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From: svanegmo@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca (Stephen van Egmond)
Subject: rec.games.int-fiction FAQ 2/3 (Infocom)
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Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 10:29:55 GMT
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A strange little man in a long cloak appears suddenly in the room. He is
wearing a high pointed hat embroidered with astrological signs.  He has a
long, stringy, and unkempt beard.

The Wizard draws forth his wand and waves it in your direction. It begins
to glow with a faint blue glow.  The Wizard, in a deep and resonant voice,
speaks the word "FAQ!"  He cackles gleefully.

    This is part 2 of the Frequently Asked Questions list for the group
    rec.games.int-fiction, a Usenet newsgroup for the discussion of
    Interactive Fiction games and related topics.  To read a specific
    question, use your newsreader's search function on the string "(n)",
    where n is the question number.

    Contents of this file:
    2.0  Infocom
       2.1  Whatever happened to Infocom, anyway?
       2.2  Can I reach any of the original Infocommies?
       2.3  Classic Infocom titles available now
       2.4  Classic Infocom releases you might find used somewhere
       2.5  Modern (i.e. Activision) releases
       2.6  Infocom products not (yet) re-released
       2.7  Missing or hard-to-find information in LToI packaging
       2.8  Z-machine interpreters, vocabulary listers, utilities,
            and Specification numbers.
       2.9  Infocom copyrights and playing on other platforms
       2.10 Creating your own (Infocom) adventure games

    Part 1 covers the elements of rec.games.int-fiction.
    Part 3 covers non-Infocom game producers.

    The current maintainer is Stephen Van Egmond.  Questions and
    information should be mailed to svanegmo@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca.

The dream dissolves around you as his last words echo through the void....

>AIMFIZ FORD PREFECT
As you cast the spell, the moldy scroll vanishes!

After a momentary dizziness, you realize that your location has changed,
although Ford Prefect is not in sight...

Dark
You can make out a shadow moving in the dark.

>LOOK AT SHADOW
The shadow is vaguely Ford Prefect-shaped.

Vogon Hold
This is a squalid room filled with grubby mattresses, unwashed cups, and
unidentifiable bits of smelly alien underwear.  A door lies to port, and an
airlock lies to starboard.

Ford removes the bottle of Santraginean Mineral Water which he's been
waving under your nose.  He tells you that you are aboard a Vogon
spaceship, and gives you some peanuts.

>ASK FORD ABOUT INFOCOM
A long silence tells you that Ford Prefect isn't interested in talking
about Infocom.

Ford yawns.  "Matter transference always tires me out.  I'm going to take a
nap."  He places something on top of his satchel.  "If you have any
questions, here's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (Footnote 14).
Ford lowers his voice to a whisper.  "I'm not supposed to tell you this,
but you'll never be able to finish the game without consulting the Guide
about lots of stuff." As he curls up in a corner and begins snoring, you
pick up the Guide.

>CONSULT GUIDE ABOUT INFOCOM
The Guide checks through its Sub-Etha-Net database and eventually comes up
with the following entry:

    "Whatever happened to Infocom, anyway?"                     (2.1)

    This info is taken from [what was once] the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games
    FAQ, with thanks to Infocom's Stu Galley for passing it along:

    [Thanks to Dave Lebling (Infocom co-founder) for the definitive info
     on this]

    Infocom never went out of business.  It went deeply into debt to
    develop a database product (named Cornerstone) that was a commercial
    flop.  It went shopping for a merger and found Activision, which later
    changed its name to Mediagenic.  What did happen is that in May of
    1989 Mediagenic closed down the "real" Infocom in Cambridge, MA, and
    laid (almost) everyone off.  All the releases up through Zork Zero,
    Shogun, Journey, and Arthur were developed in Cambridge.

    Mediagenic licensed the UK rights to the games to Virgin Mastertronic
    about two years ago.

    Mediagenic went nearly bankrupt, was taken over by outside investors,
    and taken through a so-called "pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy" in
    January, 1992.  As part of that process, they changed their name back
    to Activision, moved from Silicon Valley down to LA, and recently
    merged with a company owned by the investors (called The Disc
    Company).

    (End of Lebling information; begin editorial.)

    Activision continues to release new products under the Infocom label,
    all of which so far have been CD-ROM graphical adventures which have
    been met with dour grunts of disapproval from rec.*.int-fiction denizens.
    The original text adventures can still be purchased (see below).

