User:Tjr

Bias

I specialize in (mostly elven) wizards.

Thoughts

Do people actually read this page? I'm not pretending to be important, but I'd like to know. Are there statistics available?

Is Nethack fun?

Really, is it fun? When playing myself, I am in a determined, goal-seeking mode. I just want that wizard to survive and make it big. I don't know too much about the emotional side of it. The last time I remember feeling bliss is when I found out how to phase through the walls to Asmodeus, after running off from eating all those rings. That was one and a half years ago. I think Nethack is more like gambling. Most gamblers don't enjoy it, but continue nontheless.

Ways to make Nethack more fun

I wish there were some customizable user agent, a bot that would relieve me of the tedium of routine. I would like to press a button "eat", and have the game engrave Elbereth, check the engraving, eat a corpse if I know it is fresh, tin it if I would choke, and give back control. I long for an automation that performs sacrifests for me. My current solution is to consider a wizard ascended if he has the Eye, knows create monster, has a scroll of earth and a wand of fire/lightning, and is not going for atheist. Managing a large stash also belongs into this non-fun category. Polypile conduct is more about keeping the game fun than about challenge.

Where I disagree with the wiki

Wishing for the Eye of the Overworld is a bad idea for a spellcaster. I prefer the three divination spells.

Everybody says a tourist is hard. In my experience, an early-game wizard isn't really easier. Most of the survival techniques apply in both cases (daggers, top priority armor, Elbereth,...).

Junk

Do I really need all that stuff I collect "just to be on the safe side"? I never use most of it. In real life, "stuff" comes at a cost, and I am proud my possesions all fit into one closet and one desk.

Flexibility

I notice I always play in a similar manner, after I have worked out how. Isn't inflexibility a trait of age and decay, even if it is beneficial here?