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Response from Jester Interactive

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The Starglider

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Feb 19, 2001, 1:47:31 PM2/19/01
to
I sent an E-Mail to Jester a couple of days ago enquiring if Matthew
Smith was to be called in to help with the project in some way, and also
asked why he wasn't contacted about it. I put across the message that it
seemed that Matt was getting snubbed, even though he created the titles
that Jester plan to re-release.

Their response?

"Fuck off dickhead".

Hmmm, nice attitude to have, innit?
--
****************The Starglider***************** Change d.c.u to
* Web site:http://www.thespian.demon.co.uk * demon.co.uk
* ADE VS. THE SPACESHIP: AN ONGOING SAGA! * TO REPLY.
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* "FANTASTIC! MARVELLOUS!" - David Darling * /_ _\
*********************************************** | O O |
___________________________________________________________oOO_\/_OOo___________

Jamie P

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Feb 19, 2001, 3:04:26 PM2/19/01
to
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah The Starglider
<starg...@thespian.d.c.u> yadda, yadda comp.sys.sinclair, blah:

>Their response?
>
>"Fuck off dickhead".
>
>Hmmm, nice attitude to have, innit?

WHAT? You have *got* to be kidding!

--
T H E S c r i b C A M !
****NOW OPEN****! Yes, finally get to see who you're killfiling!
http://www.arcticfox.freeservers.com/webcam
You can contact me on ICQ on that site if you want too.

Matthew Wilson

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Feb 19, 2001, 3:13:49 PM2/19/01
to
On Mon, 19 Feb 2001 18:47:31 +0000, The Starglider
<starg...@thespian.d.c.u> wrote:

>I sent an E-Mail to Jester a couple of days ago enquiring if Matthew
>Smith was to be called in to help with the project in some way, and also
>asked why he wasn't contacted about it. I put across the message that it
>seemed that Matt was getting snubbed, even though he created the titles
>that Jester plan to re-release.
>
>Their response?
>
>"Fuck off dickhead".

That's astonishing.

Matthew

Peterfinan

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Feb 19, 2001, 3:18:54 PM2/19/01
to
>I sent an E-Mail to Jester a couple of days ago enquiring if Matthew
>Smith was to be called in to help with the project in some way, and also
>asked why he wasn't contacted about it. I put across the message that it
>seemed that Matt was getting snubbed, even though he created the titles
>that Jester plan to re-release.
>
>Their response?
>
>"Fuck off dickhead".
>
>Hmmm, nice attitude to have, innit?

That is an utter disgrace. I hope the idiot who wrote that has his words come
back to haunt him when his boss sees what he has done. Unless a full apology is
received I expect the wider Sinclair community will give the project a massive
snub and a huge thumbs down. How about a mass e-mailing to Jester ?

Bye.

Peter Finan

Jamie P

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Feb 19, 2001, 3:33:14 PM2/19/01
to
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah peter...@aol.com (Peterfinan)
yadda, yadda comp.sys.sinclair, blah:

>That is an utter disgrace. I hope the idiot who wrote that has his words
>come back to haunt him when his boss sees what he has done. Unless a
>full apology is received I expect the wider Sinclair community will give
>the project a massive snub and a huge thumbs down. How about a mass
>e-mailing to Jester ?

I'd go along with that. SG, did you keep copies of the mails you sent and
received? That is not the way to go on at all. This berk really should be
strung up by the bollocks and shot. If that's how people are acting these
days, no wonder the gaming industry is in tatters.

Hellraiser

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Feb 19, 2001, 4:27:50 PM2/19/01
to
Email the MD at Jester, and ask if this is the way they normally deal with
potential customers :)

Hellraiser.............>

"The Starglider" <starg...@thespian.d.c.u> wrote in message
news:woYmqdAD...@thespian.demon.co.uk...

Hellraiser

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Feb 19, 2001, 4:34:25 PM2/19/01
to
Here, this is the CEO for Jester's email address:-

gavin....@jesterinteractive.com

Send him a copy of the reply u received, along with your original email,
make sure all headers are intact.

Hellraiser...............>

"The Starglider" <starg...@thespian.d.c.u> wrote in message
news:woYmqdAD...@thespian.demon.co.uk...

Chris Millett

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Feb 19, 2001, 4:36:49 PM2/19/01
to
"The Starglider" <starg...@thespian.d.c.u> wrote in message
news:woYmqdAD...@thespian.demon.co.uk...
> I sent an E-Mail to Jester a couple of days ago enquiring if Matthew
> Smith was to be called in to help with the project in some way, and also
> asked why he wasn't contacted about it. I put across the message that it
> seemed that Matt was getting snubbed, even though he created the titles
> that Jester plan to re-release.
>
> Their response?
>
> "Fuck off dickhead".
>

If I got that reply from them I'd send a copy to their ISP's abuse account
(Compusolve I think) and to the CEO, then I'd erm..... stamp around the room
a bit saying things like 'buggers' 'cheeky scampsters' etc. until I had a
runny nose and was tired and needed a glass of milk. Or something.

--
Chris Millett


The Starglider

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Feb 19, 2001, 4:45:58 PM2/19/01
to
In article <Vdgk6.8360$Ce7.1...@nnrp3.clara.net>, Hellraiser
<hellr...@blueyonder.nospam.co.uk> writes

>Email the MD at Jester, and ask if this is the way they normally deal with
>potential customers :)
>
It was the CEO I E-Mailed. I think it was the part that I put at the end
that said "I will be contacting my contacts at PC related magazines to
get their opinions" that may have pissed him off! >:-)

I admit, it's not the most polite E-Mail I have sent, but after finding
out that Matt was upset about the deal, I was quite angry myself!

Here we go, what follows is the E-Mail and the response I got:

Message-ID: <DWuL+QA5...@thespian.demon.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 12:42:33 +0000
To: gavin....@jesterinteractive.com
From: The Starglider <starg...@thespian.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Manic Miner
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Mailer: Turnpike Integrated Version 5.01 S
<V5fDbqPNfBc65trxd9$6$239Oi>

After hearing about your company's future release of Manic Miner and
it's sequels, we contacted Matthew Smith, the creator of the games.

He did not even know about it. Why was he not contacted? Is he going to
get some royalties out of this? Will he be employed as some sort of
consultant?

I feel that you are "cashing in" on a past classic of 8 bit gaming,
while the people who did the hard work lose out.

How do you feel about this? I look forward to an answer. Either way
though, I will be contacting the people I know in the computing press
about what has happened, and get their opinions.

...and then the response...


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Reply-To: "Gavin Morgan" <gavin....@jesterinteractive.com>
From: "Gavin Morgan" <gavin....@jesterinteractive.com>
To: "The Starglider" <starg...@thespian.demon.co.uk>
References: <DWuL+QA5...@thespian.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Manic Miner
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 10:37:20 -0000
Organization: Jester Interactive
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Fuck off dickhead

> After hearing about your company's future release of Manic Miner and
> it's sequels, we contacted Matthew Smith, the creator of the games.
>
> He did not even know about it. Why was he not contacted? Is he going to
> get some royalties out of this? Will he be employed as some sort of
> consultant?
>
> I feel that you are "cashing in" on a past classic of 8 bit gaming,
> while the people who did the hard work lose out.
>
> How do you feel about this? I look forward to an answer. Either way
> though, I will be contacting the people I know in the computing press
> about what has happened, and get their opinions.

The Starglider

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Feb 19, 2001, 4:46:40 PM2/19/01
to
In article <qkgk6.8365$Ce7.1...@nnrp3.clara.net>, Hellraiser
<hellr...@blueyonder.nospam.co.uk> writes

>Here, this is the CEO for Jester's email address:-
>
>gavin....@jesterinteractive.com
>
>Send him a copy of the reply u received, along with your original email,
>make sure all headers are intact.
>
It was the CEO I e-mailed, and he was the responder!

The GOODiSON

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Feb 19, 2001, 4:56:14 PM2/19/01
to
I must admit I'm stunned at this response.

I've been in contact with Chris Morland at Jester and his response was much
different, MUCH different.

My approach was a little different, asking about the emulation issue and his
response is:

"I shouldn't imagine people playing the original Miner Willy games have
anything to fear from us, the dissemination of the games is pretty much out
of our hands and has obviously been going on for many years. At the moment
we have no plans to 'force the emulated titles out of circulation' although
we would be against anyone using MM / JSW for commercial purposes. Updated
versions from this point on may also cause us some problems - much will
depend on what stance the game's eventual publisher may take."

One other point...as much as we all love Matt Smith and what he did...what
gives him (Matthew) the right (and anyone but Matt to question this right)
to be involved in the Jester versions of the games?


David Raven
aka Bitz


Equin0x

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Feb 19, 2001, 4:57:25 PM2/19/01
to
On Mon, 19 Feb 2001, The Starglider wrote:

> Their response?
> "Fuck off dickhead".

You're not serious...?!

Eq.

--

http://insecurities.org

Steve Farrell

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Feb 19, 2001, 5:05:24 PM2/19/01
to

Equin0x <y982...@cpca6.uea.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:Pine.OSF.4.05.101021...@cpca4.uea.ac.uk...

