NetHackDS v1.1

[Urza]

NetHackDS v1.1
Newcomer rogelike by ~brettk


~brettk has added one more to the list of Nethack ports available for DS. His objective is "to create a port of NetHack for the DS utilizing the unique features of the DS to create an easy-to-use NetHacking experience." The project offers many promising features, and makes use of the dual-screens quite nicely. Features list and download below.

[title:Features]* An unscaled, scrolling map view on the lower screen, which can be interacted with using the touchscreen.
* Minimap, message, and status information rendered to the top screen.
* Support for 16- and 256-color BMP tilesets, including non-rectangular tiles (tiles must have dimensions which are a multiple of 8, e.g. 8x8, 8x16, etc).
* Popup command window for easy access to the full command set.
* On-screen keyboard for text input and extended commands.
* Keys are almost completely configurable.
* Support for both left- and right-handed modes.
* Save and restore.
* Sleep mode.

Download

Source

 

[shadowboy]

Yes.
This rules, the more of these we get the better.
Wonder how it compares to powder...

 

[Urza]

Yes.
This rules, the more of these we get the better.Â
Wonder how it compares to powder...

POWDER has more of a "completed" feel to it, as its much farther in development. However, POWDER was also designed for the GBA, so it doesn't take advantage of the DS' touch screen at all.

This on the other hand gives you full use of the touch screen for keyboard input and as a movement medium. Future versions of this could be quite good.

 

[currynoodles]

I enjoyed NetHack on the PC, however I didn't really like the port to the DS. How does this one fair compared to stuartp's port?

 

[recover]

I've only used stuartp's port and have been unaware of this port...
I must say that the screenshot looks impressive ... stuartp's port haven't been the prettiest thing to play.

Anyhow, this needs some testing to do, thanks for the update!

 

[Heran Bago]

Urza you have grown into quite a wonderful poster.

I'll have to check this out. I love net hack but the other DS port isn't so good.


edit:

Known Issues

  * The touchscreen code is a little… iffy. Most of the time it's pretty accurate. But don't be surprised if it gets the location wrong, occasionally. I'm not sure how to deal with this, aside from multiple sampling, and even then I'm not sure what the right solution is.
  * Text is clipped. This is most noticeable in, say, the history display. Of course, unless I do horizontal scrolling, or start wrapping text, this is rather difficult to fix.

I don't know how playable it 's going to be... As much as I admire the guy for putting this together a wrong move or missed dialog in Nethack can mean death.

 

[Deleted User]

Urza you have grown into quite a wonderful poster.

I'll have to check this out. I love net hack but the other DS port isn't so good.


edit:

Known Issues

    * The touchscreen code is a little… iffy. Most of the time it's pretty accurate. But don't be surprised if it gets the location wrong, occasionally. I'm not sure how to deal with this, aside from multiple sampling, and even then I'm not sure what the right solution is.
    * Text is clipped. This is most noticeable in, say, the history display. Of course, unless I do horizontal scrolling, or start wrapping text, this is rather difficult to fix.
I don't know how playable it 's going to be... As much as I admire the guy for putting this together a wrong move or missed dialog in Nethack can mean death.

agreed. I'd rather have crosspad control than touch screen. Even if the touchscreen code is perfect I guess it is going to work in a auto-advance way... Plus I really like the terminal mode for nethack. Fighting G's is funnier than little tiles...

 

[jesterscourt]

Which tileset was used for that screenshot? Is that now the default instead of the ASCII set?

 

[abcd1234]

(the author, here)

To be clear NetHackDS supports navigation both with the touchscreen *and* the joypad. By default, the joypad can be used for movement, and the buttons are mapped to various actions. Of course, that can all be reconfigured.

As for the tileset, that's the standard 16x16 tileset that ships with NetHack. Of course, I'd *love* some sort of graphical ASCII set, but since no such set exists as of this writing, we're stuck with graphics.

Edit:

Although, now that I think about it, there's no reason I can't render a text font to tiles, internally, and render those... hmm... I think I know what's going in the next major release.

 

[raulpica]

Yay for you!

This is finally a TRUE decent port of Nethack. The other one was terrible to see.

NetHackPSP is my preferred port, I play that even more than the PC version (controls are GREAT)... Must try this now!

If you can, you should take a look to NetHackPSP for the controls. They're really good. You can do EVERYTHING without a Keyboard, so on a DS the result would be even better.

NetHackPSP uses directional pad for walking and by pressing R (or L... don't remember now...) you run.

 

[abcd1234]

Ahh yes, I see. Yeah, the PSP port does have one advantage: more buttons. I'm hoping that the touchscreen will make some of those keymappings unnecessary (you can simply tap the map to quickly move from place to place, and the command window makes it easy to invoke commands quickly, rather than relying on funky key bindings to get at everything). However, having the ability to defined chorded key presses (A+B, etc) in order to make common commands more easily accessible would be handy... I actually thought about implementing that, but I'm not sure how to go about doing it correctly, just yet.

 

[raulpica]

However, having the ability to defined chorded key presses (A+B, etc) in order to make common commands more easily accessible would be handy... I actually thought about implementing that, but I'm not sure how to go about doing it correctly, just yet.

Yes, the PSP one utilizes exactly that. Things like R+X, R+[], to cast, open doors... Really easy to use

 

[Heran Bago]

I always thought it would be interesting to use the DS's touch screen to give a graphical set of inputs rather than a keyboard. Like touch the icon of someone drinking to quaff.

The game's meant to be played with a keyboard though, and then item management would need a huge overhaul, so I guess it isn't quite worth it.

 

[abcd1234]

Well, in a loose sense, that's what the command window and tap-based menus are for. There is *very* little virtual keyboard use in NetHackDS (or, at least, that's the intent), with most of that interaction replaced by key and touchscreen use.

Incidentally, I've released NetHackDS version 1.5, which now supports text mode, as previously alluded to. Looks pretty good, too, if I do say so myself.

 

[Urza]

Useless trivia:

NetHackDS v1.5 is download #1337. http://gbatemp.net/index.php?download=1337

1500th post.

 

[jesterscourt]

NetHack is pretty leet, so I suppose the number designation is fitting.
I'm glad the author jumped into the thread, welcome to GBATemp!

 

[abcd1234]

Thanks! I figure, no better way to improve my work than to see what people are saying and to solicit them for suggestions.