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NAME

       btanks - fast 2D tank arcade game

DESCRIPTION

       Battle  Tanks  is a funny battle on your desk, where you can choose one
       of three vehicles and eliminate your enemy using the whole  arsenal  of
       weapons.  has  original cartoon-like graphics and cool music, it is fun
       and  dynamic,  it  has  several  network  modes  for   deathmatch   and
       cooperative.

       what  else  is  needed to have fun with your friends? And all is packed
       and ready for you in "Battle Tanks".

       Features:

       Multiplayer
              "Battle Tanks" is a multiplayer game in the first place. Network
              game  and split screen mode are available, and also a mixed mode
              is possible, when two players use split  screen  on  the  server
              computer,  and  others  connect  via LAN.Two modes are possible:
              deathmatch battle and cooperative game.

       Cross-platform
              "Battle Tanks" is cross-platform. Both Windows  and  Linux  fans
              are  welcome  on  the  battlefield  where they will settle their
              quarrels in the name of weapons.

       Free distribution and open source
              The multiplayer version is licensed under GNU  GPL.  This  means
              two  things.  Firstly, it doesn’t cost anything for you. You can
              download it for free  and  share  with  your  friends,  with  no
              preliminary  or  future fees. And secondly, the full source code
              of the game is available, so any guy who knows C++ can poke  his
              nose there and probably find some surprises that developers have
              prepared for curious fans.

       Old-school oriented
              Builders of "Battle Tanks" love these good old  arcades  of  the
              past  century.  So  they have tried hard to implement everything
              best of these old arcade games.

       Performance characteristics:

       Three vehicles: tank, Shilka, and rocket launcher. Each vehicle has its
       special features.

       Lots of weapons: four types of ammo,  six  types  of  rockets,  landing
       troops, mines, and so on.

       Ten multiplayer maps (seven ones for  deathmatch  and  three  ones  for
       cooperative mode) in different locations such as city, village, forest,
       desert and so on.

       Game world that reacts on player. Roads have traffic, buildings can  be
       destroyed, weather effects are simulated.

       Lots of war objects: troops, vehicles, helicopters and other.

       Keyboard and gamepad are supported.

WEAPON LIST

       1. Ammo

       Gun is  the  main  weapon  of  tank  and  Shilka.  Guns  don’t  require
       ammunition,  but  their  piercing  ability  is  much lower that one for
       rockets.

       "Eternal fire" type tank shell
              Type shell that is shipped with tank  and  Shilka.  The  gun  on
              Shilka  is  faster  that  one  on  tank,  but each hit does less
              damage.  Guns have infinite ammunition.

       Shell with laughset focal point
              The main feature of the shell with laughset  focal  point  (also
              called  shell  with  uncertain  orientation)  is  bouncing  from
              obstacles. This shell is good for urban battles,  also  it  will
              help  when  shooting  an enemy that has covered behind something
              solid or impenetrable. The disadvantage of this  model  is  that
              you never know where it will bounce.

       Explosive shell
              The explosive shell is also known as Matreshka shell. Inside the
              jacket of this shell, several small shells are nested.  A  small
              time  after  the  shot,  the  matreshka opens, and nested shells
              spread in different directions. Each hit causes relatively small
              damage,  but  large  area is covered. This model is intended for
              use against enemy crowds. It is ineffective  in  close  face  to
              face duels.

       Dirt gun
              Dirt  gun  is  invented  by  crazy  agronomists.  By  the aid of
              concentration  of  energy  in  near-surface  layers,   nano-wave
              fluctuations  cause  temporary  inversion of field. Lower layers
              are found on the top, thus introducing a  short-time  effect  of
              plowing  the  surface  (this  is  broadly used during the sowing
              campaign). In battle, the dirt gun can be used for  making  dirt
              spots  of  reduced passability. Enemy troops and vehicles suffer
              loss of control and speed in these plowed areas.  Pimary  weapon
              Secondary weapon

       2. Rockets

       Rockets  are  large,  so  number  of  rockets that a vehicle carries is
       limited. Rockets are main weapon of rocket launcher.

       Homing missile
              Homing missile is a type  weapon  and  is  shipped  with  rocket
              launchers.  It  can also be used on tanks as a secondary weapon.
              After the launch, the rocket  finds  a  target  and  guides  its
              flight  by  its  own.  Unlike the heat-aimed rockets, this model
              detects delta waves emitted by human brains,  and  thus  can  be
              used  against  troops  and  manned vehicles. Unfortunately, this
              method  of  detection  ignores   androids   and   intellectually
              challenged  individuals.   Another  disadvantage  is that rocket
              doesn’t avoid obstacles (avoiding function is announced  in  the
              next stable release of rocket drivers binary).

