# Any Nethack players? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2000, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496 "2000-06-05T22:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Suo\_Na](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@Suo\_Na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suo_Na)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2000, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/21 "2000-06-09T10:28:56Z")
As one of those purists, I must say I’m disgusted with you who copy your save files, etc. in order to cheat. Why not just play in wizard mode? Saves time. For me (and many other players) the frustration is part of the fun. That’s why we have web pages devoted to Yet Another Stupid Death stories. Because every game is different you have a lot more variety if you play by the rules than if you use external cheats. With cheating you only play each character class once. After you’ve ascended them all, why bother? Whereas I’ve been playing the game for years and still find it interesting. If you do use external cheats don’t admit it on rec.games.roguelike.nethack or they’ll crucify you. ---
**Author:** ![SqrlCub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SqrlCub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SqrlCub)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2000, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/22 "2000-06-09T14:58:34Z")
I downloaded that again. I didn’t recognize the name until I started playing it. Personally, I think Everquest is better simply becuase it hasimmersive semi-realistic 3D graphics. This one was alright too, but it shows how archaic computer games used to be. It is terribly addictive but Everquest is more so. HUGS! Sqrl ---
**Author:** ![jayron\_32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jayron\_32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayron_32)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2000, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/23 "2000-06-09T15:14:47Z")
It is, bar none, the best game ever invented. I got hooked back at 3.0.0 (before the sub-dungeons (mines and quest) were added. Once I got the expanded version, it’s even cooler. I tend to play barbarian, but occasionally I play Wizard with the hopes that I get a ring of polymorph and a ring of polymorph control as my initial roll. It actually happened once, though I died in some stupid way ( I think in that one I was killed by an halucinogen distorted black naga hatchling or some such). I will go a few months without playing, but then I always come back. Graphics are over rated; for my money give me a game with deep complexity and easy of operation and no graphics over one that has stellar graphics but little depth. Daggerfall is the graphical game that I have played that has come closest to Nethack in terms of depth of play, but even then the object classes are more limited. As a side thread, what is the best weapon anyone has ever had, and not gotten through a wish (and wishing for the enchant weapon scrolls doesn’t count)? I’ve had a few named weapons, but my best ever was a blessed, rustproof +4 dwarvish mattock gotten entirely through discovered and bought items. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2000, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/24 "2000-06-09T18:31:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > I downloaded that again. I didn’t recognize the name until I started playing it. Personally, I think Everquest is better simply becuase it hasimmersive semi-realistic 3D graphics. This one was alright too, but it shows how archaic computer games used to be. It is terribly addictive but Everquest is more so. > > Sqrl > \*\* I don’t know. I tried Everquest and enjoyed it, but there was so much waiting and when I heard about people spending hours online just to wait for a specific creature to be generated I gave it up (plus paying a monthly fee sucks). I find nethack to be very immersive, I don’t mind that I am not actually presented with a picture of the dwarf I am killing or that I have no idea what a Xorn is. I experience a little bit of genuine fear when I have a nice character going and run into a purple “h” (a mindflayer) or a yellow “L” (a lich). Anything that makes me afraid of the alphabet must be good. Rather than 3D graphics showing how archaic the old stuff is, I think the old stuff shows how over-reliant programmers have become on pretty pictures. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2000, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/25 "2000-06-09T20:54:53Z")
So! Anybody remember “Rogue”? ---
**Author:** ![Suo\_Na](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@Suo\_Na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suo_Na)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2000, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/26 "2000-06-10T02:20:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > As a side thread, what is the best weapon anyone has ever had, and not gotten through a wish (and wishing for the enchant weapon scrolls doesn’t count)? > \*\* I’m currently playing a Valk with a blessed rustproof +4 long sword and the blessed rustproof +4 Mjollnir (a gift from Odin). I’m expert in both, and expert in twoweapon combat. And I just ran over Snickersnee in Gehennom (can’t use it, though). Do my two level 22 silver dragon pets count as weapons? I gave birth to them myself. I think I have a chance at ascending this one. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2000, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/27 "2000-06-10T04:00:53Z")
> [@](#): > > I think I have a chance at ascending this one. Oh, now you’ve done it. That phrase is YASD bait if I have every one. I expect your next post will be how you did something stupid involving insta-death. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2000, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/28 "2000-06-10T04:26:27Z")
