NetHack - This cockatrice corpse tastes terrible!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > NetHack - This cockatrice corpse tastes terrible!

Cicadalek: May 8, 2006; Trite, contrived, mediocre, milquetoast, amateurish, infantile, cliche-and-gonorrhea-ridden paean to conformism, eye-fucked me, affront to humanity, war crime, should *literally* be tried for war crimes, talentless fuckfest, pedantic, listless, savagely boring, just one repulsive laugh after another

Not that I saw, though it might have been something else that got me. I was standing on Elbereth so I was expecting it to come into melee range like the others, but it just blasted me.

# ? Mar 5, 2009 19:30

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 14:20

stubblyhead: Sep 13, 2007; That is treason, Johnny!; Fun Shoe

Yeah, a disintegration beam definitely spells black dragon, and Elbereth has no effect until the monster is adjacent to you. If the dragon was in a dark room or hallway, you'd never see him without telepathy, since they're cold-blooded.

# ? Mar 5, 2009 19:42

ToxicFrog: Apr 26, 2008

Reflection will also work, and is much easier to acquire than disintegration resistance.

# ? Mar 6, 2009 01:04

sicarius: Dec 12, 2002; In brightest day,
In blackest night,
My smugface makes,
women wet....

That's how it goes, right?

Yay! Nethack. I have always wanted to play this drat game, but always been distracted.

I am now committed to trying to die in as many creative ways as possible. Is there any reason not to play with tiles? I appreciate that people love the old school ASCII, but I have a feeling that will just exaggerate the learning curve for me - I could be wrong.

In any case - what sorts of options should I set before I start and how do I go about doing that? I know I should disable auto-pickup among other things.

# ? Mar 6, 2009 06:26

Garin: Oct 18, 2007; Kick Jonathan

sicarius posted:

Yay! Nethack. I have always wanted to play this drat game, but always been distracted.

I am now committed to trying to die in as many creative ways as possible. Is there any reason not to play with tiles? I appreciate that people love the old school ASCII, but I have a feeling that will just exaggerate the learning curve for me - I could be wrong.

In any case - what sorts of options should I set before I start and how do I go about doing that? I know I should disable auto-pickup among other things.

It's easier to play on NAO, because you don't have to download anything more than PuTTY and you can also get various player rc files for customized settings. Once you're used to ascii symbols it's really easy to identify what kinds of enemies you're facing too.

# ? Mar 6, 2009 06:28

sicarius: Dec 12, 2002; In brightest day,
In blackest night,
My smugface makes,
women wet....

That's how it goes, right?

Garin posted:

It's easier to play on NAO, because you don't have to download anything more than PuTTY and you can also get various player rc files for customized settings. Once you're used to ascii symbols it's really easy to identify what kinds of enemies you're facing too.

I've already downloaded the client - so that's not really the issue. I don't mind editing my own files either. I will also be playing on my laptop a lot when not connected to the internet. So a standalone client is preferable.

# ? Mar 6, 2009 06:31

ToxicFrog: Apr 26, 2008

The main advantages to playing without tiles are that you can play on public servers like NAO, and you can see the entire map at once (which may not be possible with tiles, depending on tile size and screen size). If you're playing locally and feel comfortable with the field of view tiles give you, go for it; my own first ascension (a Valk) was using the tile interface.

# ? Mar 6, 2009 07:04

ledge: Jun 10, 2003

I think ascii ends up easier to recognise things, particularly monsters, once you are used to it.

# ? Mar 6, 2009 07:56

BARON BONGHITS: Jul 20, 2005; ahahaha tyeaa smoke weed lick a nigga fartjohnson chet etc blablab dmx guns are strong WOOF WOOF mameshibaaa~

It's easier to cram more information into an ascii character than a tiny 16x16 sprite, so playing in ascii really is easier and faster once you get used to it. Plus, the hardcore factor.

# ? Mar 6, 2009 09:37

BrockStar: Jan 3, 2004

sicarius posted:

I know I should disable auto-pickup among other things.

