dgn_comp (6)

NAME

SYNOPSIS

If no arguments are given, it reads standard input.

DESCRIPTION

Dgn_comp is a dungeon compiler for NetHack version 3.2 and higher. It takes a description file as an argument and produces a dungeon "script" that is to be loaded by NetHack at runtime.

The purpose of this tool is to provide NetHack administrators and implementors with a convenient way to create a custom dungeon for the game, without having to recompile the entire world.

GRAMMAR

DUNGEON: name bonesmarker ( base , rand ) [ %age ]

where name is the dungeon name, bonesmarker is a letter for marking bones files, ( base , rand ) is the number of levels, and %age is its percentage chance of being generated (if absent, 100% chance).
DESCRIPTION: tag

where tag is currently one of HELLISH, MAZELIKE, or ROGUELIKE.
ALIGNMENT | LEVALIGN: [ lawful | neutral | chaotic | unaligned ]

gives the alignment of the dungeon/level (default is unaligned).
ENTRY: level

the dungeon entry point. The dungeon connection attaches at this level of the given dungeon. If the value of level is negative, the entry level is calculated from the bottom of the dungeon, with -1 being the last level. If this line is not present in a dungeon description, the entry level defaults to 1.
PROTOFILE: name

the prototypical name for dungeon level files in this dungeon. For example, the PROTOFILE name for the dungeon Vlad's Tower is tower.
LEVEL: name bonesmarker @ ( base , rand ) [ %age ]

where name is the level name, bonesmarker is a letter for marking bones files, ( base , rand ) is the location and %age is the generation percentage, as above.
RNDLEVEL: name bonesmarker @ ( base , rand ) [ %age ] rndlevs

where name is the level name, bonesmarker is a letter for marking bones files, ( base , rand ) is the location, %age is the generation percentage, as above, and rndlevs is the number of similar levels available to choose from.
CHAINLEVEL: name bonesmarker prev_name + ( base , rand ) [ %age ]

where name is the level name, bonesmarker is a letter for marking bones files, prev_name is the name of a level defined previously, ( base , rand ) is the offset from the level being chained from, and %age is the generation percentage.
RNDCHAINLEVEL: name bonesmarker prev_name + ( base , rand ) [ %age ] rndlevs

where name is the level name, bonesmarker is a letter for marking bones files, prev_name is the name of a level defined previously, ( base , rand ) is the offset from the level being chained from, %age is the generation percentage, and rndlevs is the number of similar levels available to choose from.
LEVELDESC: type

where type is the level type, (see DESCRIPTION, above). The type is used to override any pre-set value used to describe the entire dungeon, for this level only.
BRANCH: name @ ( base , rand ) [ stair | no_up | no_down | portal ] [ up | down ]

where name is the name of the dungeon to branch to, and ( base , rand ) is the location of the branch. The last two optional arguments are the branch type and branch direction. The type of a branch can be a two-way stair connection, a one-way stair connection, or a magic portal. A one-way stair is described by the types no_up and no_down which specify which stair direction is missing. The default branch type is stair. The direction for a stair can be either up or down; direction is not applicable to portals. The default direction is down.
CHAINBRANCH: name prev_name + ( base , rand ) [ stair | no_up | no_down | portal ] [ up | down ]

where name is the name of the dungeon to branch to, prev_name is the name of a previously defined level and ( base , rand ) is the offset from the level being chained from. The optional branch type and direction are the same as described above.

GENERIC RULES

Each dungeon must have a unique bonesmarker , and each special level must have a bonesmarker unique within its dungeon (letters may be reused in different dungeons). If the bonesmarker has the special value "none", no bones files will be created for that level or dungeon.

The value base may be in the range of 1 to MAXLEVEL (as defined in global.h ).

The value rand may be in the range of -1 to MAXLEVEL.

If rand is -1 it will be replaced with the value (num_dunlevs(dungeon) - base) during the load process (ie. from here to the end of the dungeon).

If rand is 0 the level is located absolutely at base.

Branches don't have a probability. Dungeons do. If a dungeon fails to be generated during load, all its levels and branches are skipped.

No level or branch may be chained from a level with a percentage generation probability. This is to prevent non-resolution during the load. In addition, no branch may be made from a dungeon with a percentage generation probability for the same reason.

As a general rule using the dungeon compiler:

If a dungeon has a protofile name associated with it (eg. tower) that file will be used.

If a special level is present, it will override the above rule and the appropriate file will be loaded.

If neither of the above are present, the standard generator will take over and make a "normal" level.

A level alignment, if present, will override the alignment of the dungeon that it exists within.

EXAMPLE

Here is the current syntax of the dungeon compiler's "language":

#
#       The dungeon description file for the "standard" original
#       3.0 NetHack.
#
DUNGEON:        "The Dungeons of Doom" "D" (25, 5)
LEVEL:          "rogue" "none" @ (15, 4)
LEVEL:          "oracle" "none" @ (5, 7)
LEVEL:          "bigroom" "B" @ (12, 3) 15
LEVEL:          "medusa" "none" @ (20, 5)
CHAINLEVEL:     "castle" "medusa" + (1, 4)
CHAINBRANCH:    "Hell" "castle" + (0, 0) no_down
BRANCH:         "The Astral Plane" @ (1, 0) no_down up

DUNGEON:        "Hell" "H" (25, 5)
DESCRIPTION:    mazelike
DESCRIPTION:    hellish
BRANCH:         "Vlad's Tower" @ (13, 5) up
LEVEL:          "wizard" "none" @ (15, 10)
LEVEL:          "fakewiz" "A" @ (5, 5)
LEVEL:          "fakewiz" "B" @ (10, 5)
LEVEL:          "fakewiz" "C" @ (15, 5)
LEVEL:          "fakewiz" "D" @ (20, 5)
LEVEL:          "fakewiz" "E" @ (25, 5)

DUNGEON:        "Vlad's Tower" "T" (3, 0)
PROTOFILE:      "tower"
DESCRIPTION:    mazelike
ENTRY:          -1

DUNGEON:        "The Astral Plane" "A" (1, 0)
DESCRIPTION:    mazelike
PROTOFILE:      "endgame"

NOTES:
Lines beginning with '#' are considered comments.
A special level must be explicitly aligned. The alignment of the dungeon it is in only applies to non-special levels within that dungeon.

AUTHOR

M. Stephenson (from the level compiler by Jean-Christophe Collet).

SEE ALSO

lev_comp(6), nethack(6)

BUGS

Probably infinite.