Original version - Eric S. Raymond
(Edited and expanded for 3.6 by Mike Stephenson and others)
- March 8, 2020
+ February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
you have seen on the current dungeon level; as you explore more
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
Intelligence affects your ability to cast spells and read
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
ical attacks. Many dungeons show only your experience level
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
nasty and vicious. Sometimes, however, they can be helpful.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
symbol at the chosen location, conditionally check for "More
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
if you remember a monster there).
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
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once you've closed this menu. The available options are
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(R)UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.
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+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
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+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
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When picking a target with cursor and the autodescribe
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the `^D' (kick) command.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
on the corresponding staircase at your destination. However,
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
member a monster but want to try fighting anyway, you can use the
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
ers (or even former incarnations of yourself!) and their personal
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
ter. Many commands that operate on objects must ask you to find
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
In some cases "uncursed" will be omitted as being redundant when
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
to taking off other worn items.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
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+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
ondary is just an item in your inventory that's been designated
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
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the wall, you might decide to go for broke and break your wand.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
cation rather than just specify a particular direction. Other
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
Normally, if you have seen an object at a particular map lo-
cation and move to another location where you can't directly see
- that object any more, if will continue to be displayed on your
+ that object any more, it will continue to be displayed on your
map. That remains the case even if it is not actually there any
more -- perhaps a monster has picked it up or it has rotted away
-- until you can see or feel that location again. One notable
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
brains while polymorphed into a mind flayer, is considered eating
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
type ("polypiling") or the form of your own body into another
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+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
ASCII text file and can be created with any text editor.
On Windows, it is ".nethackrc" in the folder "\%USERPRO-
- FILE%\NetHack\3.6". The file may not exist, but it is a normal
+ FILE%\NetHack\(rq. The file may not exist, but it is a normal
ASCII text file can can be created with any text editor. After
running NetHack for the first time, you should find a default
template for the configuration file named ".nethackrc.template"
- in "\%USERPROFILE%\NetHack\3.6". If you had not created the con-
+ in "\%USERPROFILE%\NetHack\(rq. If you had not created the con-
figuration file, NetHack will create the configuration file for
you using the default template file.
tion, and are ignored unless a CHOOSE statement was used to
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
pletion has no effect for the X11 windowport. You can specify
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
"Configuring User Sounds" section.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
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- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
tion controls whether the description includes map coordinates.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
was defined during compilation.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
display for end-of-game disclosure follows a set sequence.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
"no", you will exclude that gender from being picked randomly.
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+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
sistent.
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+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
fault `\'.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
Prompt for new form whenever any monster changes shape (default
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
Valid settings are:
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
item.
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(Default `S'). Persistent.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
be set with the `O' command. Persistent.
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off). Persistent.
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+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
only; "X11" interface always uses a timer based delay. The
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
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If NetHack can, it should use this size font for text windows.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
Number of lines for traditional below-the-map status display.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
Here are explanations of options that are used by specific
platforms or ports to customize and change the port behavior.
- altkeyhandler
- Select an alternate keystroke handler dll to load (Win32 tty
- NetHack only). The name of the handler is specified without
- the .dll extension and without any path information. Cannot be
- set with the `O' command.
+ altkeyhandling
+ Select an alternate way to handle keystrokes (Win32 tty NetHack
+ only). The name of the handling type is one of "default",
+ "ray", "340".
altmeta
On Amiga, this option controls whether typing "Alt" plus anoth-
altmeta
On other (non-Amiga) systems where this option is available, it
- can be set to tell NetHack to convert a two character sequence
- beginning with ESC into a meta-shifted version of the second
+ can be set to tell NetHack to convert a two character sequence
+ beginning with ESC into a meta-shifted version of the second
character (default off).
- This conversion is only done for commands, not for other input
+ This conversion is only done for commands, not for other input
prompts. Note that typing one or more digits as a count prefix
prior to a command -- preceded by n if the number_pad option is
- set -- is also subject to this conversion, so attempting to
- abort the count by typing ESC will leave NetHack waiting for
+ set -- is also subject to this conversion, so attempting to
+ abort the count by typing ESC will leave NetHack waiting for
another character to complete the two character sequence. Type
- a second ESC to finish cancelling such a count. At other
+ a second ESC to finish cancelling such a count. At other
prompts a single ESC suffices.
BIOS
Use BIOS calls to update the screen display quickly and to read
- the keyboard (allowing the use of arrow keys to move) on ma-
- chines with an IBM PC compatible BIOS ROM (default off, OS/2,
+ the keyboard (allowing the use of arrow keys to move) on ma-
+ chines with an IBM PC compatible BIOS ROM (default off, OS/2,
PC, and ST NetHack only).
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
(default on, Mac NetHack only).
rawio
- Force raw (non-cbreak) mode for faster output and more bullet-
- proof input (MS-DOS sometimes treats `^P' as a printer toggle
- without it) (default off, OS/2, PC, and ST NetHack only).
- Note: DEC Rainbows hang if this is turned on. Cannot be set
+ Force raw (non-cbreak) mode for faster output and more bullet-
+ proof input (MS-DOS sometimes treats `^P' as a printer toggle
+ without it) (default off, OS/2, PC, and ST NetHack only).
+ Note: DEC Rainbows hang if this is turned on. Cannot be set
with the `O' command.
soundcard
mand.
subkeyvalue
- (Win32 tty NetHack only). May be used to alter the value of
+ (Win32 tty NetHack only). May be used to alter the value of
keystrokes that the operating system returns to NetHack to help
- compensate for international keyboard issues. OPTIONS=subkey-
- value:171/92 will return 92 to NetHack, if 171 was originally
- going to be returned. You can use multiple subkeyvalue state-
- ments in the configuration file if needed. Cannot be set with
+ compensate for international keyboard issues. OPTIONS=subkey-
+ value:171/92 will return 92 to NetHack, if 171 was originally
+ going to be returned. You can use multiple subkeyvalue state-
+ ments in the configuration file if needed. Cannot be set with
the `O' command.
video
Set the video mode used (PC NetHack only). Values are "autode-
- tect", "default", or "vga". Setting "vga" (or "autodetect"
- with vga hardware present) will cause the game to display
+ tect", "default", or "vga". Setting "vga" (or "autodetect"
+ with vga hardware present) will cause the game to display
tiles. Cannot be set with the `O' command.
videocolors
- Set the color palette for PC systems using NO_TERMS (default
- 4-2-6-1-5-3-15-12-10-14-9-13-11, (PC NetHack only). The order
- of colors is red, green, brown, blue, magenta, cyan,
- bright.white, bright.red, bright.green, yellow, bright.blue,
- bright.magenta, and bright.cyan. Cannot be set with the `O'
+ Set the color palette for PC systems using NO_TERMS (default
+ 4-2-6-1-5-3-15-12-10-14-9-13-11, (PC NetHack only). The order
+ of colors is red, green, brown, blue, magenta, cyan,
+ bright.white, bright.red, bright.green, yellow, bright.blue,
+ bright.magenta, and bright.cyan. Cannot be set with the `O'
command.
videoshades
Set the intensity level of the three gray scales available (de-
fault dark normal light, PC NetHack only). If the game display
- is difficult to read, try adjusting these scales; if this does
- not correct the problem, try !color. Cannot be set with the
+ is difficult to read, try adjusting these scales; if this does
+ not correct the problem, try !color. Cannot be set with the
`O' command.
9.7. Regular Expressions
- Regular expressions are normally POSIX extended regular ex-
- pressions. It is possible to compile NetHack without regular
+ Regular expressions are normally POSIX extended regular ex-
+ pressions. It is possible to compile NetHack without regular
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- expression support on a platform where there is no regular ex-
- pression library. While this is not true of any modern platform,
- if your NetHack was built this way, patterns are instead glob
- patterns. This applies to Autopickup exceptions, Message types,
+ expression support on a platform where there is no regular ex-
+ pression library. While this is not true of any modern platform,
+ if your NetHack was built this way, patterns are instead glob
+ patterns. This applies to Autopickup exceptions, Message types,
Menu colors, and User sounds.
