Is there a Z-Machine interpreter for the CPC?

[SRS]

And they work, I can assure you

[sijnstra]

For those who are using CP/M, and do not have any significant expansionns, I've done a significant re-write of zxzvm, adding features like disk cache, and focusing on speed, adding support for the z1/z2/z6*/z7 formats and a few other nice things. It means some of the new enormous games won't fit in memory, however, you can happily play games like Sherlock or even Arthur (without the graphics) at a very pleasant to play speed. The CPC compatible build is done assuming CP/M Plus to take maximum advantage of the platform.

I've called this new version Vezza, and have included more details as well as a CPC build among over 20 versions to cover different platforms/configurations; all on Gitlab - Any feedback welcome.
Main features:
* z1, z2, z3, z4, z5, z6, z7 and z8 games can execute (z6 is partial due to the screen requirements)
* Supports full screen width and multi line status (where terminal allows)
* Named game save and load
* Timed input on CP/M 3 (to support game such as BorderZone)
* Reverse text highlighting, including when selected using colour changing codes
* Accented chatacters are converted to a printable character
* Fast execution of games (even z3 games now execute faster than the original)
* z3 status line supports am/pm time including Cut Throats easter egg
* Banked CP/M version supports up to 37k DynMem (will load Trinity + Beyond Zork)
* 2KB z-machine stack size (over 50 call levels deep)
* Uses standard BDOS calls

[GUNHED]

Today most of the CPC users have a RAM expansion of 512 KB. Therefore CP/M Plus has the RAM drive C: (or M: in older cases). Why not using the RAM drive for couple of things insead of the RAM? Then bigger games (and GFX) can be used too. 

[Prodatron]

I've done a significant re-write of zxzvm, adding features like disk cache, and focusing on speed, adding support for the z1/z2/z6*/z7 formats and a few other nice things.

Very nice!
At the beginning of this year Prevtenet released a Z-Machine VM for SymbOS SymShell...
http://www.symbos.de/appinfo.htm?00054


...and it will be very interesting to see the differences. I will try your one soon!

[Nich]

Today most of the CPC users have a RAM expansion of 512 KB.

[citation needed]

[TotO]

[citation needed]

Nich on March 9th 2017: "I would be interested in an X-MEM."

[Nich]

Nich on March 9th 2017: "I would be interested in an X-MEM."

Expressing an interest in a memory expansion doesn't necessarily mean that I own said device (or indeed, any other one).

While I suspect that a lot of CPCWiki forum readers own some sort of memory expansion, there are probably plenty of other CPC owners beyond the forum who haven't upgraded the RAM on their machines and are happy just to play games.

[TotO]

Expressing an interest in a memory expansion doesn't necessarily mean that I own said device (or indeed, any other one).

You have probably not bought it, because it was not available (no parts in stock when asked).

While I suspect that a lot of CPCWiki forum readers own some sort of memory expansion, there are probably plenty of other CPC owners beyond the forum who haven't upgraded the RAM on their machines and are happy just to play games.

Today, most of the users are on emulators and use extra RAM by default. It is possible to buy a RAM expansion since 1985 on CPC. Only about the X-MEM betwen 2013 and 2017, it was sold around 400 units. Today, others RAM expansions projects are available and people building or asking for them. Sure, some people continue to think that a CPC must be the stock machine and the connectors around it do not exist. It is obvious that is useless to have one to play tape 80s games.

[GUNHED]

While I suspect that a lot of CPCWiki forum readers own some sort of memory expansion, there are probably plenty of other CPC owners beyond the forum who haven't upgraded the RAM on their machines and are happy just to play games.

Right, so they don't use CP/M (most(est)ly of the time) I guess. And my comment was driving at CP/M RAM discs.

[sijnstra]

While I suspect that a lot of CPCWiki forum readers own some sort of memory expansion, there are probably plenty of other CPC owners beyond the forum who haven't upgraded the RAM on their machines and are happy just to play games.

Right, so they don't use CP/M (most(est)ly of the time) I guess. And my comment was driving at CP/M RAM discs.

Extended RAM configurations is a good question. My goal with the project was to make something as fast as possible, retaining as broad a compatibility as possible. I've used CP/M as a base to run it across many non-upgraded actual hardware platforms as I could find core emulators for (over 20 all up so far); and my code runs faster than the original Infocom code, making games a pleasure to play. Using a RAM drive for paging read/write memory didn't sit well with me performance-wise so I didn't go there, however, if the game file (.z3/.z4/.z5 etc file) is copied there first it should be much faster on the disc access during the game than running off the floppy.

The compromise I made is that not everything will run, but to be honest if the game isn't responsive, my personal take with respect to this project is that it also won't run well enough to want to play. If you're keen on using something more hardware specific, do give zxzvm or other ports a go as per the beginning of this thread.

[Strident]

(post deleted - as I posted stuff already mentioned here )