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boss-faq-19920204.doc
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Path: moe.ksu.ksu.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!usenet.coe.montana.edu!nntp.uoregon.edu!milton!cloister
From: [email protected] (cloister bell)
Newsgroups: rec.games.moria
Subject: monthly BOSS faq list (repost)
Summary: for those who neglected to read it the first time.
Keywords: BOSS faq list
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 4 Feb 92 20:49:52 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
Lines: 195
Monthly BOSS F.A.Q. List
Just what *is* BOSS anyway?
If you've played moria in any of its incarnations (why else would you be
reading rec.games moria?), then BOSS will seem inherently familiar to you.
BOSS is what you get when you take moria, modernize it (magic becomes
science, monsters become more realistic beasts, items get updated, etc.),
add a lot of new features (different dungeon types, monsters, lots of
new items, better town, etc.), and give it a twisted sense of humor.
There's a lot of in jokes in BOSS that make it much more fun to play,
especially for people who are already sci-fi/comedy fans.
BOSS is also easier than moria. You're all familiar with people posting to
rec.games.moria things like "I *finally* won!!!" and "five years and only
one winner so far." The idea behind BOSS is to make it the sort of game
you can win in a weekend, instead of in a few weeks. I know BOSS is less
serious than moria, hopefully it's as much or more fun.
What's the object of the game?
Like moria, the object is to become a powerful character who defeats the
mega-monster at the end of the game. In BOSS, that monster is the Boss, a
mean, rotten, disgusting and vile mafia figure who's out to control the
world. To do this you must travel far in search of his hide-out deep
under the sewers of New York City, battle terrible alien creatures, and
survive against almost impossible odds along the way.
Where can I get a copy of BOSS?
BOSS is available for anonymous FTP from kukulcan.berkeley.edu in the
/pub/wilson/vms_moria and /pub/wilson/vms_moria/boss directories. The
first directory contains the tar'ed and Z'ed BOSS distribution. The
uncompressed files exist in the /boss directory.
For those who do not have anonymous FTP access, RLG or I would be happy to
e-mail you the source code. Drop us a line (our addresses are listed at
the bottom) and let us know.
A lot of changes have happened to BOSS lately. RLG has been working on
finishing up a lot of things that he wanted to do before the original
release date, but didn't have time. We have set the next release date at
January 1, 1992, so be advised that if you go and get BOSS now, you'll
need to get the new version then. My advice is just to wait another month
and get it then. But do get it, it's an awesome game.
What platforms does BOSS currently run on?
Currently BOSS runs only on Digital Equipment Corporation VAX mainframes
running VMS. RLG and I are finishing up some things on the VMS version
that we've meant to do for a long time, after which we will rebuild it in C
which will make it much more portable. We hope someday to have BOSS
available not only for Unix and VMS, but also for p.c's, mac's, amigas,
etc. Our goal is to have BOSS as widely distributable as umoria is now.
What do I need in order to install BOSS?
Several things. First, working knowledge of VMS file management, and the
ability to follow directions. Second, access to a VAX-VMS mainframe.
Third, about 6500 free blocks of disk space (for source files and
temporary space in order to compile). If you have any difficulties
installing BOSS, feel free to send RLG or me mail.
What's the deal with the different races?
There are three races in BOSS, humans, Jarwangians, and Daysians. The
Jarwangians are the 'nice guy' aliens, a peaceful and technologically
advanced race. They make some neat items. The Daysians are the 'bad
guy' aliens. They are also an advanced race, but they are warlike.
Daysians make some of the best combat gear in the game. There's a bit
of that demented humor in the name 'Daysian'. See if you can find it.
The BOSS employs many Daysians to protect him, and to kill you. He
also employs a variety of low-life human types for this also.
Is there a time limit on the game? The help files indicate that this is so.
Yes and no. It has been implemented, but the updated version hasn't been
released yet. It should be real soon now, though.
Why are there different towns, and how are they different?
Rather than having one extremely deep dungeon as in moria, BOSS has
several shallower dungeons, one per town. Each town's dungeon is 500
meters deep, except for the last one, which is 2500 meters deep. Each
town's dungeon takes up where the last town left off, with a couple of
levels of overlap. The net result is about the same start-to-finish
difficulty as in moria. You cannot find the BOSS until you get to the
bottom of the last dungeon. The game follows a cross-country trek,
from Seattle to the Big Apple. On a new-features note, RLG is currently
working on a scheme for each town having its own distinct monster list.
