There's definitely a certain mindset that helps make it more enjoyable. Imagination being key! From the technical side, the developers have peeled back the curtain on how they've created parts of the game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U03XXzcThGU&ab_channel=Logo%...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV-DZqdKlnE&ab_channel=GDC20...
However the recent update for Steam - and I'm very glad for the dev success - has left me cold and I haven't played it since.
I've been building dorf death forts since 2010 though and will always remember the goblins riding giant sparrow invasion of my underground cavern level fort in v0.34.
That combined with an increase in the complexity for tileset creation means it feels like a different game tbh.
The old game had a commuity release called the lnp that had tonnes of community content, tweaks and utilities bundled together, while they have slowly being coming out on Steam as mods it just doesnt feel like the same game.
Again, I'm happy for Toady as him and his brother - and cat - are far more financially secure, but it feels like a different game. I might come back in a year or two and see then.
I'll never play either, but they're super cool and deserve a footnote in gaming history.