Message-Id: <2k3ubo$ip7@pith.uoregon.edu>
Date: 19 Feb 1994 02:43:04 GMT
From: seth@cie-2.uoregon.edu (Master Nethacker)
Organization: University of Oregon Campus Information Exchange
Subject: rec.games.hack FAQ (weekly)
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack,rec.games.roguelike.announce
Approved: buglady@bronze.lcs.mit.edu
Lines: 246
Xref: wlnntp.psi.com rec.games.hack:30634 rec.games.roguelike.announce:36

Archive-name: games/nethack-faq
Last-modified:  11 Feb 1994 

Recent changes:  
   28 January:   minor corrections, some new questions and answers.
   11 February:  caltech spoiler site change

   New information/changes shall be preceded by three water demons ('&&&')
   for easier reference.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: E-mail your FAQ suggestions and corrections to

     seth@cie-2.uoregon.edu 

I am not a member of the development team, but I am a knowledgeable and
experienced player.  If you don't see an answer to your question here, please
post an article; if the group does not answer your question, I shall field it,
but please bear in mind that I don't want my mailbox flooded!  


"What is NetHack?"

     NetHack is a single-user, fantasy role-playing computer game, and a
     direct descendant of the games Hack and Rogue.  The "Net" in
     NetHack refers to its development by a team of programmers here in
     the USENET community.

"What is the latest version?"

     NetHack 3.1.3 (version 3.1, patchlevel 3).

"Where do I get it from (source code and executable files)?"

     FTP: linc.cis.upenn.edu  pub/NH3.1/*                   {130.91.6.8}
          Official site for source and PC/AMIGA/ATARI/OS2/MAC/NT/VMS binaries.
          FTP instructions are at the bottom of this article.  Note, please,
          that this archive has strict rules about downloading during peak
          usage; if these rules (no large downloads between 9:00 and 18:00
          local) are not observed, the directory will be removed.

     UUCP: ftp.uu.net or other sites that keep comp.sources.games
           archives.

     VMS: NSI/DECnet(SPAN) from ACDURS::SYS$LCL:[SRC.NETHACK] {or 34210::}
          or anonymous ftp from uars.acd.ucar.edu in [.SRC.NETHACK].

     COMPUSERVE: The GAMERS Forum library.


     IF YOU CAN NOT FTP:  You may wish to investigate an ftp-to-mail service
          available at ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com ... Send a message that says,
          simply, 'help,' and you'll get a file that tells you how to get
          ftp-available files via mail. 

"Who do I contact to report a bug or to get installation help?"

     nethack-bugs@linc.cis.upenn.edu

"Where do I go for more information on playing the game?"

     o    during play: "?" and "/" commands, fortune cookies and the
          Oracle (cookies and the Oracle are notoriously undependable, though)
     o    The guidebook which accompanies the game.
     o    Explore mode: nethack -X    {you start with a wand of wishing}

"Where can I get spoilers from?

     o    Articles posted on rec.games.hack.  (The standard behavior is
          to insert a ctrl-L character before the spoiler so that those
          who wish avoid them can skip the article.)

     o    The WCST NetHack Spoiler File.  Available at sites that archive 
          comp.sources.games, and in the Compuserve GAMERS Forumlibrary.
          To date, the latest release is version 7.00 (for NetHack 3.0).
          You can find it at sites that arcive comp.sources.games in the
          directory:

          comp.sources.games/volume13/nh-spoilers3

          Here is a list of some of the archive sites: (please download
          from within your continent)

          ftp.uu.net                                       {137.39.1.9}
          wuarchive.wustl.edu                           {128.252.135.4}
          usc.edu                                     {128.125.253.136}
          brolga.cc.uq.oz.au                            {130.102.128.5}
          ftp.waseda.ac.jp                                 {133.9.1.32}
          nic.funet.fi                                  {128.214.6.100}

Also, net-posted spoilers are available at: 

&&&       ftp.krl.caltech.edu (Mail brown@reed.edu for more information)

"What is Wizard mode, and how do I use it?"

