From: cloister@milton.u.washington.edu (cloister bell)
Subject: monthly BOSS faq list posting
Summary: same old list *slightly* modified.
Keywords: boss faq
Organization: University of Washington
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 16:51:23 GMT

[ editor's note:  minor changes to "where can i get BOSS?" and "what platforms
does BOSS run on?" but otherwise the same list. ]

                      Monthly BOSS F.A.Q. List
This FAQ covers BOSS version 2.0, released March 1, 1992.  Changes and New
features are documented at the end of this document.  

Just what *is* BOSS anyway?
    If you've played moria in any of its incarnations (why else would you be
    reading rec.games moria?), then BOSS will seem inherently familiar to you.
    BOSS is what you get when you take moria, modernize it (magic becomes
    science, monsters become more realistic beasts, items get updated, etc.),
    add a lot of new features (different dungeon types, monsters, lots of
    new items, multiple towns, etc.) and give it a twisted sense of humor.
    There's a lot of in jokes in BOSS that make it much more fun to play,
    especially for people who are already sci-fi/comedy fans.  

    BOSS is also easier than moria.  You're all familiar with people posting to
    rec.games.moria things like "I *finally* won!!!" and "five years and only
    one winner so far."  The idea behind BOSS is to make it the sort of game
    you can win in a weekend, instead of in a few weeks.  I know BOSS is less
    serious than moria, hopefully it's as much or more fun.

    If you're the person responsible for your site, you will find BOSS much
    more customizable than moria.  We have taken much of the data out of the
    program and put it into separate data files.  This has the effect of making
    the executable smaller (a definite plus), and the benefit that you can
    change monsters, items, class and skill names, and other things without
    re-compiling the code.  For instance, you could rename the Green Daisyan
    Lieutenant to the name of your system administrator, or you could change
    the Soldier skill "Alter Position" to "Dodge".  You can have lots of fun
    making BOSS more familar to the local culture wherever you are.

What's the object of the game?
    Like moria, the object is to become a powerful character who defeats the
    mega-monster at the end of the game.  In BOSS, that monster is the Boss, a
    mean, rotten, disgusting and vile mafia figure who's out to control the
    world.  To do this you must travel far in search of his hide-out deep
    under the sewers of New York City, battle terrible alien creatures, and
    survive against almost impossible odds along the way.  

Where can I get a copy of BOSS?
    BOSS is available for anonymous FTP from ftp.cis.ksu.edu in the
    pub/Games/Moria directory.  We have placed a compressed .tar file there as
    well as the uncompressed files themselves.  If you get the .tar.Z file,
    make sure you're in binary mode when you transfer. 

    For those who do not have anonymous FTP access, RLG or I would be happy to
    e-mail you the source code.  Drop us a line (our addresses are listed at
    the bottom) and let us know.

    The current version is brand new, having been released on March 1, 1992.  
    This version contains much that is new.  Many of the changes are on the
    administrative level, and so the player will not see evidence of them.
    But they have been made so that upkeep on the code is easier.  But even
    from the players' perspective there are a few new features, to say the
    least. 

What platforms does BOSS currently run on?
    Currently BOSS runs only on Digital Equipment Corporation VAX mainframes
    running VMS.  RLG and I are finishing up some things on the VMS version
    that we've meant to do for a long time, after which we will rebuild it in C
    which will make it much more portable.  We hope someday to have BOSS
    available not only for Unix and VMS, but also for p.c's, mac's, amigas,
    etc.  Our goal is to have BOSS as widely distributable as umoria is now.

    There is, even, some progress on this front.  The unix/C port is underway
    even as you read this.  All the features are there (almost) and it
    compiles, we just need to de-bug the heck out of it now.  

What do I need in order to install BOSS?
    Several things.  First, working knowledge of VMS file management, and the
    ability to follow directions.  Second, access to a VAX-VMS mainframe.
    Third, about 6500 free blocks of disk space (for source files and
    temporary space in order to compile).  If you have any difficulties
    installing BOSS, feel free to send RLG or me mail.

What's the deal with the different races?
     There are three races in BOSS, humans, Jarwangians, and Daysians.  The
     Jarwangians are the 'nice guy' aliens, a peaceful and technologically
     advanced race.  They make some neat items.  The Daysians are the 'bad 
     guy' aliens.  They are also an advanced race, but they are warlike.
     Daysians make some of the best combat gear in the game.  There's a bit
     of that demented humor in the name 'Daysian'.  See if you can find it.
     The BOSS employs many Daysians to protect him, and to kill you.  He
     also employs a variety of low-life human types for this also.

