IRIX Base Documentation 1998 November/IRIX 6.5.2 Base Documentation November 1998.img/usr/share/catman/u_man/cat6/pointblank.z/pointblank

Text File | 1998-10-30 | 21KB | 397 lines

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     pointblank - armored vehicle warfare game

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DDDDEEEESSSSCCCCRRRRIIIIPPPPTTTTIIIIOOOONNNN
     _P_o_i_n_t_b_l_a_n_k is the successor to _B_Z(_6_D). It is a combat game allowing users
     to play against several players in a networked environment.  Much of the
     game play characteristics of _B_Z(_6_D) have been preserved while adding new
     elements of game play such as three-dimensional terrain, buildings, and
     flying vehicles.

OOOOPPPPTTTTIIIIOOOONNNNSSSS
     The following command line options are recognized:

     ----aaaa      Disable the game's audio.

     ----llll      List the different scenario files available.

     The player's name can be specified with the PPPPBBBB____NNNNAAAAMMMMEEEE environmental
     variable.  Otherwise, the user id will be used.

AAAABBBBOOOOUUUUTTTT TTTTHHHHEEEE SSSSCCCCEEEENNNNAAAARRRRIIIIOOOOSSSS
     The game can be played in three modes:  a free-for-all, destroy-as-many-
     opponents-while-staying-alive mode;  a team-oriented, destroy-the-
     opponent's-goal mode; and a practice solotaire mode.  The sssscccceeeennnnaaaarrrriiiioooo____ffffiiiilllleeee
     command line option specifies what game will be played and the game mode.

     The free mode allows players to test their individual skills while
     incorporating some team play.  Team scores are the sum of all of the
     individual scores of the team members.  Players are penalized for
     destroying members of their own team.

     In goal mode, the game is played in rounds.  The object is to destroy the
     opposing teams' goals while protecting your own.  When all but one goal
     is destroyed, the round is over, the scores are summarized, and a new
     round is started.  When a team loses its goal, its team members
     temporarily join the attacking team until the end of the round.  After
     the round is over, all team members are returned to their original team.
     Teams scores are based on the number of goals won or lost.  Losing a goal
     results in a 100 point penalty.  Destroying a goal gains 100 points for
     the offensive team.  All "captured" teams on the offensive team will also
     gain 100 points per goal as an incentive to help the new temporary team.

     In solo or practice mode, the player is pitted against non-mobile
     automatons.  The automatons may be of varying skill levels.  The object
     is to destroy all the goals present.  Doing so ends the level and either
     starts a new level or ends the game if no other level is available.
     Objects and goals' radar visibility may be tied to the status of the



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     automatons.  For example, a goal may be surrounded by obstacles that only
     disappear after a key automaton is destroyed.  Some (but not all)
     obstacles in solo mode may also be destroyed by weapon fire.

GGGGAAAAMMMMEEEE PPPPLLLLAAAAYYYY
     In the free-play mode, players will be prompted to choose a team after
     the introduction screen.  The current number of members on each team is
     displayed in the number in the middle of each team color panel.  In goal
     mode, a screen providing a brief description of the game's objective
     along with a display of the goal will be shown.  By clicking on any mouse
     button, the player will advance to the team selection screen.

     After selecting a team, the player will be given a choice of vehicles.
     There are up to four vehicles available:  Tank, Scout, Mauler, and Flyer.
     The vehicles are described later.  Clicking on the left and right arrows
     will page through the different vehicles.  A concise listing of the
     vehicle's capabilities and features will be displayed with each vehicle.
     Click on the middle panel when the desired vehicle is displayed.

     Once the vehicle is choosen, the vehicle will be inserted into the game.
     Control of the vehicles is essentially the same for each vehicle except
     as noted in the section covering the individual vehicles.

     For the ground vehicles, position the cursor at the top of the overlay
     circle to go full speed ahead, at the bottom of the circle for full
     reverse, and to the left or right to turn in the corresponding direction.
     Positioning the cursor outside of the circle does not result in an
     increase in speed or turning rate.

