While Dwarf Fortress has received significant upgrades for its Steam release, there are a variety of features that players may still want to see added to the game. Fortunately, these fans need not wait for new features to be officially implemented by the developers, as the community is already hard at work creating mods that enhance the experience. This guide is here to showcase some of the best mods from the early days of Dwarf Fortress for Steam, and fans may want to give them a try on their next playthroughs.
Dwarf Fortress: How to Install Mods (Steam)
Prior to getting into details on specific mods for Dwarf Fortress's Steam release, instructions on how to install them may be helpful. Here are those instructions, and it is important to emphasize that the only supported way to get a mod up and running is to install it during world creation:
- Navigate to the mod's Steam Workshop page.
- Subscribe to the mod.
- Launch Dwarf Fortress and click on Create New World.
- Before confirming world map size, history length, etc., click Mods in the bottom-right corner.
- Press the arrow next to the mod in the left column to move it into the central column.
- Proceed with world creation and embarkment to see the mod in action.
Dwarf Fortress: Best Mods (Steam)
Interface Tweaks
Interface Tweaks is a quality-of-life mod from Trainzack that displays an action's hotkey atop its icon. This means that players will no longer need to hover over an icon in order to see its associated hotkey, which is great for those that are not interested in memorizing all the keyboard controls. Additionally, the mod makes it more difficult to accidentally disband a military squad in Dwarf Fortress, a situation that can be quite frustrating indeed.
Audible Alerts
Another great mod from Trainzack, Audible Alerts does exactly what its name suggests: adds audio queues to many of the game's alerts. Unfortunately, this mod is not capable of adding audio queues to the start of combat in Dwarf Fortress, though it should still make it easier to stay on top of many other important alerts.
See-Through Smoothing Designations
Smoothing and engraving are great ways to improve the quality of a room in Dwarf Fortress, though the way that these orders manifest in-game can be a bit of nuisance due to their opacity. Fortunately, Trainzack has once again come through with an improvement in See-Through Smoothing Designations, a mod that makes it possible to see the activity in a room even when it is undergoing smoothing or engraving.
Squad & Burrow Icons
As players start to establish military squads, they will find that the icons that can be assigned to them are quite limited. CaZsm is looking to address this phenomenon with their Squad & Burrow Icons mod, which adds a plethora of new symbols to the game. Notably, Trainzack's Work Detail Icons mod may also be appealing to fans of Squad & Burrow Icons, and indeed it is worth a look.
Reduced Z-Level Fog
Reduced Z-Level Fog is a cosmetic mod from Munashe that thins out a biome's fog, increasing visibility at higher elevations. Modders like Bourbon have also used this concepts to create mods like Dark Depths, which alters the look of underground spaces. While these types of mods do not have a significant impact on Dwarf Fortress's gameplay, they may be of interest to fans that are not thrilled with its blueness.
Dwarf Fortress is available on PC.