You begin to feel distinctly groggy.

> LOOK UNDER MATTRESS FOR IMPLEMENTOR

    "Hey, anybody know how I can reach Steve Meretzky?"          (2.2)

    The original Infocom crew has moved on to other positions.  Any kind of
    "where are they now" would probably be wrong, out of date, and almost
    certainly unwelcome.  David Lebling has recently surfaced on 
    rec.*.int-fiction to comment from time to time, and so haz Liz Cyr 
    Jones.  Other implementors may be lurking; nobody knows. 

You see nothing else interesting.

> CONSULT GUIDE ABOUT CLASSIC INFOCOM PRODUCTS                   (2.3)
The Guide checks through its Sub-Etha-Net database and eventually comes up
with the following entry:

    Classic Infocom is generally defined to be anything before Return to 
    Zork.  Activision owns the rights to all the Infocom games and 
    trademarks, and occasionally releases them in some repackaged form or 
    another.

    Activision is currently [footnote 42] selling a compilation of classic 
    Infocom called "Classic Text Adventure Masterpieces".  This CD (which
    works on PC or Mac) meets practically every wish of the
    rec.games.int-fiction readership, except for wide availablility. 
    There is little Activision can do to force stores to carry their
    product. 

    The CD includes the following games:

    A Mind Forever Voyaging;  Arthur:  The Quest For Excalibur;  Ballyhoo; 
    Border Zone;  Bureaucracy;  Cutthroat;  Deadline;  Enchanter; 
    Hollywood Hijinx;  Infidel;  Journey;  Leather Goddesses Of Phobos; 
    Lurking Horror; Moonmist; Nord And Bert Couldn't Make Head Or Tail Of
    It; Planetfall;  Plundered Hearts;  Seastalker;  Sherlock;  Sorcerer; 
    Spellbreaker;  Starcross;  Stationfall;  Suspect;  Suspended; 
    Trinity;  Wishbringer;  Witness; Zork Zero;  Zork I;  Zork II;  
    Zork III;  Beyond Zork. 

    Notable by their absence are Hitch Hikers' and Shogun, which are
    not included since the rights to distribute those games have reverted 
    back to the original authors.

    Also included is the top 6 winning entries from the 1995 Interactive
    Fiction authorship competition, a "Very Lost Treasures of Infocom" 
    section containing old game ideas, statements of principle, and 
    e-mail archives from Infocom's heyday.  All maps and documentation are 
    provided in Adobe Acrobat format which can be printed out.

    The packaging bears little resemblance to the originals; notably absent
    are the plastic or metal trinkets that were included in packages (for
    example, The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy included peril-sensitive
    sunglasses, a "Don't Panic" button, a zip-lock baggie containing a
    microscopic space fleet, and printed orders for the destruction of your
    home and planet).  Infocom's original packaging is legendary in the
    software industry.

    Cost: about $20 US, it has been seen in reasonable quantity at Best 
    Buy stores and should be at Babbages', Sofware Plus and others.  It can 
    also be ordered direct from Activision (visit www.activision.com; they
    will "shortly" be having online ordering but you can get their 1-800
    number there).

    If you are looking for pirated copies of classic products, don't bother
    asking on this newsgroup.  In fact, don't bother at all.  Many of the 
    games rely on materials in the game package for copy protection, either 
    in the form of knowledge you would have by reading it, or data that you 
    need to look up.  Most people will hate you if you ask.

Ford is curled up on the bed, snoring loudly.

> FOOTNOTE 42

    "Previous Infocom compilations you still might find"         (2.4)

    Infocom, in its pre-Activision days released trilogies (The Zork
    Trilogy, for example, or the Enchanter trilogy containing Enchanter,
    Sorcerer and Wishbringer) containing a subset of the trinkets found in
    the original packages.  Like almost all other original Infocom packages,
    these are now collectors' items. 


    Activision has released its own series of compilations:

    "The Lost Treasures of Infocom I" is a collection of 20 Infocom games.
    You may be able to obtain it through mail-order outlets or used from
    someone who doesn't want it anymore.  The package was available for the
    IBM PC, the Apple Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga.  The CD and
    floppy editions were identical.

