HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: boelter3945@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: [SPOILER] REFRESHRe: INFOCOM and Hitchhikers probs
Date: 28 Sep 92 09:33:52 -0500
Summary: Hitchhiker's Guide help
Keywords: Hitchhiker, spoiler, help
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <1992Sep24.193348.1@cc.curtin.edu.au>, swillispj@cc.curtin.edu.au
   writes:
> I'v finally decided to guve those old infocom games a decent bash. 
> Maybe I'm incredibly stupid lately, but "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy"
> has really got me.
> 
> 	Okay, so I'm on the "Heart of Gold" and I've got the Atomic 
> Vector plotter plugged in the spare Improablity Drive and into the 
> consol. The tea substitute is standing by !  I can't do anything with
> the hatch mechanism located in the small recess, because I can't work out
> the correct tool to take with me.

   You will have to obtain the four pieces of fluff in the game, and the pot,
then bury the four fluff pieces in the pot and quick-steam-water it (hint, try
the sauna).

   This will grow a plant with a 'future fruit'.  Eat the fruit, it willgive
you a vision as to what item you need.

> 	The door into Marvin's room is not impressed with anything I 
> show to prove my intelligence. Consulting the Guide reveals intelligence
> to be the ability to show something you have and something you don't have
> simultaneously. So I produced the "no tea" from Arther's inventory and the
> "tea substitute" from the food machine. I told myself "Boy, that was 
> intelligent" but the door just yawned.

   Tea substitute is not the same as real tea.  You have to get the real tea
first.  Obviously, when you take the real tea though, you are forced to drop
'no tea' and vice-versa.  To have both tea and no tea would defy common sense,
so you will have to visit your brain and remove your common sense (yes, this is
part of the game. :-)

> 	Anyway, if someone could help me out it would be great

   Glad to help out.  Let me know if you have any other questions.

> Thanks, Peter

                                  John "Nightwind" Boelter
                                  May you always know where your towel is

--
*******************************************************************************
* John Boelter        a.k.a. Nightwind            boelter3945@iscsvax.uni.edu *
* Organizational Manager and contact person for everything and then some.     *
*******************************************************************************
* The individual who said we only use 10%  * The first 90% of a task takes    *
* of our brain's mental capacity, was      * 90% of the time, and the last    *
* probably 90% incorrect.                  * 10% takes the other 90%.         *
*            -Unknown comic on A&E-        *   -99 rule of Project Schedules- *
*******************************************************************************
From: d1dol@dtek.chalmers.se (Fredrik Lundholm)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Copy protection schemes in Infocom games
Date: 28 Sep 92 10:25:07 GMT
Organization: Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg Sweden

adam@arcadia.mc.phillip.edu.au (Adam Eberbach) writes:

<<<ZZZAAAPPP>>>>


>If the author says so, yeah. If not why am studying programming? Why don't I
 study
>something that's going to let me make a living and leave programming for my
 spare time?

Are we talking game programmin' or "serious" programmin' here?
I see a point in copy protection of "games", but what happens when the 
mnanufacturer drops support of f. ex. a specific brand of computer?
 I peronally feel that all their programs should be released as PD or
 something for poeple to enjoy while they don't want to make money out of it
anyhow. Then the copyright is pointless. (my opinion)

The Software manufacturers say that they loose enourmous amount's of cash 
because of pirateing, I'd say that's BULL SHIT!
Take f. ex. a Data Base program, you might wan't to see and test the 
actual program before spending enourmous amounts of cash, so why not copy
your friend's disks and test it at home, and if you are satisfied you'd 
simply buy the product and recieve all manuals etc.
If I were a professional programmer I would naturally not use something
"risky" (ei. a pirated product) to help me make my earnings.
I mean what garanties are there for pirated stuff?
They may crash any second and leave you there with a long nose.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fredrik Lundholm         
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~         
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: salim@tigger.cs.Colorado.EDU (Salim Alam)
Subject: Scott Adams (was Re: Top 10 Adventures)
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 19:37:31 GMT

In article <BvBGzx.Ktq@unix.amherst.edu> twpierce@unix.amherst.edu (Tim Pierce) writes:
>
>If anyone knows where I could get a version of Savage Island (or, for
>that matter, any other Scott Adams) for a non-dinosaur, please let me
>know.  I never did finish that one.
>

Yes!  Adventureland was the very first IF game I ever played and I 
loved it!  Really neat descriptions & puzzles.

