HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: fadden@uts.amdahl.com (Andy McFadden)
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Subject: Thoughts on a European MetaServerII
Date: 25 Aug 92 18:07:13 GMT
Reply-To: fadden@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com (Andy McFadden)
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA

I got a message today from ppregler@risc.uni-linz.ac.at, saying that the
output of METASERVER and MetaServerII gets truncated at their end.  I'm
using SO_LINGER with a value of 3 seconds, which means that MS-II will wait
up to three seconds before closing the connection if data is pending.

I'm reluctant to increase the linger value, because while it's holding on
the close, MetaServerII is unable to do anything else.  I can't just let
the connection idle for a few seconds, because then local people would have
to sit there and stare at their telnet connection for a few seconds before
it dropped.

What would probably be a whole lot better is to have a European MetaServerII.
However, we probably don't want two different meta-servers constantly sweeping
the servers on both continents (where Europe == one continent... just live
with the idea for now).  So, there are a few possibilities:

    - have a "reliable" connection to the other meta-server.  This would
      appear to be just another MetaServerII service (say port 3525), but
      it would actually connect to the other MetaServerII process, say "gimme
      info", get the info, and then send "got it", which would eliminate the
      connection dropping problem.

      Advantages: you don't have to read info for servers you couldn't
      possibly play on because of lag.
      Disadvantages: another port (ports, actually) to remember.  Plus, it
      takes away from the "one big happy" world feeling.

    - have continuous contact between them.  Instead of contacting the
      remote servers directly, the MS-II process would periodically connect
      to a port on the other (others?) and basically download the latest
      server info.

      Advantages: looks just like the current setup, only more efficient.
      You connect to the same set of ports.
      Disadvantages: more work for me. :-(  Not real easy to do, and it
      requires some amount of synchronization when MS-II gets updated.

    - have a European "booster station".  Basically a cross between
      MetaServerII and trekhopd, it would would listen on the usual ports
      and then open "reliable" connections to the one in America.  This would
      be relatively easy.

Another possibility is to scrap all this and just write a MetaServerII client
that connects to a "reliable" port.  Kind of annoying to have Yet Another
Client though.

I'm open to suggestions.


Other things to think about: there's five ports now, and it may not slow
down.  It's getting tough to remember which one is which.  I may add some
sort of menu interface which would automatically switch you to the service
you want.  (I mean a telnet menu interface, so you connect and type "new"
to get the new list.  We're not talking pull-downs here.)

-- 
fadden@uts.amdahl.com (Andy McFadden)
[ Above opinions are mine, Amdahl has nothing to do with them, etc, etc. ]
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
From: mcn@cwru.edu (Michael C. Neuman)
Subject: Re: NeXT software, new server, new rank scheme
Reply-To: mcn@b62103.student.cwru.edu
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, (USA)
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 92 13:05:38 GMT

>jecoleb@eos.ncsu.edu writes:
>| This sounds like a lot of fun, really, although some may argue that
>| the incentive for excellent play is diminished without rank to shoot 
>| for.

Here's an update on the status of the server:

  Everything seems to be working pretty well--no one has really accumulated  
enough hours to be promoted by anyone but myself, but I've been spending a lot  
of time trying to get the players, who I know are clued, to a suitable rank.  
I'm going to try again today to build in the bronco database, if successful,  
our bootstrapping problems are over. :-)

  I think my purpose in trying this out is to make rank less of a 'given', and  
more of an 'earned' thing. You shouldn't BE a Commander/Captain if you don't  
read messages, for example, or screw up in some tougher game situations. Rank  
is arbitrary in the original system--this just gives the players a little more  
control over it. Especially this is designed for players who scout  
bomb--typically some of the most valuable players on a team are scout bombers,  
yet they get virtually no DI for doing it. I suppose primarily, this should  
make rank 'mean' something, instead of being just who scums best. 

--
Mike Neuman                mcn@b62103.student.cwru.edu
			   NeXTmail accepted!!!
"To make a machine that will be proud of us." - Thinking Machine's motto
From: yohan@shadow.ksu.ksu.edu (Jonathan W Newton)
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Subject: Re: Hockey? An Offsides Rule
Date: 3 Sep 1992 10:35:02 -0500
Organization: Kansas State University
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: shadow.ksu.ksu.edu


From: bav@hobbes.ksu.ksu.edu (Brick Verser)
And...if you're still reading...does anybody LIKE 8 on 8 hockey games?
We've reached that a couple times on NOVA.  I am learning to cope with the
crowds, but I think the game degenerates a lot with more than 6 on a team.  


