1xarchon(6)                       Games Manual                       xarchon(6)
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NAME

6       xarchon - ARCHON clone for X11
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SYNOPSIS

10       xarchon
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DESCRIPTION

14       In  this  game,  the  Light  Side and Dark Side fight over control of a
15       chess-like board.  Each side is composed of 18 fantastic  creatures  of
16       myth and legend, which are represented by images (or icons).  While not
17       identical, the opposing sides are balanced in strength.
18
19       This manual page  is  composed  of  two  main  parts.   The  first  one
20       describes  the  rules  of  X  ARCHON.  The second part describes how to
21       interact with the graphical user interface.
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23

THE RULES

25       There are two modes of game play: board and field mode.  When in  board
26       mode,  you select which creature (or piece) you want to move, and where
27       to move it to, in a way somewhat similiar to chess.
28
29       However, in X ARCHON, merely moving a creature onto a  square  occupied
30       by  a foe does not win the battle.  At this point, game play changes to
31       field mode, and a battle begins.  The surviving creature is returned to
32       the board, in control of the disputed square.
33
34       There  are  two ways to win the game.  The first, easier way is to have
35       creatures of your side occupying the five  power  points  (see  section
36       SQUARES for more information).
37
38       The  second,  more  difficult  way is by leaving your opponent no legal
39       move to make.  This can by killing all their creatures, or  imprisoning
40       (see  section  SPELLS  for more information) their last surviving crea‐
41       ture.
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43       destroy all the creatures of the opposing side.
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45

