HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: BH4781@uacsc2.albany.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.mud.admin
Subject: Need Info on starting a new Mu*
Date: 15 Oct 92 00:40:54 GMT
Organization: University at Albany, Albany NY 12222

I am interested in starting a Mud type environment for use as a creative
tool with writing. I need information about software, hardware, etc.
-thanks for any help.
 
-Benjamin H. Henry
SUNY Albany
Learning Technologies Lab
bh4781@rachel.albany.edu
From: Virginia.A.Reed@dartmouth.edu (Virginia A. Reed)
Newsgroups: rec.games.mud.admin
Subject: HELP! I HAVE A MAC! How do I mud?
Date: 11 Oct 92 18:47:53 GMT
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
X-Posted-From: InterNews1.0a5@newshost.dartmouth.edu

I have a Macintosh SE/30, and am on the Dartmouth network. How can I
get onto a MUD

                                            -LX
Newsgroups: rec.games.mud.admin
From: vstam@fwi.uva.nl (Victor Stam)
Subject: Re: Graphical MUDS?
Organization: FWI, University of Amsterdam
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1992 00:18:13 GMT

rmg53668@dcl-nxt53 (Ryan Martin Grant) writes:

>Are there any MUDS available today that use a front end to display
>graphics?  
>	- Ryan Grant

try robin.lysator.liu.se 7475

	vstam@fwi.uva.nl
Newsgroups: rec.games.mud.admin
From: rmg53668@dcl-nxt53 (Ryan Martin Grant)
Subject: Graphical MUDS?
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 02:32:41 GMT

Are there any MUDS available today that use a front end to display
graphics?  
	- Ryan Grant
From: t8800568@phillip.edu.au
Newsgroups: rec.games.mud.admin
Subject: Re: Internet traffic. MUD % of total :)
Date: 10 Oct 92 18:08:25 GMT
Organization: RMIT (Bundoora Campus)

In article <1992Oct7.195320.10020@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz>, rossw@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz (Ross Williamson) writes:
> 
> 	Does anyone out there have any idea ( sorta accurate ) of the
> the volume of iternet traffic belongs to MUD users??  I have heard
> figures of 12-15% thrown around... but does anyone have more exact
> figures?
> 
> Ross.

Well, if you ask a sys admin (or a head of a computing dept) its about 99.99%
of traffic :)
 
> +-----------------------------------+---------------------------+
> | Name   : Ross Williamson          | Do you remember when sex  |
> | E-Mail : rossw@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz  |  was safe and skydiving   |
> | Auckland University, New Zealand  |      was dangerous?       |
> +-----------------------------------+---------------------------+
> |   Of course these opinions are my own and thank !! for that   |
> +---------------------------------------------------------------+
-- 
######################################################################### 
#   NAME: Timothy O'Connor.       #  QUOTE: Roses have thorns, shining  #   
#   toc@arcadia.mc.phillip.edu.au.#  waters mud, and cancer lurks deep  #
#   T8800568@phillip.edu.au       #  in the sweetest bud.               # 
#########################################################################
From: csg020@cck.coventry.ac.uk (***CURTIS***)
Newsgroups: rec.games.mud.admin
Subject: ScreWit! Mud Admin please read
Date: 7 Oct 92 10:08:08 GMT
Organization: Coventry Polytechnic, Coventry, UK.


Futureghost please get in contact with me via email. I can't 
remember which IP port number ScreWit! is on and I've lost your
email address (this is what the Summer vacation does to you!)

Cheers,

Curtis (csg020@uk.ac.coventry)

-- 
_______________________________________________________________________________
| Flesh : ***CURTIS***   E-mail : csg020%uk.ac.cov.cck@uk.ac.earn-relay       |
| Voice : 0203 595246     Quote : Computer Scientists do it with two fingers! |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: positron@engin.umich.edu (Jonathan Scott Haas)
Subject: Re: Spellcasting 101
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 92 17:55:28 EDT
Organization: University of Michigan Engineering, Ann Arbor

In article <1992Oct14.161700.1705@ccu.umanitoba.ca> umwieb69@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Brent Michael J. Wiebe) writes:
>OK, I have the talisman (I'm still near the beginning), and the university has
>been ransacked.  I have also opened the trap-door in Meltingwolf Hall using 
>frimp.  My questions, what do you do in the maize :} under Meltingwolf Hall?
>How do you get the surfboard as I assume it's pretty important?  How do you
>survive the simulation (unless I am going there too early) ?  Presently I have
>the following spells (I don't remember their names at the moment) : levitation,
>soft music, bust enlargement, diseased plants, healthy plants, increased abilityin fighting.  So what next???????????????  Please e-mail me or answer here.
>Spoilers greatly appreciated.
>

Spoilers follow...

