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|
<html>
<head>
<title>ORBIT Documentation</title>
</head>
<!--
ORBIT, a freeware space combat simulator
Copyright (C) 1999 Steve Belczyk <steve1@genesis.nred.ma.us>
This program and its documentation are free; you can redistribute it
and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
-->
<body bgcolor=#ffffff>
<center>
<h2>ORBIT Documentation</h2>
<p>
<hr>
<a href=index.html>Home</a> |
<a href=index.html#overview>Overview</a> |
<a href=index.html#require>System Requirements</a> |
<a href=documentation.html>Documentation</a> |
<a href=index.html#contact>Contact Me</a> |
<a href=index.html#credits>Credits</a>
<hr>
<p>
</center>
<ul>
<li> <a href=#1>Introduction</a>
<li> <a href=#2>Installation</a>
<ul>
<li> <a href=#2.1>Windows</a>
<li> <a href=#2.2>Linux</a>
</ul>
<li> <a href=#3>Getting Started</a>
<li> <a href=#4>Keyboard commands</a>
<li> <a href=#5>Heads Up Display</a>
<li> <a href=#6>Weapons</a>
<li> <a href=#6a>Shields</a>
<li> <a href=#8>The Preferences file</a>
<li> <a href=#8a>The Log file</a>
<li> <a href=#8b>Network Play</a>
<li> <a href=#9>The Mission file</a>
<ul>
<li> <a href=#9.1>Introduction</a>
<li> <a href=#9.2>Format</a>
<li> <a href=#9.3>Cursor</a>
<li> <a href=#9.4>Player</a>
<li> <a href=#9.5>Object</a>
<ul>
<li> <a href=#9.5.1>Name</a>
<li> <a href=#9.5.2>Model</a>
<li> <a href=#9.5.3>Score</a>
<li> <a href=#9.5.4>Strategy</a>
<li> <a href=#9.5.5>Hidden</a>
<li> <a href=#9.5.6>Weapon</a>
<li> <a href=#9.5.7>Friendly</a>
<li> <a href=#9.5.8>MaxShields</a>
<li> <a href=#9.5.9>ShieldRegen</a>
<li> <a href=#9.5.10>TurnRate</a>
<li> <a href=#9.5.11>Speed</a>
<li> <a href=#9.5.12>Invisible</a>
</ul>
<li> <a href=#9.6>Briefing</a>
<li> <a href=#9.8>Verbose</a>
<li> <a href=#9.9>Terse</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10>Event</a>
<ul>
<li> <a href=#9.10.1>Name</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.2>Trigger</a>
<ul>
<li> <a href=#9.10.2.1>Approach</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.2.2>Depart</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.2.3>True</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.2.4>Score</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.2.5>Destroy</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.2.6>Alarm</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.2.7>StopNear</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.2.8>Shields</a>
</ul>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3>Action</a>
<ul>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.1>Message</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.2>Hide</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.3>Unhide</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.4>Destroy</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.5>Score</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.6>Enable</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.7>Disable</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.8>Stop</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.9>LoadMission</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.10>Boom</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.11>Flash</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.12>MoveObject</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.13>MovePlayer</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.14>MovePlanet</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.15>HidePlanet</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.16>UnhidePlanet</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.3.17>Betray</a>
</ul>
<li> <a href=#9.10.4>Value</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.5>Enabled</a>
<li> <a href=#9.10.6>Disabled</a>
</ul>
<li> <a href=#9.11>Planet</a>
<ul>
<li> <a href=#9.11.1>Name</a>
<li> <a href=#9.11.2>NewName</a>
<li> <a href=#9.11.3>Reposition</a>
<li> <a href=#9.11.4>Hidden</a>
<li> <a href=#9.11.5>Map</a>
<li> <a href=#9.11.6>Oblicity</a>
<li> <a href=#9.11.7>Radius</a>
</ul>
<li> <a href=#9.12>Weapon</a>
<ul>
<li> <a href=#9.12.1>Index</a>
<li> <a href=#9.12.2>Name</a>
<li> <a href=#9.12.3>Speed</a>
<li> <a href=#9.12.4>Yield</a>
<li> <a href=#9.12.5>Idle</a>
<li> <a href=#9.12.6>Expire</a>
<li> <a href=#9.12.7>Renderer</a>
<li> <a href=#9.12.8>Color</a>
</ul>
<li> <a href=#9.13>Include</a>
<li> <a href=#9.14>Waypoint</a>
</ul>
<li> <a href=#10>Adding new models</a>
</ul>
<a name=1>
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>
ORBIT is a Space Combat Simulator. If you've ever played the Wing
Commander games, the X-Wing or TIE fighter games, Descent Freespace, or
any of many other such games, you're already familiar with the basic
idea: You must fly around space destroying enemies.
<p>
ORBIT is a bit different from these other games in these ways:
<ul>
<li>You are defending our very own Solar System, not some distant
star system.
<li>The default flight model is based on Newtonian mechanics, not an
arcade model as used in most other games. (An arcade flight model
is also provided.)
<li>The game is very extensible; you can easily create new missions
and spacecraft of your own design and add them to the game. You
can modify any of the pre-written missions. You can create entire
campaigns if you like, just by editing text files. And you can
alter the appearance, size, and position of the planets to create
your own solar system.
<li>The full source code for the game is included in the distribution
so, if you are a programmer, you can modify or extend the game in
any way.
</ul>
<p>
<a name=2>
<h2>Installation</h2>
<p>
<a name=2.1>
<h3>Installation under Windows</h3>
<p>
<ol>
<li>Create a directory for ORBIT. You might use C:\ORBIT
<li>Unzip the <b>ORBIT.ZIP</b> file into the directory you created.
<b>Be sure to use a zip program that understands long file names
and creates subdirectories.</b> <a href=www.winzip.com>WINZIP</a>
will work fine.
<li>Double-click on the ORBIT icon to start the game.
<li>If you like, you can drag the ORBIT icon to your desktop to
create a shortcut.
</ol>
<a name=2.2>
<h3>Installation under Linux</h3>
<p>
<ol>
<li>Create a directory for ORBIT. You might use /usr/orbit
<li>Move the <b>orbit.tar.gz</b> file to the directory you created.
<li>Change your working directory to the orbit directory.
<li>Uncompress the file: <b>gunzip orbit.tar.gz</b>
<li>Extract the tar file: <b>tar xvf orbit.tar</b>
<li>Run the <b>orbit</b> binary to play the game.
</ol>
<p>
<a name=3>
<h2>Getting Started</h2>
<p>
When you start the game the first time, you will begin the first
training mission. The instructions in the training missions try to give
you step by step guidance, but it might be useful to be aware of some of
the most commonly-used command keys:
<ul>
<li>The <b>ESC</b> key or the <b>q</b> key leaves the game.
<li>Use the <b>joystick</b>, the <b>mouse</b>, or the <b>arrow keys</b>
to change the direction your ship is facing.
<li>Use the <b>fire button</b>, <b>tab key</b>, or <b>left mouse
button</b> to fire your current weapon.
<li>Use the <b>a</b> key (that's a <i>lower case</i> <b>A</b>) to
accelerate in the direction you're facing.
<li>Use the <b>z</b> key (again, a <i>lower case</i> <b>Z</b>) to
decelerate.
<li>Use the <b>A</b> key (that's an <i>upper case</i> <b>A</b>) to
accelerate very quickly (100 times faster than using <b>a</b>).
<li>Use the <b>Z</b> key (again, an <i>upper case</i> <b>Z</b>) to
decelerate very quickly.
<li>The <b>space key</b> brings you to a complete stop.
