HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mek@acs.bu.edu (Mark Kern)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: Re: OK.. about my original copyright question.
Date: 8 Jan 93 04:36:05 GMT
Organization: Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

In article <wH1ywB2w164w@jwt.UUCP> bbs-cyclic@jwt.UUCP writes:
>Maybe what I meant was a trademark.  What I basically don't want used is 
>the idea.  What is the difference/definition between/of a copyright and a 
>trademark?

	If you want to protect your original expression, choose copyright.
If you have an original invention or algorythm, use patent.  If you want
to protect a  name associated with your product, choose trademark. 

>
>-Ron

Mark "Simms" Kern

-= This is not legal advice.  Please consult an experience attorney. =-


Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer,sci.electronics
From: kolstad@cae.wisc.edu (Joel Kolstad)
Subject: Re: Sort of a Joke - sad though...
Organization: U of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering
Distribution: na
Date: 8 Jan 93 11:12:08 CST

In article <C0IEow.326@bcstec.ca.boeing.com> mce5921@bcstec.ca.boeing.com (Martin Emde) writes:

>Can anyone out there be more specific as to how those games work
>that sense screen position?  How does it compensate for different
>sized images and varying distances from the TV?

The idea is that the video controller chip always knows where _it_ is
scanning, so it doesn't matter what the output device is.  That is: When
the photo-sensor in the gun detects light (caused by the raster scan of the
TV), the video controller latches what position it's currently displaying.

The TV is scanning through the display with a very bright beam -- much
brighter than the average picture intensity (i.e., if the beam weren't
moving, it'd be a lot brighter than when your TV is displaying the beam
being moved all around the screen).

The Nintendo games I've seen also change all the colors of things you
should be able to hit vs. those you shouldn't be able to hit to either
black or white, which makes the jobs of the photosensor in the gun easier
still.

					---Joel Kolstad
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: bbs-cyclic@jwt.UUCP (Ron Czarnik)
Subject: Getting a copyright
Reply-To: bbs-cyclic@jwt.UUCP
Organization: The Matrix
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 07:19:17 GMT

Does anybody know the correct procedures for obtaining a copyright?  Any 
and all advice is welcomed.  Thanks.

-Ron
Xref: sparky rec.games.programmer:5292 comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware:34953
From: devasoft@cup.portal.com (David Michael Alves)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: RealSound(tm) Phone Number?
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 93 10:17:43 PST
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Distribution: usa


Does anyone have the phone number for the RealSound(tm) people?  Thanks
in advance.

David Alves
devasoft@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: nak@cbnews.cb.att.com (neil.a.kirby)
Subject: Windows and SVGA Was:Re: Why are PC graphics so horrible?
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 14:17:31 GMT

In article <rdippold.726273601@cancun> rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold) writes:
[deletions of previous posters that you already read]
>
>You also had a major player (at the time) in the PC
>market, IBM, pushing VGA, EGA, and CGA.  SVGA was just a fairly minor
>extension of VGA, and it took a damned long time before software
>started making regular use of it, this time because another major
>player was pushing: Microsoft.  You may sell a few game cards in the
>short run _if_ it does something extra for Windows.

BINGO!

And now we are back to one standard to write games for.  It used to be CGA,
then EGA, then VGA.  But there are numerous SVGA engines out there; S3,
Mach8, Mach32, ET4000, etc.  What is that one standard?

WINODWS.

Code written for Windows runs on all of the SVGA engines mentioned above.
The resolution varies from 640x480x16 (face it, nobody runs Windows
with less by choice) to 1280x1024x256.

It's worth thinking about.

Neil Kirby


Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: svirsky@tti.com (Bill Svirsky)
Subject: REQUEST: Interfacing Nintendo PowerGlove to IBM PC
Keywords: powerglove
Organization: Transaction Technology, Inc.
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 18:10:47 GMT

Can anyone give me any info - ftp sites, magazine articles, etc - about
interfacing the Nintendo PowerGlove to the IBM PC. I remember reading
about it at one time but don't remember where. Thanks.

--
Bill Svirsky  svirsky@tti.com, Compuserve:72137,1547
..!{philabs,psivax,pyramid,quad1,rdlvax,retix,rutgers}!soldev!svirsky

"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want"  Calvin & Hobbes
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer,rec.games.int-fiction,rec.arts.int-fiction
From: allen@baja.viewlogic.com (Dave Allen)
Subject: Question about TADS programming
Originator: allen@baja
Organization: Viewlogic Systems, Inc.
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 16:22:02 GMT

Hi.
I would like some advice on programming in TADS.

