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1995-07-25
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ATC(6) ATC(6)
NNAAMMEE
atc - Air Traffic Controller Game
SSYYNNOOPPSSIISS
aattcc -[u?lstp] [-[gf] game_name] [-r random seed]
DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN
_A_t_c lets you try your hand at the nerve wracking duties of
the air traffic controller without endangering the lives
of millions of travelers each year. Your responsibilities
require you to direct the flight of jets and prop planes
into and out of the flight arena and airports. The speed
(update time) and frequency of the planes depend on the
difficulty of the chosen arena.
OOPPTTIIOONNSS
--uu Print the usage line and exit.
--?? Same as --uu..
--ll Print a list of available games and exit. The
first game name printed is the default game.
--ss Print the score list (formerly the Top Ten list).
--tt Same as --ss..
--pp Print the path to the special directory where _a_t_c
expects to find its private files. This is used
during the installation of the program.
--gg ggaammee Play the named game. If the game listed is not
one of the ones printed from the --ll option, the
default game is played.
--ff ggaammee Same as --gg..
--rr sseeeedd Set the random seed. The purpose of this flag is
questionable.
GGOOAALLSS
Your goal in _a_t_c is to keep the game going as long as pos-
sible. There is no winning state, except to beat the
times of other players. You will need to: launch planes
at airports (by instructing them to increase their alti-
tude); land planes at airports (by instructing them to go
to altitude zero when exactly over the airport); and
maneuver planes out of exit points.
Several things will cause the end of the game. Each plane
has a destination (see information area), and sending a
plane to the wrong destination is an error. Planes can
run out of fuel, or can collide. Collision is defined as
adjacency in any of the three dimensions. A plane leaving
June 23, 1990 1
ATC(6) ATC(6)
the arena in any other way than through its destination
exit is an error as well.
Scores are sorted in order of the number of planes safe.
The other statistics are provided merely for fun. There
is no penalty for taking longer than another player
(except in the case of ties).
Suspending a game is not permitted. If you get a talk
message, tough. When was the last time an Air Traffic
Controller got called away to the phone?
TTHHEE DDIISSPPLLAAYY
Depending on the terminal you run _a_t_c on, the screen will
be divided into 4 areas. It should be stressed that the
terminal driver portion of the game was designed to be
reconfigurable, so the display format can vary depending
the version you are playing. The descriptions here are
based on the ascii version of the game. The game rules
and input format, however, should remain consistent. Con-
trol-L redraws the screen, should it become muddled.
RRAADDAARR
The first screen area is the radar display, showing
the relative locations of the planes, airports,
standard entry/exit points, radar beacons, and
"lines" which simply serve to aid you in guiding
the planes.
Planes are shown as a single letter with an alti-
tude. If the numerical altitude is a single digit,
then it represents thousands of feet. Some dis-
tinction is made between the prop planes and the
jets. On ascii terminals, prop planes are repre-
sented by a upper case letter, jets by a lower case
letter.
Airports are shown as a number and some indication
of the direction planes must be going to land at
the airport. On ascii terminals, this is one of
'^', '>', '<', and 'v', to indicate north (0
degrees), east (90), west (270) and south (180),
respectively. The planes will also take off in
this direction.
Beacons are represented as circles or asterisks and
a number. Their purpose is to offer a place of
easy reference to the plane pilots. See 'the delay
command' under the input section of this manual.
Entry/exit points are displayed as numbers along
the border of the radar screen. Planes will enter
the arena from these points without warning. These
points have a direction associated with them, and
June 23, 1990 2
ATC(6) ATC(6)
planes will always enter the arena from this direc-
tion. On the ascii version of _a_t_c_, this direction
is not displayed. It will become apparent what
this direction is as the game progresses.
Incoming planes will always enter at the same alti-
tude: 7000 feet. For a plane to successfully
depart through an entry/exit point, it must be fly-
ing at 9000 feet. It is not necessary for the
planes to be flying in any particular direction
when they leave the arena (yet).
IINNFFOORRMMAATTIIOONN AARREEAA
The second area of the display is the information
area, which lists the time (number of updates since
start), and the number of planes you have directed
safely out of the arena. Below this is a list of
planes currently in the air, followed by a blank
line, and then a list of planes on the ground (at
airports). Each line lists the plane name and its
current altitude, an optional asterisk indicating
low fuel, the plane's destination, and the plane's
current command. Changing altitude is not consid-
ered to be a command and is therefore not dis-
played. The following are some possible informa-
tion lines:
B4*A0: Circle @ b1
g7 E4: 225
The first example shows a prop plane named 'B' that
is flying at 4000 feet. It is low on fuel (note
the '*'). It's destination is Airport #0. The
next command it expects to do is circle when it
reaches Beacon #1. The second example shows a jet
named 'g' at 7000 feet, destined for Exit #4. It
is just now executing a turn to 225 degrees (South-
West).
IINNPPUUTT AARREEAA
The third area of the display is the input area.
It is here that your input is reflected. See the
INPUT heading of this manual for more details.
