Beta testers for GS Infocom Interpreter (Frotz)

[day@porter.CS.ORST.EDU (Day Evan)]

This is a call for beta-testers to test a GS port of the Infocom Z-Code
interpreter Frotz.  If you don't know who Infocom was or own any Infocom
software, you might as well hit 'n' now...

...

Frotz is the most recent Z-code interpreter to arise.  The major
advantages it poses over its predecessors is a more strict adherence to
the Z-Machine Standard (standard 0.2 is the most recent published standard
at this time.)  It also adds support for the sound opcode and
interpretation of version 6 (graphic) games.

Frotz was written by Stefan Jokisch, and Frotz GS is made up mostly of his
code.  I only claim credit for those portions of the code written by me,
most of which deal with I/O and GS-specific implementation of features.
Frotz GS also contains portions of the ORCA/C run-time libraries, (c)
1987-1993 by the Byteworks.  I don't claim responsibility for those,
either :)

 The GS port of Frotz supports the following features:

* No shell required.  Frotz GS is a stand-alone application that uses the
  same standard file dialogs that all desktop applications share.

* Frotz GS supports z-code version 1 - 5 and 8 (I haven't tried a version
  7 file, because I can't seem to find any...)

* Elimination of VM.  The entire game file is executed from memory,
  eliminating disk access and speeding execution of game files.

* SHR display.  Limited color support (black, blue, red, and white at this
  time) and a graphic font (from standard 0.2) are included.  Bold,
  italic, and reverse text are also supported.

* Sound capabilities.  Release 221 of the Lurking Horror includes the use
  of sounds and has been fully tested.  Certain releases of Sherlock also
  utilize the sound opcodes; however, I don't have Sherlock so it is as
  yet untested.

* Compressed save file format.  Save files only record changes that have 
  occurred in a particular game, rather than the entire dynamic memory
  area.  As an example, a savefile from Jigsaw saved with Jzip occupies
  approximately 28k of disk space.  A similar savefile from Frotz takes up
  only 817 bytes of disk space.

- The Frotz GS parser contains a more optimized save and restore routine,
  speeding up the save and restore process.  These same optimizations also
  speed up the verify process.

* Hot keys.  Commands can be recorded to a file on disk and played back,
  the user can seed the random number generator, and an interpreter undo
  stack of up to 20 states is offered.

* Command line history buffer.  Up to 15 of the most recent commands 
  entered are buffered, allowing easy repetition of commands entered on
  turns other than the previous turn.

(I think those are most of the major ones...)

Things still missing from the GS port (the under development section):

* Version 6 game support.  I'm still waiting for my copy of Masterpieces
  to be shipped, so I don't have the version 6 data files available for
  testing.  

* Menus.  Frotz GS has no menu bar, allowing 25 rows of text.  Addition
  of pop-up menus featuring standard file functions and desk accessories
  is in the works.

* Game switching capabilities.  Right now, you have to quit and restart
  Frotz GS to switch games.

* Beyond Zork.  Anyone who has worked with interpreters knows what I mean.
  Suffice to say Beyond Zork and Frotz GS *do not* get along at this
  point, but I'm working on it.

* Other things I'm sure I've forgotten...

----

Beta-testers need to have access to z-code files.  These can come from
several sources:

(1) Old 5.25" Infocom Games.  I can give instructions/software that will
    extract the game data from these disks into a format that Frotz GS
    can execute.

(2) Activision's Lost Treasures of Infocom, 'Collections', or Masterpieces
    of Infocom.  These packages all contain the data files.  Just move
    these files over from whichever platform and Frotz GS can run them.

(3) The Interactive Fiction Archive:

	ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/infocom

    contains several freeware z-code files (created with Inform, the
    freeware z-code compiler!).


For those with release 203 of The Lurking Horror, I can provide you with
an update program and the sound data files so you can check out Frotz
sound capabilities.


If interested, please contact me via email.

day@cs.orst.edu

-Evan

-- 
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