Imagine ReadMe Documentation ============================ Imagine 4.0 Installation Rev 1.0 10-15-95 S.Kirvan Copyright 1995 Impulse Inc., Mpls, MN 55444 Notes on Installing Imagine 4.0: ================================ Version 4.0 of Imagine is a full installation, not an incremental one. What this means is that Version 4.0 is fully stand alone, and does not require that you already have an older version of imagine installed. This Installation will, unless you specify otherwise, install into the directory, C:\IM40. If you install it into an existing directory, this install will overwrite the existing files (including you Imagine.cfg file). Version 4.0 of Imagine has included with it replacements for all of Impulse's previously supplied texture and F/X modules. To install Imagine from floppy: On the PC, Insert Disk 1 of the Imagine 4.0 installation set into your floppy drive: Change your current directory to the A: drive by typing: A:\ Then run the installation program by typing: install (this is assuming your floppy drive is A: - if not, use the drive letter of your floppy device). This will install the Imagine software to a directory on your C: drive named C:\IM40. To customize the installation so that the software is installed to a different diectory, append the path you wish to use after the install command line. For example, type: install D:\IMAGINE to install the software in drive D: in a directory called \IMAGINE. To install the software on the Amiga, just insert the installation floppy, disk 1, double click the installation icon, and follow the screen prompts for selecting destination directory and installation options (if applicable). This install will put the following files and directories in your IM40 directory: Imagine.exe - Imagine's executable file. Imagine.cfg - Imagine's configuration (preferences) file. Imagine.pic - Imagine's startup screen pic. Objects\ - Directory: contains some sample objects. Attribs\ - Directory: contains a sample attribute file and Imagine's user definable quick attributes. Textures\ - Directory: contains Imagine's texture modules and lighting textures. Effects\ - Directory: contains Imagine's Object and Global F/X modules. Docs\ - Directory: contains documentation on features not covered in the manual. Toolkit2\ - Directory: contains a shareware demo of some 3rd party texturizing tools. Installed in the Docs directory is the following files: readme.txt - a copy of this text for future reference. manual.txt - a document explaining all the features outlined below that were add since the printing of the manual. dof.txt - a document that explains the use of the camera's action bar to set up Depth of Field and 3D stereo. globalfx.txt - this document explains the use of and documents all of the included global F/X (these are installed in the effects\globals directory). texture.txt - this is the full texture document explaining the use of all the the included textures. The textures that have been added since version 3.0 are noted as such. dxf.txt - this document explains some of details about DXF files that may help with loading and saving DXF's. litetex.txt - this document explains the use of and documents all of the lighting textures install in the textures\lites directory. freeze.txt - this document explains the use of Imagine's constraints and freezing used in inverse kinematic state motion. shredder.txt - this document explains the use of the Shredder Explosion F/X. These files should be readable with any text editor or word processor. If you need to, you can print them for your own use. We apologize for any inconvience this may cause, but we are doing what we can to save some trees while we work up to a full revision upgrade. A Note on Memory Managers and Imagine: ====================================== 1. DOS 6's EMM386.EXE, QuarterDeck's QEMM386.SYS and other "advanced" memory managers may cause a particular problem for Imagine. The symptom is that Imagine seems to load fine, but then it drops back out to a DOS prompt -- (possibly) after displaying a "failed to enlarge CS/DS" / "init_mem() failed" message. If, when you type the MEM command at the DOS prompt, it lists both EMS and XMS memory, it is possible that the (two types of) memory managers are both managing the same pool of free memory, and each reports the full amount as free -- causing Imagine to try to allocate twice as much memory as is truly available. If you think that is case, try running IMAGINE with the /NOXMS switch -- i.e. IMAGINE /NOXMS But note: if you are having a problem, and it is not caused by the situation discussed above, then the switch will prevent Imagine from using any XMS memory that really is available. The DOS 6 version of EMM386.EXE definitely causes the "problem", so if the MEM command displays information about EMS memory, you WILL need the /NOXMS switch on the IMAGINE command line. QEMM386 causes the "problem", only if it is performing both types of memory management -- which is very likely. 2. EMM386's "/NOEMS" switch will cause Imagine to fail. If the /NOEMS switch appears in the EMM386 "DEVICE" line in your CONFIG.SYS file, remove it. Bug Reporting: ============== We have done our best to eliminate known bugs and not to introduce new ones into the software. However, we ask that if you do find any bugs, please report them, in writing, to us as soon as you can. Impulse's Tech Support staff can not handle bug reports so we have to get them by mail. In your report, include a brief description of you computer system, including any special hardware, and do the best you can to explain the steps you took to bring out the bug. Also, it may be very helpful if you can include any problematic objects or project files, on floppy, with the report. Send any bug reports to: Impulse, Inc. Im4.0 Bugs 8416 Xerxes Ave. N. Brooklyn Park, MN 55444 Impulse can also be reached via EMail on Compuserve. Our Compuserve address is 72662,3330. Sending bug reports to our EMail address may not be as reliable as standard mail since the report may not get properly forwarded to the correct personnel. Also available on Compuserve are two good groups where users can find support for Imagine. One of the groups is the Animation Vendors forum (ANVENA) and the other is Graphics User Group A (GUGRPA). Both of these forums may help you to find technical support, example files, and new ideas. Features Added or Improved Since the Manual was Printed ======================================================= These features are all explained in the file "manual.txt." *New in Version 3.1* 1. Added an "About" Box. 2. Extended "States" to include object attributes. 3. Impoved and Extended DXF loading and saving. 4. Added FLC and ANIM global brush and backdrop support. 5. Added FLC and ANIM brush support. 6. Added ability to view Stills and Animations from within Imagine. 7. Added Field Rendering. 8. Added access to object attributs from Stage Editor. 9. Added perspective viewing from objects and lights to Stage Editor. 10. Added "Smart Bones" to speed up subgroup assignment in objects. *New in Version 3.2* 11. Added support for Hi-Res graphics workspace. 12. Added support for 256 color graphics workspace. 13. Added "Quick Attributes." 14. Added "Set/Fill Edge Line" for stitching object together. 15. Added "Pick More" to aid in picking face groups. 16. Added "Hide Unpicked", "Unhide All", "Unhide Subgroup". 17. Added "Smooth Edge Line" for object smoothing. 18. Added Backdrops in editors for rotoscoping and persp matching. 19. Added Fracture in Object mode to anti-laticize an object. 20. Added "Scrub" bar to animation preview controls. *New in Version 3.3* 21. Added Smooth fracture. 22. Added Variable Brightness to object attributes. 23. Moved Randomize Colors to function menu. 24. Added Mix/Morph control for intensity on ALL textures and brushes. 25. Added Specular Mapping. 26. Added Hardness Mapping. 27. Added Shininess Mapping. 28. Added Brightness Mapping. 29. Added Fog Length Mapping. 30. Added Index Of Refraction Mapping. 31. Added Ambient Light Mapping. 32. Added Roughness Mapping. 33. Added Previous/Next buttons for traversing texture list quickly. 34. Added Browse buttons to texture and brush requesters. 35. Added 256 Color real-time texture preview. 36. Added 256 color color pickers in texture requester. 37. View Brush added to previewing brushes. 38. QuickRender access directly from all attrib/txtr requesters. 39. User defined Texture/brush labels added for clarifying texture list. 40. "Dup" Added to attrib req for copying textures/brushes. 41. "Drop" Added to attrib req for dropping textures/brushes quickly. 42. "Disable/Enable" button added for turning textures on/off. 43. Interactive point-and-click support added to text in texture list. 44. Real time previewing of renders as they happen in 256 col displays. 45. Support for unfinished FLC's added. 47. Default object attributes added to preferences. 48. Shaded View Edge drawing control added to Prefs (PC only). 49. Replaced "Reflection Mapping" with "Environment Mapping." 50. Added preferences option for startup editor. 51. Added preferences option to set number of points in CSG sphere. *New in Version 4.0* 52. Soft Shadows added to detail editor shadow casting light sources. 53. Motion Blur in Project Images. 54. Blob Modelling with both faceted and animatable soft object output. 55. Cascade Object Heirarchy Grouping. 56. Delete File in the Detail Editor for deleting temporary work files. 57. Stage Effects in Detail Editor. 58. Smoothing Tool for smoothing objects. 59. Auto-Load Backdrop Images in Stage (for rotoscoping). 60. Automatic Picking of Pasted Objects in Detail Editor. 61. Improved Imagine's Starfield.