9.8. Configuring Autopickup Exceptions
You can further refine the behavior of the autopickup option
beyond what is available through the pickup_types option.
- By placing autopickup_exception lines in your configuration
- file, you can define patterns to be checked when the game is
+ By placing autopickup_exception lines in your configuration
+ file, you can define patterns to be checked when the game is
about to autopickup something.
autopickup_exception
- Sets an exception to the pickup_types option. The autopick-
- up_exception option should be followed by a regular expression
- to be used as a pattern to match against the singular form of
+ Sets an exception to the pickup_types option. The autopick-
+ up_exception option should be followed by a regular expression
+ to be used as a pattern to match against the singular form of
the description of an object at your location.
- In addition, some characters are treated specially if they oc-
+ In addition, some characters are treated specially if they oc-
cur as the first character in the pattern, specifically:
< - always pickup an object that matches rest of pattern;
> - never pickup an object that matches rest of pattern.
- The autopickup_exception rules are processed in the order in
- which they appear in your configuration file, thus allowing a
+ The autopickup_exception rules are processed in the order in
+ which they appear in your configuration file, thus allowing a
later rule to override an earlier rule.
- Exceptions can be set with the `O' command, but because they
- are not included in your configuration file, they won't be in
- effect if you save and then restore your game. autopickup_ex-
+ Exceptions can be set with the `O' command, but because they
+ are not included in your configuration file, they won't be in
+ effect if you save and then restore your game. autopickup_ex-
ception rules and not saved with the game.
Here are some examples:
autopickup_exception=">*corpse"
autopickup_exception=">* cursed*"
- The first example above will result in autopickup of any
- type of arrow. The second example results in the exclusion of
- any corpse from autopickup. The last example results in the ex-
+ The first example above will result in autopickup of any
+ type of arrow. The second example results in the exclusion of
+ any corpse from autopickup. The last example results in the ex-
clusion of items known to be cursed from autopickup.
9.9. Changing Key Bindings
- It is possible to change the default key bindings of some
- special commands, menu accelerator keys, and extended commands,
- by using BIND stanzas in the configuration file. Format is key,
- followed by the command to bind to, separated by a colon. The
+ It is possible to change the default key bindings of some
+ special commands, menu accelerator keys, and extended commands,
+ by using BIND stanzas in the configuration file. Format is key,
+ followed by the command to bind to, separated by a colon. The
key can be a single character ("x"), a control key ("^X", "C-x"),
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
BIND=v:loot
Extended command keys
- You can bind multiple keys to the same extended command. Un-
- bind a key by using "nothing" as the extended command to bind
- to. You can also bind the "<esc>", "<enter>", and "<space>"
+ You can bind multiple keys to the same extended command. Un-
+ bind a key by using "nothing" as the extended command to bind
+ to. You can also bind the "<esc>", "<enter>", and "<space>"
keys.
Menu accelerator keys
- The menu control or accelerator keys can also be rebound via
- OPTIONS lines in the configuration file. You cannot bind ob-
+ The menu control or accelerator keys can also be rebound via
+ OPTIONS lines in the configuration file. You cannot bind ob-
ject symbols into menu accelerators.
Special command keys
- Below are the special commands you can rebind. Some of them
- can be bound to same keys with no problems, others are in the
- same "context", and if bound to same keys, only one of those
- commands will be available. Special command can only be bound
+ Below are the special commands you can rebind. Some of them
+ can be bound to same keys with no problems, others are in the
+ same "context", and if bound to same keys, only one of those
+ commands will be available. Special command can only be bound
to a single key.
count
- Prefix key to start a count, to repeat a command this many
+ Prefix key to start a count, to repeat a command this many
times. With number_pad only. Default is `n'.
doinv
Prefix key to force fight a direction. Default is `F'.
fight.numpad
- Prefix key to force fight a direction. With number_pad only.
+ Prefix key to force fight a direction. With number_pad only.
Default is `-'.
getdir.help
- When asked for a direction, the key to show the help. Default
+ When asked for a direction, the key to show the help. Default
is `?'.
getdir.self
- When asked for a direction, the key to target yourself. De-
+ When asked for a direction, the key to target yourself. De-
fault is `.'.
getdir.self2
- When asked for a direction, the key to target yourself. De-
+ When asked for a direction, the key to target yourself. De-
fault is `s'.
getpos.autodescribe
- When asked for a location, the key to toggle autodescribe.
+ When asked for a location, the key to toggle autodescribe.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
esting thing. Default is `a'.
getpos.all.prev
- When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
interesting thing. Default is `A'.
getpos.door.next
- When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest door
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest door
or doorway. Default is `d'.
getpos.door.prev
- When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
door or doorway. Default is `D'.
getpos.help
- When asked for a location, the key to show help. Default is
+ When asked for a location, the key to show help. Default is
`?'.
getpos.mon.next
- When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest mon-
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest mon-
ster. Default is `m'.
getpos.mon.prev
- When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
monster. Default is `M'.
getpos.obj.next
- When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest ob-
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest ob-
ject. Default is `o'.
getpos.obj.prev
- When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
object. Default is `O'.
getpos.menu
- When asked for a location, and using one of the next or previ-
- ous keys to cycle through targets, toggle showing a menu in-
+ When asked for a location, and using one of the next or previ-
+ ous keys to cycle through targets, toggle showing a menu in-
stead. Default is `!'.
getpos.moveskip
- When asked for a location, and using the shifted movement keys
- or meta-digit keys to fast-move around, move by skipping the
+ When asked for a location, and using the shifted movement keys
+ or meta-digit keys to fast-move around, move by skipping the
same glyphs instead of by 8 units. Default is `*'.
getpos.filter
When asked for a location, change the filtering mode when using
- one of the next or previous keys to cycle through targets.
- Toggles between no filtering, in view only, and in the same
+ one of the next or previous keys to cycle through targets.
+ Toggles between no filtering, in view only, and in the same
area only. Default is `"'.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
getpos.pick
- When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, and
+ When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, and
possibly ask for more info. Default is `.'.
getpos.pick.once
- When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, and
+ When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, and
skip asking for more info. Default is `,'.
getpos.pick.quick
When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, skip
- asking for more info, and exit the location asking loop. De-
+ asking for more info, and exit the location asking loop. De-
fault is `;'.
getpos.pick.verbose
- When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, and
+ When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, and
show more info without asking. Default is `:'.
getpos.self
fault is `@'.
getpos.unexplored.next
- When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest unex-
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest unex-
plored location. Default is `x'.
getpos.unexplored.prev
- When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
unexplored location. Default is `X'.
getpos.valid
- When asked for a location, the key to go to show valid target
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to show valid target
locations. Default is `$'.
getpos.valid.next
- When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest valid
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest valid
location. Default is `z'.
getpos.valid.prev
- When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
valid location. Default is `Z'.
nopickup
Key to redraw the screen. Default is `^R'.
redraw.numpad
- Key to redraw the screen. With number_pad only. Default is
+ Key to redraw the screen. With number_pad only. Default is
`^L'.
repeat
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
Prefix key to run towards a direction. Default is `G'.
run.nopickup
- Prefix key to run towards a direction without picking up items
+ Prefix key to run towards a direction without picking up items
on the way. Default is `M'.
run.numpad
- Prefix key to run towards a direction. With number_pad only.
+ Prefix key to run towards a direction. With number_pad only.
Default is `5'.
rush
You can change the way the messages are shown in the message
area, when the message matches a user-defined pattern.
- In general, the configuration file entries to describe the
+ In general, the configuration file entries to describe the
message types look like this: MSGTYPE=type "pattern"
type - how the message should be shown;
show - show message normally;
hide - never show the message;
stop - wait for user with more-prompt;
- norep - show the message once, but not again if no other mes-
+ norep - show the message once, but not again if no other mes-
sage is shown in between.
