Archive-name: games/roguelike Last-modified: 95-03-27 Posting-Frequency: weakly (every seven to nine days) URL: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/games/roguelike/faq.html Roguelike Adventure Games ------------------------- 0.) News flashes 1.) What are the roguelike games? 2.) List of major roguelike games 3.) List of minor roguelike games 4.) List of "multi-user roguelike games" 5.) What are *not* roguelike games? 6.) How to get files by FTP 7.) About this FAQ... ----------------------------------------------------- Subject: 0.) News flashes 02/??/95: NEW GAME! Alphaman (PC only) 02/??/95: WWW: Home page at http://www.win.tue.nl/games/roguelike/ 02/01/95: KEEP: This game cannot be released for legal reasons, so please do not write to the old maintainer asking for it. 12/18/94: NEW GAME! Ragnarok (PC only, Shareware release) ------------------------------------------------ Subject: 1.) What are the roguelike games? A long time ago, on a computer system far, far, away, there was rogue. Players wandered a dungeon, hacking and slashing at monsters, gaining treasures, becoming more powerful, and living their D&D nightmares. Rogue was a good game; people still play it. It was even distributed with many copies of Unix. But rogue is a relatively simple and limited game compared to most of the descendants it has spawned... Although the common features of rogue and its many descendants are 'obvious' to many people, they are difficult to describe in simple terms. Generally, the games mentioned below are single-user, fantasy role-playing computer games, generally set in a dungeon, run with a simple character-graphic interface. In all of the games, the player controls a single character, who roams around getting more powerful, in order to fulfill a difficult quest. Sword-and-sorcery rule the day. Logistically, they're all free games; executables, and generally sources, are available by FTP. The similarities end there, though. More information can be found in the 6 UseNet newsgroups dedicated to rogue and its descendants - rec.games.roguelike.nethack, rec.games.roguelike.moria, rec.games.roguelike.rogue, rec.games.roguelike.angband, rec.games.roguelike.misc, and rec.games.roguelike.announce (alt.games.omega belongs in this list, but is a poorly propagated group, which many readers cannot access.) Below are listed basic information about all roguelike games known to me, in alphabetical order. I've listed the main ftp site(s) for each game; however, it's polite to use mirror sites, if closer to you, especially if you're not in the same continent. ------------------------------------------------ Subject: 2.) List of major roguelike games Listed below are the 'major' roguelike games. Please note that my definitions of 'major' versus 'minor' games are pretty arbitrary. In most cases, games without a well-known ftp site for sources get to be listed as 'minor', whatever else their qualifications may be. (All of my information comes from trolling the various newsgroups; if your favorite game isn't listed, send mail to rgra@bronze.lcs.mit.edu) If you have WWW access, (Mosaic, Lynx, NetScape, etc.) a Home Page for the major Roguelike games is at URL: http://www.win.tue.nl/games/roguelike/ GAME: Angband Release: 2.7.3v2 (Unix/Linux/DOS/OS2/MS-Windows/Mac, 03/95) 2.7.4 beta Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.angband FTP Site: linc.cis.upenn.edu/pub/angband FAQ Avail: cteague@cs.umb.edu (Charles F. Teague II) jth@acpub.duke.edu (Mac version only.) Spoilers: ftp.cis.ksu.edu/pub/Games/Angband/doc (from early 1994) WWW: http://www.lm.com/users/peterb/angband/angband.html Maint.: Ben Harrison (03/95) Platforms: Unix, PC, Mac, Amiga, Atari, ... Features: infinite random dungeon. unique monsters and artifacts. Misc: Still somewhat close to Moria in feel. Variants: BAngband (obsolete), FAngband, SAngband (0.8), QAngband (1.4.1) Some unofficial variants live in ftp.cis.ksu.edu:/pub/upload GAME: Moria Release: 5.5.2 (07/26/94) Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.moria (was rec.games.moria) FTP Site: ftp.cis.ksu.edu:/pub/Games/Moria/* or mail 'help' to mailserver@cis.ksu.edu FAQ Avail: grabiner@math.harvard.edu (David Grabiner) Posted twice monthly. Spoilers: At the ftp site. WWW: http://www2.ecst.csuchico.edu/~beej/moria/moria.html Platforms: Unix, PC, Mac, VMS, Amiga, Atari, ... Features: Infinite dungeon. Restocking stores. 