The Lost Treasures of Infocom was, originally, released by Activision for PC in two sets: Lost Treasures of Infocom and Lost Treasures of Infocom II. The Big Red Computer Club licensed a couple of interpreters and obtained the right to sell an Apple IIgs version of the first Lost Treasures. Of course, before Lost Treasures, the Infocom text adventures came on 5.25" Apple II diskettes. Each diskette has a bootable DOS, the game data, and a program to interpret the data and interface with the player-- i.e. the "interpreter". In the Lost Treasures of Infocom you have the adventure data files and two interpreters to choose from for playing the games on your Apple IIgs: Standard Interpreter ("SI"): file LOST1.SYS16 Available in LostTreasuresOfInfocom_Interps1and2.zip on Ground and LstTreasre1.shk (in Adventure Games) on Apple IIgs Gaming Memory Fairway Game text appears in the standard IIgs desktop window with scrollbars and options to select fonts. Saved games include the 8K window display buffer (i.e. stuff you can scroll through at time of a save will be available when the saved game is restored). The SI is a "z3" interpreter which can also run many non-Infocom z3 interactive fiction adventures. Advanced Interpreter ("AI"): file LOST2.SYS16 Available in LostTreasuresOfInfocom_Interps1and2.zip on Ground and LstTreasre1.shk (in Adventure Games) on Apple IIgs Gaming Memory Fairway Game text is in 'text mode' with no font options and no scrollbar. This interpreter allows switching games without the need to quit and reload the program. The Advanced Interpreter does not save a text buffer; and, when loading a game saved under the SI, it ignores text buffer information. The AI is basically a "z5" interpreter which can also run many non-Infocom z3 and z5 interactive fiction adventures. The Lost Treasures Lost Treasures'-1 (for 1.25MB IIgs running GSOS 5.04 or later) came on three 3.5" diskettes. Contrary to on-box info, the set includes 19, not 20, games. The IIgs Reference Card in the box explains that Zork Zero is not runnable in this set because it requires a special interpreter which Big Red did not license. Zork I Zork II Zork III Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Beyond Zork Available in LstTreasre2.shk (in Adventure Games) on 'Fairway Enchanter Sorcerer Spellbreaker Planetfall Stationfall Starcross Moonmist Available in LstTreasre3.shk (in Adventure Games) on 'Fairway Deadline The Witness Suspect The Lurking Horror Ballyhoo Infidel Suspended Available in LstTreasre4.shk (in Adventure Games) on 'Fairway The Lost Treasures'-2 collection of eleven adventures was not released for Apple II. However, it was only necessary to move the 'game' files from PC to GS and set correct file type information in order to obtain Lost Treasures'-2 adventures for use with one of the two Big Red interpreters. A Mind Forever Voyaging Border Zone Bureaucracy Cutthroats Hollywood Hijinx Nord and Bert Available in LT2a.zip on GSWV. Plundered Hearts Sherlock Seastalker Trinity Wishbringer Available in LT2b.zip on GSWV. A Mind Forever Voyaging Leather Goddesses of Phobos Available in LT2c.zip on GSWV. One classic, The Leather Goddesses of Phobos, was not included in either Lost Treasures collection. Fortunately, Asimov's Infocom collection has a deprotected copy of the disk*. Using T.A. Phelps's Infosnarf**, it was easy to extract the game data file and adjust its type for use with the interpreters supplied by Big Red with Lost Treasures'-1. *Deprotection from The Klepto, Touch Tone, The Outlaw, and The Talisman. **Infosnarf is included in infocompro on GSWV, Ground, and Uni-kl.de. Playing the Adventures Once the files are downloaded and moved to your IIgs, unshrink them using GS-ShrinkIt or Balloon2 to diskette, hard disk or Zip disk. To play an adventure, you can just start an interpreter (e.g. by double clicking on its icon). First, the Lost Treasures title screen will appear and then you will get a list of the games in the current folder which you can run via the interpreter. The AI can run all of the adventures. The SI can run all excep nine of the more recent releases. Games which will run only under the AI are ... A Mind Forever Voyaging Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Beyond Zork Sherlock Trinity Bureaucracy Border Zone Hollywood Hijinx Nord and Bert Note: Games saved running one interpreter may be restored and played using the other so long as the game is playable on the selected interpreter. Installation on Hard Disk 1. Create a folder (such as "Infocom") for your Infocom games and interpreters. 2. Copy interpreter files LOST1.SYS16 and LOST2.SYS16 to the folder 3. Copy game data files (e.g. those files with names like "Enchanter", "Starcrossed", etc.) to the folder Note: The interpreter programs use resources; so, copying via the normal GSOS desktop with Preferences set to Save Finder Information is recommended. Where to Start? If you're new to Infocom text adventuring, then, coming suddenly upon so many choices may, itself, be daunting. You could start at the beginning, with Zork, in a forest clearing near the legendary small white house, and continue on to Zork II and Zork III. Or, you might begin with the best of Zorkian questing at Enchanter. On the other hand, a newbie to text adventures might want to start with Wishbringer. 'Infocoms' can take you to many realms. Sci-fi fans may want to start with Planetfall. Other excellent choices include Plundered Hearts-- you're a damsel thrust amongst a crew of pirates-- and Infidel, which sends you into a puzzle-laden pyramid. You can find out lots more about the scenarios at the Infocom Home Page. Today, Activision creates worlds wrapped in SVGA color and wave-table audio, including some new Zorks. Part of the unique fun of classic Infocom adventuring is that your input is just text plus, sometimes, a map, letter, info wheel, or similar item. The characters, scenery, and sounds 'happen' in your head. Thanks to the Infocom Home Page for the logo graphic and background. Thanks to Dean Cyberon, the Big Red Computer Club, Activision, the game and interpreter authors, T.A. Phelps, LG deprotectors, and the Ground, Apple IIgs Gaming Memory Fairway, and Asimov archive sites for making access to these collections possible. Have fun! Jeff Hurlburt, October 1999 Updated July 26, 2005 rubywand@swbell.net