README
1
2 Xoids v1.5
3
4 An X Window System arcade game
5
6 All files in this distribution Copyright (C) 1996 by Tim Ebling
7 tebling@oce.orst.edu see disclaimer at end of this file
8
9==============
10
11NOTE: This README applies to v1.2 of Xoids. A README for v1.5 should be
12available within a few days. TE (9/10/96)
13
14What is Xoids?
15==============
16
17 Xoids is an asteroids-type game written for X in my (spare) time. The
18 game was originally developed on a Sun4 system while on an oceanographic
19 research cruise. It's by no means finished.
20
21What is the Current Version of Xoids?
22=====================================
23
24 Xoids 1.5 is the latest release, and is dated 9/10/96
25
26Is There An Xoids Home Page?
27============================
28
29 Why yes, and it's located at http://www.orst.edu/~eblingt/xoids.html
30
31What Are Some of Xoids' Features?
32=================================
33
34 While Xoids is strikingly similar to the original Asteroids game,
35 there are some differences:
36
37 o Full color pixmaps
38 o One or Two Player (duel and cooperative) modes
39 o Can bounce off asteroids instead of dying (if going slow)
40 o Shots have relative speed, and impart intertia to the ship
41 o Asteroids have appropriate "masses": realistic physics
42 o The alien (called the Slurb) tracks players rather than
43 flying around aimlessly
44 o Thrusting and using hyperspace can overheat your engines (boom!)
45 o Co-op mode links players together via a flexible space-cable
46
47Game Play Modes
48===============
49
50 There are currently three modes of play:
51
52 One Player
53 ----------
54
55 Start out with five ships. Keep blasting asteroids and
56 accumulating points until you're out of ships. Simple but fun.
57 The alien Slurb can make life difficult. More asteroids get added
58 once you clear a level and move to the next.
59
60 Two Player Duel
61 ---------------
62
63 Go head to head with a friend sitting at the same keyboard
64 (no networking YET - sorry). Blast asteroids and each other.
65 Points are decremented for dying, but there are unlimited lives.
66 First player to reach 20,000 points wins.
67
68 Two Player Cooperative
69 ----------------------
70
71 Similar to the Duel, except that the players' ships are
72 linked via an elastic cable. I didn't want one player to run
73 out of lives before the other, so there are unlimited lives.
74 Since the first player to 20,000 "wins", it may be more
75 competitive than cooperative, but hey... such is life (and
76 death) in space. It's quite easy to make things difficult for
77 the other player by trying to swing him (or her) into other
78 objects.
79
80Compiling and Installing Xoids
81==============================
82
83 Please see the file 'INSTALL'
84
85Playing
86=======
87
88 For now, the controls are hardwired:
89
90 Player 1
91 --------
92
93 Thrust Up Arrow (keypad 8)
94 Rotate Right Right Arrow (keypad 6)
95 Rotate Left Left Arrow (keypad 4)
96 Fire Right Shift
97 Hyperspace Return
98
99 Player 2
100 --------
101
102 Thrust F
103 Rotate Right B
104 Rotate Left C
105 Fire Left Shift
106 Hyperspace Space Bar
107
108 General
109 -------
110
111 Quit Q
112 Pause P
113 Menu Escape
114 Decrease Clock Speed -
115 Increase Clock Speed + (no shift needed)
116
117Miscellaneous Notes
118===================
119
120 That's about all for now. Naturally, I've got a lot of big plans
121 for Xoids, including more alien ships, bigger than window playfields,
122 network play, weapons power-ups, etc, etc.
123
124 If you enjoy the game, make any modifications to it, have problems
125 with it, or just want to talk about oceanography or something, then
126 feel free to email me at tebling@oce.orst.edu.
127
128 Thanks, and enjoy!!
129
130 Tim Ebling
131
132Disclaimer
133==========
134
135This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
136it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
137the Free Software Foundation; either version 1, or (at your option)
138any later version.
139
140This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
141but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
142MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
143GNU General Public License for more details.
144
145You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
146along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
147Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
148
149