Off Topic, contact sender for more information!
- From: "feliberto Escobar III" <Beto_escobar@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "JFW List Serv" <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2006 22:49:06 -0600
Hello JFW List Serv:
This question is off topic, please contact me at
beto_escobar@xxxxxxxxxxxxx for help, answer (s) to this E-mail!
Today is the first day of 2006! Yahoo! Anyway, what I would like to
know is what are the steps someone must go through in updating all of my
Infocom text adventure games? Here's the deal; I have a friend, W.
Scott Dillman, which kindly updated a WinFrotz interpreter that works
with JAWS, on a windows environment. The deal is that I **also** have
all major releases of the Infocom games, i.e. Lost Treasures of Infocom
(LTOI) I, II, as well as Masterpieces of Infocom. What I would like to
do is update all of these text adventure games from the IF archive. All
of these games are in zipped files, can someone help me?
Secondly, I just changed ISP's, and I need to change my E-mail programs
e.g. Outlook, Outlook Express to download my E-mail from SBC Global?
Can someone help me with this as well? I need help with both E-mail
programs.
Finally, just in case anyone is interested, here is some info the
programmer, W. Scott Dillman, sent me regarding the WinFrotzTTS (Windows
Frotz Text To Speech) Interpreter.
WinFrotzTTS2002 Interpreter
by W. Scott Dillman
sdillman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Welcome to the most updated version of the popular WinFrotz Interpreter.
This is an updated version of David Kinders great Inform interpreter
'WinFrotz 2002'. The main goal of WinFrotzTTS2002 Interpreter was to
design an interface that was easy to use for the visually impaired gamer
and to allow game play without the use of a screen reader by leveraging
Microsoft's SAPI 5 speech Engine API. The application is freely
available on my website for download along with a module of over 300
games from the Interactive Fiction Archive. This last version took a lot
of hard work and testing, and still needs some improvement in areas.
WinFrotzTTS was developed in my spare time and is a bit lean on good
documentation. I advise anyone interested to stop by the forum links
listed below and contribute to the enhancements request list and general
conversation. The site will also run polls now and again to see which
new features are most needed. I encourage everyone interested to stop by
and make their voices heard. I have also briefly tested text-to-speech
additions to 'Scare' which is another interpreter that runs Adrift text
adventures which there seems to be a fair number of games, and a
modification to the Level9 interpreter mostly just for nostalgia sake.
Please direct all questions about this updated version of the
WinFrotzTTS2002 to me at
sdillman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Here are the important links:
Main website:
http://www.binaryrevelations.com/iftts
Main download page:
http://www.binaryrevelations.com/iftts/modules.php?name=Downloads
Deep link to the updated WinFrotzTTS2002 Interpreter download:
http://www.binaryrevelations.com/iftts/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=v
iewdownload&cid=2
Deep link to the IF Archive game module download:
http://www.binaryrevelations.com/iftts/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=v
iewdownload&cid=5
Link to the forums for discussion:
http://www.binaryrevelations.com/iftts/modules.php?name=Forums
Below is a list of features and a brief introduction to how the
application works.
Game loading:
When the app is started it will search a directory for games, the
default is the directory where WinFrotzTTS is installed. You will
probably never have
to change this so when the app starts just hit return when it asks you
to pick a directory to scan. After the app has scanned the directories
looking for
games it will present you with a list by telling you how many games it
has found. At this point you can use the up and down arrow keys to move
through
the list of games and it will read the titles aloud. You can also hit
the first letter of a title and it will skip to that letter in the list,
the list
is sorted alphabetically, so you would hit the letter z and it would
skip ahead in the list to Zork 1 most likely. The arrow keys work well
for the short
list of Infocom games, but I have 326 games installed and it is easier
to jump ahead to a letter if I know the game I want to play.
After finding the game you want just hit return and it will load up.
You can hit 'escape' to dismiss this dialog. If you click cancel the
standard file dialog is presented. Games loaded using the standard
dialog are not guaranteed
to work with the extra text to speech functionality, so be warned. It
will also ask you to type the title of the game so it can be added to
the supported
list of games. If this is a game you plan to play often it is a good
idea to put the game in a folder under the main WinFrotzTTS application
so it is found
on every startup.
Game saving:
When you type save the app will tell you to type some text. This text is
used to create a file name in the same directory that the current game
is running
from. Text entered in the dialog is spoken aloud as well as deleted
characters. It also handles file overwriting. You can always hit
'escape' to dismiss
the dialog.
