magic systems. Some of these additions will take months by themselves, or longer, but we'll see how all that is shaping up when we get there.
Thanks for your enduring patience! We're hoping for a smooth and cheerful launch, thanks to the help of everybody keeping things running: the mods, volunteers, Kitfox, Valve, and our players and supporters. Not too much longer before you too can Strike the Earth!
-Tarn & Zach + Kitfox
Post by: Salmeuk on November 01, 2022, 11:58:54 am
Post by: beetlenaut on November 01, 2022, 07:54:04 pm
Oh nooooo...it doesn't apply to me!
I know what I'm doing on Dec. 6th: Crying. Probably literally. I have Linux.
Post by: Schmaven on November 02, 2022, 04:08:08 am
Post by: Mr Crabman on November 02, 2022, 04:42:14 am
Post by: BlueManedHawk on November 02, 2022, 07:33:39 am
Post by: Mr Crabman on November 02, 2022, 08:08:21 am
Unfortunately, WINE (which proton depends upon) is a somewhat hefty piece of software, so it may still be out of reach for some people.
Hefty how? Many games run faster under Proton than they do in Windows even, and performance impacts are rarely significant in my experience.
Post by: Starver on November 02, 2022, 08:47:58 am
But I've not actually WINEd (or used DF on Linux) for some years, now, so not sure how it currently works. Or not.
Post by: DeadlyLintRoller on November 02, 2022, 10:41:25 am
Post by: globbo128 on November 02, 2022, 12:13:19 pm
will there be anyway to use a legacy keyboard layout, or any custom button mapping in general?
Post by: ☼Obsidian Short Sword☼ on November 02, 2022, 01:36:44 pm
Post by: BlueManedHawk on November 02, 2022, 01:48:41 pm
Unfortunately, WINE (which proton depends upon) is a somewhat hefty piece of software, so it may still be out of reach for some people.
Hefty how? Many games run faster under Proton than they do in Windows even, and performance impacts are rarely significant in my experience.
What i meant was that WINE itself takes up a lot of storage space.
Post by: noirscape on November 03, 2022, 04:03:25 pm
Post by: Dushan on November 04, 2022, 11:29:02 am
Post by: Mr Crabman on November 04, 2022, 11:41:46 am
I'd personally prefer a native Linux port because the version of the game you can download from bay12 right now has a native port. It really comes across as a regression to just backseat that support to wine or proton (both of which have at times introduced performance regressions with updates that you can avoid by having a native port).
I'd prefer native Linux as well, but they've said it'll come along eventually, so I'm happy to use Proton in the meantime.
Post by: beetlenaut on November 04, 2022, 03:20:26 pm
If so, that's a lot of layers! My computer is plenty fast, but DF is not, so this doesn't sound promising. At least I can make a little fort I guess.
If this is not how it would work, please let me know!
Post by: Mr Crabman on November 04, 2022, 03:51:40 pm
I've never used Steam or Proton, so let me see if I understand this right: I run wine, launch Proton in that, launch the Windows version of Steam in that, and launch DF in that?
If this is not how it would work, please let me know!
No, it's very simple. You just go into Steam, enter the settings menu, go into the "Steam Play" subtab. You tick that/enable that, and then you can just launch DF (or any other Windows game) as you would any native game (Steam will have to download the files for Proton first though). Proton is a sort of sub-variant of Wine that Steam uses.
Usually, most games "just work" and you never need to think about it after that initial enabling of Steam Play. You can check each game on protondb.com to see how well a given game works. Since DF doesn't have any anticheat, or fancy graphics libraries, I'd be surprised if Proton had any trouble running DF. This looks like it'll be the page to check DF's compatibility on: https://www.protondb.com/app/975370
Post by: beetlenaut on November 04, 2022, 05:30:02 pm
No, it's very simple....This looks like it'll be the page to check DF's compatibility.Oh, I see. Thanks for the instructions and link! I probably could have tracked it all down myself eventually, but I bet you've saved me an hour of frustration.
Post by: Schmaven on November 05, 2022, 07:26:03 am
Post by: aquatsar17 on November 06, 2022, 11:00:49 pm
havent really been keeping up with Steam version all too much, but after looking at the screenshots provided on this page, I noticed that the keyboard mapping seems to be different from the free version!
Will there be anyway to use a legacy keyboard layout, or any custom button mapping in general?
I recall from either a previous announcement, or perhaps an interview, that keyboard rebinding will be possible. However, it's already possible in the current version of DF to do this (by editing the interface.txt file), so any change in the new version would be a better UI for that kind of rebinding.
Post by: darkhog on November 10, 2022, 12:55:01 pm
Yay...it's the release announcement!
Oh nooooo...it doesn't apply to me!
I know what I'm doing on Dec. 6th: Crying. Probably literally. I have Linux.
DF is known to run fine via wine/proton so...
Post by: clinodev on November 10, 2022, 04:28:16 pm
Post by: Ziusudra on November 11, 2022, 04:25:49 am
Post by: nenjin on November 12, 2022, 04:47:09 pm
Between this and Darktide releasing within a week of each other, I've got all the games I need for the next year easily.
Post by: Octopusfluff on November 18, 2022, 05:08:36 am
Unfortunately, WINE (which proton depends upon) is a somewhat hefty piece of software, so it may still be out of reach for some people.
Hefty how? Many games run faster under Proton than they do in Windows even, and performance impacts are rarely significant in my experience.
What i meant was that WINE itself takes up a lot of storage space.
steam release for df is advertising storage requirements of about 500 megs.
a typical glorious eggroll release is a gig or so (within a couple hundred megs either way) extracted. official proton releases within the last couple years seem to be about a couple gigs or so (within a couple hundred megs), for reasons unclear to me (differently optimized builds? idk).
even still, that's not terribly massive for a system that's able to actually able to meaningfully play the premium edition. odds are pretty good anyone running linux using steam and not all-in on "native builds or gtfo" has some proton builds installed already.
if someone is running on a machine where a couple gigs of compatibility layer is that problematic, running the premium edition is quite probably not going to be a happy experience anyway.
Post by: Ziusudra on November 18, 2022, 05:22:28 am
And today's interview by Blind Premieres 11/18/22, 10:00 AM Pacific Dwarf Fortress - Tarn and Zach Adams Talk - Workshop Support and Release Date (November 2022) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9OgqWywZx4) (about 7 hours after this post)
Post by: A_Cuter_Triangle on November 18, 2022, 10:46:32 am
Post by: thvaz on November 21, 2022, 02:31:52 pm
Post by: hirsute_offender on November 22, 2022, 08:40:47 am
Post by: Nordlicht on November 22, 2022, 09:08:03 am
wow no mac version on launch? what a low blow to the community
I'm on Linux and sometimes one has to accept that even together we only make a small fraction of steam users. A later release for other systems seems not too uncommon for many games. I'm hopeful emulators will run it, though.
Another vote for a gog release here!
Post by: supasang on November 23, 2022, 09:01:02 am
Post by: voliol on November 23, 2022, 09:19:53 am
But yeah, it is pretty curious. It could also be that the old/current Adventure mode UI is broken due to the Fortress mode changes, but as that is pure speculation. Might be worth a question over in the Future of the Fortress thread (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=169696.0). You can't really expect a answer here, it's just for gathering all the announcements in one place on the forum.
Post by: Mr Crabman on November 23, 2022, 02:14:30 pm
But yeah, it is pretty curious. It could also be that the old/current Adventure mode UI is broken due to the Fortress mode changes, but as that is pure speculation. Might be worth a question over in the Future of the Fortress thread (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=169696.0). You can't really expect a answer here, it's just for gathering all the announcements in one place on the forum.
Tarn did confirm that the old/current Adventure mode UI is broken.
Quote from: Mr CrabmanCould the current/old versions be enabled through some out-of-the-way config option somewhere, maybe even requiring editing a text file instead of just toggling something in the menu? At least the Object Testing Arena, because it's quite handy for... Object testing. Trying to update mods for the new graphics functionality (or trying to make new mods entirely) for the Premium version would go somewhat slower and more painfully if there is no way to instantly test things on the Premium version, and if the concern is exposing unwitting new players to an unpolished and difficult to use menu, requiring out-of-the-way configuration to access it would solve this.
The modes don't function now, and I'm not going to try to cludge them in since it'll take extra time to make the parallel systems work. In arena mode's case that's probably the same amount of time as just doing the necessary arena mode menus.
Post by: kitfoxgames on November 23, 2022, 02:34:56 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3507770137587814289 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3507770137587814289)
Full text:
Hello Urists!
It's Alexandra from Kitfox Games with another community update!
It's less than two weeks until launch and we are all busy and excitedly preparing for the big day. Tomorrow (November 24th at 2pm ET) will be our third and final beginner-friendly stream on the Kitfox Twitch channel. Streamer and Youtuber SalfordSal (https://www.twitch.tv/salfordsal (https://www.twitch.tv/salfordsal)) will be joining us this week to see if we can keep our fort going (despite the chaos). You can find the VODs of all the streams on our Youtube channel in this playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAcQJt6sSXKAk1b7GEo4TX3xMO_oBKvL6
Workshop Update
If you've been following our Update Roadmap, you'll know that Tarn has been busy prioritizing Steam Workshop integration. We are happy to announce that indeed Steam Workshop will be available at launch. This means that you'll be able to find and install Dwarf Fortress mods with ease. If you are a mod developer please feel free to contact me at alexandra@kitfoxgames.com or on Discord at Alexandra#0007 to discuss getting your mod on Workshop!
This also means that we won't have enough time to get Classic or Arena ready for launch but they will soon follow. To be clear, this means the free classic update will be a bit late coming to Bay 12's website as well. But it will be available as soon as humanly possible. We will continue to provide regular updates on the progress of these modes.
Official Merch on Fangamer
Official Dwarf Fortress merch is coming to Fangamer! There is a pin, a metal band-style t-shirt and a pint glass with drawings of inside a fort. You can sign up here to get notified as soon as the merch becomes available here: https://www.fangamer.com/collections/dwarf-fortress (https://www.fangamer.com/collections/dwarf-fortress). All craftsdwarfship is of the highest quality.
-Alexandra
Post by: Fatace on November 23, 2022, 05:19:43 pm
If you've been following our Update Roadmap, you'll know that Tarn has been busy prioritizing Steam Workshop integration. We are happy to announce that indeed Steam Workshop will be available at launch. This means that you'll be able to find and install Dwarf Fortress mods with ease. If you are a mod developer please feel free to contact me at alexandra@kitfoxgames.com or on Discord at Alexandra#0007 to discuss getting your mod on Workshop!
In regaurds to this, do we add Alexandra on discord or do we join a specific server to direct message them?
Post by: clinodev on November 23, 2022, 07:20:54 pm
If you've been following our Update Roadmap, you'll know that Tarn has been busy prioritizing Steam Workshop integration. We are happy to announce that indeed Steam Workshop will be available at launch. This means that you'll be able to find and install Dwarf Fortress mods with ease. If you are a mod developer please feel free to contact me at alexandra@kitfoxgames.com or on Discord at Alexandra#0007 to discuss getting your mod on Workshop!
In regaurds to this, do we add Alexandra on discord or do we join a specific server to direct message them?
Just join the official DF Discord: https://discord.gg/kitfoxgames
Post by: ASCII_Dwarf on November 26, 2022, 02:12:49 pm
Post by: kitfoxgames on December 01, 2022, 12:56:39 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3640627050780334316 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3640627050780334316)
Hello Urists!
It's Alexandra from Kitfox Games the last regular news update before launch (ahhhhhh)!
We are excited to announce that the Official Dwarf Fortress Soundtrack for the Steam Edition is out RIGHT NOW! This legendary song collection is of the highest quality featuring tracks by Dabu, Simon Swerwer and Águeda Macias (The Gamba Geek).
Youtube (includes 1 hour ambience track):
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp1Y6qRhEmZyEeE3O1xz-qb62htJbPqIF
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1IzWFdH2pfCbho7naePC9o?si=2xe8kZIsQn-k_uhCRzgXWQ
Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/dwarf-fortress-original-game-soundtrack/1656317303
Bandcamp OST:
https://dabuaudio.bandcamp.com/album/dwarf-fortress-official-steam-soundtrack
Dwarf Fortress Steam Edition uses a system of musical cards that play throughout Fortress Mode.These snippets are available seperately from the OST:
Bandcamp In-Game Cards:
https://dabuaudio.bandcamp.com/album/dwarf-fortress-in-game-cards
Modding Guide
Thank you to all the modders who contacted me to discuss their work! I've been working with Tarn to develop a modding guide that will help you get your mods onto Steam Workshop. It should let you convert existing object mods, but it doesn't have any information for tileset mods since that's a lot more information and some folks will do that best by mimicking what they find in the actual folders. Much like the Roadmap, this will be an evolving document which we be updating as we go but it will be quite a big task.
Modding Guide: https://bay12games.com/dwarves/modding_guide.html (https://bay12games.com/dwarves/modding_guide.html)
Send your Well Wishes to Bay12
With less than 5 days till launch, its never been a better time to join the Kitfox Discord aka the Official Dwarf Fortress Discord! We are an active friendly community always ready and willing to help with any dwarfy questions you might have. Don't miss out on chatting with the devs, joining community events and getting all the dwarf news right away! Also make sure to send your well wishes to Tarn and Zach ahead of launch!
Kitfox Discord: https://discord.gg/kitfoxgames (https://discord.gg/kitfoxgames)
That's all I have for now, but you'll be hearing from me again on Dec 6th for launch!
-Alexandra
Post by: Afghani84 on December 03, 2022, 09:23:10 am
Is Steam the only platform where we can buy the game or does Kitfox offer it separately? If there are multiple options, it would be good to know which option is more beneficial for Tarn and Zack. Just want to make sure that as much of the selling price as possible helps the Adams brothers and not a big corp like Valve...
Is there any info on this?
Post by: Mr Crabman on December 03, 2022, 10:10:57 am
Quick question for the upcoming release:You can buy it on Itch.io as well.
