
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Nick's Game Ratings Instructions <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
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Date :  07/01/94											Version : 1.11
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     Are you tired of spending 60$ for a cartridge, getting it home, and  
finding it would be best used propping up the coffee table? Is 4 hours of 
fun not exactly what you had in mind when you layed out those big bucks?  
Here is a list of ratings, from people like you who voted their mind      
about how good or bad their cartridges are. Make your friends vote also,  
that way we're going to have more views.


Nick's Game Ratings 
-------------------

	The Nick's Game Ratings are a compilation of the votes that I receive
for the games on the Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Gamegear, Super Nintendo,
Nintendo, GameBoy, Atari Jaguar, Atari Lynx, CD32 systems. It's what the 
players think of the games.
	

HOW TO VOTE                              
===========
                                                                    
	You can contribute in a number of ways to the database:
     
     * vote for games you have played
     * change or add information on a game already in the database
     * add a game that is not yet in the database

   If you'd like to correct a mistake in a game entry or simply add the
   value for one of the missing fields, send me a mail in the format
   described below.

  ACCEPTABLE COMMANDS
  -------------------
  
%GENVOT  <vote>  ->  <Name_of_Game>

          This command is to place a vote for the Sega Genesis game
          called <Name_of_Game>. _Note_ that <vote> must be between 1 and
          5 for your vote to count, where 1 means dire and 5 means
          excellent. If <vote> is 9, your vote will not be counted _but_
          this will enable you to modify the database afterwards. To vote
          for games other than for the Genesis, replace %GENVOT with one
          of the following:

          + %SCDVOT, for Sega CD
          + %GMGVOT, for Game Gear
          + %NESVOT, for Super Nintendo (SNES)
          + %NINVOT, for Nintendo (NES)
          + %GBYVOT, for Game Boy
          + %C32VOT, for Amiga CD32
          + %JAGVOT, for Atari Jaguar
          + %ALXVOT, for Atari Lynx


%GENADD  <vote>  ->  <Name_of_Game>

          This command is to place a vote for a Sega Genesis game not
          already in the list called <Name_of_Game>. If <vote> is 9, your
          vote will not be counted BUT this will enable you to add that
          game and modify the database afterwards. Again, for other
          platforms substitute %GENADD with one of the following:

          + %SCDADD, for Sega CD
          + %GMGADD, for Game Gear
          + %NESADD, for Super Nintendo (SNES)
          + %NINADD, for Nintendo (NES)
          + %GBYADD, for Game Boy
          + %C32ADD, for Amiga CD32
          + %JAGADD, for Atari Jaguar
          + %ALXADD, for Atari Lynx


   The next functions can ONLY be used after a VOT or an ADD :

%DESC  <description_of_Game>

          This command will enable you to put a description (see the GAME
          DESCRIPTION section) for the game previously rated.

%YEAR  <Year_of_Release>

          This command will enable you to add the year of release to the
          database for the game previously rated.

%COMP  <company>

          This command will enable you to add the company to the database
          for the game previously rated.

%PLAY  <Number_of_Players>

          This command will enable you to add the number of players
          playing simultaneously to the database for the game previously
          rated.

%HOURS  <Hours_of_Play>

          This command will enable you to add the time you would think it
          would take an average player to finish the game previously
          rated.

  SOME EXAMPLES
  -------------

   To vote for Super Mario Kart for the SNES:

%NESVOT 4 -> Super Mario Kart

   To vote for Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 for the Genesis, and add the extra
          information about Sonic 3 that it was released in 1994:

%GENVOT 4 -> Sonic 2
%GENVOT 5 -> Sonic 3
%YEAR 1994


   To vote for Zool (AGA) on the Amiga CD32, and add the fact that it is
          a 1-player game released in 1994, and also the fact that it
          should take 20 hours of gameplay to complete, plus add Zool for
          the Genesis, vote for that too _and_ say it's a platform game
          on the Genesis (!):

%C32VOT 3 -> Zool (AGA)
%PLAY 1
%YEAR 1994
%HOURS 20
%GENADD 4 -> Zool
%DESC Platform


THE VOTES                               
=========                               
                                                                          
    *      -  Dreck, yak, bleck, hack, gleck (Horrible beyond words).     
    **     -  OK, playable, still dreck, although someone might like.     
    ***    -  Decent game that will appeal to some (But not everyone).    
    ****   -  Pretty good, a fun game that almost everyone will like.     
    *****  -  Damn good, a real winner, every game should be this good.   

