HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 16:51:47 -0500 
From: Matthew A Kagle <mk52+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Adventure

I'm curious; how many people found the Created by Warren Robinett sign
without any help (or without even knowing it was there, like I did)?


         Respectfully Yours,

        -- Matt2

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                |
"Violence is the last           |       Matthew Kagle
refuge of the incompetent."     |       Pittsburgh, PA
                                |
-- Isaac Asimov	                |       mk52@andrew.cmu.edu
                                |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
From: craig@adikia.sccsi.com (Craig Groeschel)
Subject: Re: Galaga Cheat
Organization: Craig's Linux gonkulator
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 05:57:12 GMT

>>I've heard that there is a way to convince the baddies in Galaga to stop
>>shooting at you. How is this done?

That is a FAQ.
-- 
"Do not play this piece fast.  It is never right to play Ragtime fast." Joplin
From: 2a42dubinski@vms.csd.mu.edu
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
Subject: Re: WPIX,NY
Date: 26 Jan 1993 05:07:18 GMT
Organization: Marquette University - Computer Services
Reply-To: 2a42dubinski@vms.csd.mu.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: vmsa.csd.mu.edu

In article <1k27k4INNfg2@titan.ucs.umass.edu>, donovan@titan.ucs.umass.edu (Sean Donovan) writes:
>In article <00967245.3D0EFA20@vms.csd.mu.edu> 2a42dubinski@vms.csd.mu.edu writes:
>>In article <1993Jan25.200113.22647@wam.umd.edu>, freelanc@next12csc.wam.umd.edu (Anthony Joseph Rossello) writes:
>>>just wondering if anyone remembers this timely intellivision/network tv
>>>concoction.
>>>PIX...PIX...PIX...PIX...PIX...
>>>
>>>		Anthony
>>	I give up.  What was it?
>
>TV PIX!  Yes, I remember that!  It was a short segment in between afternoon
>cartoons.  you sent in a postcard and they picked one and called you at home.
>You played an Intellivision game over the phone by yelling PIX at the right
>moment to make the QB throw the pass (or whatever the game of the day was).
>You won really cheesy prizes depending on how well you did.  I remember
>thinking it was the coolest thing, but since I lived in PA and not NYC, I was
>bummed that I couldn't enter!
>
>	-Sean.
>
>  ------------------------------------------------------
>  Sean Donovan               donovan@psych.umass.edu  
>  Department of Psychology
>  University of Massachusetts
>  ------------------------------------------------------
>
I don't recall that ever hitting here. (Wisconsin)
------
Robert

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  | Robert S. Dubinski	 |   Pre-Dent Scholar  |  Marquette University   |
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  | Internet Address: 2A42Dubinski.vms.csd.mu.edu  |	Milwaukee, WI    |
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  | Home Address: Colonel Bob's Weekend Camp for the Mentally Insane     |
  | "It is not I who am crazy, it is I who am MAD!!!!" - Ren Hoek        |
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: mbrockma@bank.ecn.purdue.edu (Matt Brockman)
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
Subject: Re: 2600
Date: 26 Jan 93 21:18:55 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network

In article <1993Jan25.143409.7844@aber.ac.uk> rnm1@aber.ac.uk (Ryan McCamy) writes:
>I agree that Activision usually put out quality 2600 games.  My favorite in 
>terms of graphics and playability was Decathlon.  It had all the events and
>they looked almost as good as the arcade version.  I remember the game came
>with the programmer's (David Crane, I think) high scores and I actually beat
>his pole vault score and javelin throw score.  I never was a good long jumper,
>though.  I also seem to remember that if got 9000 points and mailed Activision
>a photograph of the screen with the final score they would mail you back all
>kinds of really intense goodies (well...maybe just an sew-on Decathlon patch).
>My photo never turned out, though.  The only bad thing about the game was the 
>jiggling of the joystick got tiring toward the end, but I guess you are 
>supposed to get tired at the end of the decathlon, aren't you?  (A trick I
>learned for improved feel was to remove the rubber stick and play with just the
>plastic one- added 300 or so points to my score.  