</ul>
Hopefully that's enough to get you started. There are many more
keyboard commands described in the next section.
<a name=4>
<h2>Keyboard Commands</h2>
<p>
Keep in mind that there are upper and lower case command keys.
In some cases the upper case key performs a different function than the
same lower case key. Command keys must be used in the case they are
shown here.
<p>
<ul>
<li><b>a</b> - Accelerate. Applies thrust in the direction you are
facing. Since the flight model is based on Newtonian physics,
this does not necessarily mean that you will actually move in
the direction you accelerate. If you are already moving in one
direction, accelerating in a different direction will alter your
course toward the new direction, but it may require much thrust
or more clever maneuvering to get where you want to go. (When
using the <i>Arcade Flight Model</i> you always move in the
direction you are facing.)
<li><b>z</b> - Decelerate. Applies negative thrust in the direction
you are facing.
<li><b>A</b> - Accelerate with 100 times the thrust of <b>a</b>.
<li><b>Z</b> - Decelerate with 100 times the thrust of <b>z</b>.
<li><b>space</b> - Stop. Brings the ship to an immediate, complete
stop.
<li><b>tab</b> - Fire. Fire the current weapon.
<li><b>insert</b> - Pitch left. Rotates the ship to the left, about
the current viewing direction.
<li><b>delete</b> - Pitch right.
<li><b>arrow keys</b> - Steer the ship.
<li><b>b</b> - Briefing. Redisplays the briefing for the current
mission.
<li><b>c</b> - Console. Redisplays up to ten lines of messages in
the message console at the upper left hand corner of the screen.
<li><b>C</b> - Become Client. Causes the machine to becone a client
in a network game. The player is prompted for the IP address of
the server to connect to.
<li><b>ctrl-D</b> - Drop client. Allows the server operator to drop
a client connection. The player is prompted for the number of
the client to drop.
<li><b>e</b> - Sound effects. Toggles the use of sound in the game.
<li><b>f</b> - Flight model. Toggles between the Newtonian model and
the Arcade model.
<li><b>F</b> - Toggles the display of the current frame rate in the
lower left-hand corner of the screen. The frame rate is only
displayed when the HUD is also displayed.
<li><b>g</b> - Gravity. Toggles the effect of gravity. If gravity
is on, your ship and all missiles will be affected by the mass
of nearby planets and moons. It's fun to turn gravity on and
experiment with orbitting planets.
<li><b>h</b> - HUD. Toggles the display of the Heads Up Display.
The HUD shows useful information such as the Radar and the status
of your shields. The HUD is described in more detail later.
<li><b>i</b> - Invulnerability. Toggles invulnerability. When you
are invulnerable you cannot be destroyed, but your shields can
still be damaged.
<li><b>j</b> - Junk. Toggles the display of space junk. Space junk
can give useful visual cues about your motion.
<li><b>k</b> - Time compression. Increases time compression, causing
the planets to appear to orbit more quickly.
<li><b>K</b> - Decreases time compression.
<li><b>l</b> - Lock type. Cycles the targetting mechanism from enemies
to friendlies to planets.
<li><b>L</b> - Load game. Abort the current mission and load one of
ten most recently-played missions.
<li><b>ctrl-L</b> - Load mission by name. The player is prompted for
the name of the mission to load.
<li><b>m</b> - Message. Redisplays the last message (shown in orange
in the middle of the screen), or clears the current message.
<li><b>M</b> - Mouse control. Toggles whether or not the mouse is
used to aim the ship.
<li><b>n</b> - Names. Toggles the display of planet names and nearby
moons and objects. Very useful for finding your way around.
<li><b>ctrl-N</b> - Set Name. Sets the name of the player.
<li><b>o</b> - Orbits. Toggles the display of planetary orbits.
The orbits of planets are shown in blue and the orbits of moons
are shown in cyan (light blue).
<li><b>O</b> - Orbitting. Toggles planetary orbital motion. <b>
Important:</b> Don't use this while playing a mission. The
planets will move from their original locations making it very
difficult to find your way around.
<li><b>p</b> - Pause. Pauses the game. You can use Control-P for
a "silent pause" which will not cause the "Paused" message on
the screen.
<li><b>P</b> - Print screen. Takes a snapshot of the current screen
and saves it in a file named something like orbitNNN.ppm. Screen
shots are stored in Portable Pixel Map (PPM) format.
<li><b>q</b> - Quit. Immediately leave the game.
<li><b>Q</b> - Quit, no save. Immediately leave the game but do not
update the <b>prefs.txt</b> file.
<li><b>r</b> - Rings. Toggles the display of planetary rings. Rings
are pretty, but they can slow down the frame rate of the game.
<li><b>s</b> - Starfield. Changes the rendering of the background
stars from NONE, to SPARSE, to DENSE. The dense starfield is
pretty but can slow things down.
<li><b>S</b> - Become Server. Causes the machine to become an
ORBIT server and to begin listening for client connections from
other machines.
<li><b>t</b> - Talk. Sends a message to other players during a
network game. The player is prompted for the message to send.
<li><b>T</b> - Joystick throttle. Toggles the use of the joystick
throttle, if one is available. When the joystick throttle is active,
moving the throttle forward applies forward thrust and moving the
throttle backward applies negative thrust. To apply zero thrust,
the throttle must be centered within the "dead zone".
<li><b>u</b> - Lock. Locks the nearest visible enemy ship, planet
(or moon), or friendly object, depending on the current lock type.
<li><b>U</b> - Users. List all players in a network game. <b>F1</b>
does the same thing.
<li><b>v</b> - View lock. Toggles view locking. When the view is
locked, the player's viewing direction is always set to the
currently locked planet or target.
<li><b>w</b> - Weapon. Selects the next weapon and makes it the
current weapon.
<li><b>x</b> - Textures. Toggles the use of texture mapping on
planets and rings. Textures look really cool, but turning them
off can really boost the performance of certain OpenGL
implementations.
<li><b>y</b> - Next target. Advances the locked target to the next
visible target, if one exists.
<li><b>Y</b> - Previous target. Selects the previous target as the
locked target.
<li><b>1, 2, 3, 4</b> - Immediately select the indicated weapon.
<li><b>]</b> - Next waypoint. In some missions there will be
predetermined points of interest which you can select using the
waypoint keys.
<li><b>[</b> - Previous waypoint.
<li><b><</b>,<b>></b> - Adjust the field of view.
<li><b>{</b>,<b>}</b> - Adjust the near clipping plane.
<li><b>(</b>,<b>)</b> - Adjust the far clipping plane.
</ul>
<a name=5>
<h2>Heads Up Display (HUD)</h2>
<p>
The HUD shows all sorts of useful information as shown here:
<p>
<img src=hud.gif>
<p>
<ol>
<li>Throttle. Shows the amount of forward thrust (green) or reverse
thrust (red) currently being applied. The number is the ship's
current velocity in kilometers per second. If the number is
green, the ship is moving forward (<i>into</i> the screen). If
it's red, the ship is moving backward. The velocity will be a
blue zero if the ship is perfectly at rest.
<li>Radar. The radar shows the <b>direction</b> to each planet, and
to each nearby moon, object, and missile. Objects near the center
of the radar are toward the front of the ship, while objects near
the edge of the radar are behind the ship.
Planets are shown as blue dots, moons are shown as cyan (light
blue), missiles are shown as small yellow dots, enemies are
shown as red dots, and friendlies are shown as green dots. The
currently locked object is shown as a slightly larger dot. The
current waypoint, if any, is shown as a white dot.
