Is there a *perfect* Amiga Infocom interpreter?


Thu, 24 Aug 1995 08:58:15 GMT

I've looked at all the Amiga interpreters on ftp.gmd.de and have ruthlessly
culled out all but two entries: InfoTaskForce and ZIP. (The others don't
even support v5 files, the cads.) Each has its ads and disads...

* InfoTaskForce is prettier, more configurable, and works quite well. Having
to add new games into a list to get them to show up on the menu is a pain,
but only has to be done once (a more automated way would be appreciated). It
doesn't support timed input, however (at least Freefall doesn't work right),
and I hear the people who were writing ITF kinda vanished.

* ZIP is simpler, and possibly faster. OTOH, it's almost unconfigurable (at
least from the CLI), uses only one screen and font with no menus, and most
damnably doesn't quite wrap text right. (The intro text to "Balances" loses
an exclamation point as a result.) This may seem petty, but given how little
presentation Z-machine games have to begin with, what there is is important.

So, anybody know what the status of these or better ports is? I'm
using ITF for now, but it doesn't support V8 files either...

---Fred M. Sloniker, cleric at large
L. Lazuli R'kamos, FurryMUCKer
lazuli@eskimo.com

"Today, I learned that nature can be cruel-- but that I CAN BE CRUELER!"