- Here's an example of message types using NetHack's internal
+ Here's an example of message types using NetHack's internal
pattern matching facility:
MSGTYPE=stop "You feel hungry."
MSGTYPE=hide "You displaced *."
- specifies that whenever a message "You feel hungry" is shown,
- the user is prompted with more-prompt, and a message matching
+ specifies that whenever a message "You feel hungry" is shown,
+ the user is prompted with more-prompt, and a message matching
"You displaced <something>." is not shown at all.
- The order of the defined MSGTYPE lines is important; the last
- matching rule is used. Put the general case first, exceptions
+ The order of the defined MSGTYPE lines is important; the last
+ matching rule is used. Put the general case first, exceptions
below them.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
9.11. Configuring Menu Colors
Some platforms allow you to define colors used in menu lines
- when the line matches a user-defined pattern. At this time the
+ when the line matches a user-defined pattern. At this time the
tty, curses, win32tty and win32gui interfaces support this.
- In general, the configuration file entries to describe the
+ In general, the configuration file entries to describe the
menu color mappings look like this:
MENUCOLOR="pattern"=color&attribute
pattern - the pattern to match;
- color - the color to use for lines matching the pat-
+ color - the color to use for lines matching the pat-
tern;
- attribute - the attribute to use for lines matching the
- pattern. The attribute is optional, and if
+ attribute - the attribute to use for lines matching the
+ pattern. The attribute is optional, and if
left out, you must also leave out the preced-
- ing ampersand. If no attribute is defined,
+ ing ampersand. If no attribute is defined,
no attribute is used.
The pattern should be a regular expression.
- Allowed colors are black, red, green, brown, blue, magenta,
- cyan, gray, orange, light-green, yellow, light-blue, light-ma-
- genta, light-cyan, and white. And no-color, the default fore-
- ground color, which isn't necessarily the same as any of the
+ Allowed colors are black, red, green, brown, blue, magenta,
+ cyan, gray, orange, light-green, yellow, light-blue, light-ma-
+ genta, light-cyan, and white. And no-color, the default fore-
+ ground color, which isn't necessarily the same as any of the
other colors.
- Allowed attributes are none, bold, dim, underline, blink, and
- inverse. "Normal" is a synonym for "none". Note that the
+ Allowed attributes are none, bold, dim, underline, blink, and
+ inverse. "Normal" is a synonym for "none". Note that the
platform used may interpret the attributes any way it wants.
- Here's an example of menu colors using NetHack's internal pat-
+ Here's an example of menu colors using NetHack's internal pat-
tern matching facility:
MENUCOLOR="* blessed *"=green
MENUCOLOR="* cursed *"=red
MENUCOLOR="* cursed *(being worn)"=red&underline
- specifies that any menu line with " blessed " contained in it
- will be shown in green color, lines with " cursed " will be
- shown in red, and lines with " cursed " followed by "(being
- worn)" on the same line will be shown in red color and under-
+ specifies that any menu line with " blessed " contained in it
+ will be shown in green color, lines with " cursed " will be
+ shown in red, and lines with " cursed " followed by "(being
+ worn)" on the same line will be shown in red color and under-
lined. You can have multiple MENUCOLOR entries in your config-
- uration file, and the last MENUCOLOR line that matches a menu
+ uration file, and the last MENUCOLOR line that matches a menu
line will be used for the line.
Note that if you intend to have one or more color specifica-
- tions match " uncursed ", you will probably want to turn the im-
+ tions match " uncursed ", you will probably want to turn the im-
plicit_uncursed option off so that all items known to be uncursed
are actually displayed with the "uncursed" description.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
9.12. Configuring User Sounds
- Some platforms allow you to define sound files to be played
- when a message that matches a user-defined pattern is delivered
+ Some platforms allow you to define sound files to be played
+ when a message that matches a user-defined pattern is delivered
to the message window. At this time the Qt port and the win32tty
and win32gui ports support the use of user sounds.
- The following configuration file entries are relevant to
+ The following configuration file entries are relevant to
mapping user sounds to messages:
SOUNDDIR
The directory that houses the sound files to be played.
SOUND
- An entry that maps a sound file to a user-specified message
- pattern. Each SOUND entry is broken down into the following
+ An entry that maps a sound file to a user-specified message
+ pattern. Each SOUND entry is broken down into the following
parts:
- MESG - message window mapping (the only one supported in
+ MESG - message window mapping (the only one supported in
3.6);
pattern - the pattern to match;
sound file - the sound file to play;
9.13. Configuring Status Hilites
Your copy of NetHack may have been compiled with support for
- "Status Hilites". If so, you can customize your game display by
+ "Status Hilites". If so, you can customize your game display by
setting thresholds to change the color or appearance of fields in
the status display.
OPTION=hilite_status:field-name/behavior/color&attributes
- For example, the following line in your configuration file
- will cause the hitpoints field to display in the color red if
+ For example, the following line in your configuration file
+ will cause the hitpoints field to display in the color red if
your hitpoints drop to or below a threshold of 30%:
OPTION=hilite_status:hitpoints/<=30%/red/normal
(That example is actually specifying red&normal for <=30% and no-
color&normal for >30%.)
- For another example, the following line in your configura-
- tion file will cause wisdom to be displayed red if it drops and
+ For another example, the following line in your configura-
+ tion file will cause wisdom to be displayed red if it drops and
green if it rises:
OPTION=hilite_status:wisdom/down/red/up/green
- Allowed colors are black, red, green, brown, blue, magenta,
+ Allowed colors are black, red, green, brown, blue, magenta,
cyan, gray, orange, light-green, yellow, light-blue, light-
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- magenta, light-cyan, and white. And "no-color", the default
- foreground color on the display, which is not necessarily the
+ magenta, light-cyan, and white. And "no-color", the default
+ foreground color on the display, which is not necessarily the
same as black or white or any of the other colors.
- Allowed attributes are none, bold, dim, underline, blink,
- and inverse. "Normal" is a synonym for "none"; they should not
+ Allowed attributes are none, bold, dim, underline, blink,
+ and inverse. "Normal" is a synonym for "none"; they should not
be used in combination with any of the other attributes.
To specify both a color and an attribute, use `&' to combine
- them. To specify multiple attributes, use `+' to combine those.
+ them. To specify multiple attributes, use `+' to combine those.
For example: "magenta&inverse+dim".
- Note that the display may substitute or ignore particular
- attributes depending upon its capabilities, and in general may
- interpret the attributes any way it wants. For example, on some
+ Note that the display may substitute or ignore particular
+ attributes depending upon its capabilities, and in general may
+ interpret the attributes any way it wants. For example, on some
display systems a request for bold might yield blink or vice ver-
sa. On others, issuing an attribute request while another is al-
- ready set up will replace the earlier attribute rather than com-
- bine with it. Since NetHack issues attribute requests sequen-
+ ready set up will replace the earlier attribute rather than com-
+ bine with it. Since NetHack issues attribute requests sequen-
tially (at least with the tty interface) rather than all at once,
the only way a situation like that can be controlled is to speci-
fy just one attribute.
- You can adjust the appearance of the following status
+ You can adjust the appearance of the following status
fields:
title dungeon-level experience-level
strength gold experience
charisma armor-class condition
alignment score
- The pseudo-field "characteristics" can be used to set all six
- of Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, and Cha at once. "HD" is "hit
- dice", an approximation of experience level displayed when
- polymorphed. "experience", "time", and "score" are condition-
+ The pseudo-field "characteristics" can be used to set all six
+ of Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, and Cha at once. "HD" is "hit
+ dice", an approximation of experience level displayed when
+ polymorphed. "experience", "time", and "score" are condition-
ally displayed depending upon your other option settings.
