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[Shadowclaimer]

-Package the game with a tileset, seriously I'd warrant to say 90% of your 90% you're turning away is solely the ASCII graphics. There's a difference between trying to maintain an image with the game and keep to its roots and denying players the choice without making them jump through hoops. Simply having Dwarf Fortress come in a graphical and non-graphical version would go MILES towards making it a more accessible game, I can seriously tell you straight up that 4/5 of my friends that don't play DF cite this as the reason.

The ascii graphics aren't about 'maintaining an image'. Its about reducing workload. ToadOne and ThreeToe experience from their previous game, Slave to Armok, that adding graphics was really killing the games forward progress. So they went with Ascii to address this work load problem.

That's fine, they don't have to touch the graphics, there's plenty of people in this community who would gladly submit tilework for an update in a heartbeat.

And for those saying it would delay progress, its as simple as releasing what they need tiles for a week ahead of release and they'd be done by SOMEONE.

There still the issue of the fact that ToadyOne doesn't like working with other folks. He even stated that he doesnt like to program with his own brother. 

As for just tossing request into the wild, thats not a perfect solution. You'll probably get a mismash quilt thing going which will look cruddy and there issue of what to do with multiple submission for the same item and there the issue of what to do when there is no submission for the new item. There also the fact that ToadyOne & ThreeToe aren't a 100 percent transparent with their developments. They've been known to allow for surprises in new releases. So now you'll have these potencial surprises in this mishmash quilt of spirites that'll look really out of  place being just Ascii.

None of these problems are impossible to solve, but they do make ToadyOne and ThreeToe having to with the community/someone for a release, which ToadyOne for sure doesn't like to do. That personal preference is paramount.

Whereas, how the current model works with tilesets being worked on autonomously seems to be pretty functional. ToadyOne doesn't have to rely on anyone else, and gets to work in his own time frame.

What I'm asking for is a dual release, IE: similar to how Mayday does his "DFG" Graphical release, simply have a series of graphical clients already pre-installed on the download page with DF. As it stands when me (and my brother) started, we both hand installed tilesets without knowing that they came in pre-packaged clients.

Would just make things easier on the newbies.

[Draco18s]

What I'm asking for is a dual release, IE: similar to how Mayday does his "DFG" Graphical release, simply have a series of graphical clients already pre-installed on the download page with DF. As it stands when me (and my brother) started, we both hand installed tilesets without knowing that they came in pre-packaged clients.

Would just make things easier on the newbies.

What is so hard about "ToadyOne doesn't like working with other folks" do you not understand?

[zwei]

It would go long way if toady simply included "mod manager" that takes stuff from community-operated repository.

He would release game as usual, but user would be able to get list of tilesets (and major mods) for his version, download them and install them with one keypress.

All that tileset/mod creator would have to do is to prepare package which is tagged with new DF version and upload it to repository.

Add star rating, "recomended" feature and you have really nice system in place.

[Socializator]

It would go long way if toady simply included "mod manager" that takes stuff from community-operated repository.

He would release game as usual, but user would be able to get list of tilesets (and major mods) for his version, download them and install them with one keypress.

All that tileset/mod creator would have to do is to prepare package which is tagged with new DF version and upload it to repository.

Add star rating, "recomended" feature and you have really nice system in place.

Or even simpler - just have a separate download page with links to LNP, mods, Therapist, tilestests etc. .. instead of just direct download link. So the majority of new players would land on official page which shows easier paths. Now they have to search forums for a topic which isnt even stickied, ffs.

[Don57]

Things that still make the game difficult to play:

• Unsorted lists.  Please at least sort things alphabetically!
• Poor stockpile settings.  For example, it's very difficult to make a separate piles of magma-safe and non-magma-safe stone.

Regarding the very first post as to what might be driving away new players, I would suggest the following: implement a "General Fort Needs" system, similar to the way nobles have needs, but which cover the entire fort.  It might help new users learn what a fort needs in order to function well.  You could have messages appear in the message list saying "Fort needs a distillery" if the player has not built one, or "Fort needs a dormitory" if there are no sleeping quarters. 

[pisskop]

1) stockpiles.
2) World not continuing to age as a whole after generation.
3) Inability to 'retire' a fort and see it grow as an ai settlement.

I would love to see an expanded simulation side of DF.

[AutomataKittay]

Dwarves not respecting burrow for job checking, particularly hauling.
Linked stockpiles not working very well on taking from workshop ( At least I've never gotten it to work with still output ).
Farms not being able to be assigned to specific dwarves.
Lack of decorative quality/type stockpile setting.
Cloth stockpile setting not behaving correctly, lack of dye setting.

Those's pretty minor, but it does makes major organized industrial management annoying, particularly for organizing cloth and dyed cloth output.

[bombzero]

2) World not continuing to age as a whole after generation.
3) Inability to 'retire' a fort and see it grow as an ai settlement.

You know these two points are actually Toady's primary goals for this development arc right?

[reality.auditor]

If we are talking about settings... I feel lack of files where uniforms or customized stockpiles could be defined (like embark configuration or world parameters are saved). Making again and again same three uniforms with each new fortress gets old quickly.

And biggest problem with DF for me is utterly crappy user interface. It is worst abomination that I ever seen in game that still was worth playing despite UI.

[pisskop]

2) World not continuing to age as a whole after generation.
3) Inability to 'retire' a fort and see it grow as an ai settlement.

You know these two points are actually Toady's primary goals for this development arc right?

I want them.... now... PLease?

[bombzero]

2) World not continuing to age as a whole after generation.
3) Inability to 'retire' a fort and see it grow as an ai settlement.

You know these two points are actually Toady's primary goals for this development arc right?

I want them.... now... PLease?

Heh, I read your post and was like, "He's gonna be happy soon..."

[katana]

My only real problem with dwarf fortress is the lack of a real living world. It's frozen in time the moment you start playing. Obviously, this is to change in future versions.

[MrWiggles]

My only real problem with dwarf fortress is the lack of a real living world. It's frozen in time the moment you start playing. Obviously, this is to change in future versions.

My Real Problem is the Thing thats Being Address?
why bring it up?

[katana]

My only real problem with dwarf fortress is the lack of a real living world. It's frozen in time the moment you start playing. Obviously, this is to change in future versions.

My Real Problem is the Thing thats Being Address?
why bring it up?

"What turns you off about..." is an idiom in English. Literally it means something like "What do you not like about..."

[medinos]

Unsorted lists.

Disabillty to scroll item lists from bottom to top because of MASSIVE amount of different animal bones to select at the bottom of the list. Why have they to be selectable for each existing animal kind? I doubt it is used.

And for the interface. Make buildings appear time after time in the list, maybe with a certain minimum population. The number of selectable buildings right from the start confuses. I never built a kiln or siege workshop for example because I ignored them from the beginning - there was too much. This would be improved by incremental unlocking (of course building locking should be able to be toggled)