- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
you have seen on the current dungeon level; as you explore more
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
Intelligence affects your ability to cast spells and read
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
ical attacks. Many dungeons show only your experience level
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
nasty and vicious. Sometimes, however, they can be helpful.
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
symbol at the chosen location, conditionally check for "More
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
if you remember a monster there).
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
(R)UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
Ride (or stop riding) a saddled creature. Autocompletes.
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
u', and `u' if number_pad is on.
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
stuck for a few turns trying to climb out. Traps don't appear on
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
ing the "#chat" command while standing on it. Using an item
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
magic items can help you locate them before they locate you
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
you, which makes pets useful for low-level characters.
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
displayed at the location where you think it is. That will
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
When you use "#name" on an object which has already been named,
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
simply elect to throw a spear. To shoot an arrow, you should
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
what to throw, you will be prompted for a direction rather than
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
times also referred to as "restricted", because you won't be able
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
The `A' command can also be used to take off armor as well as
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
mand casts a spell.
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
drinking beverages, even if they provide some minor food
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
figure; a true atheist would hear the words but attach no special
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
allow you to set options before starting the game or a global
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
"no" or `!' to turn it off. For compound options, the option
name and value are separated by a colon. Some options are per-
sistent, and apply only to new games. You can specify multiple
- OPTIONS statements, and multiple options in a single OPTIONS
- statement.
+ OPTIONS statements, and multiple options separated by commas in
+ a single OPTIONS statement. (Comma separated options are pro-
+ cessed from right to left.)
Example:
OPTIONS=!legacy,autopickup,pickup_types:$"=/!?+
HACKDIR
- Default location of files NetHack needs. On Windows HACKDIR
- defaults to the location of the NetHack.exe or NetHackw.exe
- file so setting HACKDIR to override that is not usually neces-
+ Default location of files NetHack needs. On Windows HACKDIR
+ defaults to the location of the NetHack.exe or NetHackw.exe
+ file so setting HACKDIR to override that is not usually neces-
sary or recommended.
LEVELDIR
- The location that in-progress level files are stored. Defaults
+ The location that in-progress level files are stored. Defaults
to HACKDIR, must be writable.
SAVEDIR
- The location where saved games are kept. Defaults to HACKDIR,
- must be writable.
+ The location where saved games are kept. Defaults to HACKDIR,
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ must be writable.
+
BONESDIR
- The location that bones files are kept. Defaults to HACKDIR,
+ The location that bones files are kept. Defaults to HACKDIR,
must be writable.
LOCKDIR
Defaults to HACKDIR, must be writable.
TROUBLEDIR
- The location that a record of game aborts and self-diagnosed
+ The location that a record of game aborts and self-diagnosed
game problems is kept. Defaults to HACKDIR, must be writable.
AUTOCOMPLETE
Enable or disable an extended command autocompletion. Autocom-
- pletion has no effect for the X11 windowport. You can specify
- multiple autocompletions. To enable autocompletion, list the
- extended command. Prefix the command with "!" to disable the
+ pletion has no effect for the X11 windowport. You can specify
+ multiple autocompletions. To enable autocompletion, list the
+ extended command. Prefix the command with "!" to disable the
autocompletion for that command.
Example:
AUTOCOMPLETE=zap,!annotate
AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION
- Set exceptions to the pickup_types option. See the "Configur-
+ Set exceptions to the pickup_types option. See the "Configur-
ing Autopickup Exceptions" section.
BINDINGS
- Change the key bindings of some special keys, menu accelera-
+ Change the key bindings of some special keys, menu accelera-
tors, or extended commands. You can specify multiple bindings.
- Format is key followed by the command, separated by a colon.
+ Format is key followed by the command, separated by a colon.
See the "Changing Key Bindings" section for more information.
Example:
BIND=^X:getpos.autodescribe
CHOOSE
- Chooses at random one of the comma-separated parameters as an
+ Chooses at random one of the comma-separated parameters as an
active section name. Lines in other sections are ignored.
Example:
OPTIONS=role:wiz,race:elf,align:cha,gender:mal
MSGTYPE
- Change the way messages are shown in the top status line. See
- the "Configuring Message Types" section.
+ Change the way messages are shown in the top status line. See
-
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ the "Configuring Message Types" section.
+
MENUCOLOR
Highlight menu lines with different colors. See the "Configur-
ing Menu Colors" section.
SYMBOLS
- Override one or more symbols in the symbols files. See the
+ Override one or more symbols in the symbols files. See the
"Modifying NetHack Symbols" section.
Example:
SYMBOLS=S_boulder:0
WIZKIT
- Debug mode only: extra items to add to initial inventory.
- Value is the name of a text file containing a list of item
- names, one per line, up to a maximum of 128 lines. Each line
+ Debug mode only: extra items to add to initial inventory.
+ Value is the name of a text file containing a list of item
+ names, one per line, up to a maximum of 128 lines. Each line
is processed by the function that handles wishing.
Example:
WIZKIT=~/wizkit.txt
SOUNDDIR
- Define the directory that contains the sound files. See the
+ Define the directory that contains the sound files. See the
"Configuring User Sounds" section.
SOUND
9.3. Using the NETHACKOPTIONS environment variable
- The NETHACKOPTIONS variable is a comma-separated list of
- initial values for the various options. Some can only be turned
- on or off. You turn one of these on by adding the name of the
- option to the list, and turn it off by typing a `!' or "no" be-
- fore the name. Others take a character string as a value. You
- can set string options by typing the option name, a colon or
- equals sign, and then the value of the string. The value is
+ The NETHACKOPTIONS variable is a comma-separated list of
+ initial values for the various options. Some can only be turned
+ on or off. You turn one of these on by adding the name of the
+ option to the list, and turn it off by typing a `!' or "no" be-
+ fore the name. Others take a character string as a value. You
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- terminated by the next comma or the end of string.
+ can set string options by typing the option name, a colon or
+ equals sign, and then the value of the string. The value is ter-
+ minated by the next comma or the end of string.
For example, to set up an environment variable so that color
is on, legacy is off, character name is set to "Blue Meanie", and
% setenv NETHACKOPTIONS "color,\!leg,name:Blue Meanie,fruit:lime"
- in csh (note the need to escape the `!' since it's special to
+ in csh (note the need to escape the `!' since it's special to
that shell), or the pair of commands
$ NETHACKOPTIONS="color,!leg,name:Blue Meanie,fruit:lime"
in sh, ksh, or bash.
+ The NETHACKOPTIONS value is effectively the same as a single
+ OPTIONS statement in a configuration file. The "OPTIONS=" prefix
+ is implied and comma separated options are processed from right
+ to left. Other types of configuration statements such as BIND or
+ MSGTYPE are not allowed.
+
Instead of a comma-separated list of options, NETHACKOPTIONS
- can be set to the full name of a configuration file you want to
- use. If that full name doesn't start with a slash, precede it
- with `@' (at-sign) to let NetHack know that the rest is intended
- as a file name. If it does start with `/', the at-sign is op-
+ can be set to the full name of a configuration file you want to
+ use. If that full name doesn't start with a slash, precede it
+ with `@' (at-sign) to let NetHack know that the rest is intended
+ as a file name. If it does start with `/', the at-sign is op-
tional.
9.4. Customization options
Here are explanations of what the various options do. Char-
- acter strings that are too long may be truncated. Some of the
+ acter strings that are too long may be truncated. Some of the
options listed may be inactive in your dungeon.
- Some options are persistent, and are saved and reloaded
+ Some options are persistent, and are saved and reloaded
along with the game. Changing a persistent option in the config-
uration file applies only to new games.
acoustics
- Enable messages about what your character hears (default on).
+ Enable messages about what your character hears (default on).
Note that this has nothing to do with your computer's audio ca-
pabilities. Persistent.
align
- Your starting alignment (align:lawful, align:neutral, or
- align:chaotic). You may specify just the first letter. The
- default is to randomly pick an appropriate alignment. If you
+ Your starting alignment (align:lawful, align:neutral, or
+ align:chaotic). You may specify just the first letter. The
+ default is to randomly pick an appropriate alignment. If you
prefix the value with `!' or "no", you will exclude that align-
- ment from being picked randomly. Cannot be set with the `O'
+ ment from being picked randomly. Cannot be set with the `O'
command. Persistent.