1. I want to have some columns of tabular data appear, like:

   First     123   Next          7
   Second     45   Almostlast   89
   Third       6   Last          -

   Down in the unreachable internals of TADS, something eats multiple
   spaces.  I have tried a for-loop to say() individual spaces, etc, but they
   all get eaten, resulting in unusable output like

   First 123 Next 7
   Second 45 Almostlast 89
   Third 6 Last -

2. I want to pick up two numbers from user input, like:

   "Sulu, set course to 100 mark 12".

   I did this by defining mark as a preposition, setting it up so 100
   should come back as the direct object and 12 as the indirect object.

   However, what I get from the parser is 100, 100 instead of 100, 12.
   I think this is because there is only ONE INSTANCE of basicNumObj, which
   gets written over internally for each number in the input command.

Any hints?

- Dave Allen allen@viewlogic.com
From: kludge@hardy.u.washington.edu (Kludge)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: Re: Why are PC graphics so horrible?
Date: 12 Jan 1993 18:20:58 GMT
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
NNTP-Posting-Host: hardy.u.washington.edu

>Yes, you are right, but it's just so sad.
>The SNES contains 8-channel 8-bit sound, about 500*500*256 gfx (dunno
>the exact resolution), a fairly powerful bitmap scaler/rotator
>+ the processor (what processor is it anyway?) and the rest.
>Before the GUS you wouldn't even get a decent 4-channel PC-soundcard
>for the same price - doesn't that stink?!?!
>--

  However, try hooking the SNES up to a modem.  Or writing a letter on it.
Of course it's better for games - it's ***MADE*** for games.  However, there
are still a lot of possibilities for good games on PCs.  
  I do agree about the soundcard, though;  it seems that the folks at Adlib
and Creative Labs have set the PC sound standard to... crap.  Hopefully the
Gravis Ultrasound will do something about that...

							--Kludge
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: kinsman@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca (Aphoriel/Kinsman)
Subject: Any Basic Info on Page Flipping?
Organization: University of New Brunswick
Distribution: rec.games.programmer
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 02:07:09 GMT

What is the basic algorithm for page flipping?

I remember someone posted a good 3 step algorithm a while ago on this
newsgroup, but I didn't have the foresight to save it...

-Aphoriel/Kinsman
-Sean Givan

Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: afzal@divsun.unige.ch (Afzal Ballim)
Subject: Patents (was Re: OK.. about my original copyright question.)
Keywords: Patents, copyrights, trademarks
Reply-To: afzal@divsun.unige.ch
Organization: University of Geneva, Switzerland
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 08:49:41 GMT

In article <1iiiq8INNheh@gambier.rick.cs.ubc.ca>, w5y092@rick.cs.ubc.ca (Stephen Todd Leroux) writes:
|> 
|> I remember hearing somewhere that you cannot put a patent on a mathematical
|> formula.  Wouldn't compression programs fall into this category?  Just
|> a thought...
|> 

That's what we all thought. Unfortunately, the US Patent Office up until
very recently had a policy of NOT hiring computer competent staff. So, the
damage got done and thousands of stupid patents were given out simply
because they used a computer. To compound the problem, rather than saying
that this was an error, they are now pushing the idea of patents in software.
This has been pushed along greatly by patent lawers, who say that if an error
has been made with certain patents, then the  way to correct it is through
the courts. This, however, costs megabucks (although win or lose, the patent
lawers win).

Note, however, that you do not patent a program just as you don't patent,
say, a car. Rather, you patent a software technique. This is very frightening.
Given the current rate at which patents are being given out on software
techniques it is probable that anyone writing commercial software will spend
80% of their time doing patent searches. In addition, if a company SUSPECTS
that you violate one of their patents, they have the right to see your code
(it's the only way to prove you haven't violated their patent, and even then
it's not iron-clad). 

To see how far this has gone, witness the post from someone saying that there
company has a special office that they send anything to for patentability
evaluation (keystroke sequences even!). There are certainly good arguments
for patents as well as against, but if you make your living through programming
then you should at least read the various arguments about them and know about
the potential dangers to your future. In the long term, it appears that patents
may drive small concerns out, leaving only those companies with the money to
have hundreds of lawers making patent exchange agreements with other companies,
filing patent applications, and chasing patent violators.

