Adventure Mode: A Breakdown

This blog will be focused primarily on my various adventures while playing the upcoming version of Dwarf Fortress' Adventure Mode. It would be wise, therefore, to explain exactly what Adventure Mode is.

Within Dwarf Fortress, there are three different methods of play. Adventure Mode, wherein the player controls a single person (or dwarf or elf) and is free to explore the world they have generated; Fortress Mode, wherein the player controls an initial band of seven dwarves and must build up a prosperous fortress, defend it from attack, and take care of possibly hundreds of migrants that will make your fortress their home; and Legends Mode, which allows the player to look at the entire history of every historical figure and location in the world you've generated.

This post will break down Adventure Mode in simple terms.

Adventure Mode allows you, the player, to take control of a human, dwarf, or elf (or anything else, really, if you're good enough at modding the game or have access to third party modifications) and go on wild adventures.

Adventure Mode has, for most of the game's history, been a secondary feature, something that players could do in addition to making fortresses, but generally not the focus of the game. In version 00.31.18, however, Adventure Mode was greatly expanded. Annoying things like hunger and thirst were removed, targeting in combat was implemented, and night creatures were added so that they may stalk the careless wanderer of the wilderness.

Adventure Mode is, in my opinion, the most fun (both in the literal and dwarfy sense) aspect of Dwarf Fortress. Combat is personalized, giving meaning to the inevitable crippling nerve damage and bone shatterings that so often plague both fortress-dwelling dwarves and brave adventurers.

Adventure mode allows for an incredible variety of action, with the only real limit being your imagination and willingness for the insane.

a typical adventurer's death (picture drawn by user piecewise on the DF forums)

While playing Adventure Mode, I have killed an elf, removed his socks, and used them to mercilessly beat his family to death. I have been strangled by giants, melted by dragonfire, and thrown so hard against a wall that my body literally exploded. I have punched a wolf in the face, and I have stabbed an ettin in the heart with a dagger made from jaguar bones. Adventure Mode allows the player to experience unbelievable gore and horror and majesty, all in a fantastically depicted ASCII landscape.

socks. deadly. (picture drawn by user piecewise on the DF forums)

What is Dwarf Fortress?

In the world of independent game development, there are many great games that go largely unnoticed by the general public. By now we have all heard of the incredibly successful Minecraft, a game developed by Notch and his team at Mojang. It is less likely, however, that you have heard of Dwarf Fortress, a relatively unknown game with an incredibly passionate fanbase.

Dwarf Fortress (the full title of which is Slaves to Armok: God of Blood: Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress: Histories of X and Y) is part roguelike, part simulation, part strategy, and all fun. The player can command armies of dwarves, build up a successful fortress from nothing, take on the role of an adventurer, and slay hordes of goblins and night creatures.

Perhaps the most startling aspect of Dwarf Fortress is that in a world of polygons and realism, the game is presented entirely in ASCII. The average person looks at ggUdgg/ and sees a series of random keystrokes, but a Dwarf Fortress player sees something entirely different: a group of goblins surrounding a dog and his master, lone man whose sword has been wrenched from his grip and cast on the ground amidst a ferocious battle.

                                                      An example of your "typical" fortress

The second most surprising aspect of Dwarf Fortress is its complete lack of any forgiveness. There is no sliding scale of difficulty, there is no reloading a saved game when you die or your fortress crumbles. You are thrown into the middle of a fantastic world that you must navigate and decipher on your own. There is a reason that the game's motto is "Losing is fun!"

Dwarf Fortress, unlike most games, is not developed by a team of programmers and designers. Instead, it has been steadily built by one man, Tarn "Toady One" Adams, over the course of ten years. Despite this time commitment (Tarn has quit his job as a mathematics professor to work full time on the game, living solely on donations from fans) the game is far from complete. Currently, a large update is due to come out in the next few days or weeks, finally pushing the game to one-third complete, or version 00.33.00. Tarn estimates that the game won't be finished for another twenty years or so, and I plan on following its progress and enjoying the results for as long as it takes.

Dwarf Fortress can be downloaded for free on Tarn's website.

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