- autodescribe
- Automatically describe the terrain under cursor when asked to
- get a location on the map (default true). The whatis_coord op-
- tion controls whether the description includes map coordinates.
-
- autodig
- Automatically dig if you are wielding a digging tool and moving
- into a place that can be dug (default false). Persistent.
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ autodescribe
+ Automatically describe the terrain under cursor when asked to
+ get a location on the map (default true). The whatis_coord op-
+ tion controls whether the description includes map coordinates.
+
+ autodig
+ Automatically dig if you are wielding a digging tool and moving
+ into a place that can be dug (default false). Persistent.
+
autoopen
Walking into a door attempts to open it (default true). Persis-
tent.
autopickup
- Automatically pick up things onto which you move (default on).
+ Automatically pick up things onto which you move (default on).
Persistent. See pickup_types to refine the behavior.
autoquiver
- This option controls what happens when you attempt the `f'
- (fire) command when nothing is quivered or readied (default
- false). When true, the computer will fill your quiver or
- quiver sack or make ready some suitable weapon. Note that it
- will not take into account the blessed/cursed status, enchant-
+ This option controls what happens when you attempt the `f'
+ (fire) command when nothing is quivered or readied (default
+ false). When true, the computer will fill your quiver or
+ quiver sack or make ready some suitable weapon. Note that it
+ will not take into account the blessed/cursed status, enchant-
ment, damage, or quality of the weapon; you are free to manual-
- ly fill your quiver or quiver sack or make ready with the `Q'
+ ly fill your quiver or quiver sack or make ready with the `Q'
command instead. If no weapon is found or the option is false,
the `t' (throw) command is executed instead. Persistent.
tent.
bones
- Allow saving and loading bones files (default true). Persis-
+ Allow saving and loading bones files (default true). Persis-
tent.
boulder
- Set the character used to display boulders (default is the
+ Set the character used to display boulders (default is the
"large rock" class symbol, ``').
catname
- Name your starting cat (ex. "catname:Morris"). Cannot be set
+ Name your starting cat (ex. "catname:Morris"). Cannot be set
with the `O' command.
character
- Synonym for "role" to pick the type of your character (ex.
+ Synonym for "role" to pick the type of your character (ex.
"character:Monk"). See role for more details.
checkpoint
- Save game state after each level change, for possible recovery
+ Save game state after each level change, for possible recovery
after program crash (default on). Persistent.
checkspace
- Check free disk space before writing files to disk (default
- on). You may have to turn this off if you have more than 2 GB
- free space on the partition used for your save and level files
- (because too much space might overflow the calculation and end
- up looking like insufficient space). Only applies when MFLOPPY
- was defined during compilation.
-
- clicklook
- Allows looking at things on the screen by navigating the mouse
- over them and clicking the right mouse button (default off).
+ Check free disk space before writing files to disk (default
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ on). You may have to turn this off if you have more than 2 GB
+ free space on the partition used for your save and level files
+ (because too much space might overflow the calculation and end
+ up looking like insufficient space). Only applies when MFLOPPY
+ was defined during compilation.
+
+ clicklook
+ Allows looking at things on the screen by navigating the mouse
+ over them and clicking the right mouse button (default off).
+
cmdassist
- Have the game provide some additional command assistance for
- new players if it detects some anticipated mistakes (default
+ Have the game provide some additional command assistance for
+ new players if it detects some anticipated mistakes (default
on).
confirm
- Have user confirm attacks on pets, shopkeepers, and other
+ Have user confirm attacks on pets, shopkeepers, and other
peaceable creatures (default on). Persistent.
dark_room
Show out-of-sight areas of lit rooms (default on). Persistent.
disclose
- Controls what information the program reveals when the game
- ends. Value is a space separated list of prompting/category
- pairs (default is "ni na nv ng nc no", prompt with default re-
+ Controls what information the program reveals when the game
+ ends. Value is a space separated list of prompting/category
+ pairs (default is "ni na nv ng nc no", prompt with default re-
sponse of `n' for each candidate). Persistent. The possibili-
ties are:
c - display your conduct;
o - display dungeon overview.
- Each disclosure possibility can optionally be preceded by a
- prefix which lets you refine how it behaves. Here are the
+ Each disclosure possibility can optionally be preceded by a
+ prefix which lets you refine how it behaves. Here are the
valid prefixes:
y - prompt you and default to yes on the prompt;
+ - disclose it without prompting;
- - do not disclose it and do not prompt.
- The listing of vanquished monsters can be sorted, so there are
+ The listing of vanquished monsters can be sorted, so there are
two additional choices for `v':
? - prompt you and default to ask on the prompt;
# - disclose it without prompting, ask for sort order.
Asking refers to picking one of the orderings from a menu. The
- `+' disclose without prompting choice, or being prompted and
+ `+' disclose without prompting choice, or being prompted and
answering `y' rather than `a', will default to showing monsters
- in the traditional order, from high level to low level.
- Omitted categories are implicitly added with `n' prefix. Spec-
- ified categories with omitted prefix implicitly use `+' prefix.
- Order of the disclosure categories does not matter, program
- display for end-of-game disclosure follows a set sequence.
- (ex. "disclose:yi na +v -g o") The example sets inventory to
- prompt and default to yes, attributes to prompt and default to
- no, vanquished to disclose without prompting, genocided to not
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack Guidebook 52
- NetHack Guidebook 52
+ in the traditional order, from high level to low level.
+ Omitted categories are implicitly added with `n' prefix. Spec-
+ ified categories with omitted prefix implicitly use `+' prefix.
+ Order of the disclosure categories does not matter, program
+ display for end-of-game disclosure follows a set sequence.
- disclose and not prompt, conduct to implicitly prompt and de-
+ (ex. "disclose:yi na +v -g o") The example sets inventory to
+ prompt and default to yes, attributes to prompt and default to
+ no, vanquished to disclose without prompting, genocided to not
+ disclose and not prompt, conduct to implicitly prompt and de-
fault to no, and overview to disclose without prompting.
- Note that the vanquished monsters list includes all monsters
+ Note that the vanquished monsters list includes all monsters
killed by traps and each other as well as by you. And the dun-
geon overview shows all levels you had visited but does not re-
veal things about them that you hadn't discovered.
dogname
- Name your starting dog (ex. "dogname:Fang"). Cannot be set
+ Name your starting dog (ex. "dogname:Fang"). Cannot be set
with the `O' command.
extmenu
- Changes the extended commands interface to pop-up a menu of
+ Changes the extended commands interface to pop-up a menu of
available commands. It is keystroke compatible with the tradi-
- tional interface except that it does not require that you hit
- Enter. It is implemented only by the tty port (default off),
+ tional interface except that it does not require that you hit
+ Enter. It is implemented only by the tty port (default off),
when the game has been compiled to support tty graphics.
female
- An obsolete synonym for "gender:female". Cannot be set with
+ An obsolete synonym for "gender:female". Cannot be set with
the `O' command.
fixinv
- An object's inventory letter sticks to it when it's dropped
- (default on). If this is off, dropping an object shifts all
+ An object's inventory letter sticks to it when it's dropped
+ (default on). If this is off, dropping an object shifts all
the remaining inventory letters. Persistent.
force_invmenu
- Commands asking for an inventory item show a menu instead of a
+ Commands asking for an inventory item show a menu instead of a
text query with possible menu letters. Default is off.
fruit
- Name a fruit after something you enjoy eating (ex. "fruit:man-
+ Name a fruit after something you enjoy eating (ex. "fruit:man-
go") (default "slime mold"). Basically a nostalgic whimsy that
- NetHack uses from time to time. You should set this to some-
- thing you find more appetizing than slime mold. Apples, or-
- anges, pears, bananas, and melons already exist in NetHack, so
+ NetHack uses from time to time. You should set this to some-
+ thing you find more appetizing than slime mold. Apples, or-
+ anges, pears, bananas, and melons already exist in NetHack, so
don't use those.
gender
- Your starting gender (gender:male or gender:female). You may
- specify just the first letter. Although you can still denote
+ Your starting gender (gender:male or gender:female). You may
+ specify just the first letter. Although you can still denote
your gender using the "male" and "female" options, the "gender"
- option will take precedence. The default is to randomly pick
- an appropriate gender. If you prefix the value with `!' or
- "no", you will exclude that gender from being picked randomly.
