1189 lines
42 KiB
Plaintext
1189 lines
42 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eric S. Raymond
|
|
Thyrsus Enterprises
|
|
Malvern, PA 19355
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. Introduction
|
|
|
|
You have just finished your years as a student at the local
|
|
adventurer's guild. After much practice and sweat you have fi-
|
|
nally completed your training and are ready to embark upon a
|
|
perilous adventure. As a test of your skills, the local guild-
|
|
masters have sent you into the Dungeons of Doom. Your task is to
|
|
return with the Amulet of Yendor. Your reward for the completion
|
|
of this task will be a full membership in the local guild. In
|
|
addition, you are allowed to keep all the loot you bring back
|
|
from the dungeons.
|
|
|
|
You have abilities and strengths for dealing with the ha-
|
|
zards of adventure that will vary depending on your background
|
|
and training. Here is a summary of the character classes:
|
|
|
|
Cavemen and Cavewomen start with exceptional strength and
|
|
neolithic weapons.
|
|
|
|
Tourists start out with lots of gold (suitable for shopping
|
|
with) and an expensive camera. Most monsters don't like being
|
|
photographed.
|
|
|
|
Wizards start out with a fair selection of magical goodies
|
|
and a particular affinity for things thaumaturgical.
|
|
|
|
Archeologists understand dungeons pretty well. This makes
|
|
them able to move quickly and sneak up on dungeon nasties. They
|
|
start equipped with proper tools for a scientific expedition.
|
|
|
|
Elves are agile and quick and have keen senses; very little
|
|
of what goes on around an Elf will escape him or her. The quality
|
|
of Elven craftsmanship often gives them an advantage in weapons
|
|
and armor.
|
|
|
|
Valkyries are hardy warrior women. Their upbringing in the
|
|
harsh Northlands makes them strong and inures them to extremes of
|
|
cold, and instills stealth and cunning in them.
|
|
|
|
Healers are wise in the apothecary and medical arts. They
|
|
know the herbs and simples that can restore vitality and ease
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 2
|
|
|
|
|
|
pain and neutralize poisons, and they can divine a being's state
|
|
of health or sickness.
|
|
|
|
Knights are distinguished from the common run of fighter by
|
|
their devotion to the ideal of chivalry and the surpassing excel-
|
|
lence of their armor.
|
|
|
|
Barbarians are warriors out of the hinterland, hardened to
|
|
battle. They begin their quests with naught but uncommon
|
|
strength, a trusty hauberk, and a great two-handed sword.
|
|
|
|
Samurai are the elite warriors of feudal Nippon. They are
|
|
lightly armored and quick, and wear the dai-sho, two swords of
|
|
the deadliest sharpness.
|
|
|
|
Ninja are the spy-assassins of Japan. They are quick and
|
|
stealthy, though not as strong as fighters. Their characteristic
|
|
weapon is the deadly shuriken or throwing-star.
|
|
|
|
Priests and Priestesses are clerics militant, armed and ar-
|
|
mored to advance the cause of righteousness but also equipped
|
|
with some skills in arts thaumaturgic. Their ability to commune
|
|
with deities via prayer occasionally extricates them from peril
|
|
-- but can also put them in it.
|
|
|
|
You set out on your way to the dungeons and after several
|
|
days of uneventful travel, you see the ancient ruins that mark
|
|
the entrance to the Mazes of Menace. It is late at night, so
|
|
you make camp at the entrance and spend the night sleeping under
|
|
the open skies. In the morning you gather your weapons and dev-
|
|
ices, eat what is almost your last food, and enter the dungeons.
|
|
|
|
2. What is going on here?
|
|
|
|
You have just begun a game of nethack. Your goal is to grab
|
|
as much treasure as you can, find the Amulet of Yendor, and get
|
|
out of the Mazes of Menace alive. On the screen, a map of where
|
|
you have been and what you have seen on the current dungeon level
|
|
is kept. As you explore more of the level, it appears on the
|
|
screen in front of you.
|
|
|
|
Nethack differs from most computer fantasy games (other than
|
|
its ancestors hack and rogue and its cousin larn) in that it is
|
|
screen oriented. Commands are all one or two keystrokes (as op-
|
|
posed to sentences in some losing parser's notion of English) and
|
|
the results of your commands are displayed graphically on the
|
|
screen rather than being explained in words (a minimum screen
|
|
size of 24 lines by 80 columns is required; if the screen is
|
|
larger, only a 24x80 section will be used for the map).
