NAME

chromium-bsu - slick scrolling space shooter

SYNOPSIS

chromium-bsu [-fwv] [-na] [-nb] [-nt] [-V] [--fullscreen] [--window] [--vidmode <mode>] [--noaudio] [--noblend] [--notexborder] [--version] [--debug]

DESCRIPTION

chromium-bsu is a fast paced top down arcade style action shooter game. You progress through the game by destroying everything that you see on screen. There are a variety of 'power-ups' to assist you on the way. There is a big boss to destroy at the end of each level and there are various ships to destroy before you reach each boss.

TIPS

Do not let ANY enemy ships get past your fighters!

Use your fighters as weapons!
Strategic suicide is a powerful tactic!
Self-destruct to preserve your ammunition!

CONTROLS

The input devices supported depend on the compile options used to build.

You can control the ship with your mouse, keyboard (arrow keys) or joystick.
To fire your weapons, hold the left mouse button, joystick buttons or the space bar.
To pause the game, press pause or p on the keyboard.
To blow up your ship, press enter/return or 0 twice or double right click.
To switch to the next track in your music playlist, press n on the keyboard.

OPTIONS

When run with arguments that are not understood, usage information is shown.

The game understands the following command line options
-f --fullscreen: runs in fullscreen mode.
-w --window: runs in a window.
-na --noaudio: does not initialize audio.
-v <mode>, --vidmode <mode>: selects video mode.
mode
0 = 512 x 384
1 = 640 x 480
2 = 800 x 600
3 = 1024 x 768
4 = 1280 x 1024
-nb --noblend: disables blending. (OpenGL)
-nt --notexborder: do not set tex border color. (OpenGL)
-V --version: show version information and exit.
--debug: enable the display of debug information.

ENVIRONMENT

The following environment variables are used.

CHROMIUM_BSU_SCORE: specifies the location of the user high-score file.
CHROMIUM_BSU_DATA: specifies the location of user-customised game data with the same layout and filenames as the system one.
CHROMIUM_BSU_FONT: When using the GLC backend, this specifies the font name to be used in the menu and the game if available.

: When using the FTGL backend, this specifies the path to the TTF font file used in the menu and the game.

FILES

The following files are used.

~/.chromium-bsu: contains various user preferences.
~/.chromium-bsu-score: contains the user high-scores.
~/.chromium-bsu-music: contains a list of music to play during the game.
~/.chromium-bsu-data/: directory containing user-customized game data with the same layout and filenames as the system one.
The game will also look in a system directory for data.

CONFIGURATION

The configuration file is a plain text file. Each line contains a key, a single-space separator and then a numeric value (integer or floating point). The following keys are recognised by the game.

use_playList: Enable/disable playlist support. This causes the game to open the ~/.chromium-bsu-music file and play the files listed there. Disabled by default. Only works when using OpenAL.
use_cdrom: Enable/disable CDROM support. This causes the game to attempt to play any audio CD that might be available. This is disabled by default because the constant spinning up of the CD can be annoying and because CDs are less popular than MP3/OGG these days. Only works when compiled with SDL 1.X support.
full_screen: Enable/disable full-screen mode. This causes the game to fill the screen instead of just using a window. Disabled by default. Only works when using SDL support.
true_color: Enable/disable 24-bit color. When disabled it uses 16-bit color. Disabled by default. Only works when using SDL support.
swap_stereo: Enable/disable swapping sound orientation. Disabled by default. Only works when using OpenAL.
auto_speed: Use an alternate speed adjustment algorithm in certain situations. Disabled by default. Only works when using SDL support.
show_fps: Print the frames per second at the top right when in a game. Defaults to enabled.
screenWidth: The number of pixels wide to set the screen or window size.
screenHigh: The number of pixels high to set the screen or window size.
screenSize: Selects the screen or window size. Defaults to 800x600.
This option is only exists for backwards compatibility purposes.: It is replaced by the screenWidth and screenHeight options.
0 = 512 x 384
1 = 640 x 480
2 = 800 x 600
3 = 1024 x 768
4 = 1280 x 1024
gfxLevel: Selects the desired amount of graphical effects. Defaults to full effects.
0 = minimal
1 = medium
2 = full
gameSkillBase: Selects the desired skill level. Defaults to normal.
0.2 = fish in a barrel
0.3 = wimp
0.4 = easy
0.5 = normal
0.6 = experienced
0.7 = fun
0.8 = insane
0.9 = impossible
movementSpeed: Speed that the ship moves around. The value shown in the menu is 1000 times the value in the configuration. Defaults to 0.03.
maxLevel: The maximum level that may be attempted. To attempt the next level you must first complete the maximum level. Defaults to 1.
volSound: Sets the volume of the sound effects. The value shown in the menu is 10 times the value in the configuration. Ranges from 0.0 to 1.0 and defaults to 0.9.
volMusic: Sets the volume of the sound effects. The value shown in the menu is 10 times the value in the configuration. Ranges from 0.0 to 1.0 and defaults to 0.5.
viewGamma: Sets the gamma used when loading the PNG images used for sprites. Defaults to 1.1.
audioType: Sets which audio backend to use. The desired backend must be compiled in for it to work, otherwise the other backend will be used. Defaults to OpenAL.
0 = OpenAL
1 = SDL Mixer
textType: Sets which text backend to use. The desired backend must be compiled in for it to work, otherwise the other backend will be used. Defaults to GLC.
0 = GLC
1 = FTGL
cdromCount: A cache of number of CDROM devices present, not used.
cdromDevice: The number of the CDROM device to use when use_cdrom is enabled. Zero-based. Defaults to first device (0). Only works when compiled with SDL 1.X support.
debug: Enable/disable debug information. This causes the game to print debug information to the terminal. This is disabled by default.

AUTHOR

This manual page was written by Peter Joseph, Paul Wise and others.