Ubuntu Manpage: alex4 - Alex the Allegator 4, a retro platform game

NAME

       alex4 - Alex the Allegator 4, a retro platform game

SYNOPSIS

       alex4 [gamefile]

DESCRIPTION

       Guide Alex the Allegator through the jungle in order to save his girlfriend Lola from evil
       humans who want to make a pair of shoes out of her.

       Alex the Allegator 4 is a platform game in the style of old Gameboy games.  You  can  play
       the game with a keyboard or a joystick.  On the keyboard the following keys are used:

       Arrow keys   Movement

       Alt          Jump

       Control      Shoot (only when you've found eggs to fire!)

       When you're on the menu screen, you can choose the window size with the following keys:

       1    160x120 window

       2    320x240 window

       3    640x480 window

       4    full-screen

CUSTOM MAPS

       The  Alex  the  Allegator  homepage  links to many user-contributed maps.  Each set should
       contain several ".map" files and a text file describing the collection.  To play the maps,
       simply start alex4 with the name of the text file as argument.

       If  you  want  to  create  your  own  maps, you can use the built-in map editor (described
       below), but you'll need to create the description file yourself.  This  is  a  plain  text
       file  that needs to list the file names of your maps between "#start#" and "#end#" markers
       (these markers are not optional).  You can include a description of the maps outside these
       markers.  For example, for a collection of three maps:

              In  this  game,  Alex must rescue the Yellow Tetris Piece from the pirates of Ching
              Shih.
              #start#
              journey.map
              sea-of-despair.map
              endgame.map
              #end#

USING THE MAP EDITOR

Use the map editor to create your own maps. You can enter the map editor from the menu
screen or by pressing F1 while playing a custom map. The basic editor commands are:

Shift+L load an existing map

Shift+S save the map

Insert+Left/Right widen the map

Delete+Left/Right shorten the map

F1 change the map's properties, e.g. its name.

Maps are composed of tiles. Tiles can contain scenery, enemies, items and other game
objects. The mouse cursor shows the currently selected tile. To draw tiles, use the left
mouse button. You can cycle through the available tiles by using the z and x keys, choose
a tile from a palette using the p key, or pick a tile from the screen using the right
mouse button.

Tiles can be given special behavior using the following commands:

q instant death

w map exit

e roll activator

r breakable block

t submerged in water

y on the water surface

a Alex' start location (facing left)

Shift+A Alex' start location (facing right)

Use the following command to place items and enemies:

1 extra life

2 star bonus

3 cherry bonus

4 egg

5 extra heart

Shift+Q grunt

Shift+W spear grunt

Shift+E crusher

Shift+R spike fish

Shift+T jellyfish

Shift+Y cannon

Shift+U spike truck boss

Shift+I ground pounder boss

AUTHOR