3 ms·
NetHack lost it soul in the 3.x era as soon as they patched out iceboxing Rodney, merged in a bunch of SLASH('EM) stuff, added the Elemental Planes, etc. It's a
by morelisp 5y ago
NetHack lost it soul in the 3.x era as soon as they patched out iceboxing Rodney, merged in a bunch of SLASH('EM) stuff, added the Elemental Planes, etc. It's all stuff that optimizes for memorized, spoilered, scripted player behavior, and against general learning of a consistent world model.
Brogue carries the Hack torch better and is willing to try much more radical changes to bare that soul, to borrow your metaphor.
I'm also of the view that plain old Rogue (e.g. from 4.3 BSD, or the Epyx ports) is still immensely playable today. Why settle for imitators?
- wheelerof4te 5y ago"It's all stuff that optimizes for memorized, spoilered, scripted player behavior, and against general learning of a consistent world model." To be frank, I never got that far in Nethack. But I know what you mean, I experienced it already in TES games. After you "learn" various paths to success, the game stops being fun.
- bhaak 5y agoNetHack's strong side is the early to mid game where you are limited in resources. Not dying by using all the resources that are available to you in the numerous ways that the game supports. That's why self-imposed limitations (so called conducts) like never use wishes or prayers are popular with advanced players.