How to play NetHack on your DS

If you haven't played NetHack or its close cousins, then you're missing out on a large chunk of the gaming cannon. This is the granddaddy of dungeon crawlers dating back to the DOS days, as reflected in its hard core ASCII graphics. NetHack on the DS supports bitmap graphics as well as ASCII, which makes the whole experience more attractive and no less addictive.

Download Files The first step is to download the files you will need. You may want to collect them together in a folder on your PC. You need to download the following: - NetHack: nethack-343-nds-bin-nds.zip - More Visible Tiles: text_c.bin - DLDI File System Patcher Software: dlditool-win32-gui.zip - DLDI Driver File
Unzip the NetHack Software Unzip NetHack into a folder on your PC. This folder will be used to build the file that we will copy to the flash card in Step Four. 1. Unzip: nethack-343-nds-bin-nds.zip that you downloaded during Step One. 2. Keep the folder to hand on your desktop or a similar location.
Setup Alternative Tileset NetHackDS uses a text file to customize which graphics are used. Although the game's default tileset is quite pretty, we suggest that you use an alternative ASCII set that not only matches the original game, but is much easier to read. Switch to this alternative set as follows: 1. Open the NetHack/defaults.nh file from the folder you unzipped previously. 2. Change the following line: "OPTIONS=tile_file:tiles.bin, tile_width:8, tile_height:8" to "OPTIONS=tile_file:text_c.bin, tile_width:6, tile_height:9" 3. Copy the text_c.bin file downloaded during Step One into the NetHack folder.
Patch the Software Because NetHack uses a generic file system library, it needs to be patched so it can access files on your particular homebrew card. 1. Extract the dlditool-win32-gui.zip patcher software downloaded earlier to a folder on your PC. 2. Run dlditool32.exe. 3. Click the DLDI File button and browse to the location of the DLDI driver file you downloaded during Step One. Ensure you have downloaded the DLDI driver file for your particular homebrew card from the list provided here. 4. Click the Binaries button and browse to the folder on your desktop and select the NetHackDS.nds file. 5. You can now copy the following files to the root folder of your homebrew card: - NetHackDS.nds - NetHack folder
Play NetHack 1. Remove your homebrew card or memory stick from your PC. 2. Insert your homebrew card into your DS. 3. Turn on the DS power and run the NetHackDS.nds file. 4. The software will take a moment to load. 5. The first time you play you need to setup a character by answering the on-screen prompts. 6. Before you go too far, have a read through a good NetHack guide. The game is massive!
Switch Tilesets If you have great eyesight or a magnifying glass to hand, you may want to try out the graphical tileset. Be warned: it's weenie. 1. Insert you homebrew card or memory stick from your PC. 2. Open the NetHack/defaults.nh file from the card. 3. Change the following line: "OPTIONS=tile_file:text_c.bin, tile_width:6, tile_height:9" to "OPTIONS=tile_file:tiles.bin, tile_width:8, tile_height:8" 4. Save the changes More information can be found here. Don't miss our other DS How Tos.