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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS);faqs.312 It is helpful to your readers if you adhere to a minimal standard format when posting a hand or a deal. Count the cards! List the suits in the order S, H, D, C. In a diagram of four hands, place South at the bottom, and rearrange the directions to make South declarer unless there is a special reason not to. It is tempting to use the tab key to compose a diagram--but don't do that; the table may become misaligned on other people's screens and is very likely to become misaligned if your text is quoted and indented. If only two hands are shown it may be better to place them side by side as West and East, and a single hand can be specified inline. Please do not use xx's to represent small cards when discussing a play problem, and in a bidding problem, use xx's only when they may truly be understood to represent the smallest cards in the suit. When recapping the auction, make sure that East's bids are to the right of West's, else readers may associate the bids with the wrong hand. The recommended format is to list the bids in four columns in the order W-N-E-S. Note all alertable bids and explain the bid in context. Do not explain a bid by convention name if it is not one of the standard bids or if you play some variation that is not standard. You can avoid confusion by describing a bid rather than naming it. When describing the play, take care to specify the type of defensive carding that is being used where this information is relevant. When you post a bidding problem, supply the method of scoring, the vulnerability and the position of the dealer. Do this even if you think the information is superfluous; it seldom is, and takes up very little space. When you post a play problem, again, as a matter of routine, mention the method of scoring and the vulnerability. It is normally right to provide the bidding too. Whenever possible, please give the level of the event. When asking for a director's ruling on a particular deal, describe the level of the event and any relevant circumstances, specify all four hands, and describe the bidding and play completely. (In cases involving unauthorized information, you can alternatively provide only the authorized information and ask what are the logical options.) Many postings on r.g.b. are in the 'What went wrong?' category. A good original posting of that type describes a deal and bidding or play that is, in the poster's humble opinion, reasonable and without obvious error, but that has led to an unsatisfactory result. The poster asks whether some particular action is to blame, or whether the result is just unfortunate. Deals in which the poster already recognizes that some error has been committed normally do not provide good material for discussion. Please do not pose problems of which one component is partnership misunderstanding, partnership mistrust, or flouting of partnership agreements. If you follow this newsgroup for awhile you will see too many of these, and you will learn that the net can't help except by impressing upon you that partnership understanding and partnership trust are preconditions for a good game of bridge. Please try to research your problem a bit before asking a potentially common question. Good American and British sources for generic bidding problems include Bill Root's "Commonsense Bidding", Eddie Kantar's "Modern Bridge Conventions", Alfred Sheinwold's "5 Weeks to Winning Bridge", Dorothy Truscott's "Bid Better, Play Better", and Terence Reese's "Learn Bridge with Reese". These books will often give a better and more complete description than you are likely to obtain from the net. If you are seeking advice or help, consider requesting replies by email, and if your question is of some general interest, be prepared to post a summary of comments received. If you did not announce beforehand that you intended to summarize replies then it is proper to ask permission before quoting from private email. Before posting a reply to a problem, think it through. Reply only if you believe you are qualified and have an informed opinion, and compose your answer carefully--the time spent on doing so will save your readers much more time in the aggregate. If you are addressing a bidding problem, explain why your chosen bid is superior to the likely alternatives. If it is a play problem, try to provide percentages. If it is a director's problem, state the legal basis for your ruling. Do appreciate that a question that appears trivial to you was not trivial to the original poster, and may not be trivial to many other readers. In all cases, be polite, succinct and to the point. Quote from the original posting no more than is needed to make your answer clear. Attribute your quote properly, but never quote a signature. It is not normally