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Author Topic: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.  (Read 2928 times)

Celine Robin

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A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« on: February 15, 2020, 09:45:15 pm »

People who play dwarf fortress can make sense of its abstract ASCII art representation of worlds. However, if you play dwarf fortress for too long, this ability can go far beyond DF itself.

I myself have developed acute Chromostereopsis pertaining to blue text over black color (like lakes and ponds). I can't look at the referred text without seeing forced depth. Please, if you value your ability to read without getting a headache, please limit how much you play dwarf fortress.
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George_Chickens

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Re: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2020, 01:11:28 am »

I don't have chromosteropsis and will continue to play DF 16 hours a day  8)
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PatrikLundell

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Re: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2020, 05:31:55 am »

I don't have chromosteropsis and will continue to play DF 16 hours a day  8)
That's the typical response of those who haven't yet developed work place injuries (not that DF is work, but anyway)...

@OP: I'd suggest cutting back on DF as well as changing to the use of a tile set.
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Shonai_Dweller

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Re: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2020, 06:52:12 am »

I'd suggest cutting down on screen time altogether. Get a healthy hobby like walking, tennis or wargaming.
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Cathar

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Re: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2020, 07:19:39 am »

I don't think sports or tabletop games have been implemented yet but I sure do a lot of walking.

Tinnucorch

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Re: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2020, 12:12:41 pm »

I started experiencing chromostereopsis while playing df after I bought a new pair of glasses. I think it has to do with the type of the crystals (it's different from the type the old glasses were).

But thank you for sharing that! I didn't know it had a name. Should make things easier when the time to but new glasses come (which I think it's not going to be a long time -these are quite uncomfortable to the eye :/)

Any suggestions in the meantime to avoid the effect, besides using tile sets? I don't really like those...
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Robsoie

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Re: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2020, 02:33:08 pm »

That looks like a serious problem, i'm sorry people are experiencing that.

Something DF exhibited in the past was that it had insane constantly flickering/blinking tiles or color tone, it was not only very annoying but a good way to get headaches and obviously in worst case people with epilepsy problem could get into serious trouble.

Fortunately the effect was toned down but still now the tiles continue to flicker/blink as it's how the game display what someone is carrying, when someone has an emotion thing, when someone does something.

Even toned down it's still an annoyance, and i wouldn't be surprised to see if it still play a role in some of the visual problems some people are experiencing.
I hope this will change in future version, and that emotion/items/whatever will be displayed without having to blink between various tiles/colors especially with the visual aspect being reworked to allow better tileset management for the steam release.

By example something like this :
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=5075.msg6725554#msg6725554
to avoid constantly blinking between the dwarf tile and what he is carrying, or adding some other visual effect on top when there's an emotion like in most other top down 2 games .
« Last Edit: February 16, 2020, 02:35:45 pm by Robsoie »
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Bumber

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Re: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« Reply #7 on: February 17, 2020, 03:37:50 pm »

Would something like Vidumec's tileset help?



It's default with colored backgrounds.
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Re: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« Reply #8 on: February 19, 2020, 04:42:53 pm »

You could also just tweak your colors, so the blues aren't so deep.
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Salmeuk

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Re: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« Reply #9 on: February 27, 2020, 10:27:48 pm »

I found my vision improved after playing DF. I imagine all the focused darting around that occurs when one is trying to sort through menus or identify ASCII characters trains a certain precise-ness of vision.

Has anyone read any studies describing the effects in the OP?
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coalboat

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Re: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2020, 04:21:27 am »

Is there a way to make the blinking slower?
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DogsRNice

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Re: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« Reply #11 on: March 02, 2020, 11:25:02 am »

Is there a way to make the blinking slower?

Setting the FPS to a low maximum value may help
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coalboat

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Re: A warning to those that play Dwarf Fortress too much.
« Reply #12 on: March 02, 2020, 12:56:06 pm »

I cap it at 20.
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