HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)
Subject: Re: Legends Talison's Helm
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 05:55:08 GMT

Mike <K331280@ALIJKU11.BITNET>:
>Yes, get it as fast as you can, all artifacts with 11XX or 12XX numbers
>are very useful, some of them are eaven needed for fractional goals.

Really?  I'm still trying to find a use for my ivory...

Newsgroups: rec.games.pbm
From: gardabr@unix1 (Gard Eggesbo Abrahamsen)
Subject: Jade Games
Organization: MRIH, More og Romsdal Ingeniorhogskole
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 16:11:14 GMT


Does anyone know whatever happened to Jade Games International?

===============================================================================
Gard Eggesboe Abrahamsen                              PO Box 5061, Larsgaarden,
gard.abrahamsen@mrih.no             o O                  6021 Aalesund, Norway
gardabr@unix1.mrih.no              =( )=             Postal giro: 0825 0488697
ga@samson.mrih.no                    U         Date of birth: August 19th 1973
Gard@IRC                                     "Why sort what already is sorted?"
===============================================================================
From: wjames@cse.ucsc.edu (John Amenta)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pbm
Subject: Anzio, 4th Edition, PBEM Opponent Wanted
Date: 12 Dec 92 18:18:20 GMT
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz (CE/CIS Boards)
NNTP-Posting-Host: pal.ucsc.edu



I am looking for a EPBM (Electronic Play-By-Mail) opponent for the AH 
game Anzio, 4th addition.  I am a newly rated AREA member (1500),  and wish
to only play another AREA rated member, who is willing
to abide by the AREA "Code of Conduct" and will want to exchange
moves in a timely and dependable fashion.

Please Email me at: wjames@cse.ucsc.edu if you are interested.  I
would like to play a single game only for now, but am willing to
play either side and willing to discuss which scenario will be played
(although advanced rules are preferred.)

John Amenta
wjames@cse.ucsc.edu
From: everett@hpcvra.cv.hp.com (Everett Kaser)
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 00:53:13 GMT
Subject: Re: Share Ware $5
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Corvallis, OR, USA
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer

baylor@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Baylor) writes...
>	Ok, so these guys that distribute games for profit ARE getting
>a shareware author's permission first?
>	Are they allowed to distribute without permission?

Well, Baylor, yes AND no.  Yes, some do (most don't, except for what permiss-
ions are placed in the distribution files by the author, which frequently
give blanket permission for disk vendors to distribute, sometimes with a max
limit on how much can be charged).  No, a lot don't even EVER contact the
authors, EVEN when the author strictly specifies that the program may NOT be
sold by distributors without the distributor first getting permission from
the author in writing.

The shareware scene is changing VERY rapidly, and ESPECIALLY as concerns the
shareware RACK vendors (vendors who place racks in retail locations, selling
the shareware for between $3 and $8 dollars).  A large number of shareware
authors "inhabit" a couple of forums (notegroups) on Compuserve (ASPFORUM and
section 11 of UKSHARE), and a GREAT deal of discussion is going on right now
in the UKSHARE forum by authors who don't like the way things are developing
in rack vending and want to change it a bit.  Most authors experience has been
that rack sales (so far) have a VERY low rate of registration, and understand-
ably so: people are used to going into a store, paying money, and walking out
with something that is THEIRs.  Anyway, to balance the equation a bit, a
number of authors are starting to restrict rack vendors from carrying their
products unless the rack vendor pays a 10 to 15 cent royalty per disk to the
author.  It's still being sold as shareware, and end users are still expected
to register, but this way the authors get a (small) amount of money up front.

There is another variation developing (which *I* think will eventually take
the place of the shareware racks) which is the low-cost retail software rack,
which sells non-shareware versions of the software for $5 to $8, and pays a
royalty to the author of between 25 and 50 cents per copy sold.  These racks
are growing rapidly and starting to pop up in all kinds of places from Sears,
Penny's, Walmart, etc to 7-11, video stores, and I even heard of one at a
*CAR WASH*!  These racks will suck up the high quality shareware that FITS
the market (games, educational, home/personal type products) and those authors
stand to earn a very healthy living.  It will take a few years for the market
to fully develop (we're talking 10's of thousands of retail locations that
have to be fitted with racks, plus distribution channels, and all that crap),
but it's going to change the face of that portion of the software scene.