Or you could hook up the trackball for the 2600 and put it in
"trackball" mode and by barely wiggling it, you could easily
keep the speed bar up near the top. It was pretty easy to get over
1,000 pts. in each event then! :-)


===============================================================================
Matt Brockman                                           mbrockma@ecn.purdue.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    "While a llama may produce some of the world's finest of wools, prized
        around the world, their breath, on the other hand, could only 
            be prized somewhere in the far reaches of llama hell."
===============================================================================
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
From: littaum@atlantis.CS.ORST.EDU (Mike Littau)
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
Subject: Re: Hmmm.
Date: 26 Jan 1993 18:06:40 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Outreach Services - Oregon State University
NNTP-Posting-Host: atlantis.cs.orst.edu

In article <1k2k4rINN77f@TOAD.ZOO2.CS.YALE.EDU> gugler-sean@cs.yale.edu (Sean Gugler) writes:
>Are there hostile factions I'm not aware of?  (... And the masses
>cried unto the Oracle, "Please, Almighty, not another platform war!")
>
If there were once hostile factions back when it was really something to 
have an Atari, it's pretty much gone now, since many people now own
more than one system (now that just about any of the old systems can be
picked up around $10 for the console).
From: phillips@cs.ubc.ca (George Phillips)
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
Subject: Re: worst home game
Date: 27 Jan 1993 16:00:03 -0800
Organization: Computer Science, University of B.C., Vancouver, B.C., Canada
NNTP-Posting-Host: yukongold.cs.ubc.ca

In article <1993Jan27.010842.8009@wam.umd.edu> vgriscep@wam.umd.edu (VGR (Craig Pell)) writes:
>I agree!  Frogs 'n' Flies is an excellent game!  First of all, it was fun
>and challenging.  Even on the easiest setting!  (I never bothered to move
>the difficulty switches giving one greater control over the jumps and such.)
>The visuals were more than adequate, and the sounds were *perfect*.  I mean,
>come on, how sophisticated a sound did you need?  What I really like is the
>crickets at the end, and the firefly.

Thunk.  I think that post just knocked some old video-game memories loose.
Sounds like this "Frogs 'n' Flies" was based on an arcade game I remember
playing way back.  In it you were a frog hopping on some lily pads at
the bottom of the screen.  Various flies would come out and you had to
consume so many in a certain time to continue.  Basically, you could hop
around, flick your tongue and jump up high to get the bugs.  The graphics
were pure monochrome raster and the lily pads were indicated by an overlay
at the bottom of the screen.  I'm sure it existed as an arcade games,
but I can't remember the name of it.

In retrospect, it could have been viewed as an early platform type game.
Sure, you only had one platform, but you could run, jump and attack.
From: littaum@atlantis.CS.ORST.EDU (Mike Littau)
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
Subject: Re: [2600] Games for sale: that racing game...
Date: 26 Jan 93 20:49:02 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Outreach Services - Oregon State University
NNTP-Posting-Host: atlantis.cs.orst.edu

In article <1993Jan26.173040.14031@ultb.isc.rit.edu> jam4944@ritvax.isc.rit.edu writes:
>I was wondering... could anyone compile a list of Activision games? There
>were quite a few games that I could remember but I know there are more.

Someone beat you to it.  There are several people who are making big lists
of atari & other old system games.

In fact, you could probably get one online.  Contact Craig Pell (I don't have
his E-mail address handy, but he posts here).  Perhaps he could post it
to this newsgroup so people won't bug him about it. :)
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
From: vgriscep@wam.umd.edu (VGR (Craig Pell))
Subject: Re: worst home game
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 01:08:42 GMT

In article <qwp3!yk@rpi.edu> petitc@nuge106.its.rpi.edu (Christopher Jon Petit) writes:
>
>>The crappiest game I have for the 2600 is Frogs N Flies by
>>Intellivision.  SUCKS!!
>
> No way!  That game was great---hopping around and eating flies.  And you gotta
>love the corny "Buuurp"ing noise the frog made when it ate a fly.  :&)

I agree!  Frogs 'n' Flies is an excellent game!  First of all, it was fun
and challenging.  Even on the easiest setting!  (I never bothered to move
the difficulty switches giving one greater control over the jumps and such.)
The visuals were more than adequate, and the sounds were *perfect*.  I mean,
come on, how sophisticated a sound did you need?  What I really like is the
crickets at the end, and the firefly.  Very, very nice touch.  Tell me, just
what is it that sucks about the game?  What *is* your high score, anyway?
Hmmmmmmmm?  :->
-- 
      | $000C35FA                  <>-----=------------------------=----=----<>
 VGR  | (1812 Overture)            | "The size of the brain is no measure of  |
      | I GIVE UP                  | its capacity."   - Mr. Jonathan Frisby   |
      | YOU MUST BE A  VIDEO WHIZ  <>-----=---------=------------------------<>
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
From: vgriscep@wam.umd.edu (VGR (Craig Pell))
Subject: Re: 2600
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 01:17:39 GMT

