
ZMachine 1.2 for the Sharp Wizard OZ-7XX
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  This is a Infocom type Game (ZCode) style interpreter for version III
  type games.  This program was written for the Wizard by Shawn Roberts
  and Matthew Holladay.  This program is a port of the old style ZIP 
  (Zork Interpreter) program by Mark Howell.

  Please report any bugs or comments to m_holladay@hotmail.com.


Section 1.  Instructions for loading games into the ZMachine
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  1. Download zmachine.wzd to wizard
  2. Download frommemo.wzd to wizard
  3. Download game file to wizard.  See below to convert the *.dat
     files into wizard files.
  4. Immediately after downloading the gamefile.wzd, run frommemo.


Section 2.  Instructions for converting game files (*.dat) to *.wzd
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  Run:
    convwzd <filename> <sourcefile.dat>
  to convert each game file to a wzd file.


Section 3.  Starting Game
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  From the ZMachine Main Menu, select the game to be played by entering 
  the appropriate number.  To delete a game, press the DEL key at the
  main menu, then enter the appropriate game number to be deleted.  It 
  is normal program operation for the game file to take a minute or two 
  for deletion.  This deletion process will also delete any game save 
  files associated with the game.


Section 4.  Game Play
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  Infocom games are text adventure games that recognizes different 
  words that you type into the computer.  A command could either be a 
  single word, such as up, or a combination of words such as get all, 
  or kill troll with sword.  The commands are not case sensitive.

  To help you with the basics of playing the game, here's a few basic 
  commands to get you started.  Commands are entered at the > prompt 
  at the bottom of the screen. These are only a small part of what the 
  game understands - try whatever English commands seem appropriate at 
  any given point.

  Going Places:
    Compass directions will get you most places - use E, W, S, N, 
    NE etc.  (Out, In. Down and Up will also work in many places).

  Other Commands:
    Look - gives you a full description of your current location
    Diagnose - gives you a report of your physical condition
    Inventory - gives you a list of what you are carrying 
      (abbreviates to I)
    Wait - electronic equivalent of taking a nap
    Get, Get All - lets you pick things up
    Open - open something closed
    Examine - fully describe an object
    Drop, Drop All - put things down
    Verbose - Gives you a detailed description of the room, every 
      time the room is entered
    Brief - Provides just the name of the room
    Superbrief - Displays only the room name
    Restart - restarts the game from the beginning
    Save - Saves a game for later continuation
    Restore - Restores a previous saved game
    Quit - Quits the game, and exits the ZMachine
    Score - Gives score of game

  Communicating:
    When you come across another character in the game, you can talk 
    to them by entering their name followed by a comma, then the 
    question, e.g.:
      Ford, where are you going?
      Marvin, give me the hammer

  Game Hints:
    Examine everything.  Even the most unsignificate object could be 
    of importance.
    Make a map to help with moving about game world.  Good luck.
    If you totally give up, then game clues and walk throughs can be
    found on the internet.


Section 5.  New Features
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  The following features have been added since ZMachine 1.0
    - Fixed a bug in parsing punctuation that caused all kinds
      of havoc when trying to talk to NPCs.
    - Added support for 4 savegame slots rather than a single
      savegame.
    - Added a checker that runs when converting Infocom data files
      to wizard format so that unsupported games and games that
      require too much memory will not be converted.
    - The key-click noise can be turned on and off using the 
      Page Up and Page Down keys next to the Wizard's screen
      (the big blue ones).  This can keep you from going nuts
      if the clicks grate on your nerves.
    - The interpreter now pauses waiting for a keypress at the 
      end of games, allowing you to actually read the closing 
      text of games that exit in a not-so-nice manner.


Section 6.  Interactions with ZMachine 1.0
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  While ZMachine 1.2 can read the Infocom data files saved by 
  previous ZMachine 1.0, it cannot read the saved games from 1.0.
  Because of this, it is safest to use ZMachine 1.0 to delete all
  data files and savegames prior to installation and usage of 
  ZMachine 1.2.  Sorry.


Section 7.  Future Releases
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  Yes, I am working on the changes necessary to support V4, V5, and V8
  games.  Just don't expect that release any time soon.  The "undo"
  command will probably not be supported in any version any time soon,
  implementation just requires too much memory for the Wizard.  With
  the extra savegame slots it shouldn't be as big a problem anymore.


Matthew Holladay
Last Modified: Thu Jul 19 19:15:30 2001 

