But the game doesn't explain anything. It doesn't even tell what commands can be used. I played like 10 games until I found out you can actually put on items, and that was by accidentally stumping upon the command on the internet. It would be nice if they at least listed what commands can be used, otherwise it is a guessing game, especially since some commands are more than 1 symbol.
If you press the `?' key it brings up a menu of help options, including
Select one item:
a - Long description of the game and commands.
b - List of game commands.
c - Concise history of NetHack.
d - Info on a character in the game display.
e - Info on what a given key does.
f - List of game options.
g - Longer explanation of game options.
h - List of extended commands.
i - The NetHack license.
(end)
Obviously, then, you need to know to press `?'. People who are accustomed to using interactive software in the terminal can probably guess at that, but it's worth noting that the third line of the manpage reads
To get started you really only need to know two commands. The command ? will give you a list of the available commands (as well as other information) and the command / will identify the things you see on the screen.
For software that runs in the terminal on a unix system, putting such instructions in the manpage is the appropriate thing to do. I don't know how they do it on Windows, it's quite possible it's more obscure there, which would be a shame, because more people on Windows are uncomfortable with TUIs.
> I don't know how they do it on Windows, it's quite possible it's more obscure there, which would be a shame, because more people on Windows are uncomfortable with TUIs.
The GUI version has menus that feature the same content that you get with '?' in the terminal version. For the console verson on Windows, you'll have to read the manual.
When I started with NetHack in the 80s on the Amiga, I wouldn't have had any chance of playing it if the Amiga version didn't feature menus with all the available commands showing also the keys.
