Re: Seeking Z-code interpreter for old old DOS machine


11 Apr 1995 21:05:00 +0200

In article <5g99whE.ecm2662@delphi.com>,
ecm2662@delphi.com (Ed McBride) wrote:

>>>Does anybody know where to find a Z-code (Infocom) interpreter that
>>>will work on an old PC-XT running DOS 3 with an IBM Monochrome
>>>adapter? The ITF and ZIP interpreters both run but neither manages
>>>the screen properly. I've compiled hack and omega for this machine in
>>>the past using the PCCURSES library, if that helps anyone.
>
>I run version 3 games on an XT/mono machine by using DEBUG or a hex editor
>to modify an original Infocom interpreter (WISHBRIN.COM, etc.). Replace
>the bytes at offset 0103 with the game data file and the bytes at offset
>0144 with the save filename. The original interpreters also have an advantage
>in speed and size (11 or 12K).

I want to run version 3 games on my Atari Portfolio (PC-compatible
Palmtop, 128K, 40*8 LCD display) as soon as I get some additional RAM.
[One has to split up the 128K for conventional RAM and a battery-
buffered RAM-disk which can be used like a harddrive on a "real" PC.]

I was looking recently which interpreter would be best to use for this
purpose. It should

A. be very little (like the original interpreters from Infocom),
B. have adjustable screen-size (40 columns, 8 lines) and
C. don't load the story file into RAM at the beginnig of a session,
because with so little RAM it would be wasteful to have the game
completely in both the RAM-disk and the RAM ...

Well, I haven't found the ideal interpreter that meets all three
demands ...

Has anybody already tried something similar or has anybody some memories
about Infocoms on PC with 64K or 128K back in the early eighties?

So long
Tom

--
+---+----Thomas Schaefer----+-"I was feeling so nostalgic that I even--+
| T |    "Tom Traveler"     |  managed to get my 486 to run the Zork   |
| T |  private net.maniac   |  sampler in 40 column green monochrome." |
+---+-tom@traveler.rhein.de-+-------------------------[Ed Armstrong]---+