Anyway, I too would be very interested in finding versions of the
Scott Adams games (the earlier ones ... the later ones had graphics
but no depth)..  Especially "The Count", which I never finished....

-Salim

-- 
Salim Alam. CS Graduate Student{} "New processes are created by other
University of Colorado, Boulder{}  processes, just like new humans" - Nemeth
INTERNET: salim@cs.colorado.edu{}  et al, Unix System Administration Handbook.
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: hodgkik@reis53.alleg.edu (Kenneth Hodgkiss)
Subject: mechwarrior
Keywords: comp. game
Organization: Allegheny College
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 13:07:39 GMT


	A friend of mine just gave me the game MECHWARIOR but unfortunatly  
he has lost the codes to enter the game so i was wondering if anyone could  
help me get them.  If you have them and could send them to me i would be  
very happy.

			Thanks 
				ken
			hodgkik@alleg.edu
From: dmb@pf.ai.mit.edu (David Baggett)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: The trend in adventure games
Date: 29 Sep 92 22:09:03 GMT
Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory

In article <xeno.717745102@pv34ad.vincent.iastate.edu> xeno@iastate.edu (Gary L Snethen) writes:
>In <28441@life.ai.mit.edu> dmb@lf.ai.mit.edu (David Baggett) writes:
>>in the interactive fiction genre.  (For example, there isn't even a
>>single work of interactive fiction with a tragic hero in it.)
>
>Hey now!  What about Floyd?  ;)

I was thinking more along the lines of Macbeth.  Just because Floyd's
situation is tragic doesn't mean he's a tragic hero.  :-)

Dave Baggett
--
dmb@ai.mit.edu           MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory                  
ADVENTIONS: interactive fiction (text adventures) for the 90's!
dmb@ai.mit.edu *** Compu$erve: 76440,2671 *** GEnie: ADVENTIONS
From: v095mx72@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Dr. Bob)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Ultima Underworld (Hint needed)
Date: 30 Sep 92 22:21:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41


Does anyone know how to solve the room of levers on Ultima Underworld
(The Stygian Abyss)


Thanx
Organization: The Leader Desslok School of Diplomacy
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 21:51:50 EDT
From: Norman St. John Polevaulter <MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: The trend in adventure games
 <1992Sep28.123712.2756@wkuvx1.bitnet> <librik.717727822@cory.Berkeley.EDU>
 <1992Sep29.120955.2781@wkuvx1.bitnet>

(There may be spoilers for TRINITY in this)

In article <1992Sep29.120955.2781@wkuvx1.bitnet>, mollems@wkuvx1.bitnet says:
>imagine a game where the PLAYER and his CHARACTER might be diametric
>opposites -- the character might have to take actions the player would
>never do himself, or the player might want to take a course of action
>that the character would be opposed to.  A main character who would
>never kill or steal, for example, could be a challenge to play.  The
>story, in this case, might be told from a first-person point of view,
>and when the player attempted an "immoral" (from the character's view)
>action, respond with something along the lines of "I would never do
>such a thing."  Just a thought...

Mmm... no offense, but I disagree. IMHO, games where you are prevented
from doing something because the CHARACTER of you in the game is squeamish
or too moral or too whatever are all too common -- nearly every IF game
uses this at some point and I find it terribly annoying. For example, in
TRINITY, at one point you're stuck in a cave with a horrible monster and
have to get out. The key to getting out is a tiny hole in the wall. I was
trying to figure out what the hole was, and would try LOOK THROUGH HOLE or
PUT FINGER IN HOLE; the game would reply "You're afraid to do that, because
you might lose your [eye/finger] to something in the hole." Well, big deal!
All things considered (for example, the slavering monster eyeing me hungrily)
one would think it's worth the small risk just to find out what the heck this
hole is supposed to be! (It turns out to be a keyhole, in fact. There was
never any danger at all.)

Of course, this sort of thing isn't applied _consistently_; it might be
more acceptible if it were. But generally speaking, I want this to be ME
in the game, and be able to do anything I want without running up against
mental barriers that don't exist in reality.

