


XBOING(6)                GAMES AND DEMOS                XBOING(6)



NAME
     _x_b_o_i_n_g - An X Window System based blockout clone.


SYNOPSIS
     _x_b_o_i_n_g  [-version]  [-usage]   [-help]   [-sync]   [-display
     <displayName>]  [-speed  <1-10>]  [-scores] [-keys] [-sound]
     [-setup] [-nosfx]

         -speed <n>         - The game speed, 1 - 9. [5]
         -help              - Produce this help message.
         -sync              - Turn on X synchronisation.
         -usage             - Print a brief help message.
         -version           - Print out the current version.
         -scores            - Print out current highscores.
         -keys              - Use keys instead of mouse control.
         -sound             - Turn audio ON for game.
         -setup             - Print setup information.
         -nosfx             - Turn off special effects.
         -display <display> - Set the display for the game.


DESCRIPTION
     _X_B_o_i_n_g is a simple blockout type game where you have a  pad-
     dle  which  you  use  to  bounce a ball around the game area
     blowing up blocks with the ball. You win by obtaining points
     for  each block destroyed and each level completed. The per-
     son with the highest score wins.

     The play area is filled with blocks and other  objects.  You
     have a paddle that can move from left to right at the bottom
     of the screen. You move the paddle so  that  the  ball  that
     bounces around blowing up blocks does not go past the paddle
     and out the bottom, much like a pinball game.

     The blocks exhibit different behaviour. The bomb block  when
     hit  will  explode  all blocks around it. If another bomb is
     beside it then it will go off also.  The  solid  wall  brick
     will  not  explode  unless next a bomb. The ammunition block
     will give you four bullets and so on. Special blocks such as
     reverse and machine gun will only last for one level.

     There are random blocks that change their colour and  there-
     fore  their  points  every  now  and then. They add a bit of
     change to the levels.

     There is a  pirate  symbol  that  will  kill  your  ball  if
     touched. You can shoot this block 3 times to kill it but you
     will lose 1000 points. Keep away from the  Death  block,  it
     kills your ball!

     The walls off block will turn the wall bounce  off  on  both



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     the  left and right side of the playing area. This will mean
     the ball will not bounce off but continue through  the  wall
     and wrap around to the other side respectively.

     The reverse block will when hit reverse the controls to  the
     paddle.  This  block  should be avoided as it makes the game
     really  hard.  Hitting  another  reverse  while  already  in
     reverse mode will turn it off.

     The teleport block will teleport the ball somewhere else  on
     that level. It will not place you too close to the bottom of
     the screen or on another block.

     The sticky paddle block will stick the ball to  your  paddle
     each  time it is hit and wait until you press space to shoot
     it off again. This can be a #$%$#@! and also useful for lin-
     ing up shots for hard bricks.

     There is a machine gun block that allows you to  shoot  much
     faster. Note that you will also go through your bullets at a
     great rate. Can be fun to let off  a  burst  every  now  and
     then. Erases counter blocks very fast.

     An extra ball symbol may appear and when shot  or  hit  with
     another ball it will give you an extra ball!

     You can use the bullets to shoot the last pesky blocks or to
     collet lots of bonus coins. You will be given 4 bullets when
     a new level starts. If you lose a ball you will be  given  a
     token  2  bullets. Use bullets wisely as you will hate your-
     self when there is one brick left and the ball is missing it
     for ever.

     Throughout the game the bonus  coins  will  appear.  Collect
     these for bonus points when the level is finished. Sometimes
     the coin may appear as a x2 or x4 symbol which will indicate
     that the scoring from now onwards will be multiplied by 2 or
     4 respectively. Note: if you get a x2 then x4  then  x2  you
     will  go  back to x2 mode. Also note that this x2 or x4 mode
     will be disabled after each ball death.

     The bonus screen will tell you how  you  went  in  the  last
     level.  Your  bonuses will be added and the bullet and level
     bonus will be added. You get 500 points for each bullet  not
     used. You get 3000 points for each bonus and if you get more
     than 10 bonuses you get a SUPER BONUS of 50000  points.  You
     also  get  a  new  ball every 100,000 points. Pressing space
     will  skip  the  bonus  animations  when  the  bonus  screen
     appears. Your bonus score will still be added.

     There is a level timer that counts down  while  playing  the
     level.  If you don't complete the level in time you will not



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     get the time bonus which is 100 points per second remaining.
     You  will also miss out on the level bonus if your time runs
     out.

     The ball will be automatically shot  off  the  paddle  after
     about  5  seconds  unless  you  press the space bar. You can
     always press P to pause the game.

     If the ball gets stuck in an infinite loop it will automati-
     cally tilt the board if the ball hasn't hit the paddle after
     a certain time span. The time span  is  about  8  seconds  I
     think.

     XBoing was started like many other projects  to  learn  Xlib
     better.  I had the XPM library and was already using it in a
     Motif application. I thought that it would be cool  to  have
     nice  colour  pictures/animations in an Xlib game. So I did.
     Without the XPM library I would be still  playing  with  the
     colours I think.


