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diff --git a/doc/users/uqm.6 b/doc/users/uqm.6 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9d9b38b --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/users/uqm.6 @@ -0,0 +1,985 @@ +.\" (C) 1992, 1993, 2002 Toys for Bob, Inc. +.\" The documentation may be used freely under the terms of the +.\" Creative Commons Attribution Attribution 2.0 license, +.\" available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ +.\" +.\" The content may also be copied freely as part of a distribution of +.\" The Ur-Quan Masters. +.Dd October 28, 2014 +.Dt UQM 6 +.Os +.Sh NAME +.Nm uqm +.Nd The Ur\(hyQuan Masters \(en space exploration game +.Sh SYNOPSIS +.Nm uqm +.Op Fl bcCfghklMnopqsSTuwx +.Op Fl i Ar style +.Op Fl m Ar soundtrack +.Op Fl r Ar resolution +.Op Fl -addon Ar addon +.Op Fl -cscan Ar style +.Op Fl -font Ar font +.Op Fl -menu Ar style +.Op Fl -safe +.Op Fl -scroll Ar style +.Op Fl -shield Ar style +.Op Fl -sound +.Op Fl -stereosfx +.Sh DESCRIPTION +.Nm uqm +is a port of the epic space game The Ur\(hyQuan Masters. +.Pp +The default settings for an +.Nm uqm +install are 3DO music, 640\(mu480 windowed mode, and pure SDL graphics drivers. +You may pass various command line options to customize your experience. +.Pp +The options are as follows: +.Bl -tag -width Ds +.It Fl b , Fl -meleezoom Ar mode +Melee zooming mode +.Po +.Sy pc +or +.Sy 3do +.Pc ; +.Sy step +is an alias for +.Sy pc +and +.Sy smooth +is an alias for +.Sy 3do . +Default is +.Sy 3do . +Slower machine owners can set it to +.Sy pc +to get better performance in melee. +.It Fl C Ar dir , Fl -configdir Ar dir +Sets the directory where the game will store the config data. +.It Fl c Ar mode , Fl -scale Ar mode +Graphics scaling mode +.Po +.Cm bilinear , +.Cm biadapt , +.Cm biadv , +.Cm triscan , +.Cm hq +or +.Cm none +.Pc . +Default is +.Cm none . +Try these to get smoother graphics, at a performance cost. +.It Fl f , Fl -fullscreen +Uses full screen mode. +The opposite of +.Fl w . +.It Fl g Ar val , Fl -gamma Ar val +Sets gamma correction. +1.0 causes no change +(unless your graphics card is originally set to a different value). +Higher than 1.0 makes the image brighter, lower than 1.0 makes it darker. +.It Fl h , Fl -help +Display a help message. +.It Fl i Ar style , Fl -intro Ar style +With +.Cm 3do , +use the 3DO intro and ending movies (if you have them). +With +.Cm pc , +use the PC intro and ending sequences and slide shows. +Defaults to +.Cm 3do . +Regardless of which option is selected, the PC sequences will be used if you do +not have the 3DO movies. +.It Fl k , Fl -keepaspectratio +Keep 4:3 aspect ratio when using custom resolutions. +.It Fl l Ar file , Fl -logfile Ar file +Set a file to receive the diagnostic information that would otherwise go to the +console. +.It Fl M Ar volume , Fl -musicvol Ar volume +Set music volume (0\(en100). +.It Fl m Ar soundtrack , Fl -music Ar soundtrack +Select either the 3DO remixed soundtrack with +.Cm 3do +or the .MOD\(hybased PC soundtrack with +.Cm pc . +Defaults to +.Cm 3do +for songs that were in fact remixed. +.It Fl n Ar dir , Fl -contentdir Ar dir +Set the directory where the game will seek its data. +.It Fl o , Fl -opengl +Use OpenGL drivers. +This produces higher\(hyquality graphics, and may be faster as well \(en +but it also may not work on older cards. +It also permits use of any screen resolution. +The opposite of +.Fl x . +.It Fl p , Fl -fps +Print fps information in the status window. +.It Fl q Ar setting , Fl -audioquality Ar setting +Can be +.Cm high , +.Cm medium , +or +.Cm low . +Specifies how nice the audio sounds. +Slower machines should lower the audio quality. +.It Fl r Ar resolution , Fl -res Ar resolution +Sets the screen resolution. +Unless +.Fl -opengl +is set, the only valid values are +.Dq 640x480 +and +.Dq 320x240 . +.It Fl S Ar volume , Fl -sfxvol Ar volume +Set sound effects volume (0\(en100). +.It Fl s , Fl -scanlines +Simulates interlaced displays. +.It Fl T Ar volume , Fl -speechvol Ar volume +Set speech volume (0\(en100). +If set to 0, the game runs in +.Sq no speech +mode and the oscilloscope reacts to the music. +.It Fl u , Fl -nosubtitles +Disables subtitles. +.It Fl w , Fl -windowed +Displays the game in a window. +The opposite of +.Fl f . +.It Fl x , Fl -nogl +Do not use OpenGL