                  "Two hundredth verse, same as the first!"
[Your blood pressure just went up.]        Mark Sachs IS: mbs110@psuvm.psu.edu
DISCLAIMER: If PSU knew I had opinions they'd probably try to charge me for it.
From: mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (John P. Mechalas)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: FAQ Addition and Trends in Advtenure Games
Date: 28 Sep 92 13:30:32 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network


   I think the creation of this news group will serve one main goal:  tie
together those of us who still have a love or affection for the "old" but
classic interactive fiction games.  And as such, I think we should make
an addition to the FAQ to include the following:

   1) FTP sites where Shareware Interactive Fiction is located.
   2) FTP sites where TADS can be located, and what it is.

   Also, I think that upload announcements of new interactive fiction games
have a rightful place here.  Any comments on this?  Additions or otherwise?

-- 
John Mechalas                                          "I'm not an actor, but
mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu                                 I play one on TV."
Aero Engineering, Purdue University                     #include disclaimer.h
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: ins750t@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Jim Giannakis)
Subject: Top 10 Adventures
Organization: Monash University
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 06:01:04 GMT

Since many other newsgroups have got their lists of movies/games/whatever ,
Here is my list of top 10 adventures...

1. Guild Of Thieves 
2. Zork 2
3. Leather Goddesses
4. Planetfall
5. Fish!
6. The Pawn
7. Zork Zero
8. De ja Vu
9. Bureaucracy
10. Lurking Horror




What do other people think ?



Jim
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: msr@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Michael Rosenberg)
Subject: Re: Infidel
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 13:25:04 GMT

In article <1a56i8INNbv7@matt.ksu.ksu.edu> jeffyg@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Jeffrey Wayne Geist) writes:
>I have managed to solve this whole game myself with the exception of
>the last puzzle.  To get into the sarcophagus, one must turn the statues
>to get their hands off or it.  When I turn the forth statue, they all snap
>back.  What am i missing? Can someone help me?  Thanx much.
>-- 
>My signature file!

You have to turn them in a specific order.  If you turn them in the wrong
order, than they snap back.  It's been too long since I played to remember
what the order is.  There are clues though.  I have vague memories of their
being hieroglyphics with the order in them (somewhere near the headless
statue?).  As I said, it's been too long for me to remember precisely.  If
nothing else, play with the order.  After all, there are only 24 combinations.

Hope this helps...

--Mike

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
*  Mike Rosenberg                   |   msr@casbah.acns.nwu.edu              *
*                                   |   jth@isp.nwu.edu                      *
*  "Weasel is not a nickname --     |   weasel@nwu.edu                       * 
*   it's a state of mind."          |   weasel@speedy.acns.nwu.edu           *
*                                   |                                        *
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
"Ordinariy he was insane, but he had lucid moments when he was merely stupid"
	Heinrich Heine
From: xeno@iastate.edu (Gary L Snethen)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Top 10 Adventures
Date: 29 Sep 92 05:43:00 GMT
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA

In <1992Sep28.060104.10605@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au> ins750t@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Jim Giannakis) writes:

>Since many other newsgroups have got their lists of movies/games/whatever ,
>Here is my list of top 10 adventures...

>1. Guild Of Thieves 
>2. Zork 2
>3. Leather Goddesses
>4. Planetfall
>5. Fish!
>6. The Pawn
>7. Zork Zero
>8. De ja Vu
>9. Bureaucracy
>10. Lurking Horror


Hey... Guild of Thieves...  I got that with my PC compatible years ago,
but never played it much...   I don't think I have the package around anymore,
though...  Wonder if I still have a copy somewhere in my archives...

I'll hafta give it a try since you've rated it so highly.

---Xeno


>What do other people think ?



>Jim
Organization: The Leader Desslok School of Diplomacy
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 21:23:23 EDT
From: Norman St. John Polevaulter <MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: The trend in adventure games
 <1992Sep28.123712.2756@wkuvx1.bitnet>

Be fair, though. Graphical adventures aren't ALL bad. Monkey Island II, for
example, depends on silly sight gags and slick animation/stills for a lot
of what it does. It would certainly lose something transferred from graphics
to all-text. Just like the best text adventures -- Planetfall or Spellbreaker,
say -- would lose their impact blown up to 22 megs of graphics and chrome.
(I can still remember the escape capsule scene and climactic chase from PF,
and the end of Spellbreaker -- full of drama and tension. These would cough
and die as graphics.)

