
Here is what is included in this message:

		I.     Copyright
		II.    What is Aviator
		III.   Files
		IV.    How to install it
		V.     How to run aviator

I.  Copyright:

Aviator IS NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. A company named "ARTIFICIAL HORIZONS" owns
all rights to it. This version 1.2.0 is freely distributable. It is totally
unsupported and there is no contact address.


II. What is Aviator:

Aviator is a graphics program designed to demonstrate the
fast drawing capabilities of the GX graphics accelerator.  It is
only an example of what is possible from this remarkable
device.  Aviator uses real Defense Mapping Agency
(DMA) data acquired from the U.S. Geological Servey (USGS)
as the data source for its Image Generator (IG).  The 
performance expected from an SS1-GX is appx. 115k 3D, 
flat-shaded quadrilaterals per second on the SS330-GX the 
number is closer to 140k 3D Q/S (at the highest resolutions).

The reason for such a marked performance increase over
products like SunPHIGS, Pixrect, etc is that Aviator was
written and optimised to render DMA-specific data.  So
what we have is an example program with a narrow focus
and which is data-dependent.

III. Files:

aviator_1_2_0.sun3.Z  - sun3-GX binary
aviator_1_2_0.sun4.Z  - sun4-GX binary
data_hawaii.dump.Z    - Hawaii Database (in dump format, 5MBytes)
aviator_boston.dump.Z - Boston Area Database
aviator_gcanyon.dump.Z- Grand Canyon Database
libraries_1_2_0.tar.Z - aircraftcap and US_MAP files (in tar format)

IV.  How to install it:

Once you have the files choose a directory with 12 MBytes of available
space.  You can share all files (using NFS) so you only need one copy.
first uncompress your binary files and libraries.  You will need to be
the root user to do this installation.
	# uncompress aviator_1_2_0.sun?.Z libraries_1_2_0.tar.Z
If you want to use the network (use the dogfight feature) you will need
to set the modes of aviator to run as root.  to do this type
	# chown root aviator_1_2_0.sun?
	# chmod 4755 aviator_1_2_0.sun?

Now create a subdirectory called data
	# mkdir data
then change directory into the data directory
	# cd data
you need to now extract the data files using both uncompress and restore
	# uncompress -c ../data_hawaii.dump.Z | restore -fr -
when it asks you about the (.) directory just respond with (n) for no.
finally you need to extract the library files
	# tar -xvf ../libraries_1_2_0.tar

You are now ready to set the one aviator environment variable and
run aviator.  You need to tell aviator where the data will be located.
You do this by using the setenv command:
	% setenv AVIATOR_DATA `pwd`
Or replace `pwd` with the full pathname where aviator is located.
Now all you need to do is execute the program.
(for example    % setenv AVIATOR_DATA /usr/games/avaitor/data)

If the program works you can delete the 2 large files you brought over.
	libraries_1_2_0.tar and data_hawaii.dump.Z

**WARNING: DO NOT TRY TO MOVE, COPY OR TAR ANY OF THE DATA FILES!
If you do this the files will expand to fill 50MBytes Instead of only
filling 10MBytes.  So if you want to copy the data copy the original
compressed file.

V.  How to run aviator:

When avaitor starts up you will see a property sheet.  All of
the attributes of your plane as well as your flight can be adjusted
during this session.  If you ever want to get back to the property
sheet just press the (L3) key during flight.

If you want a BRIEF description about any of the puttons or panels
just press your middle mouse button over the item you are curious about.

There are three modes in aviator (Preview, SOLO, and DOGFIGHT).
We suggest you stay in SOLO until you understand how to fully uperate
your aircraft.  To choose a starting position press the left mouse
button (which changes all panel items) over the blue area (hawaii)
in the large US Map.  Than press the mouse over the exact place
you would like to start in the map (now appearing) in the lower left
corner.

The controls of the aircraft are listed in the middle of the property
sheet.  As we said above, we will be posting more information and
instructions in the comming weeks.  Please be patient and just
experiment for now.

The "Preview" mode is designed so that you can see the models we
have already entered.  We expect you to add your own models over time.
For instance one of the DSGG engineers is working on a BATWING.
You can do this because we have exposed the "aircraftcap" file.  Please
read that file for all information on how to enter your own planes.

The only FEATURE we want to warn you about in DOGFIGHT mode is that
you can not ARM your missles until 45 seconds have elapsed since
you have entered the game.  This is to keep people from "popping"
in out of the game and surprising another player.  The reason we
freeze all the controls in DOGFIGHT is so everyone has the same 
environment while playing (avoids cheating).

