Re-Comprehend

About

This project reimplements the engine behind several Penguin Software/Polarware graphic adventure games from the 1980s built with the "Graphics Magician" system, including the Transylvania trilogy and Oo-Topos, a 1981 interactive-fiction title later given Graphics Magician-style graphics for its 1986 re-release. Re-Comprehend is a public-domain reimplementation of the Comprehend/Graphics Magician adventure-game engine, supporting Transylvania, Crimson Crown, OO-Topos, and (with some issues) Talisman, Challenging the Sands of Time. It's built with LibSDL2, tested on Linux, and includes debugging tools for dumping the game's internal object, room, and state data.

How it differs from the original

Adds a set of developer debugging commands — for dumping the game's internal object, room, and state data — that weren't part of the original DOS releases.

Getting started

You'll need your own copy of the original DOS version of the game you want to play (Transylvania, Crimson Crown, OO-Topos, or Talisman); these are widely considered abandonware and available from the Graphics Magician website. Run the interpreter with a short code identifying the game plus the path to your copy of it; saving and loading uses the original save-file format, reading and writing to that same game directory. Talisman, Challenging the Sands of Time isn't currently working.

Known issues & limitations

• compatibility: Talisman, Challenging the Sands of Time is not currently working.