r/roguelikedev • u/AppledogHu • 21d ago
NetWhack v0.7.9 Release
Hi everyone! I am pleased to announce the 2026 release of NetWhack.
We have a roguebasin page discussing some history of the game, which was first released in 1997.
Play it now: https://www.netwhack.ca (note: code is "rogueima0" to prevent spam)
About this game: I originally wanted to write a C++ nethack. As the internet grew I wanted to have a roguelike that I could play on the internet and on any device. So I ended up rewriting it in Java. It took a long time and we ended up moving away from a pure nethack experience, but I am very happy with how it turned out. One of the design goals I wanted to achieve was to offer a playtime (hours of play) that was somewhere between Akalabeth and Ultima I. I think I succeeded.
I would be honored if you would play and critique my game!
For anyone who wants to help betatest, I have played my own game extensively and tried to balance it, but I think this is a very difficult roguelike experience. I am unsure how the pacing and plot will land when people start to play. Please let me know how far you get in the game or where you are getting stuck. Thanks.
Once again that's https://www.netwhack.ca -- play free today!
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u/Altruistic_Base_7719 21d ago
Hey it looks pretty nifty thanks for making it
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u/AppledogHu 21d ago
I'm glad you liked it. If you have any suggestions send them right along, I am working on this game and adding new things every now and then, and fan service is my first priority!
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u/ketarax 20d ago
It was enjoyable.
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u/blightor 20d ago
Why have I never seen this before? Where have you been releasing?
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u/AppledogHu 20d ago edited 20d ago
I have always treated this as a hobby project and didn't try to advertise my game so much. Frankly I didn't think it was good enough to advertise. But I did post about it on usenet and the DJGPP mailing list. The roguebasin page goes back to 2006.
This time around I was able to easily put a version of my game online with KMP for kotlin. In a way, I came back to it this time to finish it and finally put it down, as I am working on a couple of different websites for my job. But seeing it work on the web again excited me and I think I might try to add some more features or another dungeon or something. Maybe this time, more people will play it and will make me want to develop it more.
I kept coming back to it when I am bored or have more time in my life. This time around I am very happy with how far I have come, but who knows what the future will hold? I'll just keep pushing on it, from time to time :) Adding more features, making it better. I just want to do it right, so I guess that takes time.
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u/Stutturdreki 20d ago
If I stand on top of unidentified items (or I assume they are unidentified like 'blue potion') and I 'look' I can see what they really are, at least potions and scrolls. Might want to look into that.
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u/AppledogHu 20d ago
This is probably the greatest doh of all time. Back before I added fakenames we would do tile.name to get the name of the object, and I forgot to change the code to tile.name(). I am at a loss for words as to how I never figured that out. I guess I just never use those commands. Thanks >_<
I thought that using OOP and turning everything into a class would reduce bugs. I think it just moved the bugs from one carpet to another.
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u/cheaphomemadeacid 20d ago
the game says, 'you died of poison'... yeah that kinda fits the memories ;P
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u/AppledogHu 5d ago
Quick update-- the game is on 0.7.11 and I have added music, including two original scores, "Journey" and "Hate". Hope you like it!
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u/eating_your_syrup 21d ago
The url says "server not found".