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ATC(6)							   ATC(6)

NAME
       atc - air traffic controller game

SYNOPSIS
       atc -[u?lstp] [-[gf] game_name] [-r random seed]

DESCRIPTION
       Atc lets you try your hand at the nerve wracking duties of
       the air traffic controller without endangering  the  lives
       of millions of travelers each year.  Your responsibilities
       require you to direct the flight of jets and  prop  planes
       into  and out of the flight arena and airports.	The speed
       (update time) and frequency of the planes  depend  on  the
       difficulty of the chosen arena.

OPTIONS
       -u      Print the usage line and exit.

       -?      Same as -u.

       -l      Print  a	 list  of  available games and exit.  The
	       first game name printed is the default game.

       -s      Print the score list (formerly the Top Ten  list).

       -t      Same as -s.

       -p      Print  the path to the special directory where atc
	       expects to find its private files.  This	 is  used
	       during the installation of the program.

       -g game Play  the  named	 game.	If the game listed is not
	       one of the ones printed from the	 -l  option,  the
	       default game is played.

       -f game Same as -g.

       -r seed Set  the random seed.  The purpose of this flag is
	       questionable.

GOALS
       Your goal in atc is to keep the game going as long as pos-
       sible.	There  is  no  winning	state, except to beat the
       times of other players.	You will need to:  launch  planes
       at  airports  (by instructing them to increase their alti-
       tude); land planes at airports (by instructing them to  go
       to  altitude  zero  when	 exactly  over	the airport); and
       maneuver planes out of exit points.

       Several things will cause the end of the game.  Each plane
       has  a  destination  (see information area), and sending a
       plane to the wrong destination is an  error.   Planes  can
       run  out of fuel, or can collide.  Collision is defined as
       adjacency in any of the three dimensions.  A plane leaving

			   May 31, 1993				1

ATC(6)							   ATC(6)

       the  arena  in  any other way than through its destination
       exit is an error as well.

       Scores are sorted in order of the number of  planes  safe.
       The  other  statistics are provided merely for fun.  There
       is no  penalty  for  taking  longer  than  another  player
       (except in the case of ties).

       Suspending  a  game  is	not permitted.	If you get a talk
       message, tough.	When was the last  time	 an  Air  Traffic
       Controller got called away to the phone?

THE DISPLAY
       Depending  on the terminal you run atc on, the screen will
       be divided into 4 areas.	 It should be stressed	that  the
       terminal	 driver	 portion  of  the game was designed to be
       reconfigurable, so the display format can  vary	depending
       the  version  you  are playing.	The descriptions here are
       based on the ascii version of the game.	 The  game  rules
       and input format, however, should remain consistent.  Con-
       trol-L redraws the screen, should it become muddled.

   RADAR
	      The first screen area is the radar display, showing
	      the  relative  locations	of  the planes, airports,
	      standard	entry/exit  points,  radar  beacons,  and
	      "lines"  which  simply  serve to aid you in guiding
	      the planes.

	      Planes are shown as a single letter with	an  alti-
	      tude.  If the numerical altitude is a single digit,
	      then it represents thousands of  feet.   Some  dis-
	      tinction	is  made  between the prop planes and the
	      jets.  On ascii terminals, prop planes  are  repre-
	      sented by a upper case letter, jets by a lower case
	      letter.

	      Airports are shown as a number and some  indication
	      of  the  direction  planes must be going to land at
	      the airport.  On ascii terminals, this  is  one  of
	      '^',  '>',  '<',	and  'v',  to  indicate	 north (0
	      degrees), east (90), west (270)  and  south  (180),
	      respectively.   The  planes  will	 also take off in
	      this direction.

	      Beacons are represented as circles or asterisks and
	      a	 number.   Their  purpose  is to offer a place of
	      easy reference to the plane pilots.  See 'the delay
	      command' under the input section of this manual.

