Author: Glenn Scrima
Zork 1 is one of the most famous titles from the text based adventure genre. This format may seem very antiquated at first glance but it really gives the game the feeling of an interactive novel. This game is good for people who are existing Zork fans or fans of text based and fantasy based adventures. Its even great for those looking to try something new.
(Please do not copy this guide. However anyone is free to link to this page.)
First Download The Free Game Zork:
Choose from one of the following sites.
Abandonia : Download Game : Download InstructionsXTC Abandonware : Download Game : Download Instructions
Mr Old Games : Download Game : Download Instructions
The House of Games : Download Game : Download InstructionsNext Download & Install the Emulator Dosbox on Windows:
Go To: http://www.dosbox.com > Downloads Tab > Click the Windows version (Under the Dosbox category).
Next: Run the downloaded installer file and install Dosbox on your hard drive in the directory C:\Games\Zork1. Simply entering this will create these folders for you.
Next: Open the Games folder then the Zork1 folder within it. Locate and then run Dosbox by double clicking on the Dosbox program icon.
Next: Type "exit" to exit Dosbox.
Now: Locate and right click on the Dosbox config file. Click "open with" and select notepad.
Finally: Scroll to the bottom. We are going to place some text below [autoexec]:
Abandonia: For those who downloaded the game Zork 1 from Abandonia copy and paste the following text:
mount c c:\games\zork1
c:
cd zork1
zork1
XTC Abandonware: For those who downloaded the game Zork 1 from XTC Abandonware copy and paste the following text:
mount c c:\games\zork1
c:
_zork1
The House of Games: For those who downloaded the game Zork 1 from The House of Games copy and paste the following text:
mount c c:\games\zork1
c:
z1
c:
z1
Save and exit the config file when you are finished.
Now Lets Extract the Zork Free Game Download:
First: Right click on the Zork game file you downloaded to your hard drive and click on "Extract All".
Then: Click the "Next" button when the extractor launches. You will be asked where you would like to extract the Zork 1 game files, select "C:\Games\Zork1" . When you're done click "Extract" and the Zork 1 files will begin to extract.
The One That Started It All!:
Click on the Dosbox program in the Zork1 directory and the game Zork 1 will start, enjoy!
FAQ:
The config file is missing what do I do?
The game won't run on Windows Vista. What should I do?
The game runs sluggish. Is there a way to improve this?
How do I make the game launch in fullscreen mode?
How do I change the amount of RAM available?
How do I mount a hard drive or CD-ROM drive in Dosbox?
How do I change my machine type in Dosbox?
How do I capture a screenshot during gameplay?
I can't download from Abandonia. What should I do?
How do I close or exit Dosbox?
18 comments:
Thanks for the info on how to run Zork. It just won't save.
Are you using XP or Vista?
-Glenn
Me too, how do you save? Here is what I tried:
save
D:\games\PC\Zork\Zork1\SAVE\zork1.dat
and
D:games\PC\Zork\Zork1\SAVE\zork1.dat
and
D:save\zork1.dat
I have also tried all of them with a name after each one:
D:\save\zork1.dat Brian
Help on the syntax would be much appreciated. I am using Vista x64, running DOSBOX v6.5
Thanks, for your help.
If possible, e-mail me -> brian at akagame dot com <-
Thanks, again.
Hi Brian, I just reinstalled Zork 1 and at the command prompt in the game typed
Save
The game asked me to "Insert save disk then enter file name". I typed
zork.dat (the hit enter)
That worked on my machine when I tried it. Let me know if that works for you.
-Glenn
Glenn,
SWEET! It worked. Thanks a lot!
I was looking forward to playing this, but it wouldn't let me save so I couldn't proceed.
If you are interested, here is the web site of a program that allows you to program keyboard commands into buttons - it's amazing for all kinds of uses when you have to type similar stuff over and over:
http://freewarehits.de/RemoteKeys.htm
You can have it run on timers, execute mouse clicks, swap applications, and all kinds of stuff.
Other programs are also at that site, but RemoteKeys is the best one.
Thanks, again, for your help.
Kind regards,
Brian
Erm, the link doesn't work, so just click my name or copy and paste it.
Thanks I'll check it out.
Best,
Glenn
You don't need to use DosBox for Infocom text adventure games. They work fine on my XP PC without DosBox.
XP is a better OS for old DOS games but Vista has no support really so Dosbox is even more useful on it. I agree though there are some games that XP will still run fine.
Best,
Glenn
Dear Glenn,
I need a bit of help. Just rediscovered Zork1 and successfully loaded it, but I can't save. Deep frustration!!! I don't think my pc will read dat files. It is a Microsoft Windows XP. Maybe I have restrictions as it's a networked work pc.
Can you offer any advice? I'd be very grateful.
Many thanks
Cathy
Just want to say that I couldn't get the Zork games to run under Windows-7 64-bit until I followed the instructions here to get it running under DOSBox. Although, the package I download has me running zork1.bat and not _zork.
I can save it, but how do I load saved games?
Everytime I start it, it starts from the beginning, not from where I last saved...
Glen,
i am having the same exact trouble as flaviomax2. i configured the game just you have on your instructions, but i cant save the game and load where i saved. i tried entering zork.dat as the save file, but cant locate that either.
I am hoping you can help me and flaviomax2 as well
To load a saved game
Restore > filepath of your saved game (e.g. c:\zork.dat)
AFAIK you can only have one saved game at a time.
Thanks for the help. Can you use the guide to run Zork 2 or 3? If not can you write a guide to run those games? thanks
Thanks for the help. Can you use the guide to run Zork 2 or 3? If not can you write a guide to run those games? thanks
grazie mille, veramente bello come gioco!
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