The Steam release of Dwarf Fortress is imminent, even with real graphics. Some content will be missing at launch, however.
Anyone who digs through entire mountains as a dwarf knows a lot about patience. And virtual construction players need it urgently in Dwarf Fortress if they want to leave the ASCII graphics behind them even without mods. The announcement that the fan favourite would be coming to Steam with a graphical makeover came in 2019, thirteen years after the original 2006 release.
Now Dwarf Fortress is racing towards Steam release faster than a dwarf to a breakfast beer: the insanely complex building game that served as inspiration for, among others RimWorld will be released on 6 December 2022 in Valve”s shop. With graphics. However, fans will have to accept a few compromises.
This is in the Steam release, and this is not
Not all of Dwarf Fortress” content will be available right away for the Steam release. Developer Bay 12 Games explained in a (blogpost) what players can expect and what they (might) need to be a little more patient for.
You can watch the new trailer for the release on Steam here:
Table of Contents
It”s in there for sure
- The Fortress mode, which is the main mode of Dwarf Fortress, which basically works like an even more complex fantasy RimWorld.
- The Legends mode, which generates a world that players can then view and peruse in all its depth.
- A lot of the graphics, so for example world, item and character sprites.
- The soundtrack
- A tutorial for beginners
- Mouse support (different from the original)
This might be in it
- Unclear if Classic Mode, the original ASCII version of Dwarf Fortress, will make it into the Steam release build.
- Also the Arena mode, a freely configurable test sandbox, might not appear until later.
- Also not sure if the Steam Workshop integration will be ready for release.
I”m sure that will be added later
- More graphics, for example for pet offspring.
- Support for Linux and Mac
- The Adventure Mode, which lets you experience the generated worlds with a single game character.
- Steam achievements
- The expansion and completion of the game systems, including around magic, randomly generated myths, powerful enemies, armies and sieges and improvements for the map system.
Here you can see screenshots from the Steam version of the building game:
What by the Beard of the Dwarf is Dwarf Fortress?
In the main mode Fortress you build the eponymous dwarf castle in a world that is generated together with thousands of years of prehistory. Peoples, landscapes, stories, simply everything exists and develops persistently
You start as a small group of dwarves with a few resources, dig into a mountain, build your first rooms and workshops. The little bearded ones are always hungry and thirsty, produce rubbish, multiply, have their own life stories and desires (especially beer), and so on.
The great appeal of Dwarf Fortress is in the complex interplay of the myriad game mechanics Mastering and juggling them, constantly learning new ones and reacting adequately to a multitude of everyday challenges … all this is what makes the build-up game so appealing to many players. And a game like this can fail in countless ways.
An example: You have stored rubbish indoors, creating toxic miasma that makes your dwarves sick. That”s why they fail in the fight against attacking robbers: Zack, all dead, game over! In keeping with the many variations of failure, the motto of this tough game is: Losing is fun
Are you a fan of Dwarf Fortess? Are you looking forward to the Steam release, do you prefer to stay with ASCII or have you already acquired decent graphics thanks to mods? Feel free to write us in the comments!
