When comparing Xonotic vs Nethack, the Slant community recommends Xonotic for most people. In the question“What are the best open-source games?” Xonotic is ranked 2nd while Nethack is ranked 29th. The most important reason people chose Xonotic is:
Open Source games are not always known for their high-quality graphics. This can often be caused by the games being designed by committee in that many different people may work on the graphics, even in the same areas, which can cause plenty of inconsistencies. Luckily, Xonotic does not suffer from this problem as the whole of the game has consistent looks that are actually quite impressive.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Impressive graphics, especially for an open source game
Open Source games are not always known for their high-quality graphics. This can often be caused by the games being designed by committee in that many different people may work on the graphics, even in the same areas, which can cause plenty of inconsistencies. Luckily, Xonotic does not suffer from this problem as the whole of the game has consistent looks that are actually quite impressive.
Pro Cross platform
Mac/Linux/Windows support.
Pro Many game modes
Includes all the expected options like Deathmatch and Capture the Flag, as well as more novel modes like Key Hunt.
Pro Fast-paced action
Pro Interesting weapon design (for an arena shooter)
All arena shooter basically use Quake or UT weapon system. However, Xonotic has an interesting variety of weapons (larger selection than most) with elements from both UT and Quake but added some of their innovative ideas. Some of the weapons have a bit of overlap and felt a bit forced, but other weapons really made the game stand out.
Pro Play easily online
At any time, you can find people playing on the net. No special configuration needed.
Pro Not demanding on the system
On integrated HD4600 graphics ~120 FPS on normal settings.
Pro Multiple floor levels gameplay
The game permits players to move across multiple floor levels, which permits more dynamic game play.
Pro Potential for enormous skill growth
Nethack is a game that you can play for hundreds of hours and still not master. But you'll have tons of fun attempting to master it.
Pro Depth
The gameplay is very deep due to the amount of skills and systems present in the game.
Pro Over two decades of constant development
Nethack was first released in 1987. The latest version, 3.6.0, came out in December 2015.
Pro ASCII and tiles available
Nethack is able to run on simple ASCII graphics or use graphic tiles instead.
Cons
Con Campaign can be very hard and you can get stuck
Some levels are very strange and difficult like fighting with almost invisible enemies.
Even at easy they are hard to beat and you must beat them in order to progress in campaign.
Con Few players
Very few players on the servers ate as it happens 5-9 people!
Con Boring AI bots
Bots are not the most performant opponents in Xonotic. They often run around the same paths, and sometimes even stand still on spots for apparently no reason.
Con No actual addons repository
Cannot download custom maps through the actual game. Instead you have to download maps online and then put them in a directory.
Con Burden of knowledge
There's simply too much information that the game expects you to know before you can properly take advantage of the systems in the game.
Con Feature creep
NetHack has an overwhelming amount of features mostly because the development team found them cool at the time, but with little thought of their greater impact. For example, a Nethack staple is Sokoban as a built-in minigame, which feels out of place in a dungeon crawler.
The extremely large amount of items and abilities break the game's balance and coherence.
Con Outdated controls
You need to study a wiki just to learn the most basic controls. The game is broken in this regard.
Con ASCII Art
Con Run of the mill story
The story of the game is pretty generic fantasy fare. It features orcs, elves, and trolls in an effort for the hero to save the world. While it does not detract from the gameplay, it does seem very familiar to those interested in the genre.