Me:
I think 8 on 8 is simply too crowded, which is what I feared (see my Hockey
shedule article from last weekend).  I think a 6 on 6 maximum would be ok, but I
think we should play some more 8 on 8's before anything is changed.  I think I've
only been involved in 1 8 on 8.

Jon Newton aka Ender
Organization: Senior, Math/Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 23:06:14 -0400 
From: Nanci Ann Miller <nm0w+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: BEZIER IS DEAD!
	<Btp7A4.H29.2@cs.cmu.edu>

hill@norman.VI.RI.CMU.EDU (Robert Hill) writes:
> Scott Drellishak writes
> > ....LONG LIVE BEZIER!
> > 
> > Does anybody want the players database?
> 
> Wow.  What does this mean for berkeley netrek?  Will sickdog move from the  
> silly hockey setup so we can play some real games there?
> 
> Rob
> aka Spaceace!

Not hockey.  If it was hockey, it would be cool.  But no.  It's SOCCER.
Blah!  :-) :-)

Nanci

Hockey fanatic...

We all live in a yellow subroutine.
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
From: rjones@itchy.dsd.es.com (Ray Jones - Perp)
Subject: More about RSA
Organization: Design Systems Division, Evans & Sutherland, SLC, UT
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 92 04:17:41 GMT


Just got permission to do more than modify the RSAREF package, I can now
rewrite the relevant part.  This means I can implement it over the top of
some nice math package, such as the normal libmp.a or the faster, nicer,
libgmp.a (Gnu's).  

So a question:  How many of you server gods out there have access to ssuch
a library?  To the GNU library?

Ray
--
                                          rjones@dsd.es.com
From: jasonp@cunix4.Prime.COM (Jason R. Pascucci)
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Subject: Re: Thoughts on a European MetaServerII
Date: 25 Aug 92 18:30:30 GMT
Organization: Prime Computer, Inc.

I would be very interested in seeing a meta-metaserver
implementation. It would reduce network traffic
going overseas, and generally be a win. Actually,
you could have multiple metaservers in the US,
one for the EastCoast (CMU?), one for the Westcoast (Berkeley?),
both on good connections, and updating each other 
every 5-10 minutes, or so, as if they were a normal
server.

Possible implementation: YAP (Yet another Port) which sends 
something similar to my previously suggested (and not 
completely shot down) parsable interface for
ONLY the 'local' list of nodes. Also, in the 'normal'
lists,  some form of marking those nodes which are local, 
and those which are 'remote', and from which metaserver,
is warrented. 

I don't really think a menu interface is warrented
on the remote side, if that is what you are thinking. I would
be more interested to see a client, like a MUD client,
do this. Actually, all you really need is a shell script... (One 
would expect, however, many more people would use the Xnetrekm 
client, if it wasn't written solely for motif. I'm expecting at the 
end of this to see a modified xnetrekm client to deal with the new 
info. Hopefully the current maintainer (I forget who it is...sorry) 
is watching attentively....:)

Anyways....have fun....

-- 
Jason R. Pascucci
jasonp@primerd.prime.com
From: yap@heroes.UUCP (Yap Yap Yap)
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Subject: Re: The BEST in the WORLD!!!
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 92 15:35:06 CDT
Organization: The Inn Of Heroes.  Public Access UUCP BBS.

> The best player i've seen is Yea Boy!!!!.  Duck Dodgers is very, very good  
> however.
> 

     The best player in the world is MUCUS.  I think Spaceace is just 
jealous of him (that's why he didn't make it in any of Spaceace's 
choices) although, I am suprised that Spaceace didn't chose himself for 
any of those catagories....
From: jlpicard@enterprise_d.starfleet.mil
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Subject: Kirk is a weenie!!!
Date: 4 Sep 92 05:34:59 GMT
Distribution: na


Please stop wasting bandwidth with test messages.

--
Cpt. Jean-Luc Picard,
Commander Starship Enterprise
From: rp09@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (ROLAND J. POULIOT)
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Subject: Client for Ethernet
Date: 27 Aug 92 02:10:16 GMT
Organization: Lehigh University

Almost every day I read a post that goes like this " Is there a client for
such and such a system?", and I wonder if these people read the FAQ. Now I'm
going to make myself guilty. Does anyone know if such a monster exists - a
client for running on an IBM compatible hooked up to a RISC workstation
through an ETHERNET card. I don't always have access to an X-term, but I have
access to a whole room of IBM's on an ETHERNET system that is connected to a
couple servers.