Game restoring:
When you type 'restore' the same kind of dialog for game loading comes
up. The app tells you it is going to search a certain directory for
saved games.
You simply hit return and the app scans the directory for saved games.
It then presents you with a list of save game titles and the name of the
game that
they were saved from, and you can use the up and down arrow keys again
to find the saved game you want and hit enter to load it.
You can also delete a game by highlighting a game and hitting the delete
key. The app will then confirm your deletion by asking you to hit 'Y' or
'N'.
The app will tell you whether it was successful or not.
Command line speech:
Most speech in the game can be interrupted. For example when the app is
telling you which directory it wants to scan you can just hit return
instead of
sitting through the whole speech. When the game list comes up you can
browse from game to game with the arrow keys, as soon as you move to the
next game
in the list, the previous game title read aloud is cut off. This is all
done to save time and cut out a lot of repetitious reading.
This also works on the command line in the game.. For instance when you
continue to move into the same room in the game and the app reads the
description
over and over again. Simply hitting the space bar will clear the speech.
You can also use the up and down arrow keys on the command line of the
game to
scroll through commands you have already entered and it will read them
aloud. Don't worry about extra spaces before and after words, the game
just ignores
them so use spaces to verify what you have typed even if it is just one
word. When backspace is used the deleted character is read aloud.
Read again:
Sometimes you want to hear a room description read again and not waste a
turn to hear it. This can be done by hitting CTRL R which will read the
last bit
of text saved since the last command typed.
Word list spelling:
Many times, games use words that are not easy to spell or are not really
words at all. Some thing like Frobozz. You would not know how many 'z's
are in
the word. To help with this you can hit CTRL Z after a room description,
and a word list will be presented to you. Using the up and down arrow
keys you
can move from word to word or use a character to skip to a word in the
alphabetic list and the word will be spoken aloud. If you hit 'space
bar' the word
is spelled out loud. If you hit 'enter' while on a word, the dialog is
closed and the word is added to the command line so you don't have to
type it. If
you know you are going to use the word a lot, you can hit 'insert' and
the word will be added to a scratch list that I will describe later. You
can always
hit escape to dismiss the dialog.
Scratch list:
Sometimes you want to save typing or keep track of certain word. By
using the 'insert' key in the word list, words can be added to the
scratch list. hit
CTRL X to bring up the list. This list can be navigated just like the
word list. Arrow keys move between entries ( spoken aloud ), characters
move to words
alphabetically, 'enter' adds the word to the command line, and 'space
bar' spells the entry. The only difference is that 'delete' removes the
entry from
the list. The nice thing about the scratch list is that it is saved
between WinFrotzTTS uses, so the next time you play it is still there.
Input processing:
Text entered on the interpreter command line is processed and words are
read aloud after a space is entered. Since the interpreter ignores
spaces, before
and after words it can be used to verify input or stop speech. This can
be useful if you are in and out of the same room over and over again and
don't
want to sit through the same boring description; just hitting space will
clear the speech buffer. Hitting the 'delete' key will read the last
deleted character
out loud. Using the up and down arrow keys will cycle though the command
history and read aloud the commands. Hitting enter on the command line
will read
the whole entry aloud before the interpreter's response.
Options:
I have added an setting in the options dialog to disable speech is
application dialogs for people with screen readers. As well as fixed the
voice selection
dropdown.
Voices:
Speech voices can be chosen by hitting CTRL+Y. This is the standard
speech list dialog used throughout WinFrotzTTS. You can use insert to
hear a voice and
then hit enter to select it.
Code update:
I have updated the code base to David Kinder's 'Windows Frotz 2002
1.05'.
Games support:
In order to be able to have the interpreter recognize games despite
their filenames, and since serial numbers don't seem to be a constant. I
devised a fingerprinting
system that identifies games. These numbers are read in from a simple
XML file at interpreter startup and associates a file fingerprint with a
game title.
This makes it easier to add new games to the supported list and remove
games that don't work and not have to make a new release. I will
probably be making
the tool for creating entries for this file available for people who
want to add games to the list. At this time I have 328 games in the
supported list.
A caching system keeps this from bogging down application loading. You
will see a performance slowdown when the first time the application is
loaded and games are
parsed.
POST SCRIPT:
I have done some things to modify the updated WinFrotzTTS2002
Interpreter, WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF W. SCOTT DILLMAN. This is replaceing
the Microsoft Speech Engine. The AT&T's Natural Voices is also a SAPI 5
compliant speech engine. However, make note, there are some
stipulations your PC **must have** in order to use this fantastic speech
engine. Contact the makers of the AT&T's Natural Voices at
http://www.nextup.com <http://www.nextup.com/> for further assistance.