In article <1993Jan25.171327.2574@freenet.carleton.ca> aa382@Freenet.carleton.ca (Marc Sira) writes:
>
>Most of the Activision games (the early ones, at least) included some form
>of that contest. I took pictures of the screen in Kaboom!, Laserblast (god,
>I was bored of Laserblast by the time I got to the !!!!!!!! score...) and
>Dragster, I believe...not one of them came out.
>
>Of course, I had no idea at the time how to use a camera (let alone take a
>picture of a CRT image). B-)

Oo!  Wasn't just the most frustrating thing in the world?  I can only remember
qualifying for the Skiing patch (oh, and Laser Blast, of course).  I tried
taking a picture in every conceivable lighting, with and without flash, with
a variety of films ... it never worked.  Nuts.

On the other hand ... I have some small consolation now;  I managed to find
the patches for Laser Blast, Freeway and Seaquest at a flea market.  :-)

Oh, and ... I recently bought Dreadnaught Factor for Intellivision from, yes,
Telegames USA.  Pricey or not, it was new in the box.  And consider this:
because it was new, I found something interesting:  a little Activision
catalog, one I hadn't seen before (I collect those, too), with about 20
Activision patches I had not known existed.  I'm interested to know who,
on the net, thinks he/she has the most Activision patches, or if you know
someone who currently has what you believe to be the most Activision patches.
-- 
      | $000C35FA                  <>-----=------------------------=----=----<>
 VGR  | (1812 Overture)            | "The size of the brain is no measure of  |
      | I GIVE UP                  | its capacity."   - Mr. Jonathan Frisby   |
      | YOU MUST BE A  VIDEO WHIZ  <>-----=---------=------------------------<>
From: woodre@HYDRA.ROSE-HULMAN.EDU
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
Subject: Re: Worst home game of all time?  ET!
Date: 24 Jan 1993 05:01:58 GMT
Organization: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Reply-To: woodre@HYDRA.ROSE-HULMAN.EDU
NNTP-Posting-Host: hydra.rose-hulman.edu

In article <1993Jan22.191136.25306@aber.ac.uk>, rnm1@aber.ac.uk (Ryan McCamy) writes:
>In article <C10xFy.3HI@unix.amherst.edu> acbonin@unix.amherst.edu (Adam Bonin) writes:
>>With all due respect, and I apologize if it's been mentioned, you can't forget
>>Pac-Man for the 2600...easily the most disappointing game ever.  Ugly, ugly 
>>game.
>>
>>-adam
>>----
>>Adam Bonin '94
>>Amherst College
>>acbonin@amherst.edu
>>
>I gotta agree with this one.  The screen was YELLOW and the Pac-Man didn't
>even turn when you moved it up and down.  He would be moving up and chomping
>sideways! .... [deleted]

  Yup. "Like a broken monkeywrench!" we used to say. Even so, you can't say you
weren't excited when you heard it was coming out for the 2600.  

			Rob
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
From: aa382@Freenet.carleton.ca (Marc Sira)
Subject: Re: 2600
Reply-To: aa382@Freenet.carleton.ca (Marc Sira)
Organization: The National Capital Freenet
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 17:13:27 GMT


In a previous article, rnm1@aber.ac.uk (Ryan McCamy) says:

>though.  I also seem to remember that if got 9000 points and mailed Activision
>a photograph of the screen with the final score they would mail you back all
>kinds of really intense goodies (well...maybe just an sew-on Decathlon patch).
>My photo never turned out, though.  The only bad thing about the game was the 

Most of the Activision games (the early ones, at least) included some form
of that contest. I took pictures of the screen in Kaboom!, Laserblast (god,
I was bored of Laserblast by the time I got to the !!!!!!!! score...) and
Dragster, I believe...not one of them came out.

