A Strange Mood: The Couple's Dwarf Fortress Podcast

By Kristin McFarland, Drew BuschhornLeisure Games Fiction Hobbies

A Strange Mood: The Couple's Dwarf Fortress Podcast episodes

March 26, 2024Episode 31: There’s Good Eating on those Rutherers
Drew and Kristin talk about how things are going too well at their forts. Also sorry for the talk of dissection of animals in a school context at the end. Idk, it’s Dwarf Fortress!
Extra info:
Join Our Discord: https://discord.gg/ZK7j7dYxsD
DFHack 50.12-r2.1 released!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2346660/DFHack
Highlights: Taking the frustration out of irritation, fixing longstanding vanilla bugs, instrument component lookup, automatically retrain partially trained livestock, skill level and labor type restrictions for workshops.
A late addition that didn’t make it into the ‘cast, Story Dwarfs: The Ballad Of Urist and Bembul: Episode 3 – Morality and Hatchets by Stephen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_waIQVqmFd4
Some autoshooters / Vampire Survivors games!
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor
Halls of Torment
Read about Rutherers! They make great pets but better steaks and shoes!
A weird bit of history: the Codd-neck bottle! Ramune Soda!
Transcript (see README for more details)
A Strange Mood: The Couple's Dwarf Fortress Podcast is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://astrangemoodpodcast.com/
42 min
March 13, 2024Episode 30: What Is Dwarf Fortress’ Endgame?
And where does the apostrophe go when fortress is possessive? We have fort updates, goblin animal trainers, and a deep dive into story progression and endgame in simulation games. Plus, poetry corner and disappointing artifacts!
Extra info:
Join Our Discord: https://discord.gg/ZK7j7dYxsD
Stephen’s Story Dwarves – The Ballad Of Urist And Bembul: Episode 1 – A Hero Walks
Reddit Post – Is someone developing a Dwarf Fortress clone updated to current gaming standards ? – lol
Thanks to MisterTux for pointing out our broken discord link!
Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles (has a demo)
KeeperRL (just reached 1.0)
images
Transcript (see README for more details)
A Strange Mood: The Couple's Dwarf Fortress Podcast is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://astrangemoodpodcast.com/
50 min
February 27, 2024Episode 29: This Is Your Brain on Mandrake Juice
This week, we’ve got tons of dwarfy news, musings on how Dwarf Fortress allows for so much creativity, and updates from our forts. Kristin has a wereracoon problem, and Drew’s mayor has a vendetta against mandrake juice. Plus, we’re both very tired and silly for this Monday recording, so enjoy some digressions into dwarven poetry and a lot of giggling. Don’t try mandrake juice, kids, not even once!
Extra info:
Join Our Discord: https://discord.gg/ZK7j7dYxsD
Stephen’s Story Dwarves – Real Dwarf Music – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lc1LeYm3s8 (awesome as always!)
Be sure to hop onto the discord to hear a sneak peek at Stephen’s upcoming project: “The Ballad Of Urist And Bembul” https://discord.com/channels/1087366752419184800/1087366753396461715/1207351915499757670
And check out Rurik’s tutorials: https://discord.com/channels/1087366752419184800/1158393708710990005/1202871765051899974 !
Old Poetry Corner:
Harborpirate: A poem conforming to The Yells Of Courage (A five syllable poem emphatically renouncing immorality with vivid imagery):
“I renounce long life!”
“Hark, immortals stink!”
This poem structure is hilarious.
Storydwarf / Stephen:
A 5-syllable poem renouncing immortality:
“We are stars when dead”
Agberts’ Against Immortality:
“die now
Die Now
DIE”
Truely a fitting cover piece for the Book of Grudges.
New Poetry Corner:
The Rhythmic Dumplings is a solemn poetic form intended to describe alcoholic beverages, originating in (human) The Maroon Kingdoms. The form guides poets during improvised performances. The poem is a series of quintains. The Rhythmic Dumplings is always written from the perspective of the author. Use of alliteration is characteristic of the form. Each line has four feet with an accent pattern of stressed-unstressed (qualitative trochaic tetrameter).
The Rampart of Roughness is a solemn poetic form intended to express pleasure with crafts, originating in The Mine of Fealties. The rules of the form are applied by poets to produce individual poems which can be recited. The poem is a single tercet. Use of assonance and vivid imagery is characteristic of the form. Forms of parallelism are common throughout the poem, in that certain lines are required to maintain phrasing and they have similar grammatical structures. Each line has six syllables. The third line of the tercet shares the underlying meaning of the first line. The third line of the tercet reverses the grammatical structure of the first line.
Transcript (see README for more details)
A Strange Mood: The Couple's Dwarf Fortress Podcast is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://astrangemoodpodcast.com/
47 min
February 13, 2024Episode 28: Get those Dwarves on the Assembly Line
Drew makes Kristin compare Dwarf Fortress to other logistics / survival base building games. Spoiler alert: Dwarf Fortress is better. Also, for the SEO: Palworld, Palworld, Palworld. Meanwhile Kristin’s fort goes artifact crazy, while Drew’s fort turns into a drunken tavern nude elf orgy. Speaking of, we also recommend the (elf-loving) anime Frieren, which gets added to list of words Drew can’t pronounce, along with Urist. Finally, Aves citizens lay eggs in nest boxes … now that fact is your head too.
Extra info:
Join Our Discord: https://discord.gg/34kdwGQUph
Logistic / base building games having a moment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction_and_management_simulation
Factorio, a game about assembly lines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factorio
Kitfox and Deep Rock Galactic’s community got the Dwarf tag added to Steam, and are in talks for a Steam “Dwarf Fest” to highlight all our favorite Dwarfy games.
Frieren. We’re not an anime podcast, but you should go watch it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frieren
Transcript (see README for more details)
A Strange Mood: The Couple's Dwarf Fortress Podcast is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://astrangemoodpodcast.com/
48 min
January 30, 2024Episode 27: Friends and Other Myths
Kristin metagames for a bit, then tells of the death of her beloved hamster woman bard. Drew talks about DFHack making trading easier, then regales us with the tale of the first queen of his new civilization and the competition between three brothers to become her heir. Biblical!
Extra Info:
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/34kdwGQUph
Episode 5 of Learned Hands from Steven: “Holes and Nothing More” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-L_-vmsIBI
DFHack: https://docs.dfhack.org/en/stable/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2346660/DFHack__Dwarf_Fortress_Modding_Engine/
Transcript (see README for more details)
A Strange Mood: The Couple's Dwarf Fortress Podcast is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://astrangemoodpodcast.com/
46 min
January 16, 2024Episode 26: New Year, New Worlds!
We’re back, this time with mods! After a long break, we’ve spun up new Dwarf Fortress worlds and are getting back into the swing of things. Come for Dwarf Fortress talk, stay for our discussion of other games we’ve played during the break. Digressions include dralthas and how decapods wear shoes.
Extra info:
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/34kdwGQUph
The mods Drew is using:
Mcnuggys Mythical Beasts (mandrake)
Stoneworking Expanded (beds)
Decapods, Aves, Accurate Cat Graphics, War Possums
Bulk Sewing
Smelters Burn Waste
Low Population Tweaks
Age of Wonders 4 (4x) on Steam
Amarantus (visual novel) on Steam
Transcript (see README for more details)
A Strange Mood: The Couple's Dwarf Fortress Podcast is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://astrangemoodpodcast.com/
48 min
December 05, 2023Episode 25: The Fall of Fordcudgel. Merry Fortmas!
We’re back! But then we’re taking a long break! But we’ll also be trying to drop some interstitial content! We’re excited!