- Cannot be set with the `O' command. Persistent.
-
- goldX
- When filtering objects based on bless/curse state (BUCX),
- whether to treat gold pieces as X (unknown bless/curse state,
- when "on") or U (known to be uncursed, when "off", the de-
- fault). Gold is never blessed or cursed, but it is not
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- described as "uncursed" even when the implicit_uncursed option
- is "off".
+ option will take precedence. The default is to randomly pick
+ an appropriate gender. If you prefix the value with `!' or
+ "no", you will exclude that gender from being picked randomly.
+ Cannot be set with the `O' command. Persistent.
+
+ goldX
+ When filtering objects based on bless/curse state (BUCX),
+ whether to treat gold pieces as X (unknown bless/curse state,
+ when "on") or U (known to be uncursed, when "off", the de-
+ fault). Gold is never blessed or cursed, but it is not de-
+ scribed as "uncursed" even when the implicit_uncursed option is
+ "off".
help
- If more information is available for an object looked at with
+ If more information is available for an object looked at with
the `/' command, ask if you want to see it (default on). Turn-
- ing help off makes just looking at things faster, since you
- aren't interrupted with the "More info?" prompt, but it also
+ ing help off makes just looking at things faster, since you
+ aren't interrupted with the "More info?" prompt, but it also
means that you might miss some interesting and/or important in-
formation. Persistent.
herecmd_menu
- When using a windowport that supports mouse and clicking on
- yourself or next to you, show a menu of possible actions for
- the location. Same as "#herecmdmenu" and "#therecmdmenu" com-
+ When using a windowport that supports mouse and clicking on
+ yourself or next to you, show a menu of possible actions for
+ the location. Same as "#herecmdmenu" and "#therecmdmenu" com-
mands.
hilite_pet
- Visually distinguish pets from similar animals (default off).
- The behavior of this option depends on the type of windowing
+ Visually distinguish pets from similar animals (default off).
+ The behavior of this option depends on the type of windowing
you use. In text windowing, text highlighting or inverse video
- is often used; with tiles, generally displays a heart symbol
+ is often used; with tiles, generally displays a heart symbol
near pets.
hilite_pile
- Visually distinguish piles of objects from individual objects
+ Visually distinguish piles of objects from individual objects
(default off). The behavior of this option depends on the type
- of windowing you use. In text windowing, text highlighting or
- inverse video is often used; with tiles, generally displays a
+ of windowing you use. In text windowing, text highlighting or
+ inverse video is often used; with tiles, generally displays a
small plus-symbol beside the object on the top of the pile.
hitpointbar
- Show a hit point bar graph behind your name and title. Only
- available for TTY and Windows GUI, and only when statushilites
+ Show a hit point bar graph behind your name and title. Only
+ available for TTY and Windows GUI, and only when statushilites
is on.
horsename
- Name your starting horse (ex. "horsename:Trigger"). Cannot be
+ Name your starting horse (ex. "horsename:Trigger"). Cannot be
set with the `O' command.
ignintr
Ignore interrupt signals, including breaks (default off). Per-
sistent.
- implicit_uncursed
- Omit "uncursed" from inventory lists, if possible (default on).
- legacy
- Display an introductory message when starting the game (default
- on). Persistent.
- lit_corridor
- Show corridor squares seen by night vision or a light source
- held by your character as lit (default off). Persistent.
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack Guidebook 54
- NetHack Guidebook 54
+ implicit_uncursed
+ Omit "uncursed" from inventory lists, if possible (default on).
+
+ legacy
+ Display an introductory message when starting the game (default
+ on). Persistent.
+ lit_corridor
+ Show corridor squares seen by night vision or a light source
+ held by your character as lit (default off). Persistent.
lootabc
- When using a menu to interact with a container, use the old
- `a', `b', and `c' keyboard shortcuts rather than the mnemonics
+ When using a menu to interact with a container, use the old
+ `a', `b', and `c' keyboard shortcuts rather than the mnemonics
`o', `i', and `b' (default off). Persistent.
mail
Enable mail delivery during the game (default on). Persistent.
male
- An obsolete synonym for "gender:male". Cannot be set with the
+ An obsolete synonym for "gender:male". Cannot be set with the
`O' command.
mention_walls
Give feedback when walking against a wall (default off).
menucolors
- Enable coloring menu lines (default off). See "Configuring
+ Enable coloring menu lines (default off). See "Configuring
Menu Colors" on how to configure the colors.
menustyle
Controls the interface used when you need to choose various ob-
- jects (in response to the Drop command, for instance). The
- value specified should be the first letter of one of the fol-
- lowing: traditional, combination, full, or partial. Tradi-
- tional was the only interface available for early versions; it
- consists of a prompt for object class characters, followed by
- an object-by-object prompt for all items matching the selected
- object class(es). Combination starts with a prompt for object
+ jects (in response to the Drop command, for instance). The
+ value specified should be the first letter of one of the fol-
+ lowing: traditional, combination, full, or partial. Tradi-
+ tional was the only interface available for early versions; it
+ consists of a prompt for object class characters, followed by
+ an object-by-object prompt for all items matching the selected
+ object class(es). Combination starts with a prompt for object
class(es) of interest, but then displays a menu of matching ob-
- jects rather than prompting one-by-one. Full displays a menu
- of object classes rather than a character prompt, and then a
- menu of matching objects for selection. Partial skips the ob-
+ jects rather than prompting one-by-one. Full displays a menu
+ of object classes rather than a character prompt, and then a
+ menu of matching objects for selection. Partial skips the ob-
ject class filtering and immediately displays a menu of all ob-
jects. Persistent.
menu_deselect_all
- Menu character accelerator to deselect all items in a menu.
+ Menu character accelerator to deselect all items in a menu.
Implemented by the Amiga, Gem, X11 and tty ports. Default `-'.
menu_deselect_page
- Menu character accelerator to deselect all items on this page
- of a menu. Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports. De-
+ Menu character accelerator to deselect all items on this page
+ of a menu. Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports. De-
fault `\'.
- menu_first_page
- Menu character accelerator to jump to the first page in a menu.
- Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports. Default `^'.
-
- menu_headings
- Controls how the headings in a menu are highlighted. Values
- are "none", "bold", "dim", "underline", "blink", or "inverse".
- Not all ports can actually display all types.
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack Guidebook 55
- NetHack Guidebook 55
-
+ menu_first_page
+ Menu character accelerator to jump to the first page in a menu.
+ Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports. Default `^'.
+ menu_headings
+ Controls how the headings in a menu are highlighted. Values
+ are "none", "bold", "dim", "underline", "blink", or "inverse".
+ Not all ports can actually display all types.
menu_invert_all
- Menu character accelerator to invert all items in a menu. Im-
+ Menu character accelerator to invert all items in a menu. Im-
plemented by the Amiga, Gem, X11 and tty ports. Default `@'.
menu_invert_page
- Menu character accelerator to invert all items on this page of
- a menu. Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports. Default
+ Menu character accelerator to invert all items on this page of
+ a menu. Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports. Default
`~'.
menu_last_page
- Menu character accelerator to jump to the last page in a menu.
+ Menu character accelerator to jump to the last page in a menu.
Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports. Default `|'.
menu_next_page
- Menu character accelerator to goto the next menu page. Imple-
+ Menu character accelerator to goto the next menu page. Imple-
mented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports. Default `>'.
menu_objsyms
- Show object symbols in menu headings in menus where the object
+ Show object symbols in menu headings in menus where the object
symbols act as menu accelerators (default off).
menu_overlay
- Do not clear the screen before drawing menus, and align menus
- to the right edge of the screen. Only for the tty port. (de-
+ Do not clear the screen before drawing menus, and align menus
+ to the right edge of the screen. Only for the tty port. (de-
fault on)
menu_previous_page
plemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports. Default `<'.
menu_search
- Menu character accelerator to search for a menu item. Imple-
+ Menu character accelerator to search for a menu item. Imple-
mented by the Amiga, Gem, X11 and tty ports. Default `:'.
menu_select_all
- Menu character accelerator to select all items in a menu. Im-
+ Menu character accelerator to select all items in a menu. Im-
plemented by the Amiga, Gem, X11 and tty ports. Default `.'.
menu_select_page
- Menu character accelerator to select all items on this page of
- a menu. Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports. Default
+ Menu character accelerator to select all items on this page of
+ a menu. Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports. Default
`,'.
monpolycontrol
Prompt for new form whenever any monster changes shape (default
- off). Debug mode only.