BOARD PLAY

47       The board is composed of 9 by 9 squares.   Not  all  squares  look  the
48       same.  The appearance of a square tells about its nature.
49
50       Game  play  in  board mode is turn-based:  while one player is making a
51       move, the other side waits.  In each turn, a player can either  move  a
52       single  creature  from  one square to another (see the section on move‐
53       ment) or cast a spell (see the section on spells).
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55
56   SQUARES
57       Light, dark, and luminance squares: Light  squares  are  always  light,
58       dark squares are always dark, but the shade of luminance squares slowly
59       changes from light to dark and back to light, in  accordance  with  the
60       luminosity cycle.
61
62       It is preferable for a creature to rest on a square having the color of
63       its side;  see the section on field play for more information.
64
65       The lower right corner of the board display shows some useful  informa‐
66       tion  about the luminosity cycle.  The direction ("+" or "-") indicator
67       shows the direction of the luminosity cycle.  A + indicates  the  cycle
68       grows  lighte,  a - indicates it grows darker.  The side (L or D) indi‐
69       cator tells you which side benefits from resting on a luminance  square
70       at  that  time:   L  for light, and D for dark.  And finally, the state
71       (digits 1 through 6) indicator discloses the exact value of  the  lumi‐
72       nosity cycle, with 1 indicating the lightest possible luminosity, and 6
73       indicating the darkest.
74
75       Power points: Five squares on the board have special markings;  a crea‐
76       ture  resting  on a square that is a power point heals twice as fast as
77       it would on any other kind of square.  Such a creature is  also  immune
78       to magical attacks;  see the section on spells for more information.
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80
81   MOVEMENT
82       To  select  a  creature,  use  your  controls to move the cursor to the
83       requested creature, then press fire to select it.  Then use  your  con‐
84       trols  to  move the creature to where you want it to go, and press fire
85       again to complete the move.
86
87       A creature may travel only up to a certain distance per turn,  and  the
88       move you make will be restricted to this limit.  Not all creatures have
89       the same limit;  some can only move up to 3  squares  away  from  their
90       starting position, while others may move as far as 5 squares.
91
92       Creatures  belong to either of two classes.  If the creature you select
93       is of the ground class, you cannot move it through squares occupied  by
94       other creatures at all (although you may move it into a square occupied
95       by a foe).  Fly creatures, on the other hand, are not limited  in  this
96       way, and may move through any square, wheather it is occupied or not.
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98       Whatever  the  class of the creature is--ground or fly--it can only end
99       its move in a square that is either empty, or occupied by  a  foe.   In
100       the latter case, the game play will change to field mode.
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102
103   SPELLS
104       Two  creatures  on  the  board posses the ability to cast magic spells.
105       These creatures are the mages: the light wizard and the dark sorceress.
106       Spells  are  cast in place of a regular movement.  This means that in a
107       single, a mage can move, or he or she can cast a spell, but never  both
108       things at once.
109
110       There  are seven different kinds of spells.  As the game begins, all of
111       the seven spells are available to each mage.  However, once a spell  is
112       cast  by a mage, that particular mage cannot cast that particular spell
113       again throughout the game.
114
115       Teleport: Moves a creature of your choice from one square to any  other
116       square  that  you  select,  regardless  of the distance between the two
117       squares.  You can only move unimprisoned creatures on  your  own  side,
118       and neither the source nor the destination square may be a power point.
119
120       Heal:  Instantly  and  completely  heal a creature of your choice.  Its
121       health is restored to the level it was at when the game started.
122
123       Shift Time: When the luminosity cycle is at  its  lightest  or  darkest
124       peak,  it  is  abruptly  shifted to the opposite side.  Otherwise, this
125       spell merely changes the direction of the luminosity cycle.
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127       Exchange: Swap places between any two creatures you select,  regardless
128       of  the  distance between them.  There is no restriction on the side of
129       either creature.  However, neither creature can be imprisoned or  on  a
130       power point.
131
132       Summon  Elemental:  Bring forth a spirit of one of the four elements of
133       nature (air, earth, fire or water) to battle an  opposing  creature  of
134       your  choice.  The elemental and the opposing creature will engage in a
135       battle as usual.  However, once the battle is over, the elemental  van‐
136       ishes--even  if it won. You can not choose which elemental will appear,
137       and you cannot use an elemental for anything other than  engaging  bat‐
138       tle. You also cannot attack a creature resting on a power point.
139
140       Revive:  Resurrect  and  bring back to the board a single creature, per
141       your selection, that was previously lost in battle is resurrected.  The
142       creature  is also healed, but that does not cost you a heal spell.  The
143       creature will be placed besides your mage, so there must  be  at  least
144       one square vacant around the mage.
145
146       Imprison:  Temporarily  bind an opposing creature of your choice to the
147       square it is resting on at the time of the spell.  The creature will be
148       able  to  defend  itself  during battle;  but on the board, it won't be
149       able to leave its square.  The effect of  imprisonment  wears  off  for
150       light side creatures when the luminosity cycle is at its lightest peak;
151       similiarly, dark creatures will become free when the cycle  is  at  its
152       darkest peak.
153
154       Cease conjuring: This is not a spell, but merely a way to tell the game
155       you have changed your mind, and don't really want to cast any spells at
156       this  time.   Since  it's not really a spell, it never becomes unavail‐
157       able.
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159

