ZMachine 1.2 for the Sharp Wizard OZ-7XX ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a Infocom type Game (ZCode) style interpreter for version III type games. This program was written for the Wizard by Shawn Roberts and Matthew Holladay. This program is a port of the old style ZIP (Zork Interpreter) program by Mark Howell. Please report any bugs or comments to m_holladay@hotmail.com. Section 1. Instructions for loading games into the ZMachine ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Download zmachine.wzd to wizard 2. Download frommemo.wzd to wizard 3. Download game file to wizard. See below to convert the *.dat files into wizard files. 4. Immediately after downloading the gamefile.wzd, run frommemo. Section 2. Instructions for converting game files (*.dat) to *.wzd ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Run: convwzd to convert each game file to a wzd file. Section 3. Starting Game ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From the ZMachine Main Menu, select the game to be played by entering the appropriate number. To delete a game, press the DEL key at the main menu, then enter the appropriate game number to be deleted. It is normal program operation for the game file to take a minute or two for deletion. This deletion process will also delete any game save files associated with the game. Section 4. Game Play ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Infocom games are text adventure games that recognizes different words that you type into the computer. A command could either be a single word, such as up, or a combination of words such as get all, or kill troll with sword. The commands are not case sensitive. To help you with the basics of playing the game, here's a few basic commands to get you started. Commands are entered at the > prompt at the bottom of the screen. These are only a small part of what the game understands - try whatever English commands seem appropriate at any given point. Going Places: Compass directions will get you most places - use E, W, S, N, NE etc. (Out, In. Down and Up will also work in many places). Other Commands: Look - gives you a full description of your current location Diagnose - gives you a report of your physical condition Inventory - gives you a list of what you are carrying (abbreviates to I) Wait - electronic equivalent of taking a nap Get, Get All - lets you pick things up Open - open something closed Examine - fully describe an object Drop, Drop All - put things down Verbose - Gives you a detailed description of the room, every time the room is entered Brief - Provides just the name of the room Superbrief - Displays only the room name Restart - restarts the game from the beginning Save - Saves a game for later continuation Restore - Restores a previous saved game Quit - Quits the game, and exits the ZMachine Score - Gives score of game Communicating: When you come across another character in the game, you can talk to them by entering their name followed by a comma, then the question, e.g.: Ford, where are you going? Marvin, give me the hammer Game Hints: Examine everything. Even the most unsignificate object could be of importance. Make a map to help with moving about game world. Good luck. If you totally give up, then game clues and walk throughs can be found on the internet. Section 5. New Features ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The following features have been added since ZMachine 1.0 - Fixed a bug in parsing punctuation that caused all kinds of havoc when trying to talk to NPCs. - Added support for 4 savegame slots rather than a single savegame. - Added a checker that runs when converting Infocom data files to wizard format so that unsupported games and games that require too much memory will not be converted. - The key-click noise can be turned on and off using the Page Up and Page Down keys next to the Wizard's screen (the big blue ones). This can keep you from going nuts if the clicks grate on your nerves. - The interpreter now pauses waiting for a keypress at the end of games, allowing you to actually read the closing text of games that exit in a not-so-nice manner. Section 6. Interactions with ZMachine 1.0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- While ZMachine 1.2 can read the Infocom data files saved by previous ZMachine 1.0, it cannot read the saved games from 1.0. Because of this, it is safest to use ZMachine 1.0 to delete all data files and savegames prior to installation and usage of ZMachine 1.2. Sorry. Section 7. Future Releases ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, I am working on the changes necessary to support V4, V5, and V8 games. Just don't expect that release any time soon. The "undo" command will probably not be supported in any version any time soon, implementation just requires too much memory for the Wizard. With the extra savegame slots it shouldn't be as big a problem anymore. Matthew Holladay Last Modified: Thu Jul 19 19:15:30 2001