HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jrr@locus.com (Jefery Roberts)
Subject: Re: Viz comics number...
Organization: Locus Computing Corp, Los Angeles
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 01:39:39 GMT


Since a couple of people have asked related questions about Viz's
subscription service, I thought I'd post the answer.

Subscriptions, Inc. is an independent company that acts as a mail order
service for Viz.  They moved several months ago, maybe even as long as a
year ago, if memory serves.  I phoned them a few weeks ago to order the
third series of Nausicaa, so the the following information is current as
of then:

	Subscriptions, Inc.
	1565 Cliff Road #3-450
	St. Paul, MN  55122
	(612) 882-0252

Disclaimer:  I have no relationship with this company except as a not
entirely satisfied customer.  It is convenient to get the stuff I want
mailed to me, knowing that I don't have to worry if it's not carried or
already sold out at the stores I might try to buy it at, but I get
rather annoyed when I don't receive my copy until a month after it's hit
the stores and the discussion of it has already long died out on
rec.arts.manga.  Also, I subscribed to, and paid in advance for, Ranma
despite my own misgivings and a lot of advice on the net, and I have yet
to hear a peep about a refund now that Viz has gone to black and white
and a cheaper price per issue.  In other words, I think that their
service as a mail order house is similar to Viz's service as a supplier
of translated manga for the fans:  either you don't know any better and
may find it good or at least acceptable, you know what you're getting
into, but think that the deficiencies fail to completely destroy the
value of what you are still receiving, or you think that the company's
actions have negated any value the service may have had.  Caveat Emptor.

Jefery Roberts		Locus Computing Corporation		jrr@locus.com
Xref: sparky rec.arts.manga:1652 soc.culture.japan:11124
From: cstewart@npal.rn.com
Newsgroups: rec.arts.manga,soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: How to buy these mangas in Lafayette,IN area ?y
Date: 19 Nov 92 16:14:17 EDT
Organization: PalNet -- Indianapolis, Indiana

In article <1992Nov18.174914.21691@noose.ecn.purdue.edu>, yongseok@porpoise.ecn.purdue.edu (Yongseok Park) writes:
> I have been interested in Japanese mangas for a long time.
> I am wondering if I can buy some in USA.
> I live in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA, which is in the middle of
> Chicago and Indianapolis.
> Is there any mail order possible ?
> I will really appreciate your help.
> Thanks.
> 
> yongseok
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>
From: ph111-dz@violet.berkeley.edu (david mou)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.manga
Subject: Re: Manga for THE SPIRIT OF WONDER?
Date: 16 Nov 92 07:02:42 GMT
Organization: a.b., s3x3, m.j., c.n.
NNTP-Posting-Host: violet.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Nov16.061934.6885@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> conty@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (E. Kontei) writes:
>
>I got the OVA for this yesterday.  Very imaginative
>story and rather unique character designs.
>
>Now, someone told me that this is based upon a series of stories that
>appeared in DRAGON magazine (or at least, that's how I understood it).
>Is there a compilation of such stories?

Last time I come across an installment of The Spirit of Wonder was in the May
1991 issue of Afternoon (or else I wouldn't be writing this, would I.. :)
Then it sort of just disappeared.  It may still be running in other mags, but
since I only have so much leg stamina I didn't bother to dig for it in my 
local Kinos.  The author is Tsuruta Kenji, and the publisher is of course
Kodansha.  In my '92 Comic Catalog (bible) it has vol.1 compilation listed
for Y700.  Me think there's all the info you need to order it from your 
nearest Kino.

There must be some interesting stories behind this author's recent
disappearance.  Do fill us in if anyone out there is better informed.
Thanks in advance.