The most important thing to do in a maze (or maize) is make a map.

The solution to the maize is dependent entirely on the letters you'll
find in each maize square.

Map out the grid the letters form. See if you can figure it out.

Complete solution to the maize follows the next ...

After mapping the grid, you'll find that there's a path you can
follow where the letters spell THIS WAY OUT. Follow it.

Bonus hints: You don't need to survive the simulation. Its sole
purpose is to get you the spell. Also, the bust enlargement spell
will come in handy before you leave the campus.

-- 
__/\__  Jonathan S. Haas         | Jake liked his women the way he liked
\    /  University of Michigan   | his kiwi fruit: sweet yet tart, firm-
/_  _\  positron@engin.umich.edu | fleshed yet yielding to the touch, and
  \/    Marrou/Lord in '92!      | covered with short brown fuzzy hair.
From: givanov@pixmap.seas.upenn.edu (George Ace Maverick)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: WOLF 3D and more!
Date: 14 Oct 92 20:36:46 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania


	Hi people!
I was wondering, is there an ftp site from which one can get
some of the other levels of WOLF3D?
How do you go through the part where this huge GUY comes from behind
this gate and kills you with his two machine guns?
Thank you.
From: david@donald.concordia.ca (David Gaudine)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Hints for Sierra...where do you find 'em?
Date: 7 Oct 92 14:11:09 GMT
Organization: ORGANIZATION!! HERE? You must be kidding

>ak@cutlass.ksu.ksu.edu (Kendric Beachey) writes:
>>Like the subject line says...where can I find hints for Sierra games?

Aside from buying the hint books, you could try ftp to risc.ua.edu
directory /pub/games/solutions.  I forget if they do sierra.
-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Gaudine, Concordia University, Montreal has a very unimaginative sig.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: uerics@mcl.ucsb.edu (Eric D. Shepherd)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Draft of the FAQ
Date: 12 Oct 92 05:08:55 GMT

The rec.games.int-fiction FAQ is some of the best reading I've had in a
long time.  I laughed my way through it.  A classic!  Good way to make
people _want_ to read the FAQ! :)

- Eric S.

--
Eric Shepherd  |  Internet: uerics@mcl.mcl.ucsb.edu  |  AOL: Sheppy
-------- ACM Member ----- Apple II Alliance Charter Member --------
"Apple II Forever!"   is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
						 Isn't that ironic?
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: twpierce@unix.amherst.edu (Tim Pierce)
Subject: Re: Info-flop and new thread (mild spoilers)
Organization: Amherst College, Amherst MA
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 15:29:57 GMT

In article <1992Oct13.070813.12710@nwnexus.WA.COM> jennings@halcyon.com (James Jennings) writes:

>As an additional question for this thread: What puzzles took a unusually long
>time/required outside help/made you feel stupid when you found the
>answer?

Didn't make *me* feel stupid.  Made me think Steve Meretzky needed a
little more work, though.

Mild Planetfall spoiler follows:

In one of the corridors in the station on the planet, there is a key
at the bottom of a deep crevice in the pavement.  In order to get the
key, you need to take a magnet (described only as a curved bar of
metal) from a different room and insert it slightly into the crack.

I figured that out within minutes of discovering the key at the bottom
of the crack.  For another *week* I tried to figure out the correct
command syntax.  Mostly I tried "HOLD MAGNET OVER CRACK" or some
variant on that.  Nothing worked.  Finally I broke down and bought a
hint book (the only one I have ever purchased) and discovered that the
command was "GET KEY WITH MAGNET."  Grrrr .....