|
|
|
|
Another major difference between nethack and other computer
|
|
fantasy games is that once you have solved all the puzzles in a
|
|
standard fantasy game, it has lost most of its excitement and it
|
|
ceases to be fun. Nethack, on the other hand, generates a new
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 3
|
|
|
|
|
|
dungeon every time you play it and even the authors still find it
|
|
an entertaining and exciting game.
|
|
|
|
3. What do all those things on the screen mean?
|
|
|
|
In order to understand what is going on in nethack you have
|
|
to first get some grasp of what nethack is doing with the screen.
|
|
The nethack screen is intended to replace the "You can see ..."
|
|
descriptions of text fantasy games. Figure 1 is a sample of what
|
|
a nethack screen might look like.
|
|
|
|
3.1. The bottom line
|
|
|
|
At the bottom line of the screen are a few pieces of cryp-
|
|
tic information describing your current status. Here is an ex-
|
|
planation of what these things mean:
|
|
|
|
Level
|
|
This number indicates how deep you have gone in the dungeon.
|
|
It starts at one and goes up as you go deeper into the
|
|
dungeon.
|
|
|
|
Gold The number of gold pieces you have managed to find and keep
|
|
with you so far.
|
|
|
|
Hp Your current and maximum health points. Health points in-
|
|
dicate how much damage you can take before you die. The
|
|
more you get hit in a fight, the lower they get. You can
|
|
regain health points by resting. The number in parentheses
|
|
is the maximum number your health points can reach.
|
|
|
|
____________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
------------
|
|
|..........+
|
|
|..@....]..|
|
|
|....B.....|
|
|
|..........|
|
|
-----+------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lev 1 Gp 0 Hp 12(12) Ep 3(3) Ac 8 Str 16(16) Exp: 1/0
|
|
____________________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
Figure 1
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ep Energy points. This tells you the level of mystic energy you
|
|
have available for spell casting. When you type `x' to list
|
|
your spells, each will have a spell point cost beside it in
|
|
parentheses. You will not see this if your site's version of
|
|
the game has been configured to omit spells.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 4
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ac Your current armor protection. This number indicates how
|
|
effective your armor is in stopping blows from unfriendly
|
|
creatures. The lower this number is, the more effective the
|
|
armor.
|
|
|
|
Str Your current strength and maximum ever strength. This can
|
|
be any integer less than or equal to 18, or greater than or
|
|
equal to three (occasionally you may get super-strengths of
|
|
the form 18/xx). The higher the number, the stronger you
|
|
are. The number in the parentheses is the maximum strength
|
|
you have attained so far this game.
|
|
|
|
Exp These two numbers give your current experience level and ex-
|
|
perience points. As you do things, you gain experience
|
|
points. At certain experience point totals, you gain an
|
|
experience level. The more experienced you are, the better
|
|
you are able to fight and to withstand magical attacks.
|
|
|
|
3.2. The top line
|
|
|
|
The top line of the screen is reserved for printing messages
|
|
that describe things that are impossible to represent visually.
|
|
If you see a "--More--" on the top line, this means that
|
|
nethack wants to print another message on the screen, but it
|
|
wants to make certain that you have read the one that is there
|
|
first. To read the next message, just type a space.
|
|
|
|
3.3. The rest of the screen
|
|
|
|
The rest of the screen is the map of the level as you have
|
|
explored it so far. Each symbol on the screen represents some-
|
|
thing. Here is a list of what the various symbols mean:
|
|
|
|
- and |
|
|
These form the walls of a room (or maze).
|
|
|
|
. this is the floor of a room.
|
|
|
|
# this is a corridor.
|
|
|
|
> this is the staircase to the next level.
|
|
|
|
< the staircase to the previous level.
|
|
|
|
` A large boulder.
|
|
|
|
@ You (usually) or another human.
|
|
|
|
^ A trap.
|
|
|
|
) A weapon of some sort.
|
|
|
|
( Some other useful object (key, rope, dynamite, camera...)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 5
|
|
|
|
|
|
[ A suit of armor.
|
|
|
|
% A piece of food (not necessarily healthy...).
|
|
|
|
/ A wand.
|
|
|
|
= A ring.
|
|
|
|
? A scroll.
|
|
|
|
! A magic potion.
|
|
|
|
+ A spellbook containing a spell you can learn; (but usually a
|
|
doorway).
|
|
|
|
} A pool of water
|
|
|
|
{ A fountain (your dungeon may not have these).
|
|
|
|
\ An opulent throne (You may not have this either).
|
|
|
|
$ A pile or pot of gold.
|
|
|
|
a-zA-Z
|
|
The uppercase letters represent the various inhabitants of
|
|
the Mazes of Menace. Watch out, they can be nasty and vi-
|
|
cious. Sometimes, however, they can be helpful.
