Hack'EM v1.2.2

This is the official release build of Hack'EM 1.2.2 - this build will not see any further updates.

Greetings Adventurers,

this release quickly follows 1.2.1 because save breaking changes were implemented. More big changes are contained in this release that build on 1.2.1 and aim to balance out the flood of mid-late-game SLASH'EM resources with new challenges and interesting gameplay dynamics.

Skill changes:

• Harder skill training (from UnNetHack).
• Crosstraining for weapon and magic skills (from DynaHack).
• Crosstraining bonuses for related skills.

New challenges:

• xNetHack style ice traps.
• Flame mage quest revamp - the flame mage faces the High Ice Mage as their quest nemesis now.
• New monster: compsognathus. Only appears for cavefolk.
• Nightmare gets a fear-inducing wail attack.
• Thrown potions of amnesia can affect almost any worn or wielded item on the player.
• Rodney can get magic resistance amulets again.
• The Mystic Eyes autocurse on wear, but grant death resistance.
• Eating wraith corpses has the same behavior as SLASH'EM.
• Unicorn horns can come in different materials.

Quality of life:

• Magic chests (from EvilHack).
• Improvements to using transmogrify/add property service to add properties to items.
• Cheaper and better weapon and armor identify services.
• Better upgrade paths for bags. All the magical bags can upgrade into bags of holding.
• Shopkeepers start with more gold.
• More forging recipes.
• Punishment no longer stops you from displacing pets.
• Lower chances of rings exploding during charging.
• When learning weapons through use (becoming familiar with them), you fully identify the item and also discover the object's base type.
• Added a little helper info for dazzling to the pokedex..
• The alignment keys and the Key of Access cannot be put into containers.
• If Grunds Stronghold doesn't have a magic marker, it will have a scroll of acquirement.
• Items can be dipped into potions of invulnerability to gain the toughness property.
• Potions of invulnerability are mostly invulnerable to destructive effects. They are still subject to shattering if forcefully thrown or smashed against a monster.
• Deepest ones are excluded from generating in the mines.
• All short swords get +1 to-hit.
• Raised the difficulty of bullet ants, adherers, skeletal pirates, and landsharks a few notches.
• Reduced the range of screamer and gibberling attacks to 3 squares.
• Shambling horrors cannot hide or dig pits.

Altar and priest nerfs

• After receiving 2 gifts, there is a chance the altar will be destroyed on receiving any further gifts. The chance grows as you receive more gifts. Infidels are exempt from this destruction.
• Becoming crowned always destroys the altar you are crowned on, even for infidels.
• When donating to priests - the gold vanishes upon receipt.

Spellcasting changes:

• SLASH'EM style spellcasting system. Spells start at 10000 spell memory
• Re-reading spellbooks or using the reinforce memory tech adds 10000 turns to your memory..
• The reinforce memory tech can be used when spells are at half-life (under 5000 turns left),
• When a spell reaches 100 turns left, you get a warning reminder.
• Blessed potions of amnesia can be quaffed to forget your last spell.
• Technique cooldowns don't expire if the player just waits or searches.
• Revised tech timeouts.
• Limits to the number of spells a character can learn. Non-spellcasters are severely constrained and their potential with spellcasting is limited. Being able to learn new spells depends on both your intelligence and wisdom. This means non-spellcasting roles will be capped out at about 4 spells and primary spellcasters to about 12. Wizards get a little bonus and they can learn a max of 16 spells. This means that you will not only have to work hard to maximize your intelligence and wisdom, but you also have to be much more selective about your spell library, utilizing the spells you do find to their full advantage. Each role's special spell is a bonus - it will always be learned at level 12 even if you are past your spell learning cap. Prayer gifts that grant intrinsic spells also follow the rules of max spell knowledge.

Role differentiation:

• Jedi and Undead Slayers don't train martial arts, they train bare handed combat.
• Removed the Bat from Hell as the rogue's guaranteed sacrifice gift.
• Removed the energy boost invoke from the Great Dagger of Glaurgnaa.
• Necromancers can not benefit from items granting energy regeneration.
• Removed weapon practice tech from pirates.
• Playing as a priest you will suppress the chance of zombie revival by 50%
• Rogues start with +1 short sword, samurai with +3 wakizashi.
• The Sceptre of Might is an executioner's mace.
• Archaeologists start out with the appraisal technique at level 1. They get the research tech at level 3.
• Barbarians get a multishot and to-hit bonus for throwing throwing-axes.
• Player vampires don't get alignment penalties for attacking and killing most peacefuls.
• Once Infidels receive their guaranteed sacrifice gift, Secespita, they will receive no further gifts from their god.

