Indeed, the problem with the DF crowd, besides that they are crazy, is that a good chunk wants another DF, which is crazy ! 
I've never understood why people think that to make a good game, it needs to be as similar to other good games as humanly possible.
I don't particularly like the Z-levels idea for example: they're humans (And possibly octopusmen, sectoids and reptiles), not dwarves. I think adding something like that would add a lot of unnecessary complexity to the game and make it feel too much like dorf.
I agree for the most part; however, I will say that z-levels would be particularly interesting for immersion regarding multi-story buildings rather than digging deeper and deeper into the planet's crust. Generally speaking, humans tend to build a lot of structures that are taller than a single story and will dig out basements; particularly when there may be atmospheric conditions such as tornadoes, typhoons and hurricanes. Skyscrapers would be ridiculous, but a multi-story lookout tower would fit right in to the game perfectly. All that said, digging 50 "levels" (read: Dwarf Fortress) beneath the surface is completely unnecessary and outside the scope of this game in my opinion.
Anyway, to the topic of this thread, I'm very excited regarding the amount this kickstarter has pulled in. I'm in at the Pirate level and can't wait to try out the prototype.