-- 
____ Tim Pierce                / "You are just naive and repressed because
\  / twpierce@unix.amherst.edu /  penis envy is here and it's now and it's
 \/ (BITnet: TWPIERCE@AMHERST) /  all around you." -- Neal C. Wickham
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: johnf@apollo.hp.com (John Francis)
Subject: Re: Itf, .dat files, file permissions, and legal questions:
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 17:02:30 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Chelmsford, MA

In article <BvxvKx.90u@rice.edu> adam@owlnet.rice.edu (Adam Justin Thornton) writes:
>My question is really pretty simple: if I have compiled the itf interpreter
>and am using it to play/view games, am I legally obligated (on a multi-user
>system) to keep the permissions on my .dat files set so that I am the only
>person who can read them and thus, only I can play them?
>

Disclaimer:  I'm not a lawyer - these are just my personal opinions.

I don't think, legally, you are even allowed to have the .dat files on a
multi-user system - go and read the terms and conditions of the license
agreement that came with the game.  This is certainly true if, as later
parts of your post suggest, you are trying to play the games on a Sun
workstation - the games were never released for that particular platform.

So there is probably no *legal* requirement to protect the files - the
situation would never arise if you were fully legally compliant.

Beyond that (apart from moral obligations) it depends on the environment.
If you put unprotected files up on a university system, or on a bulletin
board, where you know that piracy is commonplace, you are opening the
door to charges of knowingly distributing copyrighted materials. Contrary
to widely held beliefs this is an offence even if you make no money from it.



-- 
John Francis                                johnf@apollo.hp.com
Seen passing on the net:  Spotted Owl - the *other* white meat!
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: johnf@apollo.hp.com (John Francis)
Subject: Re: zzmgck & 'zork' as vocabulary
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 18:00:04 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Chelmsford, MA

In article <5232@daily-planet.concordia.ca> jamesc@cs.concordia.ca (SCHIDLOWSKY james c.) writes:
>
>I've noticed in Zork I & II, you could use the word 'zork' instead of
>'matches'.  So, if you had matches on you, you could say "light zork",
>and a match would be lit!  Now why is that?!

At a guess:  The matchbook had some text on it, didn't it?  I would suspect
that `zork' was one of the adjectives that could be used to describe the
matchbook.  In that case the parser would supply the noun for you as long
as the matchbook was the only item present with a `zork' qualifier.
-- 
John Francis                                johnf@apollo.hp.com
Seen passing on the net:  Spotted Owl - the *other* white meat!
From: David.White@bbs.oit.unc.edu (David White)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: What's on-topic?
Date: 13 Oct 92 16:27:18 GMT
Organization: Extended Bulletin Board Service


Before I go posting away, could someone let me know what exactly is
considered on- and off-topic for this newsgroup?  For instance, is
discussion of graphical adventure games (Sierra, LucasFilm, etc.) allowed?
Thanks! 
 
=-=-= David =-=-=
(dswhite@unc.oit.unc.edu)
--
   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80
From: dmb@case.ai.mit.edu (David Baggett)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: TADS and ANSI?
Date: 15 Oct 92 00:31:59 GMT
Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory

In article <1992Oct14.190103.14098@gn.ecn.purdue.edu> mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (John P. Mechalas) writes:
>Does anyone know how to get TADS to utilize ANSI codes?  I have instances
>where I would like to create bold and/or colored type, and have tried
>various conventions in an attempt to do so.  So far, no luck...

You can't, unless you use a "user exit" coded in C.  There's no
portable way to output a character by ASCII value in TADS; hence you
can only print things that you can either type or represent with an
escape sequence (like \n).

I imagine Mike Roberts intentionally disallowed writing characters by
number for portability reasons.  TADS 2.0, though not officially
released yet, does support highlighted text.   You just use an escape
code to turn highlighting on and off.  I suggested he add colors but he
declined to do so, again for portability reasons.  (The main argument
being that the sure should be able to choose his own colors.)

Actually I think that games that put lots of colored text up are
annoying anyway; T-Zero is hard to read because of this.  So we're
probably better off not being able to do it...

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: ralf@ark.abg.sub.org (Ralf Stephan)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Best and worst problems (was: Re: Info-flop and n
Date: 09 Oct 92 08:47
Organization: Magick Shoppe, Gurth City

> In article <1992Oct7.111433.3007@wkuvx1.bitnet> mollems@wkuvx1.bitnet writes:
> 
> >Also, what is your opinion on the "dumbest" problem or section in an
> >IF game?  "Dumb" can mean either so blatanly obvious that it wasn't
> >even a puzzle, or just so aberrantly stupid that you wonder what the
> >designer was smoking.

