Man Linux: Main Page and Category List

NAME

       conquestgl,conquest - Conquest game clients

SYNOPSIS

       conquestgl   and   conquest   are  OpenGL  and  curses  based  clients,
       respectively, that are used to connect to a conquest server to play.

       conquestgl [OPTIONS]...

       conquest [OPTIONS]...

DESCRIPTION

       Conquest is a multi‐player, real‐time space combat game.  The object of
       the  game  is twofold. The short‐range goal is to accumulate "kills" by
       shooting down enemy players.  You get one kill  point  for  each  enemy
       ship  shot  down, plus some extra if the enemy had kills too. The major
       weapon used to shoot down ships is the photon torpedo.

       The long‐range goal is to conquer the universe for your team by  taking
       every  core  planet. You take planets by killing off the enemy’s armies
       via bombardment, and then beaming your team’s armies down. When all the
       planets  have  been  taken,  the  game ends, a new game begins, and the
       player who actually took the  last  planet  gets  his/her  name  up  in
       lights.

       The  first  time  conquestgl  or  conquest  is  run, a directory called
       ~/.conquest/ will be created in your home  directory.   This  directory
       cantains   your   ’user   options’   data   as  well  as  the  logfile.
       Additionally, with conquestgl,  texturesrc  (.trc)  files  and  texture
       image  data (in ~/.conquest/img/) can be stored there. See CONQINIT.TXT
       for more information on what texturesrc and texture image files are.

OPTIONS

       conquestgl and conquest each take similiar options.  Where an option is
       only suported by a paticular client, this difference will be noted.  If
       the -s or -m options are not specified, the client will try to  connect
       to a server running on your local host at port 1701.

       -B      Benchmark mode.  When this option is specified, and playback of
               a previously recorded game  is  specified  with  -P,  then  the
               default  playback  speed  will  be  set  to  the  highest speed
               possible (no frame delay).  This is really only of use for  the
               OpenGL  client,  but  can  be  specified  to  the curses client
               (conquest) as well.

               It’s not really much of  a  ’benckmark’  yet  as  it  does  not
               currently  emit  any rendering statistics on exit.  The will be
               added in the future.

       -f      Run in fullscreen mode.  OpenGL client only.

       -g <geometry>
               Specify  initial  window  width/height.   OpenGL  client  only.
               Format   is  WxH  (ex:  1024x768).  The  default  is  currently
               1024x768.

       -m      Query the metaserver and provide a list of  servers  to  choose
               from.

       -M <metaserver>
               Specify    an    alternate    metaserver.    The   default   is
               conquest.radscan.com.

       -r <record file>
               Record the game to <record file>.

       -s <server[:port]>
               Connect to server running on server  port  port.   The  default
               port is 1701.

       -t      Telnet mode.  Curses client only.  When running in telnet mode,
               user configuration files are never loaded nor stored,  and  the
               server  update  rate defaults to 5 per second.  This is only of
               use when running a telnetable server.

       -P <record file>
               Play back a previously recorded game.

       -u      Disable UDP to/from the server and use TCP only.   The  default
               is  to  try  to  negotiate  UDP and use it for certain conquest
               protocol packets.  If you have problems with  a  server  -  for
               example, you always wind up stuck in the middle of Murisak when
               you enter the game, try disabling UDP with this option.

       -S      Disable sound support.  If conquestgl was compiled  with  sound
               support, then this option will disable the playing of all music
               and effects.  OpenGL client only.

IMPORTANT COMMANDS

       This section lists the basic commands of Conquest.   The  next  section
       lists  the  more  advanced  /  obscure commands, and at the end of this
       document there is a summary list.  The list is also  available  in  the
       game via the h command.

       0-9,=   To  set  your  warp  factor,  just  type a digit, or = for your
               ship’s maximum warp. The ships teams have different top speeds:
               8 for Cruisers, 9 for Destroyers, and 10 for Scouts.