|
|
|
|
4. Commands
|
|
|
|
Commands are given to nethack by typing one or two charac-
|
|
ters. Most commands can be preceded by a count to repeat them
|
|
(e.g. typing "10s" will do ten searches). Commands for which
|
|
counts make no sense have the count ignored. To cancel a count
|
|
or a prefix, type <ESCAPE>. The list of commands is rather long,
|
|
but it can be read at any time during the game with the "?" com-
|
|
mand. Here it is for reference, with a short explanation of each
|
|
command.
|
|
|
|
? help: print a help list.
|
|
|
|
Q Quit the game.
|
|
|
|
S Save the game.
|
|
|
|
! Escape to a shell.
|
|
|
|
^Z Suspend the game (UNIX versions with job control only).
|
|
|
|
< up: go up the staircase (if you are standing on it).
|
|
|
|
> down: go down (just like up).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 6
|
|
|
|
|
|
[kjhlyubn]
|
|
go one step in the direction indicated.
|
|
|
|
k: north (i.e., to the top of the screen),
|
|
j: south, h: west, l: east, y: ne, u: nw, b: se, n: sw.
|
|
|
|
KJHLYUBN
|
|
Go in that direction until you hit a wall or run into some-
|
|
thing.
|
|
|
|
m[kjhlyubn]
|
|
prefix: move without picking up any objects.
|
|
|
|
M[kjhlyubn]
|
|
prefix: move far, no pickup.
|
|
|
|
g[kjhlyubn]
|
|
prefix: move until something interesting is found.
|
|
|
|
G[kjhlyubn]
|
|
as previous, but forking of corridors is not considered in-
|
|
teresting.
|
|
|
|
i print your inventory.
|
|
|
|
I print selected parts of your inventory, like in
|
|
|
|
I* - all gems in inventory;
|
|
IU - all unpaid items;
|
|
IX - all used up items that are on your shopping bill;
|
|
I$ - count your money.
|
|
|
|
s search for secret doors and traps around you.
|
|
|
|
^ ask for the type of a trap you found earlier.
|
|
|
|
) ask for current wielded weapon.
|
|
|
|
[ ask for current armor.
|
|
|
|
= ask for current rings.
|
|
|
|
$ count how many gold pieces you are carrying.
|
|
|
|
. rest, do nothing.
|
|
|
|
, pick up some things.
|
|
|
|
: look at what is here.
|
|
|
|
^T teleport.
|
|
|
|
^R redraw the screen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 7
|
|
|
|
|
|
^P repeat last message (subsequent ^P's repeat earlier mes-
|
|
sages).
|
|
|
|
/ (followed by any symbol) tell what this symbol represents.If
|
|
you see fancy graphics on your screen it may ask you to
|
|
specify a location rather than taking a symbol argument.
|
|
|
|
\ tell what has been discovered.
|
|
|
|
e eat food.
|
|
|
|
w wield weapon. w- means: wield nothing, use bare hands.
|
|
|
|
q drink (quaff) a potion.
|
|
|
|
r read a scroll.
|
|
|
|
T Takeoff armor. Remove Ring.
|
|
|
|
W Wear armor.
|
|
|
|
P Put on a ring.
|
|
|
|
X transcribe (learn) a spell.
|
|
|
|
x print a list of know spells.
|
|
|
|
z zap a wand.
|
|
|
|
Z zap a spell; same as the `# cast' extended command
|
|
|
|
t throw an object or shoot an arrow.
|
|
|
|
p pay your shopping bill.
|
|
|
|
d drop something. d7a: drop seven items of object a.
|
|
|
|
D Drop several things. In answer to the question "What kinds
|
|
of things do you want to drop? [!%= au]" you should give
|
|
zero or more object symbols possibly followed by 'a' and/or
|
|
'u'.
|
|
|
|
a apply - Generic command for using a key to lock or unlock a
|
|
door, using a camera, using a rope, etc.
|
|
|
|
c call: name a certain object or class of objects.
|
|
|
|
C Call: Name an individual monster.
|
|
|
|
E Engrave: Write a message in the dust on the floor. E-
|
|
means: use fingers for writing.