-- 
                                                                         o
    dmou@orion.acs.uci.edu   ph111-dz@violet.berkeley.edu   studio 3x3  ^ ^

     "I just can't get it up... I just can't get it up..."   -Depeche Mode
From: msr@kepler.unh.edu (Reno no BAKA)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.manga
Subject: Re: Viz comics number...
Date: 15 Nov 1992 01:46:36 GMT
Organization: None what-so-ever
NNTP-Posting-Host: kepler.unh.edu

In article <9211141235.aa15813@Bonnie.ics.uci.edu> dlo@Bonnie.ICS.UCI.EDU writes:
>Hi.  Could someone tell me what happened to the Viz comics subscription number.  I'm trying to get the first issue of Ranma 1/2 but the local comic shop
>doesn't have any back issues and when I tried to called the number provided
>on the last page of the ones that I have I get a message saying that the
>number is no longer in service.  What gives?  Are they out of business or
>did they just change numbers?  Please help!!!
>
>Dick

AHHH!!!!! Did they change the address too???? I just ordered some stuff from
them and it's been a while. But I didn't think anything of it. 
--Matt
-- 
NNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII???????
And I thought I was going to graduate on time......
Matt Reno, a miserable excuse for a cs major!
msr@kepler.unh.edu
or the one I never use MSR_CS611@unhh.unh.edu
or the new one M_RENO@unhh.unh.edu
From: ph111-dz@violet.berkeley.edu (david mou)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.manga
Subject: Re: Otoku Juku
Date: 20 Nov 1992 04:20:02 GMT
Organization: (why bother, they're all dead)
NNTP-Posting-Host: violet.berkeley.edu

In article <BxzEv5.LFL@acsu.buffalo.edu> v124m9k6@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Brian M Ward) writes:
>
>     One of the inserts in a back issue of a Shonen Jump I was lucky
>to get had an insert showing cards for a series called Otoko Juku.
>Was this a manga or animated series?  Any information will be helpful.
>

Sakigake!! Otoku Juku by Miyashita Akira.  It has 30 some compilation 
volumes.  The manga series ran a while back in Shonen Jump, and along side
with Saint Seiya they were SJ's 1-2 punch for kids who feels "girls?  who 
needs those?"  Then came Video Girl.......

There was an anime feature in theater.  I think it was on a double billing
with Hokuto no Ken movie.  J-Wave in L.A. is the only place I found that
rents the tape.  The anime is out there.... (yeah, and they're out to kick
some gaijin asses too.)

-- 
                                                                         o
    dmou@orion.acs.uci.edu   ph111-dz@violet.berkeley.edu   studio 3x3  ^ ^

     "I just can't get it up... I just can't get it up..."   -Depeche Mode
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
From: Russell L. Bryan <rbryan@Mail.trincoll.edu>
Subject: Re: Bubblyhotrock (was Sense of Wonder)
X-Xxmessage-Id: <A72DD3BB7C023165@downes1-101.dynamic.trincoll.edu>
X-Xxdate: Mon, 16 Nov 92 03:39:55 GMT
Organization: Starving Writers of America (sole member)
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d12
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 03:37:12 GMT

In article <41085@sdcc12.ucsd.edu> Darin Johnson, djohnson@cs.ucsd.edu
writes:
>Yikes!  Wouldn't have thought of the cutting the rope part unless
>there was some sort of (you are x feet across).  And you won't swing
>into the cave gently, probably shoot a few rooms further in.  More
>description on carriage.  I would have thought it was hanging from the
>rope (like a funicular), making it very difficult for it to tip over
>by climbing on top.

Nope -- inside the carriage is a ton of useless trinkets and junk, all of
which is hanging from the ceiling.  This provides for a VERY high center
of gravity which is only balanced when someone is actually inside the
carriage.  The principle is similar to a squirrel-proof birdfeeder I once
saw.

>Personally, I would have thought that the carriage was mechanical and
>that pulling the lever might do something.  Maybe find another rope
>somewhere, crawl across, tie rope to carriage, crawl back, then pull
>carriage across.  Then perhaps if there are no controls inside
>carriage, can cross over to opening normally without carriage in the
>way.

Actually, the carriage WAS mechanical once, but as I said, a lot of
things are not operating (at least, not when you find them).  The
carriage itself contains a pulley system, and can be drawn across from
within by pulling on the rope.

However, I may have to seriously rethink the puzzle for another reason. 
I have to give the carriage a door.  It struck me that a carriage is
pretty useless if it only had one entrance on one side.  Well, back to
the drawing board.

-- Russ
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
From: strohm@mksol.dseg.ti.com (john r strohm)
Subject: Re: Adventure Definition Libraries
Organization: Texas Instruments, Inc
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 16:53:23 GMT

Someone recently asked about availability of source code for the "Elves 87"
adventure that was written in AdvSys.