6 classes/8 races. Misc: What is generally discussed is more properly called Umoria Variants: PMoria, IMoria (VMS only; see Moria FAQ), Morgul, Druid Moria, Purple X (Mac), CWMMoria (Amiga); see also Angband, BOSS. GAME: NetHack Release: 3.1.3 (7/93) Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (was rec.games.hack) FTP Site: linc.cis.upenn.edu:/pub/NH3.1/* {130.91.6.8} FAQ Avail: seth@cie-2.uoregon.edu, posted weekly (FAQ and "Spoiler FAQ") Spoilers: ftp.uu.net:/usenet/comp.sources.games/volume13/nh-spoilers3/* ftp.win.tue.nl:/pub/games/nethack/README (WCST spoilers, monster listings, game variants, etc) WWW: http://www.win.tue.nl/games/roguelike/nethack/ http://www.win.tue.nl/games/roguelike/nethack/spoilers_700/ http://www.engin.umich.edu/labs/mel/mneylon/nh/nethack.html Platforms: Unixes, Mac, PC, NT, OS/2, Amiga, VMS, Atari, X Features: Everything including the kitchen sink Misc: ChrHack and NhSound add-ons available Variants: Hack Lite (see below), NetHack--, NhPlus, NHTNG ------------------------------------------------ Subject: 3.) List of minor roguelike games Listed below are what I know of the 'minor' roguelike games. In most cases, my information is pretty skimpy, and way out-of-date. GAME: BOSS Release: 2.0 Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.moria (was rec.games.moria) FTP Site: ftp.cis.ksu.edu:/pub/Games/Moria/BOSS/* FAQ Avail: At the ftp site Spoilers: At the ftp site Platforms: VMS; Mac (beta); Unix port Real Soon Now Features: Cyberpunk Moria Misc: "A game you can win in a weekend" Mac beta version supported by markv@isy.liu.se GAME: Hack Release: ? (1.0.2, 1.0.3, 5.2 are all floating around) Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.nethack or rec.games.roguelike.misc FTP Site: check comp.sources.games (or net.sources) archive sites ftp.cica.indiana.edu:/pub/pc/win3/games/w_ohack.zip (MS-Windows) (requires /pub/pc/win3/utils/w_one49.zip ) ftp.win.tue.nl:/pub/games/nethack/Msdos/hack101.zip (MsDos) FAQ Avail: No Spoilers: ? Platforms: Unix, PCs, Atari ST, probably others Features: And your little dog too! Misc: Distributed with some Unixes GAME: Hack Lite Release: 2.8.1 (07/94) Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.nethack or rec.games.roguelike.misc or comp.sys.amiga.games FTP Site: wuarchive.wustl.edu (or any AmiNET site) /pub/aminet/game/role/HackLite2_1.lha ftp.win.tue.nl:/pub/games/nethack/Msdos or /Amiga (binaries only, source not available) FAQ Avail: No Spoilers: No Platforms: Amiga, MS-DOS Features: graphics; contact ponds!squink!biljir@dg-rtp.dg.com (Alan Beale) Misc: "NetHack made simple" GAME: Keep Release: Not publically available. Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.misc FTP Site: None. FAQ Avail: ? Spoilers: ? Platforms: ? Features: Escape from a keep, starting in the garden Misc: Last sighted at UCSC in 1991 Cannot be released for legal reasons. GAME: Larn Release: 12.2 was posted to comp.sources.games Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.misc FTP Site: ftp.uu.net:/usenet/comp.sources.games/volume11/larn (192.48.96.9) wuarchive.wustl.edu:/pub/msdos/games/adventures/larn123e.zoo nic.funet.fi:/pub/msdos/games/adventures/larn123e.zoo atari.archive.umich.edu:/? FAQ Avail: ? Spoilers: ? Platforms: PCs, Unix, Atari ST, Amiga, more? Features: Time-limited quest; no character classes; variable difficulty Misc: Good beginner game. Executables I've seen have exploitable bugs. Ularn is a descendant of Larn, adding character classes. GAME: Omega Release: 0.80 patch level 2 (94/07/??), "0.75-derived" (Mac) Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.misc, alt.games.omega FTP Site: ftp.std.com:/src/games/omega3.tar.Z (0.75) monu1.cc.monash.edu.au:/pub/omega/omegav0.80.2.tar.gz /pub/omega/omexe802.zip /pub/omega/ami_omega.80.2.lha sumex-aim.stanford.edu:/info-mac/game/omega-075.hqx FAQ Avail: Posted by cory@wwa.com (Cory L. Kerens) Spoilers: Occasionally posted. (by whom???) WWW: ? Maint.: Erik Max Francis (omega@alcyone.darkside.com) (02/95) Platforms: Unix, PC, Amiga, Atari ST, MS-Windows, OS/2, Mac Features: Multi-dungeons; Fractional speeds; Quests; Personality Misc: Rewrite by Tom O Breton (tob@world.std.com) in progress. GAME: PMoria Release: ? Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.moria (was rec.games.moria) FTP Site: ? FAQ Avail: No Spoilers: No Platforms: ? Features: More classes/races/spells/monsters. Quiver slot. Misc: Descended from UMoria 5.5 Maintained by jls11@po.CWRU.Edu (John L. Spetz) GAME: Ragnarok Release: 2.2 Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.misc FTP Site: poppy.engr.ucdavis.edu/rag22.exe (executable only) chiara.dei.unipd.it:/pub/ragnarok {147.162.96.19} ftp.win.tue.nl:/pub/games/ragnarok/rag22.exe (executable only) FAQ Avail: No Spoilers: ftp.win.tue.nl:/pub/games/ragnarok/spoilers.txt chiara.dei.unipd.it:/pub/ragnarok/dedos4/spoiler* WWW: http://thor.chemie.uni-dortmund.de/misc/ragnarok.html http://www.win.tue.nl/games/roguelike/ragnarok/ Maint.: Thomas Boyd Platforms: MS-DOS + VGA; may be ported if there is interest Features: NetHackish game with graphics; Norse mythos; quests Misc: Shareware release (12/94) of commercial game. GAME: Rogomatic Release: ? Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.rogue FTP Site: ftp.uu.net:/pub/games/rogomatic.tar.Z FAQ Avail: ? Spoilers: This *is* a spoiler! Platforms: ? Features: Plays rogue for you! Well! Misc: *Very* version-dependant, apparently GAME: Rogue Release: 5.3 ? Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.rogue (was rec.games.rogue) FTP Site: Only "officially" released as VAX binaries with BSD Unix ftp.uu.net:usenet/comp.sources.games/volume1/rogue (Stoehr clone) macbeth.cogsci.ed.ac.uk:/pub/rogue.zip } 1984 PC port (Lane) ftp.digex.net:/pub/access/buglady/rogue.zip } v 1.1 Mr.McTesq FAQ Avail: ? Spoilers: ? Platforms: Unix, PC, Atari ST, Amiga (by Epyx); Mac version 'in progress' Features: ? Misc: This is where it all started; urogue and srogue and bugs, oh my! GAME: The Land Release: ? Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.misc FTP Site: ? FAQ Avail: ? Spoilers: ? Platforms: IBM PC with CGA graphics Features: ? Misc: Set in the world of Thomas Covenant; probably copyrighted ------------------------------------------------ Subject: 4.) List of "multi-user roguelike games" Listed below are "multi-user roguelike games". Yeah, yeah, I know, I said at the top that all roguelike games were single-player. I lied. GAME: Myth Release: 1.06 Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.misc FTP Site: ftp.iesd.auc.dk:/pub/games/myth/myth-1.06.tar.gz (source) ftp.iesd.auc.dk:/pub/games/myth/binary/sparc.tar.Z (SPARC executable) FAQ Avail: No Spoilers: No Platforms: SPARC binary, source should be portable Features: "proof of concept for a multiplayer roguelike game" Misc: Latest revisions by Per Abrahamsen GAME: Phantasia Release: 3.1.3 (June 1986) Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.misc FTP Site: Archie sez: emx.cc.utexas.edu:/pub/mnt/source/games/phantasia.tar.Z ftp.cfi.waseda.ac.jp:/pub3/bsd-sources/NET2/var/games/phantasia/* qiclab.scn.rain.com:/pub/games/phantasia.tar.Z ugle.unit.no:/pub/unix/bsd-sources/games/phantasia/* 10 bytes of fame for locating a site with working code... FAQ Avail: ? Spoilers: ? Platforms: Berkeley Unix Features: Multiuser game. Misc: ? GAME: CrossFire Release: crossfire-0.91.6 (11/11/94) Newsgroup: rec.games.roguelike.misc, also an active mailing list (send mail to crossfire-request@ifi.uio.no with the subject "subscribe") FTP Site: ftp.world.net:/pub/crossfire (192.243.32.18) yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au:/pub/crossfire (130.194.9.1) ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/crossfire (129.240.64.2) FAQ Avail: In INSTALL directory of source distribution. Spoilers: With release (in doc sub directory) and 'around the Web' WWW: http://www.cm.cf.ac.uk:/Crossfire/ http://www.ifi.uio.no:/~frankj/crossfire/ http://web.cs.city.ac.uk:3000/games/crossfire/crossfire.html Platforms: X-windows under Unix ; need ANSI compiler Features: Multiplayer graphical arcade/adventure game with map editor Misc: Supported by master@rahul.net (Mark Wedel) Servers: sonja.math.virginia.edu 13326 fermat.dartmouth.edu 13326 corpse.ecst.csuchico.edu 13326 beer.csua.berkeley.edu 13326 ------------------------------------------------ Subject: 5.) What are *not* roguelike games? The following games have been reported as being roguelike in previous versions of this list, but further information has shown that they are not: Wanderer: a box-pushing puzzle like sokoban. (In c.s.g archives...) Conquer, xconq: Multiplayer strategic wargame (cs.bu.edu, jyu.fi) There are a lot of things that aren't quite in the category of roguelike games, but that keep creeping into the roguelike newsgroups... For information about commercial games like Ultima, Wizardry, etc.: comp.sys.*.games[.*] For information about playing D&D or other fantasy roleplaying games with other human beings, face-to-face or by e-mail: rec.games.frp.