Misc:

• Striking iron bars with wands of striking, force bolt, or punching them with gauntlets of force destroys them - potentially sending iron chains flying in the process.
• Vampiric shopkeepers.
• Blessed/confused scrolls of punishment grant an iron chain.
• Overhaul of ring appearances and materials. Rings have a completely new set of appearances and are eligible for different materials just like other items.

Hack'EM v1.2.1

This is the official release build of Hack'EM 1.2.1 - this build will not see any further updates.

Greetings Adventurers,

We are thrilled to announce a significant update to Hack'EM, incorporating various adjustments and enhancements that aim to refine your gaming experience. Our team has been hard at work implementing crucial changes that address balancing issues, refine gameplay mechanics, and introduce exciting new features. Without further ado, here are the key highlights of this update:

Nerfs:

• Hand of Vecna now has a significant weight, affecting mobility during gameplay.
• Prevented the act of pet theft in shops, adding value to gold, and prodding the player to proceed further into the dungeon for resources.
• The "Astral Rain" strategy has been nerfed, making the taming of monsters on the Astral Planes succeed a mere 10% of the time.
• Wishing now carries consequences to luck and monster spawn rates, adding depth to the game's decision-making dynamics.
• The dragonhide material has undergone a couple restrictions to temper it's power slightly. It offers a few less points of AC and it cannot appear on shirts.
• Chromatic dragon scales and celestial dragons have been removed.
• Black market size has been reduced to make for a less tedious player experience.
• Flat artifact damage has been eliminated, fostering a more nuanced combat system.
• Certain artifacts now require active wielding or wearing to access their magical resistance.
• Thunderstruck has been appropriately rebalanced.
• Dragonbane has been reclassified as a broadsword, no longer taking the form of gloves.
• Various items, such as Herme's Helm, Grandmaster's Robe, Ring of Psychic Resistance, Rings of increase Dexterity/Wisdom/Intelligence, have been removed from the game.
• Cthulhu's intelligence has been fine-tuned to make him unstoppable.

Game Balancing:

• Many non-magical potions, scrolls, wands, and spellbooks only have a 1% chance of polymorphing into magical variants.
• Bones files left behind now have a chance of items being polymorphed or disappearing, encouraging players to rely less on bones file strategies.

Buffs:

• Rings now have a revamped material system and can be altered using the Scroll of Transmogrify, introducing a new layer of customization within the game.

• Fear and fearlessness mechanics have undergone a significant overhaul, making potions of booze more effective and bringing more cohesion to how the mechanics interact.

• Nighthorn has received several buffs, and can act as a cure for fear and stunning.

• Blessed magic lamps now guarantee wishes, but also generated at a reduced frequency.

• Wands of death have had their charging limit removed.

• Jedi characters now have access to a unique Droid unit, which can help identify items and never goes feral.

• Minions now retain their tameness indefinitely.

• Vampires have been revamped, with a focus on rewarding strategic gameplay centered around preying on vulnerable opponents.

• Tinkering and upgrading mechanics have been simplified, objects have a 1-to-1 mapping with no random factor.

• The object lookup feature has been expanded to provide comprehensive information on tinkering, forging, fermenting, and alchemizing, empowering players with valuable knowledge about in-game items.

• Several new monsters, including Orange Molds, Orange Moldiers, Black Moldiers, Gray Moldiers, Ethereal Lights, and Gnomish Psykers, have been introduced.

• New configuration options, including auto-stair travel (autostairtravel), kicking shortcuts (ctrlkick), and showdmg feature, have been implemented.

• The Power Shield technique has been adapted from the Shield Block tech found in SlashTHEM, providing temporary protection and offensive counterattacks during gameplay.

• Object properties have undergone a comprehensive overhaul.

There are significant changes to the way players interact with and acquire these properties. One notable adjustment is the prohibition of wishing for specific properties, which has necessitated the introduction of various new benefits to ensure that these properties remain accessible and impactful. This update has also introduced a plethora of fresh properties, allowing properties on rings and diversifying the range of properties that can be found on weapons.

Moreover, players now have access to several new methods for identifying properties, such as utilizing wands of probing to analyze items or dipping weapons into fountains to uncover any potential side effects. Furthermore, certain properties will automatically reveal themselves either through wearing the item or during the course of gameplay.

Select shopkeepers now offer an 'Add Property' service, enabling players to both add and remove properties based on their preferences. The Scroll of Transmogrify has also been updated to allow players to modify, add, or remove properties depending on the item's BUC status and the player's luck, providing a new layer of strategic decision-making.

Additionally, the mechanics of upgrading and tinkering items have been enhanced, guaranteeing that properties can be preserved throughout the process. Polymorphing, depending on a player's luck, now has the potential to retain an item's object property.

