Provided by: sopwith_2.8.0-1_amd64 
NAME
sopwith - classic aerial combat shoot em up game
SYNOPSIS
sopwith [ -n | -s | -c | -l | -j host ] [-f] [-glevel] [-m filename] [-q]
DESCRIPTION
Sopwith is a modern port of the classic 1980s shoot 'em up game of the same name. The game has a World
War I aviation theme. The object of Sopwith is to destroy all enemy targets with a somewhat limited
airforce.
It can be played both in single player and multiplayer mode over a TCP/IP network.
Sopwith looks for a configuration file in the user's home directory at ~/.local/share/SDL
Sopwith/sopwith.cfg; the configuration file is only generated after the user changes one of the settings
from the in-game options menu. Details about the contents of this file can be found in sopwith.cfg(5).
OPTIONS
-n Start a single player game in novice mode. In novice mode there are no oxen or birds, you have
infinite ammo and bombs, and it is not possible to stall the plane. This is a good option if you
are new to the game, or if you're just interested in more casual gameplay without so much of a
challenge.
-s Start a single player game in expert mode
-c Start a single player vs. computer game
-l Start a network game listening for a network connection. See the section "MULTIPLAYER SERVERS"
below for more details.
-p Use a different TCP port for multiplayer games than the default (3847).
-j host:port
Start a network game, connecting to another listening host as specified by host:port. If the port
number is not specified then TCP port 3847 is used.
-f Start in full screen mode if possible.
-glevel
Start the game on the indicated difficulty level. For instance, use -g2 to start the game on level
2. The default is level 0.
-q Turn off sound (quiet)
-m filename
Load new mission (level) from the given filename. See sopwith-mission(5) for details of the level
format.
-v or --version
Show version number and exit.
EXAMPLES
sopwith -c -q
Start a single player game vs. the computer with sound disabled.
sopwith -g3 -p 9999 -l
Start a game server, listening on TCP port 9999, playing on level three difficulty.
sopwith -j example.com:9999
Connect to a game server at example.com on TCP port 9999.
CONTROLS
The standard controls on a US layout keyboard are as follows:
comma pull up
slash pull down
period flip plane
Z decrease speed
X increase speed
space fire machine gun
B drop bomb
H autopilot plane to home base
S turn on sound effects
Ctrl+R restart the current game, only works in single player mode
Ctrl+Q quit the current game, only works in single player mode
Ctrl+C quit
Ctrl+C Ctrl+C Ctrl+C
quit immediately
DASHBOARD
At the bottom of the screen, the plane's dashboard is shown. This consists of several components:
Score Your current score, which is accumulated from the enemy targets and planes you have successfully
destroyed. In multiplayer two scores are shown, so that both players can see each others' scores.
Lives (Cyan)
Number of lives remaining. You have five lives.
Fuel (Cyan)
Amount of fuel remaining in your aircraft. Once this becomes empty, you need to return to your
home base to refuel, or your plane will crash.
Bombs (Magenta)
Number of bombs remaining. You can carry a maximum of five bombs. Once you have dropped all of
them, you must return to your home base to get more.
Bullets (White)
Number of bullets left for your machine gun. Once you have used up all your ammunition, you mut
return to your home base to get more.
Map Shows the contents of the level. Cyan and magenta dots indicate the positions of allied and enemy
planes and ground targets.
TIPS
The following are some tips for playing the game:
• Start off by playing in single player mode before playing against the computer. This will allow
you to "get the feel of the stick" without being attacked by enemy planes. Practice dropping bombs
on ground targets, as this is a key skill.
• Accelerate to maximum speed on takeoff, otherwise you may stall the plane. Moving at speed is
particularly important when playing against the computer, as you are otherwise likely to be
outmanuevered by the enemy planes.
• Bombs can be used against planes as well as ground targets. It can sometimes be easier to hit a
plane with a bomb instead of the machine gun.
• The machine gun can be used to destroy ground targets as well as planes. This can save time if you
run out of bombs, and some targets at the edges of the map are even easier to destroy this way.
Since the machine gun has a limited range, reducing your speed when attacking a ground target can
give you more time to aim and attack before you have to pull away. But don't reduce the speed too
much or the plane may stall.
• Computer planes will try to tail you so that they can shoot you down. Don't allow them to get a
clear shot. "Wiggling" the plane by repeatedly pulling up and down can be an effective evasive
maneuver.
• Firing your machine gun through a flock of birds will cause the birds to disperse, and the
computer planes will sometimes hit a bird and crash. However, this tactic can also backfire for
obvious reasons.
• Each computer plane has a "territory" and if you escape that territory they will break off their
pursuit. At the boundary between territories you can sometimes trick two planes into crashing into
each other.
