The Stack Overflow Podcast You don't need a math PhD to play Dwarf Fortress, just to code it
Sep 21, 2021
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Dwarf Fortress Game Overview
- Dwarf Fortress simulates a fantasy world where you manage dwarfs digging and crafting.
- The dwarfs have autonomy, social lives, and complex mechanics, making it a detailed fantasy world simulator.
The Recursive Statue Bug
- A bug in Dwarf Fortress created a statue containing the entire history of the world and 73 copies of itself.
- The dwarfs finished building this massive, recursive statue despite the glitch, which is remarkable.
Managing Complex Simulations
- Managing Dwarf Fortress's complexity required constant optimization and coding lessons from long experience.
- Tarn learned to use flags, event timers, and buffers to keep the simulation running smoothly.