<li>Shield status. Shows the condition of your ship's shields. Full,
undamaged shields are shown as a bright green bar. As the shields
take damage, the bright part of the bar gets smaller. As the
shields receive considerable damage, the indicator turns yellow,
then red.
<li>Enemy shield status. Shows the shield status of the currently
locked enemy.
<li>Weapon. Shows the name of the current weapon. If the weapon is
recharging, the text will be grey. If the weapon is ready to fire,
the text will be magenta.
<li>Target. Shows the name and range, in kilometers, of the
currently locked target. Friendly targets are shown in green,
enemy targets in red, planets in blue, and moons in light blue.
<li>Waypoint. Shows the number and range of the currently selected
waypoint, if any.
</ol>
There are several other useful indicators which can appear in the actual
viewing area of the screen:
<p>
<ul>
<li><img src=center.gif> The center indicator. This appears in the
center of the screen. It indicates the direction your ship is
currently facing, and the general direction in which your weapons will
travel.
<li><img src=forward.gif> The forward motion cursor. This shows you
the direction your ship is traveling. Since the flight model
is based on Newtonian mechanics, your ship is not necessarily
traveling in the same direction you are facing. If your ship
is at rest, or if you are using the arcade flight model, the motion
cursors are not displayed.
<li><img src=backward.gif> The backward motion cursor. This shows the
point your ship is moving <b>away</b> from.
<li><img src=aim.gif> The aiming cursor. This shows you where to aim
to take a shot likely to hit the targetted object. The directions
and velocities of you and the target are taken into account, as
well as the velocity of the current weapon. The aiming cursor is
only displayed if the target is within range of the current
weapon.
<li><img src=waypoint.gif> The waypoint cursor. This indicator shows
the direction to the currently selected waypoint.
</ul>
<p>
<a name=6>
<h2>Weapons</h2>
<p>
Your ship is equipped with a number of weapons which differ with respect
to a number of characteristics:
<ul>
<li>Recharge time. All weapons, after being fired, need some time to
recharge before they can be fired again. The shorter the recharge
time, the more rapidly the weapon can be fired. In general, more
powerful weapons require more time to recharge.
<li>Yield. Weapons differ in the amount of damage they cause when
hitting an enemy. Weapons with larger yield cause more damage.
<li>Range. Some weapons are only effective at short distances, while
others can hit targets much further away.
<li>Velocity. Some weapons travel very quickly while others are slow.
</ul>
<p>
You will want to experiment with the different weapons to decide which
weapon is best for each specific situation.
<p>
<a name=6a>
<h2>Shields</h2>
<p>
Your ship, and the ships of enemy pilots, are protected by shields.
The shields can absorb a considerable amount of destructive energy
before that energy can damage or destroy the protected ship. If you
receive damage greater than the amount your shields can currently absorb,
your ship is destroyed.
<p>
Shields automatically regenerate. Damaged shields will eventually
return to complete capacity as long as they receive no additional
damage.
<p>
The status of your ship's shields and the shields of the currently
locked target are displayed on your HUD.
<p>
<a name=8>
<h2>The Preferences File</h2>
<p>
ORBIT remembers many of the different options you control, such as
whether the HUD is displayed and the density of the star field.
These preferences are stored in a file named <b>prefs.txt</b>, located
in the directory where you installed ORBIT. (If you're running under
Unix, the file is stored in your current working directory when you
execute the program.)
<p>
In addition, there are some options which are stored in the preferences
file but which <i>cannot</i> be controlled from within the program. To
manipulate these options, you must edit the preferences file directly.
<p>
Of particular note is the <b>mission</b> directive in the preferences
file. This is the name of the current mission. If you want to change
which mission you want to fly, or want to try flying a custom-designed
mission, you will need to change the value of this directive before
starting the game.
<p>
The preferences file consists of a number of text lines, with two fields
per line. The first field is the name of a directive and the second
field is the value of that directive.
<p>
Here is a complete list of directives in the preferences file.
Directives that you cannot control from within the game are marked with
an asterisk (*).
<p>
<ul>
<li><b>vulnerable</b> - Controls whether your ship is vulnerable to
damage. A value of zero means you're invulnerable, one means you are
vulnerable.
<li><b>joy_throttle</b> - Zero means the joystick throttle is ignored;
one means it is honored.
<li><b>deadzone</b> (*) - Defines the joystick "dead zone", which is that
area near the center of the joystick's range of motion in which movement
will be ignored. The dead zone is specified as a fraction between
0.0 and 1.0. The default is 0.1, which means that movement within
the centermost tenth of the joystick's range will be ignored.
<li><b>starfield</b> - Controls the density of the star field. Zero
means no star field, one means sparse, two means dense.
<li><b>drawhud</b> - Zero means no HUD, one means display the HUD.
<li><b>showfps</b> - Zero means don't display the frame rate, one means
do display the frame rate.
<li><b>gravity</b> - Zero means no gravity, one means gravity is on.
<li><b>junk</b> - Zero means no space junk, one means space junk is
displayed.
<li><b>sound</b> - Zero means no sound, one means sound is on.
<li><b>show_names</b> - Zero means object names are not displayed, one
means name are displayed.
<li><b>screen_shot_num</b> (*) - The number that will be used in the file
name of the next screen shot.
<li><b>mission</b> (*) - The file name of the current mission.
<li><b>rings</b> - Zero means don't draw planetary rings, one means draw
them.
<li><b>ring_sectors</b> (*) - Defines the number of sectors used to render
the planetary rings. More sectors will result in more realistic
rings but will slow the game down. The default is 32 sectors.
<li><b>textures</b> - Zero means no planet textures, one means use
textures.
<li><b>realdistances</b> (*) - In the interest of playability, by default
the solar system in ORBIT has been shrunk by a factor of ten (more
in the outer solar system). If realdistances is set to one, more
accurate distances will be used. However, this can mean very long
travel times between planets.
<li><b>mouse_control</b> - Zero means ignore the mouse, one means use
the mouse to control direction.
<li><b>mouse_flipx</b> (*) - Set to 1 to reverse the direction of mouse
control in the X dimension.
<li><b>mouse_flipy</b> (*) - Set to 1 to reverse the direction of mouse
control in the Y dimension.
<li><b>weapon</b> - The number, from zero to four, of the current
weapon.
<li><b>flightmodel</b> - Zero means use the default, Newtonian flight
model, one means the arcade model.
<li><b>screenwidth</b> (*) - The screen width in pixels.
<li><b>screenheight</b> (*) - The screen height in pixels.
<li><b>fullscreen</b> (*) - One means that ORBIT will try to use the entire
screen.
<li><b>gamemode</b> (*) - Allows you to control the resolution, bits per
pixel, and refresh rate that ORBIT will attempt to use. For example, a
value of 640x480:16@60 means a resolution of 640 by 480 pixels, a color
depth of 16 bits per pixel, and a refresh rate of 60 hertz.
<blockquote>
<i>Not all OpenGL drivers will support all resolutions. You may need to
experiment with the <b>screenwidth, screenheight, fullscreen</b>, and
<b>gamemode</b> directives to get optimal performance from your
driver.</i>
</blockquote>
<li><b>slices0</b> (*) - Specifies the number of slices, or sectors, used
to render planets and moons at great distances.
<li><b>stacks0</b> (*) - Controls the number of horizontal stacks used to
render planets and moons at great distances. Reducing the number
of slices and stacks will improve performance but will look less
realistic.
<li><b>slices1</b> (*) - Same as <b>slices0</b>, but for planets at
intermediate distances.
<li><b>stacks1</b> (*) - Same as <b>stacks0</b>, but for planets at
intermediate distances.
