As a result of Dwarf Fortress’s release on Steam, a number of significant changes have taken place. It may take some time for seasoned players to adjust. After spending a considerable amount of time with both the original and the Steam release, we have compiled a list of the eleven most notable changes we encountered.
Bay 12 and Kitfox Games have announced that the Steam release of the updated version of their fantasy world simulator Dwarf Fortress will occur on December 6th. There will be an Itch.io release of the game as well.
In the previously ASCII-only world of dwarven delving, this expansion will introduce pixel art graphics, tutorials, and new music and sound effects. To see how drastically different this version is, check out the trailer for the upcoming release.
Dwarf Fortress’s visual overhaul makes it easier to, well, see what you’re doing. A new user interface, menus, and onboarding tutorials for new players, as well as a new soundtrack and sound effects, have been hard at work by the development team, who have been working like a bunch of dwarves in a mine full of gemstones.
The new Dwarf Fortress is intended to be more user-friendly than the ASCII version, but the old one will still be available at no cost if you prefer it.
Bay 12 will maintain both the free and paid versions of the Dwarf Fortress. It’s been decades since the intriguing but perplexing management game first appeared on PC, and only in recent years has Bay 12 teamed up with Kitfox to revamp the game.
The paid version will not have all of the original’s features, such as the Adventure and Arena modes, but Bay 12 has plans to add them in the future. It also has a larger roadmap that includes procedurally generated systems of myth and magic.
THERE’S A TUTORIAL AND THE HELP IS MORE HELPFUL
Dwarf Fortress’s tutorial is a huge improvement. This is the first tutorial of its kind. It’s been nearly 20 years since players were thrown into the game without any sort of tutorial and expected to figure out the game’s legendary complexity on their own (or with a lot of help from the official wiki).
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This is why the learning curve for Dwarf Fortress is so steep—a it’s cliff. The new tutorial will guide you through the setup process for your first castle. A second look is possible at a later time.
It doesn’t matter if you close the tutorial or not; accessing it again from the help menu will allow you to continue where you left off. In addition, we’ve reworked the help menu to make it easier to navigate and more informative to users.
MENUS MAKE MORE SENSE
We have reorganised the majority of the menus in Dwarf Fortress to make more sense. Unfortunately, if you’re used to the previous iteration, this may cause you even more confusion.
First, we’ll look at the section formerly known as “Designations” (d). A separate menu with its own icon has created for each subcategory. Digging (m), Tree Chopping (l), Plant Gathering (g), Smoothing and Engraving (v), and Cancelling Orders are now each available as separate menu options (x).
Marking items for smelting or dumping I can done through a dedicated menu. The process of constructing objects in b is now much more organised, to the extent that it can said to organised.
Created a new submenu for military structures like Armor Stands and Archery Targets. The same is true for Doors and Hatches.
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The workshop schedule has also shuffled around. Crafting with Weaves and Hides Crafts and Laboratories a natural fit under Textiles and Leather Goods. All other food-related tools, such as Stills, Kitchens, and Querns, included under the broader heading of Farming.
You’ll find shortcuts to the various menus you’ve always had access to down. In the bottom left of the screen, including Creatures, Tasks, Places, Labor, Work Orders, Nobles, Objects, and Justice.
MANY OF THE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS HAVE CHANGED
While not every hotkey is different between the vanilla and Steam versions of Dwarf Fortress. There are enough that it will take some time to adjust if you’re coming from the original.
The first change you’ll notice is that m>m instead of d>d applies to mining. Alternately, you can now designate a region with a single press of l as opposed to the previous requirement of d > l, thanks to Tree Chopping’s new dedicated menu.
Other Workshops in the construct menu (o instead of w) also have unique shortcuts, such as carpenter (p) and kitchen (k), both of which nested one level deeper in the farming menu (f).
If you’re an old hand at Dwarf Fortress, don’t rush ahead using the commands you (think you) know. Instead, take the time to learn the new shortcuts; tooltips will appear when you hover the mouse over any icon.
Final Words
To be clear, none of the issues we’ve run into have prevented us from playing, and the game is running smoother than ever before. If you drag out a shape meant to represent a floor or bridge, for instance, there is no visual cue as to where the floor will placed.
You can get around it easily enough, but it’s a bit of an inconvenience not to be able to see what you’re doing. The game is still unfolding, so try to hold off on making any rash decisions. After all, this journey has taken us twenty years to complete.