the clueless newbie
Mama's Boy
-- 
Roland Pouliot rp09@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu
#**************************************#**************************************#
# Sherman Fairchild Center for Physics #  "When all is said and done,         #
#           Lehigh University          #   much more is said than done"       #
#          Bethlehem, PA 18015         #   (This town NEEDS an enema)         #
#**************************************#**************************************#
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
From: ppregler@risc.uni-linz.ac.at (Peter Pregler)
Subject: Re: Thoughts on a European MetaServerII
Organization: RISC, J.K. University of Linz, Austria
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 10:06:44 GMT

In article <8dAz03jV6aSK00@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>, fadden@uts.amdahl.com (Andy McFadden) writes:
[some introduction deleted]
> What would probably be a whole lot better is to have a European MetaServerII.
> However, we probably don't want two different meta-servers constantly sweeping
> the servers on both continents (where Europe == one continent... just live
> with the idea for now).  So, there are a few possibilities:
> 
[some other proposals deleted]
> 
>     - have a European "booster station".  Basically a cross between
>       MetaServerII and trekhopd, it would would listen on the usual ports
>       and then open "reliable" connections to the one in America.  This would
>       be relatively easy.
> 
This seems the best solution to me. Since Americans aren't interested in this
it is better to shift it to Europe. Even better if we still can keep the
information in one place, i.e. on one Metaserver that is located in the States.
I am willing to set it up here. But we are definitly not in the center of the
eunet. To give you something to laugh here is a traceroute from Linz to Munich.
The geographic distance is about 250km.
 1  router (140.78.140.1)  5 ms  3 ms  3 ms   [30km out of Linz]
 2  140.78.201.31 (140.78.201.31)  57 ms  51 ms  51 ms   [in Linz]
 3  cibr1.cern.ch (192.65.184.41)  145 ms  92 ms  92 ms   [Geneva]
 4  Amsterdam-EBS1.Ebone.NET (192.87.4.9)  138 ms  147 ms  132 ms
 5  Stockholm-EBS4.Ebone.NET (192.87.4.22)  163 ms  161 ms  170 ms  
 6  Stockholm-EBS2.Ebone.NET (192.121.154.49)  215 ms  164 ms  189 ms
 7  Stockholm-EBS1.Ebone.NET (192.121.154.17)  202 ms  280 ms  220 ms
 8  Stockholm-EBS5.Ebone.NET (192.121.154.34)  448 ms  462 ms  582 ms
 9  London-EBS1.Ebone.NET (192.121.155.17)  401 ms  679 ms  785 ms
10  int-gw.ulcc.ac.uk (128.86.1.2)  558 ms  334 ms  514 ms
11  dfnbigate_s2.GMD.DE (188.1.236.124)  2607 ms  1909 ms  3001 ms  [Bonn?]
12  * * *   [somewhere in Munich]
13  bro4cz.lrz-muenchen.de (129.187.10.254)  3560 ms *  4520 ms
Take a map, and laugh.

> Another possibility is to scrap all this and just write a MetaServerII client
> that connects to a "reliable" port.  Kind of annoying to have Yet Another
> Client though.
Don't!
> 
> -- 
> fadden@uts.amdahl.com (Andy McFadden)
> [ Above opinions are mine, Amdahl has nothing to do with them, etc, etc. ]

_peter (The Kid)
-- 
Meditating is still better, than just sitting around and doing nothing.
-------------------------------
Peter Pregler / RISC, University of Linz, Austria
Bitnet: K315470@AEARN.BITNET  Internet: ppregler@risc.uni-linz.ac.at
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
From: jiangwu@sickdog.CS.Berkeley.EDU (Jiang Wu)
Subject: Bezier is back!?!?!
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 00:15:52 GMT

What? Where? When?  Bezier is back?!@!!

Well, not exactly.  Bezier's player database is now owned by
bigdog.cs.berkely.edu.  So even though you can't play at bezier anymore,
your character is still alive and well at bigdog.  So play at bigdog.

Server Name:	bigdog.cs.berkeley.edu	(128.32.240.123)
Port Number:	2592
Hours:		5pm - 8am Mon-Fri;	Sat, Sun all day
Borg Hour:	NONE
Special:
		* Monday is 3-way race war.  For those of you who haven't
		  played in this mode, it is very fun and different.  The
		  starbase power is improved this night.  It has more fuel,
		  more shield, more damage so it can go the distance to be a
		  true outpost.
		  
		* Transwarp (Officially endorsed by K. Smith ! :-)
		  available.  Lock on your SB, and press '*'.  Whoosh! you
		  warp at 60!!!!!  If you miss your SB, there will be a
		  small bonus for your ship.... ;-)
		  
		* Improved Destroyers.  Better cooling rate, and stronger
		  torps.
		  
