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The NetHack FAQ
Welcome to the NetHack FAQ (v1.2.6, 050996)! This document will attempt to
answer some of the questions that new/potential NetHack players might
encounter.
The FAQ will be posted to the rec.games.roguelike.nethack newsgroup twice
monthly, and will also be kept up to date on this web page. Please email
any suggestions or mistakes to me (Adam@darkside.demon.co.uk), so that I
can incorporate them in to the FAQ.
This FAQ does not contain any spoilers (if you think it does, please let me
know and I'll consider rewording it). You should be able to read this safe
in the knowledge that it won't ruin your game.
Thanks to some of the people who have contributed to the development of
this FAQ: Silas Dunsmore, Aaron Dutton, John Fouhy, Carlos Gonzalez, David
Joseph Grabiner, Pat Rankin, Seth Scott and Boudewijn Wayers.
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[Q: ] What is NetHack?
NetHack (despite it's somewhat misleading title) is a single-user
fantasy role-playing computer game. The objective of the game is to
survive your way to the bottom of an extensive randomly-generated
dungeon, fighting and killing a large number of monsters en-route, in
an attempt to recover the mysterious Amulet of Yendor.
The game gets its name because it was developed by a team of people
over the Internet (this group is referred to as "The Dev Team"), and
is based upon an old game of similar style, called "Hack".
[Q: ] What is the latest version?
The latest version of NetHack is 3.2.1, released in June 1996.
[Q: ] Where can I get Nethack for my computer?
The best place to get Nethack is over the Internet. The "official"
NetHack site is ftp.uu.net:pub/games/nethack (192.48.96.9)
There is also a full "roguelike" WWW and FTP site: point your web
browser at http://www.win.tue.nl/games/roguelike/nethack/
(131.155.70.19) and you should find all you need. If you prefer using
FTP, try looking around ftp.win.tue.nl:pub/games/nethack
(131.155.70.19). This site is maintained by Boudewijn Wayers, and is
packed with useful and interesting information.
Versions of NetHack are available for the Amiga, Atari, Macintosh,
MSDOS, OS2, Unix, VMS and WindowsNT platforms. The game is essentially
identical on all platforms, though the user interface may vary.
Currently, official binaries of the Amiga and OS/2 versions are still
not available. However, unofficial compilations (which work fine, to
the best of my knowledge) can be found at ftp.win.tue.nl.
For the 'home' computers, precompiled versions of the game can be
downloaded and run immediately. For the 'mainframe' computers, though,
you will have to download the sourcecode and compile the game
yourself. The sourcecode for all the different platforms is available
from the same WWW/FTP sites. It should also be noted that anyone is
free to make and distribute modifications to the sourcecode quite
freely.
Finally, there is a version of NetHack that is playable over the
internet. Telnet to 'nethack.bitech.com' to play it.
[Q: ] I'm having some difficulties getting NetHack to run. What's wrong?
There are a couple of known problems getting NetHack to work on
various environments:
386 NetHack running with Windows If you constantly receive 'Out of
memory' errors when trying to start NetHack, try creating a .PIF file
for it. Load up the PIF editor in Windows, and set the program
filename and startup directory as required. Now change the Required
and Desired memory requirements so that they both contain the value
-1. Save this as NetHack.PIF, and use this to start the game. It
doesn't eliminate the problem entirely, but makes it happen a little
less frequently.
[Q: ] Are there any known bugs in NetHack 3.2.1?
All the bugs from 3.2.0 have been fixed in the latest release of
NetHack, but one bug remains with regard to the Recover utility. This
is known *not* to work with NetHack 3.2.1 because of a typo in the
sourcecode.
[Q: ] How can I play multi-user NetHack?
Unfortunately, you can't. Due to the way NetHack works, it would be
very difficult to write a multi-player version.
There are a couple of variants which are multiplayer, and which
resemble the NetHack style of game, namely "Myth" and "Crossfire".
These are detailed in the "Roguelike Games Info and FTP Sites" FAQ
(see the section on NetHack variants below) -- see that FAQ for more
information on obtaining these games.
[Q: ] How can I get more information about playing the game?
From a number of sources. First of all, you could read the guidebook
and on-line help that come with NetHack. Press '?' whilst playing the
game to see the menu of on-line help.
If this doesn't answer your questions, you could try consulting the
NetHack Spoilers (see below).
Finally, questions not answered by this FAQ or the spoilers can be
posted to the rec.games.roguelike.nethack newsgroup. The inhabitants
will be more than willing to answer you! (Unless some dragon just
killed them, or something :)
[Q: ] What are the NetHack Spoilers, and where can I get them?