    The games in LToI I were:

    Zork I         Enchanter      Deadline       Starcross
    Zork II        Sorcerer       Witness        Suspended
    Zork III       Spellbreaker   Suspect        Planetfall
    Zork Zero      Ballyhoo       Infidel        Stationfall
    Beyond Zork    Moonmist       Lurking Horror Hitchhiker's Guide

    The LToI 1 package was available for the Apple IIgs through the Big
    Red Computer Club, which sought and received permission from
    Activision to produce a IIgs version which used a hacked-up version 
    of the InfoTaskForce (ITF) interpreter and did not include Zork 
    Zero.  Matt Ackeret's IIgs port of Zip is far better:
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/interpreters/zip/>

    The package includes a manual which contains photocopies of all the
    original manuals and game pieces (such as the trading cards from
    "Spellbreaker", which are needed to solve a puzzle in the game), but
    some information is missing -- see section 2.7 below.

    The package also contains a hint book, which looks like somebody took
    all the Invisiclues booklets and typed them into a text file.  The
    hint book is riddled with spelling mistakes, formatting errors and
    other problems, but in most cases the mistakes are not serious enough
    to keep you from using it.


    "Lost Treasures of Infocom II" contained most (but not all) of the
    remaining Infocom text adventure games, and retailed for $29.95 through
    retail and mail order outlets.
    The games in the 3.5 disk version were:

    Seastalker     Wishbringer    A Mind Forever Voyaging
    Trinity        Cutthroats     Hollywood Hijinx
    Bureaucracy    Border Zone    Plundered Hearts
    Sherlock       Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It

    The CD-ROM version contained Shogun, Arthur and Journey in addition.

    LToI2 was produced for the Macintosh and PC only.  Users of other
    platforms can play the non-graphical games by transferring the files
    to their machine and playing them with a ZIP.  (See question 2.9.)

    This package contains photocopies of the original packaging, but does
    NOT contain a hint book: Instead it contains a 1-900 number which you
    can call to receive hints which is probably dead by now.  Some 
    information is missing for Bueaucracy.  See question 2.7.


    After Lost Treasures, Infocom released its topical Collections.  These
    are considered inferior to just about every other collection:

    Mystery Collection: Ballyhoo, Deadline, Witness, Moonmist, Sherlock

    Adventure Collection: Border Zone, Plundered Hearts, Cutthroats,
                          Trinity, Infidel

    Comedy Collection: Bureaucracy, Hollywood Hijinx, Nord & Bert

    Fantasy Collection: Enchanter, Sorcerer, Spellbreaker, Seastalker,
                        Wishbringer

    Science Fiction Collection: Hitchhiker's, Suspended, AMFV, Starcross,
                                Stationfall

    There is also the Zork Anthology, published by Activision in 1994 as a CD
    companion to the pseudo-Infocom title "Return to Zork". It contains
    Zork I, Zork II, Zork III, Beyond Zork, Zork Zero, and oddly,
    Planetfall.

You begin to feel indistinctly groggy.

>EAT PEANUTS
You feel stronger as the peanuts replace some of the protein you lost in
the matter transference beam.

An announcement is coming over the ship's intercom.  "Ed tgrykonx jcavfluu
nx jchotha otoyefti ltruvupirbi swrotrueft ochoollzitchogrya rd tfudeftd t
ow ctrufudx jp wkonvuphuvd te h oulpkonz zollcava ri li lo ti l oe hfudx
jirbtrugrys gvupp work oo sthaquio ta btoyr gkonr ga r or gz zr gi skwazitz
zkwaa rerl ow cfluirbwroorktoyfimthad tulp oe he hfluo simbchogryr gu ni
s."

>CONSULT GUIDE ABOUT RECENT INFOCOM PRODUCTS                    (2.5)
The Guide checks through its Sub-Etha-Net database and eventually comes up
with the following entry:

    Activision is working to build a following for Infocom's universes
    based on the modern trend to humongous games sprawling across hundreds
    of megabytes.  Their offerings to date: 

    _Return to Zork_
    A mid-1993 entry for the IBM PC, set far in the "future" of the Zork
    series.  Difficult, hunt-the-pixels, graphical interface.  A
    Macintosh version was released in mid-1994.  PC Demo is available.
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/demos/zorkdemo.zip>

    _Zork: Nemesis_
    A graphical CD-ROM adventure released in 1995.  The interface has 
    improved somewhat; the game includes amusing references to the Zork
    universe, but the plot is said to be irregular and the puzzles
    somewhat inconsistent.  Said to be a huge improvement over RTZ.