FIELD PLAY

161       By turn end, if any two creatures rest on the same square (by result of
162       either  plain  movement  or some spell), the game goes into field mode,
163       and a battle begins between the two creatures.
164
165       This battle is fought entirely within the square the two opposing sides
166       are  interested in.  However, since the squares on the board are pretty
167       small and it would be hard  to  see  anything,  the  single  square  is
168       expanded to the size of the display.
169
170       There  are a few basic rules in field play, and these will be described
171       next.
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173
174   MOVEMENT AND ATTACK
175       The game is not turn-based in field mode; rather, any action either  of
176       the  creatures  makes--such  as  to  move  somewhere, or attack in some
177       direction--is instantly performed.
178
179       Movement is possible in all 8 surrounding directions.   Most  creatures
180       move  at  the same speed, however a few move somewhat slower.  To move,
181       press a direction key to indicate where you want your creature to go.
182
183       Attacking is also possible in all 8 sorrunding directions.   There  are
184       three  basic  kinds  of  attacks, which are detailed below.  To attack,
185       hold down the fire key, and press a direction key to indicate where you
186       want your creature to attack.
187
188       Short-range:  your  creature  uses  a typical "cold" weapon to hurt its
189       opponent.  For such an attack to have any meaning,  the  two  creatures
190       must  be  adjacent.   A creature attacked in this way loses some of its
191       health, and becomes frozen for a short period of time.
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193       Circular: your creature causes a circular area  of  some  small  radius
194       around  it  to  become harmful to the opponent.  If the opponent enters
195       this area, it will gradually lose health until the attack is  complete.
196       It will not become frozen.
197
198       Missile:  your  creature fires a shot, preferably in the general direc‐
199       tion of your opponent.  There is no need for the two  creatures  to  be
200       close to one another.  Not all missiles are the same;  some are faster,
201       while others are more damaging.  A creature attacked by  a  shot  loses
202       some of its health, and becomes frozen for a short period of time.
203
204       Once  a  creature  attacks,  it cannot instantly attack again.  A short
205       period of "reload" time is required.  (Even in the  case  of  a  "cold"
206       weapons  such  as  a  sword  or a rock, your creature cannot repeatedly
207       attack without a little rest in between.)
208
209       The instant you attack, a red bar appears on your side of  the  screen.
210       This  bar  indicates  how  long  you must wait before your creature can
211       attack again.  As time passes, this bar decreases in  size.   Once  the
212       bar disappears, you may attack again.
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214
215   HEALTH
216       All  creatures  that  are alive are at some level of health.  The exact
217       level of health is indicated by the outtermost bar on each side of  the
218       screen.   The goal of a creature is to cause enough damage to its oppo‐
219       nent, such that the opponent's health becomes zero, and it  is  removed
220       from the board.
221
222       It is important to note that the winning creature will not be healed at
223       all the time it returns to the board.   Thus,  even  the  strongest  of
224       creatures may eventually be defeated by a horde of attackers.
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226       But the health of a creature at the beginning of a battle may be deter‐
227       mined by more than just its own health:  of the two creatures,  one  of
228       them  receives  a  bonus,  depending on the color of the square.  Light
229       squares will boost the initial health of light creatures;   similiarly,
230       dark squares will boost dark creatures.
231
232       In this bonus calculation, squares that are always light or always dark
233       give the most bonus, while squares that participate in  the  luminosity
234       cycle  give  a bonus that is proportional to how close the square is to
235       the peak of the cycle.  In other words, light creatures  would  benefit
236       the  most from luminance squares when the cycle is at is lightest peak;
237       and dark creatures would benefit the most when  the  cycle  is  at  its
238       darkest peak.
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240
241   ROCKS
242       Inside  the  square  over  which you and your opponent are fighting are
243       rocks.  These rocks are visible only in the field screen.
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245       Much like the luminance squares on the board, the rocks participate  in
246       a luminosity cycle:  each slowly changes from light to dark and back to
247       light.  Most of the time, the rocks are solid.  However, when the lumi‐
248       nance approaches the lightest peak of the cycle, it becomes possible to
249       slowly walk or shoot past it.
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251