Of course, I had no idea at the time how to use a camera (let alone take a
picture of a CRT image). B-)
-- 
Marc Sira                    |
toh@micor.ocunix.on.ca       |  "Your god drinks...p-p-peach nectar!"
aa382@freenet.carleton.ca    '
From: sprengel0348@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
Subject: Re:  Worst Video Game Ever?
Date: 22 Jan 93 14:13:08 -0600
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

        I personally nominate the Atari 2600 version of "Phoenix" for best
classic home video game.  The sound and visual effects are quite impressive,
and it's one of those games that I can plug into my system and play for long
periods of time.
        And the worst game of all time?  "Sneak 'n' Peek", also for the 2600,
manufactured by the obscure (and certainly long-defunct) U.S. Games
Corporation aka Vidtec.  This is supposed to be a hide-and-seek game geared
toward younger children.  It takes place in 3 rooms of a house (the living room
and two bedrooms) plus the front yard.  Supposedly, there are 5 hiding places
in each scene.  Well, some of the hiding places mentioned in the directions are
downright near impossible to enter, no matter what angle you choose.  Also,
those low-budget, monomelodic renditions of "Home Sweet Home" and "Camptown
Races" (what does that song have to do with hiding in a spooky old house?) get
downright annoying after a while, and there are virtually no other sounds in
the game, except when the player is done hiding or finds the hidden opponent. 
I played this game frequently in my mid-teens, and even then I got downright
frustrated with it.
Timothy J. Sprengeler
University of Northern Iowa
From: kjohnson@csugrad.cs.vt.edu (Keefer)
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
Subject: Re: [2600] Games for sale: that racing game...
Date: 28 Jan 93 17:16:32 GMT
Organization: Virginia Polytechnic Bureaucracy, USA

Ahhh...  That game where you shoot cheeseburgers and stuff is Megamania!

I had that game (well, still do, just don't have an Atari %) ), and man was
that great fun.  The first level was quite easy (though some of the 
individual rounds could be pretty challenging).  However, the difficulty
went WAY up starting on the second level.  That last round (the dice) would
have some of them going left and some right.  Argh!  But that wasn't the
worst...  On the third level, the tires were just death!  They zig-zagged
back and forth coming down all the while.  Many many games I lost to the
dreaded third-level tire wave.  :)

keefer
-- 
|kjohnson@csugrad.cs.vt.edu|  // Amiga!|"I heard it was exciting - just like  |
|.....Keith P. Johnson.....|\X/  "It's |a spike in volleyball!"               |
|.1711 Whipple Dr. Apt. 11.|really not |                                      |
|...Blacksburg, VA 24060...|that bad!" |      - Kelly on "Saved By the Bell"  |
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic,rec.games.video
From: grover@emunix.emich.edu (Grover Thomas)
Subject: [2600/7800] Some sold out, some new 
Organization: Eastern Michigan University
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 15:03:51 GMT


Zowie!  Just to let you know, there are no more "Gravitar" (2600)
"Barnyard Blaster"(7800), or "Dark Chambers" (7800) cartridges
available.  They are gone.  Wow! Thanks for the tremendous
response, though. 

However, I have obtained the following (new, in the box):
one (1)  Galaxian (2600)
one (1)  Ms. Pac-Man (2600)
two (2)  RealSports Football (2600)

First response gets choice.

I can also still get the following:

2600 games:
  Crystal Castles     Venture
  Asteroids (though the Asteroids boxes are very beat-up)

7800 games:
  Asteroids    Ballblazer  Centipede
  Choplifter   Crossbow    Dig-Dug          Donkey-Kong
  Donkey-Kong-Jr    Food-Fight   Galaga   Hat-Trick        Joust
  Jinks       Karateka   One-On-One-Basketball     Pole-Position-II
  Robotron-2084     Tower-Toppler    Xevious

Price for each cartridge is $1.50 (U.S., plus shipping).  I can safely 
estimate about 3 games per pound shipping, so bulk orders will be cheaper.

If interested in any of the above, please e-mail me.
-- 
 __                                                                        __
(__)  Grover Thomas                   InterNet:  grover@emunix.emich.edu  (__
(__)      "I am the terror that flaps in the night!  I am the"            (__) 
(__) "wrong number that wakes you up at 3 in the morning." -Darkwing Duck (__)
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 18:46:51 -0500 
From: Peter Glen Berger <peterb+@CMU.EDU>
Subject: CLASSIC computers 4 sale

2 Atari 800's and 2 TI 99/4A's.  Must add shipping to all prices.
Details follow:

1 Atari 800XL, 1 Atari 810 disk drive, 1 Atari 850 multiplexer
thingie, 2 joysticks, all necessary cables, tons and tons of software,
including many games, atari pascal, FORTH, atariwriter, and other
things.  Please don't ask me for an inventory because there's so much
stuff I don't even know what's there :-).  $200 or best offer, bidding
is competitive.  I'm selling this only because I need the money.

1 Atari 800 (classic), 48K.  Will throw in whatever excess cables and
joysticks I have after the first system is sold.  $50.