> On Mon, 19 Feb 2001, The Starglider wrote:
>
> > Their response?
> > "Fuck off dickhead".
>
> You're not serious...?!

He's entirely serious. And worryingly so.

Jester Interactive - these conversions/future incarnations had better be
bloody damn brilliant, and far better than the original, or you will have to
REPENT FOR YOUR SINS.

Or something.

Steve


Chris Young

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Feb 19, 2001, 5:14:39 PM2/19/01
to
On Mon, 19 Feb 2001 21:45:58 +0000, The Starglider (of comp.sys.sinclair "fame")
wibbled on for an age:

> It was the CEO I E-Mailed.

[...]


> Here we go, what follows is the E-Mail and the response I got:

[...]


> I feel that you are "cashing in" on a past classic of 8 bit gaming,
> while the people who did the hard work lose out.

[...]
> ....and then the response...
[...]
> Fuck off dickhead

That is out of order. You didn't write anything that demanded a
response like that. I can't believe the CEO of *any* company would
reply to an email expressing genuine concerns and asking legitimate
questions with three words. Especially not those three words. I have
one thing to say to him: Fuck off dickhead

What a prat. I can't see anybody on here bothering to buy the game
now.

Chris
--
+-------------------------------------------+
| Unsatisfactory Software - "because it is" |
| http://www.unsatisfactory.freeserve.co.uk |
| Your Sinclair: A Celebration |
+-- http://www.ysac.cjb.net/ --ICQ:28784166-+

Tristan Sturgeon

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Feb 19, 2001, 5:44:31 PM2/19/01
to

"The Starglider" <starg...@thespian.d.c.u> wrote in message
news:woYmqdAD...@thespian.demon.co.uk...
> Their response?
>
> "Fuck off dickhead"

Shouldn't this be reported to someone?

They'll be pulling all of the MM/JSW files from WOS archive next.

Well, I for one won't be buying any of the MM/JSW remakes they issue.

Anyway, why should I bother, when I can go to Retrospec and download
perfectly good remakes for free!

Nah, bollocks to them!

--
Tristan


Jason James

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Feb 19, 2001, 6:18:11 PM2/19/01
to

The Starglider wrote in message ...

>I sent an E-Mail to Jester a couple of days ago enquiring if Matthew
>Smith was to be called in to help with the project in some way, and also
>asked why he wasn't contacted about it. I put across the message that it
>seemed that Matt was getting snubbed, even though he created the titles
>that Jester plan to re-release.
>
>Their response?
>
>"Fuck off dickhead".
>
>Hmmm, nice attitude to have, innit?


Dear oh dear. Well I've emailed them myself, with the following gubbins,
let's see what they say...

Hi,

This is the first time I have felt compelled to email a software company
about a future product, but the allegation made in a newsgroup today really
does warrant it in my opinion.

You are about to relaunch the character Miner Willy into a new game. In your
press release you pay tribute to Matthew Smith, creator of the original
software. Yet it appears that you did not even pay Mr Smith the common
courtesy of letting him know that you were going to do this.

This, I guess, is fair enough. It is business, after all, and you are under
no obligation to advise someone who is not technically the legal holder of
the software. But to then respond to someone who has the audacity to ask
why, by telling them to "Fuck off Dickhead" smacks to me of the most
appalling customer relations on your part, not to mention potential abuse of
your ISP's facilities. Surely you must realise that this will cause
considerable embarrassment to your company when the game finally comes to
launch, as it is bound to be printed in every specialist magazine in the
country.

As an aside, you also mention that Software Projects were the original
publishers; if you had done your homework in any way you would know that the
original publisher of Manic Miner was in fact Bug Byte Software, who were
bought up by Argus Press Software in 1985. Although Argus was dissolved in
1991, someone somewhere still has rights to their output. You should also
know that the MD of Bug Byte only declined to take further action against
Matt Smith and Software Projects for taking his game away because he "didn't
want to take a 17-year old [as was] to court", the implication of this
comment being that he felt he had a case for claiming rights to this
software himself at the time. It would seem to me that this is a significant
grey area and if I owned the rights to Argus'/Bug Byte's back-catalogue I
think I would take great interest in developments taking place at your
company.

As a very large percentage of people taking an interest in this game will be
fans of the original, it seems to me to be extreme folly to alienate a
proportion of these with a few ill-chosen words. I would even go so far as
to say that many of them will make a point of not buying the game, or worse,
make a point of acquiring a pirate copy out of principle. I know I am sorely
tempted to do this after reading your remark.

I am looking forward to hearing your comments on this issue.

Sincerely -- Jason James.

Tristan Sturgeon

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Feb 19, 2001, 6:35:16 PM2/19/01
to
I've just had a look at the Jester Interactive website and it appears that
they own Uridium as well.

Are they trying to buy up the entire back catalogue of the 80s UK gaming
industry?

--
Tristan


Paul Ryan

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Feb 19, 2001, 6:58:05 PM2/19/01
to
Tristan Sturgeon wrote in message <96sa3h$r7b$1...@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk>...


Maybe they don't have any original ideas of their own.

Paul


Peter THOMA$

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Feb 19, 2001, 7:12:55 PM2/19/01
to
On 19 Feb 2001 22:14:39 +0000, "Chris Young"
<unsatis...@bigfoot.com> wrote:

>> Fuck off dickhead
>That is out of order.

Amen to that, and all other comments said against it.

>You didn't write anything that demanded a
>response like that. I can't believe the CEO of *any* company would
>reply to an email expressing genuine concerns and asking legitimate
>questions with three words. Especially not those three words.

I'd like to know who supplies Jester's internet connection. Surely
there's an AUP being breached there?

(I suppose there's some people good at deciphering headers to find out
who Jester use as an ISP)

>What a prat. I can't see anybody on here bothering to buy the game
>now.

Even more of a prat not to get permission from the copyright holder. I
can't wait for Jester to get sued by Matt Smith!

Oh, their buddies Codemasters announced big losses and redundances...
hmm... I wonder if Jester's CEO wants to see a dole queue?

--
pete @ sinclairspectrum {DOT} com

I'd tell you to look at www.sinclairspectrum.com if it were ready.

New to Speccy emulation and/or this group? Then see :
http://faq.sinclairspectrum.com

Peter THOMA$

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Feb 19, 2001, 7:27:54 PM2/19/01
to
On Mon, 19 Feb 2001 23:58:05 -0000, "Paul Ryan" <pr...@ntlworld.com>
wrote:

>>I've just had a look at the Jester Interactive website and it appears that
>>they own Uridium as well.
>>Are they trying to buy up the entire back catalogue of the 80s UK gaming
>>industry?
>Maybe they don't have any original ideas of their own.

It's true, because I've heard the phrase "fuck off dickhead" many many
times before. Usually aimed at myself.

Oh hang on, I think I should delete that sentence before I click on
se...

Duncan Snowden

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Feb 19, 2001, 7:35:54 PM2/19/01
to
On Monday, The GOODiSON wrote:

> One other point...as much as we all love Matt Smith and what he
> did...what gives him (Matthew) the right (and anyone but Matt to
> question this right) to be involved in the Jester versions of the
> games?

Nothing. Except common courtesy. But that doesn't seem to be a big part
of modern business practice (as evidenced by Starglider's treatment).

--
Duncan Snowden.

B Integer out of range, 1020:5

Chris Cowley

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Feb 19, 2001, 6:55:27 PM2/19/01
to
On 19 Feb 2001 22:14:39 +0000, "Chris Young"
<unsatis...@bigfoot.com> wrote:

>That is out of order. You didn't write anything that demanded a
>response like that. I can't believe the CEO of *any* company would
>reply to an email expressing genuine concerns and asking legitimate
>questions with three words. Especially not those three words.

I agree -- it was extremely unprofessional of him. But if you look at it
from his point of view, he probably wasn't inclined to take the message
very seriously because (A)It had vaguely threatening undertones and
(B)It was from someone who identified himself only as "The Starglider".

If I was in a similar position, I'd probably have considered not sending
a reply at all rather than sending an offensive one though.
--
Chris Cowley
"They said it shouldn't be done"
ZX81 and Speccy emulators in native VB (with source)
http://freestuff.grok.co.uk/

Bitz

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Feb 19, 2001, 8:09:06 PM2/19/01
to
> >Are they trying to buy up the entire back catalogue of the 80s UK gaming
> >industry?

They've bought the rights to the Graftgold catalogue

As I've posted somewhere already...they're not going to touch the web-based
emu-roms for now...


Cerberus

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Feb 20, 2001, 3:57:04 AM2/20/01
to

Jason James wrote:

> The Starglider wrote in message ...
>
>> I sent an E-Mail to Jester a couple of days ago enquiring if Matthew
>> Smith was to be called in to help with the project in some way, and also
>> asked why he wasn't contacted about it. I put across the message that it
>> seemed that Matt was getting snubbed, even though he created the titles
>> that Jester plan to re-release.
>>
>> Their response?
>>
>> "Fuck off dickhead".
>>
>> Hmmm, nice attitude to have, innit?
>
>
>
> Dear oh dear. Well I've emailed them myself, with the following gubbins,
> let's see what they say...
>
> Hi,

(snip!..)

