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XOCT(6)				 Games Manual			       XOCT(6)

NAME
       xoct - Octahedron X widget

SYNOPSIS
       /usr/games/xoct						    [-geometry
       [{width}][x{height}][{+-}{xoff}[{+-}{yoff}]]]		     [-display
       [{host}]:[{vs}]]	  [-[no]mono]	[-[no]{reverse|rv}]  [-{foreground|fg}
       {color}]	   [-{background|bg}	{color}]    [-{border|bd}     {color}]
       [-face{0|1|2|3|4|5|6|7} {color}]	[-{size	{int} |	sticky}] [-{mode {int}
       | both}]	[-[no]orient] [-[no]practice] [-username {string}]

DESCRIPTION
       The  original puzzle has	9 triangles per	face (size = 3)	and has	period
       4 turning (i.e. the face	or points turn with 90 degree intervals).  The
       puzzle was designed by Uwe Meffert and called the Magic Octahedron  (or
       Star  Puzzler).	 The puzzle was	not widely distributed but not exactly
       rare.  This puzzle has some analogies to	the Rubik's Cube and the solv-
       ing techniques are the same to that of the Pyraminx.  Christoph's Magic
       Jewel is	similar	except there are no trivial corners  to	 solve.	  This
       has 2^22*12! or 2,009,078,326,886,400 different combinations.

       Uwe  Meffert also noticed that there could be an	alternate twisting for
       the octahedron where it has period 3 turning (i.e. faces	turn with  120
       degree intervals).

       One  is	able  to simulate a Trajber's Octahedron (period 3 turning and
       sticky mode).  Also one is able to simulate one	with  variant  turning
       (period 4 turning and sticky mode).

FEATURES
       Press "mouse-left" button to move a piece.  Release "mouse-left"	button
       on  a  piece  on	the same face and in the same row (but not an adjacent
       piece or	the move is ambiguous).	 The pieces  will  then	 turn  towards
       where the mouse button was released.

       Press  "mouse-center",  or press	"P" or "p" keys	to toggle the practice
       mode (in	practice mode the record should	 say  "practice").   One  must
       double  click on	"mouse-center" if the puzzle is	being worked on.  This
       is good for learning moves and experimenting.

       Click "mouse-right", or press "R" or "r"	keys to	randomize  (this  must
       be  done	 first to set a	new record).  One must double click on "mouse-
       right" if the puzzle is being worked on.

       Press "I" or "i"	keys to	increase the number of "octas".

       Press "D" or "d"	keys to	decrease the number of "octas".

       Press "O" or "o"	keys to	toggle the orient mode.	 One has to orient the
       faces in	orient mode, besides getting all the  faces  to	 be  the  same
       color.	To do this one has to get the lines to be oriented in the same
       direction, this only matters with  center  "octas",  if	at  all	 (i.e.
       those  "octas"  not  on a corner	or edge).  This	does add complexity so
       there are 2 sets	of records.

       Press "3", "4", "B", or "b" keys	(not the keypad	3, 4) to change	 modes
       to Period 3, Period 4, or Both.

       Press  "Y"  or "y" to toggle sticky mode	(increase/decrease is disabled
       here if sticky mode is on).
       "Sticky"	and "Period 3" turning allows only the faces to	turn.	It  is
       as if the middle	cut of the three cuts did not exist.
       "Sticky"	 and  "Period 4" turning allows	only the points	to turn, it is
       as if the middle	cut of the three cuts did not exist.
       Beware, the "Sticky" mode is a hack and much could be done  to  improve
       its look.

       "S" or "s" keys reserved	for the	auto-solver (unimplemented).

       Press "U" or "u"	keys to	undo move.

       Press "G" or "g"	keys to	get a saved puzzle.

       Press "W" or "w"	keys to	write or save a	puzzle.

       Press "Q", "q", or "CTRL-C" keys	to kill	program.

       Use the key pad,	"R" keys, or arrow keys	to move	without	mouse clicks.
       Key pad is defined for Pyraminx as:
	 /     Counterclockwise

       7 8 9   Upper Left, Up, Upper Right
	 ^
       4<5>6   Left, Clockwise,	Right
	 v
       1 2 3   Lower Left, Down, Lower Right

       Use  the	shift keys to access "Period 4"	turns from "Both" mode,	other-
       wise it assumes "Period 3" turning.  Points  turn  in  "Period  4"  and
       faces turn in "Period 3".

       Use the control key and the left	mouse button, keypad, or arrow keys to
       move the	whole octahedron.  This	is not recorded	as a turn.

       The title is in the following format (non-motif version):
	      xoct.{3|4|both<turning  modes>}:	{1|2|3|4|5|6|sticky<number  of
	      "octas" per edge>}  @  (<Number  of  moves>/{<Record  number  of
	      moves> <username>|"NEVER noaccess"|"practice"}) -	<Comment>
       If  there  is no	record of the current puzzle, it displays "NEVER noac-
       cess".