The spoilers are an extensive set of text files which give detailed
information on many aspects of the game. They range from simple
information (such as how many experience points you need to reach each
experience level), through the essential information (such as
potion/scroll/ spellbook/wand effects, good armour, what to wish for),
to the extreme information (like the formulae to calculate the
likelihood of your dog picking up an object).
The spoilers are all available at Boudewijn's FTP and WWW sites,
detailed above.
Please note that there aren't really any spoilers for v3.2.0 of
NetHack at this time. For NH320 spoilers, the best place to be is the
r.g.r.nethack newsgroup, where people post their discoveries and
spoilers as they make them.
[Q: ] What are the NetHack variants?
A large number of other games have been created and released, which
have been based to some extent on the code and/or ideas behind
NetHack. Some of these include NetHack+, NetHack--, NetHack: The Next
Generation, SLASH, and many others.
For more information about the variants, look for the "Roguelike Games
Info and FTP Sites" FAQ that is posted periodically in the
reg.games.roguelike.* newsgroups. Most (if not all) of the variants
are available from Boudewijn's WWW and FTP site (detailed above).
[Q: ] What is explore mode?
Explore mode makes the game very much easier by changing a few of the
fundamental rules. If you start the game in explore mode, you are
automatically given a wand of wishing. You also have the choice of not
dying when your character is killed (which tends to make the game
rather easier).
You won't be able to make the high score table in explore mode,
though, and its use to play is very much considered cheating. It's
much more fun using the proper game modes. :)
To start explore mode for NetHack, add a "-X" parameter to your start
up command line. To enter explore mode whilst already in a game, use
the "X" command (but beware, there's no way to get back to normal
mode!)
[Q: ] What is Wizard mode, and how do I use it?
Wizard mode is similar to explore mode, except that it offers a number
of "wizard commands". For example, you may wish for objects, map
levels, find the locations of all the 'special' levels in the game,
etc.
Wizard mode is provided only for debugging purposes, not for actually
playing the game. No one will be impressed if you manage to finish
NetHack by using wizard mode (or explore mode, come to mention it).
However, it is good to use to experiment with ideas you've had. Also
it should be noted that you can wish for *anything* (even scenery
items) in wizard mode. This is *not* the same as in a normal or
explore-mode game, so some wishing ideas cannot be relied upon to work
outside of wizard mode.
To start NetHack in wizard mode, you need to run the game as follows:
nethack -u -D
(note: case sensitive). If you are playing on a single user system,
replace "" with "wizard" (so: "nethack -u wizard -D"). If you are on a
multi-user system, you will need to have logged in to the system using
the account of whoever installed the game, or wizard mode will refuse
to work (and will start you in explore mode instead).
The command lines for NetHack+ and Slash are slightly different:
NH+: nethack -u talden -Z Slash: nethack -u wizard -Z
[Q: ] Can I use my old 3.1.3 save and bones files with NetHack 3.2.0?
No, you can't. You can't even transfer them between the same versions
of the game running on different platforms, or even with different
compilation options. If you want to continue with the character you
started in NH3.1.3, you'll have to continue in NH3.1.3
[Q: ] What is the best character to play when I'm first starting out with
NetHack?
Discussions (read: arguments) on this topic frequently pop up in the
r.g.r.nethack newsgroup, and opinion seems to be mostly split between
three character classes:
Barbarian (good fighter, poison resistant, good starting equipment)
Valkyrie (good fighter, good abilities, good starting equipment)
Samurai (good statistics, good starting equipment)
[Q: ] How can I stop my character from starving?
The most obvious answer is: eat! Some classes start out with a
reasonable amount of food (archeologist, barbarian, elf and valkyrie,
and the tourist starts with half a delicatessen shop in his pack).
A great number of the creatures you kill in the dungeon can be eaten.
Some will also provide other benefits when you eat them. Of course
there are a number of creatures that you *shouldn't* eat, but you'll
soon work those out after the first time. :)
If you're weak from hunger and can not find anything at all to eat,
try praying. If it's been long enough since you last prayed and your
God isn't angry with you, you should find the problem goes away for a
little while.
[Q: ] What are these little 2-by-2 square rooms I keep seeing?
They are known as "Magic Memory Vaults". Somewhere on the level you
will most likely find a hidden teleporter that will take you to the
vault. What you find there is well worth getting, but make sure you
have a way to get out!
[Q: ] What on earth do I do with a can of grease? Or a crystal ball? Or a
figurine?
These are perhaps some of the more obscure objects of the game.
