NAME

       Maelstrom - an arcade-style game resembling Asteroids

SYNOPSIS

       Maelstrom [options]

       Maelstrom [-netscores] -printscores

DESCRIPTION

       This  is  a  Linux port of the Macintosh game by the same name. This version is remarkably
       faithful to the original.

       You pilot your ship through the dreaded "Maelstrom" asteroid belt --  suddenly  your  best
       friend  thrusts  towards  you and fires, directly at your cockpit.  You raise your shields
       just in time, and the battle is joined.  The deadliest stretch of space known  to  mankind
       has  just gotten deadlier.  Everywhere massive asteroids jostle for a chance to crush your
       ship, and deadly Shenobi fighter patrols pursue you across the  asteroid  belt.   But  the
       deadliest  of them all is your sister ship, assigned to you on patrol.  The pilot, trained
       by your own Navy, battle-hardened by months in the Maelstrom, is equipped with a  twin  of
       your  own  ship  and  intimate  knowledge  of  your  tactics.  The lovely Stratocaster R&R
       facility never sounded so good, but as you fire full thrusters to dodge the latest barrage
       you begin to think you'll never get home...

OPTIONS

       -display host:0
              Runs Maelstrom on the given X11 display.

       -fullscreen
              Puts  a  big black border around the Maelstrom screen, and centers Maelstrom within
              it. This help create a "full screen" effect on large displays.  During the game the
              screen mode can be toggled using Alt+Return.

       -privatecmap
              Runs  Maelstrom  with  a  private  (custom)  colormap. This prevents Maelstrom from
              locking up all of the colors on your display.  It  is  only  useful  on  256  color
              (pseudo-color) displays.

       -gamma [0-8]
              Sets the gamma correction level for Maelstrom. The higher the gamma correction, the
              brighter Maelstrom will appear on  your  monitor.  If  no  gamma  level  is  given,
              Maelstrom  will  print  the current gamma level saved in your custom configuration.
              Once this option is used, the gamma correction level  is  saved,  and  this  option
              doesn't need to be used later unless you want to change it again.

       -volume [0-8]
              Sets the sound volume.

       -nofade
              Prevents  Maelstrom  from  doing  the screen fading. This is useful if you find the
              fading annoying.

       -realfade
              Causes the entire display to fade, not just inside the Maelstrom window.

       -netscores
              Tells Maelstrom to use the Internet Maelstrom Score Server for the high score list.

       -printscores
              Prints out a list of the current high scores. If used with the  -netscores  option,
              it  will  will  connect  to  the  Internet Maelstrom Score Server and print out the
              world-wide Maelstrom high scores.

       -player N[@host][:port]
              Tells Maelstrom that it is playing a network game, and that player  N  is  at  host
              host and/or port port.

       -server N@host[:port]
              Tells  Maelstrom to use a network address server at host host (and port port) for a
              multiplayer game with N players.

       -deathmatch [N]
              Configures a multiplayer game to continue until someone gets N frags (default = 8).
              A frag is 3 shots at a player.

       -version
              Prints the version of the Maelstrom binary.

       -speedtest
              Runs  Maelstrom  in  a  graphics test mode. It prints the number of milliseconds it
              takes for your graphics display to display a full 48-frame, 360 degree rotation  of
              your ship. It is for comparative information only.

NOTES

       maelstrom is an alias for Maelstrom; you may use either to start the game.

       Maelstrom_sound  is  the  Maelstrom  sound server. You do not need (nor should you try) to
       start this yourself; Maelstrom uses it transparently.

AUTHOR

       The original Maelstrom was written for the Macintosh by Andrew Welch.  The Linux port  was
       done by Sam Lantinga <slouken@devolution.com>.

       The  author  has  approved  the  inclusion of Maelstrom in Debian distributions, including
       commercially distributed versions, as long as Maelstrom  is  not  sold  independently  and
       remains freely available.

       This manual page was contributed by Robert Leslie <rob@mars.org>.

                                           29-Dec-1996                               MAELSTROM(6)