HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: leachb@amdahl2.lat.oz.au (Mr Phase)
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
Subject: Re: Admin question...
Date: 1 Sep 92 09:45:09 GMT
Organization: Comp Sci, La Trobe Uni, Australia
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4

paoletti@rec/games/hackps.msu.edu (David R. Paoletti) writes:
: 
: Basically, there are a few rules to follow.  Never make a shell
: script suid.  This poses numerous risks, which I won't go into! ;)
: Also, avoid suid unless absolutely necessary, which in this case
: it is NOT.  If any executable must be made 'sticky', sgid is the
: way to go.  Also, you can make a special group 'nethack', make the
: group of the directory be nethack, and sgid the executable to
: nethack.  This prevents nethack from modifying any other games
: without affecting its playability.

Ok, but hows does an end user, (ie no part of management), go about 
creating groups like that?? (or is alt.hackers a more appropriate 
newsgroup for such questions :)

--

| Bernard - leachb@amdalh2.lat.oz.au                      |
| "Thou shalt not suffer a Pepsi, for it is the AntiCola" |
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
From: thompsje@craft.camp.clarkson.edu (Jeffrey E. Thompson)
Subject: first level of hell
Organization: Clarkson University
Distribution: rec.games.hack
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 14:26:39 GMT



I've been playing PC Nethack for about 3 months now and I finally got a
character who lived to reach the castle.  I had to break into the back door
because I didn't have an instrument and I fell through a trap door to the first
level of hell.  I found a way up, but I couldn't find a way down. I tried
cursed scrolls of teleportation, blessed scrolls of teleportation and wands
of digging with no luck.  I got a ring of teleport control, but it wouldn't
let me teleport to a different level, only to another spot on the same level.

Can anybody give me a solution to this one or have I just screwed up somewhere
along the line ?


Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
From: danc@loon.geog.ubc.ca (Dan Ciarniello)
Subject: Re: moon
Organization: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 22:25:55 GMT

In article <1992Aug26.192158.15553@wixer.cactus.org>, trav@wixer.cactus.org (traveller) writes:
|> Well, again at the new moon, i think this thing about the phases is
|> bogus. I just started a game with a barbarian, in the room where i
|> started was an alter to morrigan. I sacrifice a jackal, have a hopeful
|> feeling. 10 moves later i sacrifice a sewer rat and get stormbringer.
|> With bad luck like that, I'll take a new moon anyday
|> 
|> Trav
|> 
|> -- 
|> 
|> trav@wixer.cactus.org  |   In Austin, Tx:
|>      The Traveller     |      The city that made being a slacker an
|>                        |      acceptable alternative lifestyle.

One must wonder why a full moon is lucky and a new moon isn't (at least
according to nethack).  Isn't it during a full moon that werewolves and
other nasties and weirdos come out of the closet?  I suspect that the 
Dev team was pulling a fast one when they put in "Beware, New moon tonight"
and whatever the wording is for the full moon case.  Maybe someone who
has studied the source code can shed some light on this.

Dan.
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
From: gregs@polari.online.com
Subject: Re: Need Sage Advice!
Organization: Seattle Online Public Access Unix.  (206) 328-4944 (all lines telebit-equipped)
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1992 23:16:43 GMT

ess3791@zeus.tamu.edu (Storm) writes:

>In article <1992Aug21.000531.22897@polari>, gregs@polari.online.com writes...
>>After that, make as much holy water and you can and dip like crazy into
>>fountains. 

>How do you "make" holy water?
Spoiler...

Have you tried dropping potions of water on various types of altars?  How
about #dipping?

There are also several ways to make water.  Do some screwing around with
potions, fountains, altars, potions of water and unicorn horns.

It's fun!

