Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Annual Nethack Tournament

Posted by Cliff on from the tis-the-season-for-a-dungeon-crawl dept.

jvarsoke notes: "After the last little goblins leave your porch tonight, sit on down at your old-school terminal and light up your favorite dungeon crawl. The annual /dev/null/ Nethack Tournament starts tonight. Or, if Nethack is too easy (or Marvin too intimidating) for you, slide over to the public Slash'EM server."

51 comments

  1. SlashdotHack? by Carnildo · · Score: 2, Funny

    What's this, the annual Slashdotting of DevNull?

    --
    "They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
  2. Not my favorite... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But my favorite dungeon crawl is Angband...

    1. Re:Not my favorite... by Moghedien · · Score: 3, Informative

      Have you tried ToME?

      --
      I've come to... anesthetize you!
  3. Just started by WTFmonkey · · Score: 1, Interesting
    I just discovered NetHack two days ago. It's amazing how much more fun I'm having with it than I had with, e.g. Baldur's Gate 2.

    That is all. Carry on.

    1. Re:Just started by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Wow, talk about an undeserved up-mod. To put off the inevitable "overrated," howzabout I actually say something interesting?

      I think what makes it fun (and I haven't gotten very far yet) is the anachronisms and humor. BG is fun, but it's very locked in its D&D rules and can get a bit tedious. Yeah, there's a fairly decent sense of humor at times, but overall, the game gets repetetive quickly. The monsters get harder, so you ge tmore stuff. Buy a bigger sword, kill a bigger monster, get more stuff, ad infinitum.

      Nethack, on the other hand, seems to me to have a great sense of humor, a lot of background in both popular and geek/cult culture, and enough anachronisms (credit cards?) to give it a ha-ha-only-serious feel.

      I guess what I'm saying is that the game doesn't take itself too seriously. That's the biggest difference between NetHack and most other RPG/D&D style computer games I've played-- that NetHack realizes it's a game, and doesn't try to force total-life immersion. Does that make sense? Anything's in as long as it gives the game some added value. It's a blast, and I can't wait to put in some serious dungeon time.

  4. If it's good enough.... by Naffer · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nethack is one of my all-time favorite games, one I've been playing since 1200 baud was smokin' fast. -- Actor Wil Wheaton

    If it's good enough for will wheaton, then it's good enough for me. I'll have to give it a try. Anyone else tried it out?

    1. Re:If it's good enough.... by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 1

      Yeah. It's good.

      --

      There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
    2. Re:If it's good enough.... by Gr33nNight · · Score: 1

      Yeah, its a good game to play during work. The barbarian is the best class to start out as, because you dont get poisoned as easily.

    3. Re:If it's good enough.... by Pentagram · · Score: 4, Informative

      My God(s)! If you haven't tried it out yet, then download it now. Provided you don't mind losing a few months, that is.

      NetHack is the one of the most vicious, amusing, intelligent, fun games of all time. It has its own insane rules that it follows to their illogical conclusion and more cool ideas and quotable lines than you can shake a wand at. It's also extremely challenging and requires considerable dedication to beat even if you take all the easy options.

      Example: there is a cockatrice monster that can turn you to stone if it hits you. But if you kill one, you can hit monsters with its corpse and turn them to stone (assuming you're wearing gloves, naturally). But what happens if you get swallowed whole by a huge worm and then you hit it from the inside with a cockatrice corpse? Try it and find out.

      Just try not to read the spoilers - the most fun part of the game is working out how it works.

    4. Re:If it's good enough.... by GOD_ALMIGHTY · · Score: 1

      Sweet, I've been playing Nethack longer than geek-celeb Wil Wheaton!

      I was playing when 300 baud was the only thing available, circa '83. It was called hack then and this was on a Tandy Model 16 running MS-XENIX. My dad helped me make a super character class so I could find the Amulet of Yendor (my intro to C programming), but no one had coded the Amulet level yet. There were also no spells for magic using classes and I don't think explore mode worked.

      Nethack is the same addictive game it was when I was in 2nd grade, but now it's even better. Neverwinter Nights was the first D&D clone that approached the greatness of Nethack as far as gameplay and features went. It is also a great example of how graphics don't make the game, gameplay does.

      --
      Arrogance is Confidence which lacks integrity. -- me
    5. Re:If it's good enough.... by Scarblac · · Score: 1

      I don't know about the spoilers bit. Before I read the spoilers, I spent years not getting very far. The game has improved a lot for me since I read the spoilers. I simply had no idea there was so much depth to it.

      First five years of playing, I saw the castle once. Then read spoilers. Next five years, about 18 ascensions. In thousands of attempts, it's still not very easy, Nethack will never be easy :-)

      --
      I believe posters are recognized by their sig. So I made one.
    6. Re:If it's good enough.... by Haeleth · · Score: 2, Funny

      Nethack holds a record where I'm concerned: it's the game I've failed to get into the most frequently.

