TANKS(6) UNIX Programmer's Manual TANKS(6)
NAME
Tanks! - Distributed tank warfare game
SYNOPSIS
/usr/games/lib/tanks/tanks.*
DESCRIPTION
Tanks! is a multi-player tank battle game, implemented
around the NCS IPC protocol. Up to six people may play in
one game at a time, all operating independantly of the other
players in the game. There is no limit on the number of tank
games running on a system at a time.
To start up a tank, log in to a node that has 'Tanks!'
installed on it and type '/usr/games/lib/tanks/tanks.xxx',
where xxx represents the type of floating point hardware on
your node. Your screen should clear, and a list of all
available tank servers should appear. Please note that
/usr/games/lib/tanks/tanks.none is a generic version of the
game, and for optimal performance, the hardware specific
versions in /usr/games/lib/tanks should be run instead.
To enter a game, type the number of the game, and press the
'return' key.
Your viewpoint in the game is from INSIDE of your tank. You
are the driver/gunner, looking out from underneath your
tanks' gun.
The screen: Your screen is laid out as follows: In the
lower right hand corner, you have your joystick. It is con-
trolled by your mouse. As you move your mouse forward, the
joystick will move 'up', and your tank will start moving
forward. As you move the mouse to the left, the joystick
will follow, and your tank will bear to the left. Reverse
and right work in a similar maner, with one exception: Your
maximum speed in reverse is HALF of your maximum speed for-
ward.
In the lower left hand side of the screen you will see your
radar. A large dot in the radar screen is another tank, and
a small dot is a missle. The range of your radar is
directly above the radar screen. This range is adjustable.
To increase the distance that your radar can 'see', press
the 'up-arrow' key, or type the actual number you want and
hit 'return'. After you get shot, the server places your
tank in the battlefield at a random position, and other
tanks may be out of your current radar range. Use the up-
arrow key until you find the other tank(s) in the game. The
down-arrow key and the right-hand mouse button lowers the
radar range. Lowering the radar range to 400-500 when doing
close-combat will help you determine if a missle that you
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TANKS(6) UNIX Programmer's Manual TANKS(6)
can't see is going to hit you or not.
At the Center of the screen at the bottem are a list of the
other players in the game. Every tank on your screen will
be numbered; these numbers correspond.
At the upper right of the screen is the missle-ready light.
You can only fire a missle when the light is on. Firing
before the light is on causes the light to stay out even
longer.
Other input keys:
The left mouse button fires a missle.
The middle mouse button stops your tank.
The F8 function key gets you out of the game.
The F1 key takes a snapshot of your screen, and puts it in
the file
prf -pr graphics-printer-name -plot -magn -1 tank_view
Other points of interest:
The large pyramids are present only to give you the illusion
of movement when no other tanks are around. They can not be
destroyed.
You can not drive through objects. If you run into an
object, the message 'movement blocked by object' will appear
in the upper left corner of the screen.
Playing partners or with teams is often more fun than one on
one.
Enjoy!
SEE ALSO
tankd
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