** Everett Kaser                   Hewlett-Packard Company
** ...hplabs!hp-pcd!everett        work: (503) 750-3569   Corvallis, Oregon
** everett@hpcvra.cv.hp.com        "Today is a good day for change."
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: bbs-cyclic@jwt.UUCP (Ron Czarnik)
Subject: Re: Beta testers and level developers wanted (StarMines II/PC)
Reply-To: bbs-cyclic@jwt.UUCP
Organization: The Matrix
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 01:58:55 GMT

I'm VERY interested!  I am a game developer/programmer/artist with a 
great imagination.. I think I can help.  Stuff I've written is more along 
the adventure route than the arcade, though.  :)

Playing/designing a few levels could be fun!

-Ron
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: shags@bnr.ca (Pat O'Shaughnessey P855)
Subject: FAQ? 
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, BNR-RTP 
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 17:46:04 GMT

As the subject says -- where can I get the FAQ for this group?

Thanks,

Pat

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pat O'Shaughnessey                    | internet: shags@bnr.ca 
BNR INC.                              | phone:    (919) 991-4172
35 Davis Drive                        | fax:      (919) 991-7792
P.O. Box 13478                        | Opinions are mine and not BNR's. 
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3478 |  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: checker@acf5.NYU.EDU (checker)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: Re: skewed map
Date: 21 Dec 92 06:18:05 GMT
Organization: New York University

Jacob.Hartog@f99.n121.z1.fidonet.org (Jacob Hartog) asks about moving
from one coordinate system to another.

Foley and vanDam discuss this on page 220.

Chris
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: draper@ais.org (Patrick Draper)
Subject: Re: Strategy algorithms
Organization: UMCC
Distribution: inet
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 01:47:00 GMT

In article <1h014lINN77l@sauna.cs.hut.fi> hmallat@robin.cs.hut.fi (Hannu Mallat ~ PurpleHaze!) writes:
>I'm planning on programming a simple(ish) strategy game, something
>like Empire. Otherwise I can handle doing such a game, but I have

I think Walter Bright wrote that one. Empire has a long history, dating all
the way back to Fortran IV on a mini, if I am not mistaken.

Does anyone know the history of Empire?  Is the Walter Bright that is with
Zortech and often on the net the same one as the author of Empire?

If it is, we can go right to the horses' mouth, so to speak.


------------------////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\------------------
| Patrick Draper-ZBT       Disclaimer:  I can't control my fingers,        |
| draper@umcc.ais.org                   I can't control my toes! - Ramones |
| University of Michigan Computer Club                                     |
NO CARRIER                     We are a nation of laws, not people         |
------------------\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\////////////////////------------------
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: ematias@csri.toronto.edu (Ummm... me!)
Subject: Re: Speed of Different Sprite Libraries
Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto
Date: 14 Dec 92 22:04:10 GMT

In article <1992Dec14.191923.15434@wam.umd.edu> ghost@next14csc.wam.umd.edu () writes:
>
>
>which is faster for coding /doing grafix in Turbo Pascal 
>
>1) Fastgraph
>2) Anivga
>
>which is fastest/effiecient for C++

   So far I've tried two mode-x libraries/routines for C -- "XLIB" by Themie
Gouthas, and "XBLT" by John Slagel.
   XLIB is a very complete and full-featured library, and I'm using it for
the majority of my work.  However, some of the routines in XBLT seem very
fast (e.g., XBLT's copyrect() routine, which I'm using in my game because
it's faster than XLIB's x_cp_vid_rect() function).  This is mainly because
some of XBLT's functions have 386-specific code in them.