     For the flying vehicle, the cursor controls the pitch and roll of the
     aircraft.  Placing the cursor at the top of the circle causes the vehicle
     to dive while positioning the cursor at the bottom of the circle causes
     the aircraft to climb.  Moving the cursor to the left or right causes the
     vehicle to roll in the appropriate direction.  The speed of the aircraft
     is controlled with the aaaa and ssss keys to decrease and increase the
     vehicle's speed, respectively.  It is impossible to stall the aircraft
     due to the advanced nature of the vehicle's avionics.  It is, however,
     quite possible to crash into the ground or other obstacles.

     Individual scoring is based on the point value of the attacking vehicle
     and of the defeated vehicle.  Point values of vehicles are displayed
     during the vehicle selection screen.

TTTTHHHHEEEE WWWWEEEEAAAAPPPPOOOONNNNSSSS
     There is a wide range of weaponry available in _p_o_i_n_t_b_l_a_n_k.  Not all
     vehicles will have access to each weapon type.

     SSSSttttaaaannnnddddaaaarrrrdddd MMMMiiiissssssssiiiilllleeee
             The standard missile is the basic weapon type and delivers a
             significant amount of damage (8 armor points).  However, since no
             vehicle has a moveable turret, the standard missile can only be
             used in a limited number of situations.  When fired, the standard



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             missile will fly straight ahead until impact.  The icon for the
             standard missile is a plain missile without any fins.

     CCCCrrrruuuuiiiisssseeee MMMMiiiissssssssiiiilllleeee
             The cruise missile is much more useful in ground compact but
             delivers less damage (6 armor points) than the standard missile.
             The cruise missile follows the terrain at a (nearly) constant
             height, making it much more effective in hilly terrain.  It does
             have a limited pitch rate, however, and so will not be able to
             negotiate abrupt changes in terrain.  The icon for the cruise
             missile has green fins.

     GGGGuuuuiiiiddddeeeedddd MMMMiiiissssssssiiiilllleeee
             The guided missile is useful in attacking hard to reach ground
             vehicles and is bringing down enemy aircraft, but delivers the
             least amount of damage of any of the missiles (4 amor points).
             When launched, the main view of the vehicle will be replaced by
             the missile's view as it flies.  The guided missile will follow
             the cursor, so a player guides it by positioning the cursor over
             the target.  The manueverability of the missile decreases with
             time.  Note that pitch control is opposite the pitch control of
             the flying vehicle.  The guided missile icon has red fins.

     BBBBoooommmmbbbb    The bomb is available only on the flying vehicle and can not be
             guided or controlled once released.  The bomb does not require a
             direct hit to inflict damage.  A direct hit results in 10 armor
             points worth of damage.  Explosions in the vicinity of a target
             will inflict decreasing amounts of damage based on the distance
             to the target.  Bomb damage is stopped by obstacles between the
             target and the bomb's site of impact.  The bomb icon has blue
             fins.

     MMMMoooorrrrttttaaaarrrr  The mortar is basically a bomb that the Mauler vehicle can lob at
             targets.  A direct hit inflicts 10 armor points worth of damage.
             Decreasing amounts of damage will be inflicted based on the
             distance to the target from the impact site.  The mortar icon has
             no fins and is pinched near one end.

     CCCCaaaannnnnnnnoooonnnn  Both the Flyer and the Tank have cannons.  The cannons are useful
             only against Flyers which have little armor.  The ground vehicles
             have too much armor for the cannon to be an effective weapon at
             0.1 armor points worth of damage.  However, the cannon can be
             fired much more quickly than the other weapons.

     With the execption of the Scout vehicle, each vehicle has two weapon
     pods.  The rrrriiiigggghhhhtttt mmmmoooouuuusssseeee bbbbuuuuttttttttoooonnnn switches between the two pods.  The lllleeeefffftttt
     mmmmoooouuuusssseeee bbbbuuuuttttttttoooonnnn fires the currently active weapon and the mmmmiiiiddddddddlllleeee mmmmoooouuuusssseeee
     bbbbuuuuttttttttoooonnnn controls the missile type to be loaded next.

