History YMMV / DwarfFortress

* FanonDiscontinuity: There are several iconic elements that have been patched out of the game, which the fanbase chooses to ignore and still treat as expected. Booze used to be MadeOfExplodium, for example, which caused [[HilarityEnsues hilarity to ensue]] when a ‼dwarf‼ decided that this [[ManOnFire weird orange stuff they'd been ignoring]] is making them awfully thirsty. Nowadays the booze just boils away, but nobody talks about that because it's less ‼fun‼.

** Dwarfs ordered to remain inside (40d) or in a burrow (2010 and newer) will exhibit a few bugs. A [[MadArtist moody]] dwarf will ignore this order when deciding on what workshop to take, and will bring items to said workshop even if it's outdoors/out of the burrow. One still-standing glitch causes a moody dwarf to forget whether or not he brought items to a workshop that's outside of the area he's supposed to be in. Cue the creation of [[http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Planepacked Planepacked]], which took over a year for all the materials that ended up being used to be gathered and contained '''''73 images of itself'''''.

* BetterAsALetsPlay: This is one of the most (if not THE most) complex video games in existence and thus has an extremely steep learning curve. But at the same time, its simulation depth and unmatched VideoGameCrueltyPotential often generate the most badass and/or ridiculous video game stories you've ever heard. Because of this, watching let's plays and reading forum posts about this game may be way more entertaining than actually going through the trouble of learning how to play it yourself.

** Villains quickly became very painful to deal with once they were added in February 2020. The highest members will often never even enter your fortress, instead sending spies through your tavern or even corrupting your dwarves for their plans. They will very frequently make your dwarves try to steal your artifacts, forcing you to imprison them, but often times once you release corrupted dwarves, they will immediately attempt to steal the artifact again! Artifact-seeker guests aren't the worst they can do, since they can also corrupt your dwarves and make them stage a coup and basically start a loyalty cascade!

* ItsHardSoItSucks: The game has a very high barrier to entry that new players compare to flying a passenger jet with no training or experience. Newcomers are advised to ditch the mentality that losing is a bad thing ([[CatchPhrase "Losing is fun!"]]), but many still are reluctant to try for more than five minutes. There is a good reason there are ''many'' mods that exist to help new players ease into the game, though sometimes even these only help so much.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKv-liYc4qU Koganusan]] (Dwarfish for LetsPlay/{{Boatmurdered}}), technically the game's Game Over theme as it plays once your fortress finally dies. Apt name, and apt track that plays out yet another bloody end to yet another once-glorious fortress; now yet another ruin in history's wake, leaving yet another tale for you to tell.

** Elephants have been toned down greatly from the days of {{LetsPlay/Boatmurdered}}, but [[LightIsNotGood unicorns]] have since gained a reputation as psychotic serial killers who brutally murder dwarves at random.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Df3_k9PGM Drink & Industry]], more specifically "Ilun Kinem!". A festive song with oddly bittersweet lyrics that portray the dwarven way of life: Live well and drink well, because death awaits at every corner and not even the high mountains themselves can stand against it. It plays exclusively when one of your taverns has a party, which is always a nice occasion.

** Forgotten beasts and titans made of fluid tend to be this, since they fall apart at the slightest touch. If they have some additional ability such as deadly dust, they could be GlassCannon[=s=], but ones that rely on their body strength alone are just fragile.

** The announcement that the game would be released on Steam created two distinct camps. First were those who couldn't be happier since being on Steam gives the game a larger audience, and Toady will receive more revenue to keep the game rolling forward. Others felt it was a terrible idea - being free gives the game an excuse to be in it's current shape, but putting a price tag on a game that [[PerpetualBeta has no planned date for even a beta release]], could [[ObviousBeta full of bugs that sometimes don't get fixed for years]] and is overall just [[NintendoHard extremely difficult]] could result in the Steam release being flooded by negative reviews by players who aren't as forgiving as the current players are. When the game finally released on Steam though, it ended up being a smash hit and garnered extremely positive reviews.

* AccidentalAesop: In the past, there were attempts to make an internal economy system for Dwarves - including dwarves getting stipends, having to pay for rent and food, legendary and noble dwarves having privileges nobody else had, and it was overall an extremely impractical and unfun system to deal with that was covered in exploits and bugs. The solution? Throw the entire thing in a ditch; and make it so there's no internal economy and every dwarf's needs are met to keep them happy. ''Dwarf Fortress'' made an accidental CapitalismIsBad aesop.

* AccidentalAesop: In the past, there were attempts to make an internal economy system for Dwarves - including dwarves getting stipends, having to pay for rent and food, legendary and noble dwarves having privileges nobody else had, and it was overall an extremely impractical and unfun system to deal with that was covered in exploits and bugs. The solution? Throw the entire system in a ditch and make it so there's no internal economy and every dwarf's needs are met to keep them happy. Dwarf Fortress made an accidental CapitalismIsBad aesop.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6FXeupOp04 The original Fortress Theme]] shouldn't be forgotten, as a lingering tune that manages to never get old no matter how long you play, and to always feel fitting to the highs and lows of any fortress as you go. Not bad at all for something Toady just recorded in his house to give the game a song.

--->'''Tosdy:''' Then I talked to one of [the resurrected severed limbs], and it told me that it was peasant. It was flattered but had no need of my services. I imagine its little fingers were shaped into the form of a mouth and they flapped back and forth while it spoke with a high-pitched voice. I guess there's still work to do.

--->'''Today:''' Then I talked to one of [the resurrected severed limbs], and it told me that it was peasant. It was flattered but had no need of my services. I imagine its little fingers were shaped into the form of a mouth and they flapped back and forth while it spoke with a high-pitched voice. I guess there's still work to do.

** Some Forgotten Beast attacks are known to be particularly dangerous.

* SequelDisplacement: ''Slaves to Armok Chapter 1''? [[http://www.bay12games.com/armok/download.html What]]? Possibly inverted -- at this point, ''Dwarf Fortress'' is popular enough that "people who would never have heard of Slaves to Armok 1 if not for ''Dwarf Fortress'' having that conspicuous 2 in its full title" probably outnumber "people who might have actually played ''Slaves to Armok 1'' if not for ''Dwarf Fortress'' being more polished and popular" by quite a lot.

* AwesomeMusic: Especially with the Steam version, as Dabu, Águeda Macias and Simon Swerwer (of Stonesense fame) collaborated to provide something that'd fit this particular game's atmosphere. All very good, but some tracks deserve special mention:

* On the Steam release, the button to cancel the current order given to selected military squad(s) and make them return to their assigned schedule [[CapsLockNumLockMissilesLock is right next to, and look extremely similar to,]] the button to outright ''disband'' them, frustrating many players.

** The announcement that the game is coming to Steam has created two distinct camps. Those who couldn't be happier since being on Steam gives the game a larger audience, and Toady will receive more revenue to keep the game rolling forward. Others feel it's a terrible idea - being free gives the game an excuse to be in it's current shape, but putting a price tag on a game that [[PerpetualBeta has no planned date for even a beta release]], is [[ObviousBeta full of bugs that sometimes don't get fixed for years]] and is overall just [[NintendoHard extremely difficult]] will likely result in the Steam release being flooded by negative reviews by players who aren't as forgiving as the current players are. Tarn and Zach's work on accessibility and tutorialization of the whole game for the Steam release has calmed the latter camp down significantly.