It used to be available for download from BIX, the Byte Information Exchange,
a for-pay system.  I have a copy of the source code for the Atari 1040ST,
and AdvSys code was generally VERY portable.

Replies via email only to strohm@lobby.ti.com.  If you try to send it
here, I probably won't get it.
From: dmb@xbar.ai.mit.edu (David Baggett)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Parser heresy (was Re: Searching for a sense of wonder)
Date: 18 Nov 1992 22:33:10 GMT
Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
NNTP-Posting-Host: xbar.ai.mit.edu

In article <dpn2.103.722044514@po.CWRU.Edu> dpn2@po.CWRU.Edu (Damien P. Neil) writes:
>A puzzle should have a logical solution. The old game of "guess what the 
>author _really_ wanted you to type" grows old very quickly...

>get book from troll
>get book from troll quickly
>get book from troll while he's not looking
>get book from troll cleverly
>get book from troll sneakily
>get book from troll after confusing it with the old "shell game."
>get book from troll with great finesse
>get book from troll by being very aggressive and threatening
>get book from troll by pretending to be merely reading over his shoulder
>get book from troll in any way you see fit
>get book from troll in the way that the programmer of this game expects
 me to.

...

:)

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: dag@hpsemc.cup.hp.com (David A Graves)
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 19:23:33 GMT
Subject: Adventure Definition Libraries
Organization: HP VAB Programs
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction

Of the four most commonly discussed adventure languages (ADL, AdvSys, ALAN,
and TADS), only ADL and TADS come with a set of standard definitions.  Without
such a file, the writer must define the standard verbs and effects himself.
Clearly, this saves the writer a lot of work, and may well enhance the quality
of the finished work.  I'd like to hunt down any standard definitions for
AdvSys and ALAN.

Shortly after AdvSys was released, some folks at MIT started an advsys mail
group (which has now been deleted from eddie.mit.edu).  That group contributed
a bunch of standard AdvSys definitions, which was collected into a file called
standard.adi.  Does anyone know where that file can be found?  It's not in
the usenet archives with the AdvSys release.

Shortly thereafter (still in 1987), someone wrote a large adventure in AdvSys,
called "Elves", and released it to the public.  Does anyone know where the
source code for this AdvSys adventure can be found?
From: max@west.darkside.com (Erik Max Francis)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Intelligence Assumptions
Date: 21 Nov 92 04:08:59 GMT
Organization: The Dark Side of the Moon +1 408 245 SPAM

mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (John P. Mechalas) writes:

> As far as I know, you can't UNDO being dead...  If you die, you have to resto
> I don't know if this is true for TADS 2.0, but it is for Infocom games that
> support undo...or at least all the ones I have played..

I don't know what TADS 2.0 does specifically, but I believe that an UNDO 
feature is very useful, but you should be able to UNDO if your actions 
cause your character to die.  Otherwise it's just too easy to get out of 
some situations.

So you can UNDO to your heart's content _until_ you die.  Then you have 
RESTORE (or give up).  That's the way _I_ would do it.

----------
Erik Max Francis   Omnia quia sunt, lumina sunt.  Coming soon:  UNIVERSE _ | _
USmail:  1070 Oakmont Dr. #1 San Jose CA 95117  ICBM:  37 20 N  121 53 W _>|<_
UUCP:  ..!apple!uuwest!max   Usenet:  max@west.darkside.com   464E4F5244   |
From: djohnson@cs.ucsd.edu (Darin Johnson)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
Subject: Re: So you want to write a text adventure?
Date: 15 Nov 92 22:36:49 GMT
Article-I.D.: sdcc12.41025
Organization: =CSE Dept., U.C. San Diego

>>Will TADS ever be developed for Apple IIgs or C environment?
>
>As far as I know, TADS is not available for the Apple II series, and
>although this is pure speculation, I really don't see Mike Roberts ever
>producing it on that computer.  Honestly, I didn't think there was much
>of ANY market for the Apple II anymore.