Me thinks the dumbest problems in general are those where you have to do
something *twice* or more because to do it once isn't sufficient.  Those
puzzles lead to a behaviour where you dumbly repeat every action just to
make sure you didn't overlook one of these buggers. Example:
(Spellbreaker SPOILER)



Going down in the muddy hole at "Packed Earth".
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: David.White@bbs.oit.unc.edu (David White)
Subject: Re: Info-flop and new thread (mild spoilers)
Organization: Extended Bulletin Board Service
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 13:58:41 GMT

>I'd like to add _starcross_ and _SpellBreaker_ and all the other games written
>by that guy - the puzzles are ok, but the descriptions of the objects, make it
>almost impossible to work out what to do - Starcross particularly annoyed me
>if yove played it you'll see what I mean.
 
Really?  I kind of enjoyed the alien look-and-feel of everything in
StarCross, as well as the mysterious controls and rods you had to operate.
Still, I can see your point.  What kind of objects in the 2 games were you
thinking of?
 
=-=-= David =-=-=
(dswhite@unc.oit.unc.edu)
--
   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80
From: linhart@romulus.rutgers.edu (Mike Threepoint)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Help on Hitchhiker's!
Date: 15 Oct 92 12:37:51 GMT
Organization: Frobozz Magic Amulet of Yendor Company

bkeener@cs.ulowell.edu (Brian E. Keener) writes:
> 	Okay... I am currently making the rounds of the Improbability
> Scenarios, and have gotten all but two.

> 	(2) I can make it to the Heart of Gold in the Zaphod scenario, but
> I can't seem to take anything like the magnifying glass back with me.  Is
> there a way I can take all of the stuff back to the ship?

You can use the toolbox, if you open it while you're on Damogran.

> 	(1) how the hell can you do anything in the War Chamber scenario?
> I've listened to the conversation, but I can't stop the ship from getting
> swallowed by the small dog.  I don't get it at "awl".

From the Lost Treasures of Infocom hint book, under "How can I prevent
being swallowed by that giant dog?":
 (11 more)
The dog isn't really a giant dog.
 (10 more)
It's a normal sized dog.  The spaceship you're aboard is microscopic.
 (9 more)
Have you seen a dog anywhere else?
 (8 more)
This is the very same dog you ran into in the Country Lane back at the
beginning of the game.
 (7 more)
The dog swallows the space fleet for one particular reason.
 (6 more)
If you examine the dog at the beginning of the game, you'll notice
that it's very hungry.
 (5 more)
You need to feed the dog back at the beginning of the game.
 (4 more)
If you want to avoid starting over from the beginning, there's another
way to feed the dog.
 (3 more)
You must become Ford Prefect first.
 (2 more)
During the scene where you're Ford, buy a sandwich, then give the
sandwich to Arthur.  When Arthur dashes out of the Pub, he'll feed
the sandwich to the dog.
 (1 more)
Once the dog has been fed, you can survive the War Chamber scene and
go on to the Maze.

> Does the Vogon Guard scenario accomplish anything, or is it there
> just to annoy you?

You can't do anything when you return to the Vogon ship.

> Also, what purpose does the whale thing do?  I read the hint posted
> earlier, but there's no way to get ANYTHING before hitting the planet.

If you became a whale, then you probably plugged the drive to the emergency
receptacle at the wrong time.

Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: gnat@kauri.vuw.ac.nz (Nathan Torkington)
Subject: Re: Canonical Adventure Game List
Organization: Contract to CSC, Victoria Uni, Wellington, New Zealand
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 03:33:33 GMT
Followup-To: rec.games.int-fiction

D'oh!  An addendum to that is that a lot of my data for Infocom came
from the information distributed with the ITF interpreter.  Especially
the list given by dpsharpe@eos.ncsu.edu whose name I forgot to include
in the "thanks" list.

My apologies;

Nat
From: David.White@bbs.oit.unc.edu (David White)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: Info-flop and new thread (mild spoilers)
Date: 9 Oct 92 17:08:13 GMT
Organization: Extended Bulletin Board Service


Here's my votes for LEAST favorite things:
 
Puzzles in general: _Planetfall_ - Ok, it had some pretty neat puzzles, but
		 	unless I missed something BIG, there were TONS
			of unnecessary puzzles (helicopter, nuclear
			reactor, etc.)  This, to my knowledge, was the only
			Infocom game that did that.

Least favorite game ending:  _Infidel_ - one of the few games that leaves you,
				the player, worse off than when you
				started the game.

