Zoom gets updated to version 1.1.3

for those who are not keeping track via the newsgroups, andrew Hunter has updated Zoom to version 1.1.3. It’s a bug fix release and is recommended for all users.

For those using VoiceOver and Zoom

I have already discussed good solutions for those wanting to read the screens of Zoom with VO, rather than the TTS built in to the program. The difficulty is that in some situations, and I can’t put my finger on how to reproduce this, VO decides to crash and speech is lost entirely. After consulting with Andrew on this, it seems that VoiceOver has difficulties navigating in a long stream of text.

to get around the problem, go into Zoom’s preferences, Select General, then move the amount of scrollback to retain slider to something low like 25 per cent. This seems to have solved the issue for now.

The only thing to be aware of is that once the buffer for scrollback is full, VO will zip you to the top of the screen if using the strategies already mentioned here. There isn’t an easy workaround for this at present. the best thing to do is navigate to the bottom of the screen with VO Shift End, work up to the room name/text of your previous command and read back down. VO can get stuck sometimes, so the best thing to do is move left one character and then up again. This is a known issue and will be looked into for the future.

All known accessibility problems fixed in the latest Zoom beta

The latest beta of Zoom fixes all the accessibility issues blind users had been having when using it with VoiceOver. Here is the list of what is fixed:
1. The status line in ZCode games is now reading correctly.
2. Menus in Glulxe games are now accessible.
3. All the game’s output is now seen by VoiceOver as text areas rather than scroll areas, making navigation easier.

The latest beta can be downloaded here.

Issues resolved with Zoom and VoiceOver under Leopard

The issues reported earlier today have been resolved with Zoom running glulxe games. A good strategy for reading the status line now is to interact with it, move to the top and read down. This is easy to do with VoiceOver. After interacting with the status line with VoiceOver Shift Down arrow, press Shift Home then VoiceOver A. Stop interacting with VoiceOver Shift up arrow and move back to the main window and interact as usual. Remember, for best results, turn off Cursor tracking with VoiceOver shift F3. Do remember to switch it back on again at the end of the game using the same command.

Issues with Zoom and VoiceOver under Leopard

Just a quick note to those wanting to use Zoom under Leopard with VoiceOver. Unfortunately, VoiceOver is unable to see the status line. Games that use it to give feedback on such things as the current conversation topic or mood state will not be able to access this information. I am working with Andrew Hunter on this and will post when an improved version fixes these problems.

Big things in the works for Zoom

Andrew Hunter’s “Zoom” interpreter has really gone up in the world. It’s most recent beta can be downloaded here. With it’s direct integration with the newly launched IFDB, we can expect great things to come. One of it’s most promising features is the ability to automatically download and install plug-ins for interpreters as they become available. Adrift is now supported in the default set, making this one of the best IF front-ends around. It now supports games written in TADS 2/3, Hugo, ZCode, Adrift and Glulxe.

An Accessibility hint for blind Zoom users

For those users who are relying on VoiceOver to access zoom, a useful thing to try is to disable cursor tracking with Control, Option, Shift F3.
This will allow you to keep the cursor where it is without having to constantly scroll up to find your last output from the interpreter. Sometimes this messes up and jumps you right back to the top, but more often than not, it works. In the version of Zoom that Andrew sent me though, some of the text editing commands seem to conflict with his new speak previous move commands. Perhaps he could allow you to set up shortcut keys for these options? In all fairness, the speak previous move commands aren’t as useful as they once were because of this new trick with disabling cursor tracking, but they are sometimes helpful, especially if you want to use the direct TTS functions built into Zoom rather than voiceover’s own speech.

Zoom accessibility and VoiceOver

After some discussion with Andrew Hunter, he has sent me a new version of Zoom to try. I will let you know my findings. One of the nice functions he has added is the ability to speak previous moves. He is willing to work with me on making it the most accessible interpreter for adventure games yet and I do admire his commitment. Zoom is destined to be the best at what it does because it supports plugin architectures so that one can write runners for all sorts of new adventure game systems if, and when they become available.

I will keep you informed on his progress with this.