      It promises depth. It promises adventure. It promises to be better than sliced bread. From the descriptions, it's exactly the game I've been looking for all my life. Yet in actual practice, I still find staring at a grid of ASCII characters, trying to learn an interface more cryptic than Emacs, and dying permanently every five minutes to be somehow just not fun.

      Hmm... it's about the time of year when I try it again. They say there are graphical front-ends which answer two of my three objections... maybe if I try one of those...

    7. Re:If it's good enough.... by August_zero · · Score: 1

      You just need to learn how to play the game. it's not easy, and while it seems like everything is random and you're just going to die over and over again, in actuality 90% of the deaths suffered in NetHack are suicides. Look here spoilers to get you started Newer versions of the game have a prmitive graphical tileset that can be activated in the options (open the config file). It's still not pretty, but some people find pictures easier to deal with than ascii. Never forget the power of Engraving "Elbereth" on the ground when you need a breather, and remember to use the #pray command if you know you are about to die (though don't count on it too much)

      --
      On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
  5. I would.... by GigsVT · · Score: 5, Funny

    I was planning on playing, but I ate some meat earlier and I feel deathly sick.

    --
    I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  6. Hey boys... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    FREE PR0N!!!
    &
    n
    &
    n
    &

    FREE LESBIAN PR0N!!!

    n n
    n
    n

    FREE BEASTIALITY PR0N!!!

    @ @
    u
    @ @

    1. Re:Hey boys... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The parent was in no way a troll, Mr. Moderator. It is quite funny if you have ever played NetHack. If you haven't, why are you reading this article?

    2. Re:Hey boys... by Ackmo · · Score: 1
      Troll? Hmm, better tin it before it's too late. No, don't try to eat it! Sigh. The bite-covered troll rises from the dead!

      Actually, I thought the idea of nethack pr0n was pretty funny.

    3. Re:Hey boys... by ihatesco · · Score: 1

      Hey! That is from Cyde's (and other rgrn-posters) fortune txt file! Where did you find it? I can't find it anywhere on the net :(

      --
      "I am slashbot, hear me roar!"
    4. Re:Hey boys... by irc.goatse.cx+troll · · Score: 1

      Because if he was a fan of nethack he would of probably posted, removing his right to moderate. This of course forces moderators to either be uninformed or uninterested in a story, see my journal for details.

      --
      Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
  7. Best game since Lucky Luke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    NetHack is the best game I have tried since Lukcy Luke.
    - John Wayne

  8. Ughh.... by smoondog · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Last year, after the /. nethack post, I tried nethack. That game is the most ridiculously addictive frustration fest this side of thumb cuffs. I don't understand how some (rare) people can ascend so often. I'm always falling through the floor, pissing off of shopkeepers, getting poisoned by snakes, running out of food, pissing off my god, or getting turned into a were-something. (Those were-somethings deaths are particularly annoying, especially when praying doesn't work) I generally play a dwarf Valkarie, because the mines are really much easier when everything isn't trying to kill you.

    Is there any place for watching logs of successful games, to get an idea of how to play certain aspects of the game? For example, I still have trouble with spells and scrolls. They usually do something bad to me, and I never find out what they do (until I die).

    Heh,

    -Sean

    1. Re:Ughh.... by bakunin · · Score: 5, Informative

      The tournament offers players the option of recording their games as VT ASCII animations, and the option of making these files publicly available.

      Once we've launched, you can go to the gamefiles section to see whether any of the mor successful players have this turned on and (if so) you can re-run those games as terminal movies. Some of them can be incredibly edifying.

      -robin

    2. Re:Ughh.... by Romothecus · · Score: 1
      This site has the largets compendium of "spoilers" (thorough guides on a variety of subjects) that I know of.

      DO NOT READ THEM ALL AT ONCE.

      If you find that you keep dying from the same thing, then don't do it. =)
      For example, drinking from fountains is one of the single largest causes of newbie frustration. Just experiment a lot, and if you find yourself really, really confused, consult a guide at that website. They often have useful advice.

      Some things, like scrolls, just take a while to learn the effects of. It's all about those little one-line messages like "Your hands begin to glow red," or "You feel like someone is helping you."

      Don't despair; it's really one of the most complex and interesting games out there. It just takes a while to get the hang of.

    3. Re:Ughh.... by DrEldarion · · Score: 2, Funny

      I think it's because those people have played the game since it came out due to the fact that it's the only game that reliably runs on Linux (ducks).

    4. Re:Ughh.... by Serra · · Score: 1

      >I'm always falling through the floor

      Go down every staircase as soon as you find it (and then come right back up). The 'up' staircase will then be 'lit' on the next level and you can find it easily if you fall through.