For more information on computer patents, there is a moderated newsgroup
called comp.patents where you can hear both sides of the arguments (there
are even patent lawers who post to the group).

If you are opposed to the notion of patents on software techniques, then
you could become a member of the League for Programming Freedom (sorry,
don't have details at hand, there was an article in CACM last year on patents
which talks about the LPF).


-- 
Afzal Ballim	             |BITNET,EARN,MHS,X.400: afzal@divsun.unige.ch
 ISSCO, University of Geneva |UUCP: mcsun!divsun.unige.ch!afzal
 54 route des Acacias	     |JANET: afzal%divsun.unige.ch@uk.ac.ean-relay
 CH-1227 GENEVA,Switzerland  |CSNET,ARPA: afzal%divsun.unige.ch@relay.cs.net
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: bear@kestrel.fsl.noaa.gov (Bear Giles)
Subject: Re: Why are PC graphics so horrible?
Organization: Forecast Systems Labs, NOAA, Boulder, CO USA
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 20:15:07 GMT

In article <2362.1599.uupcb@spacebbs.com> mike.mcaulay@spacebbs.com (Mike Mcaulay)  writes:
>
>VKS>        I rented a Super Nintendo for a couple of days and was totaly amaze
>VKS>by its graphics capabilities.  The question I have is why can the PC not do
>VKS>the same things that the SNES can. 
>
>The SNES has hardware dedicated to sprite management, scrolling,
>rotation, etc.  The PC does not.

Don't forget the fact that your fancy 33 MHz '486 chip talks to your
video card along a 16-bit path at 5 MHz.  Or was it 10 MHz? 

Anyway, the bus speed is __s__l__o__w__ compared to modern processors,
and it is relatively narrow as well.  That makes a _big_ difference (which
is why you should spring the bucks for a motherboard with on-board RAM,
rather than using an expansion board).

On top of that, your SNES probably uses a graphics chip while the PC is
a general purpose chip.  That means a lot of graphics routines are implemented
in hardware instead of several layers of software.  (A company I used to
work for used a graphics chip as the CPU for an embedded system; it had
direct CPU support for graphics functions that have taken me hundreds of
lines to write (in 80x86 assembler) -- circles, ellipses, pattern floods, etc).


Bear Giles
bear@fsl.noaa.gov/cs.colorado.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer,alt.graphics,comp.graphics,comp.graphics.animation
From: chris@looney.lerc.nasa.gov (Chris Johnston)
Subject: Re: What is the difference between 3D Studio and Animator (AUTODESK)
Keywords: Difference between AUTODESK Animator and 3D Studio
Reply-To: chris@looney.lerc.nasa.gov (Chris Johnston)
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 20:35:51 GMT

Autodesk Animator is a 2D animation program limited to 320 X 200 256 color mode. It animated to
a flick file and then replayed it in real time. Animator Pro extends the resolution to 640 X 480
26 color and beyond with more features. 

3D Studio is a 3D system that allows you to generate 3d geometry, set up lights and cameras,
define the materials and render to either flick files or frame by frame to an animation recorder.

Animator was ~$350, (It may still be available in their multimedia workshop product) Animator
Pro is ~$750 and 3DS lists for $2995

Chris
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: bear@kestrel.fsl.noaa.gov (Bear Giles)
Subject: Re: Getting a copyright
Organization: Forecast Systems Labs, NOAA, Boulder, CO USA
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 17:25:28 GMT

In article <ui8VwB1w164w@jwt.UUCP> bbs-cyclic@jwt.UUCP writes:
>Does anybody know the correct procedures for obtaining a copyright?  Any 
>and all advice is welcomed.  Thanks.

Copyright (c) 1993 Bruce R. Giles.  All rights reserved.

BTW, this is _not_ necessary, it simply provides additional legal
protection.  _All_ creative work is "born copyrighted;" the legal
definition of "creative work" only requires it not be blindingly
obvious (e.g., the white pages of the phone book does not have a
"compilation" copyright) and that more than one expression is possible
(the opcodes of a CPU cannot be copyrighted since only those codes
will cause the CPU to perform the desired operations; the nmenonic 
codes used to describe those opcodes _can_ be copyrighted since you
could use "MOV" or "MOVE" or "MV" or... and you could use different
operand ordering).

There is a central registry where you can send material but nobody
bothers with software -- it is only used by literary authors.