<li><b>slices2</b> (*) - Same as <b>slices0</b>, but for planets at
small distances.
<li><b>stacks2</b> (*) - Same as <b>stacks0</b>, but for planets at
small distances.
<li><b>name</b> - The player's name. Cannot contain spaces.
<li><b>model</b> (*) - The spaceship model used to display the
player's ship in network games.
<li><b>fov</b> - The Field Of View, in degrees.
<li><b>draw_orbits</b> - Set to 1 to draw planetary orbits.
<li><b>orbit</b> - Set to 1 to enable orbital motion.
<li><b>compression</b> - Time compression.
<li><b>fullstop</b> (*) - Set to 1 to enable use of the space bar for
full stop, 0 to disable full stop. (Full stop is a gross violation
of the laws of physics, so some people prefer to play without it.)
<b>Important:</b> Don't play missions with full stop disabled. You
won't be able to completely stop the ship to dock with objects.
<li><b>superwarp</b> (*) - Set to 1 to enable the original behavior of the
warp engines (100 times the regular engines). Set to 0 to enable
exponential acceleration, in which velocity increases are determined
by the current velocity. Superwarp is always disabled in network
games.
<li><b>port</b> (*) - Sets the TCP port the server will listen on. The
default is port 2061.
</ul>
<p>
<a name=8a>
<h2>The Log File</h2>
<p>
Every time ORBIT runs it creates a log file named <b>orbit.log</b>. The
log file is created in the same directory in which ORBIT was installed
(or the current working directory on Unix machines).
<p>
The log file contains all sort of useful information about things which
occur while the game is running. If the game behaves oddly, if you
think you've discovered a bug, or if you're trying to debug a
complicated mission file, the log file is the first place you should
look to help determine the problem.
<p>
If you wish to report a bug, you should include the <b>orbit.log</b>
file from a session which demonstraties the problem.
<p>
<a name=8b>
<h2>Network Play</h2>
<p>
Up to sixteen players can participate in a network game.
<p>
To set up a network game, you need to have ORBIT installed on at least
two computers which can communicate via TCP/IP (most likely using the
Internet). One computer is designated as the <i>server</i>, and the
rest of the participants are designated as <i>clients</i>. <b>You will
need to know the IP address of the server</b> before setting up a
network game.
<p>
Here are the specific steps to set up a network game:
<ol>
<li>Be sure all participants know the IP address of the server machine.
<li>Start up ORBIT on all participant's machines.
<li>On the server machine, type <b>S</b> (upper-case 'S'). This makes
the machine an ORBIT server.
<li>On each client, type <b>C</b> (upper-case 'C'), enter the IP
address of the server, and press <b>return</b>. This will
connect the client to the server.
<li>Go frag some butt, Sparky!
<li>To end a network game, type <b>C</b> again on a client to disconnect
that client from the game, or type <b>S</b> again on the server to
disconnect all clients.
</ol>
<p>
Here are some points to keep in mind regarding network play:
<ul>
<li>The playability of a network game is directly related to the speed
and quality of the network connections between participants. A
slow or unreliable network connection will result in degraded play.
<li>The framerate on the server machine has a strong impact on the
quality of play. Ideally, the server should be the most powerful
machine in a game, and should have the best network connection.
(In particular, <i>upstream</i> bandwidth from the server is
important.) It is also worth considering improving the performance
of the server by doing things like turning off space junk, turning
off the starfield, disabling textures, etc.
<li>In a network game, the server has control of gravity, planetary
orbits, full stop toggle, and flight model. The commands to
change these things are disabled on network clients during a game.
<li>There are no missions in a network game (yet).
<li>By default, clients communicate to servers on TCP port 2061. But
the port can be changed if necessary (perhaps due to a firewall
restriction):
<ul>
<li>On the server, use the <b>port</b> preferences variable to
specify the port to listen on (port 80 might be a good choice).
<li>On the clients, when entering the IP address of the server,
follow the address with a space, then the new port number.
</ul>
<li>If a client cannot connect to the server for any reason (the server
is down, there is a firewall problem, the IP address was entered
incorrectly), the client will appear to freeze for a while, until
the connection attempt times out.
</ul>
<p>
To make it easier to find opponents in a network game, it is possible
to lock on to enemy targets regardless of their distance. In normal
mission play, only nearby targets can be locked.
<p>
The player name used in network displays is controlled by the
<b>name</b> preferences variable, and the spaceship model is controlled
by the <b>model</b> variable.
<p>
<a name=9>
<h2>The Mission File</h2>
<p>
<a name=9.1>
<h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>
ORBIT is based on the concept of a <i>mission</i>. The player is
presented with specific objectives which must be met for a mission to be
successful. The objectives vary for each mission, and depending on the
player's performance, different subsequent missions can be assigned.
<p>
Each mission in ORBIT is controlled by a <i>mission file</i>. The
mission file is a simple text file which controls the placement of
objects, the objectives of a mission, and events which may take place
during a mission. <b>All mission files are expected to be found in the
<i>missions</i> subdirectory.</b>
<p>
When the game is run, the value of the <b>mission</b> directive in the
preferences file determines the mission to be loaded. If the
preferences file does not exist or does not contain the <b>mission</b>
directive, the default mission <b>train01.msn</b> is loaded.
<p>
<a name=9.2>
<h3>Format</h3>
<p>
The mission file consists of <i>tokens</i> separated by <i>white
space</i>. White space is spaces, tabs, and newlines. A variety of
tokens control all aspects of the mission being defined. Line breaks
are ignored; you may break lines anywhere you like, as long as you do so
between tokens.
<p>
Some tokens require extended arguments which must be enclosed in braces
(<b>{</b> and <b>}</b>). <b>The braces must be surrounded by white
space.</b> For example, this is a valid statement:
<pre>
Cursor { Earth +10000 }
</pre>
but this <b>IS NOT VALID</b>:
<pre>
Cursor {Earth +10000} (BAD!!!)
</pre>
<p>
Comments may be included anywhere in the mission file by beginning the
comment with <b>/*</b> and ending with <b>*/</b>. These tokens must
also be surrounded by white space.
<p>
The mission loader is fairly forgiving and will ignore most errors (but
an error message will be printed). If you are designing a mission and
it isn't working the way you expect, the loader may be ignoring a
simple error in the mission file.
<p>
Tokens are case-insensitive. That is, <b>Event</b> is the same as
<b>event</b> is the same as <b>EVENT</b>.
<p>
A great way to learn about missions is to examine the mission files
included in the distribution. They are in the <b>missions</b>
subdirectory and can be viewed with any text editor, like Notepad.
<p>
What follows is an exhaustive list of all the tokens along with
descriptions and examples.
<p>
<a name=9.3>
<h3>Cursor</h3>
<p>
Quite often while defining a mission you will need to refer to a
position in space. Rather than have separate commands for the locations
of objects, events, etc., the mission loader uses the concept of a
<i>mission cursor</i>, a location in three-dimensional space. Whenever
a token needs a location, it uses the current value of the mission
cursor.
<p>
You manipulate the mission cursor with the <tt>Cursor</tt> token, which
must be followed by a position enclosed in braces. You may specify absolute
and relative positions, and may use the names of planets, moons, and
objects to represent their positions.
<p>
You specify a position with up to four parameters: The (optional) name
of a planet, moon, or object, followed by up to three coordinates (x, y,
and z). If the coordinates begin with a + or -, they are interpreted as being
relative to the current mission cursor, otherwise they are interpreted as
absolute coordinates. Coordinates are specified in units of kilometers.