> Sincerely -- Jason James.


Yep, sent a similar one as well......light the blue touch paper.....


Cerb!


Hob

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 4:03:48 AM2/20/01
to
Many eons ago, in the dim, dark and distant past, The Starglider once waffled
on about:

> I sent an E-Mail to Jester a couple of days ago enquiring if Matthew
> Smith was to be called in to help with the project in some way, and also
> asked why he wasn't contacted about it. I put across the message that it
> seemed that Matt was getting snubbed, even though he created the titles
> that Jester plan to re-release.
>
> Their response?
>
> "Fuck off dickhead".
>
> Hmmm, nice attitude to have, innit?

Very professional - sounds like they have the sort of attitude that says "We
know what you want better than you do" - they're probably going to do exactly as
we thought and screw up the games completely..!

--
Hob.

Replace a with er.
Visit the amazingly dull site! http://www.thehobbitsburrow.org.uk
Use the apostrophe correctly! http://www.angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif

Ro...@holycowbatman.com

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 4:16:25 AM2/20/01
to
Jason James <jason...@tiggernet.screaming.net> wrote:

> Surely you must realise that this will cause
> considerable embarrassment to your company when the game finally comes
> to launch, as it is bound to be printed in every specialist magazine in
> the country.

Lets hope it gets printed everywhere. Also, take note that the other bloke
from Jester said they haven't found a publisher yet... I think it might be
possible to make sure they don't.

If all the software houses were told about that email, and told that it
was going to be mentioned to the entire computing press, do you imagine
that Jester would be treated any better than a leper colony?

I think the CEO could have just sunk his own company.

> As an aside, you also mention that Software Projects were the original
> publishers; if you had done your homework in any way you would know that
> the original publisher of Manic Miner was in fact Bug Byte Software, who
> were bought up by Argus Press Software in 1985. Although Argus was
> dissolved in 1991, someone somewhere still has rights to their output.
> You should also know that the MD of Bug Byte only declined to take
> further action against Matt Smith and Software Projects for taking his
> game away because he "didn't want to take a 17-year old [as was] to
> court", the implication of this comment being that he felt he had a case
> for claiming rights to this software himself at the time. It would seem
> to me that this is a significant grey area and if I owned the rights to
> Argus'/Bug Byte's back-catalogue I think I would take great interest in
> developments taking place at your company.

But if Mr. Smith was within his rights to take Manic Miner to Software
Projects, then he must have been the copyright holder. Which means there
are three scenarios:
1) The rights are owned by the buyers of the remnants of Argus Press.
2) The rights always have been and remain with Matt.
3) No-one bought out the properties from Argus Press' receivers, and the
rights have reverted to the original copyright holder [Matt].

The most legally binding case would have to be number 3, thouroughly
indisputable. However, if I'm reading correctly, a close personal friend
of Matt's is on this group, and he is under the impression that Matt kept
the rights - which leaves him in a nice position, when all is said and
done. Unfortunately, he'd be in a better position hearing about it at the
commercial launch, cos they'd have made it and thered'd be money.

Complaining now, however may lead to the project being pulled, at which
point they'd have breached no copyright. (Although there may be a case to
answer regarding using the Miner Willy name in press releases.)

> As a very large percentage of people taking an interest in this game
> will be fans of the original, it seems to me to be extreme folly to
> alienate a proportion of these with a few ill-chosen words. I would even
> go so far as to say that many of them will make a point of not buying
> the game, or worse, make a point of acquiring a pirate copy out of
> principle. I know I am sorely tempted to do this after reading your
> remark.

Moi aussi.

> I am looking forward to hearing your comments on this issue.

Be careful about echoing them here though - it's not legal AFAIK; emails
are regarded as personal correspondence. Summarise, by all means, and
perhaps even quote sections, but considering the storm brewing over this
one, and the potential for much legal wrangling, you might find yourself
in water a little warmer than the Hudson Bay if you do anything legally
dubious...

Robin
--
Caped Crusader and sidekick for hire.

Hob

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 4:17:44 AM2/20/01
to
Many eons ago, in the dim, dark and distant past, The Starglider once waffled
on about:

> It was the CEO I E-Mailed. I think it was the part that I put at the end


> that said "I will be contacting my contacts at PC related magazines to
> get their opinions" that may have pissed him off! >:-)

Er, even though he was pissed off, hardly the way a "professional" company -
which, it appears, they aren't - should reply.

As far as I can see, there's absolutely no justification for that response. I
think quite apart from raising the general matter with your contacts, perhaps
let them see (though I doubt they could publish it) the emails.

Typical arrogance, if you ask me!

Hob

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 4:22:36 AM2/20/01
to
Many eons ago, in the dim, dark and distant past, The GOODiSON once waffled on
about:

> One other point...as much as we all love Matt Smith and what he did...what
> gives him (Matthew) the right (and anyone but Matt to question this right)
> to be involved in the Jester versions of the games?

Why bother taking his work if he's not going to be involved? Why bother with the
licenses etc? They could have just as easily come up with a platform game that
didn't involve Willy, or if it did, a different hat on him - and since it'll
likely be full colour, with rather more detail, it's difficult to see how that
could be construed as copyright infringement.

As far as I can see, it's just arrogance. "Up yours mate. We know you created
them, but we're FAR better at this than you - so thanks for the idea, and the
opportunity to make us loads of cash."

Except with a bit of luck and lots of (negative?) publicity, it might yet turn
out well for all concerned.

Hob

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 4:35:08 AM2/20/01
to
Many eons ago, in the dim, dark and distant past, Paul Ryan once waffled on
about:

> >Are they trying to buy up the entire back catalogue of the 80s UK gaming
> >industry?
>
> Maybe they don't have any original ideas of their own.

Not unusual these days - ditto the music scene.

I played Lemmings on an ST emulator over the weekend, and it occurred to me that
despite it being a levels and ladders type game, it's actually an original idea
(well, maybe not THAT particular one, but the general idea).

I was trying to classify original ideas and sort of came up with the following:

Platforms (Manic Miner)
Arcade Adventure (JSW)
Adventures (The Hobbit)
Strategy (er.. chess?)
Lemmings (can't think of a name for it)
Shoot-em-ups (Space Invaders)
Racing (Chequered Flag)

Bloody hell, the list is endless.

Biggo

unread,
Feb 19, 2001, 8:42:13 PM2/19/01
to
The Starglider wrote:
>
> It was the CEO I e-mailed, and he was the responder!

I doubt it. No matter how impolite the question,
a CEO would have replied

"Dear Mr. Starglider,
we're glad you're interested in our developemente projects
re: Manic Miner et al., and I know that we still have some
rough spots to iron out in terms of copyright and
intellectual property issues. Actually, the project is still
in its infancy, and our promotion dept. may have been a little
over-enthusiastic in spreading the news about it.
The computing press, as you surely understand, needs strong
statements, such as <we're doing Manic Miner> - no point in
telling 'em <we might be thinking about reviving a classic
8-bit game of the past> - this has some less impact, right?
I hereby assure personally that we're intentioned in
contacting the original author and reach an agreement, no
matter how much this will cost to Jester Interactive, and
that the necessary steps are already being discussed by our
R&D experts.
We firmly believe in this project, and most of the people
who will work on it were videogames fanatics back in the
'80s - just like me and you, Mr. Starglider.
We're interested in your comments, though. Please keep in
contact with us and feel free to question us on any doubts
you may have in regards to our actions. Users are our primary
concern, along with care to the products and fairness in
business.
Sincerely,
Gavin Morgan, CEO
Jester Interactive"

That's what a CEO would write (possibly with more
propriety and a better use of the english language,
not to mention some techno/official mumbo-jumbo I'm
not in the position to mimick).
Not "fuck off dickhead". So, it is possible that:

1) The CEO's 11-years-old son has been peeking in dad's PC.
2) He's no longer CEO of Jester Interactive - that was his
last message after being fired by popular consent and
just before being kicked out by co-workers.
3) He's a jester, and he couldn't miss this particular
opportunity to be interactive in his jestery.
4) He was pished to death.
5) He's, in fact, Hob.

--
Biggo. <mailto:bi...@blue-win.ch>
(Remove the hyphen! Spambusters at work!)
listen to aaria (two and a Mac): http://www.mp3.com/aaria

"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow
the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime
literally impossible, because there will be no words in
which to express it." - George Orwell, "1984"


Titch Tracey

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 5:02:17 AM2/20/01
to
Should I send this message I just drafted? What does everyone think?
(I'd value Steve's input particularly):

To: bru...@codemasters.com (Communications officer)

I have heard on Usenet discussion fora that you have publishing ties with
Jester Interactive.

As a long term fan of Codemasters' software (since the Dizzy era, in fact)
I felt obliged to write to you regarding some issues that were raised
within these fora.

It came to light recently that Jester were about to start work on remaking
the Miner Willy games, originally designed and programmed by Matthew
Smith.

