This is a
hot debate among players of
Nethack and
ADOM, and the spark for an occasional
flamewar on
rec.games.roguelike.nethack or
rec.games.roguelike.adom. Which of these grand "
roguelikes" is better? Which is the
One True Computer Game? Personally, I love both games, and don't see playing one to be
mutually exclusive with the other, but I like to consider the problem. Therefore, this
node will evaluate some of the
pros and cons of each game, as well as general
comparison and contrast.
Spoiler information will be kept to a minimum, though a few minor things may be revealed, so
be warned.
A further disclaimer: I am a rather average player of both NH and ADOM. I have not finished either game, though I've come extremely close in Nethack. I hope that this will provide the perspective a newbie would appreciate, though more adept players are welcome to add new writeups filling in the places where my knowledge is lacking.
Premise and Scope
Nethack: Your god desires the greatest artifact this world knows--the Amulet of Yendor. Your quest is to descend into the monster-infested Dungeons of Doom, take the Amulet from its current owner, the Wizard of Yendor, and escape to offer it up to your deity. Along the way you will accomplish a major side quest for the leader of your profession, and explore a few extra dungeon branches, but all in all your goal is straightforward.
ADOM: A great Chaos Gate has opened up deep beneath the mountainous region of Ancardia known as the Drakalor Chain, spewing raw entropy and introducing a host of new twisted, corrupted monsters into the world. You are one of many heroes who have ventured to the Chain, desiring to staunch this flow of evil and gain power and glory. You must accomplish a multitude of quests on the way, and explore many unique dungeons, as well as chart the wilderness of the Drakalor Chain itself. The weather, terrain, and even the movements of the stars may direct your destiny--not to mention the ticking clock of the chaos radiation which may reduce you to a blob of Chaos ooze...
So ADOM is much broader than NH, but that is only debatably a good thing. The player feels more a part of a world, as if ADOM were a commercial FRPG, than Nethack (as a matter of fact, a tabletop RPG based on the ADOM universe is in the works)--but it's hard enough just to stay alive in a dungeon, much less manage food for overland treks and find each place you need to visit. Definitely a matter of taste.
Difficulty (General)
Ok, we all know that Roguelikes are notoriously hard to conquer. As powerful as your hero may be, he/she may seem amazingly fragile when smacked with poison, death rays, or disintegration breath--and guess what? When you're dead, that's it. Your saved game will be erased, and you have to start over from scratch. Sure, you can savescum, but I'm talking about the games' design intent here. Prepare for unending frustration. I've heard NH called "the instakill roguelike," with the following message sequence given as example:
"You fall into a pit!"
"You land on a set of sharp iron spikes!"
"The spikes were poisoned!"
"The poison was deadly..."
And DYWYPI it is. However, I find ADOM as bad or worse on this count: "A stone block hits you in the head! You die..." So I would say this is something to be ready for no matter what the roguelike. The differences in difficulty, then, are side effects of the games' respective styles. Nethack's play style has a rhythm to it, rewarding methodical approaches to combat and a careful building up of intrinsics and ascension kit equipment. Only in crunch situations, or when faced with puzzle-like barriers, need one really stray from the usual approaches (which do vary between classes; a wizard will rely on his long-range magic, while a Samurai's strategy may be based on training his sword and #twoweapon skills). ADOM, on the other hand, provides such a huge array of tactical options and combat-relevant numbers that fights must almost always be considered on a case-by-case basis. Be careful, learn from every tiny mistake, and even then be ready for the times when you'll die from being trapped between Yrrigs, the mad carpenter and a pack of summoned rats, with no way of both protecting yourself and dealing enough damage to escape. Oh, and while you're getting the tactics down, don't forget all the strategic issues of deity worship and alignment, dealing with chaos corruptions, skill training, the quests, intrinsic acquisition... are you getting all of this? (In summary: ADOM's learning curve is monstrous, even nastier than Nethack's. Be warned.)
Skill System
- Nethack's skill system is reasonably simple. A character has skills for each class of weapon (e.g., daggers, flails, staves) and spell (e.g., enchantment, healing, attack), as well as a few miscellaneous skills (e.g., riding, martial arts, two-weapon combat). These skills get "exercised" as your character makes use of them, until they can go up to the next class, giving the message "You feel more confident in your ___ skills." The player chooses, by using the #enhance command, when the skill actually improves; this is because skills (beyond the "Unskilled" level) take up "slots," of which the character has a limited number based on his/her level, and the player can choose how to employ them. Skill ranges from restricted (doesn't show up on the skill list, and so cannot be advanced at all without divine intervention) to Grand Master (which only the Monk class can obtain, in martial arts).
- ADOM, on the other hand, has a pile of skills that could rival GURPS. Herbalism! Swimming! Haggling! All the weapons! Bridge Building! Ventriloquism! These are not abstracted as much as in NH; the percentiles and their effects are there to view. They can improve in at least four ways: 1) By practice. This is the only way combat skills can go up, though others do too. "Your Healing skill improves by +1 to 38," for example. 2) By leveling up. 2a) At each level, you get a certain number of skill increases, based on your Learning score and some other factors, like your character's astrological sign. You choose which skill to improve, and dice are rolled to add to that skill's percentile, up to predetermined (and displayed) maxima. 2b) Sometimes, on a level up, the dice which are rolled in 2a actually improve. "You improve in the area of Survival (from 2d4 to 3d4)," for instance. 3) Training. Some competent NPC's can teach you new skills or improve your old ones, perhaps in exchange for completing a quest, or for cash. 4) Magical items. Potions of education, for example, can grant your character a flash of insight that translates into a new skill.
In Nethack, skills have a constant effect, but need only infrequent thought on the part of the player. In ADOM, they are central. You make decisions about them every level, and frequently use them. They determine your rate of healing and mana recovery, your ability to detect traps, your ability to stay alive in the wilderness. Clearly, another case of greater complexity that's available--if desired.
More coming soon! Just wanted to claim the nodeshell...