Hey Urists,

It’s Alexandra here with a small community update. Tarn is still in menu land working on the rest of the features for Adventure Mode. If you’re curious about what’s left to be done, we provided a list of improvements in this April update.


https://store.steampowered.com/app/2232370/Dwarf_Fortress_Soundtrack_Fortress/

The Dwarf Fortress soundtrack (Fortress version) on Steam has been updated with .wav files. Thank you to everyone who requested the change.


FanGamer just released two new pieces of Dwarf Fortress equipment. The baseball shirt features very cool old school RPG inspired art by FanGamer artist Nina Matsumoto. Every order of the shirt also includes a holographic sticker of the art. We think it suits Dwarf Fortress perfectly! Available in the US and EU shops.







Keep your eyes out for Tarn and Zach who will be making a cameo appearance on Sunday’s PC Gaming Show. Kitfox Games and the Caves of Qud team both have big announcements to share that might be very interesting to Dwarf Fortress players.

Kitfox Games is announcing a brand new game we’ve been secretly working on for the last two years that is very simulation heavy and Tarn himself is providing consultation on design and architecture.

Plus, Caves of Qud has the Spring Molting update with a complete UI overhaul and a ton of other improvements!

The PC Gaming Show starts on June 9th at 1pm PDT/ 4PM EDT/ 9pm BST/ 10 pm CEST on Youtube.

That's all for now. We will have another Adventure Mode patch coming real soon so stay tuned!

-Alexandra

Hey Urists!

We are back with another Adventure Mode beta patch with the biggest addition being the bartering menus (pictured below). Tarn has also gone in and cleaned up the towns so that stuff is properly displayed on tables instead of being all over the floor.




-Added the trade/barter/demand conversation menu
-Sites without tables in their stockpile get emergency tables for their shops for now
-Printed tabletop items on tables, and stopped many other building items from printing on top of creatures
-Sound off init option should work in adventure mode now
-Adventurers are no longer unaware of their own name
-Adventurers should no longer be sprinting/walking/etc forever when retired into a fort
-Fixes that linux crash on the trainer menu again
-Makes liquids/powders not spill out of containers on unretire

-Alexandra + Bay12

Hey Urists!

Dwarf Fortress is on sale on Steam at it's lowest price to date! Pick up Dwarf Fortress and the Fortress Mode Soundtrack for 20% off. We won't be discounting this low for a while so take advantage of this deal until May 13th.

Buying Dwarf Fortress will also give you access to the public beta of Adventure Mode. We will also be patching Adventure Mode next week so stay tuned!

Apologies for two updates in two days but important things are afoot, and as I mentioned yesterday, Tarn is going to take a little rest for a week or two, so hopefully this will help make that wait more bearable.

This is version 50.13 updating on the main/default branch, improving Fortress Mode! If you're not seeing it, try closing Steam and re-logging in.

• Portraits! Whether they're dwarves, elves, humans, or animalpeople, they have portraits! Procedurally assembled, in many cases.

A few of my favorite animalpeople portraits

• Fixed statue-related crash
  
• Fixed syndrome-related crash
  
• Fixed temperature-related crash
  
• Fixed crash from empty kitchen menu
  
• Fixed multi-kill squad orders
  
• Fixed world gen crash from the appointing of chefs by demon rulers that had been influenced by outside reading materials on decorum and leisure time

• Centered some creatures that were printing off-center
  
• Large gems and gem crafts should be produced properly by gem cutting jobs again
  
• Fixed cave adaptation
  
• Fixed problem with numbers in wild creature clusters
  
• SELECT_GROWTH and SELECT_MATERIAL available in plant modding

Thank you for playing!
Tanya on behalf of Kitfox and Bay 12

Hey Urists!

Alexandra is off today so you have to make do with me, Tanya. But I'll be brief.

As many of you probably already noticed, beta13 went live yesterday afternoon with these fixes:

• right click menu has option to move more than one tile
  
• npc sheets no longer give away their names unless you know them

• cleaned up an intermittent crash from playing multiple adventure worlds
  
• fixed crash from some old adventurers

• stopped lockpicking menu from popping up until that's ready
  
• fixed cave adaptation
  
• optimization for loading speed with regards to flow events
  
• restricted some actions like bookkeeping from happening outside fort mode
  
• centered display of some wide-bodied creatures (some bears, anaconda, python, some animal people

We're all hoping to get the food situation sorted soon (butchering, etc), along with many other wishes, but it'll have to wait awhile (probably 2+ weeks), because Tarn worked very very hard to bring you the beta on his birthday, then needed to hurry some crash fixes with Putnam, and now needs a small rest. He'll be back at the grindstone soon, we promise, and his fey moods will return. In the meantime, dabbling in thievery or playing as a goblin or a necromancer (edit: oops, not available yet, sorry) will also keep your belly from rumbling.