    _Planetfall: The Search for Floyd_
    Due out in 1995, a graphical adventure written by Steve Meretzky,
    Richard Manning and Hans Beimler.  Infocom has reportedly learned
    their lesson with Return to Zork's interface and will be improving
    it considerably for their 1995 games.

    There is also another Zork adventure coming perhaps early next year.

>CONSULT GUIDE ABOUT OTHER INFOCOM PRODUCTS                     (2.6)
The Guide checks through its Sub-Etha-Net database and eventually comes up
with the following entry:

    There are a handful of games and other Infocom products that are not
    included in any of the compilations.  These products range from
    hard-to-find early Infocom products to non-IF games made by other
    companies and marketed under the Infocom brand name.

    For more information about Infocom products, version numbers and
    Infocom products that were never released, see Paul David's Doherty's
    "Infocom Fact Sheet", which is periodically posted on
    rec.games.int-fiction and is also avaialable at
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/info/fact-sheet.txt>.


    Hard-to-find and early products:

    _The Infocom Sampler_  (pre-1984?)
    This was the first of three demo products written by Infocom,
    containing (we think) excerpts from Zork I.  The existence of this
    sampler is deduced mainly because a later version of the Sampler has
    serial number "ID2", suggesting an earlier "ID1".

    _The Infocom Sampler_  (1984, 1985)
    This was the second of three samplers, containing excerpts from Zork
    I, Planetfall, Infidel and The Witness, and also containing a unique
    two-room puzzle that involved catching a butterfly. Available for
    virtually every computer on the market in 1985 (including the Osborne,
    Kaypro II, TRS-80 Color Computer, etc.) Superseded in 1987 by the
    third and final Infocom Sampler.
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/demos/sampler1_R55.z3>

    _The Infocom Sampler_  (Fall 1987)
    Third and final sampler containing puzzles from Zork I, Trinity,
    Leather Goddesses of Phobos and Wishbringer.  IBM PC, Apple II and
    Commodore 64. <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/demos/sampler2.z3>

    _Fooblitzky_  (Summer 1985)
    A graphical game involving deductive logic, by Marc Blank, Michael
    Berlyn, Brian Cody, Poh C. Lim and Paula Maxwell. IBM PC, Apple II,
    Atari XL/XE series.

    _Shogun_
    _Journey_
    _Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur_
    Versions for the Apple IIe and Amiga were produced, but are now rare.
    IBM and Mac versions are on LToI 2 CD-ROMs as well as Masterpieces.
    Shogun has been seen running on an Apple IIgs; it used IIe graphics 
    rather than the IIgs' super-hires mode.

    _Leather Goddesses of Phobos_  (Summer 1986)
    Activision chose not to include the original LGoP in either of the
    Lost Treasures packages, possibly to prevent confusion with the
    inferior sequel (see below) that was published at about the same time.
    A coupon in the LToI II package offered the IBM PC version of this
    game for an additional $10; versions for other machines, including the
    Apple II, Macintosh, Atari and Amiga, can only be obtained used, and you
    will probably have to look for awhile.  Try the *.forsale or 
    *.marketplace newsgroups, or www.dejanews.com

    _Leather Goddesses of Phobos II:  Gas Pump Girls Meet the
      Pulsating Inconvenience from Planet X_
    This 1992 offering from "Infocom" had more in common with Leisure
    Suit Larry than with the original Leather Goddesses. Available for the
    IBM PC.

    _The New Zork Times_ / _The Status Line_  (1983? - 1988)
    The legendary Infocom newsletter.  The name was changed in mid-1986
    due to threatened legal action by a lesser-known newspaper serving a
    smaller area (Infocom promptly began using old newspapers for packing
    material when shipping games to their customers; by coincidence the NYT
    was the paper of choice for this purpose).  Thirteen issues were
    published under the name 'NZT'; one issue (Spring 1986) was titled
    '****' and the remaining ten were published as 'TSL'.  The newsletters
    are now collector's items, and a complete set is rare.  Some articles
    are archived at
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/info> and at
    <http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~pete/Infocom>

    There is an effort underway on rec.games.int-fiction to create
    complete electronic editions of these newsletters.  Watch this space
    for more information.