- Instead of a behavior, "condition" takes the following condi-
- tion flags: stone, slime, strngl, foodpois, termill, blind,
- deaf, stun, conf, hallu, lev, fly, and ride. You can use "ma-
- jor_troubles" as an alias for stone through termill, "mi-
+ Instead of a behavior, "condition" takes the following condi-
+ tion flags: stone, slime, strngl, foodpois, termill, blind,
+ deaf, stun, conf, hallu, lev, fly, and ride. You can use "ma-
+ jor_troubles" as an alias for stone through termill, "mi-
nor_troubles" for blind through hallu, "movement" for lev, fly,
and ride, and "all" for every condition.
* "always" will set the default attributes for that field.
- * "up", "down" set the field attributes for when the field
- value changes upwards or downwards. This attribute times
+ * "up", "down" set the field attributes for when the field
+ value changes upwards or downwards. This attribute times
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
out after statushilites turns.
* "changed" sets the field attribute for when the field val-
- ue changes. This attribute times out after statushilites
- turns. (If a field has both a "changed" rule and an "up"
- or "down" rule which matches a change in the field's val-
+ ue changes. This attribute times out after statushilites
+ turns. (If a field has both a "changed" rule and an "up"
+ or "down" rule which matches a change in the field's val-
ue, the "up" or "down" one takes precedence.)
- * percentage sets the field attribute when the field value
- matches the percentage. It is specified as a number be-
- tween 0 and 100, followed by `%' (percent sign). If the
- percentage is prefixed with `<=' or `>=', it also matches
- when value is below or above the percentage. Use prefix
- `<' or `>' to match when strictly below or above. (The
- numeric limit is relaxed slightly for those: >-1% and
- <101% are allowed.) Only four fields support percentage
- rules. Percentages for "hitpoints" and "power" are
- straightforward; they're based on the corresponding maxi-
- mum field. Percentage highlight rules are also allowed
+ * percentage sets the field attribute when the field value
+ matches the percentage. It is specified as a number be-
+ tween 0 and 100, followed by `%' (percent sign). If the
+ percentage is prefixed with `<=' or `>=', it also matches
+ when value is below or above the percentage. Use prefix
+ `<' or `>' to match when strictly below or above. (The
+ numeric limit is relaxed slightly for those: >-1% and
+ <101% are allowed.) Only four fields support percentage
+ rules. Percentages for "hitpoints" and "power" are
+ straightforward; they're based on the corresponding maxi-
+ mum field. Percentage highlight rules are also allowed
for "experience level" and "experience points" (valid when
the showexp option is enabled). For those, the percentage
is based on the progress from the start of the current ex-
perience level to the start of the next level. So if lev-
- el 2 starts at 20 points and level 3 starts at 40 points,
- having 30 points is 50% and 35 points is 75%. 100% is
- unattainable for experience because you'll gain a level
+ el 2 starts at 20 points and level 3 starts at 40 points,
+ having 30 points is 50% and 35 points is 75%. 100% is
+ unattainable for experience because you'll gain a level
and the calculations will be reset for that new level, but
- a rule for =100% is allowed and matches the special case
+ a rule for =100% is allowed and matches the special case
of being exactly 1 experience point short of the next lev-
el.
- * absolute value sets the attribute when the field value
- matches that number. The number must be 0 or higher, ex-
- cept for "armor-class' which allows negative values, and
- may optionally be preceded by `='. If the number is pre-
- ceded by `<=' or `>=' instead, it also matches when value
- is below or above. If the prefix is `<' or `>', only
+ * absolute value sets the attribute when the field value
+ matches that number. The number must be 0 or higher, ex-
+ cept for "armor-class' which allows negative values, and
+ may optionally be preceded by `='. If the number is pre-
+ ceded by `<=' or `>=' instead, it also matches when value
+ is below or above. If the prefix is `<' or `>', only
match when strictly above or below.
* text match sets the attribute when the field value matches
- the text. Text matches can only be used for "alignment",
- "carrying-capacity", "hunger", "dungeon-level", and "ti-
- tle". For title, only the role's rank title is tested;
+ the text. Text matches can only be used for "alignment",
+ "carrying-capacity", "hunger", "dungeon-level", and "ti-
+ tle". For title, only the role's rank title is tested;
the character's name is ignored.
- The in-game options menu can help you determine the correct
+ The in-game options menu can help you determine the correct
syntax for a configuration file.
- The whole feature can be disabled by setting option sta-
+ The whole feature can be disabled by setting option sta-
tushilites to 0.
Example hilites:
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
NetHack can load entire symbol sets from the symbol file.
- The options that are used to select a particular symbol set
+ The options that are used to select a particular symbol set
from the symbol file are:
symset
Set the name of the symbol set that you want to load.
roguesymset
- Set the name of the symbol set that you want to load for dis-
+ Set the name of the symbol set that you want to load for dis-
play on the rogue level.
- You can also override one or more symbols using the SYMBOLS
- and ROGUESYMBOLS configuration file options. Symbols are speci-
+ You can also override one or more symbols using the SYMBOLS
+ and ROGUESYMBOLS configuration file options. Symbols are speci-
fied as name:value pairs. Note that NetHack escape-processes the
- value string in conventional C fashion. This means that \ is a
- prefix to take the following character literally. Thus \ needs
- to be represented as \\. The special prefix form \m switches on
- the meta bit in the symbol value, and the ^ prefix causes the
+ value string in conventional C fashion. This means that \ is a
+ prefix to take the following character literally. Thus \ needs
+ to be represented as \\. The special prefix form \m switches on
+ the meta bit in the symbol value, and the ^ prefix causes the
following character to be treated as a control character.
NetHack Symbols
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
Notes:
* Several symbols in this table appear to be blank. They are the
- space character, except for S_pet_override and S_hero_override
- which don't have any default value and can only be used if en-
+ space character, except for S_pet_override and S_hero_override
+ which don't have any default value and can only be used if en-
abled in the "sysconf" file.
- * S_rock is misleadingly named; rocks and stones use S_gem.
- Statues and boulders are the rock being referred to, but since
- version 3.6.0, statues are displayed as the monster they de-
- pict. So S_rock is only used for boulders and not used at all
+ * S_rock is misleadingly named; rocks and stones use S_gem.
+ Statues and boulders are the rock being referred to, but since
+ version 3.6.0, statues are displayed as the monster they de-
+ pict. So S_rock is only used for boulders and not used at all
if overridden by the more specific S_boulder.
9.15. Configuring NetHack for Play by the Blind
- NetHack can be set up to use only standard ASCII characters
- for making maps of the dungeons. This makes the MS-DOS versions
- of NetHack completely accessible to the blind who use speech
- and/or Braille access technologies. Players will require a good
- working knowledge of their screen-reader's review features, and
- will have to know how to navigate horizontally and vertically
- character by character. They will also find the search capabili-
- ties of their screen-readers to be quite valuable. Be certain to
- examine this Guidebook before playing so you have an idea what
- the screen layout is like. You'll also need to be able to locate
- the PC cursor. It is always where your character is located.
- Merely searching for an @-sign will not always find your charac-
+ NetHack can be set up to use only standard ASCII characters
+ for making maps of the dungeons. This makes the MS-DOS versions
+ of NetHack completely accessible to the blind who use speech
+ and/or Braille access technologies. Players will require a good
+ working knowledge of their screen-reader's review features, and
+ will have to know how to navigate horizontally and vertically
+ character by character. They will also find the search capabili-
+ ties of their screen-readers to be quite valuable. Be certain to
+ examine this Guidebook before playing so you have an idea what
+ the screen layout is like. You'll also need to be able to locate
+ the PC cursor. It is always where your character is located.
+ Merely searching for an @-sign will not always find your charac-
ter since there are other humanoids represented by the same sign.
- Your screen-reader should also have a function which gives you
- the row and column of your review cursor and the PC cursor.
- These co-ordinates are often useful in giving players a better
+ Your screen-reader should also have a function which gives you
+ the row and column of your review cursor and the PC cursor.
+ These co-ordinates are often useful in giving players a better
sense of the overall location of items on the screen.
