This file contains Mac-specific information about Xconq.

"Xconq" is the game application.  This version is PowerPC-only; if you
need a 68K version, get 7.2.2.

"lib" is the folder of game modules; it should be in the same folder
as the application.

"lib-mac" is the folder of Mac-specific data referenced by game
modules, and should be in the same folder as the application.  Xconq
doesn't absolutely need it, but it is where sounds and pictures and
such are kept.

"doc-html" is the folder with a version of the full manual formatted
into HTML.  You can read this with any Web browser or viewer. If you
do not have a Web page viewer and can't get one, you can read the
files with a text viewing program.

"WebMe.html" is an HTML page with links to the parts of the manual
most useful to Mac users.  This is the easiest way to get started with
looking at the manual; either open this file from your viewer or drag
it onto your viewer's icon, then follow the links displayed.

"IMFApp" is a small utility for game designers to display and convert
images used in Xconq games.

"README" describes generic features of Xconq.

"NEWS" is information about notable changes in each release.

"COPYING" is a copy of the GNU Public License, which is a special kind
of copyright that allows you to redistribute Xconq sources and
binaries as long as you allow your recipients to do the same.

Scorefiles are kept in the folder "Scores".

You may also see other files or folders, with names like "aclocal.m4"
or "kernel" or "x11".  These will be either part of the source code
for Xconq, or else information specific to the other types of
computers for which Xconq is available.  You never need to look at any
of these, unless you're a developer.

How To Use The Mac Interface

The following is a brief description, suitable for getting started.
The manual provides full details on every aspect of Xconq.

When you launch Xconq, the initial screen gives you four choices: New,
which brings up a list of games; Open, which allows you to pick a
file; Connect, which allows you to pick a game to join; and Quit,
which lets you escape.

Usually you will want to choose New, which brings up a dialog listing
the available games.  You can select one and see a brief description
of it.  It may also have a preview picture that will give you some
idea of what the game looks like.

If the game includes any variants, you will then get a dialog with
assorted buttons and checkboxes to choose from.  For instance, some
games let you choose whether the whole world is visible when you
start, or if you have to explore it first.  Some variants, such as
"See All", apply to any game, while others are specific to a
particular game.

Not all of the games work equally well!  You may get some warning
alerts.  These are often benign, such as missing images, while others
indicate problems ahead.  Xconq will not crash, but you may not be
able to play the game as you might expect.

Xconq takes a little while to read in the complete game definition;
then you get a player setup window, which shows the sides that will be
in the game and who will play each side.  Usually you will just want
to OK it, but you can also select a side/player entry and change the
name of the side, and whether it has an AI (artificial intelligence -
a robot player).  Some games allow you to add sides - use the "Add"
button.  You can use the "Computer" button to choose whether or not
the side has an AI; if it doesn't have one, then the side will do
simply do nothing during the game.  If you don't like the side you've
been assigned to play, you can use the "Exchange" button to switch
with somebody else.

Then Xconq will finish setting up the game.  For some games, this will
take quite a while!  Xconq generates random terrain, lays out
countries that are neither too close nor too far apart, and does many
other things at this point, so just kick back and watch.

You may get a warning that "sides have undesirable locations".  This
usually means that the world is too small for the number of sides that
were set up.  This doesn't matter to Xconq, but can have a big effect
on play balance and fairness; some sides may find their territory
mixed in with their enemies', or simply too close to be able to defend
it adequately.  If you don't care, then just ignore the warning.

Once everything is set up, Xconq then opens up a map window, the game
status window, the notices window, and the instructions window for
you.  The map shows you the terrain with different patterns, and your
playing pieces (called "units") with small pictures, while game status
lists all the sides and a turn number or date.  The instructions
window tells you about your goal in the game, and maybe something
about how to accomplish it.  The notices window provides feedback and
information about events that are happening.

(In some games, the AI is within range and will start bashing on you
the instant your display is up.  Life is tough sometimes!)

The basic idea of Xconq play is to select a unit in a map or list
window, and pick commands from the "Play" menu.  By default, Xconq
starts up in "auto-select" mode, which means that Xconq will select a
unit for you to command, and when it is done moving, Xconq will
automatically select the next one to command.  Xconq also enables
"move-on-click" by default, which means that clicking on a map
immediately commands the selected unit to move there.

