After Action Reporter

Over at QuarterToThree.com we’ve been running a succession game called “Quakebells“. We have some odd rules, first up, all dwarfs are heretics and believe that it is sinful to live underground. Second, there must be a sacrifice of a dwarf every autumn to ensure that the sun comes back for spring. It’s only logical, right? Read more…

Those of you hanging out waiting for the next tutorial will have to wait until the weekend I’m afraid. I’m in the middle of a complex DF succession game. A succession game is when you play for a year and then pass the fortress on to another person. This game is over on QuarterToThree and we’re playing with some odd rules. First up, all housing/construction needs to be above ground. Second, every winter we must creatively sacrifice a dwarf to the ancient gods to ensure the return of spring. All entirely logical, as you can see.

Unfortunately for me (and for your amusement?) this fortress has some major issues. The biggest being that the dwarfs were left idle far, far too long by previous rulers. This resulted in all the dwarfs partying in the dining room all the time. Soon they all became bestest friends forever with each other. Why is that bad? Simple, when one of them dies, the rest go crazy, and then need to be put down by the military. This is sometimes called the “emo death spiral” in DF circles. You can read the whole tragic story of my second year running “Quakebells“, (about year five or so).

Dwarf Fortress is one of the most interesting games you’ve probably never heard of. And Boatmurdered, the funniest AAR you’ve never heard of. If you’ve not heard of Dwarf Fortress, the best way of describing it is to say it’s a mix of Dungeon Keeper and NetHack. On steroids. Visually, it’s horrific (made better with the May Green tile set), its  complexity is legendary (thank god for the  Dwarf Fortress Wiki) with a learning curve that is more cliff-like than slope-like. I hear you laughing, but you won’t be giggling after you’ve sat through twentythree, ten-minute tutorial videos! Read more…