-- 
Gregory Sumner ~ Seattle, Washington  :: Up, down, turn around
gregs@polari.online.com               :: Please don't let me hit the ground.
:::"Go Dawgs!":::::::::::::::::::::::::::N.O.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
From: wolff@kjemi.unit.no (Erik Wolff . Kjemiteknikk)
Subject: Re: Rust Monsters ( Re: Various Questions )
Organization: Lab. of Chem.Eng, Norwegian Inst. of Tech.
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 92 08:34:18 GMT

Regarding the different armor mentioned in the last post, here is an
excerpt from the spoiler file:
                                                                  AC
  Name                         Description             Wt   Cost  Mod  Rust
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

| bronze plate mail          |                        | 9 |  400 | -6 | N |
 .
 .
| crystal plate mail         |                        | 9 |  820 | -7 | N |
 .
 .
| plate mail                 |                        | 9 |  600 | -7 | Y |
 .
. 
| dragon scale mail          |   (for comparison)     | 5 | 1000 | -9 | N |
| dwarvish mithril-coat      |   (for comparison)     | 2 |  240 | -6 | N |
| banded mail                |   (for comparison)     | 8 |   90 | -6 | Y |

Mr. Sumner said :

>If I were you, I would have kept the +3 plate mail and put on a cloak.
>This protects you from rust too.
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Could anyone confirm this as I have a distinct feeling that armor will be
"rubbed down" despite cloak.

Erik
From: mtc@henry.ece.cmu.edu (Magnetic Technology Center)
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
Subject: Re: No shops--Why?
Date: 2 Sep 92 16:21:52 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: The Fish in the Pot

[lrfox@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (linda ream fox) writes:]
[] My Samurai is on level 10 and I haven't run into any shops yet. Not even
[] a "shoplifter, or cash register" message--so it's not that I'm missing
[] secret doors or something.  I've got loads of cash (killed a leprechan
[] and a incubus) and all this junk to get rid of, but I can't find a shop.
[]  Is this just chance, or am I cursed or something?

you might be cursed ... but it is an unfortunate "feature" of 3.0
that the dungeon is often lacking interesting levels, like shops.
their "probs" really need adjusting.

ummm, look at it this way: if you make it to level 20 without finding
one then you didn't need one away, right?   hmmm....

  -?-

"That cat should not be here when your mother is not!"
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
From: paoletti@cps.msu.edu (David R. Paoletti)
Subject: Re: Graphics based hacks
Originator: paoletti@pacific.cps.msu.edu
Reply-To: paoletti@cps.msu.edu (David R. Paoletti)
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, Michigan State University
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 92 09:13:04 GMT

In article <1992Aug23.023418.1003@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu> tswingle@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu (Tom Swingle) writes:
>
>I thought that it would be even nicer, though, if everything could be redefined
>to be represented by different characters--you, monsters, objects, etc.  Then,
>you could have everything changed by a program like this to look different by
>using some otherwise unused character to represent them (usually the ones above
>chr(127)).

I think that this is a great idea also.  I know that it would
only take some mods to the wonderful CHRHACK by Mike Marcelais
to support redifining characters on the PC version.

I'm a user and programmer under X/Open Windows, but was unable
to answer the question about how easy it would be to have an
alternative character set for the UNIX version.  At the very
least, the program would have to know about X and fonts, plus
have its own special "symbol" set...


      David Paoletti       |    Never underestimate the power of
   paoletti@cps.msu.edu    |            human stupidity.

Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
From: bill@snoopy (Bill Poitras)
Subject: Re: Tourists make the world go 'round (was Re: Best classes)
Reply-To: bill@msi.com
Organization: Molecular Simulations, Inc.
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 05:55:51 GMT

Alex Strumpf (madmax@cellar.org) wrote:
: Yeah, but that 800 gp goes pretty fast because of that Shirt, since those 
: Shopkeepers LOVE charging higher prices to tourists. :-) The darts are nice,
: too, although IMHO, Mjollnir or Stormbringer or Excalbur would make a Tourist
: a kick-ass character. ;-)

A tourist ALWAYS gets charged higher prices, reguardless of dress.  Any
other character wearing no other armor (no cloak or body armor) other
than a Hawaiian Shirt will also get higher prices (and bad resale value)

--
+-----------------+-------------------------------+-------------------------+
| Bill Poitras    | Molecular Simulations Inc.    | Tel (408)522-9229       |
| (bill)          | Sunnyvale, CA USA             |                         | 
|                 | FAX (408)732-0831             | bill@msi.com            |
+-----------------+-------------------------------+-------------------------+
From: richard@iesd.auc.dk (Richard Flamsholt S0rensen)
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
Subject: ! (or How the Shell Command Became Funny)
Date: 30 Aug 92 23:45:15 GMT
Organization: Mathematics and Computer Science, Aalborg University


>>>>> On 28 Aug 92 14:39:44 GMT, dashiell@NADC.NADC.NAVY.MIL (A. Kaniss) said:
dashiell> Right nethack has a shell command.

