Editing Dwarf Fortress (section)

==Gameplay==
Unlike most sane games, Dwarf Fortress does not actually have a winning condition. Every fortress, no matter how successful, is doomed to a hideous death at some point. In fact, in older versions of the game, the simple act of mining a certain extremely deep and rare ore would start a hidden timer condemning your fortress to certain destruction at the hands of a [[The Lord of the Rings|balrog]] standin, with the 'victory' screen sadly informing you that your dwarves dug too deep. This may seem disappointing to some, but keeping your fort going long enough to strike that ore was an achievement in and of itself. 

This inevitability of loss has lead to the fan base's rallying cry: "Losing is Fun!". In this case, 'Fun' (especially with a capital 'F') is entirely synonymous with 'Hideous Demise', and the things that are likely to cause it. Some things which are generally considered 'Fun' are [[Rage|tantrum spirals]], [[WAAAGH|goblin invasions]], and the ''{{BLAM|Circus}}'' which can arrive if you dig too greedily and too deep (see 'Hidden Fun Stuff'). Considering this, and remembering the earlier description of the Dwarven blood god, one cannot help but reach the following conclusion: the player IS Armok.

The gameplay has an exceptional and frankly obsessive depth of detail that no other video game has yet to attempt. Despite being (by default) ASCII-based and extremely obtuse, like the old roguelikes from which it draws inspiration, huge amounts of information are tracked and considered for just about every aspect of the game. A dwarf may be represented on-screen by a single ASCII character, but that dwarf is modelled down to the most minute details, such as the exact location and severity of injuries (a bruise on the first joint on his left little finger, for example). Combat is thus complex and messy - a typical dwarven battlefield will be full of bloody stains, severed limbs, discarded weapons and ammunition, and the vomit of the unfortunate recipients of abdominal injuries. After-action combat reports give detailed and often hilarious blow-by-blow accounts of the fights that take place.

In addition to "Fortress mode", where the player controls a dwarven colony, there is also the option of entering "Adventurer Mode", to explore the world as a single character. Adventure mode allows one to travel (almost) anywhere in the game's world, collecting treasure, getting in fights, and levelling up in numerous skills. There is no shortage of 'Fun' in adventure mode, either, and many an adventurer has met an early demise simply by [[Vampire|being]] [[Zombie|caught]] [[Werewolf|outside]] after nightfall. For those who are more inclined to reading than actual adventuring, there is also "Legends Mode", which documents the entire (and I mean ''entire'') history of the world, and all the mayhem that happens in it. The game world and its denizens are procedurally generated, creating the potential for a nearly infinite number of different possible worlds whose attributes can be painstakingly tweaked right down to the average rainfall and biome frequency. 
[[File:DwarfMatrix.jpg|right|300px]]
Dwarf Fortress is still under development (version 50.08 as of May 2023); the developers figure it's going to be at least another decade before it can be called "finished". After a very long and arduous wait, Dwarf Fortress was released on December 6th, 2022 on Steam, though some features, such as Adventure mode, are yet to make the jump. Reviews are generally positive, though [[grognard]]s will always complain about it not being 'their Dwarf Fortress'. The Steam version, as well as "classic" versions, are still free to download on the [http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves developer's website]. The <s>official</s> classic game's ASCII-based display of inscrutable letters and symbols confuses the shit out of [[:/v/|fucking casuals]], but unofficial tile graphics versions are available [http://mayday.w.staszic.waw.pl/df.php here], among other places. Some older versions do not fully support tile graphics, nor does the Steam version. The latter features its own unique tileset, so casuals don't have to deal with ASCII. 

The Steam version appears to be fairly well-optimized, but for those who are considering playing one of the classic versions, consider the following: Despite its appearance, Dwarf Fortress is actually one of the most hardware intensive games in history. Even the most powerful Intel or AMD processor will '''Choke and Die''' the moment someone forgets to sterilize their pets, to the point that DF world generation is sometimes used as a CPU benchmark.

Posting a Dwarf Fortress thread on [[/tg/]] is a great way to effortlessly [[troll]] a few people, [[Games Workshop|confuse others]], and cause [[Indrick Boreale|multiple, simultaneous and devastating]] [[Slaanesh|orgasms]] in [[neckbeards|hardcore fans of the game]].