Re: Zip V8 (Re-releasing Zip)


16 Nov 1995 11:32:04 GMT

Despite the efforts to go back to a common Zip distribution, I'm
planning to release another update of my MS-DOS port of Zip. It
should be finished in two weeks or so and features (compared to
Zip V2.0):

- sound support (Lurking Horror/Sherlock Holmes)
- built-in graphic font (Beyond Zork)
- improved input recording and playback features (even for games
without #record and #command instructions) which can handle
timeouts, function keys, mouse clicks and international characters
- V7 and V8 support
- mouse support
- multiple UNDO (even for old games that don't support UNDO)
- command line editing
- command line history
- two different Zip versions, including a fast version without
virtual memory (faster than Infocom's own interpreters)
- full support of the upcoming specification (eg. support for
the optional arguments of save and restore, distinguishing
single and double mouse clicks, clearing the sound flag if
there is no sound board, correct timeout behaviour, addition
of get_cursor and nop opcodes, support for the optional 4th
argument of print_table etc.)
- improved function key support (eg. keypad numbers)
- improved support for German characters (in the input line and
in the transscript file)
- numerous bug fixes
- switches for setting the screen colours
- cheat functions (for monitoring object movement etc.)
- support for monochrome video boards (including real underlining
in text mode)

I will also release the source code this time which has become
a bit DOS specific in some parts. The source code was completely
re-written. It uses only few global functions and variables, and
it uses the opcode names from Graham's specification.

-- Stefan