A highly technical question
| Author | Topic: A highly technical question |
|---|---|
|
Warrior
Member # 3417
|
written Tuesday, November 25 2003 19:03
Profile
Homepage
I was playing a round of Magic: The Gathering with a friend of mine and we were using the pre-constructed decks that come with 8th Edition. Anyway, I had the occasion to have two copies of "Hunted Wumpus" in play at once for some reason. This led to some awkward fumbling around about the proper plural form of "Wumpus". Who can solve this mystery for me? (Answers that sag, no matter how effable, will not be considered). Bonus points: Anyone know where the "Wumpus" reference comes from? If there are no takers on this one then I'll give a hint. -------------------- This space intentionally left blank. Posts: 70 | Registered: Monday, September 1 2003 07:00 |
|
...b10010b...
Member # 869
|
written Tuesday, November 25 2003 19:14
Profile
Homepage
I personally like Wumpes as a plural of Wumpus, even though there's no real linguistic justification for it. And yes, I've played Hunt the Wumpus before. -------------------- I believe there are 15 747 724 136 275 002 577 105 653 961 181 555 468 044 717 914 527 116 709 366 231 425 076 185 631 031 296 protons in the universe, and the same number of electrons. -- Sir Arthur Eddington Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
|
Warrior
Member # 3417
|
written Tuesday, November 25 2003 19:43
Profile
Homepage
Partial credit. In this case, however, the designers of the card had a specific video game in mind as the source for the "hunted wumpus" name. Or so I've been told. So if anyone can name the game, they get full credit. I like your suggestion. We had come up with: "Wumpii" "Wumpi" "Wumpuses" "Wamposes" "Whomp!" "Wimpuses" More feedback craved is. -------------------- This space intentionally left blank. Posts: 70 | Registered: Monday, September 1 2003 07:00 |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Wednesday, November 26 2003 02:37
Profile
Homepage
The proper plural form would most likely be Wumpii. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Vahnatai Did Do It desperance.net - We're Everywhere The Arena - God Will Sort The Dead ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
|
Shock Trooper
Member # 1723
|
written Wednesday, November 26 2003 09:28
Profile
Why would it have 2 i's? Hippopotami only has 1. I vote Wumpi. EDIT: Actually, come to think of it, I would think Wumpuses would be an acceptable pluralization as well. [ Wednesday, November 26, 2003 09:30: Message edited by: Aarrow Swift ] -------------------- "... and approximately one sea turtle." Posts: 277 | Registered: Tuesday, August 13 2002 07:00 |
|
Agent
Member # 1169
|
written Thursday, November 27 2003 12:38
Profile
Yeah, it would just be Wumpi. If the word were "Wumpius," it would be "Wumpii." -------------------- "Man hands down misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, and don't have any kids yourself."--Philip Larkin, "This Be the Verse" Fear the wrath of the Grammar Wench, lest ye be cut down by the Glistening Scythe. Posts: 1150 | Registered: Friday, May 17 2002 07:00 |
|
Infiltrator
Member # 1877
|
written Thursday, November 27 2003 12:43
Profile
In the ears of one who never have played Magic, this sounds uterly bizare! -------------------- MDNZZZ ZMMMBIS WBLOONZ 33111-CRUSADER-4849 Posts: 662 | Registered: Friday, September 13 2002 07:00 |
|
Post Navel Trauma ^_^
Member # 67
|
written Thursday, November 27 2003 13:19
Profile
Homepage
It's bizarre for Magic-players too. There are only two wumpi in the game, so most people have never seen them. -------------------- Grammar wenches beware: This is the house that the malt that the rat that the cat that the dog that the cow that the maiden that the man that the priest that the cock that the farmer kept waked married kissed milked tossed worried killed ate lay in. My Website desperance.net - Leave your sanity at the door Posts: 1798 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00 |
|
Warrior
Member # 3417
|
written Thursday, November 27 2003 14:29
Profile
Homepage
Here is a hint about the Wumpus name reference: It comes from an old Commodore 64 game made in the early 80's. Anyone? Side note: I see that Wumpi is settling into accepted useage for the plural. Is this concensus, or are their other votes? -------------------- This space intentionally left blank. Posts: 70 | Registered: Monday, September 1 2003 07:00 |
|
Law Bringer
Member # 335
|
written Thursday, November 27 2003 16:27
Profile
Homepage
Isn't wumpus the plural already? The singular is wumpu. The "Creature - Beast" on the cards are in error. They should say "Beasts." —Alorael, who actually looked up the cards and discovered that Thrashing Wumpus gives the plural form. It's wumpuses. [ Thursday, November 27, 2003 16:30: Message edited by: Alorael ] Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
|
Shake Before Using
Member # 75
|
written Thursday, November 27 2003 16:34
Profile
quote:Ahem, mort8?  Posts: 3234 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00 |
|
...b10010b...
