Internet Surfer 2.0/Internet Surfer 2.0 (Wayzata Technology) (1996).iso/pc/text/mac/faqs.085

Text File | 1996-02-12 | 27.7 KB | 684 lines

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS);faqs.085


    vuwcom.vuw.ac.nz               130.195.2.10    kermit, mac, msdos, vms
    wsmr-simtel20.army.mil         192.88.110.20   msdos, unix, cpm, mac (tenex)


    NOTE: A simply massive ftplist can be downloaded from the Document Site:
          typhoon.Berkeley.EDU(128.32.184.254) in pub/Library
          This place has a lot of other documents also.


8:  Where can I get hints/solutions to games?

A:  See Part 3 of the FAQ for Frequently Asked Hints/Bugs or use ftp,
    see below.

Here are ftp sites [please post more]

    risc.ua.edu       130.160.4.7      -- pub/games/solutions
                                          This is in the US, and it largely
                                          duplicates nic.funet.fi
    nic.funet.fi      128.214.6.100    -- pub/misc/games.solutions
                                          This is in Finland, and it largely
                                          duplicates risc.ua.edu
                                          NOTE: when ftp'ing to nic.funet.fi
                                          you MUST enter your email address as
                                          the password in order to be able to
                                          access the appropriate subdirectories!


Mark Jacobson provided the following additional sites using an archie search.
No IP numbers were provided...


    faui43.informatik.uni-erlangen.de     /mounts/cyber/cyber/pc/games/solutions
    hilbert.math.ksu.edu                  /pub/pc/games/hints
    sun0.urz.uni-heidelberg.de            /pub/game_solutions


There are no walkthroughs on the Internet for the following games.
    [Thanks to Carl Hommel for this info]

    Ultima 4
    Bards Tale II
    Eye of the Beholder     (postscript maps available from someplace in Oz)
    Might & Magic I, III    (hint books cost $12)
    The SSI "Gold Box" games (hint books cost $15)
        Pool of Radiance
        Curse of the Azure Bonds
        Secret of the Silver Blades

        Pool of Darkness
    Wizardry I - V

    An EotB walkthrough is the *most* frequently asked walkthrough question.
    Earn eternal fame by being the first to write/upload one!


     the following solutions had been uploaded to risc.ua.edu...
        directory /pub/games/solutions

        sol.elvira             - Elvira
        sol.elvira2            - Elvira II
        sol.eob2               - Eye of the Beholder II
        sol.geisha             - Geisha (not done by me)
        sol.iceman             - Codename : ICEMAN
        sol.kol                - Knights of Legend
        sol.lostinla           - Les Manley II - Lost in L.A.
        sol.martianmemorandam  - Martian Memorandum
        sol.mm3                - Might & Magic III
        sol.monkey             - Secret of Monkey Island
        sol.monkey2            - Secret of Monkey Island II
        sol.uukrul             - The Dark Heart of Uukrul
        sol.willy              - The Adventures of Willy Beamish
        sol.wizardry6          - Bane of the Cosmic Forge (not done by me)
        sol.zyca               - Legend of the Zyca



9:  Where can I get cracks and or cheats for games?

A:  I appologize if the following gets a bit preachy but I think it
    is important to be clear about this newsgroup's attitude towards
    cracks and piracy given the wide distribution that this list gets.

    First of all, the administrators of this site [and your editor]
    see that these cracks are for the *legal* owners of software only.
    Don't use them for piracy.  The readership of this newsgroup
    includes people who work in the software industry [myself included]
    and in particular people who work for the game companies providing
    us with the games we love to play.  Sometimes they get a bit
    over zealous in trying to protect their livelyhood and we are
    forced to resort to cracks [and I get as pissed off as anybody
    about intrusive copy protection schemes).  Being pissed off about
    copy protection however, does NOT make it right to steal their
    software.

    It should be noted that the distribution of cracks,
    patches, and cheats are legal as long as they do not contain
    ANY code from a copy righted program.  It is however illegal to
    give out a cracked copy of a program to your friends (enemies
    or anyone for that matter).

