#zmachine — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #zmachine, aggregated by home.social.
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Back to #Infocom #TextAdventure land, or more accurately Graphics adventures. I've been working with Stefan Vogt @8bitgames to support his latest and most ambitious project yet - Arcturus. The idea is that with a single set of image files that work with your adventure game, you can convert the images and generated #zmachine game to run on a range of #8bit #retrocomputing systems (and modern systems) that support the new custom extension.
Under the code name #Canopus, I have been working with him I have been able to integrate new image display code into the interpreter, granting the #TRS80 Model 4 (or 4P) with a hi-res card an immersive adventure experience previously unavailable on this platform. The current codebase requires 128k of RAM, which may be reduced once this implementation has settled. The code is also designed to work with either the #Tandy or the Microlabs graphics card.
It's a work in progress, so here's some screenshots on the trs80gp emulator to give an idea. Future #retrogaming with a #z80
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Back to #Infocom #TextAdventure land, or more accurately Graphics adventures. I've been working with Stefan Vogt @8bitgames to support his latest and most ambitious project yet - Arcturus. The idea is that with a single set of image files that work with your adventure game, you can convert the images and generated #zmachine game to run on a range of #8bit #retrocomputing systems (and modern systems) that support the new custom extension.
Under the code name #Canopus, I have been working with him I have been able to integrate new image display code into the interpreter, granting the #TRS80 Model 4 (or 4P) with a hi-res card an immersive adventure experience previously unavailable on this platform. The current codebase requires 128k of RAM, which may be reduced once this implementation has settled. The code is also designed to work with either the #Tandy or the Microlabs graphics card.
It's a work in progress, so here's some screenshots on the trs80gp emulator to give an idea. Future #retrogaming with a #z80
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Fellow #infocom text adventure fans, the newest #Vezza #zmachine #interpreter is now available for the #Amstrad #NC200 running CPMish. Using the glorious built in LCD display at 79x18 characters, it was a lot of fun to build. Special mention to Matthew Logue for not only requesting the NC200 version and providing platform information, but also for sending me a huge amount of photos from real hardware so I could debug, and doing a complete play though of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to prove it worked.
#retrogaming #retrogaming -
Fellow #infocom text adventure fans, the newest #Vezza #zmachine #interpreter is now available for the #Amstrad #NC200 running CPMish. Using the glorious built in LCD display at 79x18 characters, it was a lot of fun to build. Special mention to Matthew Logue for not only requesting the NC200 version and providing platform information, but also for sending me a huge amount of photos from real hardware so I could debug, and doing a complete play though of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to prove it worked.
#retrogaming #retrogaming -
🎩🔧 Oh, the joy of resurrecting the Z-machine in a language so absurdly unsuitable that it's like knitting a sweater with uncooked spaghetti. 🙃 This article is a delightful blend of #nostalgia and masochism—because who wouldn't want to recreate 1980s tech struggles in the most convoluted way possible? 🕰️💔
https://whitebeard.blog/posts/building-a-z-machine-in-elm/ #Zmachine #TechStruggles #AbsurdProgramming #1980sRevival #HackerNews #ngated -
🎩🔧 Oh, the joy of resurrecting the Z-machine in a language so absurdly unsuitable that it's like knitting a sweater with uncooked spaghetti. 🙃 This article is a delightful blend of #nostalgia and masochism—because who wouldn't want to recreate 1980s tech struggles in the most convoluted way possible? 🕰️💔
https://whitebeard.blog/posts/building-a-z-machine-in-elm/ #Zmachine #TechStruggles #AbsurdProgramming #1980sRevival #HackerNews #ngated -
Building a Z-Machine in the worst possible language – Whitebeard's Realm
https://whitebeard.blog/posts/building-a-z-machine-in-elm/
#HackerNews #ZMachine #Elm #WhitebeardProgramming #GameDevelopment #CodingChallenges
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Building a Z-Machine in the worst possible language – Whitebeard's Realm
https://whitebeard.blog/posts/building-a-z-machine-in-elm/
#HackerNews #ZMachine #Elm #WhitebeardProgramming #GameDevelopment #CodingChallenges
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Zork Running on 4-Bit Intel Computer
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://hackaday.com/2026/01/03/zork-running-on-4-bit-intel-computer/
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Zork Running on 4-Bit Intel Computer
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://hackaday.com/2026/01/03/zork-running-on-4-bit-intel-computer/
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As a surprise Christmas gift to #retrocomputing, I've pushed out a new version of my #Vezza #Infocom #zmachine #interpreter. This time it's a #CP/M build, specifically for the #TRS80 models 2/12/16... on glorious 8-inch floppies. My requestor and tester Ziggystar12 was kind enough to take a photo of Bureaucracy running on a machine with the 8-inch drives; a game that could never be run on that machine before even though it was contemporary! #retrogaming #retroBattleStations
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As a surprise Christmas gift to #retrocomputing, I've pushed out a new version of my #Vezza #Infocom #zmachine #interpreter. This time it's a #CP/M build, specifically for the #TRS80 models 2/12/16... on glorious 8-inch floppies. My requestor and tester Ziggystar12 was kind enough to take a photo of Bureaucracy running on a machine with the 8-inch drives; a game that could never be run on that machine before even though it was contemporary! #retrogaming #retroBattleStations
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My #InteractiveFiction disasterpiece, the aggressively awful yet sincerely huggy Treasures of a Slaver's Kingdom, celebrates its 18th birthday today!
If you've never played a text adventure before, this free game will give you the wrong idea about them in ways that may never fully heal. If you've played ToaSK already, Gunwar and Vessa have _missed you._ Come home, barbarian! 🥰
https://ghalev.itch.io/toask
https://ifdb.org/viewgame?id=8upuvdnsk4sho6ac -
My #InteractiveFiction disasterpiece, the aggressively awful yet sincerely huggy Treasures of a Slaver's Kingdom, celebrates its 18th birthday today!
If you've never played a text adventure before, this free game will give you the wrong idea about them in ways that may never fully heal. If you've played ToaSK already, Gunwar and Vessa have _missed you._ Come home, barbarian! 🥰
https://ghalev.itch.io/toask
https://ifdb.org/viewgame?id=8upuvdnsk4sho6ac -
A paper on how to reuse interpreters to get inform v3/5 games on your Apple II:
https://www.kansasfest.org/wp-content/uploads/apple_ii_inform_paper.pdfThere's just a slight issue: the linked tool used to interleave v5 story files on floppy images can no longer be downloaded.
The original URL is http://3.buric.co/interlz5-001.zip, archive.org doesn't seem to have it.Please, tell me that someone here has it...
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A paper on how to reuse interpreters to get inform v3/5 games on your Apple II:
https://www.kansasfest.org/wp-content/uploads/apple_ii_inform_paper.pdfThere's just a slight issue: the linked tool used to interleave v5 story files on floppy images can no longer be downloaded.
The original URL is http://3.buric.co/interlz5-001.zip, archive.org doesn't seem to have it.Please, tell me that someone here has it...
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Preserving code that shaped generations: #Zork I, II, and III go #OpenSource
#Microsoft has released the #sourcecode for Zork I, II, and III under the MIT License through a collaboration with #Xbox and #Activision that involved submitting pull requests to historical source repositories maintained by digital archivist #JasonScott. Each repository now includes the original source code and accompanying documentation.
https://opensource.microsoft.com/blog/2025/11/20/preserving-code-that-shaped-generations-zork-i-ii-and-iii-go-open-source #ZMachine -
Preserving code that shaped generations: #Zork I, II, and III go #OpenSource
#Microsoft has released the #sourcecode for Zork I, II, and III under the MIT License through a collaboration with #Xbox and #Activision that involved submitting pull requests to historical source repositories maintained by digital archivist #JasonScott. Each repository now includes the original source code and accompanying documentation.
https://opensource.microsoft.com/blog/2025/11/20/preserving-code-that-shaped-generations-zork-i-ii-and-iii-go-open-source #ZMachine -
🎉✨ Advent of Code on the Z-Machine: Because there's nothing quite like using 1979 tech to solve modern #puzzles, right? 🤔 Let's all gather 'round the virtual campfire and pretend this is a groundbreaking idea instead of a nostalgic nod to ancient programming relics. 📟💾
https://entropicthoughts.com/advent-of-code-on-z-machine #AdventOfCode #ZMachine #RetroGaming #Nostalgia #ProgrammingTech #HackerNews #ngated -
🎉✨ Advent of Code on the Z-Machine: Because there's nothing quite like using 1979 tech to solve modern #puzzles, right? 🤔 Let's all gather 'round the virtual campfire and pretend this is a groundbreaking idea instead of a nostalgic nod to ancient programming relics. 📟💾
https://entropicthoughts.com/advent-of-code-on-z-machine #AdventOfCode #ZMachine #RetroGaming #Nostalgia #ProgrammingTech #HackerNews #ngated -
Fun fact: Did you know you can play "Zork" & any number of classic Infocom games using #Microsoft #Copilot as a z-emulator? Visit https://copilot.microsoft.com & use the prompt:
"You are an Infocom z-machine emulator. You will emulate the text adventure game Zork, responding to commands just as a z-machine emulator would while I am the player."
(Also works for Planetfall, Suspended, Deadline, etc.)