|
|
|
|
O Set options. You will be asked to enter an option line. If
|
|
this is empty, the current options are reported. Otherwise
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 8
|
|
|
|
|
|
it should be a list of options separated by commas. Possible
|
|
boolean options are: oneline, time, news, tombstone,
|
|
rest_on_space, fixinvlet, beginner, male, female. They can
|
|
be negated by prefixing them with answer to the question"Who
|
|
are you?"; it may have a suffix. A compound option is
|
|
endgame; it is followed by a description of what parts of
|
|
the list of topscorers should be printed when the game is
|
|
finished. There is also a graphics option that sets the
|
|
characters used for screen displays. Usually one will not
|
|
want to use the 'O' command, but instead put a HACKOP-
|
|
TIONS="...." line in one's environment.
|
|
|
|
v print version number.
|
|
|
|
V display the game history (about one page).
|
|
|
|
You can put a number before most commands to repeat them
|
|
that many times, as in "20s" or "40.".
|
|
|
|
5. Rooms
|
|
|
|
Rooms in the dungeons are either lit or dark. If you walk
|
|
into a lit room, the entire room will be drawn on the screen as
|
|
soon as you enter. If you walk into a dark room, it will only be
|
|
displayed as you explore it. Upon leaving a room, all monsters
|
|
inside the room are erased from the screen. In the darkness you
|
|
can only see one space in all directions around you. A corridor
|
|
is always dark.
|
|
|
|
6. Fighting
|
|
|
|
If you see a monster and you wish to fight it, just attempt
|
|
to run into it. Many times a monster you find will mind its own
|
|
business unless you attack it. It is often the case that discre-
|
|
tion is the better part of valor.
|
|
|
|
7. Objects you can find
|
|
|
|
When you find something in the dungeon, it is common to want
|
|
to pick the object up. This is accomplished in nethack by walk-
|
|
ing over the object (unless you use the "m" prefix, see above).
|
|
If you are carrying too many things, the program will tell you
|
|
and it won't pick up the object, otherwise it will add it to
|
|
your pack and tell you what you just picked up.
|
|
|
|
Many of the commands that operate on objects must prompt you
|
|
to find out which object you want to use. If you change your
|
|
mind and don't want to do that command after all, just type an
|
|
<ESCAPE> and the command will be aborted.
|
|
|
|
Some objects, like armor and weapons, are easily differen-
|
|
tiated. Others, like scrolls and potions, are given labels
|
|
which vary according to type. During a game, any two of the same
|
|
kind of object with the same label are the same type. However,
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 9
|
|
|
|
|
|
the labels will vary from game to game.
|
|
|
|
When you use one of these labeled objects, if its effect is
|
|
obvious, nethack will remember what it is for you. If its effect
|
|
isn't extremely obvious you will be asked what you want to scrib-
|
|
ble on it so you will recognize it later, or you can use the
|
|
"call" command (see above).
|
|
|
|
7.1. Weapons
|
|
|
|
Some weapons, like arrows, come in bunches, but most come
|
|
one at a time. In order to use a weapon, you must wield it.
|
|
To fire an arrow out of a bow, you must first wield the bow,
|
|
then throw the arrow. You can only wield one weapon at a time,
|
|
but you can't change weapons if the one you are currently wield-
|
|
ing is cursed. The commands to use weapons are "w" (wield) and
|
|
"t" (throw).
|
|
|
|
7.2. Armor
|
|
|
|
There are various sorts of armor lying around in the
|
|
dungeon. Some of it is enchanted, some is cursed, and some is
|
|
just normal. Different armor types have different armor protec-
|
|
tion. The higher the armor protection, the more protection the
|
|
armor affords against the blows of monsters. Here is a partial
|
|
list of the various armor types and the level of armor protection
|
|
each will give.
|
|
|
|
plate mail 3
|
|
splint mail 4
|
|
banded mail 4
|
|
chain mail 5
|
|
scale mail 6
|
|
ring mail 7
|
|
studded leather armor 7
|
|
leather armor 8
|
|
elven cloak 9
|
|
|
|
If a piece of armor is enchanted, its armor protection will
|
|
be higher than normal. If a suit of armor is cursed, its armor
|
|
protection will be lower, and you will not be able to remove it.
|
|
However, not all armor with a protection that is lower than nor-
|
|
mal is cursed and some enchanted armor is also "cursed" prevent-
|
|
ing removal.
|
|
|
|
The commands to use weapons are "W" (wear) and "T" (take
|
|
off).
|
|
|
|
7.3. Scrolls
|
|
|
|
Scrolls come with titles in an unknown tongue. After you
|
|
read a scroll, it disappears from your pack. The command to use
|
|
a scroll is "r" (read).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 10
|
|
|
|
|
|
7.4. Potions
|
|
|
|
Potions are labeled by the color of the liquid inside the
|
|
flask. They disappear after being quaffed. The command to use a
|
|
scroll is "q" (quaff).
|
|
|
|
7.5. Staves and Wands
|
|
|
|
Staves and wands do the same kinds of things. Staves are
|
|
identified by a type of wood; wands by a type of metal or bone.
|
|
They are generally things you want to do to something over a long
|
|
distance, so you must point them at what you wish to affect to
|
|
use them. Some staves are not affected by the direction they
|
|
are pointed, though. Staves come with multiple magic charges,
|
|
the number being random, and when they are used up, the staff is
|
|
just a piece of wood or metal.
|
|
|
|
The command to use a wand or staff is "z" (zap)
|
|
|
|
7.6. Rings
|
|
|
|
Rings are very useful items, since they are relatively per-
|
|
manent magic, unlike the usually fleeting effects of potions,
|
|
scrolls, and staves. Of course, both good and bad rings are more
|
|
powerful. Most rings also cause you to use up food more rapid-
|
|
ly, the rate varying with the type of ring. Rings are differen-
|
|
tiated by their stone settings. Some rings are cursed, prevent-
|
|
ing removal. This can happen to helpful and harmful rings alike.
|
|
|
|
The commands to use rings are "P" (put on) and "R" (remove).
|
|
|
|
7.7. Spellbooks
|
|
|
|
Spellbooks are tomes of mighty magic. When read with the
|
|
`transcribe' command X, they plant the knowledge of a spell in
|
|
your head and disappear - unless the attempt backfires. Reading a
|
|
spellbook can be harmful to your health if it is cursed or the
|
|
mystic runes are at too high a level for your thaumaturgic
|
|
skills!
|
|
|
|
Casting spells can also backfire. If you attempt to cast a
|
|
spell well above your level, or cast it at a time when your luck
|
|
is particularly bad, you can end up wasting both the energy and
|
|
the time required in casting.
|
|
|
|
The `x' command lists your current spells, each preceded by
|
|
the spell points they require. to cast a spell, type `Z' and
|
|
answer the questions.
|
|
|
|
7.8. Food
|
|
|
|
Food is necessary to keep you going. If you go too long
|
|
without eating you will faint, and eventually die of starvation.
|
|
The command to use food is "e" (eat).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 11
|
|
|
|
|
|
7.9. Options
|
|
|
|
Due to variations in personal tastes and conceptions of the
|
|
way nethack should do things, there are a set of options you can
|
|
set that cause nethack to behave in various different ways.
|
|
|
|
7.10. Setting the options
|
|
|
|
There are two ways to set the options. The first is with
|
|
the "O" command of nethack; the second is with the "HACKOP-
|
|
TIONS" environment variable.
|
|
|
|
7.11. Using the `O' command
|
|
|
|
When you type "O" in nethack, it queries you for an option
|
|
string which is parsed as though it were a HACKOPTIONS value.
|
|
|
|
7.12. Using the HACKOPTIONS variable
|
|
|
|
The HACKOPTIONS variable is a string containing a comma-
|
|
separated list of initial values for the various options. Boolean
|
|
variables can be turned on by listing their name or turned off by
|
|
putting a `!' or "no" in front of the name. You can set string
|
|
variables by following the variable name with a colon (this char-
|
|
acter was chosen over = to avoid conflict with the ring symbol)
|
|
and the value of the string. The value is terminated by the next
|
|
comma or the end of string.
|
|
|
|
Thus to set up an environment variable so that `female' is
|
|
on, `pickup' is off, and the name is set to "Blue Meanie", you
|
|
would enter the command
|
|
|
|
% setenv HACKOPTIONS "female,!pickup,name:Blue Meanie"
|
|
|
|
in csh, or
|
|
|
|
$ HACKOPTIONS="female,!pickup,name:Blue Meanie"
|
|
$ export HACKOPTIONS
|
|
|
|
in sh or ksh.
|
|
|
|
7.13. Customization options
|
|
|
|
Here is a list of the options and an explanation of what
|
|
each one is for. The default value for each is enclosed in
|
|
square brackets. For character string options, input over fifty
|
|
characters will be ignored.
|
|
|
|
Note: some of the options listed may be inactive if the game
|
|
has been subsetted.
|
|
|
|
standout
|
|
(default on) use standout where appropriate in display
|
|
lists.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 12
|
|
|
|
|
|
null
|
|
(default off) don't send padding nulls to the tty.
|
|
|
|
tombstone
|
|
(default on) display tombstone graphic on death.
|
|
|
|
news
|
|
(default on) read hack news if present.
|
|
|
|
conf
|
|
(default on) have user confirm attacks on dogs and shop-
|
|
keepers.