Is Steam the only platform where we can buy the game or does Kitfox offer it separately? If there are multiple options, it would be good to know which option is more beneficial for Tarn and Zack. Just want to make sure that as much of the selling price as possible helps the Adams brothers and not a big corp like Valve...
Is there any info on this?
Itch gives them a bigger cut, but buying it on Steam gives them better promotional stats to show the game to other people who may buy it, and also your review counts towards the desirable "Overwhelmingly Positive Reviews" thing. Last I heard is the benefits more or less make them evenly matched.
Post by: Afghani84 on December 03, 2022, 10:15:49 am
Thanks for the quick reply. Is there an option of merging my version with Steam, even if I buy it on Itch.io? I know of some cases where Steam allowed this...Quick question for the upcoming release:You can buy it on Itch.io as well.
Is Steam the only platform where we can buy the game or does Kitfox offer it separately? If there are multiple options, it would be good to know which option is more beneficial for Tarn and Zack. Just want to make sure that as much of the selling price as possible helps the Adams brothers and not a big corp like Valve...
Is there any info on this?
Itch gives them a bigger cut, but buying it on Steam gives them better promotional stats to show the game to other people who may buy it, and also your review counts towards the desirable "Overwhelmingly Positive Reviews" thing. Last I heard is the benefits more or less make them evenly matched.
Post by: Z on December 06, 2022, 04:23:40 am
Post by: Mr Crabman on December 06, 2022, 04:30:01 am
Thanks for the quick reply. Is there an option of merging my version with Steam, even if I buy it on Itch.io? I know of some cases where Steam allowed this...Quick question for the upcoming release:You can buy it on Itch.io as well.
Is Steam the only platform where we can buy the game or does Kitfox offer it separately? If there are multiple options, it would be good to know which option is more beneficial for Tarn and Zack. Just want to make sure that as much of the selling price as possible helps the Adams brothers and not a big corp like Valve...
Is there any info on this?
Itch gives them a bigger cut, but buying it on Steam gives them better promotional stats to show the game to other people who may buy it, and also your review counts towards the desirable "Overwhelmingly Positive Reviews" thing. Last I heard is the benefits more or less make them evenly matched.
I don't know of any such option, and I haven't heard of the cases you're referring to.
Post by: voliol on December 06, 2022, 05:15:46 am
Thanks for the quick reply. Is there an option of merging my version with Steam, even if I buy it on Itch.io? I know of some cases where Steam allowed this...Quick question for the upcoming release:You can buy it on Itch.io as well.
Is Steam the only platform where we can buy the game or does Kitfox offer it separately? If there are multiple options, it would be good to know which option is more beneficial for Tarn and Zack. Just want to make sure that as much of the selling price as possible helps the Adams brothers and not a big corp like Valve...
Is there any info on this?
Itch gives them a bigger cut, but buying it on Steam gives them better promotional stats to show the game to other people who may buy it, and also your review counts towards the desirable "Overwhelmingly Positive Reviews" thing. Last I heard is the benefits more or less make them evenly matched.
You can add any separate application to be launchable from Steam, but I don't know if this is what you're referring to. It only adds an item to your "all games" list, and possibly the Steam overlay. Any other Steam integration like achievements will be missing, even if the game also exists on Steam, and if you also own the game on Steam for real they won't be "merged" in any way but will be considered separate applications.
You will be able to transfer saves and mods though (afaik, it will be confirmed in a few hours).
Post by: Geofferic on December 06, 2022, 12:17:06 pm
Congratulations to the generous!
All of the 'huzzahs' I can muster are for Toady One and ThreeToe!
Post by: thvaz on December 06, 2022, 01:20:02 pm
I am having a hard time "relearning" the interface, but it is a hassle worth having if more people will get to play DF.
Post by: adgriff2 on December 06, 2022, 01:40:57 pm
Post by: nenjin on December 06, 2022, 03:14:20 pm
Post by: Bumber on December 06, 2022, 08:52:17 pm
Post by: KittyTac on December 06, 2022, 10:44:17 pm
Post by: DG on December 07, 2022, 01:57:44 am
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on December 07, 2022, 03:40:16 am
And with the forum acting like it's about to collapse any minute, it's all feeling a bit like FPS death around here. :(
Post by: KittyTac on December 07, 2022, 03:55:57 am
It's just kind of sad that no-one even bothered to announce the release here at Bay12. Like someone convinced Tarn that "those guys aren't going to buy it, they all despise Steam and are holding out for the free ASCII version - hipsters that they are".To be fair, as a years-long lurker just coming back, there was that sentiment a while ago but by now it's calmed down.
And with the forum acting like it's about to collapse any minute, it's all feeling a bit like FPS death around here. :(
The hipsters give this forum a bad name.
Post by: martinuzz on December 07, 2022, 04:00:07 am
I know what I will be spending my Christmas Steam gift card on!
Also, wow! The forums have been so hard to connect to since the release, and Steam already classifies the game as 'top seller'.
Well done and well deserved!
Post by: Showbiz on December 07, 2022, 05:17:09 am
I just logged in to say that I've paid, easily, £1000 for this game over the years and I paid for it on Steam, again, and gleefully. I even bought the soundtrack. And I'm Deaf.This post made me laugh hahaha
People like you are the blood in the veins of Dwarf Fortress.
Post by: Soadreqm on December 07, 2022, 08:39:24 am
"those guys aren't going to buy it, they all despise Steam and are holding out for the free ASCII version - hipsters that they are"Not that far off. I already bought it, but trying to learn the new interface after committing the old one into muscle memory is about as intuitive as riding a bicycle with rear wheel steering. I'm going back to ASCII as soon as it's out.
Post by: KittyTac on December 07, 2022, 08:54:25 am
Even the ASCII version has the new UI design apparently, just not the pretty graphics. You'll need to relearn or stay at 0.47.05 forever."those guys aren't going to buy it, they all despise Steam and are holding out for the free ASCII version - hipsters that they are"Not that far off. I already bought it, but trying to learn the new interface after committing the old one into muscle memory is about as intuitive as riding a bicycle with rear wheel steering. I'm going back to ASCII as soon as it's out.
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on December 07, 2022, 08:59:59 am
Yep. It's the same game but in ASCII (or with a nice ascii-ish tileset). He's not gonna maintain two different games just for some guys complaining about muscle memory.Even the ASCII version has the new UI design apparently, just not the pretty graphics. You'll need to relearn or stay at 0.47.05 forever."those guys aren't going to buy it, they all despise Steam and are holding out for the free ASCII version - hipsters that they are"Not that far off. I already bought it, but trying to learn the new interface after committing the old one into muscle memory is about as intuitive as riding a bicycle with rear wheel steering. I'm going back to ASCII as soon as it's out.
Post by: Starver on December 07, 2022, 09:52:06 am
But it also looks like I'm going to mostly stay off the forum until I get less than two out of every three page-requests go 500 (or worse) on me. I thought it'd be a little better today, but not notably so. And I doubt the overall forum admin has time to attend to that (arrange for a reinforced set of virtual server resources, perhaps) 'cos he's got this other thing going on, right? (Also, there was a blip recorded on https://downdetector.com/status/steam/ - but not sure what timezone that peak time of 11PM actually indicates.)
So once I get this posted (I'm guessing three tries to do so [backpaging to say seven, so far, most being the browser saying the connection was entirely dropped], leaving a respectful time between each Resubmit Data [a good minute or so, don't want to mash it and be the main source of everone else's problems!]) I'm probably keeping away for most of the rest of the day.
Post by: Sarai on December 07, 2022, 06:10:37 pm
I was (...) going to leave it a while before I decided to go for Steam (unlikely, bad historic experiences with them) or Itch (no experience at all, and not even a failed account with them).
With your bad Steam experiences, I definitely recommend going the Itch.io route. You also get a Steam key, but the primary benefit is that you get a DLC-free version (just a .zip file, packaged just like we're used to for the free releases), AND Toady and Zach get a higher percentage cut. I think it's something like 10% cut for itch.io vs 30% cut for Steam on Steam direct purchases, even tho the itch.io version also comes with a Steam key.
Post by: DG on December 08, 2022, 02:30:35 am
"those guys aren't going to buy it, they all despise Steam and are holding out for the free ASCII version - hipsters that they are".
I doubt anyone said or thought that. Tarn and Zack must be ridiculously busy right now. I think it's fair of them to expect that people on the dwarf fortress forums would be aware of the release without requiring an explicit devblog entry when there was one not long ago saying it'd be out in 4 days. They must be swamped right now in ways they didn't imagine.
Yep. It's the same game but in ASCII (or with a nice ascii-ish tileset). He's not gonna maintain two different games just for some guys complaining about muscle memory.Even the ASCII version has the new UI design apparently, just not the pretty graphics. You'll need to relearn or stay at 0.47.05 forever."those guys aren't going to buy it, they all despise Steam and are holding out for the free ASCII version - hipsters that they are"Not that far off. I already bought it, but trying to learn the new interface after committing the old one into muscle memory is about as intuitive as riding a bicycle with rear wheel steering. I'm going back to ASCII as soon as it's out.
Yeah, this is what I've been waiting to see ever since the steam release and mouse support pivot was announced. I can easily learn a new mouse UI, but I can't forget my baseline ease of use with the now old interface. I will always argue that the interface was fine, the worst thing was the huge non-alphabetized lists. If the new interface turns out to be slower than the old way once I learn it, that would be a constant nagging thing in the back of my mind whenever I play. And in that scenario I can see myself just putting the game to bed and saying goodbye. So I think it's best for me to wait for the classic release and the extra work put into keyboard support that Tarn was only recently reminded some people want to see. Ideally you'll be able to disable the mouse entirely and not lose access to anything, but I don't have high hopes.
Post by: LuuBluum on December 08, 2022, 03:11:00 am
Post by: thvaz on December 08, 2022, 05:25:29 am
Post by: trib on December 08, 2022, 06:39:48 am
I always played vanilla ASCII (no tilesets) and never used Therapist (and I've been playing since the very first releases) , so I had some really strong muscle memory. It was strange at first, I even thought I couldn't stand the new version, but I tried and after some hours it's all fine. I still think it could improve, mainly by navigating menus without using the mouse, but its fine as it is.
Yeah I played 5 hours yesterday and after the first shock and hiccups, I learned the new hotkeys pretty quick(Played since 2010 with no therapist). Classic version hotkey missclicking only rarely pop up, no where near enough to be annoying. The new system is only slightly slower once you learn the new hotkeys and I bet some of the missing keybindings (lilke for building in workshops) will come back over time.
Post by: Soadreqm on December 08, 2022, 07:54:26 am
Even the ASCII version has the new UI design apparently, just not the pretty graphics. You'll need to relearn or stay at 0.47.05 forever.DFHack already added mouse support to the old version. If someone pulled that off, it ought to be possible to add keyboard support back to the mouse version.
Post by: LuuBluum on December 08, 2022, 11:46:13 am
There is a "keyboard cursor" option in the settings that... well, does in a sense exactly what you're describing. Where DFHack added mouse support, it switches it back to keyboard. The only thing missing at this point is the ability to navigate menus via keyboard. At that point it should be fully keyboard-navigable.Even the ASCII version has the new UI design apparently, just not the pretty graphics. You'll need to relearn or stay at 0.47.05 forever.DFHack already added mouse support to the old version. If someone pulled that off, it ought to be possible to add keyboard support back to the mouse version.
Post by: spikethehobbitmage on December 08, 2022, 07:34:12 pm
Yeah, I don't intend to play yet either, but I logged onto steam long enough to buy it and then made an itch account to get it there, too. I see it as a meta donation doing my bit to bump the figures and maybe add to hype which might encourage actual new people to buy it. They deserve to be millionaires if anyone does.Just bought mine in itch, but I'm waiting for the Linux port so I can actually play it. XD
Post by: clinodev on December 09, 2022, 06:55:07 am
Yeah, I don't intend to play yet either, but I logged onto steam long enough to buy it and then made an itch account to get it there, too. I see it as a meta donation doing my bit to bump the figures and maybe add to hype which might encourage actual new people to buy it. They deserve to be millionaires if anyone does.Just bought mine in itch, but I'm waiting for the Linux port so I can actually play it. XD
Lots of people are reporting Steam's Proton interpreter is working fine.
Post by: da_nang on December 09, 2022, 04:28:16 pm
The game currently crashes if you remove the zone of a claimed tomb.
Verified in 50.02.
Reproduction (at least on my save):
- Have buriable dwarf.
- Make and build a coffin.
- Once built, use the zone paint tool to mark the tomb containing the coffin.
- Wait for the tomb to be claimed for the dead dwarf. The body doesn't have to be in the coffin.
- Remove the zone by clicking on the zone removal button (empty set symbol) on the zone's page.
- Wait a second or two for the crash.
Post by: Mungrul on December 09, 2022, 04:36:09 pm
I'm loving it, although I do get some nasty input lag, but I'm putting that down to me playing on Linux using Proton.
And I'm also loving see DF be the number one seller!
There's plenty of folks on my friends list that I'm sure have bought the game because they compulsively buy every big game that comes out, and I'm intrigued to see what they make of it.
Post by: Sarai on December 09, 2022, 11:39:29 pm
There's plenty of folks on my friends list that I'm sure have bought the game because they compulsively buy every big game that comes out, and I'm intrigued to see what they make of it.
The number of friends I have that are either vaguely aware of DF or played it years and years ago and loved it but dropped it 'cause of the graphics and UI, but were unaware that it released on steam, is so high. Letting them know that it's both on Steam and way more playable than in the past is what I consider my civic duty at this point.
Post by: TheLastVegan on December 10, 2022, 02:18:12 pm
Will buy when adventure mode is readded, because at this point I only play that lol.Yeah I am willing to pay $11 for some bugfixes to adventure mode, and $14 for campsite and companion bugfixes to modded civs. Guaranteed dodge, infinite inventory, infinite attack speed, and modded civs attacking their allies is a bit immersion breaking.
Post by: SammyLiimex on December 11, 2022, 01:32:21 pm
Theres issues with even being able to see the text and sprites being too small before I can even try out the steam version in any real capacity.