       Uncontrolled rocket
              This  is a Dumb-fire modification of the type rocket that can be
              equipped as a secondary weapon. At the expense  of  electronics,
              explosive  charge  and  velocity  are increased. Due to its high
              velocity and high damage caused, this rocket is  very  good  for
              making  fire barriers, destroying enemy weapon emplacements, and
              in face to face battles.

       Boomerang rocket
              Boomerang rocket is an accidental  modification  of  the  homing
              missile  that  has  been found after beta drivers were installed
              from a damaged CD on some test rocket.  On  ground  tests,  that
              rocket  introduced  a  non-typical behaviour: it didn’t select a
              target after the launch, but just circled around  the  launcher,
              following an elliptical trajectory. Nobody can explain still why
              the rocket  does  that;  however  boomerang  rockets  have  been
              approved  and are produced on the line now. They can be used for
              defense; also boomerang rockets are effective in close battle.

       Gas rocket
              Gas rocket is stuffed  with  toxic  and  radioactive  wastes  of
              fragrance  industry.  They  are  prohibited  by  Geneva Protocol
              because of their incredibly disgusting and  beautiful  smell.  A
              humanoid   that   has   inhaled  the  gas  suffers  convulsions,
              sialorrhea, retching, diarrhea, and dies  with  happy  smile  on
              face.   The  gas  rockets are perfect for eliminating troops. In
              multiplayer, they scan be used for making smoke screens.

       Stop-rocket
              This homing missile is filled with artificial  viruses-malicious
              nanorobots.  When  a  rocket  hits  target, viruses clod between
              tracks of tank caterpillars, raise pressure of braking fluid  in
              hydraulic  systems,  and  cause  temporary  paralysis  of  lower
              extremities of humanoids. However, these  viruses  don’t  affect
              functioning  of  weapons  systems and other organs of humanoids;
              side effects or contra-indication are unknown. Stop-rocket  does
              not  inflict  damage,  but it’s a great secondary weapon that is
              very effective if  combined  with  explosive  or  bouncing  tank
              shells, homing missiles and machine guns.

       Nuclear missile "Pure Thermonuke"
              This  15  kilotons  nuke  is  the most destructive weapon in the
              game. It destroys everything in range of explosion, and using or
              thermonuclear  reaction guarantees that radiation pollution will
              be negligibly small. So the ground can be used  just  after  the
              enemy  is  vaporized  by  the  heat of nuclear blast.  Secondary
              weapon

       3. Preserved landing force

       Five fully  equipped  troops  are  frozen  and  GZIPped  into  standard
       rectangular  bricks.  Before  refrigeration,  each  trooper is prepared
       using special hormons and steroids, and can be  used  in  action  after
       quick  microwave-aided defreezing. Shipped in two versions with machine
       guns and handheld rocket launchers.

       Machine gun trooper
              The trooper  takes  a  position  and  fires  the  enemy  objects
              (including  missiles).  16  directions  of  fire  are available.
              Shilka lands MG troopers for support. Thanks to their high  fire
              rate  and  mobility,  MG  troopers  can defend a vehicle against
              enemy missiles.

       Rocket trooper
              The trooper takes a position and fires the  enemy  objects  (NOT
              including  missiles). 8 directions of fire are available. Shilka
              lands rocket troopers for support.  Due  to  their  fire  power,
              rocket troopers are good for attacking the enemy.

       4. Other weapons

       Other weapons include mines and MG turrets.  Mine

       Mine   Mines  are  effective  equally against troops and vehicles. They
              have winning appearance, and are easy to install and use.  Using
              of mines allows unique and great tactical opportunities, both in
              single missions and deathmatch. Routes, respawn points,  hidings
              of  weapons - everything can be mined. Remember that the mine is
              invisible if covered with dirt or smoke!

       MG turret
              MG turret is a primitive robot that shoots  everything  that  is
              moving.  Some  turrets are shipped with "ally-enemy" recognition
              system. In stationary  version,  MG  turrets  can  be  used  for
              automated  security  systems.  Mobile versions can be mounted on
              rocket launchers. 16 directions of fire are available.

SEE ALSO

       You   can   find   more   about   the    game    on    its    homepage:
       http://btanks.sourceforge.net

       You        have        more        information       available       in
       /usr/share/doc/btanks/html/index.html

AUTHOR

       The game has been written by  Vladimir  Menshakov,  Methos  Wagner  and
       Vladimir  Zhuravlev,  and  is  distributed under the GNU General Public
       License, either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later
       version.

                                                               Battle Tanks(6)