	      Entry/exit  points  are  displayed as numbers along
	      the border of the radar screen.  Planes will  enter
	      the arena from these points without warning.  These
	      points have a direction associated with  them,  and

			   May 31, 1993				2

ATC(6)							   ATC(6)

	      planes will always enter the arena from this direc-
	      tion.  On the ascii version of atc, this	direction
	      is  not  displayed.   It	will become apparent what
	      this direction is as the game progresses.

	      Incoming planes will always enter at the same alti-
	      tude:  7000  feet.   For	a  plane  to successfully
	      depart through an entry/exit point, it must be fly-
	      ing  at  9000  feet.   It	 is not necessary for the
	      planes to be flying  in  any  particular	direction
	      when they leave the arena (yet).

   INFORMATION AREA
	      The  second  area of the display is the information
	      area, which lists the time (number of updates since
	      start),  and the number of planes you have directed
	      safely out of the arena.	Below this is a	 list  of
	      planes  currently	 in  the air, followed by a blank
	      line, and then a list of planes on the  ground  (at
	      airports).   Each line lists the plane name and its
	      current altitude, an optional  asterisk  indicating
	      low  fuel, the plane's destination, and the plane's
	      current command.	Changing altitude is not  consid-
	      ered  to	be  a  command	and is therefore not dis-
	      played.  The following are some  possible	 informa-
	      tion lines:

		   B4*A0: Circle @ b1
		   g7 E4: 225

	      The first example shows a prop plane named 'B' that
	      is flying at 4000 feet.  It is low  on  fuel  (note
	      the  '*').   It's	 destination  is Airport #0.  The
	      next command it expects to do  is	 circle	 when  it
	      reaches  Beacon #1.  The second example shows a jet
	      named 'g' at 7000 feet, destined for Exit	 #4.   It
	      is just now executing a turn to 225 degrees (South-
	      West).

   INPUT AREA
	      The third area of the display is	the  input  area.
	      It  is  here that your input is reflected.  See the
	      INPUT heading of this manual for more details.

   AUTHOR AREA
	      This area is  used  simply  to  give  credit  where
	      credit is due. :-)

INPUT
       A command completion interface is built into the game.  At
       any time, typing '?' will list possible input  characters.
       Typing  a backspace (your erase character) backs up, eras-
       ing the last part of the command.  When a command is  com-
       plete,  a  return  enters it, and any semantic checking is

			   May 31, 1993				3

ATC(6)							   ATC(6)

       done at that time.  If no errors are detected, the command
       is  sent to the appropriate plane.  If an error is discov-
       ered during the check, the  offending  statement	 will  be
       underscored  and a (hopefully) descriptive message will be
       printed under it.

       The command syntax is broken  into  two	parts:	Immediate
       Only and Delayable commands.  Immediate Only commands hap-
       pen on the next update.	Delayable commands also happen on
       the  next  update  unless they are followed by an optional
       predicate called the Delay command.

       In the following tables, the syntax [0-9] means any single
       digit,  and  <dir>  refers to the keys around the 's' key,
       namely ``wedcxzaq''.  In absolute references,  'q'  refers
       to  North-West or 315 degrees, and 'w' refers to North, or
       0 degrees.  In relative	references,  'q'  refers  to  -45
       degrees	or  45 degrees left, and 'w' refers to 0 degrees,
       or no change in direction.

       All commands start with a plane	letter.	  This	indicates
       the recipient of the command.  Case is ignored.

   IMMEDIATE ONLY COMMANDS
	      - a Altitude:
		     Affect a plane's altitude (and take off).
		     - [0-9] Number:
			     Go	 to the given altitude (thousands
			     of feet).
		     - c/+ Climb:
			     Relative altitude change.
			     - [0-9] Number:
				    Difference	in  thousands  of
				    feet.
		     - d/- Descend:
			     Relative altitude change.
			     - [0-9] Number:
				    Difference	in  thousands  of
				    feet.
	      - m Mark:
		     Display in	 highlighted  mode.   Command  is
		     displayed normally.
	      - i Ignore:
		     Do not display highlighted.  Command is dis-
		     played as a line of dashes if  there  is  no
		     command.
	      - u Unmark:
		     Same  as ignore, but if a delayed command is
		     processed, the  plane  will  become  marked.
		     This is useful if you want to forget about a
		     plane during part, but not all, of its jour-
		     ney.