    Some people believe that applying a patch may violate the
    "shrink wrap" license that comes with some software.  It has been
    mentioned on this newsgroup that these "shrink wrap" licenses do
    not constitute a legal contract and have never been held up in court.
    This author will neither confirm or deny this. [I have always wanted
    to say that:)]

    The site:

    The games cracks area has been moved to

    ftp.uwp.edu:/pub/msdos/romulus

    There is also a mirror of ulowell there /pub/msdos/games

10: Which sound board should I buy?

A:  Read the sound site newsletter, which will tell you everything you
    ever wanted to know about sound*
    (* but were afraid to ask:)

11: Where to get the Sound Site Newsletter?

A:  The Sound Site Newsletter is posted monthly or bimonthly to
    comp.sys.ibm.pc.games, comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc, and comp.sys.mac.misc
    under the subject heading "Sound Newsletter #?".  If possible,
    obtain a copy from one of those newsgroups.

    The editor for the newsletter is David Komatsu; he may be reached at one
    of the following three email addresses: [e-mail],
    [e-mail], and [e-mail].  For back
    issues of the Sound Site Newsletter, obtain the latest copy and follow
    the directions given in it.

12:  Where can I get music players/music files/music editors/songs/etc. for
    my pc's music card?

A:  Read the Sound Site Newsletter.


13: What is the difference between the Sound Blaster and the Sound Blaster
    Pro?

A:  [??? will this be in the Sound Site Newsletter?]


14: My 386/33 and Sound Blaster seem incompatible.  I get garbled music
    when playing Ultima6/SSI games/etc.  What's wrong?

A:  On some fast machines there are timing problems with certain game's
    software.  Try turning off the cache or lowering the CPU speed.

15: Where can I get Infocom games?  Can somebody mail me a copy (since they're
out of business anyway (Is that legal?)   What happened to them anyway?

A:  [Thanks to Dave Lebling (Infocom co-founder) for the definitive
     info on this]

    The Lost Treasures of Infocom is now available at Software ETC,
    Electronic Boutiques and other fine stores everywhere.
    $59.95 list, EB price is $54.95.  20 Infocom games included
    - all the Zork series, HHGTTG, etc. Whatta deal - less than $3.00 a game!

    Lost Treasures 2 is now out and contains 11 more games.  It's been seen
    at Electronics Boutique for $38.  38/11 = $3.45 per game! The remaining
    Interactive Fiction Plus games are here (Trinity, Mind Forever Voyaging),
    but no Leather Goddesses I, and no more of the graphic Infocom games
    (Arthur, Shogun, Quarterstaff, Journey).

    In addition to The Lost Treasures, Activision recently released a sequel
    to Leather Goddesses of Phobos, written by Steve Meretzky.  It's a
    hypercard-esque interface, not a text adventure.  This was release under
    the Infocom label.  Also under the Infocom label is a line of
    other non-text games (Battletech, etc).

    Check out the stuff from Legend Entertainment.  It's the closest thing
    to the old Infocom stuff around now.  (Titles include Spellcasting 101 and
    201, Timequest, and Frederik Pohl's Gateway).

    Infocom never went out of business.  It went deeply into debt to
    develop a database product (named Cornerstone) that was a commercial
    flop.  It went shopping for a merger and found Activision, which
    later changed its name to Mediagenic.  What did happen is that
    in May of 1989 Mediagenic closed down the "real" Infocom in
    Cambridge, MA, and laid (almost) everyone off.  All the releases
    up through Zork Zero, Shogun, Journey, and Arthur were developed
    in Cambridge.

    [Nathan Torkington writes]

    Infocom were bought by Mediagenic, and are now simply a label under
    which games are released.  The most recent Infocom releases are
    graphical adventures.

    UK readers will be happy to learn that the games are available from
    Virgin Mastertronic (a budget software house in the US).  I'll include
    a copy of my personal FAQ on how to get the games from Mastertronic.

    [Dave Lebling writes]

    Mediagenic licensed the UK rights to the games to Virgin Mastertronic
    about two years ago.

    Mediagenic went nearly bankrupt, was taken over by outside investors,
    and taken through a so-called "pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy" in
    January, 1992.  As part of that process, they changed their name back
    to Activision, moved from Silicon Valley down to LA, and recently
    merged with a company owned by the investors (called The Disc
    Company).