- mouse_support
- Allow use of the mouse for input and travel. Valid settings
- are:
- 0 - disabled
- 1 - enabled and make OS adjustments to support mouse use in
- the game.
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack Guidebook 56
- NetHack Guidebook 56
+ off). Debug mode only.
+ mouse_support
+ Allow use of the mouse for input and travel. Valid settings
+ are:
+ 0 - disabled
+ 1 - enabled and make OS adjustments to support mouse use in
+ the game.
2 - like 1 but does not make any OS adjustments
- For backward compatibility, omitting a value is the same as
+ For backward compatibility, omitting a value is the same as
specifying 1 and negating mouse_support is the same as specify-
ing 0.
msghistory
- The number of top line messages to keep (and be able to recall
+ The number of top line messages to keep (and be able to recall
with `^P') (default 20). Cannot be set with the `O' command.
msg_window
- Allows you to change the way recalled messages are displayed.
- (It is currently implemented for tty only.) The possible val-
+ Allows you to change the way recalled messages are displayed.
+ (It is currently implemented for tty only.) The possible val-
ues are:
s - single message (default; only choice prior to 3.4.0);
f - full window, oldest message first;
r - full window reversed, newest message first.
- For backward compatibility, no value needs to be specified
- (which defaults to "full"), or it can be negated (which
+ For backward compatibility, no value needs to be specified
+ (which defaults to "full"), or it can be negated (which
defaults to "single").
name
- Set your character's name (defaults to your user name). You
- can also set your character's role by appending a dash and one
+ Set your character's name (defaults to your user name). You
+ can also set your character's role by appending a dash and one
or more letters of the role (that is, by suffixing one of -A -B
- -C -H -K -M -P -Ra -Ro -S -T -V -W). If -@ is used for the
- role, then a random one will be automatically chosen. Cannot
+ -C -H -K -M -P -Ra -Ro -S -T -V -W). If -@ is used for the
+ role, then a random one will be automatically chosen. Cannot
be set with the `O' command.
news
Send padding nulls to the terminal (default on). Persistent.
number_pad
- Use digit keys instead of letters to move (default 0 or off).
- Valid settings are:
+ Use digit keys instead of letters to move (default 0 or off).
- 0 - move by letters; "yuhjklbn"
- 1 - move by numbers; digit `5' acts as `G' movement prefix
- 2 - like 1 but `5' works as `g' prefix instead of as `G'
- 3 - by numbers using phone key layout; 123 above, 789 below
- 4 - combines 3 with 2; phone layout plus MS-DOS compatibility
- -1 - by letters but use `z' to go northwest, `y' to zap wands
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack Guidebook 57
- NetHack Guidebook 57
+ Valid settings are:
+ 0 - move by letters; "yuhjklbn"
+ 1 - move by numbers; digit `5' acts as `G' movement prefix
+ 2 - like 1 but `5' works as `g' prefix instead of as `G'
+ 3 - by numbers using phone key layout; 123 above, 789 below
+ 4 - combines 3 with 2; phone layout plus MS-DOS compatibility
+ -1 - by letters but use `z' to go northwest, `y' to zap wands
- For backward compatibility, omitting a value is the same as
- specifying 1 and negating number_pad is the same as specifying
- 0. (Settings 2 and 4 are for compatibility with MS-DOS or old
+ For backward compatibility, omitting a value is the same as
+ specifying 1 and negating number_pad is the same as specifying
+ 0. (Settings 2 and 4 are for compatibility with MS-DOS or old
PC Hack; in addition to the different behavior for `5', `Alt-5'
acts as `G' and `Alt-0' acts as `I'. Setting -1 is to accommo-
- date some QWERTZ keyboards which have the location of the `y'
- and `z' keys swapped.) When moving by numbers, to enter a
+ date some QWERTZ keyboards which have the location of the `y'
+ and `z' keys swapped.) When moving by numbers, to enter a
count prefix for those commands which accept one (such as "12s"
- to search twelve times), precede it with the letter `n'
+ to search twelve times), precede it with the letter `n'
("n12s").
packorder
- Specify the order to list object types in (default
+ Specify the order to list object types in (default
"")[%?+!=/(*`0_"). The value of this option should be a string
containing the symbols for the various object types. Any omit-
ted types are filled in at the end from the previous order.
paranoid_confirmation
- A space separated list of specific situations where alternate
- prompting is desired. The default is paranoid_confirma-
+ A space separated list of specific situations where alternate
+ prompting is desired. The default is paranoid_confirma-
tion:pray.
- Confirm - for any prompts which are set to require "yes"
- rather than `y', also require "no" to reject in-
+ Confirm - for any prompts which are set to require "yes"
+ rather than `y', also require "no" to reject in-
stead of accepting any non-yes response as no
quit - require "yes" rather than `y' to confirm quitting
- the game or switching into non-scoring explore
+ the game or switching into non-scoring explore
mode;
- die - require "yes" rather than `y' to confirm dying
- (not useful in normal play; applies to explore
+ die - require "yes" rather than `y' to confirm dying
+ (not useful in normal play; applies to explore
mode);
- bones - require "yes" rather than `y' to confirm saving
+ bones - require "yes" rather than `y' to confirm saving
bones data when dying in debug mode;
- attack - require "yes" rather than `y' to confirm attack-
+ attack - require "yes" rather than `y' to confirm attack-
ing a peaceful monster;
wand-break - require "yes" rather than `y' to confirm breaking
a wand;
Were-change - require "yes" rather than `y' to confirm changing
- form due to lycanthropy when hero has polymorph
+ form due to lycanthropy when hero has polymorph
control;
- pray - require `y' to confirm an attempt to pray rather
+ pray - require `y' to confirm an attempt to pray rather
than immediately praying; on by default;
- Remove - require selection from inventory for `R' and `T'
- commands even when wearing just one applicable
+ Remove - require selection from inventory for `R' and `T'
+ commands even when wearing just one applicable
item.
- all - turn on all of the above.
-
- By default, the pray choice is enabled, the others disabled.
- To disable it without setting any of the other choices, use
- "paranoid_confirmation:none". To keep it enabled while setting
- any of the others, include it in the list, such as "para-
- noid_confirmation:attack pray Remove".
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack Guidebook 58
- NetHack Guidebook 58
+ all - turn on all of the above.
+ By default, the pray choice is enabled, the others disabled.
+ To disable it without setting any of the other choices, use
+ "paranoid_confirmation:none". To keep it enabled while setting
+ any of the others, include it in the list, such as "para-
+ noid_confirmation:attack pray Remove".
perm_invent
- If true, always display your current inventory in a window.
- This only makes sense for windowing system interfaces that im-
+ If true, always display your current inventory in a window.
+ This only makes sense for windowing system interfaces that im-
plement this feature.
pettype
- Specify the type of your initial pet, if you are playing a
- character class that uses multiple types of pets; or choose to
- have no initial pet at all. Possible values are "cat", "dog",
+ Specify the type of your initial pet, if you are playing a
+ character class that uses multiple types of pets; or choose to
+ have no initial pet at all. Possible values are "cat", "dog",
"horse", and "none". If the choice is not allowed for the role
- you are currently playing, it will be silently ignored. For
- example, "horse" will only be honored when playing a knight.
+ you are currently playing, it will be silently ignored. For
+ example, "horse" will only be honored when playing a knight.
Cannot be set with the `O' command.
pickup_burden
- When you pick up an item that would exceed this encumbrance
- level (Unencumbered, Burdened, streSsed, straiNed, overTaxed,
- or overLoaded), you will be asked if you want to continue.
+ When you pick up an item that would exceed this encumbrance
+ level (Unencumbered, Burdened, streSsed, straiNed, overTaxed,
+ or overLoaded), you will be asked if you want to continue.
