LadyM and the Seven Dwarfs

Not quite the Disney movie but this is my adventure into the world of Dwarf Fortress. An ASCII game that looks simple with low graphics but the game has alot of depth. Created by 12 Bay Games and free for download, this game has alot of fan base. Some Dwarf Fortress community members made some game sprite graphics and added it to the game so I’d suggest downloading that version. It’s easier to figure out what’s going on. You can find it here: May Green. Then there is a wiki to help with game play. It’s not that much help at first but try to follow the instructions as best you can. Everyone tells me not to give up, keep trying and I’ll get it.

So what is this game all about? You are a band of seven dwarfs. You arrive in a wagon at a spot on a map. Your goal is to make a fortress and a home for them, get more dwarfs and survive. Seems easy enough but that is where the depth comes in to play. Things happen in this game that are beyond your control, including when they turn crazy. My first time playing didn’t turn out well but I’ve seen others post pictures and stories from their game and that is what intrigues me.

These are photos from my actual game. On the left is my wagan and dwarfs. I know I was suppose to dig into the wall and make a fortress underground or in the mountain. The problem was I couldn’t figure out how to do it plus the wall was made of clay not stone which confused me. All they did was wander around on their own with some dogs, cats and camels. Some of the animals became tame and had babies. One of the dwarfs became a fisherman, not sure how that happened or what he did with the fish. I read the wiki and asked questions to the people who have played and learned how to rename them. I know I was suppose to take the wagon apart for wood but they wouldn’t do it. I know I was suppose to make a trade depot but they wouldn’t do that either. Also, I was suppose to make a fishery. Nope, didn’t happen. I did figure out how to rename the dwarfs though.

Meet the Seven Dwarfs, yes I did indeed name them after the Disney Dwarfs. Seemed easier to remember. Now that I had them named, I tried to give them jobs. I kept selecting the options and playing around and found a command called activate. I activated all of them and they became soldiers. Apparently I wasn’t supposed to do this. All I had to do was give them a skill. I also tried to tell them where to dig but I didn’t follow it all the way through the mountain. I did figure out how to make stockpiles which I thought was a good thing however once I did, things went wrong really fast. The traders couldn’t find me and everyone seemed to go nuts.

See the red figures? Those are my dead dwarfs.

They died of thirst. I forgot the water. I was going to stop playing and replay with changes but it wouldn’t let me do that, my choice was to save or disband the settlement. So I disbanded. Now I have a better idea of what to do and how to control so I’ll attempt another settlement and see what happens. I’ll post my results here and if I make any progress. I don’t want to rate the game because I really didn’t play but I wish it was a little more user friendly. More to come…

Stumble it!