Cant play it if I cant really see whats happening because the zoom doesn't go far enough in. =(
Post by: frightlever on December 11, 2022, 01:54:43 pm
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on December 11, 2022, 05:08:20 pm
Where should we be reporting issues with the steam version, or changes we want made? Are you guys reading the suggestions forum here, or just the steam discussion forum?The only place which seems to be collecting info one spot at the moment is Kitfox Discord dwarf fortress bug reports. Hopefully bug tracker comes back up soon...
Theres issues with even being able to see the text and sprites being too small before I can even try out the steam version in any real capacity.
Cant play it if I cant really see whats happening because the zoom doesn't go far enough in. =(
Post by: jipehog on December 13, 2022, 04:10:33 am
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on December 13, 2022, 05:10:31 am
Is there any list of changes in the steam release? Even broad strokes is better that "there are too many changes to list".Changes to the raws are listed over in the mods forum.
Other than that, the interface was updated. Besides the way you actually get at everything the main things that changed there are the labour system (which replaces V-P-L with more of an auto-labour type of system - people who hate it will no doubt use Therapist as they always have done) and the military controls which have been simplified (but are missing some key functionality that hopefully we see back in a few patches time).
Also underground farming was nerfed (regular underground soil doesn't yield as much, soil in the caverns is good - so go explore the cavern).
Don't think anything else about the game actually changed. Besides rumours of additional Fun below. Though you'll have to find that for yourself.
Oh, Adventurer, arena and non-graphics mode will take a little while longer (and Legends is missing some bits and pieces, probably coming back soon - new hyperlinks interface is quite nice though).
Post by: jipehog on December 13, 2022, 06:01:29 am
Changes to save games and modding.
legends mode improvements - adding tabs and hyperlinks.
And seem like many changes involving caves.
What else? Any mechanics changes or old bugs fixed?
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on December 13, 2022, 07:00:30 am
Also in-game tutorials.I would try just playing it. There's no doubt all sorts of things changed under the surface. Bins and barrels bugs for one probably. Along with a whole load of new bugs.
Changes to save games and modding.
legends mode improvements - adding tabs and hyperlinks.
And seem like many changes involving caves.
What else? Any mechanics changes or old bugs fixed?
"Too many to list" seems like the best description.
Post by: Egan_BW on December 13, 2022, 09:44:32 am
Also in-game tutorials.Agitation from treecutting, hunting, fishing and such making animals angry and aggressive.
Changes to save games and modding.
legends mode improvements - adding tabs and hyperlinks.
And seem like many changes involving caves.
What else? Any mechanics changes or old bugs fixed?
Some sort of Hidden Fun Stuff.
Post by: Starver on December 13, 2022, 12:28:47 pm
...the main things that changed there are the labour system (which replaces V-P-L with more of an auto-labour type of system - people who hate it will no doubt use Therapist as they always have done)...but, note, only once Therapist is actually retuned to the new internals it has to work with. (See the DT thread.)
I held off initially because buying the Premium on the day was going to be delayed gratification (not in a state to play, at that time, equipmentwise), then I realised that my schedule wouldn't let me slip into it, before the new year, without risking impacting so many other commitments (unless it really played so horribly that I wouldn't be tempted to be my usual absorbed self; I've had to really wean myself off pre-Pre versions at times!). But I think my criteria now includes, amongst other milestones of various desirabilities, that DT must be part of the deal (albeit the free, volunteer-built, part; unless Toady decides to invite Clément into the inner sanctum, and Clément accepts that invitation?).
Quote
...and the military controls which have been simplified (but are missing some key functionality that hopefully we see back in a few patches time).Not sure about the ambiguity here. What changes are meant.
If it's the basic logistics (all the more recent equipping, calendar-based "call-up/training/civvie-street" stuff, and perhaps the decault patrol route assignments that I occasionally fall over with) then I'd like to see this sensibly simplified.
If it's the direct "send this unit to congregate here, read to engage with the enemy once I open the route to them" scenario then I'm wary there's much simplification there that would be sensible for my way of thinking. (Perhaps finally without the tendency ranged units standing behind fortifications, with a perfect view of a milling enemy, to randomly decide to climb over those defences and try to just go all bowhammer-dwarf on the now encircling forces? Without having to build anti-exit precautions, as well as anti-entry ones, to your fortifications.)
I guess I'll have to see it to believe it. And no doubt it's all on the route towards the anti-turtling measures the future game seems intended to go. (Much of my defensive gameplay already eschews the "one main door being locked when danger threatens" approach, with various alternate vetting/killing corridors, and I have long been braced to officially adopt counter-sapper and anti-sapper strategies (including remedial rebuilders being on short-term call) as they become required, perhaps even bringing back the whole Panopticon concept to my internals.)
But I'm currently talking of (personal) unknowns and mystery features, probably less informed than most in this thread who have already dived in and experienced the current reality. Basing my impressions off what I've seen reported, without pursuing every last detail (and counter-detail in rebuttal).
Post by: Ziusudra on December 13, 2022, 03:09:51 pm
Is there any list of changes in the steam release? Even broad strokes is better that "there are too many changes to list".https://kitfoxgames.notion.site/Dwarf-Fortress-Premium-Launch-Changelog-2300676dec054a518cc2f16e9401afed
Post by: jipehog on December 13, 2022, 07:39:33 pm
Post by: DRY on December 16, 2022, 04:30:45 am
(https://i.ibb.co/t8KPTpX/BAG-WITH-BOLTS.gif)
I apologize in advance if I sent this to the wrong place
Post by: clinodev on December 16, 2022, 06:16:22 am
Hello there! IM new in DF and here too, and while I was playing, I discovered a strange thing, and now I don't know if it's a mistake or I just don't understand something
I apologize in advance if I sent this to the wrong place
Hey there!
I'm not sure what you're trying to ask.
This isn't the right place for it. This is an official announcement/discussion thread.
Try the Kitfox Discord or the /r/dwarffortress subreddit.
Post by: voliol on December 16, 2022, 08:47:55 am
Hello there! IM new in DF and here too, and while I was playing, I discovered a strange thing, and now I don't know if it's a mistake or I just don't understand something
(https://i.ibb.co/t8KPTpX/BAG-WITH-BOLTS.gif)
I apologize in advance if I sent this to the wrong place
That does look like a bug of some kind to me. I believe the best place to report those is in the Kitfox discord server, since the bugtracker is currently down/being migrated to some more stable platform.
Post by: Erendir on December 17, 2022, 04:45:09 am
I just want to know if animal care work now (a dog went to attack a rhino and is now bleeding to death...)
Post by: jipehog on December 17, 2022, 04:48:01 am
https://kitfoxgames.notion.site/Dwarf-Fortress-Premium-Launch-Changelog-2300676dec054a518cc2f16e9401afed
Post by: Inatun on December 18, 2022, 01:57:00 pm
Post by: Petr Ga on December 18, 2022, 03:00:33 pm
Is the Steam version likely to go on sale anytime soon? Christmas is fast approaching after all. If not then that's fine, it's just that money is tight for me at the moment and $29.99 is a relatively large number for my budget.
Losing (money) is fun!
I for myself hope that the sale will not come anytime soon. There is no need for that.
Just play a free version, spare money and then give the creators hard deserved money :)
Post by: Inatun on December 18, 2022, 03:20:23 pm
Fair enough. With all the work they've done I suppose it's a reasonable price to ask.Is the Steam version likely to go on sale anytime soon? Christmas is fast approaching after all. If not then that's fine, it's just that money is tight for me at the moment and $29.99 is a relatively large number for my budget.
Losing (money) is fun!
I for myself hope that the sale will not come anytime soon. There is no need for that.
Just play a free version, spare money and then give the creators hard deserved money :)
Post by: ayy1337 on December 19, 2022, 07:56:40 pm
Post by: Starver on December 19, 2022, 10:07:48 pm
...in fact, I've never used Discord at all (and rarely look at anything on Reddit, etc), so I'm mostly a bit miffed that there are whole areas of (useful?) discussion that are not on here. But I can only imagine what it would be like if Bay12Forums was permanently slashdotted as the only place to be. Given the needs for someone (presumably not Tarn, who is clearly still busy) to make all kinds of moderation decisions, like the above[1], as well as reinforcing the actual servers against the more benign (but overwhelming) increase in use we might still be having.
(There's another particular forum I occasionally interact with, the "officially unofficial" one-stop-shop for chatter about a certain sport. In parts, a "wretched hive of scum and villainy" in both the 'lower forums'-equivalent and often even the On-Topic bits of the board... It makes me appreciative of Tarn's "benevolent dictatorship", and the much more sane atmosphere here. I wouldn't know if KitFox actually goes too far w.r.t. Discord/etc, but far too many places are much too hostile/anarchic for my liking and my almost four decades of experience of everything from BBSs to "Have Your Say" comment sections on news articles make me more inclined to stick with non-malevolent (or, at least, not horribly unaligned from my own ideas) semi-dictatorships than free-for-alls.)
[1] And presumably Kitfox has a few people whose main job is administering judicious review on their own media-areas' contents. Possibly picked up some experienced people dropped from Twitter, if nothing else!
Post by: ayy1337 on December 20, 2022, 12:50:51 am
Note that there are very few innocuous Pepe memes. If they aren't pro-Trump (or of the scene Trump personfified) then they're inevitably anti-Trump(/etc) counter-parodies.
Idk what you're trying to say, is liking a reaction image associated with people who like or dislike a US president something you think people should be banned from a DF community over? If so that's pretty bleak lmao.
There's obviously value in enforcing certain rules but this doesn't seem like a sensible one especially for someone who's spent decades on the internet.
Post by: Starver on December 20, 2022, 01:39:00 am
Directly or indirectly. A wiki I'm a regular editor for had an edit yesterday that Obama was President for zero days, because he never even produced a valid birth certificate (a statement that's provably wrong/a vicious smear/trolling/whatever). The signs, at least to me, are that the edit (quickly reverted) came from someone who put Holocaust Denial (mis)information in. Same kind of fool/idiot/provocateur, definitely.
Call me jaded, but I've seen (and can see) places dragged into a terrible descent. Yay, even unto the mighty Twitter...
And my age/experience makes me arguably cautious, just because I've seen it/been there. Some Usenet groups survived The Eternal September better than others, and not all were pristine even beforehand. Even in one of my past jobs, in part I had to assess various corporate threats to my company, and prepare reactions (everything that seemed possible to attack its IT systems, from natural disasters to industry espionage) and reputational harm was one of the aspects to consider. After I left that position, a failure somewhere in the processes happened that really hit the company (I did not prod and pry, ex-colleagues were ex-colleagues so I left well enough alone, but the public bits were very much in the news) and I could only hope my own contributions to the policy concerned was sufficient/followed/in effect at that time, though the failure was not strictly an IT one. Perhaps something better. But I'm cautious and protective about such things (not that I always necessarily practice what I preach!) so I'm definitely sympathetic towards avoiding obvious issues that are obvious.
That's all I'm trying to say. And I can't see any problem with deciding that this particular rule (if it 8s one) is sensible. How it's applied (strong words at an appropriate moment, a weighted "three-strikes" system, clearly publishing a guide (but not an instruction manual!) to what is unacceptable) is another thing. And "no My Little Pony" could be considered reasonable, should those in charge so wish, as long as it doesn't pop up as part of an apparently entirely arbitrary judgement system. But I didn't mean to divert the conversation with this. It's beyond my control/experience so I'm just expanding on my considered reaction to the original comment. YMMV.
Post by: ayy1337 on December 20, 2022, 02:17:31 am
Post by: Erendir on December 20, 2022, 04:43:06 am
Post by: clinodev on December 20, 2022, 05:18:36 am
This is one of the very least likely places for Tarn and Zach to ever look anyway. There must be a dozen better places to make off-topic complaints.
Post by: Starver on December 20, 2022, 09:25:11 am
Not worth self-striking my contribution/editting into oblivion, as a matter of record/memory, but my (final?) full direct response to ayy1337 is now PMed. You lot should already know where my opinions lie. But I dare say that, if you're curious about the kind of thing I said, a summary of that is possibly available......that a company may always ban 'paying' customers, and must indeed be prepared to do so. How they enact this is entirely their business. Literally.
...but there's no reason at all to promote further such discussion itself here.
I do rather hope that Kitfox take note of us, here, at least whenever they pop in to see if they need to render the latest Announcement for our benefit. But I'm not yet one of their customers (ETA, on that point: New Yearish, or possibly whenever I think I can get it and DT to cooperate) so I've even less reason to expect them to take note of liddle-old-me. But roll-on such relevent discussion as we can yet scrape together here!
Post by: frightlever on December 20, 2022, 09:47:32 am
I do rather hope that Kitfox take note of us, here, at least whenever they pop in to see if they need to render the latest Announcement for our benefit.
As you said, this forum is deader than it's ever been and going forward most discussion will be on Steam and the most relevent discussion will be on the Kitfox Discord, which I will probably migrate over to. I don't like Discord, not even a little bit, but it sounds like my kind of place if they're actively moderating idiots.
Also, and I'm not trying to be mean here, but the way you write is painful to parse and understand, and I can only imagine that someone for whom English isn't a first language is really going to struggle with it. I would urge you to look up Orwell's Six Rules of Writing.
Post by: jipehog on December 22, 2022, 02:23:58 pm
Post by: voliol on December 22, 2022, 02:54:43 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3625992251197549467 (https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3625992251197549467)
Full text:
Classic Mode is here! + The Team Grows
Our last update of the year brings Classic and more fixes
Hey Urists,
We have another important update before we are off for the holidays! We are happy to announce that we now have ❗❗ Classic "graphics"
❗❗ (i.e. ASCII-esque font-based glyphs) available. You can now toggle between Classic Mode and the premium graphical version with the press of a button!
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/48ac85c7d279216fbfc8a813db52c9f3595233fb.png)
Why play Classic? Pretend you're a time-traveler, or seeing through the Matrix, or just explore a new way to play your favorite game. Those of you out there who prefer to only play Classic mode without the premium graphics and so on also know you can find it on the Bay 12 website, as per usual.
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/eb15de9f1aa04c0ffd2203af6056d23b11c4d50f.png)
The team grows
With the success of the Steam launch, we are now able to bring on some more help for future updates and events.