Member # 869
|
written Thursday, November 27 2003 17:02
Profile
Homepage
Eh, no, apparently she's referring to some specific implementation of HtW or other HtW-related game. -------------------- I believe there are 15 747 724 136 275 002 577 105 653 961 181 555 468 044 717 914 527 116 709 366 231 425 076 185 631 031 296 protons in the universe, and the same number of electrons. -- Sir Arthur Eddington Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
|
Warrior
Member # 3417
|
written Thursday, November 27 2003 17:48
Profile
Homepage
OK, so the game in question is M.U.L.E., which has a mini-game involving hunting a Wumpus. This was one of the few advantages that the human had over the computer players. MULE was a classic game for the C64, one that could be said to have invetned a number of features that changed computer gaming, such as hot-seat multiplay, turn-based strategy, and so forth. The creator of the "Hunted Wumpus" magic card was a big fan of MULE. Or so I've read in a magazine article, anyway. AFAIK in the computer game Wumpus referred to only 1 creature, since when you actually captured the Wumpus you saw a picture of just one monster. -------------------- This space intentionally left blank. Posts: 70 | Registered: Monday, September 1 2003 07:00 |
|
Master Jeweller
Member # 409
|
written Friday, November 28 2003 02:27
Profile
Homepage
If the word was Latin, the correct plural would be wumpi, and we could make a nice line of derivations like wumpus, wumpi, wumpo, wumpum, wumpo. Etc. Since it's actually an English invention, wumpuses would actually be correct, even if some people nowadays use 'weird' plurals such as boxen instead of boxes. The name 'wumpus' actually comes from a game much older than MULE, and is called 'hunt the wumpus' (or maybe it was just 'wumpus'). In the halcyon days where ADVENT and the first infocommies were really good text adventures, Wumpus was a really, really bad one. Stuck in a dozen or so rooms and armed with a bow and two arrows, you had to kill the wumpus (which you could smell from one room away) without entering its room. Of course if you were next to it, you were not told in which direction it actually was. I believe 50 lines or so of basic code can make an adequate wumpus-clone. -------------------- Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heilighthum! Deine Zauber binden wieder, was die Mode streng getheilt, Alle Menschen werden Brüder, wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt. Pieter Simoons aka Radiant Official Crystal Shard and SubTerra webpage Posts: 798 | Registered: Monday, December 17 2001 08:00 |
|
...b10010b...
