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Author Topic: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)  (Read 442166 times)

kitfoxgames

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #585 on: July 17, 2024, 03:01:59 pm »

Steam Community Update 17 July 2024: "Composing and Wrestling  Dwarf Fortress Adventure Mode patch 51.01 beta 19"

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4356753293368674937

Hey Urists!

Work on Adventure Mode continues on with two updates of note that we've just patched in: Composing and the wrestling button. Characters in Adventure Mode can already perform to increase their reputation with other characters and maybe even get a free drink at the tavern. But with composing, your character will be able to write their own music, poetry and dances! Wrestling is already in Adventure Mode, but now that the button works, you'll be able to open the wrestling menu directly instead of going through the attack menu.


The wrestling button looks like this ^

Patch Notes for Beta 19

Advancing the beta

- Composing poems, music, dances, and writing things down is back in
- Wrestle button now handles wrestling
- Encumbrance is visible in inventory screen and there are a few alert levels for being over-encumbered
- Speed is visible in the movement options
- Indicators for ongoing movement, attacks, and dodges during player's turn in combat

General bug fixing

- Throwing/shooting crash fixed
- Fixed input/display issues in kitchen menu
- Handled several issues with gifting pets
- Certain goblin torsos weren't being displayed

We'd love to see what kind of music, poetry and dances your character creates. Share with us on the Kitfox Discord in the Adventure Mode channel!

See you for the next patch!

-Alexandra
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kitfoxgames

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #586 on: August 14, 2024, 03:27:33 pm »

Steam Community Update 14 August 2024: "Quest Log, Dwarf Babies and a new FAQ 👶 Dwarf Fortress Adventure Mode beta 20"

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4237410439220288178

Full text:

Hello Urists!

We are back with another patch for Adventure Mode! The most notable update this time is the quest log and information screen which will help with keeping track of all the events in-game. We also have tons of new sprites for flowers, fruits and leaves for the over 180 different plant and tree species. And finally, we have baby sprites for dwarves! No more confusion about whether red-clothed adult dwarves are actually children. Tarn has been busy with an international move but things should be settling soon and the patches should appear more frequently. Thank you for your patience through these major life events on the dev team! We’ve also created a new FAQ, specifically addressing the most common comments and questions we’ve been seeing on Steam. We’ve done a few of these community FAQs in the past but this one will be focused on Adventure Mode development and how things work behind the scenes.


Babies in the trade depot!

Patch Notes for Beta 20

- Quest log and information screen in adventure mode
- Child and baby pictures for dwarves
- Many new fruit, flower, leaf pictures
- Updated dwarf clothing images
- Made good/bad thoughts about tombs work
- Fixed error with experiment portrait mandibles


All the legumes and their flowers

It's quite possible you will run into problems with hair and clothing colors etc. so we still have some adjustments to make on that front.

In case you missed it, we uploaded a new devlog by Tarn on Youtube where he highlights some of the biggest features that have made their way to Adventure mode and which one’s are still left to do: https://youtu.be/pgywjcG0Y5k

FAQ

How is Kitfox Games involved with Dwarf Fortress development?

Kitfox gets the game on Steam, helps with promotion, and handles the money side of things. Technically the artists, audio folks, and programmer working on Dwarf Fortress are contracted through Kitfox, but are managed by Bay 12. Kitfox does not directly assist in the game’s development in any way, other than occasional playtesting or coordination. Tarn and Zach are the creators of Dwarf Fortress, and we want to preserve and protect their vision.

Besides, even if we wanted to send our programmers to help with Dwarf Fortress, they wouldn’t be able to help due to the nature of the game’s uniquely built codebase. Our job is to help Tarn and Zach grow Dwarf Fortress to fruition on their own terms. We take care of as many distractions and relieve as much stress as we can. It is not our role to tell Tarn how to work on his game. We do not force deadlines on him. We do not have shareholders to persuade.

We believe this is the only way to sustain Dwarf Fortress development in a healthy way that will allow Tarn and Zach to work the way they want to on the game, ideally for the rest of all our lives.   

The game released in 2022 and is selling well. Why are updates so slow?

We can’t and won’t hire a bunch of programmers to make updates go faster, even if it is a huge project. So far, we’ve added exactly 1 programmer to the team (Putnam), who was selected based on extensive pre-existing understanding of the codebase and a relationship with Tarn. Dwarf Fortress is the single most complex simulation ever created, mostly by one programmer, and it was started in 2006. Work on this labor of love is necessarily based in trust. We are optimizing to make the best game, according to Tarn’s vision, no matter how long it takes, rather than trying to optimize for speed. 