The E-mail with the link to the interpreter written by David Kinder is
below:::
The original version, without Scott's changes, is just called Windows
Frotz 2002". You can get it here:
http://mirror.ifarchive.org/if-archive/infocom/interpreters/frotz/Window
sFrotz2002.zip
David Kinder
Hello Beto,
first I'd like to apologize for delay in respoding to your email, next
time I'll respond in 24 hours on business days.
Because there is many text adventures from Infocom/Activision on our
site, probably the best option is to use our fulltext search:
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/search.php?s=infocom
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/search.php?s=activision
Here are some deep links, however this list is not complete:
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/role_playing_games/ga
mes_n_r/quarterstaff_tomb_of_setmoth.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_g_h/h
itchhiker_s_guide_to_the_galaxy_the.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_d/dea
dline.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_p_r/p
lundered_hearts.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_b/bey
ond_zork_the_coconut_of_quendor.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_b/bal
lyhoo.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_k_l/l
eather_goddess_of_phobos_solid_gold_.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_k_l/l
urking_horror_the.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_p_r/p
lanetfall_solid_gold_.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_sa_so
/seastalker.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_m_o/n
ord_and_bert_couldn_t_make_head_or_tail_of_it.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_g_h/h
ollywood_hijinx.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_sp_sw
/spellbreaker.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_sp_sw
/starcross.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_t_z/z
ork_zero.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_t_z/z
ork_quest_1_assault_on_egreth_castle.html
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/adventure/games_t_z/t
ombs_and_treasure.html
etc. For more games, please use our fulltext search as mentioned above.
Is it only one game for that price, or are there
more than one game in the Gold Seriesrice?
We charge $4 or $6 fee for access to download section of our site. For
$4 you'll able to download games without limitations for one day (24
hours), for
$6 you'll be able to use our download service for 30 days. This period
doesn't apply to playing the games, just for downloading.
Would you encounter any probems, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Regards,
Ondrej Muncinsky
http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/
Block quote start
----- Original Message -----
From:
Beto Escobar III
To:
Ondrej Muncinsky
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 8:28 PM
Subject: Would You Please...
Hello Ondrej--
Hello, this is Beto (Bay toe) Escobar III, LMSW, and I am the guy who
E-mailed you a question regarding the Solid Gold Series of the
Infocom/Activision
games. Let me try to give you a brief synopsis of why I am asking these
types of questions. The deal is that I am totally blind, and use a
program on
my Gateway PC entitled JAWS. JAWS is a screen reader, and reads out the
text to me on my PC monitor. The thing is, however, that it is only a
text reader,
and as a result, the games I play are solely text. As a result, the
games I really enjoy playing are all of the old Infocom text Adventures.
This is
not too bad because I really enjoyed playing all of these games when I
purchased them in the mid to late 80's when I **did** have my sight!
Well, what
I want to ask of you Ondrej is if you would not mind sending me another
E-mail with all of the Infocom/Activision games you have on your
website? Please?
I am specifically asking for the deep links to the exact pages where
the links are at to download.
One more thing, the only reason I am doing this now is that a new friend
of mine, W. Scott Dillmanm, who is a programmer, by profession, at IBM
has updated
an Interpreter to play on Window N.T., 2000, and XP environments! You
see Ondrej, when I played these games in the 80's I had my sight, and
the most beautiful
IBM PC with an 8088 processor! Do you remember those days! Well, now
that I am blind, I was unable to get any type of Interpreter to work
with a screen
reader like JAWS. My friend, however, took it upon himself to do
something for a community of people which would bring them some joy at
this date and
time in their lives. I make this statement because I am blind, and I
have enjoyed being in the beta team helping Scott fix, and refix, and
re-refix ,
the WinFrotzTTS2002 Interpreter!
I will ask the question one more time, but would you please put together
an E-mail with "deep links" to all of the Infocom and Activision games
you have
on your website. Especially all of the Gold Series of games... Please
send the E-mail to both me and Scott... I will put both E-mail
addresses below...
Beto Escobar III:
betoescobar3@xxxxxxxxxxx
W. Scott Dillman:
sdillman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thank you my new friend,
Beto Escobar III
Block quote end
Okay everyone, have a wonderful day today, as well as this entire New
Year!
Beto Escobar III, LMSW
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