Developed since 1987: Major update for game oldie "NetHack"

One of the oldest still actively developed computer games, “NetHack,” has received another major update, jumping directly from version 3.6.7 to 5.0.0. The update not only addresses bug fixes but also introduces numerous changes to the game itself – the developers are talking about more than 3100 modifications to the code. All of them can be viewed.

However, the team warns that some entries – especially regarding new features – may contain spoilers. Additionally, previous save files will no longer work after the update.

Even a ten-year update pause

“NetHack” has been around since 1987. The first released version was a significant further development of the game “Hack,” published in 1984, which in turn was heavily based on “Rogue,” released four years earlier. Updates were then released at irregular intervals, sometimes with more than ten years between them. After the most recent major update to version 3.6.0, several smaller updates were released, primarily fixing errors. The current update improves, among other things, the general architecture of the software.

“NetHack” is a text-based role-playing game whose “graphics” initially consisted of ASCII characters. However, the game now runs on a wide variety of platforms and has long included graphical interfaces that many players prefer. With a previously customized character, you explore a newly generated dungeon in search of the Amulet of Yendor, stolen by the evil Moloch. The explicit goal is not to kill everything and everyone, but to explore. “NetHack” is primarily known for its enormous scope, its humor, and for the fact that the game seems to be prepared for every conceivable in-game situation. There is an extensive “Guidebook,” which has been adapted for the current update.

(mho)