xref: /dragonfly/games/atc/atc.6 (revision 0fe46dc6)
1.\" Copyright (c) 1990, 1993
2.\"	The Regents of the University of California.  All rights reserved.
3.\"
4.\" This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by
5.\" Ed James.
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31.\"	@(#)atc.6	8.1 (Berkeley) 5/31/93
32.\" $FreeBSD: src/games/atc/atc.6,v 1.6.2.1 2001/07/22 11:32:34 dd Exp $
33.\" $DragonFly: src/games/atc/atc.6,v 1.5 2008/05/02 02:05:03 swildner Exp $
34.\"
35.\" Copyright (c) 1986 Ed James. All rights reserved.
36.\"
37.Dd May 31, 1993
38.Dt ATC 6
39.Os
40.Sh NAME
41.Nm atc
42.Nd air traffic controller game
43.Sh SYNOPSIS
44.Nm
45.Op Fl u?lstp
46.Op Fl gf Ar game
47.Op Fl r Ar seed
48.Sh DESCRIPTION
49.Nm
50lets you try your hand at the nerve wracking duties of the air traffic
51controller without endangering the lives of millions of travelers each year.
52Your responsibilities require you to direct the flight of jets
53and prop planes into and out of the flight arena and airports.
54The speed (update time) and frequency of the planes depend on the
55difficulty of the chosen arena.
56.Sh OPTIONS
57.Bl -tag -width ".Fl u"
58.It Fl u
59Print the usage line and exit.
60.It Fl \&?
61Same as
62.Fl u .
63.It Fl l
64Print a list of available games and exit.
65The first game name printed is the default game.
66.It Fl s
67Print the score list (formerly the Top Ten list).
68.It Fl t
69Same as
70.Fl s .
71.It Fl p
72Print the path to the special directory where
73.Nm
74expects to find its private files.
75This is used during the installation of the program.
76.It Fl g Ar game
77Play the named game.
78If the game listed is not one of the ones printed from the
79.Fl l
80option, the default game is played.
81.It Fl f Ar game
82Same as
83.Fl g .
84.It Fl r Ar seed
85Set the random seed.
86The purpose of this flag is questionable.
87.El
88.Sh GOALS
89Your goal in
90.Nm
91is to keep the game going as long as possible.
92There is no winning state, except to beat the times of other players.
93You will need to: launch planes at airports (by instructing them to
94increase their altitude); land planes at airports (by instructing them to
95go to altitude zero when exactly over the airport); and maneuver planes
96out of exit points.
97.Pp
98Several things will cause the end of the game.
99Each plane has a destination (see information area), and
100sending a plane to the wrong destination is an error.
101Planes can run out of fuel, or can collide.
102Collision is defined as adjacency in all three dimensions.
103A plane leaving the arena
104in any other way than through its destination exit is an error as well.
105.Pp
106Scores are sorted in order of the number of planes safe.
107The other statistics are provided merely for fun.
108There is no penalty for
109taking longer than another player (except in the case of ties).
110.Pp
111Suspending a game is not permitted.
112If you get a talk message, tough.
113When was the last time an Air Traffic Controller got called away to the phone?
114.Sh THE DISPLAY
115Depending on the terminal you run
116.Nm
117on, the screen will be divided into 4 areas.
118It should be stressed that the terminal driver portion of the
119game was designed to be reconfigurable, so the display format can vary
120depending on the version you are playing.
121The descriptions here are based on the ASCII version of the game.
122The game rules and input format, however, should remain consistent.
123Control-L redraws the screen, should it become muddled.
124.Ss RADAR
125The first screen area is the radar display, showing the relative locations
126of the planes, airports, standard entry/exit points, radar
127beacons, and ``lines'' which simply serve to aid you in guiding
128the planes.
129.Pp
130Planes are shown as a single letter with an altitude.
131If the numerical altitude is a single digit, then it represents
132thousands of feet.
133Some distinction is made between the prop planes and the jets.
134On ASCII terminals, prop planes are
135represented by an upper case letter, jets by a lower case letter.
136.Pp
137Airports are shown as a number and some indication of the direction
138planes must be going to land at the airport.