Nethack newbie update: I just learned not to eat kitten corpses (it wasn’t even my pet). I aggravate monsters. Bad. Don’t eat the purple ones. . . ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2000, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/29 "2000-06-10T08:09:35Z")
Ah, that is a good lesson to learn. Feeding yourself is the first task, but you can’t eat everything. Some things are particularly good to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Suo\_Na](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@Suo\_Na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suo_Na)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2000, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/30 "2000-06-11T08:44:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Nethack newbie update: I just learned not to eat kitten corpses (it wasn’t even my pet). I aggravate monsters. Bad. > Don’t eat the purple ones. . . > \*\* Don’t sacrifice cats, dogs, or humans, either. You can eat your pets if it’s not one of those three (I just love pet wraiths!) Oh, and the Valkyrie just killed the priest of Moloch, and is still going strong… ---
**Author:** ![Baglady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Baglady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baglady)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2000, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/31 "2000-06-14T04:00:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > I just love playing a game that has me turning to my SO and saying, in all seriousness: “I need to eat a floating eye so that I can wear a towel on my head, allowing me to telepathically see the invisible nymph which just stole my blessed +3 Mjollnir!” > \*\* It’s true he loves playing the stuff. He’ll go through periods where that’s all he does on the computer at home, for hours on end, for days and weeks at a time. No mouse action, mind you. Just click-click-click-clackaclacka-click-click for the whole night. He has **not** however, said those **exact** words. When he plays Nethack he’s usually completely oblivious to the world. He might THINK those words… but he’s too busy going click-click-click-clackaclacka-click-click. If not for food and restroom breaks he would probably start growing cobwebs… ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2000, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/32 "2000-06-14T05:43:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > But why would you want to cheat to ascend? Wouldn’t be much more fun than cheating at solitaire. > > Well, if you don’t know… 😉 > > Seriously, though, there’s a kind of personal thrill you can get from saying “my character has more hit points/spells/armor/immunities than yours does”. One other cheat I like to do is, **while** a game is running, dump all my gold and gems on level 2, go back up to level 1, copy the level 2 .LVL file, go back down to level 2, get my stuff, go back up to level 1, _copy my copy of the level 2 .LVL file over the existing one_, go back down to level 2, pick up this _second copy_ of my stuff, go back up to level 1, and repeat until I am wealthy enough to buy out every Shopkeeper in the game. > \*\* Thank you for this one! This is hysterical, if you take time to gather up 20 potions of gain level, or whatnot. 🙂 Makes the gain much more fun. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![monkeylucifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@monkeylucifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeylucifer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2000, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/33 "2000-06-14T16:24:07Z")
I used to play Angband…ALL THE TIME. I was on a tight budget and looking for a cheap form of computer entertainment and stumbled upon Angband, and my nights were never the same. I tried Nethack, but I was so far entrenched in Angand, that I never fully explored the game, but they are both the same type of “rogue” games from what I can tell. I guess I’ll check it out… ---
**Author:** ![monkeylucifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@monkeylucifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeylucifer)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2000, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/34 "2000-06-17T03:28:40Z")
I dl’d Nethack and played it for a while, but it just doesn’t hold a candle to Angband. Nethack seems to have gone off in some interesting directions, such as the pet, sacrificing corpses, but these seem to be derivitive of MUDs. Angband has a much better developed interface and is use of multiple menus blows Nethack away. I stand by Angband…(plus it’s based off of LOTR, so there). ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2000, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/35 "2000-06-17T05:26:41Z")
Well, everyone’s different I guess. I’ve tried Angband and just don’t find it as complex or involving as Nethack. That’s ok, I won’t hate you or anything (ya bastard!). ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2000, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496/36 "2000-06-17T05:32:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Seriously, though, there’s a kind of personal thrill you can get from saying “my character has more hit points/spells/armor/immunities than yours does”. One other cheat I like to do is, **while** a game is running, dump all my gold and gems on level 2, go back up to level 1, copy the level 2 .LVL file, go back down to level 2, get my stuff, go back up to level 1, _copy my copy of the level 2 .LVL file over the existing one_, go back down to level 2, pick up this _second copy_ of my stuff, go back up to level 1, and repeat until I am wealthy enough to buy out every Shopkeeper in the game. > \*\* Dude, thank you for this! It’s brought fun back to the game. Who cares about winning right now? I like stacking up 25 potions of Gain Level or things like that. Awesome fun! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nethack-players/21496.md?page=1)