Auto-pickup is actually really useful for saving time and precious turns, so long as you edit it to not pickup everything in the game.

http://nethack.wikia.com/wiki/Autopickup

Open defaults.nh in notepad and one of the first things you see is a bunch of #OPTIONS. You can un-comment them (delete the #) to enable each one.

code:

OPTIONS=autopickup,pickup_types:$"=/!?+

This picks up gold, amulets, rings, wands, potions, scrolls, spellbooks, and leaves everything else on the ground. Remember shift+2 toggles auto-pickup on and off

code:

AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION="<*ammo"

You can also set exceptions which work based on string searches. <* picks up items and >* leaves them. Individually naming naming stacks of blessed +7 arrows/daggers "ammo" makes playing Rangers/Rogues way easier.

code:

OPTIONS=autopickup,pickup_types:$"=/!?+*
AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION=">*rock"
AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION=">*glass"
AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION=">*gray stone"

Adding * to your OPTIONS=autopickup along with those exceptions will pick up all gems and unidentified/unnamed glass, but leave all rocks, identified/named glass, and possible loadstones on the ground.

I don't know how to do these on NAO since ASCII gives me a headache.

BrockStar fucked around with this message at 12:11 on Mar 6, 2009

# ? Mar 6, 2009 12:02

stubblyhead: Sep 13, 2007; That is treason, Johnny!; Fun Shoe

BrockStar posted:

Auto-pickup is actually really useful for saving time and precious turns, so long as you edit it to not pickup everything in the game.

Yeah, autopickup is very useful in a lot of ways, but the fact that the default config file turns it on by default with pickup_types set to all is loving retarded. Seriously, statues? I never understood why they would do that.

# ? Mar 6, 2009 17:27

elcyberGoth: Nov 3, 2002; Please, the terms of my parole say I mustn't

Ran into a pretty wild bones file: Black and gray dragons on level 12(!). Looks like this has been a honey trap for a while, as there appeared to be three different piles in there, all with LOADED BoH and no tombstones. Fortunely my sokobon was the reflect one and once I found a cancel my ascension kit came together way faster than usual.

# ? Mar 6, 2009 20:15

Cicadalek: May 8, 2006; Trite, contrived, mediocre, milquetoast, amateurish, infantile, cliche-and-gonorrhea-ridden paean to conformism, eye-fucked me, affront to humanity, war crime, should *literally* be tried for war crimes, talentless fuckfest, pedantic, listless, savagely boring, just one repulsive laugh after another

Was one of the ghosts J5A? It might be the same one I was bitching about last page.

# ? Mar 6, 2009 20:35

elcyberGoth: Nov 3, 2002; Please, the terms of my parole say I mustn't

Cicadalek posted:

Was one of the ghosts J5A? It might be the same one I was bitching about last page.

Wow, yeah. All safe now!

# ? Mar 6, 2009 20:50

kotau: Mar 21, 2003; Whatever is not forbidden is compulsory.

I forgot how fun coming across random people's bones files is.

# ? Mar 7, 2009 19:43

Hipster Scumbag: Apr 6, 2007; by T. Finn

BARON BONGHITS posted:

It's easier to cram more information into an ascii character than a tiny 16x16 sprite, so playing in ascii really is easier and faster once you get used to it. Plus, the hardcore factor.

I also find that using tiles puts me in the wrong frame of mind, I start to treat it like it was Diablo or some poo poo and die pretty fast. Always, always ascii.

The tileset also doesn't make any distinction between a room meeting a corridor with a door and a room/corridor connection without a door. One lets you move diagonally, and one doesn't, which can also be important.

# ? Mar 7, 2009 19:57

Insurrectum: Nov 1, 2005

Hipster Scumbag posted:

The tileset also doesn't make any distinction between a room meeting a corridor with a door and a room/corridor connection without a door. One lets you move diagonally, and one doesn't, which can also be important.