<p>
Here are some examples:
<p>
Set the mission cursor to the position of Earth:
<pre>
Cursor { Earth }
</pre>
Set the mission cursor to the position of Earth, plus ten thousand
kilometers in the X direction:
<pre>
Cursor { Earth +10000 }
</pre>
Set the mission cursor to a few hundred kilometers along each axis
from the old cursor:
<pre>
Cursor { +300 -200 +400 }
</pre>
<p>
If the name of an object is used in the <tt>Cursor</tt> statement, the
object must have been defined earlier in the mission file.
<a name=9.4>
<h3>Player</h3>
<p>
The initial position of the player is controlled by the <tt>Player</tt>
command. The player's initial position will be set to the current value
of the mission cursor.
<p>
The <tt>Player</tt> token must be followed by braces with only white
space between them. In other words it must look like this:
<pre>
Player { }
</pre>
<p>
In the absence of the <tt>Player</tt> command, the initial player
position is inherited from the position at the end of the previous
mission.
<p>
<a name=9.5>
<h3>Object</h3>
<p>
The <tt>Object</tt> command controls the placement of an object in the
mission. Objects may be enemy ships, friendly ships, space stations,
etc.
<p>
A complete <tt>Object</tt> description might look like this:
<pre>
Object
{
Name Fighter1
Model light1.tri
Score 1
Strategy Hunt1
}
</pre>
<b>The object's position is set to the current value of the mission
cursor.</b>
<p>
The <tt>Object</tt> token must be followed by a number of parameters
enclosed in braces. Each of these parameters, which describe the
appearance and behavior of the object, are described below:
<p>
<a name=9.5.1>
<h4>Name</h4>
<p>
The <tt>Name</tt> token assigns a name to an object. The name will be
displayed in the HUD when the object is targetted, and may be refered to
by various events.
<p>
The format is:
<pre>
Name object-name
</pre>
Object names are limited to 32 characters and cannot contain white space
characters.
<p>
<a name=9.5.2>
<h4>Model</h4>
<p>
The appearance of an object is controlled by the <tt>Model</tt> token.
The value, which must follow the <tt>Model</tt> token, is the name of a
file found in the <b>models</b> subdirectory. If the model name ends
in ".tri", it is assumed to be in the <b>triangle</b> format. If the
name ends in ".ac" it is assumed to be in <b>AC3D</b> format.
<p>
Here's an example:
<pre>
Model platform.tri
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.5.3>
<h4>Score</h4>
<p>
The <tt>Score</tt> specifies the number of points the player receives
for destroying the object. The player's score can control events,
described later.
<p>
Here's an example:
<pre>
Score 1
</pre>
<a name=9.5.4>
<h4>Strategy</h4>
<p>
The behavior of an object is controlled by the <tt>Strategy</tt>
command. The token is followed by the name of a strategy, like this:
<pre>
Strategy DoNothing
</pre>
These are the currently available strategies:
<ul>
<li><tt>DoNothing</tt> - Just what it says; the object will not move or fire.
<li><tt>Sit1</tt> - The object will not move, but will fire upon the
player if approached.
<li><tt>Sit2</tt> - Like <tt>Sit1</tt> but a much better aiming
algorithm is used.
<li><tt>Sit3</tt> - Like <tt>Sit1</tt> but the object will fire on the
closest enemy object.
<li><tt>Sit4</tt> - Like <tt>Sit3</tt> but a much better aiming
algorithm is used.
<li><tt>Hunt1</tt> - The object will pursue and fire upon the player,
when the player approaches the object.
<li><tt>Hunt2</tt> - Like <tt>Hunt1</tt> but a much better aiming
algorithm is used.
<li><tt>Hunt3</tt> - Like <tt>Hunt1</tt> but the object will pursue
and fire upon the closest enemy object.
<li><tt>Hunt4</tt> - Like <tt>Hunt3</tt> but a much better aiming
algorithm is used.
</ul>
<p>
<a name=9.5.5>
<h4>Hidden</h4>
<p>
Objects may be declared to be <i>hidden</i>. Hidden objects will not
appear on the HUD, cannot be hit, do not fire, and do not use any
strategy. Typically, a hidden object would at some point be unhidden by
an event.
<p>
The token takes no arguments:
<pre>
Hidden
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.5.6>
<h4>Weapon</h4>
<p>
By default objects are armed with Weapon number four, which is a weak
weapon. Objects may be given a different weapon with the <tt>Weapon</tt>
command. The argument is a number from 0 to 9, like this:
<pre>
Weapon 3
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.5.7>
<h4>Friendly</h4>
<p>
Normally, objects behave as enemy objects and attack the player
according to the <tt>Strategy</tt> they have been assigned. But you can
use the <tt>Friendly</tt> token to declare an object to be a friendly
object. Friendly and unfriendly objects can be made to attack each
other by assigning appropriate strategies to the objects.
<p>
<a name=9.5.8>
<h4>MaxShields</h4>
<p>
<tt>MaxShields</tt> specifies the maximum level of the object's undamaged
shields. The default value is 100. The token is followed by the value
to be assigned to the maximum shield level:
<pre>
MaxShields 200.0
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.5.9>
<h4>ShieldRegen</h4>
<p>
The rate at which an object's damaged shields regenerate can be controlled
with the <tt>ShieldRegen</tt> token. The default is 5.0 units per second.
Follow the token with the regeneration value:
<pre>
ShieldRegen 2.0
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.5.10>
<h4>TurnRate</h4>
<p>
The rate at which an object turns is specified with the
<tt>TurnRate</tt> token, which is followed by the turn rate expressed in
radians per second:
<pre>
TurnRate 0.5
</pre>
<p>
The default turn rate is 0.3 radians per second.
<p>
<a name=9.5.11>
<h4>Speed</h4>
<p>
An object's acceleration is controlled by the <tt>Speed</tt> token. The
default speed is 0.02. Follow the token with the new speed:
<pre>
Speed 0.04
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.5.12>
<h4>Invisible</h4>
<p>
The <tt>Invisible</tt> token makes an object invisible. Invisible
objects do not appear in the HUD or on the viewscreen. Invisible
objects can be hit by weapons and can be assigned a strategy.
<p>
The token takes no arguments:
<pre>
Invisible
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.6>
<h3>Briefing</h3>
<p>
Once a mission is loaded, the player is presented with the <i>mission
briefing</i>. The briefing should tersely inform the player of the
situation and clearly state the mission objectives.
<p>
The <tt>Briefing</tt> token is followed by the text of the briefing
inside braces. You may force a line break in the briefing with a
backslash (\). Briefings are limited to 4096 characters, but you should
keep them short to be sure they can be displayed on small screens.
<p>
Here's an example briefing:
<pre>
Briefing
{
Mission 001: Lunar Patrol\\
Welcome to the ship, Captain.\\
We have had some reports of enemy activity in orbit above
Earth's Moon. If the aliens establish a stronghold so close
to the earth it may be impossible to withstand an attack.\\
Your mission is to travel to the moon, eliminate any hostile
forces you encounter, and return to the earth.\\
Briefing concluded. Godspeed!\\
}
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.8>
<h3>Verbose</h3>
<p>
The mission loader can print lots of useful diagnostic information. To
receive all such messages, turn on verbose reporting with the
<tt>Verbose</tt> token, which should appear near the top of the mission
file.
<p>
The <tt>Verbose</tt> token takes no arguments:
<pre>
Verbose
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.9>
<h3>Terse</h3>
<p>
To turn off verbose reporting from the mission loader, use the
<tt>Terse</tt> command, which takes no arguments:
<pre>
Terse
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.10>
<h3>Event</h3>
<p>
In order to make more interesting missions it's possible to define
<i>events</i>. The mission situation can be changed by events when
certain circumstances occur. You can give messages to the player when a
certain object is approached or destroyed, new objects can be created in
response to mission conditions, etc. There are many possibilities which
allow you to create rich, complex missions.