a good idea to make successive postings referring to the same problem or issue, although a discussion may introduce a new topic that merits a second contribution. If you decide you've not made yourself clear in your first contribution, resolve to do better when you comment on another problem. If you decide that your original answer to a problem was wrong and meanwhile someone else has posted a better answer, don't feel that you now must post a correction to your previous answer. Perhaps you should not have replied in the first place, and anyway, the correction has already appeared. Forget about it and resolve to do better the next time. If you've posted an answer to a problem and you read a subsequent answer by someone else that you think is wrong, don't reiterate what you've said before. You've made your point, and the readers can make up their own mind. If you see a posting that is plainly wrong or silly, wait a day or two before following up. If you can't stand to wait, send email to the author rather than a follow-up. Chances are other people have noticed too, and an excessive number of follow-ups are already on the way. If you see a posting that is rude or inappropriate, an email message should be preferred to replying over the net; replying by follow-up on the net tends to generate flame wars instead of discussion. If you post a hand on this newsgroup you should be willing to accept that some players will strongly disagree with your bidding or play. Please understand that the nature of a public electronic network does not allow you the same degree of social control that you may have in your local bridge club; for that very practical reason you should try hard not to let a style of posting of which you disapprove interfere with your enjoyment of this newsgroup. Articles in rec.games.bridge should normally receive worldwide distribution. If your posting software inserts some restrictive "Distribution: ..." line, please remove it. Thanks to Bharat Rao, David DesJardins, Doug Newlands, Paul Jackson, Mark Brader and Hans van Staveren for their contributions to this style guide. Bas Braams braams@cims.nyu.edu (address for follow-up email) Steve Willner willner@cfa183.harvard.edu Ted Ying ted@rosserv.gsfc.nasa.gov Xref: bloom-picayune.mit.edu news.answers:4797 rec.games.video:44863 Newsgroups: news.answers,rec.games.video Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!usc!wupost!darwin.sura.net!blaze.cs.jhu.edu!jyusenkyou!arromdee From: arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu (Ken Arromdee) Subject: rec.games.video Frequently Asked Questions Message-ID: <1992Dec25.224037.20408@blaze.cs.jhu.edu> Followup-To: rec.games.video Sender: news@blaze.cs.jhu.edu (Usenet news system) Reply-To: arromdee@jyusenkyou.cs.jhu.edu (Ken Arromdee) Organization: Johns Hopkins University CS Dept. Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 22:40:37 GMT Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu Lines: 1099 Archive-name: games/video-games Information needed: -- The TurboExpress and TG-16 information are inconstent as far as CPU and Mhz. -- Other pack-in game secret codes (including the ones for the "arcade classics" with the Sega CD, tested) -- How badly will the US version of Ranma 1/2 be renamed or censored? -- Do the US versions of Japan-only games like Rolling Thunder II _not_ work on a Mega Drive? -- Does the PC Engine GT TV tuner work on a Turbo Express? -- More examples of games that do/don't change with a language switch or in a MD/Genesis. -- The Mega/Sega CD compatibility information still needs work. -- Information about lawsuits by Nintendo. -- How does one subscribe to Japanese magazines directly from the sources? -- Shouldn't the Master System and Game Gear have the same number of colors in the same modes? -- Does the TG-16 really have 482 colors, and a 512x262x482 mode? And wouldn't the existence of this mode, combined with the Turbo Express resolution, mean the TE can't _really_ play all TG-16 games? (Is this the Supergrafx's mode? What _is_ the Supergrafx's mode, anyway?) I want sources.... -- Toll free number for Atari. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Last modified 12/24/92] [Last posted 12/25/92] Section 1: Basic Questions: ========================== ``Some people have complained about questionable business practices of Nintendo. What are they?'' People are soured on Nintendo business practices because of: 1) NES cartridges have a ``lockout chip'' with availability controlled by Nintendo, which must be there to run the game. (One common excuse is "to preserve quality". Many games are conversions from Japan, where the lockout chip is not used but the game is the same and thus of identical quality. Also, most people agree that Tengen Tetris is higher quality than the Nintendo one.) 2) Price-fixing. Nintendo lost in federal court, and had to give away $5 coupons good towards cartridges; they did not actually admit guilt. (No, I don't think it looks like Nintendo will suffer much from this sentence either). 