Posted February 14, 2025 by Christopher Drum
#interactive fiction #pico-8 #z-machine #zork
This is a big release, not just for the engine but for its supporting services as well.
Just like the machines of the past, the Pico-8 has limits on its file handling. For users of the standalone executables, only 256K can be brought in at once. For z8 games, this is a non-starter and so I've created Status Line SPLIT. Give it a .z8 file and receive two files in return. Status Line 3 understands SPLIT files, making the world of z8 gaming available to the little fantasy console that could.
Simultaneous with the last major release of Status Line (v2.0) I released four Infocom classics, source-code modified to look beautiful in Status Line. I called that Status Line Classics.
Bear in mind that these releases are not required for play on Status Line! The originals often load and play just fine, with a number of caveats. Specifically, there are many cases where text gets cut off, or runs off screen, or overlaps other elements. For a first-time experience with the games, this could be confusing or frustrating. If the game loads and launches, you're fine!
With z5 and z8 support, there are many more interesting releases that deserve the same polish as Volume 1 and so Volume 2 is now released. This includes eight (8) more classics, hand-optimized for a great play experience in the cozy atmosphere of the Pico-8.