139On ASCII terminals, this is one of '^', '\*[Gt]', '\*[Lt]', and 'v', to indicate
140north (0 degrees), east (90), west (270) and south (180), respectively.
141The planes will also take off in this direction.
142.Pp
143Beacons are represented as circles or asterisks and a number.
144Their purpose is to offer a place of easy reference to the plane pilots.
145See
146.Sx THE DELAY COMMAND
147section below.
148.Pp
149Entry/exit points are displayed as numbers along the border of the
150radar screen.
151Planes will enter the arena from these points without warning.
152These points have a direction associated with them, and
153planes will always enter the arena from this direction.
154On the ASCII version of
155.Nm ,
156this direction is not displayed.
157It will become apparent what this direction is as the game progresses.
158.Pp
159Incoming planes will always enter at the same altitude: 7000 feet.
160For a plane to successfully depart through an entry/exit point,
161it must be flying at 9000 feet.
162It is not necessary for the planes to be flying in any particular
163direction when they leave the arena (yet).
164.Ss INFORMATION AREA
165The second area of the display is the information area, which lists
166the time (number of updates since start), and the number of planes you
167have directed safely out of the arena.
168Below this is a list of planes currently in the air, followed by a
169blank line, and then a list of planes on the ground (at airports).
170Each line lists the plane name and its current altitude,
171an optional asterisk indicating low fuel, the plane's destination,
172and the plane's current command.
173Changing altitude is not considered
174to be a command and is therefore not displayed.
175The following are some possible information lines:
176.Bd -literal -offset indent
177B4*A0: Circle @ b1
178g7 E4: 225
179.Ed
180.Pp
181The first example shows a prop plane named `B' that is flying at 4000 feet.
182It is low on fuel (note the `*').
183Its destination is Airport #0.
184The next command it expects to do is circle when it reaches Beacon #1.
185The second example shows a jet named `g' at 7000 feet, destined for
186Exit #4.
187It is just now executing a turn to 225 degrees (South-West).
188.Ss INPUT AREA
189The third area of the display is the input area.
190It is here that your input is reflected.
191See the
192.Sx INPUT
193heading of this manual for more details.
194.Ss AUTHOR AREA
195This area is used simply to give credit where credit is due. :-)
196.Sh INPUT
197A command completion interface is built into the game.
198At any time, typing `?' will list possible input characters.
199Typing a backspace (your erase character) backs up, erasing the last part
200of the command.
201When a command is complete, a return enters it, and
202any semantic checking is done at that time.
203If no errors are detected, the command is sent to the appropriate plane.
204If an error is discovered
205during the check, the offending statement will be underscored and a
206(hopefully) descriptive message will be printed under it.
207.Pp
208The command syntax is broken into two parts:
209.Em Immediate Only
210and
211.Em Delayable
212commands.
213.Em Immediate Only
214commands happen on the next update.
215.Em Delayable
216commands also happen on the next update unless they
217are followed by an optional predicate called the
218.Em Delay
219command.
220.Pp
221In the following tables, the syntax
222.Em [0\-9]
223means any single digit, and
224.Aq Em dir
225refers to a direction, given by the keys around the `s' key: ``wedcxzaq''.
226In absolute references, `q' refers to North-West or 315 degrees, and `w'
227refers to North, or 0 degrees.
228In relative references, `q' refers to \-45 degrees or 45 degrees left, and `w'
229refers to 0 degrees, or no change in direction.
230.Pp
231All commands start with a plane letter.
232This indicates the recipient of the command.
233Case is ignored.
234.Ss IMMEDIATE ONLY COMMANDS
235.Bl -tag -width "aaaa"
236.It "a [ cd+- ]" Em number
237Altitude: Change a plane's altitude, possibly requesting takeoff.
238`+' and `-' are the same as `c' and `d'.
239.Bl -tag -width "aaaaaaaaaa" -compact
240.It a Em number
241Climb or descend to the given altitude (in thousands of feet).
242.It ac Em number
243Climb: relative altitude change.
244.It ad Em number
245Descend: relative altitude change.
246.El
247.It m
248Mark: Display in highlighted mode.
249Plane and command information is displayed normally.
250.It i
251Ignore: Do not display highlighted.
252Command is displayed as a line of dashes if there is no command.
253.It u
254Unmark: Same as ignore, but if a delayed command is processed,
255the plane will become marked.
