
This is apparently the original documentation for sopwith. 
Thanks to Jornand de Buisonje' and google groups' archive :)

A lot of this refers to the imaginet network system and is no longer
relevant, but is included for historic purposes.

This was split over several messages, i have combined them.

From: andrew maclean (andrew.maclean@rose.com)
Subject: Sopwith Documentatio(1/6)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Date: 1993-10-14 09:11:09 PST

Someone from Finland posted a request for the docs of the game Sopwith.

I work for the company which wrote this little program so many years ago.  First
of all, it was intended as a demo for a network called Imaginet which we also
developed.  Therefore, it doesn't really play over other networks.  After asking
about this however, there is some speculation here that it can be linked over a
serial cable.  I cannot confirm this.  Anyway, here are the docs for thems that
wants.

This program is copywrited by:

                        BMB Compuscience Canada Ltd.
                           555 Industrial Drive
                             Milton, Ontario
                                 L9T 5C2
                                 Canada

SOPWITH   

                    a WWI biplane video game

          Syntax: 
                    sopwith [-s] [-k] [-i] [-q] [-r] [-d*] [-p#]
                            [-c] [-j]
                            [-m]
                            [-a]

          Description:   
                    SOPWITH  is  a  video war-game played over the IMAGINET
                    network or on a stand-alone PC.  The object of  SOPWITH
                    is to destroy all enemy targets with a somewhat limited
                    airforce.  SOPWITH may be played in four ways:

                         Single Player
                         Single Player against the computer
                         Multiple Players on a network
                         Two Players over  an  asynchronous  communications
                         line

                    SINGLE PLAYER

                         Single  player SOPWITH should only be used to "get
                         the  feel  of  the  stick".   The   player   (blue
                         airplane) must destroy all the enemy (red) targets
                         before losing five (5) airplanes.  If  the  player
                         is  successful,  the game is restarted at a higher
                         level of difficulty.

                    SINGLE PLAYER AGAINST THE COMPUTER

                         This game is of the same flavour as single  player
                         SOPWITH  with  the  additional  realism  of having
                         someone else (red airplanes) out to get you.

                    MULTIPLE PLAYER

                         Multiple user SOPWITH allows 2-4 IMAGINET users to
                         form  opposing  air  forces with the goal of being
                         the first  to  destroy  all  enemy  targets.   The
                         airplane   which  the  player  controls,  and  the
                         airforce  for  which   the   player   flies,   are
                         determined  by the number of players and the order
                         in which they attach themselves to the game.


                              2 players:
                                 - first player receives a blue airplane
                                 - second player receives a red airplane

                              3 players:
                                 - first player receives a blue airplane
                                 - second player receives  a  red  airplane
                                   along  with  a computer controlled plane
                                   eager to bring about the demise  of  the
                                   dreaded blue enemy
                                 - third player receives a blue airplane

                              4 players:
                                 - first player receives a blue airplane
                                 - second player receives a red airplane
                                 - third player receives a blue airplane
                                 - fourth player receives a red airplane

                         In  all cases, each player attempts to destroy the
                         targets of the  opposing  colour  while  defending
                         friendly  targets  against  enemy  aircraft.  Each
                         player is limited to ten (10) aircraft.

                    2 PLAYER ASYNCHRONOUS SOPWITH

                         Two  Player  SOPWITH  is  a  limited  version   of
                         Multiple   Player  SOPWITH  using  an  asychronous
                         communications line in place of  a  network.   The
                         players'  colours  are  determined  randomly.  Two
                         Player SOPWITH may be played locally using  direct
                         cabled  PC's,  or  remotely  using  modems  and  a
                         telephone   system    capable    of    300    baud
                         communications.

           Scoring: The  point  score  acquired  is  of  no  importance  in
                    determining whether a player has won or lost.  However,
                    to  assist  in  determining  a flier's skill level, the
                    following  points  are   associated   with   airplanes,
                    targets, and the like:

                                 50  - airplane
                                100  - factory, hangar, or tank
                                200  - fuel depot
                        penalty of   25  - bird
                        penalty of   200  - ox or falling flier

                    In  single  player  games,  points  are gained if enemy
                    targets and airplanes are destroyed; points are lost if
                    friendly  targets  and airplanes are destroyed.  If all
                    enemy targets are destroyed, the game is restarted at a
                    higher level of difficulty.  The player's score to this
                    point  is  retained,  and  the  player  is   given   an
                    incrementing  bonus for each unused plane.  In multiple
                    or two player SOPWITH, points are always gained by  one
                    side  or  the  other.   The  game  ends when one team's
                    targets are destroyed.