So, reading between the lines, can we assume TADS will only be
developed if there is a market?  I think the comment on "C" was
whether or not it would be available in source code form, so it
could be put on any machine (ie, unix, amiga, apple iigs, etc.)
-- 
Darin Johnson
djohnson@ucsd.edu  --  How come my mind went off for lunch before I did?
Xref: sparky rec.arts.int-fiction:913 rec.games.int-fiction:913
From: wigdahl@dragon.unl.edu (Matt Wigdahl)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction,rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: TADS 2.0 price
Followup-To: rec.arts.int-fiction
Date: 19 Nov 1992 15:47:50 GMT
Organization: Univ. of Nebraska
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: dragon.unl.edu

In a mail message I received today from Mike Roberts, the price
breakdown for TADS 2.0 is:

	$40 + $3 s/h for TADS 2.0, 2.0 debugger, and documentation.
	$50 + $3 s/h for above, plus Deep Space Drifter registration
		and source.

I think DSD is $15 + $2 if ordered separately, but I'm not sure on that
so don't hold me to it.

Matt Wigdahl
wigdahl@dragon.unl.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
From: librik@cory.Berkeley.EDU (David Librik)
Subject: Re: Intelligence Assumptions
Organization: University of California, at Berkeley
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 03:37:29 GMT

dpn2@po.CWRU.Edu (Damien P. Neil) writes:

> (John P. Mechalas) writes:
> >As far as I know, you can't UNDO being dead...  If you die, you have to restore.
> >I don't know if this is true for TADS 2.0, but it is for Infocom games that
> >support undo...or at least all the ones I have played..

> Really? All the ones that I played allowed you to UNDO death.

> You have died. Do you want to RESTORE, RESTART, UNDO, or QUIT?
> > Sue the implementor.

I haven't seen this before.  My immediate reaction is negative: what is the
point of death if it has no effect on the game?  Does this change the way
you design your game?  I try to make death a bad thing: at least you have
to have saved the game, or start over from the beginning, or something.
If you can UNDO death, what's the point of combat, for instance?  You'd always
win the first time through.

- David Librik
librik@cory.Berkeley.edu
From: dmb@xbar.ai.mit.edu (David Baggett)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Tricky adventure stuff, was Re: Bubblyhotrock (was Sense of Wonder)
Date: 17 Nov 1992 07:38:40 GMT
Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
NNTP-Posting-Host: xbar.ai.mit.edu

In article <92321.154254MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu> Mark 'Mark' Sachs <MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
>All deaths should be avoidable. That is -- and this tends to be forgotten
>a lot -- if the adventure is supposed to have even the slightest relation
>to reality, then ideally, a sufficiently observant and cautious protagonist
>would be able to wend their way through it without dying once.

Just because you saw Indiana Jones do it in the movies doesn't mean any
real person could do it.  The point that *I* think tends to be
forgotten is that what we see on TV and in the movies isn't realistic.
So when we talk about a realistic game we say, "well, you *should* be
able to get past the complex maze of gun turrets without getting killed
the first time, because I've seen that sort of thing happen." But you
haven't!  You only saw it in an unrealistic movie or TV show.  Judging
from such things you'd think human beings were made of die cast
aluminum.  In reality we are terribly fragile, and when put in any
dangerous situation (like exploring the Colossal Cave) we would
likely be smooshed, swekered, or otherwise terminated in mere seconds.

(Which is not to say that I don't think you have a good point about
making puzzles that are *potentially* solvable the first time through.
For playability's sake that seems like a good rule of thumb to me.)

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
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
From: Russell L. Bryan <rbryan@Mail.trincoll.edu>
Subject: TADS 2.0 -- Deep Space Drifter
X-Xxmessage-Id: <A731327CBD013165@downes1-101.dynamic.trincoll.edu>
X-Xxdate: Thu, 19 Nov 92 17:01:00 GMT
Organization: Starving Writers of America (sole member)
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d12
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 16:58:13 GMT

Although my copy of TADS 2.0 should be here within a week, I am curious
to know ahead of time if the source code being distributed with Deep
Space Drifter is commented now.  When I bought it originally last year,
when I was a complete novice to TADS, I could hardly begin to understand
DSD because the source code was nil on commenting.

-- Russ
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
From: jacobw@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Jacob Solomon Weinstein)
Subject: Re: Tricky adventure stuff, was Re: Bubblyhotrock (was Sense of Wonder)
Originator: news@nimaster
Organization: Princeton University
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 04:38:59 GMT

In article <92321.154254MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu> Mark 'Mark' Sachs <MBS110@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
>>>Also, it is necessary to allow for all other objects that could be
>>brought
>>>to this location.  For example, if I had a 80+ foot rope, I might try ...
>
>Might I just interject that this is probably one of the hardest things
>to take into account in an adventure game, IMHO.
>
>For example. If you give the player a ladder, say, you're just asking for
>trouble.