     For the ground vehicles, the default pod provides access to the missiles.
     The missile pod has either 2 or 3 weapon bays depending on the vehicle.
     The bays are loaded sequentially and fired sequentially.  A white



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     triangle is displayed beside the next bay to be fired.  When a bay is
     empty, the display will show it as blank.  When a bay starts loading a
     missile, an icon of the missile type will be displayed against a yellow
     background for that bay.  When the missile is loaded and ready to be
     fired, the background for that bay will switch to green.  Once a bay
     starts loading a missile, the bay can not be changed.  Using the mmmmiiiiddddddddlllleeee
     mmmmoooouuuusssseeee bbbbuuuuttttttttoooonnnn will cycle through the missile choices and controls the
     missile type to be loaded into the _n_e_x_t _e_m_p_t_y bay.  The selected missile
     type is displayed at the bottom of the weapon bay display (on the lower
     right side of the dashboard display).  Only one bay at a time can be
     loaded.  This requires some degree of strategy to ensure that the proper
     missiles are loaded and ready to go before engaging an enemy.

     For the Flyer, the default pod provides access to the cannon.  The lower
     right corner of the weapon bay display indicates when the status of the
     cannon (a yellow frame indicates loading, a green frame indicates ready).

TTTTHHHHEEEE VVVVEEEEHHHHIIIICCCCLLLLEEEESSSS
     There are four vehicles available in _p_o_i_n_t_b_l_a_n_k.  Three of them are
     ground-based vehicles, and the fourth is a flying vehicle.  Not all
     vehicle types may be available in a given scenario.

     The basic vehicle is the _T_a_n_k.  It has moderate speed and armor and
     carries a wide choice of weapons.  The alternate weapon pod, accessed by
     the rrrriiiigggghhhhtttt mmmmoooouuuusssseeee bbbbuuuuttttttttoooonnnn contains an anti-aircraft cannon.  The drive train
     of the tank is disable while in the alternate weapon pod.  The cursor
     controls the aim of the cannon (and cannon turret).

     The _S_c_o_u_t is light on armor and weapons, but is the fastest ground
     vehicle.  It does not have an alternate weapon pod and only has two
     weapon bays.

     The _M_a_u_l_e_r sacrifices speed for armor and weaponry.  In the alternate
     weapon pod, access is granted to the mortar launcher.  While in the
     alternate weapon pod, the vehicle will be stationary and the cursor is
     used to control the mortar aim.  The horizontal position of the cursor
     controls the azimuth of the mortar and view.  The vertical position of
     the cursor controls the inclination of the mortar when fired (the view is
     unchanged).  Two numbers will appear above the targeting grid.  The left
     number indicates the _e_s_t_i_m_a_t_e_d range of the mortar.  The right number is
     the value returned by the laser range finder.  To find the distance to a
     target, position the cursor over the target and press the ssssppppaaaacccceeee kkkkeeeeyyyy.
     Note that the estimated range of the mortar is based on level terrain.
     If the vehicle is on an incline or at a different elevation from its
     target, adjustments will need to be made while targeting.

     The _F_l_y_e_r is the only flying vehicle in the game.  The mouse controls the
     pitch and roll of the aircraft while the aaaa and ssss keys control the speed.
     The alternate weapon pod provides access to the bombs and switches the
     view to the underside of the aircraft.  A red targeting diamond will be
     displayed to indicate where the bombs would hit assuming a level terrain
     (if the diamond is not visible, then the aircraft is either at too high



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     an altitude or angle of attach for the impact site to be visible).  It is
     impossible to land the flyer and therefore repair armor (see below).