(Default `S'). Persistent.
pickup_thrown
- If this option is on and autopickup is also on, try to pick up
- things that you threw, even if they aren't in pickup_types or
+ If this option is on and autopickup is also on, try to pick up
+ things that you threw, even if they aren't in pickup_types or
match an autopickup exception. Default is on. Persistent.
pickup_types
sistent.
pile_limit
- When walking across a pile of objects on the floor, threshold
- at which the message "there are few/several/many objects here"
- is given instead of showing a popup list of those objects. A
- value of 0 means "no limit" (always list the objects); a value
- of 1 effectively means "never show the objects" since the pile
- size will always be at least that big; default value is 5.
+ When walking across a pile of objects on the floor, threshold
+ at which the message "there are few/several/many objects here"
+ is given instead of showing a popup list of those objects. A
+ value of 0 means "no limit" (always list the objects); a value
+ of 1 effectively means "never show the objects" since the pile
+ size will always be at least that big; default value is 5.
Persistent.
playmode
- Values are "normal", "explore", or "debug". Allows selection
- of explore mode (also known as discovery mode) or debug mode
+ Values are "normal", "explore", or "debug". Allows selection
+ of explore mode (also known as discovery mode) or debug mode
(also known as wizard mode) instead of normal play. Debug mode
- might only be allowed for someone logged in under a particular
- user name (on multi-user systems) or specifying a particular
- character name (on single-user systems) or it might be disabled
- entirely. Requesting it when not allowed or not possible re-
- sults in explore mode instead. Default is normal play.
+ might only be allowed for someone logged in under a particular
+ user name (on multi-user systems) or specifying a particular
- pushweapon
- Using the `w' (wield) command when already wielding something
- pushes the old item into your alternate weapon slot (default
- off). Likewise for the `a' (apply) command if it causes the
-
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ character name (on single-user systems) or it might be disabled
+ entirely. Requesting it when not allowed or not possible re-
+ sults in explore mode instead. Default is normal play.
+
+ pushweapon
+ Using the `w' (wield) command when already wielding something
+ pushes the old item into your alternate weapon slot (default
+ off). Likewise for the `a' (apply) command if it causes the
applied item to become wielded. Persistent.
race
Selects your race (for example, "race:human"). Default is ran-
- dom. If you prefix the value with `!' or "no", you will ex-
+ dom. If you prefix the value with `!' or "no", you will ex-
clude that race from being picked randomly. Cannot be set with
the `O' command. Persistent.
rest_on_space
- Make the space bar a synonym for the `.' (#wait) command (de-
+ Make the space bar a synonym for the `.' (#wait) command (de-
fault off). Persistent.
role
- Pick your type of character (ex. "role:Samurai"); synonym for
- "character". See "name" for an alternate method of specifying
- your role. Normally only the first letter of the value is ex-
- amined; `r' is an exception with "Rogue", "Ranger", and "ran-
- dom" values. If you prefix the value with `!' or "no", you
- will exclude that role from being picked randomly. Cannot be
+ Pick your type of character (ex. "role:Samurai"); synonym for
+ "character". See "name" for an alternate method of specifying
+ your role. Normally only the first letter of the value is ex-
+ amined; `r' is an exception with "Rogue", "Ranger", and "ran-
+ dom" values. If you prefix the value with `!' or "no", you
+ will exclude that role from being picked randomly. Cannot be
set with the `O' command. Persistent.
roguesymset
- This option may be used to select one of the named symbol sets
- found within "symbols" to alter the symbols displayed on the
+ This option may be used to select one of the named symbol sets
+ found within "symbols" to alter the symbols displayed on the
screen on the rogue level.
rlecomp
When writing out a save file, perform run length compression of
- the map. Not all ports support run length compression. It has
+ the map. Not all ports support run length compression. It has
no effect on reading an existing save file.
runmode
- Controls the amount of screen updating for the map window when
- engaged in multi-turn movement (running via shift+direction or
- control+direction and so forth, or via the travel command or
+ Controls the amount of screen updating for the map window when
+ engaged in multi-turn movement (running via shift+direction or
+ control+direction and so forth, or via the travel command or
mouse click). The possible values are:
teleport - update the map after movement has finished;
crawl - like walk, but pause briefly after each step.
This option only affects the game's screen display, not the ac-
- tual results of moving. The default is "run"; versions prior
- to 3.4.1 used "teleport" only. Whether or not the effect is
+ tual results of moving. The default is "run"; versions prior
+ to 3.4.1 used "teleport" only. Whether or not the effect is
noticeable will depend upon the window port used or on the type
- of terminal. Persistent.
- safe_pet
- Prevent you from (knowingly) attacking your pets (default on).
- Persistent.
- sanity_check
- Evaluate monsters, objects, and map prior to each turn (default
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack Guidebook 60
- NetHack Guidebook 60
+ of terminal. Persistent.
+ safe_pet
+ Prevent you from (knowingly) attacking your pets (default on).
+ Persistent.
+ sanity_check
+ Evaluate monsters, objects, and map prior to each turn (default
off). Debug mode only.
scores
- Control what parts of the score list you are shown at the end
+ Control what parts of the score list you are shown at the end
(ex. "scores:5 top scores/4 around my score/own scores"). On-
ly the first letter of each category (`t', `a', or `o') is nec-
essary. Persistent.
off). Persistent.
showrace
- Display yourself as the glyph for your race, rather than the
- glyph for your role (default off). Note that this setting af-
- fects only the appearance of the display, not the way the game
+ Display yourself as the glyph for your race, rather than the
+ glyph for your role (default off). Note that this setting af-
+ fects only the appearance of the display, not the way the game
treats you. Persistent.
showscore
sortloot
Controls the sorting behavior of the pickup lists for inventory
- and #loot commands and some others. Persistent. The possible
+ and #loot commands and some others. Persistent. The possible
values are:
full - always sort the lists;
- loot - only sort the lists that don't use inventory letters,
+ loot - only sort the lists that don't use inventory letters,
like with the #loot and pickup commands;
none - show lists the traditional way without sorting.
sortpack
- Sort the pack contents by type when displaying inventory (de-
+ Sort the pack contents by type when displaying inventory (de-
fault on). Persistent.
sparkle
Display a sparkly effect when a monster (including yourself) is
- hit by an attack to which it is resistant (default on). Per-
+ hit by an attack to which it is resistant (default on). Per-
sistent.
standout
Boldface monsters and "--More--" (default off). Persistent.
- statushilites
- Controls how many turns status hilite behaviors highlight the
- field. If negated or set to zero, disables status hiliting.
- See "Configuring Status Hilites" for further information.
-
- status_updates
- Allow updates to the status lines at the bottom of the screen
-
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ statushilites
+ Controls how many turns status hilite behaviors highlight the
+ field. If negated or set to zero, disables status hiliting.
+ See "Configuring Status Hilites" for further information.
+
+ status_updates
+ Allow updates to the status lines at the bottom of the screen
(default true).
suppress_alert
- This option may be set to a NetHack version level to suppress
- alert notification messages about feature changes for that and
+ This option may be set to a NetHack version level to suppress
+ alert notification messages about feature changes for that and
prior versions (ex. "suppress_alert:3.3.1").
symset
- This option may be used to select one of the named symbol sets
- found within "symbols" to alter the symbols displayed on the
- screen. Use "symset:default" to explicitly select the default
+ This option may be used to select one of the named symbol sets
+ found within "symbols" to alter the symbols displayed on the
+ screen. Use "symset:default" to explicitly select the default
symbols.
time
- Show the elapsed game time in turns on bottom line (default
+ Show the elapsed game time in turns on bottom line (default
off). Persistent.
timed_delay
- When pausing momentarily for display effect, such as with ex-
- plosions and moving objects, use a timer rather than sending
- extra characters to the screen. (Applies to "tty" interface
+ When pausing momentarily for display effect, such as with ex-
+ plosions and moving objects, use a timer rather than sending
+ extra characters to the screen. (Applies to "tty" interface
only; "X11" interface always uses a timer based delay. The de-
fault is on if configured into the program.) Persistent.
toptenwin
Put the ending display in a NetHack window instead of on stdout
- (default off). Setting this option makes the score list visi-
- ble when a windowing version of NetHack is started without a
- parent window, but it no longer leaves the score list around
+ (default off). Setting this option makes the score list visi-
+ ble when a windowing version of NetHack is started without a
+ parent window, but it no longer leaves the score list around
after game end on a terminal or emulating window.
travel
Allow the travel command (default on). Turning this option off
- will prevent the game from attempting unintended moves if you
+ will prevent the game from attempting unintended moves if you
make inadvertent mouse clicks on the map window. Persistent.
verbose
- Provide more commentary during the game (default on). Persis-
+ Provide more commentary during the game (default on). Persis-
tent.
whatis_coord
- When using the `/' or `;' commands to look around on the map
- with autodescribe on, display coordinates after the descrip-
- tion. Also works in other situations where you are asked to
- pick a location.