    _Cornerstone_  (Fall 1984)
    Infocom's one and only attempt at a commercial business product (see
    section 2.1, above); probably of interest only to purists. IBM PC
    version only; description in Winter 1985 NZT.


    Non-Infocom "Infocom" offerings:

    _Infocomics_  (1988)
    Many believe that this is the point where Infocom-as-a-publisher ended
    and Infocom-as-a-brand-name-for-lesser-products began. IBM PC, Apple
    II, Commodore 64/128.  At least four of these $12 'comic books' were
    published:
      Lane Mastodon vs. The Blubbermen
      Gamma Force in Pit of a Thousand Screams
      ZorkQuest I: Assault on Egreth Castle
      ZorkQuest II: The Crystal of Doom

    _Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth_  (Fall 1988)
    Activision purchased the rights to this Macintosh game from Simulated
    Environment Systems in late 1988, and reworked the text and user
    interface. The game is a graphical RPG similar to a number of D&D-type
    games on the market.  Infocom planned to release this game for the
    Apple IIgs and IBM, but only the Macintosh version was ever
    published.

    _BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception_  (Fall 1988)
    Activision now sells this game and its sequel (_BattleTech: The
    Crescent Hawk's Revenge_) as part of a three-game package of
    BattleTech-related games.  Developed by Westwood Associates.
    "Available in November [1988] for the IBM, in February [1989] for the
    Commodore 64/128, and in [Spring 1989] for the Apple II series and the
    Amiga."  The IBM, Amiga and Commodore 64 versions have been sighted;
    the status of the Apple II version is unknown.

    _Simon The Sorcerer_
    Infocom was used as the label for IBM and Mac distribution for this
    Sierra-style graphical adventure.  Amiga distribution was by Adventure
    Soft.

    _Circuit's Edge_
    IBM, Amiga, and "other 8-bit platforms".  A science-fiction RPG based
    on Effinger's world in the story "When Gravity Fails".

    _Mines of Titan_
    IBM, Amiga, Apple IIe and "other 8-bit platforms".  A science-fiction
    RPG set on the moon Titan.  Originally released as _The Mars Saga_ on
    the 64.  Written by Westwood Associates.

Guards burst in and grab you and Ford, who comes slowly awake. They drag
you down the corridor to a large cabin, where they strap you into large,
menacing chairs...

Captain's Quarters, in the poetry appreciation chair
This is the cabin of the Vogon Captain.  You and Ford are strapped into
poetry appreciation chairs.  The Captain is indescribably hideous,
indescribably blubbery, and indescribably mid-to-dark green.  He is holding
samples of his favourite poetry.

>ASK THE CAPTAIN ABOUT MISSING GAME PIECES                      (2.7)
One of the guards lightly bashes your skull with the butt of his weapon
and says (Ford translates for you):

    Here is a list of missing or hard-to-find info in the Lost Treasures
    game packages.  All have been typed in and are available at the ftp site
    in the directory infocom/shipped-documentation.

    _Ballyhoo_
    The original packaging included an advertisement for a radio station,
    WPDL AM at 1170 KHz.  You will need to tune the radio to this
    frequency (or TUNE RADIO TO WPDL) to get a vital clue.
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/shipped-documentation/ballyhoo.lost.stuff>

    _Lurking Horror_
    Your Login ID, an important part of one of the early puzzles, is
    *not* missing from the LToI manual.  It's just hard to find. (Hint:
    It's written somewhere on your Student ID Card.)

    _Bureaucracy_
    Some important information from the Popular Paranoia advertisement is
    missing, as well as the Beezer card application in triplicate is
    absent from the LToI 2 package.
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/shipped-documentation/bureaucracy.lost.stuff>

    _Moonmist_
    Your friend Tamara will make frequent references to the letters she
    wrote asking for your help; unfortunately, these letters are not
    included in the LToI package.  The full text of these two letters is
    available from the ftp.gmd.de archive, with many thanks to Mark Howell
    for typing in these letters from the original package.
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/shipped-documentation/moonmist.letters>

    _Zork Zero_
    The original documentation for Zork Zero contained information about
    the game's on-screen mapping, which may be activated by typing in the
    command "MAP" at any time during the game.  No mention is made of this
    in LToI 1.