- NetHack can also be compiled with support for sending the
- game messages to an external program, such as a text-to-speech
- synthesizer. If the "#version" extended command shows "external
- program as a message handler", your NetHack has been compiled
+ NetHack can also be compiled with support for sending the
+ game messages to an external program, such as a text-to-speech
+ synthesizer. If the "#version" extended command shows "external
+ program as a message handler", your NetHack has been compiled
with the capability. When compiling NetHack from source on Linux
- and other POSIX systems, define MSGHANDLER to enable it. To use
- the capability, set the environment variable NETHACK_MSGHANDLER
+ and other POSIX systems, define MSGHANDLER to enable it. To use
+ the capability, set the environment variable NETHACK_MSGHANDLER
to an executable, which will be executed with the game message as
the program's only parameter.
- While it is not difficult for experienced users to edit the
- defaults.nh file to accomplish this, novices may find this task
+ While it is not difficult for experienced users to edit the
+ defaults.nh file to accomplish this, novices may find this task
somewhat daunting. Included within the "symbols" file of all of-
ficial distributions of NetHack is a symset called NHAccess. Se-
- lecting that symset in your configuration file will cause the
- game to run in a manner accessible to the blind. After you have
- gained some experience with the game and with editing files, you
+ lecting that symset in your configuration file will cause the
+ game to run in a manner accessible to the blind. After you have
+ gained some experience with the game and with editing files, you
may want to alter settings via SYMBOLS= and ROGUESYMBOLS= in your
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
configuration file to better suit your preferences. See the pre-
- vious section for the special symbols S_pet_override to force a
- consistent symbol for all pets and S_hero_override to force a
- unique symbol for the player character if accessibility is en-
+ vious section for the special symbols S_pet_override to force a
+ consistent symbol for all pets and S_hero_override to force a
+ unique symbol for the player character if accessibility is en-
abled in the sysconf file.
- The most crucial settings to make the game more accessible
+ The most crucial settings to make the game more accessible
are:
symset:NHAccess
Load a symbol set appropriate for use by blind players.
roguesymset:NHAccess
- Load a symbol set for the rogue level that is appropriate for
+ Load a symbol set for the rogue level that is appropriate for
use by blind players.
menustyle:traditional
Show menus on a cleared screen and aligned to the left edge.
number_pad
- A lot of speech access programs use the number-pad to review
+ A lot of speech access programs use the number-pad to review
the screen. If this is the case, disable the number_pad option
and use the traditional Rogue-like commands.
autodescribe
- Automatically describe the terrain under the cursor when tar-
+ Automatically describe the terrain under the cursor when tar-
geting.
mention_walls
- Give feedback messages when walking towards a wall or when
+ Give feedback messages when walking towards a wall or when
travel command was interrupted.
whatis_coord:compass
- When targeting with cursor, describe the cursor position with
+ When targeting with cursor, describe the cursor position with
coordinates relative to your character.
whatis_filter:area
- When targeting with cursor, filter possible locations so only
- those in the same area (eg. same room, or same corridor) are
+ When targeting with cursor, filter possible locations so only
+ those in the same area (eg. same room, or same corridor) are
considered.
whatis_moveskip
- When targeting with cursor and using fast-move, skip the same
+ When targeting with cursor and using fast-move, skip the same
glyphs instead of moving 8 units at a time.
nostatus_updates
- Prevent updates to the status lines at the bottom of the
- screen, if your screen-reader reads those lines. The same in-
+ Prevent updates to the status lines at the bottom of the
+ screen, if your screen-reader reads those lines. The same in-
formation can be seen via the "#attributes" command.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
9.16. Global Configuration for System Administrators
- If NetHack is compiled with the SYSCF option, a system ad-
- ministrator should set up a global configuration; this is a file
+ If NetHack is compiled with the SYSCF option, a system ad-
+ ministrator should set up a global configuration; this is a file
in the same format as the traditional per-user configuration file
(see above). This file should be named sysconf and placed in the
- same directory as the other NetHack support files. The options
+ same directory as the other NetHack support files. The options
recognized in this file are listed below. Any option not set us-
- es a compiled-in default (which may not be appropriate for your
+ es a compiled-in default (which may not be appropriate for your
system).
- WIZARDS = A space-separated list of user names who are allowed
+ WIZARDS = A space-separated list of user names who are allowed
to play in debug mode (commonly referred to as wizard mode). A
value of a single asterisk (*) allows anyone to start a game in
debug mode.
SHELLERS = A list of users who are allowed to use the shell es-
cape command (!). The syntax is the same as WIZARDS.
- EXPLORERS = A list of users who are allowed to use the explore
+ EXPLORERS = A list of users who are allowed to use the explore
mode. The syntax is the same as WIZARDS.
MAXPLAYERS = Limit the maximum number of games that can be run-
ning at the same time.
- SUPPORT = A string explaining how to get local support (no de-
+ SUPPORT = A string explaining how to get local support (no de-
fault value).
- RECOVER = A string explaining how to recover a game on this
+ RECOVER = A string explaining how to recover a game on this
system (no default value).
- SEDUCE = 0 or 1 to disable or enable, respectively, the SEDUCE
+ SEDUCE = 0 or 1 to disable or enable, respectively, the SEDUCE
option. When disabled, incubi and succubi behave like nymphs.
- CHECK_PLNAME = Setting this to 1 will make the EXPLORERS, WIZ-
+ CHECK_PLNAME = Setting this to 1 will make the EXPLORERS, WIZ-
ARDS, and SHELLERS check for the player name instead of the us-
er's login name.
CHECK_SAVE_UID = 0 or 1 to disable or enable, respectively, the
- UID (used identification number) checking for save files (to
- verify that the user who is restoring is the same one who
+ UID (used identification number) checking for save files (to
+ verify that the user who is restoring is the same one who
saved).
The following options affect the score file:
ENTRYMAX = Maximum number of entries in the score file.
- POINTSMIN = Minimum number of points to get an entry in the
+ POINTSMIN = Minimum number of points to get an entry in the
score file.
- PERS_IS_UID = 0 or 1 to use user names or numeric userids, re-
+ PERS_IS_UID = 0 or 1 to use user names or numeric userids, re-
spectively, to identify unique people for the score file.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- MAX_STATUENAME_RANK = Maximum number of score file entries to
+ MAX_STATUENAME_RANK = Maximum number of score file entries to
use for random statue names (default is 10).
- ACCESSIBILITY = 0 or 1 to disable or enable, respectively, the
- ability for players to set S_pet_override and S_hero_override
+ ACCESSIBILITY = 0 or 1 to disable or enable, respectively, the
+ ability for players to set S_pet_override and S_hero_override
symbols in their configuration file.
- PORTABLE_DEVICE_PATHS = 0 or 1 Windows OS only, the game will
- look for all of its external files, and write to all of its
- output files in one place rather than at the standard loca-
+ PORTABLE_DEVICE_PATHS = 0 or 1 Windows OS only, the game will
+ look for all of its external files, and write to all of its
+ output files in one place rather than at the standard loca-
tions.
DUMPLOGFILE = A filename where the end-of-game dumplog is
- saved. Not defining this will prevent dumplog from being cre-
+ saved. Not defining this will prevent dumplog from being cre-
ated. Only available if your game is compiled with DUMPLOG. Al-
lows the following placeholders:
10. Scoring
- NetHack maintains a list of the top scores or scorers on
+ NetHack maintains a list of the top scores or scorers on
your machine, depending on how it is set up. 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, you will be inserted in the
- proper place under your current name. How many scores are kept
+ 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, you will be inserted in the
+ proper place under your current name. How many scores are kept
can also be set up when NetHack is compiled.
- Your score is chiefly based upon how much experience you
+ Your score is chiefly based upon how much experience you
gained, how much loot you accumulated, how deep you explored, and
how the game ended. If you quit the game, you escape with all of
- your gold intact. If, however, you get killed in the Mazes of
+ your gold intact. If, however, you get killed in the Mazes of
Menace, the guild will only hear about 90% of your gold when your
- corpse is discovered (adventurers have been known to collect
- finder's fees). So, consider whether you want to take one last
- hit at that monster and possibly live, or quit and stop with
- whatever you have. If you quit, you keep all your gold, but if
+ corpse is discovered (adventurers have been known to collect
+ finder's fees). So, consider whether you want to take one last
+ hit at that monster and possibly live, or quit and stop with
+ whatever you have. If you quit, you keep all your gold, but if
you swing and live, you might find more.