drivers. +This is more likely to run on systems with poor or no 3D acceleration, +and is often faster, especially on older or less well supported cards. +Only the 320\(mu240 and 640\(mu480 resolutions are available when not using +OpenGL. +The opposite of +.Fl o . +.It Fl -addon Ar name +Enable the named add\(hyon in the game. +See the +.Sx ADD\(hyONS +section for details. +.It Fl -cscan Ar style +When scanning planets, display information using text +.Pq with Cm pc +or pictograms +.Pq with Cm 3do . +Defaults to +.Cm pc . +.It Fl -font Ar style +Use PC\(hystyle fonts and colors +.Pq with Cm pc +or 3DO\(hystyle +.Pq with Cm 3do . +Defaults to +.Cm pc . +.It Fl -menu Ar style +In menus, display options as text +.Pq with Cm pc +or pictograms +.Pq with Cm 3do . +Defaults to +.Cm pc . +.It Fl -safe +Start the game in safe mode. +Safe mode will ignore stored user settings, +like resolution, fullscreen mode, sound driver, etc. +This is useful if you have somehow wrecked your configuration files and cannot +get to the in\(hygame setup menu to change the settings. +.It Fl -scroll Ar style +Using the left/right arrow keys, +scroll voiceovers and subtitles one page at a time +.Pq with Cm pc +or smoothly +.Pq with Cm 3do . +Defaults to +.Cm pc . +.It Fl -shield Ar style +Use the CPU\(hyintensive, 3DO\(hystyle throbbing slave shield graphic +.Pq with Cm 3do +or the PC\(hystyle static slave shield graphic +.Pq with Cm pc . +Defaults to +.Cm pc . +.It Fl -sound Ar driver +Specifies which sound driver/mixer to use. +Can be +.Cm openal , +.Cm mixsdl , +or +.Cm none . +.Cm openal +is only available when it has been compiled in. +It may produce higher\(hyquality sound and will probably be faster, +but it is not very stable on Linux platforms, +and may not work well with some sound cards. +Use +.Cm none +as a last resort if you cannot get other drivers to work, +or if you have no sound card. +.It Fl -stereosfx +Enables positional sound effects in melee. +Currently works only when using openal. +.El +.Sh STARTING THE GAME +Simply invoke the +.Nm uqm +program to run the game. +After a splash screen, you will see the main menu, which has five options: +.Bl -tag -width "Super Melee!" +.It New Game +Begins a new Full Game. +This is a galaxy\(hyspanning space adventure full of diplomacy, exploration, +combat, high treason, and low cunning. +The introductory cutscenes will set the scene; the below section +.Sx THE STORY SO FAR +provides more extensive backstory for the curious. +.It Load Game +Restores a Full Game session that was saved earlier. +.It Super Melee! +Puts the game in Super Melee mode, where you may hone your space combat skills +or challenge your friends to fleet battles. +See the +.Sx SUPER MELEE +section below for details on this game mode. +.It Setup +Lets you configure many options to customize your play experience. +Most options will take effect once you exit the setup menu; +a few specially marked options require you to restart +.Nm uqm . +Setup options are preserved across sessions. +.It Quit +Exits the program. +.El +.Sh CONTROLS SUMMARY +.Ss General Game Controls +.Bl -tag -width "F1 or Pause" -compact +.It Cm F1 No or Cm Pause +Pause game +.It Cm F10 +Exit game +.It Cm F11 +Toggle between fullscreen and windowed mode +.El +.Ss Full Game Controls +Space flight: +.Bl -tag -width "Space or Right Shift" -compact +.It Cm Up +Thrust +.It Cm Left No and Cm Right +Steer +.It Cm Space No or Cm Right Shift +Main Menu +.El +.Pp +Menus: +.Bl -tag -width "Space or Right Shift or Escape" -compact +.It Arrow keys +Scroll through selections +.It Cm Enter No or Cm Right Ctrl +Make selection +.It Cm Space No or Cm Right Shift No or Cm Escape +Up one level +.El +.Pp +Conversations: +.Bl -tag -width "Space or Right Shift" -compact +.It Cm Left No and Cm Right +Rewind/Forward +.It Cm Up No and Cm Down +Scroll through selections +.It Cm Enter No or Cm Right Ctrl +Make selection +.It Cm Space No or Cm Right Shift +Skip, Show/Hide summary +.El +.Pp +Star Map: +.Bl -tag -width "Space or Right Shift" -compact +.It Arrow Keys +Move the crosshair +.It Cm Enter No or Cm Right Ctrl +Select destination +.It Cm Space No or Cm Right Shift +Main menu +.It Keypad Cm + +Zoom in +.It Keypad Cm - +Zoom out +.It Cm / +Begin search. +(Type star or constellation name to find matches) +.It Cm Tab +Jump to next match +.El +.Pp +Space Combat: +.Bl -tag -width "Right Ctrl or Enter" -compact +.It Cm Up +Thrust +.It Cm Left No and Cm Right +Steer +.It Cm Right Ctrl No or Cm Enter +Fire Primary Weapon +.It Cm Right Shift +Fire Secondary Weapon +.It Cm Escape +Emergency Warp Escape +.El +.Pp +Planet Exploration: +.Bl -tag -width "Right Shift or Escape" -compact +.It Cm Up +Forward +.It Cm Left No and Cm Right +Steer +.It Cm Right Ctrl No or Cm Enter +Fire stun bolt +.It Cm Right Shift No or Cm Escape +Blast off +.El +.Ss Melee Controls +Top Player: +.Bl -tag -width "A and D" -compact +.It Cm W +Thrust +.It Cm A No and Cm D +Steer +.It Cm V +Fire Primary Weapon +.It Cm B +Fire Secondary Weapon +.El +.Pp +Bottom Player: +.Bl -tag -width "Right Ctrl or Enter" -compact +.It Cm Up No or Cm Enter +Thrust +.It Cm Left No and Cm Right +Steer +.It Cm Right Ctrl No or Cm Enter +Fire Primary Weapon +.It Cm Right Shift +Fire Secondary Weapon +.El +.Pp +These controls are configurable from the Setup Menu. +You may define up to six +.Dq Input Templates +and assign a template to either or both players. +Some commonly used key configurations are pre\(hydefined, +as well as popular variants. +To change key bindings, select the binding you wish to change and press +.Cm Enter . +At the dialog box, press the key (or joystick gesture) +that you wish to assign to this action. +.Sh SAVED GAMES +The saved games are kept in your personal directory for +.Nm uqm +data. +This directory is automatically created the first time you start the game. +On Unix systems this personal +.Nm uqm +data is stored in +.Pa ~/.uqm . +.Pp +You will generally only need to know this if you intend to transfer savegames +to another computer. +.Sh INTERPLANETARY EXPLORATION +When in a Solar system, +use the thrust and steering controls to move about the system. +Intersecting a planet will move you to the planetary system; +flying over a planet or moon will then put you into orbit. +From there you can talk to the inhabitants, or, if the planet is uninhabited, +send a lander down to gather minerals, investigate energy readings, +or capture life forms. +.Sh PLANET LANDING +To land on a planet, you need to achieve orbit, +then fill a planet lander with crew and send them down. +You will usually want to scan the planet first. +Mineral scans will indicate easily harvestable mineral ores and other +resources. +Energy scans will indicate unusual installations, +which will effectively always be worth investigating. +Biological scans will show where life forms are on the surface. +.Pp +Minerals are necessary for building up and maintaining your flagship, so +harvest them wherever you can. +There are nine varieties, each color coded: +.Bl -bullet +.It +.Em Common elements +(carbon, nitrogen) are cyan. +Worth 1 resource unit (RU) per unit. +.It +.Em Corrosives +(chlorine, iodine) are red. +2 RU per unit. +.It +.Em Base metals +(iron, tin) are grey. +These are common, and usually worth harvesting, but not terribly valuable. +3 RU per unit. +.It +.Em Noble gases +(argon, xenon) are blue. +4 RU per unit. +.It +.Em Rare earths +(lanthanum, ytterbium) are green. +5 RU per unit. +.It +.Em Precious elements +(gold, silver) are yellow. +6 RU per unit. +.It +.Em Radioactives +(uranium, astatine) are orange. +8 RU per unit. +.It +.Em Exotics +(antimatter, magnetic monopoles) are purple, +and a princely 25 RU per cargo unit. +.El +.Pp +Minerals may be unloaded at Earth Starbase by talking to Commander Hayes, +which will give you RU that you may spend to upgrade your flagship. +.Pp +However, there are many hazards on planetary surfaces. +Life forms are often hostile, and need to be subdued with your stunner or +evaded. +Earthquakes (expanding circles) can hurt your crew, +lightning may crisp them, or lava flows and hotspots can fry them. +Be careful, +especially on hotter or more seismically and atmospherically active worlds. +If your crew level starts dropping dramatically, +flee quickly with the +.Cm Escape +key! +.Pp +Stunned life forms may be captured and analyzed by your planet landers. +The information you gain from this may not be immediately useful, +but it will eventually come in handy. +.Pp +Landing on a planet costs fuel, and the heavier the planet, +the more fuel it requires. +Make sure you don\(cqt spend so much fuel exploring planets that you can\(cqt +get back to Sol! +.Sh INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL +When you leave a solar system, you will push up into HyperSpace. +In HyperSpace you can travel great distances quickly, +but you must continuously thrust to move. +Otherwise, you will gradually slow to a stop. +.Pp +While you can fly about in HyperSpace just like you do in a star system, +the Galaxy is +.Em Large , +and you will usually want to use the Auto-Pilot. +To use the Auto-Pilot, select +.Dq Starmap +on the menu. +This will show you a map of the quadrant +(the galactic Core is in the upper right corner). +To fly to a location, move the cursor there and press +.Cm Enter . +Then press +.Cm Space +to engage the Auto-Pilot. +.Sh DIPLOMACY +When you encounter an alien starship, you will usually get a picture of their +task force and a chance to choose between conversation and fighting. +If you choose to fight, you will transition immediately to space combat +(below). +Otherwise, you will talk first. +If talks go poorly, space combat will likely ensue. +.Pp +If the task force shows ships streaming off in all directions, you have reached +a fortified world, and there are an unlimited number of starships facing you. +You cannot win such a fight \(en if combat ensues, you will need to warp out. +.Sh SPACE COMBAT +When combat begins, you are prompted to select a ship from your task force. +A one-on-one space combat then begins, and continues until either the enemy +fleet is destroyed (in which case you salvage the wrecks and continue the +game), your flagship is destroyed (ending the game), or your flagship warps +out of combat (consuming 5 fuel units but ending the encounter). +.Pp +Each ship has two major stats: Crew and Combat Battery. +Crew are effectively hit points. +Getting hit by weapons kills crew, and if all crew are eliminated, +the craft is destroyed. +Firing weapons typically requires energy from the combat batteries, +which is replaced over time. +The precise speed of energy regeneration and cost of weapons fire varies by +ship. +.Pp +Space flight is +.Em mostly +inertial (you\(cqll drift if you stop thrusting), +but each ship has a maximum velocity that can only be exceeding by +.Dq gravity whipping +around the planet. +Don\(cqt hit the planet unless you want to take +.Em lots +of damage. +.Pp +Each ship has a primary and secondary weapon mode, +unique to that race\(cqs craft. +The descriptions of those follow. +.Ss Ship Descriptions +.Bl -ohang +.It Androsynth Guardian +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Fires homing acid bubble clouds. +.It Secondary weapon: +Transforms into the +.Sq Blazer , +a comet that does considerable damage by ramming its opponents. +.El +.It Ariloulaleelay Skiff +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Auto\(hyaiming, short\(hyrange laser. +.It Secondary weapon: +Random teleport. +.It Note: +The Skiff is inertia-less, and stops instantly when thrust is removed. +.El +.It Chenjesu Broodhome +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Crystal Shard. +Travels until the fire button is released, then shatters. +.It Secondary weapon: +De\(hyenergizing Offensive Guided Interceptor. +Launches an autonomous DOGI that rams the opponent to drain their combat +batteries. +.El +.It Chmmr Avatar +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Immensely powerful short-range laser. +.It Secondary weapon: +Tractor beam. +.It Note: +Has three orbiting +.Dq ZapSats +that attack anything that gets in range. +.El +.It Druuge Mauler +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Long range, high\(hyrecoil cannon. +.It Secondary weapon: +Sets one crew on fire to gain combat energy. +.El +.It Earthling Cruiser +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Homing nuclear missile. +.It Secondary weapon: +Point-defense laser. +.El +.It Ilwrath Avenger +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Short\(hyrange flamethrower. +.It Secondary weapon: +Cloaking device. +.El +.It Kohr\(hyAh Marauder +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Spinning blades that stop and home when the fire button is released. +.It Secondary weapon: +Fiery Ring of Inevitable and Eternal Destruction (F.R.I.E.D.), a short\(hyrange +corona of energy that blocks shots and inflicts lots of damage. +.El +.It Melnorme Trader +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Charged