Yes it does.

# ? Mar 7, 2009 20:05

RoboBlaster: Mar 25, 2005; Run, Robot, Run.

The menucolors and hpmon additions are what sealed the deal for me. In the tiles version I kept dying because my low hp kept going unnoticed. Plus NAO is just more fun. It took a little bit of time to get used to ascii but once you get used to it it's gravy. Same thing with hjkl movement; once I got used to it it just seems so much more efficient.

# ? Mar 8, 2009 17:48

Banannana: Aug 12, 2007; Are you my mummy?

I tried playing on NAO once, but movement was just impossible, never mind the ascii. How do you even get around?

# ? Mar 8, 2009 19:06

Laser Spider: Jan 28, 2009

MarionetteOwl posted:

I tried playing on NAO once, but movement was just impossible, never mind the ascii. How do you even get around?

I assume you use the number pad? If so, you can log in here and change your settings. Make sure to check out the rest of their site, as some of the statistics there are interesting.

# ? Mar 8, 2009 19:11

Banannana: Aug 12, 2007; Are you my mummy?

Laser Spider posted:

I assume you use the number pad? If so, you can log in here and change your settings. Make sure to check out the rest of their site, as some of the statistics there are interesting.

Thanks. Maybe I'll have to give NAO another shot. I really like The Kins's tileset though.

# ? Mar 8, 2009 19:12

TheGreatGildersneeze: Feb 24, 2001; My passive aggressive shilling for Microsoft has gone beyond weird obsession levels. I have no attachment to reality outside of my feelings for a plastic box. I should shut my fat fucking mouth and stop trying to do PR for a billion dollar corp

Hipster Scumbag posted:

I also find that using tiles puts me in the wrong frame of mind, I start to treat it like it was Diablo or some poo poo and die pretty fast. Always, always ascii.

The tileset also doesn't make any distinction between a room meeting a corridor with a door and a room/corridor connection without a door. One lets you move diagonally, and one doesn't, which can also be important.

quote:

The default tileset is much, much better, unless you really need to have everything in the game look like a dumb forums emoticon.

Ideally, though, you'll play with ASCII - tiles & junk like Vulture's Eye reduce the amount of dungeon you can see at once and also make you think you're playing something like Diablo that isn't out to kill you the instant you make a mistake.

So because you suck at tiles everyone sucks at tiles? I've ascended all but two of the classes (Monk and Barbarian, and I'm working on a promising Monk) using the goon tileset on local games.

# ? Mar 8, 2009 19:21

RoboBlaster: Mar 25, 2005; Run, Robot, Run.

TheGreatGildersneeze posted:

So because you suck at tiles everyone sucks at tiles? I've ascended all but two of the classes (Monk and Barbarian, and I'm working on a promising Monk) using the goon tileset on local games.

It's not that tiles make you suck, ascii just makes things a bit more efficient.

# ? Mar 8, 2009 21:29

Sgt. Raisins: Oct 21, 2007; Damnit

Is there a way to get the windows console ver. to output one of those final logs when I die or ascend for posting/sharing.

# ? Mar 8, 2009 22:10

ToxicFrog: Apr 26, 2008

The automatic log generation is a custom patch; if your version doesn't have that, the typical approach is to copy/paste from the game into a text file.

# ? Mar 8, 2009 22:53

JawnV6: Jul 4, 2004; So hot ...

Insurrectum posted:

Yes it does.

Ok... which one's which? Would you mind actually explaining the difference instead of just tossing out an assertion?

Only registered members can see post attachments!

# ? Mar 9, 2009 02:01

flatluigi: Apr 23, 2008; here come the planes

JawnV6 posted:

Ok... which one's which? Would you mind actually explaining the difference instead of just tossing out an assertion?

What silly tileset is that?