       -,+     Use  +  to raise your energy shields, - to lower them.  Shields
               protect you from enemy weapons; however, it takes more fuel and
               heat to fly with them up.

       k       The k command is used to set your course.  You can specify your
               course   a   number   of    different    ways:    in    degrees
               (0=east,90=north),  via  the  arrow  keys  (see  below), a ship
               number (precede it with an ’s’), or a planet name.  If you  set
               course for a planet, you have the option of locking on to it by
               terminating the line with a TAB instead of a carriage return  -
               then you will orbit automatically when you get there.

       p,P     These  two  commands fire photon torpedoes.  Lower case p fires
               one at a time, and is less useful. Upper case P fires  a  burst
               of three.  When you are in the heat of battle, you will want to
               fire every torp you have got (nine), so you will almost  always
               use  P.  You  can  specify  the  direction to fire using either
               degrees or the arrow keys.

       *,d,D   Lower case d or * detonates nearby enemy torps before they  get
               close  enough  to  damage you.  Use this command *alot*.  Upper
               case D detonates your own  torps,  for  instance  in  case  you
               missed.  Since you can only have nine torps out at a time, this
               can be useful.

       f,F     These two commands let you fire phasers.  Lower case f is  used
               to  fire  one  phaser  blast. It takes about one second to fire
               phasers.  Upper  case  F  fires  phasers  again  in  the   same
               direction.

       B       To  capture  enemy  planets,  you  first have to get rid of the
               enemy armies by bombarding them.  Orbit  the  planet,  type  B,
               confirm  with  a  TAB,  and then watch your damage closely. You
               will continue to bombard until you type another command.   When
               your  damage  gets up above 60 or 70 percent, set a warp factor
               and get out fast.

               You cannot bomb a planet down to less than 3 armies.  Once  you
               have  reduced  a  planet’s  army count to 3, you must beam down
               your own armies in order  to  kill  the  remaining  armies  and
               conquer the planet.

       R       After  a  bombing  run,  you can repair your damage three times
               faster by  going  into  repair  mode.   While  repairing,  your
               shields  are  down  and  you  can’t move or fire.  Repairing is
               useful any time you are damaged.  If you are in orbit  about  a
               friendly planet when you repair, you will repair even faster.

       b       Once  you  have  blasted a planet down to three armies, you can
               beam your own armies down to do hand‐to‐hand combat and replace
               them.

       m       Use  the  m  command  to  send messages. You can send to single
               ships (using the ship number), entire teams, (first  letter  of
               team  name)  or everyone ("all"). You can even send messages to
               GOD, but don’t expect an answer.  Messages to GOD will be  seen
               be  any conquest operators (CO’s) who happen to be in the game.

               This command is useful for bothering  the  experts  and  asking
               them  annoying  questions.   It  is  also  useful  for  trading
               insults.  If you type RETURN or TAB as the target of a message,
               the  message  will  be  sent  to  the last person(s) you sent a
               message to.

       i,TAB,RETURN
               You can get  information  on  planets  and  ships  with  the  i
               command.   Pressing  RETURN  will show you the last information
               you asked for.  Pressing TAB will  show  you  the  ’next’  last
               information you asked for.

       Q       The  only  way  out besides getting killed is to self‐destruct.
               There is a 15‐second time delay because it is not honorable  to
               quit  in the heat of battle.  If the server has the Vacant flag
               enabled, then you can use the  Control‐Backslash  key  to  quit
               immediately,  leaving  your  ship  intact.  If you decide to go
               Vacant, be careful where you leave your ship. :)

       /       To see which other people are currently playing  Conquest,  use
               the / command.

       h       This command gives you a short command summary (such as the one
               that is found at the end of this document).

LESS IMPORTANT COMMANDS

       A       Type A to change your weapons/engines power  allocations.   You
               can  either  enter  a new weapons allocation percentage or else
               type TAB to toggle between the two extremes of 30/70 and 70/30.
               The  power  allocation  controls  things like how powerful your
               weapons are, how efficient your engines are, etc.

       C       Cloaking device. You can activate the cloaking device by typing
               C  followed  by  a  TAB.   While  the  cloaking  device  is  in
               operation, you are invisible, even to your teammates.  However,
               the  cloaker  uses a LOT of energy - so much that you can’t use
               your weapons while it’s on. A second C will turn it off  again.

