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#infocom

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Mike Sheldon<p>Dear Infocom nerds of Fedi, I'm having a clear out and have listed a bunch of original Amstrad CPC Infocom games on eBay if anyone fancies a bit of interactive fiction history: <a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/elleomea" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/elleomea</a><br><br><a href="https://hendike.co.uk/tags/infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infocom</span></a> <a href="https://hendike.co.uk/tags/interactivefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InteractiveFiction</span></a> <a href="https://hendike.co.uk/tags/zork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Zork</span></a></p>
root42<p>I am planning to do a Let's Code Livestream on Sunday, 8th June 2025, at 20:00 CEST, 18:00 UTC. We will be hacking away on an Infocom interpreter for the Commodore PET -- and I barely speak 6502 assembly! What could possibly go wrong???<br><a href="https://youtube.com/live/IvGJ7XQSHcc?feature=share" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">youtube.com/live/IvGJ7XQSHcc?f</span><span class="invisible">eature=share</span></a><br><a href="https://chaos.social/tags/letscode" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>letscode</span></a> <a href="https://chaos.social/tags/infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infocom</span></a> <a href="https://chaos.social/tags/interactivefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>interactivefiction</span></a> <a href="https://chaos.social/tags/retrogaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrogaming</span></a></p>
Shawn Sijnstra<p>The Grundy <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/NewBrain" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NewBrain</span></a> was an interesting <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/z80" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>z80</span></a> based machine from 1982. One of its more remarkable features was a built-in single line display in addition to the video out, allowing for some portable use. The machine was targeted at business use and didn't get a large amount of platform specific software. It ran a version of <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/CP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CP</span></a>/M 2.2 with an efficient implementation giving it a large TPA. The platform also supports inverse characters, although without a specific control code to toggle so I need to manually track reverse character mode and toggle the top bit accordingly. With some gymnastics in memory management, a 50Hz timer is available, allowing me to count the ticks for the 10Hz timer expected by a full featured <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Zmachine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Zmachine</span></a> <br>Now that it's properly tested and running, you can download the latest addition to the <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Vezza" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Vezza</span></a> family from <a href="https://gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza</span><span class="invisible"></span></a> and if you are curious about the NewBrain you can get the emulator and other info from <a href="https://newbrainemu.eu/new/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">newbrainemu.eu/new/</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p>I've attached screenshots of the Bomber game in action, as well as the <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Infocom</span></a> classic A Mind Forever Voyaging.</p>
Amiga Love ❤<p>Suddenly, out of nowhere, your mind was blown. </p><p>Imagine if they'd paid Douglas Adams to write a paperback novel version of his Infocom game Bureaucracy!</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infocom</span></a> OG <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/textadventure" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>textadventure</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/interactivefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>interactivefiction</span></a></p>
rk: it’s hyphen-minus actually<p>DROP TEA<br>GET NO TEA</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.well.com/tags/tea" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>tea</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.well.com/tags/infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infocom</span></a></p>
rk: it’s hyphen-minus actually<p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://dosgame.club/@sqhistorian" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>sqhistorian</span></a></span> </p><p>By certain metrics, the pamphlet in the mailbox outside the white house in Zork counts as in-game advertising. </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.well.com/tags/infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infocom</span></a></p>
vga256<p>many moons ago there used to be a telnettable <a href="https://dialup.cafe/tags/infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infocom</span></a> game server at <a href="http://infocom.elsewhere.org" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">http://</span><span class="">infocom.elsewhere.org</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p>anyone know if there's a live telnet server somewhere out there serving infocom games?</p>
vga256<p><span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://idlethumbs.social/@et_andersson" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>et_andersson</span></a></span> <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://mastodon.social/@ThreeOhFour" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>ThreeOhFour</span></a></span> that's very interesting - I hadn't realized this was a comparatively late <a href="https://dialup.cafe/tags/infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infocom</span></a> release.</p><p>"Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels was the first Infocom game to be developed by another company, Challenge Inc, published by Infocom in their "Immortal Legends" genre"</p><p>3rd party development 👀</p>
Rock Paper Shotgun<p>Please start making special editions like the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy again - <a href="https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/please-start-making-special-editions-like-the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-again" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">rockpapershotgun.com/please-st</span><span class="invisible">art-making-special-editions-like-the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-again</span></a> <a href="https://die-partei.social/tags/TheHitchhikers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TheHitchhikers</span></a>'GuideTotheGalaxy <a href="https://die-partei.social/tags/ActionAdventure" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ActionAdventure</span></a> <a href="https://die-partei.social/tags/SinglePlayer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SinglePlayer</span></a> <a href="https://die-partei.social/tags/HotheadGames" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HotheadGames</span></a> <a href="https://die-partei.social/tags/TKOSoftware" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TKOSoftware</span></a> <a href="https://die-partei.social/tags/Starwave" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Starwave</span></a> <a href="https://die-partei.social/tags/infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infocom</span></a> <a href="https://die-partei.social/tags/Puzzle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Puzzle</span></a> <a href="https://die-partei.social/tags/Text" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Text</span></a> <a href="https://die-partei.social/tags/iOS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>iOS</span></a></p>
root42<p>If you don’t listen to it yet, you should:</p><p><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-retro-adventurers/id1739948119" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/</span><span class="invisible">the-retro-adventurers/id1739948119</span></a></p><p>The Retro Adventurers is a Podcast about is about interactive fiction text adventures. </p><p><a href="https://chaos.social/tags/retrogaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrogaming</span></a> <a href="https://chaos.social/tags/interactivefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>interactivefiction</span></a> <a href="https://chaos.social/tags/infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infocom</span></a></p>
Rod Van Meter<p>FYI, I'm going to London for <a href="https://famichiki.jp/tags/IEEE" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>IEEE</span></a> <a href="https://famichiki.jp/tags/INFOCOM" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>INFOCOM</span></a> next month. Anybody else here going? I have a presentation in a quantum workshop on Monday, and there are other quantum papers scattered throughout the main program, so I'm staying for the full conference.</p>
vga256<p>it's 2025 and is there seriously no such thing as a php based z-machine interpreter out there?</p><p><a href="https://dialup.cafe/tags/infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infocom</span></a> <a href="https://dialup.cafe/tags/php" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>php</span></a></p>
Jordan<p>"Almost as soon as the thief breathes his last breath, a cloud of sinister black fog envelops him, and when the fog lifts, the carcass has disappeared." -Zork I</p><p><a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/zork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>zork</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infocom</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/textadventure" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>textadventure</span></a> <a href="https://fosstodon.org/tags/videogames" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>videogames</span></a></p>
TheOuterLinux ✅<p>MC Frontalot - It Is Pitch Dark</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nigRT2KmCE" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="">youtube.com/watch?v=4nigRT2KmCE</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/zork" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>zork</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/infocom" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infocom</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/retrogaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>retrogaming</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/music" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>music</span></a></p>