- If you just want to see what the current top players/games
+ If you just want to see what the current top players/games
list is, you can type nethack -s all on most versions.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
11. Explore mode
- NetHack is an intricate and difficult game. Novices might
+ NetHack is an intricate and difficult game. Novices might
falter in fear, aware of their ignorance of the means to survive.
Well, fear not. Your dungeon comes equipped with an "explore" or
- "discovery" mode that enables you to keep old save files and
- cheat death, at the paltry cost of not getting on the high score
+ "discovery" mode that enables you to keep old save files and
+ cheat death, at the paltry cost of not getting on the high score
list.
- There are two ways of enabling explore mode. One is to
- start the game with the -X command-line switch or with the play-
- mode:explore option. The other is to issue the "#exploremode"
- extended command while already playing the game. Starting a new
+ There are two ways of enabling explore mode. One is to
+ start the game with the -X command-line switch or with the play-
+ mode:explore option. The other is to issue the "#exploremode"
+ extended command while already playing the game. Starting a new
game in explore mode provides your character with a wand of wish-
- ing in initial inventory; switching during play does not. The
- other benefits of explore mode are left for the trepid reader to
+ ing in initial inventory; switching during play does not. The
+ other benefits of explore mode are left for the trepid reader to
discover.
11.1. Debug mode
Debug mode, also known as wizard mode, is undocumented aside
- from this brief description and the various "debug mode only"
- commands listed among the command descriptions. It is intended
+ from this brief description and the various "debug mode only"
+ commands listed among the command descriptions. It is intended
for tracking down problems within the program rather than to pro-
- vide god-like powers to your character, and players who attempt
- debugging are expected to figure out how to use it themselves.
- It is initiated by starting the game with the -D command-line
+ vide god-like powers to your character, and players who attempt
+ debugging are expected to figure out how to use it themselves.
+ It is initiated by starting the game with the -D command-line
switch or with the playmode:debug option.
- For some systems, the player must be logged in under a par-
- ticular user name to be allowed to use debug mode; for others,
- the hero must be given a particular character name (but may be
- any role; there's no connection between "wizard mode" and the
- Wizard role). Attempting to start a game in debug mode when not
- allowed or not available will result in falling back to explore
+ For some systems, the player must be logged in under a par-
+ ticular user name to be allowed to use debug mode; for others,
+ the hero must be given a particular character name (but may be
+ any role; there's no connection between "wizard mode" and the
+ Wizard role). Attempting to start a game in debug mode when not
+ allowed or not available will result in falling back to explore
mode instead.
12. Credits
- The original hack game was modeled on the Berkeley UNIX
- rogue game. Large portions of this paper were shamelessly
- cribbed from A Guide to the Dungeons of Doom, by Michael C. Toy
- and Kenneth C. R. C. Arnold. Small portions were adapted from
+ The original hack game was modeled on the Berkeley UNIX
+ rogue game. Large portions of this paper were shamelessly
+ cribbed from A Guide to the Dungeons of Doom, by Michael C. Toy
+ and Kenneth C. R. C. Arnold. Small portions were adapted from
Further Exploration of the Dungeons of Doom, by Ken Arromdee.
NetHack is the product of literally dozens of people's work.
- Main events in the course of the game development are described
+ Main events in the course of the game development are described
below:
- Jay Fenlason wrote the original Hack, with help from Kenny
+ Jay Fenlason wrote the original Hack, with help from Kenny
Woodland, Mike Thome and Jon Payne.
Andries Brouwer did a major re-write, transforming Hack into
- a very different game, and published (at least) three versions
+ a very different game, and published (at least) three versions
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
(1.0.1, 1.0.2, and 1.0.3) for UNIX machines to the Usenet.
- Don G. Kneller ported Hack 1.0.3 to Microsoft C and MS-DOS,
- producing PC HACK 1.01e, added support for DEC Rainbow graphics
- in version 1.03g, and went on to produce at least four more ver-
+ Don G. Kneller ported Hack 1.0.3 to Microsoft C and MS-DOS,
+ producing PC HACK 1.01e, added support for DEC Rainbow graphics
+ in version 1.03g, and went on to produce at least four more ver-
sions (3.0, 3.2, 3.51, and 3.6).
- R. Black ported PC HACK 3.51 to Lattice C and the Atari
+ R. Black ported PC HACK 3.51 to Lattice C and the Atari
520/1040ST, producing ST Hack 1.03.
Mike Stephenson merged these various versions back together,
- incorporating many of the added features, and produced NetHack
- 1.4. He then coordinated a cast of thousands in enhancing and
+ incorporating many of the added features, and produced NetHack
+ 1.4. He then coordinated a cast of thousands in enhancing and
debugging NetHack 1.4 and released NetHack versions 2.2 and 2.3.
Later, Mike coordinated a major rewrite of the game, heading
Creps, Eric Hendrickson, Izchak Miller, John Rupley, Mike Threep-
oint, and Janet Walz, to produce NetHack 3.0c.
- NetHack 3.0 was ported to the Atari by Eric R. Smith, to
- OS/2 by Timo Hakulinen, and to VMS by David Gentzel. The three
+ NetHack 3.0 was ported to the Atari by Eric R. Smith, to
+ OS/2 by Timo Hakulinen, and to VMS by David Gentzel. The three
of them and Kevin Darcy later joined the main NetHack Development
Team to produce subsequent revisions of 3.0.
- Olaf Seibert ported NetHack 2.3 and 3.0 to the Amiga. Norm
- Meluch, Stephen Spackman and Pierre Martineau designed overlay
- code for PC NetHack 3.0. Johnny Lee ported NetHack 3.0 to the
- Macintosh. Along with various other Dungeoneers, they continued
- to enhance the PC, Macintosh, and Amiga ports through the later
+ Olaf Seibert ported NetHack 2.3 and 3.0 to the Amiga. Norm
+ Meluch, Stephen Spackman and Pierre Martineau designed overlay
+ code for PC NetHack 3.0. Johnny Lee ported NetHack 3.0 to the
+ Macintosh. Along with various other Dungeoneers, they continued
+ to enhance the PC, Macintosh, and Amiga ports through the later
revisions of 3.0.
- Headed by Mike Stephenson and coordinated by Izchak Miller
- and Janet Walz, the NetHack Development Team which now included
- Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jean-Christophe Collet, Kevin Darcy,
- Matt Day, Timo Hakulinen, Steve Linhart, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin,
+ Headed by Mike Stephenson and coordinated by Izchak Miller
+ and Janet Walz, the NetHack Development Team which now included
+ Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jean-Christophe Collet, Kevin Darcy,
+ Matt Day, Timo Hakulinen, Steve Linhart, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin,
Eric Raymond, and Eric Smith undertook a radical revision of 3.0.
They re-structured the game's design, and re-wrote major parts of
- the code. They added multiple dungeons, a new display, special
- individual character quests, a new endgame and many other new
+ the code. They added multiple dungeons, a new display, special
+ individual character quests, a new endgame and many other new
features, and produced NetHack 3.1.
- Ken Lorber, Gregg Wonderly and Greg Olson, with help from
- Richard Addison, Mike Passaretti, and Olaf Seibert, developed
+ Ken Lorber, Gregg Wonderly and Greg Olson, with help from
+ Richard Addison, Mike Passaretti, and Olaf Seibert, developed
NetHack 3.1 for the Amiga.
- Norm Meluch and Kevin Smolkowski, with help from Carl Sche-
+ Norm Meluch and Kevin Smolkowski, with help from Carl Sche-
lin, Stephen Spackman, Steve VanDevender, and Paul Winner, ported
NetHack 3.1 to the PC.
