TRIPLANE(6)TRIPLANE(6)NAME
Triplane - a side-scrolling dogfighting game.
SYNOPSIStriplane [OPTION]...
DESCRIPTION
Triplane Classic is a side-scrolling dogfighting game featuring solo
missions and multiplayer mode with up to four players. It is a port of
the original Triplane Turmoil game for DOS and aims to match the origi‐
nal game exactly so that high scores remain comparable to the original.
OPTIONS-fullscreen
Start the game in fullscreen mode (this is the default).
-nofullscreen
Start the game in windowed mode.
-nosound
Start the game without sounds. Note: This option also disables
sounds in the configuration file so sounds will be disabled also
the next time you start triplane. To enable sounds set Physical
Examination->Hearing->Sounds on in the game menus.
-2, -3, -4
Scale the 320x200-pixel game window 2x, 3x or 4x using software
scaling. This helps you play Triplane on displays that cannot
switch to such low resolutions.
-2svga Scale the 800x600-pixel window 2x using software scaling, to
produce a 1600x1200-pixel window. This resolution is used only
in multiplayer mode.
Note that triplane does not warn about unknown options.
GETTING STARTED
After starting the game, click through the splash screens to see the
main menu. Then click ROSTER and click the pen on the right to create
a new pilot entry. Type your name and press enter. Click the keys on
the left to get back to main menu. Click ASSIGN PILOTS and check the
SOLO check box beside the red plane (top left) to select the German
plane for solo game. Click on the background to get back to the main
menu.
Click TAKEOFF TIMES and MISSION I. Read your assignment carefully and
click on the arrows to look around the map. Your objective is to
destroy the buildings identified by red boxes around them. When you
are ready click FLY and use the following controls:
· press S (roll) to get out of hangar
· hold TAB (power) down to accelerate
· use X and W to steer the plane
· use 1 to drop a bomb
· use S to roll the plane upside down
When you have destroyed all the targets try to land by releasing power
and gliding to the runway. Holding up and down simultaneously acti‐
vates the air brake system. When the plane is stopped on the runway,
press S to re-enter the hangar and resupply bombs and fuel.
N.B.: If you have a new computer you may encounter serious keyboard
errors. This is due to the cost savings of the keyboard manufacturers.
The current keyboards cannot handle more than 3-6 keys simultaneously.
If you encounter keyboard problems, see the "on/off power" option
below.
SOLO GAME MODE
See the "ASSIGN PLAYERS MENU" chapter on how to select the solo game
country.
Winning a solo game requires that:
· all mission targets have been destroyed
· all protection objectives are met
· all enemy airplanes are destroyed, and
· at least one plane is left and stopped on a runway.
Scoring is mostly based on how many planes you have shot down. Extra
points are awarded from destroyed enemy ground installations and
infantry without regard to who destroyed them. You will get penalty
points for shooting down allied planes and for destroyed allied ground
targets and infantry.
MULTIPLAYER MODE
See the "ASSIGN PLAYERS MENU" chapter on how to select players for mul‐
tiplayer mode and visit the "REQUEST TRANSFER" menu to select the mul‐
tiplayer level.
To configure plane controls for multiplayer mode, visit the "PLANE
MECHANICS" menu. Choose a country and then configure either the key‐
board or a joystick (a game pad is also OK).
If you want to change the keyboard layout for the chosen country, click
the keyboard and you will be prompted to press buttons for all six con‐
trols needed to fly. The order is Up, Down, Roll, Engine power, Bombs
and Guns. Remember that brake is always Up+Down simultaneously.
Joystick configuration is still a bit experimental and it is not easy
to play the game with a joystick. Start by clicking Joystick 1 or Joy‐
stick 2 and follow the on-screen instructions. There are two types of
joystick actions. You can hold down a joystick button and press Space
on the keyboard. Alternatively you can move a joystick to a different
position (left, right, up or down) and press Space. Finally, by press‐
ing "D" you can disable a control completely. You can use this for
example if you have configured up and down actions to be buttons so
that you can hold them together and thus do not need a separate brake
control. Disabling the roll control enables autoroll, which keeps the
plane upright.
HANGAR MENU
This is a special menu. This appears when the actual game is in
progress. There are three columns: Bombs, ammo and fuel. Use the Bomb
and Guns buttons to select one of the columns, and adjust the value
using the Up and Down buttons. Press Roll or Power to exit, and a
mechanic will push your plane onto the runway. If you want to return
to the hangar, just press Roll or Bomb, and the mechanic will push your
plane into the hangar.
ASSIGN PLAYERS MENU
This menu is used to select players for solo and multiplayer modes.
