40 lines
2.4 KiB
Plaintext
40 lines
2.4 KiB
Plaintext
This is version 5.4.1 of xbattle, by Greg Lesher, based on the original
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by Steve Lehar released in 1991, and including certain enhancements,
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modifications, and bug fixes suggested by a number of contributers from
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all over the world. The extensive changes from version 5.1, the last
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official xbattle release, are outlined below. The latest version can be
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obtained by anonymous ftp to cns-ftp.bu.edu in the pub/xbattle direction
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in compressed and gzip-ed tar format (xbattle-5.4.1.tar.Z and
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xbattle-5.4.1.tar.gz). There is an xbattle Web page
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(http://cns-web.bu.edu/pub/xpip/html/xbattle.html), which contains the
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latest release information, tutorials, file archives, and a comprehensive
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on-line manual.
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xbattle is a concurrent multi-player game which combines elements of
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strategy with arcade-like action to capture a wide range of military
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scenarios. The game is based on X Windows, which you must have
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installed to run xbattle. Opponents play from separate displays, with commands
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being executed concurrently -- the players do not take "turns", but rather
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they all issue their commands simultaneously. There can be any number of
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players, with each player assigned to a specific team, indicated by
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marker colors. The game board is a matrix of cells (square, hexes, etc.) that
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can be occupied by colored troops, with the goal of the game being to
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eliminate the enemy from the board by attacking cells occupied by enemy
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troops. A wide variety of command line options (and previously configured game
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files) provide an abundance of different scenarios and gaming environments.
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If you have never used xbattle before, we strongly suggest you read
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through the online introduction at the Web site specified above. To get the
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feel of the game, you can run the tutorials (called "tutorial1" and
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"tutorial2") that are supplied with the game. These are shell scripts
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that run on unix systems and start up a series of small example games that
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you can play around with to learn the various options available with the
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game. If you are not on a unix system, print out the tutorials and type
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in the embedded command lines by hand. If you are interested in the
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philosophical and game design issues of xbattle, or want to get immediate
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notice of the latest releases, updates, and bug fixes, send email to
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xbattle_request@gnu.ai.mit.edu and we will put you on the xbattle mailing
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list.
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_________
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Gregory W. Lesher, lesher@cns.bu.edu
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