The End of Hack

November 26, 2007 9:36 PM

back in the early 80's i played this game called Hack121 on my dad's PC for hours and hours. now, to my horror, my little brother has found it again and sent it to me. thing is, after more hours and some cheating, i'm not sure if i've finally "won" or not. anyone familiar with this game?

i've made it down to what appears to be the bottom level and it's different from the others; a maze with guards. no matter how often i cruise around it, there are always more guards. and, ta-da, a Sphere of Power! but what this sphere does, i cannot figure. using it does nothing, unless you go up a level and then it "crumbles into dust!"

since i've already wasted a good portion of my life dragging this poor smiley-face around a maze, killing neptos and grabbers, i was hoping someone could put me and it out of our misery with some guidance -- even if the guidance is, "yes. that's it. you've done all there is to do."

google gives me some interesting stuff, but no answers.

and man do i need to get back to work...

posted by xz to computers & internet (16 comments total)

Have you used it on every single square on the bottom level? There's probably a special square you have to use it on.
posted by ikkyu2 at 10:21 PM on November 26, 2007

nope. just tried that. if i use it more than once or twice (with no effect) on the maze level, it crumbles into dust.
posted by xz at 10:27 PM on November 26, 2007

Well, that web page says that there's no known source code available for the game. I'm guessing that what's listed on that page is pretty much everything that's known about the game. To find out more you'd probably have to contact the author or someone else with personal memory of how it worked.

However, I did look through the strings in the binary. It looks to me that there are no possible outcomes other than being killed, quitting, or escaping the dungeon (based on the possible strings for the high score file). I don't think there is any special 'win' outcome.

There are no messages that refer to the 'sphere of power' except for the one that says 'The sphere crumbles into dust!' I'm guessing that whatever the sphere was supposed to do was never implemented.
posted by dixie flatline at 11:33 PM on November 26, 2007

Also, I don't know if there is such a thing as digging downward in that version, but if there is you should try that just to make sure you really are on the bottommost level.
posted by dixie flatline at 11:41 PM on November 26, 2007

there's no digging and there certainly doesn't appear to be any down staircases.

i looked at the files, too; before the "the sphere crumbles into dust" there's another message that says, "you hear a Tweep!" which is unfamiliar to me. it's possible i've never run into that one... but i'm thinking that might be the correct usage of the sphere message?

it just seems odd to me that this guy would build the whole game, add a special object, and insert the non-working line, but never get around to inserting the correct-use line. it would be easier to just cut the special object, right?
posted by xz at 12:37 AM on November 27, 2007

Ask on rec.games.roguelike.nethack. I'd be willing to bet money that someone there would know the answer.
posted by grouse at 1:29 AM on November 27, 2007

good idea. did that here:
http://angband.oook.cz/rgrn.php?noth=1

so far, no luck.

i think i'm really going to have to find someone who knows from experience...
posted by xz at 3:05 AM on November 27, 2007

Some early versions of hack were unwinnable due to bugs (and lack of a win-condition); I don't know about this particular version, but I do know that all the versions I played when I was younger were. My default assumption would be that yes, that's it...now go try nethack...
posted by advil at 3:08 AM on November 27, 2007

OK, if this were Nethack, I would tell you that you need to find the vibrating square. Basically go around to every square and drop some item (doesn't matter what). When you get to one where it vibrates, that's your square to use whatever magical stuff you've got for opening the door (the sphere, I guess).

But really, go play NH, way more developed, hours (years...) of fun (pain).
posted by anaelith at 4:44 AM on November 27, 2007

there's no digging

Sure about that? I see 'digging' along with the strings that seem to be the names of wands. A wand of digging is also listed on the Wikia page.

There may still be other levels below you...
posted by dixie flatline at 8:27 AM on November 27, 2007

the wand of digging is cool, but it only digs horizontally, i think. i suppose it's possible it digs down... that seems more advanced than this game though.

i downloaded nethack last night but i think what makes this game interesting to me is the nostalgia factor.
posted by xz at 11:35 AM on November 27, 2007

I just poked through the source. I can see two possibilities:

1) You need to figure out some way to get off the bottom level without using the stairs. In Nethack that means drinking a cursed potion of gain level, I dunno if that'd work in hack. If you could escape the dungeon with the sphere it'd be listed in your escape inventory and maybe give you a lot of points.

2) There's no text in the binary about the win condition that I can see. There's a small chance that that text (and no other) is hidden or encrypted somehow; far more likely, there is no win condition, and whatever the sphere of power is supposed to do was never implemented. That's my bet.
posted by ikkyu2 at 3:57 PM on November 27, 2007

Er, not the source; I poked through the binary.
posted by ikkyu2 at 3:59 PM on November 27, 2007

thanks ikkyu2!

i guess i'll keep poking around for a bit. i haven't found anything as tricky as mixing items (gain level/curse), but maybe only because i never tried...
posted by xz at 4:17 PM on November 27, 2007

xz: Did you try to read a scroll of teleportation while confused as suggested on rgrn? In the dusty corners of my memory, that used to be the only way to teleport levels. I didn't think that curses applied to things like potions way back when, only arms.
posted by grouse at 4:29 PM on November 27, 2007

not yet; it's easier said than done. i've got to find a scroll which means ascending and then re-descending (without getting killed).

i'll see if i can get to it soon, tho and report back.
posted by xz at 6:23 PM on November 27, 2007