GAME CONTROL
     You must have specified "-keys" on the command line  to  use
     the  keys  for the paddle control. The default is to use the
     mouse control method.

     J = Paddle Left
     LeftArrow = Paddle Left
     K = Shoot bullet
     L = Paddle Right
     RightArrow = Paddle Right

     Left Mouse Button = Paddle Left
     Middle Mouse Button = Shoot Bullet
     Right Mouse Button = Paddle Right

     Use the mouse to move the paddle left and right by moving the mouse
     left and right. The paddle will follow the mouse pointer. This is
     the best method and easiest to use by far.

     Space   = Start ball moving/Start game
     Escape  = End game and return to introduction.
     i       = iconify the game and pause.
     H       = View roll of honour.
     h       = View personal highscores.
     p       = Pause game.
     d       = Kill the ball.
     a       = Toggle audio on/off
     s       = Toggle special effects on/off
     c       = Cycle through the intro screens.
     1-9      = Game speed where 9 is fastest.
     q       = Quit XBoing



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     Note: Highscores are saved at the end of each game.

SCORING
     Each blocks has a certain point score. Some blocks  such  as
     the  counter  block will have more than one score associated
     with it.

     red = 100
     blue = 110
     green = 120
     yellow = 140
     tan = 130
     purple = 150
     bomb = 50 plus the surrounding blocks points
     wall = 0
     pirate = 100
     reverse = 100
     ammo = 50 plus bullets
     counter = 200 (each number).

     Each time the paddle is hit  with  the  ball  your  earn  10
     points. I'm nice.

     There are death symbols (a pirate) that when hit by  a  ball
     will  kill  the  ball.  You can shoot them but you will lose
     1000 points.

     The bonus coins are 3000 points - but only added to score if
     you  reach  the  end  of  the level and go through the bonus
     screen.

     If you collect more than 10 bonus  coins  you  get  a  Super
     Bonus  of 50,000 points. Each remaining bullet after a level
     is worth 500 points.

     At the end of each level you are awarded a level bouns which
     is  level  <n> x 1000 points. So for level 20 you get 20,000
     points! If you fail to complete the level in the time allot-
     ted you will not receive a level bonus.


LEVELS
     The levels are not increasingly harder to play  -  some  are
     but  some  are easy. This is because it takes ages to create
     and design levels. The paddle does get smaller as  the  game
     goes  on.  This  makes it REALLY hard. I may also add a ball
     speedup feature.

     The level data is a simple ASCII file  format  that  can  be
     edited.  The levels are loaded when required from the direc-
     tory specified when the game was made.




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     You can create more levels if you like making sure that they
     are  in  the  correct  format  and  that they have a correct
     filename format.

     Copy level0.data to level??.data and use that for the  edit-
     ing of new levels.

     level format:  (case sensitive)

         w = wall block
         r = red block
         g = green block
         b = blue block
         t = tan block
         p = purple block
         y = yellow block
         X = Bomb
         B = Ammo
         . = blank
         D = Death
         R = Reverse
         H = Teleport
         L = Extra ball
         M = Machine Gun
         W = Walls off
         ? = Random block
         m = Multiple balls
         s = sticky block

     The format of the level is shown in the  newlevel.data  file
     in the source distribution in the levels directory.

     Make sure you have  a  level  title  and  a  time  bonus  in
     seconds.


NOTES
     Obatin all new versions from export.lcs.mit.edu or a  mirror
     site.


REDISTRIBUTION
     (c) Copyright 1993, Justin C. Kibell, All Rights Reserved

     Permission  to  use,  copy,  modify,  and  distribute   this
     software  and its documentation without written agreement is
     hereby granted. You cannot sell this software without  writ-
     ten permission from the author. This entire copyright notice
     must appear in all copies of this software.

     IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE  LIABLE  TO  ANY  PARTY  FOR
     DIRECT,  INDIRECT,  SPECIAL,  INCIDENTAL,  OR  CONSEQUENTIAL



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XBOING(6)                GAMES AND DEMOS                XBOING(6)



     DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE  OF  THIS  SOFTWARE  AND  ITS
     DOCUMENTATION,  EVEN  IF  THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE
     POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

     THE AUTHOR SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING,
     BUT  NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABIL-
     ITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  THE SOFTWARE PRO-
     VIDED  HEREUNDER  IS ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND THE AUTHOR HAS
     NO OBLIGATION  TO  PROVIDE  MAINTENANCE,  SUPPORT,  UPDATES,
     ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.


AUTHOR
     Justin C. Kibell - Systems Programmer -  CATT  Centre  CITRI
     Melbourne - Victoria - Australia.  email: jck@citri.edu.au

     Computer Science Graduate -  Royal  Melbourne  Institute  of
     Technology (RMIT) - Australia


BUGS
     See TODO in source distribution for list of bugs.  Mail  all
     bug  reports/suggestions  to jck@citri.edu.au specifying the
     version and machine type you are using. Use  'uname  -a'  to
     explain  the  machine  type.  Please note the version of X11
     that you have installed as well, ie: X11R5, X11R4, etc.





























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