On the groups there has been some discussion regarding the legal status of
the license that Jester are operating under, in that it is claimed by some
that Mr. Smith personally owns the rights to the software. A friend of his
posts regularly to one of these groups, and when he talked to Matthew
about it, it transpired that he had not been informed.

Another member of the group was so incensed by this that he wrote an email
to Gavin Morgan, the CEO of Jester complaining about his lack of courtesy
in not even attempting to contact Matthew Smith. The reply he received was
unnecessarily rude:
"Fuck off dickhead"

This is unnacceptable behaviour for any professional body, and now the
die-hard core of the retro-gaming community have been thouroughly
alienated and will be unlikely to purchase any copies of Jester's
software.

Indeed, a sentiment voiced by some is that they are likely to pirate the
game specifically on grounds of their dissatisfaction. I personally am -
and always have been - against piracy, but fully understand the standpoint
taken.

I believe it likely that Mr. Morgan's comment will be handed to the gaming
press in the very near future, and would recommend you take steps to
ensure that your company is sufficiently distanced from Jester to avoid
being damaged in the backlash.

Yours,
Niall Tracey.

-------

As said, all opinions welcome, as I don't want to just send this and seem
like I'm butting in -- it's waiting in my postponed messages folder.

I could easily reword it also to send to other publishers, too. But again,
I don't want to butt in. If Matt's planning to deal with this one way,
I'll be more than happy to leave it up to him, but if members of this ng
are going to make a mass effort, I feel this is probably the best style of
thing to send to publishers.

Titch.

--
Serious, business-type email for life: niall_...@bigfoot.com
NB: I will be not be using niall_...@hotmail.com in future as I have
been experiencing difficulties with their service.
Slightly less businessy email address: ti...@moremail.com
Email address that'll be out of date next year: ni...@dcs.ed.ac.uk

The Starglider

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 5:16:58 AM2/20/01
to
In article <96tfb9$6iv$2...@kane.dcs.ed.ac.uk>, Titch Tracey
<ni...@dcs.ed.ac.uk> writes

>Should I send this message I just drafted? What does everyone think?
>(I'd value Steve's input particularly):
>
[snipped]

Well, I would send it. I want this as public as possible, and besides,
I've already E-Mailed all major computer magazines and websites about
the situation, so I would alter the last part of the message!

Ricky Wright

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 5:32:34 AM2/20/01
to
In article <woYmqdAD...@thespian.demon.co.uk>, The Starglider
<starg...@thespian.d.c.u> writes:

>I sent an E-Mail to Jester a couple of days ago enquiring if Matthew
>Smith was to be called in to help with the project in some way, and also
>asked why he wasn't contacted about it. I put across the message that it
>seemed that Matt was getting snubbed, even though he created the titles
>that Jester plan to re-release.
>
>Their response?
>
>"Fuck off dickhead".

I'd be writing a letter to their head office with a copy of the e-mail
atatched, asking if they treat all their potential customers like that! Not a
great way of doing business I'd say, even if I only got a D in A Level Business
Studies!
I don't think I understand the copyright issues though, if Matthew Smith
devised the game then surely he would keep some kind of rights, but, I don't
understand copyright do there you go!

Rick

Steve Leyland

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 5:44:36 AM2/20/01
to

<Ro...@HolyCowBatman.com> wrote in message
news:96tcl9$6iv$1...@kane.dcs.ed.ac.uk...

> But if Mr. Smith was within his rights to take Manic Miner to Software
> Projects, then he must have been the copyright holder. Which means there
> are three scenarios:
> 1) The rights are owned by the buyers of the remnants of Argus Press.
> 2) The rights always have been and remain with Matt.
> 3) No-one bought out the properties from Argus Press' receivers, and the
> rights have reverted to the original copyright holder [Matt].
>
> The most legally binding case would have to be number 3, thouroughly
> indisputable. However, if I'm reading correctly, a close personal friend
> of Matt's is on this group, and he is under the impression that Matt kept
> the rights

Yes,I am under this impression,and AFAIK so is Matt himself.However my
attempts to contact Matt about this have so far been unfruitful apart from a
short icq message from his g/f.I shall persevere.


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.231 / Virus Database: 112 - Release Date: 12/02/01


Steve Leyland

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 5:46:09 AM2/20/01
to

"The Starglider" <starg...@thespian.d.c.u> wrote in message
news:woYmqdAD...@thespian.demon.co.uk...
> I sent an E-Mail to Jester a couple of days ago enquiring if Matthew
> Smith was to be called in to help with the project in some way, and also
> asked why he wasn't contacted about it. I put across the message that it
> seemed that Matt was getting snubbed, even though he created the titles
> that Jester plan to re-release.
>
> Their response?
>
> "Fuck off dickhead".
>
> Hmmm, nice attitude to have, innit?

Ye Gods!
Nice one for standing up for our Matty though :)

Cerberus

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 5:49:16 AM2/20/01
to

Titch Tracey wrote:

> Should I send this message I just drafted? What does everyone think?
> (I'd value Steve's input particularly):
>
> To: bru...@codemasters.com (Communications officer)
>

( snip!...)
>
> Titch.


sounds good to me......

The Starglider

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 5:56:05 AM2/20/01
to
In article <dWrk6.16709$LE3.1...@nnrp4.clara.net>, Steve Leyland
<Spamno...@some.net> writes

>
>"The Starglider" <starg...@thespian.d.c.u> wrote in message
>news:woYmqdAD...@thespian.demon.co.uk...
>> I sent an E-Mail to Jester a couple of days ago enquiring if Matthew
>> Smith was to be called in to help with the project in some way, and also
>> asked why he wasn't contacted about it. I put across the message that it
>> seemed that Matt was getting snubbed, even though he created the titles
>> that Jester plan to re-release.
>>
>> Their response?
>>
>> "Fuck off dickhead".
>>
>> Hmmm, nice attitude to have, innit?
>
>Ye Gods!
>Nice one for standing up for our Matty though :)
>
I don't think there is one person who wouldn't - except possibly Llama
as he probably hated the games for being too hard!

Steve Leyland

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 5:59:23 AM2/20/01
to

"Titch Tracey" <ni...@dcs.ed.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:96tfb9$6iv$2...@kane.dcs.ed.ac.uk...

> Should I send this message I just drafted? What does everyone think?
> (I'd value Steve's input particularly):
>
> To: bru...@codemasters.com (Communications officer)
>
> I have heard on Usenet discussion fora that you have publishing ties with
> Jester Interactive.
>
> As a long term fan of Codemasters' software (since the Dizzy era, in fact)
> I felt obliged to write to you regarding some issues that were raised
> within these fora.
>
> It came to light recently that Jester were about to start work on remaking
> the Miner Willy games, originally designed and programmed by Matthew
> Smith.
>
> On the groups there has been some discussion regarding the legal status of
> the license that Jester are operating under, in that it is claimed by some
> that Mr. Smith personally owns the rights to the software. A friend of his
> posts regularly to one of these groups, and when he talked to Matthew
> about it, it transpired that he had not been informed.

I didn't actually manage to contact Matt himself.Just his girlfriend via
icq:

Is Matt aware of this?
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/story.cfm?sid=2201
You have received a message!
yes, we looked..He's aware of it now :(
I think he's upset . he's quiet

<snip>

Please desist from anything until I have actually spoken to Matt himself.

Andy

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 6:05:26 AM2/20/01
to
The Starglider wrote:

> In article <Vdgk6.8360$Ce7.1...@nnrp3.clara.net>, Hellraiser
> <hellr...@blueyonder.nospam.co.uk> writes
> >Email the MD at Jester, and ask if this is the way they normally deal with
> >potential customers :)


> >
> It was the CEO I E-Mailed. I think it was the part that I put at the end
> that said "I will be contacting my contacts at PC related magazines to
> get their opinions" that may have pissed him off! >:-)
>

> I admit, it's not the most polite E-Mail I have sent, but after finding
> out that Matt was upset about the deal, I was quite angry myself!


>
> Here we go, what follows is the E-Mail and the response I got:

I feel a flood of emails coming on to various PC magazines.

Andy

Hob

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 7:16:39 AM2/20/01
to
Many eons ago, in the dim, dark and distant past, Biggo once waffled on about:

> 4) He was pished to death.
> 5) He's, in fact, Hob.

Oi! I resemble those remarks.

(no, it isn't me..)

Charles Astwood

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 10:15:23 AM2/20/01
to
>
> Be careful about echoing them here though - it's not legal AFAIK; emails
> are regarded as personal correspondence. Summarise, by all means, and
> perhaps even quote sections, but considering the storm brewing over this
> one, and the potential for much legal wrangling, you might find yourself
> in water a little warmer than the Hudson Bay if you do anything legally
> dubious...


An e-mail originating from the company registered address, in this case:
Return-Path: <gavin....@jesterinteractive.com>

means exactly the same in law as if it was written on a company letterhead.
--
Charles Astwood
http://www.astwood.com


Charles Astwood

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 10:16:14 AM2/20/01
to
"The Starglider" <starg...@thespian.d.c.u> wrote in message
news:bKuMCUBa...@thespian.demon.co.uk...