AAUUTTHHOORR AARREEAA
This area is used simply to give credit where
credit is due. :-)
IINNPPUUTT
A command completion interface is built into the game. At
any time, typing '?' will list possible input characters.
Typing a backspace (your erase character) backs up, eras-
ing the last part of the command. When a command is com-
plete, a return enters it, and any semantic checking is
June 23, 1990 3
ATC(6) ATC(6)
done at that time. If no errors are detected, the command
is sent to the appropriate plane. If an error is discov-
ered during the check, the offending statement will be
underscored and a (hopefully) descriptive message will be
printed under it.
The command syntax is broken into two parts: _I_m_m_e_d_i_a_t_e
_O_n_l_y and _D_e_l_a_y_a_b_l_e commands. _I_m_m_e_d_i_a_t_e _O_n_l_y commands hap-
pen on the next update. _D_e_l_a_y_a_b_l_e commands also happen on
the next update unless they are followed by an optional
predicate called the _D_e_l_a_y command.
In the following tables, the syntax [[00--99]] means any single
digit, and <<ddiirr>> refers to the keys around the 's' key,
namely ``wedcxzaq''. In absolute references, 'q' refers
to North-West or 315 degrees, and 'w' refers to North, or
0 degrees. In relative references, 'q' refers to -45
degrees or 45 degrees left, and 'w' refers to 0 degrees,
or no change in direction.
All commands start with a plane letter. This indicates
the recipient of the command. Case is ignored.
IIMMMMEEDDIIAATTEE OONNLLYY CCOOMMMMAANNDDSS
-- aa AAllttiittuuddee::
Affect a plane's altitude (and take off).
-- [[00--99]] NNuummbbeerr::
Go to the given altitude (thousands
of feet).
-- cc//++ CClliimmbb::
Relative altitude change.
-- [[00--99]] NNuummbbeerr::
Difference in thousands of
feet.
-- dd//-- DDeesscceenndd::
Relative altitude change.
-- [[00--99]] NNuummbbeerr::
Difference in thousands of
feet.
-- mm MMaarrkk::
Display in highlighted mode. Command is
displayed normally.
-- ii IIggnnoorree::
Do not display highlighted. Command is dis-
played as a line of dashes if there is no
command.
-- uu UUnnmmaarrkk::
Same as ignore, but if a delayed command is
processed, the plane will become marked.
This is useful if you want to forget about a
plane during part, but not all, of its jour-
ney.
June 23, 1990 4
ATC(6) ATC(6)
DDEELLAAYYAABBLLEE CCOOMMMMAANNDDSS
-- cc CCiirrccllee::
Have the plane circle (clockwise by
default).
-- ll LLeefftt::
Circle counterclockwise.
-- rr RRiigghhtt::
Circle clockwise.
-- tt TTuurrnn::
Change direction.
-- ll LLeefftt::
Turn counterclockwise (45 degrees by
default).
-- <<ddiirr>> DDiirreeccttiioonn::
Turn ccw the given number of
degrees. Zero degrees is no
turn. A ccw turn of -45
degrees is 45 cw.
-- rr RRiigghhtt::
Turn clockwise (45 degrees by
default).
-- <<ddiirr>> DDiirreeccttiioonn::
Same as turn left <dir>.
-- LL LLeefftt 9900::
Turn counterclockwise 90 degrees.
-- RR RRiigghhtt 9900::
Turn clockwise 90 degrees.
-- <<ddiirr>> DDiirreeccttiioonn::
Turn to the absolute compass heading
given. The shortest turn will be
taken.
-- tt TToowwaarrddss::
Turn towards a beacon, airport or
exit. The turn is just an estimate.
-- bb//** BBeeaaccoonn::
Turn towards the beacon.
-- [[00--99]] NNuummbbeerr::
The beacon number.
-- ee EExxiitt::
Turn towards the exit.
-- [[00--99]] NNuummbbeerr::
The exit number.
-- aa AAiirrppoorrtt::
Turn towards the airport.
-- [[00--99]] NNuummbbeerr::
The airport number.
TTHHEE DDEELLAAYY CCOOMMMMAANNDD
The DDeellaayy (a/@) command may be appended to any DDeellaayyaabbllee
command. It allows the controller to instruct a plane to
do an action when the plane reaches a particular beacon
(or other objects in future versions).
-- aa//@@ AAtt::
June 23, 1990 5
ATC(6) ATC(6)
Do the given delayable command when the
plane reaches the given beacon.
-- bb//** BBeeaaccoonn::
This is redundant to allow for
expansion.
-- [[00--99]] NNuummbbeerr::
The beacon number.
MMAARRKKIINNGG,, UUNNMMAARRKKIINNGG AANNDD IIGGNNOORRIINNGG
Planes are mmaarrkkeedd when they enter the arena. This means
they are displayed in highlighted mode on the radar dis-
play. A plane may also be either uunnmmaarrkkeedd or iiggnnoorreedd.. An
uunnmmaarrkkeedd plane is drawn in unhighlighted mode, and a line
of dashes is displayed in the command field of the infor-
mation area. The plane will remain this way until a mark
command has been issued. Any other command will be
issued, but the command line will return to a line of
dashes when the command is completed.
