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flurbyesterday at 8:37 PM13 repliesview on HN

I'm still pissed about the fact that they essentially gave the finger to everyone who has been long-term supporters - when they added the G to their UI, they essentially scrapped the old. In favor of a mouse-driven design, they dropped the old, keyboard-driven UI.

Long-term supporters, in this case, means people paying, and not insubstantial amounts either - before they partnered with Kitfox, they used to publish how much they were receiving. Tens of thousands of $ a month, mind you. For monthly contributions at that level for many, many years I would expect at least a nod - instead they straight-up told everyone they'd abandon keyboard users, a decision later recanted.

That said, Dwarf Fortress holds a special place in my heart. Only regret I have is that I didn't track how many hours I put in. In excess of 10k, I'm sure.


Replies

threedliamsyesterday at 10:39 PM

I was under the impression that the classic keyboard-only version was kept up to date with the Steam version? They're both on patch 53.16[1][2] which was released simultaneously on 8/5, so it doesn't look to me like keyboard-only is forgotten or left behind unless I'm missing something.

[1] https://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/

[2] https://store.steampowered.com/app/975370/Dwarf_Fortress/

poulpy123yesterday at 10:45 PM

They chose to have social security over a keyboard only interface for a game they continue to publish for free.

speffyesterday at 9:32 PM

I understand why they did it - medical emergencies and all. Have to pay the bill somehow. But yea, 0.47.05's still my go-to. Just can't vibe with the new UI/keybinds.

Old controls were on their roadmap for a long time, but the benefit from their perspective shrinks as time goes on. I doubt we'll see it at this point.

AngryDatatoday at 4:08 AM

Is it really that bad? I haven't played since the GUI update but was thinking about getting into it again because I still have years of muscle memory from it. But if I am forced to use the mouse im not sure I even want to bother. There is absolutely no way I could play the game at the same speed I use to if I have to resort to mouse-only features.

nottorpyesterday at 8:43 PM

They also dropped the Mac version.

They complain there are few Mac players on Steam. Well, I'm not going to buy it if it doesn't run on the desktop OS [1] i use most, duh.

[1] My Linux boxes are headless. And the windows boxes I have to RDP into them. That may work for a game with a beginning and and end via Steam streaming or something, but not for a forever game you just keep around.

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db48xtoday at 2:26 AM

What you are asking for is completely unreasonable. There’s no way that one programmer can maintain two completely separate UIs. Keep in mind that they could not simply “add graphics” to the existing interface, they had to write a completely new one that was not based around fixed–size character cells.

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numeriyesterday at 9:20 PM

It makes me sad to think about. I would love to get into the new UI, but the immersion just won't come back. My muscle memory, hands firmly on the keyboard, is too persistent, and playing with the new UI feels like stumbling around and misclicking.

DarmokTanagrayesterday at 9:31 PM

I know what you mean, but I have been playing since 2008? and the last few updates have been pretty great.

sandworm101today at 4:54 AM

You dont want to know your hours. Perhaps my greatest shame is the number of hours i have spent on factorio. I was afk for much of that (letting the factory run) but ... i would not want other people to see the number.

prydtyesterday at 9:53 PM

Yeah my biggest issue has been that none of my muscle memory transfers over and it adds another hurdle to ever getting back into the game.

mempkotoday at 12:33 AM

The new updates got me back into dwarf fortress. I'm sure there are more players now then ever before.

forrestthewoodsyesterday at 9:49 PM

I don’t understand. I don’t know what “added the G to their UI” means.

Also sounds like they added back the keyboard support so there’s literally no issue?

> In excess of 10k, I'm sure.

Sure sounds like you got your moneys worth.

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wetpawsyesterday at 9:46 PM

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