XNibbles 1.0 Beta README

1] What is XNibbles?
2] How do I compile/install XNibbles?
3] How do I run XNibbles?
4] What is the goal?
5] How do I control the game?
6] I want to write levels...
7] Contact info, licensing, patches, copyright, etc

1] What is XNibbles?

XNibbles is a game for X11R6.  It is conceptually based on nibbles, which was a
program that came with qbasic for MS-DOS.  XNibbles is actually written in C++,
and shares no code with qbasic nibbles.  For those of you who have played the
game before, you can attest to the fact that it is extremely fun and addictive.

2] How do I compile/install XNibbles?

To compile XNibbles, you will need X11R6, the XPM library, a c++ compiler (we
recommend g++), a c++ library, and a make utility.  First look at the Makefile
and decide if you need to change any of the options, especially if you are
using a Linux system.  Then type 'make' for a list of tested platforms.  If
your platform is listed, simply type 'make <system-type>'.  If your platform is
not listed, you can try to compile anyway for one of the other platforms, or
edit the Makefile by hand.  After compiling type 'make install' to install the
game.  It will be put in /usr/local/bin, with data in
/usr/local/games/xnibbles.

3] How do I run XNibbles?

Simply type 'xnibbles'.  The game has a number of command line parameters.

   -s <speed>            20 (fast) to 100 (slow) [35]
   -n1 <name>            Set player 1's name
   -n2 <name>            Set player 2's name
   -c1 <color>           Set player 1's color
   -c2 <color>           Set player 2's color
   -2                    2 player mode (assumed with -n2 or -c2)
   -i                    Install private colormap
   -q                    Run quietly (less text output)
   -ns                   Disable sound
   -j1                   Enable joystick for player 1
   -j2                   Enable joystick for player 2
   -display <display>    Set the display name

Valid colors are red, green, blue, yellow, cyan, purple, and gray

If you have disabled sound and/or joysticks in the Makefile, the -ns, -j1, and
-j2 options will not be supported.

4] What is the goal?

The goal of the game is to work your way through the levels, which become
harder and harder.  You do this by running your snake over the blue diamonds.
For every 10 diamonds you acquire, you move up one level.  Along the way, a
number of other diamonds will be encountered.  Gold doubles your length, and
red halves your length, both giving you points.  Green gives you an extra life.
You die if you run into yourself or a wall.  Question marks serve as warps.

5] How do I control the game?

Each player has four keys.  For player one these are usually the arrow keys,
although some systems may map them to the numeric keypad.  For player two, the
keys are: 'w' up, 's' down, 'a' left, and 'd' right.

Other keys which control the game are:

   'g' to start the game.
   'p' pauses the game.
   't' toggles sound effects.
   'q' quits the game.

6] I want to write levels...

If you are interested in contributing levels, please see the README in the
levels directory for instructions on how to create new levels.

7] Contact info, licensing, patches, copyright, etc

The authors of XNibbles are Ian Peters (ipeters@acm.org), and Sean MacIsaac
(sjm@acm.org).  Feel free to contact us at any time.  If you make any changes
to source, or add a Makefile target, etc., please email us the changes so that
they may be incorporated into the next release.  XNibbles is Copyleft'd under
the GNU Public License.  See the file COPYING for information.

The XNibbles distribution site is http://www.tjhsst.edu/xnibbles/.  Versions
may also be found on sunsite and assorted and sundry other ftp sites.