			   May 31, 1993				4

ATC(6)							   ATC(6)

   DELAYABLE COMMANDS
	      - c Circle:
		     Have   the	  plane	  circle   (clockwise  by
		     default).
		     - l Left:
			     Circle counterclockwise.
		     - r Right:
			     Circle clockwise.
	      - t Turn:
		     Change direction.
		     - l Left:
			     Turn counterclockwise (45 degrees by
			     default).
			     - <dir> Direction:
				    Turn  ccw the given number of
				    degrees.  Zero degrees is  no
				    turn.   A  ccw  turn  of  -45
				    degrees is 45 cw.
		     - r Right:
			     Turn  clockwise   (45   degrees   by
			     default).
			     - <dir> Direction:
				    Same as turn left <dir>.
		     - L Left 90:
			     Turn counterclockwise 90 degrees.
		     - R Right 90:
			     Turn clockwise 90 degrees.
		     - <dir> Direction:
			     Turn to the absolute compass heading
			     given.  The shortest  turn	 will  be
			     taken.
		     - t Towards:
			     Turn  towards  a  beacon, airport or
			     exit.  The turn is just an estimate.
			     - b/* Beacon:
				    Turn towards the beacon.
				    - [0-9] Number:
					   The beacon number.
			     - e Exit:
				    Turn towards the exit.
				    - [0-9] Number:
					   The exit number.
			     - a Airport:
				    Turn towards the airport.
				    - [0-9] Number:
					   The airport number.

   THE DELAY COMMAND
       The  Delay  (a/@) command may be appended to any Delayable
       command.	 It allows the controller to instruct a plane  to
       do  an  action  when the plane reaches a particular beacon
       (or other objects in future versions).

	      - a/@ At:

			   May 31, 1993				5

ATC(6)							   ATC(6)

		     Do the  given  delayable  command	when  the
		     plane reaches the given beacon.
		     - b/* Beacon:
			     This   is	redundant  to  allow  for
			     expansion.
			     - [0-9] Number:
				    The beacon number.

   MARKING, UNMARKING AND IGNORING
       Planes are marked when they enter the arena.   This  means
       they  are  displayed in highlighted mode on the radar dis-
       play.  A plane may also be either unmarked or ignored.  An
       unmarked	 plane is drawn in unhighlighted mode, and a line
       of dashes is displayed in the command field of the  infor-
       mation  area.  The plane will remain this way until a mark
       command has  been  issued.   Any	 other	command	 will  be
       issued,	but  the  command  line	 will return to a line of
       dashes when the command is completed.

       An ignored plane is treated the same as an unmarked plane,
       except  that it will automatically switch to marked status
       when a delayed command has been processed.  This is useful
       if  you	want to forget about a plane for a while, but its
       flight path has not yet been completely set.

       As with all of the commands, marking, unmarking and ignor-
       ing  will take effect at the beginning of the next update.
       Do not be surprised if  the  plane  does	 not  immediately
       switch to unhighlighted mode.

   EXAMPLES
	      atlab1	      a: turn left at beacon #1

	      cc	      C: circle

	      gtte4ab2	      g:  turn	towards exit #4 at beacon
			      #2

	      ma+2	      m: altitude: climb 2000 feet

	      stq	      S: turn to 315

	      xi	      x: ignore

OTHER INFORMATION
       Jets move every	update;	 prop  planes  move  every  other
       update.

       All planes turn a most 90 degrees per movement.

       Planes enter at 7000 feet and leave at 9000 feet.

       Planes  flying  at  an altitude of 0 crash if they are not
       over an airport.

			   May 31, 1993				6

ATC(6)							   ATC(6)

       Planes waiting at airports can only be told  to	take  off
       (climb in altitude).