<p>
Events can also be used to load other missions depending on
circumstances. This allows you to create vast, branching campaigns in
which the story line is directly affected by the player's performance.
<p>
Each event has a <i>trigger</i> and up to 64 <i>actions</i>. The
condition which causes the event to occur is the trigger. The things
that happen as a result of the event are the actions.
<p>
The <tt>Event</tt> token is followed by the definition of the event
enclosed in braces. The definition consists mostly of token-value
pairs, where the token is the name of some aspect of the event, and the
value is the value to be assigned to that aspect.
<p>
Each event can occur at most once. When an event has occurred, it is
marked as inactive and cannot occur again.
<p>
Each event has a position associated with it, even though the particular
event may not make use of the position. The position assigned to an
event is taken from the current mission cursor.
<p>
A complete event definition might look like this:
<pre>
Event
{
Name e1
Trigger Approach
Value 10000
Action Message
Value
{
Welcome home!
}
}
</pre>
This event will cause the message "Welcome home!" to be displayed when
the player moves to within 10000 kilometers of the current mission
cursor.
<p>
Descriptions and examples of all the supported event tokens follow:
<p>
<a name=9.10.1>
<h4>Name</h4>
<p>
An event can be assigned a name using the <tt>Name</tt> token. The
token is followed by the name of the event, like this:
<pre>
Name e1
</pre>
Event names cannot contain white space.
<p>
In general you do not need to name an event. However, if you intend to
refer to the event from another event, most likely with an
<tt>Enable</tt> or <tt>Disable</tt> action (described below), then you
need to give the event a name.
<p>
<a name=9.10.2>
<h4>Trigger</h4>
<p>
The specific condition which will cause an event to occur is specified
using the <tt>Trigger</tt> token. The token is followed by the name of
the type of trigger. An example might be:
<pre>
Trigger Approach
</pre>
This statement makes this event triggered by the player's approach to a
certain point.
<p>
Descriptions and examples of each of the trigger types follow:
<p>
<a name=9.10.2.1>
<h5>Approach</h5>
<p>
An event with a trigger type of <tt>Approach</tt> will occur when the
player comes within a specified distance from a specified point.
<p>
The point to be approached is set to the current mission cursor.
<p>
The distance is specified with the <tt>Value</tt> token, which must
immediately follow the <tt>Trigger</tt> statement, like this:
<pre>
Trigger Approach
Value 20000
</pre>
This event will occur when the player approaches within 20000 kilometers
of the current mission cursor.
<p>
<a name=9.10.2.2>
<h5>Depart</h5>
<p>
<tt>Depart</tt> is the opposite of <tt>Approach</tt>. An event with a
trigger type of <tt>Depart</tt> will occur the first time the player
moves further than a specified distance from a specified point.
<p>
Like the <tt>Approach</tt> trigger, the point in space comes from the
current mission cursor, and the distance is specified with the
<tt>Value</tt> token:
<pre>
Trigger Depart
Value 100000
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.10.2.3>
<h5>True</h5>
<p>
An event with a trigger type of <tt>True</tt> will occur the first time
it is checked. Unless the event has been disabled, it will occur as
soon as the mission begins.
<p>
There is no value associated with a trigger type of <tt>True</tt>:
<pre>
Trigger True
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.10.2.4>
<h5>Score</h5>
<p>
An event with a trigger type of <tt>Score</tt> will occur the first time
the player's score is greater than or equal to a specified amount.
<p>
The amount to compare is specified with the <tt>Value</tt> token:
<pre>
Trigger Score
Value 10
</pre>
<p>
This event will occur the first time the player's score equals or
exceeds 10.
<p>
<a name=9.10.2.5>
<h5>Destroy</h5>
<p>
An event can be triggered when a specified object is destroyed. The
name of the object (specified with the <tt>Name</tt> token in the
<tt>Object</tt> definition) must be given with the <tt>Value</tt> token:
<pre>
Trigger Destroy
Value fighter1
</pre>
<p>
This event will occur when the object named <tt>fighter1</tt> is
destroyed.
<p>
<a name=9.10.2.6>
<h5>Alarm</h5>
<p>
An event can be scheduled to occur when a given number of seconds has
elapsed. The number of seconds is given with the <tt>Value</tt> token:
<pre>
Trigger Alarm
Value 30.0
</pre>
<p>
Unless this event has been disabled, it will occur 30 seconds after the
start of the mission. If it has been disabled, it will occur 30 seconds
after it is enabled.
<p>
<a name=9.10.2.7>
<h5>StopNear</h5>
<p>
Similar to the <tt>Approach</tt> trigger, an event with a trigger type
<tt>StopNear</tt> will occur when the player has approached a certain
point <i>and come to a full stop</i>.
<p>
The point comes from the mission cursor, and the distance comes from the
<tt>Value</tt> token:
<pre>
Trigger StopNear
Value 2000
</pre>
<p>
This event will be triggered with the player comes to a full stop within
2000 kilometers of the current mission cursor.
<p>
<a name=9.10.2.8>
<h5>Shields</h5>
<p>
An event with a trigger of type <tt>Shields</tt> will occur the first
time the specified object's shields drop below a certain value. The
name of the object and the value must follow the token in braces:
<pre>
Shields { Fighter1 50 }
</pre>
<p>
This event will occur when the shields of the object named
<tt>Fighter1</tt> drop below 50 units.
<p>
<a name=9.10.3>
<h4>Action</h4>
<p>
The things that happen when an event occurs are specified with
<tt>Action</tt> tokens. An event can have up to 64 actions. All of
an event's actions take place when the conditions specified in the
event's <tt>Trigger</tt> are met.
<p>
The type of action must follow the <tt>Action</tt> token. A complete
action specification might look like this:
<pre>
Action Message
Value
{
One more to go!
}
</pre>
<p>
This will cause the message "One more to go!" to be displayed when the
event's trigger condition is met.
<p>
Descriptions of all the possible action types follow:
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.1>
<h5>Message</h5>
<p>
The <tt>Message</tt> action causes the specified message to be displayed
on the player's screen when the event's trigger condition is met.
<p>
The text of the message is specified using the <tt>Value</tt> token,
enclosed in braces, like this:
<pre>
Action Message
Value
{
Go get 'em Sparky!
}
</pre>
<p>
This will cause the message to be displayed when the event's trigger
condition is met.
<p>
You can insert line breaks in the message using a backslash (\).
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.2>
<h5>Hide</h5>
<p>
A <tt>Hide</tt> action causes an object to be hidden. Hidden objects
behave as if they had been declared <tt>Hidden</tt> in the object
definition.
<p>
The name of the object to <tt>Hide</tt> is given with the <tt>Value</tt>
token:
<pre>
Action Hide
Value fighter1
</pre>
<p>
This action will cause the object with the name <tt>fighter1</tt> to be
hidden when the event is triggered.
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.3>
<h5>Unhide</h5>
<p>
The opposite of the <tt>Hide</tt> action, the <tt>Unhide</tt> action
causes a hidden object to become unhidden.
<p>
The name of the object to <tt>Unhide</tt> is specified with the
<tt>Value</tt> token:
<pre>
Action Unhide
Value fighter1
</pre>
<p>
This action will cause the object with the name <tt>fighter1</tt> to be
unhidden when the event is triggered.