Firstly, Putnam is a very prominent, long-time member of the Dwarf Fortress community and will be helping Toady with programming. This is a historic moment, as never before have non-Adams eyes seen the Dwarf Fortress code. Welcome, Putnam! We wish you luck and courage.
You may also be familiar with SalfordSal, a content creator who joined us for an episode of Let's Learn Dwarf Fortress. She will be joining the community team to help with Discord and will be hosting streams on the Kitfox Twitch channel!
We are so excited to be able to grow the team and can't wait to show you what we have planned! As always, please be kind and considerate to all of the humans associated with Dwarf Fortress, whether you see them on stream, Discord, Twitter, or elsewhere. Well, ideally we'd all be kind to all humans everywhere, but here's a good place to get in some practice.
Release notes for 50.04 (December 22, 2022)
Along with the addition of Classic mode, we have updated more graphics, and few more fixes to ambient audio. Plus now you can collect those silly Steam trading cards! Each one features a different biome and glimpse of some creatures you might find there. Collect 'em all! Or don't!
Also, as far as we know all of these changes are compatible with your old generated worlds and save files, so no need to start fresh unless you're feeling the itch. OK so on to the real patch notes:
Graphics additions/changes
- Can now swap back and forth from Classic tile mode (in video settings.)
- Graphics for some picked outdoor plants.
- Updated engraved walls.
- Added some custom symbols.
- Enabled Steam trading cards.
Audio additions/changes
- Added a music frequency option in the audio settings (default 3-5 minutes, can be set from 10 minutes to 10 seconds.)
- Made outdoor ambiences alternate between being more active and a few neutral wind ambiences.
- Made the wild ambience use some randomly spaced howls and giant footsteps.
- Updated trade depot ambience.
Other bug fixes/tweaks
- Ability to add/remove all civilians/soldiers from a burrow
- Can advance the game one frame (default key = period)
- Made assigning multiple squad positions continue to position 10 instead of stopping at 9
Thank you so much for an incredible 2022! It was a year of much anticipation and we hope to continue growing the game and the community in 2023 and beyond! Have a safe and restful holiday, maybe teach grandma how to make her first fort and we shall see you in the new year!
-Kitfox Games + Bay 12 Games
Post by: Telgin on December 22, 2022, 04:04:00 pm
Anyway, glad to see Classic come out so quickly. I was expecting several more weeks at least.
Here's hoping that the testing arena returns quickly too.
Post by: ixn on December 22, 2022, 05:03:41 pm
Post by: A_Curious_Cat on December 23, 2022, 12:26:57 am
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on December 23, 2022, 12:35:03 am
Good! Classic is out, so I can tide myself over until I get a properly working Linux system with Steam up and running/enough disposable cash to purchase the Steam version. The only problem is that I can’t seem to find the 32-bit Linux version of 0.50.04 anywhere…There's no no Linix version yet. None of the ports outside of Windows have been made yet. They don't just magically appear. Toady already said he can't do it himself.
Post by: A_Curious_Cat on December 23, 2022, 01:44:03 am
Hmm… I must have missed something somewhere. Oh well. I’ve waited this long. I can wait longer.Good! Classic is out, so I can tide myself over until I get a properly working Linux system with Steam up and running/enough disposable cash to purchase the Steam version. The only problem is that I can’t seem to find the 32-bit Linux version of 0.50.04 anywhere…There's no no Linix version yet. None of the ports outside of Windows have been made yet. They don't just magically appear. Toady already said he can't do it himself.
Post by: jipehog on December 24, 2022, 12:42:17 pm
Post by: Ziusudra on December 24, 2022, 03:35:46 pm
The classic looks much better than I excepted. Only issue atm is the temporary lack of zoom option, is there any settings I can edit to make the tiles a little bigger for my eyes?The first 4 settings on the Video tab control the scale, either the 1st 3 together or the 4th one alone when the first is set to No. I find setting the height to the minimum and adjusting the width works best.
Post by: jipehog on December 24, 2022, 04:49:07 pm
The first 4 settings on the Video tab control the scale, either the 1st 3 together or the 4th one alone when the first is set to No. I find setting the height to the minimum and adjusting the width works best.It works much better for me, though it adjust everything including the interface which cause some minor issue for me https://ibb.co/d5TPqTV I can live with it for now
Post by: martinuzz on December 27, 2022, 11:32:53 am
Also, I forgot how difficult it is to find a decent embark site (I am probably too picky)
Genning my 5th new world now, to find a site that has sand, soil, clay, no heavy aquifer, iron and flux.
I did find a few of such sites on the previous 4 worlds, but they all lacked access to 1 or more of the other races.
Post by: Shonai_Dweller on December 27, 2022, 11:04:35 pm
The music is awesome. Especially, but not limited to the new composition of the old tune.Try a medium region, with minerals set to 100 (which I think is default now). Should get one pretty easily. So long as you don't mind working through a light aquifer.
Also, I forgot how difficult it is to find a decent embark site (I am probably too picky)
Genning my 5th new world now, to find a site that has sand, soil, clay, no heavy aquifer, iron and flux.
I did find a few of such sites on the previous 4 worlds, but they all lacked access to 1 or more of the other races.
Post by: Argembarger on December 30, 2022, 08:47:10 pm
Finally picked it up myself. I'm so excited for this new era. I ran through the quick start tutorial, and it's a great refresher course for an old-ish classic player like me who hasn't been able to play for several years now.
Getting used to the new interface has been pretty easy. Love the sounds and music, the remake of the main theme is very goosebumps-inducing. All around having a great time! I've learned not to try to resize the window once things get going... heh... it's actually comforting that there are still crash bugs and things lurking around.
Many huge congratulations to the Adams Bros. and the Premium Team!
EDIT: also huge congrats to Putnam, what a legendary opportunity!
P.S. the song "Strike the Earth!" on the new OST can bring me to tears and I don't fully understand the exact mechanism behind this phenomenon, but very well done :'( 8)
Post by: da_nang on January 05, 2023, 04:30:42 pm
Quote from: https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3625992251248624683
Patch notes v50.05 (Jan 5, 2023)
Putnam's Day 3 and already making the dwarves behave better!
Thanks for all your patience over the holidays! We're back and after only a few days, Putnam has already been on fire, fixing:
Major
Fixed saved corruption caused by certain armies bringing uninitialized protocreatures instead of monsters
Other fixes/tweaks
Sped up line-of-sight code
Bees no longer included in food count
We're pretty sure the army corruption was causing the majority of crashes people were experiencing, so this should hopefully help a lot of you. It was in turn causing quite a bit of stress and chaos on our end. Now, with this big slice of chaos behind us, Tarn & Putnam can turn their eyes to other improvements and fixes for the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, we'll be streaming on Twitch next week, on January 9th and 14th as the start of our new event schedule (Mondays 8-10pm Eastern, and Saturdays 5-9pm Eastern). Our streamer will be SalfordSal, sharing her expertise with yet more people through the Kitfox channel. Join us and chat with fellow artisans!
Best,
Tanya from Kitfox
FPS death just got postponed.
Post by: kitfoxgames on February 02, 2023, 03:47:21 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3665402557258815315 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3665402557258815315)
Full text:
Hello! We should have the arena mode patch together early next week. The arena is a great place to test out creature, tree, material, and certain item mods before publishing them, and it's also a place where you can have some sandbox-style fun with the vanilla stuff as well.
The main thing you can do is place creatures with skills, equipment, and teams, as well as special conditions like "necromancer", and set them upon each other.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/dc7eabf0599b17fd0f5f22bc9cc35679eef75d54.png)
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/ff9495bd127cbe74db51f0b20323ebe3fe0f53d2.png)
You can also place liquids, snow, and mud, change the temperature and weather, and grow trees.
We have a few basic arena maps available on top of the Classic one, and are hoping to add an editor and save/load/sharing capabilities for these maps in the future as well. You can already save and load arena games while you are playing them.
-Tarn
Post by: clinodev on February 07, 2023, 05:22:59 pm
Patch notes v50.07 (Feb 7, 2023)
Arena mode and new crop sprites!
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3665402557276275546
Full text:
Arena mode is here which means you can new test out creatures, trees, materials and certain item mods before publishing them! Also notably we've added new sprites to show the growth progression of crops so now you'll be able to see where and what you plant!
New stuff
Arena mode is back, with an updated interface.
Major bug fixes
Stopped new timelines from always saving into region1.
Fixed crash when copying trade information like ownership on certain items.
Fixed crash from giant/diagonal activity zones.
Graphics additions/changes
Underground crops now have sprouting textures.
Added planted soil texture and updated farmplot texture.
Fixed list icons for several creatures.
Updated designation textures.
Updated statue textures.
Audio additions/changes
Made ambiences continue from where they left off rather than starting at the beginning each time.
Now only plays a few random cards for a song on subsequent playthroughs rather than playing them in order each time.
Added neutral cavern ambience.
Replaced wild ambience with the biome-specific ambiences (and the existing wild sounds).
Updated thunderstorm ambience.
Other bug fixes/tweaks
Stopped dragons and other megabeasts from appearing as relatives of random dwarves in the fort.
Allowed emotionless creatures to satisfy needs if they still have them.
Added a few additional embark warnings.
Added culling of certain dead units to help with performance.
Made invader summons parts of the invasion.
-Alexandra from Kitfox
---Michael Scott
----clinodev
Post by: clinodev on March 02, 2023, 06:26:04 pm
Party and a panel!
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3648516594229150167
Hey Urists!
It's Alexandra here with a few community updates! With GDC and Pax East coming up, the team is quite busy with traveling this month. This means that we will be a little slow on game updates for a few weeks. But not to fear because we have some exciting community events planned!
Pax East After-Party!
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/611bf607834689822cefd5252a332d00d60364dd.png)
You are invited to the first gathering of the Fey Mood Society, a gathering of Dwarf Fortress fans to celebrate the launch of Dwarf Fortress on Steam and all things fortress-related! Meet Tarn and Zach Adams, enjoy some delicious food and drink and meet other Urists at Lucky Strike Fenway. We will be in the Polo Room with pool tables, dart boards and a shuffleboard.
Friday March 24th 6-9pm ET
Tickets: $5
RSVP on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/dwarf-fortress-pax-east-after-party-tickets-567073541227
PAX East Panel
Don't miss our Pax East panel where Tarn and Zach will be discussing their experiences with procedural generation in some of their favourite games. It takes place Saturday March 25th from 2-3pm ET in the Albatross Theatre.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/603ca950bb87bedd3c432e8e97dbc68cf96dc3bb.png)
For those who are unable to attend Pax East, the panel will also be streamed on
pax2 https://steamcommunity.com/linkfilter/?url=https://www.twitch.tv/pax2
Best Strategy/Sim Game
This past weekend Dwarf Fortress was awarded Best Strategy/Sim Game at the DICE awards! It's an incredible honor especially amoungst all the amazing nominees this year. You can watch Tarn and Zach's acceptance speech in full on Youtube https://youtube.com/shorts/bKuXGx3akv8
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/9cf17efc7500b468ac6e32b1cd20e9131f420e24.jpg)
That's from me today! If you're going to PAX East I shall see you there and in the meantime, happy diggin'
-Alexandra
Post by: scriver on March 03, 2023, 08:47:00 am
Post by: kitfoxgames on March 15, 2023, 04:15:42 pm
Everything will be baby
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3682294856281092000 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3682294856281092000)
Hey Urists!
It's Alexandra back again for another update from the Dwarf Fortress team! Tarn and Zach will be at GDC and PAX East while the art team have been busy the past month working on baby sprites for dwarves, animals, plants and monsters.
The Baby Update
This might be the cutest update we ever have for Dwarf Fortress. Every living thing will be getting a baby form (and in some cases, child forms). This will make it much easier to identify units and what stage of life they are currently in. We know this is especially important for child dwarves who are currently depicted as adult dwarves with red shirts.
Here's a sneak peek at some of the sprites:
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/91dc22ab6be3250365d5ed9005edd46b62081715.png)(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/521808029548858f3fc5099337d8f48c675e3b9c.png)
There’s still a few more sprites to do so we don’t have an exact ETA on the baby update but we will know more in the coming weeks! We really appreciate your patience between these updates as Tarn and Zach finish with their post-launch work.
PAX East Party and Panel
We are going to Pax East with Tarn and Zach and if you’re going to be there Friday and Saturday, you won’t want to miss our Dwarf Fortress events!
There are tickets still available for our after party on Friday March 24th. There will be food, drinks and games and you’ll be able to meet all of us!
RSVP on Eventbrite now to avoid disappointment: https://www.eventbrite.ca/manage/events/567073541227/details (https://www.eventbrite.ca/manage/events/567073541227/details)
Tarn and Zach are hosting a panel about some of their favourite games on Saturday March 25th Learn about the design inspirations that led to the creation of Dwarf Fortress and get the chance to ask the brothers your questions!
(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/603ca950bb87bedd3c432e8e97dbc68cf96dc3bb.png)
For those who are unable to attend Pax East, the panel will also be streamed on https://www.twitch.tv/pax2 (https://www.twitch.tv/pax2). We will also make sure to upload the VOD to Youtube when it’s available.
We will see some of you next week so until then!
-Alexandra
Post by: clinodev on April 13, 2023, 03:47:14 pm
There's a fancy new public beta branch! Check it out!
Tarn's about to be traveling for a little bit but in the meantime, there's a fancy new public beta branch on Steam for folks to try the following fixes for 50.08:
Major bug fixes
Cleaned out lingering data from autosaves and manual saves that could cause corruption if multiple worlds were active.
Graphics additions/changes
Added graphics for many child/baby creatures.
Added hatchling state for dragons.
Added crop/sprout pictures for outdoor plants.
Added outdoor sapling graphics.
Added palettized boulders.
Ice wall graphics updated.
Smooth ice wall graphics added.
Added more fortification images to indicate direction and material.
Other bug fixes/tweaks
Stopped dwarves without working grasps from trying to get goblets to drink, failing, and dying of thirst.
Allowed most water-based jobs that use buckets to use partially-filled water buckets in addition to empty buckets.
