trackballs(6)

📦
version 1.3.5 · 4 versions
, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

✨ trackballs — the manual page 💖

okay bestie, buckle up, because we're talking about trackballs, from section 6 (Games) of the manual. yes this is a real game and yes it absolutely slaps 🎀

🌈 SYNOPSIS

trackballs [-w] [-m] [-y] [-f] [-e -l<level> -t<level>] [-r<width>]
[-s<sensitivity>] ...

that's it, that's the whole vibe. the ... at the end is doing main character energy fr fr 🦋

💅 DESCRIPTION

so. Trackballs is a simple game that was inspired by the classic Atari 1980's arcade game 'Marble Madness' (which was later released by Electronic Arts for the Amiga and other platforms). iconic lineage honestly 👑

the whole thing is: you steer a marble ball through a labyrinth that is absolutely packed with sharp objects, pools of acid, and other obstacles, and you collect points. when the ball passes through the goal it moves on to the next, more difficult track — unless the time runs out. so basically, don't be slow 😭

real talk though: this game is not intended to be a replica of Marble Madness, it's merely inspired by it. like, the game uses 3D graphics even though the original game had no real use for it. and also the game is fully programmable with a scripting extension (Guile), plus it includes a level editor so you can easily create new levels. we love a multi-talented queen 💖

✨ OPTIONS ✨

every single flag, no skips, no cap:

  • -h, --help — shows you the usage information. your little "what do i do" safety net 🫶
  • -l, --level — start from a level.
  • -w, --windowed — run in a window. (default is fullscreen, jsyk)
  • -m, --mute — mute the sound 🔇
  • -y, --low-memory — attempts to conserve memory usage.
  • -s, --sensitivity — mouse sensitivity, default 1.0 🐭
  • -f, --fps — displays the framerate. numbers go brrr 📈
  • -v, --version — tells you the current version number.
  • -9, --debug-joystick — debug joystick status 🕹️
  • -j, --repair-joystick — corrects for bad joysticks. fixing what's broken, we love to see it 💅
  • -t, --touch — updates a map to the latest format.

🌸 ENVIRONMENT

  • GUILE_LOAD_PATH — specifies the directory where the guile files are.
  • TRACKBALLS — specifies a preferred share directory. this is ignored if invalid, so don't come crying if you typo it 🙈

🎀 FILES

here's where everything lives, bestie:

  • /usr/bin/trackballs — the executable file for trackballs 🏃♀️
  • /usr/share/games/trackballs — necessary shared files for trackballs.
  • /usr/share/locale — location of the locale files, if applicable.
  • /usr/share/doc/trackballs — detailed package documentation 📚
  • ~/.trackballs/ — per user settings directory. your personal little corner 💜

🦋 EXAMPLE

to run this program the standard way, type:

trackballs

to disable audio and start in windowed mode:

trackballs -m -w

alternatively you can test a level with:

trackballs -l steep

look at that, steep is right there as an example level name, use it, slay 🧚

⭐ NOTES

full documentation for the game and the editor can be found in the detailed package documentation, or over at https://trackballs.github.io/docs/index.html. go read it, iykyk 🌈

👑 AUTHORS

for a detailed list of authors, see the AUTHORS.md file in the source package.

and that's the whole page, bestie!! this manual page came to you from Mathias Broxvall and it's dated 2018-04-02, filed under trackballs(6). mwah, go play some marble madness-inspired 3D labyrinth chaos, you've earned it 💖✨🎀

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