Programmable Spacefighters [Jef Winsor].txt 6.6 KB

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135
  1. 14. VIP Programmable Spacefighters
  2. Programmable Spacefighters is a combat game involving 2 to 8 spaceships competing
  3. for the domination of a contained field in space. The field of play is a
  4. two-dimensional representation of an oblong spheroid.
  5. The movement and fire of each spacefighter is controlled by programming a series of
  6. commands into each fighter's instruction storage table. Once all the spacefighters
  7. are programmed, they carry out their commands by sequentially executing a single step
  8. at a time. The play of the game ins divided into rounds. Each spacefighter may
  9. execute between 1 and 15 commands per round.
  10. The fighters all have the same appearance and capabilities. Players distinguish
  11. between fighters by examining the defense strength and position of their fighters
  12. at the begining of every round.
  13. Each fighter may face in any of 8 directions. All firing and forward movement
  14. occurs in the direction the fighter is currently facing. As a spacefighter crosses
  15. outside the two-dimensional field of play, it wraps around and re-enters on the
  16. opposite side of the field. Laser bursts terminate when they travel outside the
  17. field or hit a target.
  18. Each round consists of a selected number of steps. Each step is executed in 2 parts.
  19. During the first part, every spacefighter wishing to fire may execute a fire operation.
  20. The defense strength of any fighter which is hit by a laser burst is reduced by 1
  21. and a small flash appears.
  22. After all fighters have had an opportunity to execute fire instructions, the movement
  23. part of the step begins. Any fighter which has had its defense strength reduced to 0
  24. is destroyed and a longer flash appears. The defense strength is changed to a special
  25. code so that the fighter will no longer be programmable or take part in the execution
  26. phase. The destroyed fighter will still be open to examination during the Defense/
  27. Position Check phase. Fighers having a defense strength greater than 0 may execute
  28. a movement command if there is one. Breaking each step into 2 such parts removes any
  29. strategic advantage to moving first.
  30. The nature of the game, in that there are variable parameters and no fixed victory
  31. conditions, allows the players a lot of freedom. Two to eight players can command
  32. single fighters. Four or less players can each command multiple fighters. Two
  33. fleets could complete to destroy their opponents' flagship first. Handicaps can
  34. be implemented through an imbalance of fighters in different fleets. An odd number
  35. of players can play in a free for all or team game. In a non-combat approach, a full
  36. complement of space fighters could be programmed to preform in kaleidoscope or other
  37. type formations.
  38. How to Play VIP Programmable Spacefighters
  39. 1. Load the CHIP-8 interpreter at 0000-01FF and
  40. the game starting at 0200.
  41. 2. Turn RUN switch on.
  42. 3. Initalization of Game.
  43. Various parameters are entered at the start of the game to determine the number
  44. of spacefighters and other aspects of play.
  45. S: Enter number of spacefighters. 1 to 8 spacefighters may be used. The program
  46. will adjust invalid enteries to the nearest valid number.
  47. D: Enter defense strength. A spacefighter may be hit from 1 to F times by laser
  48. before being destroyed.
  49. E: Enter number of command entries. A spacefighter may be programmed with 1 to F
  50. commands during the programming phase of each round.
  51. C: Enter clock duration/no clock. A timer clock 1 to F phorseks in duration may
  52. be selected. Each phorsek equals 4 seconds. The clock is not enabled if a 0
  53. is entered. The clock time is the time allowed for each fighter to be set up.
  54. F: Enter fire power available. A spacefighter may be allowed to fire 1 to F
  55. laser bursts per round.
  56. A: Enter accumulation/no accumulation. A spacefighter may be allowed to accumulate
  57. all unused laser bursts by entering 1 to F. Accumulation is not allowed if a
  58. 0 is entered.
  59. 4. Presentation of Field and Spacefighters.
  60. The two-dimensional representation of the palying fields consists of 10 vertical
  61. by 15 horizontal positons indicated by grid markings around the perimeter. The
  62. spacefighters will be in their initial positions.
  63. 5. Defense/Position Check.
  64. Enter number of spacefighter to be examined.
  65. S: Current spacefighter being examined.
  66. D: Defense strength of current spacefighter.
  67. Enter 0 to end defense/position check phase.
  68. 6. Program Spacefighters.
  69. Surviving spacefighters are programmed in ascending order. Enter 0 to begin
  70. programming first spacefighter. Defense strength and position are shown during
  71. programming.
  72. E: indicates number of enteries left after current command.
  73. C: indicates time remaining to program current fighter if clock was entered.
  74. COMMAND FUNCTION
  75. 1 Rotate 45 ccw, Move fwd
  76. 2 Move fwd
  77. 3 Rotate 45 cw, Move fwd
  78. 4 Rotate 45 ccw
  79. 5 Fire
  80. 6 Rotate 45 cw
  81. B Erase all commands and reprogram current spacefighter
  82. E End programming of current spacefighter
  83. 7-A,C,D,F Rest, No operation
  84. 0 Rest, Begin programming next spacefighter
  85. Enter 0 to begin programming each successive spacefighter.
  86. 7. Execute Commands.
  87. Enter 0 after all spacefighters are programmed to start execution of commands.
  88. 8. The recommended starting point when tryint the game out is with 1 or 2 spacefighters,
  89. any defense, F (15) entries per round, no clock, F (15) fire power and any accumulation
  90. S: 1 or 2
  91. D: 1
  92. E: F
  93. C: 0
  94. F: F
  95. A: 0
  96. Use the above to try out the movement and fire execution of the fighters. Try
  97. performing loops, figure 8's, tight turns, maximum fire coverage techniques, etc.
  98. Start out simple when first playing the game against an opponent.
  99. Eight spacefighters can get very complicated.
  100. 9. Changing different parameters creates very different effects on the play of the game.
  101. The main effect of a large number of fighters is a more complicated game. A large
  102. number of enteries per round results in a more lively game involving farsighted
  103. planning. Fewer enteries involves more thinking and reacting to immediate developments
  104. but is not without strategy when there are multiple fighters opposing each other.
  105. The clock provides pressure which can be greatly increased by the moves-to-time ratio.
  106. More fire power increases the importance of movement and positioning. Accumulation
  107. of fire power can have long range effects if there is low fire power and a large
  108. number of moves per round.