Made stocks screen open faster.
Made all stockpiles not include the refuse option.
Stopped refuse piles that also have armor/finished good settings from degrading contents.
If that sounds interesting to you, right-click on the game in your Steam library and choose Properties -> Betas -> click the None dropdown to pick public beta. And let us know in all the usual places whether you see a disaster in the making. If all goes well, this patch will be out in a couple of weeks!
In the meantime, if I understand correctly, DFHack ("the Dwarf Fortress Modding Engine") (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2346660/DFHack__Dwarf_Fortress_Modding_Engine/?snr=1_2108_9__2107) is launching literally tomorrow on Steam! That team of volunteers is entirely independent from Kitfox and Bay 12, but have our blessing to keep working their magic as best as we can without stepping on each others' toes. It has a lot of interesting extensions and tools for different user experiences, and is planned to be totally free. So keep an eye on it if you're curious.
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/464146bcb30e678904f0d123c3012d9fc89c7bcf.png)
Thanks to all who came to the PAX East panel and/or party. I heard Tarn and Zach had an excellent time, so I hope ya'll did too, minus one known decency violation from the bouncer (we're still agitating angrily about this to the management btw). Relatedly, if you heard or saw anything problematic about the Lucky Strike staff's conduct, please do let us know so we have the full picture of what happened at the venue.
Have a great day!
Tanya
Post by: voliol on April 13, 2023, 04:19:34 pm
And this is a really exciting update beyond the graphics...
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Telgin on April 13, 2023, 07:40:46 pm
Post by: Criperum on April 14, 2023, 10:44:05 am
Post by: kitfoxgames on May 02, 2023, 02:22:27 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3683424562655660575? (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3683424562655660575?)
Full text:
Hey Urists,
Today's patch features the much-anticipated baby update including sprites for children and babies for many of the creatures and outdoor plants. This also includes dragon hatchings! How cute! Other important fixes for buckets and refuse stockpiles.
New stuff
- XML export is back in legends mode.
Major bug fixes
- Cleaned out lingering data from autosaves and manual saves that could cause corruption if multiple worlds were active.
Graphics additions/changes
- Added graphics for many child/baby creatures.
Added hatchling state for dragons.
Added crop/sprout pictures for outdoor plants.
Added outdoor sapling graphics.
Added palettized boulders.
Ice wall graphics updated.
Smooth ice wall graphics added.
Added more fortification images to indicate direction and material.
Other bug fixes/tweaks
- Stopped dwarves without working grasps from trying to get goblets to drink, failing, and dying of thirst.
Allowed most water-based jobs that use buckets to use partially-filled water buckets in addition to empty buckets.
Made stocks screen open faster.
Made all stockpiles not include the refuse option.
Stopped refuse piles that also have armor/finished good settings from degrading contents.
-Alexandra
Post by: clinodev on May 02, 2023, 07:02:39 pm
I feel kind of dumb, but did dwarves, goblins and so on get baby graphics too? I haven't tried starting a fort and waiting for a migrant wave to check yet, but I haven't found anything in the graphics files or graphics configs for it.
The "playable races" type tiles are made up of many layers that go together and he didn't have time to do good testing on them, so not this update.
Post by: Telgin on May 02, 2023, 11:26:02 pm
Post by: kitfoxgames on May 16, 2023, 02:49:51 pm
Alexandra here with a big community update but first, a dev update from Tarn:
(Last) week has been going well! The experimental SDL2 branch is stabilizing after a few patches, and this should pave the way for some speed increases as well as the Linux and Mac versions. Putnam got me through setting up the Windows Subsystem for Linux and it's mostly playing nice with everything, so there's some hope that I'll just be able to compile from within MSVC itself to make the Linux builds.
We're having our first meeting for the adventure mode sound effects tomorrow, and I'll need to get an adventurer running around soon for that and for upcoming artwork, so that's a simultaneous thing going on. And 50.09 is also in progress - the return of the game log and we're working toward report/announcement persistence and some archery fixes/changes as well.
Dwarf Gear
We are so excited to share that the Dwarf Fortress FanGamer collection is now live! There is a very metal shirt, a pint glass with a fort design and a high-quality pin to represent your love of all things dorf. This is the first wave of the collection so expect to hear more merch news in the future!
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/a55882cf192c08e2c81b90375cb7fa3842fe2010.png)
Tarn and Zach say, “If you think losing is fun, buy this shirt. You’ll look like a total loser… and win!”
Store link: https://www.fangamer.com/collections/dwarf-fortress (https://www.fangamer.com/collections/dwarf-fortress)
Tarn and Zach on Stream
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//34693670/eb07fd892961062e11f49d64bf0c75b3dae2eb86.png)
For those who missed our 10th anniversary stream, we have uploaded the VOD to Youtube. Watch Tarn and Zach review a community -made fort live and hear them answer some of chat’s questions along the way. Watch: https://youtu.be/svx5_98F3vM (https://youtu.be/svx5_98F3vM)
Dwarf Fortress at Gamescom 2023
Attention European Urists! We are coming to Cologne, Germany for Gamescom from August 23-27th and are looking for volunteers with convention experience who want to help out at our booth. If this is something you’d be interested in please email me at alexandra@kitfoxgames.com (Bonus points if you speak German)
Sheet Music and Tabs
The composer of the Dwarf Fortress soundtrack, Dabu is working on some exciting but secret new things for Adventure Mode and more. In the meantime, we wanted to share the tabs and sheet music for Strike the Earth! Looking forward to hearing your covers!
Sheet music and tabs: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1o9FVaX97mVxPNNOK4IMC-c6EcgUG-9uW?usp=share_link (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1o9FVaX97mVxPNNOK4IMC-c6EcgUG-9uW?usp=share_link)
-Alexandra
Post by: kitfoxgames on July 19, 2023, 01:06:52 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3660914173080246172?l=english (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3660914173080246172?l=english)
Full text:
Hey Urists,
It's Alexandra here from Kitfox with a seasonal video update from Tarn. We have updates on the art and programming side of development as Adventure Mode work continues. Watch the full video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s5uijK6_6A (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s5uijK6_6A)
One of the most exciting new updates is that we have started creating procedural dwarf faces. This means that a dwarf's appearance will reflect the personality from their description. Here are some of the prototypes that our artist Carolyn has been making:
(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/3f8bcb2e5089964f8735028127f6833b06d9c2f7.png)
Watch the full video to hear about updates to Adventure Mode, the Linux version and to see a Giant Capybara!
We are also working on a new beginner-friendly tutorial series with Dwarf Fortress creator BlindiRL. We have a complete starter guide and a tutorial on making wells with more to come. It's never been easier to learn how to play Dwarf Fortress! Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/a_oKQDSWw-s (https://youtu.be/a_oKQDSWw-s)
To discuss all the latest with your fellow urists, please join our Discord.
-Alexandra + Bay12
Post by: Telgin on July 19, 2023, 02:03:45 pm
Post by: scriver on July 19, 2023, 03:48:08 pm
Post by: Salmeuk on July 19, 2023, 05:28:07 pm
of course this is not direct criticism of the art. the faces are beautifully done and convey real emotion.
further exploration of historical perceptions of physiognomy (popular in the 1800's) if you are curious where I am coming from: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/08/17/face/
related to neurodivergent inclusivity and whatnot
Post by: voliol on July 20, 2023, 02:01:23 am
Post by: kitfoxgames on August 17, 2023, 01:17:10 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3660916710568153375 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3660916710568153375)
Full text:
Hey Urists,
A short update this week as we prepare to head to Germany for Gamescom. While art and audio and other developments for Adventure Mode continues, we also have two much-anticipated updates coming soon(ish) for Fortress Mode.
The Linux version is almost ready, and in about two weeks we will be looking for beta testers, after Tarn gets back from Germany... in fact, it's already on the beta branch!
A patch in the works will also soon give you the ability to view all reports, pausing when a new announcement is added, and viewing a particular creature’s reports.
(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/97c30ebf67153f41d7b8fa66dae6adcc3b11aa42.png)
I also heard rumors of giant animals, but those must be further off on the horizon. I guess I can already see them coming because they’re so big.
Kitfox will be at Gamescom this year with Dwarf Fortress, Caves of Qud and the soon-to-be-released Six Ages 2: Lights Going Out. Tarn Adams will be at the Kitfox booth from 2-4pm every day of the show to meet you! You can find us at booth 91 in the Indie Arena Booth. We can’t wait to meet you in person!
(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/853d81a98c495469fff7c8896e1934df810d86c8.png)
We are also hosting an after-party on Thursday August 24th from 6-10pm. Join us for an evening on the Rhine with food, drink and tavern tales among Urists. Meet Tarn and pixel artist Carolyn (ask her about procedural faces!). For tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/dwarf-fortress-gamescom-after-party-tickets-694071375167?aff=oddtdtcreator
(https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/dwarf-fortress-gamescom-after-party-tickets-694071375167?aff=oddtdtcreator)
So that’s all for now, but you should be seeing another update real soon!
Alexandra
Post by: mikekchar on August 17, 2023, 05:27:54 pm
in fact, it's already on the beta branch!
Hmmm.... I wonder if that means it's accessible.... I have a task for lunch today :-)
Edit: Of course I couldn't wait. If anyone is interested: Yes, it's in the beta for Linux. Make sure to turn off "force compatibility". It works for me! Wow, what a huge performance improvement!!!! I was struggling keeping a 30 graphical FPS without melting my computer in Wine. I upped it to 50 in the Linux version and was only at about 60% CPU.
Give that they want to start testing *in 2 weeks*, please don't pester them with bugs yet. So far (very quick try), no problems for me. It was able to load my old game from the Windows version no problem. The only problem I found was that in my tiling window manager on XWayland, if the window manager decided to change the window size, DF didn't always realise. Switching from full screen and back to window again fixed it. I'm excited to try this in pure Wayland mode to see if it works (I expect it will).
Great work!
Post by: clinodev on September 05, 2023, 02:20:09 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3693569075491422858
Full text:
Tarn is back in action! Almost there!
Misfortunes aplenty, but still, a patch approaches
Hey folks!
Tarn is back from Germany and covid positive! Even a week later! Ouch! Thanks to all of you who visited Tarn at Gamescom. Despite the illness, it was rejuvenating to meet a continent of fans and watch people build succession forts at the booth. Putnam continues tinkering and improving, but in terrible luck, Tarn & Zach are also dealing with a family emergency that unfortunately continues to worsen.
But the good news is that a patch is incoming, as promised, just a bit behind schedule. Tarn is back at work, mostly recovered, fixing bugs and implementing some new graphics you should be able to see by early next week at the latest.
Stay safe and vaccinated!
Kitfox & Bay 12
Post by: clinodev on September 12, 2023, 03:14:42 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3693570314255962426
Full text:
Beta Branch Patch Notes v50.10 (Sept. 12 2023)
Fixes for some of your most requested issues!
Hi Urists,
We have an update to the beta branch with some of your most requested fixes including the ability to view all alerts and a fix for archer ammo. You can look at your old alerts now, and you can also view combat history from a creature's sheet and advance through it one step at a time if a combat is active.
Ammo should work if you've made custom uniforms for archers now. Soldiers shouldn't hoard rotten food in their rooms. Lots of crash fixes and some more optimization. There's also a potential fix for dwarves being stuck in trees but it needs more testing to see how effective it is. All of the following updates are going on beta first so we can figure out what kind of problems will arise before we move over to the main branch.
Thank you to everyone for being so patient with us as we get back to full strength!
New stuff
* Can view all alerts, including old ones that have been dismissed
* Can view combat reports from creature sheets
* Can pause combat reports whenever new events are added
* Added crash logging
Major bug fixes
* Fixed crash from removing zone with assigned unit
* Fixed multithreading crash related to announcements
* Fixed a potential crash issue with monarch arrival and made them provide more wagons properly
* Fixed potential crash related to certain traveling creatures
* Ammo assignments are updated properly when changing uniforms
* Removed ownership of food items whenever they are dropped (stops rotten food hoarding in rooms)
Graphics additions/changes
* New stone ramp graphics
Other bug fixes/tweaks
* Made creatures more able to get out of trees
* Sped up mid-level map retrieval (helps slowdowns on large world embarks)
* Optimized relationship lookup for socializing dwarves
* Fixed out of bounds issue with wheelbarrows
* Stopped music mods from throwing error when making a new world
* Fixed crash when there's an invalid language (mods)
* Made broker leave depot when last wagon leaves instead of first
Post by: Telgin on September 12, 2023, 07:20:55 pm
Post by: DenBjornen on September 12, 2023, 11:23:52 pm
Post by: clinodev on September 19, 2023, 02:58:26 pm
(https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/5430833992895813013)
Full text:
50.10 now live: Alerts, ammo, food, and Linux
Plus a bit of Adventure Mode insider info...
Here's the long-awaited 50.10! The game is now available for Linux, and this patch has some needed updates, like the ability to look at old alerts, ammo that works when uniforms are changed, and soldiers that don't hoard rotten food in their rooms.
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/cc9615d6c1e8f9f6ff154635acc1162e03566f6e.png)
We're going to continue now on parallel tracks. The main work will be on adventure mode. There should be more to show there soon as we get the site travel images in place and get the character running around the world again. Putnam has been working on some interface changes that should allow us to more support the keyboard/mouse interface options as we go, which I know is concerning for some people. It has taken longer than we expected to get the ball rolling generally on adventure mode, but the time ahead is clear now and we're optimistic it'll go smoothly.
We've also got more work to do back in fort mode. Some form of the full ammunition control system needs to come back for instance - we'll continue with patches like this one as we go.
