Bay 12 Games Forum

Steam Community Update 6 March 2024: "Adventure Mode Launch Plans and patch 50.12"

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4136064865380703752


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    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

Steam Community Update 24 January 2024: " What's Adventure Mode and What's Left To Do? ⛏ Dwarf Fortress Dev News"

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:



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!




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

Steam Community Update 4 October 2023: "Adventure Mode Roadmap 🗺 Dwarf Fortress Dev Update"

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3753244942577557600

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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!

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?



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

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

Steam Community Update July 19 2023: Procedural Faces + Adventure Mode Progress

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3660914173080246172?l=english

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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

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:



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

To discuss all the latest with your fellow urists, please join our Discord.

-Alexandra + Bay12

Steam Community Update May 2 2023: The babies are here! Patch notes v50.08

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3683424562655660575?

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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

Steam Community Update 2 February 2023: Arena Mode Preview

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3665402557258815315

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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.





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

Steam Community Update 23 November 2022: Workshop and Official Merch

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/3507770137587814289

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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) 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. All craftsdwarfship is of the highest quality.

-Alexandra