      >>pissing off of shopkeepers

      Stop stealing! Don't zap wands at them, and don't use their stuff if you can't pay for it.

      >>getting poisoned by snakes

      You shouldn't be drinking from a fountain unless you have poison resistance.

      >>running out of food
      Don't play a wizard (spell casting makes you hungry) until you have a better grasp of the game. Also, don't wear rings that aren't neccessary.

      >>pissing off my god
      Quit praying so often! Pay attention to how long it has been since you prayed the last time.
      A good rule of thumb is never to pray twice in the amount of time it takes to go from satiated to hungry.

      >>getting turned into a were-something
      Don't eat werewolf or wererat corpses. Run away from were-things unless you have holy water or a spring of wolfsbane. If all else fails, when you become a werething, use your special monster ability and call other wolves / rats to help you.

      And the here's the tip that helped me ascend - Slow down. If you think that maybe you should head back up a few levels for any reason then do it! Don't go down further in the dungeon than your level (ie.. don't go down to dungeon level 2 until you are at experiance level 2) until you hit sokoban.

      Good Luck.
      Serra the Samurai, bisected by Ashikaga

    5. Re:Ughh.... by dreadnougat · · Score: 1

      "I generally play a dwarf Valkarie, because the mines are really much easier when everything isn't trying to kill you." I find it's much easier with those convenient little gnome rations running around :)

    6. Re:Ughh.... by smoondog · · Score: 1


      >>pissing off of shopkeepers

      Stop stealing! Don't zap wands at them, and don't use their stuff if you can't pay for it.

      You are correct on all of your comments, particularly the slow down part. I have a bad habit of accidently breaking down doors that lead to closed shops, (and certain death) not dying for any of the reasons you list.

      -Sean

    7. Re:Ughh.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nethack has been around a *lot* longer than Linux.

  9. Ulch! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  10. I might as well chime in here by Ignorant+Aardvark · · Score: 1

    In case you haven't noticed my sig, I have a public Nethack server as well. If you want to try out Nethack but don't want to go through the hassle of installing it (it's not much of a hassle if you install binaries, but unless you've installed it from source before, it's not that easy), then try using my server. Simply login to (SSH or telnet) fyre.sytes.net with username "yasd" and password "yasd". Create a name (basically an account), and start playing! If you need help with Nethack, check out the Nethack webpage

    --
    Cyde Weys Musings - Scrutinizing the inscrutable
  11. Great! by EvilSporkMan · · Score: 1

    That password doesn't appear to be working...=(

    --
    -insert a witty something-
    1. Re:Great! by Ignorant+Aardvark · · Score: 1

      Umm, "yasd" is a dummy password. I've erased passwords on the yasd account ... so any password should work. If you're still having problems, try logging in using Telnet. It won't even prompt for a password.

      --
      Cyde Weys Musings - Scrutinizing the inscrutable
  12. yasd? by DLWormwood · · Score: 1
    YASD for an anon account?

    Kind of holding the unregistered players in low regard, are we?

    (For those not familiar with roguelikes, the acronym means, "Lrg Nabgure Fghcvq Qrngu." NetHack's the most infamous for the concept.)

    If NetHack seems too insane, you could try Angband. It's not any easier, but it's much more rational.

    --
    Those who complain about affect & effect on /. should be disemvoweled
    1. Re:yasd? by EvilSporkMan · · Score: 1

      For those not familiar with roguelikes, the acronym means, "Lrg Nabgure Fghcvq Qrngu."
      You know, some of us aren't familiar with ROT13 EITHER...=P

      --
      -insert a witty something-
    2. Re:yasd? by Ignorant+Aardvark · · Score: 1

      Everyone suffers many YASD's. This is NetHack after all, not a cake walk. And all players, "registered" or otherwise, always have to login using the name "yasd" ... after that point I have my Perl script set up to handle logins.

      --
      Cyde Weys Musings - Scrutinizing the inscrutable
    3. Re:yasd? by Haeleth · · Score: 1

      Those not familiar with rot13 probably don't quite fit into Nethack's target audience...

    4. Re:yasd? by Snowspinner · · Score: 1

      Hi.

      I have no clue what the fuck rot13 is.

      I also run WindowsXP. On both of my computers. I use a QWERTY keyboard. I buy from Gateway and Dell. I also never majored in any of the sciences, and vehemently dislike coding.

      My girlfriend goes one step further from all of this, and does not even know what /. is.

      We both play Nethack.

      A lot.

      So, yeah, I think you may be a little bit off on your grasp of Nethack's target audience.

      --
      Philip Sandifer's academic website
    5. Re:yasd? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I have no clue what the fuck rot13 is."