    Also, some versions of the LToI package may be missing a (vital) map
    of the "Rockville Estates" section of the game.  The map is a
    blueprint of a construction site ("Frobozz Magic Construction
    Company") showing an 8 x 8 grid of octagonal rooms connected by lines
    representing passages.  You cannot win the game without the
    information on this map.

    Some copies of the LToI manual include this map on a page that is
    apparently numbered "40b" (the preceding page is "40a", and the next
    page is 41 -- the page with the map is not numbered), suggesting that
    the map was inserted after the first printing. Early IBM versions of
    the LToI manual include the map on page 2 of the Zork I instructions.

    If your copy of the manual is missing page 40b, and you cannot find
    the map anywhere else in the game package, call Activision technical
    support at 310-207-4500 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm PST) and explain the
    situation to them.  They should provide you with a replacement map.

    If all else fails, the ASCII drawing on the next page is a rough but
    accurate rendering of the "Rockville Estates" blueprint for Infocom's
    Zork Zero.  This map is provided for use by legitimate owners of the
    Lost Treasures of Infocom package only.

    
     0     1     2     3     4     5.... 6.... 7        Goobar -
                               .'    .'    .'           I left my hardhat
     8     9    10    11    12....13    14    15        out in lot 0.
                             : .'          .'           Please pick it up
    16    17    18    19    20    21    22....23               Thanks,
             `.          .'    .'    .'                         Quizbo
    24    25    26....27    28    29    30....31
           : .'                .'  :
    32    33    34....35    36    37    38....39
     :       .'          .'              : .'       To
    40    41    42....43    44....45    46    47....GUH-95
     : `.    .'  : .'    `.          .'    .'
    48    49    50    51....52    53    54    55
       `.              : `.        :       `.
    56....57....58    59    60    61....62....63
                                              ._____________________________
    Work still to be performed in Phase Two:  |Frobozz Magic Construction Co
      * Removal of temporary passages         |       ROCKVILLE ESTATES 
      * Installation of emergency exits       |  Phase Two, showing all work
      * Installation of sprinkler system      | completed through 29-Mum-880
      * Construction of Concierge apartment   | 1:440 | drawn by S. Fzortbar
    

The Vogon Captain says, "Ofudgrythafudo tw cchoe ho tz z ocavtrup wwroz zl
mfluz ztruqui."  A guard grabs you and Ford, and drags you toward the hold.
Ford whispers, "Don't worry, I'll think of something!"

Vogon Hold
In the corner is a glass case with a switch and a keyboard.
It looks like the glass case contains:
  an atomic vector plotter

Ford begins trying to talk the guard into a sudden career change.

>TYPE "HELLO"
The hold of the Vogon ship is virtually undamaged by the explosion of the
glass case.  You, however, are blasted into tiny bits and smeared all over
the room.  Several cleaning robots fly in and wipe you neatly off the
walls.

    ****  You have died  ****

Your guardian angel, draped in white, appears floating in the nothingness
before you.  "Gotten in a bit of a scrape, eh?" he asks, writing
frantically in a notebook.  "I'd love to chat, but we're so busy this
month." The angel twitches his nose, and the nothingness is replaced by...

Darkness
It is pitch black.  You could be eaten by a zmachine.

>WHAT IS A ZMACHINE?                                            (2.8)

    A zmachine or ZIP (Z-machine Interpreter Program) is a program that
    interprets and runs Infocom game data files.  Infocom used a
    way-ahead-of-their-time implementation scheme that allowed them to
    develop one game that would run on any of 26 different computers,
    using a ZIP program specific to that computer and a data file common
    to all machines.

    The Z-machine specification underwent several extensions at Infocom.
    The first two versions are obscure and you aren't very likely to
    encounter them.  Version 3 ("Standard") is the format for the majority
    of the files in the Lost Treasures of Infocom series. Version 4
    ("Plus") was a brief experiment that quickly lead to version 5
    ("Advanced"), a size suitable for creating fairly large adventures of
    the magnitude of Curses or Trinity (about 256K). Version 6
    ("Graphical") has recently been deciphered and can handle story files
    about twice as large as version 5.

