http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6571572/ZPlusAngband_033beta_win.zip
This link will lead to the zip file of my installed copy. All the files
from 0.32beta are there with the updated files from 0.33beta.
I can't go into a lengthy discussion about how to play this game, there are
text files in the lib\help directory that will give you the gist, though the
accessibility commands aren't covered, so I will summarize these below.
When you run the game, you will be notified that you should use the file/new
command to create a character. Once you have done this, you will need to
hit "=" to go into the options. You will need to select the birth options
and enable the blindness accessibility mode. In the display option, you
will need to enable the option to include coordinates with the look command.
These features aren't yet documented, but the options.txt file in the
lib\help directory will tell you how to do these things.
Once you have gone through and created your character, you will make a lot
of use of the "l" look command. Hit l then spacebar to cycle through a list
of everything interesting your character can see. Each item will have a set
of coordinates relative to your current position as in 3n 2w for something 3
north and 2 west of you. You will have to navigate by hand, as there is
currently no way to automatically go to an object.
The second command you will use is "$" which is a special command that the
dev has added for accessibility. It presents a series of lists of
information you can gather about the world around you. I'm still learning
exactly how to use this best, so explore. Be aware that from a list, you
will have to hit escape twice to get back to the main game display.
One other acce3ssibility hack I would recommend is changing the graphics
from the ASCII characters to one of the tile sets. This seems
counterintuitive, but the ASCII characters actually overwhelm you with
information you can't make effective use of unless you have a Braille
display. The tiles view reduces this glut to something you get on demand
instead of every time you move your character one space.
A final note, this game and testing of the accessibility hacks in it aren't
for the easily frustrated. I've spent an hour and a half just moving around
the town and down into the first level of the dungeon, where I've killed a
centipede, an icky thing and a brown snake, while wandering around a bit
lost looking for other things to do and trying to master the best way of
using the accessibility hacks. I don't think this game is ever going to be
playable with the ease of Entombed or Shades of Doom, which have the
interface designed for nonvisual play from the git-go. On the other hand,
it's very much more open-ended than anything we can play other than a MUD,
so I'm going to stick with the process and see if I can't come up with some
suggestions for making the game better for us. If anyone wants to join me
in this effort, I'm sure the dev will appreciate it.
Christopher Bartlett
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