Triform 1.2b Readme


Triform is an alternative library for Inform, that adds many features not
present in the Standard Library. Those added features enable a lot of things
that you may want for your game, but they do come at the cost of reduced
speed and increased memory usage. Triform games probably will not fit within
the Z-Machine and will have to compile to Glulx.

Here is a list of the major new features of Triform:

 - Objects can be simultaneously supporters and containers, and can also have
 objects behind or beneath them as well.

 - The player can refer to objects by their locations, such as THE WALLET ON THE TABLE
 or THE MONEY IN THE WALLET ON THE TABLE.

 - New action routines that fire after an action has been determined possible
 but before it is executed, and also that fire after the action is carried out and
 its message has been printed.

 - Many implict actions will occur, so that if the player types something
 like TAKE THE MONEY then the character will open the box the wallet is in,
 take the wallet, and open the wallet.

 - It is much easier to set up negatively-scored tasks, rooms, and objects, and
 tasks that can be partially scored.

 - Easy methods for altering standard game text, such as changing "in the shark tank"
 to "trapped in Blofeld's shark tank", or "providing light" to "glowing eerily".

 - Creation of doors is simpler.

 - Some new verbs and actions.

 - Optional systems for adjectives, questions such as WHO IS ROBERT, correcting
 spelling errors in the player's input, complex clothing, complex lock-and-key
 relationships, size, gradual light changes, goal-oriented NPCs, and remembering
 object locations.


The file convert.txt describes the most important differences between coding for
Triform vs. the Standard Library and how to convert existing code. The file
features.txt describes the more advanced, optional features that you may want
to use.