          Keyboard: SOPWITH supports two types of keyboard input, hereafter
                    called  IBM  and  non-IBM keyboard types.  IBM keyboard
                    support allows the use of more than one keyboard key at
                    one  time,  providing  the flexibility available during
                    joystick play.  Non-IBM keyboard support allows SOPWITH
                    to be played on PC look-alikes which do not treat their
                    keyboards in the same manner as the IBM PC.  In non-IBM
                    mode,  only  one  key depression is acknowledged at one
                    time.  Which type of keyboard support will work best on
                    a  given  system  can  only  be determined by trial and
                    error.

                    The following keys are used during the play of SOPWITH:

                      Ctrl-Break   - (Non-IBM keyboard)
                        Break      - (IBM keyboard)
                                     terminates  the game for the player by
                                     crashing the player's  plane.   Scores
                                     are adjusted accordingly.

                          ,        - elevator  up.   The airplane will rise
                                     if right-side-up, drop if upside-down.

                          .        - roll airplane

                          /        - elevator down.  The airplane will drop
                                     if right-side-up, rise if upside-down.

                          x        - accelerate airplane

                          z        - decelerate airplane

                          b        - drop a bomb

                      space-bar    - fire a shot

                          h        - allow the computer to fly you home for
                                     refuelling and  rearmament.   Computer
                                     control      ends     if     elevator,
                                     acceleration,   or   roll   keys   are
                                     pressed.

                          s        - turn sound on if off, off if on.

                     Shift-PrtSc   - (Non-IBM keyboard)
                        PrtSc      - (IBM keyboard)
                                     Performs          the         standard
                                     shift-printscreen    function     upon
                                     completion  of the next screen update.

                                     Output of a given scene is  guaranteed
                                     to be complete.

          Joystick: SOPWITH  supports  joystick  input  through joystick A.
                    Functions supported by the joystick are  listed  below.
                    The  keyboard may still be used as need be, and must be
                    used  for  Ctrl-Break,  Shift-PrtSc,  home,  and  sound
                    functions.

                                x         - elevator down
                                x          - elevator up
                                x         - accelerate
                                x         - decelerate
                                x         - roll airplane
                              red button  - drop a bomb
                             black button - fire a shot


            Screen: During  play the screen is divided into two sections, a
                    window and a status display.  The window comprises  the
                    upper  ninety  percent  of  the  screen  and provides a
                    display of the player's airplane along with  a  display
                    of   other   airplanes,  targets,  and  ground  in  the
                    immediate vicinity.  This window is  scrolled  left  or
                    right keeping the player's airplane centered.

                    The  lower  ten  percent  of  the  screen  is  used for
                    displaying the status of the game.  From left to right,
                    the status display consists of:

                         blue team score

                         red team score (multiple or two player game)

                         plane  gauge showing  the  number of airplanes not
                                    yet  destroyed.   Each   airplane   is
                                    represented by two (2)* vertical dots.
                                    The  game  begins   with   the   gauge
                                    indicating  five  airplanes available.
                                    The gauge shows two (2)* dots when the
                                    player  is  using  the  last  airplane
                                    available.

                                    (* in multiple and two  player  games,
                                    each dot represents one airplane)

                         fuel gauge relative display of fuel remaining.

                         bomb gauge relative display of bombs remaining.

                         shot  gauge relative  display  of  the  number  of
                                    gunrounds remaining.

                         Note:  fuels, bomb, and shots  may  be  topped  up
                                    while  remaining  stationary  at one's
                                    home base.  A player is at home  after
                                    a  crash, or after completing a return
                                    to home by using the "h" key.

                         ghost face The above four gauges may  be  replaced
                                    by  a  ghostly  friendly  face.   This
                                    indicates you are a "ghost" player  in
                                    a multiple player game.  Ghost players
                                    may fly about  observing  the  ongoing
                                    battle,  but  may  not take any action
                                    which would change the  world  in  any
                                    way.

