

HACK(6)                BSD Reference Manual               HACK(6)


NNAAMMEE
       hack - exploring The Dungeons of Doom

SSYYNNOOPPSSIISS
       //uussrr//ggaammeess//hhaacckk [ --dd _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y ] [ --nn ] [ --uu _p_l_a_y_e_r_n_a_m_e ]
       //uussrr//ggaammeess//hhaacckk [ --dd _d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y ] --ss [ --XX ] [ _p_l_a_y_e_r_n_a_m_e_s ]

DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN
       _H_a_c_k is a display oriented dungeons & dragons - like game.
       Both display and command structure resemble rogue.  (For a
       game with the same structure but entirely  different  dis-
       play  -  a  real  cave  instead  of  dull rectangles - try
       Quest.)

       To get started you really only need to know two  commands.
       The  command ??  will give you a list of the available com-
       mands and the command // will identify the things  you  see
       on the screen.

       To  win  the  game  (as  opposed to merely playing to beat
       other people high scores) you must locate  the  Amulet  of
       Yendor which is somewhere below the 20th level of the dun-
       geon and get it out.  Nobody has achieved this yet and  if
       somebody  does,  he  will probably go down in history as a
       hero among heroes.

       When the game ends, either by your death, when  you  quit,
       or  if  you  escape  from the caves, _h_a_c_k will give you (a
       fragment of) the list of  top  scorers.   The  scoring  is
       based  on  many aspects of your behavior but a rough esti-
       mate is obtained by taking the amount of gold you've found
       in  the  cave plus four times your (real) experience. Pre-
       cious stones may be worth a lot of gold  when  brought  to
       the  exit.   There  is  a 10% penalty for getting yourself
       killed.

       The administration of the game is kept  in  the  directory
       specified  with  the  --dd  option, or, if no such option is
       given, in the directory specified by the environment vari-
       able  HACKDIR, or, if no such variable exists, in the cur-
       rent directory. This same directory contains several  aux-
       iliary files such as lockfiles and the list of top scorers
       and a subdirectory _s_a_v_e where games are saved.   The  game
       administrator  may  however  choose to install hack with a
       fixed playing ground, usually /usr/games/lib/hackdir.

       The --nn option suppresses printing of the news.

       The --uu _p_l_a_y_e_r_n_a_m_e option supplies the answer to the  ques-
       tion "Who are you?".  When _p_l_a_y_e_r_n_a_m_e has as suffix one of
       --TT --SS --KK --FF --CC --WW then this supplies  the  answer  to  the


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HACK(6)                BSD Reference Manual               HACK(6)


       question "What kind of character ... ?".

       The  --ss  option will print out the list of your scores. It
       may be followed by arguments --XX where X is one of the let-
       ters  C,  F,  K,  S,  T, W to print the scores of Cavemen,
       Fighters, Knights, Speleologists, Tourists or Wizards.  It
       may  also be followed by one or more player names to print
       the scores of the players mentioned.

AAUUTTHHOORRSS
       Jay Fenlason (+ Kenny Woodland, Mike Thome and Jon  Payne)
       wrote the original hack, very much like rogue (but full of
       bugs).
       Andries Brouwer continuously deformed their  sources  into
       the  current version - in fact an entirely different game.

FFIILLEESS
       hack           The hack program.
       data, rumors   Data files used by hack.
       help, hh       Help data files.
       record         The list of top scorers.
       save           A subdirectory containing the saved
                      games.
       bones_dd       Descriptions of the ghost and
                      belongings of a deceased adventurer.
       xlock.dd       Description of a dungeon level.
       safelock       Lock file for xlock.
       record_lock    Lock file for record.

EENNVVIIRROONNMMEENNTT
       USER or LOGNAME    Your login name.
       HOME               Your home directory.
       SHELL              Your shell.
       TERM               The type of your terminal.
       HACKPAGER, PAGER   Pager used instead of default pager.
       MAIL               Mailbox file.
       MAILREADER         Reader used instead of default
                          (probably /bin/mail or  /usr/ucb/mail).
       HACKDIR            Playground.
       HACKOPTIONS        String predefining several hack options
                          (see help file).

       Several other environment variables are used in  debugging
       (wizard) mode, like GENOCIDED, INVENT, MAGIC and SHOPTYPE.

BBUUGGSS
       Probably infinite.  Mail complaints to mcvax!aeb .


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