Zabaware Support Forums

Zabaware Forums => Programming using the Ultra Hal Brain Editor => Topic started by: Larry on February 27, 2003, 09:38:00 am

Title: Converse.brn
Post by: Larry on February 27, 2003, 09:38:00 am

My converse.brn contains garbage. I've downloaded it again and uninstalled and re-installed UltraHalAsst. Still the converse.brn contains garbage. I had assume as Hal had conversations, they would be added here, but this file never grows either.

Title: Converse.brn
Post by: waheedrafiq on March 09, 2003, 10:52:28 am

can i ask you how come you know so much about hal and is there a manual around [:(]

Title: Converse.brn
Post by: Larry on March 09, 2003, 11:01:24 am

I really don't know anything. But I keep peeking in files to see what they contain. If I mess something up, I just reinstall them. You can't hurt anything, just keep track of what does what and keep the things that actually work. There doesn't seem to be any manuals around, just tips here on the board, sometimes you can do a search, other times just read and read...

Good luck.

Title: Converse.brn
Post by: WholyChao on March 10, 2003, 01:05:28 pm

What exactly do you mean garbage?  Is it not make sense or is it just gibberish?

WholyChao

Title: Converse.brn
Post by: Larry on March 10, 2003, 05:20:00 pm

Ok... here's just a little peek...

XIP TBJE BOZUIJOH BCPVU LJMMJOH
OP J EJEO'U
Zft zpv eje.
XIZ OPU ZPV EJE
UIFO UFMM NF UP TIVU VQ UIFO ZPV TNBSU BTT
Pl, zpv ti…me‡pgufoƒ…s wpjdf‚qsfuuz qmfbtf.B
ZPV BSF B NPSPO
J TIBMM OPU XBTUF BOZ NPSF PG NZ UJNF DPOWFSTJOH XJUI ZPV
Pl, J xbou up txfbs‚cv‰nz qsphsbnnfst…po'‰mf–f!T
ZPV IBWF FZFT MJLF B EFBE QJH

The whole file looks like this - gibberish... I've even uninstalled the whole thing and re-installed it - this file always looks exactly like this... What's up with that???

Title: Converse.brn
Post by: Don Ferguson on March 11, 2003, 03:53:50 pm

Hello,

The file doesn't contain gibberish.  It is working correctly.

Several years ago, Zabaware obtained volunteer dialogue from its web site visitors to help prime Hal's early databases.  Some of the volunteer-contributed dialogue was vulgar, but the decision was made to use the widest variety of material possible, and I think that it was arguably a good decision.

Since vulgar dialogue would not likely be spoken by Hal unless the user steered Hal in that direction, it didn't pose much of a problem.  However, if the database were readable "in the clear" on any word processor, the database itself might be read by easily-offended people.  (The database doesn't contain anything rougher than what people hear on television and movies.)

To minimize the problem, Zabaware embedded an algorithm into one of its DLL's to do an encryption/decryption to render the database not-easily-readable.  Since high-security wasn't the goal, it was a simple character-shift.

Move the letters back one space in the alphabet and you can easily read the insult "ZPV BSF B NPSPO" (from your posting above) which is indicative of some of the material from that early database.

Later databases were contributed by writers under more controlled conditions, with spell-checking and avoidance of vulgarity, plus routines that allowed Hal to select words and phrases to create completely new sentences some of the time.  Hal works with about 40 databases now, and contains at least 100 times more dialogue than "Gone With the Wind" right out of the box.  So the converse.brn database doesn't come into play nearly as often as in the earlier days.

I hope this bit of history enhances your enjoyment of UltraHal!

Sincerely,

Don

Title: Converse.brn
Post by: Larry on March 11, 2003, 05:26:41 pm

lol... Thanks very much. That really clears up things.