                                                                          
GAME DESCRIPTIONS                           
=================                           
                                                                          
Adventure    -  Games where you must explore large worlds, killing enemies
                and discovering hidden treasures, sometimes with a quest.
Arcade       -  Games that fit in no specific category except that they   
                are easy to start playing and are like arcade games.      
Copter Sim.  -  Games where you are controlling the flight and other      
                capabilities of a helicopter, from a cockpit view.        
Driving      -  Games where driving is the main object of the game, but not 
                racing other vehicles. Also may include combat & variations. 
Easy R.P.G.  -  Games that are role-playing games but are designed for    
                the novice player to easily begin play.  See Role-Play.   
Fight & Jump -  Games where you fight and jump to stay alive, and sometimes 
                have other powers. Boards usually scrolling horizontally. 
Fighting     -  Games where you face off against another player, or the   
                computer in some form of one-on-one combat.               
Flight Sim.  -  Games where you are given a cockpit view of some sort of  
                aircraft, and are given a flying mission.                 
Game/Show    -  Games that either emulate game-shows or board games.      
                Competition is with other players or against the computer.
Light-Gun    -  Games where you must use your system's light gun to perform 
                some function, usually similar to Shooter-type games. 
Interactive  -  Games where you interact with on-screen video characters  
                in order to complete the given scenario.                  
Maze Game    -  Games where navigating a maze is the main objective. This
                can be from any perspective, such as above and inside.    
Multiple     -  Games where there are a variety of game scenarios of      
                differing sorts, played either randomly or in sequence.   
Pinball      -  Games that emulate the playing of arcade-style pinball    
                machines, usually with some different options though.     
Platform     -  Games where moving from platform to platform, avoiding    
                enemies, and getting prizes are the objective.            
Racing       -  Games where the objective is to beat an opponent (either  
                computer or human) in some sort of vehicule race.          
Reality Sim. -  Games of this type take place from the point of view of a 
                fictional character's perspective.  Like virtual reality. 
Role-Play    -  Games where you take on the role of some sort of adventurer,
                able to increase in abilities and experience along the way.
Shooter      -  Games where you shoot a lot and avoid being shot by the   
                enemies you are shooting.  Most often are space scenarios.
Sports^      -  Games where there is some sort of sporting event to play  
                other than everyday, normal sporting events.              
Strategy     -  Games that require more thought than dexterity.  This can 
                encompass a great variety of different type games.        
Sub Sim.     -  Games where you are given the command and control of a    
                submarine and play from a viewpoint within the sub. itself.    
Tank Sim.    -  Games where you are given the command and control of a    
                tank and play from a viewpoint within the tank itself.    
Think-Fast   -  Games that require the player to make fast decisions and  
                act on them, kind of a quick-thinking strategy.           
Very Young   -  Games that are too easy for adults and even kids, these   
                games are really meant for kids 5 and under.              
                                                                          
^ Regular sports games will be described by their appropriate sporting event


HOW IS COMPILED THE BEST AND WORST SECTIONS
===========================================

     At the begining of the lists, the minimum number of votes 
needed in order to qualify for the BEST AND WORST SECTIONS was of
four. With the time, I got more votes and some people pointed out 
that four voters for a game is not that much so we came up with
a change.

     From now on, the minimum number of voters to qualify will be
calculated from the number of voters. 

     The formula is : Average number of voters per game
                      ---------------------------------
                                     STD
                                     ---
                                      2
                                 
     Note : The minimum number of votes required must be of at least 10.
     

GETTING THE RATINGS
===================
                                                                          
 By E-Mail :
 ---------
                                                                          
   The latest release of my ratings are one e-mail away. All you  
have to do is send me an e-mail (paien00@dmi.usherb.ca) with one of    
those commands as the SUBJECT : 
 
 get_sega        - Ratings and Voting Ballot for the Genesis
 get_segacd      - Ratings and Voting Ballot for the Genesis CD
 get_gamegear    - Ratings and Voting Ballot for the GameGear
 get_supernes    - Ratings and Voting Ballot for the Super Nintendo 
 get_nintendo    - Ratings and Voting Ballot for the Nintendo
 get_gameboy     - Ratings and Voting Ballot for the GameBoy
 get_jaguar      - Ratings and Voting Ballot for the Jaguar
 get_lynx        - Ratings and Voting Ballot for the Atari Lynx
 get_cd32        - Ratings and Voting Ballot for the CD32
 
 NOTE : DO NOT put any ratings in those messages because I don't read
        them, my mail filter is doing all the job. Also be sure of 
        including the underscore.
 
 
 Over The World-Wide-Web :
 -----------------------
                                                                          
If you have access to the World-Wide-Web (WWW) with any of the following
browsers:

  o NCSA Mosaic        - for Unix/X systems
  o Mosaic for Windows - for PCs with Windows
  o MacMosaic          - for Apple Macs
  o AmigaMosaic        - for Commodore Amigas
  o Lynx               - vt100 Unix (or similar)

 The address (or URL) of Cardiff's Video Game database browser is:

        http://www.cm.cf.ac.uk:/Games/

 Come and have a browse, and enjoy!

 Sy:     maintainer of Cardiff's Video Game database browser.
 e-mail: Simon.N.Smith@cm.cf.ac.uk
 
 
 On FTP Site :
 -----------
               ftp.digex.net                     
                   under      /pub/access/spatton/
               SunSITE.Unc.EDU                     
                   under      /pub/micro/games/sega/ratings/
 
 
 
     Please vote for ALL the games you have played, not just the ones you 
liked. People want to know which ones are really crappy. Also if you have 
a suggestion or a comment about the ratings, send it to me - as you can   
see I've been more than willing to make changes - but I make no promises  
that everyone's ideas and changes will be made.  I apologize to anyone    
who's votes I lose or mess up. WARNING - you might find mistakes.  You 
will not hurt my feelings if you write me to bring any mistake that I 
made to my attention. I do not read the newsgroup all the time so it's 
safer to send me e-mails than to reply to the message.     
                                                                          
          And for those of you who participated -                         
                                                  Thank You               
                                                                          
                                                     Nick                 
                                                                          
This document is written by and copyright (c)1994 by Nicolas-M. Paiement  
It may be redistributed freely as long as it is not modified in any way.  

