Man ruled the solar system, once. For thousands of years, our homeworld was the jewel of a great empire, its shining cities the capital of a vast civilization which stretched from the pitted surface of the inner planetoids to the freezing depths of the outer gas clouds. But from the festering stagnancy of its millennia-long reign came resentment and ambition, culminating in its catastrophic end.

From this arose an era incomprehensible even to those who birthed it, built upon a new paradigm of scientific law blindly worshiped by the practitioners it consumed. Our birthplace became layered in dead nations and forgotten ruins which obscure any trace of what was once a verdant oasis of natural life. The void is a haunted grave, the planets, moons, and even space itself crawling with the ghosts of shattered peoples.

But this is all ancient history, lost to the inheritors of our failure. They live and die upon endless layers of ceaselessly expanding infrastructure grown over the husks of the celestial bodies, where even the most advanced sciences known to their ancestors are but wheels and torches compared to the hypertechnological relics their children rely on to survive, brought into being by N-Matter, the unfathomable supermaterial which suffuses existence and warps the minds and bodies of all who seek it out.

But they are not alone.

The misbegotten progeny of a transhuman ecosystem share this world with them, a wilderness long-adapted to the thinking mind, strewn with the leavings of blind creation and deliberate malice, all lurking in the gaps of the physical world and digital space. Feral experiments, deranged machines, oceans of predatory malware, and the twisted cousins of pan-humanity all wander in the dark, as blind, lost, and desperate as we are.

Driven by the same will to live, the same needs to survive, and possessing the same technological prowess as even the most advanced civilization, there is no longer a difference between man and monster, save within the unknowable depths of the soul.

So they struggle along the narrow path, caught between the extinction if their search for power ever slows, and dissolution into horror should the reach of their ego exceed its grasp.

This is an era bereft of a future and robbed of its past. It waits without hope for that which will at last bring renewal to the stillborn singularity, or deliver a merciful end to what remains of intelligent life.

This is the unending night of human history. All most can do is keep living.

But to those who would defy fate, there is only one goal.

Grow strong.

Transcend.

Bring forth a new dawn.

===============================================================================
What is The Long Night?

The Long Night is a total overhaul mod which takes the game Dwarf Fortress and transplants it into a post-apocalyptic scifi future where the fragmented descendants of humanity struggle to survive in the broken remains of an unrecognizable earth, filled to the brim with genetically-altered monsters, rogue machines, warring states, and countless other threats. Central to the game experience is the use of N-matter; a programmable, infinitely mutable form of matter which forms the foundation of every civilization, and the process of transcendence, through which individuals can cultivate internal N-matter to develop new cybernetic augmentations, and slowly obtain an immortal posthuman body which can survive the chaos to come. Of course, for every such madman who would seek such a thing, a thousand more live as mortal humans and struggle every day to make ends meet. Play a mercenary scoundrel, a village of hydroponic farmers, a biomechanical mech pilot, a posthuman barbarian, and much more. Countless stories wait for you in the far future of pan-humanity.

===============================================================================

If you like what you see, please consider donating to my Patreon so I can continue to work on it: https://www.patreon.com/themodsmith

INSTALLATION:


To install it, drag and drop it into the 'mods' folder in the dwarf fortress main folder. If there is not one, make one. DO NOT PUT IT IN THE installed_mods FOLDER, THAT IS NOT THE RIGHT FOLDER.

This mod is an entirely self-contained experience. When selecting it for world generation, DEACTIVATE all other raw files, including the vanilla ones, from the selection. The Long Night comes with copies of those raws within it, meaning it needs nothing else from any other folder to function. All you need is the mod to be active. Feel free to experiment if you really want, but if it causes problems I can't help.

Also, it comes bundled with custom worldgen and colors data. Copy the worldgen data into the worldgen file in Dwarf Fortress\prefs (if you do not have a prefs folder go to advanced world generation and hit save, this will generate one). You do NOT need to override any pre-existing worldgen templates. When you load the Long Night mod, only choose from these world presets in Advanced World Generation unless you really know what you are doing. If something goes wrong and you haven't used these to gen your world, I won't be able to help you, because that can cause a lot of problems I can't fix. You don't need to delete these if you want to generate a vanilla world, just don't choose them when generating a non-Long Night world. These parameters may change, requiring an update, but I will announce in the changelog if that is done. If you do not have a prefs folder, got to advanced world gen and SAVE the parameters. That should generate one.

The colors are not as necessary, just choose them if you prefer that palette.