		* NO BORGS, EVER!!!!
		* UDP


-- Gaia
-- R. Daneel
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
From: lyodav@iastate.edu (Sun God)
Subject: Re: 3rd space guardian robots
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 21:01:03 GMT

In <87296@netnews.upenn.edu> botelle@widget.seas.upenn.edu (Justin Botelle) writes:

>In article <lyodav.714977954@vincent1.iastate.edu) lyodav@iastate.edu (Sun God) writes:
>)In <1992Aug27.183709.7708@news.cs.indiana.edu) "Marc VanHeyningen" <mvanheyn@silky.cs.indiana.edu) writes:

>)Defense: Is changed from the current meaningless stat to the # of armies 
>)   destroyed on enemy ships. Is weighted to a factor of 1/2. Is weighted this
>)   way so that about 3 armies must be ogged to give the same credit as for
>)   one planet, which is perfect since the average planet take uses 3 armies.

>Why not make a separate Category for Ogging.  I *don't want* my defense to
>increase.  Defense is for the weak and cowardly (Hi Scott).
   That's what I mean. Never dying doesn't make on a good defender. Killing
enemy carriers makes one a good defender. So, forget about the current
defense and add make it ogging instead.


>) 
>)   Ok, this gives the average player 3.5 DI per hour instead of 3.0. That's
>)where the new (and naval-rank accurate) rank of Flt. Adm. comes in. You'd

>Oh sure.  Except, there can only be *one 5 star Admiral.  Sorry, loser idea

>If you want to make the rankings more accurate, get rid of Fleet Captain, call
>them all Commodores.  Rename Commodores Rear Admirals.  Call all the Rear
>Admirals Vice Admirals.  Leave Admirals alone.  Then we'd be all set.

>)though. *sigh* It would require starting with a new database...

>Obviously the drawback.  The ranking name changes would *not require a new
>database .. and would be trivial to implement.
   Who cares about the names as long as they sound good? I'll let the
non-existant rank of Flt. Capt slip by. If you want accurate ranks, switch
to my system, put in Lt. Jr. Gr. between ensign and Lt. And get rid of Flt.
Capt. Who knows, maybe even Vice-Admiral in place of Flt. Adm. The whole
point is to clean up all of the problems with the current rating system in
one swell foop. (possibly in the NBR if it ever happens) If you want to make
it impossible to get to Flt. Adm., just make it require 10 ratings for 100
hours. Then no one would get it (except on doorstop ;-)) But it would still
be there for some supreme scummer like hector to try for. 
>Justin
--Dave/WeenieBlaster
Frequent Clever suggestor




Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
From: aew@spitfire.unh.edu (Allan E. Wright Jr.)
Subject: rwd4 is the lagg capital of the world 
Organization: University of New Hampshire  -  Durham, NH
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 18:48:48 GMT

OK, I'll bite, how come rwd4 is the lagg capital of the universe lately?

Up to about two weeks ago it ran blazingly fast - now you can't play after
12:00 without getting HUGE lag.

It's too bad - it's a great place to play when there is no lagg.

Fezek
Inigo
Dimension

-- 
===============================================================================
Allan Wright Jr.            | Pole-Vaulters Get a Natural High!  | GO Celts!
University of New Hampshire +--------------------------------------------------
Research Computing Center   | You keep using that word. I do not think it means
Internet: AEW@UNH.EDU       | what you think it means. -The Princess Bride
===============================================================================
From: bav@hobbes.ksu.ksu.edu (Brick Verser)
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Subject: Demise of nova.ksu.ksu.edu
Date: 26 Aug 1992 06:12:48 GMT
Organization: Kansas State University
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: hobbes.ksu.ksu.edu

I knew it was bound to happen.  The DEC sales lady called today and requested
that we return to her the nice 5000/25 which served so well as our dedicated
netrek server.  DEC never gave us any software for the box so we never
figured out anything officially useful we could do with it--but it made
a darn fine netrek server.  In any event, unless someone with clout can
convince the local DEC branch that they're selling oodles and gobs of
machines thanks to the fine publicity they were getting, nova will be
turned off and shipped away RealSoonNow.  ByeBye Hockey server.  
ByeBye INL server.  Sad, so sad.

