nFrotz v1.0 - Endless Adventure Games on the TI-NSpire! Contents -What the Heck is it? -Z-Machine? Z-Code? -Requirements -Installation -Running Games on the Calculator -Special Emulator Keys -Special Emulator Commands -FAQ -Contact Info -Credits -Version History What the Heck is it? -------------------- nFrotz is a port of the popular Z-Machine interpreter, Frotz, for the TI-Nspire classic and CX (all versions). It allows you to run any Z-code game, including the classic text-based games (Zork, Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, etc.) as well as new ones created with the programming language Inform. See "Running Games on the Calculator" for what types of games are supported. Z-Machine? Z-Code? ------------------ Way back in the late 1970's, there were several different (read: incompatible) computer platforms. Infocom, a game company, realized that instead of recompiling their text-based adventure games for each platform, it'd make more sense to compile it to an intermediate language, called Z-Code. That way, they'd only have to write an interpreter for each platform to allow all of their games to be able to run on it. And thus, the Z-Machine was born. As the years have gone by, Z-Code has been expanded and improved, and to this day, remains popular with writers who want to make interactive fiction. Requirements ------------ You will need a TI-Nspire classic or CX with ndless installed. ndless is a program which allows 3rd party programs to run on the otherwise closed-platform TI-Nspire. If you do not have ndless installed, please go here to get it: http://ndlessly.wordpress.com/ndless. Note that launching games directly from My Documents requires a version of ndless that supports file extension associations (revision 538 or greater). If you have an older version of ndless without extension support, you can still launch games from the built-in file browser, but I'd recommend upgrading. nFrotz is a fairly small program and only takes up around 105k of memory. Depending on the size of the game you want to run, it may take anywhere from 500k to 1 MB of RAM to run it. Installation ------------- To install nFrotz, create a new folder in My Documents called "nFrotz". Using some form of link software (I recommend Tilp), send nFrotz.tns to the "nFrotz" folder. It will install automatically when run for the first time. Installation is actually very minimal; it just adds the file extension association .z.tns (if the ndless revision is at least 538). After installing, it will take you to the file browser where you can select the game you want to run. If you don't have any games on the calculator, it will complain that it didn't find any games and will automatically exit. Running Games on the Calculator ------------------------------- nFrotz perfectly emulates .z1, .z2, .z3, .z4, .z5, .z7, and .z8 files. It also has experimental emulation for .z6 and .zblorb, though both should work correctly. Before sending your game file to the calculator, you'll need to rename the file so that it has the extension .z.tns. For example, if have the file ZorkI.z3, you need to rename it to ZorkI.z.tns. Before renaming it, it should have one of the supported file extensions (see above). If not, there's a chance it may not work, though it may. After you've renamed the file, send the game file to your calculator. Note that it doesn't have to be in the nFrotz folder. To run a game, you have two options. nFrotz has a built-in file browser which will automatically scan the whole calculator for any .z.tns files. To use this option, simply run nFrotz the you'll automatically be taken to the file browser. The second option is to launch games directly from My Documents. To do this, you must have an ndless revision that is at least 538 and must have run nFrotz at least once previously (to create the file extension association). Special Emulator Keys --------------------- Skip the credits - ESC Invert the console colors - TAB Switch between previous input - UP/DOWN Select/submit command - ENTER Special Emulator Commands ------------------------- Quit the game and exit the emulator - "quit" (or "q") Restart the game - "restart" Save a game - "save" Load a game - "restore" FAQ --- Q: Why can't I launch a game from My Documents? A: You need a version of ndless that supports file extension associations (any revision that's at least 538). Also, you need to run nFrotz at least once before you can launch from My Documents (to install the file extension). Q: Why does the file browser say ""? A: Chances are, you haven't put any game files on the calculator yet! If you have, make sure it has the extension .z.tns BEFORE you send it to the calculator. On the calculator, it will show the extension .z. Q: Why does my save-game file appear in a random place in the file browser? A: nFrotz will store save-game files in the "nFrotz" folder IF it exists. If not, it'll store it in what it thinks is the working directory. To solve this problem, create a folder called "nFrotz" and relocate any save games there. Save games have the extension .sav. Q: Why doesn't my save-game file appear in the nFrotz folder after I quit? A: A program that creates files *should* update the calc's file browser after creating or deleting files, but I neglected to do this because it throws off the screen effects :) To see the file, go to Home, then back to My Documents and it should be there. Q: I've found a bug! What should I do? A: Please please please send me (Michael Wilder) an email describing the bug! (see my contact info below) Q: Source code? A: Soon, I promise! I'm in the process of cleaning it up, since I hacked it apart for a few weeks. Contact Info ------------ Have you found a bug? Do you have a feature idea for the next release? Or maybe some comments about nFrotz? If so, please send me an email! Michael Wilder (catastropher) - mwwjunk@yahoo.com Credits ------- Christoffer Rehn (hoffa) - porter Michael Wilder (catastropher) - porter and maintainer Olivier Armand (ExtendeD) - creator of ndless Julian Mackeben (compu) - creator of Nspire I/O Stefan Jokisch - creator of Frotz Alfresco Petrofsky - creator of Dumb Frotz Version History --------------- Version 1.0 <> Date released (first official release, by catastropher) -Working status bar -Invertable console colors -Built-in file browser that scans the whole calculator for .z files -Better file saving which is compatible with all game files -Storing of command entries -Perfect compatibility with .z1, .z2, .z3, .z4, .z5, .z7, and .z8 files -Experimental support for .z6 and .zblorb files. -Compatibility with games made with the Inform programming language -A whole bunch of unnecessary, yet cool, particle effects Version 0.1 <> Date released -First release by hoffa