As some of you might have seen on beta, here are the full patch notes:
New stuff
Can view all alerts, including old ones that have been dismissed
Can view combat reports from creature sheets
Can pause combat reports whenever new events are added
Added crash logging
Can now play the game on Linux
Major bug fixes
Fixed crash from removing zone with assigned unit
Fixed multithreading crash related to announcements
Fixed a potential crash issue with monarch arrival and made them provide more wagons properly
Fixed potential crash related to certain traveling creatures
Ammo assignments are updated properly when changing uniforms
Removed ownership of food items whenever they are dropped (stops rotten food hoarding in rooms)
Graphics additions/changes
New stone ramp graphics
Other bug fixes/tweaks
Made creatures more able to get out of trees
Sped up mid-level map retrieval (helps slowdowns on large world embarks)
Optimized relationship lookup for socializing dwarves
Fixed out of bounds issue with wheelbarrows
Stopped music mods from throwing error when making a new world
Fixed crash when there's an invalid language (mods)
Made broker leave depot when last wagon leaves instead of first
Have fun!
Tarn and Zach
P.S. from Kitfox:
Although Tarn had covid and sadly had to miss it, the procedural generation panel we organized at PAX West features three game designers discussing various Dwarf Fortress systems and others. It's insightful and brilliant! Watch it here on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wPep_XiqY4), though I'll warn the visuals aren't very compelling, so maybe think of it more like a podcast. Enjoy!
Post by: Buttery_Mess on September 24, 2023, 08:54:42 pm
Have you already worked out most of what you're going up do for the map rewrite, and only need to implement it, or are you going to figure it out as you go?
Won't the rewrite break a bunch of stuff with existing proc gen of sites?
Post by: Eric Blank on September 24, 2023, 09:57:18 pm
Post by: clinodev on October 03, 2023, 12:25:31 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3753244909556346261?l=english
Full text:
Quote
Fixes for Linux and Tutorial- Patch Notes for 50.11 (October 3, 2023)
Hey Urists,
We have a quick patch update today with fixes for Linux Mode, the tutorial and more. We will be posting a big update this week with a new roadmap for Adventure Mode and updated FAQ so stay tuned for that!
Release notes for 50.11 (October 3, 2023):
Major bug fixes
Fixed crash on linux related to game log threading
Fixed broken tutorial on click workshop step
Stopped tutorial prompt in tiny worlds where tutorial is invalid
Cleaned up a source of squad schedule corruption
Made classic graphics setting work properly on restart (hopefully for real this time!)
Other bug fixes/tweaks
Fixed potential problem with doctors vs. multiple hospitals
Ballista arrows etc. that chop down trees now count for treecap diplomacy
Image sets with non-uniform types now properly display as having a variety of types
Generic improvements now properly display "made a masterful improvement" in histories
Allowed single pair dances to generate properly
Fixed potential minor oddity involving animal placement
-Alexandra
Post by: kitfoxgames on October 04, 2023, 02:26:11 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3753244942577557600 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3753244942577557600)
Full text:
Hello!
We are here with a brand-new development roadmap outlining our plans for Adventure Mode and updates to Fortress Mode. Please keep in mind these are estimates. We do have a date in mind but we’re not quite confident enough to announce it yet. All we can say right now is “not this year”, but hopefully we’ll have more specifics soon. We know you’ve been waiting patiently, and we are working hard.
We will be building on the Adventure Mode framework that already exists. This is exciting because everything is working as intended and we “just” need to add the interface and graphics, which will take us some months.
Here’s the plan for how we get to Adventure Mode release, hopefully not-too-late next year:
To Start
First, the basics, which will let us actually see what’s going on at all in the new art style.
- Travel map - we have the world map, but sites need hundreds of sprites to match up with the ASCII that shows individual streets etc. We’ll be iterating on this until launch.
Main interface layout - similar to Fortress Mode, there are tile-based actions, information menus, and other actions like travel. There’s also a day-night cycle and we’ll have a minimap this time around.
Procedural portraits - we need to implement Carolyn’s great portraits for the humans/elves/dwarves/goblins/kobolds, and also get animal people displayed. Every animal person!
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/a86581141457f3fb9b151010b63bcb99f3dd7095.png)
Once we have this framework, we’ll just start doing the actions and menus one at a time. Full keyboard and full mouse support for all play styles. Actions are challenging because they can be initiated by clicking the play area, through buttons and hot keys, or by accessing a full list. There must be several ways to perform the same action based on context, play style, and input method. Can you guess what the buttons below do?
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/703deae4f6b9e9df7cb69fdc9877e2b40d33b419.png)
Major Features
These are the biggest-risk items, each of which hopefully isn’t more than a few weeks, but it’s hard to say since they each have multiple sub-systems and open design questions to be solved between code and art.
- Inventory - equipping items and containers are the trickiest parts here. You can wear multiple shirts and nest containers as deep as you like, and the new interface will have to handle this with both keyboard and mouse support.
Combat (striking and wrestling) - wrestling will be a bit of a doozy, as there’s a lot of physical/anatomical complexity that we’re not sure how best to communicate
Conversations - this includes supporting the current Adventure Mode system of interleaving speech and actions, and having three or more participants in conversations
Character generator - you can make a whole party in Adventure Mode and the character creation options are complex. We have to update this system.
More!
These are individually much less complicated and risky than the above, but still have lots of little fiddly bits to keep us busy.
- Status screens - wounds, skills, needs etc. There is a lot of information about every character, similar to the dwarf sheets in Fortress Mode.
Journal screen (quests and knowledge) - we may integrate this with Legends Mode because they are very similar.
Crafting and other powers - Adventure Mode is highly moddable and we need to support vast menus of magical powers and other abilities. Pet any animal!
Various small menus/actions (“widgets”) - stealth, movement, tracking, odors, party controls, combat options, etc.
Audio integration - the audio designers are working in parallel with us and we’ll be adding a whole new soundscape for Adventure Mode
Cabin building wasn’t properly feature-rich in the classic Adventure Mode. We’d love to expand on it, but it’s definitely more optional to the Adventure Mode experience than the above features and systems. We have the new Fortress Mode interface which will help a lot, but we may do it after launch if it becomes too complicated.
Ongoing Fortress Work
Work on Fortress Mode will continue in parallel with Adventure Mode. We’re reading the bug tracker and also have some content ideas which will complement Adventure Mode well. More on this later!
FAQ
Q: Will the game be localized/translated to my language?
It is difficult due to the procedural sentence constructions used throughout the game. Our best suggestion at this time is to use auto-translation tools for text on screen, which has been helping some users. We are investigating translation options behind the scenes but it’s very early stages.
Q: How can I report a bug?
You can track and report bugs on our MantisHub: https://kitfoxgames.notion.site/How-to-Report-Bugs-in-Dwarf-Fortress-b5e2ca19dabe408897d1c2669599b7a2 (https://kitfoxgames.notion.site/How-to-Report-Bugs-in-Dwarf-Fortress-b5e2ca19dabe408897d1c2669599b7a2)
We know that this system isn’t working very well for our helpful bug wranglers though, so we’re looking into rolling back into the old system soon, in the hopes that we can rejuvenate the bug-hunting community like days of yore. We have double the code resources that we used to, but also ten times the bug reporters, so we’re still finding our feet to figure out how best to maximize this power. Please be patient.
Q: What about the Mac version?
Because of all the work that needs to be done for Adventure Mode, we won’t be able to start development on the Mac version until after its release, at the earliest.
Q: When are Steam Achievements coming?
We will consider implementing this after Adventure Mode. Several of the achievements will likely link the two modes together so it’s best to have these systems in place. The main problem with Achievements is that they also need to be a new ‘living’ system alongside all of the other features, and we’re not sure it’s a good idea for people to feel they have “100%ed” the game based on what’s essentially an arbitrary list of tasks. We’re considering it, but haven’t decided yet, and will come back to the topic after Adventure Mode.
-Kitfox Games + Bay 12 Games
Post by: BlueManedHawk on October 04, 2023, 02:39:46 pm
Post by: clinodev on November 16, 2023, 02:51:52 pm
Full text:
First Look at Adventure Mode + New Bugtracker and more!
New Merch and European Storefront
Hey Urists,
It’s been a little over a month since our big Adventure Mode Roadmap. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, go ahead and do that here (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3753244942577557600). Since then, we’ve been working on a ton of new procedural portraits for goblins, kobolds and animal people which will be added to both Adventure Mode and Fortress mode. Soon you will be able to stare into the face of every single being you encounter in your fort or, bring them along with you in Adventure Mode. Watching humanoids slowly go insane from sobriety or die of dehydration was never so personal.
Here is one of the first screenshots from the new Adventure Mode, featuring an ambitious hippoman at a tavern. Maybe you can convince him to join you on your party? We also see the Adventure Mode UI coming along with your character’s portrait in the bottom left as well as all the new buttons for the various actions you can do.
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/d54927afa8b9f415d46edb19b425d37472c2e48c.jpg)
Below, we also have a first look at the Adventure Mode world map. As you can see, towns are represented in much more detail including roads, farm plots and homes. The little shield acts as the marker for your party as you move through the map to reach new points of interest.
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/494d1d33d5b6f1b29d2b9f2e5675b99edf965a59.jpg)
We will have more to show with Adventure Mode as well as a more accurate release timeframe in a couple of weeks. If you're curious to pore over the little pixel icons and implications, Blind did a little livestream grilling Tarn and Zach over the Adventure Mode details, so check that video out here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a77Oj8UQmsw).
New Bugtracker
We are happy to announce that we have a new bugtracker (https://dwarffortressbugtracker.com/my_view_page.php) ready to go! The bug tracker has now migrated to a new domain with the old account system for reporting and commenting. The previous address and email reporting will no longer be used, so please update your bookmarks and follow the new instructions here: https://bit.ly/3R2d9t5
Thank you to everyone for your patience and willingness to help to squash all those pesky bugs!
New FanGamer Merch + European Store
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/75b6b4659ccb184809f869cddb052a8342b617f0.png)
New Dwarf Fortress merch has arrived to FanGamer as well as select items on the FanGamer Europe store. We have the vinyl soundtrack, a journal designed to document your favourite forts, a giant desk mat and a hood with customizable menacing spikes! And European Urists can finally rejoice because you can now pick up the vinyl, journal, desk mat and pin on the European storefront, at least until they sell out:
Wave 2: https://fanga.me/r/dwarf-fortress-wave-2
FanGamer Europe: https://www.fangamer.eu/collections/dwarf-fortress
That’s everything we have for this update. Thanks for reading! In a couple weeks will have some very exciting Adventure Mode stuff to show off and a more accurate timeframe for the release!
-Alexandra
P.S.
Our friends at Freeehold Games just released one of the biggest Caves of Qud patches ever yesterday! It’s been a year in the making and features a ton of new content including new boss fights and factions as well as the next leg of the main quest and HUNDREDS of new visual and audio effects, plus improved Steam Deck controls. Now is the best time to pick up Caves of Qud or return to it. You can buy Caves of Qud in Early Access and read more about the update on Steam (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/333640/view/3823054545430574500?snr=1_2108_9__2107) or watch the trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZU4LpzlOQg).
Post by: Egan_BW on November 16, 2023, 06:13:44 pm
Post by: DenBjornen on November 21, 2023, 10:11:11 pm
Post by: Eric Blank on November 22, 2023, 07:25:14 pm
Post by: Bumber on November 23, 2023, 12:18:03 pm
you can just pause/unpause burrows to direct your dwarves, which works fairly well
Other than the lack of urgency at which your dwarves will obey it.
Post by: Buttery_Mess on November 26, 2023, 01:39:50 pm
Post by: clinodev on November 30, 2023, 03:15:33 pm
https://steamcommunity.com/games/975370/announcements/detail/3880475983255753767
Full text:
Adventure Mode is coming April 2024
Venture beyond your fortress
Urists Rejoice!
As you may have seen on the PC Gaming Show today, we're announcing that we have a release month for Adventure Mode which will be coming April 2024! Watch the brand new trailer with the first ever footage of Adventure Mode in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz1e5y4Ipzc
For those who don’t know, Adventure Mode is the RPG mode of Dwarf Fortress, where you can create a character and freely roam the rich simulated world you have made a home in during your Fortress Mode save or start fresh in a newly generated world.
Characters in the world will now have a face. A dwarf’s appearance will reflect their description, from wounds to clothing to hairstyle. This is possible thanks to the game’s procedural portrait system based on the beautiful pixel art from Carolyn Jong we’ve been showing off in the art updates. This feature will also be coming to Fortress Mode.
We've already shown off the dwarves and the elves but here is a look at goblins and kobolds:
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/e5e6c533238dec8a59e4febed46309b57cf708d9.png)
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/e10bdb44f92594202956533bff57a2e8e1b79893.png)
Thanks to a new interface, Adventure Mode brings rich conversations with characters! This will help you bond with your unique party of adventurers and add weight to the stories they create in your world.
Combat in the game will also see a visual and mechanical revamp with updated wrestling mechanics. This will encourage those who may have in the past avoided grappling, to maybe look forward to a tussle. It will also spice up your adventures out in the wild and another exciting layer of engagement with their world. Fight as an individual or control your whole party in tactical mode.
The world map while in Adventure Mode will also see a change, with important landmarks such as roads, towns, and homes being much more easily visible.
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/46cbad830d6cb2f24b8a33277d4ed2ef039edfd8.png)
Adventure Mode holds limitless possibilities for player stories: Write a poem and recite it in front of unsuspecting tavern-goers, join the group of hearth warriors of a local village to solve local problems, rob a tomb and become cursed by a mummy. This and so much more!
We also remain busy working on Fortress Mode in parallel to development on Adventure Mode and look forward to sharing an exact date for Adventure Mode when ready. In the meantime we will continue to update you on our progress. As we get closer to launch we will be releasing tutorials and other videos for more gameplay action!
As usual you can discuss the update and follow the news in the Kitfox Discord (https://discord.gg/kitfoxgames). We have an Adventure Mode channel, in-depth bug discussions, and it's the fastest way to find out about our Dwarf Fortress livestreams!
-Kitfox + Bay 12 Games
Post by: Telgin on November 30, 2023, 04:13:41 pm
I'm also glad to see a tentative date for all of this, while also hoping for some more bugfix point releases before then.
Post by: PlumpHelmetMan on November 30, 2023, 04:43:26 pm
Post by: Starver on November 30, 2023, 05:10:31 pm
...always rather complex.
