Dwarf fortress UltraFinder V2.8Currently only works with 40d through to 40d13.What is it?UltraFinder generates random seeds, over and over until the conditions set in the UltraFinder_Init.txt file are met. Setting up custom world templates in your favour is adviseable.
How do I use it?Simply define your conditions in the the UltraFinder_Init.txt, then run UltraFinder.exe from your main Dwarf Fortress directory (With UltraFinder.exe and UltraFinder_Init.txt in the same folder as Dwarf Fortress.exe). If you wish to exit UltraFinder prematurely, just right click the tray icon and select exit.
What additional functionality does this have over the default finder?-With UltraFinder, you can specify Either/Or scenarios for things like magma, unlimited water sources and underground water features.
-Stone layers (ie. sedimentary, igneous extrusive etc.) can be added to your search preferences, along with being able to select specific temperature, vegetation, tree distribution and surroundings that you would like in your site.
-For those of you wanting to turn up multiple sites (so you can pick the best of), there is a "Run Indefinately" option, which runs the finder whilst storing all matching sites into a new folder, along with a text file describing the site's contents.
Screenshot:
This link leads to the above world:
http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=38274.msg649374#msg649374Link to full featured sites generated in UltraFinder(alpha):
http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=37294.0Instructions from the Readme:[spoiler]1.Place UltraFinder.exe and UltraFinder_Init.txt in the
same directory as Dwarf Fortress.exe
2.Clear out/backup your region folders.
3.DF must be WINDOWED with the intro movie OFF and no
more than 80 tiles wide. If you use a graphical set,
set Graphics to "Yes" in UltraFinder_Init.txt
4.Define what you want in the UltraFinder_Init.txt
5.Make sure Dwarf Fortress is closed prior to running.
6.Once started, leave everything alone. The script will
terminate when the desired site is found. To exit
prematurely, right click the icon in your taskbar and
select exit.
Warnings:-UltraFinder automatically clears the region folder periodically. Backup/move your current region data. Make sure the save folder is completely empty before running this application.
-Dwarf Fortress must remain the active window the WHOLE TIME the application is running, otherwise the script will mess with whatever else it is you have open.
Download:-Version 2.8 is an experimental build. Due to the current implementation this may or may not work for some. As such, the previous build is also included in the archive.
-Some shaded character sets can interfere with the programs ability to read the screen. If you get stuck at the F9 screen, this is likely the cause. Happy genning 
http://dffd.wimbli.com/file.php?id=1165A request from the author: If you come accross a site worthy of Armok using UltraFinder, please post it in this thread. I crave amazing locations for my forts Ok, so a revised version is finally under development.
Rather than scanning colour changes to determine what is happening, this version will reference your tileset. Where as before, I could not tell if that four character string of brown was sand or loam, this version will be able to convert it to a string of text, and then differentiate. This means I can know almost anything about what is happening within the Dwarf Fortress window, thus opening up a broad range of options.
Below is a screencap out the outputted library (ignore that dark grey is in there twice):
Basically, if you have a suggestion, be it a feature, an option or, well anything really, let me know so I can compile a list of what people want and set appropriate goals. Keep in mind, most of these features will not be in the initial release.
Progress:30/8/09: No, development has not halted. My old keyboard died and I had to wait till pay day to get a new one (Logitech G19). That, coupled with a lack of motivation had the process stagnate for a while.
Anyway. Basically a few problems have arisen. The dll I'm using seems to have something against non-square character sets. It outputs the various tiles at the right resolution, but it flips them vertically for no apparent reason and then refuses on all accounts to colour them correctly even when approaching the situation from different angles. Square character sets have no problems at all. I have a more rigorous method in mind, but it'll just take longer, which, I suppose, doesn't really matter since once the library is created, it only needs to be updated if you change your character set.
Another royal pain lies in character detection. The program scans, whilst recognising the transparency in the tiles so that it only has to check against the foreground element. One problem that stems from this is, for example scanning a number sequence. Typically you'd assume you could just reference within a range of characters, though, because with the numbers 3 and 8 in most sets use the same pixels (3 can be overlayed on 8 ), I basically have to add everything to a hierarchy and instead scan for 8 first (as the pixels don't all overlay those of the number three). Things like periods and so forth can also bring about similar issues, so I have to prioritise all 256 characters (yay).
Since I foresee a lot of such issues stemming from this, I may soon release a program that simply copies the text data from your dwarf fortress window, and adds forum style colour coding before throwing it onto your clipboard. In this manner, I'll be able to gauge problems from a wider audience.
Pain aside, I have to program spitting out any number sequences appearing on the screen which has given me a little motivation to keep this thing moving.
- Incorporate functional, user friendly interface.
- Throw in basic error reporting.
- Turn up multiple sites within a region.
- Find sand (finally).
- Find brooks, streams, major rivers, etc.
- Find deserts, glaciers etc.
- Find oceanside locations.
- Find waterfalls.
- Find sites at crossroads.
- Find settlements (human, dwarven, elven and goblin)
- Find civs at war.
- Export screenshots of embark site screen.
- Better organization of stored regions and associated data.
Features from old version:- Either/or scenarios.
- Find trees, vegetation etc. (Will allow multiple in future versions)
- Find igneous intrusive, sedimentary etc.
Elvang was kind enough to show proof of concept examples of a functional GUI, along with other excellent examples and ideas. This will go a long way to making UltraFinder more accessable, so I owe Elvang many thanks.
I'd also like to extend my sincerest thanks to Dwiib for helping me overcome some boundaries.
) and when the last couple of features are in, I'll post it up. Teaser screens coming shortly 