Modders have the freedom to move fast and break things, and we’ll continue to support them. This is a lifetime project. This is not a game that will ever be “finished”, but our pace is focused in the long-term. Updates will come slowly but steadily “forever”.

Selling the game on Steam does not change the way that Tarn and Zach will continue to develop. Dwarf Fortress is not like any other game on OR off Steam, and was far ahead of its time, partially because of its unique development approach. We know it can be frustrating to wait, but we will not interfere just because some fans are impatient.

Why aren’t there any updates to Fortress Mode right now when it’s the main game mode?

Many of the fixes going into Adventure Mode will improve Fortress Mode, but you’re right that the time between improvements for Fortress Mode are longer right now. Adventure Mode has been important to Dwarf Fortress for a very long time, and has its own cult following of fans who prefer its playstyle, as well as the interplay between the two modes. Tarn has to focus on completing the beta before returning to regular development. Putnam is continuing to develop other features and fix bugs, but there’s a lifetime of work to do.

How are updates going to work when Adventure mode is complete? What are the next updates after Adventure Mode is complete?

After Adventure Mode leaves beta, development of both modes can proceed in parallel.  Fortress Mode and Adventure Mode rest on the same world simulation, so updates are often shared, but each mode has its quirks and special features and we'll be improving them both.  You can expect Fortress Mode to be made more rich with each major update, which will be more regular than in years past, rather than waiting for literal years to get giant sweeping changes.  We're looking forward to it!

Why isn’t (this known bug from 8 years ago) fixed by now?

Sometimes it’s hard to fix, sometimes it’s just not impacting most players, and sometimes it’s related to a feature that’s planned to have big changes or improvements “soon” anyway, so it’s more efficient to look at it then. Maybe check the bug database (https://dwarffortressbugtracker.com/view_all_bug_page.php) for more information, because the bug wranglers might have interesting discussions you can read about it, or contribute information of your own to help track it down.

Why are you selling merch or posting community updates when there haven’t been any patches in a while?


Currently our only merch is designed and sold by FanGamer, who takes care of everything for us. Tarn and Kitfox make final approval on designs before they are sold but otherwise have no involvement in that process. Community updates help us inform players of things outside of development but related to Dwarf Fortress. These updates are written by the community manager Alexandra and sometimes Tanya and do not take away from time spent working on development. We try not to do these too much and we can understand how it’s frustrating to receive these updates when you are hoping for patch notes or updates to the game.

What about the Mac build?

After investigating the programming requirements, we have decided it’s best to cancel the Mac build for the time being. Porting the game over to Mac would take significant time and resources away from improvements to Fortress and Adventure Mode that simply don’t make sense for us to dedicate right now, given the low number of Mac-only users. There is a significant amount of work that would be required for maintaining a Mac build that would delay all patches in the future, and as we know, you all want patches faster.  We aren’t saying it will *never* happen but do not count on it any time soon. We are very sorry to all the Mac users who have been waiting patiently for an update on this.

Thank you to everyone who has joined us on this long development journey and have supported us thus far. Dwarf Fortress is truly a unique game that requires a unique but unconventional approach to development and we hope to continue being transparent about where that journey takes us.

See you for the next patch!

-Kitfox
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Telgin

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #587 on: August 14, 2024, 09:29:34 pm »

Oh, wow, color me surprised.  I just said on Reddit a couple of days ago that we probably wouldn't see dwarf child and baby graphics for a long time since adventure mode was taking priority.  Pleased to see that, and it's time to get back to fiddling with my personal mods to get those working.
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kitfoxgames

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #588 on: August 28, 2024, 10:04:09 am »

Steam Community Update 28 August 2024: "Minecarts, Personality Customization ⛏ Dwarf Fortress Adventure Mode beta 21"

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4579685279874828699


full text:

Hey Urists,

Beta 21 of Adventure Mode is now live. You are now able to fully customise the personality of your adventurers in character creation. Travel in style (and destruction) with minecarts and all the features that come with riding a minecart. Well in towns are also usable now. You can raise and lower well buckets and fill your waterskin which is super helpful in human villages and towns since they always have wells, if they aren’t frozen.

Beta 21 Patch Notes

-Your adventurer can ride and push minecarts, use levers, bash down locked doors and hatches, topple statues.
-You can now use wells in towns
-Adventure music plays based on context.
-Full personality customization available in adventure character creation.
-A few Linux audio crashes fixed.

See you next patch!

