Z-Code interpreter

[Hideki]

Hihi

Has anyone got the Z-Code/Zip interpreter for the infocom games working in CP/M on the C128?

I know it did exist for CP/M as I used to play hitch hikers guide on an old Amstrad PCW 8256 but it'd be quite nice not to have to use the awful 40 column C64 ports of those games, lol

Failing that, is there a C compiler that works well with C128 CP/M? I have the C compiler I downloaded from here for C128, takes me back a bit really, having to swap between 2 or 3 disks to compile something but it's nice, makes me tempted to try porting a few text based games, Dopewars, Rogue and Ian Bells Elite trading engine spring to mind, rogue in particular might be nice on the 128 since it can run in 40 or 80 column mode

Would there be any interest if I had a go at that?

[xlar54]

Did you use CPM on the 128 alot back then?  If so, Im curious on your opinion of how well it worked vs regular CPM systems like the Kaypro.

[OzOne]

Did you use CPM on the 128 alot back then?  If so, Im curious on your opinion of how well it worked vs regular CPM systems like the Kaypro.

I did a bit, had a mate who got rid of a lot of Apple software he had & I snavelled it. It was a titch slow (at least with the CP/M disks supplied by Commodore - got better in the 90's with the fast re-write that was done). Often wondered if CP/M 2.2 is runnable on the 128 though, as there seems to be a lot around for it. Guess that'd be a recompile of the CP/M BIOS to get it going properly though.

Always wanted to run it off a hard drive, but those are expensive (& hard to get) here in Australia.

Ozzy

[nikoniko]

I remember a few C compilers for CP/M. I think the one I used the most was a port of SMALLC, though I can't remember why I chose that one over some of the others I tried. It's been some 15 years, so my memory's faded a bit. All in all, though, I ended up doing more with Turbo Pascal than C.

It seems it should be possible to port one of the open source Z-code interpreters if it hasn't been done already. Some time ago I came across a port of Frotz for Spectrum, called something like ZXZVM, and I think the author had a note that adapting it for CP/M could be in the future.

You wouldn't need to port Rogue as it came out for CP/M years ago, so I'm sure it's still floating around one of the CP/M repositories on the net. I had a copy of it, but it wasn't too fun to play on 40 cols. CP/M for the 128 had a nice feature where you could have a virtual 80 column display and scroll left and right to view the whole thing... it was almost bearable, but I gave up pretty quickly. Ah... how fun life would have been with a monitor instead of a TV!

[Stephane Richard]

Rogue on the 128's CP/M mode?  that would be awesome, always been a fan of Rogue and Rogue like Games.

Can't wait to see where this goes.

[nikoniko]

I'm not sure exactly how compatible one brand of CP/M was with another, but on an Altair page I found an archive of Rogue, Collosal Cave, Catchum, Worm, Ladder and Wanderer: http://www.schorn.ch/cpm/intro.html . Back when I still had my 128 and was trying to make some use of CP/M, I used to get software from a local Kaypro BBS and it usually worked for me.

Here's another site with a collection of CP/M software, including some compilers I vaguely remember trying: http://www.retroarchive.org/cpm/index.html . Wow, they even have Turbo Pascal 3! For games, they have Zork I, II & III, plus a zipped archive of some other text adventures. Not sure what's in that, but it says it's a huge collection. Oh, and there's also a zip with the games from Creative Computing's excellent book, BASIC Computer Games. Hammurabi, here I come!

[Stephane Richard]

Zork series? woohoo....I used to play them all the time...it's no wonder their classics today.

[nikoniko]

Speaking of Zork, does anyone know where to get disk images for any of Infocom's Solid Gold re-releases? These incorporated built-in InvisiClues, accessible by typing HINT within the game. Since Infocom was no longer publishing the InvisiClue books, the Solid Gold series was an excellent way to make sure hints would still be available to its fans. Now, of course, there are any number of websites where one can find complete walkthroughs easily, but I still like InvisiClues better. I bought Leather Goddesses of Phobos and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in their Solid Gold versions, and I think a few other games were repackaged that way as well, but all of the D64s I've found are the old releases without InvisiClues accesible from within the game.