Cheers,

     - Mark Rosteck -
(ematias@csri.toronto.edu)
(g1marker@cdf.toronto.edu)

Xref: sparky rec.games.programmer:5070 alt.tv.red-dwarf:1976
From: cs_d604@ceres (David Scutt)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer,alt.tv.red-dwarf
Subject: Re: WOLF3D - ShareWare version
Date: 16 Dec 1992 14:53:56 GMT
Organization: Kingston University
NNTP-Posting-Host: ceres.kingston.ac.uk
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4

etljmme@etlxd30.ericsson.se (Jim) writes:
: Hi everyone.
: 
: I've received alot of requests for the ftp site for wolf3d.  I don't know!!
: 
: Because alot of people want it, I'll uuencode it with all relevant details and
: post it to alt.binaries.multimedia by the end of the week.  Sorry for the delay
: but I've got to go home and get it, etc.
: 
: I'll let you know when it's there.
: 
: NOTE:  The debugging/cheat keys I gave will only work on the SHAREWARE version
: of wolf3d, not on the commercial one.  Mail me with any questions.
: 
: Also, does anyone know the e-mail address of John Carmack or John Romero, the
: authors of Wolf3D and Commander Keen?
: 
: Cheerio and Merry Christmas,
: Jim.

	What does this have to do with Red Dwarf???







Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: rick@wam.umd.edu (Frederick E. Brown)
Subject: Visibility checks for hexmaps???
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 20:48:50 GMT

Hey, does anyone have any good algorithms for determining
visibility on hexmaps.  Ya know, the kind of visibility checks
that practically every board combat game ever made requires.
For instance, to check if hex 1,1 can see hex 4,5 if something
blocking is in hex 2,2, etc.  Also need to be able to check for
blocking hexsides as well.  I know this may have been rehashed
a billion times but give me a break, my memory fades during
finals time.  Thanx for any help.  Also this group needs a FAQ
for this sort of stuff.
 
 
   1,1  1,2  1,3  1,4  1,5  1,6  1,7
   
      2,1  2,2  2,3  2,4  2,5  2,6
 
   3,1  3,2  3,3  3,4  3,5  3,6  3,7
   
      4,1  4,2  4,3  4,4  4,5  4,6
 
   5,1  5,2  5,3  5,4  5,5  5,6  5,7
 
 
-rick@wam.umd.edu
From: seah@ee.rochester.edu (David Seah)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: Re: Copyrights of old games...
Date: 20 Dec 92 15:59:58 GMT
Organization: Univ of Rochester, College of Engineering and Applied Science

In article <1992Dec18.143639.3778@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> cwatters@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Coyt D Watters) writes:
>Parker Brothers had to chase down a lot of people who were translating the 
>popular Monopoly and Risk games into computer versions without licensing 
>them.  Too many of these, and the copyright holders can "lose" the copyright
>to the public domain.

Has this happened with Tetris?  There seem to be ten million clones of it
out there. 

-- 
Dave Seah ^..^   | Graduate MSEE, University of Rochester, New York           |
                 | Apple II Graphics & Sound Forum Consultant, America Online |

[Internet] seah@ee.rochester.edu, AFCDaveS@aol.com   [America Online] AFC DaveS
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: acgoldis@athena.mit.edu (Andrew C Goldish)
Subject: Game contest?
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 19:18:20 GMT

  I have heard that there is some kind of game programming contest sometime
in January at MIT.  Does anyone know anything about this?

						A. Goldish

"x^6 + x^9 = 1!  10 * 10 = 15!  1 + 1 = 0!  Isn't math fun?"
From: baylor@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Baylor)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: Deluxe Animator and .fli files - how?
Date: 14 Dec 92 04:55:04 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX


	Does anyone know the theory/algorythm that makes animator
programs like Deluxe Animator work?
	In 256-color mode it doesn't seem like you have any room for
page flipping. Are the pictures loaded in a virtual page? Did they use
mode-x/y? Or are they just damn fast with their graphics routines?
	I assume these animations are stored as seperate pictures.
When i use DA i know i draw 20 pictures to animate.
	Anyone know DA's .anm format? I've seen .fli players, but i never
got autodesk...
						- baylor

Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: tommy@nevada.edu (GREG HJELSTROM)
Subject: Sample files for whacker tracker
Originator: tommy@redrock.nevada.edu
Organization: University of Nevada System Computing Services
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 00:22:44 GMT

I need a little help.  I downloaded a program named whacker tracker that
lets you create music on a pc.  It doesn't come with any instrument samples
Does anyone know where I can find some?  I think the file names are in the 
form *.smp