|
|
|
|
silent
|
|
(default on) suppress terminal beeps.
|
|
|
|
pick
|
|
(default on) pick up things you move onto by default.
|
|
|
|
IBMB
|
|
(default off, PC-HACK only) for machines with an IBM-PC com-
|
|
patible BIOS ROM.
|
|
|
|
DECR
|
|
(default off, PC-HACK only) for machines with DEC Rainbow
|
|
compatible BIOS ROMs.
|
|
|
|
rawi
|
|
(default off) force raw (not cbreak mode) input.
|
|
|
|
sort
|
|
(default on) sort the pack contents by type when displaying
|
|
inventory.
|
|
|
|
packorder
|
|
(default `)[%?+/=!(*0 )') specify order to list object
|
|
types in. The value of this option should be a string con-
|
|
taining the symbols for the various object types.
|
|
|
|
dogname
|
|
give your (first) dog a name (eg. dogname:Fang).
|
|
|
|
time
|
|
(default off) show game time in turns on bottom line.
|
|
|
|
restonspace
|
|
(default off) make spacebar a synonym for `.'.
|
|
|
|
fixinv
|
|
(default on) an object's inventory letter sticks to it until
|
|
it's dropped. If this is off, everything after a dropped
|
|
object shifts letters.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 13
|
|
|
|
|
|
male
|
|
(default on, most hackers are male) sets the player-
|
|
character's sex.
|
|
|
|
female
|
|
(default off) sets the player-character's sex (equal-
|
|
opportunity feature :-)).
|
|
|
|
name
|
|
(defaults to player's username) Set the player-character's
|
|
name.
|
|
|
|
graphics
|
|
(default ` |-++++.:<>^{}\"') set the graphics symbols for
|
|
screen displays. The graphics option (if used) should be
|
|
last, followed by a string of up to ", 17 chars to be used
|
|
instead of the default map-drawing chars. Replacing for any
|
|
of these chars causes it to be replaced in the dungeon level
|
|
displays, except that the five instances of + are used for
|
|
top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right and door
|
|
squares respectively. The last four characters are required
|
|
only if the corresponding options are configured in.
|
|
|
|
endgame
|
|
Endgame is followed by a description of what parts of the
|
|
scorelist you want to see. You might for example say:
|
|
|
|
`endgame:own scores/5 top scores/4 around my score'.
|
|
|
|
In the PC-HACK version, options may be set in a configura-
|
|
tion file on disk as well as from the hack options.
|
|
|
|
7.14. Scoring
|
|
|
|
Nethack usually maintains a list of the top scoring people
|
|
or scores on your machine. Depending on how it is set up, it can
|
|
post either the top scores or the top players. In the latter
|
|
case, each account on the machine can post only one non-winning
|
|
score on this list. If you score higher than someone else on
|
|
this list, or better your previous score on the list, you will be
|
|
inserted in the proper place under your current name. How many
|
|
scores are kept can also be set up by whoever installs it on your
|
|
machine.
|
|
|
|
If you quit the game, you get out with all of your gold in-
|
|
tact. If, however, you get killed in the Dungeons of Doom,
|
|
your body is forwarded to your next-of-kin, along with 90% of
|
|
your gold; ten percent of your gold is kept by the Dungeons'
|
|
wizard as a fee. This should make you consider whether you want
|
|
to take one last hit at that monster and possibly live, or quit
|
|
and thus stop with whatever you have. If you quit, you do get
|
|
all your gold, but if you swing and live, you might find more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 14
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you just want to see what the current top players/ games
|
|
list is, you can type
|
|
|
|
% nethack -s
|
|
|
|
8. Credits
|
|
|
|
The original hack game was modeled on the Berkeley UNIX `ro-
|
|
gue' game. Large portions of this paper were shamelessly cribbed
|
|
from A Guide to the Dungeons of Doom, by Michael C. Toy and Ken-
|
|
neth C. R. C. Arnold.
|
|
|
|
NetHack is the product of literally dozens of people's work.
|
|
A list of some of those who made major additions to the game ap-
|
|
pears below:
|
|
|
|
Jay Fenlason
|
|
wrote the original release of "Hack", with helpfrom Kenny
|
|
Woodland, Mike Thome and Jon Payne.
|
|
|
|
Andries Brouwer
|
|
did a major re-write on the program andpublshed (at least)
|
|
two versions to the Usenet.
|
|
|
|
Don G. Kneller
|
|
ported the 1.0.3 version of Hack to the PC, creating PC-
|
|
Hack.
