Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
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From: svanegmo@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca (Stephen van Egmond)
Subject: Re: Recently arrived to rec.games.IF
Sender: news@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca (news spool owner)
Message-ID: <E02o2o.MF9@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca>
Date: Wed, 30 Oct 1996 04:49:36 GMT
References: <327632C8.5AFD@worldnet.att.net>
Nntp-Posting-Host: cantor.math.uwaterloo.ca
Organization: University of Waterloo
Lines: 50

In article <327632C8.5AFD@worldnet.att.net>,
Eric Johnson  <vetchpage@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>First of all, is there a special way to download a non-text file from 
>ftp site. (I know that the file is downloading however I am unable to 
>find it in any of my directories afterwards - usually I have the option 
>of where I want the file to go - but not with ftp downloads - <shrugs>)

You haven't mentioned how you were navigating the ftp site in question; 
were you using Netscape??  If so, to load a file onto disk when you're 
looking at a link to it, hold down SHIFT while you click.

Incidentally, if you are using Netscape, the following might be slightly 
funner to navigate:
http://www.undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca/~svanegmo/if-index.html

(go West from there to get to the if-archive)

>I was able to download two files via accessing the ftp files from AOL 
>with no problem.  One was the GZIP and the other a .z5 file.  I have no 
>idea how to unzip the .z5 game using the gzip program - the instructions 
>are not in my language. 

Gzip isn't used for .z5 files, it's used for .gz files.

A .z5 is actually a game file, not an archive.  To "play" it you need an 
interpreter.  Since you are on a PC, I recommend Frotz.  You can get it 
through the infocom/interpreters/frotz/ subdirectory in the archive.  
These interpreters are referred to as "Z-Machine Interpreters".

If you are faced with a TADS file, one that ends in .gam, you need a TADS 
interpreter.  These can be found in the programming/tads subdirectory on 
the archive.

If you are ever confused about what you are looking at in a given 
directory, grab the "Index" file, it will tell you what is going on, and 
if you need any auxiliary files like interpreters or the like.

>I am dying to download the 96 competition and see what they are like.

You'll enjoy it.  The above will help you to play the wide majority of 
the games in the competition.

While you're at it, take a look at 
ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/rec.games.int-fiction/FAQ.  It contains some 
interesting information, history, and stuff about this group.  It's fun 
to read, too.

/Steve
 rgif FAQ maintainer

