Colossal Cave Adventure Release Notes

Version 1.4.0

Released: 06-Mar-2010

In this set of changes we are going to take a big swing at the Save/Resume functionality.

Several users have commented that they are unaware that the Save/Resume commands exist in-game. I can only imagine that others have the same issue, but just haven't commented. So, to that end...

  • Added menu items for Save and Resume.

    These menu items will simply cause the Save and Resume commands to be entered in-game as though you had typed them yourself. Therefore, the same restrictions apply - if you are answering a question, the game will require you answer it before you can successfully save or resume your game.

    What this ultimately accomplishes is that it puts the Save/Resume commands in a familiar place. In most modern games saving and resuming (restoring, restarting, etc.) are not part of the game command structure itself, but rather something you do when escaping to the main or in-game menu. As such, this should make it easier for everyone to find these commands.

  • Adding the ability to name your saved games.

    The original designers of this game weren't too keen on you being able to save/resume yourself to a better score. So this functionality was intentionally limited. This expansion will allow you to name your saved games and help you get to the end of the game in a much less frustrating manner. You can, of course, still choose to respect the original developers intentions by not taking advantage of this - that is left to your own individual choice.

  • Saving a game will no longer quit.

    Originally, when a game was being saved, the program ended your current adventure. With the new expanded save functionality, this has been modified so that after saving, you can continue to traipse through the caverns - at your own peril, of course.

Version 1.3.0

Released: 26-Dec-2009

  • Added Voice Recognition capabilities. Now you can speak your commands to the device.

    When you speak your command, the voice recognition engine will show you a list of words that it understood you to say allowing you to choose the correct one from that list.

    You can customize the behavior of this as follows using the Preferences menu option:

    - Turn on/off the voice recognition capability.
    - Direct it to take the best match to your spoken command and automatically use it.
    - Direct it to show you up to 5 matches to your spoken command.
    - Direct it to show you up to 10 matches to your spoken command.

    It does take a little time learning how to speak to it so that it will understand, but as the voice recognition technology continues to improve, so should your experience here.

    Also, you won't be able to use voice recognition for everything. The magic words, for example, aren't exactly something you can speak.

    Finally, for those words that don't distinguish themselves from others in the first 5 characters, I've built a translator to help. For example, you speak "Northeast" and select it, the game will translate that to "ne" which it will understand. If you encounter any of these that I've missed, contact me and I will add them.

    I don't know how useful this will be, but I'm enjoying it.

    Since I can't test every device out there, I would ask that if you have any issues with this feature, please email me. The market comment system is inadequate for support problems or inquiries.

Version 1.2.0

Released: 25-Nov-2009

  • Added Text to Speech capabilities. Now you can have the game read aloud provided you have a Text to Speech library installed and at least one English speaking locale. I don't know how useful this will be, but I'm enjoying it.

    Also, it will warn you when you start the application if you have it turned on, just in case you are in a "quiet" area (meeting at work, library, etc.).

    Now for the limitations. It will only read aloud on Android 1.6+ devices and they must have an English Language locale installed.

    Since I can't test every device out there, I would ask that if you have any issues with this feature, please email me. The market comment system is inadequate for support problems or inquiries.

Version 1.1.0

Released: 16-Sep-2009

  • Modified "Save Game" feature so that no points are deducted for saving and resuming your game.
  • Removed the "Check For Updates" feature. Since the Google Market has gotten better about showing which applications have updates available, this is no longer necessary.
  • Removing the Check For Updates feature has also allowed me to remove the Internet Permissions, since the application no longer needs to have access to the internet.
  • Cleaned up a little internally to facilitate testing.