You can toggle auto-select/move-on-click mode on or off by clicking
the big six-arrow icon in the map's control panel, or by choosing menu
items in the "Side" menu.

When auto-select is OFF, you can select by clicking on a unit,
shift-clicking a group, dragging out a selection rectangle, or by
using Command-A to select all units.  A selected unit is indicated by
an outline box - solid black to indicate that it can move this turn,
dark gray to indicate that it has used up its moves for this turn, and
gray to indicate that it can never do anything.

When move-on-click is OFF, to move a selected unit, drag it to its
desired new location.  The unit might not move right away if it
doesn't have the action points, but it may get some in the next turn.
If you don't want to drag, or need to scroll somewhere else first, you
can Command-click and all selected units will attempt to move to where
you clicked.

To shoot at another unit, you position the mouse over the desired
target, type 'f', and all selected units will attempt to fire.  This
works even if all units are selected, so you can call down
considerable destruction with 'f'!  If the target is too far away,
nothing will happen.

To find out more about a particular unit, select it and pick "Closeup"
from the "Play" menu or do Command-I.  This brings up a window that
shows all kind of data about that unit.  You can leave this window up
and it will always be kept up-to-date as long as the unit is alive and
belongs to you.  Each unit has its own closeup window.  All that you
can know about an enemy's unit is already displayed on the map (type,
side, and position).

To jump ahead to the next turn, do the menu command "End Turn" or
Command-E, or hit the <return> key.  You may have to do this if some
of your units still have action points, but not enough to do any of
the actions that you want them to do.  To stop being asked about a
particular unit, you can either do 's' or choose the Sleep item from
the Play menu to put it to sleep, or ' ' (space bar) or Reserve to put
it in reserve until the next turn.  Sleeping units stay asleep until
you wake them manually (with 'w', 'W', or the menu item Wake).  If you
just want to postpone moving the unit until later in the turn, use the
delay command 'd'; after all other units have moved, Xconq will ask
you about the delayed unit again.

The Game window shows the status of all the sides in the game,
including how many actions each side has left to do, who has lost or
won already, each side's attitude towards you (a frowny face means
that side is keen to destroy you utterly, a smiley face designates one
of your trusted allies), and whether it is being played by a human or
by the computer.

There are many more commands and options available.  These are
documented in both the help screens and in the manual.

The help screens are organized as a list of "topics" that you can
select by clicking on.  The help information about the game you're
playing is computed directly from the internal tables describing the
game, so it is an accurate description.  It may still be incomplete
though; not all tables and values are listed there.

Bugs

Actual crashes of Xconq are rare, though not unknown.  What is more
common is that the program will get into a state where you don't know
what's happening, or why.  If this happens to you, try bringing up
different windows, study the unit info displays carefully, or send
mail describing the situation and why it's puzzling (the interface
always needs more work!)

If units disappear strangely, or if the map is scrambled somehow, type
'Control-R', which recalculates visibility of everything.

Xconq may require enormous amounts of memory, especially for large
games.  You may get an alert claiming that memory has been exhausted.
You should save the game, give Xconq a bigger partition, and then
restore the game.  It is possible to ask for a game that is larger
than your Mac's memory (even if you have 192MB of RAM!), so some games
will simply not be possible.

You may get one or more warning alerts when starting up or playing
some games.  The manual describes a number of them and what they mean,
so you can decide whether to ignore them.  If you don't understand a
warning, it's safest just to quit.

How to Get More Info

You probably want more info about Xconq.  There are several sources.
The Xconq player's manual is in HTML in "doc-html"; it has a lot of
useful information, including additional details about the Mac
interface.  Every page in the folder links to other pages and to the
table of contents, so you can start at any one of them; also, the file
"WebMe.html" contains a set of useful links.  If you want to use a
different format, the source archive for Xconq includes the "texinfo"
files from which the HTML manual was generated, and there are also
archives that includes the manual formatted into PostScript(tm).

If you want to change any of the existing games, or to design new
ones, look at the Xconq game designer's manual.  It also comes in both
HTML and PostScript.
