I have Win 98SE and JAWS 4.5. Can I use this? If not, which one can I use? I enjoyed those games back in the early '90's! Also, do I download the Win Frotz first and then the game module. I downloaded someing from the IF Archive and tried to use it but JAWS wasn't having it. Danie ----- Original Message ----- From: "feliberto Escobar III" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 5:59 PM Subject: audyssey: A Talking WinFrotz Interpreter for the blind!
> Hello Everyone: > > My name is Beto (Bay toe) Escobar III, and I am, most likely, the newest > entry into this list serve. Here's the deal, I've befriended a > programmer, which works for a very large computer company, and he, > through my pleading, decided to update one of the Windows Frotz > Interpreters to work specifically for the blind. He included the MS > speech engine in it so blind gamers, such as us, can now play all of > those wonderful Infocom games on our Windows based PC! Hurray! > > Now, I know, just as you do, the Microsoft SAPI 5 speech Engine speech > quality is disgusting, but the company NextUP sells fantastic SAPI 5 > speech Engines which work wonderfully with this updated WinFrotzTTS > Interpreter for the blind gamer! I can say this because I am using it > right now to play all of these games! > > Now, believe it or not, but W. Scott Dillman, found the original Zork > game which was written at MIT by some of the charters members of the > Infocom Corporation, and included it in the game zip file. It is-the > original Zork-and it is hard! I've yet to win even though I've made it > through Zork I, II, and III! Look, just go and download the interpreter > first, then download all of the public domain text adventures, **and** > if you still have, or can purchase any of the Infocom games, they will > work wonderfully as well. > > I was fortunate to purchase all major releases of the Infocom games e.g. > Lost Treasures of Infocom I, II, and Masterpieces of Infocom only a > couple of years ago, and they were all new! If I found them, you can > too. Just read below, where the programmer, W. Scott Dillman, wrote out > this little memo! Have fun playing! > > You New Friend, > Beto Escobar III, LMSW > > > > WinFrotzTTS2002 Interpreter > By W. Scott Dillman > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > 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 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > 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: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > W. Scott Dillman: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Thank you my new friend, > Beto Escobar III > Block quote end > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > to leave send a blank Email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > You can contact the list owners/moderators by Emailing [EMAIL PROTECTED] > to go nomail send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > change "nomail" to "normal" to resume messages. > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > to leave send a blank Email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can contact the list owners/moderators by Emailing [EMAIL PROTECTED] to go nomail send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] change "nomail" to "normal" to resume messages. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindgamers/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
