XDINO(6)

📦
version 8.9.4 · 2 versions
, in debian trixie, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 XDINO 💖 (section 6 of the games manual, bestie)

okay so. picture this: it's a puzzle page, it lives in the Games Manual, and it's literally called xdino. it's giving "Dino X widgets" and it's iconic. that's the whole NAME situation. let's get into it 🦋

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

/usr/games/xdino [-geometry
[{width}][x{height}][{+-}{xoff}[{+-}{yoff}]]] [-display [{host}]:[{vs}]]
[-[no]mono] [-[no]{reverse|rv}] [-{foreground|fg} {color}]
[-{background|bg} {color}] [-{border|bd} {color}] [-face{0|1|2|3|4|5}
{color}] [-frame {color}] [-delay msecs] [-[no]sound] [-moveSound
{filename}] [-{font|fn} {fontname}] [-view {int}] [-{mode {int} | both}]
[-[no]orient] [-[no]practice] [-userName {string}] [-scoreFile
{filename}] [-scores] [-version]

no cap, that's the whole invocation. every bracket matters, bestie 💅

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

okay so the physical puzzle lore is REAL and you need it. the period 3 turning version — that's where the points turn with 120 degree intervals — is called a Triangle - 4 Cube - Dinosaur with colored dinosaurs printed on it. (or, if you're a solid-color girlie, Triangle - 4 Cube - 6 Colors, and yes, a 4 color and a 2 color version are also available with point oriented coloring.) it was manufactured by The International Puzzle & Games (Great Animation International Corporation). not a small indie operation. we love a legacy brand 🎀

and the period 2 turning version — where the edges turn with 180 degree intervals — was suggested by Derek Bosch <bosch@sgi.com>. shoutout, king 👑

🔥 FEATURES 🔥

the way this thing is packed with controls. let me walk you through it, bestie, because the muscle memory is the whole game.

  • mouse-left button — hold it to move a piece, and release it on a piece on the same face. the pieces will then turn towards wherever you let go. it's giving telekinesis but make it twisty ✨
  • mouse-center, or the P / p keys — toggle practice mode. (in practice mode the record should say "practice".) this is the one for learning moves and just messing around with zero stakes. lowkey the best mode fr fr
  • mouse-right, or the Z / z keys — randomize the puzzle. > heads up: this must be done first to set a new record. no randomize, no record. periodt.
  • G / g — read (get) a saved puzzle.
  • W / w — save (write) a puzzle.
  • U / u — undo a move.
  • R / r — redo a move.
  • C / c — clear the puzzle.
  • S / s — start the auto-solver. let the bot cook 🤖
  • O / o — toggle orient mode. and okay, in orient mode you don't just have to get all the faces the same color, you also have to orient the faces — meaning you have to get the lines pointing the same direction. this adds complexity, (ever so slightly, there are only 2 possibilities), so yeah, there are 2 sets of records. two leaderboards, twice the main character energy 👑
  • 2, 3, B, or b keys (and NOT the keypad 2 or 3, bestie, read carefully) — change modes to Period 2, Period 3, or Both.
  • V / v — change the view of the puzzle.
  • > or . — speed up the movement of pieces (not implemented). 💀
  • < or , — slow down the movement of pieces (not implemented). also 💀
  • @ — toggle the sound.
  • Esc — hide the program. sneaky link behavior, we support it 🙈
  • Q, q, or CTRL-C — kill the program. bye bestie 🫶

🎮 the keypad situation

you can also move without the mouse, using the key pad or the arrow keys.

key pad is defined for the Dino2d as:

 /      Counterclockwise

7 8 9   Upper Left, Up, Upper Right
  ^
4<5>6   Left, Clockwise, Right
  v
1 2 3   Lower Left, Down, Lower Right

for other than Dino2d, you must use your intuition (is this a cop out or what?). the key pad is defined differently depending on which side of the cube your mouse is pointing at. so yeah, vibes-based navigation, iykyk 🧚

🌈 the modifier keys

  • use the alt key plus the left mouse button, keypad, or arrow keys to move the center of the cube. (the 2 opposite corners do not move. they're just standing there. immovable. iconic.)
  • use the shift keys plus the left mouse button, keypad, or arrow key to access "Period 2" turns from "Both" mode — otherwise it assumes "Period 3" turning. edges turn in "Period 2" and corners turn in "Period 3". and the "Period 2" mode has extra cuts around the faces. spicy ✨
  • use the control key plus the left mouse button, keypad, or arrow keys to move the whole cube. > this is not recorded as a turn. noted, because the record keeper is watching 👀

📝 the title format

the title is in the following format (non-motif non-opengl version):

xdino{2|3}d<dimension>.{2|3|both<turning modes>}: (<Number of moves>/{<Record number of moves> <user name>|"NEVER noaccess"|"practice"}) - <Comment>

if there is no record of the current puzzle, it displays "NEVER noaccess". cold. brutal. honest. 😭

💅 OPTIONS 💅

every single one, bestie, no skipping. here we go:

  • -geometry {+|-}X{+|-}Y — sets the initial position of the dino window (resource name "geometry").
  • -display host:dpy — specifies the X server to contact.
  • -[no]mono — lets you display the dino window on a color screen as if it were monochrome (resource name "mono").
  • -[no]{reverse|rv} — lets you see the dino window in reverse video (resource name "reverseVideo").
  • -{foreground|fg} color — specifies the foreground of the dino window (resource name "foreground").
  • -{background|bg} color — specifies the background of the dino window (resource name "background").
  • -{border|bd} color — specifies the border color of the pieces in the dino window (resource name "borderColor").
  • -face{0|1|2|3|4|5} <color> — lets you change the color of a face (resource name "faceColorN"). in mono-mode, color is represented as the first letter of the color name. on the 2-D version, the faces are ordered top to bottom and left to right on the "t" configuration. the "+-" configuration is physically consistent with the former, so it is ordered "0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 4". if you has two colors that begin with the same letter you should have one in uppercase and one in lowercase to distinguish them in mono-mode. you can change the colors of the faces to make a stupid cube (i.e. all White or in mono-mode all "W"). > unfortunately, it will not normally say its solved when its randomized. this would be cheating. and we don't cheat in this house 🚫
  • -frame color — specifies the color of the frame (resource name "frameColor").
  • -delay msecs — specifies the number of milliseconds it takes to move pieces (1-50) (resource name "delay").
  • -[no]sound — specifies if sliding pieces should make a sound or not (resource name "sound").
  • -moveSound filename — specifies the file for the move sound for the twisting of the puzzle (resource name "moveSound").
  • -{font|fn} ontname — specifies the font that will be used (resource name "font").
  • -view <int> — lets you change the view of the cube for OpenGL with choice of 4 views (resource name "int").
  • -mode <int> — lets you set the turning mode (resource name "mode").
  • -both — lets you set the turning mode to both period 2 and period 3 (resource name "mode" set at 4).
  • -[no]orient — lets you access the oriented mode (resource name "orient").
  • -[no]practice — lets you access the practice mode (resource name "practice").
  • -userName string — specifies the user name for any records made, or else it will get your login name (resource name "userName").
  • -scoreFile filename — specify an alternative score file (resource name "scoreFile").
  • -scores — lists all the recorded scores and then exits.
  • -version — tells you what version of xdino you have.

🏆 RECORDS 🏆

you must randomize the puzzle before a record is set, otherwise an assumption of cheating is made if it is solved after a get or an auto-solve. the scoreboard does not play games. it will clock you. 💀

💾 SAVE FORMAT 💾

here is the format for the xdino configuration, starting position, and the movement of its pieces. buckle up, this part is nerdy and we love it for that 🍓

Dino2d with default colors, not randomized:

  0       R     Red
1 2 3   B Y G   Blue, Yellow, Green
  4       W     White
  5       O     Orange

then the following:

mode: 2-4 <period 2 turning, period 3 turning, or both (4)>
orient: 0-1 <O false, 1 true; if 1 then lines on pieces are to be oriented>
practice: 0-1 <0 false, 1 true>
moves: 0-MAXINT <total number of moves>

startingPosition: <2 dimensional array of face and edge position,
each face 4 edge pieces, if orient mode then orientation number
follows face number: 0 up, 1 right, 2 down, and 3 left>

this is then followed by the moves, starting from 1.

move #: <direction> <style> <control> <face> <edge>

each turn is with respect to a corner on a face. the edges start at the top and work clockwise.

  • Direction is represented as 0 upper right, 1 lower right, 2 lower left, 3 upper left, 5 clockwise, 7 counterclockwise, 8 up, 9 right, 10 down, and 11 left.
  • Style is represented as 0, 1, or 2 — 0 if just a corner is rotated, 1 if the center of the cube is moved, and 2 if a period 2 twist.
  • Control is represented as 0 or 1 — 1 if the whole cube is moved at once (here the edge does not matter), 0 if not. the xdino record keeper does not count a control move as a move, but here we do. 🙃

📚 REFERENCES 📚

  • International Puzzles & Games Catalog

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

X(1), xcubes(6), xtriangles(6), xhexagons(6), xmlink(6), xbarrel(6), xpanex(6), xmball(6), xpyraminx(6), xoct(6), xrubik(6), xskewb(6), xbevel(6), xabacus(6)

the whole puzzle family came out to support. we stan a supportive franchise 💜

©️ COPYRIGHTS ©️

® Copyright 1995-2024, David A. Bagley

🐛 BUG REPORTS AND PROGRAM UPDATES 🐛

send bugs (or their reports, or fixes) to the author:

David A. Bagley, <bagleyd AT verizon.net>

the latest version is currently at:

https://www.sillycycle.com/puzzles.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/games/strategy/
and that's the whole page, bestie 🎀 this was V8.8.4, dated 15 Aug 2024 — so go twist a dino, randomize first, and don't you dare let the scoreboard catch you cheating. slay 💖✨
📦 where this page comes from