Hacking NetHack: The Game's Best Addons and Plugins!

Here we go again!  In honor of devnull's yearly tournament for the still-popular ASCII dungeon romp NetHack, we're taking a look at the five greatest modifications to this ancient classic.  But in case you've never even heard of NetHack before, here's the deal: it started out as an ASCII-based dungeon exploration game that, in many ways, has become a precursor to all sorts of genre-busters.  Even to this day, games like Fable II have borrowed from some of NetHack's better features (a travelling animal companion, in this case). 

The game's dungeons are randomly generated each time you play. You can master the nuances and inventory management skills of NetHack, but there's always that little chance that the next step you take could spell you death in any number of creative ways--in fact, finding all the possible ways to die is a near-impossible task in itself, a fun little challenge for yourself in case you get tired of trying to "ascend," the term used for beating the game.

To start out, you'll want to grab the main executable:

Nethack

Why two screenshots?  Because the game comes with an original DOS mode and a semi-souped up Windows verison (far prettier graphics and management, if you ask us). We won't tell you which one to use--they're both the same game, after all.  But purists will forever love the black-and-white joy of the oldschool DOS varient, so if you're new to NetHack, you might want to try that out.  You know, respecting your elders and all that.

Download it here!

Noegnud

What it does: If you think the Windows GUI of NetHack is fancy, you ain't seen nothing yet.  Noegnud is a full 3D rehash of NetHack that must be seen to be believed.  While it still lacks the visual quality of a title like, say, Neverwinter Nights 2, it's the closest you're going to get to that kind of an experience from a game that originated as a 2D ASCII title.

Download it here!

YHACS

Why no picture?  That's because YHACS stands for, "You hear a clicking sound."  It's an audio add-on for NetHack that's a solid attempt at spicing up this silent film of a game.  Seriously, the most you're ever going to hear in NetHack is the sound of your fingers going click-clack-click against your keyboard.  YHACS effects might sound a little corny at times, but they're sure better than the alternative--romping through a spooky dungeon in complete, utter silence.

Download it here!

Dungeon Crawl

What is it?  If the thought of a traversing a 3D landscape doesn't suit you and you clamor for the older version of NetHack gameplay that just looks a little prettier than default, Dungeon Crawl is for you.  It's a tileset modification that replaces all of NetHack's standard graphics with a more pleasant (and larger) set of images.  You're free to swap between this and multiple sizes of the old, old ASCII mode at will, so feel free to play around until you've found the NetHack that suits you best!

Download it here!

Vulture's Claw

Vulture's what? This, fellow adventurers, is the whammy.  It's a spin-off of a spin-off for NetHack that not only adds a lush, 3D interface to the game, but it runs with customized sounds and music. It’s like someone took the best of all of the add-ons we previously mentioned, made them better, and smashed them into a single NetHack distribution.  We're not joking on this point--this modification makes NetHack look like a classic Sierra title.  Your DOS days are numbered once you wrap your fingers around Vulture's Claw.

Download it here!