As is immediately obvious the first time you play nethack, you can't see much until you move around a bit. Here are some basic things I've figured out:
- You can see things within one block of yourself, diagonals included.
- You can see anything within line of sight in most rooms.
- You remember the map and things on it (like corpses) but upon returning to them, they disappear (is this just the map updating?).
- Sometimes getting within one block isn't enough, and searching reveals more.
- You can be blinded and see nothing.
It's still a bit confusing though. Sometimes I can see monsters at a distance, other times I can't see them until they're one block away. What are the rules for vision? Are there certain things that can increase my vision? Any other general see-them-before-they-see-me tips?