Developer Guide English

日本語 | English

Developer guide

The layout of the distribution and how to read, change and try out the ERB code.

Layout

PyEmuera-3.0.0.pyz        the engine, unmodified, shared by the included games
ZORKERB-I/ERB/, CSV/      ZORKERB I: the game
ZORKERB-I/docs/           ZORKERB I: implementation notes (architecture, source mapping)
ZORKERB-II/ERB/, CSV/     ZORKERB II: the game
docs/                     documents common to the included games
licenses/                 licenses and notices

ERB and ERH files are UTF-8 with a byte order mark.

Generated and hand-written files

Game	Generated	Everything else
ZORKERB I	00_Ids.ERH, 10_World.ERB, 38_ParserTables.ERB (from the room and object definitions and the dictionary and syntax table read from the original story)	Hand-written source. Comments near the code name the corresponding ZIL routines
ZORKERB II	00_Ids.ERH, 10_World.ERB, 79_Gen_Ints.ERB/.ERH, 80_Gen_GVerbs.ERB to 83_Gen_2Actions.ERB (from the original ZIL and story; each file names its source at the top)	Hand-written source (parser, display, save checks, clock and so on)

Editing generated files by hand can break the numbering and tables other files rely on. The generators are in the private development repository.

Running and checking

Run these in the folder containing PyEmuera-3.0.0.pyz.

Start the game:

python3 PyEmuera-3.0.0.pyz ZORKERB-I

Run PyEmuera's static check (the game is not run):

python3 PyEmuera-3.0.0.pyz ZORKERB-I --check

Run with input from a file. The first line is the title-screen choice (0); then one command per line:

python3 PyEmuera-3.0.0.pyz ZORKERB-I --inputs replay.txt --no-wait

With --inputs, PyEmuera shows no input prompt; only the game's output and an echo of the input appear. --seed number fixes the random numbers. For the original's random sequence, make a command such as #random 997 the game's first input.

See python3 PyEmuera-3.0.0.pyz --help and the PyEmuera documentation for its other features.

Notes on changes

• Keep the original logic: responses and the order of processing follow the original ZIL. Where to find it: Sources.
• Keep random draws through Z_RANDOM in 03_Random.ERB, in the same places and order.
• Keep random draws through Z2_RANDOM in 03_Random.ERB, in the same places and order.
• Keep saves compatible: changing the SAVEDATA variables (01_State.ERH) breaks existing saves; review the checks in @EVENTLOAD too.

Implementation: architecture, ZIL to ERB mapping. Implementation: ZORKERB II README.

Verification

Verification used test and comparison tools in the private development repository. The distribution contains neither those tools, nor the original story files, nor the comparison interpreter. Methods and results: Verification.