z2

I think it's the time to revive the dead soul of ZZT and give it a little more power. I'm talking of making NeoZZT Beta (as I called it), which can become either ZZT 4.5 or ZZT 5.0 (that I don't know).

First: The greatest improvement that ZZT would ever do and the one that all ZZT'ers would bless the skies for would be "translating" ZZT to C or C++, thus making it multi-platform (just like MZX). I have a Windows Vista and a Linux Ubuntu 7.10 and I don't like DOSBox (which I have to use in order to play ZZT on these systems).

Second: Maybe fix some bugs... There are so many...

Third: Expand ZZT's limits. They're awfully small...

Whether you accept my suggestions or not, please take a look at this post. Please.

The limits and bugs are what makes ZZT unique in the first place. And in the second place, it's a safe bet that nobody cares.

several people have tried this several years ago, it's not really worth the effort. I'm too lazy to dig up the message posts and nodes, but you can find them if you poke around enough. ZZT++, DreamZZT, ZZT Experience, PLASTIC, ZIG are all attempts to either reverse engineer ZZT or to reinvent it. better to focus your efforts elsewhere.


edit: dreamzzt is the most recent, c99.org

The last guy who tried to code ZZT in C++ got cancer. Seriously. Don't fuck with it.

What interests me most is the prospect of portability. I'm not terribly interested in fixing bugs (some engines depend on certain bugs) or expanding ZZT's limits (which give ZZT its character (bad pun not intended)). I wouldn't stop anyone from trying to make a NeoZZT, but I personally wouldn't be interested in adding onto ZZT. Call me a purist, I guess, but that's where I stand.

If you want to work on such a project, go right ahead. Be warned, though, it would be quite a task, so don't get your hopes up too high -- but if you're aware of the difficulty and are willing to approach it as a programming exercise, it could be fun.

this is my view on why-fi's proposed zzt remake:

Combichrist - Shut Up and Swallow

You fucking parasite
Feeding off my voice like a leech
Sucking me dry
Use your head
Hope you're gagging in your throat
Hope you gag and choke
Your pale little face turning blue

If you want it in your ass as I spit in your face
Face down on the floor holding you by your neck
Do you feel like a wreck?
Well that's life, kiddo
Now shut up and swallow
Shut up and swallow

Hey, now, be nice to him!

hey, at least i gave him a song to listen to

that's something, right

Why-Fi wrote:First: The greatest improvement that ZZT would ever do and the one that all ZZT'ers would bless the skies for would be "translating" ZZT to C or C++, thus making it multi-platform (just like MZX). I have a Windows Vista and a Linux Ubuntu 7.10 and I don't like DOSBox (which I have to use in order to play ZZT on these systems).

Good God, man. What the fuck's wrong with you? Why are you playing an old DOS game if you don't even want to use DOSBox? Don't get me wrong, it's not that your idea is a bad idea, it's that it's been tried and failed many times over. Most of us here are simply not ambitous enough/too lazy to try it. I mean, look at the uploaded games section. Does it look like we are a thriving community? Look around the fora. Do you hear the deafening silence? Do you see the tumbleweeds? This place is dying. It's nice of you to come along and try to breathe life into the community, but we are on the community's collective deathbed. Sorry to crush your hopes and dreams.

Also MZX sucks. (It's people like Exophase that make it suck. What thefuck's wrong with them? Seriously.)

Schrödinger's Cat wrote:Do you hear the deafening silence? Do you see the tumbleweeds? This place is dying. It's nice of you to come along and try to breathe life into the community, but we are on the community's collective deathbed. Sorry to crush your hopes and dreams.

Well, this isn't really helping things along!

correlation does not equal oh who cares

i'm surprised those "<Exophase> i will beat you up irl :-)" quotes weren't in that post, what a missed opportunity

Schrödinger's Cat wrote:
Good God, man. What the fuck's wrong with you? Why are you playing an old DOS game if you don't even want to use DOSBox? Don't get me wrong, it's not that your idea is a bad idea, it's that it's been tried and failed many times over. Most of us here are simply not ambitous enough/too lazy to try it. I mean, look at the uploaded games section. Does it look like we are a thriving community? Look around the fora. Do you hear the deafening silence? Do you see the tumbleweeds? This place is dying. It's nice of you to come along and try to breathe life into the community, but we are on the community's collective deathbed. Sorry to crush your hopes and dreams.

bite me. leave or suck it up. this is a community based on a game 15 years old. ZZT is lucky to have anyone still playing it, nevermind a community. either take up the torch or quit trying to hammer nails into a coffin. with all due respect, please.

Why-Fi is pretty ambitious what with making the new ZZT and MZX 3.0 at the same time.

Well why-fi. You can give it a shot, but don't be surprise if it becomes forgotten like the rest of "the next zzt".

Pretty much, we don't need improvements on zzt with bigger limits, or else you'll be remaking plastic, which is pretty functional as is. Having ZZT optimized may be the way to go because yea, zzt is full of bugs. I can tell you it's a pa'ina'az that there can be nothin wrong with the codes and objects, but zzt itself could just simply won't compute with it. Give it a shot despite the ridicules.

C++ for functions and math management, and perl for OOP and file-mancing.