Also is there a more appropriate newsgroup for me to be posting this question
in?

thanks in advance

-tommy@redrock.nevada.edu

Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: toddl@county.lmt.mn.org (Todd Lehman)
Subject: Jerky animation (Was: The Correct Way to Control Game Speed)
Organization: A little 
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 22:14:42 GMT

In article <1992Dec19.190258.15117@midway.uchicago.edu> greg@dent.uchicago.edu (Greg Kuperberg) writes:
>Now for some specifics.  The eye and the visual cortex integrates
>separate images into continuous motion if the images appear at a rate
>faster than 5 or 10 times per second or so.  15 or more frames per
>second looks good, and it is a waste of CPU time to have more than 30
>redraws per second.

For 3D animation, sure...maybe the animation rate doesn't matter that much.

But for sprite-type animation, the animation rate actually DOES matter. 
If you move an object at 30 f.p.s. on a monitor refreshing at 60 Hz., there
will be a double-image effect, and the animation will appear jerky.  For
example, suppose you are moving a box horizontally at 30 f.p.s.  If your
eyes follow the box as it moves, you will see this,

        +----+----+----+
        |    |    |    |
        |    |    |    |
        |    |    |    |
        |    |    |    |
        |    |    |    |
        +----+----+----+

rather than this,

        +---------+
        |         |
        |         |
        |         |
        |         |
        |         |
        +---------+

which is what you expected to see, and what you will see if you step up the
animation rate to match the refresh rate of the monitor at 60 Hz.

No matter how perfectly your page flipping / double buffering works, no
matter how fast your sprites are painted into video memory, if you move an
object n pixels every 2 video cycles, there will be a ghost image trailing
behind by n/2 pixels.  (Don't believe it?  Try it!) 

For smooth sprite animation, it is helpful to match the animation rate of
the physical display, which in the case of VGA displays (to pick one out of
the air) can vary from 60 to 70 to 88 or more Hz., depending on the video
mode and the brand of monitor attached.

Of course, nobody moves sprites exactly one pixel per frame.  Some jerkiness
is inevitable.  But you can minimize it by starting out with a frame rate
equal to that of the physical display.

Has anyone else observed this ghosting effect?  Does anyone know what is
the cause?  I believe it to be an optical illusion, since the ghosting is
not there when your eyes remain fixed.  It's the same kind of effect you
see when 24 f.p.s. movies are converted to 30 f.p.s. video cassette format
by doubling up every 5th frame.  (Ever wonder why movies on TV look kind-of
jerky, but live video such as talk shows and soaps look smooth?)

--
Todd Lehman
toddl@county.lmt.mn.org

Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: u895027@tasman.cc.utas.edu.au (Mark Mackey)
Subject: Graphics libraries: where?
Organization: University of Tasmania, Australia.
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 04:59:09 GMT

Sorry if this is a FAQ: I only recently got net access back again. I've seen
some discussion on the various graphics libraries available, and i was 
wondering (a) which of them are shareware/freeware
          (b) where can I get them? i.e which ftp sites to look in.

I am specifically interested in Mode X/Y/whatever and SVGA libraries usable
from Turbo Pascal 6.0.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Mackey                       | "I think therefore I am" - Descartes.
u895027@tasman.cc.utas.edu.au     | "I think I think therefore perhaps I am"
E-mail should be accompanied by   |   - a more cautious philosophical outlook.
$1000 in unmarked $5 notes,       | "I drink to unthink, which proves that I
preferably in a brown paper bag.  |   think" - not the famous Ly Tin Wheedle.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: mkelly@mystix.cs.uoregon.edu (Michael A. Kelly)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: Re: Jerky animation (Was: The Correct Way to Control Game Speed)
Date: 20 Dec 92 21:49:10 GMT
Organization: University of Oregon Computer and Information Sciences Dept.

In article <1992Dec19.230550.21915@midway.uchicago.edu> greg@dent.uchicago.edu (Greg Kuperberg) writes:
>Moreover, avoiding the strobe effect
>by increasing the frame rate can be added to the brute-force hall of
>fame alongside anti-aliasing by means of higher resolution and
>memory management by means of large computer memory.
>
>However, very few if any personal game or computer platforms have the
>CPU time available to compute complex motion blur.

