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EvilHack

EvilHack is a NetHack variant that is designed to be a much more challenging experience that the original, drawing inspiration from and incorporating some of the best features from variants such as GruntHack and SporkHack, as well as other interesting bits of code from other variants (Slash'EM, Splicehack, UnNetHack, xNetHack). Wrap all that up along with some custom/unique content never seen before in any other variant, and you have EvilHack.

EvilHack was initially built off of the NetHack 3.6.2 codebase, and will be updated accordingly as NetHack 3.6.x progresses and evolves.

This variant is designed to be difficult, much like how GruntHack and SporkHack turned out to be (hence the name 'EvilHack'). It is not impossible to win by any means, but several aspects of the game that one might take for granted in the 'vanilla' version of NetHack can easily cost you your game in this variant. Various monsters are tougher, have more hit points, can fight more intelligently, and can use a variety of objects against you that previously only the player could use.

The EvilHack changelog is updated regularly and is an excellent resource to access for viewing current changes to existing releases, as well as up and coming changes for future versions - https://github.com/k21971/EvilHack/blob/master/doc/evilhack-changelog.md

More information regarding this variant can be accessed at the NetHackWiki - https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/EvilHack. Have questions and want to interact with people in real time? Visit channels #evilhack or #hardfought on Libera IRC, or #evilhack on the Roguelikes Discord.

Design Philosophy

As stated before, the overall design goal for EvilHack is that it's a more difficult and challenging game than vanilla NetHack or other variants, without sacrificing game balance or (most importantly) the game's fun-factor.

In short:

  • EvilHack is meant to be very difficult and challenging
  • EvilHack is meant to be fun, even though it is difficult
  • Any changes should be balanced
  • Replayablilty/randomness is a priority design goal to ensure unpredictable outcomes and to keep the experience fresh
  • Addressing bugs/balance issues will always be an ongoing process
  • Player feedback/constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged

Installation

Each OS type found under the sys folder has an installation guide for that particular operating system. Pre-compiled binaries for windows OS can be found here - https://github.com/k21971/EvilHack/releases

For Linux (TL;DR version):

  • Dependencies needed: make gcc gdb flex bison libncurses-dev

  • From the desired directory, git clone https://github.com/k21971/EvilHack.git

  • Navigate to the EvilHack/sys/unix folder, then ./setup.sh hints/linux or ./setup.sh hints/linux-debug depending on what you intend to do

    • Using the standard linux hints file assumes running as a normal user, and game folders and files will reside in /home/$USER based on the account used. Invoking sudo should not be necessary

    • Using the linux-debug hints file assumes installing as root, and includes extra CFLAGS for debugging in a development scenario. If you prefer using clang as your compiler and have it installed, see clang-linux-debug as an alternative hints file to use

    • With either hints file, edit the install paths to your liking

  • Navigate back to the root EvilHack folder, and make all && make install

  • Execute the evilhack binary

  • In the home directory of the account used to install EvilHack, create your rc config file - touch .evilhackrc and then edit as necessary