Is there a time limit on the game?  
     Yes.  The long announced time limit on the game has really been
     implemented.  Yes way, Ted, your character can really get munched if s/he
     doesn't win in time.  But the time limit is pretty long, so you'd have to
     be dogging it to get caught.

Why are there different towns, and how are they different?
     Rather than having one extremely deep dungeon as in moria, BOSS has
     several shallower dungeons, one per town.  Each town's dungeon is 500
     meters deep, except for the last one, which is 2500 meters deep.  Each
     town's dungeon takes up where the last town left off, with a couple of
     levels of overlap.  The net result is about the same start-to-finish
     difficulty as in moria.  You cannot find the BOSS until you get to the
     bottom of the last dungeon.  The game follows a cross-country trek,
     from Seattle to the Big Apple.  On a new-features note, RLG is currently
     working on a scheme for each town having its own distinct monster list.
     Should be interesting when it happens. 

How do the busses work, and is it possible to get back to a previous town?
     To catch a bus you must have 1) completed the current town's dungeon,
     2) have paid off your loan, if any, and 3) kill the town's local Mob
     Boss.  Then you may go to the hotel and climb aboard.  And of course
     there isn't any way to get back to previous towns.  This isn't like
     moria, where if you get in over your head you can retreat a few levels.
     You're dealing with the mafia here, and they aren't terribly forgiving
     when it comes to cocky low level adventurers.

Are there monsters that give negative experience?
     Yes.  They're only on the town level, though.  Don't kill things in
     town, it's not nice.  (Well, except for the gang members, and dirty
     harry, etc...)  The idea here is to be saving the good townspeople from
     the vile, evil, repulsive and disgusting BOSS, not killing them on the
     way.  If there are any others, then congratulations, you've found a bug.
     Send me or RLG mail about it.

What are the qualifications for various part time jobs in the hotel?
     What jobs you can get are based on your level.  There are plans to
     make these based on one or more applicable character stats, but that
     hasn't been done yet.

How does Danny Dollar do business?  Does he cheat?  Sometimes it seems like
he doesn't pay as much interest as he should.
     Danny dollar doesn't cheat.  He's honest, but stingy as heck.  The
     interest rate is per week.  RLG and I figured that with the time-scale
     of the game, it didn't make sense to have it any less often than that.
     The interest rates he charges on loans and gives on deposits are based
     on your credit rating, which is a function of your loan.  If you get
     behind on your payments, he'll charge you more on your loan, and give
     you less on your account.  Eventually, he'll just take money from your
     account.  If you have a loan, it's a good idea to pay some of it off
     every time you see him.  There's a special routine for real deadbeats
     that you really don't want to see.  Keep those loans under control. 

How does potion mixing work?
     Potion mixing is a random thing, modified by your intelligence.  Mixed
     potions will either evaporate, blow up (ouch!), or become something
     else.  If they do mix sucessfully, you'll get something that's on
     average more powerful than you started with, but can be either good or
     bad... 

What's with disease?  There isn't any of that in moria.
     Disease is the only really new thing that monsters can do to you.
     Some monsters can inflict you with disease when they hit you.  If this
     happens, you'll get a message like "the <whatever> gives you a social
     disease!" or something.  Disease doesn't have any immediate bad
     effect, but does cause certain potions to be ineffective.  You get
     healed at the medical clinic in the office building.  Cost of a cure
     is proportional to how many times you've been diseased.

What do the special flags on armor and weapons mean?  Not all of them are
listed in the help files.
     True enough.  To be fair, here they are:
     Armors:
     (Resist):  Resists everything.  Acid, fire, cold, lightning.
     (RA)    :  Resists acid.
     (RF)    :  Resists fire.
     (RC)    :  Resists cold.
     (RL)    :  Resists lightning.
     (RG)    :  Resists gas.
     (P)     :  Protection.  Extra armor class value.
     (CR)    :  Combat ready.  Is much less cumbersome than regular armor.
     (W)     :  Weightless.  Neat, huh?
  (Qwethleg) :  Unique items.  You have to figure these out for yourself.
    (Fi-Yoh) :  Don't ask me where RLG came up with these names.  
     (Jarth) :
     (?????) :

     Weapons:
     (DF)    :  Defender.
     (FB)    :  Frost-brand
     (FT)    :  Flame-tongue.
     (HA)    :  Holy avenger.
     (KA)    :  Kill alien.
     (KC)    :  Kill creature.
     (KM)    :  Kill monster.
     (KR)    :	Kill robot.
     (KS)    :  Kill scum.
     (DST)   :  Destroyer.  Does +20 damage.
     (Slicer):  Does double the normal weapon damage.
     (Razor) :	Does four times normal weapon damage.

