Re: wolf 3d

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates) writes...

>In article <6c6f01$4d4$1@the-fly.zip.com.au>,
>Advanced Integration Designs Aust. <aida@zip.com.au> wrote:
>>i just downloaded the 1.6 meg *.bxy wolf 3d
>>how exactly do i get it over to my dual floppy GS..split etc?
>
>   According to the author's web pages (same place downloaded from) at
>http://www.sheppyware.ml.org/software/wolf3d_gs/index.html , a HD and
>4MB ram is *required*. Better get that HD and read the dox closer.

    Well to run the game in its full form definitely does require a
hardrive and 4 MB RAM (and an accelerator too I might add, I find
it _much_ too sluggish to be considered enjoyable without one).
However, if your desparate enough, there are ways to run it on a
pretty much stock Apple IIgs with floppy drives and just slightly
over 2 MB of memory.

    Format a blank 800K disk and copy the main program file there
(called "Wolfenstein3D") and then create a folder called "Levels".
This leaves you with about 179K of space left, enough to copy at
least one or two of the scenarios into the 'Levels' folder (note
that this excludes "A Second Encounter", it's too large to fit).
The catch? You will have no music--although this isn't much of a
concern, considering you only (very briefly) hear music when you
watch the opening credits, or when finishing a level or complete
an entire scenario. The other problem is you will not have any
sound, making the game dead silent the entire time! Also, you'll
have to manually copy different scenario files into the 'Levels'
folder when you want to try a different one (it cannot load them
off separate disks, and you won't even see all the scenario's
listed in the selection menu in any case). As for getting the
files out of the archive--you'll need to set up a large RAM Disk
to download on to, then unpack certain files to disk. Disable
it after the files are on disk, and perhaps rather than loading
into the Finder, use the "Installer" disk to boot and hold down
the Shift key so it loads into the System 6 Launcher (that'll
launch Wolf 3D, probably with systems that have only 2+ MB).

    I would stress doing this *only* if your not ever planning on
buying a hardrive or extra memory. It would allow you to have a
look at the artwork in the game, maybe even have a bit of fun
playing it, but your short changing yourself unless you play it
in full. The sound effects are kind of important anyway, you need
to hear guards approaching (anyhow, the sounds are as much a part
of the game as anything else :). 

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca