West of House You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here. >OPEN MAILBOX. READ LEAFLET Opening the small mailbox reveals a leaflet. (Taken) "Welcome to rec.games.int-fiction! This is part 1 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. # This file is in 2 parts. It is posted to the following newsgroups on # the 18th of the month: # # rec.games.int-fiction # rec.arts.int-fiction # comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure # comp.sys.mac.games # comp.sys.amiga.games # rec.games.frp.misc # rec.answers # comp.answers # news.answers # # The most recent version can be obtained at # ftp://ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/rec.games.int-fiction/FAQ # # Throughout this file, there will be URL references to relevant files # if they are available on the ftp.gmd.de site. See section 1.4 for more # information. Contents of this file: 1.0 rec.games.int-fiction 1.1 The purpose of this group and some history of IF 1.2 Other USENET newsgroups discussing interactive fiction 1.3 Basic netiquette rules; asking for and posting hints # 1.4 The ftp.gmd.de IF archive and other Net resources # 1.5 Games, walkthroughs, hints and source available for FTP # 1.6 Disclaimer and trademark/copyright notice # # The current maintainer is Stephen Van Egmond. Questions and information # should be mailed to svanegmo@uwaterloo.ca. Special thanks to Paul Smith, Magnus Olsson, Jacob Butcher, Paul David Doherty, Volker Blasius, Keith Lim, Luis Torres, Jacob Weinstein, Mark Howell, Adrian Booth, Eric Shepherd, Sascha Wildner, Jim Butterfield, Mark Stacey, Stu Galley and # many others for ideas, suggestions and contributions. Scott Forbes # created and maintained the original FAQ. No newsgroup should be without one!" >PRAY Altar This is the south end of a large temple. In front of you is what appears to be an altar. In one corner is a small hole in the floor which leads into darkness. You probably could not get back up it. On the two ends of the altar are burning candles. On the altar is a large black book, open to page 570. >READ BOOK Commandment #12593 "The purpose of this group and some history of IF" (1.1) Here in the newsgroup rec.games.int-fiction we discuss games of the interactive fiction genre, ranging from classic games by companies such as Infocom and Scott Adams to 'modern' and non-text IF games. Simply put, the IF genre includes any game that tells a story as part of the game, usually with the player as the protagonist. The actions of the player affect the progress of the story, which often centers around solving puzzles or finding treasure, and leads to an endgame in which the player 'wins' and completes the adventure. Interactive fiction traces its electronic roots to a 1977 program named ADVENT, better known as the Colossal Cave Adventure. It was this program, written by Willie Crowther and Don Woods, that established many of the features now common to the genre, including noun/verb parsing (e.g. "TAKE BOOK"), mazes ("You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike") and the basis of most later IF in fantasy/adventure settings. Soon after this the game Dungeon, or Zork, was written by MIT grad students; these students were the nucleus of a 1980 startup company called Infocom, which produced a version of Zork for the TRS-80 Model I and other machines. This led to widespread popularity of interactive fiction games, and was later referred to as the Golden Age of the genre; for several years, Infocom's products were the top-selling games on the market. Later events, however, led to the decline of the IF genre. As the educational level of the average computer user decreased and the features and capabilities of the average computer increased, the trend in computer games went to 'arcade' games instead of text. By 1989 Infocom had been absorbed by another company and destroyed, leaving a legacy of high-quality, well-written interactive fiction and a large audience with few sources for good new material. This newsgroup discusses 'classic' interactive fiction games, new games keeping the genre alive, and non-text (even non-computer) IF. >N Temple This is the north end of a large temple. On the east wall is an ancient inscription, probably a prayer in a long-forgotten language. Below the prayer is a staircase leading down. The west wall is solid granite. The exit to the north end of the room is through huge marble pillars. There is a brass bell here. >READ INSCRIPTION "Other USENET newsgroups discussing interactive fiction" (1.2) _rec.arts.int-fiction_ is a newsgroup for *authors* of interactive fiction, and discusses adventure development systems such as Inform and Inform, features of a 'good' IF game and how to implement them, techniques, hazards, tradeoffs, etc. If you're thinking about writing a game (as opposed to playing one), rec.arts.int-fiction is your group. _comp.sys.amiga.games_ discusses all types of computer games for the Commodore Amiga computer, including IF games for that machine. _comp.sys.mac.games_ has a similar charter, discussing games for the Apple Macintosh line of computers. _comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure_ discusses a subset of the topics covered in rec.games.int-ficton: Those interactive fiction games available for the IBM PC. If you're looking for IBM-specific info about a game, or for info about a game available only on IBM PCs, you may find help in c.s.i.p.g.adventure. The _rec.games.mud_ hierarchy discusses MUD (multi-user dungeon) games. The _rec.games.frp_ groups discuss fantasy role-playing games (not necessarily computer-based) such as Dungeons & Dragons. _rec.games.roguelike.misc_ is for general discussion of games in the "Rogue" family (games that display an ASCII representation of a dungeon and its contents). _rec.games.roguelike.announce_ is a moderated newsgroup for announcements about Rogue-like games. The other groups in the roguelike hierarchy each discuss a specific game in the "Rogue" genre. >BLORPLE WEST WALL Abruptly, your surroundings shift. Nondescript Room This is a drab, nondescript room. The only exit leads south. >S Enchanters' Retreat Belboz is meditating here. >BELBOZ, HELLO "Hello." Belboz doesn't seem pleased to see you. >ASK BELBOZ FOR A HINT Belboz looks at you suspiciously. "Only the rawest apprentice would ask for a hint (or post one) without observing proper netiquette." "Basic netiquette rules; asking for and posting hints" (1.3) 1. Above all else, don't spoil the puzzle or game for other people who are reading the newsgroup but DIDN'T ask for a hint. Use spoiler warnings in the both the posting's title and in the text. Good example: >Subject: Re: ZORK I question (SPOILERS) > >J. Random writes: >>How do I get into the white house? > >SPOILERS >Have you tried running for President? > *** A special note on the "form feed" character: The ASCII character 12, if inserted as the _first_character_of_a_line_ in the text of an article, causes most newsreaders to pause and require the user to hit a key before continuing. This feature is useful when protecting part of a message from people who don't want to see it, as it gives them the option of hitting "n" instead and skipping the SPOILER section. Some newsreaders display this character as a caret followed by the letter L, thus: ^L . This is NOT the same as typing the two characters ^ and L. Also, it is very important that the "form feed" character be kept as the first character on the line. If you reply to a message and put a ">" in front of the form feed, it won't work, the message will be spoiled and scores of angry netters will tear you limb from limb (okay, maybe not THAT drastic, but it's bad manners). Most machines can generate a form feed character if you type a CTRL-L or (in "vi") CTRL-V CTRL-L. If you can't generate a form feed character, either use 24 blank lines or save this message and delete everything but the form feed below. The last character on this line is an ASCII form feed: 2. If you're asking for a hint, please try to ask in a way that doesn't spoil the puzzle, or spoil other puzzles in the game. Describe whatever details are relevant, but don't post the answer to every other puzzle you've solved up to this point. Good example: >I've figured out what the gold machine is for, but I keep >getting killed whenever I try to use it. Bad example: >I used the gold machine to send a message to Orkan, but the >Warlock noticed my presence and turned me into bat guano. If you can't ask the question without revealing part of the puzzle, protect the question with spoiler warnings as above. 3. When giving a hint, please try to give just enough info to send the adventurer on his/her way. Please don't post the exact sequence of moves required to win the game from this point, or solve the next two puzzles in order to get the ball rolling. Good example: >Have you explored the area outside the house? Bad example: >There's a window on the east side of the house that you can >squeeze through in order to get in. Don't bother with the >front door; there's no way to open it. Don't eat the food, >either: You'll need it later to feed the microscopic dog. Belboz looks at you expectantly. >FROTZ BELBOZ Belboz stops you with a word of power. "Ah! Now I have you, charlatan! Fool me twice? Never!" He rises to his feet, makes a threatening gesture, and you find yourself transported to.... Maze This is part of a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. >PLUGH A hollow voice says: "The ftp.gmd.de IF archive and other Net resources" (1.4) The interactive fiction archive site at ftp.gmd.de (129.26.8.90) is by far the largest collection of interactive fiction games, development systems, "walkthrough" solution files and related IF materials available. Uploads of new material are encouraged; please send e-mail to blasius@gmd.de when uploading. # . # # Mirror site wuarchive.wustl.edu (192.20.239.131) is also available # for FTP downloading at . # # Another mirror site is . # # A browsable index of the ftp.gmd.de archive is available at # . # The maintainer is svanegmo@uwaterloo.ca (Stephen Van Egmond). >S.W.SW.W.W. Flathead Ocean Passing alongside the shore now is an old boat, reminiscent of an ancient Viking ship. Standing on the prow of the ship is an old and crusty sailor, peering out over the misty ocean. >HELLO SAILOR The seaman looks up and maneuvers the boat toward shore. He cries out: "Games, walkthroughs, hints and source available for FTP" (1.5) Thanks to Magnus Olsson for much of the info in this section. # Games are available at ftp.gmd.de in the /games directory. Archives of both rec.games.int-fiction and our sister group rec.arts.int-fiction are available at the ftp.gmd.de site, along with the world's largest collection of IF software and related texts. If what you're looking for is even remotely IF-related, then this should be your first place to look. Source code for some text adventures (including various versions of Colossal Cave/ADVENT, Dungeon/Zork and World) have been posted to comp.sources.games and comp.sources.misc. They're available from FTP sites archiving these groups, such as ftp.uu.net. Some Macintosh IF games are available from sumex-aim.stanford.edu, including Colossal Cave and Dungeon. [Unnkulian may be there too.] "Walkthrough" solution files for many popular IF games are available from ftp.uu.net, in the directory "/pub/games/solutions". Please accept this gift. You may find it useful!" He throws something which falls near you in the sand, then sails off toward the west, singing a lively, but somewhat uncouth, sailor song. The boat sails silently through the mist and out of sight. A seedy-looking individual with a large bag just wandered through the room. On the way through, he quietly abstracted some valuables from your possession, mumbling something about: "Disclaimer and copyright/trademark notice" (1.6) This FAQ Copyright 1995 by Stephen Van Egmond. Permission to reproduce this document is granted, provided the content is unaltered. The author makes no warranty with respect to the quality or accuracy of the information contained in this document. All trademarks remain the property of their respective companies. >W Maze This is part of a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. Someone carrying a large bag is casually leaning against one of the walls here. He does not speak, but it is clear from his aspect that the bag will be taken only over his dead body. >KILL THIEF WITH SWORD A good slash, but it misses the thief by a mile. The thief comes in from the side, feints, and inserts the blade into your ribs. It appears that that last blow was too much for you. I'm afraid you are dead. **** You have died **** Press any key to continue 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. As in a dream, you see yourself tumbling down a great, dark staircase. All about you are shadowy images of struggles against fierce opponents and diabolical traps. These give way to another round of images: of imposing stone figures, a cool, clear lake, and, now, of an old, yet oddly youthful man. He turns toward you slowly, his long, silver hair dancing about him in a fresh breeze. "You have reached the final test, my friend! You are proved clever and powerful, but -- 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 Lost Treasures of Infocom I 2.3 Lost Treasures of Infocom II 2.4 Lost Treasures on CD-ROM # 2.5 Other compilations 2.6 Infocom products not (yet) re-released 2.7 Missing or hard-to-find information in LToI packaging 2.8 Zmachines, vocabulary listers and other programs # 2.9 Infocom copyrights and playing on other platforms The current maintainer is Stephen Van Egmond. Questions and information should be mailed to svanegmo@uwaterloo.ca. Seek me when you feel yourself worthy!" 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). You begin to feel distinctly groggy. >CONSULT GUIDE ABOUT LOST TREASURES OF INFOCOM I (2.2) The Guide checks through its Sub-Etha-Net database and eventually comes up with the following entry: "The Lost Treasures of Infocom" is a collection of 20 Infocom games available for $39.95 through most retail and mail-order outlets. The package is available for the IBM PC, the Apple Macintosh and the Commodore Amiga. Games in LToI I include: 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 is now available for the Apple IIgs through the Big Red Computer Club, which sought and received permission from Activision to port the games to the IIgs. For more info, contact the Big Red Computer Club at [address unknown...]. [Is this still true? --sve] 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. # See also the entry on "Lost Treasures of Infocom II", "Lost Treasures # on CD-ROM" and "Other Compilations". You begin to feel indistinctly groggy. >CONSULT GUIDE ABOUT LOST TREASURES OF INFOCOM II (2.3) The Guide checks through its Sub-Etha-Net database and eventually comes up with the following entry: "Lost Treasures of Infocom II" contains most (but not all) of the remaining Infocom text adventure games, and retails for $29.95 through retail and mail order outlets. Games include: 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 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. # See also the entry on "Lost Treasures of Infocom I", "Lost Treasures # on CD-ROM" and "Other Compilations". You begin to feel very indistinct. >EAT PEANUTS You feel stronger as the peanuts replace some of the protein you lost in the matter transference beam. >CONSULT GUIDE ABOUT LOST TREASURES CD-ROM (2.4) The Guide checks through its Sub-Etha-Net database and eventually comes up with the following entry: CD-ROM versions of the Lost Treasures of Infocom I and II are available for $49 and $29, respectively. The LToI I CD-ROM is identical to the disk-based version of the package, but the LToI II CD-ROM includes the games Shogun, Arthur and Journey in addition to the eleven games listed above in LToI 2. Both Macintosh and IBM PC versions of the games are included on the CD-ROMs. 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 OTHER COMPILATIONS (2.5) The Guide checks through its Sub-Etha-Net database and eventually comes up with the following entry: # "There is 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 enough, Planetfall. # # In June 1995, a set of 5 PC-only CD-ROMs were published by Activision, # called the Infocom Classics. The contents of the collections are: # # 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 # # At the moment, no information is available on the pricing or quality of # these products. >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 LToI packages. These products range from hard-to-find early Infocom products to non-IF games made by Activision and marked under the Infocom brand name; information and sources for these products would be greatly appreciated. 