There are four boxes, one for each country.
Inside each box there are four radio buttons and two text fields:
first radio button (red circle)
This country is disabled.
second radio button (SOLO)
This country is used to play a solo mission. Other countries are
automatically disabled. Remember to set pilot name in the text box
to the right of this radio button.
third radio button (computer)
This country is played by a computer pilot in multiplayer mode.
The text box to the right is not implemented.
fourth radio button (human)
This country is played by a human pilot in multiplayer game.
Remember to set pilot name in the first text box.
If you activate the solo mode the computer will automatically adjust
the other countries to NO-PLAYER mode. (If you want to play the solo
missions, now just exit and click the take-off times flyer in the main
menu.) For example, assume that you want to be the German player, your
friend wants to be the Japanese player and computer wants(?) to be the
Finnish player. Choose "Human pilot" in the German and Japanese boxes,
"No player" in the English box, and "Computer pilot" in the Finnish
box.
Note: If you select the last multiplayer level (CAVERN) and you set the
computer to be the Finnish or the English plane, these planes will be
disabled when game begins. (Computers cannot handle takeoffs in
caves.)
PHYSICAL EXAMINATION MENU
This is the options menu, where you can define game-related parameters.
On the right side you can see four tabs:
VISION
Shots visible?
If deactivated, no flying ammunition will be seen (planes &
infantry).
AAA shots visible?
If deactivated, no ammunition of flak battery will be seen.
AA-Mg shots visible?
If deactivated, no ammunition of ground machine gun will be
seen.
Flags? If deactivated, all flags will disappear.
Structure flames?
If deactivated, the bombed structures will not burn.
Use 800*600 window (in MULTIPLAYER)?
Activate this option to play multiplayer games in a 800*600 win‐
dow.
HEARING
Sounds on?
Activate this to enable or disable all sound. Note that the
-nosound command line option turns this off.
Musics on?
Play music in the menus, if the "Sounds on?" option is also
activated.
SFX on?
Enable various sound effects in the game, if the "Sounds on?"
option is also activated.
Explosion sounds?
If deactivated, a sound will be not heard when a bomb collides
with ground.
Gunfire sounds?
If deactivated, a sound will be not heard when a plane fires its
guns.
AAA fire sounds?
If deactivated, a sound will be not heard when ground defenses
fire (machine guns & flaks).
Water splash sound?
If deactivated, a sound will be not heard when a bomb collides
with water.
Infantry death sounds?
If deactivated, infantry soldiers will not scream when they die.
Do you want on/off power?
When activated, the behavior of the engine power button will be
dramatically changed. On/off power allows toggling the engine
on or off by pressing the Power button, instead of having to
hold it down. Use this option if you encounter keyboard prob‐
lems, because this decreases the number of keys pressed down
simultaneously.
Do you want a reversed power switch?
Turns the behavior of the engine power button upside-down: when
you are not holding the power key down, the plane accelerates.
When held down, the engine will be deactivated. This is not the
same as braking, you still need to use Up+Down to brake.
The following options are for multiplayer only.
Are all the planes the same?
Sets all planes' attributes to a specific country. For example:
Choose the German plane on the left, and every plane has 4 bombs
etc. This affects all plane abilities.
Collisions on?
If active, a collision of two planes results in an immediate
destruction of both planes. Both players lose one point in col‐
lision.
Flying parts?
If enabled the parts which appear when a plane crashes cause
damage to other planes.
Battle ends after n points
End the game after one of the players has this number of points.
The number can be increased by pressing it with the left mouse
button and decreased with the right mouse button. UnLtd means
unlimited, where the multiplayer game will not end before you
press Esc.
Alliances enabled?
Enables alliances. The sides are selected at the box in the
lower left corner.
AA-MGs?
If deactivated, all ground machine gun batteries will disappear.
AAAs? If deactivated, all flak batteries will disappear.
Infantry?
If deactivated, all infantry will disappear.
Unlimited ammo?
If activated, you can shoot even when you have no gun rounds
left, but you cannot adjust your ammo load.
Unlimited fuel?
If activated, the plane will still fly even when you have run
out of fuel, but you always have to take the full load of fuel
when leaving the hangar.
PLANE TYPES
Country Germany Finland England Japan
Ammunition ** ** *** *
Maneuverability ** * * ***
Fuel ** ** *** *
Speed ** *** ** *
Bombs ** * ** ***
Endurance ** *** ** *
The German plane is very deadly in dogfight because it is designed for
it. It does not have any particular strengths or weaknesses.