Alas, Fordcudgel has fallen, while Glazecradled has been abandoned by their goddess in favor of an exciting new volcano fort. Will the HOT HOT magma be enough to save their world from the ignominy of becoming a zip file in a directory no one remembers? Only time will tell.
Extra Info:
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/34kdwGQUph
Stephen’s Story Dwarves: Learnedhands 4: The Rise Of Turelotad on YouTube
Adventure Mode in April! Bay12Forums
DFWiki Vandalized: reddit
Transcript (see README for more details)
A Strange Mood: The Couple's Dwarf Fortress Podcast is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://astrangemoodpodcast.com/
39 min
November 21, 2023Episode 24B: We’ve Been Struck by a Syndrome!
Sorry all, we’ve had a confluence of bad days this week which means you’re getting an apology and not much else right now. We’ll be back in a week or two with a last pre-holidays spectacular, but for now, enjoy some random Dwarf Fortress news and say your prayers for us to your preferred lungfish deity.
Extra info
Join our Discord to keep up to date over the holidays!: https://discord.gg/34kdwGQUph
Stephen’s Story Dwarves: Learnedhands 4: The Rise Of Turelotad on YouTube
Caves of Qud update: Creatures of the 7th Plague Major Update is OUT NOW!
Fangamer New DF Merch: Dwarf Fortress
Adventure Mode Preview on KitFox and BlindIRL: Blind’s Youtube Video
Transcript (see README for more details)
A Strange Mood: The Couple's Dwarf Fortress Podcast is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://astrangemoodpodcast.com/
4 min
November 07, 2023Episode 24: (Post)Halloween Spookies!
It’s a little after Halloween, but we’ve got spooky stories to thrill and chill you AND your dwarves! Plus fort updates: a lot of dwarves died at Kristin’s fort, while Drew’s dwarves have been taken by many strange moods. Digressions include basically everything because we’re having construction done on our house this week and are completely brain-fried. Thanks for listening!
Extra info
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/34kdwGQUph
Stephen’s Story Dwarves: Learnedhands 3: The Rise Of Turelotad on YouTube
Spooky Forts on Bay12Forums:
Delphonso’s Spookyfort IV: The Overlook
Autumn Kingdoms
Custom Embarks!
Bay12Forum Advice
Reddit Advice
Transcript (see README for more details)
A Strange Mood: The Couple's Dwarf Fortress Podcast is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://astrangemoodpodcast.com/
48 min
October 24, 2023Episode 23: Ruh-roh, Shaggy! Ghosts!
We’re back for episode 23 with strands of meat and spooky stories! Kristin has gone mad with power and is tackling all the industries at once, and Drew is trying to console a very angry craftswoman. We talk about how ghosts work in Dwarf Fortress, and we’ve got a fun new recurring topic: what’s on the menu at your fort? Prepare to be horrified. Digressions include resin opal, dwarven fashion, and water buffalo pasture consumption.
Extra Info
Our Discord Group: https://discord.gg/34kdwGQUph
Stephen’s Story Dwarves: LearnedHands, Episode 2 “A Glimmer in the Torchlight” on YouTube
Bay12Games forum Spooookyforts!
BlindIRL on Future of the Fort
Ghosts on DFWiki
Transcript
(see README for more details)
A Strange Mood: The Couple's Dwarf Fortress Podcast is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://astrangemoodpodcast.com/
49 min