  This reminds me of an old idea, which would be typically nethackish.
When using the shell-command, there should be some percentage chance
of getting a real shell -- that is, one in the *game*, which you could
a)pply.
  It should only be possible to get a shell once in each game and
after some unsuccessful N random attemts (shelling out) you should
loose your chance of getting it at all, all to prevent misuse
(otherwise you'd have an unlimited source of shells). The overall
chance of getting one should be, say, 10% +/- whatever depending on
whatever (luck, time since last attempted shell-command etc).
  Now, what good could a shell be?  Naturally, you would apply it to
your ear and listen to it.  An uncursed shell might just reveal some
noises from monsters nearby ("Your hear an enchanting snore", when a
nymph is taking a nap around the corner etc) and a blessed shell might
even when applied (i.e. momentarily) convey the positions of monsters,
much like a helmet of telepathy.  Cursed shells, on the other hand,
might do damage to your ears so you (until "Your ears feel better")
don't hear anything -- no mumblings about shoplifters, no water
falling on coins, noone couting money etc.
  So, what do you think?  I think this would definitely add a funny
(and, as I said, very nethackish) twist to the shell command.
Naturally, it should not be documented anywhere ...

  Richard

--
Richard Flamsholt
richard@iesd.auc.dk
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
From: humphrey@cs.ucf.edu (Darren Humphrey )
Subject: Hack for MS-Windows
Organization: University of Central Florida
Distribution: rec
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 06:07:56 GMT

Has anyone ported nethack to MS windows 3.x?  If not, anyone have any idea how hard it would be to do it using Borland C++?  It seems like just a plain vanilla
"hack in a window" without mouse commands would not be TOO hard.

I COULD just run hack in a DOS window, but it would be nice to have it as a windows app.  With all that memory available, you could probably enable all of the
features availableon Unix...

Just a thought,
Darren
--
humphrey@eola.cs.ucf.edu, or ddh@engr.ucf.edu

Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
From: woerdeho@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE (Hendrik Woerdehoff)
Subject: Re: Newbie questions
Originator: woerdeho@hphalle7h.informatik.tu-muenchen.de
Organization: Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Germany
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 15:35:34 GMT


In article <nwang.715572434@black.clarku.edu>, nwang@black.clarku.edu (Anonymous) writes:
|> 
|> Just curious, what is the importance of pray, and how do you sell an
|> item to a shopkeeper, why throw rings down the sink and how do you find
|> banks anyway?
|> 
|> Thanks in advance
|> 

For those of you who don't want to know it here is a *SPOILER ALERT*



Praying is useful when you are in a desperate situation because your god might
help you (this depends on how desperate the situation is: praying while only
hungry doesn't work but praying when fainting from the lack of food will always
fill your stomach). If there is no trouble around and you are in good standing
with your god praying might give you some kind of blessing. But beware: between
two prayers there is a prayer timeout period of about 800 turns (complicated
formula, varies from 300 to 1500 turns). Sacrifying things to your god helps to
shorten this timeout or mollify them when they got angry after too many prayers.

Selling things is easy. Just drop them inside the shop. The shopkeeper will tell
you how much money he gives you. But if you want the item back you have to buy it
from him.

Throwing rings down sinks gives you some funny messages which help you to
determine what rings you have. There is a tiny (5%) chance of not loosing the
ring.
If you are at it just try engraving with an unknown wand and watch what the bugs
on the floor are doing.

Banks? What banks? Have you been playing too much Larn recently?
If you are talking of the famous chambers full of gold on some levels there is
always a teleporter around that sets you into the chambers. But beware of the
guards! You will know what I mean if you first enter one.

-- 

Hendrik W\"ordehoff                         
                          "Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like bananas."
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
From: mikeg@athena.mit.edu (Jughead)
Subject: Nethack Servers?
Organization: Massachvsetts Institvte of Technology (Hell)
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 17:14:08 GMT

I'm looking for a server that I can telnet to in order to play the game.  I
used to used tarkas.tamu.edu but lately it seems to be phuktup.  The weasels 
here don't seem to want to reinstall the source code for the MIT system.

Any info is greatly appreciated.


