Games - NetHack

	Games - NetHack

NetHack is a roguelike computer game originally released in 1987. It is an evolution of an earlier game called Hack (1985) which was itself an evolution of Rogue (1980). The name NetHack references the fact that its development has been coordinated through the Internet, though it is not a multiplayer game, nor is it in any way connected with computer-security related usages of the word hacking. The "hack" element refers to a genre of role playing games known as hack and slash for their violent focus.

NetHack is one of the oldest computer games still being actively developed, with new features and bug fixes regularly being added by a loose group of volunteer developers, commonly called the DevTeam.

The player takes the part of a dungeon-delving hero in search of the Amulet of Yendor. The quest spans more than 50 levels, most of which are randomly created. Each level contains monsters, weaponry, magical items, hidden doors and much more.

NetHack is traditionally played using text mode graphics where the dungeon's features, its inhabitants as well as items are represented by single characters. There are also several graphical user interfaces available for the game.

__TOC__

Game

Before playing the game, you are invited to select a race, class, gender, and alignment for your character, or allow the game to create a random character for you. There are traditional character roles such as knight, wizard, and rogue, but there are also unusual ones, including archeologist, tourist, caveman, and valkyrie. Your character's class and alignment dictate what god you serve in the game; by pleasing your god, you may receive aid and gifts.

After constructing your character, your task is introduced:

:"After the Creation, the cruel god Moloch rebelled against the authority of Marduk the Creator. Moloch stole from Marduk the most powerful of all the artifacts of the gods, the Amulet of Yendor, and he hid it in the dark cavities of Gehennom, the Under World, where he now lurks, and bides his time."

To win the game, a player must find and sacrifice the Amulet of Yendor to their deity. The Amulet is found among the deepest and hardest levels of the game. Successful completion of this main task rewards the player with the gift of immortality (the player is said to ascend), and the player attains the status of demigod or a demigoddess. In addition to the main quest to find and sacrifice the Amulet, a number of sub-quests (one of which is class-specific) must be completed along the way.

Your character is initially accompanied by a pet animal, typically a kitten or little dog, although Knights begin with 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.

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. For example:

"You fall into a pit! You land on a set of sharp iron spikes!--more-- The spikes were poisoned! The poison was deadly...--more--
Do you want your possessions identified?"

(This is referred to as YAAD or YASD, meaning Yet Another Annoying Death or Yet Another Stupid Death.)

The prompt "Do you want your possessions identified?", abbreviated as DYWYPI, is given at the end of any game, allowing you to learn any unknown properties of the items you had found.

A certain percentage of the time, the game saves the level on which a character has died, and then integrates that level into a later dungeon, complete with the ex-player's possessions, ghost and killer(s). This is done via 'bones files', which are saved on the computer hosting the game. A player using a publically-hosted copy of the game can thus encounter the remains of many other players. Players can also swap bones files via programs like Hearse.

It is often said that "the DevTeam thinks of everything" (acronym TDTTOE)- 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: That is a potion bottle, not a Klein bottle!

Or, being burdened while going down the stairs would produce: You fall down the stairs.

Bugs, funny messages, stories, experiences, and ideas for the next version are discussed on the Usenet newsgroup, , commonly known as "RGRN".

Items and tools

Nethack features a variety of items: armour to protect you; scrolls and spellbooks to cast; potions to quaff; and an assortment of tools such as keys and lamps.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for NetHack ]

Searches on eBay

nethack