PINGUS(6)

📦
version 0.7.6 · 2 versions
, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

✨ pingus ✨

okay bestie, listen UP 💖 this is the User Commands girlie of the manual pages, pingus section 6, and she is serving puzzle game excellence. no cap.

NAME

pingus — a puzzle game where you have to save penguins 🐧🫶

like. that's the whole vibe. save the penguins. that's the mission. it's giving hero's journey but make it arctic.

SYNOPSIS

pingus [OPTION]... [FILE]

DESCRIPTION

So here's the deal, bestie 🌸 Pingus is a side-scrolling puzzle game where you, the main character, have to guide a whole little group of penguins from the entrance of a level all the way to the exit. sounds cute right? it is NOT easy 😭

because bestie. the path? blocked. numerous obstacles and dangers just chilling in the way, and the only way through is to assign actions to the penguins. that's the gameplay. that's the whole thing. you're the manager, they're the talent 💅

OPTIONS

GENERAL OPTIONS

  • -h, --help — displays this help 🫶 (the classic "bestie what does this do" flag)
  • -V, --version — print the version number and then dip. exit. gone. 👋
  • -v, --verbose — turns on info level log output, so it tells you stuff 📢
  • -D, --debug — turns on debug level log output, so it tells you everything 💀
  • -Q, --quiet — disables all log output. not a word. silence. 🤫

DISPLAY OPTIONS

  • -w, --window — start in Window Mode 🪟
  • -f, --fullscreen — start in Fullscreen 🌈
  • -r, --renderer=RENDERER — use the renderer you pick, defaults to sdl. the available renderers are:
    • sdl — a simple software renderer based on SDL, this is the default and the safest option 🧸
    • opengl — uses hardware acceleration to render the graphics, it is much faster then the SDL renderer and recommended when the hardware supports OpenGL ⚡
    • delta — uses SDL for rendering and doesn't use hardware acceleration, but it will try to increase rendering performance by only re-rendering screen elements that have changed. heads up though: using the delta renderer will disable some effects such as scrolling background, to allow maximum benefits 👀
  • -g, --geometry=WIDTHxHEIGHT — set the window resolution for pingus (default: 800x600). and listen: --geometry only applies to the window resolution — for the fullscreen resolution use --fullscreen-resolution 📐
  • -R, --fullscreen-resolution=WIDTHxHEIGHT — set the resolution used in fullscreen mode (default: 800x600) 🖥️
  • --software-cursor — enable software cursor 🖱️

GAME OPTIONS

  • --no-auto-scrolling — disable automatic scrolling. automatic scrolling makes the screen scroll whenever the mouse reaches the border of the screen. and it's only active in fullscreen mode or when mouse-grab is enabled, fyi ✨
  • --drag-drop-scrolling — enable drag'n drop scrolling. by default Pingus uses a rubber-band scrolling where the scroll speed depends on how far away the cursor is from the position where the mouse button was clicked. in drag&drop mode, scrolling behaves more like traditional GUI apps such as Gimp, where clicking the scroll button will 'pick up' the playfield and let you move it around until it's released again 🫳

SOUND OPTIONS

  • -s, --disable-sound — disable sound 🔇
  • -m, --disable-music — disable music 🎵

LANGUAGE OPTIONS

  • -l, --language=LANG — select the language to use with Pingus 🌍
  • --list-languages — list all available languages 📜

EDITOR OPTIONS

  • -e, --editor — loads the level editor 🛠️

DIRECTORY OPTIONS

  • -d, --datadir=DIR — load game datafiles from DIR 📁
  • -u, --userdir=DIR — load config files and store savegames in DIR 💾
  • -a, --addon=DIR — load game modifications from DIR. files in DIR will be used instead of the files found in the main datadir of Pingus, which allows modifications — like sprite replacements, additional levels, etc. — to the game without changing the main data files 🎀
  • --no-cfg-file — don't read ~/.pingus/config 🙅
  • -c, --config=FILE — read config from FILE 📄
  • --controller=FILE — uses the controller given in FILE 🎮

DEBUG OPTIONS

  • --developer-mode — enables some special features for developers 👩‍💻
  • -t, --speed=SPEED — set the game speed (0=fastest, >0=slower) 🐢➡️🐇
  • -k, --fps=FPS — set the desired game framerate (frames per second) 🎞️
  • --tile-size=INT — set the size of the map tiles (default: 32) 🧱

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

GAMEPLAY

all gameplay related keyboard shortcuts are configurable via a controller config file, see --controller and controller/default.scm 🎛️

  • W, A, S, D — scroll in the level 🕹️
  • Space — hold to fast-forward ⏩
  • P, R — pause the game. ⏸️
  • S, F — advance the game by a single frame. 🎬
  • Backspace — activate armageddon. 💀💀💀
  • Escape — leave the current screen/level. 🚪

ENGINE

  • F10 — show/hide the FPS counter. 📊
  • AltReturn, F11 — switch to fullscreen/window mode. 🔄
  • Ctrlg — toggle mouse grab, when active the mouse can not leave the window. 🖱️🔒
  • Ctrlo, F5 — show the option menu. ⚙️
  • F12 — make a screenshot. screenshots are stored in ~/.pingus/screenshots/. 📸
  • Ctrlm — toggle the developer mode, see --developer-mode 🧪
  • c (only in developer-mode) — show the collision map overlayed over the regular groundmap. 🗺️
  • k (only in developer-mode) — clear the screen for delta mode debugging. 🧹