Thanks in advance,

Mike G
mikeg@athena.mit.edu

Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
From: smneyln@venus.lerc.nasa.gov (Michael Neylon)
Subject: Re: prayer and gods are pleased
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
Date:  4 Sep 1992 11:56 EDT  

In article <LCL.92Sep3191236@splinter.coe.northeastern.edu>, lcl@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu writes...
>In article <9209011958.AA05851@NADC.NADC.NAVY.MIL> dashiell@NADC.NAVY.MIL (A. Kaniss) writes:
> 
>   someone suggested that when a player prays and the deity is
>   pleased and the blue glow surron  surrounds the player that
>   cursed inventory items should become uncursed and uncursed items shoud
>   should be become blessed.
>   I would like to add an additional suee  suggestion to this one.
>   Blessed items should have to roll for point gains or losses in the case of 
>   armor.
>   So if the player has a blessed +1 long sword and the deity is pleased
>   there should be a chance that the long sword could change to
>   a blessed +2 long sword.
> 
>An excellent idea!  But by the same token, if you pray too quickly and
>anger your deity, there should be a roll for the items to lose points -
>that +1 long sword becomes a +0 long sword.  Or should that only be true
>for cursed items, to ensure symmetry?
> 
Definitely, and also that blessed/uncursed items also have a chance of 
going to uncursed/cursed items...

However, this should be a big chance, based on current blessed state,
bonus (if any), power of the item (ie easier to change that sling then
that grey dragon armor).  It shouldnt be automatic for everything unless
your god is VERY pleased with you (You are blinded by the glow!), or 
VERY upset (You feel like you are in the darkest pit of despair)...

Michael Neylon   aka Masem the Great and Almighty Thermodynamics GOD!
      //         | Senior, Chemical Engineering, Univ. of Toledo
  \\ // Only the |   Summer Intern, NASA Lewis Research Center
\  \X/   AMIGA!  |          smneyln@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov              /
 --------+ How do YOU spell 'potato'?  How 'bout 'lousy'? +----------
    "Me and Spike are big Malcolm 10 supporters." - J.S.,P.L.C.L
From: heinz@rene.ma.utexas.edu (Martin Heinz)
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
Subject: Re: prayer and gods are pleased
Date: 1 Sep 92 21:03:33 GMT
Organization: University of Texas at Austin Mathematics

dashiell@NADC.NAVY.MIL (A. Kaniss) writes:

>someone suggested that when a player prays and the deity is
>pleased and the blue glow surron  surrounds the player that
>cursed inventory items should become uncursed and uncursed items shoud
>should be become blessed.
>I would like to add an additional suee  suggestion to this one.
>Blessed items should have to roll for point gains or losses in the case of 
>armor.
>So if the player has a blessed +1 long sword and the deity is pleased
>there should be a chance that the long sword could change to
>a blessed +2 long sword.

><dashiell@nadc.navy.navy.mil>
>I majored in programming not typing!

Now what about if you pray, you should have a chance of ascending immidiately????
Seriously, folks - a prayer should't be a half-wish.....

-- 
Martin Heinz
University of Texas at Austin
heinz@math.utexas.edu
*****************************************************************************

                           I HATE car-alarms

******************************************************************************
Organization: Consulting, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
Date: Tue,  1 Sep 1992 14:52:04 -0400 
From: John Lerchey <jl4l+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Inadequacy with info.
	<1992Aug31.190145.29579@math.utexas.edu>

>a God's own creatures to him.  Or perhaps as a chaotic you've been
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Is there any truth to that??? I somehow doubt that. Anybody know?
I thought that if you are chaotic, you can kill and slay as you desire...
 
 
>ignoring chances to slaughter and maim?  While it's true that a
>Uruk-Hai is Large it's also chaotic.

This does not seem to be a problem.  I frequently sacrifice chaotic
things to the chaotic gods and they  smile merrily upon me.  The only
one that seems to be a mistake (BIG MISTAKE) is sacrificing a co-aligned
unicorn.  I think that other posters were right (and thank you all) in
figuring that it had to do with time 
spent at one alter.  Moving around in other games has helped a lot.