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Fun fact: Did you know you can play "Zork" & any number of classic Infocom games using #Microsoft #Copilot as a z-emulator? Visit https://copilot.microsoft.com & use the prompt:
"You are an Infocom z-machine emulator. You will emulate the text adventure game Zork, responding to commands just as a z-machine emulator would while I am the player."
(Also works for Planetfall, Suspended, Deadline, etc.)
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New post: Road to Bloodstock: Z Machine https://www.moshville.co.uk/interview/2025/07/road-to-bloodstock-z-machine/ #Bloodstock #ZMachine
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The Grundy #NewBrain was an interesting #z80 based machine from 1982. One of its more remarkable features was a built-in single line display in addition to the video out, allowing for some portable use. The machine was targeted at business use and didn't get a large amount of platform specific software. It ran a version of #CP/M 2.2 with an efficient implementation giving it a large TPA. The platform also supports inverse characters, although without a specific control code to toggle so I need to manually track reverse character mode and toggle the top bit accordingly. With some gymnastics in memory management, a 50Hz timer is available, allowing me to count the ticks for the 10Hz timer expected by a full featured #Zmachine
Now that it's properly tested and running, you can download the latest addition to the #Vezza family from https://gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza and if you are curious about the NewBrain you can get the emulator and other info from https://newbrainemu.eu/new/I've attached screenshots of the Bomber game in action, as well as the #Infocom classic A Mind Forever Voyaging.
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The Grundy #NewBrain was an interesting #z80 based machine from 1982. One of its more remarkable features was a built-in single line display in addition to the video out, allowing for some portable use. The machine was targeted at business use and didn't get a large amount of platform specific software. It ran a version of #CP/M 2.2 with an efficient implementation giving it a large TPA. The platform also supports inverse characters, although without a specific control code to toggle so I need to manually track reverse character mode and toggle the top bit accordingly. With some gymnastics in memory management, a 50Hz timer is available, allowing me to count the ticks for the 10Hz timer expected by a full featured #Zmachine
Now that it's properly tested and running, you can download the latest addition to the #Vezza family from https://gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza and if you are curious about the NewBrain you can get the emulator and other info from https://newbrainemu.eu/new/I've attached screenshots of the Bomber game in action, as well as the #Infocom classic A Mind Forever Voyaging.
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While porting #Vezza for another #z80 platform (the Grundy #NewBrain), I noticed that there was an issue with the timer routine for the #MSX version. It turns out that the code was in there for the MSX version was using the MSX clock, however, it was not calculating the time properly, The MSX has a fine-grained timer which allows me to measure the time to the nearest 0.1 second as required for the #Zmachine standard. This makes the MSX version one of the few that I have written which supports the full fine-grained time requirement.
While for normal text adventures, this timer resolution might not make much difference, some of the fun post-#Infocom games, this distinction is used. One of the games that I've tested which works properly now is the `bomber.z5`, a real time game where you need to drop bombs from the plane to create a flat landing for your plane. Check the screenshot below for the action! Download the latest from https://sijnstra.itch.io/vezza
#retrogaming #retrocomputing -
While porting #Vezza for another #z80 platform (the Grundy #NewBrain), I noticed that there was an issue with the timer routine for the #MSX version. It turns out that the code was in there for the MSX version was using the MSX clock, however, it was not calculating the time properly, The MSX has a fine-grained timer which allows me to measure the time to the nearest 0.1 second as required for the #Zmachine standard. This makes the MSX version one of the few that I have written which supports the full fine-grained time requirement.
While for normal text adventures, this timer resolution might not make much difference, some of the fun post-#Infocom games, this distinction is used. One of the games that I've tested which works properly now is the `bomber.z5`, a real time game where you need to drop bombs from the plane to create a flat landing for your plane. Check the screenshot below for the action! Download the latest from https://sijnstra.itch.io/vezza
#retrogaming #retrocomputing -
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 https://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.
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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 https://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.
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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 https://gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza/ #retrocomputing #retrogaming
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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 https://gitlab.com/sijnstra1/vezza/ #retrocomputing #retrogaming
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Resurrecting Infocom's Unix Z-Machine with Cosmopolitan
https://christopherdrum.github.io/posts/2025/04/porting-infocom-with-cosmo
#HackerNews #ResurrectingInfocom #Unix #ZMachine #Cosmopolitan #RetroGaming #TechHistory
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Resurrecting Infocom's Unix Z-Machine with Cosmopolitan
https://christopherdrum.github.io/posts/2025/04/porting-infocom-with-cosmo
#HackerNews #ResurrectingInfocom #Unix #ZMachine #Cosmopolitan #RetroGaming #TechHistory