The Finnish plane is the fastest and the toughest but it has a poor
bomb capacity and great skill is needed to pilot it because of its low
turning rate.
The English plane never runs out of anything (except bombs). Its only
disadvantage is the low maneuverability.
The Japanese plane has the biggest bomb capacity and it is even more
agile than the German plane. Too bad it always runs out of fuel.
MEDALS, RIBBONS AND RANKS
Like in a real Air Force, you will be awarded with higher ranks and
medals when you have served your country well. The medals are shown on
top of your pilot in the roster menu. Every rank has its own ribbon
which is located beside your pilot in the roster menu. When you start
a new pilot you have no medals and you have only one ribbon, 2nd Lieu‐
tenant. When you advance ranks you do not lose your previous ribbons
like you would in real life.
Best pilot in the country - Medals
When you complete a sequence of solo missions (six of them) you will be
awarded the "Best pilot in the country" medal. Every country has its
unique medal, but the main color of the medal depends on the country so
it will be very easy to see which country has awarded you with it.
Special medals
There are two special medals. The first is the veteran medal, Golden
Star. It will be awarded to you when you have flown 1000 missions.
The second is the hero medal, Silver Eagle. It will be awarded to the
pilot who has killed the most and died the least. There is only one
Silver Eagle medal in the world, so be careful, it will change its
owner very quickly.
Ranks and their abbreviations
Here is a list of ranks appearing in Triplane. In the roster an abbre‐
viation of the rank will be automatically added to your name (for exam‐
ple: 2nd Lt. Dragst). Both solo and multiplayer games will affect it
so you probably will not gain a lot of promotions by just playing one
of them.
The ranks are:
Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt.)
A simple blue ribbon with one golden column
First Lieutenant (1st Lt.)
A blue ribbon with 1 golden column and 2 stars
Captain (Capt.)
A blue ribbon with 2 golden columns and 2 stars
Major (Major)
A blue ribbon with 2 golden columns and 4 stars
Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col.)
A blue ribbon with a Golden Shield of the Air Force
Colonel (Colonel)
A blue ribbon with a Golden Eagle of the Air Force
If you are ever promoted to Colonel, you have probably played for some
time. But remember, it is not impossible to gain it, you just need
play a little longer.
TIPS AND TRICKS
· Remember that stalling is a VERY good way to brake fast, but do not
even think about it unless you can handle the plane very well.
· When flying the Finnish plane remember to deactivate the power when
turning.
· There are several Ace missions which are quite easy to complete, but
great effort is needed for receiving a higher score. Patriot Flight is
a very good example of this, it is possible to get at least 169 points
in it.
· The Japanese plane can even outmaneuver the German plane, but only
with an empty bomb load. The German plane is still a bit better in
dogfight.
· Remember to use hit and run techniques when playing the Finnish
plane.
· There is no need to leave any bombs behind if you are playing with
the Finnish plane, because it does not make any difference.
· In the missions with a lots of enemy air activity, try protect your
AAAs.
· In solo missions you should learn to use the Radar markers, because
that makes it easier to avoid enemy airplanes.
· Avoid shooting too many bullets at the enemy plane, because it will
probably explode. In the solo game you cannot deactivate the part col‐
lision, so this is quite vital.
· Remember that Japanese plane will always run out of fuel, particu‐
larly with six bombs.
FILES
Triplane finds its configuration directory by searching the following
directories in this order:
· 1) $TRIPLANE_HOME
· 2) $HOME/.triplane (created if missing)
· 3) the current directory (if step 2 fails for some reason).
The configuration directory contains the following files:
· triplane.cfg
Main configuration file.
· roster.dta
High score file.
· keyset.dta
Keyboard configuration file.
Triplane tries to locate its data directory by looking at which of the
following directories exist, in the following order:
· 1) $TRIPLANE_DATA
· 2) TRIPLANE_DATA set at compilation time (if step 2 fails)
· 3) current directory.
The data directory contains only one file:
· fokker.dks
Game data file containing levels, graphics and sounds.
HISTORY
The original Triplane Turmoil was developed by Markku Rankala, Teemu J.
Takanen and Henrikki Merikallio. Some work was also contributed by
Risto Puhakka, Antti Lehtoranta and Mikko Kinnunen.
The portable SDL version, Triplane Classic, was created from the origi‐
nal source by Timo Juhani Lindfors (timo.lindfors@iki.fi), Teemu J.
Takanen (tjt@users.sourceforge.net), and Riku Saikkonen. We also thank
Timo Lilja for his earlier Xlib porting efforts and Sami Liedes for
spellchecking and optimization ideas.
TRIPLANE(6)