       E       Emergency  distress  signal. A quick way to let your team mates
               know that you are in trouble is by typing E followed by a  TAB.
               Every  ship on your team (except those who are at war with your
               team)  will  get  a  short  message  from  you  that   includes
               information about your fuel, shields, and ship damage.

       H       History.  This  command  displays  the  list of recent Conquest
               players.

       O       Use this comment to enter the options menu.  From there you can
               configure various things like your settings and your macros.

       K       Attempt  a  coup.  If all of your team’s armies get killed, you
               may think you are in deep fecal matter.  Not so - you can still
               get some back by pulling a coup.  Try it.

       L       List  Messages.   Type  L to review old messages that have been
               sent to you.

       M       Type M to toggle your display between the short range and  long
               range tactical displays.

               When  in  the long range tactical display, you can use SPACE to
               toggle the center of the map beteen your ship and  the  Murisak
               (the sun at the center of the universe).

       N       Pseudonym.  Use this command to change your battle name.

       o       Orbit.  Use  o to come into orbit around a planet (or a sun, if
               you want a tan).  You cannot enter orbit if your speed  exceeds
               warp 2.

       r       Refit.   If the server has enabled the Refit flag, and you have
               at least one kill, and you are orbiting a  team  owned  planet,
               you  can  use  this option to switch to a new ship type.  Valid
               types are Scout (great engines, weak weapons), Destroyer  (good
               engines,  good  weapons),  and  Cruiser  (weak  engines,  great
               weapons).

       S       Displays a list of secondary user statistics.

       t       Tractor beams.  You can use these to tow another ship, even  if
               it is hostile.  This can be fun when you are cloaked :)

       T       Team  list. Displays a list of team statistics, and information
               on when and who last conqered the universe.

       u       Untractor. Disengage your  tractor  beams  if  you  are  towing
               another  ship or attempt to break free of another ships tractor
               beam if you are being towed.

       U       Displays a list of users and some primary statistics.

       W       Type W to change your war and peace settings.  Note that  there
               is  a 10 second delay for declaring war on another team.  Also,
               if you do something nasty to another team such as bomb  one  of
               their  planets,  your war with that team becomes sticky and you
               may not declare peace with them until you get a  new  ship  (by
               dying).

       ?       To get a list of planets, use the ? command.  Planets that must
               be taken in order to conquer the universe are marked with  a  +
               sign.

       ^L      When you type ^L, the screen is cleared and redrawn.

DIRECTION KEYS

       The  easiest and quickest way to change direction is with the direction
       keys or the keypad if your terminal definition supports  it.   However,
       if  you are prompted to enter a direction, for example to fire phasers,
       or set course, you can use the letters "qweadzxc" on the left‐hand side
       of  your  keyboard, called "direction keys" for historical reasons. The
       keys are assumed to be arranged  as  follows  (if  you  have  a  Dvorak
       keyboard, you are in trouble):

                           Q W E
                            \|/
                          A--+--D
                            /|\
                           Z X C

       You  can  use  them singly, e.g. ’d’  would  be  0  degrees, ´q’  would
       be  135,  etc.  You  can  also  use  them  in combination:  "ed"  would
       be  halfway  between  ’e’  and  ’d’, which  is  22.5  degrees; "edd" is
       like ’e’ + ’d’ + ’d’ / 3, or 15 degrees.

DESTINATION SEARCHING

       There are several special strings you can use when  setting  course  or
       getting information:

       ne      nearest enemy

       ns      nearest ship

       nts     nearest (friendly) team ship

       np      nearest planet

       nep     nearest enemy planet

       nrp     nearest friendly (repair) planet

       nfp     nearest friendly class‐M (fuel) planet

       nap     nearest  planet  with  available  armies  (greater than 3 total
               armies)

       ntp     nearest planet owned by your team

       wp      weakest planet not owned by your team

       hp      home planet for your team

       sN      ship N (where N is a integer number)

       time    time of day (info only)

       All of these can be abbreviated to their shortest unique string.  Also,
       for  the  planets,  you  can  type a number after the special string to
       specify an army threshold; that is, planets with less than that  number
       of  armies won’t be considered.  For example, na8 specifies the nearest
       planet with 8 (eight) or more armies, nf14 is the nearest  fuel  planet
       with 14 or more armies, nep1000 is the nearest non‐scanned planet.

