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From: erkyrath@netcom.com (Andrew Plotkin)
Subject: Re: Sound and Fury
Message-ID: <erkyrathDvMpo7.99u@netcom.com>
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Date: Sun, 4 Aug 1996 19:48:07 GMT
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Mark J Tilford (mjtilfor@artsci.wustl.edu) wrote:
> Roger Carbol (dj857@FreeNet.Carleton.CA) wrote:
> : How hard would it be to put in audio support for TADS or
> : Inform?  I know it would tend to be platform dependent but
> : it seems that there are lots of wav drivers around...
> :  
> : A few sound effects could go a long way, and they're easier
> : to come across than good graphic artists.
>
> Has anyone disassembled Lurking Horror enough to know how it uses sound?

Yes; it's described in the newer Z-machine spec docs. The format of 
Infocom sound files is also documented. Several Z-machine interpreters 
support the sound opcodes. 

I'm not entirely sure of the accuracy of the docs, however.  I once tried
to add sound support to MaxZip, following the documentation. When I tried 
to play Sherlock with the result, horrible things happened. Contrariwise, 
when I tried to use Infocom's Mac interpreter on what I thought was a 
valid game file I'd compiled, more horrible things happened. I gave up.

It's more likely my fault than the documentation's fault.

I might as well mention the PICKLE stuff, since I have an ego and it's
relevant. This was a proposal I made on how to package a game file and
ancilliary sound or graphics files into a single, downloadable,
platform-independant file. (As opposed to the current common scheme, which
is to keep all the sound or graphics files in a subdirectory next to the
game file, and in a platform-dependant format. (Although everyone seems to
have agreed on a sound format at this point anyway.))

Thus far, no interpreter implements it, not even mine.

--Z

-- 

"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the
borogoves..."