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.4>
<h5>Destroy</h5>
<p>
When an event with an action of <tt>Destroy</tt> is triggered, the named
object will be destroyed:
<pre>
Action Destroy
Value fighter1
</pre>
<p>
When this event is triggered, the object named <tt>fighter1</tt> will be
destroyed.
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.5>
<h5>Score</h5>
<p>
When an event with an action of type <tt>Score</tt> occurs, the player's
score is increased by the specified amount (which may be negative).
<p>
The amount to increase the score is given with the <tt>Value</tt> token:
<pre>
Action Score
Value 1
</pre>
<p>
This action causes the player's score to be increased by one point.
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.6>
<h5>Enable</h5>
<p>
An action of type <tt>Enable</tt> will cause the specified event to be
enabled. The name of the event to enable is given with the
<tt>Value</tt> token:
<pre>
Action Enable
Value e2
</pre>
<p>
This action will cause the event named <tt>e2</tt> to be enabled with the
event is triggered.
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.7>
<h5>Disable</h5>
<p>
An action of type <tt>Disable</tt> will cause the specified event to be
disabled. The name of the event to disable is given with the
<tt>Value</tt> token:
<pre>
Action Disable
Value e2
</pre>
<p>
This action will cause the event named <tt>e2</tt> to be disabled with the
event is triggered.
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.8>
<h5>Stop</h5>
<p>
The <tt>Stop</tt> action causes the player's ship to come to a complete
stop. This action does not take a value:
<pre>
Action Stop
</pre>
<p>
This action will cause the player's ship to come to a full stop when the
event's trigger condition is met.
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.9>
<h5>LoadMission</h5>
<p>
An event can cause another mission (or even the same mission) to be
loaded and played. The mission to be loaded is specified with the
<tt>Value</tt> token:
<pre>
Action LoadMission
Value train04.msn
</pre>
<p>
This action will cause the mission file named <b>train04.msn</b> to be
loaded when the event's trigger condition is met.
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.10>
<h5>Boom</h5>
<p>
The <tt>Boom</tt> action will cause an explosion of the specifed size
to occur at the position of the current mission cursor. The size of the
explosion is specified with the <tt>Value</tt> token:
<pre>
Action Boom
Value 1.0
</pre>
<p>
An explosion of size 1.0 is a medium-sized explosion. Greater values
will cause bigger explosions; lesser values will cause smaller
explosions.
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.11>
<h5>Flash</h5>
<p>
The <tt>Flash</tt> action causes the screen to flash white for one
frame. The token takes no value:
<pre>
Action Flash
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.12>
<h5>MoveObject</h5>
<p>
The <tt>MoveObject</tt> action causes the position of the specified
object to be moved to the current value of the mission cursor. The name
of the object to be moved is specified with the <tt>Value</tt> token:
<pre>
Action MoveObject
Value Fighter1
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.13>
<h5>MovePlayer</h5>
<p>
The <tt>MovePlayer</tt> action will change the location of the player to
the value of the current mission cursor. The token takes no value:
<pre>
Action MovePlayer
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.14>
<h5>MovePlanet</h5>
<p>
The <tt>MovePlanet</tt> action changes the location of the named planet
to the value of the current mission cursor. The token must be followed
by the name of the planet to move:
<pre>
Action MovePlanet
Value Jupiter
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.15>
<h5>HidePlanet</h5>
<p>
The <tt>HidePlanet</tt> action causes the named planet to become hidden,
just as if the <tt>Hidden</tt> token was used in the planet's
definition. The token is followed by the name of the planet to hide:
<pre>
Action HidePlanet
Name Jupiter
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.16>
<h5>UnhidePlanet</h5>
<p>
The <tt>UnhidePlanet</tt> action caused the name planet to become
unhidden. The name of the planet is specified with the <tt>Value</tt>
token:
<pre>
Action UnhidePlanet
Name Jupiter
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.10.3.17>
<h5>Betray</h5>
<p>
The <tt>Betray</tt> action will change the friendly status of the named
object. If the object was friendly, it will become an enemy object. If
it was an enemy, it will be changed to a friendly object.
<p>
The name of the object to change is specified with the <tt>Value</tt>
token:
<pre>
Action Betray
Value Fighter2
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.10.4>
<h4>Value</h4>
<p>
The <tt>Value</tt> token is used to provide required information to the
<tt>Trigger</tt> token and many of the <tt>Action</tt> tokens. The
token is followed by a number, a name, or text enclosed in braces,
depending on the particular token it is being used with.
<p>
When used to specify some text, line breaks may be included in the text
by using backslashes (\).
<p>
<a name=9.10.5>
<h4>Enabled</h4>
<p>
<a name=9.10.6>
<h4>Disabled</h4>
<p>
It can be useful to declare an event to be <i>disabled</i>, and then
have it enabled at some later point by another event. The trigger
conditions of a disabled event are not checked until the event is
enabled.
<p>
To declare an event to be disabled, include the <tt>Disabled</tt> token
in the event definition:
<pre>
Disabled
</pre>
<p>
You can declare an event to be <tt>Enabled</tt>, but this is the
default.
<p>
<a name=9.11>
<h3>Planet</h3>
<p>
The <tt>Planet</tt> command can be used to control the placement and
appearance of the planets and moons in the game.
<p>
Here are some things to keep in mind if you plan to start moving planets
around:
<p>
<ul>
<li>Planetary maps must be in Portable Pixel Map (PPM) "rawbits" format.
The images must have a resolution of 256 by 256. Comments in the
PPM header are not supported.
<li>Planetary maps are expected to be
found in the <b>maps</b> subdirectory.
<li>Between missions the planets are reset to their original
characteristics. If you're creating multiple missions in an
altered solar system, you'll need to redefine the planets in
each mission file.
<li>You can move the sun, but the light source for the solar system
will always be at the sun's original position.
<li>You can't change which planets have rings or the textures used to
render the rings.
</ul>
<p>
The <tt>Planet</tt> token is followed by a number of token-value pairs
enclosed in braces. A complete <tt>Planet</tt> definition might look
like this:
<pre>
Planet
{
Name Saturn
NewName Tralfamadore
Map tralfam.ppm
Radius 12000.0
}
</pre>
<p>
What follows is a list of all the tokens which can be used to modify the
planets:
<p>
<a name=9.11.1>
<h4>Name</h4>
<p>
The <tt>Name</tt> token is used to identify the planet to be modified.
It must be the first token in the definition of a planet. The token is
followed by the existing name of the planet:
<pre>
Name Saturn
</pre>
<p>
This statement specifies that the rest of the planet definition applies
to the planet currently named <tt>Saturn</tt>.
<p>
<a name=9.11.2>
<h4>NewName</h4>
<p>
The <tt>NewName</tt> token is used to assign a new name to a planet.
Planet names cannot contain spaces and are limited to 16 characters.
The token is followed by the new name to be assigned to the planet:
<pre>
NewName Magrathea
</pre>
<p>
This will assign the name <tt>Magrathea</tt> to the planet specified
with the most recent <tt>Name</tt> directive.
<p>
<a name=9.11.3>
<h4>Reposition</h4>
<p>
You can change the position of a planet with the <tt>Reposition</tt>
token. The new position of the planet will be taken from the current
mission cursor. The token requires no arguments:
<pre>
Reposition
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.11.4>
<h4>Hidden</h4>
<p>
A planet which has been <tt>Hidden</tt> cannot be seen, does not appear
on the HUD, and cannot be collided with. A hidden planet effectively
does not exist. The token takes no arguments:
<pre>
Hidden
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.11.5>
<h4>Map</h4>
<p>
The texture used to render a planet can be controlled with the
<tt>Map</tt> token, which must be followed by the name of the texture
file:
<pre>
Map fractal1.ppm
</pre>
<p>
This would assign the map file named <b>fractal1.ppm</b> to the planet
most recently <tt>Name</tt>d. Map files are expected to be found in the
<b>maps</b> subdirectory. Map files must be in the Portable Pixel Map
(PPM) "rawbits" format, must have a resolution of 256 by 256, and cannot
contain comments in the PPM header.
