xref: /csrg-svn/games/hack/help (revision 41277)
1*41277Sbostic	Welcome to HACK!		   ( description of version 1.0.3 )
2*41277Sbostic
3*41277Sbostic	Hack is a Dungeons and Dragons like game where you (the adventurer)
4*41277Sbosticdescend into the depths of the dungeon in search of the Amulet of Yendor
5*41277Sbostic(reputed to be hidden on the twentieth level).  You are accompanied by a
6*41277Sbosticlittle dog that can help you in many ways and can be trained to do all
7*41277Sbosticsorts of things. On the way you will find useful (or useless) items, (quite
8*41277Sbosticpossibly with magic properties) and assorted monsters.  You attack a monster
9*41277Sbosticby trying to move into the space a monster is in (but often it is much
10*41277Sbosticwiser to leave it alone).
11*41277Sbostic
12*41277Sbostic	Unlike most adventure games, which give you a verbal description of
13*41277Sbosticyour location, hack gives you a visual image of the dungeon level you are on.
14*41277Sbostic
15*41277Sbostic	Hack uses the following symbols:
16*41277Sbostic		A to Z and a to z:  monsters.  You can find out what a letter
17*41277Sbosticrepresents by saying "/ (letter)", as in "/A", which will tell you that 'A'
18*41277Sbosticis a giant ant.
19*41277Sbostic		- and |  These form the walls of a room (or maze).
20*41277Sbostic		.  this is the floor of a room.
21*41277Sbostic		#  this is a corridor.
22*41277Sbostic		>  this is the staircase to the next level.
23*41277Sbostic		<  the staircase to the previous level.
24*41277Sbostic		`  A large boulder.
25*41277Sbostic		@  You (usually).
26*41277Sbostic		^  A trap.
27*41277Sbostic		)  A weapon of some sort.
28*41277Sbostic		(  Some other useful object (key, rope, dynamite, camera, ...)
29*41277Sbostic		[  A suit of armor.
30*41277Sbostic		%  A piece of food (not necessarily healthy ...).
31*41277Sbostic		/  A wand.
32*41277Sbostic		=  A ring.
33*41277Sbostic		?  A scroll.
34*41277Sbostic		!  A magic potion.
35*41277Sbostic		$  A pile or pot of gold.
36*41277Sbostic
37*41277SbosticCommands:
38*41277Sbostic	Hack knows the following commands:
39*41277Sbostic	?	help: print this list.
40*41277Sbostic	Q	Quit the game.
41*41277Sbostic	S	Save the game.
42*41277Sbostic	!	Escape to a shell.
43*41277Sbostic	^Z	Suspend the game.
44*41277Sbostic	<	up: go up the staircase (if you are standing on it).
45*41277Sbostic	>	down: go down (just like up).
46*41277Sbostic	kjhlyubn - go one step in the direction indicated.
47*41277Sbostic		k: north (i.e., to the top of the screen),
48*41277Sbostic		j: south, h: west, l: east, y: ne, u: nw, b: se, n: sw.
49*41277Sbostic	KJHLYUBN - Go in that direction until you hit a wall or run
50*41277Sbostic		into something.
51*41277Sbostic	m	(followed by one of kjhlyubn): move without picking up
52*41277Sbostic		any objects.
53*41277Sbostic	M	(followed by one of KJHLYUBN): Move far, no pickup.
54*41277Sbostic	f	(followed by one of kjhlyubn): move until something
55*41277Sbostic		interesting is found.
56*41277Sbostic	F	(followed by one of KJHLYUBN): as previous, but forking
57*41277Sbostic		of corridors is not considered interesting.
58*41277Sbostic	i	print your inventory.
59*41277Sbostic	I	print selected parts of your inventory, like in
60*41277Sbostic		I* - print all gems in inventory;
61*41277Sbostic		IU - print all unpaid items;
62*41277Sbostic		IX - print all used up items that are on your shopping bill;
63*41277Sbostic		I$ - count your money.
64*41277Sbostic	s	search for secret doors and traps around you.
