SLASH'EM
“NetHack doesn't care if you win or lose. Slash'em wants you DEAD.”
Slash'EM (alt. name NetHack plus) is a variant of the extremely popular computer game NetHack that offers MANY extra features, monsters, and items. Most people regard SLASH'EM as much more difficult than the original NetHack. Though it was not the first variant of NetHack (That honour would belong to a BBS game called SporkHack, which was designed to be more newbie-friendly) it was the first to become as famous as the original game. Some people regard SLASH'EM as the "Wizard Patch" because of the greatly increased strength of the Wizard character, who was formerly a push-over. The game has been translated outside of GBS, into languages such as Klingon, Spanish, Wikse and Japanese, which has only added to the large userbase. The game was written by Izchak Miller and Jason Cheung. The game was not packaged in a box at any point, despite its immense popularity; first it was published on comp.sources.games in 1997 and was later released as free software in Programmer's Digest magazine, issue #402.
"Version 1.1.0" refers to the subtle differences between the version released on Usenet and the version in the magazine. Aleksey Hyóng, known by the alias "Angband", has been recognized as having played the longest game of SLASH'EM, verified by the Guinness Book of World Records. However, some have criticized the game. German publication Alles über das Netzwerk said that the game is "unparalleled among Roguelikes in being ponderous, redundant, and unoriginal. A game that takes 500 real life hours to win, with 100 levels of pure generic dungeon tediousness".
Play[edit | edit source]
SLASH'EM presents an initial choice of one (male or female) player character from ten races and twenty character classes, the combination of which strongly affects play, in both subtle and obvious ways. Among other traits, character development includes experience levels, statistics, and skills. Version 1.1.0 introduced a talent system, allowing further customization of characters, based on a hierarchical system of prerequisites. During adventures, a player is likely to explore many areas and complete multiple quests. Which quests are available may depend on character experience level or alignment (lawful, neutral, or chaotic). Alignment also affects NPC and deity interaction with the character. How one solves a quest can also affect one's alignment, such that a chaotic character seeking redemption can eventually become lawful through his or her actions (or vice versa). The classes available include: The Wizard (The most common choice), the Rogue, the Troglodite and the Barbarian. SLASH'EM's quest-centric, plot-driven structure owes as much to adventure games like Zork as to the hack-and-slash of sibling games like Rogue.