Red Hat Fedora Linux 3 Bible

The X Window System created a great opportunity for games in Fedora and other UNIX systems to become graphical based rather than character based. So, instead of having little character symbols representing robots and arrows, the games could actually show pictures of little robots and arrows.

A lot of diverting games come with Fedora and run in X. Unless otherwise noted, all of the X games described in this section are free. Also, the GNOME and KDE environments that come on the DVD (described in Chapter 3) each has a set of games associated with it.

GNOME games

The GNOME games consist of some old card games and a bunch of games that look suspiciously like games you would find on Windows systems. If you are afraid of losing your favorite desktop diversion (such as Solitaire, FreeCell, and Minesweeper) when you leave Windows, have no fear. You can find many of them under GNOME games.

Table 7-1 lists the games available by selecting Games from the red hat menu. In this release, many KDE games (shown in Table 7-2) are also on this menu.

KDE games

If you install KDE, there are a bunch of games in the kdegames package. If you did not install the KDE desktop, you can install the kdegames package separately from the DVD that accompanies this book. To see the KDE games (along with some GNOME games) on the red hat menu, select Games, then choose the game you want. The games available in KDE are listed by category in Table 7-2.

The games on the KDE menu range from diverting to quite challenging. If you are used to playing games in Windows, KMines and Patience will seem like old favorites. KAsteroids and KPoker are good for the mindless game category. For a mental challenge (it’s harder than it looks), try KSokoban. For a challenging multiuser game on the GNOME menu, try Freeciv. For chess enthusiasts, there is Chess (xboard version of gnuchess).

The following sections describe a couple of the more interesting games that come with Fedora. First is the xboard game and some related chess programs. Next is a description of Freeciv.

Chess games

Chess was one of the first games played on computer systems. While the game hasn’t changed over the years, the way it’s played on computers has. The set of chess programs that come with Fedora let you play against the computer (in text or graphical modes), have the computer play against itself, or replay stored chess games. You can even play chess against other users on the Internet using Internet Chess Servers (ICS).

The xboard program is an X-based chess game that provides a graphical interface for gnuchess. GNU Chess (represented by the gnuchess package) describes itself as a communal chess program. It has had many contributors, and it seeks to advance a "more open and friendly environment of sharing" among the chess community. With xboard, you can move graphical pieces with your mouse. To play against the computer, click Games ® Chess from the Red Hat menu, then start by just moving a piece with your mouse. While in the xboard window, select Mode ® Two Machines to have the computer play itself. Select File ® Load Game to load a game in Portable Game Notation (PGN). Figure 7-1 shows the xboard window with a "Two Machines" game in progress.

Figure 7-1: In the xboard window, you can set xgame to either play against the computer or to replay saved games.

You can use xboard to play online against others by connecting an xboard session to an Internet Chess Server (ICS). To start xboard as an interface to an ICS, type the following command line:

$ xboard -ics -icshost name

In this example, name should be replaced by the name of the ICS host (see the list of hosts below). In ICS mode, you can just watch games, play against other users, or replay games that have finished. The ICS host acts as a gathering place for enthusiasts who want to play chess against others on the Internet, watch games, participate in tournaments, or just meet chess people. Here is an example of starting an ICS session at chess.net from a Terminal window:

$ xboard -ics -icshost chess.net Please wait. Press return to enter chess.net as "guest 141": chess% <Enter>

After pressing Enter, you are logged into the chess server as a guest. The xboard window opens on your screen. Keep an eye on the Terminal window where you started the session. Someone will probably challenge you to a game within a few moments. For example, if a challenge ended with "Type '/accept 102' to accept the sought challenge," you would type:

chess% /accept 102

You can begin playing. To learn more about how to play, visit http://chess.net/help. Select the Beginners Manual to start. Other chess servers you can try include the Internet Chess Club (ICC) at chessclub.com or Free Internet Chess Server at freechess.org.

Freeciv

With Freeciv, you create a civilization that challenges competing civilizations for world dominance. Freeciv is a free clone of the popular Civilization game series from Atari. A commercial port of Civilization Call to Power to Linux was created a few years ago by Loki Games (described later in this chapter).

The version of Freeciv that comes with Fedora contains both client software (to play the game) and server software (to connect players together). You can connect to your server and try the game yourself or (with a network connection) play against up to 14 other players on the Internet.

You can start Freeciv from the Red Hat menu (as a non-root user) by clicking Games ® FreeCiv (Isometric tile set). If Freeciv doesn’t start, try starting it from a Terminal window by typing:

$ civ &

Figure 7-2 shows the two windows that appear when you start Freeciv. The Connect to Freeciv Server window contains your user name, host name, and port number. The Freeciv window is where you play the game.

Figure 7-2: Play Freeciv to build civilizations and compete against others.

Starting Freeciv

You can play a few games by yourself, if you like, to get to know the game before you play against others on the network. The following procedure describes how to start your first practice Freeciv game.

1. Start Freeciv from the Red Hat menu (Games ® FreeCiv, or type civ&).The Freeciv windows appear, as shown in Figure 7-2.

2. From a Terminal window, start the Freeciv server by typing:

   $ civserver This is the server for Freeciv version 1.13.0 You can learn a lot about Freeciv at http://www.freeciv.org/ 2: Now accepting new client connections. For introductory help, type 'help'. >

3. Click Connect in the Connect to Freeciv Server window.

4. At the server prompt, type the following:

   > start Starting game. 2: Loading rulesets >

   A What Nation Will You Be? window appears on the client, as shown in Figure 7-3.

   Figure 7-3: Choose a nation to begin Freeciv.

5. After you start Freeciv from the server prompt, choose a nation, the name of a leader, your gender, and the style of the city, and then click OK. At this point, you are ready to return to the Freeciv window.

Beginning with Freeciv

Check out the Freeciv window. Here are things you should know before you start the game. (You can find more help at the Freeciv site: www.freeciv.org.)

• Click the Help button for topical information on many different subjects that will be useful to you as you play.

• The world (by default) is 80 x 50 squares, with 11 x 8 squares visible at a time.

• The active square contains an icon of the active unit (flashing alternatively with the square’s terrain).

• Some squares contain special resources. Press and hold the middle mouse button for information on what special resources a square contains. (With a two-button mouse, hold the Ctrl key and click the right mouse button.) Try this a few times to get a feel for the land around you. This action also identifies any units on the terrain, as well as statistics for the unit.

• To see the world outside of your 11 x 8 viewing area, click the scroll bars outside of the map. At first the world outside will be black. As units are added, areas closer to those units will be visible. (Press the letter c to return to the active part of your map.)

• An overview map is in the upper-left corner of the Freeciv window. As the world becomes more civilized, this provides a good way to get an overview of what is going on. Right-click a spot on the overview map to have your viewport centered there.

• The menu bar contains buttons you can use to play the game. The Game menu lets you change settings and options, view player data, view messages, and clear your log. The Kingdom menu lets you change tax rates, find cities, and start revolutions. The View menu lets you place a grid on the map or center the view. The Orders menu is where you choose the items you build and the actions you take. The Reports menu lets you display reports related to cities, military, trade, and science, as well as other special reports.

• A summary of the economy of your civilization appears under the overview map. Information includes number of people, current year, money in the treasury, and percent of money distributed to tax, luxury, and science.

• Ten icons below the overview information represent how money is divided between luxuries (an entertainer), research (a researcher), and taxes (a tax collector). Essentially, these icons represent how much of your resources are placed into improving each of those attributes of your community.

• When you have made all your moves for a turn, click Turn Done. Next to that, a lightbulb indicates the progress of your research (increasing at each turn). A sun icon starts clear, but becomes brighter from pollution to warn of possible global warming. A government symbol indicates that you begin with a despotic government. The last icon tells you how much time is left in a turn.

The Unit box shows information about your current unit. You begin with two Settlers units and one Explorer unit.

Building your civilization

Start building your civilization. Here are things to try, as suggested by the Freeciv manual:

• To change the distribution of money, choose Kingdom ® Tax Rates. Move the slider bars to redistribute the percentage of assets assigned to luxury, research, and taxes. Try increasing research and reducing taxes to start off.

• Change the current unit to be a settler as follows: click the stack of units on the map and click one of the Settlers from the menu that appears.

• Begin building a city by clicking on Orders ® Build City. When prompted, type a name for the city and click OK. The window that appears shows information about the city. It starts with one happy citizen, represented by a single icon (more citizens will appear as the game progresses).

• The Food, Prod, and Trade lines reflect the raw productivity statistics for the city. The first number shows how much is being produced, the second (in parens) shows the surplus above what is needed to support the units. The Gold, Luxury, and Science lines indicate the city’s trade output. Granary numbers show how much food is stored and the size of the food store. The pollution level begins at zero.

• The Units at this point are not yet supported by a city (so nothing appears under Supported Units). When Units require support, they will be assigned to cities, and they will draw on city resources. Units present appear under that heading.

• The map area shown consists of 21 squares that make up the city. The number 1 indicates the size of the city. The number 211 reflects the production of food, manufacturing production, and trade, respectively. The number 210 shows where the city’s citizen is working and the results of the work.

• The Phalanx line shows that the city can build a Phalanx and that it will take 20 production points to produce. Click Change to view other units the city could produce, select one you want to build, and click Change. Below that is a list of your current buildings (of which you have only a Palace to start out).

• Close the city window by clicking Close.

Exploring your world

To begin exploring, move the Settler.

1. Using the numeric keypad, press the 9 key three times to begin exploring. You can move the explorer up to three times per turn. You begin to see more of the world.

2. When the next unit (the Settler) begins blinking, move it one square in another direction. Click Turn Done. Information for the city will be updated.

3. Click the City to see the city window. Notice that information about the city has been updated. In particular, you should see food storage increase. Close the city window.

4. Continue exploring and build a road. With the explorer flashing, use the numeric keypad to move it another three sections. When the Settler begins blinking, press r to build a road. A small R appears on the square to remind you that the Settler is busy building a road. Click Turn Done.

Using more controls and actions

Now that you have some understanding of the controls and actions, the game can begin taking a lot of different directions. Here are a few things that might happen next and things you can do:

• After you take a turn, the computer gets a chance to play as well. As it plays, its actions are reported to you. You can make decisions on what to do about those actions. Choose Game ® Message Options. The Message options window appears, containing a listing of different kinds of messages that can come from the server and how they will be presented to you.

• As you explore, you will run into other explorers and eventually other civilizations. Continue exploring by selecting different directions on your numeric keypad.

• Continue to move the Settler one square at a time, after it has finished creating the road. (The Settler will blink again when it is available.) Click Turn Done.

• At this point, you should see a message that your city has finished building Warriors. When buildings and units are complete, you should usually check out what has happened. Click the message associated with the city, then click Popup City. The city window appears, showing you that it has additional population. The food storage may appear empty, but the new citizens are working to increase the food and trade. You may see an additional warrior unit.

• A science advisory may also appear at this point to let you choose your city’s research goals. Click Change and select Writing as your new research goal. You can then select a different long-term goal as well. Click Close when you are done.

• If your new Warrior is now blinking, press the s key to assign sentry mode to the Warrior.

You should be familiar with some of the actions of Freeciv at this point. To learn some basic strategies for playing the game, choose Help ® Help Playing.