As (https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0233.html) with (https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0343.html) else (https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0344.html)where (https://www.darthsanddroids.net/comics/darths0344_bonus.jpg)... ;)
Post by: kitfoxgames on December 19, 2023, 03:25:19 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3905247944470952742
(https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3905247944470952742)
Full text:
Hello and Happy Holidays!
Now that we have our April release month, we'll follow the roadmap to get there. If you missed the Adventure Mode roadmap, you can read it here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3753244942577557600 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3753244942577557600). Part of this involves menus!
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/57ee2fe1d384f49a30368d2d85e07197b7b4c33e.png)
So far, we've managed the environment/ground menu, the climb/hold menu, the jump action, conversation menu and the inventory menu, with combat actions and options up next. The Adventure menus can be fully operated with the mouse or keyboard, or whichever mix works for you, which is why you still see traditional roguelike letters next to each item.
You can also now click in the play area to open up a context menu for the tile, which gives all of the possible options, whether those are environmental options, movement options, conversation options, or the upcoming combat actions. As with Fortress mode, there are lots and lots of things you can do, so this should help you get a handle on the possibilities that you can also find down in the menus.
We've also reenabled the "Assume Control" option in the Arena for April. This lets you take control of a creature that you've placed in the arena so you can jump into the action yourself in Adventure Mode's turn-based combat rather than running the fight in real-time Fortress mode style.
Jacob has been working on statues most recently, Carolyn has been adding more features to portraits (like clothing quality and variations), and Neoriceisgood has been making more animal person portraits for all of the animal person portrait fans out there! Here are the varations for the breastplates as well as the Walrusman portrait:
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/a8bb3059cbfd3ae1062a5807da22443ff767aa2b.png)
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/1b32f137b1c93e5c9bf81855f76506e924bc0629.png)
See you all again in January with more updates as the work continues.
-Tarn + Kitfox Games
P.S. Special happy holidays from the Bay 12 dogs: Jojo, Una, Sun Bun and Sam!
(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/d08bceecc878174afbce7d756d01a759613d8839.png)
Post by: Egan_BW on December 19, 2023, 08:26:17 pm
Post by: kitfoxgames on January 24, 2024, 02:49:00 pm
Full text: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3973931474165976101
The Adventure Mode update is approaching, so let's talk about it, and the upcoming year more broadly.
WHAT IS ADVENTURE MODE?
In the way the terms are usually used, Adventure Mode is something like a computer roleplaying game or a traditional roguelike, but it doesn't follow the expected contours. You control a character or party and set out into the generated world. The characters you've read about on Fortress Mode wall engravings are out there, as well as the cities and goblin towers. Making the entire world come alive has been a massive project to tackle alongside Fortress Mode over the decades, and to this point we've explored some avenues more than others. It's a wholly unique, rough experience that can be compelling as well as frustrating. Here is just a small sample of the art for the procedural portraits and clothing with different species done by Carolyn:
(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/db78b831c05445c7c72497a41bd351a6f819305d.png)
There's no storyline per se, but you can...
Fight: If you've read some Fortress Mode combat logs, you know part of what to expect. Combat in Adventure Mode is turn-based, and you can aim at body parts and wrestle as you see in those logs, with even more detail. Ever tried to convert your entire Fortress population into necromancers or vampires? Nothing will stop you from seeking these things out as an adventurer (why not both?), and using your new powers as you see fit.
Roleplay: Play as an animal person and ride around on a giant animal with a small animal on your shoulder and another animal running alongside. Dance in a meadhall or under the earth. There are even bandits and giant rats if you are feeling nostalgic. Or you can offend the gods and become a giant rat for a week, or offend a mummy and become cursed for the rest of your miserable short life.
Explore: Visit your old fortresses, or retire in a town and recruit yourself later. See the world to its full extent, from the glaciers to the deserts and jungles, from the kobold caves and night troll dens to minotaur labyrinths. Face the demon emperor of the goblin civilization on their home turf and use ancient knowledge to bend them to your will. There are really quite a few things to do.
SANDBOX PROBLEMS
These possibilities lead to difficulties which aren't atypical in games these days. Sandbox games are undirected, and the sandbox can have cracks. Adventure Mode is no exception. It's a large sandbox with large cracks. Some problems we've noticed from previous Adventure Mode iterations:
- You won't always get the reactivity you expect to your accomplishments and from your actions.
- Characters can have a cookie-cutter feeling to them.
- It can be hard to find the information you need to pursue a goal you've chosen.
- Battle is merciless and it isn't simple to heal.
- Some aspects of towns are thrown together and shops aren't satisfying.
These problems are well-known; most are the starting point for games that operate in this mode. Some are easier to tackle than others.
WHAT'S LEFT TO DO?
As with our earlier work on Fortress Mode, the goal is to update the existing visuals and interface and also make the game more approachable for new players. A lot of the graphics carry over from Fortress Mode, and the menus are generally less complicated, which is good. On the flip side, tackling the new player experience is somehow even harder this time around. There are all kinds of ways to handle it, and we've chosen a way forward that's consonant with our overall goals for Dwarf Fortress.
There are several menus left to tackle. The information screens and character generation are the main remaining bits. Carolyn is drawing a ton of combat icons that came up for wrestling and striking (so you can target toes with your crab pincers), so we don't have combat menu footage yet. We're also adding combat animations!
(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/dde15f55e531d42486c18a13f9ba44393fc59840.gif)
Before any Adventure Mode update, we need to:
- do some basic cleanup in the human towns, with how shops and other buildings handle items and furniture
- clean up how property is recognized
- generally tighten up the city side of the experience to give the new player some grounding
- old adventure menus must also be fully converted for mouse + keyboard
- the graphics and audio must be complete
This is probably a good time to mention that there will also be a whole new full soundtrack released alongside Adventure Mode by Simon & Dabu.
We're still aiming to release all of this in April -- that's only three months away! The cabin building aspect of the game may or may not make it in, since it's complicated. If it doesn't make the first update, it will be in the second feature update.
We think it's more important that we immediately, directly address the new player experience.
DEMIGODS AND TUTORIALS
Adventure Mode suffers from the sandbox frustration of feeling lost and aimless. Adventure Mode has had three difficulty levels up to this point: Peasant, Hero, and Demigod. These affected your starting statistic point pools in character generation - the more elite-sounding levels are easier, not harder, reflecting the power of the character. We're turning Demigod difficulty into both a tutorial mode and an avenue for us to improve magical aspects of the fantasy setting generally. Peasant will remain the pure sandbox old players are used to. Hero balances these approaches, easing some of the difficulty of finding companions and quests.
Demigod characters will receive instruction and ongoing help from their patron/parent. All difficulty levels will benefit from changes to deities, but sandbox characters will have to find their own ways to interact with them, at their own risk. We'll also:
- tweak the Hero level encounters with gods to something that strikes a balance again, leaning toward a more epic feeling
- expand dungeons and temple relic hunting to facilitate more direction for Demigod characters
- provide more healing options
Again, other difficulty levels will be able to interact with these pieces of the world as well, on different terms.
MYTHS AND MAGIC
People that have been following Dwarf Fortress development these many years will recall both the current cosmology of the game in these changes, and perhaps wonder about the aspirations we have toward proceduralizing the entire setup (including the existence of gods and how and whether magic works). We're going to use this opportunity to set the stage for the new framework, to be expanded upon in the future.
Siege improvements (he he he), investigations of villains, the ability to lead criminal networks, and other features that were in the air before we made the transition to the Premium version are not forgotten either, and we'll be seeing about working on these after the initial Adventure Mode update.
WHAT ABOUT MY FORTRESS?
Where does Fortress Mode fit in? First, we have an update with bugfixes coming in the next week or two (thanks Putnam!).
But on top of the ability to explore and visit your old fortresses, Fortress Mode at the very minimum will see these benefits with the initial Adventure Mode update:
- the addition of portraits
- that whole new soundtrack I mentioned earlier
- site map visuals on embark
Forts will also eventually have access to the new healing methods, and the new deity improvements through temples, but implementing those connections might occur in a subsequent update, since the hospital in particular is complicated to change. It's exciting because magical healing methods will be fully procedural, and connecting that sort of system to Fortress Mode has been a long-standing dream of ours.
Finishing Adventure Mode will also allow us to get back into regular Dwarf Fortress development, where most subsequent feature updates will either center on or impact Fortress Mode, while Adventure Mode and Legends Mode continue to evolve in parallel.
- Tarn and Zach
Post by: Telgin on January 24, 2024, 05:00:03 pm
Post by: PlumpHelmetMan on January 24, 2024, 05:22:18 pm
Post by: Eric Blank on January 25, 2024, 04:50:14 pm
Combat animations are pretty unexpected, but welcome. I'm curious if those will make it to fort mode too or if they'll be an adventure mode exclusive feature. I could see how it might get overwhelming or confusing in fort mode.
I'm wondering if the animation will be divided into frames based on how close to finishing an attack it is, since attacks take a few frames to land
Post by: toradrow777 on January 30, 2024, 06:41:19 pm
Before the same speculations pop up as on Reddit:
- I added uncredited art in my private tileset in 2016/17. Back then I didn't knew better, it was the first time working with sprites. I came from modding, I was more interested in actually putting pictures in the game using TWBT and dfhack, not drawing pictures myself.
- Over the years I learned about licencing and starting taking it more serious; I also started drawing my own sprites.
- I then got hired by Kitfox to work on the Steam release. They initially wanted to use my tileset as the base, but I told them that's not possible because a lot of sprites are from other sources.
- We then decided to start a new tileset from scratch, with Mike as the designer and me mostly doing variations/edits of his sprites and working out the intricacies of where to add which sprites, how to display ingame info, etc. Things I'm used from modding.
- Mike ended up having far less time than expected, so I had to step up and draw original sprites too.
- Vettlingr stumbled over my copyright violations from 2016/17 in my private set and very publically alerted both me and Kitfox about it.
- I took my personal tileset down and Kitfox convened with their laweyrs about what to do. The safest course of action for the Steam release is to distance themself from me, so my contract was terminated and all original artwork I did for them removed. They will probably keep the edits I did of Mikes sprites.
The situations sucks for everyone involved, but please refrain from attacking anyone, be it vettlingr, Kitfox or me. Vettlingr did something right, just in a rather blunt way. Kitfox acts like a responsible business, just a tad bit inpersonal. And I did something wrong, and now I'll carry the consequences, which is fair.
I know that Tarn is still working on the UI and I foresee a lot of time for optimization in that regard, because the UI is, as everyone here knows, not the strong suit of DF. In the meantime Kitfox is asking around other community artists that might replace me and help Mike finish what was started.
I myself will take a break from DF, since I can't work on the Steam release any longer; my own project of the last 5 years imploded; and working on a new community tileset with all the insider knowledge I have of the Steam release would be... odd? Unfair? I'm not sure.
I'll answer Rekovs questions for now, but I probably won't be around here much, so please don't send more my way. I'm not even sure what Kitfox thinks about me posting those answers.QuoteDid Kitfox fire Meph for something he did in a free tileset several years ago?Yep.QuoteOr did Kitfox fire Meph for doing something in the present, while working on a paid project?Nope.QuoteWhy is this content being reworked? Was it of questionable provenance, as before? Or was it merely unfinished content?To be extra safe. Technically I am a "questionable provenance" from their point of view.QuoteWill Kitfox be redoing all of Meph's work so far, or merely some? In other words, are they willing to take his work, but just not him?As far as I know, they plan to redo the original sprites I did; they plan to keep the edits/variations I did based on Mikes sprites. I have no idea what happens with the replaced sprites, but I assume that they will never see the light of day. Would be cool to see them as community assetts for non-commercial tilesets in future, but I don't expect that to happen.
I don't know if you've answered this yet, but are you ever going to come back to the mod, or are you going to let the modding community continue the project instead?
Post by: PlumpHelmetMan on January 30, 2024, 07:35:31 pm
Post by: kitfoxgames on February 22, 2024, 02:40:47 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4163085355271096006 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4163085355271096006)
Full text:
Hey Urists!
It's Alexandra here from Kitfox with a long-awaited video update from Tarn! It's our first footage of Adventure Mode and you will see combat, the new dialogue system and a few menus in action. I don't want to give too much away so just watch for yourself: https://youtu.be/Tik2DmKCxbk (https://youtu.be/Tik2DmKCxbk)
In the video you can hear some ambient sounds, but there are still many more sound effects we are adding to the game so it's very much a work in progress! We will have another update coming soon with patch 50.12 which is still in beta right now. We needed just a bit more time to squash all the bugs!
Discuss the video with your fellow ursists on the Kitfox Discord: https://discord.gg/kitfoxgames (https://discord.gg/kitfoxgames)
- Alexandra
Post by: Eric Blank on February 22, 2024, 07:30:21 pm
Also a bit odd thing I noticed - the wombat man's portrait doesn't display the generic robe their tile-sprite does. They also don't display their inventory items, but I understand sprites for all for animal people that won't be in the first release. Expected their portrait to just have the same robe though.
Post by: kitfoxgames on March 06, 2024, 02:58:35 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4136064865380703752
(https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4136064865380703752)
Full text:
Hi Urists,
We are less than a month away from April, which means Adventure Mode launch is just around the corner. Time flies when you’re developing FUN! We wanted to share our launch plans with you as they will be a little different from what we did with Fortress Mode.
The beta for Adventure Mode will open on April 17th (Tarn’s birthday!). Anyone who owns Dwarf Fortress on Steam will be able to access the beta. Adventure Mode will fully launch a few weeks later on the main branch. We will be announcing the official release date as soon as we can.
We hope that this will give the proper time to iron out major bugs, while giving you a chance to play right away.