===============================================================================

Changelog:

6.03
-hardlight creatures and sciclade get strange moods
-standard, fortified, and advanced architecture can be used for building again. They're also much cheaper to make.
-legacy colors will be available in the mod from now on
-The manufacturing block now costs 1 wood to make, allowing you to get right at domesticating architecture.
-All custom profession names are matched to their vanilla equivalents in Website>Gameplay>Labor
-some other fixes

NOTE: there is an issue with edible N-cores not working anymore. I am in the middle of fixing that but the architecture situation was enough that I wanted to correct it first so the rest of the mod can be enjoyed in the meantime. I have also enabled slabs to be produced which will transform you, so you can find those out in the world as an adventurer and read them to be transformed. There's probably some other stuff I missed as well and I'll be fixing that too. I'm very locked in on the N-core thing so if there's something else that's pressing do remind me.

6.02
-Names shortened to be cut off less
-All languages are now procedurally generated per world, respecting particular sets of aesthetic principles. This may also fix a rare crashing bug. Let me know how they feel!
-In addition, drone archetypes are added to the wild, serving as rare, tough encounters and powerful megabeasts.
-Creatures of the impurity archetype (besides intelligent variants) will leak corrosive fluid that will melt/devour most organic life. Feedback on this appreciated.
-I have TENTATIVELY introduced TTN (Titanic) scale organisms as true megabeasts. These are the size of giant sperm whales and adult dragons. Real crazy stuff. If they are too destructive let me know. I think they should be beatable though.
-All books are now "data packets" and all bookshelves are now "data banks". You make packets out of hard plastic.
-A bunch of little stuff has been fixed as well.
-WORLDGEN PARAMS UPDATED for to balance things out.

6.01
-Tweaked spawn rates, ghost-type creatures should be less common and biomachines should be more common
-Fixed some typos

6.0
-All intelligent beings, wild animals, night creatures, megabeasts, and civilizations are now procedurally generated via lua scripting.
-Firearms vastly expanded. You can now use cannons, snipers, automatic weapons, and so on.
-Small change to the name of maps in advanced worldgen params
-Color scheme altered, check out the new one!
-NOTE: This is a beta release, there may still be bugs or other issues present. This version will remain on DFFD for the next few days (exact time pending) to troubleshoot any issues that arise. Play with caution.

5.46
-The Long Night now makes use of procedurally generated civilizations, increasing the variety and diversity of your neighbors.

5.38:
-you can now make plastic gel for plaster casts at the kiln, and also some other small fixes

5.37:

-Two new core programs, Cortical Stimulation and Power Reserve systems. These allow you to stave off sleep and eating/drinking for 10 days, respectively, but also have 10 day cooldowns. Great for use on the verge of starvation or when you need to power through a workload.
-Another fix to Deviant civs, sort of. Right now it seems that transforming into a creature eligible for a position doesn't necessarily grant you eligibility, so some of the smaller roles have had that requirement removed.

5.36
-Fix to Deviant civ being unable to craft certain types of N-tech.

5.35
-Fix to civilized creatures spawning in rivers. This was a side effect of ensuring they wouldn't spawn in dungeons.

5.34
-Fix to adventure mode crafting not yielding items in some cases

5.33
-Fix to being unable to create power packs in adventure mode

5.32
-you can now craft cores for Transcendence in adventure mode
-Fix to refinery reactions in adventure mode
-fix to mobility system naming error
-fix to deviant organisms lacking N-matter
-Some other small fixes

5.31
-Quick fix to bug with crafting tech materials and some clothing stuff in adventure mode.

5.3
-Fix to some adventure mode crafting issues
-Dungeons set up. If you're willing to brave the skulking hordes of nanomechanical horrors, you can get Hypertech relics of the Myriad, exceptionally valuable artifacts.
-Worldgen parameters updated. To get the dungeons working right, replace your old ones.

5.27
-Fix to ascii glyph error.
-Adventure mode now has functional armor and power crafting!

NOTE: Adventure mode crafting error logs are finicky, so it is hard to tell if something is wrong. If there seems to be an issue, let me know.

5.26
-Fixed issues getting digital programs. Check the Transcendence Chamber.

5.25
-Added "organic fiber" you can make in the manufacturing block with biomass. It's just yarn, but should help in some edge cases with strange moods.]

5.24
-In order to allow for a uniform that fully covers the body without reliance on cloth, lower body armor, in the form of "combat belts" have been added. Please consult the google document on "belts" and "legs", as relevant info is available there.

