Editing NetHack (section)

===Interface===
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2025}} 
''NetHack'' was originally created with only a simple ASCII [[text-based user interface]], although the option to use something more elaborate was added later in its development. Interface elements such as the environment, entities, and objects are represented by arrangements of [[ASCII]] or [[Extended ASCII]] glyphs, "[[DEC Special Graphics|DECgraphics]]", or "[[Code page 437|IBMgraphics]]" mode. In addition to the environment, the interface also displays character and situational information.

A detailed example:
<pre>You see here a silver ring.
                                            ------------
                                          ##....._.....|
                                            |...........#          ------
                                           #...........|           |....|
                       ---------------   ###------------           |...(|
                       |..%...........|##########               ###-@...|
                       |...%...........###    #                 ## |....|
                       +.......<......|       ###              ### |..!.|
                       ---------------          #              #   ------
                                                ###          ###
                                                  #          #
                                               ---.-----   ###
                                               |.......|   #
                                               |........####
                                               |.......|
                                               |.......|
                                               ---------
  Hacker the Conjurer            St:11 Dx:13 Co:12 In:11 Wi:18 Ch:11  Neutral
  Dlvl:3  $:120 HP:39(41) Pw:36(36) AC:6  Exp:5 T:1073</pre>

The player (the '@' sign, a wizard in this case) has entered the level via the stairs (the '<' sign) and killed a few monsters, leaving their corpses (the '%' signs) behind. Exploring, the player has uncovered three rooms joined by corridors (the '#' signs): one with an altar (the '_' sign), another empty, and the final one (that the player is currently in) containing a potion (the '!' sign) and chest (the '(' sign). The player has just moved onto a square containing a silver ring. Parts of the level are still unexplored (probably accessible through the door to the west (the '+' sign)) and the player has yet to find the downstairs (a '>' sign) to the next level.

Apart from the original [[termcap]] interface shown above, there are other interfaces that replace standard screen representations with [[2D computer graphics|two-dimensional]] images, or [[Tile-based video game|tiles]], collectively known as "tiles mode". [[Graphical user interface|Graphic interfaces]] of this kind have been successfully implemented on the [[Amiga]], the [[X Window System]], the [[Microsoft Windows]] GUI, the [[Qt (toolkit)|Qt toolkit]], and the [[GNOME]] libraries.

Enhanced graphical options also exist, such as the [[Isometric video game graphics|isometric perspective]] of ''[[Falcon's Eye]]'' and ''Vulture's Eye'', or the [[3D computer graphics|three-dimensional]] rendering that noegnud offers. ''Vulture's Eye'' is a [[Fork (software development)|fork]] of the now defunct Falcon's Eye project. ''Vulture's Eye'' adds additional graphics, sounds, bug fixes and performance enhancements and is under active development in an open collaborative environment.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px" style="text-align:left">
File:NetHack for Windows Screenshot.png|''NetHack'' for Microsoft Windows in "tiles mode"
File:Vultures-2.1.0 screenshot.jpg|''Vulture's Eye'' offers an isometric perspective.
File:NeXTSTEP Nethack.png|''NetHack'' on [[OPENSTEP]]/[[NeXTSTEP]]
</gallery>