Grid bug
x grid bug 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 1 |
| Attacks | |
| Base level | 0 |
| Base experience | 1 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | 9 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 3 (Rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 15 |
| Nutritional value | 10 |
| Size | Tiny |
| Resistances | Shock resistance, poison resistance |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
A grid bug:
| |
| Reference | NetHack 5.0.0 - include/monsters.h, line 1149 |
A grid bug, x, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. The grid bug is a form of mythical insect that is likely to be one of the first monsters a hero ever sees, and it is known for its unique movement restrictions that prevent it from moving or attacking in a diagonal direction, including movement that would displace or hurtle one diagonally.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Grid bugs can be seen via infravision.
A grid bug has a a single bite attack that can inflict shock damage against targets without shock resistance, but this will not actually affect the target's inventory under normal circumstances since grid bugs are typically level 0.[7] Grid bugs possess shock resistance and poison resistance.
A hero that is polymorphed into a grid bug is subjected to the same restrictions as other grid bugs, though they can look at and observe objects and their surroundings in diagonal directions as normal[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]—they also cannot apply instruments or spellcast.[15][16][17][18]
Chatting to a grid bug causes it to buzz angrily if it is hostile, and otherwise it will "drone".[19]
One of the demonic maledictions spoken by a hostile demon or similar monster mentions polymorphing themselves into a grid bug to give the hero a "fighting chance".[20]
Grid bugs are the subject of two true rumors and a false rumor. Two hallucinatory monsters are based on the grid bug: the "grind bug" and the "diagonally moving grid bug".
In wizard mode, setting the "warned of monster type" intrinsic on via #wizintrinsic will give the hero temporary warning of grid bugs by default.[21]
Generation
Randomly-generated grid bugs are always created as hostile, and can appear in small groups.
A grid bug does not leave a corpse upon death.
Strategy
As one of the first monsters that can be encountered, grid bugs are among some of the weakest in NetHack with their AC of 9 and can be easily handled by all but the most unfortunate beginning characters: they move at the same speed as you do, but are slowed by their directional restrictions, and serve to quickly introduce players to the strategic benefits of diagonal movement. Though they are no greater threat to players that are not moving diagonally, the frequency of newer players not taking advantage of diagonal movement over the history of the game has led some players to propose moving like a grid bug as an unofficial conduct.
Grid bugs deal minimal damage at all with their bite, and are nothing to worry about once you reach or pass experience level 2. If you need to train up a weapon skill, they can be somewhat useful as target practice—otherwise, grid bugs are best left as fodder for a pet you want to train, since they gain at least one maximum HP per kill as opposed to the pitiful single experience point you will get. Their low-damage bite can also be used to test unidentified rings for a ring of shock resistance after curse-testing them, since there is very little risk of the shock damage from a grid bug actually damaging the hero's inventory.[22] This is because the bite uses a number of damage dice equal to its current level:[7] since their level is usually 0, the bite will always deal 1 damage at most; however, if a grid bug manages to successfully kill another monster (e.g., while under the influence of conflict) and gains a level, their bite's shock damage then becomes capable of destroying rings and wands in a target's inventory.
History
The grid bug first appears in NetHack 3.0.6. From this version to NetHack 5.0.0, including variants based on these versions, grid bugs are subject to the following bug fixes and related code adjustments:
- In versions up to NetHack 3.4.1:
- A hero polymorphed into a grid bug is capable of diagonal movement when traveling via the command, despite being otherwise restricted to cardinal movement. This bug is fixed for NetHack 3.4.2 via commit 4566de6a, and the bugfix is later refined for via commit 381f066a—this fix is further refined for NetHack 3.6.0 via commit 9b1f0899 in order to account for special case code in the travel path function that does not check against grid bug movement restrictions.
- The handling of valid movements treats a hero in the form of a grid bug the same as any other monster, displaying all eight directions as valid. This is fixed for NetHack 3.4.2 via commit ad5e58e0.
- In versions up to NetHack 3.4.3:
- A grid bug that evades a kick command from the hero can move diagonally to do so, and grid bugs can also be moved diagonally if they are jousted. This is fixed for NetHack 3.6.0 via commit bc4ccd0f.
- A hero can displace a pet grid bug diagonally. This is fixed for NetHack 3.6.0 via commit 1a9c9979, which also ensures that the Riders will not displace grid bugs diagonally.
- Insufficient feedback is given when trying and failing to move diagonally while polymorphed into a grid bug. This is fixed for NetHack 3.6.0 via commit 414e83fb.
- A hero that attempts to save themselves from drowning can move diagonally to do so while polymorphed into a grid bug. This is fixed for NetHack 3.6.0 via commit ebf42e67.