John Lerchey
Carnegie Mellon University
jl4l@andrew.cmu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
From: stud05@cc4.kuleuven.ac.be (Frank en stijn)
Distribution: world
Date: Thursday, 27 Aug 1992 15:39:24 +02
Organization: K.U.Leuven - Academic Computing Center
Subject: Re: Omega

If you want to work on a bugfree version of Omega, I made one some time ago.
The problem is that at the same time ported it to VM/CMS (an operating system
VERY unlike DOS or UNIX), and changed the savefile format (about 10 times more
compact). This way I got a very dependeble game (after some point in time I
never had any problems, while in total it has been played for months),
but it might be difficult to distinguish the porting considerations from the
bugfixes.
If you still feel up to it, you can get the file in ZOO-format using anonymous
FTP on cc1.kuleuven.ac.be . You must go to the directory ANONYMOU.200 and get
the file OMEGA.ZOO using a binary transfer. Notice that the files are in
EBCDIC.
Should you decide to accept this assignment....              :-)
                                                         Ton Hospel
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
From: gregs@polari.online.com
Subject: Re: weapon questions
Organization: Seattle Online Public Access Unix.  (206) 328-4944 (all lines telebit-equipped)
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1992 22:57:13 GMT

>akuma@netcom.com (Steven E Barnes) writes:
>: 
>: I am playing a Barbarian, and I've created an Excalibur.  I thought
>: Excalibur was lawful.  Is it OK to use it?  Also, I now have two enchant
>: scrolls, and I am wondering whether to create a chrysknife, or
>: enchant Excalibur.  Is there any way to create Stormbringer?

Spoiler

In order to get Excalibur by dipping a long sword, you need to be:

1. At least level 5 experience (Not dungeon level 5.)
2. Wielding the longsword when you dip it..

Your alignment doesn't matter, nor does the cursed/blessed status of
the longsword.

(BTW, #2 I am only 90% sure of.  But it seems to really help.)

-- 
Gregory Sumner ~ Seattle, Washington  :: Up, down, turn around
gregs@polari.online.com               :: Please don't let me hit the ground.
:::"Go Dawgs!":::::::::::::::::::::::::::N.O.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
From: CS19240954R@LUST2.LATROBE.EDU.AU (JENKINS, MICHAEL)
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
Subject: Re: Rustproofing
Date: 2 Sep 92 01:47:19 GMT
Organization: La Trobe University
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.22

In <1992Sep1.220435.12810@cs.ucla.edu> pierce@lanai.cs.ucla.edu writes:

> How may weapons and armor be made rustproof?
> How does one become the Hand of Elbereth?
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> -- Brad Pierce -- 


I think reading a scroll of enchant weapon when you are confused will make your 
weapon rust proof. You get a message something like  "Your sword glows gold for
a second."
I can't help on the second one.

I noticed in my last game that when I sacrificed a human corpse on a neutral
alter, it was converted to a chaotic one atuomatically, no "conflict" messages.
Is this common??
________________________________________________________________________________
:  =====    "Look, would it save you a lot  :   Jenx's address:                :
:    ||enx   of time if I just gave up and  : CS19240954r@lust.latrobe.edu.au  :
: \\_//      went mad now?" -Arthur (HHGTTG): This .sig is a nuclear free zone.:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: paoletti@rec/games/hackps.msu.edu (David R. Paoletti)
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack
Subject: Re: Admin question...
Keywords: nethack, suid, sgid, security
Date: 1 Sep 92 04:05:29 GMT
Reply-To: paoletti@cps.msu.edu (David R. Paoletti)
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, Michigan State University
Originator: paoletti@pacific.cps.msu.edu

In article <1992Aug31.160506.25826@slate.mines.colorado.edu> agrimm@slate.mines.colorado.edu (Snarf) writes:
>
>Yup.  Nethack is running in my user directory on our system as SUID.  All I
>have needed to do is make the executable and its directory world-readable.
>I have often heard that it is somewhat a better idea to make the game SGID
>"games" instead, if you can (chmod g+s nethack).  I think the S*ID stuff is
>pretty secure if handled properly, but be forewarned that it still might
>pose a security hazard.

Basically, there are a few rules to follow.  Never make a shell
script suid.  This poses numerous risks, which I won't go into! ;)
Also, avoid suid unless absolutely necessary, which in this case
it is NOT.  If any executable must be made 'sticky', sgid is the
way to go.  Also, you can make a special group 'nethack', make the
group of the directory be nethack, and sgid the executable to
nethack.  This prevents nethack from modifying any other games
without affecting its playability.

Dave Paoletti :)
Newsgroups: rec.games.hack