• When your plane is crashing, the pull up/down keys still have a small effect on your trajectory.
You can use this to try to crash your plane into an enemy ground target.
• Hitting the top of your screen stalls your plane. Hold down the pull up key to break out of the
stall before your plane crashes into the ground.
• The autopilot can make mistakes that lead to a crash. This is particularly a risk in higher levels
if you're flying at very high speed. To avoid crashing, make sure that you're as close as possible
to your home base before hitting the home key, and that you have a clear path to the runway.
• It's possible to fly upside down, but trying to drop bombs while inverted is usually unwise.
MEDALS
If the "medals" game option is turned on, the player is rewarded with ribbons and medals for the
following:
Flying Ace Ribbon (cyan with a single white stripe)
Shooting down 5 planes
Top Flying Ace Ribbon (cyan with two white stripes)
Shooting down 25 planes (difficult!)
Service Ribbon (cyan with white edges)
Three successful raids
Perfect Ribbon (white with two magenta stripes)
Finishing a level with no planes lost
Competence Medal (white medal on a cyan ribbon)
Gaining 25 points in a single flight, where 3 points are awarded per plane and 4 per building
Ribbon of Competence (white with magenta stripe)
As above, a second time
Purple Heart (magenta heart on a cyan ribbon)
Returning to base after having been damaged. This medal is impossible to attain if wounded planes
are turned off.
Ribbon of Valour (magenta with white stripe)
Gaining a certain number of points for destroyed planes and buildings; the points depend on
whether the player was damaged at that point in time, and how far away the destroyed object was
from the player's base
Victoria Cross (cyan cross on a magenta ribbon)
As above, but a few more points
Medals are only awarded if you get back to base safely. For example, if you destroy some targets but then
crash, or if you shoot down a plane but get shot down yourself, it doesn't count.
MULTIPLAYER SERVERS
When run in "listen" mode with the -l command line flag (see above), sopwith runs as a server that
listens for an incoming connection. To make this server available from a home Internet connection, you
will typically have to set up a port forward from your Internet router. The port to forward is TCP port
3847. You will also need to find out your public IP address so that the other player can connect.
Alternatively, if you have access to a *nix-based server then it may be preferable to run something like
a dedicated server that avoids the hassle of port forwarding and dynamic IPs. All that is needed in order
to do this is to run a TCP server that forwards connections between two clients. This can be done using
nc(1); for example:
nc -l -p 3847 -c "nc -l -p 3847"
Developing the above command into a complete shell script for a continually-active dedicated server is
left as an exercise for the reader.
WWW
https://fragglet.github.io/sdl-sopwith
BUGS
• Multiplayer is currently very limited; only two player games are supported. The original game
allowed up to four players per game when using the Imaginet network hardware.
• Planes fly increasingly faster at higher levels and the game eventually becomes unplayable.
• The plane AI (used for computer planes and for the autopilot) sometimes does very stupid things.
• There is only one level (although you can, at least, make your own now!)
BUG REPORTS
Bugs can be reported to the GitHub issue tracker:
https://github.com/fragglet/sdl-sopwith
SEE ALSO
sopwith.cfg(5), sopwith-mission(5), triplane(6), airstrike(6), piu-piu(1)
AUTHORS
Originally written by David L. Clark for BMB Compuscience
Modern SDL port By Simon Howard, Jesse Smith
HISTORY
Sopwith was originally developed by BMB Compuscience of Canada as a demonstration game for their Imaginet
Networking System. The system was not commercially successful but Sopwith became a popular game for the
IBM PC and compatibles. A sequel that is referred to by fans as "Sopwith 2" was actually a newer version
rather than a different game, but included extra features, such as oxen and birds (the oxen being an in-
joke reference to a BMB employee who was nicknamed "Ox").
The original author, David L. Clark, later released "Sopwith - The Network Edition" with several extra
features including comical heads-up "splats" and wounded planes; a follow-up titled "The Author's
Edition" contained the same features. This version of Sopwith is based on the released source code to the
Author's Edition.
The real Sopwith Camel F.1 was one of the most famous fighter planes of World War I; Camel pilots shot
down 1,294 enemy aircraft over the course of the war, more than any other aircraft. The plane gained a
reputation for being agile but difficult to fly; many novice pilots crashed the plane on takeoff. The
Camel was designed and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company, founded by aviation pioneer Thomas
Sopwith; 5,490 aircraft were produced. In popular culture the Camel is known for being the biplane flown
by the protagonist in the Biggles series of novels, and by Snoopy in the Peanuts comic strip.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 1984, 1985, 1987 BMB Compuscience Inc.
Copyright © 1984-2000 David L. Clark
Copyright © 2001-2024 Simon Howard, Jesse Smith
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU
General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even
the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public
License for more details.
sopwith(6)