Dwarf Fortress News

Dwarf Fortress dwarves are 'more human than human,' creator says: 'They're allowed to embody bigger emotions. They're allowed to make bigger mistakes. They're allowed to do anything'

t GDC 2025, I spoke with Tarn Adams, co-creator and lead programmer of Dwarf Fortress, about the past, present, and future of his 23-year procgen masterwork. We talked about how the looming threat of aquifer flooding encapsulates his approach to Dwarf Fortress difficulty and how he's generally bummed about AI. Towards the end of our interview, our conversation turned to dwarves themselves—and to what the stout, stubborn folk add to Dwarf Fortress's emergent storytelling that other creatures can't...
Read more.

After 23 years of making Dwarf Fortress, even its creator is still 'terrified' of drowning all his dwarves with aquifers: 'Part of the problem is we are just not good at videogames'

In Dwarf Fortress, aquifers are a scourge. They're layers of subterranean, water-bearing rock that continually, endlessly leak when breached by dwarven miners. They can be managed and even exploited with careful construction, but in my experience, their main utility is proving that—no matter how competent at Dwarf Fortress I might get—I'm only one overlooked, unsealed tile away from a disaster I'll only notice once the dwarves in that quarter are already neck-deep in floodwater...
Read more.

Dwarf Fortress' creator is so tired of hearing about AI: 'Press a button and it writes a really sh*tty, wrong essay about something—and they still take your job'

While Tarn Adams, creator of Dwarf Fortress, is technically a millionaire—he's never quite minced his words like one, especially about the nonsense that goes on in the gaming industry. Last year at GDC, he came out swinging against a brutal year of industry layoffs. This year, while speaking to PC Gamer's own Lincoln Carpenter, he had some similar steam to vent...
Read more.

Noclip are doing a 4-part documentary on Dwarf Fortress with part 1 up now

With filming that's been going on and off for three years, Noclip are doing a 4-part documentary series on Dwarf Fortress. The first episode is now live.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/03/noclip-are-doing-a-4-part-documentary-on-dwarf-fortress-with-part-1-up-now/

Hotfix: Patch 51.08

[h3]Patch 51.08[/h3]

Adventure Mode

Fixed an input issue when discovery popups appeared