Dwarf Fortress

[Thor2axe]

Does anyone here play Dwarf Fortress?

If so, how can I convince my friend to play? He is just overwhelmed by the shear scope.

And/or share your first time experiences and thoughts.

[Haiti's Space Agency]

Never heard of it.

[shopping cart for brains]

After a google search, I must say this game looks like complete shit.

[GenocideMachine]

After a google search, I must say this game looks like complete shit.

No shit -- you don't know anything about the genre, obviously. Roguelikes (though only half of dwarf fortress is really a roguelike) are generally always ascii games.

[Ford Prefect]

Can't say I've ever played it, but from reading the wiki just now it sounds uhmayzing.

[Mankonaut X]

I tried playing it but goddamn there's so much stuff to do. From what friends have told me you can't do much better for an ASCII game.

[Mantikore]

i will try it out

[Haiti's Space Agency]

Can I have cool points if I pretend to like this game?

[LiquidIce]

I already played stone soup but got to only levels 12 or 14.

I've seen Dorf Fortress on /tg/, the stories about it are plain damn awesome, although I too am confuzled by the sheer possibilities of the game.

OP, could you talk about how you got into the game? Not how to start a game, just your story how you started playing?

[White Jesus]

Downloaded just then
Did not enjoy

[Thor2axe]

Can I have cool points if I pretend to like this game?

Only if you know how to make a desalination plant.

I had read about dwarf fortress years ago, in some pc gaming magazine, and having read the article, found the spark of inspiration of Toady One (creator). But I forgot about it untill I saw a picture of it, somewhere, and it all came rushing back.

I downloaded it, and was so dumbfounded just by the controls. But, I spent about two weeks stumbling through the *(Walls)* with the help of the wiki and many start-up guides, that the complexity grew on me.
The shear fact that everything is so chaotic and yet incredibly organized, all according to my design began to slowly suck me in. I read about bigger and better constructions and whenever I had a problem, there was always the wiki to be as unhelpful as possible unless you already know what you are doing.
The slogan 'losing is fun' actually begins to become true. Just today, I flooded my entire fortress in magma. Not on purpose, but because of a mechanical faliure and a very lazy mechanic. I could have reloaded anytime, but I didnt. It was too fun to build an escape route and let the seiging goblins in, as the try to plunder right into a torrent of magma.