EvilHack is a variant of NetHack made to be much harder to win than the original.
It was created by Keith Simpson (k21971), who started it on NetHack 3.6.2 in October 2018 and opened it
for public play in April 2019 on the Hardfought servers; it has followed NetHack 3.6 up to 3.6.7 since.
Its ideas come from GruntHack and SporkHack, with pieces from Slash'EM, SpliceHack, UnNetHack and xNetHack, plus a lot of
content of its own. Home: github.com/k21971/EvilHack
(changelog in doc/evilhack-changelog.md); community: #evilhack and #hardfought on Libera Chat.
Like NetHack, you go down through the Dungeons of Doom, find the Amulet of Yendor deep in Gehennom and carry it back up to offer it to your god. NetHack itself is by the NetHack DevTeam and many contributors, going back to Hack (Jay Fenlason, then Andries Brouwer); the in-game V command shows the whole history and credits list.
Licence: the NetHack General Public License (NGPL), as stated in the source headers
("NetHack may be freely redistributed. See license for details.") and in dat/license, which the game shows too.
Some milestones from the changelog (24 releases, 0.1.0 to 0.9.3), in short:
#adjustadjust inventory letters#annotatename current level#applyapply (use) a tool (pick-axe, key, lamp...)#attributesshow your attributes#autopickuptoggle the pickup option on/off#callcall (name) something#castzap (cast) a spell#chattalk to someone#closeclose a door#conductlist voluntary challenges you have maintained and completed achievements#dipdip an object into something#downgo down a staircase#dropdrop an item#droptypedrop specific item types#eateat something#engraveengrave writing on the floor#enhanceadvance or check weapon and spell skills#exploremodeenter explore (discovery) mode#firefire ammunition from quiver#forceforce a lock#forgeuse a forge to combine objects or affix gemstones#glanceshow what type of thing a map symbol corresponds to#genocidedlist monsters that have been genocided or become extinct#helpgive a help message#herecmdmenushow menu of commands you can do here#historyshow long version and game history#inventoryshow your inventory#inventtypeinventory specific item types#invokeinvoke an object's special powers#jumpjump to another location#kickkick something#knownshow what object types have been discovered#knownclassshow discovered types for one class of objects#looklook at what is here#lootloot a box on the floor#monsteruse monster's special ability#namename a monster or an object#offeroffer a sacrifice to the gods#openopen a door#optionsshow option settings, possibly change them#ordergive orders to a pet#overviewshow a summary of the explored dungeon#paypay your shopping bill#praypray to the gods for help#prevmsgview recent game messages#putonput on an accessory (ring, amulet, etc)#quaffquaff (drink) something#quitexit without saving current game#quiverselect ammunition for quiver#readread a scroll or spellbook#redrawredraw screen#removeremove an accessory (ring, amulet, etc)#removeimarkersremove remembered 'I' monster markers#ridemount or dismount a saddled steed#rubrub a lamp or a stone#savesave the game and exit#searchsearch for traps and secret doors#seeallshow all equipment in use#seeamuletshow the amulet currently worn#seearmorshow the armor currently worn#seegoldcount your gold#seeringsshow the ring(s) currently worn#seespellslist and reorder known spells#seetoolsshow the tools currently in use#seetrapshow the type of adjacent trap#seeweaponshow the weapon currently wielded#shapechangevampire's shapechanging ability#shieldtoggle shield use (sword and board)#showcolorsshow terminal color palette and depth#sitsit down#stealattempt to steal from a monster#swapswap wielded and secondary weapons#takeofftake off one piece of armor#takeoffallremove all armor#telekinesisuse telekinetic powers#teleportteleport around the level#terrainshow map without obstructions#therecmdmenumenu of commands you can do from here to adjacent spot#throwthrow something#tipempty a container#autoexploreexplore the level until something happens#traveltravel to a specific location on the map#turnturn undead away#twoweapontoggle two-weapon combat#untrapuntrap something#upgo up a staircase#versionlist compile time options for this version of NetHack#versionshortshow version#waitrest one move while doing nothing#wearwear a piece of armor#whatdoestell what a command does#whatisshow what type of thing a symbol corresponds to#wieldwield (put in use) a weapon#wildshapedruid's shapechanging ability#wipewipe off your face#zapzap a wandEvilHack is much harder than NetHack. Deaths in the first few levels are normal. Things that save you in NetHack are weaker or gone, monsters are tougher and smarter, and they use the same items you do.
Roles: Archeologist, Barbarian, Caveman, Convict, Druid, Healer, Infidel, Knight, Monk, Priest, Ranger, Rogue, Samurai, Tourist, Valkyrie, Wizard. Races: human, elf, dwarf, gnome, orc, giant, hobbit, centaur, illithid, tortle, drow, draugr, vampire, aasimar (not every role takes every race).
#pray) when your hit points are below a seventh of the maximum, and wait long (around a thousand turns) between prayers.#quit), the game is over: Play again starts a new character with the same name.save/0Name file from a desktop EvilHack built the same way).#name extended commands.Based on EvilHack 0.9.3 · k21971/EvilHack @ c444f6a (the port's changes)
This web build is upstream EvilHack 0.9.3, commit c444f6a3ab1e9f16d0676961dba86f628e91c6ba (k21971/EvilHack at that commit), with a browser front end added (window port, explore, stair walking, Enter menu, tiles, sound, saving in the browser); gameplay is unchanged. The port's source is public at github.com/memmaker/evilhack.