shot. +The longer the fire button is held, the stronger the shot. +.It Secondary weapon: +Confusion beam that scrambles enemy controls. +.El +.It Mmrnmhrm X\(hyForm +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Lasers (X-form) or homing missiles (Y-form). +.It Secondary weapon: +Switch between X-Form and Y-Form. +.El +.It Mycon Podship +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Homing Plasmoid. +.It Secondary weapon: +Regenerate 4 crew. +.El +.It Orz Nemesis +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Howitzer cannon. +.It Secondary weapon: +Secondary with left and right arrows rotates the primary cannon. +Secondary with Primary launches space marines that invade the enemy ship and +kill their crew. +.El +.It Pkunk Fury +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Three\(hyway cannon. +.It Secondary weapon: +Fling insults at opponent. +This is the only way the Pkunk can regenerate combat energy. +.It Note: +On occasion, a destroyed Fury will be resurrected with full fuel and power. +.El +.It Shofixti Scout +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Energy Dart. +.It Secondary weapon: +Glory Device. +When pressed three times, the ship will self\(hydestruct, +inflicting vast damage on nearby vessels. +.El +.It Slylandro Probe +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Lighting weapon. +.It Secondary weapon: +Absorb a nearby asteroid and convert to combat power. +This is the only way the Probe can recharge. +.It Note: +The Probe is inertia\(hyless and always in motion. +Pressing thrust will reverse its direction. +.El +.It Spathi Eluder +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Simple forward cannon. +.It Secondary weapon: +Backward Utilized Tracking Torpedo (B.U.T.T.), +a homing missile fired from the rear of the vessel. +.El +.It Supox Blade +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Forward firing glob weapon. +.It Secondary weapon: +Secondary + left or right will cause you to drift laterally, +while Secondary + thrust will make you fly backwards. +This cancels your current velocity, so be careful! +.El +.It Syreen Penetrator +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Particle Beam Stiletto. +.It Secondary weapon: +.Dq Syreen Call +\(en psychic attack that induces enemy crew to jump ship, +where you (or your opponent) may capture them to add to your complement. +.El +.It Thraddash Torch +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Straightforward blaster cannon. +.It Secondary weapon: +Afterburner. +The afterburner exhaust does more damage then the blaster, +so use it as a weapon! +.El +.It Umgah Drone +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Anti\(hyMatter cone. +Does not require combat batteries to use. +.It Secondary weapon: +Fly backwards suddenly and at high speed. +.It Note: +The Drone only recharges batteries if you do not fire for a long time, +and then the energy all returns in one lump. +.El +.It Ur\(hyQuan Dreadnought +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Fusion Blast. +.It Secondary weapon: +Launches autonomous fighters to harass the enemy. +When they run low on fuel, they will fly back to the Dreadnought. +Catch them before they expire. +Each fighter requires one crew to pilot it, +so take care not to weaken the core ship. +.El +.It Utwig Jugger +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Six\(hyshot cannon. +Requires no combat battery energy to fire. +.It Secondary weapon: +Force shield. +Absorbing hits re\(hyenergizes your batteries. +When the batteries are exhausted, +the shield is permanently disabled until combat ends. +.El +.It VUX Intruder +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Gigawatt laser. +.It Secondary weapon: +Limpet mines that track enemy ships and slow them down dramatically if they +hit. +.El +.It Yehat Terminator +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Twin autocannons. +.It Secondary weapon: +Force shield. +.El +.It Zoq\(hyFot\(hyPik Stinger +.Bl -inset -compact +.It Primary weapon: +Anti\(hymatter spray gun. +.It Secondary weapon: +.Dq Tongue attack , +a point\(hyblank range attack that does grievous damage. +.El +.El +.Sh SUPER MELEE +Super Melee mode is pure combat. +It\(cqs designed to let you hone your skills for the full game, +or to challenge your