3) There is a rumor that Nintendo wouldn't let stores have popular cartridges unless they also were willing to sell the Game Boy. [Information anyone?] 4) The Game Genie: This product is placed between a cartridge and machine and changes certain bytes on the fly. Nintendo sued, alleging copyright violation, and delaying the Game Genie for a year. (Nintendo lost.) 5) Nintendo has sued stores for renting Nintendo games. ``Please tell me about those 100 games in 1 cartridges.'' These cartridges are bootlegs, many of which are made in Hong Kong or South Korea. I've heard of them existing for Nintendo, Gameboy, and Game Gear, as well as Mega Drive/Genesis ones containing only 4-8 games. There might be such things for PC Engine. (If you have one, tell me. I'd probably want to buy it. :-)) They often have some early, lower-quality games and some games which vary only by small details like background color. They also tend to be expensive ($100 or so). If you really want one, you will probably have to go to Asia or buy one from someone who has one to sell. There are a number of legal 4-in-1 Nintendo cartridges, and there is at least one 52 games in 1 cartridge for Nintendo advertised in a US magazine. Whether the latter is legal, I have no idea.... ``What is the relationship between Tengen and Atari Games?'' They are two branches of the same company; however, both are separate from the Atari which makes the Lynx. (Even though many Lynx games are licensed from Atari Games.) ``Where is a good source for Japanese games?'' Buy an American video game magazine and check the ads. (Or find someone who is going to or has contacts in Japan, who can get games for you.) Also, Stephen Pearl posts a partial list of such sources regularly (see below). ``What happened to that version of Tetris they're not making any more?'' It was the Tengen Tetris for NES. Tengen didn't have the proper US rights, and was forced in court by Nintendo to stop making and to recall it. (This was separate from lawsuit threats over Tengen's attempt to work around the lockout chip.) A Tetris for the Mega Drive in Japan was never legal to begin with. ``What are the pinouts on the Genesis A/V connector?'' Starting from the 1 o'clock position, looking at the Genesis from the back, and going clockwise, the pins are: red, audio, +5 volts, ground, green, composite video, and negative combined sync, with blue on the center pin. ``What are the SNES output pinouts?'' From Radio Electronics April 1992: 11 9 7 5 3 1 12 10 8 6 4 2 1. RED VIDEO (requires series 200ufd) 2. GREEN VIDEO (requires series 200ufd) 3. RGB SYNCH (active low combined v+h synch pulses) 4. BLUE VIDEO (requires series 200ufd) 5. GROUND 6. GROUND 7. S-Video "Y" 8. S-Video "C" 9. NTSC COMPOSITE VIDEO 10. +5 Volts DC 11. L+R Sound 12. L-R Sound SNES versus Genesis (and now, versus Turbo Duo) The general opinion seems to be that the systems are roughly equal, and that you shouldn't be getting one system because it's "better" than the other; get the one which has the games you want. ``What are the differences between a "new" and "old" Genesis?'' Machines made after about October 1991 are "new" machines. They won't play certain old third party US games: Ishido, Budokan, Populous, and Onslaught, or certain pirated Asian cartridges, though you can get around this problem with a Game Genie or Game Action Replay. It doesn't matter whether the new machine is a Mega Drive or a Genesis. (If the machine says "produced by or under license to Sega" when turned on, it's a "new" machine.) The specific cause of the difference is that the new machines scan the ROM for the text "(C) SEGA", and won't run if it's absent. The change between "old" and "new" came around the same time that the pack-in game was changed from Altered Beast to Sonic the Hedgehog, but this is not a reliable way to tell the difference. ``Why does the SNES slow down a lot?'' The slowdown is probably a combination of several factors including: -- the SNES uses a slower processor than the Genesis. [The general consensus seems to be that this is only a minor factor.] -- current SNES games have been programmed to run at a slower clock rate than the SNES can support. -- the SNES can only transfer data to the graphics processor during the vertical blank interval. (the period between when the bottom of the screen is drawn and when the top of the next screen is drawn.) -- early SNES games did not properly spread the load among the various processors in the SNES. Other machines will slow down too when they have lots of sprites on the screen. Sega/Accolade lawsuit. The lawsuit started with Sega suing Accolade, an unlicensed maker of Genesis cartridges who