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Games like Dwarf Fortress

Stahsky

Stahsky

A passionate embrace, a beautiful memory lingers.
I backed Stonehearth ages ago, and finally got around to playing it and I really dig it. I don't feel like going back to Dwarf Fortress even though it is the superior game of the genre.

Anyone know of any titles that play similarly to these? I really don't know much else when it comes to these sorts of games.
 
Prison Architect is quite Dwarf Fortress-esque in many ways.
Dwarf Fortress is a big game with many aspects. What do you like about Dwarf Fortress that you are looking for in other games?
 
As far as I know, DF is pretty much unique. There are fun [but much, much less complex] building/economy games out there, if that's what you mean? Or perhaps some combat roguelikes such as NetHack?
 
The closest thing i ever found, in terms of feel, is Factorio.
Gnomoria is a straight up clone, but it's not nearly as good as Steam's Highest Ranked Game.
 
I don't think I've tried Dungeon Keeper.

I played Gnomoria a bit before, and that felt pretty similar, but lacking in depth. I'm not expecting any game match DF, but I was just wondering if I have missed any gems
 
Stahsky said:
I don't think I've tried Dungeon Keeper.

I played Gnomoria a bit before, and that felt pretty similar, but lacking in depth. I'm not expecting any game match DF, but I was just wondering if I have missed any gems
Click to expand...

.. Did you play Factorio? ;p
 
Stahsky said:
I was told it was abandoned. Anyone know anymore? I think I own it on steam
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Don't know about it being abandoned or not, but I do remember that the game already had a good content when I played it.

It's hard as hell, though and I suck too heh :c
 
Timber and Stone has the best building by far, but it's basically a dead project and hasn't gotten updated since it was put up on Steam. It failed to make enough money so the developer had to focus on a 9-to-5 job instead. I am satisfied with it as is, but I do not expect others to feel similarly.
 
Aureon said:
.. Did you play Factorio? ;p
Click to expand...

+1 for Factorio. Especially with mods. Bobs mods after you get the hang of the game is pretty solid. It is basically an overhaul to the entire game adding hundreds of craftable items. Factorio is still in early access but I wouldn't let that dissuade you. I have put over 300 hours into that game and I only picked it up last month.
 
Rimworld is the answer OP but nothing will ever truly match the insanity of Dwarf Fortress and I think you know that.
 
I had no idea there were so many. I really want to check some of these out.

Until this thread Prison Architect was the only one that came to mind. It definitely has similar building & sim systems carried out by individualized automatons (at their discretion) like DF, on a smaller scale.
 
As many have said Rimworld's your best bet. Clockwork Empires is pretty decent has a cool setting and looks good for a game in the genre, but it still feels early in development next to Rimworld.
 
Stahsky said:
Okay, Rimworld looks pretty fucking good.
Click to expand...
It is

This is what's been implemented since the Kickstarter ended

Factions
Social relationships
Personality traits
Raider sieges
Various biomes
Medical system (long-lasting wounds, blindness, doctors, medicine, surgery, organ harvesting)
Prosthetics (wooden legs to bionic eyes)
Diseases (flu, plague, malaria, etc.)
Temperature and seasons (snowfall during winter, heatstroke, weather-appropriate clothing, etc.)
Habits and interests (artists, sculpting, skygazing, mediation, chess, etc.)
Aging (cataracts, gray hair, etc.)
Animal taming
Ancient artifacts, cryopods
Storms and seasonal events (lightning storms, toxic fallout, volcanic eruptions, etc.)
Psychic powers, weapons, armor, traps, defenses
Dynamic ecosystem (predators, prey, spreading insect hives)
Economy (space-traveling traders, ground caravans, etc.)
Mining, farming, trading
 
On paper they're different in almost every way, but Factorio really scratched my Dwarf Fortress itch lately.

I've spent over 100 hours with each.
 
Rimworld like others have said, but I don't think there will ever be a game that has crazy moments like Dwarf Fortress.

Like a pregnant dwarf giving birth during a battle and using her newborn as a weapon.
 
More_Badass said:
It is

This is what's been implemented since the Kickstarted ended

Factions
Social relationships
Personality traits
Raider sieges
Various biomes
Medical system (long-lasting wounds, blindness, doctors, medicine, surgery, organ harvesting)
Prosthetics (wooden legs to bionic eyes)
Diseases (flu, plague, malaria, etc.)
Temperature and seasons (snowfall during winter, heatstroke, weather-appropriate clothing, etc.)
Habits and interests (artists, sculpting, skygazing, mediation, chess, etc.)
Aging (cataracts, gray hair, etc.)
Animal taming
Ancient artifacts, cryopods
Storms and seasonal events (lightning storms, toxic fallout, volcanic eruptions, etc.)
Psychic powers, weapons, armor, traps, defenses
Dynamic ecosystem (predators, prey, spreading insect hives)
Economy (space-traveling traders, ground caravans, etc.)
Mining, farming, trading
Click to expand...