-
- The possible settings are:
+ When using the `/' or `;' commands to look around on the map
+ with autodescribe on, display coordinates after the
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
-
+ NetHack Guidebook 62
- NetHack Guidebook 62
+ description. Also works in other situations where you are
+ asked to pick a location.
+ The possible settings are:
c - compass ("east" or "3s" or "2n,4w");
f - full compass ("east" or "3south" or "2north,4west");
whatis_filter
When getting a location on the map, and using the keys to cycle
- through next and previous targets, allows filtering the possi-
+ through next and previous targets, allows filtering the possi-
ble targets.
v - in view only
a - in same area only
- The area-filter tries to be slightly predictive -- if you're
+ The area-filter tries to be slightly predictive -- if you're
standing on a doorway, it will consider the area on the side of
the door you were last moving towards.
- Filtering can also be changed when getting a location with the
+ Filtering can also be changed when getting a location with the
"getpos.filter" key.
whatis_menu
- When getting a location on the map, and using a key to cycle
+ When getting a location on the map, and using a key to cycle
through next and previous targets, use a menu instead to pick a
target. (default off)
whatis_moveskip
- When getting a location on the map, and using shifted movement
+ When getting a location on the map, and using shifted movement
keys or meta-digit keys to fast-move, instead of moving 8 units
at a time, move by skipping the same glyphs. (default off)
windowtype
When the program has been built to support multiple interfaces,
- select which one to use, such as "tty" or "X11" (default de-
+ select which one to use, such as "tty" or "X11" (default de-
pends on build-time settings; use "#version" to check). Cannot
be set with the `O' command.
Augment object descriptions with their objects' weight (default
off). Debug mode only.
- zerocomp
- When writing out a save file, perform zero-comp compression of
- the contents. Not all ports support zero-comp compression. It
- has no effect on reading an existing save file.
-
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ zerocomp
+ When writing out a save file, perform zero-comp compression of
+ the contents. Not all ports support zero-comp compression. It
+ has no effect on reading an existing save file.
+
9.5. Window Port Customization options
- Here are explanations of the various options that are used
- to customize and change the characteristics of the windowtype
+ Here are explanations of the various options that are used
+ to customize and change the characteristics of the windowtype
that you have chosen. Character strings that are too long may be
- truncated. Not all window ports will adjust for all settings
- listed here. You can safely add any of these options to your
- config file, and if the window port is capable of adjusting to
- suit your preferences, it will attempt to do so. If it can't it
- will silently ignore it. You can find out if an option is sup-
- ported by the window port that you are currently using by check-
- ing to see if it shows up in the Options list. Some options are
- dynamic and can be specified during the game with the `O' com-
+ truncated. Not all window ports will adjust for all settings
+ listed here. You can safely add any of these options to your
+ config file, and if the window port is capable of adjusting to
+ suit your preferences, it will attempt to do so. If it can't it
+ will silently ignore it. You can find out if an option is sup-
+ ported by the window port that you are currently using by check-
+ ing to see if it shows up in the Options list. Some options are
+ dynamic and can be specified during the game with the `O' com-
mand.
align_message
- Where to align or place the message window (top, bottom, left,
+ Where to align or place the message window (top, bottom, left,
or right)
align_status
- Where to align or place the status window (top, bottom, left,
+ Where to align or place the status window (top, bottom, left,
or right).
ascii_map
- If NetHack can, it should display an ascii character map if it
+ If NetHack can, it should display an ascii character map if it
can.
color
monsters, objects, and dungeon features.
eight_bit_tty
- If NetHack can, it should pass eight-bit character values (for
- example, specified with the traps option) straight through to
+ If NetHack can, it should pass eight-bit character values (for
+ example, specified with the traps option) straight through to
your terminal (default off).
font_map
map window.
font_menu
- If NetHack can, it should use a font by the chosen name for
+ If NetHack can, it should use a font by the chosen name for
menu windows.
font_message
If NetHack can, it should use a font by the chosen name for the
message window.
- font_status
- If NetHack can, it should use a font by the chosen name for the
- status window.
- font_text
- If NetHack can, it should use a font by the chosen name for
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ font_status
+ If NetHack can, it should use a font by the chosen name for the
+ status window.
+
+ font_text
+ If NetHack can, it should use a font by the chosen name for
text windows.
font_size_map
- If NetHack can, it should use this size font for the map win-
+ If NetHack can, it should use this size font for the map win-
dow.
font_size_menu
- If NetHack can, it should use this size font for menu windows.
+ If NetHack can, it should use this size font for menu windows.
font_size_message
- If NetHack can, it should use this size font for the message
+ If NetHack can, it should use this size font for the message
window.
font_size_status
- If NetHack can, it should use this size font for the status
+ If NetHack can, it should use this size font for the status
window.
font_size_text
- If NetHack can, it should use this size font for text windows.
+ If NetHack can, it should use this size font for text windows.
fullscreen
- If NetHack can, it should try and display on the entire screen
+ If NetHack can, it should try and display on the entire screen
rather than in a window.
large_font
If NetHack can, it should use a large font.
map_mode
- If NetHack can, it should display the map in the manner speci-
+ If NetHack can, it should display the map in the manner speci-
fied.
player_selection
- If NetHack can, it should pop up dialog boxes, or use prompts
+ If NetHack can, it should pop up dialog boxes, or use prompts
for character selection.
popup_dialog
preload_tiles
If NetHack can, it should preload tiles into memory. For exam-
- ple, in the protected mode MS-DOS version, control whether
- tiles get pre-loaded into RAM at the start of the game. Doing
- so enhances performance of the tile graphics, but uses more
+ ple, in the protected mode MS-DOS version, control whether
+ tiles get pre-loaded into RAM at the start of the game. Doing
+ so enhances performance of the tile graphics, but uses more
memory. (default on). Cannot be set with the `O' command.
scroll_amount
- If NetHack can, it should scroll the display by this number of
+ If NetHack can, it should scroll the display by this number of
cells when the hero reaches the scroll_margin.
- scroll_margin
- If NetHack can, it should scroll the display when the hero or
- cursor is this number of cells away from the edge of the win-
- dow.
-
-
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ scroll_margin
+ If NetHack can, it should scroll the display when the hero or
+ cursor is this number of cells away from the edge of the win-
+ dow.
+
selectsaved
- If NetHack can, it should display a menu of existing saved
+ If NetHack can, it should display a menu of existing saved
games for the player to choose from at game startup, if it can.
Not all ports support this option.
softkeyboard
- Display an onscreen keyboard. Handhelds are most likely to
+ Display an onscreen keyboard. Handhelds are most likely to
support this option.
splash_screen
If NetHack can, it should display a tiled map if it can.
tile_file
- Specify the name of an alternative tile file to override the
+ Specify the name of an alternative tile file to override the
default.
tile_height
- Specify the preferred height of each tile in a tile capable
+ Specify the preferred height of each tile in a tile capable
port.
tile_width
Use bold black instead of blue for black glyphs (TTY only).
use_inverse
- If NetHack can, it should display inverse when the game speci-
+ If NetHack can, it should display inverse when the game speci-
fies it.
vary_msgcount
- If NetHack can, it should display this number of messages at a
+ If NetHack can, it should display this number of messages at a
time in the message window.
windowcolors
- If NetHack can, it should display windows with the specified
+ If NetHack can, it should display windows with the specified
foreground/background colors. Windows GUI only. The format is
OPTION=windowcolors:wintype foreground/background
- where wintype is one of "menu", "message", "status", or
- "text", and foreground and background are colors, either a hexa-
- decimal \'#rrggbb', one of the named colors (black, red, green,
- brown, blue, magenta, cyan, orange, brightgreen, yellow, bright-
- blue, brightmagenta, brightcyan, white, trueblack, gray, purple,
- silver, maroon, fuchsia, lime, olive, navy, teal, aqua), or one
- of Windows UI colors (activeborder, activecaption, appworkspace,
- background, btnface, btnshadow, btntext, captiontext, graytext,
- greytext, highlight, highlighttext, inactiveborder, inactivecap-
- tion, menu, menutext, scrollbar, window, windowframe,
+ where wintype is one of "menu", "message", "status", or
+ "text", and foreground and background are colors, either a hexa-
+ decimal \'#rrggbb', one of the named colors (black, red, green,
+ brown, blue, magenta, cyan, orange, brightgreen, yellow, bright-
+ blue, brightmagenta, brightcyan, white, trueblack, gray, purple,
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- windowtext).
