Windows Frotz interpreter a security risk?

Playing Getting Started Playing IF
1

I was just trying to download an interpreter for a .z8 file and I tried the Windows Frotz interpreter recommended at the Inform 7 web site:

inform7.com/if/interpreters/

However, the Frotz interpreter won’t install on my computer because my anti-virus software (Norton) is saying it’s a security risk due to a poor reputation. Also, the Gluxe/Git download link is dead and I can’t seem to find a comparable link by going to the IF Archive itself.

So does anyone have any recommendations for running a .z8 game? I don’t even know which version of Inform a .z8 file pertains to, so I don’t know how old an interpreter can be and still be useful.

Any information would be appreciated!

1 Like
2

I’d recommend Gargoyle. It’s basically a wrapper over a bunch of different interpreters, so it can deal with almost any type of IF file you throw at it. (Including Z8, which is an expansion of the Z-machine form created by Infocom back in the 80s.) Glulxe and Git are for running a different type of file, don’t worry about them for the moment.

Other interpreters which can handle Z8 include Frotz (which you tried), Nitfol, Bocfel, Filfre, Aimfiz, and Rezrov. (There’s a tendency among Z-code programmers to name their tools after spells from the Enchanter Trilogy.)

1 Like
3

Gargoyle and Filfre are nice.

Also, Norton is dead wrong about the file.

1 Like
4

True. I can attest to having used several different versions of Frotz on several different computers and all have been safe.

1 Like
5

Gargoyle works great, thanks! It took a bit of searching to find a Windows installation file that worked, but I found one.

I wondered about that, since I couldn’t believe that a program so frequently downloaded would be a threat. I did some research on Norton’s rating and it looks like it’s based entirely on user reports, not on any threat detected by the company itself. Not to sound pessimistic, but I think that someone might be messing with the ratings a little.

1 Like
6

Gargoyle includes a version of Frotz, anyhow, really.

1 Like
7

Also, the link to Windows Git just has the wrong release number.

ifarchive.org/if-archive/pro … eters/git/

1 Like
8

Why does Gargoyle appear so small on my window? When I try to change it, the status bar does not change with it, and unlike Frotz, it continues to open so small. Some game close immediately with this because of the screen size.

1 Like
9

The status line only updates on the next turn; you can resize the window and then WAIT or LOOK (or continue with the next game-appropriate action, of course).

For the other cases, where a minimum width is desired from the start, you can change the configuration file “garglk.ini”; there is a setting for the width measured in text columns:

cols          60

which you could set to 80 or 100, for example.

2 Likes
10

Great, thanks.

1 Like