Alright, you convinced me. Wish it was steam already, though. Have a bunch of steam credit still on tap.
 
I've tried numerous Dwarf Fortress clones, people who saw DF and said "man I can do that with a more friendly interface and/or better presentation!"

And while they typically can beat it one respect or another, nothing has ever been able to properly supplant Dwarf Fortress for me. Nothing has been in development that long with that many things simulated, that many options and objects and level of control, or number of mods.

I feel like a big part of where they go wrong is not having that strong base of simulating the world itself, fluid dynamics, physics, fire, plant growth etc. Often they want to skip to the "managing a group of dwarves who dig out rooms" part and it just doesn't feel right. I've played Gnomoria and backed and played other attempts, and everything falls short.
 
UncleSporky said:
I've tried numerous Dwarf Fortress clones, people who saw DF and said "man I can do that with a more friendly interface and/or better presentation!"

And while they typically can beat it one respect or another, nothing has ever been able to properly supplant Dwarf Fortress for me. Nothing has been in development that long with that many things simulated, that many options and objects and level of control, or number of mods.

I feel like a big part of where they go wrong is not having that strong base of simulating the world itself, fluid dynamics, physics, fire, plant growth etc. Often they want to skip to the "managing a group of dwarves who dig out rooms" part and it just doesn't feel right. I've played Gnomoria and backed and played other attempts, and everything falls short.
Click to expand...
Mentioned it before, but Ultima Ratio Regum is probably the most ambitious PC roguelike since Dwarf Fortress. Made a thread about it. It's a decade long project, in development since 2011

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1209368
 
Aureon said:
.. Did you play Factorio? ;p
Click to expand...

Stahsky said:
Nay, looking into it now. Thanks bud
Click to expand...

GDJustin said:
On paper they're different in almost every way, but Factorio really scratched my Dwarf Fortress itch lately.

I've spent over 100 hours with each.
Click to expand...

Factorio is probably going to end up my GOTY, or near that point. It's that good.

The game is already in my top 5 on Steam

GDNsx8S.png


Stahsky said:
I was told it was abandoned. Anyone know anymore? I think I own it on steam
Click to expand...

The game is fully finished at release, so there is no way it could be abandoned. One guy developed the game, did the music, created the engine, so updates are slow.

He just posted an update about a month ago on porting to Linux.

http://www.shiningrocksoftware.com/

More_Badass said:
Rimworld
http://rimworldgame.com/
Click to expand...

Been following Rimworld for a while, looks like the Steam release isn't too far off.

After Alpha 13 comes out, we’ll probably target doing the Steam release. However, the Steam release is a game’s most important moment. One does not simply release a game on Steam. It takes a lot of effort and time to prepare a proper, decently-marketed Steam release, plus any time Valve might take to approve the final build. So there’s no date – just know that it is coming.
Click to expand...
 
UncleSporky said:
Not that it looks bad or lacks that good crunchy complexity, but that's more solo roguelike than big-picture-town-manager-who-issues-orders, isn't it?
Click to expand...

Dwarf Fortress's adventure mode is a solo roguelike.

I love Dwarf Fortress but it's a pain in the ass to try to keep the framerate up on my laptop. Rimworld looks like it could be a decent replacement.
 
Depends what it is that you like in Dwarf Fortress.

As a base, it's just a strategic game. Even "The Settlers" can scratch that itch, or "Banished" on Steam. "Factorio".

But if you like ASCII complexity, then "Cataclysm DDA" is for sure the best and deepest survival/sandbox ever created. Even superior to Dwarf Fortress itself, for those aspects specifically.

All kinds of firearms, can craft whatever you imagine, vehicles of all kinds that you use to tear down armies of zombies and entire buildings.

There's "Cogmind" that does very interesting things.

There's "Legerdemain" that has a story and more than 100 hours of playtime with a very huge handcrafted world.

There's the old version of "ToME" that also offers the most amount of content in a Angband/Moria-like.

There's the most polished version of a Nethack-like, "Dungeon Crawler Stone Soup".

There's "Caves of Qud" also on Steam, with a very unusual "weird" setting.

There's also "Aurora", that is almost Dwarf Fortress but in SPACE. But that's a can of worms entirely on its own... If you think Dwarf Fortress was hardcore it's because you didn't see Aurora. (Distant Worlds for something big but still accessible)

(I'm also working on a personal project, that will be ready in alpha in about a million of years, and that instead aims at combat rules complexity: modeling the most complex pen&paper classic RPG, I'm talking of an hybrid of Harnmaster, Rolemaster, Dangerous Journey and The Riddle of the Steel)
 
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