Just as movies of books tend to lose something, books of movies also usually
turn out pretty bad. There's room enough in the universe for both movies and
books.

Of course, the problem in Interactive Fiction Land is that movies have
largely crowded out books, but that's a slightly different topic. (Come to
think of it, there was hardly anyone making text adventures except Infocom,
wasn't there? So once the Big I went belly-up there was nobody to fill the
gap remaining behind. I think that may be the reason for the graphics glut...)

                  "Two hundredth verse, same as the first!"
[Your blood pressure just went up.]        Mark Sachs IS: mbs110@psuvm.psu.edu
DISCLAIMER: If PSU knew I had opinions they'd probably try to charge me for it.
From: lavonius@plootu.Helsinki.FI (Ville Lavonius)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Purpose of this newsgroup?
Date: 4 Oct 92 09:22:50 GMT
Organization: Cthulhoid Entities for a Better Tomorrow

In article <1089@kopasker.is> brl@kopasker.is (Bjorgvin Runar Leifsson) writes:

   Hi, boys and girls adventuring around the world.

   I just discovered this newsgroup and am very pleased with it.  However, I
   find it very text adventure oriented, especially on Infocom.  Now I am a
   text adventure and a Infocom fan but I also like to play frp games like
   AD&D, M&M and so on.  Is this group not also for those kind of games?

No, this is just for discussion on text-based games. Try comp.sys.ibm.pc.games,
or equivalent mac or amiga group. At least the first has a lot of computer
rpg discussion going on.

   Bjorgvin R. Leifsson
   brl@kopasker.is
--
Ville Lavonius	        University of Helsinki, Dept. of Computer Science
lavonius@cc.helsinki.fi : "Some of my best friends are nukes" - R. Reagan
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: boelter3945@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Leather Goddess
Date: 4 Oct 92 20:26:23 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <1al6qnINN7uh@bigboote.WPI.EDU>, eyeq@wpi.WPI.EDU (Brent
   Burkholder) writes:
> 
>   How do you dock at that one dock on the opposite side of the river? There
> are two docks on each side and you always go to the one and not the other.

   Change the speed of your boat.  If you are going fast in the boat, you
will propell yourself to the far doock.  If you are just drifting in the
current, you will hit the near dock.

>   How do you avoid the ion beam, or failing that, how do you get rid of
> the headache? (or does this tie in with the first question?)

   You can't approach the ice area that direction, you have to use a black
disc.  There is one somewhere in the harem region (tower, bottom of well, I
forget which) that always takes you to inside the barge.  Once you dock at
the palace area, set the boat free by pushing the button from the dock.  Wait
a while, then use the black disc to appear inside the boat, already past the
ion beam, thus avoiding it. :)

                                        John "Nightwind" Boelter

--
*******************************************************************************
* John Boelter        a.k.a. Nightwind            boelter3945@iscsvax.uni.edu *
* Organizational Manager and contact person for everything and then some.     *
*******************************************************************************
* The individual who said we only use 10%  * The first 90% of a task takes    *
* of our brain's mental capacity, was      * 90% of the time, and the last    *
* probably 90% incorrect.                  * 10% takes the other 90%.         *
*            -Unknown comic on A&E-        *   -99 rule of Project Schedules- *
*******************************************************************************
From: wiegand@rtsg.mot.com (Robert Wiegand)
Subject: Re: Hints for Sierra...where do you find 'em?
Reply-To: motcid!wiegand@uunet.uu.net
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 16:28:23 GMT

ak@cutlass.ksu.ksu.edu (Kendric Beachey) writes:


>Like the subject line says...where can I find hints for Sierra games?
>I'm pretty sure from the discussions I've seen here that this ain't it.
>So if some kind soul would point me in the right direction (or maybe 
>give me some of the hints in question) I'd be forever grateful, etc. etc.

>(Just in case you're in the mood to give hints, it Space Quest II I'm 
>stumped on)

>-- 
>  Kendric Beachey a.k.a. A. K.                                               
>    ak@matt.ksu.ksu.edu                      331 N 17                       
>    ak@ksuvm.ksu.edu                         Manhattan, KS 66502           
>"Thou hast besquirted me, O Leotarded One!  The maiden be thine!"--Guess who?

