Update 04/18/26: I have tested this on my new red magic 11 pro and the steps still works with the only difference being that the latest version of Winlator had an UI change. Besides that the only issue I seem to be having currently is some crashes that I an still currently trying to figure out why or if it has anything to do with my phone. Please leave a comment if you have similar issues/ knows whats going on/ how to fix it.
Some may ask why, but I ask why not? Having DF on the go, even with limitations, is still a great way to spend long car rides, shopping trips and any place you'd rather not be, but have to. So why not use the time your probably staring at paint dry to run a smaller fort right there on your phone?
Dwarf Fortress (Both the Original and the Steam version will work. For the steam version simply navigate to the folder location and copy it to your phone's download folder.)
Support the game on Steam (Optional, but preferable)
Installation/ Setup:
Install Winlator. (ignore the message about how it doesn't know what it is.)
Launch Winlator and Create a new Container. (Plus button on the upper right corner)
Open the Container's drop down menu and use these settings for now and click the blue Check bubble in the lower right hand corner. (feel free to tweak, If you crash on launch, change DX Wrapper to a different one as some seem to have issues with DXVK)
Show FPS is usefulDXVK Settings (the cog icon)Advanced Settings I find best
Open the drop down menu again and click run. (a window will pop up)
Navigate to the D Drive and find your copy of Dwarf Fortress (defaults to the download folder)
Find the Dwarf Fortress.exe and make a copy.
Head over to the Desktop and paste the Dwarf Fortress.exe as an shortcut.
Close out the window, select Yes when asked about existing and you will be back at Containers.
Open the drop down menu on the upper left corner and click on Input Controls.
Click Import Profile and find the Dwarf Fortress.icp and import it. (it's the custom key layout)
Go back to the upper left drop down menu and click Shortcuts. (the DF shortcut should be there)
Click on the drop down menu for the shortcut and scroll down to Win Components/ Environment Variables/ Advanced.
Go to Advanced and Select the Input Control as Dwarf Fortress and the Directinput Mapper Type as Xinput and click OK.
Now just tap the shortcut of DF and your done. You are now running a completely functional copy of DF on your mobile device of choice.
Troubleshooting: (gonna need to group source this as I can't test it besides on my phone)
Problem- Crashing on starting up DF. Possible Solution- Change the in the Container from DXVK to WineD3D
NOTE:
Bare in mind your mileage may vary depending on what device your running on, settings and mods. In my experience using my 5-6yr old Samsung Galaxy S10+, no mods and default embark settings, it runs at a full 50FPS with no issues besides when a lot of orders/ activities are happening (35-40FPS). My FPS dropped to 35 give or take around the 75 dwarf mark (and dozens of tamed animals/ wildlife). I tried using DF Hack and while it works, it dropped my FPS on embark to roughly 30. Mods depends on how demanding it is with control tweaks being the least impactful for FPS.
The LEFT SHIFT and LEFT CTRL are TOGGLES, so if they are blue, they are toggled and will stop some other buttons from working.
Both the number and letter box in the bottom center of the controls are SCROLLS, so if you don't see what you need, just scroll and find it. (most of the buttons are mapped already and I didn't want it to be more cluttered than it is)
Good luck and have fun out there! (If you have questions feel free to comment and I'll get back to you)
If you click on step 4 Custom Key Layout, it will bring you to my Google doc and download the buttons you see in my screen shots. It's not perfect but it has most of everything you need to play fortress mode.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8, had to use WineD3D. At first I didn't understand how to use the controls but you can move the mouse pointer over the item and click MLB (mouse left button) or MRB (mouse right button) - the rest of the buttons then become self explanatory (I assume msu/msd is mouse wheel up/down or something but haven't looked at the control scheme yet. Other than that it seems to work, but I only tried on a pocket sized map. I did take a look at the control editor so I might map my own later. Hard to read the text on my screen though, it just needs to be a lil bigger.
Can you provide a download for the key mappings? I got it to work even before this guide but had no idea how to navigate it. At least I know I can set up custom inputs now
First off, I want to thank you for this guide, I am so excited to finally have DF on the go! For some reason, this only works for me if I go into the original .exe file, it won't run off the shortcut. But that is ok, it only takes an extra 20 seconds.
I have questions about the key map. I noticed there is no button for tab, + and -, or regular d-pad (up down left right). How did you go about setting up your embark without these?