> In article <96tfb9$6iv$2...@kane.dcs.ed.ac.uk>, Titch Tracey
> <ni...@dcs.ed.ac.uk> writes
> >Should I send this message I just drafted? What does everyone think?
> >(I'd value Steve's input particularly):
> >
> [snipped]
>
> Well, I would send it. I want this as public as possible, and besides,
> I've already E-Mailed all major computer magazines and websites about
> the situation, so I would alter the last part of the message!


Sent it to NTK and the register?

Lister

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 10:38:51 AM2/20/01
to
A long time ago (Tue, 20 Feb 2001 15:16:14 -0000, really), in a pub
far, far away, "Charles Astwood" <cha...@nospamastwood.net> slammed a
pint glass on the table and said :


I look forward to reading about it in NTK tomorrow (as if!)


--

Lister - warrior prince (no relation to Xena)

The Starglider

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 11:16:21 AM2/20/01
to
I just received these E-Mails:

Received: from pop3.demon.co.uk by thespian.demon.co.uk with POP3
id <"thespian.982684073:20:03876:0".thes...@pop3.demon.co.uk>
for <thes...@pop3.demon.co.uk> ; Tue, 20 Feb 2001 15:58:04 +0000
Return-Path: <stephe...@futurenet.co.uk>
Received: from punt-2.mail.demon.net by mailstore
for starg...@thespian.demon.co.uk id 982684073:20:03876:0;
Tue, 20 Feb 2001 15:47:53 GMT
Received: from [212.158.103.10] ([212.158.103.10]) by punt-
2.mail.demon.net
id aa2114650; 20 Feb 2001 15:47 GMT
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ESMTP
id G92BGU00.HMT for <starg...@thespian.demon.co.uk>; Tue, 20
Feb 2001 15:38:54 +0000
Message-ID: <3A92915F...@futurenet.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 15:46:39 +0000
From: "Stephen Brown" <stephe...@futurenet.co.uk>
Reply-To: stephe...@futurenet.co.uk
Organization: Future Publishing
X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.6 [en-gb] (Win98; I)
X-Accept-Language: en-GB,en,en-*
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: starg...@thespian.demon.co.uk
Subject: PC GAMER UK
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

We are very interested in this story and I'm considering using it for
our lead news spread this month. However, I would ideally need contact
with Matthew Smith to verify the facts and he is notoriously hard to get
hold of, as I'm sure you know. How were you able to contact him and
could you forward me the same details if possible?

Received: from pop3.demon.co.uk by thespian.demon.co.uk with POP3
id <"thespian.982684659:20:00305:0".thes...@pop3.demon.co.uk>
for <thes...@pop3.demon.co.uk> ; Tue, 20 Feb 2001 15:58:05 +0000
Return-Path: <n...@dial.pipex.com>
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for starg...@thespian.demon.co.uk id 982684659:20:00305:0;
Tue, 20 Feb 2001 15:57:39 GMT
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(Netscape Messaging Server 4.05) with ESMTP id G92CBS04.5AF;
Tue, 20 Feb 2001 15:57:28 +0000
Message-ID: <3A9293C3...@dial.pipex.com>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 15:56:51 +0000
From: "Dave, NTK" <n...@dial.pipex.com>
X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.61 [en] (Win98; I)
X-Accept-Language: en
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: The Starglider <starg...@thespian.demon.co.uk>
CC: ti...@spesh.com
Subject: Re: Jester Interactive
References: <ZHEchKAy...@thespian.demon.co.uk>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

interesting stuff, Starglider - the kind of campaigning news that NTK
specialises in. do you think Matt would mind being quoted on this?

Steve Leyland, could you contact me, as I need to speak to you further
on the matter? Thanks!

The Starglider

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 11:22:36 AM2/20/01
to
Again, another E-Mail (sorry for all the header crap, I just want to
show I am being honest!):


Received: from pop3.demon.co.uk by thespian.demon.co.uk with POP3

id <"thespian.982684740:10:23670:0".thes...@pop3.demon.co.uk>
for <thes...@pop3.demon.co.uk> ; Tue, 20 Feb 2001 16:17:01 +0000
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for starg...@thespian.demon.co.uk id 982684740:10:23670:0;
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id aa1107555; 20 Feb 2001 15:58 GMT
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Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 07:58:34 -0800
From: Danny O'Brien <da...@spesh.com>
To: The Starglider <starg...@thespian.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Jester Interactive
Message-ID: <2001022007...@spesh.com>
Reply-To: da...@spesh.com
References: <ZHEchKAy...@thespian.demon.co.uk>
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In-Reply-To: <ZHEchKAy...@thespian.demon.co.uk>; from starglider@th
espian.demon.co.uk on Tue, Feb 20, 2001 at 03:46:58PM +0000

Eesh. I believe someone's going to be fed to the chomping toilets fairly
sharpish. Mind if we run this as a story this Friday? We'll try and
pursue it
a bit more, too.

Adam D. Moss

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 12:38:15 PM2/20/01
to
"PS: F*CK OFF DICKHEAD"

Chris Cowley

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 11:09:27 AM2/20/01
to
On Tue, 20 Feb 2001 15:15:23 -0000, "Charles Astwood"
<cha...@nospamastwood.net> wrote:

>An e-mail originating from the company registered address, in this case:
>Return-Path: <gavin....@jesterinteractive.com>
>
>means exactly the same in law as if it was written on a company letterhead.

This isn't true -- unfortunately, e-mail messages have no status in UK
law (for one thing, the return path is trivially forge-able).

I'm not even sure that cryptographically-signed e-mail messages have any
status, although I assume you'd probably have a relatively sound basis
for winning a test case if you had an actionable e-mail message that was
cryptographically signed with a key that was provably being published by
a company or individual.

Sorry to be playing the devil's advocate here, but I think people need
to get a grip on reality -- Starglider sent a rude, pseudo-anonymous
e-mail to a company and got a very unprofessional, rude response.
Nobody's going to be taking anybody to court over it (nobody who has any
sense, anyway), and nobody's ISP is going to give a shit (most AUP's
I've bothered to read don't have clauses preventing users from calling
people dickheads).
--
Chris Cowley

Charles Astwood

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 12:56:30 PM2/20/01
to
"Chris Cowley" <cco...@grok.co.uk> wrote in message
news:dc459tk6m6oigg6o4...@hobgoblin.grok.co.uk...


Sorry, have to disagree. Have been told by my companys lawers that an e-mail
has the same legal standing as a company letter on letterhead, this is
proved by Suppliers now being able to take a e-mail order. This will stand
up in a court of law as if it was written on a peice of paper and faxed. Was
quite shocked to find this out!

As to the above problem I must say on re-reading Stars original message I
can hardly call it rude, and the blokes response was totally OTT for what it
was. To be quite honest if the Codies find out about it I can see him being
slapped on the wrists. For one their public preception in this newsgroup is
now nil and that is not what they need, especially in their finanical
climate. Obviously any talk of legal/court action is absurd for this but I
do think that Codemasters, as their owners should be informed.

spi...@freenet.co.uk

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 12:16:02 PM2/20/01
to
Bitz <david...@freeuk.com> did eloquently scribble:

>> >Are they trying to buy up the entire back catalogue of the 80s UK gaming
>> >industry?

> They've bought the rights to the Graftgold catalogue

> As I've posted somewhere already...they're not going to touch the web-based
> emu-roms for now...

They can't touch the ROMS. They're owned by Amstrad, Psion, Rare and
Melbourne house.... And "for now" implies that at some point, we MIGHT lose
a LOT of our spectrum games.
--
| |What to do if you find yourself stuck in a crack|
| spi...@freenet.co.uk |in the ground beneath a giant boulder, which you|
| |can't move, with no hope of rescue. |
|Andrew Halliwell BSc(hons)|Consider how lucky you are that life has been |
| in |good to you so far... |
| Computer Science | -The BOOK, Hitch-hiker's guide to the galaxy.|

paul.dunn4

unread,
Feb 19, 2001, 12:28:03 PM2/19/01
to

<spi...@freenet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:io8u69...@ridcully.freenet.co.uk...

>
> They can't touch the ROMS. They're owned by Amstrad, Psion, Rare and
> Melbourne house.... And "for now" implies that at some point, we MIGHT
lose
> a LOT of our spectrum games.
> --

Damn. Now I'm scared. Better put the whole of the WOS and TZX Vault onto my
HD then. And quick too. Well, not that quick, I only have a 56k.

Paul.

Peter THOMA$

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 2:40:16 PM2/20/01
to
On 20 Feb 2001 09:16:25 GMT, Ro...@HolyCowBatman.com wrote:

>If all the software houses were told about that email, and told that it
>was going to be mentioned to the entire computing press, do you imagine
>that Jester would be treated any better than a leper colony?
>I think the CEO could have just sunk his own company.

He's won the Gerald Ratner award for customer relations.

--
pete @ sinclairspectrum {DOT} com

I'd tell you to look at www.sinclairspectrum.com if it were ready.