    Until version 6 arrived, all the Z-machines were text-only.  Version
    6 added some graphics primitives and is the format used in Arthur,
    Journey, Shogun, and Zork Zero.

    With the release of Inform 5.5, the public-domain compiler for
    Infocom format files (see below), Graham Nelson has proposed two new
    versions (7 and 8), the first non-Infocom "extensions" to the
    standard. Version 8 is identical to version 5 but with twice the
    storage (512K).  Version 7 has not yet been used in any released game.

    Mark Howell wrote "ztools" -- a collection of C source files for
    dumping vocabulary, version, font, graphic and other information from
    Infocom games, for converting IBM bootable disks into story files, and
    for disassembly of story files to Z-code assembly language.  Ztools is
    maintained by Stefan Jokish.  There are also numerous other "tool"
    programs for Infocom files available by other authors for other
    platforms. 
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/tools>

    As a point of history, Infocom generated their Z-code files by
    compiling the Zork Implementation Language (ZIL) with a compiler named
    ZILCH.  ZIL is a dialect of a Lisp-like language called MDL.  MDL is
    ancient history, and ZIL seems to have disappeared entirely, though some
    code fragments can be found in back issues of the New Zork Times.

    The ftp site has a considerable collection of Z-machine interpreters.
    Frotz is the most accurate implementation, but other interpreters may
    have more bells and whistles for your particular platform.
    They are at <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/interpreters>.

    Gareth Rees maintains a mini-FAQ with information on which
    interpreters are recommended for which platforms, and what to do if
    you can't find an interpreter for your computer.
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/infocom/how-to-play-these-games>

    There are some other ZIP programs at GMD that are not listed in
    Gareth's mini-FAQ.  They range in quality, but some are fairly
    portable and have interesting source code.  The best all-around is Frotz.

    _Frotz_ by Stefan Jokisch <jokisch@euklid.informatik.uni-dortmund.de>
        Current version: 2.01
        Plays all games (even v6 ones),
        Conforms to Z-Machine Standard 0.2.
        Runs on DOS, Amiga and Unix systems.
        Supports timed input (Border Zone), graphic font (Beyond Zork
        and Journey), mouse and function keys, command line editing and
        history, small save files, sound effects (Lurking Horror and
        Sherlock), cheat functions, multiple UNDO, input line recording
        and playback, and European characters (Zork I German).

    _zmachine_ by Matthias Pfaller <leo@marco.de>
        Current version: 2.24
        Plays most Z-Code v3 games (except games with sound).
        Supports UNIX termcap, MS-DOS, Amiga and Atari ST systems.
        Supports sound on the Amiga only.

    _pinfocom_ by Paul D. Smith <paul_smith@dg.com>
        Current version: 3.0
        Plays all Z-Code versions to v3.  Includes features to print
        vocabulary lists, object trees, and header info for all Z-Code
        versions.  Supports UNIX termcap and terminfo, MS-DOS, and Amiga
        systems.  Basically does everything ITF 4.01 does and more
        (command-line restore, enhanced command-line editing commands,
            stellar Amiga interface, etc.).

    _zterp_ by Charles Hannum
        Current version: 0.3 alpha
        A bare-bones v3-v5 interpreter with source.


    You may notice increasing discussion about a particular interpreter
    being Specification <n> compliant, where <n> is some number like 1.0.
    The "specification" is a document by Graham Nelson, based on earlier
    work by the InfoTaskForce, which describes rigorously how a Z-Machine
    is supposed to behave.  An interpreter is said to be Specification-
    compliant when it conforms to this document.  Frotz is the only 
    interpreter compliant with the specification available for all platforms.
    Zip 2000 on the Acorn complies with the specification as well.

    Some games may eventually require your interpreter adhere to a particular
    Speficiation version, especially as the Specfication is extended over
    time.

    As a point of note, there is some debate over whether Z in "Z-Machine"
    should be pronounced as "zed" or "zee".  Nobody seems willing to agree
    on which sounds better.  [Though I can't imagine why anybody wouldn't
    prefer "zed". -Ed]

>NE
Oh, no!  A lurking Z-machine slithered into the room and devoured you!

    ****  You have died  ****

Now, let's take a look here... Well, you probably deserve another chance.
I can't quite fix you up completely, but you can't have everything.

Potting Room
This light room is full of pot plants, flowers, seeds, ornamental trowels
and other miscellaneous garden implements.