    [Nathan Torkington writes]

    Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" adventure game
    is being reissued by Virgin Mastertronic.  Their advertisement in
    the Aug/Dept 1991 "XS NRG" magazine (hey, it's not mine! - I wouldn't
    buy something with that tacky a title) shows the covers to
            The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
            Zork I
            PlanetFall
            Wishbringer
            Leather Goddesses of Phobos
            Zork II
            Zork III
            Enchanter
            Sorcerer
            Deadline

    and the text reads:
            Ten good reasons to use your imagination
            Classic infocom interactive fiction is back -- at an
            irresistible price.
            Available on PC, Amiga & ST : #9.99  (# == British pound)
            INFOCOM from Mastertronic
            For further information please contact:
                    Customer Services
                    Virgin Mastertronic Ltd
                    16 Portland Road
                    London W11 2LA
                    Tel: 071 - 727 8070

    I hope this helps.  Remember that if you write to them asking how to
    order the game, it would be a good idea to let them know how much you
    enjoy interactive fiction (text adventures).  That way they may
    (re?)release more ..

16: Where can I buy/get support for games?

A:  "Where to get..."

    Electronic Boutique has a toll-free order line. [phone].
    [AmEx/MasterCard/VISA, personal check, Money Order].

    CompuAdd has a toll-free order line. [phone].
    [Discover/MasterCard/VISA, certified check, Money Order].

    Egghead has toll-free order line. [phone].
    [I assume major credit cards.  Check? Money Order?]


    [can someone who is outside the US send me info on getting games]
    [internationally]

    "Game Maker Support"

    A number of game companies have BBS systems that their customers
    can call to leave technical support questions, get updated game
    versions, find out product information, etc. The ones I've
    signed on to in the last month are:

        Accolade                        [phone]
        Microprose                      [phone]
        Origin                          [phone]
        Sierra                          [phone] (*)

    (*) Hints for most of their games available online!

    Other useful BBS numbers:

        DAK (are we talking deals???)   [phone]
        Logitech (mice, etc)            [phone]


    Thanks [e-mail] (Steve Gilbert) for this info



17: How do I get game X to best run under OS/2 2.0?

A:  [thanks to Stephen M Smith for this info]
    FTP to ftp-os2.nmsu.edu (128.123.35.151) and download the file
    named games10.txt (the '10' is the version number and will change
    of course).  It will be located in one of the /pub/os2 sub-
    directories; try /pub/os2/2.0/info first.  This info file has
    general tips that give optimum DOS settings for best game
    performance and a specific games section that lists games in
    alphabetical order and provides hints for running each game
    under OS/2.  If you do not have FTP access, check the gaming
    groups or comp.os.os2.apps to see if a copy has been posted there,
    or send an email note to [e-mail] and
    request a copy.


-------------------------- Part 2: Glossary -------------------------------

Note: Any time I use series in a description, it means that the word is
      usually followed by a number (sometimes a roman numeral)
      i.e. KQ5 or KQ V is King's Quest 5, the fifth installment of Kings Quest.


Adlib     Adlib                     -- A brand of Sound Card
AD&D      Advanced Dungeons
             & Dragons              -- See rec.games.frp
AG        Adlib Gold                -- Fancer version of Adlib that competes
                                       better with Sound Blaster
AOTP      Aces of the Pacific       -- Military aerial combat game
BotCF     Bane of the Cosmic Forge
                      (Wizardry VI) -- Part of the Wizardy series by Sir Tech
BT        Bards Tale                -- A fantasy roleplaying series
                                       from Electronic Arts
BTW       By The Way                -- Expression used by net.people
CGA       Color Graphics Adapter    -- Old style graphics adapter from IBM.
                                       This was used for ancient games
                                       [I think it was 320x200 with 4 colors]
CIV       Civilization              -- "Conquer the world" simulation game
CoAB      Curse of the Azure Bonds  -- Computer based AD&D game from SSI
EGA       Extended Graphics Adapter -- Previous generation of graphics adapter,
                                       used for most of older games.
                                       (includes a 320x200 16 color mode,
                                        which was the old standard for games)
EOB,EoB   Eye Of the Beholder       -- mouse based AD&D game from SSI
FAQ       Frequently Asked ?s       -- Self-explanatory
FTP       File Transfer Protocol    -- Tool used to transfer files between
                                       two machines (usually UNIX machines)
IMHO      In My Humble (or Honest)
                           Opinion  -- Expression used by net.people
IMNSHO    In My Not So
             Humble/Honest Opinion  -- Expression used by net.people
LSL       Leisure Suit Larry        -- Siera Online adventure game series
LTOI      Lost Treasures of Infocom -- Collection of the classic text
                                       adventures by Infocom (see Q14 for
                                       more info about Infocom)
M&M       Might and Magic           -- A fantasy roleplaying series by
                                       New World Computing
KQ        King's Quest              -- Siera Online adventure game series
PBM       Play By Mail              -- Game (often RPG) that is played by mail
PBEM,PBeM Play by Email             -- Game (often PRG) that is played by EMail
PC        Personal Computer         -- Usually implies "IBM-PC compatible"
POD,PoD   Pools of Darkness         -- Computer based AD&D game from SSI
POR,PoR   Pool of Radiance          -- Computer based AD&D game from SSI
RTM       Read The Manual           -- Phrases used by people who don't have
RTFM      Read The F_CKIN Manual       the time/patience/desire to help those
                                       who have a question.  This editor
                                       personally dislikes this because it
                                       sends the message Read the Manual
                                       Stupid.  Some things are not always
                                       clear to others and they have as much
                                       a right to ask their questions as we
                                       have to ask ours.
SB        Sound Blaster             -- A brand of Sound Card
SQ        Space Quest               -- Siera Online adventure game series
SSI       Strategic Simulations Inc -- A game company that makes the AD&D
                                       computer games, among others.
SSB       Secret of the Silver
                          Blades    -- Computer based AD&D game from SSI
SWOTL     Secret Weapons of
                  the Luftwafe      -- World War 2 aerial combat game.
U         Ultima                    -- A fantasy roleplaying series by Origin
UW        Ultima Underworld         -- "Virtual reality"ish dungeon exploring
                                       game by Origin.
VGA       Video Graphics Array      -- Current graphics adpater "du jour"
                                       of the game companies.  It is required
                                       for newer games that use 256 colors at
                                       320x200
SVGA      Super VGA                 -- higher resolution 256 color modes that
                                       come on 3rd party graphics cards
                                       (includes 640x480,800x600,and 1024x768)
                                       see comp.sys.ibm.cp.hardware for more
                                       info
WOLF3D    Castle Wolfenstien 3d     -- "Virtual reality"ish shoot the NAZIs
                                       game. (shareware)
WC        Wing Commander            -- Popular space flight simulator series
                                       from Origin
Wiz       Wizardy                   -- A fantasy roleplaying series by
                                       Sir Tech

[Please post additions and corrections]

---------------------------- Part 3: Game Bugs ----------------------------

This section cover some common game bug situations.  It contains no Spoilers
other than where a bug in the game prevents the player from finding out the
info.


Might and Magic III
Sierra Games (General)
Leisure Suit Larry 5
Monkey Island
Ultima 6
Spellcasting 101
Eye of the Beholder
Wing Commander 1
Wing Commander I,II cheat


Might and Magic III

Q:  Why does brother Zeta never talk to me, even though I have visted
    brother Delta, who told me to go see him.

A:  This is a bug in the game.  Zeta is supposed to tell you that you
    can find the shell on day 99.  Also Zeta is the last of the brothers.


Q:  What is the magic number that lord might wants in the Arachnoid
    Caverent?

A:  [I don't remember the #.  Someone please post]
    There is a bug in the game, that makes it [nearly] impossible to compute
    the number based on the clues, and besides, it's tedious.  If you wait
    til later (nothing really depends on this quest), you will come across
    the answer elsewhere.


Sierra Games (General)

Q:  I have several games from Sierra (and the associated company Dynamix),
    e.g. King's Quest V, Stellar 7, etc.  When I install these programs
    with sound set to sound blaster (I have a version 2.0 sound
    blaster--not pro) my system hangs.  If I set them to adlib board then
    they seem to work fine but I guess I am potentially missing out on any
    digitised sound effects.  I had the same problem with Martian Memorandum
    but its manual gave instructions on how to change the interrupt from 3
    (used on older sound blaster boards) to 7 (used on newer boards --
    and what mine uses as reported by TEST-SBC).  This change fixed
    things up perfectly.  [What can I do?]