--Brick
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
From: jiangwu@sickdog.CS.Berkeley.EDU (Jiang Wu)
Subject: Re: Metaserver
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 00:05:34 GMT

In article <1992Sep2.161624.18821@doug.cae.wisc.edu> chris@pigiron.engr.wisc.edu (Christian Rohrmeier) writes:
>Hi kids....
>
>So, can some one tell me which port you ARE suposed to telnet to
>on sickdog??? It USED to be (less than 3 weeks ago) taht:
>telnet sickdog.cs.berkeley.edu 2520
>would work. No More!
>

THE METASERVER IS NOW MOVED TO:

	B I G D O G . C S . B E R K E L E Y . E D U

try:
	telnet bigdog.cs.berkeley.edu 2520
	
>-Xavius

-- Jiang Wu
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
From: mummert+@AUK.WARP.CS.CMU.EDU (Todd Mummert)
Subject: - INL, auk, borgs
Reply-To: mummert+@CS.CMU.EDU
Organization: Carnegie Mellon
Distribution: rec
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 05:52:28 GMT


miscellaneous ramblings

1 -- what are the opinions on changing the format of INL matches?
     particularly something along the lines of:
         45 minute game at server 1
         15-30 minute break/strategy session
         45 minute game at server 2
     where servers 1 & 2 are presumably the home servers of the two
     teams.   score the match based either on total planets or
     just 1 point for a win during each half.

     the advantages:
         - most games are decided in 45 minutes
         - reduces the home/away advantage
         - allows teams some time to consider strategy prior to the
                2nd half
     the disadvantages:
         - requires having 2 servers available (though the total time
                a particular server is used is halved)
         - for those games which are not decided in 45 minutes, how
                much excitement is lost...perhaps hard to quantify

2 - AUK -- take it out of the metaservers/FAQ list of servers, etc.
         randy and i occasionally use it to test servers/clients but
         that is about it.  we don't wish for it to become used  
         anymore (our office is busy enough w/ rwd4).  and i don't
         like the metaservers starting up the daemon processes   
         every N minutes.

3 - borgs -- I keep seeing these posts about borgs.  What is a borg?
                besides that stupid Star Trek thing...

Borgeoisie Pig
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
From: mcn@cwru.edu (Michael C. Neuman)
Subject: New server in Ohio!
Reply-To: mcn@b62103.student.cwru.edu
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, (USA)
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 92 12:47:11 GMT

  Greetings all! To save you the often-long hyped up posts about brand new  
servers, here are the hard facts:

Address  :  b62150.student.cwru.edu	(IP#: 129.22.242.198)
Port    #:  2592

Equipment:  NeXTstation mono, 20 megs RAM. (May move to a DECstation if the  
	    load is too much for the machine)

Hours    :  24 hours, 7 days
	    Borgs       :  All Day SatSun, 5pm->10pm Monday-Friday
	    Human       :  Monday-Friday 10pm->5pm (the next day)
	    Puck        :  Wednesday, 5pm->12am (maybe more, maybe less)
	    Vector Torps:  All borg hours

Features :  New promotion scheme (read my previous post about how it works--or  
	    just play and read the motd on the server!)

Questions, comments, suggestions->netrek@b62150.student.cwru.edu ... Especially  
if you don't like the hours--I'm trying to fill the hole left by rwd4 going  
almost totally human, and yet still having enough hours to make for "real"  
games every now and then.

--
Mike Neuman                mcn@b62103.student.cwru.edu
			   NeXTmail accepted!!!
"To make a machine that will be proud of us." - Thinking Machine's motto

Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 17:42:31 -0400 
From: "Timothy C. Worsley" <tw1r+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: 3rd space guardian robots
	<17esu0INN3a4@agate.berkeley.edu>

Excerpts from netnews.rec.games.netrek: 26-Aug-92 Re: 3rd space guardian
robots Tom Holub@soda.berkeley. (523)

> There is nothing 'clever' about taking undefended planets.  
>  -Tom

	I think that most people agree.  That's why they want to make it harder
to take those planets.  It seems that the common oppinion is that it
should be possible, but not worth it except in the most embarassingly
extreme cases.  Even the third-space scums (ie Stilleto) think the
current situation is silly.
	I, personally, will generally only 3rd space scum if MUCUS PIG is on
the other team.  I'll make an exception if the server is so backward
that it doesn't even have a timer.

ZZnew guy
From: terry@esrg.ucsb.edu (Terry Figel)
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Subject: Sturgeon It is really cool!
Date: 31 Aug 92 21:07:17 GMT
Reply-To: terry@esrg.ucsb.edu (Terry Figel)
Organization: UCSB Earth Space Research Group

I really like the Mods for Sturgeon, and would like to get a copy of them!


but there is one VERY serious problem with it.  A few select people know how to get tracking torpedos.  It would be ok if everybody could get them, but to 
only let a select few really lopsides the game!

Why no just give 'em a new weapon that kills instantly?

I am still a sturgeon fan though, keep up the cool mods! :+)

make em accessable to others!
	-Terry