256This is useful if you want to forget about a plane during part,
257but not all, of its journey.
258.El
259.Ss DELAYABLE COMMANDS
260.Bl -tag -width "aaaa"
261.It "c [ lr ]"
262Circle: Have the plane circle.
263.Bl -tag -width "aaaaaaaaaa" -compact
264.It cl
265Left: Circle counterclockwise.
266.It cr
267Right: Circle clockwise (default).
268.El
269.It "t [ l-r+LR ] [ dir ] or tt [ abe* ]" Em number
270Turn: Change direction.
271.Bl -tag -width "aaaaaaaaaa" -compact
272.It "t\*[Lt]dir\*[Gt]"
273Turn to direction: Turn to the absolute compass heading given.
274The shortest turn will be taken.
275.It "tl [ dir ]"
276Left: Turn counterclockwise: 45 degrees by default, or the amount
277specified in
278.Aq dir
279(not
280.Em to
281.Aq dir . )
282`w' (0 degrees) is no turn.
283`e' is 45 degrees; `q' gives \-45 degrees counterclockwise, that is,
28445 degrees clockwise.
285.It "t- [ dir ]"
286Same as left.
287.It "tr [ dir ]"
288Right: Turn clockwise, 45 degrees by default, or the amount specified in
289.Aq dir .
290.It "t+ [ dir ]"
291Same as right.
292.It tL
293Hard left: Turn counterclockwise 90 degrees.
294.It tR
295Hard right: Turn clockwise 90 degrees.
296.It "tt [abe*]"
297Towards: Turn towards a beacon, airport or exit.
298The turn is just an estimate.
299.It "tta" Em number
300Turn towards the given airport.
301.It "ttb" Em number
302Turn towards the specified beacon.
303.It "tte" Em number
304Turn towards an exit.
305.It "tt*" Em number
306Same as ttb.
307.El
308.El
309.Ss THE DELAY COMMAND
310The
311.Em Delay
312(a/@) command may be appended to any
313.Em Delayable
314command.
315It allows the controller to instruct a plane to do an action when the
316plane reaches a particular beacon (or other objects in future versions).
317.Bl -tag -width "aaaa"
318.It ab Em number
319Do the delayable command when the plane reaches the specified beacon.
320The `b' for ``beacon'' is redundant to allow for expansion.
321`@' can be used instead of `a'.
322.El
323.Ss MARKING, UNMARKING AND IGNORING
324Planes are
325.Em marked
326by default when they enter the arena.
327This means they are displayed in highlighted mode on the radar display.
328A plane may also be either
329.Em unmarked
330or
331.Em ignored .
332An
333.Em ignored
334plane is drawn in unhighlighted mode, and a line of dashes is displayed in
335the command field of the information area.
336The plane will remain this way until a mark command has been issued.
337Any other command will be issued, but the command line will return to a
338line of dashes when the command is completed.
339.Pp
340An
341.Em unmarked
342plane is treated the same as an
343.Em ignored
344plane, except that it will automatically switch to
345.Em marked
346status when a delayed command has been processed.
347This is useful if you want to forget about a plane for a while, but its
348flight path has not yet been completely set.
349.Pp
350As with all of the commands, marking, unmarking and ignoring will take effect
351at the beginning of the next update.
352Do not be surprised if the plane does
353not immediately switch to unhighlighted mode.
354.Ss EXAMPLES
355.Bl -tag -width gtte4ab2 -offset indent
356.It atlab1
357Plane A: turn left at beacon #1
358.It cc
359Plane C: circle
360.It gtte4ab2
361Plane G: turn towards exit #4 at beacon #2
362.It ma+2
363Plane M: altitude: climb 2000 feet
364.It stq
365Plane S: turn to 315
366.It xi
367Plane X: ignore
368.El
369.Sh OTHER INFORMATION
370.Bl -bullet
371.It
372Jets move every update; prop planes move every other update.
373.It
374All planes turn at most 90 degrees per movement.
375.It
376Planes enter at 7000 feet and leave at 9000 feet.
377.It
378Planes flying at an altitude of 0 crash if they are not over an airport.
379.It
380Planes waiting at airports can only be told to take off (climb in altitude).
