X-Git-Url: https://jxself.org/git/?p=open-adventure.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=advent.adoc;h=d40ad4cc67fd5cfbcf9dd5036df9bf15dff3aaf7;hp=7280b03b29e7eb72d0f70af8a7d0b4e00acf2d41;hb=0dd40bba32c9b5225e4d2126a50b7d6516791d06;hpb=681ecd9a4fa939a2e57c14bb263d8f288e3b14c9 diff --git a/advent.adoc b/advent.adoc index 7280b03..d40ad4c 100644 --- a/advent.adoc +++ b/advent.adoc @@ -5,11 +5,11 @@ advent - Colossal Cave Adventure == SYNOPSIS == -*advent* [-l logfile] [-o] +*advent* [-l logfile] [-o] [-r savefile] [-s] == DESCRIPTION == -The original Colossal Cave Adventure from 1976 was the origin of all -text adventures, dungeon-crawl (computer) games, and computer-hosted +The original Colossal Cave Adventure from 1976-77 was the origin of all +later text adventures, dungeon-crawl (computer) games, and computer-hosted roleplaying games. This is the last version released by Crowther & Woods, its original @@ -20,20 +20,59 @@ original, type 'news' at the command prompt. There is an 'adventure' in the BSD games package that is a C port by Jim Gillogly of the 1976 ancestor of this game. To avoid a name collision, this game builds as 'advent', reflecting the fact that the -PDP-10 on which it originally ran limited filenames to 6 characters. +PDP-10 on which the game originally ran limited filenames to 6 characters. This version is released as open source with the permission and encouragement of the original authors. +Unlike the original, this version supports use of your arrow keys to edit +your command line in place. Basic Emacs keystrokes are supported, and +your up/down arrows access a command history. + +Otherwise, the "version" command is about the only way to tell you're not +running Don's original. + +To exit the game, type Ctrl-D (EOF). + +There have been no gameplay changes. + == OPTIONS == -l:: Log commands to specified file. --o:: Old-style. Restores original interface, no prompt. +-r:: Restore game from specified file + +-o:: Old-style. Restores original interface, no prompt or line editing. + Also ignores new-school one-letter commands l, x, g, z, i. Also + case-smashes and truncates unrecognized text when echoed. + +== BUGS == + +The binary save file format is fragile, dependent on your machine word +size and endianness, and unlikely to survive through version bumps. There +is a version check. + +The input parser was the first attempt *ever* at natural-language +parsing in a game and has some known deficiencies. While later text +adventures distinguished between transitive and intransitive verbs, +Adventure's grammar distinguishes only between motion and action +verbs. Motions are always immediate in their behavior, so both ACTION +MOTION and MOTION ACTION (and even MOTION NOUN and MOTION MOTION) are +invariably equivalent to MOTION (thus GO NORTH means NORTH and JUMP +DOWN means JUMP). Whereas, with actions and nouns, the parser collects +words until it's seen one of each, and then dispatches; if it reaches +the end of the command without seeing a noun, it'll dispatch an +"intransitive" action. This makes ACTION1 ACTION2 equivalent to +ACTION2 (thus TAKE INVENTORY means INVENTORY), and NOUN ACTION +equivalent to ACTION NOUN. + +Thus you get anomalies like "eat building" interpreted as a command +to move to the building. These should not be reported as bugs; instead, +consider them historical curiosities. == REPORTING BUGS == Report bugs to Eric S. Raymond . The project page is -at http://catb.org/~esr/advent +at http://catb.org/~esr/open-adventure == SEE ALSO == wumpus(6), adventure(6), zork(6), rogue(6), nethack(6).