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"Tux, of Math Command"
An educational math tutorial game starring Tux, the Linux Penguin
-----------------------------------------------------------------
October 29, 2007
For tuxmath-1.6.1
Objective
---------
In "Tux, of Math Command," you play the part of Commander Tux, as he
defends his friends from an attack of math equations.
Comets are crashing towards the friendly penguins in their igloos,
and you must destroy the comets by solving their equations.
Installation
------------
For instructions on installing the game on your system,
please read the "INSTALL.txt" file.
Configuration
-------------
If all players are using a single account (e.g., a home computer
that is always logged in, or a school setting in which all students
have a single username), you may want to do some additional
configuration---see below under "Configuring multiple users."
Running The Program
-------------------
Linux/Unix
----------
Simply type the command "tuxmath" at a command prompt (eg, in an xterm).
Depending on your graphical interface or window manager, you can
probably also create a clickable icon which will launch the game.
See your interface's documentation or help screens for details.
Windows
-------
Just double-click the "TuxMath.exe" icon or select "Tuxmath" in the Start
Menu. The current installer creates menu items to run tuxmath either in
Fullscreen mode or within a 640 x 480 window.
To be prompted for command line options, run tuxmath from the "Run" dialog
or the "C:> Command Prompt" console. Type "TuxMath.exe" followed by any
desired options (see below). If it does not run, make sure the full path
to the program (e.g. C:\Program Files\TuxMath\TuxMath.exe) is known to
Windows, either through Control Panel settings or by changing to the
directory containing TuxMath.exe before issuing the command.
MacOS
-----
[ UNDER CONSTRUCTION ] Just double-click the "tuxmath" icon. ???
To be prompted for command line options (see below), hold the [OPTION] key
as you double-click the icon.
Command Line Options
--------------------
NOTE: Tuxmath now has many pre-packaged "missions" (lessons), as well
as four arcade-style open-ended games of progressive difficulty, so
there is much less need to change settings. If desired, editing the
config file is a much better way to control the behavior of Tuxmath
than the command-line options, for the most part. However, many
options are still supported.
The following command-line options can be sent to the program:
--optionfile filename - play game based on settings in the named file (see
below for more on tuxmath config files). Tuxmath will
look for a valid config file with a matching name in
the following locations:
1. current working directory
2. as an absolute pathname
3. in the missions directory with tuxmath's
other data files.
4. in the user's tuxmath options directory
(e.g. /home/laura/.tuxmath/filename
5. in the user's home directory.
--playthroughlist - Game consists of working through a list of questions
-r generated based on the selected options (or defaults).
If a comet strikes a city without being shot down by
the player, the question is reinserted into the list
in a random location. If the player answers all
questions
correctly before the cities are destroyed, he/she wins.
If all cities get destroyed, the game ends in defeat.
--answersfirst - to ask questions in format: ? + num2 = num3 instead of
default format: num1 + num2 = ?.
--answersmiddle - to ask questions in format: num1 + ? = num3 instead of
default format: num1 + num2 = ?.
--fullscreen - Run the game in full screen, instead of in a window,
-f if possible.
--windowed - Run the game in a 640 x 480 window.
-w
--nosound - Do not play any sounds or music.
-s
--quiet
-q
--nobackground - Do not display photographic backgrounds in game.
-b (Useful on slower systems.)
--keypad - Display an on-screen numeric keypad. (Useful
-k for touch screens or in place of a physical keyboard.)
--operator OP - Add an operator to the game (will cause the program
-o OP to ignore saved option screen settings). You can
use this switch multiple times to run the game
with multiple operators.
Valid values for "OP" are:
add
subtract
multiply
divide
--demo - Demo mode. The game will cycle back and forth
-d between the title and the game, and it will
auto-play the game. The only user interaction
can be for quitting or pausing.
--allownegatives Allows subtraction answers to be less than zero.
-n When selected, the led numbers at the top of the
screen will include a fourth digit for the '-' sign.
Also, if --keypad is selected, the '-' and '+' may
be grayed-out depending if negatives are allowed.
These command-line options display useful information, but the program
does not attempt to start up in interactive mode.
--help - Display a short help message, explaining how to
-h play the game.
--usage - Display the available command-line options.
-u
--version - Display the version of "tuxmath" you're running.
-v
--copyright - Display copyright information
-c
Program Navigation
------------------
Title Screen
------------
Math Command Training Academy: choose this to go to a list of over fifty
prepared lessons, starting with simple typing of single digit numbers, and
progressing to multiplication and division involving negatives and
"missing number" questions (e.g. "-17 x ? = 119"). The player wins if the
question list is completed successfully. Successfully completed lessons are
indicated with a flashing gold star.
Play Arcade Game: use this to select from one of four open-ended, "Arcade
Style" games, meaning the game play gets faster and faster as long as the
player can keep up, with the goal being to get the highest score possible.
The options include:
Space Cadet - simple addition.
Scout - addition and subtraction to ten.
Ranger - addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to ten.
Ace - all four operations with operands to 20, including negative
numbers and "missing number" type questions.
If you make one of the top ten scores for the difficulty level, you get to
enter your name in the TuxMath Hall of Fame!
Play Custom Game: use this to play a game based on the config file in the
player's home directory (see below). At some point, the options will be
settable from within the game.
