332 lines
12 KiB
Groff
332 lines
12 KiB
Groff
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ROBOTWAR
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Welcome to the battlefield of the future! It is the year 2002. Wars
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still rage, but finally, they have been officially declared hazardous to
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human health. Now, the only warriors are robots - built in secret and
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programmed to fight each other to the death!
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Your country has just developed the most efficient battle robot to date.
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It should be unbeatable - but part of its micro-computer "brain" is
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still blank. Only when a strategy is programmed into its memory will the
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robot be able to fight.
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The task set before you is to program a robot that no other robot can
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destroy.
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RobotWar is a fascinating and highly competitive game where robots
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battle each other to the death! RobotWar is not a game using manual
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dexterity, instead the robots are controlled by pre-programmed
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strategies and highly spectator interest.
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As well as providing hours of entertainment, RobotWar is designed to
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teach and sharpen the skills of creative computer programming. Whether
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you are a beginner or an accomplished programmer, RobotWar will prove to
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be fun and challenging.
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Robot war players design and write robot programs. The program is
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written with the help of a text-editor, and then translated by an
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assembler into robot-understandable instructions. The program can then
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be tested on a simulated robot to make sure it is working properly. Once
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the player is assured that the program is running as planned, it is
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installed in a battle robot and sent out to do battle with the other
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robots.
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From the main menu, several options are selectable. These options are
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described below:
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Option 1
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This will access the Battle branch where the player can setup and
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execute one robot battle. See "robots and robot battles".
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Option 2
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This will access the robotwar assembler and testing branch where the
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programs are translated and checked for errors, or tested on a simulated
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robot. See "the assembler" and "the test bench".
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Option 3
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This will access the text-editor where an existing program can be edited
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or a new program can be written. See "writing and editing source code".
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Option 4
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This is a simple control that turns the battle sounds on or off.
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Pressing the 4 key will change the position of the sound switch.
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Option 5
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This will access the disk storage branch where a disk can be initialized
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for storing robot code. See "storing robots on auxiliary disks".
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Option 6
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This will cause the computer to exit from the robotwar program to
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applesoft basic.
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Option 7
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This will access the match scheduling branch where the player can
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schedule and execute a series of battles. See "robots and robot
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battles".
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Option 8
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This will allow the player to run a previously scheduled or interrupted
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match (a series of battles). If you resume a previously interrupted
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match it will begin with the battle after the one which was
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interrupted.
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Note: If no option is selected from the main menu, the program will
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automatically select option 8. Robots and Robot Battles Locomotion
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Each robot is moved by tracks mounted on a 1.5 meter square chassis. The
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two independent motors, driving the tracks, enable the robot to move
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vertically (north/south) and horizontally (east/west).
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Power Supply
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The power supply will take the severest damage from the enemy shells. It
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is built into the central body of the robot, along with damage sensors.
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These sensors monitor the damage to the power supply and when 100%
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damage is attained, the robot will explode.
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Radar
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On top of the robot is a radar unit that emits a beam in any desired
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directions. This beam reflects from walls and other robots and returns
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to the robot. The beam is accurately timed, enabling the robot to find
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it's position and to spot enemy robots.
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Guns and Ammunition
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Your robot is equipped with one gun that swivels through 360 degrees and
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is automatically loaded. It uses time-fused shells that can be set to
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explode at any specified distance. The gun also has a cooling period
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between each shot to keep it from overheating.
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The Brain
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Inside the robot is a micro-computer "brain" that executes the
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instructions exactly as they have been programmed. The brain has several
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parts: an accumulator where a robot performs all arithmetic operations,
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a program storage area where the instructions are stored in memory, and
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registers where numbers are stored. the brain links to input sensors
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monitoring damage and position as well as to the drive motors, radar,
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and gun. While the robot is on the battlefield the brain is in complete
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control!
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The battlefield
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Robot battles take place on a square battlefield inside four strong
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walls. Each wall is 260 meters long and strong enough that a robot
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cannot crash or shoot through it. As many as five robots can fight at
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once, but only one will emerge as the winner.
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There is an observations station, directly above the battlefield,
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enclosed in blast-proof glass to protect you and the other observers.
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Damage
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Robots are eliminated from battle by incurring over 100% damage. When a
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shell hits a robot or explodes nearby, the robot is damaged. The extent
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of that damage depends on the proximity of the shell to the robot. A
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shell exploding directly on top of a robot can do 30% damage.
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A robot can also be damaged through collisions with walls or other
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robots. The extend of damage would depend on the angle of collision. A
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head-on collision between two robots can do 25% damage to both robots.
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The Scoring System
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Each robot has a score associated with it. As each battle is fought the
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robots earn points which are added to it's cumulative score. Every time
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a robot's program is changed, it's score is reset to 0.