If you are really desperate you can call their BBS (the number is in
the documents that come with their games). You call also reach the BBS
through Compuserve (GO SIERRA).


-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert Wiegand - Motorola Inc.
motcid!wiegand@uunet.uu.net            uunet!motcid!wiegand
Disclamer: I didn't do it - I was somewhere else at the time.
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: jennings@halcyon.com (James Jennings)
Subject: Re: Infocom Dump Program?
Organization: The 23:00 News and Mail Service
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 07:44:01 GMT

>Come to think of it, I've always wondered if there isn't some way to
decode
>and print ALL the text of an Infocom game. Comments, anyone?

I tried to find all of the text in an Apple II version of Zork I once,
many years ago. The text was all compressed, 3 character -> 2 bytes, and
the byte pair could start on either an even or an odd address. You
*could* write a program to read all the text, but you'd have to reverse
engineer the Infocom interpreter to do it.

Nowadays, I'd start with the InfoTaskForce interpreter and go from
there.

James

Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: jrs@netcom.com (John Switzer)
Subject: Re: Infidel
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 16:18:56 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 

In article <1a8rkrINNs84@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> bsc7@po.CWRU.Edu (Bradley S. Corsello) writes:

>I solved Infidel a few years ago, but I ended up by being trapped beneath
>the pyramid.  Is there any way to solve the game without being entombed?
>(Straight answer is OK.)

No - I remember reading in an Infocom interview that this is how the 
game is supposed to end because the hero is really a greedy jerk who deserves 
his demise.
-- 
John Switzer               | 50 years from now, nobody will
                           | remember Candice Bergen or Murphy
74076.1250@Compuserve.com  | Brown, but every school kid will
jrs@netcom.com             | be taught about President Quayle.
Newsgroups: rec.games.design
From: sos@oz.plymouth.edu (Steffan O'Sullivan)
Subject: Re: History of FRP systems
Reply-To: sos@oz.plymouth.edu (Steffan O'Sullivan)
Organization: Plymouth State College - Plymouth, N.H.
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 92 12:26:17 GMT

np2@doc.ic.ac.uk (Nathaniel Pryce) writes:
>  Was Star Wars the first game where the GM gives a task a difficulty number
>and the player rolls their skill dice against it? 

No, Mercenaries, Spies & Private Eyes did it earlier.  Yes, it is a great
mechanic.

-- 
  - Steffan O'Sullivan		         sos@oz.plymouth.edu
From: tom@clipper.ingr.com (Tom Granvold)
Newsgroups: rec.games.design
Subject: Re: History of FRP systems
Summary: Shadowrun was not first to count-each-die separately sytem.
Date: 6 Oct 92 16:17:26 GMT
Followup-To: rec.games.design
Organization: Intergraph Advanced Processor Division - Palo Alto, CA

>In article <1992Oct2.192353.11513@mailer.cc.fsu.edu>
>picl17@fsphy1.physics.fsu.edu (Travis S. Casey) writes:

>   I'm trying to put together something on the history of RPG systems, and
>   would appreciate any help that anyone could give me.  Right now, I have
>   the following stuff:

>   D & D :        First RPG system
>   Champions:     first point-creation system, logarithmic attributes
>   MS & PE:       First use of any attribute + any skill for doing things
>   Shadowrun:     First "count-each-die separately" system
>   Runequest:     First %-ile system (not full percentile, but...)
>   CORPS:         Attempts to reduce die rolling, squared attributes.
>   Amber:         Diceless play, character auction.
>   Star Wars:     First use of character "templates"
>   James Bond:    First use of action table.

>   As you can probably see, I'm interested mainly in what mechanics were
>   introduced by what system, rather than a chronology.

    There is an earier game that used "count-each-die separately" system.
That is  Prince Valient by Chaosium.  Of course the "die" were actually
only two sided, i.e. coins.  As you got better you increase your "coin
pool", i.e. used more coins.  In combat the one who "rolled" the most
heads won that round.

Just my 2 cents worth,
Tom Granvold
------------------------------------------------------
Mail:    2400 Geng Rd., Palo Alto, Calif., 94303
Email:   tom@clipper.ingr.com
------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.games.design