      Whenever I hear of something I don't already know about I use a fantastic search engine called Google. Try it - you might like it.

    6. Re:yasd? by Snowspinner · · Score: 1

      I did that. That wasn't the point.

      The point was the snooty implication that anyone who didn't get his joke wasn't going to be reading this thread anyway.

      Which was snobbish and untrue, and I resented the suggestion that all true geeks know X.

      --
      Philip Sandifer's academic website
    7. Re:yasd? by EvilSporkMan · · Score: 1

      I resented the suggestion that all true geeks know X.
      FWIW, true geeks use the command line, not X! =P

      --
      -insert a witty something-
  13. Someone help me out with this... by Geaus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I tried NetHack. I wanted to like it. I realy, REALLY wanted to like it. But I kept dying to stuff I had no chance of escaping. Open a door at level 3, find a Pony. It runs me down and kills me. Get to the bottom of the mines, a Mummak (sp) runs me down and kills me. By some miracle live long enough to get down to say, dungeon level 13 and what do I find but a Minotaur, which runs me down and kills me. And thats not counting the multitude of times I was just surrounded and outnumbered or met some other ridiculess and almost inavoidable end. I can only assume that past level 13 which is my high score to date, that massively powerful monsters are still waiting below that I will have no chance in blazes to kill before they take me out in 2 turns. Now I know enough that if I see something I cant kill to try and get away, but even as an Elf that wasnt always possible.

    Eventually I gave up in disgust after a month or two of trying to level up a Wizard to the point of getting their artifact. I even tried save scumming. I'm not proud of it, but after a month of trying to live long enough to get past Mines+Sokoban I was willing to try just about anything to find out what I was doing wrong. Even that didnt keep me alive for long.

    Now I may suck at NetHack, but I've been playing just about every type of game under the sun for the last 15 years. And I cannot for the life of me understand what the allure of a game with such random, unavoidable deaths is. Especially when you arent allowed to save. So what makes this game so great? Do people really just enjoy being thrust into inescapable death scenarios, and restarting characters till they get lucky enough to get powerful enough to avoid this kind of random demise?

    1. Re:Someone help me out with this... by xenocide2 · · Score: 1

      I think you just underestimate the power of prayer. Also a good number of people enjoy figuring out how to reduce the randomness through identification methods. Figure out which jewels are worthless, which spellbooks you can read without losing your mind, and which armors can be worn without negative consequences! A minor spoiler: the scroll of identify is the cheapest in the game. Shopkeepers will charge the average customer 26 gil for one (If I remember properly). I suggest not selling them, once he makes an offer.

      --
      I Browse at +4 Flamebait

      Open Source Sysadmin

    2. Re:Someone help me out with this... by blueworld · · Score: 1

      Try another roguelike game that is less randomly wierd. I recommend Angband or one of its variants. I'm a total addict. Yesterday my favorite character died, one i had been working on for five months. Mostly my own stupidity. I almost cried :(

  14. IRC course by DrMorris · · Score: 1

    There will be an IRC course on nethack on Sunday, 16th November 2003 18:00 GMT.

    http://www.linuks.mine.nu/irc/

  15. If we were on rec.games.roguelike.nethack... by ihatesco · · Score: 1

    Someone would have posted the "First Ascension Post" :)...

    + + + +
    By the way, this is someone's rendition of good old Slashdot saying "Natalie Portman Naked and Petrified"...

    The nymph pretends to be friendly.
    The nymph steals your cloak.
    The nymph steals your robe.
    The cockatrice hits, you begin to turn to stone!
    - more -
    The nymph steals your armor.
    The brown pudding hits!
    - more -
    You turn to stone.
    You die. DYWYPI?

    (See http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=3C9DB9F5.9030 702%40libero.it)

    --
    "I am slashbot, hear me roar!"
  16. ELBERETH by tvalley000 · · Score: 1

    Now, all you fanboys -- back away slowly.

  17. magic marker madness by Quasi+Qubit · · Score: 0

    Die unicorn!
    oh thanks for the horn that I polymorph into a magic marker
    Live unicoren corpse!
    Die unicorn!
    oh thanks for the horn. . .

  18. clan EIT ownz devnull by abda · · Score: 1

    We have been training for months for this tournament!
    You are going DOWN!!!
    hahahahaha

  19. Tournament Started by bakunin · · Score: 1

    Welcome to /dev/null/nethack 2003! If you have any issues or problems, please email us. (And a special welcome back to EIT who, as far as we know, are the first folks to ever have put together a NetHack Clan.

    Now, let the games commence! ;-)

    Cheers,
    -robin

  20. Omega for me by t0ny · · Score: 1

    When is somebody going to port the greatest of the rogue-likes (Omega) to the Palm?

    --

    Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.