Tell me about it. In my soon-to-be-released game "Save Princeton"
there's a pair of earplugs. After I had coded most of the game, I
realized I had to go back and put an "if-then" clause in EVERY SINGLE
event involving sound so that it wouldn't tell you, "The jock says hi to
you" when you had plugs in your ears. Ugh. Still, now that it's all
done, I feel it was well worth it. 

I also originally had a can of glue, but I decided I just didn't feel
like programming in the ability to glue everything to everything else,
so I modified the puzzle and got rid of the glue.

This, I think, is one of the reasons why so many more people start
adventure games than finish them. It's really easy to put off all the
grunge work until the end, and then you're faced with the task of coding
in the four billion things you mentioned in descriptions to add flavor.
Ugh, again.


Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
From: Russell L. Bryan <rbryan@Mail.trincoll.edu>
Subject: Re: Searching for a sense of wonder
X-Xxmessage-Id: <A72C8DD8B8013165@downes1-101.dynamic.trincoll.edu>
X-Xxdate: Sun, 15 Nov 92 04:29:28 GMT
Organization: Starving Writers of America (sole member)
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d12
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 04:26:49 GMT

In article <BxsFFy.4Dt@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz> Greg Ewing,
greg@huia.canterbury.ac.nz writes:
>In real life, faced with a locked door, there are many courses of
>action available such as picking the lock, kicking the door,
>removing the hinge pins, attacking it with an axe, etc. which are
>perfectly feasible ways of addressing the problem.

This is a tough one, because yes, these are all perfectly logical ways to
open a door.  The programmer's standard solution to preventing this is to
make the door too heavy to kick or to preach on the immorality of
destroying such a beautiful door.  Personally, I just wouldn't put an axe
in the game.

When my game is finally finished, I will welcome my beta-testers to
suggest ANY solutions which are not implemented in the adventure.  These
solutions WILL BE implemented before the game is released.  In fact, I
want to start listing my puzzles HERE and NOW, to see if all of you will
make suggestions, but that would make the game worthless in the end. 
However, here's a taste for you all to comment on (keep in mind that this
takes place in the 30th anniversay, and some of the ridiculous objects
are MEANT to be ridiculous.  The following description is NOT verbatim.):

--

You are looking down yet another deep chasm, with a river of lava
bubbling far below (by this point of the game, you've probably seen
enough lava to scrap your vacation plans to the volcano planet of
Bubblyhotrock Centauri).  A rope spans the chasm from just above the
entryway here to just above the entryway of an opening at the other side
of the chasm.  On the other side of the chasm is a carriage of some sort.
 There is a lever on the wall.

--

Now, examining the chasm more closely reveals another cave about seventy
feet down the cliff face on the other side.  Examining the rope reveals
it to be about a hundred feet long.  The player decides to cross the
chasm on the rope, requiring that he goes hand-over-hand and that he
drops everything that can not fit in his utility belt.  If he attempts to
cross all the way to the carriage in this manner, he finds that the
carriage has no windows -- he will have to climb on top of it.  If he
climbs on top of it, the carriage overbalances and swings him right off
the side and into the river.  If (after restoring) he climbs part of the
rope and then cuts it (with the knife which fits in his utility belt),
then if he has gone thirty feet across the rope he will swing right into
the cave, and the carriage will come down with him, landing on the cave's
ledge.  If he cuts the rope at any other length, he swings safely to the
wall only to have the carriage land on his head from above.  That is only
the first part -- I haven't even gotten around to how he gets back.

OK, it's yours to cut apart.  What's the verdict on this puzzle?

-- Russ
From: foster@nzkites.UUCP (Foster Schucker)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
Subject: Is there a new version of ADVSYS
Date: 19 Nov 92 00:45:55 GMT
Organization: Kiteflyers Roost

I'm looking for a new version of David Betz's ADVSYS adventure 
construction system.  Mine is from 1986.  Is there a newer version
out there and are their any adventures that others have written
for it?

Thanks for your help.



Foster Schucker  (foster@nzkites.uucp)  (1-215-458-8354 (voice))
Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction