Player Kit

for TADS 2 and TADS 3



Welcome!

Thanks for installing the HTML TADS Player Kit! This kit has everything you need to play games created for TADS 3, including HTML TADS 3 games.

TADS stands for the Text Adventure Development System; it's a programming system for creating interactive fiction games. HTML TADS is an enhanced version that provides graphics, sound, and powerful text formatting capabilities.



How to Play a TADS Game

To play a TADS game, you don't need to know anything about TADS, HTML, or programming. All you need is this Player Kit, plus the game that you want to play. To run a TADS game, select "HTML TADS Interpreter" from the "TADS" group on your Windows "Start" menu; the interpreter will then ask you to select a game to play.

Where to Find TADS Games

One of the best places to look for anything related to Interactive Fiction is the IF Archive at ftp://ftp.ifarchive.org/if-archive/. The IF Archive probably has the internet's most extensive collection of free and shareware Interactive Fiction software, including games, articles, and programming systems. Numerous games written with TADS can be found on the Archive in the directory ftp://ftp.ifarchive.org/if-archive/games/tads/.

Note that this version of the Player Kit only works with games written with TADS 3 - older games written with TADS 2 require the TADS 2+3 Player Kit. For this reason, we no longer distribute this TADS 3-only version. We recommend uninstalling this version and getting the full TADS 2+3 Player Kit instead - it's available for free from the IF Archive or tads.org.


Where to Learn More

For news and information about TADS, please visit the official TADS web site, www.tads.org.

The Usenet newsgroup rec.games.int-fiction is dedicated to discussion about playing interactive fiction games. The newsgroup has lots of hints, reviews, and information on IF games. If you need a hint for a game you're playing, try looking at this newsgroup; if you can't find what you're looking for, try posting your question, and chances are that someone will be able to help. You might also want to check the rec.games.int-fiction Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list.

Writing Your Own Games

If you're interested in writing your own TADS games, you should download the TADS Author's Kit from ftp://ftp.ifarchive.org/if-archive/programming/tads2/executables/. The Author's Kit has the tools you need to create games for TADS and HTML TADS. (Look for a file called htads_authkit_###.exe, where the # signs are digits.)




Problems?

If you're experiencing any problems with HTML TADS, please check the System Compatibility Notes. There are a few known problems with different Windows configurations, and the notes explain how to fix these problems. You should read the compatibility notes in particular if:

  • HTML TADS is crashing;
  • you're using Wine;
  • you're using a non-English version of Windows.








Copyright ©1999, 2007 by Michael J. Roberts.