Member # 869
|
written Friday, November 28 2003 02:54
Profile
Homepage
The main selling point of Hunt the Wumpus is the layout of the caves; canonically, they have the same topology as the surface of an icosahedron. -------------------- I believe there are 15 747 724 136 275 002 577 105 653 961 181 555 468 044 717 914 527 116 709 366 231 425 076 185 631 031 296 protons in the universe, and the same number of electrons. -- Sir Arthur Eddington Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
|
Babelicious
Member # 3149
|
written Friday, November 28 2003 09:09
Profile
Homepage
[mboeh@debs]~% /usr/games/bin/wump Instructions? (y-n) n You're in a cave with 20 rooms and 3 tunnels leading from each room. There are 3 bats and 3 pits scattered throughout the cave, and your quiver holds 5 custom super anti-evil Wumpus arrows. Good luck. You are in room 16 of the cave, and have 5 arrows left. *rustle* *rustle* (must be bats nearby) *sniff* (I can smell the evil Wumpus nearby!) There are tunnels to rooms 3, 9, and 11. Move or shoot? (m-s) m To which room do you wish to move? 11 --- WUMP(6) BSD Games Manual WUMP(6) NAME wump - hunt the wumpus in an underground cave SYNOPSIS wump [-h] [-a arrows] [-b bats] [-p pits] [-r rooms] [-t tunnels] DESCRIPTION The game wump is based on a fantasy game first presented in the pages of People's Computer Company in 1973. In Hunt the Wumpus you are placed in a cave built of many different rooms, all interconnected by tunnels. Your quest is to find and shoot the evil Wumpus that resides elsewhere in the cave without running into any pits or using up your limited supply of arrows. Posts: 999 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
|
Warrior
Member # 3417
|
written Friday, November 28 2003 18:20
Profile
Homepage
I've played the original hunt the wumpus actually. I just found it interesting that the card was supposedly based on MULE as opposed to the original. I've also been in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. On a mainframe, no less. Good to see that there are some others here that have played some of the "oldies". Check out lemon64 for a MULE rom and emulator. -------------------- This space intentionally left blank. Posts: 70 | Registered: Monday, September 1 2003 07:00 |
|
Warrior
Member # 656
|
written Saturday, November 29 2003 17:45
Profile
Homepage
I had a pet wumpus once but it chewed on the kitchen table so I sent it away. -------------------- *I am not a guest. Posts: 127 | Registered: Wednesday, February 20 2002 08:00 |
|
Lifecrafter
Member # 87
|
written Monday, December 1 2003 13:32
Profile
Homepage
the plural of wumpus is pimble, naturaly. just as kine is the plural of cow. )this post flinkt your general direction by *wump* edit: mule is probably the only C64 game that I have never played. sadness. [ Monday, December 01, 2003 13:33: Message edited by: Dgjzxachk ] -------------------- Tip of the Day: #13 Stand clear the closing door. That's treason. (THNIK)(Peculiar James, FP productions co, inc) Posts: 816 | Registered: Friday, October 5 2001 07:00 |
|
Master Jeweller
Member # 409
|
written Wednesday, December 3 2003 03:34
Profile
Homepage
At the risk of going off-topic... you seem to know a lot of C64 games. I'm looking for a 4-way scrolling platformer in which you control a guy that looks like pacman with two feet attached (or a yellow rectangle when climbing up or down ladders); you're stuck in a toy factory and have to collect all toys. It plays the tune known as Popcorn (the theme from such games as Digger, et al). Does it ring a bell? I've forgotten the title. -------------------- Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heilighthum! Deine Zauber binden wieder, was die Mode streng getheilt, Alle Menschen werden Brüder, wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt. Pieter Simoons aka Radiant Official Crystal Shard and SubTerra webpage Posts: 798 | Registered: Monday, December 17 2001 08:00 |
|
Warrior
Member # 3417
|
written Thursday, December 4 2003 10:30
Profile
Homepage
You're not talking about Jumpman, perhaps? Or maybe, Toy Bizarre? [ Thursday, December 04, 2003 10:39: Message edited by: mortification8 ] -------------------- This space intentionally left blank. Posts: 70 | Registered: Monday, September 1 2003 07:00 |
|
Infiltrator
Member # 1877
|
written Friday, December 5 2003 12:18
Profile
You know, i overheard someone talk about a single Magic card that you had to pay 6000 norwegian kroner for, the course is something like 1 $=6.34 Kr so its; erm... maybe 380 $ (Man, only 6 months ago it was up to 1 $=8.45 Kr!), thats a lot of money for a card! -------------------- MDNZZZ ZMMMBIS WBLOONZ 33111-CRUSADER-4849 Posts: 662 | Registered: Friday, September 13 2002 07:00 |
|
Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Member # 919
|
written Friday, December 5 2003 19:12
Profile
I've heard of people paying more. Some people are just obsessed. This post brought to you someone looking for an excuse to have 1999 posts. -------------------- And though the musicians would die, the music would live on in the imaginations of all who heard it. -The Last Pendragon TEH CONSPIRACY IZ ALL Les forum de la chance. Incaseofemergency,breakglass. Posts: 3351 | Registered: Saturday, April 6 2002 08:00 |