Patch 50.12
After a few extra weeks of beta testing, patch 50.12 is finally live! Thank you to everyone who tested the update and sent in bug reports, it was very helpful. This patch brings many improvements to sorting and searching in the menus as well as a ton of bug fixes and additional keyboard support. Llamas have also (finally) achieved the status of pack animal. Here are the full patch notes:
New stuff
- Ability to sort the lists from the creature/task menus
- Kitchen interface sorting and searching
- Work detail sorting and searching
- Can edit and restore default work details
- Saves can be sorted by world and folder on the title screen
- Keyboard support for many unit lists
- Ability to designate burrows over multiple Z levels
Major bug fixes
- Additional statue graphics- Fixed some classic building interface lights
Other bug fixes/tweaks
- Squad assignment now lists already assigned units last
- Fixed error in calculation of bridge support
- Fixed issue in how environment-appropriate work animals are selected for visiting fortress
- Fixed missing autopause tooltip
- Additional miscellanous optimizations
- Fixed minor issue with forest variant display
- Fixed clipping issue on unit sheets
- Fixed minor issue with cage contents display
- Fixed pet list display on unit sheet rarely skipping a pet- Llamas are pack animals now
There will be lots more Adventure Mode news coming in the coming weeks, including a part 2 of the combat video from last time.
-Alexandra + Bay 12
Post by: Starver on March 06, 2024, 05:02:03 pm
:P
Post by: Quietust on March 07, 2024, 08:33:57 am
(Boring bugfixes. THIS ISOn the bright side, two of the fixed "minor" bugs (bridge support + work animals) were over 15 years old (i.e. they were present all the way back in 40d), so it's good that they're taking care of those problems too.SPART...*cough* DF! We expect bugfixes to be something like "Giant iguanas with [EXOTIC_PET] tag active no longer prefer to eat built anvils, topple related workshops." And the major bugfixes even more so.)
:P
Post by: Yone on March 16, 2024, 11:04:48 pm
Though it's still kind of weird playing with native non-ASCII graphics and full mouse support. Like DF from an alternate reality.
Post by: kitfoxgames on March 27, 2024, 01:10:47 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4183354561034471004
Full text:
Hey Urists,
It’s Alexandra from Kitfox here with a community update as well as some more Adventure Mode footage. Only a few more weeks till the Adventure Mode beta launches on April 17th! We know it's been a long wait, but we can't wait for everyone to start testing it out for yourself. Tarn made a bonus video showing the conclusion to the fight that was in the previous update. If you missed it, you can watch part 1 here: https://youtu.be/Tik2DmKCxbk (https://youtu.be/Tik2DmKCxbk)
In these videos you can see the combat and conversation systems in action. Will the goblins prevail? Where did the wombatman go? Watch to find out: https://youtu.be/w4FKSepDVLA (https://youtu.be/w4FKSepDVLA)
Art Update
Artist Thea has been working on new art for the Adventure Mode beta screen! We don’t want to reveal it quite yet, but can you guess what’s depicted?
https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/52b413931c5bead065d7598ab810a5b3d258d773.png (https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/52b413931c5bead065d7598ab810a5b3d258d773.png)
Carolyn has also been creating every kind of clothing ever for the procedural portraits. Here is another series of masks, veils and head coverings.
https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/925fd7219ccbd18857353bd13685e2e2ec0f0928.png (https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/925fd7219ccbd18857353bd13685e2e2ec0f0928.png)
Adventure Mode Soundtrack Single
We are going to be releasing a single off the brand new Adventure Mode soundtrack by Simon & Dabu. The music is going to be a bit different from the Fortress Mode soundtrack because it will capture the feeling of what’s it will be like to explore your vast, generated world. You can look forward to that in the next update.
EU Merch
Exciting news for European Urists! The folks at FanGamer EU have updated the store with apparel: https://www.fangamer.eu/collections/dwarf-fortress?utm_campaign=promo24&utm_source=partner (https://www.fangamer.eu/collections/dwarf-fortress?utm_campaign=promo24&utm_source=partner) It's always good to have extra shirts and coats for when yours decay.
https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/09a6ed51c8dd607a9cbd3261247390139d5d4fd8.png (https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/09a6ed51c8dd607a9cbd3261247390139d5d4fd8.png)
We are going to be posting a few more updates before beta launch, so you’ll be hearing from us again soon!
-Alexandra + Bay 12
Post by: Egan_BW on March 27, 2024, 07:47:41 pm
Post by: Brotato on April 17, 2024, 09:29:16 am
Post by: Bralbaard on April 17, 2024, 09:53:42 am
Edit: Oops you mean the bay12 site. I'm not sure what was there
Post by: kitfoxgames on April 17, 2024, 11:29:27 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4186734162819864096 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4186734162819864096)
Full text:
It’s time to venture outside your fortress!
The beta for Adventure Mode is now live on Steam. Create a character and freely roam the rich simulated world you have made a home in during your Fortress Mode save or start fresh in a newly generated world. Watch the beta announcement trailer:
https://youtu.be/dX2gnya3eH4 (https://youtu.be/dX2gnya3eH4)
If you already own Dwarf Fortress on Steam, you will be able to play the beta. To access the beta, right click Dwarf Fortress in your Steam library -> Properties -> Betas -> dropdown list and select "beta - Public beta branch”. No password needed. Steam should automatically begin downloading the beta!
(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/cd5981c6de91ebd82b6005df04cd913690342fa5.png)
(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/8fc5fdf7a47e7cc55d41411db87e637c3b161b83.png)
(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/8fc5fdf7a47e7cc55d41411db87e637c3b161b83.png)
There’s also the whole new original soundtrack: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2937200/Dwarf_Fortress_Soundtrack_2_Adventure/ (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2937200/Dwarf_Fortress_Soundtrack_2_Adventure/)releasing very soon, with an hour of music from good old Dabu and Simon Swerwer, together again. You can even get a 10% discount on it and the other OST, if you already own the base game. The soundtrack is also available on:
🎶Bandcamp: bit.ly/4cXhR4r (http://bit.ly/4cXhR4r)
🎶Youtube: bit.ly/440xljS (http://bit.ly/440xljS)
🎶Spotify: bit.ly/3Ul0DGV (http://bit.ly/3Ul0DGV)
🎶Apple Music: bit.ly/4aSep9X (http://bit.ly/4aSep9X)
Note that although you will hear versions of these songs in the game, the dynamic music system Adventure Mode uses means that the OST is the only way to reliably hear these exact compositions, as ‘baked’ by the composers.
Keep in mind this is very much a beta and still in active development. There are features from Classic Adventure Mode and planned new features that have not made their way to the Steam version yet. We will be updating the beta frequently with hotfixes, new menus, audio and art as well as fixing the inevitable bugs. Please send in your reports.
Want to discuss the beta and all your Adventure Mode trials and tribulations? Join us on the df-adventure channel on the Kitfox Discord: https://discord.gg/kitfoxgames (https://discord.gg/kitfoxgames)
FAQ
How do I report bugs?
Please report bugs using the normal methods at https://dwarffortressbugtracker.com/
What’s the difference between Easy mode and Demigod mode?
Easy mode, which is available now in the beta gives you more skill points in character creation to make your party stronger. Demigod mode, which is still in progress and not in the beta right now will add tutorialization and worldbuilding.
What about my save files?
Old save files are compatible and you shouldn't lose anything.
Will the new portraits be in Fortress Mode?
They aren’t in right now, but they will be soon!
Will the new music from the Adventure Mode soundtrack appear in Fortress Mode? What about ambiance?
New ambiance and music will not be in Fortress mode for now. Hopefully someday!
Where can I get more info about what's in and what's missing from Classic Adventure Mode?
Tarn and Zach are preparing a devlog for the Bay 12 blog, so keep an eye out over there if you’re interested in diving into the rich underbelly of details.
Happy Adventuring!
-Kitfox + Bay12
Post by: Bumber on April 17, 2024, 04:45:51 pm
Did some dev blog posts get deleted? I could have sworn there were updates from March but now all I see is a post from March 6th saying 50.12 was released.
Pretty sure the forums going down caused dev blog to be skipped? IIRC, he missed a FotF even before it went down (probably due to adv mode work.)
Post by: kitfoxgames on April 19, 2024, 07:01:12 am
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4186734162824193648 (https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4186734162824193648)
Full text:
Hello Urists!
Alexandra here with a post-Adventure Mode beta launch update. We hope you’re enjoying all the mischief and mayhem that the beta has to offer. Some of the stories you’ve been sharing have been hilarious and thought-provoking to say the least. This story:https://www.reddit.com/r/dwarffortress/comments/1c6eya2/i_accidentally_killed_a_traveler/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/dwarffortress/comments/1c6eya2/i_accidentally_killed_a_traveler/) about stealing a shield gone wrong made me laugh a lot.
Today’s Patch
A big thank you to everyone who has been submitting bug reports to the tracker. The team already patched early this morning with some fixes:
-Fixed region map scrolling crash
-Crash fix related to multithreading
What’s Next?
In the beta, as you may have noticed, you can create a party in character generation, visit your old forts, retire, unretire, get NPC companions, take quests, fight monsters with the various melee/wrestling/ranged options, set fires, tell stories, and travel the world. Portraits are available for dwarves, humans, elves, goblins, kobolds (minus some clothing variations), animal people (no items), and necromancer experiments (no items). These portraits are in both modes on the beta branch.
These are the features and improvements we have planned for Adventure Mode, as listed by Tarn in his devlog yesterday. We plan on keeping the beta branch up till the full launch on the main branch so you’ll be able to continue to play as features get added.
Even just the first few items on the (non-exhaustive) list below might take a few weeks so you can expect the beta to last quite a bit longer than that, which unfortunately means the launch won’t be extremely soon, despite what we thought and said previously. We promise we’re looking at how to be as efficient as we can. We don’t yet have a target date for the full adventure mode launch, but you’ll know as soon as we do, and keep updating regularly.
Planned improvements, though not sure in what order they'll be attacked exactly yet:
Quest log / information screen
Butchering and crafting
Ability use, from necromancy to pet animal to spit
Composing
Motion/attack indicators
Building interactions (levers, doors, etc.)
Wrestle button
Stealth vision arcs
Better UI for stuff like going through hatches over ramps
Some other info like movement speed / encumbrance
Tracking / odor / weather / light / time etc. information
Some travel map stuff like visible armies and zooming and highlights
Minimap / map memory
Trading and bartering (and the town shops being generally a mess)
Assuming false identities
Full personality customization in chargen
Graphics and audio that didn't make it in for the initial beta release
Get Classic conversions for the new buttons etc.
The new stuff: chosen mode with deities, town improvements, dungeon improvements, healing options, and so forth
As we’ve said before, cabin building is a larger interface project, so that'll have to wait until after the rest of Adventure Mode is launched. We might also shift some of these improvements to be post-Adventure Mode launch, depending on how things look as we go. We’ll keep you updated.
The Adventure Mode Soundtrack is Available!
Also, after a bit of a hiccup on the backend, the Adventure Mode soundtrack is now available on Steam. You can even get a 10% discount on it and the other OST, if you already own the base game: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/40747/Dwarf_Fortress_Soundtrack_Edition/ (https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/40747/Dwarf_Fortress_Soundtrack_Edition/)
Check it out: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2937200/Dwarf_Fortress_Soundtrack_2_Adventure/ (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2937200/Dwarf_Fortress_Soundtrack_2_Adventure/)
That’s all for now! We really appreciate all the support and kind words as we continue our own adventure (of development!)
-Alexandra + Tanya + Bay12
Post by: clinodev on April 23, 2024, 04:19:08 pm
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370?emclan=103582791464215078&emgid=4186734162842117873
Full text:
Apologies for two updates in two days but important things are afoot, and as I mentioned yesterday, Tarn is going to take a little rest for a week or two, so hopefully this will help make that wait more bearable.
This is version 50.13 updating on the main/default branch, improving Fortress Mode! If you're not seeing it, try closing Steam and re-logging in.
New additions/changes
Portraits! Whether they're dwarves, elves, humans, or animalpeople, they have portraits! Procedurally assembled, in many cases.
(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/159b2fc7d497785d70bc704351d6e52c7e828554.png)
A few of my favorite animalpeople portraits
Major bug fixes
Fixed statue-related crash
Fixed syndrome-related crash
Fixed temperature-related crash
Fixed crash from empty kitchen menu
Fixed multi-kill squad orders
Fixed world gen crash from the appointing of chefs by demon rulers that had been influenced by outside reading materials on decorum and leisure time
Other bug fixes/tweaks
Centered some creatures that were printing off-center
Large gems and gem crafts should be produced properly by gem cutting jobs again
Fixed cave adaptation
Fixed problem with numbers in wild creature clusters
SELECT_GROWTH and SELECT_MATERIAL available in plant modding
Thank you for playing!
Tanya on behalf of Kitfox and Bay 12
Post by: Starver on April 23, 2024, 04:40:14 pm
[...] they have portraits! Procedurally assembled, in many cases.
(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//34693670/159b2fc7d497785d70bc704351d6e52c7e828554.png)
Hmmm, got me thinking hard about which of these[1] are actually procedural. And whether procedural at run-time, or 'merely' procedural in producing the base artwork to speed up the creation of the resultingly huge 'static' corpus of final reference images.
But this is just pondering, not expecting an easy answer (if any) to be forthcoming.
[1] And/or what of these... fur/skin/scale colour(s), maybe?
Post by: Eric Blank on April 24, 2024, 12:18:37 am
Post by: Starver on April 24, 2024, 04:42:04 am
But, yes, I think we do have to read it as "Many of the variations (of standard races) are procedural. <beat> And here are some favourite (hardcoded) animalpeoples." Didn't stop me pondering the possible overlap, though, and possibly some would totally assume a significant equivalence is true. ;)
[1] You'd need some sort of advanced re-rendering technique (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cel_shading), on top of distinct improvements on the raw 'skeletal and body-part' definition.
Post by: Eric Blank on April 24, 2024, 01:11:09 pm
Interestingly, the females' bra is not part of the body portrait, its a separate layer. The body layer has breasts, with nipples. Males, if you notice, do not have nipples. Someone was having fun with that little easter egg.
Goblins and kobolds don't have separate male and female portraits.
Post by: Telgin on April 24, 2024, 01:42:26 pm
I looked at the portraits folder in the game files (its under vanilla creature graphics) and yeah, the animal people are all single portraits. The standard races look like they all have clothing layers and stuff same as the regular layered graphics. I dunno how it does colors yet, they only have one color body for each portrait.
Thank goodness for palette support. The layering configuration right now is an absolute nightmare because of the manual colors. I really hope it has been or will be backported to general creature graphics.