reverse-engineered Genesis games to discover how to write them. Sega also claimed that Accolade was "misleading consumers" because playing its games still gives the "produced by or under licensed to Sega" message. (Of course, it's the Genesis, not the cartridge, which puts up the message.) So far, Accolade has won, and the injunction barring Accolade from producing games was lifted. Game copiers. Yes, it is true that customs is stopping deliveries of them. Yes, it is legal to copy games for your own private use. No, it is not legal to give away or sell the copies. No, it is not legal to give away or sell the original and keep the copy. No, there is no known cheap way to copy CD-ROMs yet. Yes, they have legal uses: to copy your own games for backup, and to directly modify the game code without a Game Genie-type device. It's questionable how many copier owners actually use them mostly for this. There is a file floating around called nescopy.zip which tells you how to build your own copier for NES games. Warning: lots of expertise is needed.... Toll-Free numbers for video game companies: Nintendo: 1-800-255-3700 0400-2400 PT Mon-Sat; 0800-1700 PT Sun Sega: 1-800-USA-SEGA 0900-1800 PT Turbo Technologies: 1-800-366-0136 Atari: ??? Section 2: When is a ... coming out? =================================== ... Genesis modem? It's available in Japan, but had no US release. Newer Genesis versions don't even have a modem port, so don't expect the modem to come out in the USA. Baton Technologies has a modem for the Genesis and SNES called the Teleplay System, which ads claim should be out by Spring 1993. ... Sega CD-ROM? The machine is out for $300, plus $100 more for a Genesis if you don't already have one. The games included are an arcade classics disk (Golden Axe, Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage, and Columns), Sol Feace, and Sherlock Holmes. The classics are mostly unchanged except for some CD music and sound. The two- player mode on Golden Axe was removed, for some reason. ... TG-16 Duo (Super CD)? It's out for $300 (and the PCE version has been out in Japan for ages). The separate prices are: TG-16 itself $50, CD player $150, and the SCD expansion is $65 alone, and $90 with the coupons and the CD containing Gate of Thunder, Bonk's Adventure, Bonk's Revenge, and a hidden Bomberman. The Duo itself comes with this disk, Ys I-II, and Ninja Spirit. Early press releases mentioned the game Dungeon Explorer instead of Ninja Spirit. One usenetter _did_ get Dungeon Explorer with his. The Turbobooster Plus has separate audio and video outputs, and backup memory to save games. The equivalent is already in both the regular CD and the Duo. The SCD expansion from the regular CD is available only through the toll-free number (1-800-366-0136), not in stores. TTI ads have offered a contest to choose what game to pack with the system when it's officially released in early 1993, but the system is out now. ... SNES CD? The announced date is August 1993. Rumors suggest the date will be pushed up to 1994. The price will allegedly be $200 (plus $100 more for the SNES), and the system will allegedly be 32-bit. And if you believe this, I have a nice bridge to sell you.... ... Atari Jaguar? The target date is June 1993, price from somewhere in the $100-200 range. The system will not come with a CD drive. (This information is from "Software Industry Bulletin" Vol. 8, No. 40; October 26, 1992.) EGM has reported a $100-150 price range. The system will _not_ be CD-based. Section 3: Can I use a...? ========================= ... monitor? The Genesis can connect to an analog RGB monitor with a similar scan rate; this means an analog RGB monitor for use with an Amiga, Atari ST, or Apple //gs. An analog RGB multisync monitor _may_ work; a digital monitor (CGA or EGA only for PC's) will not. The SNES will work with an S-video or RGB monitor provided you have the right cable; I don't know what monitors have the right scan rate. ... store-bought battery with my battery-backup game cart? Yes, but you will lose all the saved data (which happens when the battery dies anyway). ... Atari/Amiga/C64 joystick on a Genesis? You can; the button serves as both A and B. C and Start are absent. If you use an Atari 7800 joystick, the left button is both A and B, and pressing and releasing both buttons simultaneously gives C and Start. The joysticks also work the other way; the B button replaces the single fire button (left fire button on the 7800; there's no right fire button). ... CD player with my computer? The Turbo Duo will have an SCSI adapter allowing you to use it with a computer. The adapter _will_ work on the regular Turbografx CD; you don't need to buy the Duo to be able to use it. Section 4: Game-Specific Questions (including spoilers for pack-in games): ========================================================================= Debug mode and level select on Sonic the Hedgehog. Level select: 1) U, D, L, R, A+Start 2) U, D, D, D, L, R, A+Start (Mega Drive version) Debug mode: 1) U+C, D+C, L+C, R+C, then A+Start. 