BUT! Very very shortly the portraits from Adventure Mode will be hitting the main branch for Fortress Mode, plus some bonus bugfixing while we're there, one that might be an all-time great. You'll know it when you see it in our update later this week.

Thank you for playing!
Tanya, on behalf of Kitfox and Bay 12

Hello Urists!

Alexandra here with a post-Adventure Mode beta launch update. We hope you’re enjoying all the mischief and mayhem that the beta has to offer. Some of the stories you’ve been sharing have been hilarious and thought-provoking to say the least. This story about stealing a shield gone wrong made me laugh a lot.


A big thank you to everyone who has been submitting bug reports to the tracker. The team already patched early this morning with some fixes:

• Fixed region map scrolling crash
  
• Crash fix related to multithreading

In the beta, as you may have noticed, you can create a party in character generation, visit your old forts, retire, unretire, get NPC companions, take quests, fight monsters with the various melee/wrestling/ranged options, set fires, tell stories, and travel the world. Portraits are available for dwarves, humans, elves, goblins, kobolds (minus some clothing variations), animal people (no items), and necromancer experiments (no items). These portraits are in both modes on the beta branch.

These are the features and improvements we have planned for Adventure Mode, as listed by Tarn in his devlog yesterday. We plan on keeping the beta branch up till the full launch on the main branch so you’ll be able to continue to play as features get added.

Even just the first few items on the (non-exhaustive) list below might take a few weeks so you can expect the beta to last quite a bit longer than that, which unfortunately means the launch won’t be extremely soon, despite what we thought and said previously. We promise we’re looking at how to be as efficient as we can. We don’t yet have a target date for the full adventure mode launch, but you’ll know as soon as we do, and keep updating regularly.

Planned improvements, though not sure in what order they'll be attacked exactly yet:

• Quest log / information screen
  
• Butchering and crafting
  
• Ability use, from necromancy to pet animal to spit
  
• Composing
  
• Motion/attack indicators
  
• Building interactions (levers, doors, etc.)
  
• Wrestle button
  
• Stealth vision arcs
  
• Better UI for stuff like going through hatches over ramps
  
• Some other info like movement speed / encumbrance
  
• Tracking / odor / weather / light / time etc. information
  
• Some travel map stuff like visible armies and zooming and highlights
  
• Minimap / map memory
  
• Trading and bartering (and the town shops being generally a mess)
  
• Assuming false identities
  
• Full personality customization in chargen
  
• Graphics and audio that didn't make it in for the initial beta release
  
• Get Classic conversions for the new buttons etc.
  
• The new stuff: chosen mode with deities, town improvements, dungeon improvements, healing options, and so forth

As we’ve said before, cabin building is a larger interface project, so that'll have to wait until after the rest of Adventure Mode is launched. We might also shift some of these improvements to be post-Adventure Mode launch, depending on how things look as we go. We’ll keep you updated.


Also, after a bit of a hiccup on the backend, the Adventure Mode soundtrack is now available on Steam. You can even get a 10% discount on it and the other OST, if you already own the base game.

Check it out!

That’s all for now! We really appreciate all the support and kind words as we continue our own adventure (of development!)

-Alexandra + Tanya + Bay12

It’s time to venture outside your fortress!

The beta for Adventure Mode is now live on Steam. Create a character and freely roam the rich simulated world you have made a home in during your Fortress Mode save or start fresh in a newly generated world.



If you already own Dwarf Fortress on Steam, you will be able to play the beta. To access the beta, right click Dwarf Fortress in your Steam library -> Properties -> Betas -> dropdown list and select "beta - Public beta branch”. No password needed. Steam should automatically begin downloading the beta!





There’s also the whole new original soundtrack out now, with an hour of music from good old Dabu and Simon Swerwer, together again. You can even get a 10% discount on it and the other OST, if you already own the base game. The soundtrack is also available on Bandcamp, Spotify, Youtube and Apple Music!

Note that although you will hear versions of these songs in the game, the dynamic music system Adventure Mode uses means that the OST is the only way to reliably hear these exact compositions, as ‘baked’ by the composers.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2937200/Dwarf_Fortress_Soundtrack_2_Adventure

Keep in mind this is very much a beta and still in active development. There are features from Classic Adventure Mode and planned new features that have not made their way to the Steam version yet. We will be updating the beta frequently with hotfixes, new menus, audio and art as well as fixing the inevitable bugs. Please send in your reports.

Want to discuss the beta and all your Adventure Mode trials and tribulations? Join us on the df-adventure channel on the Kitfox Discord!