Jon W{tte and Hao-yang Wang, with help from Ross Brown, Mike
- Engber, David Hairston, Michael Hamel, Jonathan Handler, Johnny
- Lee, Tim Lennan, Rob Menke, and Andy Swanson, developed NetHack
- 3.1 for the Macintosh, porting it for MPW. Building on their
+ Engber, David Hairston, Michael Hamel, Jonathan Handler, Johnny
+ Lee, Tim Lennan, Rob Menke, and Andy Swanson, developed NetHack
+ 3.1 for the Macintosh, porting it for MPW. Building on their
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
development, Bart House added a Think C port.
Timo Hakulinen ported NetHack 3.1 to OS/2. Eric Smith port-
- ed NetHack 3.1 to the Atari. Pat Rankin, with help from Joshua
- Delahunty, was responsible for the VMS version of NetHack 3.1.
+ ed NetHack 3.1 to the Atari. Pat Rankin, with help from Joshua
+ Delahunty, was responsible for the VMS version of NetHack 3.1.
Michael Allison ported NetHack 3.1 to Windows NT.
- Dean Luick, with help from David Cohrs, developed NetHack
- 3.1 for X11. Warwick Allison wrote a tiled version of NetHack
- for the Atari; he later contributed the tiles to the NetHack De-
- velopment Team and tile support was then added to other plat-
+ Dean Luick, with help from David Cohrs, developed NetHack
+ 3.1 for X11. Warwick Allison wrote a tiled version of NetHack
+ for the Atari; he later contributed the tiles to the NetHack De-
+ velopment Team and tile support was then added to other plat-
forms.
The 3.2 NetHack Development Team, comprised of Michael Alli-
son, Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Steve Creps, Kevin
Darcy, Timo Hakulinen, Steve Linhart, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Er-
- ic Smith, Mike Stephenson, Janet Walz, and Paul Winner, released
+ ic Smith, Mike Stephenson, Janet Walz, and Paul Winner, released
version 3.2 in April of 1996.
Version 3.2 marked the tenth anniversary of the formation of
- the development team. In a testament to their dedication to the
- game, all thirteen members of the original NetHack Development
- Team remained on the team at the start of work on that release.
- During the interval between the release of 3.1.3 and 3.2, one of
- the founding members of the NetHack Development Team, Dr. Izchak
- Miller, was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. That release
- of the game was dedicated to him by the development and porting
+ the development team. In a testament to their dedication to the
+ game, all thirteen members of the original NetHack Development
+ Team remained on the team at the start of work on that release.
+ During the interval between the release of 3.1.3 and 3.2, one of
+ the founding members of the NetHack Development Team, Dr. Izchak
+ Miller, was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. That release
+ of the game was dedicated to him by the development and porting
teams.
During the lifespan of NetHack 3.1 and 3.2, several enthusi-
- asts of the game added their own modifications to the game and
+ asts of the game added their own modifications to the game and
made these "variants" publicly available:
- Tom Proudfoot and Yuval Oren created NetHack++, which was
- quickly renamed NetHack--. Working independently, Stephen White
- wrote NetHack Plus. Tom Proudfoot later merged NetHack Plus and
+ Tom Proudfoot and Yuval Oren created NetHack++, which was
+ quickly renamed NetHack--. Working independently, Stephen White
+ wrote NetHack Plus. Tom Proudfoot later merged NetHack Plus and
his own NetHack-- to produce SLASH. Larry Stewart-Zerba and War-
- wick Allison improved the spell casting system with the Wizard
- Patch. Warwick Allison also ported NetHack to use the Qt inter-
+ wick Allison improved the spell casting system with the Wizard
+ Patch. Warwick Allison also ported NetHack to use the Qt inter-
face.
- Warren Cheung combined SLASH with the Wizard Patch to pro-
- duce Slash'EM, and with the help of Kevin Hugo, added more fea-
- tures. Kevin later joined the NetHack Development Team and in-
+ Warren Cheung combined SLASH with the Wizard Patch to pro-
+ duce Slash'EM, and with the help of Kevin Hugo, added more fea-
+ tures. Kevin later joined the NetHack Development Team and in-
corporated the best of these ideas in NetHack 3.3.
The final update to 3.2 was the bug fix release 3.2.3, which
- was released simultaneously with 3.3.0 in December 1999 just in
+ was released simultaneously with 3.3.0 in December 1999 just in
time for the Year 2000.
- The 3.3 NetHack Development Team, consisting of Michael Al-
- lison, Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Steve Creps,
- Kevin Darcy, Timo Hakulinen, Kevin Hugo, Steve Linhart, Ken Lor-
- ber, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Eric Smith, Mike Stephenson, Janet
+ The 3.3 NetHack Development Team, consisting of Michael Al-
+ lison, Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Steve Creps,
+ Kevin Darcy, Timo Hakulinen, Kevin Hugo, Steve Linhart, Ken Lor-
+ ber, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Eric Smith, Mike Stephenson, Janet
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- Walz, and Paul Winner, released 3.3.0 in December 1999 and 3.3.1
+ Walz, and Paul Winner, released 3.3.0 in December 1999 and 3.3.1
in August of 2000.
Version 3.3 offered many firsts. It was the first version to
- separate race and profession. The Elf class was removed in pref-
+ separate race and profession. The Elf class was removed in pref-
erence to an elf race, and the races of dwarves, gnomes, and orcs
- made their first appearance in the game alongside the familiar
- human race. Monk and Ranger roles joined Archeologists, Barbar-
- ians, Cavemen, Healers, Knights, Priests, Rogues, Samurai,
- Tourists, Valkyries and of course, Wizards. It was also the
- first version to allow you to ride a steed, and was the first
- version to have a publicly available web-site listing all the
- bugs that had been discovered. Despite that constantly growing
- bug list, 3.3 proved stable enough to last for more than a year
+ made their first appearance in the game alongside the familiar
+ human race. Monk and Ranger roles joined Archeologists, Barbar-
+ ians, Cavemen, Healers, Knights, Priests, Rogues, Samurai,
+ Tourists, Valkyries and of course, Wizards. It was also the
+ first version to allow you to ride a steed, and was the first
+ version to have a publicly available web-site listing all the
+ bugs that had been discovered. Despite that constantly growing
+ bug list, 3.3 proved stable enough to last for more than a year
and a half.
- The 3.4 NetHack Development Team initially consisted of
- Michael Allison, Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Kevin
- Hugo, Ken Lorber, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Mike Stephenson, Janet
- Walz, and Paul Winner, with Warwick Allison joining just before
+ The 3.4 NetHack Development Team initially consisted of
+ Michael Allison, Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Kevin
+ Hugo, Ken Lorber, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Mike Stephenson, Janet
+ Walz, and Paul Winner, with Warwick Allison joining just before
the release of NetHack 3.4.0 in March 2002.
- As with version 3.3, various people contributed to the game
+ As with version 3.3, various people contributed to the game
as a whole as well as supporting ports on the different platforms
that NetHack runs on:
Pat Rankin maintained 3.4 for VMS.
- Michael Allison maintained NetHack 3.4 for the MS-DOS plat-
+ Michael Allison maintained NetHack 3.4 for the MS-DOS plat-
form. Paul Winner and Yitzhak Sapir provided encouragement.
- Dean Luick, Mark Modrall, and Kevin Hugo maintained and en-
+ Dean Luick, Mark Modrall, and Kevin Hugo maintained and en-
hanced the Macintosh port of 3.4.
- Michael Allison, David Cohrs, Alex Kompel, Dion Nicolaas,
- and Yitzhak Sapir maintained and enhanced 3.4 for the Microsoft
+ Michael Allison, David Cohrs, Alex Kompel, Dion Nicolaas,
+ and Yitzhak Sapir maintained and enhanced 3.4 for the Microsoft
Windows platform. Alex Kompel contributed a new graphical inter-
- face for the Windows port. Alex Kompel also contributed a Win-
+ face for the Windows port. Alex Kompel also contributed a Win-
dows CE port for 3.4.1.
