Unicode
Beginning with NetHack 3.7.0, the map can be configured to display any Unicode character to represent most map symbols. Unicode is a character encoding that aims to represent every writing system that has ever been used. Many writing systems will be of little use to NetHack, but the extensive inventory of accented Latin letters and symbols should prove quite useful. With an appropriate font mapping to the Private Use Areas, a Unicode-enabled map could in principle display tiles in the TTY and Curses ports.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.
Unicode support is still incomplete.Current state of support
Unicode symbols are supported in the platforms and window ports indicated in the table below.
| Window port | Platform | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTY | Linux and Mac | Yes | |
| TTY | Windows | Yes | |
| TTY | MS-DOS | No | |
| Curses | Linux and Mac | Yes | |
| Curses | Windows | No | |
| Curses | MS-DOS | Yes | If WANT_DOSVGA is specified at build time |
| Win32 | Windows | No | |
| Qt | Windows, Linux and Mac | No | |
| X11 | Linux and Mac | No |