<p>
<a name=9.11.6>
<h4>Oblicity</h4>
<p>
The <tt>Oblicity</tt> of a planet is the inclination, in degrees, of its
equator to its orbital plane. Most planets have a low oblicity.
(Earth's is about 23 degrees, Jupiter's is 3 degrees.) An oblicity of
90 degrees would place the planet's poles on the orbital plane. An
oblicity of 180 degrees will turn the planet upside down, making it
appear to rotate backwards.
<p>
The token is followed by the planet's oblicity in degrees:
<pre>
Oblicity 23.5
</pre>
<p>
A planet's moons and rings inherit its oblicity.
<p>
<a name=9.11.7>
<h4>Radius</h4>
<p>
The size of a planet is controlled by its <tt>Radius</tt>. The token is
followed by the planet's radius in kilometers:
<pre>
Radius 8000.0
</pre>
<p>
The radius of a planet also controls its mass, which is used if gravity
is turned on.
<p>
<a name=9.12>
<h3>Weapon</h3>
<p>
The weapons in ORBIT can be customized with the <tt>Weapon</tt> token.
The token is followed by token-value pairs enclosed in braces. A
complete <tt>Weapon</tt> specification might look like this:
<pre>
Weapon
{
Index 2
Name BFG9000
Speed 1.0
Color 0xff0000
Yield 30.0
Idle 0.1
Expire 2.0
Renderer 3
}
</pre>
<p>
Descriptions and examples of all the <tt>Weapon</tt> specifiers follow:
<p>
<a name=9.12.1>
<h4>Index</h4>
<p>
The <tt>Index</tt> token identifies the weapon to be modified. There
are ten weapons with indices from zero to nine. The <tt>Index</tt>
token is followed by the numeric index of the weapon to be modified:
<pre>
Index 2
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.12.2>
<h4>Name</h4>
<p>
The name of a weapon is specified with the <tt>Name</tt> token, which
must be followed by the new name of the weapon:
<pre>
Name Hyperlaser
</pre>
<p>
This will assign the name <tt>Hyperlaser</tt> to the weapon most
recently identified using the <tt>Index</tt> token.
<p>
Weapon names are limited to 16 characters and cannot contain white space
characters. The name of the weapon appears in the HUD when that weapon
is selected.
<a name=9.12.3>
<h4>Speed</h4>
<p>
The velocity with which a weapon's projectiles travel is specified with
the <tt>Speed</tt> token, which is followed by the velocity specified in
kilometers per second:
<pre>
Speed 5000.0
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.12.4>
<h4>Yield</h4>
<p>
The amount of damage caused by a weapon's projectile when it strikes a
target is controlled by the <tt>Yield</tt> token. The amount of a
weapon's yield is subtracted from the current value of the target's
shields. If the shields are reduced to below zero, the target is
destroyed.
<p>
The token is followed by the value of the yield:
<pre>
Yield 30.0
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.12.5>
<h4>Idle</h4>
<p>
The <tt>Idle</tt> token specifies the amount of time, in seconds,
required by a weapon to recharge once it has been fired. The weapon
cannot be fired while it is recharging.
<p>
The token is followed by the idle time in seconds:
<pre>
Idle 0.6
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.12.6>
<h4>Expire</h4>
<p>
The <tt>Expire</tt> token is used to specify the amount of time before a
projectile which has been fired times out. The <tt>Expire</tt> and
<tt>Speed</tt> values together determine the range of a weapon.
<p>
The token is followed by the expiration time in seconds:
<pre>
Expire 3.0
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.12.7>
<h4>Renderer</h4>
<p>
The appearance of a weapon's projectiles is controlled by the
<tt>Renderer</tt> token.
<p>
There are currently five renderers:
<ul>
<li>0 - Three line segments at right angles to one another
<li>1 - Same as 0.
<li>2 - Elongated quadrilaterals, or rays
<li>3 - Tetrahedrons
<li>4 - Random line loops
</ul>
<p>
The token is followed by the index of the renderer to be used to draw
the weapon's projectiles:
<pre>
Renderer 3
</pre>
<p>
<a name=9.12.8>
<h4>Color</h4>
<p>
The <tt>Color</tt> token controls the color of a weapon's projectiles.
The red, green, and blue components of the color can be specified as
six-digit hexadecimal number preceded by "0x".
<p>
The color specification must follow the <tt>Color</tt> token:
<pre>
Color 0xff8000
</pre>
<p>
This specifies a projectile color with a red component of 255
(hexadecimal <tt>ff</tt>), and green component of 128 (hex <tt>80</tt>)
and a blue component of zero.
<p>
<a name=9.13>
<h3>Include</h3>
<p>
A mission file can include commands from another file by using the
<tt>Include</tt> statement, which is followed by the name of the file
to include, like this:
<pre>
Include fighter.inc
</pre>
<p>
Included files are also expected to be in the <b>missions</b>
subdirectory. Include files may be nested to 16 levels.
<p>
<a name=9.14>
<h3>Waypoint</h3>
<p>
The <tt>Waypoint</tt> token defines a new waypoint with coordinates
equal to the current mission cursor. The token must be followed by
braces with only white space between them:
<pre>
Waypoint { }
</pre>
<p>
<a name=10>
<h2>Adding New Models</h2>
<p>
You can easily add new object models to ORBIT, and then include them in
missions using the <tt>Model</tt> token in an <tt>Object</tt>
definition.
<p>
Model files are expected to reside in the <b>models</b> subdirectory.
<b>Triangle</b> and <b>AC3D</b> format models are supported. The file
names of triangle models must end with ".tri" and the names of AC3D
format models must end with ".ac".
<p>
The AC3D file format is documented
<a href=http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/users/andy/ac3d/man/ac3dfileformat.html>here</a>.
The home page for the AC3D modelling program is
<a href=http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/users/andy/ac3d.html>
here</a>. If the AC3D model includes textures, the texture files must
also reside in the <b>models</b> subdirectory. Only textures in the SGI
"rgb" format are supported.
<p>
A triangle file has one record per triangle in the object. The line
contains ten fields. For example:
<pre>
1.3 -0.5 -0.6 -1.5 -0.5 0.2 1.3 -0.5 0.2 0xCCCCCC
</pre>
<p>
The first nine fields are the X, Y, and Z coordinates of the triangle's
three vertices, in counter-clockwise order as viewed from the exterior
of the object. The tenth field is the 24-bit color of the triangle in
hexadecimal format.
<p>
Here are some points to keep in mind when adding new models to ORBIT:
<ul>
<li>Larger models take longer to render and will slow down the game.
If your model is growing to 100 triangles or more you might want
to think about simplifying it.
<li>A small model, like a fighter, should be about two or three units
in size.
<li>The front of the model should point along the X axis, and the top
of the model should point along the Y axis.
<li>Collisions are computed using the <i>bounding box</i> of the model.
That is, the model is treated, for the purposes of computing
collisions, as a box with dimensions equal to the maximum X, Y, and
Z coordinates of the model. So if you make a model with something
sticking out a long way in one direction, collisions with that
model may not seem very realistic.
</ul>
<p>
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