Should be interesting when it happens.
How do the busses work, and is it possible to get back to a previous town?
To catch a bus you must have 1) completed the current town's dungeon,
2) have paid off your loan, if any, and 3) go to the hotel and climb
aboard. And of course there isn't any way to get back to previous
towns. This isn't like moria, where if you get in over your head you
can retreat a few levels. You're dealing with the mafia here, and
they aren't terribly forgiving when it comes to cocky low level
adventurers.
Are there monsters that give negative experience?
Yes. They're only on the town level, though. Don't kill things in
town, it's not nice. (Well, except for the gang members, and dirty
harry, etc...) The idea here is to be saving the good townspeople from
the vile, evil, repulsive and disgusting BOSS, not killing them on the
way. If there are any others, then congratulations, you've found a bug.
Send me or RLG mail about it.
What are the qualifications for various part time jobs in the hotel?
What jobs you can get are based on your level. There are plans to
make these based on one or more applicable character stats, but that
hasn't been done yet.
How does Danny Dollar do business? Does he cheat? Sometimes it seems like
he doesn't pay as much interest as he should.
Danny dollar doesn't cheat. He's honest, but stingy as heck. The
interest rate is per week. RLG and I figured that with the time-scale
of the game, it didn't make sense to have it any less often than that.
The interest rates he charges on loans and gives on deposits are based
on your credit rating, which is a function of your loan. If you get
behind on your payments, he'll charge you more on your loan, and give
you less on your account. Eventually, he'll just take money from your
account. If you have a loan, it's a good idea to pay some of it off
every time you see him. There's a special routine for real deadbeats
that you really don't want to see. Keep those loans under control.
How does potion mixing work?
Potion mixing is a random thing, modified by your intelligence. Mixed
potions will either evaporate, blow up (ouch!), or become something
else. If they do mix sucessfully, you'll get something that's on
average more powerful than you started with, but can be either good or
bad...
What's with disease? There isn't any of that in moria.
Disease is the only really new thing that monsters can do to you.
Some monsters can inflict you with disease when they hit you. If this
happens, you'll get a message like "the <whatever> gives you a social
disease!" or something. Disease doesn't have any immediate bad
effect, but does cause certain potions to be ineffective. You get
healed at the medical clinic in the office building. Cost of a cure
is proportional to how many times you've been diseased.
What do the special flags on armor and weapons mean? Not all of them are
listed in the help files.
True enough. To be fair, here they are:
Armors:
(Resist): Resists everything. Acid, fire, cold, lightning.
(Ra) : Resists acid.
(Rf) : Resists fire.
(Rc) : Resists cold.
(Rl) : Resists lightning.
(P) : Protection. Extra armor class value.
(Cr) : Combat ready. Is much less cumbersome than regular armor.
(W) : Weightless. Neat, huh?
(Qwethleg) : Unique items. You have to figure these out for yourself.
(Fi-Yoh) : Don't ask me where RLG came up with these names. The 5 ?'s is
(Jarth) : a new one. Like the time limit, the version with it hasn't
(?????) : been released yet.
Weapons:
(HA) : Holy avenger.
(DF) : Defender.
(KC) : Kill creature.
(KA) : Kill alien.
(KS) : Kill scum.
(KM) : Kill monster.
(FT) : Flame-tongue.
(FB) : Frost-brand
(DST) : Destroyer. Does +20 damage.
(Slicer): Does double the normal weapon damage.
(Razor) : Does four times normal weapon damage.
What's the deal with strange items like pieces of paper, and silk teddy's?
Those are 'objets du jour'. RLG and I got in the habit of taking one
or two of the junk items in the item list (like moria's broken stick),
and every day or so changing them into something random, bizarre, and
hopefully funny. These items usually have some interesting powers,
that are worth checking out. The ones in particular that are in the game
are the ones that just happened to be there when we released the game.
Expect them to change.
How is the score calculated?
Your score when you die or win is calculated as follows: score =
(experience / your exp. multiplier) + (100*deepest dungeon level you
attained) + (bonuses for killing the BOSS). The experience multiplier
varies with class and race, and balances out how hard each class is to
get to 42nd level.
Thank you for reading this list, or at least skimming to the end. Thanks also
to all those out there who have gotten BOSS for their systems. We had fun
writing it, and it's nice to know that it wasn't for nothing.
(signed)
Robert Gulledge, A.K.A. [email protected]
Jason Black, A.K.A. [email protected]
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