With the IF highlight of the year (IFCOMP voting period) coming up, Alan is keeping up and after a period of alpha testing, and is now released as the first public BETA version. (The first beta was never released to the public.)

Alan v3.0beta2 adds some functionality to the language, corrects a few bugs, and comes with a completely new standard library. But it also delivers drop-in interpreters for Gargoyle on the three major platforms, Windows, MacOSX and Linux. So now you can not only have a new version of the complete Alan system, directly from the developers, but also support for the latest Alan games in your favourite interpreter.

Read the new manual, have a look at the changes and go to download your selection of Alan software!

There have been some indications out there in IF-land about a problem with restore in Alan alpha9 interpreters. One of the games that have been hit is "Room 206" by Byron Campbell, a game reviewed here recently.

The problem have now been fixed. Alpha9 interpreters for Windows have been patched, and the fix will be included in the upcoming beta1. (As well as all development snapshots from now on.) If you are uncertain if your interpreter have the problem, interpreters with a date of 2010-12-06 and later should be ok.

Alan v3.0 alpha 9 is now available. The usual Windows and MacOSX versions of compilers and interpreters have been updated with what will definitely be the last changes before going Beta (planned for November 2010!). And we promise that this will be the last alpha before going beta. Primary reason for this alpha release was clarification of licensing. You can view the details of the changes in the Changes section.

Finally! Finally, Alan v3.0 alpha 8 is available. After a long period of only internal work on low speed some really great strides have been taken. The usual Windows and MacOSX versions of compilers and interpreters have been updated with what will definitely be the last changes before going Beta (planned for November 2010!). You can view the details of the changes in the Changes section.

But even more important is the new library! Through tremendous work by Anssi Räisänen the library has been upgraded to exceptional functionality, rivaling that of any other modern IF authoring system. Go to the Library section of the Download Area and have a look. It's all source so you can see how easy and elegant it was to create something so powerful with Alan v3. Why don't you start creating your works of Interactive Fiction in Alan v3? It will be easy and fun!