Bay 12 Games founder and developer Tarn Adams gave a review of the new interface in a Steam update. In this, Adams shows the contrast between old menus, which look like old readings from the DOS registration system, and the new menus, which are still a little in data but now have scroll bars and clickable tabs and buttons.
The new screen shows what appears to be an accounting screen that divides records into 3 broad categories: dwarves, items, and animals. It covers almost everything, when you think about it. Items have hot pixel art icons and a bar highlights the chosen subcategory.
Previously, Bay 12 showed us the graphics made for the Steam edition of Dwarf Fortress, and the studio also explained that eventually even procedurally generated monsters will have their own corresponding illustration. Earlier this summer, we even had a preview of the game, with “real graphics,” as Adams said.
Here’s the menu:
Adams says those new menu screens are evolving up and down for smaller screen sizes or windows, even compatible with widescreen monitors.
We don’t have a release date for Dwarf Fortress Steam yet. Time is subjective, after all.