Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Domains

Domain: guetech.org

Stories and comments across the archive that link to guetech.org.

Comments · 10

  1. Sorcerer by MWoody · · Score: 3, Interesting · on Have You Hit a Gaming Wall?

    My worst - and most embarrassing - gamer "wall" was the chest puzzle early on in the game Sorcerer, an Infocom text adventure. About half an hour into the game, you find a chest in the basement of the first building with different-colored buttons on the side, each with a corresponding shape such as a crown on the purple button. Pushing the buttons only returns a message about it making a "click." Nowhere in the building was there any mention of a series of colors or shapes, or indeed any real mention of the chest at all.

    After weeks, off and on, of frustration, my 14-year-old temper had had enough, and the box went on the shelf. Several times over the next few years, I came back to the game, and each time I was forced to rediscover why I'd put it down as I hit that goddamn chest.

    So flash forward to my 18th year and, bored one afternoon, I'm going through my old games and I decide to finish that stupid puzzle once and for all. But again, I get stuck on that chest. Frustrated, I start to thumb through the manual accompanying the game, thinking maybe it's mentioned offhand there (a long shot, and one I'd tried before). It's not, but it's when I'm looking through another included little pamphlet in the box - the "Field Guide to the Creatures of Frobozz," a small color book of illustrations and descriptions of monsters in the gameworld - that the text at the end of one entry finally, FINALLY catches my eye. "Bloodworms are usually white and grey and black and red and black." "A common house rotgrub is gray and red and gray and purple and red." And it goes on, with this weird color description at the end of every entry.

    Elsewhere in the small area of the game explorable before the chest, one part that had always bugged me was a note that discussed the current "password" and mentioned a monster type. It was different every playthrough, and was the only thing that was. So, firing up the game, I found the note, which mentioned "Bloodworms" this time, and proceeded quickly to the chest. Referring to my guide, I pushed "white, gray, black, red, black" on the buttons and BAM! It's opened. After four years of attempts, the bloody thing was OPEN. I actually started cheering and dancing around the room like a madman, exclaiming to my surprised parents down the hall that "the damn chest is OPEN!"

    Those of you paying attention have probably already realized my ultimate shame. That's right, folks, I was defeated by the $%@#$%@#$% COPY PROTECTION for the game.

    I've hated DRM ever since.

  2. Last year I was clearing stuff out from... by exp(pi*sqrt(163)) · · Score: 1 · on Happy Birthday, Amiga
    ...my old company after it shut its doors and uncovered an old unclaimed Amiga 500, mouse and monitor. I opened the case, cleaned it up, washed the case itself with soap and water, and it looks and works fine. Using Amiga Explorer I was able to connect it to my PC (via a chain of about 4 serial port adapters and gender benders) and download some classic games. I managed to finish Infocom Enchanter on it. I think I have every Infocom game for it now. (I don't know whether to think of this as piracy - I own the original of at least one version of every Infocom adventure game, but only the original Amiga version of Shogun.) I even bought an old joystick off Ebay to play Marble Madness but I have to admit I find it too frustrating. (No save games!)

    The only disappointment is that this version came without Basic or Rexx so there was no programming capability. Talking of which: is there a PC->Amiga 500 cross compiler?

  3. Where to get the games directly by Sargent1 · · Score: 1 · on 2004 Interactive Fiction Results

    No, though there was one last year. Instead, you can grab the games from the various IF Archive mirrors:

    ftp://ftp.ifarchive.com/if-archive/games/competiti on2004/
    http://ifarchive.jmac.org/indexes/if-archiveXgames Xcompetition2004.html
    http://ifarchive.flavorplex.com/if-archive/games/c ompetition2004/
    http://ifarchive.giga.or.at/indexes/if-archiveXgam esXcompetition2004.html
    ftp://ftp.guetech.org/pub/guetech/if-archive/games /competition2004/

    -Your friendly neighborhood competition organizer

  4. Better get it quick! by libertynews · · Score: 1 · on Automated DMCA Notices Still Full of Lies

    Gosh, I wasn't aware that my IF Archive mirror was harboring copyrighted material. You'd better grab it before it goes away!

    doom3.zip

    And while you're at it, check out the rest of the archive, text adventures aren't dead!

    Hmm, looking at the copy of peter's email its pretty likely that I may have received one myself -- but my spam filter recognized what it was and deleted it.

    bcl

  5. Better get it quick! by libertynews · · Score: 1 · on Automated DMCA Notices Still Full of Lies

    Gosh, I wasn't aware that my IF Archive mirror was harboring copyrighted material. You'd better grab it before it goes away!

    doom3.zip

    And while you're at it, check out the rest of the archive, text adventures aren't dead!

    Hmm, looking at the copy of peter's email its pretty likely that I may have received one myself -- but my spam filter recognized what it was and deleted it.

    bcl

  6. Additional mirror at ftp.guetech.org by libertynews · · Score: 3, Informative · on Interactive Fiction Competition 2001

    I have an if-archive mirror available at ftp.guetech.org, and my small IF website at www.guetech.org. The archive is updated nightly and the contest directory is at ftp.guetech.org/if-archive/games/competition2001

  7. Additional mirror at ftp.guetech.org by libertynews · · Score: 3, Informative · on Interactive Fiction Competition 2001

    I have an if-archive mirror available at ftp.guetech.org, and my small IF website at www.guetech.org. The archive is updated nightly and the contest directory is at ftp.guetech.org/if-archive/games/competition2001

  8. Additional mirror at ftp.guetech.org by libertynews · · Score: 3, Informative · on Interactive Fiction Competition 2001

    I have an if-archive mirror available at ftp.guetech.org, and my small IF website at www.guetech.org. The archive is updated nightly and the contest directory is at ftp.guetech.org/if-archive/games/competition2001

  9. Try Interactive Fiction (text adventures) by libertynews · · Score: 1 · on Creative Games sans Violence?

    You should check out the IF community. Take a look at the links from www.guetech.org links page. Also check out the rec.games.int-fiction and rec.arts.int-fiction newsgroups. There is an archive of IF games and authoring systems at my mirror site at ftp.guetech.org/if-archive that includes games, interpreters (needed to play the games) and authoring systems to write games.

    If you could get them involved in this it would be a big benefit to them! You have to read and think logically (in some games illogically) in order to solve the games, and you can even write your own and learn how to program at the same time (TADS and Inform are the most popular authoring systems). There is a wide selection of free games to play, including the Infocom games available from Activision.

    Brian

  10. Try Interactive Fiction (text adventures) by libertynews · · Score: 1 · on Creative Games sans Violence?

    You should check out the IF community. Take a look at the links from www.guetech.org links page. Also check out the rec.games.int-fiction and rec.arts.int-fiction newsgroups. There is an archive of IF games and authoring systems at my mirror site at ftp.guetech.org/if-archive that includes games, interpreters (needed to play the games) and authoring systems to write games.

    If you could get them involved in this it would be a big benefit to them! You have to read and think logically (in some games illogically) in order to solve the games, and you can even write your own and learn how to program at the same time (TADS and Inform are the most popular authoring systems). There is a wide selection of free games to play, including the Infocom games available from Activision.

    Brian