tkXBlast - tcl/tk based setup tool for XBlast

tkXBlast

tkXBlast is an interactive setup tool for XBlast based on tcl/tk. It supports game setup, level selection and resource setup. It is compatible with XBlast 2.0 and 2.2.

The upper button bar of tkXBlast is use to select one of the five tkXBlast screens. It is available for all screens.

Launch

This button activates the Launch screen. On this screen the game options can be modified and the game itself can be launched. The game setup can also be loaded and saved from this screen.

Levels

This button activates the Levels screen. On this screen the levels to be played can be selected.

Statistics

This buttons activates the Statistics screen. On this screen game statistics for each player and level can be reviewed.

Player Colors

This button activates the Player Colors screen. On this screen the player color resources can be set. This screen is not available on black and white displays.

Player Resources

This button activates the Player Resources screen. On this screen the player messages and control keybindings can be defined.

On this screen the game options can be modified and the game itself can be launched. The game setup can also be loaded and saved from this screen. On the lower part of the screen are the following buttons:

Start XBlast

Pressing this button starts XBlast with the selected game parameters. If any level selection was made on the Levels screen, this will be used too. This button will also be invoked, when you press Return key.

Load Setup

Loads a previously saved setup from the file ~/.xblast.

Save Setup

Save the current setup to the file ~/.xblast.

Exit

Press this button to exit tkXBlast or press the Escape key.

The Launch screen it self consists of several subwindows:

Player X

There are 6 player windows, one for each player. An active player window shows the xblast sprite in winner pose. If the window is inactive the sprite has turned his back to you. Enter the player's name in the entry above the @-sign and the display's name in the entry below.

Game Options

In this window you can setup any game option available to XBlast:

* Number of Players

* Team Mode

* Number of Lives

* Number of Victories

* Random Player Positions

* Random Level Order

* Allow Color Mode

* Override Window Manager

* Frame Rate

* Bell Sound

* Fork XBlast

* Game Statistics

On this screen you can select the levels you want to play. The lower part contains the following buttons:

Start XBlast

Pressing this button starts XBlast with the selected game parameters. If any level selection was made on the Levels screen, this will be used too. This button will also be invoked, when you press Return key.

All

Pressing this button select all levels for playing.

None

Pressing this button deselects all levels for playing. Please note, that you must selects at least one level for playing.

Toggle

Pressing this button toggles the state of all levels.

Exit

Press this button to exit tkXBlast or press the Escape key.

The Levels screen it self contains four level selection windows. They list all levels available in XBlast. Click on any level to toggle its selection (selected levels are marked in red).

On this screen you can review the game statistics for XBlast. In order to use this feature you must enable the game statistics feature on the Launch screen. The statistics data will be stored in the file ~/.xblast_stat. The lowe part contains the following buttons:

Show Statistics

Pressing this button will show the statistics for any selected player or level. This button will also be invoked, when you press Return key.

Update Statistics

Update the data currently displayed (from the statistics file).

Exit

Press this button to exit tkXBlast or press the Escape key.

The screen itself contains three subwindows

Select Level

This listbox contains all levels in the statistics database. Press on any level to select it.

Select Player

This listbox contains all players in the statistics database. Press on any player to select him/her.

Statistics for ...

In this window the results of your queries are shown. They are sorted by highest value for percentage.

On this screen you customize the colors of your player. This changes the colors on your display and on any other display. The lower part contains the following buttons:

Apply

Pressing this buttons applies the selected player colors to your display, by invoking xrdb. They will be lost when you finish you X-session. This button will also be invoked, when you press Return key..PP

Query

Pressing this button queries the current player colors from your display, via xrdb.

Link to Defaults

Pressing this button modifies your ~/.Xresources file to include the file ~/.xblast-player_colors, when being parsed.

Load

Pressing this button loads the color setup from the file ~/.xblast-player_colors.

Save

Pressing this button saves the current color setup to the file ~/.xblast-player_colors.

Exit

Press this button to exit tkXBlast or press the Escape key.

The screen itself contains the following subwindows:

Single/Right Player

In this window you can set the following color resource for your player:

* Helmet Color

* Face Color

* Body Color

* Hands & Feet Color

* Arms & Legs Color

* Backpack Color

The buttons labeled 1 to 6 reset the colors to the default value of XBlast. Enabling the Single Player option uses this colors also with a single player.

Left Player

This window can be used to set the color option for the second player on your display (if any). Enabling the Single Player option uses this colors for the single player

Select Color

This window is a browser for named colors available at your system. On its very first invocation, it will parse the local rgb.txt file for color names. It will create a color database of its own stored in the file ~/.xblast-rgb. You can change the color very easily, using the Select Color window:

1. Click on the color entry in the Player window you want to change.

2. Click on the color in the Select Color window you want to use.

The buttons <<, <, >, >> are used to move forward and backward in the color list.

On this screen you can customize the name, messages and the keybindings for your player. The changes will be used your display as well as on any other display. The lower part contains the following buttons:

Apply

Pressing this buttons applies the selected player colors to your display, by invoking xrdb. They will be lost when you finish you X-session. This button will also be invoked, when you press Return key..PP

Query

Pressing this button queries the current player colors from your display, via xrdb.

Link to Defaults

Pressing this button modifies your ~/.Xresources file to include the file ~/.xblast-player_colors, when being parsed.

Load

Pressing this button loads the color setup from the file ~/.xblast-player_colors.

Save

Pressing this button saves the current color setup to the file ~/.xblast-player_colors.

Exit

Press this button to exit tkXBlast or press the Escape key.

The actual screen contains several subwindows:

Key Bindings

The following key bindings can be cutsomized foreach player:

* Go up

* Go left

* Go right

* Go down

* Stop

* Drop bomb

* Special action

* Request abort

* Cancel abort

Each action can be bound to two different keys. Click on the key entry and then press the key you want to bind the action to.

Single/Right Player

In this window you can set the default name for your player.

Single/Right Player

In this window you can set the default name for your player.

Left Player

In this window you can set the default name for any second player on your display.

Messages

In this window you can set the following messages for your player:

* Welcome Message

* Gloat Message

* Lose Life Message

* Lose Level Message

* Win Level Message

* Win Game Message

* Abort Request Message

* Abort Cancel Message

xblast(1), wish(1), xrdb(1)

The level selection cannot be saved

tkXBlast hangs up, when you enter an invalid color name into one of the color entries.

Copyright (C) 1993-1996, Oliver Vogel (vogel@ikp.uni-koeln.de).

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public Licences as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2; or (at your option) any later version

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be entertaining, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc. 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Oliver Vogel (vogel@ikp.uni-koeln.de)