New to Speccy emulation and/or this group? Then see :
http://faq.sinclairspectrum.com

Peter THOMA$

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 2:42:32 PM2/20/01
to
On Tue, 20 Feb 2001 16:09:27 +0000, Chris Cowley <cco...@grok.co.uk>
wrote:


>Sorry to be playing the devil's advocate here, but I think people need
>to get a grip on reality -- Starglider sent a rude, pseudo-anonymous
>e-mail to a company and got a very unprofessional, rude response.
>Nobody's going to be taking anybody to court over it (nobody who has any
>sense, anyway), and nobody's ISP is going to give a shit (most AUP's
>I've bothered to read don't have clauses preventing users from calling
>people dickheads).

The could get away with "dickhead", maybe. But "f*ck off"? Well, that
is abusive language, and is prohibited by the 1984 Telecommunications
Act.

I believe Starglider was told to "f*ck off" by someone on his phone
line (assuming he uses the phone network to connect to the net), so
he's got a case against Jester.

Altho he'd be able to quickly get Jester retributed by simply
complaining to their ISP (whoever they are).

Peter THOMA$

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 2:45:29 PM2/20/01
to
On Tue, 20 Feb 2001 10:56:05 +0000, The Starglider
<starg...@thespian.d.c.u> wrote:
>>Ye Gods!
>>Nice one for standing up for our Matty though :)
>I don't think there is one person who wouldn't - except possibly Llama
>as he probably hated the games for being too hard!

Only RoboWilly and Army Miners.

Jason James

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 3:49:28 PM2/20/01
to

Jason James wrote in message <3Phk6.8613$Ce7.1...@nnrp3.clara.net>...
>
>The Starglider wrote in message ...

>>I sent an E-Mail to Jester a couple of days ago enquiring if Matthew
>>Smith was to be called in to help with the project in some way, and also
>>asked why he wasn't contacted about it. I put across the message that it
>>seemed that Matt was getting snubbed, even though he created the titles
>>that Jester plan to re-release.
>>
>>Their response?
>>
>>"Fuck off dickhead".
>>
>>Hmmm, nice attitude to have, innit?
>
>
>Dear oh dear. Well I've emailed them myself, with the following gubbins,
>let's see what they say...
>
>Hi,
>
<snip>

Well I got a very similar response from Mr Morgan, and I quote:

"Do I really care what you think ?

No, not at all.


So, as I said before Fuck off you dickhead."

Now, can someone please tell me what it was that I said to provoke such a
response?

Particularly as Clark Evans was a lot more civilised in his correspondence
with me...


Jeremy Mooseman

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 4:56:29 PM2/20/01
to
On Mon, 19 Feb 2001 18:47:31 +0000, The Starglider posted
this...

> I sent an E-Mail to Jester a couple of days ago enquiring if Matthew
> Smith was to be called in to help with the project in some way, and also
> asked why he wasn't contacted about it. I put across the message that it
> seemed that Matt was getting snubbed, even though he created the titles
> that Jester plan to re-release.
>
> Their response?
>
> "Fuck off dickhead".
>
> Hmmm, nice attitude to have, innit?
>

Hey! How about posting a copy of both e-mails so we can see
exactly what was said?

Jez

The Starglider

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 4:55:32 PM2/20/01
to
In article <fJAk6.15836$Ce7.1...@nnrp3.clara.net>, Jason James
<jason...@tiggernet.screaming.net> writes
Could you pass the E-Mails involved on to me please?

The Starglider

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 5:00:10 PM2/20/01
to
In article <ZEBk6.7471$I5.194631@stones>, Jeremy Mooseman <h...@t.shop>
writes
I did already - should be in these threads somewhere.

Chris Young

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 5:21:20 PM2/20/01
to
On Tue, 20 Feb 2001 09:35:08 GMT, Hob (of comp.sys.sinclair "fame")
wibbled on for an age:

> Lemmings (can't think of a name for it)

"Save-'em-up"

A phrase coined by the Speccy version of Lemmings, I believe.

Chris

--
+-------------------------------------------+
| Unsatisfactory Software - "because it is" |
| http://www.unsatisfactory.freeserve.co.uk |
| Your Sinclair: A Celebration |
+-- http://www.ysac.cjb.net/ --ICQ:28784166-+

Dave

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 5:53:06 PM2/20/01
to

"Tristan Sturgeon" <ma...@sturgeont.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:96s749$od5$1...@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...

>
> "The Starglider" <starg...@thespian.d.c.u> wrote in message
> news:woYmqdAD...@thespian.demon.co.uk...

> > Their response?
> >
> > "Fuck off dickhead"
>
> Shouldn't this be reported to someone?
>
> They'll be pulling all of the MM/JSW files from WOS archive next.
>
> Well, I for one won't be buying any of the MM/JSW remakes they issue.
>
> Anyway, why should I bother, when I can go to Retrospec and download
> perfectly good remakes for free!
>
> Nah, bollocks to them!

And the best remake (on an 8-Bit platform) - ie the SAM version - is now
available as Charityware from: www.samcommunity.org


Peter THOMA$

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 6:08:16 PM2/20/01
to
On 20 Feb 2001 22:21:20 +0000, "Chris Young"
<unsatis...@bigfoot.com> wrote:

>> Lemmings (can't think of a name for it)
>"Save-'em-up"
>A phrase coined by the Speccy version of Lemmings, I believe.

The Speccy version allowed the cursor to 'lock on' to a specific
Lemming, which the 16-bit versions didn't have.

So again, more proof that the Speccy is the best computer of all time.

Darren Salt

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 4:32:51 PM2/20/01
to
I demand that Charles Astwood may or may not have written...

> "Chris Cowley" <cco...@grok.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:dc459tk6m6oigg6o4...@hobgoblin.grok.co.uk...
>> On Tue, 20 Feb 2001 15:15:23 -0000, "Charles Astwood"
>> <cha...@nospamastwood.net> wrote:
>>> An e-mail originating from the company registered address, in this case:
>>> Return-Path: <gavin....@jesterinteractive.com>
>>> means exactly the same in law as if it was written on a company
>>> letterhead.
>> This isn't true -- unfortunately, e-mail messages have no status in UK law
>> (for one thing, the return path is trivially forge-able).

[snip]

> Sorry, have to disagree. Have been told by my company's lawyers that an


> e-mail has the same legal standing as a company letter on letterhead, this
> is proved by Suppliers now being able to take a e-mail order.

Hmm...

> This will stand up in a court of law as if it was written on a peice of
> paper and faxed. Was quite shocked to find this out!

Given any suspicion of forgery, I'd think about examining the Received
headers then asking about the relays and from where they accept mail - and
check to see if any of them are open.

--
| Darren Salt anti-UCE | d youmustbejoking,demon,co,uk | nr. Ashington,
| Spec+3, Risc PC, A3010 | s zap,uk,eu,org | Northumberland
| BBC M128, Linux PC | @ retrospec,co,uk | Toon Army
| Down with the Mackems!

A lie that can be passed off as truth becomes truth.

ni...@dcs.ed.ac.uk

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 6:55:05 PM2/20/01
to
Charles Astwood <cha...@nospamastwood.net> wrote:

: Obviously any talk of legal/court action is absurd for this but I


: do think that Codemasters, as their owners should be informed.

I personally feel that myself, however, in the first instance I would have
prefered that Matt got the chance to sort things out re: licensing himself
first.

Several people, however, have taken it upon themselves to intervene, and
now that the whole abusive mail situation has come up and gone totally
public, things are going to get messy.

Anyway, personally, I will not get involved without Matt's say-so, (and
I'll trust Steve to pass it on). I have already drafted an email to the
communications officer and have put it up on this ng for perusal, comment
etc.

Titch.

--
Serious, business-type email for life: niall_...@bigfoot.com
NB: I will be not be using niall_...@hotmail.com in future as I have
been experiencing difficulties with their service.
Slightly less businessy email address: ti...@moremail.com
Email address that'll be out of date next year: ni...@dcs.ed.ac.uk

David Buttery

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 8:10:16 PM2/20/01
to
<Ro...@HolyCowBatman.com> wrote on 20 Feb 2001:

<snip>


>Be careful about echoing them here though - it's not legal AFAIK;
>emails are regarded as personal correspondence.

<snip>

What I do on occasions such as this is to add a sentence at the end: "I
look forward to hearing your views, and intend to publish them on
relevant newsgroups/websites for the [whatever] community's
information". They can;t say I haven't warned them then!

--
David. (GPLRank handicap: -5.92; Monsters of GPLRank h/cap +287.79)
Earn (not very much) cash with "Ciao!" reviews - http://uk.ciao.com
"After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll,
really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.

Chris Cowley

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 7:22:01 PM2/20/01
to
On Tue, 20 Feb 2001 19:42:32 GMT, see-m...@hotmail.com (Peter THOMA$)
wrote:

>The could get away with "dickhead", maybe. But "f*ck off"? Well, that
>is abusive language, and is prohibited by the 1984 Telecommunications
>Act.
>
>I believe Starglider was told to "f*ck off" by someone on his phone
>line (assuming he uses the phone network to connect to the net), so
>he's got a case against Jester.
>
>Altho he'd be able to quickly get Jester retributed by simply
>complaining to their ISP (whoever they are).