- In versions up to NetHack 3.6.1:
- Warning of grid bugs is made the default for setting the "warned of monster type" intrinsic via the #wizintrinsic command as part of commit e486d941, which addresses the command not setting up a monster to warn the hero of for NetHack 3.6.2.
- In versions up to NetHack 3.6.7:
- Grid bugs are treated as having hands despite their appearance. This is fixed for NetHack 5.0.0 via commit a1ca9819.
- A hero slipping on ice while polymorphed into a grid bug might slip in a diagonal direction. This is fixed for NetHack 5.0.0 via commit 3e2999d3.
Origin
The concept of gridbugs originates from the Tron franchise, which began with the 1982 Disney film Tron. Despite this, gridbugs themselves only make a brief appearance in the original film; earlier drafts indicate there was going to be a major scene featuring a gridbug swarm as a significant threat, which did not make it into the final script. Gridbugs are digital creatures that cause glitches and often appear in swarms, and are capable of "derezzing" programs and causing havoc throughout an entire system; their size varies depending on the portrayal, but they are usually depicted as four-legged "insects".
Gridbugs feature more prominently in the Tron arcade game from 1982, which was in development before the script was finalized: they appear in the I/O Tower sub-game, where the player must guide Tron to the flashing circle of an Input/Output Tower within a set time limit while avoiding or destroying gridbugs. Their inclusion in NetHack plays off the idea of the player character as a "hacker", which refers as much to programmer and geek culture as it does to the "hack 'n' slash" genre.
Messages
- You can't get there from here...
- You attempted to move or attack diagonally while polymorphed into a grid bug.
- You can't orient yourself that direction.
- You answered a prompt for a direction with a diagonal direction while polymorphed into a grid bug.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, grid bugs gain the ability to hit as a +1 weapon, and will also not normally generate in Gehennom. Their weak bite attack is not meaningfully improved by this property, and they are otherwise the same as in vanilla NetHack—SLASH'EM also adds other electric bug monsters that are superficially similar to grid bugs, but can actually be threatening with their shock damage and are not constrained to orthogonal movement.
A hero polymorphed into a grid bug that uses the draw energy technique will only draw energy from cardinally-adjacent squares.
ZAPM
In ZAPM, grid bugs are included as a tribute to NetHack, and largely have the same stat block.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, the grid bug is an insectoid with an elongated head that possesses monster-detecting vision. It is otherwise the same as in NetHack.
Of note is that the bebelith, a highly-dangerous mythical insect, has the same movement constraints as grid bugs do.
SpliceHack
In SpliceHack, the stronger electric bug monsters have the same movement constraints as grid bugs.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, in addition to SLASH'EM details, the grid bug is given a counterpart in the grid xorn: it shares many of the grid bug's traits and is capable of phasing through walls, but is otherwise almost as weak as the grid bug in practice.
Encyclopedia entry
These electronically based creatures are not native to this
universe. They appear to come from a world whose laws of
motion are radically different from ours.
Tron looked to his mate and pilot. "I'm going to check on
the beam connection, Yori. You two can keep a watch out for
grid bugs." Tron paced forward along the slender catwalk
that still seemed awfully insubstantial to Flynn, though he
knew it to be amazingly sturdy. He gazed after Tron, asking
himself what in the world a grid bug was, and hoping that the
beam connection -- to which he'd given no thought whatsoever
until this moment -- was healthy and sound.
Reference
- ↑ include/hack.h in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1414
- ↑ src/mhitm.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 202-L205
- ↑ src/mhitm.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 312-L315
- ↑ src/dothrow.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1153-L1155
- ↑ src/mon.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 2462-L2465
- ↑ src/cmd.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 4009-L4015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 src/uhitm.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 2718-L2719: shock damage from monsters checks their level against a random number from 0-19; the grid bug's normal level of 0 will always fail this check
- ↑ src/hack.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1327-L1328
- ↑ src/hack.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 3905-L3911
- ↑ src/hack.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 3922-L3924
- ↑ src/hack.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 4089-L4091
- ↑ src/cmd.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 3778-L3784
- ↑ src/cmd.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 3900-L3907
- ↑ src/cmd.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 4112-L4114
- ↑ src/music.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 769-L775: checks for can_blow
- ↑ src/mondata.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 565-L576: monsters with MS_BUZZ are excluded from can_blow
- ↑ src/spell.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 693-L695: checks for can_chant
- ↑ src/mondata.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 578-L587: monsters with MS_BUZZ are excluded from can_chant
- ↑ src/sounds.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 903-L906
- ↑ dat/quest.lua in NetHack 5.0.0, line 125
- ↑ src/wizcmds.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 1057-L1063
- ↑ src/uhitm.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 2711-L2714
