NetHack
NetHack is a roguelike computer game. It is an evolution of an earlier game called Hack which was itself an evolution of the much more famous Rogue. NetHack was developed "over Usenet", hence the name. NetHack is traditionally played using text-only graphics (in a manner similar to ASCII art). You take the part of a dungeon-delving hero in search of the Amulet of Yendor. The quest is played through at least 40 randomly created levels, each containing many monsters, items, magical artifacts, and much, much more.
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2 Graphics 3 Current Version 4 Other Versions 5 Notable (non-Player) Characters 6 Public servers 7 External links |
Before playing the game, you are invited to select a race, class, and alignment for your character, or allow the game to create a random character for you. There are traditional character roles such as knights, wizards, rogues, and rangers, but there are also unusual ones, including tourists and cavemen.
Your character's class and alignment dictate what god you serve in the game; if you keep your god happy you can receive aid and gifts.
After contructing your character, your task is introduced:
This game is unparalleled in scope: hundreds of unique items, situations, monsters, and personages provide opportunities for interaction with the gameworld. Some interactions (and bugs) are rare and occasionally amusing.
"You fall into a pit! You land on a set of sharp iron spikes!--more--
It is often said that "the DevTeam thinks of everything" - whatever you can think of for your character to do, they will probably have thought of a plausible response.
For example, attempting to dip a potion into itself would produce:
Or, being burdened while going down the stairs would produce:
Bugs, funny messages, stories, experiences, and ideas for the next version are discussed on the Usenet newsgroup, rec.games.roguelike.nethack.
Part of what marks the game is its constant improvement and growth, with new versions released whenever the DevTeam, a group of unpaid programmers, feels like it.
To win the game, a player would ascend and become a demigod or a demigoddess. This is achieved by sacrificing the Amulet of Yendor to a player's deity after playing some of the hardest levels in the game.
Key:
One variant, Falcon's Eye, offers an graphical isometric view of the dungeon map. However, Falcon's Eye is now an abandoned project and replaced by its successor, "noeGNUd".
Many experienced NetHack players prefer the original text mode interface, as they feel the graphical alternatives deter attention from playability and the use of one's imagination.
This is an open source game, so anybody can fool around with the insides and make up new variants.
As of June 2002, the only variant which is under active development is Slash'EM (Super Lots of Added Stuff Hack - Extended Magic).
Several public servers have been set up to allow people to telnet to a host and begin playing NetHack:
Game
Your character is initially accompanied by a pet kitten / little dog, or if you are playing a Knight, a pony. You can name your pet, and you can tame more pets along the way - domestic animals can be tamed by feeding them, and other monsters can sometimes be tamed by magic.
Pets are very useful, not only for assisting you in combat, but also for detecting cursed items and stealing from shops.
For example:
The spikes were poisoned! The poison was deadly...--more--
Do you want your possessions identified?"
(This would be referred to as YAAD or Yet Another Annoying Death.)
That is a potion bottle, not a Klein bottle!
You fall down the stairs.Graphics
The following is a sample from a typical game session with what would be considered "improved graphics" with high-ASCII symbols:
Apart from the original text mode, there are interfaces that replace text mode screen representations with small images, called tiles.
For example, instead of the symbol "?", a picture of a tiny scroll is shown. Current Version
The current version is 3.4.3, released 8 December 2003.Other Versions
There was a commercial version called Dungeon Hack with a first-person view, but it left out many of the little features that makes NetHack worthwhile even after years of playing (and it usually takes years and years of playing to win).Notable (non-Player) Characters
Public servers
More information on playing is available from these sites.