+ silver, maroon, fuchsia, lime, olive, navy, teal, aqua), or one
+ of Windows UI colors (activeborder, activecaption, appworkspace,
+ background, btnface, btnshadow, btntext, captiontext, graytext,
+ greytext, highlight, highlighttext, inactiveborder, inactivecap-
+ tion, menu, menutext, scrollbar, window, windowframe, window-
+ text).
wraptext
If NetHack can, it should wrap long lines of text if they don't
9.6. Platform-specific Customization options
- Here are explanations of options that are used by specific
+ 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
+ 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.
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).
flush
MACgraphics
(default on, Mac NetHack only).
- page_wait
- (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
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- without it) (default off, OS/2, PC, and ST NetHack only).
- Note: DEC Rainbows hang if this is turned on. Cannot be set
+ page_wait
+ (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
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-
+ 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 config 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 ex-
- pression support on a platform where there is no regular expres-
- sion library. While this is not true of any modern platform, if
- your NetHack was built this way, patterns are instead glob pat-
+ Regular expressions are normally POSIX extended regular ex-
+ pressions. It is possible to compile NetHack without regular ex-
+ pression support on a platform where there is no regular expres-
+ sion library. While this is not true of any modern platform, if
+ your NetHack was built this way, patterns are instead glob pat-
terns. 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.
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack Guidebook 68
- NetHack Guidebook 68
+ 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.
- A "never pickup" rule takes precedence over an "always pickup"
+ A "never pickup" rule takes precedence over an "always pickup"
rule if both match.
- Exceptions can be set with the `O' command, but ones set that
+ Exceptions can be set with the `O' command, but ones set that
way will not be preserved across saves and restores.
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"),
a meta key ("M-x"), or a three-digit decimal ASCII code.
BIND={:menu_first_page
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>"
- keys.
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ 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>"
+ keys.
+
Menu accelerator keys
- The menu control or accelerator keys can also be rebound via
- OPTIONS-lines in the config file. You cannot bind object sym-
+ The menu control or accelerator keys can also be rebound via
+ OPTIONS-lines in the config file. You cannot bind object sym-
bols 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
esting thing. Default is `a'.
getpos.all.prev
- When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
- interesting thing. Default is `A'.
+ When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest
- getpos.door.next
- When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest door
- or doorway. Default is `d'.
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack Guidebook 70
- NetHack Guidebook 70
+ interesting thing. Default is `A'.
+ getpos.door.next
+ 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 `"'.
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-
- fault is `;'.
-
-
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ 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-
+ 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
Prefix key to run towards a direction. Default is `G'.
run.nopickup
- 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.
- Default is `5'.
+ Prefix key to run towards a direction without picking up items
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ on the way. Default is `M'.
+
+ run.numpad
+ Prefix key to run towards a direction. With number_pad only.
+ Default is `5'.
+
rush
Prefix key to rush towards a direction. Default is `g'.
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.
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, win32tty and win32gui support this.
- In general, the config file entries to configure the menu
+ In general, the config file entries to configure 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-
- tern;
- attribute - the attribute to use for lines matching the
- pattern. The attribute is optional, and if
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ MENUCOLOR="pattern"=color&attribute
+
+ pattern - the pattern to match;
+ 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
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, lightgreen, yellow, lightblue, lightmagen-
+ Allowed colors are black, red, green, brown, blue, magenta,
+ cyan, gray, orange, lightgreen, yellow, lightblue, lightmagen-
ta, lightcyan, and white.
- Allowed attributes are none, bold, dim, underline, blink, and
- inverse. Note that the platform used may interpret the at-
+ Allowed attributes are none, bold, dim, underline, blink, and
+ inverse. Note that the platform used may interpret the at-
tributes 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-
- lined. You can have multiple MENUCOLOR entries in your config
- file, and the last MENUCOLOR-line in your config file that
+ 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
+ file, and the last MENUCOLOR-line in your config file 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.
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 config file entries are relevant to mapping
+ The following config 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
- parts:
-
- MESG - message window mapping (the only one supported in
- 3.6);
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ SOUND
+ 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
+ 3.6);
pattern - the pattern to match;
sound file - the sound file to play;
volume - the volume to be set while playing the sound file.
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 config file will
- cause the hitpoints field to display in the color red if your
+ For example, the following line in your config 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
- For another example, the following line in your config file
+ For another example, the following line in your config file
will cause wisdom to be displayed red if it drops and green if it
rises.
hitpoints hitpoints-max dungeon-level
experience 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-
+ 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-
- nor_troubles" for blind through hallu, "movement" for lev, fly,
- and ride, and "all" for every condition.
-
- Allowed behaviors are "always", "up", "down", "changed", a per-
- centage or absolute number threshold, or text to match against.
+ Instead of a behavior, "condition" takes the following condi-
+ tion flags: stone, slime, strngl, foodpois, termill, blind,
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ 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.
+
+ Allowed behaviors are "always", "up", "down", "changed", a per-
+ centage or absolute number threshold, or text to match against.
+
* "always" will set the default attributes for that field.
- * "up" and "down" set the field attributes for when the
- field value changes upwards or downwards. This attribute
+ * "up" and "down" set the field attributes for when the
+ field value changes upwards or downwards. This attribute
times 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 valid for "power" and "hit-
+ * 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 valid for "power" and "hit-
points" fields.
- * 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. If
- the number is prefixed with `<=' or `>=', it also matches
- when value is below or above. If the prefix is `<' or
+ * 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. If
+ the number is prefixed with `<=' or `>=', 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.
- Allowed colors are black, red, green, brown, blue, magenta,
- cyan, gray, orange, lightgreen, yellow, lightblue, lightmagen-
+ Allowed colors are black, red, green, brown, blue, magenta,
+ cyan, gray, orange, lightgreen, yellow, lightblue, lightmagen-
ta, lightcyan, and white.
- Allowed attributes are bold, inverse, underline, blink, dim,
- and normal. Note that the platform used may interpret the at-
+ Allowed attributes are bold, inverse, underline, blink, dim,
+ and normal. Note that the platform used may interpret the at-
tributes any way it wants.
- 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 config file.
- The whole feature can be disabled by setting option sta-
- tushilites to 0.
-
- Example hilites:
-
-
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack Guidebook 76
- NetHack Guidebook 76
+ The whole feature can be disabled by setting option sta-
+ tushilites to 0.
+ Example hilites:
OPTION=hilite_status: gold/up/yellow/down/brown
OPTION=hilite_status: characteristics/up/green/down/red
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
- config file option. Symbols are specified as name:value pairs.
- Note that NetHack escape-processes the value string in conven-
+ You can also override one or more symbols using the SYMBOLS
+ config file option. Symbols are specified as name:value pairs.
