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\chapter{Introduction} |
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\section{What is \cf\ ? } |
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In the words of its original author Frank Tore Johansen : |
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\begin{quote} |
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``\cf\ is a multi-player graphical arcade and adventure game made for the |
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X Windows systems environment. It has certain flavours from other games, |
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especially \gauntlet\ and the rogue-like games (mainly \hack , \moria , |
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\angband , and \ragnarok ). Any number of players can move around in their |
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own window, finding and using items and battling monsters. They can |
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choose to cooperate or compete in the same {\em world}.'' |
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\end{quote} |
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In the years of development that have followed, \cf\ has grown to |
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encompass over 150 monsters, $\sim$3000 maps to explore, an elaborate |
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magic system, over 15 character types, a system of skills, and |
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many, many artifacts and treasures. |
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|
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\cf\ is freely distributed under the GNU license and the code may be |
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obtained from a number of FTP sites (see section \ref{sec:obtain}). |
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{\bf Take note:} you will need at least an ANSI C compiler (i.e. {\tt gcc}) |
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to build the game. A screen shot of the \cf\ display appears in Figure \ref{fig:dis}. |
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|
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\begin{figure} |
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\mongovaryboth fig/screen_dia.ps 3.5in 5.5in |
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\caption{Screen shot of the game display which comprises of six |
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different windows. \label{fig:dis}} |
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\end{figure} |
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\cf\ is currently being maintained by Mark Wedel ({\tt mwedel@sonic.net}). |
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Crossfire is uses the client server model - clients for unix (using |
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gtk or straight X11) and windows are readily available. SDL client |
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is being worked on. |
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To be notified of new releases of \cf\ , |
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subscribe to the announcement mailing list |
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(see section \ref{sec:mlist}) to get notified of updates. |
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\subsection{What is included in this document?} |
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This document is a guide intended to focus on the game-play aspects of \cf . |
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The original intention of this text was to |
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help aspiring players create and play a character and more quickly initiate |
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them into the intricacies of \cf . But, as things went along, many of the |
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older docs began to be incorporated and lots of good reference material |
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slipped in; this document may also be a good resource for more experienced |
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players. |
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Having said all of that, lets point out that each release contains |
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a fair amount of documentation and the \playbook\ is definitely not the |
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last word! Certainly, every player will want to obtain the \spoiler , |
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and while this may sound flippant, its still true\emdash a good place to |
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start tracking down much of the information you may want is the |
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README document in the top directory of your release. |
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\subsection{Getting started: beginning players}\index{beginning players} |
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First-time players may want to skim over sections |
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\ref{sec:char_attr}, \ref{sec:char_gen}, \ref{sec:basic}, |
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and \ref{sec:first} before playing the game. Don't be daunted by |
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the apparent complexity of \cf \emdash in reality \cf\ is quite easy |
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to play and character generation |
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is simple. Later on, when you have some experience |
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playing the game, you may wish to go back and re-read skimmed material |
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and expand your knowledge of the unread sections. |
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If you just want to damn the torpedoes and ``roll''\footnote{This archaic |
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term comes from paper and pencil role-playing games which used dice in |
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the character generation process.} up a character quickly then proceed |
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to section \ref{sec:char_gen} in this text. You may {\em still} |
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find section \ref{sec:first} helpful reading. |
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\section{\cf\ Mailing lists}\index{mailing lists}\label{sec:mlist} |
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Two mailing-lists exist; the first is for discussing bugs and |
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development while the second is for just announcing new versions. |
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If you want to join or leave any of the lists, send mail to |
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{\tt crossfire-}{\tt request@}{\tt ifi.uio.no} with the subject ``{\tt subscribe}'', |
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``{\tt unsubscribe}'',``{\tt subscribe announce}'' or ``{\tt unsubscribe |
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announce}''. If you use the subject ``{\tt subscribe}'' or |
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``{\tt unsubscribe}'' you will (un)subscribe to {\em both} lists. |
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To send messages directly to the list, mail {\tt crossfire@ifi.uio.no}. |
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While the development/bug list is not supposed to be used for helping |
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players solve problems, sometimes a knowledgeable reader of the |
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list can be tempted into answering your question. |
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An archive of old messages can be found at {\tt ftp.ifi.uio.no} in the |
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directory {\tt /pub/crossfire/archive}. |
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\section{Obtaining \cf } \label{sec:obtain} |
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FTP sites\index{FTP sites} where you can look for the latest versions are: \\ |
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\noindent{\tt ra.pyramid.com:/pub/crossfire} (129.214.1.102) \\ |
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{\tt ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/crossfire} (129.240.64.44) \\ |
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{\tt ftp.real-time.com/pub/games/crossfire} (206.10.252.12) \\ |
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{\tt ftp.cs.city.ac.uk:/pub/games/crossfire} (138.40.91.9)\\ |
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{\tt ftp.sunet.se:/pub/unix/games/crossfire} (130.238.127.3) \\ |
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{\tt ftp.cs.titech.ac.jp:/pub/games/crossfire} (131.112.90.201) \\ |
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Please use the one nearest to you. ``.se'', ``.no'' or ``.uk'' in Europe, |
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``.au'' in Australia, ``.net'' in North America, and ``.jp'' in Asia. |
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\section{DOCUMENT CREDITS} |
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B.T. provided the bulk of the written material; K.E. and |
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(to a lesser extent) J.K provided expert editing and typesetting advice. |
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The \playbook\ uses material borrowed from older documentation written |
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by the following people (in rough order of borrowing magnitude): |
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\begin{quote} |
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Sam Mackrill (lots of bits from the old FAQ) \\ |
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Laurent Wacrenier \\ |
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Kjetil T. Homme \\ |
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Lars H. B. Olafsen \\ |
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Peter Mardal \\ |
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Rupert G. Goldie \\ |
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Frank T. Johansen |
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\end{quote} |
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If I left anyone out, please send me some email! \\ |
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\noindent{Brian Thomas} \\ {\tt thomas@astro.psu.edu} \\ |
