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XPIPEMAN(6)			  Games Manual			     XPIPEMAN(6)

NAME
     xpipeman - connect the pipes to stop the leaks (X Windows)

SYNOPSIS
     /usr/games/xpipeman

DESCRIPTION
     Xpipeman  is  a game of skill requiring the user to connect together pieces
     of a pipe to allow a liquid to flow through without leaking out.  The  liq-
     uid  flows  out of the block marked with an "S".  The aim of the game is to
     connect as many pieces of pipe to the start block as possible.

     A random sequence of blocks is generated and displayed down the right  hand
     side  of the screen. The next pipe block that has to be placed is under the
     arrow marked "next". After a block has been placed a new block is displayed
     on the end of the sequence and the next block appears under the arrow.

     After a period of time the liquid starts to flow. It  first  fills  up  the
     "flow  start"  meter  at the right of the screen. When this is full it then
     begins to flow out of the start block and into any pipe blocks connected to
     it.

     To finish	successfully each level a certain number of blocks  have  to  be
     connected	to  the  start. This is indicated by the "Remaining" count. This
     count is decremented as the liquid flows through the blocks.  This  is  the
     minimum  number  of  blocks that must be connected, any further blocks con-
     nected generate extra points. The number of blocks that must  be  connected
     increases with each level.

     To  make  life  more difficult there are also object blocks where pieces of
     pipe cannot be placed. The number of object blocks also increases with each
     level.

     Blocks can be moved and placed either by using the mouse and its buttons or
     by using the keyboard. For the mouse, button 1 (left) moves the  next  pipe
     block  to	the position pointed to by the mouse. Button 2 (middle) places a
     piece of pipe. Pipes may not be placed on the start block, objects, or  any
     filled/partially  filled pipe sections. Once a block has been placed it may
     NOT be moved.

     At higher levels some pieces of pipe only let the liquid  flow  one  direc-
     tion.  These pipe sections have an arrow within them indicating the allowed
     flow direction. Successful connection of one of these sections earns  extra
     bonus points.

     The game is over when the required number of blocks have not been connected
     or  there	are  no  more  levels (I doubt the latter will happen before the
     first!).

     The default keyboard setup is as follows:

	    z	   move one square left

	    x	   move one square right

	    '	   move one square up

	    /	   move one square down

	    spc    place a piece of pipe

	    tab    speed up the flow

     If no more blocks can be placed then pressing the tab key	will  cause  the
     flow to speed up.

RESOURCES
     xpipeman.scorefile
	    Set  this to the path of your personal score file.	The file will be
	    created if it does not exist.  The default: ./xpipescores

OPTIONS
     In addition to the normal XToolkit options, xpipeman accepts  command  line
     options for the following resource:scorefile

	    For example: xpipeman -scorefile myscorefile

SCORING
     Each pipe connected to the flow scores 10 points. Any pipe placed on top of
     another  piece  of  empty	pipe incurs a penalty of 20 points. Any pipe not
     connected to the flow also incurs a penalty,  but	this  time  of	only  10
     points.  A  bonus	40 points is awarded each time there is a flow crossover
     and a bonus of 10 points is awarded for each one way pipe used (later  lev-
     els).  The  name  for  the  high score list comes from the USER environment
     variable.

FILES
       ./xpipescores -- the score file

BUGS
     Type ahead may be a problem on some slower machines. To reduce the  problem
     try  to use the mouse instead of the keyboard. (I have a SPARCstation which
     seems to work fine!). Other tips to reduce type ahead:  plan  the	flow  by
     looking  at the sequence down the right hand side of the screen and most of
     all don't panic as the flow approaches!.

AUTHOR
     This was written by Nigel Paver

	    JANET: pavern@uk.ac.man.cs

	    INER: pavern%uk.ac.man.cs@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk

     with acknowledgements to Brian Warkentine (brianw@Sun.COM).

				   7 July 1991			     XPIPEMAN(6)

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