A pair of yellow rubber gloves hangs from a hook on one wall.

Aunt Jemima, who has for years collected varieties of daisy, is engaged in
her regular annual pastime of deciding which species make the best chains.

>ASK JEMIMA ABOUT COPYRIGHTS
Jemima screeches with irritation.

    "Copyrights on Infocom products / using other platforms"    (2.9)

    Since Activision bought Infocom, Activision now owns the copyrights
    and trademarks on Infocom's products.

    This means it's illegal to have a copy of any Infocom product you
    didn't pay for.  This may make owners of non-PC, non-Mac computers
    despair since the only products shipping are for those two platforms,
    but there are options available.  You can purchase one of the
    anthologies listed above, transfer the data files to your computer
    somehow, and use one of the available interpreters to run it.  This is
    the inherent beauty of Infocom's Z-machine idea.  See question 2.8 for
    information on interpreters.

    If you want to know how to transfer files from computer type A
    to computer type B, the answer depends highly on the hardware,
    software, and cabling you have.  It's best to ask your nearest type
    A or B guru.

    Your interpreter should support at least v3 files.  Some of the
    larger games (Trinity) are version 4 or 5.  Zork Zero, Arthur, Journey
    and Shogun are v6 games, for which the only currently-available 
    interpreters are Frotz (for Mac, Amiga, and Unix) and Zip 2000 for 
    the Acorn.  There may be more. Check the index files under
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/interpreters/>

    There probably isn't a legal problem with doing this.  Of course, if you
    sell your package, you should destroy the copies you've made.

    Copyright issues with respect to samplers, invisiclues, New Zork
    Times issues, and other things which Activision, in practice, will
    never want to redistribute, have not been resolved.

    Activision can be reached at:
     Activision/Infocom
     P.O. Box 67001
     Los Angeles, CA, USA 90067
     Order line: 800-477-3650 (US)   [anybody have one for Europe?]
     Tech support: 310-207-4500 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm PST)

    People have had mixed and inconsistent results with Activision.

>E.E.S.E.LIE DOWN.SLEEP.
You sleep unexpectedly deeply, but just as you think you are starting to
wake up, you experience a sudden...

Premonition
It is a frosty, clear night, but there is a scent of camp-fires burning in
the distance.  You are passing through the landscape as if a ghost, and
all seems faintly unreal.  To the east is one side of an animal-hide tent,
but there is no way in from here.  To southwest, some soldiers sit around
the embers of a fire.  There is a terrible sense of something about to
happen.

>SW
Camp Fire
A motley platoon of soldiers are sitting about the embers of a fire.

>LISTEN

    "Creating your own adventure games"                         (2.10)

    Since this part of the FAQ is Infocom-oriented I will tell you that
    there is a freely distributable compiler available called Inform which
    allows you to generate Infocom-format story files that can be played
    with any Z-machine interpreter.

    The Inform language and libraries are excellent.  They were modelled
    based on the requirements for a Zork I-style game and provide the means
    to modify the parser, manage timers and daemons, change personalities
    and much more. It has C-ish syntax.  This system does require a
    certain degree of programming knowledge.  The documentation (in
    3 parts) is pretty good; the 220-page Designers' Manual should be read
    even if you don't want to use Inform in favour of a different system,
    as it provides an interesting insight into what goes into developing
    a game.
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/compilers/inform6>

    There are many other IF development systems available, and some
    background and information on them will appear in the next section.
    For the best information on the subject, visit rec.arts.int-fiction
    and read its FAQ.
    <ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/rec.arts.int-fiction/FAQ>

>NE. E. N. TAKE IRON MASCOT
The Druid catches sight of your ghostly hand taking the mascot, and
immediately begins her occultations, cursing you and your ill-gotten
gains. But she is unable to make contact with you, and turns furiously to
the tapestry, hissing "lagach" to the Bear.  At once a sudden swirl of wind
seems to pull her into the rough cloth, dissolving her to nothing.

You wake up, shivering with dread.

>WAIT
Something feels very wrong indeed.  Your hand begins to burn.

In an astonishing freak accident, a meteorite hurtles through the Earth's
atmosphere and then straight through your head.  Anyone would think you
had a curse on you (anyone, that is, still able to think).

     *** You have died ***

Press any key to continue.
