While regular Dwarf Fortress is about building and maintaining a fort of dwarves, Adventure Mode is more of a role-playing game campaign. You create a character and roam a procedurally generated world with various forts, towns, factions and more. It’s even possible to traverse one of your worlds from Fortress Mode.

Some of the more interesting changes include characters having faces, thanks to the procedural portrait system. You can also converse with characters and form a party to explore the world. Even the world map has changed, with towns, homes and roads being more easily visible. Combat is also seeing some changes, particularly with wrestling. Stay tuned for more details on Adventure Mode in the coming months.

“It’s one of those things where it feels like the tail is just gonna go on forever and ever,” said Adams to PC Gamer. “And that’s kind of been our experience with the game the whole time.”

Dwarf Fortress, while available for free for over a decade, got a release on Steam in December 2022. The game saw quite a bit of success almost immediately, with developer Bay 12 Games revealing that nearly 500,000 copies of Dwarf Fortress were sold in just its release month of December.

In February, publisher Kitfox Games revealed that the game had sold just over 600,000 copies in the first two months since the game’s release.

The commercial release of Dwarf Fortress, while featuring the same core gameplay as its free version, comes with a host of quality of life improvements, including a tutorial, improved visuals, and a mouse-based interface.

Developer Bay 12 also posted a monthly report last week, revealing that the duo behind the original Dwarf Fortress—Tarn and Zach—got paid $7 million from sales of the game. The post on Medium ends by promising that the developers are still working on bringing the much-awaited Adventure Mode to the Steam and Itch.io release of Dwarf Fortress.

Bay 12 had previously revealed that the game had been quite successful right from its launch, stating that nearly 500,000 copies were sold in just its release month of December alone.

The commercial release of Dwarf Fortress brings with it a fresh UX and new graphics to the classic ASCII-based colony sim. It also hopes to bring in new players with its in-depth tutorial, and a mouse-based interface.

Dwarf Fortress is available on PC.

With the developer bringing on a new programmer, work on bug fixes, and ports should ramp up in the future. In addition to more bug fixes and quality of life “stuff”, Arena mode is also coming. The developer will then work on Adventure Mode, though work isn’t expected to begin on the same this month. As always, stay tuned for more details.

The revamped version of Dwarf Fortress offers much more beyond its fetching pixel art tile set. It provides a tutorial, a brand-new interface with mouse navigation, a new soundtrack, and more. The last major update added Classic Mode, and Bay 12 is working on improvements for the map system for procedurally generated myths and magic systems.

Alongside the update, the studio has also revealed that it has expanded its team with long-time members of the Dwarf Fortress community. The team expansion includes Putnam, who will be the first outside developer to officially work on programming Dwarf Fortress, and SalfordSal, who is joining the game’s community management team.

Other parts of the update to Dwarf Fortress include the addition of Steam tading cards, new graphics for picked outdoor plants, and quality of life features like the ability to alter the frequency of the game’s music. Check out the patch notes below for a complete list of changes in the update.

Dwarf Fortress was released on Steam earlier this month, and has seen quite a bit of success since its launch.

Graphics additions/changes

• Can now swap back and forth from Classic tile mode (in video settings.)
• Graphics for some picked outdoor plants.
• Updated engraved walls.
• Added some custom symbols.
• Enabled Steam trading cards.

Audio additions/changes

• Added a music frequency option in the audio settings (default 3-5 minutes, can be set from 10 minutes to 10 seconds.)
• Made outdoor ambiences alternate between being more active and a few neutral wind ambiences.
• Made the wild ambience use some randomly spaced howls and giant footsteps.
• Updated trade depot ambience.

Other bug fixes/tweaks

• Ability to add/remove all civilians/soldiers from a burrow
• Can advance the game one frame (default key = period)
• Made assigning multiple squad positions continue to position 10 instead of stopping at 9

Along with a new pixel art tileset, this version includes a tutorial for players new to the title. A new interface and menus are also available for easier navigation, along with a new soundtrack and sound effects. It’s still an intimidating experience where anything could go wrong, but at least it’s more accessible now.

Dwarf Fortress launches with Fortress and Legends modes but will add Adventure and Arena modes “very soon.” Time is subjective, though, so don’t expect them immediately. Bay 12 is also working on map system improvements for procedurally generated myths and magic systems which may take months “or longer.” Stay tuned in the meantime for further updates.

While Dwarf Fortress—the game largely responsible for the creation of the colony sim genre—has been available to play for free ever since its inception over a decade ago, the full priced release is set to be a much more polished experience, featuring overhauled graphics, UI, and even a tutorial.

The developers first showed off the revamped artwork for Dwarf Fortress back in 2020, featuring a new pixel art style. Alongside our first look at the game’s new graphics, developer Tarn Adams also spoke about various aspects of the game, such as elevation and ramps.

Dwarf Fortress was originally slated to come to Steam in 2019, but as has undoubtedly become evident by now, the release has been delayed more than a few times. This time, however, should be the proper release, considering the earlier-planned releases didn’t mention dates.

Neither Kitfox Games, nor developer Bay 12 Games have revealed any more details about when the fantasy world simulator will be making its way on to Steam. It is worth noting that a recent update to the developer’s official website mentions an upcoming announcement.

Dwarf Fortress is one of the first games that would go on to be described as colony sims with the release of games like Rimworld. While its original version, featuring ASCII interface and graphics, is available for free, the Steam version is set to offer a complete revamp of the game’s interface and graphics.

Dwarf Fortress is still currently available in its ASCII form on the official website for free, and is compatible with many mods, including complete graphical tilesets to make its visuals easier to understand.

https://twitter.com/KitfoxGames/status/1563932415600607234

Bay 12 Games appeared during day one of the Guerrilla Collective to showcase Dwarf Fortress. But this isn’t the ASCII-styled game that’s available for free and nigh-impossible to get into for the average person. This is the upcoming Steam (and Itch.io) version that utilizes new pixel art graphics. Check it out below.

What’s especially amazing is how the world looks during its formation. Developer Tarn Adams talks about the different elevation and ramps, especially how the challenges to implementing them over the ASCII version. There are some placeholder elements – like the generic dwarf sprites – but the full game will offer more unique appearances.

Currently, the art style is in the early stages but Adams says it “should be pretty cool by the time we’re done.” Bay 12 Games will share more details in the coming days especially with regards to the usability. If the Steam version can offer a more intuitive UI, it should definitely be worth keeping an eye on. Stay tuned for more details and updates from the Guerrilla Collective.

Out of nowhere, Bay 12 Games has announced that Dwarf Fortress, the procedurally generated madness creator, is coming to Steam. The release date is kind of ambiguous (“time is subjective”) but we do know that it will have graphics and Steam Workshop support for mods. It will retail for $20, though the free version will also continue to exist and be updated.

What is Dwarf Fortress? It’s the inspiration for titles like RimWorld – a living, breathing, procedurally generated world where you manage your own colony of dwarves. Build a fort, mine endlessly, develop your civilization, and watch as it all comes crashing down in the strangest of ways.

Adventurer Mode is worth checking out for those who want to play Dwarf Fortress as a role-playing game. You can also go through Legends Mode and read more about your adventures in the world. Perhaps the best part about the Steam release is that it will include Dwarf Fortress Classic with the traditional ASCII graphics. Check out PC Gamer’s interview with creator Tarn Adams for more information.