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 # . Previous versions of this FAQ incorrectly identified Paul Smith as the author of the Infocom Fact Sheet. A thousand apologies to both Pauls for the confusion, and credit where credit is due.] _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". Any information about this product would be appreciated. _The New Zork Times_ / _The Status Line_ (1983? - 1988) The legendary Infocom newsletter. The mid was changed in mid- 1986 due to threatened legal action by The New York Times, 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. # There is an effort underway on rec.games.int-fiction to create # 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. _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 (see below). # _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. _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, are difficult to obtain. _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. # _Infocomics_ (1988) 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 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. _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 versions are unknown. _Shogun_ (Winter 1988?) A graphical IF adventure based on the James Clavell novel, by Dave Lebling. Available as part of the LToI 2 CD-ROM package for the Macintosh and IBM PC; versions for the Apple IIe and Amiga were also published, but are now rare. _Circuit's Edge_ IBM, Amiga. No other information available at press time. _Mines of Titan_ IBM, Amiga, Apple IIe. No other information available. _Journey_ A fantasy adventure by Marc Blank. Available as part of the LToI 2 CD-ROM package for the Macintosh and IBM PC; versions for the Apple IIe and Amiga were also published. _Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur_ By Bob Bates, the author of _Sherlock_. Available as part of the LToI 2 CD-ROM package for the Macintosh and IBM PC; versions for the Apple IIe and Amiga were also published. _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. _Return to Zork_ A mid-1993 entry for the IBM PC, set far in the "future" of the Zork series. Graphical interface. A Macintosh version # was released in mid-1994. PC Demo is available. # _Planetfall: The Search for Floyd_ Due out in 1995, a graphical adventure written by Steve Meretzky, Richard Manning and Hand Beimler. _Zork: Nemesis_ Also due out in 1995, and almost certainly another graphical adventure. 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 LToI 1 # game package. Many (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. # _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. # _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. # _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. Infocom data files are written in Z-code, a compiled version of the Zork Implementation Language (ZIL). ZIL is a dialect of a Lisp-like language called MDL. MDL is ancient history, but ZIL and several reverse-engineered ZIPs live on. Here is a list of available ZIPs and related programs, provided by Paul D. Smith: # They are available at _zorkword_ by Mike Threepoint Current version: 9 Prints the vocabulary list from any Z-Code version game # [I have been unable to figure out where this an be obtained. --sve] _zmachine_ by Matthias Pfaller Current version: 2.24 Plays most Z-Code v.3 games (except games with sound) Supports UNIX termcap, MS-DOS, Amiga and Atari ST systems Supports sound on the Amiga only _infocom_ by InfoTaskForce Current version: 4.01 + 2 patches # Beta version: 4.02 (not being improved anymore) available. Plays all Z-Code v.1 to v.5 games. Includes features to print vocabulary lists, object trees, and header info for all Z-Code # versions. It has been ported to the Acorn, Atari ST, OS/2, # Amiga, Macintosh, DOS, Psion, and vanilla Unix. _pinfocom_ by Paul D. Smith Current version: 3.0 Plays all Z-Code v.3 games. 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.) but only works for v.3 games. _zip_ by Mark Howell # Current version: 2.0.7 # Plays all Z-Code v.1 to v.5 games, including the "new" v.8 games # (which only permit a larger memory space). This is considered the # most "correct" interpreter available. Supports Mac, Atari ST, # MS Windows, X/Windows, Amiga, DOS, VMS, OS/2, OS/2 Warp, Apple IIGS, # and Linux. # # Mark has also made available "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. There are also numerous other # "tool" programs for Infocom files available by other authors and # platforms. _zterp_ by Charles Hannum Current version: 0.3 alpha A bare-bones v.3 interpreter with source. >N Oh, no! A lurking zmachine 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 Zmachine idea. # # Your interpreter should support at least v.3 files. Some of the better # games (Trinity) are version 4 or 5. Zork Zero, Arthur, Journey and # Shogun are v.6 games, for which no interpreter is available. There # probably will never be one, either since v.6 games incorporate lots # of graphics which make them difficult to port to other operating systems. # # There probably isn't a legal problem with doing this, as long as you # don't sell the original disks. 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 # [phone numbers? order numbers?] # Tech support: 310-207-4500 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm PST) Jemima has nothing else to say on the subject. >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 Zmachine interpreter. The Inform language is excellent, # but it does require a certain degree of prior programming knowledge. # # # There are many IF development systems available. More information on # them can be obtained from the rec.arts.int-fiction FAQ, and other files # of interest at ftp.gmd.de, such as # # and # >QUIT Your score would be 400 points (total of 400 points), in 2 articles. This score gives you the rank of Seasoned USENET Adventurer. Do you wish to leave the game? (Y is affirmative): > Y Press any key to continue