Potions of amnesia also offer a way to remove properties (at a 1 in 13 probability)

Bug Fixes:
Numerous bugs have been reported and resolved in the past months. We encourage our players to continue providing feedback and reporting any issues they encounter for swift resolution and an improved gaming experience.

Happy adventuring!

hackemslashem

Hack'EM v1.2.0

This is the official release build of Hack'EM 1.2.0 - this build will not see any further updates. This is a pretty big release in terms of bug-fixes, changes, improvements, and content. We managed to get almost 600 commits in so quite a lot of work went into this release.

Major changes:

• Alignment keys are finally implemented from SLASH'EM.
• The neutral and lawful alignment quest nemeses are back to their old SLASH'EM versions. Xanathar and Nebuchadnezzar have been removed and replaced with the Beholder and Nightmare. EvilHack beholders have also been removed to make way for the SLASH'EM Beholder.
• Artifact lookups now work without requiring the actual artifact in possession.
• Many updates to the item and monster lookups so they display more useful information

• Added a conduct for paying or being paid by shopkeepers.
• Added a conduct for techniques performed.

• The dungeon layout has been updated to more closely match SLASH'EM's.
• Vampiric Undead Slayer - new role/race combo suggested by cbus, so you can fulfill your dreams of playing as Blade!
• Opened up illithid pirate and dwarven jedi combos.
• Vecna no longer has to be defeated to genocide liches/alhoons.
• New artifact "Grandmaster's Robe" that can be named by XP:30 monks with grand master in martial arts (base type robe of power).

...and too many other small changes to list here.

Thank you to the all people that have helped playtest Hack'EM, reported bugs, contributed ideas, and updated the wiki. I really appreciate it, this project has come a long way and I definitely could not do it alone. Thank you also to the EvilHack devs for their help, I always toss bugs (and fixes) their way, so we keep a lot of things parallel between EvilHack and Hack'EM.

Note: 1.2.0 was originally released on July 28, 2023, but was recompiled on July 30 to accomodate some last-minute bugfixes from EvilHack.

Hack'EM v1.1.4

Junethack release

Hack'EM v1.1.0

Welcome to release 1.1 of Hack'EM! This release contains a lot of bug-fixes and corrections from the first release. Many changes also have been the result of player feedback and playtesting.

Major changes:

• Pirate role has been ported from SpliceHack.
• Jedi role has been ported from SlashTHEM.
• The doppleganger race has been introduced (from SLASH'EM)
• #youpoly works for flame mages and ice mages now.
• Shield skill has been ported from EvilHack.
• SLASH'EM techniques have been implemented. Techniques have been ported from SlashTHEM, adapted from EvilHack features, and converted from SpliceHack skills. Necromancers spell/techs have been reverted to the way they were in SLASH'EM.
• Ice mages get a passive ice attack that scales with their ice armor strength and level.

New Items:

• Windrider, Houchou, Hellfire, Scroll of Acquirement, Medical Kits, Helm of Hermes, ruffled shirt, mana cloak, silver capped staff, Keolewa

Other notable changes:

• Artifacts do SLASH'EM style flat damage instead of d notation.
• Flanking has been improved for the player, you get the same bonuses that monsters do now.
• Quest luck boon for completing quest with minimal alignment abuse (credit to mobileuser)
• All shop identify services are basic (and half price). shk_smooth_charge rewards higher charisma.
• Changed #forge to #craft;
• Plastic wands cannot be broken.
• Sizzle/acid property
• Scream/sonic property
• altar gifts are only artifacts.
• Samurai gets Kiku-ichimonji as a first sacrifice gift instead of Snickersnee
• Quest leaders will make you forfeit the quest artifact only if you heavily abuse alignment (less than -64 alignment abuse score required)
• New option: paranoid_trap (Ported from UnNetHack)
• Vampirics don't start with regeneration, but instead gain HP when they feed on lifeblood. Their natural HP regeneration has also been greatly slowed. Vampirics are also actually immune to death magic now.

Hack'EM v1.0.0

The first official release of Hack'EM (Hack, Extended Mechanics).

Based on EvilHack 0.8.1!

Includes:

• most of the content from SLASH'EM
• most of the content from EvilHack
• a substantial amount of content from SpliceHack: monsters, items, grass, bloody tiles, vents
• many mechanics and quality-of-life features from UnNetHack, as well as some content (Scroll of Flood, Tin-foil hat, etc)
• many mechanics from xnh
• updates from slashem-up, dnh, slashTHEM, dynahack, slex.

A lot of original content has also been added in the form of monsters, items, and artifacts. Imported monsters have also been updated with original ideas.