|
|
|
|
The following folks didn't actually re-write the game, or
|
|
port it to a new machine, but have made significant contributions
|
|
to the playability of the game:
|
|
|
|
ins_akaa@jhunix.UUCP (Ken Arromdee)
|
|
New character classes. New weapons code. Armor weights im-
|
|
plemented. New tools code. Polymorph Self code. Bug fixes.
|
|
|
|
srt@ucla-cs (Scott R. Turner)
|
|
Rockmole & Keystone Kops code. Squeaky Board & Magic traps.
|
|
Fountain code. More bug fixes.
|
|
|
|
gil@cornell.UUCP (Gil Neiger)
|
|
Magic Marker code. Fountain code enhancements. Enhancements
|
|
to dozens of routines. More bug fixes (esp. in hack.zap.c).
|
|
|
|
ericb@hplsla.UUCP (Eric Backus)
|
|
The #dip mods to fountain code. Yet more bug fixes.
|
|
|
|
mike@genat.UUCP (Mike Stephenson)
|
|
New character classes and traps. Throne Rooms. Spellbooks
|
|
and spellcasting. Praying. Endgame enhancements. Nethack
|
|
release and coordination.
|
|
|
|
eric@snark (Eric S. Raymond)
|
|
The GRAPHICS option. Changes to make character classes more
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 15
|
|
|
|
|
|
individual and mythohistorically authentic. Better random-
|
|
number generation. The blindfold tool. The 'Z' spellcasting
|
|
command synonym. General cleanup of much grotty code, remo-
|
|
val of magic numbers. More bug fixes. This Guide you're
|
|
reading.
|
|
|
|
You too can enhance this game and join the hallowed ranks of
|
|
the net.benefactors. Happy hacking!
|
|
|
|
Appendix A: Weapon Types in Hack
|
|
|
|
This material is adapted from a digest of email replies to
|
|
Carole Chang (carole@uhcc.uhccux.ha). Major sources were:
|
|
|
|
Paul Anderson pha@net1.ucsd.edu
|
|
Vernon Lee scorpion@rice.edu
|
|
Bryan Ewbank ihlph!bdewbank
|
|
|
|
Some terminological corrections (notably the correct set of dis-
|
|
tinctions for the great mace/morningstar/flail controversy) were
|
|
made by your editor (eric@snark), and a good bit of historical
|
|
context added.
|
|
|
|
|
|
8.1. Polearms
|
|
|
|
The following weapons are all "pole arms", meaning that they
|
|
are wooden shafts (5-9' long) capped with a particular weapon-
|
|
head. We list these first as they are most likely to mystify a
|
|
novice hacker.
|
|
|
|
glaive
|
|
a short polearm with a straight blade at the end of the
|
|
shaft. Rare in Europe; more popular in non-Western cultures
|
|
under other names, as in the Zulu war assegai and Japanese
|
|
ashigaru's pike.
|
|
|
|
halberd
|
|
a long (typically 6' or more) polearm ending with a single
|
|
axe-head, backed by a spike and tipped by a spear-head. An
|
|
extremely popular weapon in Europe from the Dark Ages to as
|
|
late as 1650. You can see them in pictures of royal or elite
|
|
Spanish, English, and French troops or the Vatican's Swiss
|
|
Guards.
|
|
|
|
bill-guisarme
|
|
a polearm, ends in a spear-head with a spike on one side and
|
|
a hook on the other.
|
|
|
|
fauchard
|
|
a polearm topped by a curved sickle-blade.
|
|
|
|
bec-de-corbin
|
|
(literally "crow's-beak") a polearm ending in a stout
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 16
|
|
|
|
|
|
spear-point, with a small axe-head on one side and a beak-
|
|
shaped spike on the other. This weapon was designed to act
|
|
like a can-opener for infantry fighting plate-armored
|
|
knights.
|
|
|
|
guisarme
|
|
a polearm, ends with a sharpened pruning hook.
|
|
|
|
spetum
|
|
a polearm, ends with a spear-blade that has a smaller blade
|
|
jutting at an angle from either side; the idea was to catch
|
|
an opponent's weapon between two blades and disarm him with
|
|
a twist of the shaft. Compare the japanese sai.
|
|
|
|
partisan
|
|
a polearm, has a spear-head with a small axe-head to either
|
|
side. Peasant levies often carried these; hence our modern
|
|
usage of `partisans' to describe guerilla or irregular
|
|
troops.
|
|
|
|
lucern
|
|
a polearm, ends in a forward-pointing and one or more
|
|
curved, downward-pointing (i.e.perpendicular) spikes. Named
|
|
after the Swiss city and canton of Lucerne.
|
|
|
|
voulge
|
|
a polearm, with a straight single-edged blade depending from
|
|
one side of the shaft's end.
|
|
|
|
ranseur
|
|
a polearm, ends with a broad spear-head with a flat base,
|
|
and a broader "hilt" (often a straight piece with sharpened
|
|
ends) behind it. As with the spetum, the idea was to catch
|
|
weapons between the blade and "hilt".