5.23
-Demands and mandates have been removed for the time being, for two reasons. One, materials in this mod can get weird, and lead to issues where meeting the quota is basically impossible. Two, rulers in the Long Night are smarter than the vanilla nobles who demand 10 steel buckets during wartime and wouldn't be making such demands in the first place. If demands can be made more specific such as x amount of N-matter to be tithed to them for their evolution it will be re-introduced.

5.22
-Fix to hacking attacks ignoring line of sight. Walls and cover should now protect you.

5.21
-Farms and factories will no longer spawn in the wild. As stated in a prior patch note, this was a temporary solution to a bug in the game, and it is now fixed. Farms and factories can now only be bought, stolen, or manufactured to ensure scarcity and the importance of preserving farm resources.

5.2
-New semimegabeasts added. You'll now have to deal with automated weapon systems of the Late Imperial and Transitional Era, hardlight antiviral programs, and biomechanical swarm spawners.
-Some creatures will now draw from a randomized pool of "spells", including digital warfare programs. Most machines and hardlight creatures, for example, will have the ability to produce defensive software or attack you with malware injections. This should make developing your own digital experts a more appealing prospect, as without them you'll have few countermeasures against such systems. But that said, not all is lost. You can now purchase a "digital security drone" which will periodically grant temporary protection to individuals within its line of sight, if no other options are available. In addition, consumable datachips can be bought from civilizations or created in the manufacturing lock.
-Fix to some creatures not eating when they should.
-Boosters, renamed to 'mobility systems' or "MS", which are jetpack/powered exoskeleton/vehicle combos, can now haul things, climb, and come in ground-based, amphibious, and flying subtypes. Mobility systems are intended to do what they're named for, vastly increase the maneuverability of their pilots. With hauling on the table, they can now also carry all your stuff as you zip across the Megastructures in the upcoming adventure mode.
-Ranged transmutation programs changed, now divided into multi-targeting scatterguns, rapid-fire autoguns, and powerful cannons.
-Edible upgrades should no longer rot
-Many civs will produce tombs which will certainly not create rogue posthuman armies with slaved meat thralls.
-Other fixes

NOTE: if you are experiencing any issues with mobility systems being too prevalent in offsite battles or worldgen let me know. This is hard to test for and I don't want them to completely eclipse the importance of the NPCs themselves, especially in combat. Also, the way digital warfare works is tricky, let me know if there are issues regarding the system of offensive and defensive programs.

5.1
-Hopefully final fix to any issues pertaining to brewing drinks.

5.09
-Removed many "filler" plants, ensuring usable ones will be more frequently available for caravans. For those unaware, I previously used a system where certain crops would not spawn on the wild, but always be available for civs. This caused a bug which caused the game to freeze when embarking. However, Putnam has been informed of this and a fix is hopefully coming soon. The current situation with free-growing farms and factories is temporary until the issue is patched by the game itself.
-Processing macrocell tissue will now yield energetic compound instead of coke.
-Fix to trees not spawning when they should.

5.08
-Fix to issues with Transcendent beings not appearing in worldgen and also they can be made in fort mode now.
-Indoor factories will spawn indoors.

5.07
-Fix to crafting blank cores and butchering N-matter

5.06
-Quick fix to hybrid tablets

5.05
-The crashing issue has (probably) been resolved
-Indoor farms will now brew their own, doubly lucrative drinks
-All organic-derived meat can be processed into biomass for crafting purposes using the manufacturing block
-Hardlight tissue from hardlight animals can be turned into hardlight (the gem) using the manufucturing block
-TEMPORARY: farm plants will spawn in the wild to prevent the game freeze on embark bug. This will last only until it is patched by the game itself, and they will go back to only being manufactured or bought. This may also cause some issues with worldgen rejections but it should otherwise function fine.
-Some other small fixes


5.04
-Fix to some plants missing seeds

5.03
-Fix to some position descriptions
-A few material names shortened
-POSSIBLE fix to the "freeze on embark" bug, but the frequency should at least be reduced
-World rejections should be less frequent
-Holographic life will have strange moods
-Hi-Caste will be ruled by lawcladers

5.02
-Replica beasts are big monsters and should be exotic pets oops
-fix to drones killing everything around them
-fix to another transformation issue
-some other small stuff

5.01 Changes:
-CTD error fixed

5.0 Changes:
-Immense, refer to the google document https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RJwqUWEhk1a_UUbbkRtCJStNzP2JpJf82tk-VMwITO8/edit?usp=sharing

4.6 Changes
-Some new creatures added.
-Fix to an error in bulk manufact