I assume you're referring to section 43 of the act, which makes it an
offence to "send, by means of a public telecommunication system, a
message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent,
obscene or menacing character;". In practice, it's used to protect
people who receive persistent obscene/menacing phonecalls, not to
protect someone who got told to "fuck off" by e-mail once.

And e-mailing a complaint about this to an ISP abuse department would
just serve to briefly amuse the Abuse Dept. person who reads it and has
to concoct a reply. I'd be so amazed if an ISP got involved with a
paying customer over such a matter that I might just fall off my chair
(and I have a particularly sturdy chair).

I don't mean to sound like a complete arse (although I'm probably doing
a reasonably good job of just that...); I've got nothing against SG at
all, and I hate the idea of Matt Smith being potentially ripped-off as
much as anyone else, but this has to be kept in perspective -- nobody's
going to court over this (with the possible, and perhaps rather unlikely
exception of Matt and Jester if there is any truth in the allegation
that Jester are infringing Matt's copyright or IP), and nobody's ISP is
going to take any action because someone told someone else to "fuck
off".
--
Chris Cowley

Chris Cowley

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 8:01:59 PM2/20/01
to
On Tue, 20 Feb 2001 20:49:28 -0000, "Jason James"
<jason...@tiggernet.screaming.net> wrote:

>Well I got a very similar response from Mr Morgan, and I quote:
>
>"Do I really care what you think ?
>
>No, not at all.
>
>
>So, as I said before Fuck off you dickhead."
>
>Now, can someone please tell me what it was that I said to provoke such a
>response?

Hehe! Very interesting. Our friend Mr.Morgan is either a bit crap and
stressed-out and unable to deal with reality very well, or he's cleverly
attempting to drum up loads and loads of free media exposure by painting
himself as an abusive, unscrupulous, controversial git (not a bad idea,
as their Miner Willy games will probably be a bag of cack and need all
the exposure they can get).

Still, looking on the bright side, it's given us lot something new to
talk about hasn't it?
--
Chris Cowley
"They said it shouldn't be done"
ZX81 and Speccy emulators in native VB (with source)
http://freestuff.grok.co.uk/

Biggo

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 8:06:56 PM2/20/01
to
Jason James wrote:
>
> Well I got a very similar response from Mr Morgan, and I quote:
>
> "Do I really care what you think ?
> No, not at all.
> So, as I said before Fuck off you dickhead."

I *can't* believe this. Someone is playing tricks
with Morgan's email. Or he's a complete idiot. Has
anybody tried to reach him by phone and ask him if
he received these posts?

--
Biggo. <mailto:bi...@blue-win.ch>
(Remove the hyphen! Spambusters at work!)
listen to aaria (two and a Mac): http://www.mp3.com/aaria

*** I used to have an open mind,
but my brains kept falling out. ***


neuro

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 9:23:21 PM2/20/01
to
"Lister" <fa...@clara.net> wrote in message
news:0q359t8rdpp9hk0ob...@4ax.com...

FWIW, the new ntk won't be out until the 23rd

--
_ __ ___ _ _ _ __ ___ | William Anderson - www.well.com/~neuro
| '_ \ / _ \ | | | '__/ _ \ | css FAQ Mirror - retro.zensoft.net/cssfaq
| | | | __/ |_| | | | (_) || #speccy - irc.astrolink.org - key 16384
|_| |_|\___|\__,_|_| \___/ @well.com There is no spoon


Jeff Braine

unread,
Feb 20, 2001, 9:42:19 PM2/20/01
to
On Mon, 19 Feb 2001, The Starglider wrote:

> In article <qkgk6.8365$Ce7.1...@nnrp3.clara.net>, Hellraiser
> <hellr...@blueyonder.nospam.co.uk> writes
> >Here, this is the CEO for Jester's email address:-
> >
> >gavin....@jesterinteractive.com
> >
> >Send him a copy of the reply u received, along with your original email,
> >make sure all headers are intact.
> >
> It was the CEO I e-mailed, and he was the responder!

And he top-posted! Grrrrr.


--
Jeff Braine
Senior Unix System Engineer
Griffith University, Nathan Campus

Hob

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 3:13:36 AM2/21/01
to
Many eons ago, in the dim, dark and distant past, Darren Salt once waffled on
about:

> Given any suspicion of forgery, I'd think about examining the Received
> headers then asking about the relays and from where they accept mail - and
> check to see if any of them are open.

The only line in the headers (with regard to Recieved-From's) you can trust is
the last one - ie, the one that delivered it to your mailbox. The rest are open
to abuse..

--
Hob.

Replace a with er.
Visit the amazingly dull site! http://www.thehobbitsburrow.org.uk
Use the apostrophe correctly! http://www.angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif
If this post doesn't make sense, please adjust your chuntey.

Derek Jolly

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 3:35:33 AM2/21/01
to
see-m...@hotmail.com (Peter THOMA$), in message <3a92f894.18012314
@news.ntlworld.com>, wrote

>On 20 Feb 2001 22:21:20 +0000, "Chris Young"
><unsatis...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
>>> Lemmings (can't think of a name for it)
>>"Save-'em-up"
>>A phrase coined by the Speccy version of Lemmings, I believe.
>
>The Speccy version allowed the cursor to 'lock on' to a specific
>Lemming, which the 16-bit versions didn't have.

Ah, but you couldn't scroll the screen when the game was paused, which
was a right pain in the arse.

>So again, more proof that the Speccy is the best computer of all time.

Well, obviously.
--
* Derek Jolly (derek...@sage.com) Web: http://www.redrival.com/rivet *
* Bemused by the jargon in comp.sys.sinclair? Check out the CSS *
* folklore FAQ at http://www.redrival.com/rivet/cssfolk.html *
* Registered Linux User (http://counter.li.org/) No. 176120 *

Andy Cadley

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 7:01:16 AM2/21/01
to

On Tue, 20 Feb 2001, Hob wrote:

> Lemmings (can't think of a name for it)

Save 'em up?

AndyC

Hob

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 7:46:32 AM2/21/01
to
Many eons ago, in the dim, dark and distant past, Andy Cadley once waffled on
about:

> > Lemmings (can't think of a name for it)
>
> Save 'em up?

Summat like that. How many clones of Lemmings have there been, out of interest?
I only of Lemmings (and the 20 sequels)

Andy Cadley

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 8:01:09 AM2/21/01
to

On Tue, 20 Feb 2001, Dave wrote:

> And the best remake (on an 8-Bit platform) - ie the SAM version -

*cough *splutter*

/AndyC wanders off mumbling something about CPC+ remakes and ungrateful
sods...

> is now
> available as Charityware from: www.samcommunity.org

(Hmm, can't find it there. Wouldn't mind seeing it though. Ed.)

Ed.

Chris Cowley

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 7:20:01 AM2/21/01
to
On Wed, 21 Feb 2001 08:13:36 GMT, Hob <h...@blueyonda.co.uk> wrote:

>Many eons ago, in the dim, dark and distant past, Darren Salt once waffled on
>about:
>
>> Given any suspicion of forgery, I'd think about examining the Received
>> headers then asking about the relays and from where they accept mail - and
>> check to see if any of them are open.
>
>The only line in the headers (with regard to Recieved-From's) you can trust is
>the last one - ie, the one that delivered it to your mailbox. The rest are open
>to abuse..

And even that one can be manipulated if the mail server's running an OS
that uses predictable initial TCP sequence numbers (NT4 SP4 and earlier,
and Linux kernel 2.0 and earlier, for example).

Barry Salter

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 8:43:45 AM2/21/01
to comp.sys.sinclair
On Tue, 20 Feb 2001 00:12:55 GMT, see-m...@hotmail.com (Peter
THOMA$) wrote:

>I'd like to know who supplies Jester's internet connection. Surely
>there's an AUP being breached there?

Nope, 'cos it's abuse *on* the net, not abuse *of* the net.

>(I suppose there's some people good at deciphering headers to find out
>who Jester use as an ISP)

Demon (jester-mold.demon.co.uk being the hostname).

HTH,

Barry

--
Barry Salter, barr...@salterg.demon.co.uk
PGP Key ID: 0x4AED8F75. Available from <http://wwwkeys.pgp.net>
Also available by mailing pgp...@salterg.demon.co.uk
Read uk.* newsgroups? Read uk.net.news.announce!

Barry Salter

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 8:53:01 AM2/21/01
to comp.sys.sinclair
On Tue, 20 Feb 2001 17:56:30 -0000, "Charles Astwood"
<cha...@nospamastwood.net> wrote:

>Sorry, have to disagree. Have been told by my companys lawers that an e-mail


>has the same legal standing as a company letter on letterhead, this is

>proved by Suppliers now being able to take a e-mail order. This will stand


>up in a court of law as if it was written on a peice of paper and faxed. Was
>quite shocked to find this out!