+ Note that NetHack escape-processes the value string in conven-
tional C fashion. This means that \ is a prefix to take the fol-
- lowing 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
+ lowing 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
^ S_arrow_trap (arrow trap)
0 S_ball (iron ball)
# S_bars (iron bars)
- B S_bat (bat or bird)
- ^ S_bear_trap (bear trap)
- - S_blcorn (bottom left corner)
- b S_blob (blob)
- + S_book (spellbook)
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ B S_bat (bat or bird)
+ ^ S_bear_trap (bear trap)
+ - S_blcorn (bottom left corner)
+ b S_blob (blob)
+ + S_book (spellbook)
) S_boomleft (boomerang open left)
( S_boomright (boomerang open right)
` S_boulder (boulder)
- S_hbeam (horizontal beam [zap animation])
# S_hcdbridge (horizontal raised drawbridge)
+ S_hcdoor (closed door in horizontal wall)
- . S_hodbridge (horizontal lowered drawbridge)
- | S_hodoor (open door in horizontal wall)
- ^ S_hole (hole)
- @ S_human (human or elf)
- h S_humanoid (humanoid)
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ . S_hodbridge (horizontal lowered drawbridge)
+ | S_hodoor (open door in horizontal wall)
+ ^ S_hole (hole)
+ @ S_human (human or elf)
+ h S_humanoid (humanoid)
- S_hwall (horizontal wall)
. S_ice (ice)
i S_imp (imp or minor demon)
# S_sink (sink)
^ S_sleeping_gas_trap (sleeping gas trap)
S S_snake (snake)
- s S_spider (arachnid or centipede)
- ^ S_spiked_pit (spiked pit)
- ^ S_squeaky_board (squeaky board)
- 0 S_ss1 (magic shield 1 of 4)
- # S_ss2 (magic shield 2 of 4)
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ s S_spider (arachnid or centipede)
+ ^ S_spiked_pit (spiked pit)
+ ^ S_squeaky_board (squeaky board)
+ 0 S_ss1 (magic shield 1 of 4)
+ # S_ss2 (magic shield 2 of 4)
@ S_ss3 (magic shield 3 of 4)
* S_ss4 (magic shield 4 of 4)
^ S_statue_trap (statue trap)
~ S_worm_tail (long worm tail)
W S_wraith (wraith)
x S_xan (xan or other mythical/fantastic insect)
- X S_xorn (xorn)
- Y S_yeti (apelike creature)
- Z S_zombie (zombie)
- z S_zruty (zruty)
-
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- There is one additional class of object, described as
- "strange object", which will occasionally be the shape taken on
+ X S_xorn (xorn)
+ Y S_yeti (apelike creature)
+ Z S_zombie (zombie)
+ z S_zruty (zruty)
+
+ There is one additional class of object, described as
+ "strange object", which will occasionally be the shape taken on
by mimics and shown as `]' for maps displayed as text characters.
Although the displayed character is the same as the default value
- for "S_mimic_def", it is a different symbol and there is no cor-
+ for "S_mimic_def", it is a different symbol and there is no cor-
responding "S_strange_object" symbol nor any way to assign an al-
ternate value for it.
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
- may want to alter settings via SYMBOLS= in your configuration
- file to better suit your preferences. The most crucial settings
+ 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= in your configuration
+ file to better suit your preferences. The most crucial settings
to make the game 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
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ 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
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.
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
- 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.
-
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ 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
- option. When disabled, incubi and succubi behave like nymphs.
+ 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.
- 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).
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:
%% - literal `%'
%v - version (eg. "3.6.2-0")
- %u - game UID
- %t - game start time, UNIX timestamp format
- %T - current time, UNIX timestamp format
- %d - game start time, YYYYMMDDhhmmss format
- %D - current time, YYYYMMDDhhmmss format
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ %u - game UID
+ %t - game start time, UNIX timestamp format
+ %T - current time, UNIX timestamp format
+ %d - game start time, YYYYMMDDhhmmss format
+ %D - current time, YYYYMMDDhhmmss format
%n - player name
%N - first character of player name
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.
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
- 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
+ from this brief description and the various "debug mode only"
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ 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
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
(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
- debugging NetHack 1.4 and released NetHack versions 2.2 and 2.3.
+ 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
a team which included Ken Arromdee, Jean-Christophe Collet, Steve
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
- of them and Kevin Darcy later joined the main 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
+ 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 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- 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
+ 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
revisions of 3.0.
- Headed by Mike Stephenson and coordinated by Izchak Miller
- and Janet Walz, the development team which now included Ken Ar-
- romdee, 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.
+ 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
+ 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 de-
velopment, Barton 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 DevTeam and
- tile support was then added to other platforms.
+ 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 development team, comprised of Michael Allison, Ken
- Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Steve Creps, Kevin Darcy,
- Timo Hakulinen, Steve Linhart, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Eric
- Smith, Mike Stephenson, Janet Walz, and Paul Winner, released
+ 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
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 development team re-
- mained 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 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.
-
+ game, all thirteen members of the original NetHack Development
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ 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 DevTeam and incorporated the best
- of these ideas in NetHack 3.3.
+ 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 development team, consisting of Michael Allison, Ken
- Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Steve Creps, Kevin Darcy,
- Timo Hakulinen, Kevin Hugo, Steve Linhart, Ken Lorber, Dean
- Luick, Pat Rankin, Eric Smith, Mike Stephenson, Janet Walz, and
- Paul Winner, released 3.3.0 in December 1999 and 3.3.1 in August
- of 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
+ 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 development team initially consisted of Michael Al-
- lison, 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 re-
- lease of NetHack 3.4.0 in March 2002.
+ 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 a whole as well as supporting ports on the different platforms
- that NetHack runs on:
-
- Pat Rankin maintained 3.4 for VMS.
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack Guidebook 87
- NetHack Guidebook 87
+ 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-
The release of NetHack 3.4.3 in December 2003 marked the be-
ginning of a long release hiatus. 3.4.3 proved to be a remarkably
stable version that provided continued enjoyment by the community
- for more than a decade. The devteam 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 origi-
- nally by Daniel Thaler and then by Alex Smith, and Dynahack by
- Tung Nguyen. Some of those variants continue to be developed,
- maintained, and enjoyed by the community to this day.
+ 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
+ to this day.
In September 2014, an interim snapshot of the code under de-
velopment was released publicly by other parties. Since that code
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 devteam's official nethack.org website to that ef-
- fect, stating that there would never be a 3.4.4, 3.5, or 3.5.0
- official release version.
+ 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
- NetHack 3.6.
- At the beginning of development for what would eventually
- get released as 3.6.0, the development team consisted of Warwick
- Allison, Michael Allison, Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jessie Col-
- let, Ken Lorber, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Mike Stephenson, Janet
- Walz, and Paul Winner. In early 2015, ahead of the release of
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
- 3.6.0, new members Sean Hunt, Pasi Kallinen, and Derek S. Ray
- joined the NetHack development team.
+ 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
+ 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
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 development team at the time of release of 3.6.1 consisted 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.
+ 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
+ Stephenson, Janet Walz, and Paul Winner.
- The development team, as well as Steve VanDevender and Kevin
- Smolkowski, ensured that NetHack 3.6 continued to operate on var-
- ious UNIX flavors and maintained the X11 interface.
+ 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-
tained the port of NetHack 3.6 for Mac OSX.
The official NetHack web site is maintained by Ken Lorber at
http://www.nethack.org/.
- 12.1. SPECIAL THANKS
- On behalf of the NetHack community, thank you very much once
- again to M. Drew Streib and Pasi Kallinen for providing a public
- NetHack server at nethack.alt.org. Thanks to Keith Simpson and
- Andy Thomson for hardfought.org. Thanks to all those unnamed dun-
- geoneers who invest their time and effort into annual NetHack
- tournaments such as Junethack, The November NetHack Tournament
- and in days past, devnull.net (gone for now, but not forgotten).
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+ 12.1. SPECIAL THANKS
+
+ On behalf of the NetHack community, thank you very much once
+ again to M. Drew Streib and Pasi Kallinen for providing a public
+ NetHack server at nethack.alt.org. Thanks to Keith Simpson and
+ Andy Thomson for hardfought.org. Thanks to all those unnamed dun-
+ geoneers who invest their time and effort into annual NetHack
+ 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
- with the game. The Gods of the Dungeon sometimes make note of
- the names of the worst of these miscreants in this, the list of
- Dungeoneers:
+ 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:
Adam Aronow Janet Walz Nathan Eady
Alex Kompel Janne Salmijarvi Norm Meluch
Alex Smith Jean-Christophe Collet Olaf Seibert
Greg Laskin Michael Feir Timo Hakulinen
Greg Olson Michael Hamel Tom Almy
Gregg Wonderly Michael Sokolov Tom West
+
+
+
+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
+
+
+
+
+
+ NetHack Guidebook 90
+
+
+
Hao-yang Wang Mike Engber Warren Cheung
Helge Hafting Mike Gallop Warwick Allison
Irina Rempt-Drijfhout Mike Passaretti Yitzhak Sapir
- NetHack 3.6 December 15, 2018
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+ NetHack 3.6 February 10, 2019
projects / nethack / commitdiff