381.It
382Pressing return (that is, entering an empty command) will perform the
383next update immediately.
384This allows you to ``fast forward''
385the game clock if nothing interesting is happening.
386.El
387.Sh NEW GAMES
388The
389.Pa Game_List
390file lists the currently available play fields.
391New field description file names must be placed in this file to be playable.
392If a player specifies a game not in this file, his score will not be logged.
393.Pp
394The game field description files are broken into two parts.
395The first part is the definition section.
396Here, the four tunable game parameters must be set.
397These variables are set with the syntax:
398.Pp
399.Dl "variable = number;"
400.Pp
401Variable may be one of:
402.Li update ,
403indicating the number of seconds between forced updates;
404.Li newplane ,
405indicating (about) the number of updates between new plane entries;
406.Li width ,
407indicating the width of the play field; or
408.Li height ,
409indicating the height of the play field.
410.Pp
411The second part of the field description files describes the locations
412of the exits, the beacons, the airports and the lines.
413The syntax is as follows:
414.Bd -literal -offset indent
415.Bl -tag -width airport: -compact
416.It beacon :
417(x y) ... ;
418.It airport :
419(x y direction) ... ;
420.It exit :
421(x y direction) ... ;
422.It line :
423[ (x1 y1) (x2 y2) ] ... ;
424.El
425.Ed
426.Pp
427For beacons, a simple x, y coordinate pair is used (enclosed in parenthesis).
428Airports and exits require a third value, which is one of the directions
429.Em wedcxzaq .
430For airports, this is the direction that planes must be going to take
431off and land, and for exits, this is the direction that planes will be
432going when they
433.Em enter
434the arena.
435This may not seem intuitive, but as there is no restriction on
436direction of exit, this is appropriate.
437Lines are slightly different, since they need two coordinate pairs to
438specify the line endpoints.
439These endpoints must be enclosed in square brackets.
440.Pp
441All statements are semi-colon (;) terminated.
442Multiple item statements accumulate.
443Each definition must occur exactly once, before any item statements.
444Comments begin with a hash (#) symbol and terminate with a newline.
445The coordinates are between zero and width-1 and height-1 inclusive.
446All of the exit coordinates must lie on the borders, and
447all of the beacons and airports must lie inside of the borders.
448Line endpoints may be anywhere within the field, so long as
449the lines are horizontal, vertical or
450.Em exactly
451diagonal.
452.Ss FIELD FILE EXAMPLE
453.Bd -literal
454# This is the default game.
455
456update = 5;
457newplane = 5;
458width = 30;
459height = 21;
460
461exit:		( 12  0 x ) ( 29  0 z ) ( 29  7 a ) ( 29 17 a )
462		(  9 20 e ) (  0 13 d ) (  0  7 d ) (  0  0 c ) ;
463
464beacon:		( 12  7 ) ( 12 17 ) ;
465
466airport:	( 20 15 w ) ( 20 18 d ) ;
467
468line:		[ (  1  1 ) (  6  6 ) ]
469		[ ( 12  1 ) ( 12  6 ) ]
470		[ ( 13  7 ) ( 28  7 ) ]
471		[ ( 28  1 ) ( 13 16 ) ]
472		[ (  1 13 ) ( 11 13 ) ]
473		[ ( 12  8 ) ( 12 16 ) ]
474		[ ( 11 18 ) ( 10 19 ) ]
475		[ ( 13 17 ) ( 28 17 ) ]
476		[ (  1  7 ) ( 11  7 ) ] ;
477
478.Ed
479.Sh FILES
480Files are kept in a special directory.
481See the
482.Sx OPTIONS
483section for a way to print this path out.
484It is normally
485.Pa /usr/share/games/atc .
486.Pp
487This directory contains the file
488.Pa Game_List ,
489which holds the list of playable games, as well as the games themselves.
490.Pp
491The scores are kept in
492.Pa /var/games/atc_score .
493.Sh AUTHORS
494Ed James, UC Berkeley: edjames@ucbvax.berkeley.edu, ucbvax!edjames
495.Pp
496This game is based on someone's description of the overall flavor
497of a game written for some unknown PC many years ago, maybe.
498.Sh BUGS
499The screen sometimes refreshes after you have quit.
500