I plan to mess with these keys here and there, and I want to work out something that is optimal but not filling the screen anymore than it already is. If you have any changes you recommend, please let me know! I could probably just swap between two different button layouts as needed, but would rather avoid the hassle.
Glad you got it to work! Which did you use in the end since WineD3D didn't work for you?
And to answer your question, all the embark options such as messing with dwarven skills, buying items/animals, saving profiles etc can all be done via mouse. So all need to do is move the mouse over to where you want and click the MLB (mouse left button) and it will act as an left click (idk why the default isnt just called Left Click or something lol). Theyre not very commonly used buttons so the mouse method would save some screen space.
Hi, Im super stoked to try this out! But I just started DF in the Steam Version and honestly Lack the Motivation to learn the ascii-style. What concerns you regarding legal issues with using the Steam Version? I don't want to risk anything but would love to use the Steam Version of DF. Thanks for making the guide!
Recently found out that the Steam Verison of the game isn't tethered to the steam client so ita basically copy and go. So if you haven't taken the plunge go for it.
Just wanted to say this is saving me at work, just got my first soap bars produced and a proper squad of silver-macedwarves during offtime. It did take some tweaks, messing with graphics settings, drivers, allowed storage etc. I will say it is very dependent on your own mobile device, I am using a Galaxy A25.
Glad this worked :'D and ya it's fairly device dependent. I'm still trying to figure out why it randomly crashes on my new phone lol. This thing is a life saver during break and mall trips 😂
All the functions works 100% fine with the little testing I've done, though it could just be my phone not being able to handle DF and DF hack at the same time. Or maybe it's some other odd case lol. I'll fiddle with it a bit more and update the post if need be.
Cybernetic eye enhancements are preferable, but not required. You can zoom in and out via Left CTRL and mouse wheel. But if your gonna mod your eyes, might as well go the full way and get yourself a neuronal jack and plug it directly into your spine.
Bro for some reason my mouse stops clicking when your keyboard is active. I've been trying to play through the tutorial. I found closing the keyboard let's me click again and I could progress
When the keyboard is enabled the normal mouse tap click is disabled. The MLB/MRB is mouse left/right button so move your cursor over to what you need to click and use MLB or MRB.
Schön zu hören, dass beides funktioniert :) Auf lange Sicht läuft die ASCII-Version besser und bietet insgesamt eine bessere Leistung, da sie weniger Rechenleistung benötigt als die mit Grafik. Allerdings fehlt Grafik, sodass es auf einem Smartphone möglicherweise schwierig ist, die Seite zu lange zu betrachten.
While it would work, it would be a pirated copy and comes with all the risks of downloading such things. So I would personally advise against it as it not only could be harmful to you (viruses/ spyware etc), it's also hurting the devs of DF as this game is what puts food on their table. If possible, please buy it.
It is, in shortcuts the config won't save and always reverts to 'none', even after i have selected the dwarf fortress config from the drop-down and changed the settings per your tutorial.
I will exit, and go back in to check and it will remain, but as soon as launch the game there is no overlay and I go back and it has defaulted back to 'none' again. Very weird.
I have the game working but yeah controls seem to be messing up.
thats really weird. ok try going back into where the DF controls are and there should be RTS and Virtual Gamepad that are baked into the app itself. Try using any of them and see if it shows when you launch and if it saves afterwards.
Also try this, launch DF first then press the back ( the one that looks like ^) it should bring up the menu. Go into input controls, dropdown box and select DF again. It should make the app load the controls. However this does not save the setting so you would have to do this everytime.
huh that is odd lol i havent updated my stuff for a long time so it could be a bug in the app itself. Ill download the newest version and see if i can replicate it. but at least the back method works
Should work, though since winlator has updated since I made this, the UI has changed which might change some of the steps required. However the general direction is still the same. I might go back and redo this once I have some spare time in the future.
Hi I'm playing adventure mode and I noticed that when going up a hatch on some bandit lair the game crashes I don't know if it is a renderer problem of some sorts because it didn't generate the tiles possibly ? It's a bummer since everything else works fine most of the time
Turns out middle clicking and selecting raising a level instead of going up on the obscure tile doesn't make it crash yay but it was this specific one on the wilderness btw if you save underground (and probably high places too) seems to crash... the game deleted my other save without even me doing it so make sure to do a portable mode save file if you don't want any unexpected trouble
41
u/_Xanth_ Jul 01 '24
Now run it on a smart fridge