Additional Options

👉 Besides OPTIONS lines, the options file accepts menu colors, status highlights, message filters, autopickup exceptions, key bindings, and map symbols.

For where the options file is and how to edit it, see Accessing Options File. The ordinary options are on Options.

⚙️ Fully-Supported in Modern Versions

🎨 MENUCOLOR

MENUCOLOR colors the lines in menus and inventory screens that match a regular expression.

Syntax:

MENUCOLOR="regular expression" = color
MENUCOLOR="regular expression" = color&attribute

Examples:

# Highlight blessed items in green
MENUCOLOR=" blessed " = green
# Highlight cursed items in red
MENUCOLOR=" cursed " = red
# Highlight worn cursed items in orange and underline them
MENUCOLOR=" cursed .* (being worn)" = orange&underline
# Show spells that cannot be recalled in gray (black)
MENUCOLOR="(You cannot recall this spell)" = black

📊 HILITE_STATUS

HILITE_STATUS colors the stats in the status window or bar, such as hit points, mana, hunger status, and attributes. A highlight can depend on a percentage, a value, or a text state.

Syntax:

HILITE_STATUS=field/value/color
HILITE_STATUS=field/value/color&attribute

Examples:

# Hit points by percentage range
HILITE_STATUS=hitpoints/100%/gray&normal
HILITE_STATUS=hitpoints/<100%/green&normal
HILITE_STATUS=hitpoints/<66%/yellow&normal
HILITE_STATUS=hitpoints/<50%/orange&normal
HILITE_STATUS=hitpoints/<33%/red&bold
HILITE_STATUS=hitpoints/<15%/red&inverse
# Hunger status warnings
HILITE_STATUS=hunger/satiated/yellow/hungry/orange/weak/red&bold/fainting/red&inverse
# Attribute improvements in green, penalties in red
HILITE_STATUS=characteristics/up/green/down/red

💬 MSGTYPE

MSGTYPE decides what happens to messages that match a regular expression: they can be shown, hidden, stopped with a --More-- prompt, or kept from repeating.

Syntax:

MSGTYPE=action "regular expression"

The supported actions are:

• show: Display the message normally.
• hide (or noshow): Do not show the message at all.
• stop (or more): Force the player to press --More-- or tap to acknowledge the message.
• norep: Suppress the message if it is an exact repeat of the previous message.

Examples:

# Pause on every "You see here a ..." message
MSGTYPE=stop "You see here a .*"
# Suppress repeats of the message when you swap places with your pet
MSGTYPE=norep "You swap places with .*"
# Hide a trivial environment message
MSGTYPE=hide "You hear a faint sloshing sound."

🎒 AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION

AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION adds items that autopickup always picks up or never picks up. These exceptions override the pickup_types setting.

Syntax:

AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION="<pattern>"   # Automatically picks up items matching the pattern
AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION="!<pattern>"  # Excludes items matching the pattern from autopickup

Examples:

# Always pick up gold
AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION="gold piece"
# Always pick up potions of extra healing
AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION="potion of extra healing"
# Never pick up loadstones
AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTION="!loadstone"

⌨️ BINDINGS

BINDINGS maps a key on a hardware keyboard to a game command or a menu shortcut. It is useful on desktop platforms (Windows) and with a physical keyboard connected to a mobile device.

Syntax:

BINDINGS=key:command

The command is the extended command name, such as look or drop, not the key that normally runs it.

Example:

# Map the v key to the look (:) command
BINDINGS=v:look

🖥️ Only Supported in ASCII Mode in Modern Version

These settings take effect when a modern version of the game is switched to ASCII mode in the in-game settings.

🧱 SYMBOLS

SYMBOLS changes the character used for a wall, floor, corridor, or other map terrain when the map is shown as text.

Syntax:

SYMBOLS=S_symbolname:character

You can also choose a whole symbol set, such as IBMGraphics_2 or DECgraphics, in your main OPTIONS line: OPTIONS=symset:IBMGraphics_2

Examples:

# Show vertical walls as a vertical bar
SYMBOLS=S_vwall:|
# Show the floor as a dot
SYMBOLS=S_room:.

🪨 BOULDER

BOULDER sets the character for boulders on the map in ASCII mode.

Syntax:

BOULDER=character

Examples:

# Show boulders as a capital O
BOULDER=O
# Show boulders as a percent sign
BOULDER=%