it is safe to say that 90% of my taste in computer games is thanks to the original abandonware site Home of the Underdogs. every few months i’d make it a point to download one of their Top Dog awarded games, and all of them lived up to it.

in particular, westwood/infocom’s Mines of Titan always interested me. it never quite fit into infocom’s IF catalog, and it predated the much more popular Eye of the Beholder. i always avoided it because it looked like just another dungeon crawler.

as it turns out, Mines of Titan is far closer to Wasteland or Neuromancer than any other game. part text adventure, part rpg, it evokes a surprisingly unique world that easily fits in a philip k dick styled universe.

today, the box arrived after two decades of looking for one. per infocom’s exceptional marketing company, the browsies included in the box are wonderful - official letterheads and employee bulletins from mars corporations.

before Westwood became a household name, it was a development house contracted out by major publishers

one of its many forgotten early titles is the *excellent* Mines of Titan published by Infocom in 1989.

along with Circuit's Edge - built on the same engine - this is a futuristic RPG with a *very* similar interface to interplay's Wasteland and Neuromancer.

the combat is pretty unforgiving in the first few minutes, so i can imagine this irritated a lot of adventure gamers at first.

After much testing and code comparison, the new Feb 2025 Release of #Vezza - my #z80 high speed #zmachine is ready! Took way longer than expected to synchronize across all of the code bases, particularly making sure that all optimizations made it across all platforms - TRS-80 model 1, TRS-80 model 3, TRS-80 model 4, the CP/M versions (~18 platforms), the embedded versions (Spectrum tape, TEC-1G), and slowly pushing into the Agon Light version (which has even more updates still in progress). Lots of individual tweaks, and some major rethinks and rewrites have come together to accelerate game play.

The hardest part of rewriting in this update involved rewriting the dictionary search code. I ended up going back to the original jzip interpreter, written in C for Unix waaay back when. Jzip provided much of the logic that went into ZXZVM, which provided the base for #M4ZVM #M3ZVM and #Vezza. Going back to Jzip made sense as Jzip has an even longer history; and is highly tested and stable and still maintained. This research gave me the confidence that the streamlining and changes I was making to such a fundamental part of the game would work, making all inputted dictionary searching more efficient.

To work around how CP/M stores executable files I spent a lot of time re-organising the memory map to make the executable smaller. This involved rearranging where the initialization code was stored inside the increasingly complex layout. Support across multiple versions means I needed to break up variable sized code and strings to sit inside variable sized gaps, while still compiling all the CP/M versions from the same interconnected set of source files. It needed quite a few manual checks to ensure that it all worked.

What this all means is that your favourite #infocom #punyinform and other text adventures will all play on your favourite z80 #retrocomputing platforms even faster than before!

More details in the devlog and downloads can be found at:
#TRS80 versions sijnstra.itch.io/m4zvm
#CPM #CPM80 versions sijnstra.itch.io/vezza