-Alexandra
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kitfoxgames

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #589 on: September 04, 2024, 03:27:08 pm »

Steam Community Update 4 September 2024: "Assume Identity, more babies and more ⛏ Dwarf Fortress Adventure Mode beta 22"

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4596574412792637532

Full text:

Hey Urists,

We have another patch this week including a hotfix for the crashes that were happening with the beta 21 update. This issue was related to the audio engine crashing, thanks to everyone who reported the issue. Also in this update is the ability to assume different identities in Adventure Mode, palettized equipment for all the units who have dynamic portraits as well as baby sprites for humans, elves, goblins and kobolds. You should be seeing a lot of these new graphics over in Fortress Mode in a future patch very soon.

Patch Notes for Beta 22


-Fix for recent audio crash
-Palettized wieldables and wearables for dwarves/humans/elves/goblins/kobolds
-Graphical left/right hand distinction on wieldables
-Child/baby images for humans/elves/goblins/kobolds
-Visible soldiers/groups on world map in adventure mode
-Adventure mode sound indicators in unseen areas
-Ability to assume identity in adventure mode
-Can view wounds in dwarf mode arena without diagnosis

See you next patch!

Alexandra

P.S.

Today Kitfox announced we are publishing the hardcore noir space-sim Ostranauts. So if you like dying in space in weird and interesting ways, then I highly recommend checking it out. It's currently in Early Access and available now with a 20% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1022980/Ostranauts/
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kitfoxgames

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #590 on: September 25, 2024, 12:43:37 pm »

Steam Community Update 25 September 2024: "Bugfixes, Graphics for babies, crops and equipment ⛏ Dwarf Fortress Fortress Mode 50.14"

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4657374909372690154

Full text:

Hey Urists,

We have a Fortress Mode patch this week which adds in a bunch of graphics that we added to Adventure Mode beta as well as some bug fixes. We are still primarily working on getting the last few features for Adventure Mode finished so there won't be regular patches for Fortress Mode quite yet. But we wanted to do this as a little thank you to the Fortress players who have been extremely patient while we've been busy with Adventure Mode. We are getting close now!

A word of warning:
There is a risk of losing your saves with this update. There's been an issue related to the Steam C++ redistributable, which we think may be resolved. We recommend playing the new patch with a save file you don't mind potentially losing just in case there's any issues that come up in the next few days. We will update you when this risk no longer an issue.


Patch Notes 50.14


Major bug fixes
-Linux trainer crash fixed (again)
-Added crash guard for bad civilian alert


Graphics additions/changes
-Dwarves/humans/elves/goblins/kobolds have child and baby images, new equipment, and palette support
-Garden and crop plants have more images
-Mandible portrait fixed for experiments


Other bug fixes/tweaks
-Good/bad thoughts about tombs work
-Poisonous forgotten beasts work more reliably
-Various minor tweaks to input/layout
-Fixed drinks being destroyed on unretire
-Fixed a few broken sorts


We also just released a video from programmer Putnam showing off a new feature we're working on, in which players will be able to use Lua in their mods to literally change the code to make custom behaviours and adapt the systems more expansively than ever. This also acts as the foundation for the upcoming procedural magic system which will be added to all modes. Watch the full video on Youtube: https://youtu.be/Z9rzhFwgfUk

See you in the next patch!

-Alexandra
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A_Curious_Cat

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #591 on: September 25, 2024, 08:05:21 pm »

Oops, meant to post that somewhere else!…
« Last Edit: September 25, 2024, 08:07:16 pm by A_Curious_Cat »
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Telgin

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #592 on: September 26, 2024, 09:41:51 am »

Including native Lua support in any capacity is really cool.  DFHack can already do a lot, but I'm anxious to see what becomes available as the Lua integration covers more and more of the game.
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StrawBarrel

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #593 on: September 27, 2024, 05:32:35 am »

All the legumes and their flowers
Very nice art (^.^)b

edit: September 27, 2024 Friday
Also the sprites for babies look very good as well.
Kitfox Games 🦊: "We are almost ready to take Adventure Mode out of beta! In the meantime, here is a Fortress Mode patch with the new sprites for 👶 babies,🌱 crops and 🗡 equipment." — Bluesky (bsky.app)
I think those are nice infant dwarf, human, elf, goblin, and kobold.
« Last Edit: September 27, 2024, 05:40:56 am by StrawBarrel »
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kitfoxgames

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #594 on: October 01, 2024, 12:49:18 pm »

Steam Community Update 30 September 2024: "Tracking symbols, Classic Glyphs ⛏ Dwarf Fortress Adventure Mode beta 23"

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4657374909391435287

Full text:

Hey Urists,

Another patch this week before Tarn heads off for a very special, important life event! In this update you'll find graphics for tracking including animal prints and prints through various materials (like water). Barrel graphics have also been updates so you'll be able to see their contents at a glance. Also classic glyphs are now in!