A:  I had the same problem with both Martian Memorandum and the Sierra games.
    I solved the problem with Martian Merorandum the same way as you.  As
    for the Sierra games, when I talked to their tech support they indicated
    that there was no difference between Addlib mode and SB mode (I'm not
    sure about Dynamix however.)  So I don't think you're missing much.

    [Andrew Klossner writes]

    This is true for some games, untrue for others.  In Space Quest IV, there
    is a tangible difference between the sounds produced in Adlib mode and
    Soundblaster mode.  Jet engine hisses and lightning bolts sent chills
    up my spine in SB mode but sounded like muffled instruments in Adlib
    mode.  And that memorable fragment of digitized sound before the final
    encounter is Soundblaster-only.

Leisure Suit Larry 5

Q:  What happened to Leisure Suit Larry 4?

A:  According to a newsletter(or game mag) I read somewhere, after
    completing LSL3, the author swore he would never do a part 4.
    So as a man of the highest moral caliber *grin*, he kept his word
    and did part 5 instead.

    Another answer is: it appears in the game Space Quest IV, so they had
    to roll the release number when they built LSL 5.


Monkey Island

Q:  I can't get this game to run with Soundblaster (in Adlib mode) on my
    fast (33MHZ 486) machine.

A:  try running in 8MHZ mode.  There is a bug that makes their Adlib driver
    fail on the fast machine.

Ultima 6

Q:  I'm trying to install Ultima 6 for the Soundblaster.  How do I do it?

A:  Choose Adlib and use all its default values.  It will work fine.


Q:  What if I did the above and the music still doesn't sound right?

A:  Then you are in the same situation as the editor was.  He called Origin
    and they told him to get the CMS chipset.  He did this and played the
    game in CMS mode.


Spellcasting 101

Q:  I have Spellcasting 101, for my IBM but I have a SoundBlaster Pro sound card.
    The packaging with S101 says that the game only uses the adlib sound card
    but only when you have run SOUND.COM.

A:  When you installed S101, it put the file SB_SOUND.COM in your S101
    directory.  This is the program to run before starting S101.

    [thanks to Sam Fineberg for this info]
    Thanks to Andrew Robinson I found sound.com included in an ad-lib demo
    called dpdemo.  This is available on nic.funet.fi among other places in
    the directory /pub/msdos/sound/adlib.  The file is called dpdemo.lzh.
    Included in this archive is the original ad-lib sound.com driver.
    This worked perfectly with my SoundBlaster.
    Please take note of case as most of these machines are case sensitive.
    I found that for this file to work, the Soundblaster board has to be set to
    the default address (0220H).


Eye of the Beholder

Q:  Where can I obtain maps for the different levels?

A:  They are available as .gif files at wuarchive.wustl.edu in
    /pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS.  The file names are level-01.gif through
    level-12.gif.

    brolga.cc.uq.oz.au (130.102.128.5), in directory /pub/eob.
    This site is in Australia.


    The EOB maps were removed from wuarchive.wustl.edu.
    But someone just (12/18/91) posted the following note in
    bit.listserv.games-l:

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------

    I've just uploaded the maps for Eye of the Beholder 1 to the ftp
    site wuarchive.wustl.edu in the directory MSDOS_UPLOADS under
    the filename eobmaps.zip.
    (path \pub\MSDOS_UPLOADS)

    The twelve maps have been PKzipped into one file.  Just do a binary
    ftp get on the file eobmaps.zip.  When PKunzipped, it will explode into
    the twelve separate maps.

    If you have any trouble with this file and blame it on the original
    at the ftp site, please let me know so I can check and see if I did
    something wrong.



Wing Commander 1

Q:  Where can I get the wc.exe with the joystick fix?

A:  It was at wuarchive.wustl.edu in /pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS.  It was called
    wc1joyfx.zip.  [can someone tell me where it is now?]


