Dwarf Fortress

[Tripecac]

Prepare to be overwhelmed:

http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/

Dwarf Fortress is, ostensibly, a roguelike. However, to me its gameplay feels more like a mix of:

1) SimCity (city building)
2) SimAnt (tunneling underground)
3) The Sims (buying/building things to make individuals happy)

...all with an interface that feels like a mix of:

4) that really old ASCII version of Empire
5) Unreal World
6) ADOM
7) a bunch of other roguelikes mashed together at random

The command set is insanely complicated and inconsistent (which drives me nuts). The number of items and characteristics and the rules governing their interdependencies, is mind-boggling. The learning curve is more like a learning cliff. It's ridiculous.

HOWEVER... it's kinda neat when you finally figure out how to build a farm, or brew your first batch of booze, or successfully trade with a caravan, or slaughter your first puppy. The gratuitous gore is funny, too!

It's still in alpha, which is maybe a little too early for a review. Maybe. There haven't been any new versions in several months, but according to the web site development is continuing on an almost daily basis. Hopefully the horrendous interface will get attention. The dev notes don't seem to mention it as a priority, though. Sigh.

Oh well, it's definitely worth a look. Just make sure you install it on a fast computer, because it's a beast! I'm pretty sure it's the biggest and slowest [semi-]roguelike ever!

[Tripecac]

Development seems to have stopped on Dwarf Fortress. Oh well. It was an interesting intellectual challenge while it lasted!

[Tripecac]

The new version of Dwarf Fortress came out yesterday. I tested it briefly and didn't see any significant changes, especially with the interface. So good luck!