Ron Van Iwaarden was the sole maintainer of NetHack for OS/2
- the past several releases. Unfortunately Ron's last OS/2 machine
- stopped working in early 2006. A great many thanks to Ron for
+ the past several releases. Unfortunately Ron's last OS/2 machine
+ stopped working in early 2006. A great many thanks to Ron for
keeping NetHack alive on OS/2 all these years.
- Janne Salmijarvi and Teemu Suikki maintained and enhanced
- the Amiga port of 3.4 after Janne Salmijarvi resurrected it for
+ Janne Salmijarvi and Teemu Suikki maintained and enhanced
+ the Amiga port of 3.4 after Janne Salmijarvi resurrected it for
3.3.1.
Christian "Marvin" Bressler maintained 3.4 for the Atari af-
ginning of a long release hiatus. 3.4.3 proved to be a remarkably
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
stable version that provided continued enjoyment by the community
- for more than a decade. The NetHack Development Team slowly and
- quietly continued to work on the game behind the scenes during
- the tenure of 3.4.3. It was during that same period that several
+ for more than a decade. The NetHack Development Team slowly and
+ quietly continued to work on the game behind the scenes during
+ the tenure of 3.4.3. It was during that same period that several
new variants emerged within the NetHack community. Notably
sporkhack by Derek S. Ray, unnethack by Patric Mueller, nitrohack
- and its successors originally by Daniel Thaler and then by Alex
- Smith, and Dynahack by Tung Nguyen. Some of those variants con-
- tinue to be developed, maintained, and enjoyed by the community
+ and its successors originally by Daniel Thaler and then by Alex
+ Smith, and Dynahack by Tung Nguyen. Some of those variants con-
+ tinue to be developed, maintained, and enjoyed by the community
to this day.
In September 2014, an interim snapshot of the code under de-
velopment was released publicly by other parties. Since that code
- was a work-in-progress and had not gone through the process of
- debugging it as a suitable release, it was decided that the ver-
- sion numbers present on that code snapshot would be retired and
- never used in an official NetHack release. An announcement was
- posted on the NetHack Development Team's official nethack.org
- website to that effect, stating that there would never be a
+ was a work-in-progress and had not gone through the process of
+ debugging it as a suitable release, it was decided that the ver-
+ sion numbers present on that code snapshot would be retired and
+ never used in an official NetHack release. An announcement was
+ posted on the NetHack Development Team's official nethack.org
+ website to that effect, stating that there would never be a
3.4.4, 3.5, or 3.5.0 official release version.
- In January 2015, preparation began for the release of
+ In January 2015, preparation began for the release of
NetHack 3.6.
- At the beginning of development for what would eventually
- get released as 3.6.0, the NetHack Development Team consisted of
- Warwick Allison, Michael Allison, Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs,
- Jessie Collet, Ken Lorber, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Mike Stephen-
- son, Janet Walz, and Paul Winner. In early 2015, ahead of the
+ At the beginning of development for what would eventually
+ get released as 3.6.0, the NetHack Development Team consisted of
+ Warwick Allison, Michael Allison, Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs,
+ Jessie Collet, Ken Lorber, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Mike Stephen-
+ son, Janet Walz, and Paul Winner. In early 2015, ahead of the
release of 3.6.0, new members Sean Hunt, Pasi Kallinen, and Derek
S. Ray joined the NetHack Development Team.
Near the end of the development of 3.6.0, one of the signif-
- icant inspirations for many of the humorous and fun features
- found in the game, author Terry Pratchett, passed away. NetHack
+ icant inspirations for many of the humorous and fun features
+ found in the game, author Terry Pratchett, passed away. NetHack
3.6.0 introduced a tribute to him.
3.6.0 was released in December 2015, and merged work done by
- the development team since the release of 3.4.3 with some of the
+ the development team since the release of 3.4.3 with some of the
beloved community patches. Many bugs were fixed and some code was
restructured.
- The NetHack Development Team, as well as Steve VanDevender
+ The NetHack Development Team, as well as Steve VanDevender
and Kevin Smolkowski, ensured that NetHack 3.6 continued to oper-
ate on various UNIX flavors and maintained the X11 interface.
- Ken Lorber, Haoyang Wang, Pat Rankin, and Dean Luick main-
+ Ken Lorber, Haoyang Wang, Pat Rankin, and Dean Luick main-
tained the port of NetHack 3.6 for Mac OSX.
- Michael Allison, David Cohrs, Bart House, Pasi Kallinen,
- Alex Kompel, Dion Nicolaas, Derek S. Ray and Yitzhak Sapir main-
+ Michael Allison, David Cohrs, Bart House, Pasi Kallinen,
+ Alex Kompel, Dion Nicolaas, Derek S. Ray and Yitzhak Sapir main-
tained the port of NetHack 3.6 for Microsoft Windows.
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
- Pat Rankin attempted to keep the VMS port running for
+ Pat Rankin attempted to keep the VMS port running for
NetHack 3.6, hindered by limited access. Kevin Smolkowski has up-
- dated and tested it for the most recent version of OpenVMS (V8.4
+ dated and tested it for the most recent version of OpenVMS (V8.4
as of this writing) on Alpha and Integrity (aka Itanium aka IA64)
but not VAX.
- Ray Chason resurrected the msdos port for 3.6 and contrib-
+ Ray Chason resurrected the msdos port for 3.6 and contrib-
uted the necessary updates to the community at large.
- In late April 2018, several hundred bug fixes for 3.6.0 and
- some new features were assembled and released as NetHack 3.6.1.
+ In late April 2018, several hundred bug fixes for 3.6.0 and
+ some new features were assembled and released as NetHack 3.6.1.
The NetHack Development Team at the time of release of 3.6.1 con-
- sisted of Warwick Allison, Michael Allison, Ken Arromdee, David
- Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Pasi Kallinen, Ken Lorber, Dean Luick,
- Patric Mueller, Pat Rankin, Derek S. Ray, Alex Smith, Mike
+ sisted of Warwick Allison, Michael Allison, Ken Arromdee, David
+ Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Pasi Kallinen, Ken Lorber, Dean Luick,
+ Patric Mueller, Pat Rankin, Derek S. Ray, Alex Smith, Mike
Stephenson, Janet Walz, and Paul Winner.
In early May 2019, another 320 bug fixes along with some en-
- hancements and the adopted curses window port, were released as
+ hancements and the adopted curses window port, were released as
3.6.2.
- Bart House, who had contributed to the game as a porting
+ Bart House, who had contributed to the game as a porting
team participant for decades, joined the NetHack Development Team
in late May 2019.
- NetHack 3.6.3 was released on December 5, 2019 containing
+ NetHack 3.6.3 was released on December 5, 2019 containing
over 190 bug fixes to NetHack 3.6.2.
NetHack 3.6.4 was released on December 18, 2019 containing a
security fix and a few bug fixes.
- NetHack 3.6.5 was released on January 27, 2020 containing
+ NetHack 3.6.5 was released on January 27, 2020 containing
some security fixes and a small number of bug fixes.
NetHack 3.6.6 was released on March 8, 2020 containing a se-
curity fix and some bug fixes.
+ NetHack 3.6.7 was released in February 2023 containing a se-
+ curity fix and some bug fixes.
+
The official NetHack web site is maintained by Ken Lorber at
https://www.nethack.org/.
tournaments such as Junethack, The November NetHack Tournament
and in days past, devnull.net (gone for now, but not forgotten).
- - - - - - - - - - -
- From time to time, some depraved individual out there in
- netland sends a particularly intriguing modification to help out
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
+ - - - - - - - - - -
+
+ From time to time, some depraved individual out there in
+ netland sends a particularly intriguing modification to help out
with the game. The NetHack Development Team sometimes makes note
of the names of the worst of these miscreants in this, the list
of Dungeoneers:
-
-
-
-
- NetHack 3.6 March 8, 2020
+ NetHack 3.6 February 3, 2023
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