friends to fleet matches. +Selecting +.Dq Super Melee! +from the main menu will bring you to the super melee main screen. +.Pp +This screen is dominated by the fleet design screen. +Move the cursor over a ship slot and press +.Cm Enter +to change the ship assignment, or press +.Cm Delete +to remove the ship. +You may select the fleet name and press +.Cm Enter +to edit the fleet name to something of your choice. +The number next to the fleet name lists the fleet strength; +this is simply the sum of the point values of all ships in the fleet. +.Pp +The right hand side of the screen has buttons for managing the battle. +Each side has four buttons associated with it: +.Cm LOAD , +.Cm SAVE , +.Cm CONTROL , +and +.Cm NET . +The +.Cm LOAD +and +.Cm SAVE +buttons let you load and save fleets. +A variety of fleets of various strengths are pre\(hydefined, +and you may add your own by saving fleets you design. +.Pp +The +.Cm Control +button has one of five settings. +.Cm Human Control +puts the fleet under the control of a human player. +(The precise controls for that player are set in the Setup menu, but the bottom +player\(cqs controls are always the same as the full game\(cqs controls.) +Then there are three levels of computer control: +.Bl -bullet +.It +.Cm Weak Cyborg +is not a particularly good shot, and will only use special weapons if the ship +absolutely requires the special weapon to function at all (Pkunk, Slylandro). +This difficulty level only appears in the full game when fighting crippled +ships. +.It +.Cm Good Cyborg +will actually use its special weapon, but it\(cqs still not much of a threat. +The Good cyborg provides a gentle introduction to Star Control combat if you +are unfamiliar with the gameplay. +However, you will soon wish to switch to... +.It +.Cm Awesome Cyborg . +The AI will fully exploit each ship\(cqs abilities, and is also a tolerably +good shot, compensating for inertia and choosing its shots. +Enemies you meet in the full game are almost always piloted at this level. +If a battle is giving you trouble in the full game, +this is the setting you want. +.El +.Pp +The last control option is +.Cm Network Control , +which will be set if that side is controlled by a non\(hylocal opponent. +To set up a network game, push the +.Cm Net +button on the side you wish to be under your opponent\(hys control. +.Pp +In order to connect, you must agree on a port (the default is 21837, +which should not require any change) and set a net delay in frames. +To compensate for network lag, +a keypress or keyrelease will only take effect after this many frames. +While higher values make your ship seem to respond more sluggishly, +they give the keypress information more time to reach the remote party. +If the game stutters, this is because it is waiting for this keypress +information to arrive, which is an indication that the input delay is too low. +Super Melee runs at 24 frames per second, +each frame delayed will delay the input by about 42\ ms. +The delay used is the maximum of the desired value for both parties. +The default is 2. +Values lower than 4 are typically acceptable in terms of responsiveness. +Future versions may automatically decide on the best value to use. +.Pp +Once the port and delay are set, one player must select the first option +(Wait for incoming connection), while the other enters his opponent\(hys +hostname or IP address into the Host field and then pushes +.Dq Connect . +Once the connection is established, the control scheme for the remote player +will flip to +.Cm Network Control +to register the connection. +To disconnect, change it away back to one of the +.Cm Human +or +.Cm Cyborg options. +Once connected, +you are both free to edit your fleets to provide a properly balanced battle. +.Pp +Once all fleets are in readiness, press the +.Cm Battle +button in the center right. +(In a network game, both players must select it with no intervening fleet +edits. +Moving away from +.Cm Battle +or having your opponent change their fleet will cancel your readiness state, +and you will need to reselect the +.Cm Battle +button.) +When all players are ready, the battle begins. +.Pp +The ship selection screen is much as it would be in the full game, with two +notable exceptions: a question mark in the upper right allows you to select a +new ship randomly from those