Briefly:
Can of grease: apply it to your weapon or armour, and they will be
temporarily rustproofed. Creatures that try to grab you (Owlbears, for
example) will not be able to do so whilst your armour is greased, but
there is a 50% chance that the grease will wear off each time they
try.
Crystal ball: applying it will (providing it has some charges) allow
you to locate all items or monsters using a particular character on
the level. For example, you might like to locate all the scrolls, or
potions, or traps, or dragons on the level. Be careful, though, if
your intelligence isn't high enough, the crystal ball may have some
unwanted side-effects.
Figurines: when applied, the figurine will transform to a creature of
the figurine's type. Provided the figurine wasn't cursed, there is a
good chance that the creature will be tame.
Flint stone: no useful purposes, except that it provides slightly
increased damage over other gems when fired from a sling. Its main
purpose is making luckstones more difficult to identify.
[Q: ] I often see monsters zapping themselves with wands. How can I zap
myself with a wand?
Zap the wand as normal, and when asked for a direction, enter a period
('.'). It is also possible to zap wands in the up and down directions
by using '<' or '>' (though I doubt that zapping wands /upwards/ will
be very useful..)
[Q: ] How can I bless something that I'm carrying?
If you dip an object in to holy water (i.e., a blessed clear potion),
it will become blessed (if it was previously uncursed), or uncursed
(if it was previously cursed). Dipping an object in to unholy water (a
cursed clear potion) will curse it (if it was previously uncursed) or
make it uncursed it (if it was previously blessed). In all cases, the
potion of water will be used up in the process.
Note that dipping an object in an uncursed potion of water may have
undesired effects: potions will become diluted, and scrolls and
spellbooks will be erased.
[Q: ] I've read a few spellbooks, but all my spell failure rates are at
100%. Why can't I cast any spells?
In NetHack 3.2.0, the spellcasting system was changed. Basically,
wearing armour makes your spellcasting failure rate rocket. Try
removing any metal armour (including mithril), helmets, and large
shields. You should find your failure rates drop to more acceptable
levels.
[Q: ] What is "polypiling"?
It wouldn't really be possible to answer that question without turning
this FAQ in to a spoiler, but the term is self-explanatory once you
realise what it's talking about. :) Suffice it to say, that monsters
are not the only thing you can zap wands at...
[Q: ] What are "bones files"?
Sometimes when your character gets killed, the game will save the
current dungeon level into a file. Then in subsequent games when your
new character arrives at that same level, there is a random chance
that the old data will be loaded instead of a new level being
generated. The ghost of the earlier character will be present, along
with his/her equipment and also with whatever killed him/her. Most of
the equipment, though, will probably be cursed.
Whenever a "bones file" is loaded, the file itself is deleted so that
it can only be used once. Bones files are also occasionally described
as "ghost levels", but sometimes the revenant of the earlier character
is some other type of monster rather than a ghost. Also, ghosts are
created in other circumstances than from bones data, so the term
"ghost level" may be somewhat misleading.
If your new character gets killed on the same level, there is a chance
that a new bones file will be created. The chance is randomly
determined and is not affected by whether the level was previously a
bones level.
Bones files are not portable between platforms, so don't bother
trying. :(
[Q: ] Suddenly, the dungeon collapsed. Can I recover this game?
Usually, yes. A utility called "Recover" is supplied with NetHack, and
this can be used to reconstruct your game from the level files that it
creates whilst you are playing. Read the instructions for the Recover
program to see how to use it.
If you are not playing on a single-user system, you may need to get
whoever installed NetHack to recover the save file for you.
[Q: ] What are the strange lists of symbols I keep seeing in people's
signatures in rec.games.roguelike.nethack?
The chances are that you're looking at the NetHack Code, created by
Irina Rempt. The full code can be found on the World Wide Web by
pointer your browser at Viljo Viitanen's page, which resides at the
following address:
http://www.physics.helsinki.fi/~vviitane/nethack.html
[Q: ] I just discovered a bug? What should I do?
If you are running the current official version, bugs should be
reported via email to the DevTeam, at nethack-bugs@linc.cis.upenn.edu.
Serious ideas are also welcomed, though the DevTeam make no promises
to implement them in the next release.
If you're running an out of date version or one of the NetHack
variants, don't bother them as they won't be particularly interested..
If you're using an unofficial binary, try contacting whoever compiled
the binary first, as it may be a bug they are aware of.
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The NetHack FAQ, Copyright (c) Adam Dawes, 1996, all rights reserved.
If you play NetHack on an Amiga, why not have a look at my Tile Editor
utility..?
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| © Copyright 2001 Steve Register. |