An update for those experiencing crashes: We are still working on a fix for this. We are currently in talks with someone from Steam to figure out if it's an issue on their end or ours. In the meantime, we have a thread on the Steam forums with a temporary fix that seems to be working for almost everyone. We are monitoring the thread and appreciate any reports, especially if you've tried repairing Steam C++ redistributable (x64 version) and are still experiencing crashes. Thanks for all your help!

https://steamcommunity.com/app/975370/discussions/0/4759830416343990399/?snr=

Beta 23 Patch Notes

-Audio crash fixed

-Update to bin/barrel container graphics so they show their contents in more detail

-Added tracking symbols (shift + K for now)

-Added classic glyphs (still need to work on screen layout)

-Fixed Linux crash-on-exit

-Better respected caste population ratios

-Added more information to crash logs

-Fixed command line world generation

That's all for now!

-Alexandra
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jecowa

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #595 on: October 01, 2024, 01:22:39 pm »

What’s this about a bug fix for the Linux Trainer Crash? What was the Linux Trainer Crash?
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kitfoxgames

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #596 on: October 23, 2024, 02:48:56 pm »

Steam Community Update 23 October 2024: "Tutorial work begins + Discounts, Guidebooks, and Wedding ⛏ Dwarf Fortress Adventure Mode beta 24"

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/975370/view/4542535021336175593

Full text:

Hey Urists,

Beta 24 is now live and includes the beginnings of a tutorial and audio on chargen and in the log screen. There's also a few crash fixes regarding creature variations and threading behaviour thanks to Putnam and some fixes to the audio. There's only a few little things left to clear up before Adventure Mode is ready, and one big thing (the tutorial), and then we'll be able to turn our attention back to the underlying simulation, which will generally improve both Fortress and Adventure modes.

Beta 24 Patch Notes

-Started adding tutorial (camera, movement, menu options, popups for many menus)
-Menu sounds during character creation and the adventure log
-Improved river and campfire audio loops
-Can click on portrait for status
-Hive no longer looks like clothing
-Made string display more compatible with fan translations
-Made threading more stable
-Fixed modding crash involving creature variations

We wanted to let you know that NOW is the time to buy copies of the game as a gift, or tell your friends who inexplicably still haven't bought it. The game is 20% off right now (which it hasn't been since April), and that's as low as it's going to be for quite awhile... at least six months but maybe more.

But if you're here you probably already own the game so maybe here's a more relevant tip... Caves of Qud and Tales of Maj'Eyal are also going on discount in a day or two, so you can get them for an extra 10% off if you own Dwarf Fortress, in the Legendary Roguelikes bundle: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/44587/Legendary_Roguelikes/

Guidebook
Also, Fangamer put up their preorders for the Dwarf Fortress guidebook, a lovingly crafted codex of insight and tips. A perfect gift for yourself or other fans of fungal cuisine. You can also add an "Expedition Leader's Journal" for $5, which is a logbook specifically created for tracking the details of your different fortresses and worlds. https://www.fangamer.com/collections/dwarf-fortress/products/dwarf-fortress-guidebook-official



Back to the Grindstone
Tarn's been away for little events like moving countries and getting married! But now he's settled into his new life, and back to work on Adventure Mode. Look how happy he is! You all helped make this happen with your support for the game. Congratulations to Tarn and his love both.



Children!
Meanwhile, the artists have been busy, as usual. Carolyn has started designing the portraits for children, though It might be a bit before we see them in-game. Here you can see dwarf children on top versus the adults below. They'll need adjusted clothes since their bodies are a bit smaller, and we won't be showing in detail the injuries they can sustain, but a head-bandage should communicate quickly that they're not in good health.



Crashing?
We know some folks are still experiencing new crashes, even though updating C++ redistributables fixes it for most people. It's very mysterious to us but if you have any clues to share with us, please let us know, especially if the whole game exe just won't start, we'd love to know your OS details, driver setup, etc.

That's all for today, but we'll see you at the next patch!
Tanya, Alexandra, Kitfox and Bay 12
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StrawBarrel

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Re: Steam Official Announcement Thread (50.11 Edition!)
« Reply #597 on: October 23, 2024, 08:28:08 pm »

Thank you for the update.
Congratulations to Tarn and his love both.
Very well put, congratulations to the two of them.
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