65*41277Sbostic	^	ask for the type of a trap you found earlier.
66*41277Sbostic	)	ask for current wielded weapon.
67*41277Sbostic	[	ask for current armor.
68*41277Sbostic	=	ask for current rings.
69*41277Sbostic	$	count how many gold pieces you are carrying.
70*41277Sbostic	.	rest, do nothing.
71*41277Sbostic	,	pick up some things.
72*41277Sbostic	:	look at what is here.
73*41277Sbostic	^T	teleport.
74*41277Sbostic	^R	redraw the screen.
75*41277Sbostic	^P	repeat last message
76*41277Sbostic		(subsequent ^P's repeat earlier messages).
77*41277Sbostic	/	(followed by any symbol): tell what this symbol represents.
78*41277Sbostic	\	tell what has been discovered.
79*41277Sbostic	e	eat food.
80*41277Sbostic	w	wield weapon. w- means: wield nothing, use bare hands.
81*41277Sbostic	q	drink (quaff) a potion.
82*41277Sbostic	r	read a scroll.
83*41277Sbostic	T	Takeoff armor.
84*41277Sbostic	R	Remove Ring.
85*41277Sbostic	W	Wear armor.
86*41277Sbostic	P	Put on a ring.
87*41277Sbostic	z	zap a wand.
88*41277Sbostic	t	throw an object or shoot an arrow.
89*41277Sbostic	p	pay your shopping bill.
90*41277Sbostic	d	drop something. d7a: drop seven items of object a.
91*41277Sbostic	D	Drop several things.
92*41277Sbostic		In answer to the question "What kinds of things do you
93*41277Sbostic		want to drop? [!%= au]" you should give zero or more
94*41277Sbostic		object symbols possibly followed by 'a' and/or 'u'.
95*41277Sbostic		'a' means: drop all such objects, without asking for
96*41277Sbostic			confirmation.
97*41277Sbostic		'u' means: drop only unpaid objects (when in a shop).
98*41277Sbostic	a	use, apply - Generic command for using a key to lock
99*41277Sbostic		or unlock a door, using a camera, using a rope, etc.
100*41277Sbostic	c	call: name a certain object or class of objects.
101*41277Sbostic	C	Call: Name an individual monster.
102*41277Sbostic	E	Engrave: Write a message in the dust on the floor.
103*41277Sbostic		E- means: use fingers for writing.
104*41277Sbostic	O	Set options. You will be asked to enter an option line.
105*41277Sbostic		If this is empty, the current options are reported.
106*41277Sbostic		Otherwise it should be a list of options separated by commas.
107*41277Sbostic		Possible boolean options are: oneline, time, news, tombstone,
108*41277Sbostic		rest_on_space, fixinvlet, beginner, male, female.
109*41277Sbostic		They can be negated by prefixing them with '!' or "no".
110*41277Sbostic		A string option is name; it supplies the answer to the question
111*41277Sbostic		"Who are you?"; it may have a suffix.
112*41277Sbostic		A compound option is endgame; it is followed by a description
113*41277Sbostic		of what parts of the list of topscorers should be printed
114*41277Sbostic		when the game is finished.
115*41277Sbostic		Usually one will not want to use the 'O' command, but instead
116*41277Sbostic		put a HACKOPTIONS="...." line in one's environment.
117*41277Sbostic	v	print version number.
118*41277Sbostic
119*41277Sbostic	You can put a number before a command to repeat it that many times,
120*41277Sbostic	as in "20s" or "40.".
121*41277Sbostic
122*41277Sbostic	At present, some information is displayed on the bottom line.
123*41277Sbostic	(It is expected that this information will go away in future versions.)
124*41277Sbostic	You see on what dungeon level you are, how many hit points you have
125*41277Sbostic	now (and will have when fully recovered), what your armor class is
126*41277Sbostic	(the lower the better), your strength, experience level and the
127*41277Sbostic	state of your stomach.
128*41277Sbostic
129*41277Sbostic	Have Fun, and Good Hacking!
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