ACTIONS

these are the lil jobs you hand out to your penguins. each one is a whole personality, fr fr 💅

  • Basher — the Basher will do a horizontal dig, leaving behind it a tunnel. it is not able to dig through metal. 🪨
  • Blocker — the Blocker will stop and stay in position, directing other penguins to turn around when they reach him. 🛑
  • Bomber — the Bomber will blow up on the spot and take a bit of surrounding ground with it. 💥
  • Bridger — the Bridger will build a small bridge, useful for crossing small chasm. 🌉
  • Climber — the Climber action allows a Pingu to travel upwards a vertical wall. and unlike other actions, the climber action is a permanent addition to the Pingus ability. 🧗
  • Digger — the Digger will dig a hole into the ground. it can't dig through metal. ⛏️
  • Floater — the Floater action gives a penguin a small propeller that lets him gently glide down from great heights that would otherwise be deadly. 🍃
  • Jumper — the Jumper will let the Pingu do a big leap forward, allowing him to cross chasm and small vertical obstacles. 🦘
  • Miner — the Miner will dig a diagonal hole into the ground. 🪓
  • Slider — the Slider will make a tiny leap forward, gliding on its belly for a short while, allowing the Pingu to make it through narrow tunnels. 🛷

LEVEL EDITOR

Pingus comes with a build-in level editor 🛠️✨

the level editor can currently be used to edit level files (*.pingus) as well as prefabricated objects (*.prefabs). worldmaps (*.worldmap) can currently not be edited with the editor. 🙈

all Pingus data files, except the sound and images, are raw text files and can be edited in a text editor if the editor isn't sufficient 📝

if you want to submit a level to be included in the next release, follow the following naming convention:

{theme}{number}-{nickname}.pingus

do not use space or uppercase in the levelname, and keep the levelname simple (i.e. snow1-grumbel.pingus and not pingus-go-on-a-long-journey-in-snowland-grumbel.pingus). the filename should not reflect the actual level title — it simply should be unique and not conflict with other people's levels. if you plan on building a whole levelset, name the levels after the levelset 🏷️

to submit a level send it to <pingus-devel@nongnu.org> 📬

PREFABS

a prefab, short for prefabricated object, is a group of objects that have been combined into a new single object 🧊

a classic case of a prefab would for example be a snowman — it is built out of multiple smaller snowball objects and then saved as a prefab to allow easy reuse in multiple levels. unlike simple object groups, prefabs are saved as a reference in the level, so if the prefab is updated, all levels will see the change ✨

like object groups, prefabs can be ungrouped to break them back down into individual objects if individual editing is needed — at that point they cease to be prefabs and changes to the .prefab file will no longer be reflected in the level 🔨

prefabs behave pretty much like regular levels. to create a prefab, simply start a new level and insert the objects as usual. unlike regular levels, the level size is ignored, so you have to place your objects around the center of the level, marked by a cross, to have the prefab function properly ➕

to save a prefab as a prefab instead of a level, you have to append the .prefab suffix to the filename 📎

thumbnail generation for prefabs is currently done offline with the script ./tools/generate-prefab-images.sh available from the Pingus source tree 🖼️

UI QUIRCKS

the Pingus level editor is best used with a combination of mouse and keyboard — all essential functions have keyboard shortcuts ⌨️🖱️

unlike more traditional GUIs, the Pingus editor lacks scrollbars, so to move around the level or the object list on the right, simply use the middle or right mouse button and drag&drop the list around 👆

objects from the object list can be inserted into the level by drag&dropping them over to the level 🎯

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

  • Delete, Backspace — delete all currently selected objects 🗑️
  • A — select or unselect all objects ✅
  • D — duplicate the currently selected objects 👯
  • I, K, J, L — move the current selection by one pixel; if Shift is held, move it by 32 pixel. 📏
  • PageUp, PageDown — raise or lower an object ⬆️⬇️
  • ShiftPageUp, ShiftPageDown — raise or lower an object to the top or bottom 🔝
  • R, ShiftR — rotate an object 90 degrees; if Shift is held, rotate it the other way around 🔄
  • F, ShiftV — flip an object horizontally ↔️
  • V, ShiftF — flip an object vertically ↕️
  • B, ShiftB — toggle the background color to make it easier to see small pixel errors. if shift is held the color will be toggled in the opposite direction 🎨
  • +, =, - — increase/decrease the repeat value of selected objects; this will only have an effect on objects having a repeat value (switchdoors, liquids, ...) 🔁

Copyright (C) 1998-2011 Ingo Ruhnke <grumbel@gmail.com>

see the file AUTHORS for a complete list of contributors.

Pingus comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. 😤 this is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions; see the file COPYING for details. 📜

SEE ALSO

and that's the whole page bestie 🎀 this was version 0.7.5, dated 21 October 2011, and honestly? iconic. go save those penguins. periodt. 🐧👑💖

📦 where this page comes from