That's weird, 'cos we've been told that e-mail (and fax) is
"Representation by a third party", and illegal under one of the
Employment Acts (1989 I believe) so when we're sick we actually have
to phone up and speak to someone, even if that means getting up at
5:30 to do so (earliest start 5:30am, latest 3:30pm). Good innit?

Cya,

Matthew Clemson

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 9:53:30 AM2/21/01
to
> > > Lemmings (can't think of a name for it)
> > Save 'em up?

I'd just call it a puzzle game, myself.

> Summat like that. How many clones of Lemmings have there been, out
> of interest? I only of Lemmings (and the 20 sequels)

Creatures and Bill's Tomato Game could be argued as half-clones, since
they also owe a lot to The Incredible Machine - which itself had some
puzzles featuring "Mel Schlemming", so it had Lemminglike portions.

On a similar note, Troddlers was a sort of Lemmings / Solomon's Key
hybrid.

I seem to remember there being a save-the-water game, too, entitled
'Flood' or something like that; operated on similar principles.

Drifting further away from Lemmings, adding a player-controlled
character instead of a variety of moves, we get Steg the Slug, Bubble
Ghost and Spherical.

Finally, we have the absorbing but utterly bizarre
Lemmings-with-some-real-time-strategy-elements, King Arthur's World.

That enough to be going on with?

--
---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|
-Matt


spi...@freenet.co.uk

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 10:27:16 AM2/21/01
to
Ro...@holycowbatman.com did eloquently scribble:
> Lets hope it gets printed everywhere. Also, take note that the other bloke
> from Jester said they haven't found a publisher yet... I think it might be
> possible to make sure they don't.

> If all the software houses were told about that email, and told that it
> was going to be mentioned to the entire computing press, do you imagine
> that Jester would be treated any better than a leper colony?

> I think the CEO could have just sunk his own company.

He is Gerald Ratner and I claim my five poounds.


> Be careful about echoing them here though - it's not legal AFAIK; emails

> are regarded as personal correspondence. Summarise, by all means, and
> perhaps even quote sections, but considering the storm brewing over this
> one, and the potential for much legal wrangling, you might find yourself
> in water a little warmer than the Hudson Bay if you do anything legally
> dubious...

How do you summarise "Fuck off asshole"?

--
______________________________________________________________________________
| spi...@freenet.co.uk | "Are you pondering what I'm pondering Pinky?" |
|Andrew Halliwell BSc(hons)| |
| in | "I think so brain, but this time, you control |
| Computer Science | the Encounter suit, and I'll do the voice..." |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Charles Astwood

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 1:28:54 PM2/21/01
to
>
> That's weird, 'cos we've been told that e-mail (and fax) is
> "Representation by a third party", and illegal under one of the
> Employment Acts (1989 I believe) so when we're sick we actually have
> to phone up and speak to someone, even if that means getting up at
> 5:30 to do so (earliest start 5:30am, latest 3:30pm). Good innit?
>
> Cya,


Very strange the whole e-mail situ. After yesterdays comment I investigated
further, asked the big people what the score was, asked other companies what
the score was and to be quite honest no-one knew!

A couple said that it was the same as a letter on letterhead paper, a few
said it was worthless, the majority said it was somewhere in between. A few
said orders were valid by e-mail, a few said not. This internet eh, it
wasn't this complex in my day. not with those carrier pigeons. u knew where
u were then you know. and this new fangled money... blah, blah, blah, blah
--
Charles Astwood
http://www.astwood.com
Top tunes, restaurants and speccys!!!


Hob

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 1:35:56 PM2/21/01
to
Many eons ago, in the dim, dark and distant past, Charles Astwood once waffled
on about:

> Very strange the whole e-mail situ. After yesterdays comment I investigated
> further, asked the big people what the score was, asked other companies what
> the score was and to be quite honest no-one knew!

Part of the trouble with English (or British) law is that it's mostly based on
case history. As yet, I would think there haven't been a vast number of these
sort of things going through the courts.

Chris Young

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 1:59:35 PM2/21/01
to
On Tue, 20 Feb 2001 23:08:16 GMT, Peter THOMA$ (of comp.sys.sinclair "fame")

wibbled on for an age:

> On 20 Feb 2001 22:21:20 +0000, "Chris Young"


> <unsatis...@bigfoot.com> wrote:
>
> >> Lemmings (can't think of a name for it)
> >"Save-'em-up"
> >A phrase coined by the Speccy version of Lemmings, I believe.
>
> The Speccy version allowed the cursor to 'lock on' to a specific
> Lemming, which the 16-bit versions didn't have.

And it also loaded each level in from tape, and had to reload it on
the 48Kers if you failed, causing much multi-loading file-finding fun.

> So again, more proof that the Speccy is the best computer of all time.

And the extra multi-loading sub-game backs this up even further.
Erm...

Chris Young

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 4:05:13 PM2/21/01
to
On Wed, 21 Feb 2001 14:53:30 -0000, Matthew Clemson (of comp.sys.sinclair "fame")

wibbled on for an age:

> On a similar note, Troddlers was a sort of Lemmings / Solomon's Key
> hybrid.

Diggers was sort of Lemming-like. I only played it a few times (I've
got it here), but you could stop the chaps (like blockers) and tell
them to dig (like diggers, miners and bashers) and stuff. I was
completely useless at it, hence why I've only played it a couple of
times.

Darren Salt

unread,
Feb 21, 2001, 3:33:44 PM2/21/01
to
I demand that Matthew Clemson may or may not have written...

>>>> Lemmings (can't think of a name for it)
>>> Save 'em up?
> I'd just call it a puzzle game, myself.
>> Summat like that. How many clones of Lemmings have there been, out of
>> interest? I only of Lemmings (and the 20 sequels)

> Creatures and Bill's Tomato Game could be argued as half-clones, since they
> also owe a lot to The Incredible Machine - which itself had some puzzles
> featuring "Mel Schlemming", so it had Lemminglike portions.

Lemings. (Highly original name, that.)

[snip]


> I seem to remember there being a save-the-water game, too, entitled 'Flood'
> or something like that; operated on similar principles.

> Drifting further away from Lemmings, adding a player-controlled character
> instead of a variety of moves, we get Steg the Slug, Bubble Ghost and
> Spherical.

Cataclysm fits bot of these...

--
| Darren Salt anti-UCE | nr. Ashington, | d youmustbejoking,demon,co,uk
| Spec+3, Risc PC, A3010 | Northumberland | s zap,uk,eu,org
| BBC M128, Linux PC | Toon Army | @ retrospec,co,uk
| The second RISC OS version of JSW.

I'd like to, but I'm giving nuisance lessons at a local shop.

Llama-Wax Len

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Feb 21, 2001, 6:45:18 PM2/21/01
to

Chris Young wrote in message
<3A919ACF.MD-1.4....@bigfoot.com>...
>What a prat. I can't see anybody on here bothering to buy the game
>now.


From the various descriptions of how the game was to be modernised, I don't
think we were exactly queuing up to pre-order it anyway...

Len
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Chris Young

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Feb 22, 2001, 4:24:37 PM2/22/01
to
On Wed, 21 Feb 2001 23:45:18 -0000, Llama-Wax Len (of comp.sys.sinclair "fame")

wibbled on for an age:

>

> Chris Young wrote in message
> <3A919ACF.MD-1.4....@bigfoot.com>...
> >What a prat. I can't see anybody on here bothering to buy the game
> >now.
>
>
> From the various descriptions of how the game was to be modernised, I don't
> think we were exactly queuing up to pre-order it anyway...

You mean there's no colour clash? Bastards. (or perhaps I should say
f**king dickheads)

John Dow

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Feb 23, 2001, 11:20:41 AM2/23/01
to
I reckon you should forward 'em on to that nice chap at Jester ;-)

J

--
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Professional Sneak

John Dow

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Feb 23, 2001, 11:13:24 AM2/23/01
to
"The Starglider" <starg...@thespian.d.c.u> wrote in message
news:M3dZ9IAW...@thespian.demon.co.uk...
>SNIP<

Actually, I took the liberty of forwarding the news posting on to the news
editors of PC Zone, PC Format, PC Plus, and PC Gamer.

Lister

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Feb 23, 2001, 2:15:03 PM2/23/01
to
A long time ago (Fri, 23 Feb 2001 18:31:54 +0000, really), in a pub
far, far away, "/|ndy |<avanagh" <an...@nospam.lofi-gaming.org.uk>

slammed a pint glass on the table and said :

>
>Krusty's Super Fun House was sort of reverse-Lemmings: kill all the rats!
>
>
>/|ndy|<


I had that game on the SNES, bit crap tho


--

Lister - warrior prince (no relation to Xena)

The Starglider

unread,
Feb 24, 2001, 3:00:31 AM2/24/01
to
In article <97623j$1u66$1...@dunlop.dowcarter.com>, John Dow
<j...@nelefa.org> writes

>"The Starglider" <starg...@thespian.d.c.u> wrote in message
>news:M3dZ9IAW...@thespian.demon.co.uk...
>>SNIP<
>
>Actually, I took the liberty of forwarding the news posting on to the news
>editors of PC Zone, PC Format, PC Plus, and PC Gamer.
>
Erm, already had done.
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