Re: [vox] nethack...

[Peter Jay Salzman <p@dirac.oMAPSrg>]

begin dugan@passwall.com <dugan@passwall.com> 
> 
> I have played nethack off and on for a long time. I even made it to some
> lower levels (like 27) in the dungeon before I died...
> 
> Anyway, I read the man pages on it a long time ago. One of the things
> that it stated is that nobody has ever been able to get the Amulet of
> Yendor, and bring it back to the surface to win the game.
 
i dunno.  LOTS of people claim to have won the game without cheating.
there's a webpage i stumbled across that lists the names of people who
supposedly won at nethack without cheating.

frankly, i don't believe any of them.  the lyin' bastards.  ;)

> This made me suspicious. It made me wonder if it was even possible to do
> this. (You know, make a game that is impossible to win and laugh while
> people waste their time.)
> 
> Well, I *know* it is possible to "win the game" if you cheat. I have
> also found feedback cycles in the game which would allow you to make the
> game work to your advantage if you are able to set them up. I have also
> found a way to get the amulet but may not be the *only* way.
> 
> If you have played this game, and want to know some of the "secrets" I
> found, please send me a private e-mail. I dont want to send spoilers to
> this open list for those who want to play it for real without cheating.

sounds cool.  maybe you can post it to the web?  in rec.games.nethack,
people do this sort of thing:




             DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!!!  DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!!!

 
                             SPOILERS AHEAD


             DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!!!  DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!!!
































nethack is a tough game!


> In some ways, saying that ther *is* a way to win to game when cheating,
> may be a kind of spoiler in itself. (Sorry.)

nah!

> Perhaps, now that I know it is possible, I will work to do it without
> cheating. Heh heh heh. :-D
 
i've "won" at nethack a few times, but they all involved cheating.  i
never entered wizard mode, but i did things like:

put a makewish() call in each case of the switch statements that
determine what happens when you drink at a fountain or sink

commented out code in dozap() that decreases the number of remaining
charges in a wand

modified the sections of code which check to see if your god gets angry
at you for praying too much (what a strange comment).


yeah, i know.  shameful.  but frankly, i didn't want to make nethack a
life long pursuit, and i wanted to see the ending, dammit!

for what it's worth, even after modifying the source code, it was still
TREMENDOUSLY difficult to finish.  almost too hard to be fun.  i can
only imagine what it's like without cheating...

finishing nethack without cheating makes theoretical high energy physics
look like basket weaving.

pete

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