Understanding World Generation in Dwarf Fortress
Dwarf Fortress's procedurally generated worlds are the foundation of every unique fortress. The world generation process creates a rich and detailed history, complete with civilizations, geographical features, and lore, all before you even embark.
When you start a new game, you'll be prompted to create a new world. The game offers several settings to customize this process, including world map size, history length, and the number of civilizations and sites. For your first few games, it's recommended to use medium settings for world map size and history length (around 100 years) and a medium number of civilizations and sites. This provides a balanced experience without excessively long generation times.
The world generation process simulates centuries of history, including the rise and fall of empires, wars, migrations, and the creation of unique artifacts and mythical creatures. This deep history influences the world you will eventually inhabit, providing context and potential challenges.
Once generation is complete, you'll have the option to export an ASCII map of the entire world. This map is invaluable for understanding the geographical layout, the distribution of different biomes, and the locations of various civilizations and their settlements. It's a crucial tool for selecting an optimal embark location.
When choosing an embark site, the game uses ASCII characters and colored indicators to highlight potential locations. Green rectangles or 'X's denote perfect matches for your criteria, while yellow rectangles or red 'X's indicate partial matches. Clicking on these will zoom in to show the specific site. In ASCII mode, partial matches appear as yellow 'X's.
Understanding the world generation process and its output, particularly the world map, is essential for making informed decisions about where to establish your fortress and what challenges you might face.