NEW GAMES
       The  Game_List  file  lists  the	 currently available play
       fields.	New field description file names must  be  placed
       in  this	 file  to be 'playable'.  If a player specifies a
       game not in this file, his score will not be logged.

       The game field  description  files  are	broken	into  two
       parts.	The  first part is the definition section.  Here,
       the four tunable game parameters must be set.  These vari-
       ables are set with the syntax:

	      variable = number;

       Variable	 may  be one of: update, indicating the number of
       seconds	between	 forced	 updates;  newplane,   indicating
       (about)	the  number of updates between new plane entries;
       width, indicating the width of the play field; and height,
       indicating the height of the play field.

       The  second  part of the field description files describes
       the locations of the exits, the beacons, the airports  and
       the lines.  The syntax is as follows:

	      beacon:	(x y) ... ;
	      airport:	(x y direction) ... ;
	      exit:	(x y direction) ... ;
	      line:	[ (x1 y1) (x2 y2) ] ... ;

       For  beacons,  a	 simple	 x,  y	coordinate  pair  is used
       (enclosed in parenthesis).  Airports and exits  require	a
       third  value,  a direction, which is one of wedcxzaq.  For
       airports, this is the direction that planes must be  going
       to take off and land, and for exits, this is the direction
       that planes will going when they enter  the  arena.   This
       may  not seem intuitive, but as there is no restriction on
       direction  of  exit,  this  is  appropriate.   Lines   are
       slightly	 different,  since they need two coordinate pairs
       to specify the line endpoints.  These  endpoints	 must  be
       enclosed in square brackets.

       All  statements	are  semi-colon (;) terminated.	 Multiple
       item statements accumulate.  Each  definition  must  occur
       exactly	once, before any item statements.  Comments begin
       with a hash (#) symbol and terminate with a newline.   The
       coordinates  are	 between  zero	and  width-1 and height-1
       inclusive.  All of the exit coordinates must  lie  on  the
       borders,	 and  all  of  the  beacons and airports must lie
       inside of the borders.  Line  endpoints	may  be	 anywhere
       within  the  field,  so	long as the lines are horizontal,
       vertical or exactly diagonal.

			   May 31, 1993				7

ATC(6)							   ATC(6)

   FIELD FILE EXAMPLE
	      # This is the default game.

	      update = 5;
	      newplane = 5;
	      width = 30;
	      height = 21;

	      exit:	( 12  0 x ) ( 29  0 z ) ( 29  7 a ) ( 29 17 a )
			(  9 20 e ) (  0 13 d ) (  0  7 d ) (  0  0 c ) ;

	      beacon:	( 12  7 ) ( 12 17 ) ;

	      airport:	( 20 15 w ) ( 20 18 d ) ;

	      line:	[ (  1	1 ) (  6  6 ) ]
			[ ( 12	1 ) ( 12  6 ) ]
			[ ( 13	7 ) ( 28  7 ) ]
			[ ( 28	1 ) ( 13 16 ) ]
			[ (  1 13 ) ( 11 13 ) ]
			[ ( 12	8 ) ( 12 16 ) ]
			[ ( 11 18 ) ( 10 19 ) ]
			[ ( 13 17 ) ( 28 17 ) ]
			[ (  1	7 ) ( 11  7 ) ] ;

FILES
       Files are kept in a special directory. See the OPTIONS for
       a way to print this path out.

       ATC_score       Where the scores are kept.

       Game_List       The list of playable games.

AUTHOR
       Ed  James,  UC Berkeley: edjames@ucbvax.berkeley.edu, ucb-
       vax!edjames

       This game is based on someone's description of the overall
       flavor  of  a  game written for some unknown PC many years
       ago, maybe.

BUGS
       The screen sometimes refreshes after you have quit.

       Yet Another Curses Bug was discovered during the	 develop-
       ment  of	 this game.  If your curses library clrtobot.o is
       version 5.1 or earlier, you will have erase problems  with
       the backspace operator in the input window.

			   May 31, 1993				8

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