IBMgraphics

IBMgraphics is an option that displays walls as continuous lines rather than as broken dashes, which is the best that plain ASCII can do. It also displays certain dungeon features with distinct symbols, and on some systems makes the Rogue level look more like the Epyx version of Rogue.

IBMgraphics requires a display device that displays code page 437, or a compatible code page. Many users of Microsoft Windows outside the United States have their terminals set to another code page, often code page 850, and this can affect the appearance of some symbols.

The complete symbol list

Normal dungeon

The complete symbol list for the normal dungeon is found in the array ibm_graphics in drawing.c. The corresponding ASCII symbols are in defsyms. Those symbols affected by IBMgraphics are listed here.

Code point	Usage	Appearance	ASCII
0xB3	Vertical wall, beam, explosion	│	|
0xC4	Horizontal wall or beam	─	-
0xDA	Top left corner	┌	-
0xBF	Top right corner	┐	-
0xC0	Bottom left corner	└	-
0xD9	Bottom right corner	┘	-
0xC5	Cross wall	┼	-
0xC1	T-up wall	┴	-
0xC2	T-down wall	┬	-
0xB4	T-left wall	┤	|
0xC3	T-right wall	├	|
0xB0	Dark corridor	░	#
0xB1	Lit corridor	▒	#
0xF0	Iron bars	≡	#
0xF1	Tree	±	#
0xF4	Fountain	⌠	{
0xF7	Lava, pool, water	≈	}
0xFA	Room, doorway, ice, open drawbridge	·	.
0xFE	Open door	■	| or -

Rogue level

Certain objects have their appearance changed in the Rogue level; the array IBM_r_oc_syms governs this. The exact changes are different on Linux than on MS-DOS and its descendants. The list here shows the more complete list used on MS-DOS.

A number of map symbols are also changed and all creatures otherwise appearing as @ instead appear as ☺.

Code point	Usage	Appearance	ASCII
0xBA	Vertical wall	║	|
0xCD	Horizontal wall	═	-
0xC9	Top left corner	╔	-
0xBB	Top right corner	╗	-
0xC8	Bottom left corner	╚	-
0xBC	Bottom right corner	╝	-
0xCE	Cross wall, doors	╬	- or +
0xCA	T-up wall	╩	-
0xCB	T-down wall	╦	-
0xB9	T-left wall	╣	|
0xCC	T-right wall	╠	|
0x01	Human, elf	☺	@
0x04	Trap, web	♦	^ or "
0x05	Food	♣	:
0x0C	Amulet	♀	,
0x0E	Scroll	♫	?
0x0F	Gold, gems	☼	*
0x18	Weapon	↑	)
0x5B	Armor	[	]
0xAD	Potion	¡	!
0xB1	Dark corridor	▒	#
0xB2	Lit corridor	▓	#
0xE7	Wand	τ	/
0xF0	Stairs	≡	%
0xFA	Room	·	.

Code page compatibility

There are code pages other than 437 that will also display IBMgraphics correctly, because they differ only at code points that are not currently used by NetHack. These include 860 (Portuguese), 861 (Icelandic), 862 (Hebrew), and 865 (Nordic), and can be useful when code page 437 is unavailable.

Some other code pages will not quite display IBMgraphics perfectly, but are close enough to be usable when none of the above code pages are available. Some of these are shown in the table below.

For code page 858, use the column for code page 850.

Other known code pages have few of the necessary symbols and are completely unsuitable for IBMgraphics.

Code point	CP437	CP737	CP775	CP850	CP852	CP855	CP857	CP863	CP866	CP869
0xAD	¡	φ	Ł	¡	ş	Г	¡	¾	н	Ι
0xE7	τ	ύ	ń	þ	š	у	none	τ	ч	ν
0xF0	≡	Ώ	-	-	-	-	-	≡	Ё	-
0xF1	±	±	±	±	˝	ы	±	±	ё	±
0xF4	⌠	Ϊ	¶	¶	˘	З	¶	⌠	Ї	χ
0xF7	≈	≈	„	¸	¸	э	¸	≈	ў	΅
0xFA	·	·	·	·	˙	Щ	·	·	·	ω

Configuring Code Page 437

On many platforms, it is possible to set the display device to display code page 437 instead of the default code page. This will enable NetHack to display the IBMgraphics as the DevTeam intended.

MS-DOS and Windows 95, 98, and Me

This page is a stub. Should you wish to do so, you can contribute by expanding this page.

A user has suggested improving this page or section as follows:

"It is necessary to add certain lines to CONFIG.SYS for these platforms."

Windows NT, 2000, and XP

This section may also apply to Windows 2003 Server and Windows Vista, but is untested on these versions.

If code page 437 is not the default, it will be necessary either to configure the console window to use the Lucida Console font, or to run full screen (press Alt-Enter). With bitmap fonts in a window, only the characters for the default code page are loaded, and others do not display correctly. Bug W343-3 is also a problem for this configuration.

Once either Lucida Console is set, or the console window is in full screen mode, it is sufficient to type

chcp 437

and possibly for full-screen mode

mode con lines=25

and then start NetHack.

PuTTY

This page is a stub. Should you wish to do so, you can contribute by expanding this page.

Linux Console

On Debian-based distributions, the command is

consolechars -f default8x16

On many others, the command is

setfont default8x16

X11

The usual way is to obtain a VGA font, and set the terminal program to use it. The exact procedure depends on the terminal program in use. Users of X11 may find it easier to use DECgraphics instead.

xterm

This page is a stub. Should you wish to do so, you can contribute by expanding this page.

Konsole (KDE)

This page is a stub. Should you wish to do so, you can contribute by expanding this page.

gnome-terminal

The current gnome-terminal comes with a setting for code page 850, but not for 437; some users may find it easier to set code page 850 and live with the differences listed above.

To set code page 850 on gnome-terminal:

• Select Terminal, Set Character Encoding, and then Add or Remove.
• In the pane on the left, select the line with description Western and encoding IBM850.
• Click the right-pointing arrow between the two panes.
• Click Close.

The above steps only need to be done once for the lifetime of the Gnome installation. Once done, it is sufficient to:

• Select Terminal, Set Character Encoding, and then Western (IBM850).

This page is a stub. Should you wish to do so, you can contribute by expanding this page.

Custom Map Symbols

Some users may prefer to set their own symbols, either because they don't like the existing ones, or because it's easier than setting code page 437 just to play NetHack. See Custom Map Symbols for further details.