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Robots earn points in the following manner. during a battle, every time
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a robot is destroyed, 1 point is earned by all of the survivors. Thus in
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a five-robot battle, the first to be destroyed receives 0 points. For
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outlasting that first robot, all other robots on the battlefield earn 1
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point. For outlasting 4 other robots, the winner of a 5-robot battle
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earns 4 points!
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Controlling Robots
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A robot computer contains 34 registers. The 34 registers are divided
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into three categories:
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1. Memory registers which are used to contain numbers for latter
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recall.
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2. Input/Output (I/O) registers which are used to monitor and control
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specific robot functions.
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3. The Index/Data pair of registers which are used to access the other
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registers by their numbers instead of their names.
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1. Memory Registers
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There are 24 memory registers used to store numbers. The memory
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registers are named A through W and Z. (X and Y are not included - they
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are input registers as described below).
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2. Input/Output Registers
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There are nine I/O registers that allow the computer to control the
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robot's actions. Each controls or monitors a specific robot function as
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described below:
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a) The X register:
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The X register is used to monitor the horizontal position of the robot.
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It always contains the current horizontal position of the robot on the
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battlefield, as a number from 0 to 256. o is at the extreme left of the
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battlefield and 256 is at the extreme right.
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b) The Y register:
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The y register is used to monitor the vertical position of the robot. 0
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is at the top of the battlefield and 256 is at the bottom.
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c) The AIM Register:
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The AIM register is used to monitor and control the angle at which the
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gun is aimed. when a number from 0 to 359 is stored in the Aim register,
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the robot's gun will turn to that angle. 0 aims the gun due north, 90
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aims it due east, etc. The AIM register always contains the current
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angular position of the gun.
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d) The RADAR register:
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The RADAR register is used to control the radar unit on top of the robot
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and monitor the results of the radar beam. Storing a number from 0 to
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359 in the RADAR register, sends a beam out in that direction.
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e) The SHOT register:
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The SHOT register is used to fire the robot's gun and monitor the state
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of readiness of the gun. Storing a new number in the SHOT register: Sets
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the timer on the shell so that it will travel that number of meters
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before exploding, and then fires it. After a shot is fired the SHOT
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register will contain the state of the gun's cooling process. When the
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SHOT register contains a zero the gun is ready to be fired again.
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f) The DAMAGE register:
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The DAMAGE register is used to monitor the amount of damage detected by
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the damage sensors. the DAMAGE register starts at 100 at the beginning
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of each battle and decreases towards 0 as damage is incurred. When the
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register reaches 0, the robot is completely destroyed and will disappear
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from the battlefield. The DAMAGE register always contains the current
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extend of damage.
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g) the SPEEDX register:
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This register is used to control and monitor the horizontal speed of the
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robot. The number stored in the SPEEDX register can range from -255 to
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255 and controls the direction and speed of the robot. A negative number
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moves the robot to the left at that many decimeters/second, and a
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positive number moves the robot to the right at that many
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decimeters/second. If a zero is stored in this register the robot will
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stop moving in the horizontal direction. The SPEEDX register always
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contains the horizontal speed of the robot.
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h) The SPEEDY register:
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Acts the same as the SPEEDX register, only in the vertical direction. A
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positive number is in a downward direction and a negative number is in
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an upward direction.
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i) The Random register:
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This register is used to control the random number generator. Storing a
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number in the RANDOM register sets the limit for the generator. Then,
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each time the RANDOM register is accessed, it will contain a different
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integer (whole number) between 0 and th random number limit which was
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previously set.
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[----------------------------------------------------------]
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| (0,0) (256,0) |
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| o |
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| o 0 o |
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| 315 | 45 |
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| o \ |/ o |
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| 270------.------90 |
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| o/ |\ o |
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| 225 | 135 |
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| | o |
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| 180 |
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| (0,256) (256,256) |
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[----------------------------------------------------------]
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3. The index/Data Registers
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The robot registers are usually referenced by their names. The
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Index/Data pair allows registers to be accessed by number instead of
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name.
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Storing a number from 0 to 34 in the INDEX register causes the
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corresponding register to be used whenever the DATA register is
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referenced.
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For example, assume the INDEX register contains 27. When the DATA
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register is referenced in an instruction, register #27 (AIM) will be
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substituted for DATA.
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Number Name Type
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1-23 A-W Storage
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24 X Current X position
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25 Y Current Y position
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26 Z Storage
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27 AIM Aims gun
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28 SHOT fires the gun
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29 RADAR pulses the radar
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30 DAMAGE monitors damage
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31 SPEEDX control horizontal speed
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32 SPEEDY control vertical speed
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33 RANDOM random number generator
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34 INDEX Index other registers
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