2) U+C, D+C, D+C, D+C, L+C, R+C, A+C+Start. (Mega Drive version) 3) C, C, C, C, U, D, L, R, A+Start. 4) U, C, D, C, L, C, R, Start, Hold A [immediately after start] The best information is that 1)-2) do it on older Sonics, and 3)-4) on newer ones. I have no idea if 3) and 4) work on the Mega Drive version. Keep your fingers on A and Start until Sonic first appears in an act. Within debug mode, B toggles between sprite mode and normal mode; A selects the sprite, and C places it. There should be a bunch of hexadecimal numbers on top of your score. (Sonic also can't die by getting hit or falling onto spikes in this mode.) The 96 worlds on Super Mario World. > All Stages, All Exits (Yes, Virginia, there are 96) (NOTE: exits marked with '*' do NOT contribute to the *96 total) Stage Exit 1 Exit 2 ---------------------- --------------------- ------------------------- Yoshi's House *Yoshi's Island 1 *Yoshi's Island 2 Yoshi's Island 1 Yellow Switch Palace Yoshi's Island 2 Yoshi's Island 3 Yoshi's Island 3 Yoshi's Island 4 Yoshi's Island 4 Iggy's Castle Yellow Switch Palace Yellow Switch Palace Iggy's Castle Donut Plains 1 Donut Plains 1 Donut Plains 2 Donut Secret 1 Donut Plains 2 Donut Ghost House Green Switch Palace Green Switch Palace Green Switch Palace Donut Ghost House Donut Plains 3 Top Secret Area Top Secret Area Donut Plains 3 Donut Plains 4 Donut Plains 4 Morton's Castle Donut Secret 1 Donut Ghost House Donut Secret House Donut Secret House Donut Secret 2 Star Road 1 Donut Secret 2 Donut Plains 3 Morton's Castle Vanilla Dome 1 Vanilla Dome1 Vanilla Dome 2 Vanilla Secret 1 Vanilla Dome 2 Vanilla Ghost House Red Switch Palace Red Switch Palace Red Switch Palace Vanilla Ghost House Vanilla Dome 3 Vanilla Dome 3 Vanilla Dome 4 Vanilla Dome 4 Lemmy's Castle Lemmy's Castle Cheese Bridge Area Vanilla Secret 1 Vanilla Secret 2 Star Road 2 Vanilla Secret 2 Vanilla Secret 3 Vanilla Secret 3 Vanilla Fortress Vanilla Fortress Butter Bridge 1 Cheese Bridge Area Cookie Mountain Soda Lake Soda Lake Star Road 3 Cookie Mountain Ludwig's Castle Butter Bridge 1 Butter Bridge 2 Butter Bridge 2 Ludwig's Castle Ludwig's Castle Forest of Illusion 1 Forest of Illusion 1 Forest of Illusion 2 Forest Ghost House Forest of Illusion 2 Forest of Illusion 3 Blue Switch Palace Blue Switch Palace Blue Switch Palace Forest of Illusion 3 Forest Ghost House Roy's Castle Forest Ghost House Forest of Illusion 4 Forest of Illusion 1 Forest of Illusion 4 Forest of Illusion 2 Forest Secret Area Forest Secret Area Forest Fortress Forest Fortress Star Road 4 Roy's Castle Chocolate Island 1 Chocolate Island 1 Choco-Ghost House Choco-Ghost House Chocolate Island 2 Chocolate Island 2 Chocolate Island 3 Chocolate Secret Chocolate Island 3 Chocolate Island 3 Chocolate Fortress Chocolate Fortress Chocolate Island 4 Chocolate Island 4 Chocolate Island 5 Chocolate Island 5 Wendy's Castle Chocolate Secret Wendy's Castle Wendy's Castle Sunken Ghost Ship Sunken Ghost Ship Valley of Bowser 1 Valley of Bowser 1 Valley of Bowser 2 Valley of Bowser 2 Valley Ghost House Valley Fortress Valley Ghost House Valley of Bowser 3 Larry's Castle Valley of Bowser 3 Valley of Bowser 4 Valley of Bowser 4 Larry's Castle Star Road 5 & Front Door Valley Fortress Back Door Larry's Castle Front Door Back Door *END Front Door *END Star World 1 Star Road 1 Star Road 2 Star World 2 Star Road 2 Star Road 3 Star World 3 Star Road 3 Star Road 4 Star World 4 Star Road 4 Star Road 5 Star World 5 Star Road 1 Star Road 6 Gnarly Tubular Tubular Way Cool Way Cool Awesome Awesome Groovy Groovy Mondo Mondo Outrageous Outrageous Funky Funky Star Road 7 (Yoshi's House) (Mario Mania) > Super Mario World Map ********** *MAIN MAP* ********** P3---27---28---29---30---31---32---. | | .---34---33 | | | | '---' | P4 | | | | 35 | P3 23------. | | | | | | | *---20 21--. 24 * .' | | | | | | | | '---18--' 22 25 '--' | | | | | 26 | | | | | P4 | | .--38---37---. 14 | | | | | | 41---+-------39--40 .--13--------15---. | | | | | | | | | 42 '---43---' | | | 16---17 | | 12---9 10--. '-P2 *---45---' 46--' | | | | | | | | '---8 11--P1 To Valley Of P5 | | | Bowser Map \ 48-----47 | * | \ | | | \ | 7-. P6 .----56 \| | | | .--. + 1 6 | | | | |\ | | '--55 51---+--50--49 \ | 5-' | | | | | | | | 53-------52 '--' '--' 2---3--4 ********************** ************ *VALLEY OF BOWSER MAP* *STAR WORLD* ********************** ************ 19----P2 * | / \ P1 / \ *----58 59 *-----54 57-----* | | | \ / 60---61 62 \__36 * 68_/ | | | / | \ 63---64---65---66---To Main Map / 67 \ / / \ \ *----' '----* P6-------44---------P5 ********* *SPECIAL* ********* *--76--75--74--73--. ******** | *LEGEND* *--69--70--71--72--' ********