Hmmmm, can't think of anymore bad stuff.  More positively...

Favorite puzzles: any puzzles involving time travel (i.e. _Sorcerer's_ Coal
			mines, _Spellbreaker's_ Sand rooms, most of 
			_Hitchhiker's Guide's_ Improbable scenarios, etc.

Favorite NPC:  Floyd from _Planetfall_ and _Stationfall_ - wish there had
			been another sequel! :(

Most prized Infocom possession: A "New Zork Times" T-shirt, from winning
				one of their contests. :)
 
=-=-= David =-=-=
(dswhite@unc.bitnet - wish this BBS had a .sig file option!)
--
   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: peinhebe@phobos.unm.edu (Pat Einheber)
Subject: Hint needed for Hitchhiker's Guide
Date: Fri, 09 Oct 92 18:42:17 GMT
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

I have all the fluff and everything, but I cannot figure out how to impress
that stupid screening door...Any ideas would be helpful... I heard something
about making a seed out of the fluff, but I have no idea how to do that...
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: David.White@bbs.oit.unc.edu (David White)
Subject: Re: Need help on A Mind Forever Voyaging
Organization: Extended Bulletin Board Service
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 14:48:11 GMT

In article <uerics.718646242@mcl> uerics@mcl.ucsb.edu (Eric D. Shepherd) writes:
>I keep bringing back data collected from various time periods, but
>Perelman's never satisfied -- he keeps saying, "more, more, more".  The
>problem is that I can't get to any more time periods to analyze!  What's
>wrong?

Perelman will keep asking for more until you've brought back enough
"proof" that the future time period you just explored is better/worse than
the present.
 
Each event and situation in the future is worth a fixed amount of points. 
For instance, recording some prosperous, friendly citizens might be worth
a few points, while recording your own "death" at the hands of fanatical
students would be worth a whole lot more points!  When you've recorded
enough "points," Perelman will have a good idea of what the future will be
like - you'll also be given access to a new time period.
 
You may have to return several times to catch major events that only
happen once or only happen in one place.  Also, be sure to explore
everywhere carefully - many places will rise or fall over the years and
the people/places in one location may be very different 10 years later -
you'll want to record that fact.  
 
Bonus hint!  The cinema is usually a good microcosm of society, so always
record the movie when you travel to a new time period.
--
   The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of
     North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Campus Office for Information
        Technology, or the Experimental Bulletin Board Service.
           internet:  bbs.oit.unc.edu or 152.2.22.80
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
From: mcrosby@nyx.cs.du.edu (Matthew Crosby)
Subject: Re: Info-flop and new thread (mild spoilers)
X-Disclaimer: Nyx is a public access Unix system run by the University
	of Denver for the Denver community.  The University has neither
	control over nor responsibility for the opinions of users.
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 92 02:35:25 GMT

In article <librik.718662434@cory.Berkeley.EDU> librik@cory.Berkeley.EDU (David Librik) writes:
>David.White@bbs.oit.unc.edu (David White) writes:
>
>
>>Here's my votes for LEAST favorite things:
>> 
>>Puzzles in general: _Planetfall_ - Ok, it had some pretty neat puzzles, but
>>		 	unless I missed something BIG, there were TONS
>>			of unnecessary puzzles (helicopter, nuclear
>>			reactor, etc.)  This, to my knowledge, was the only
>>			Infocom game that did that.
>
>I understand what you mean, but here's a dissenting opinion.  Oftentimes
>what you think of as "unnecessary puzzles" aren't puzzles at all.  Good
>games have lots of "red herrings".  Some puzzles are solvable though don't
>add anything to the game.  Some only LOOK like puzzles, and are actually
>not part of the game at all.  (Try to find your way out of the Forest
>in the Original Adventure some time.)
>
>Lots of red herrings can make a game a complete pain, though -- it's never
>clear what the heck you're supposed to be doing next, when there seem to
>be lots of different problems lying around.  Often it's claimed that this
>lets you "work on" your choice of puzzles, but as usually only one of the
>puzzles is really solvable, you aren't "working", you're just typing things
>that have no effect and not getting anywhere.
>

Favorite (most hated?) Red Herring: That !$%#%$!@ lamp in Planetfall!


--
-Matt
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the net!
mcrosby@nyx.cs.du.edu  -or-  crosby@kinglear.cs.colorado.edu