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
8.2. Blade weapons
|
|
|
|
Blades were, in most pre-gunpowder martial cultures, the
|
|
preferred weapon for one-on-one combat. Nethack includes several
|
|
kinds:
|
|
|
|
dagger
|
|
broadly speaking, could describe any blade less than about
|
|
two feet long. But `dagger' tends to suggest a hilted,
|
|
double-edged weapon.
|
|
|
|
short
|
|
are 2-3' long and used for stabbing. The Roman legionary's
|
|
gladius and the American frontiersman's Bowie knife were
|
|
both short swords.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 17
|
|
|
|
|
|
broad
|
|
are 3-4' long; they have sharpened edged for chopping and
|
|
cleaving.
|
|
|
|
long are also 3-4' long; they are narrower with sharpened tips
|
|
for stabbing and slashing.
|
|
|
|
two-handed
|
|
are 5-6' long, with long handles because they require both
|
|
hands to use.
|
|
|
|
bastard
|
|
a cleaving weapon 4-5' long, which can be wielded with one
|
|
or (more effectively) two hands.
|
|
|
|
scimitar
|
|
a type of curved, single-edged blade popular since ancient
|
|
times in the Near East, designed for slashing and drawing
|
|
strokes. Recent European weapons modeled on it include the
|
|
sabre and cutlass.
|
|
|
|
katana
|
|
the long, slender, sabre-like swords of the Japanese samu-
|
|
rai, often considered the finest blade weapons ever made.
|
|
Japanese forging techniques produced what was in effect a
|
|
micro-layered composite of high and low carbon steels, giv-
|
|
ing the blade its unique razor-sharpness and flexibility.
|
|
|
|
|
|
8.3. Missile weapons
|
|
|
|
These are all weapons meant to transfer kinetic energy to a
|
|
target via a rigid thrown projectile.
|
|
|
|
bow in nethack, probably represents the 'self bow', a smaller
|
|
single-piece or composite bow firing short feather-quilled
|
|
arrows (rather than the classic Robin Hood longbow with its
|
|
yard-long shafts).
|
|
|
|
crossbow
|
|
a mechanically-cranked bow firing stubby conical-profile
|
|
bolts, sometimes finned. Had a lower rate of fire than the
|
|
self- or long-bow but fearsome penetrating power.
|
|
|
|
javelin
|
|
a lightweight, flexible throwing spear.
|
|
|
|
dart not the three-inch, needle-pointed pub dart associated with
|
|
ale and tweed caps; rather, its progenitor, a shorter
|
|
javelin-like projectile that was mostly soft-iron head. Bar-
|
|
rages of these were thrown as first volleys in infantry
|
|
skirmishes to foul the opponents' shields.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Guide to the Mazes of Menace 18
|
|
|
|
|
|
shuriken
|
|
a flat, spiked wheel designed to be thrown with a wrist-
|
|
flick so the blades spin like a buzz-saw in flight. Also
|
|
called a `throwing star' or (in India) the `chakram'.
|
|
|
|
|
|
8.4. Miscellaneous strange weapons
|
|
|
|
bardiche
|
|
(literally, "bearded axe") a short shaft (5') with an enor-
|
|
mous long axe-head, connected at at least two places. Basi-
|
|
cally a huge axe (or a short voulge).
|
|
|
|
morning-star
|
|
usually a spiked ball attached by a chain to a truncheon-
|
|
like handle. The term is sometimes used to describe maces
|
|
with spiked heads.
|
|
|
|
flail
|
|
several chains, possibly spiked and possibly with small
|
|
balls on the ends, stapled to a truncheon.
|
|
|
|
crysknife
|
|
a fantasy weapon adapted from Frank Herbert's "Dune" books.
|
|
On Herbert's Arrakis, the fierce Fremen made their personal
|
|
weapons from the scimitar teeth of the shai hulud, the great
|
|
sandworms of the Dune deserts.
|
|
|
|
aklys
|
|
a long thong with a weight at the end. Holding the other end
|
|
of the thong, you throw the weight; the thong entangles the
|
|
target, and the weight whaps it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nethack Version 2.0 September 25, 1987
|
|
|
|
|
|
|