       You  can  find  info out about the second nearest object by terminating
       your information request with a TAB instead of a carriage  return.  For
       example, to find out about the second nearest planet type inp<TAB>.

       You can’t use these when firing weapons - that would be too easy.

MACROS

       Macros  are  sequences  of  Conquest  commands  that  are issued when a
       Function Key (Fkey) or mouse button (OpenGL client only) is hit.  On PC
       hardware,  these  are  the  F1-F12  keys.   With  certain emulators the
       Shifted F1-12 keys (F13-F24) are available too.

       With the GL client, version 8.1.2f or  better,  support  for  assigning
       macros to mouse buttons is also provided.  Modifiers like Alt, Control,
       and Shift can also be used with the mouse buttons.  Up  to  32  buttons
       are supported with any combination of the 3 modifiers (or no modifiers)
       giving you a maximum of 256 assignable mouse macros.  If you have a  32
       button mouse that is :)

       Mouse  and  Key  macros are defined in your ~/conquest/conquestrc file.
       Users can  edit  their  macro  keys  from  within  Conquest  using  the
       (O)ptions Menu.

       Here is an example for the F1 function key

              macro_f1=dP\r

       Which  makes  my  F1 key detonate enemy torps d, and fire a spread of 3
       torps in the last direction I fired P\r.

       The mouse only works when playing the game (in  the  Cockpit)  and  the
       cursor is within the viewer window in the GL client.

       Three  default  mouse macros are provided to give you a taste, and will
       be saved in your conquestrc file the first time you run  an  8.1.2f  or
       better version of the client.  They are:

             mouse button 0 (left): Fire phaser at <angle>
             mouse button 1 (middle): Set course to <angle>
             mouse button 2 (right): Fire Torp at <angle>

       Of  course  you  can redefine these, as well as add others.  With mouse
       macros, a special character sequence, \a can be used to  represent  the
       angle  of  the  cursor  relative  to  the center of the viewer when the
       button was pressed.

       See the mouse macro  comment  block  in  your  conquestrc  file  for  a
       description of the format.

       There  are  many other interesting and useful combinations that I won’t
       detail... After all, choosing the right macros and using them  well  is
       an important part of the strategy you employ against your opponents.

COMMAND LIST

       Here is a quick command reference.

                          0-9,=  set warp factor (= is 10)
                          A      change w/e allocations
                          b      beam armies
                          B      bombard a planet
                          C      cloaking device
                          d,*    detonate enemy torpedoes
                          D      detonate your own torpedoes
                          E      send emergency distress call
                          f      fire phasers
                          F      fire phasers, same direction
                          h      this
                          H      user history
                          i      information
                          I      set user options
                          k      set course
                          K      try a coup
                          L      review old messages
                          m      send a message
                          M      strategic map toggle
                          N      change your name
                          o      come into orbit
                          p      launch photon torpedoes
                          P      launch photon torpedo burst
                          Q      initiate self‐destruct
                          r      refit your ship
                          R      enter repair mode
                          S      more user statistics
                          t      engage tractor beams
                          T      team list
                          u      unengage tractor beams
                          U      user statistics
                          W      set war or peace
                          -      lower shields
                          +      raise shields
                          /      player list
                          ?      planet list
                          ^L     refresh the screen

                     RETURN      get last (i)nfo.        (like ’i<RETURN>’)
                        TAB      get ’next’ last info.   (like ’i<TAB>’)

SEE ALSO

       conquestd(6),  conqoper(6),  conqdriv(6),  conquestsh(6), conqmetad(6),
       conqinit(6)

AUTHOR

       Jon Trulson <jon@radscan.com>, Jeff Poskanzer

                                                                   conquest(6)