More Options - this will be developed into the menus to set options not
directly related to math questions, such as toggling the music on and off,
playing fullscreen vs. windowed, using cities vs. igloos, and the like.
Now it just has the "Demo" mode, as well as credits and project information.
Use the [UP] and [DOWN] arrow keys to select what you wish to do,
and then press [ENTER / RETURN / SPACEBAR]. Or, use the mouse to click the
menu item.
Pressing [ESCAPE] will quit the program.
How To Play
-----------
Destroying Comets
-----------------
As the comets fall towards your friends, you must solve the equations.
To destroy it:
--------------
First, figure out the answer to the equation.
For example, "3 x 4 = ?" would be "12"
Second, type in the answer. As you type numbers on the keyboard, they
will appear in the "LED"-style display on Tux's flat-panel monitor.
If negative answers are enabled, there will be a fourth place in the
LED display for the minus sign. The '-' and '+' keys will toggle the
minus sign on and off, respectively.
Finally, press [ENTER / RETURN].
The comet that has the number you entered as its answer will
be shot down by Tux!
Note: Sometimes more than one comet will have the same answer.
In this case, the lowest comet will be destroyed.
Note: After typing [ENTER / RETURN], the "LED"-style display will
automatically reset to "000" for you, so you can answer the
next equation!
Correcting Your Answer
----------------------
If you made a mistake as you typed in your answer, you can press
[BACKSPACE / DELETE] and the "LED"-style display at the top center
of the screen will reset to "000".
Using the On-Screen Keypad
--------------------------
If you launched the program with the "--keypad" (or "-k") option,
the game screen will also have a numeric keypad on the
center of the screen. (It has a similar layout to most keyboard
number pads and calculators.)
Using the mouse pointer to click on the on-screen buttons acts
just like typing numbers on the keyboard.
This feature could be useful for computers with touchscreens,
or for players who cannot use a keyboard.
Losing An Igloo or City
-----------------------
The default setting is to play with igloo-dwelling penguins.
If a comet reaches the igloo, the igloo is partially melted.
A second hit melts the igloo the rest of the way, and the
saddened penguin trudges off the screen.
If cities are used (by placing "use_igloos = 0" in the config
file and selecting "Play Custom Game"), game play is the same.
The first comet strike deactivates the city's shields, and the
second hit destroys the city. If this seems too scary or violent,
please use the penguin/igloo theme!
Regaining Igloos/Cities
-----------------------
When a question is answered correctly, the player earns progress toward
a bonus comet that allows an igloo or city to be rebuilt. Progress is
indicated with a green bar in the upper left corner of the screen. The
bonus comet is red and moves faster than regular comets. If the player
shoots down the bonus comet, a "snowstorm" image appears in place of the
bonus progress bar, and one of the igloos/cities will be rebuilt after
the current wave.
Ending The Game
---------------
The default mode is now to play through a defined list of questions. This
mode is used in the "Training Academy" games. For "Custom" games, it can
be selected by setting the config file 'play_through_list' parameter
to 1 ('yes' or 'true'), or via the "--playthroughlist" command line
argument.
The list is generated by TuxMath based on a series of selectable parameters
(selected math operations, number ranges, etc). By default, the questions
are asked in a random order. If answered correctly, they are removed.
A question that is not answered correctly (allowing the comet to destroy
its target) will reappear in random order. If all questions are
successfully
answered before the igloos or cities have been destroyed, the player wins
and a "victory" screen is displayed.
The older arcade-style mode is also supported, in which the game continues
until you lose all of your igloos or cities. A GAME OVER screen is then
displayed. For the "Custom" games, you can select this mode by setting
'play_through_list' to '0' ('no', 'false', 'off').
By pressing Esc or clicking on the red circle in the upper right corner, you
can quit the game.
Shortcut Keys
-------------
The following shortcuts are supported during game play:
'F10': switches between windowed and full-screen display mode.
'P' or 'Tab': pauses the game, if allowed. The included "Math Command
Training Academy" lessons allow pausing, while the "Arcade"
games do not.
Up Arrow: increase speed by 20%, if allowed.
Down Arrow: decrease speed by 20%, if allowed. Speed changes are
allowed
when pausing is enabled.
'Esc': leave current game and display the menu.
Advancing Waves
---------------
Setting Game Options
--------------------
The "Options" system remains in need of an overhaul. For now, you can
play the pre-packaged "Lesson" or "Arcade" games, or edit the options file
to create a "Custom" game. At some point the "Custom" settings will be
modifiable from within TuxMath.
1. The program reads and writes the settings to disk in a human-readable
fashion, where they can be modified with a text editor. The file is created
in the user's home directory within a directory called ".tuxmath" and is
simply called "options". As an example, a user "laura" on a Unix/Linux system
would find this at /home/laura/.tuxmath/options. The file contains
extensive comments describing all settings. By editing and saving this file,
very extensive control over the program is supported, particularly with
respect to generation of math questions. There really is no need to use
command-line options any more.
On a Windows XP or Windows 2000 system, the config file is called
"options.txt"
and is located at C:\Documents And Settings\USER\Application
Data\TuxMath\options.txt,
where USER is the login of the current user. Note that 'Application Data' is
hidden by default by the operating system.
2. Many command-line options are supported (see above).
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