[throwaway4aday]

The success of DF should be viewed as the result of perseverance in coding and dedication to a community. They are pretty much the OG of their niche and have spawned thousands of copies but the copies have been the ones to fail for the most part mainly due to not sticking with it and/or not building a strong community around their projects. DF survived pretty much in spite of the actual product itself which, while it has improved steadily over time, remained almost actively user-hostile with its UI. You had to really love the game and the community in order to play it regularly. The Steam release is really a crowning triumph that will hopefully ensure the legacy of the game if not a completely renewed life.