简体中文
EnglishDo you need to install anything to play on Planedrift, and is your progress saved?
Updated
No installation is needed. Planedrift runs classic Infocom text adventures directly in your browser, and your progress is kept through auto-saves and rewinds. You can close the tab and later resume a previous game from the load screen, which fits the site's stated "pick-up-and-put-down" design for short sessions.
How playing works without an install
Planedrift presents the games as browser pages. The three built-in titles are launched from the main page:
- Zork I: The Great Underground Empire
- Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz
- Zork III: The Dungeon Master
Selecting one starts play in the browser. There is no download, setup wizard, or local emulator described on the site.
Bringing your own story file
If you want a different Infocom adventure, Planedrift can open your own story file. The site states that it plays story files ending in .z3, and that you can either open a .z3 file or resume a previous game from the same screen.
For more titles, the site points to the Obsessively Complete Infocom Catalog and recommends the Masterpieces of Infocom releases, which are the versions Planedrift is tested against. In practice, that means: find a .z3 file from that catalog, open it in Planedrift, and play — still without installing anything.
Is progress saved?
Yes. The site lists auto-saves & rewinds among its features, and the load screen includes an option to resume a previous game. Together these cover the two things you need for interrupted play:
- Auto-save: your position is recorded as you play, so you are not relying on remembering to save manually.
- Rewind: you can step back, which is useful if you misread a room description or want to retry a puzzle.
- Resume: returning to the site lets you continue a game you started earlier rather than beginning again.
The site does not describe save files you manage yourself or export, so treat the auto-save as the primary way progress is kept.
Other features while you play
The site's feature list is short and practical:
| Feature | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| Nice fonts & colours | Readable presentation of the text |
| Light & dark themes | Comfortable reading in different settings |
| Auto-saves & rewinds | Resume games and undo mistakes |
| Searchable transcript | Look back through what has been printed |
| Capture to-dos while you play | Jot tasks without leaving the game |
The searchable transcript is worth knowing about: in text adventures, important clues scroll away quickly, and being able to search the transcript means you can find that earlier mention of a key or a passage without replaying.
What this means for how you play
Because nothing is installed and progress persists, Planedrift suits short, interrupted sessions. You can play for ten minutes on a break, close the browser, and pick up from the auto-save later. The main conditions to keep in mind:
- Your own games must be
.z3story files. - For extra titles, use the Masterpieces of Infocom releases from the Obsessively Complete Infocom Catalog, which the site says it is tested against.
- Progress depends on the site's auto-save and resume features rather than on files you keep yourself.
If you want a zero-setup way to try Zork or replay a classic Infocom adventure in short sittings, Planedrift's browser-based, auto-saving approach covers that without installation.