                         world display a miniaturized display of the entire
                                    playing world showing the positions of
                                    all   airplanes,   targets   not   yet
                                    destroyed, bombs, and  the  occasional
                                    flock of birds.

               Play: To play SOPWITH, simply key:

                          sopwith
                     or:
                          ?:<path>sopwith where ?  is the device indicator
                                         of  the   disk   containing   the
                                         SOPWITH        program       file
                                         "sopwith.exe".

                     SOPWITH will then display the following to  determine
                     how the game is to be played:

                        Key: S - single player
                             C - single player against computer
                             M - multiple players

                     Sound:                      -q       initializes  the
                                                          game   to    the
                                                          no-sound  state.
                                                          Pressing     "s"
                                                          during play will
                                                          start      sound
                                                          generation.  The
                                                          default  is   to
                                                          initialize   the
                                                          game with sound.

                     CommuniCommunications Port:        -p#      Overrides
                                                          CommuniCstandard
                                                          IMAGINET    disk
                                                          address,      or
                                                          asynchroverrides
                                                          asynasynchronous
                                                          port  1  as  the
                                                          pocommunications
                                                          port to use.


           Recovery: If for some reason, a player's SOPWITH program  fails
                     to  end  properly  while in multiple player mode, the
                     game number in use at the time is rendered  unusable.
                     In  order to reset the game in question, SOPWITH must
                     be run with the "reset" option:

                          sopwith -r [-d*]

                     Continue through the game number and  maximum  player
                     prompts  as  usual.   Keying  "sopwith  -r [-d*]" and
                     specifying a game which is  in  progress  will  yield
                     unpredictable results.

          Installation:   
                     The  program  file  SOPWITH.EXE  must be available to
                     each player.  For single player games,  this  is  the
                     only installation needed.

                     Two  player  SOPWITH  requires the following hardware
                     and software:

                        * asynchronous communications adapter on  each  PC
                          with  a  direct  attach  cable  with a data line
                          cross-over (hardware handshake is not  required)
                          or   asynchronous  modems  and  a  phone  system
                          capable of supporting 300 baud transmission.

                        * BMB dictionary driver (NAMEDEV.SYS) loaded.

                        * BMB   serial   communications   driver   (either
                          SERIAL.SYS    or   SERWORK.SYS)   loaded   after
                          NAMEDEV.SYS.

                        * consistent versions of SOPWITH (See note below)

                                                 OR

                        * BMB    IMAGINET    board    for     asynchronous
                          communications over the BMB IMAGINET network.
                        * consistent versions of SOPWITH (See note below)

                     For  multiple player use, the following files must be
                     available at the root directory of an  IMAGINET  disk
                     common to all players:

                        semaphor  - IMAGINET semaphor file
                        sopwith#.dta - SOPWITH  communications files where
                                    the symbol # corresponds to any  valid
                                    game number between 0-7 inclusive.

                     Sopwith#.dta files may be created by copying existing
                     SOPWITH.dta files,  or  by  using  any  other  output
                     method  to  allocate  one  disk sector under the root
                     directory.  In all cases, newly  created  SOPWITH.dta
                     files  should be initialized by using the "sopwith -r
                     [-d*]" command line described above under RECOVERY.

              Notes: IMPORTANT NOTE - If  playing  2  or  multiple  player
                     SOPWITH, all players MUST use the same version of the
                     game.  As the game acquires  world-wide  recognition,
                     reasonable  suggestions and/or improvements are acted
                     upon, resulting in several versions of the game being
                     used.   Differing  versions  of  the  game  will  not
                     maintain  consistent  views  of  the   world.    Game
                     versions  can be checked by the file date and time of
                     the file SOPWITH.EXE.


P.S.   The Ox in the game is supposed to be a jab at one of the employees       
present at the time of the programs creation nicknamed Ox.  You loose a       
bunch of points if you kill the Ox for either color.

+-------------------------------------------+--------------------------+
+                                           |      Andrew MacLean      +
+   Internet:   andrew.maclean@rose.com     |     Toronto, Ontario     +
+   Compuserve: 73547,1674@compuserve.com   |          Canada          +
+                                           |      (905) 876-4741      +
+-------------------------------------------+--------------------------+

