LIGHTYEARS(6)

📦 version 1.5.2, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

✨ LIGHTYEARS 💫

okay bestie, so this is the manual page for lightyears, and it lives in section 6 of the games manual, and honestly? it's giving steampunk sci-fi main character energy. sit down, grab a strawberry drink 🍓, and let's get into it.

🎀 NAME 🎀

lightyears — a single player real-time strategy game with steampunk sci-fi vibes. that's the whole thing. no cap.

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

lightyears [options...]

literally just run it. options are optional, like they always are. iconic.

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • --window — starts the game in windowed mode, no matter what the last saved state said. the saved state does not get a vote.
  • --fullscreen — starts the game in fullscreen mode</fullscreen>, also ignoring the last saved state. dramatic? yes. correct? also yes.
  • --no-sound — mutes all the sounds. every single one. silence era. 🙈
  • --safe — restores the default configuration. heads up bestie, this means any existing configuration will be deleted. gone. not coming back.
⚠️ --safe will delete your existing configuration. do not press that button unless you mean it. 💀

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

lightyears is a strategy game with steampunk elements. you're the ruler of a brand new city on an alien planet (yes, main character energy confirmed) and your whole job is to feed it energy so it can advance. how do you do that? you construct "Steam Makers" and you connect them through pipes and nodes. that's the loop. slay.

keeping a stable and plentiful steam supply is what lets you upgrade your city. and the way that upgrades pay off is additional "work units" — which let you do a higher amount of simultaneous construction work. so basically more hands, more stuff at once. and it's not just building "Steam Makers", nodes and pipes either: you can also upgrade those to increase their efficiency. glow up your infrastructure, fr fr.

now, because the game does not want you to have a peaceful little farming sim moment, there are natural phenomenons that may harm part of your network. when that happens you have to repair it in a hurry before the city loses too much energy. and if that wasn't enough — you'll also have to face enemy alien ships, whose power increases as the game advances, and which will attempt to destroy your infraestructures. so yeah. stay on your toes. 👑

⌨️ IN-GAME KEYBOARD CONTROLS ⌨️

  • Build node: N
  • Build pipe: P
  • Destroy: D, backspace
  • Open the menu: escape

that's the whole keyboard situation. muscle memory unlocked. 💅

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

you will find additional documentation in /usr/share/doc/lightyears/html/. go read it, it's right there, iykyk. 📚

👑 AUTHOR 👑

lightyears was written by Jack Whitham <jack@jwhitham.org.uk> and this manual page by Siegfried-A. Gevatter <siegfried@gevatter.com>. legends, both of them. 🫶

and that's the whole page bestie!! this one's from the Games Manual, dated June 20, 2009 — yes, 2009, a vintage, a classic, an artifact 🎀. now go build some Steam Makers and protect your pipes. periodt. ✨

📦 where this page comes from