Wing Commander I,II

Q:  What is the alt-del cheat in Wing Commander I [thanks Bill Poitras]

A:  The alt-del cheat is part of a mode that origin put in the Wing Commander
    games.  you start the game wc  Origin
                               sm2 Origin
                               wc2 Origin

    And when you hit Alt-Del, the targetted ship explodes.  Lock is not
    neccessary.  If you hit Alt-Ins, then all the enemy fighters blow up, but
    not capital ships.  If you start the executable up with -k Origin, then
    your ship is invicible!!!

---------------------------- Part 4: Game Spoilers ----------------------------


[SPOILER ALERT]

This section contains common spoiler/bug/cheat questions for certain games.
Games covered are:

Might and Magic III
Lemmings

[We may want to break this off into a separate FAQ -- SPOILERS]


[SPOILER ALERT]





This section is for commonly asked questions about particular games, that
haven't or will never make it to the hint/solutions area.  Feel
free to post or email me updates and addtions to this list.  Also let me
know when walkthroughs become available so I can delete them from here.
We should try keep these to 2-4 questions per game.


Might and Magic III

Q:  What goes up and down but never moves?

A:  STAIRS


Q:  What turns everything around but does not move?

A:  MIRROR


Lemmings

Q:  How do I get a lemming to turn round?

A:  [thanks Adrian Hurt]
    Make the lemming dig vertically, until the top of his head is level with
    the floor from which he started digging.  Then make him build.  The pit
    which he has just dug should be small enough that he can get out of it
    without being a climber, but large enough that he doesn't keep building
    over the side - the ladder will hit the side, then he will stop building
    and turn round.

Q:  How do I complete Tricky Level 23?

A:  [thanks Adrian Hurt]
    Use both bashers to get through the big barrier in the middle - two bashers
    work faster than one.  Once some lemmings are in the pit on the right of the
    barrier, make one a climber.  Just before this lemming gets to the exit,
    turn him round as described above.  Then make him a miner, so he digs a
    diagonal tunnel into the pit, up which the other lemmings can go to the
    exit.



[Others?]
Xref: bloom-picayune.mit.edu alt.internet.access.wanted:1048 alt.bbs.lists:2062 ba.internet:599 news.answers:4387
Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!linus!agate!ames!olivea!uunet!nntp1.radiomail.net!cornerstone!netcom.com!kaminski
From: [e-mail] (Peter Kaminski)
Newsgroups: alt.internet.access.wanted,alt.bbs.lists,ba.internet,news.answers
Subject: Public Dialup Internet Access List (PDIAL)
Summary: Public access service providers offering outgoing FTP or telnet.
Keywords: access bbs dialup ftp internet list personal public slip telnet
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 3 Dec 92 02:10:48 GMT
Expires: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 23:59:59 GMT
Sender: [e-mail] (Peter Kaminski)
Followup-To: poster
Organization: The Information Deli - via Netcom / San Jose, California
Lines: 758
Approved: [e-mail]
Supersedes: <[e-mail]>

Archive-name: pdial
Last-modified: 1992/10/15
Version: PDIAL008.TXT

[Sorry 009 is taking so long -- lots of other stuff going on.  -- Pete]

New in PDIAL008: new listing for mindvox in (212), (718); netcom: new
POP in San Diego, Palo Alto number changed; cyber: local to San Diego
area, not entire (619), removed CERF's voice numbers in cyber
listing; more services listed for dial-n-cerf.

New in PDIAL007: new listings for sugar in (713) and connect.com.au in
(+61 2), (+61 3); new msen phone numbers; fax numbers for some providers.

---- cut here ----

             The Public Dialup Internet Access List (PDIAL)
             ==============================================
                  File PDIAL008.TXT -- 15 October 1992

  A list of public access service providers offering dialup access to
         outgoing Internet connections such as FTP and telnet.

Copyright 1992 Peter Kaminski.  May be distributed but not sold -- see below.

Contents:

  -1- Summary: Providers With Wide Area Access
  -2- Summary: Area Codes For US Dialins
  -3- Summary: Phone Prefixes For International Dialins
  -4- What *Is* The Internet?
  -5- What The PDIAL Is
  -6- List of Providers
  -7- How People Can Get The PDIAL (This List)
  -8- Appendix A: Finding Public Data Network (PDN) Access Numbers
  -9- Copyright and Distribution Of The PDIAL; Other Notices