I realize that to many people this game is new, but it's been around for a loooooong time: since '77 on the PLATO system, with a home version (C64 and DOS) hitting the market in 1983.
Some of us older hardcores still play (in fact we were just reconstructing the old level 9/10 and 'exterior' maps), and we maintain a few Oubliette fan sites dedicated to the C64 and DOS versions of the game. The one fansite we knew of dedicated to the PLATO version went offline about 2 years ago, unfortunately.
Those of us still playing had tried to contact a few of the authors several years ago, and had resigned ourselves to considering Oubliette 'abandoned'. We are obviously very excited to see this new release after so many long years of silence!
You can find two of the remaining fansites here:
Both sites have old manuals, maps and guides available, many of which will shed light on the mechanics of the current release, which seems to follow the original very faithfully.
Onward to Glory!