     The game maintainer can use wizard-mode as a debugging aid.  Try:
     "nethack -u wizard -D" or "nethack -uWizard -D"

"I've undergone a Name Change and then saved the game.  How do I restore
the game?"

     In most implementations you have to tell the game your new name, as
     in: "nethack -u <newname>"


"The Dungeon collapsed.  Can I recover this game?"

     The official binaries contain recover programs that can put level files
     back together into a saved game; if you are playing on a UNIX platform,
     you will probably need the superuser's help to recover the game.

"Where can I get <popular hack of NetHack>?" 

     There are several popular, independent hacks of the official NetHack
     source code around, and their availability (and version compatibility)
     varies by their creators. 

   o 'NetHack --' 

     NetHack -- is a revision of NetHack 3.1.3 that includes some unusual 
     monsters and items. 


   o 'Chrhack' 

    ChrHack (v 2.3) is a front end for IBM pc that replaces the NetHack
    text graphics with bitmaps. The program does not alter the NetHack 
    executable in any way. 

    The site and path for the file is:
       ftp.ulowell.edu:/msdos/Games/Utils/chrhac23.zip  

    Please direct inquiries to the author, Mike Marcelais 
    (mrmarcel@eos.ncsu.edu). 

-----------------------------------------------------------------
                         Basic FTP instructions

If your machine is directly connected to internet, you can obtain the
source code and official binary releases for some popular computers.

Type in the command:

     ftp linc.cis.upenn.edu

or

     ftp 130.91.6.8

You will be connected to upenn, and depending on your system, you'll either
see a message like "login:" or "Name:", at which you can type

     anonymous

OR you may have to give the command "user" or "login" before giving the
name "anonymous."  

Use your e-mail address for a password, such as:

     boris@moose.squirrel.whatsammata.edu

Your email address will NOT appear on the screen as you type it--
don't worry, this is standard, just try to type carefully.

Paying attention to upper and lower case, change directories to the
NetHack base directory, by typing:

     cd pub/NH3.1

You will see the files README and READ_FIRST, which you can obtain by 
typing

    get READEADME

and

    get READ_FIRST

You will also see the subdirectories named "binaries" and "source," which
contain the binaries (ready-to-run files for various operating systems)
and the source code (NOT ready-to-run, don't grab it unless you need LOTS
of reading material ;), respectively.  To get into the binaries directory
from here, type

    cd binaries
.

If you want to know what files are available in any directory, type:

     dir

If you want a binary version of NetHack, type in one of the following
commands:

     cd PC
     cd os2
     cd mac
     cd amiga
     cd atari
     cd nt

Each of these directories contain the binaries and instructions for
installation.  Use the DIR command, and get the README file first.

Regardless what version you want, you'll need to know that there are two
ways to transfer, in "ascii" or in "binary" mode.  By default, you're
already in ascii mode.  If you wish to transfer binary files, type:

     binary

To switch to binary mode.  If you need to switch back, type:

     ascii

As you've seen above, you get files by typing one of these commands:

     get <file>
     get <file> <local.file.name>
     mget <wildcarded file name>

If your local system can handle Unix file structures, you can get all
the source and instructions by typing:

     mget *

To leave your FTP session, type:

     quit

Files that end with either "...uu" or "...uue" are files in Unix
"uuencode" format.  These are binary files encoded into  ascii format,
and must be decoded by a Unix "uudecode" command.  There are versions of
uudecode for many platforms.  Check with your system administrator,
local BBS, etc.  Also, the NetHack source files are all of the form:

     <filename>.tar.Z.uu

Once uudecoded, require two additional Unix programs, "uncompress" (the
'Z' means compressed), and "tar".  Like uudecode, there are versions of
these programs for other platforms.