• How do I report bugs?
  Please report bugs using the normal methods at https://dwarffortressbugtracker.com/
  
  
• What’s the difference between Easy mode and Demigod mode?
  Easy mode, which is available now in the beta gives you more skill points in character creation to make your party stronger. Demigod mode, which is still in progress and not in the beta right now will add tutorialization and worldbuilding.
  
  
• What about my save files?
  Old save files are compatible and you shouldn't lose anything.
  
  
• Will the new portraits be in Fortress Mode?
  They aren’t in right now, but they will be soon!
  
  
• Will the new music from the Adventure Mode soundtrack appear in Fortress Mode? What about ambience?
  New ambiance and music will not be in Fortress mode for now. Hopefully someday!
  
  
• Where can I get more info about what's in and what's missing from Classic Adventure Mode?
  Tarn and Zach are preparing a devlog for the Bay 12 blog, so keep an eye out over there if you’re interested in diving into the rich underbelly of details.
  Edit: Devlog is now available

Happy Adventuring!

-Kitfox + Bay12

Hey Urists,

It’s Alexandra from Kitfox here with a community update as well as some more Adventure Mode footage. Only a few more weeks till the Adventure Mode beta launches on April 17th! We know it's been a long wait, but we can't wait for everyone to start testing it out for yourself.

Tarn made a bonus video showing the conclusion to the fight that was in the previous update. If you missed it, you can watch Part 1 here

In these videos you can see the combat and conversation systems in action. Will the goblins prevail? Where did the wombatman go? Watch to find out!




Artist Thea has been working on new art for the Adventure Mode beta screen! We don’t want to reveal it quite yet, but can you guess what’s depicted?



Carolyn has also been creating every kind of clothing ever for the procedural portraits. Here is another series of masks, veils and head coverings.




We are going to be releasing a single off the brand new Adventure Mode soundtrack by Simon & Dabu. The music is going to be a bit different from the Fortress Mode soundtrack because it will capture the feeling of what’s it will be like to explore your vast, generated world. You can look forward to that in the next update.


Exciting news for European Urists! The folks at FanGamer EU have updated the store with apparel. It's always good to have extra shirts and coats for when yours decay.



We are going to be posting a few more updates before beta launch, so you’ll be hearing from us again soon!

-Alexandra + Bay 12

Hi Urists,

We are less than a month away from April, which means Adventure Mode launch is just around the corner. Time flies when you’re developing FUN! We wanted to share our launch plans with you as they will be a little different from what we did with Fortress Mode. The beta for Adventure Mode will open on April 17th (Tarn’s birthday!). Anyone who owns Dwarf Fortress on Steam will be able to access the beta. Adventure Mode will fully launch a few weeks later on the main branch. We will be announcing the official release date as soon as we can.

We hope that this will give the proper time to iron out major bugs, while giving you a chance to play right away.


After a few extra weeks of beta testing, patch 50.12 is finally live! Thank you to everyone who tested the update and sent in bug reports, it was very helpful. This patch brings many improvements to sorting and searching in the menus as well as a ton of bug fixes and additional keyboard support. Llamas have also (finally) achieved the status of pack animal. Here are the full patch notes:

New stuff

- Ability to sort the lists from the creature/task menus
- Kitchen interface sorting and searching
- Work detail sorting and searching
- Can edit and restore default work details
- Saves can be sorted by world and folder on the title screen
- Keyboard support for many unit lists
- Ability to designate burrows over multiple Z levels

Major bug fixes

- Additional statue graphics
- Fixed some classic building interface lights

Other bug fixes/tweaks

- Squad assignment now lists already-assigned units last
- Fixed error in calculation of bridge support
- Fixed issue in how environment-appropriate work animals are selected for visiting fortress
- Fixed missing autopause tooltip
- Additional miscellanous optimizations
- Fixed minor issue with forest variant display
- Fixed clipping issue on unit sheets
- Fixed minor issue with cage contents display
- Fixed pet list display on unit sheet rarely skipping a pet
- Llamas are pack animals now

There will be lots more Adventure Mode news coming in the coming weeks, including a part 2 of the combat video from last time.

-Alexandra + Bay 12

Hey Urists!

It's Alexandra here from Kitfox with a long-awaited video update from Tarn! It's our first footage of Adventure Mode and you will see combat, the new dialogue system and a few menus in action. I don't want to give too much away so just watch for yourself:



In the video you can hear some ambient sounds, but there are still many more sound effects we are adding to the game so it's very much a work in progress! We will have another update coming soon with patch 50.12 which is still in beta right now. We needed just a bit more time to squash all the bugs!

Discuss the video with your fellow urists on the Kitfox Discord!

- Alexandra