Right.  If they did, they could just increase the frame rate.

So how can I reduce or eliminate the effect, without increasing the frame
rate, on a non-interlaced monitor?

Mike.
-- 
_____________________________________________________________________________
Michael A. Kelly                                               Senior Partner
mkelly@cs.uoregon.edu                                      High Risk Ventures
_____________________________________________________________________________
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: gardabr@unix1 (Gard Eggesbo Abrahamsen)
Subject: Re: Game proposal-how to sell?
Organization: Imagina - the Norwegian demo crew
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 16:06:23 GMT

The Man Behind The Curtain (pinky@tamu.edu) wrote:
: I have an idea for a game which I would like to develop, but don't have time
: to work upon, since I have other projects which I find more interesting.
: What I'd like to do is sell the idea, and provide the specifications
: and details for my idea, to some commercial company.  What I'd like
: to know specifically is what companies are open to such proposals,
: and in what manner should I present them.  What about non-disclosure
: agreements?  How many games are first conceptualized in this way?
: 
: -- 
: Till next time,                \o/   \o/
:                                 V \o/ V     email:pinky@tamu.edu
: <>  Sam  Inala  <>                 V
: 

I had an idea, once, made the game and tried several companies. It might be
that is is different for the Atari ST, but most companies seem to trust
only the programmers they already have, and these programmers don't want
any competition. Only smaller companies are willing to go for it, but these
have a tendency of either not having money, or not making any money, or just
disappearing before you get to say hello to them. Seems the only thing that
works is Shareware. At least you get the credit, then.

===============================================================================
Gard Eggesboe Abrahamsen                              PO Box 5061, Larsgaarden,
gard.abrahamsen@mrih.no             o O                  6021 Aalesund, Norway
gardabr@unix1.mrih.no              =( )=             Postal giro: 0825 0488697
ga@samson.mrih.no                    U         Date of birth: August 19th 1973
Gard@IRC                                     "Why sort what already is sorted?"
===============================================================================
From: checker@acf5.NYU.EDU (checker)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: Re: Copyrights of old games...
Date: 21 Dec 92 06:26:59 GMT
Organization: New York University

toddl@county.lmt.mn.org (Todd Lehman) writes about intellectual property:

>But what I meant was that in these two cases (and probably others), these
>games are so simple as to be discovered by any civilization, given enough
>time.

Couldn't the same thing be said of any discovery/invention?  This sounds
like the old `monkeys pounding out Shakespeare' argument.  Sure it's
possible, but not likely.  Who is to say that the super widget you just
discovered/invented wouldn't have been discovered/invented in the next
county over a couple of days after you did it?  A few weeks?  A few
centuries?

>the landscape of the whole thing looks like such a gray area...

This is the truth.

Intellectual property is a big mess.

Chris
From: mek@acs.bu.edu (Mark Kern)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: Re: Copyrights of old games...
Date: 20 Dec 92 03:14:53 GMT
Organization: Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

In article <1992Dec18.143639.3778@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> cwatters@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Coyt D Watters) writes:

>Parker Brothers had to chase down a lot of people who were translating the 
>popular Monopoly and Risk games into computer versions without licensing 
>them.  Too many of these, and the copyright holders can "lose" the copyright
>to the public domain.

    Just a minor point here.  Monopoly and Risk as games were not in danger
of falling to the public domain.  No copyrighted work can be uncopyrighted by
just the fact that many people write copies of the game.  However, trademarks
are a different matter.  The public overuse of a trademark (Xerox comes to
mind) can result in it no longer being a private trademark.  It might be the
case that Parker Brothers was worried about people "calling" thier games
Monopoly and Risk, therefore losing the name to the public domain, but never
the actual game itself.

     Old copyrights are still good copyrights.  It doesn't matter if the game
is no longer published, since the exclusive right of distribution lies with
the copyright holder.  The copyright is good at least for the life of the
creator.  So, all you MULE game writers should consult the copyright holder.


Markus