OPTIONS
       -geometry {+|-}X{+|-}Y
	       This option sets	the initial position of	the octahedron	window
	       (resource name "geometry").

       -display	host:dpy
	       This option specifies the X server to contact.

       -[no]mono
	       This  option  allows  you  to   display on a color screen as if
	       monochrome (resource name "mono").

       -[no]{reverse|rv}
	       This option allows you to see the octahedron window in  reverse
	       video (resource name "reverse").

       -{foreground|fg}	color
	       This  option  specifies the foreground of the octahedron	window
	       (resource name "foreground").

       -{background|bg}	color
	       This option specifies the background of the  octahedron	window
	       (resource name "background").

       -{border|bd} color
	       This  option specifies the border color of the octas in the oc-
	       thahedoron window (resource name	"borderColor").

       -face{0|1|2|3|4|5|6|7} <color>
	       This option allows you to change	the color of a face  (resource
	       name  "faceColorN").  In	mono-mode, color is represented	as the
	       first letter of the color name. The faces are  ordered  top  to
	       bottom  and  left  to  right.  If you has two colors that begin
	       with the	same letter you	should have one	in uppercase  and  one
	       in  lowercase  to distinguish them in mono-mode.	You can	change
	       the colors of the faces to make a stupid	octahedron  (i.e.  all
	       White  or  in  mono-mode	 all "W").  Unfortunately, it will not
	       normally	say its	solved when its	 randomized.   This  would  be
	       cheating.

       -size <int>
	       This  option allows you to change the number of octas on	a edge
	       (resource name "size").

       -sticky This option allows you to set the sticky	 mode  (resource  name
	       "sticky").

       -mode <int>
	       This  option  allows you	to set the turning mode	(resource name
	       "mode").

       -both   This option allows you to set the turning mode to both period 3
	       and period 4 (resource name "mode" set at 5).

       -[no]orient
	       This option allows you to access	the orient mode	(resource name
	       "orient").

       -[no]practice
	       This option allows you to access	the  practice  mode  (resource
	       name  "practice").   -username string This option specifies the
	       user name for any records made or else it will get  your	 login
	       name (resource name "userName").

SAVE FORMAT
       The format is not standard.  The	reason for this	is that	this is	simple
       and I do	not know what the standard is.

       Octahedron with default colors, not randomized:
	 0	 R     Red
       3   1   M   B   Magenta,	Blue
	 2	 W     White
	 4	 O     Orange
       7   5   Y   P   Yellow, Pink
	 6	 G     Green

	      size:  1-6  <number  of triangles	in the same orientation	as the
	      face per row>
	      mode: 3-5	<period	3 turning, period 4 turning, or	both (5)>
	      orient: 0-1 <0 false, 1 true; if 1 then lines on "octas"	to  be
	      oriented>
	      sticky:  0-1  <0	false, 1 true; if 1 then some "octas" move to-
	      gether>
	      practice:	0-1 <0 false, 1	true>
	      moves: 0-MAXINT <total number of moves>

	      startingPosition:	<2 dimensional array of	face "octa"  position,
	      each  face has size * size "octas", if orient mode then orienta-
	      tion number follows face number numbered clockwise from 0	to 11,
	      where 0 is up>

       This is then followed by	the moves, starting from 1.
	      move #: <face> <position>	<direction> <control>
       Each turn is with respect to a face and position.
       Position	is 0 to	size * size - 1.  Position 0 is	the triangle  furthest
       from the	center,	increasing clockwise.
       Direction  is  represented  as  0  up,  1 upper right, 2	right, 3 lower
       right, 4	down, 5	lower left, 6 left, 7 upper left, 9 clockwise, and  15
       counterclockwise.
       Control is represented as 0 or 1, 1 if the whole	octahedron is moved at
       once (here position does	not matter), 0 if not.	The xoct record	keeper
       does not	count a	control	move as	a move,	but here we do.

       Caution:	the program may	crash on corrupted input.

REFERENCES
       Beyond  Rubik's	Cube:  spheres,	 pyramids, dodecahedrons and God knows
       what else by Douglas R. Hofstadter, Scientific American,	July 1982,  pp
       16-31.

       Magic Cubes 1996	Catalog	of Dr. Christoph Bandelow.

SEE ALSO
       X(1),  xrubik(6),  xskewb(6),  xdino(6),	 xpyraminx(6),	xmball(6), xm-
       link(6),	xpanex(6), xcubes(6), xtriangles(6), xhexagons(6), xabacus(1)

COPYRIGHTS
       (R) Copyright 1994-99, David Albert Bagley

BUG REPORTS AND	PROGRAM	UPDATES
       Send bugs (or their reports, or fixes) to the author
	      David Albert Bagley, <bagleyd@tux.org>

       The latest version is currently at:
	      ftp://ftp.tux.org/pub/tux/bagleyd/xpuzzles
	      ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/games

V5.5				 20 June 1999			       XOCT(6)

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<https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=xoct&sektion=1&manpath=FreeBSD+Ports+15.0.quarterly>

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