# ? Mar 9, 2009 02:08

Cicadalek: May 8, 2006; Trite, contrived, mediocre, milquetoast, amateurish, infantile, cliche-and-gonorrhea-ridden paean to conformism, eye-fucked me, affront to humanity, war crime, should *literally* be tried for war crimes, talentless fuckfest, pedantic, listless, savagely boring, just one repulsive laugh after another

A cautionary tale:

code:

*       141577  J5A-Val-Hum-Fem-Law was crushed to death in The Quest          
*               on level 19 [max 20].  Crushed to death by an                  
                exploding drawbridge.                                  73 [139]

Do not stand on a drawbridge if a nearby giant has a wand of striking. This has been your Nethack Tip.

# ? Mar 9, 2009 02:12

JawnV6: Jul 4, 2004; So hot ...

flatluigi posted:

What silly tileset is that?

The one linked in the OP as far as I know. The door diagonal thing was very annoying, I stick to ascii.

# ? Mar 9, 2009 02:17

Zombie #246: Apr 26, 2003; Murr rgghhh ahhrghhh fffff

I seem to be doing okay for some time with my characters now that I'm getting the hang of it; when I first started I died very quickly in silly ways. So far I managed to get a guy to level 7 (xp) before darting into the Gnomish area and getting my poo poo wrecked as soon as I got off the stairs.

What are these bones files people keep talking about?

# ? Mar 9, 2009 05:50

Kleedrac: Jan 16, 2008; Mii, myself & I

Zombie #246 posted:

I seem to be doing okay for some time with my characters now that I'm getting the hang of it; when I first started I died very quickly in silly ways. So far I managed to get a guy to level 7 (xp) before darting into the Gnomish area and getting my poo poo wrecked as soon as I got off the stairs.

What are these bones files people keep talking about?

Whether playing online (NAO) or on your local computer when a character dies there is the possibility (random chance and some levels don't allow it) of the system saving that level as it was when he died with your character becoming a ghost and all your items having a random chance at being cursed. When playing through with a new character there is a random chance that a level with an eligable bones file will be chosen instead of a new one being generated!!

# ? Mar 9, 2009 06:05

G-Prime: Apr 30, 2003; Baby, when it's love,
if it's not rough it isn't fun.

Kleedrac posted:

Whether playing online (NAO) or on your local computer when a character dies there is the possibility (random chance and some levels don't allow it) of the system saving that level as it was when he died with your character becoming a ghost and all your items having a random chance at being cursed. When playing through with a new character there is a random chance that a level with an eligable bones file will be chosen instead of a new one being generated!!

This can lead to hilarity, or just terrible things. If you find bones, whatever killed that guy is probably still around, and you're likely to end up fighting the ghost of that character. It's always nice to find bones that had an item you hadn't identified yet that turned out to be fantastic when you died. But it's terrible when that item is cursed and you're too excited about finding it to bother to check if it is or not. drat you, cursed ring of slow digestion!

# ? Mar 9, 2009 06:08

I am hella PEEVED: Oct 25, 2007; Welcome to Earth.

G-Prime posted:

This can lead to hilarity, or just terrible things. If you find bones, whatever killed that guy is probably still around, and you're likely to end up fighting the ghost of that character. It's always nice to find bones that had an item you hadn't identified yet that turned out to be fantastic when you died. But it's terrible when that item is cursed and you're too excited about finding it to bother to check if it is or not. drat you, cursed ring of slow digestion!

Its not like its hard to get rid of cursed status though. The only problem is when the item can rust and have that rust affect its performance.

Oh and if you are killed by a V,M,or Z i believe you get a monster of that type instead of a ghost.

# ? Mar 9, 2009 06:10

ToxicFrog: Apr 26, 2008

JawnV6 posted:

The one linked in the OP as far as I know. The door diagonal thing was very annoying, I stick to ascii.

The official Nethack tilesets distinguish correctly; look, for example, at the screenshot in the OP (the doorway near the player is empty, but there's at least two other open-door ones on the map). Vulture's also works.

If by "the one linked in the OP" you mean the SA tileset, I believe others have mentioned here that it has issues.

