Dwarf Fortress v.0.31.10 – Strike the Earth!

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Cuchulain
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As you may already be aware, I am a huge fan of Dwarf Fortress. For those of you who have not encountered this wonderful, wonderful game, have a look at my previous post. The game is in a long process of development, and if Toady One (the sole developer) manages to pull off but a small iota of everything planned for the eventual official release (version 1 of the game – we’re currently still in beta release) then this game is going to go down as one of the all time greats, perhaps the best game of all time.

For many people one of the most endearing aspects of this game is the interaction with its developer and the feeling of inclusion given by the open design process. Updated playable versions with improved game play are constantly being released, and players are encouraged to write in any suggested improvements or notify Toady of bugs they encounter.

A major update (more than a year in the making) has recently been released – well, a few months ago. This altered the game significantly.  Unfortunately, the number of bugs present in the initial release of this version made it almost unplayable – certainly a lot more difficult to play, anyway. This is why I have refrained from exhorting its brilliance until now. Toady (and some of his more trusted helpers) have done a sterling job of fixing up most of the more annoying bugs, and with the release of version 0.31.10 I can finally erupt into spasms of joy and veneration over this version of the game.

So what improvements have been brought to the table? Here’s a list:

  1. The Underground – Space. In the previous version, the underground was somewhat lacking in excitement. There were about 20 levels you could dig into, mine out the (kind of difficult to find) ores and construct your fortress. Yes, you could dig too greedily and too deep… but that’s spoiler material. In the current version, depending on world generation, and depending on which area of the world you decide to inhabit, there are hundreds of levels!  There’s room to explore, room to delve.
  2. The Underground – Ore. The older versions of the game made it kind of difficult to get all the ore you might want. People were forced to laboriously mark out exploratory mining channels in order to find the requisite materials, or cheat and download reveal.exe, a program which showed you exactly where everything was. Imagine my shock when, having loaded up my new version of the game and setting my miners to tunnel into the mountain, I encountered ore seam after ore seam, material wealth beyond any dwarf’s wildest dream! Initially I was somewhat confronted by this change – perhaps this was a little overdone? I’m still in 2 minds about it. But I’m not shy of turning all that material to my advantage – and that way lies Fun.
  3. The Underground – SPOILERS! Yes, gentle reader, this next section contains spoilers. I know you won’t be able to resist reading, but at least you can’t accuse me of spoiling the surprise without fair warning. The Underground is filled with wonderful and terrible things – not just a wealth of ore. If you dig deep enough there is a great likelihood that you will break into underground caverns which span the entire generated world. There are multiple layers of caverns as well – the upper levels are frequently divided between habitable dry areas (complete with mushroom forests) and a vast underground sea. Dig even deeper than this (be careful not to flood yourself!) and you will eventually come to a sea of magma. Now, the temptation is to move to these deep areas to take advantage of the limitless energy supplied by this material – but beware, the depths are a dangerous place. Monsters reside deep beneath the earth. Toady has programmed in Forgotten Beasts – random, terrifying creatures made of random materials, with horrifying descriptors and facets! Imagine coming across a tentacled beast made out of iron. Beware its acidic breath!
  4. Health care. Before the recent update, injured dwarves used to drag themselves to an unattended bed and wait there for their wounds to heal. Frequently, their cries for water or food were ignored by their fellow dwarves and it was not uncommon for the injured to die of thirst of malnutrition. Now, you can build a hospital, complete with beds, cabinets for supplies, traction benches, crutches etc. and have dedicated medical personnel. This was one of the most exciting changes, yet one of the most disappointing in the early stages, as it was utterly broken by the bugs besetting the project. If dwarves were injured before you built your hospital, they never took up residence there and consequently died of their wounds. Doctors worked on patients for years without ever affecting a cure. Fortunately, the bug fixes handed down seem to have fixed the majority of these problems and health care is working smoothly now.
  5. The military screen. Oh, the military screen. In the earlier versions of the game there was a rather simplistic and clumsy method of handling the military. You chose which dwarves were to become military dwarves, assigned them weapons and armour preferences (they’d go and pick up the best armour and weapons available at the time, then stick with it – so, despite having an adamantine sword of great quality in your stockpile, your dwarf would still go into battle with that copper piece of rubbish he’d been dragging around since the beginning of the fort.) You would create a squad or two, and when the enemy showed up, you’d give the order – “Go over there, Squad A!” – and your dwarves would go and take a look. Unless they were sleeping. Or getting a drink. Or eating. Or at a party. “Too busy, Sir – Getting Drunk!” Elegant, simplistic, but somewhat “Pants” to put it in the vernacular. Unfortunately, the cure was worse than the disease – the military control system in the new version was enormously confusing and complicated and just plain broken. Whereas the idea of having so many options and such control at your fingertips was great, in practice it was quite unwieldy. On top of this, the opponents in the game have been beefed up dramatically. Before, it was common practice to train a couple of your first immigrant wave in military matters and you could build a relatively safe fortress from that point on. In this version, even a modest ambush can be a real killer. On top of a seemingly non-functioning military control system, this became a real problem. Add to this concern the fact that the training system was broken and all of a sudden just keeping your dwarves alive long enough to build anything of great interest became much more difficult of a proposition. Fortunately, I am happy to point out that the most recent version has revisited the military control system, correcting many of the problems people have experienced.

There are a slew of updates in the most recent version. I have just touched on some of the many changes which have been added. If you have ever played the game and have lost the true path, I think this update warrants another look. For those of you who have never experienced the true joy of this game, you really owe it to yourself to have a go.

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About Cuchulain

Cuchulain (otherwise known as Paul) has been playing roleplaying games since he was 10 years old. Although he'll play any game under the sun, he prefers characterisation and plot over tactics and mechanics. He is never happier than when playing in or mastering a horror campaign - preferably with heavy Cthulhu Mythos overtones or theme.
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  • Dwayne

    Damnit… as if I haven’t got enough games in my list to try and find time to play! :)

  • Dwayne

    Damnit… as if I haven’t got enough games in my list to try and find time to play! :)

  • http://diceofdoom.com/blog/author/cuchulain/ Cuchulain

    It’s a real time-thief. Not since Civilization have I lost so much sleep to a game. Once you’ve climbed to learning cliff the potential is unlimited.

  • http://diceofdoom.com/blog/author/cuchulain/ Cuchulain

    It’s a real time-thief. Not since Civilization have I lost so much sleep to a game. Once you’ve climbed to learning cliff the potential is unlimited.