3dpong(6)

NAME
3dpong - three dimensional Pong clone

SYNOPSIS
3dpong display1 [display2|--computer] [--gravity g] [--net n] [--sound] [--noclick1] [--noclick2]

DESCRIPTION
3D Pong is a three-dimensional clone of the ancient computer game Pong for the X11 window system.

There are three modes of play

one player
    One player mode agains the computer

two players
    Two human players, each with their own view at the game

handball
    One human player against gravity. This is like throwing a ball at a wall

The player(s) is presented a three dimensional view at the arena. There is a white divider in the middle, or possibly the net. The player one's paddle is a red square, the player two has a blue paddle. The current score is displayed in the upper left corner. The ball is a green diamond, and dark green markers follow the ball on the walls to display it's position in relation to them.

The player(s) controls a paddle at one end of the arena with mouse movement. To serve, the player presses the mouse button three. The key c toggles whether the player needs to keep the mouse button one pressed while dragging the mouse. See also the --noclickn switches below.

Six views exist, switched amongst with the key v

normal
    1st person perspective from behind the paddle

bleacher
    Side view, with the paddle on the left

above
    From above, paddle on the top

freeview
    Any angle the user selects, by pressing mouse button two and dragging the mouse

follow the ball
    The view follows the ball

follow the paddle
    The view follows the paddle

Key 3 toggles red/blue mode to be used with appropriate 3D glasses, with red for the left eye.

The game quits if the q key is pressed.

The game goes on until quitted. In the one or two player games the ball gets faster and faster until someone scores. Players score by getting the ball behind the opponents paddle. In the handball mode the player scores every time the ball bounces off the paddle, and does not go to the goal. The high score will kept for the session.

OPTIONS
The switches display1 and display2 specify the X11 displays for the game. The first is mandatory, and ``$DISPLAY'' is often a good value for it. The special value ``computer'' means that only one human player is to play, the other will be a computer player. If only one display is specified, then a handball game is started.

Attention to the order of the options must be payed.

--gravity g
    The gravity to use. In one and two player games, this is toward the floor, and in the handball it is toward the paddle. Minimum gravity for handball game is 0.1, and negative values are not allowed, unlike in the other two modes. A synonym for the switch is -g g

--net n
    To use a net in the one or two player modes, use this switch. The value of n must be 0>n>0.75. The net will be in the middle, between the two players and when the ball hits it, it will bounce back at full force. The maximum height, 0.75, is two thirds of the height of the game arena. A synonym for this switch is -n n The net option must not appear before the gravity option.

--sound
    To use sound in the game, use this switch or it's synonym -s. This must appear after the optional net switch.

The switches --noclick1 and--noclick2 mean that the specified player need not to keep the mouse button 1 pressed down. Such options must appear last on the command line. The key c can also be used to toggle this while the game is running.

NOTES
This manual page documents the 3D Pong version 0.5, and is based on the README.txt file in the distribution.

AUTHOR
The game is written by Bill Kendrick <bill@newbreedsoftware.com>, and this manual page was written independetly of the actual software by mace <mace@pcuf.fi>. The game sounds originally appeared in the game xboing(6x).