remaining, +and a red X allows you to exit the combat entirely. +(It is also possible to exit the melee at any time by pressing +.Cm F10 , +just as one can exit anything.) +If nobody quits, +the combat will continue until one side has been completely destroyed. +At this point, both fleets are shown so that one may compare initial and +remaining fleet strengths. +Press a key to return to the melee menu. +.Pp +To return to the main menu after finishing with Super Melee mode, push the +.Cm Quit +button in the lower right. +.Sh THE STORY SO FAR +For the past decade, Earth and the rest of the Alliance of Free Stars has +fought the Ur\(hyQuan and their Hierarchy of Battle Thralls. +In the course of the War, the Earthlings discovered a factory world by the +.Sq Precursors +\(en an impossibly advanced that disappeared tens of thousands of years ago. +This colony, Unzervalt (aka Vela I), +lost all contact with Earth shortly after landfall. +.Pp +You are Captain Zelnick, a human who was born on Unzervalt and who possesses a +remarkable knack for Precursor technology. +You were the one who worked out how to activate the Precursor installation. +.Pp +It was a factory for building starships. +However, Unzervalt is mineral\(hypoor, +and there were not enough materials available to construct a complete vessel. +Your task is to command this craft, the Vindicator, +and return to Earth to tell them of the abandoned colony. +Also, if the War with the Ur\(hyQuan continues, +you must fight for Earth and the Alliance as best you can. +.Pp +There is a great deal more to this story. +Asking Starbase Commander Hayes for background information will give you most +of it. +.Sh ADD\(hyONS +.Nm uqm +has basic support for add\(hyon packages. +Though it is not very elaborate yet, you can install some content add\(hyons. +Add\(hyons created for UQM releases prior to v0.7 are not compatible with this +release. +.Pp +Inside the directory where the content is installed, in the +.Pa content/ +directory, there is a directory +.Pa addons/ . +In this directory, you can place add\(hyon packages, like +.Sy 3domusic , +.Sy 3dovoice , +.Sy remix +and others, or create new directories with .zip files to be used in +addition te the standard content .zip files. +Each add\(hyon must contain at least one .rmp file to tell the game which +resources the add\(hyon provides. +When you specify the command\(hy line option +.Fl -addon Ar addon , +the .zip files inside the directory +.Pa content/addons/ Ns Ar addon +will be included in the game. +.Fl -addon +may be specified more than once to enable multiple add\(hyons. +.Pp +.Sy 3domusic , +.Sy 3dovoice , +and +.Sy remix +are intended to be used as add\(hyons, +and can be turned on and off from the in\(hygame setup menu. +.Sh BUGS +After several years of enthusiastic testing, +.Nm uqm +has dramatically improved its stability, but it is still beta software, +and bugs certainly still lurk. +Upon finding a problem, we\(cqd like you to report it, +but before you do, please do the following: +.Bl -bullet +.It +Try to isolate what causes it: +.Do +Crashes with a null dereference about half the time when firing and +taunting with a Pkunk +.Dc +is better than +.Dq Melee doesn\(cqt work . +If the game crashes, notice what error is produced; +if the game hangs, check to see if the game\(hyexit key +.Pq Cm F12 +works. +.It +Go to the +.Lk http://bugs.uqm.stack.nl/ "bug database" +and post a report of the problem there. +Search the database first to see if it has been already posted; if we get many +duplicate reports, processing them eats our time from actual development. +If it\(cqs been reported, and you have more information, feel free to confirm +that you\(cqve reproduced it by adding a comment to the report. +If ten people have already confirmed it, though, +it\(cqs probably best to treat it as duly reported. +.It +Whenever possible, for bugs that only occur under certain conditions, +include a save game with your bug report that duplicates the bug. +In the case of a crash, a stack trace can be very helpful for us too. +If you don\(cqt know what a stack trace is, don\(cqt worry about it. +.It +If your issue is more like +.Dq support request +than bug report and you want help from other users, +then it might be more appropriate to post it to +.Lk http://uqm.stack.nl/forum/ "our forum" . +.El |