As to look-and-feel "copyrights", the jury is still out.  I personally
find these an obscene perversion of the law by large companies attempting
to stiffle competition (imagine if Ford Motor Company had patented the
"Steering Wheel, gas pedal on right and brake pedal in center" look-and-feel
of automotive control!), but I can't afford a team of high-power lawyers
to file an endless series of lawsuits.


Bear Giles
bear@fsl.noaa.gov/colorado.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: simone@trace.eng.wayne.edu (Simone Douglas 577-0108)
Subject: Looking for software
Reply-To: simone@trace.eng.wayne.edu (Simone Douglas 577-0108)
Organization: Wayne State University, Detroit
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 19:55:36 GMT

Are there any public domain flight simulators written in C++ on the
net, I would like to get the source code.

Please reply directly to me, I will post if there is a lot of interest.

Thanks, Doug
   
--
Douglas Simone                            _____    __o   
Wayne State University                  -----     -\<,    
Electrical & Computer Engineering      -----   ( )/ ( )  
Detroit, Michigan 48202 USA	   simone@trace.eng.wayne.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: rebuck@blue.crayola.cs.psu.edu (Mark A Rebuck)
Subject: Re: Maze Algorithms
Keywords: maze algorithms
Organization: Little, if any. 
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 12:17:04 GMT

In article <1993Jan10.092644.7165@athena.mit.edu> awmin@athena.mit.edu (Art Min) writes:
>Hello everybody,
>
>I was wondering what's an effecient way of keeping track of
>a maze in a programming sens. If I'm going to design a game like Wizardry I,
>you know a 3-D view, how should I keep the maze in memory? I mean
>how do you keep track of what walls are ahead of the player efficiently.
>
>Do you just keep in memory a little bit of the maze? What's
>an efficient way to represent it (each wall as a bit?) in the file?
>
>ANY INFORMATION will be GREATLY appreciated!!!!
>
>Thanks,
>
>Art
>awmin@athena.mit.edu

There was a FAQ about this subject a while ago.
I have it archived and could mail it to anyone who wants it.
I don't want to post it here since I am not in charge of maintaining it.
Send me mail (rebuck@cs.psu.edu) if you want it.

(BTW:  Who is in charge of this thing now?  I have'nt seen much about
       it lately?)

=========================================================================
| Mark Rebuck        |  Some people say that daydreams are for all the  | 
| rebuck@cs.psu.edu  |  lazy minded fools with nothing better to do...  |  
|                    |  So let them laugh, laugh at me...               | 
| 6502 forever!!     |              Jimmy Hendrix                       | 
=========================================================================

Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: ssalter@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (-=[SLS]=-)
Subject: Re: Good animation program
Organization: OFSA
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 13:27:32 GMT

>From article <1iarq4INNmbc@gambier.rick.cs.ubc.ca>, by w5y092@rick.cs.ubc.ca (Stephen Todd Leroux):
>> Hiya... I'm looking for a good program to create animations for use in a game.
>> Basically sprites, but I'd like it to be fairly powerful, and (free?)
>> shareware.  I've seen a lot of stuff by autodesk anmimator.  Is this useful
>> for my purpose?  I have a feeling its commercial.  Anyone know the price for
>> the program?

AA is expensive...if you are looking for a powerful and yet easy to
use package for sprites, scrolling backgrounds, etc..try the WGT
stuff. It is not free but you can test out the shareware version
(free) and see how you like it. It is on SIMTEL20 in the turboc
directory.

Steve
From: w5y092@rick.cs.ubc.ca (Stephen Todd Leroux)
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: Still looking...
Date: 6 Jan 1993 15:49:25 -0800
Organization: Computer Science, University of B.C., Vancouver, B.C., Canada
NNTP-Posting-Host: keats.rick.cs.ubc.ca

... for a programmer with which I can draw some sprites.
Should support 256 color VGA, and animation too.  The WGT
library was suggested but I find it too restrictive.  I
plan to use xlib in the final program.  So, the question
is, What do y'all use to draw yer sprites, eh?
                                         
  +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
  | Steve Leroux            | My views do not necessarily represent |
  | U of British Columbia   | those of the human race or            |
  | Canada                  | carbon-based life in general.         |
  +-----------------------------------------------------------------+

Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: jerry@msi.com (Jerry Shekhel)
Subject: Re: Windows and SVGA Was:Re: Why are PC graphics so horrible?
Organization: Molecular Simulations, Inc.
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 17:44:52 GMT
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]
X-Posted-From: hemi.msi.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: sol.ctr.columbia.edu

Kendall Bennett (rcskb@minyos.xx.rmit.OZ.AU) wrote:
:
: We are talking about games here - windows is not a games engine. Windows is
: great for software like word processors and spreadsheets that need to have
: a nice looking and reasonably responsive user interface, but it is hardly
: workable if you are looking for real time graphics, especially 3d.
:

Quite wrong.  We now have graphics accelerators for Windows -- ATI Mach32,
S3, XGA, etc.  The beauty of it is that with Windows, we have a single high-
level API that works on all of these.

:
: Ever heard of double or triple buffering in Windows?
:

Sure.  My game, Chomp, uses two offscreen buffers.  It's not synchronized
to the display, and screen updates have to be done using blitting instead
of hardware page-flipping, but it does use double buffering.

BTW, to those that have requested the Chomp source code, I've now sent it out
to *almost* all of you.  Thanks for your patience.

:
: | Kendall Bennett                          | Internet:                     |
:
--
+-------------------+----------------------------+---------------------------+
| JERRY J. SHEKHEL  | Molecular Simulations Inc. | Time just fades the pages |
| Drummers do it... |     Burlington, MA USA     | in my book of memories.   |
|    ... In rhythm! |        jerry@msi.com       |         -- Guns N' Roses  |
+-------------------+----------------------------+---------------------------+
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: vanderby@mprgate.mpr.ca (David Vanderbyl)
Subject: Re: Why are PC graphics so horrible?
Reply-To: vanderby@mprgate.mpr.ca (David Vanderbyl)
Organization: MPR Teltech Ltd.
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 93 22:43:42 GMT

The Super Nintendo processor speed is only around 3.5 Mhz.
The key to its awsome graphics of course is its very powerful
custom graphics chip(s).

With the Super Nintendo selling for under $100 these days,
you have to wonder why there can't be a PC graphics card with
similar capabilities for under $100 as well.

Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
From: vputz@nyx.cs.du.edu (Victor Putz)
Subject: Re: Where is a good Action Game FAQ?
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Distribution: rec.games.programmer
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 93 00:54:34 GMT



Yer best bet would be to look at either yakIcons or WGT.  Both are fine
arcade implementation toolkits; I believe WGT is currently structured more
for arcade games, though next release of yakIcons will include a platform
game (running/jumping or "fly through caves" style) package.  If OOP is
your main focus I would strongly consider yakIcons; its structure is
organized entirely around C++ object classes; for example, class
platformBeast is the generic term for anything put on the playfield, (the
player, missiles, beasties, whatever).  If a platformBeast runs out of hit
points (each 'beast keeps track of its own), it removes itself from the
board, reletes itself from memory, and puts an appropriate "explosion"
event.  "Bad" platformBeasts automatically check to see if the player hit
them or if they hit the player.  PlatformBeasts operate on class movement
code; ie the "crawler" class paces back and forth on a ledge, turning when
it hits an edge.

The real beauty of the system is that there is no real "manager" of
'beasts; once put on the map, a call to draw the map automatically updates
everything, moves the player's shots, deletes "dead" beasts, etc.

Also supports parallax scrolling (as many layers as you have time for) and
animated terrain.

-->Vputz

note: the partial update (windows classes and partial platform game
package) should be up in a few weeks when I get real internet access
again.  Sorry for the delay; I've been busy lately.
From: sl859@cc.usu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer
Subject: Collision Detection FAQ Compilation
Date: 9 Jan 93 23:02:48 MDT
Organization: Utah State University

Ok, Ok I am now kicking myself for not extracting, cataloging and attentively
reading each post on Collision Detection.  So Did that subject get placed into 
the FAQ?  If so Can someone repost it for me?  I wouldn't be surprised if it
didn't get put into the FAQ since the subject is quite vast and the replies are
quite varied, however, now that I am interested in the subject I am hoping to
obtain some varied approaches to the subject.  I can imagine some methods, and
have read quite a few as well, however, I would be interested to know any other
ingenious little hacks, kludges, brainstorms, tricks and techniques...

						  wReam...

P.S.  Perhaps the great Cyberman has it in the FAQ somewhere... :)  
      If it isn't in the FAQ, I would be willing to compile a list of
techniques and methods according to the responses of this message.
	

Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer