3d Cannon

3-D Cannon by billc@CS.Stanford.EDU is a Macintosh shareware artillery game that updates the classic two-player tank-duel formula with real-time 3D polygon graphics, texture mapping over fractal terrain, and a chase camera that follows each shot through the air to its impact point.

Gameplay loop

Two players command stationary, tank-like weapons positioned on opposite sides of a fractal-generated mountain. Players take turns aiming and firing at each other, balancing angle and power against terrain that blocks line of sight.

3D presentation

Rather than the side-view sprites typical of the artillery genre, 3-D Cannon renders the battlefield with textured polygons, giving the duel a contemporary look for its era and letting the terrain be inspected from changing angles as shots fly.

Chase camera

When a player fires, the camera detaches from the firing emplacement and tracks the projectile in flight, sweeping across the fractal mountain until impact. This converts each shot into a short cinematic moment rather than a bare arc on a 2D plot.

Distribution

The game is distributed as Macintosh shareware. The Info-Mac copy is archived under the arcade category as 3d-cannon.hqx, contributed by the author from a Stanford CS address.