An iiggnnoorreedd plane is treated the same as an unmarked plane,
except that it will automatically switch to mmaarrkkeedd status
when a delayed command has been processed. This is useful
if you want to forget about a plane for a while, but its
flight path has not yet been completely set.
As with all of the commands, marking, unmarking and ignor-
ing will take effect at the beginning of the next update.
Do not be surprised if the plane does not immediately
switch to unhighlighted mode.
EEXXAAMMPPLLEESS
atlab1 a: turn left at beacon #1
cc C: circle
gtte4ab2 g: turn towards exit #4 at beacon
#2
ma+2 m: altitude: climb 2000 feet
stq S: turn to 315
xi x: ignore
OOTTHHEERR IINNFFOORRMMAATTIIOONN
Jets move every update; prop planes move every other
update.
All planes turn a most 90 degrees per movement.
Planes enter at 7000 feet and leave at 9000 feet.
Planes flying at an altitude of 0 crash if they are not
over an airport.
June 23, 1990 6
ATC(6) ATC(6)
Planes waiting at airports can only be told to take off
(climb in altitude).
NNEEWW GGAAMMEESS
The GGaammee__LLiisstt file lists the currently available play
fields. New field description file names must be placed
in this file to be 'playable'. If a player specifies a
game not in this file, his score will not be logged.
The game field description files are broken into two
parts. The first part is the definition section. Here,
the four tunable game parameters must be set. These vari-
ables are set with the syntax:
variable = number;
Variable may be one of: uuppddaattee,, indicating the number of
seconds between forced updates; nneewwppllaannee,, indicating
(about) the number of updates between new plane entries;
wwiiddtthh,, indicating the width of the play field; and hheeiigghhtt,,
indicating the height of the play field.
The second part of the field description files describes
the locations of the exits, the beacons, the airports and
the lines. The syntax is as follows:
beacon: (x y) ... ;
airport: (x y direction) ... ;
exit: (x y direction) ... ;
line: [ (x1 y1) (x2 y2) ] ... ;
For beacons, a simple x, y coordinate pair is used
(enclosed in parenthesis). Airports and exits require a
third value, a direction, which is one of wweeddccxxzzaaqq.. For
airports, this is the direction that planes must be going
to take off and land, and for exits, this is the direction
that planes will going when they eenntteerr the arena. This
may not seem intuitive, but as there is no restriction on
direction of exit, this is appropriate. Lines are
slightly different, since they need two coordinate pairs
to specify the line endpoints. These endpoints must be
enclosed in square brackets.
All statements are semi-colon (;) terminated. Multiple
item statements accumulate. Each definition must occur
exactly once, before any item statements. Comments begin
with a hash (#) symbol and terminate with a newline. The
coordinates are between zero and width-1 and height-1
inclusive. All of the exit coordinates must lie on the
borders, and all of the beacons and airports must lie
inside of the borders. Line endpoints may be anywhere
within the field, so long as the lines are horizontal,
vertical or eexxaaccttllyy ddiiaaggoonnaall..
June 23, 1990 7
ATC(6) ATC(6)
FFIIEELLDD FFIILLEE EEXXAAMMPPLLEE
# This is the default game.
update = 5;
newplane = 5;
width = 30;
height = 21;
exit: ( 12 0 x ) ( 29 0 z ) ( 29 7 a ) ( 29 17 a )
( 9 20 e ) ( 0 13 d ) ( 0 7 d ) ( 0 0 c ) ;
beacon: ( 12 7 ) ( 12 17 ) ;
airport: ( 20 15 w ) ( 20 18 d ) ;
line: [ ( 1 1 ) ( 6 6 ) ]
[ ( 12 1 ) ( 12 6 ) ]
[ ( 13 7 ) ( 28 7 ) ]
[ ( 28 1 ) ( 13 16 ) ]
[ ( 1 13 ) ( 11 13 ) ]
[ ( 12 8 ) ( 12 16 ) ]
[ ( 11 18 ) ( 10 19 ) ]
[ ( 13 17 ) ( 28 17 ) ]
[ ( 1 7 ) ( 11 7 ) ] ;
FFIILLEESS
Files are kept in a special directory. See the OPTIONS for
a way to print this path out.
AATTCC__ssccoorree Where the scores are kept.
GGaammee__LLiisstt The list of playable games.
AAUUTTHHOORR
Ed James, UC Berkeley: edjames@ucbvax.berkeley.edu, ucb-
vax!edjames
This game is based on someone's description of the overall
flavor of a game written for some unknown PC many years
ago, maybe.
BBUUGGSS
The screen sometimes refreshes after you have quit.
Yet Another Curses Bug was discovered during the develop-
ment of this game. If your curses library clrtobot.o is
version 5.1 or earlier, you will have erase problems with
the backspace operator in the input window.
June 23, 1990 8