1 TI 99/4a (old style).  All necessary cables, and about 5 program paks
including Tombstone City, Parsec, The Attack, Burgertime, and Hunt the
Wumpus.  $140 or best offer.

1 TI 99/4a (new style).  No cables, no software, no nothing except the
console.  $40.

Please respond soon.  Thanks,

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pete Berger		       ||  ARPA:     peterb@cs.cmu.edu
Professional Student	       ||            Pete.Berger@andrew.cmu.edu
Univ. Pittsburgh School of Law ||  UUCP: ...!harvard!andrew.cmu.edu!pb1p
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You will _croak_ you little clown, when you mess with President Brown!
 California Uber Alles! California Uber Alles! Uber Alles, California!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: vgriscep@wam.umd.edu (VGR (Craig Pell))
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
Subject: Re: Complete 2600 list (VERY LONG!)
Date: 28 Jan 93 00:29:57 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park

In article <1993Jan26.221413.18255@ultb.isc.rit.edu> clf3678@ultb.isc.rit.edu (C.L. Freemesser) writes:
>Here is a list I got from Russ Perry Jr. about 2.5 years ago.  It's
>about as complete a list of 2600 games and accessories that you will
>find.  One or two of the last games Atari came out with aren't on this
>list, but it's pretty much complete.  Russ graduated about a year and a
>half ago, and no longer has access to the Net.  :^(

I might mention that I have incorporated Russ Perry Jr.'s list into my own.
Except for hardware, of course.  For those who care, it is Russ's list that
is being showcased in detail in "2600 Connection."  (One game-maker at a time.)
-- 
      | $000C35FA                  <>-----=------------------------=----=----<>
 VGR  | (1812 Overture)            | "The size of the brain is no measure of  |
      | I GIVE UP                  | its capacity."   - Mr. Jonathan Frisby   |
      | YOU MUST BE A  VIDEO WHIZ  <>-----=---------=------------------------<>
From: woodre@HYDRA.ROSE-HULMAN.EDU
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
Subject: Worst video Games...
Date: 23 Jan 1993 02:20:29 GMT
Organization: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Reply-To: woodre@HYDRA.ROSE-HULMAN.EDU
NNTP-Posting-Host: hydra.rose-hulman.edu



       I didn't pluralize and capitalize the word 'games' in the title on 
accident. I must nominate the entire line of US Games games the worst video
games of all time. My 'favorites':

	Name This Game - retitled 'Name This Lame Game' by my best friend & me

	Sneak 'n' Peek - I must agree with Tim Sprengeler. Besides all that he
			 said, what a dumb concept! What's this game for? 
			 Homeless kids with an Atari 2600? Friendless kids who
			 think they're missing out on all the fun of hide-n-
			 seek? I can hardly believe real kids would play a video
			 version of a game they could well play themselves.
			 It's like video armwrestling -- silly.

	Gopher - Farmer tries to bonk carrot-stealing gophers on the head with
	   	 his shovel. Minutes of entertainment!

	All of their games were so ...  DUMB! They're undeniably the worst.
Perhaps Craig Pell's 'Mythicon' games are actually worse (hard to believe - 
you'll have to prove that one to me), but the saddest part of US Games is that
they had these horrendous games and then every month they took out a four-
page ad in "Electronic Games" magazine to talk about them. Even Activision 
(would anyone deny that they were at the cutting edge of 2600 programming?) 
didn't brag on their product like that. I've never heard of Mythicon, but is 
there anyone who played home video games in the early 1980's that hasn't heard
of US Games?


			Rob
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.classic
From: grover@emunix.emich.edu (Grover Thomas)
Subject: [2600] Games for sale
Summary: new Galaxian, Ms. Pac-Man, Pole Position, RealSports Football, Super Football
Organization: Eastern Michigan University
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 17:37:51 GMT

I have one of each of the following Atari 2600 games for sale (new, in
the box):

CX2694  Pole Position (2600)
CX2684  Galaxian (2600)
CX2675  Ms. Pac-Man (2600)
CX2668  RealSports Football (2600)
CX26154 Super Football (2600)

"Super Football" is an interesting new addition.  It offers more of an
overhead view, more plays (than RealSports), receiver running patterns,
smarter opponents, and extra-point kicks.

Like usual, each cartridge is $1.50 plus shipping.


-- 
 __                                                                        __
(__)  Grover Thomas                   InterNet:  grover@emunix.emich.edu  (__
(__)      "I am the terror that flaps in the night!  I am the"            (__) 
(__)              "ingrown nail on the foot of crime."     -Darkwing Duck (__)