THE GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE

253       The graphical user interface  is  your  means  of  telling  the  progam
254       exactly how you want to play.  Using the GUI, you can:
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256       - define players, select two players to play on either side; - select a
257       graphical theme (although currently there is only one theme  to  choose
258       from); - start and end games; - and toggle sound.
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260
261   DEFINING PLAYERS
262       the  program  has a concept of "players."  A player is merely a collec‐
263       tion of configuration choices.  For example, one  configuration  choice
264       is  who plays for this player (a human at the console, the computer, or
265       perhaps it is played through the network).
266
267       Use the menu option Define Players in the Settings  menu  to  open  the
268       Define  Players  dialog window.  In this window, you may insert, delete
269       or update players.
270
271       Insert and delete operations are pretty much self-explanatory, as there
272       are two buttons that will take perform these tasks.
273
274       Updating  means  changing a player's name, or its kind, or specifically
275       configuring it.  The former two are done simply by typing  a  into  the
276       name  entry  box and selecting one of the "kind" radio buttons, respec‐
277       tively.  The latter is done by clicking on  the  configuration  button,
278       which brings a specific configuration window.  The content of this win‐
279       dow is described below.
280
281       Once you have configured the players as needed, click on the OK  button
282       to  actually  make  changes.   Alternatively,  if you change your mind,
283       clicking on the Cancel button will undo all of these changes.
284
285       Human configuration: The human configuration window lets  you  set  the
286       keyboard/joystick/mouse  controls  for  the  player.  You may configure
287       different controls for the light and dark side of the same  player,  so
288       you  can  later  choose it to play for both sides. (In other words, you
289       don't have to define two human players for a two-player game.)   Alter‐
290       natively, you may define controls once for both sides.
291
292       The  "Side" option menu allows you to decide which side (light, dark or
293       both) is going to be affected by the next keyboard  binding  you  make.
294       The  "Action"  option  menu selects which action you are going to bind,
295       and finally, clicking on the "Key" button lets you type in the key  you
296       want bound to the selected action for the selected side (or sides).
297
298       The  last option menu is used to say if a joystick or mouse may be used
299       in addition to the keyboard controls.
300
301       Computer configuration: The computer  configuration  window  is  pretty
302       simple.   Radio  buttons let you select a difficulty level for the com‐
303       puter:  easy, medium or hard.
304
305       There is a checkbox which lets you specify that you want the old, rule-
306       based  computer  board  logic.  In effect, enabling this checkbox means
307       this computer player will play  rather  poorly  on  the  board.   (This
308       checkbox has no effect on the way the computer plays in field mode.)
309
310       Network  configuration: The network configuration window lets configure
311       the game for playing over the network.  The network model dictates that
312       the  light side is always the "server", which waits for a connection to
313       be made, and dark side is the "client", which makes the initial connec‐
314       tion.
315
316       Therefore,  the  IP address that is configurable in this window is only
317       meaningful for players that will be selected to play the dark side,  as
318       they would need to know the address to connect to.
319
320       The  port  number,  however,  has  to be filled in by both sides.  Both
321       sides must also set the exact same number for the connection to be suc‐
322       cessful.
323
324
325   SELECTING PLAYERS
326       Once  you are comfortable with your players, use the menu option Select
327       Players in the Settings menu to open the Select Players dialog window.
328
329       This window lets you select which player is going to play for the light
330       side, and which is going to play for the dark side.
331
332       You  may  also choose which side goes first using the two radio buttons
333       provided for this purpose.  Please note that the network model dictates
334       that  the light side always goes first, and so these radio buttons have
335       no effect on networked games.
336
337       Click OK to accept the selection you've made, or  Cancel  to  undo  any
338       changes you may have made.
339
340
341   THE GAME
342       Use  the  menu  option New in the Game menu to begin a new game.  If no
343       network players have been selected to play for either  side,  the  game
344       will  immediately begin.  Otherwise, the light side will enter "server"
345       mode and wait for the "client"--the dark side--to connect to it.   Only
346       when a connection has been made will the game actually start.
347
348       The user interface disappears while playing the game.  To return to it,
349       press the Escape key.  The Settings menu will then  be  disabled,  pre‐
350       venting  you  from  making any modifications to the players or graphics
351       while a game is active.  However, you will be able to stop the game  in
352       progress,  unpause  it,  or exit the progarm altogether, using the menu
353       options Stop, Unpause and Exit, respectively, of the Game menu.
354
355       Another way to return to the GUI while playing the game is the F12 key,
356       which also stops the current game.  It is equivalent to pressing Escape
357       and then selecting the menu option Stop from the Game menu.
358
359       Note that pausing a network game is not possible, and so the  only  way
360       to return to the GUI is using F12, which also ends the game.
361
362       Also  note that the game does not automatically return to the GUI after
363       either side has won.  Instead, it leaves you  starting  at  the  board.
364       Pressing  Escape or F12 at this point will yield the same result, which
365       is getting you back to the GUI.
366
367

AUTHOR

369       Ronen Tzur <rtzur@shani.net>
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373       Copyright (C) 1999 Ronen Tzur
374
375       Based on an original game by  Anne  Westfall,  Jon  Freeman,  and  Paul
376       Reiche III.
377
378       This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
379       under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published  by  the
380       Free  Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
381       option) any later version.
382
383       This program is distributed in the hope that it  will  be  useful,  but
384       WITHOUT  ANY  WARRANTY;  without  even  the  implied  warranty  of MER‐
385       CHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU  General
386       Public License for more details.
387
388       You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
389       with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
390       59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
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394X ARCHON                           July 1999                        xarchon(6)
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