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  1. Back to fun platforms to port my interpreter - this time it's the Enterprise 128. A 4MHz machine from the mid 80s, it has a great emulator, and a bespoke DOS known as IS-DOS, with a lot of compatibility with both CP/M 2.2 and . While it needed quite some tweaking, a lot of the heavy lifting was done with my original version before it was optimised. As I understand, the didn't have a great library of games for it, so hoping this helps! Get it while it's hot at gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza Screenshots are the IS-DOS 1.0 version running Border Zone, and the IS-DOS 1.1a version running Beyond .

  2. Back to fun platforms to port my #Vezza #Infocom #Zmachine interpreter - this time it's the Enterprise 128. A 4MHz #z80 machine from the mid 80s, it has a great emulator, and a bespoke DOS known as IS-DOS, with a lot of compatibility with both CP/M 2.2 and #MSXDOS. While it needed quite some tweaking, a lot of the heavy lifting was done with my original #MSX version before it was optimised. As I understand, the #Enterprise128 didn't have a great library of games for it, so hoping this helps! Get it while it's hot at gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza Screenshots are the IS-DOS 1.0 version running Border Zone, and the IS-DOS 1.1a version running Beyond #Zork.

  3. Back to fun platforms to port my #Vezza #Infocom #Zmachine interpreter - this time it's the Enterprise 128. A 4MHz #z80 machine from the mid 80s, it has a great emulator, and a bespoke DOS known as IS-DOS, with a lot of compatibility with both CP/M 2.2 and #MSXDOS. While it needed quite some tweaking, a lot of the heavy lifting was done with my original #MSX version before it was optimised. As I understand, the #Enterprise128 didn't have a great library of games for it, so hoping this helps! Get it while it's hot at gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza Screenshots are the IS-DOS 1.0 version running Border Zone, and the IS-DOS 1.1a version running Beyond #Zork.

  4. Another wet weekend, another #Vezza release! I was asked to adapt my #Infocom interpreter to another platform - this time the #SinclarQL. An interesting request as it uses a #Motorola 68008 CPU, however, it does have the ability to emulate a #z80 on #CP/M. I was given some pointers on which versions worked to some extent, along with some documentation. Fast forward a few days and I had adapted one of the VT52 versions crossed with other features, and now #Sinclair QL users can enjoy in CP/M mode their #Inform #ZMachine adventures. Yes, there's a native terp as well, however, this was only a few days worth of massaging to get it to work on the SUCCESS CP/M Emulator - the proof is in the screen shots. You can download the executable here gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza/ #retrocomputing #retrogaming

  5. After much testing and code comparison, the new Feb 2025 Release of #Vezza - my #z80 high speed #zmachine is ready! Took way longer than expected to synchronize across all of the code bases, particularly making sure that all optimizations made it across all platforms - TRS-80 model 1, TRS-80 model 3, TRS-80 model 4, the CP/M versions (~18 platforms), the embedded versions (Spectrum tape, TEC-1G), and slowly pushing into the Agon Light version (which has even more updates still in progress). Lots of individual tweaks, and some major rethinks and rewrites have come together to accelerate game play.

    The hardest part of rewriting in this update involved rewriting the dictionary search code. I ended up going back to the original jzip interpreter, written in C for Unix waaay back when. Jzip provided much of the logic that went into ZXZVM, which provided the base for #M4ZVM #M3ZVM and #Vezza. Going back to Jzip made sense as Jzip has an even longer history; and is highly tested and stable and still maintained. This research gave me the confidence that the streamlining and changes I was making to such a fundamental part of the game would work, making all inputted dictionary searching more efficient.

    To work around how CP/M stores executable files I spent a lot of time re-organising the memory map to make the executable smaller. This involved rearranging where the initialization code was stored inside the increasingly complex layout. Support across multiple versions means I needed to break up variable sized code and strings to sit inside variable sized gaps, while still compiling all the CP/M versions from the same interconnected set of source files. It needed quite a few manual checks to ensure that it all worked.

    What this all means is that your favourite #infocom #punyinform and other text adventures will all play on your favourite z80 #retrocomputing platforms even faster than before!

    More details in the devlog and downloads can be found at:
    #TRS80 versions sijnstra.itch.io/m4zvm
    #CPM #CPM80 versions sijnstra.itch.io/vezza

  6. After much testing and code comparison, the new Feb 2025 Release of #Vezza - my #z80 high speed #zmachine is ready! Took way longer than expected to synchronize across all of the code bases, particularly making sure that all optimizations made it across all platforms - TRS-80 model 1, TRS-80 model 3, TRS-80 model 4, the CP/M versions (~18 platforms), the embedded versions (Spectrum tape, TEC-1G), and slowly pushing into the Agon Light version (which has even more updates still in progress). Lots of individual tweaks, and some major rethinks and rewrites have come together to accelerate game play.

    The hardest part of rewriting in this update involved rewriting the dictionary search code. I ended up going back to the original jzip interpreter, written in C for Unix waaay back when. Jzip provided much of the logic that went into ZXZVM, which provided the base for #M4ZVM #M3ZVM and #Vezza. Going back to Jzip made sense as Jzip has an even longer history; and is highly tested and stable and still maintained. This research gave me the confidence that the streamlining and changes I was making to such a fundamental part of the game would work, making all inputted dictionary searching more efficient.

    To work around how CP/M stores executable files I spent a lot of time re-organising the memory map to make the executable smaller. This involved rearranging where the initialization code was stored inside the increasingly complex layout. Support across multiple versions means I needed to break up variable sized code and strings to sit inside variable sized gaps, while still compiling all the CP/M versions from the same interconnected set of source files. It needed quite a few manual checks to ensure that it all worked.

    What this all means is that your favourite #infocom #punyinform and other text adventures will all play on your favourite z80 #retrocomputing platforms even faster than before!

    More details in the devlog and downloads can be found at:
    #TRS80 versions sijnstra.itch.io/m4zvm
    #CPM #CPM80 versions sijnstra.itch.io/vezza

  7. After much testing and code comparison, the new Feb 2025 Release of - my high speed is ready! Took way longer than expected to synchronize across all of the code bases, particularly making sure that all optimizations made it across all platforms - TRS-80 model 1, TRS-80 model 3, TRS-80 model 4, the CP/M versions (~18 platforms), the embedded versions (Spectrum tape, TEC-1G), and slowly pushing into the Agon Light version (which has even more updates still in progress). Lots of individual tweaks, and some major rethinks and rewrites have come together to accelerate game play.

    The hardest part of rewriting in this update involved rewriting the dictionary search code. I ended up going back to the original jzip interpreter, written in C for Unix waaay back when. Jzip provided much of the logic that went into ZXZVM, which provided the base for and . Going back to Jzip made sense as Jzip has an even longer history; and is highly tested and stable and still maintained. This research gave me the confidence that the streamlining and changes I was making to such a fundamental part of the game would work, making all inputted dictionary searching more efficient.

    To work around how CP/M stores executable files I spent a lot of time re-organising the memory map to make the executable smaller. This involved rearranging where the initialization code was stored inside the increasingly complex layout. Support across multiple versions means I needed to break up variable sized code and strings to sit inside variable sized gaps, while still compiling all the CP/M versions from the same interconnected set of source files. It needed quite a few manual checks to ensure that it all worked.

    What this all means is that your favourite and other text adventures will all play on your favourite z80 platforms even faster than before!

    More details in the devlog and downloads can be found at:
    versions sijnstra.itch.io/m4zvm
    versions sijnstra.itch.io/vezza

  8. After much testing and code comparison, the new Feb 2025 Release of #Vezza - my #z80 high speed #zmachine is ready! Took way longer than expected to synchronize across all of the code bases, particularly making sure that all optimizations made it across all platforms - TRS-80 model 1, TRS-80 model 3, TRS-80 model 4, the CP/M versions (~18 platforms), the embedded versions (Spectrum tape, TEC-1G), and slowly pushing into the Agon Light version (which has even more updates still in progress). Lots of individual tweaks, and some major rethinks and rewrites have come together to accelerate game play.

    The hardest part of rewriting in this update involved rewriting the dictionary search code. I ended up going back to the original jzip interpreter, written in C for Unix waaay back when. Jzip provided much of the logic that went into ZXZVM, which provided the base for #M4ZVM #M3ZVM and #Vezza. Going back to Jzip made sense as Jzip has an even longer history; and is highly tested and stable and still maintained. This research gave me the confidence that the streamlining and changes I was making to such a fundamental part of the game would work, making all inputted dictionary searching more efficient.

    To work around how CP/M stores executable files I spent a lot of time re-organising the memory map to make the executable smaller. This involved rearranging where the initialization code was stored inside the increasingly complex layout. Support across multiple versions means I needed to break up variable sized code and strings to sit inside variable sized gaps, while still compiling all the CP/M versions from the same interconnected set of source files. It needed quite a few manual checks to ensure that it all worked.

    What this all means is that your favourite #infocom #punyinform and other text adventures will all play on your favourite z80 #retrocomputing platforms even faster than before!

    More details in the devlog and downloads can be found at:
    #TRS80 versions sijnstra.itch.io/m4zvm
    #CPM #CPM80 versions sijnstra.itch.io/vezza

  9. After much testing and code comparison, the new Feb 2025 Release of #Vezza - my #z80 high speed #zmachine is ready! Took way longer than expected to synchronize across all of the code bases, particularly making sure that all optimizations made it across all platforms - TRS-80 model 1, TRS-80 model 3, TRS-80 model 4, the CP/M versions (~18 platforms), the embedded versions (Spectrum tape, TEC-1G), and slowly pushing into the Agon Light version (which has even more updates still in progress). Lots of individual tweaks, and some major rethinks and rewrites have come together to accelerate game play.

    The hardest part of rewriting in this update involved rewriting the dictionary search code. I ended up going back to the original jzip interpreter, written in C for Unix waaay back when. Jzip provided much of the logic that went into ZXZVM, which provided the base for #M4ZVM #M3ZVM and #Vezza. Going back to Jzip made sense as Jzip has an even longer history; and is highly tested and stable and still maintained. This research gave me the confidence that the streamlining and changes I was making to such a fundamental part of the game would work, making all inputted dictionary searching more efficient.

    To work around how CP/M stores executable files I spent a lot of time re-organising the memory map to make the executable smaller. This involved rearranging where the initialization code was stored inside the increasingly complex layout. Support across multiple versions means I needed to break up variable sized code and strings to sit inside variable sized gaps, while still compiling all the CP/M versions from the same interconnected set of source files. It needed quite a few manual checks to ensure that it all worked.

    What this all means is that your favourite #infocom #punyinform and other text adventures will all play on your favourite z80 #retrocomputing platforms even faster than before!

    More details in the devlog and downloads can be found at:
    #TRS80 versions sijnstra.itch.io/m4zvm
    #CPM #CPM80 versions sijnstra.itch.io/vezza

  10. For all of you #TEC1G adventure game players looking for something bigger, better and more... historical, I've beefed up my #vezza #infocom interpreter to use the extra 16K available in EXPAND, which sits behind the other 16K from 0x8000-0xBFFF. This means that one of the smallest #z-machine ports of Scott Adams 1978 classic game #Adventureland is now playable on a TEC-1G (with keyboard and GLCD). With the extra RAM being used, it makes the loading a little more involved as it needs to be loaded in two parts, switching the EXPAND ram in to load part 2, then back to loading the main game before you can play. Download the components here, along with more description and detailed instructions: gitlab.com/sijnstra1/e-vezza/-

  11. Now that it's had a little testing other than me (Thanks Brian Chiha!) I'm making my #vezza for the #TEC-1G more readily available, similar to my #zxspectrum .tap files. #zmachine text adventures for all #z80 machines! I've put up 3 sample builds to download and run at .hex files to load straight into the #TEC. Full keyboard and GLCD are required, and I'll be looking to add more features to maximise use of the platform. You can download the .hex files here gitlab.com/sijnstra1/e-vezza/-

  12. I've published the update to my #agonlight Infocom/z-machine adventure game player, Vezza, allowing you to select one of 9 built-in fonts to enjoy a more immersive gaming experience. You can get more details and download from here sijnstra.itch.io/vezza-agon - Shout out to Damien Guard for licensing some of his fonts for this purpose. #retrocomputing

  13. Using the character to bitmap mapping available in the latest #AgonLight VDP firmware, I've been able to transform an ASCII #curses version of Flappy Bird into graphics. Double-buffering ensures the game plays flicker-free. Before and after images included. Source code and binary here: github.com/sijnstra/agdev-proj #retrocomputing #retrogaming #zilog #ez80

  14. #ZealOS-8-bit has been bumped to version 0.4.0, including a bunch of changes/enhancements by yours truly. #AgonLight is now in the main branch. You can download this version here github.com/Zeal8bit/Zeal-8-bit

    Note that I've also added some additional notes around building etc. to my bootloader page here github.com/sijnstra/agon-proje

    #retrocomputing #OS #8bit

  15. #ZealOS-8-bit has been bumped to version 0.4.0, including a bunch of changes/enhancements by yours truly. #AgonLight is now in the main branch. You can download this version here github.com/Zeal8bit/Zeal-8-bit

    Note that I've also added some additional notes around building etc. to my bootloader page here github.com/sijnstra/agon-proje

    #retrocomputing #OS #8bit

  16. -8-bit has been bumped to version 0.4.0, including a bunch of changes/enhancements by yours truly. is now in the main branch. You can download this version here github.com/Zeal8bit/Zeal-8-bit

    Note that I've also added some additional notes around building etc. to my bootloader page here github.com/sijnstra/agon-proje

  17. #ZealOS-8-bit has been bumped to version 0.4.0, including a bunch of changes/enhancements by yours truly. #AgonLight is now in the main branch. You can download this version here github.com/Zeal8bit/Zeal-8-bit

    Note that I've also added some additional notes around building etc. to my bootloader page here github.com/sijnstra/agon-proje

    #retrocomputing #OS #8bit

  18. #ZealOS-8-bit has been bumped to version 0.4.0, including a bunch of changes/enhancements by yours truly. #AgonLight is now in the main branch. You can download this version here github.com/Zeal8bit/Zeal-8-bit

    Note that I've also added some additional notes around building etc. to my bootloader page here github.com/sijnstra/agon-proje

    #retrocomputing #OS #8bit

  19. @sijnstra thank you for creating and maintaining #vezza. I use it to play games on my #rc2014 and love it. An #AgonLight version would be cool!

  20. I've released a new version of my #infocom #z-machine #textadventure interpreter #Vezza for #CP/M and #M4ZVM for the #trs80 Model 1/3/4. There's some speed improvements, along with a reduced footprint (smaller file, more space for cache), and a bugfix for a rare edge case in error handling discovered through the release of Ghosts by @8bitgames
    Disk images at sijnstra.itch.io/m4zvm and sijnstra.itch.io/vezza (with links to more platforms etc) #retrocomputing #cpc #msx #kaypro #osborne

  21. I've released a new version of my #infocom #z-machine #textadventure interpreter #Vezza for #CP/M and #M4ZVM for the #trs80 Model 1/3/4. There's some speed improvements, along with a reduced footprint (smaller file, more space for cache), and a bugfix for a rare edge case in error handling discovered through the release of Ghosts by @8bitgames
    Disk images at sijnstra.itch.io/m4zvm and sijnstra.itch.io/vezza (with links to more platforms etc) #retrocomputing #cpc #msx #kaypro #osborne

  22. I've released a new version of my -machine interpreter for /M and for the Model 1/3/4. There's some speed improvements, along with a reduced footprint (smaller file, more space for cache), and a bugfix for a rare edge case in error handling discovered through the release of Ghosts by @8bitgames
    Disk images at sijnstra.itch.io/m4zvm and sijnstra.itch.io/vezza (with links to more platforms etc)

  23. I've released a new version of my #infocom #z-machine #textadventure interpreter #Vezza for #CP/M and #M4ZVM for the #trs80 Model 1/3/4. There's some speed improvements, along with a reduced footprint (smaller file, more space for cache), and a bugfix for a rare edge case in error handling discovered through the release of Ghosts by @8bitgames
    Disk images at sijnstra.itch.io/m4zvm and sijnstra.itch.io/vezza (with links to more platforms etc) #retrocomputing #cpc #msx #kaypro #osborne

  24. I've released a new version of my #infocom #z-machine #textadventure interpreter #Vezza for #CP/M and #M4ZVM for the #trs80 Model 1/3/4. There's some speed improvements, along with a reduced footprint (smaller file, more space for cache), and a bugfix for a rare edge case in error handling discovered through the release of Ghosts by @8bitgames
    Disk images at sijnstra.itch.io/m4zvm and sijnstra.itch.io/vezza (with links to more platforms etc) #retrocomputing #cpc #msx #kaypro #osborne

  25. The work polishing #Vezza, my #infocom #Z-machine interpreter continues - this time it's the #Amstrad #CPC and #PCW that is getting some attention. I've been able to combine the two versions into a single binary, added support for accented characters, and made the image bootable on CPC - downloadable as an easy to use sample image at sijnstra.itch.io/vezza
    #retrocomputing #retrogaming #textadventure #interactivefiction

  26. And in-between times I am playing with a new (to me) Z-Code interpreter called Vezza in RunCPM.

    So far so good... Running all my favourites (inc all the Zorks), so far as high as some Z5's.

    Loving an easy single interpreter that I can just chuck data files at as CMD line parameters!

    sijnstra.itch.io/vezza

    And/Or

    gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza

    #infocom
    #zork
    #planetfall
    #RunCPM
    #Vezza

  27. And in-between times I am playing with a new (to me) Z-Code interpreter called Vezza in RunCPM.

    So far so good... Running all my favourites (inc all the Zorks), so far as high as some Z5's.

    Loving an easy single interpreter that I can just chuck data files at as CMD line parameters!

    sijnstra.itch.io/vezza

    And/Or

    gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza

    #infocom
    #zork
    #planetfall
    #RunCPM
    #Vezza

  28. And in-between times I am playing with a new (to me) Z-Code interpreter called Vezza in RunCPM.

    So far so good... Running all my favourites (inc all the Zorks), so far as high as some Z5's.

    Loving an easy single interpreter that I can just chuck data files at as CMD line parameters!

    sijnstra.itch.io/vezza

    And/Or

    gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza

    #infocom
    #zork
    #planetfall
    #RunCPM
    #Vezza

  29. And in-between times I am playing with a new (to me) Z-Code interpreter called Vezza in RunCPM.

    So far so good... Running all my favourites (inc all the Zorks), so far as high as some Z5's.

    Loving an easy single interpreter that I can just chuck data files at as CMD line parameters!

    sijnstra.itch.io/vezza

    And/Or

    gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza

    #infocom
    #zork
    #planetfall
    #RunCPM
    #Vezza

  30. And in-between times I am playing with a new (to me) Z-Code interpreter called Vezza in RunCPM.

    So far so good... Running all my favourites (inc all the Zorks), so far as high as some Z5's.

    Loving an easy single interpreter that I can just chuck data files at as CMD line parameters!

    sijnstra.itch.io/vezza

    And/Or

    gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza

    #infocom
    #zork
    #planetfall
    #RunCPM
    #Vezza