TTTTHHHHEEEE DDDDAAAASSSSHHHHBBBBOOOOAAAARRRRDDDD
     The dashboard surrounding the main view provides information on the
     status of the vehicle and the game.  Starting with the upper left corner
     of the display, the number of other players in the game is shown.  The
     upper right corner reports the player's score.  The vertical set of boxes
     on the far right of the lower portion of the dashboard indicates the
     percentage of damage sustained by the vehicle.  To the left of the damage
     display is the weapon status display.  The radar is displayed in the
     center of the lower portion of the dashboard.  To the left of the radar
     is the speedometer, a message window, and the compass heading.

TTTTHHHHEEEE RRRRAAAADDDDAAAARRRR
     The radar display is a three-dimensional display.  The black reference
     lines represent the local horizon relative to the vehicle (ie, the
     player's vehicle is always at the center of the radar).  Objects (either
     other players or goals) appear as dots.  If the object is above the local
     horizon, a line is drawn below the object indicating the altitude and
     similarly for objects below the local horizon.  Players and goals are
     colored according to their teams.  Missiles always appear as white
     objects.  Obstacles are not displayed on the radar.

     The range of the radar is controlled with the zzzz and xxxx keys to decrease
     and increase the range of the radar, respectively.  A slider to the left
     of the radar display indicates the current range.

     The radar works via a satellite overhead.  If the player's vehicle moves
     into a building and no longer has a direct line of sight with its
     satellite, it will lose its radar.  It will also disappear from other
     player's radars since their satellites no longer have a direct line of
     sight to the vehicle.

     Goals may or may not be visible on radar, depending on the scenario.
     Goals are located by internal transmitters in the goals and are not
     subject to the line of sight restrictions listed above.

RRRREEEESSSSTTTTOOOORRRRIIIINNNNGGGG AAAARRRRMMMMOOOORRRR
     It is possible to rebuild a vehicle's armor by parking on the debris of
     an exploding vehicle.  As long as the parked vehicle does not move and as
     long as the debris lasts, nanomachines will scavenge the debris and
     repair the vehicle.  The larger the destroyed vehicle, the more material
     available and the faster repairs will take place.  Note that the _f_l_y_e_r
     has no way of repairing armor.

AAAAUUUUDDDDIIIIOOOO CCCCOOOONNNNFFFFEEEERRRREEEENNNNCCCCIIIINNNNGGGG
     _P_o_i_n_t_b_l_a_n_k implements a rather crude audio-conferencing capability.  It
     works fine for a single player talking at a time, but rapidly breaks down
     if multiple players try to talk simultaneously.  To transmit audio to
     everyone else playing in the scenario, hold down the lllleeeefffftttt AAAAlllltttt kkkkeeeeyyyy while
     speaking into the microphone (an input level of 10 is suggested).  To



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     talk to just members of the same team, hold down the lllleeeefffftttt CCCCttttrrrrllll kkkkeeeeyyyy.

OOOOTTTTHHHHEEEERRRR KKKKEEEEYYYYSSSS
     There are just a few other keys used to control the game:

     rrrr       Used to kill the current vehicle.  This is useful if the vehicle
             has ventured too far and has fallen off the end of the world.

     uuuupppp////ddddoooowwwwnnnn aaaarrrrrrrroooowwwwssss
             Controls the output audio volume.

     eeeessssccccaaaappppeeee  Exits the game.

NNNNOOOOTTTTEEEESSSS
     _P_o_i_n_t_b_l_a_n_k uses Inventor 2.1 and requires an R4K CPU to run.  XZ or
     better graphics are highly recommended.

SSSSEEEEEEEE AAAALLLLSSSSOOOO
     bz(6D).
     Additional help is available in the showcase document
     /_u_s_r/_d_e_m_o_s/_G_e_n_e_r_a_l__D_e_m_o_s/_p_o_i_n_t_b_l_a_n_k/_d_a_t_a/_P_o_i_n_t_B_l_a_n_k_H_e_l_p._s_c.

AAAAUUUUTTTTHHHHOOOORRRR
     Chris Fouts, Silicon Graphics.































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