A massive update for alternate world simulator Dwarf Fortress just landed and, by the Sacred Caverns That Bristle With Features, it’s a big ‘un that has been eleven months in the making. I’ll list more below but for starters, it looks like Adventure mode has been guzzling down its vitamins, with cities now having more variety, tombs to explore, and better traps and abilities. As for Dwarf mode, let’s just say vampiric and lycanthropic infections and leave it at that, shall we? Oh, but there’s so much more. The temptation to begin a new chronicle is strong.
Here we go then. The first four points show an emphasis on the dark side of fantasy.
Protect your community from secret vampire dwarves or hunt them as an adventurer.
Defend your fort during the full moon or risk a werewolf infestion — hunt/be hunted as an adventurer.
Face armies of the dead in dwarf mode or visit their necromancers’ towers and learn their secrets as an adventurer.
Evil regions where the dead and pieces of the dead can come alive, with evil mists and rain.
First of all, these things should be in every game. Racing game, fighting game, space combat simulator, the lot.
Secondly, PIECES OF THE DEAD CAN COME ALIVE! I will end up being killed by an animated giant’s gonad as it trundles across the land and that is the sort of thing that can only happen in Dwarf Fortress. It won’t even be a cutscene or a setpiece, it will just be something that happens after brunch.
Some practical stuff now. I say practical, but tracking every item in a gigantic world isn’t so much practical as an unnerving level of detail. Good.
Dropped items/bodies tracked between plays in the wilderness anywhere in the world
More battlefield information tracked/war dead raisable in world gen.
Various new abilities for creatures.
New site travel map to make navigating towns easier.
And then there’s the additions which show that Adventure mode could well become the RPG I’ve always had inside my head but never had the ability to communicate in full detail, let alone create.
Eating/drinking required in adv mode.
Ingested syndromes are now possible
Ability to make campfire (from ‘g’) and warm items at campfire/fire/magma (from ‘I’) in adv mode.
Traps work in adv mode, once spotted they can be ignored.
Necromancers can write books about various topics (all books are in their towers as it stands).
Did you see the bit where it says “ingested syndromes are now possible”? It really is only a matter of time before every tear that is spilled in the world is tracked, as well as every poo that is unloaded.
There’s more and bug fixes are also listed over here. This just about kills every plan I had for the next week or so, which is ridiculous because it’s not as if I’d reached a stage where I thought, “man, I’ve really seen everything Dwarf Fortress has to offer, time to leave it until there’s a massive update”.
I’m frightened of what this game may become. I think it may be adventure time.
9.1 meg
Latest release info from author:
Toady One Here's the release we've been working on for nearly eleven months. I've tried to collect the major changes below, but it won't be a complete list. I hope you enjoy the game!
New stuff
cities in adventure mode that have various buildings, dungeons, items, livestock, etc.
protect your community from secret vampire dwarves or hunt them as an adventurer
defend your fort during the full moon or risk a werewolf infestion -- hunt/be hunted as an adventurer
face armies of the dead in dwarf mode or visit their necromancers' towers and learn their secrets as an adventurer
evil regions where the dead and pieces of the dead can come alive, with evil mists and rain
tombs built in world gen which can be visited in adv mode, either beneath towns or out in the wilds -- beware the dead!
revamped justice/witness/death notification system in dwarf mode
immigrants to your fortress will now be historical figures whenever possible, which means more family relationships and history for each one
dropped items/bodies tracked between plays in the wilderness anywhere in the world
more battlefield information tracked/war dead raisable in world gen
all sponsorship animals and their giant/man versions are in the game now
various new abilities for creatures (see file_changes.txt for list and syntax)
adventurers can use creature abilities/learned powers and they can be tested from the arena
new site travel map to make navigating towns easier
reading/swimming/observer (for traps) relevant in adv mode now
established historical figures can lead bandits
rivers block movement in adv mode travel
eating/drinking required in adv mode
ingested syndromes are now possible
ability to make campfire (from 'g') and warm items at campfire/fire/magma (from 'I') in adv mode
traps work in adv mode, once spotted they can be ignored
gems now have different cuts
necromancers can write books about various topics (all books are in their towers as it stands)
moon phase indicator in fort
alphanumeric world gen seeds and some more world gen params (see file_changes.txt)
the legends xml has a lot of new info for historical figures
Major bug fixes
buffer overload from aborted world gen fixed
fixed cave-in-on-embark issue with hidden underground structure, and a few others
Other bug fixes/tweaks
designations over z levels all at once now possible
unit screen divided into four sections
rivers/pools have ramps now
able to trade portions of stacks in both modes
messed with adv mode currency trading and made items teleport to you
tweaked how fire damage works
made vision work through floor grates and bars properly
fixed some road/bridge problems
crystal glass items possible again
tweaked adventure mode swimming and alt-movement readout (use alt-movement to get into a river you want to cross)
skeletons/zombies replaced by animation effect
demons masquerading as gods will try a little harder
restricted mandates so they'll be more reasonable
stopped blank map from being exported when you back out of detailed map export