What's the deal with strange items like the Acme Personal Force Field, and the
45 Caliber Silver Bullet?
     Those are 'objets du jour'.  RLG and I got in the habit of taking one
     or two of the junk items in the item list (like moria's broken stick),
     and every day or so changing them into something random, bizarre, and
     hopefully funny.  These items usually have some interesting powers,
     that are worth checking out.  The ones in particular that are in the game
     are the ones that just happened to be there when we released the game.
     Expect them to change.  In fact, one of the changes we made to the code
     for this release makes it easy for local BOSS wizards to add and change
     items.
 
How is the score calculated?
     Your score when you die or win is calculated as follows:  score =
     (experience / your exp. multiplier) + (100*deepest dungeon level you
     attained) + (bonuses for killing the BOSS) + (bonus for finishing fast).
     The experience multiplier varies with class and race, and balances out
     how hard each class is to get to 42nd level.

If the mainframe goes down, or the game crashes, how can I restore my
character file?
     If you saved your character at any time prior to this, then you are in 
     luck.  The save file will normally be 'corrupted' and not usable again,
     but a special function available only to your local Boss administrator
     can 'un-corrupt' it.

     Here's what you need to do to restore a corrupted save file:

     1.  Send the save file to your local Boss administrator.
         Type:    SEND/FILE/VMSDUMP filename username-of-admin

     2.  The admin will restore the file and send it back to you.
         All you need to do is RECEIVE the file and go back to 
         playing Boss.


     Here's what the Boss administrator needs to do:

     1.  RECEIVE the save file.
     2.  Make sure your username is in the file WIZARD.DAT
         This file should be located in the [.BOSS.DAT] directory.
     2.  While in the Boss directory type @startup to enter the game.
     3.  After all the intro stuff is skimmed through, and the town map
         appears, type control-p to turn 'wizard' mode on.
     4.  Then type control-v
     5.  Enter the name of the save file and hit return.
     6.  This should repair the save file.
         If not, possible errors include:
         a.  You misspelled the save file name.
         b.  The file was not sent with the /VMSDUMP qualifier.
         c.  Something went wrong with the fabric of the space/time continuum.
     7.  Next, type control-y to exit the game.
     8.  Then send the file back to the user.  
         Type:  SEND/FILE/VMSDUMP filename username
         (At this point I often forget who sent the file, so it's a good idea
         to rename the file to the same name as the user who sent it right 
         after you first receive it.  In fact, when you get into the receive
	 utility, you have the option of changing the name when you save it.)
     9.  Be happy!  But if you start to get too many restore save file requests
         from the same person, be suspicious of cheating.

Changes and New features from version 1.0 to version 2.0
     Visible to player:
     Finally added the time limit on the game.
     New monsters and items.
     Local Mob Bosses added for each town.
     New rules on catching the bus (see bus section).
     Corpses added.  Currently they're useless.
     Monster multiplication algorithm changed; monsters now swarm in packs.
     Kill Robot (KR) and Resist Gas (RG) items have been added to the game.
     Character stats and character generation completely changed.  Stats are
        now a GURPS(tm)-like system, with players able to allocate creation
	points however they like when creating their character.
     Monsters have intelligence now, and some are now able to dodge your blows.
     Save files are compatible from the previous release.  Upon first playing
        the old save file with the new version, your character will be
	converted to the new stat system.  This conversion process is really
	complicated and you may not like what happens to your charcter, but
	you have the option.
     Help files updated (well, maybe not all the way, but some).

     Transparent changes (stuff only a Bosswiz would care about):
     All the items, monsters, and other data have been moved into separate
        data files.  You may now change the monsters and items without
	re-compiling the program.
     The random quotes have been pulled out into a file, and may be easily
        customized for your site.
     Code has been somewhat re-organized.  Things are now where they ought to
        be, where they sometimes weren't before.
     Fixed some bugs, including the money/charisma bug.
     Probably some other stuff we can't remember right now.     

Thank you for reading this list, or at least skimming to the end.  Thanks also
to all those out there who have gotten BOSS for their systems.  We had fun
writing it, and it's nice to know that it wasn't for nothing.  

(signed)

Robert Gulledge, A.K.A. raoul@u.washington.edu
Jason Black,     A.K.A. cloister@u.washington.edu

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|tactical nuclear sdi stealth nsafood signature.  | cloister@u.washington.edu |
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