* For information about Multi-User-Dungeon games on the Internet: rec.games.mud.* For information about other games to play when you feel like bashing innocent bits and bytes: rec.games.video.* Finally, there are text-mode puzzle games, like Adventure, Zork, and the whole family of Infocom text adventure games. If you want to *play*: rec.games.int-fiction If you'd rather *write* them: rec.arts.int-fiction If what you're looking for isn't listed above, don't post to the roguelike groups - you'll just annoy the Ancient Dragons - try: rec.games.misc ------------------------------------------------ Subject: 6.) How to get files by FTP Pretty much everything mentioned here is available by anonymous FTP. FAQ lists cross-posted to news.answers and rec.answers can be gotten from rtfm.mit.edu (18.181.0.24), under /pub/usenet/news.answers or under /pub/usenet/more.specific.group.name "anonymous FTP" is just a way for files to be stored where anyone on the Internet can retrieve them over the Net. For example, to retrieve the latest version of the FTP FAQ, do the following: > ftp rtfm.mit.edu /* connect to the site; a message follows */ > anonymous /* type this when it asks for your name */ > /* type your address as the password */ > cd /pub/usenet /* go to the directory you want to be in */ > cd news.announce.newusers /* one level down (no slash). */ > dir /* look at what's there */ > get Anonymous_FTP:_Frequently_Asked_Questions_(FAQ)_List /* get the file; case-sensitive */ > quit /* stop this mysterious thing */ If your FTP program complains that it doesn't know where the site you want to use is, type the numerical address instead of the sitename: > ftp 18.181.0.24 /* connect with numerical address */ If you don't have ftp access, send e-mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the single word "help" in the body of the message. Getting binary files (executables, or any compressed files) is only slightly more difficult. You need to set binary mode inside FTP before you transfer the file. > binary /* set binary transfer mode */ > ascii /* set back to text transfer mode */ FAQs and other lists are generally ascii files; everything else is generally binary files. When in doubt, use binary transfers, since they will work for all files. Some common extensions on binary files in archive sites are: .Z Compressed; extract with uncompress .tar.Z Compressed 'tape archive'; uncompress then untar or tar -xvf .gz or .z Gnu gzip; use gunzip (prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu/gzip.*.tar) .tgz Gnu gzip of a tar archive; read the gzip man page. .sit (Mac) StufIt archive .zip (PC) Extract with Zip or Unzip .zoo (PC) Yet another archive/compress program .lzh (Unix and PC) Yet another... .arj (PC) and another... .lha (Amiga) Common archive format. .exe (PC) Self-extracting archives - just execute them. [Note: sometimes non-archived executables are stored.] .uue or .UUE Transfer as text file; use uudecode to convert to binary .hqx (Mac) BinHex format; transfer in text mode Generic help can be found in the FAQs of comp.binaries. for how to transfer, extract, and virus-check binary files. (At rtfm.mit.edu) If you can't FTP from your site, use one of the following ftp-by-mail servers: ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com ftpmail@src.doc.ic.ac.uk ftpmail@cs.uow.edu.au ftpmail@grasp.insa-lyon.fr For complete instructions, send a message reading "help" to the server. Some FTP sites, such as ftp.cis.ksu.edu, have dedicated mailservers that will send you files only from that site; it causes less network load to use local FTP servers where they exist. If you don't know exactly what you're looking for, or exactly where it is, there are programs and servers that can help you. For more info, send e-mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the body of the message reading: send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources ------------------------------------------------ Subject: 7.) About this FAQ... That's all, folks. This FAQ is updated frequently; the most recent version can always be found in rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers/games/roguelike Additions and corrections can be sent to rgra@bronze.lcs.mit.edu Many thanks to the people who send me info! This entire FAQ is copyrighted by the author, Aliza R. Panitz. Permission is granted to archive or redistribute it, provided that (1) there is no charge, and (2) the file remains intact, including this copyright notice. Write me for permission to use excerpts.