TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

Games written in Inform, Glulx, TADS, CAT, HUGO and similar. Pleas for help, puzzles, bug reports etc.

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catventure
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TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#1 Post by catventure » Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:20 pm

Hi,

thinBASIC Adventure Builder (aka T.A.B.) is my adventure creator project for Windows 98/2000/ME/XP/Vista/7 currently at Alpha stage.

T.A.B. was created to replace my previous authoring system, the Creative Adventure Toolkit (aka C.A.T.).

thinBASIC Adventure Builder Home Page. ScreenShots. Download the TAB Editor, the TAB Player and some games and demos. (3.48mb zip) http://tab.thinbasic.com

TAB is not meant to compete with the likes of INFORM, TADS, HUGO, ADRIFT etc. It is a personal project which I am sharing free with the Interactive Fiction community at large.
TAB operates on similar principles to popular retro adventure creators such as STAC, GAC, CAT, Quill, PAW or ACE. It has an IDE editor to enter adventure data and interprets parser commands using a condition/action 'language'. It is being developed with the thinBASIC scripting language.


Some Screenshots here: http://tab.thinbasic.com/

Version History Change Log here: http://tab.thinbasic.com/history.html

Only the freely distributable 'TAB Player' is needed to run any TAB games made using the TAB Editor.

Sound and music supported: mp3, ogg, wav, aiff, mod.
Graphics supported: jpg, gif, bmp, png.

There is also a FORUM and a Yahoo email user group.

Some Youtube videoclips here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnkmFKl ... nXjQ4zD5DG


Have fun,
Catventure.
Last edited by catventure on Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Gunness
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Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#2 Post by Gunness » Wed Jul 07, 2010 3:36 pm

Hi Philip, and welcome to the forum :)

I hope that some of the forum users will feel like giving your tool a spin. It sounds interesting, especially for those who feel that Inform is too much of a mouthful.

Could you briefly outline the major differences compared to CAT, and maybe also indicate how much of an alpha release the latest version is? I can see from your chance log that the tool has been on its way for quite some time. Is TAB stable at this point?

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catventure
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Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#3 Post by catventure » Wed Jul 07, 2010 4:16 pm

Gunness wrote: Could you briefly outline the major differences compared to CAT, and maybe also indicate how much of an alpha release the latest version is? I can see from your chance log that the tool has been on its way for quite some time. Is TAB stable at this point?
Hi Jacob,

CAT was an older, slower system and had problems running on some later Windows OS. Also it is now no longer being actively used or supported any more.

TAB is a lot faster - loading, saving and running game files. It's more user friendly and the Editor a lot, lot easier to use. The coding language is very similar to that of it's predecessor but has been expanded to include a lot of new stuff. Some powerful things can be done. You can create more characters, the characters can be made to carry out multiple commands eg:

>farmer, go north and get everything then s. give all to me then follow me
>jim, talk to the old lady


You can have an UNDO command and a OOPS facility. There's a QUICKSAVE command (a bit like the old Ramsave/load feature)

Even though TAB is still in development it is perfectly possible to create a standard text adventure right now using it. A few are currently so doing.

You can add music tracks, sound effects and even show pics and vids in the graphic version.

You might be interested to know that you can make a finished adventure automatically run when its game icon is activated.

I will support users thru the dedicated forum and the mailing list group.

If forum members wish to try out an example game which was entered into the IF "Spring Thing" Comp in 2009 by Amy Kerns download "Realm of Obsidian" (old skool retro text adventure) from here:
http://amethystgames.wordpress.com/92/

Regards,
Catventure.
TAB is an offline, downloadable, parser-based retro text adventure/interactive creator for Windows XP and above.
It is similar to popular 80's adventure creators like QUILL, PAW, STAC or GAC.
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

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catventure
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Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#4 Post by catventure » Fri Mar 11, 2011 8:36 pm

Hi to all adventurers,

Here is a link to the latest vid I posted recently:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSoFmT5cYVI
(Demo of NPC Interaction ; Character commands)

The dedicated TAB forum provides help and support for users of the program:
https://adventure.forumotion.com/

Cheers,
catventure (Phil)
Last edited by catventure on Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TAB is an offline, downloadable, parser-based retro text adventure/interactive creator for Windows XP and above.
It is similar to popular 80's adventure creators like QUILL, PAW, STAC or GAC.
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

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catventure
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:58 am
Location: UK
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Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#5 Post by catventure » Sun Mar 13, 2011 2:23 pm

Good-day,

For those not interested in creating an adventure in TAB but might prefer to try and play an example demo game made with it then "The Crystal Keepers" by Doreen Bardon is a text adventure for the Windows platform. It is my Conversion of her original ZXSpectrum PAW game written some years ago.

When you have the UNPAW'ed/UNQuilled game sources, and with a little work, many of these sorts of homegrown retro-text adventures can be "transferred" to work with TAB for the PC without too much trouble - since the coding language cond/acts are so similar...

Doreen's game is included in the latest TAB text-only version available from:
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

Thanks,
catventure.
Last edited by catventure on Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TAB is an offline, downloadable, parser-based retro text adventure/interactive creator for Windows XP and above.
It is similar to popular 80's adventure creators like QUILL, PAW, STAC or GAC.
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

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catventure
Posts: 103
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Location: UK
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Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#6 Post by catventure » Thu Jul 19, 2012 11:34 am

Hi Adventurers,

A minor update to TAB was released on 18 Jul 2012 (Release 62)

http://tab.thinbasic.com/

Regards,
catventure.
TAB is an offline, downloadable, parser-based retro text adventure/interactive creator for Windows XP and above.
It is similar to popular 80's adventure creators like QUILL, PAW, STAC or GAC.
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

User avatar
catventure
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:58 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#7 Post by catventure » Wed Sep 12, 2012 11:47 am

Just a line to say the program was recently updated to Version 64 on 16 Aug 2012.

http://tab.thinbasic.com/

Regards,
catventure.
TAB is an offline, downloadable, parser-based retro text adventure/interactive creator for Windows XP and above.
It is similar to popular 80's adventure creators like QUILL, PAW, STAC or GAC.
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

User avatar
catventure
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:58 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#8 Post by catventure » Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:50 pm

I have returned to this "Windows Only" TAB Interactive fiction project after quite some time and recently released a new update (v65)

http://tab.thinbasic.com/


Regards,
catventure.
Last edited by catventure on Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TAB is an offline, downloadable, parser-based retro text adventure/interactive creator for Windows XP and above.
It is similar to popular 80's adventure creators like QUILL, PAW, STAC or GAC.
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

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Gunness
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Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#9 Post by Gunness » Tue Apr 28, 2015 1:29 pm

Thanks for keeping us updated! I have to admit that whatever meagre talents I might have, I'll never find the time to create an actual game worth anyone's time. At least worth more than five minutes of said time. But it's terrific that there are still viable alternatives to TADS and Inform :)

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catventure
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Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#10 Post by catventure » Tue Jan 26, 2016 12:54 pm

Hello,

A new minor release of this thinbasic text adventure creator.

25 Jan 2016 (Release 66)
================
*FIX Icons now show up in adventure window statusbar.
*FIX Action "endgame" now working correctly.

Download Link:
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

Regards,
catventure (Phil)
Last edited by catventure on Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TAB is an offline, downloadable, parser-based retro text adventure/interactive creator for Windows XP and above.
It is similar to popular 80's adventure creators like QUILL, PAW, STAC or GAC.
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

User avatar
catventure
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:58 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#11 Post by catventure » Fri Sep 23, 2016 11:26 am

I posted a small clip of the TAB Adventure Player loading in demo text adventures. TAB is a retro 80's windows text adventure creator similar to popular 8-bit adventure utilities such as Quill, PAW or GAC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnkmFKloGSA

catventure.
TAB is an offline, downloadable, parser-based retro text adventure/interactive creator for Windows XP and above.
It is similar to popular 80's adventure creators like QUILL, PAW, STAC or GAC.
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

User avatar
catventure
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:58 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#12 Post by catventure » Mon Sep 26, 2016 5:00 pm

Another clip of TAB showing Editor data and the Player running the tutorial game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-BJInNxPug
TAB is an offline, downloadable, parser-based retro text adventure/interactive creator for Windows XP and above.
It is similar to popular 80's adventure creators like QUILL, PAW, STAC or GAC.
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

User avatar
catventure
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:58 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#13 Post by catventure » Tue May 23, 2017 8:56 am

Hi,

My Current WIP's are TAB remakes of CAT text adventures made in 2001 and 2002:

"Warriors of the Ssorc" - biblical quest by Rev Tim Gibson.
warrior.jpg
warrior.jpg (193.88 KiB) Viewed 54625 times
"The Sims - The Adventure" - txt/gfx by Steve Bonham.
simstextadv.jpg
simstextadv.jpg (172 KiB) Viewed 54625 times

Regards,
catventure.
TAB is an offline, downloadable, parser-based retro text adventure/interactive creator for Windows XP and above.
It is similar to popular 80's adventure creators like QUILL, PAW, STAC or GAC.
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

User avatar
catventure
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:58 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#14 Post by catventure » Wed Jun 14, 2017 7:24 pm

A further work in progress is a remake of Rev. Tim Gibson's 2001 biblical text adventure: "The Sojourner".
Originally written in a very early version of CAT, I am updating it so it can be played on Win XP and above.
I am building it with the TAB creator @ http://tab.thinbasic.com

Regards,
catventure.
Attachments
the-sojourner.jpg
the-sojourner.jpg (201.4 KiB) Viewed 54565 times
TAB is an offline, downloadable, parser-based retro text adventure/interactive creator for Windows XP and above.
It is similar to popular 80's adventure creators like QUILL, PAW, STAC or GAC.
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

User avatar
catventure
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:58 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: TAB - Windows IF/Text Adventure Maker

#15 Post by catventure » Tue Jun 27, 2017 9:00 am

I updated the TAB userguide/tutorial a couple of days ago.

Regards,
catventure/Phil.
Last edited by catventure on Sun Jan 03, 2021 5:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TAB is an offline, downloadable, parser-based retro text adventure/interactive creator for Windows XP and above.
It is similar to popular 80's adventure creators like QUILL, PAW, STAC or GAC.
http://tab.thinbasic.com/

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