Dwarf Fortress dwarves with actual graphics are super cute
ASCII what they did there.
Dwarf Fortress has for years had ASCII dwarves - little smiley faces fewer pixels than the average emoji.
Now Dwarf Fortress is getting actual graphics, well... look at the dwarves now"
In an update on the progress being made to Dwarf Fortress for its big Steam launch, co-creator Tarn Adams revealed a work in progress look at a fisherdwarf. Isn't he cute!
"A neatly combed beard, some styled hair back there, and the blue clothing of a fisherdwarf," Adams writes.
Here's another dwarf with actual graphics: the stoneworker. She's got the same basic fashion sense as the fisherdwarf, but has shaved her head.
And here's a shot of four military dwarves, variously dressed in the arena mode, where you can outfit anyone and watch them fight.
The two at the top are a couple of fully geared-up dwarves, in bronze, with and without helmets. "Their beard-style is similar because dwarves and everybody else in arena mode don't have a civilisation and so just kind of let it all grow wild, ha ha," Adams said.
The dwarf at the bottom left is wearing a hooded cloak and face veil with iron mail. The dwarf on the bottom right is wearing a mask and headscarf combo, with a tunic, skirt and a steel-tipped spear. This is starting to sound like a catwalk.
And here's an early look at the new dwarves in adventure mode:
"I went ahead and made a dwarven character to play in this (very odd) RPG," Adams explained. "Historically in this particular world, a bunch of dwarves have emigrated over to the nearby human villages, so I decided to start there, because I wanted the humans' iron meat cleaver for my look, ha ha. So I'm the one with a meat cleaver in the image, as you might expect. I have a leather vest, and leather trousers and boots.
"Ah, and that's my pet black bear Bolli on the left. And another dwarf lives here in this starting dirt-floored cabin, also a head-shaver, but her dress is dyed that colour (her purple gloves are another story - still a work in progress!) On the right is a human. I mean, what humans look like now, before they also receive this treatment!"
It's all very WIP, but it's cool to see Dwarf Fortress' dwarves looking all modern. Dwarf Fortress' Steam launch is still without a release date. "Time is subjective," reads the game's store page.
Wondering what Dwarf Fortress is all about? Well, it's "the deepest, most intricate simulation of a world that has ever been created". Dan Pearson's feature, Learning to love Dwarf Fortress, gaming's deepest simulation, is well worth a read if you want to know more.