# ? Mar 9, 2009 06:33

Hipster Scumbag: Apr 6, 2007; by T. Finn

TheGreatGildersneeze posted:

So because you suck at tiles everyone sucks at tiles? I've ascended all but two of the classes (Monk and Barbarian, and I'm working on a promising Monk) using the goon tileset on local games.

Let's not forget that the Goony Goon Goon Gune Goon tileset is also pretty hideous and replaces that poetic little @ with a dopey variation on some forums emoticon.

# ? Mar 9, 2009 06:38

Golbez: Oct 9, 2002; 1 2 3!
If you want to take a shot at me get in line, line
1 2 3!
Baby, I've had all my shots and I'm fine

Just started a local game as an elven wizard with a book of identify, ring of teleport control, wand of polymorph, and an altar on dlvl 1.

Any bets on how I'll screw this one up?

Edit: That didn't take long, dancing on a magic trap to get sacrifices for the altar and got a group of enemies I just couldn't handle, and no wand of digging.

Golbez fucked around with this message at 16:05 on Mar 9, 2009

# ? Mar 9, 2009 15:32

Deuce: Jun 18, 2004; Mile High Club

Golbez posted:

Just started a local game as an elven wizard with a book of identify, ring of teleport control, wand of polymorph, and an altar on dlvl 1.

Any bets on how I'll screw this one up?

Poly attempt on pet kills it. Killed by a jackal.

# ? Mar 9, 2009 15:48

Banannana: Aug 12, 2007; Are you my mummy?

Okay, I need some help. Zappy the Wizard is really my first decent run I've had without being stupidly lucky with bones files or magic lamps (I have found neither). I was fortunate enough to get a throne wish for a SDSM, and thanks to a lucky polymorph on a unicorn horn (for a marker) I can now run around just fingering anything I want to death. My big problem is that I've found my quest portal, but I'm only level 12. I have potions of gain level ID'd, but I can't find any, and despite having killed plenty of wraiths, not a single one has left a corpse. How should I go about gaining these last two levels? Should I just ignore the quest for now and continue adventuring deeper, but stopping before the castle until I get them, or is there a better way to do this.

Also, the only altar I've ran into is a cross-aligned one in Minetown, but fortunately I can cast Identify without fail. Needless to say, no Magicbane, but a +5 quarterstaff has been surprisingly powerful. I even whacked a vampire to death since I forgot force bolt (

) and fingering him wasn't working. What sort of end-game weapon should I be hunting for?

Edit: Also, Wikihack is seriously the best Nethack resource ever. All the info you could get reading spoilers, but incredibly easy to search.

# ? Mar 9, 2009 16:00

Smash Daisaku: Jul 12, 2008; Last Bet $15 on Player 1
Odds 807.1:1 ($1)

You should definitely keep exploring downwards. In fact, you might want to go down and clear out the castle to get the wishing wand and all that and then come back up. Not only should that get you to level 14 (or close to it), but you'll have the wishing wand as well, and you may even find an altar on the way down.

Your weapon as a wizard won't be too important since you'll be fingering things and magic missile-ing what you can't finger (You should try to write magic missile if you have enough marker left to do so). Still, it's worth getting Magicbane since it's a pretty decent melee weapon, lets you engrave Elbereth, and absorbs curses.

# ? Mar 9, 2009 16:20

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 14:20

bort: Mar 13, 2003

Some options that I like:

code:

OPTIONS=hilite_pet,!verbose,!legacy

If you're using NAO, you can get better graphics by setting OPTIONS=ibmgraphics and making this change to Putty:
Window, Translation, Received data assumed to be in which character set: CP437.
e: non-Windows terminal info is here

Gets you this:

This also makes lit_corridor a useful option.

Anyone know of a way of setting the non-numberpad meta key to be anything but shift-3?

Click here for my ancient usenet post that has good hints for play.

bort fucked around with this message at 18:51 on Mar 9, 2009

# ? Mar 9, 2009 16:37

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