CONTENTS
Upgrade to the Donor Version and get extra features!
How to Uninstall
UPGRADE YOUR VIDEO DRIVERS!
Settings
Release Notes
Version History
Disclaimer
UPGRADE TO THE DONOR VERSION AND GET EXTRA FEATURES!
I've had a heap of requests from people who want a version that doesn't have
the UC logo popping up in the corner or at the start. So I've made a donor
version that removes all the annoying logos. Not only that, but the Donor
Version also lets you display your own pictures! So you can have the code
form pictures of your favourite JPG, GIF or BMP files!
Make a small donation of just US$5 and it's all yours.
Click here for all the details.
HOW TO UNINSTALL
To uninstall, go to Control Panel, Add/Remove programs and select
"The Matrix Reloaded 3D Screensaver".
But why you'd want to do so is beyond my comprehension.
No matter what version of Windows you are using it is recommended that you make sure you are using the latest drivers for your video card. If you have any problems (slow, jerky, crashing, freezing) they can almost always be fixed by simply replacing your outdated drivers.
The latest drivers for your card are available from the manufacturers website. They are always working on upgrading the drivers, so make sure you upgrade them!
Some common manufacturers websites are:
ATI
Matrix
nVidia
PowerVR
To get to the settings screen go to Display options in Control Panel and
in the Screen Saver section click on Settings.
The following configuration options are available. (It is recommended that you play with the options to find what runs best on your PC and what you think looks best):
Show Clock: If this is on the current time will be displayed
in the middle of the screen.
12 Hour Mode: For those of you who can't work out what time 17:23 is,
you can now switch this on and get the time displayed in 12 hour mode.
Attempt to stretch across multi-monitors: If this is on the
screensaver will try and draw on all monitors of a multiple monitor system,
if it's off it will just use the primary display. PLEASE NOTE: This option
simply does not work on all systems, and there's nothing I can do about it.
Try it and see what works for you. If you turn it on and still only get stuff
on the primary display then it's recommended you turn it off so it displays
properly. (Also note: I don't have a multi-monitor setup so I haven't seen
it myself, I'm just going by what rich folks have told me)
Show Countdown: Turns the countdown clock on and off.
Countdown Message: Message displayed above the countdown
clock.
Countdown Date: Here you can enter the date you want to countdown
to.
Glyph Size: Sets the size of the characters in the Matrix
code. Smaller glyphs can make the pictures look better, but may slow things
down. Smaller glyphs need higher line density to get the full effect which
can slow things down, larger glyphs don't need such a high line density.
Line Density: Sets how many lines of data are on the screen
at a time. Higher density can slow things down but it can make the pictures
look better (depending on the glyph size).
2D Mode: Displays the code in the traditional 2D way.
3D Mode: Displays the code in juicey 3D!
3D Code Rotations: (3D Mode only) With this enabled the angle
of the code will randomly rotate around. (Like in the Matrix Reloaded trailer)
Display Pictures: With this turned on the code will occasionally
form pictures from the movie The Matrix Reloaded.
3D Picture Mode: (3D Mode only) If enabled the code will
be contured around the pictures in 3D. So the pictures are "lumpy". This looks
better on some pictures than others, so by default it is turned off. But it's
still worth a try to see if you like the effect.
Picture Scale: If you find that the picture is too big when
displayed in the code you can change the scale of the picture to make it smaller/larger.
Forward Movement: (3D Mode only) The camera slowly moves
through the code as it falls.
Sideways Movement: The code moves side to side as it falls.
Forward Speed: (3D Mode only) If Forward Movement is enabled
this sets how fast the camera moves thru the code.
Fall Speed: Controls how fast the lines of code fall down
the screen.
Normal Colour: Click on the coloured box to set the colour
of the normal falling code.
Highlight Colour: Click on the coloured box to set the colour
of the highlighted character that leads the falling code.
Reset Default Colours: This resets the colour options to
the default green colours.
Restore Default Settings: Click this to reset all the screensaver settings to what they were when you installed it.
Show My Pictures: (Donor Version only) Turn this on and the screensaver will show
your JPG, GIF and BMP files in the code.
Only Show My Pictures: (Donor Version only) With this turned on only your JPG, GIF,
and BMP pictures will be shown. With it turned off they'll be shown randomly mixed in with the Matrix
pictures built in to the screensaver.
Use Filenames As Captions: (Donor Version only) Enable this and the filename of the
JPG, GIF or BMP file being shown will come up as a caption, just like how it says "Neo" under one of the
built in pictures of Neo. So if you have a picture of your Uncle Fred chowing down on some cheddar and
want the caption to read "Uncle Fred Eating Cheese" you simply rename the picture file to
"Uncle Fred Eating Cheese.jpg" (without the quote marks).
My Picture Directory: (Donor Version only) This is where you set the directory you want
the screensaver to load your pictures from. The screensaver loads JPG, GIF and BMP files and you can have
as many of these types of files in the directory as you like. Click on the button, browse to the directory
you've put your pictures in and click ok. Easy as that. Note on picture files: If you have
really big picture files it can slow the screensaver down while they get loaded. All picture files are scaled
to a max width or height of 300 pixels. So there's really no need putting bigger pics than that in, but it's up to you.
Believe it or not I've thought of more stuff to cram into this screensaver!
The main this is I've re-written a heap of the code generation stuff, so now it's even more 3D than before (if that's possible). Now when you have the 3D Code Rotation turned on your get the full axis of 3D movement! The code goes into this slow hypnotic rotation which is just eyeball burstingly brilliant (even if I do say so myself). This version would've been ready sooner, but I spent most of the time just sitting watching it. I reckon it looks better than ever before. And I've still seen nothing else like it.
I also got requests from people who liked the clock feature, but had trouble working out the 24 hour time... So I've added an option to switch it to 12 hour mode. There'll be no, "Hang on! My watch doesn't go up to 16 o'clock!" confusion anymore.
Another big addition is a Donor Version only feature. If you've already donated
I want to thank you big time, you've helped me out a lot. Now owners of the
Donor Version can add their own pictures to be displayed by the screensaver.
So you can stick all your JPG, GIF and BMP files in a directory and watch
them form in the code. I had a heap of requests for this, and with the work
involved I figured it was only fair to make it a Donor Version only feature.
Remember you can upgrade to the Donor Version for just US$5! Go to:
http://www.UselessCreations.com/matrix
for more info.
On top of all that, I've also added heaps of new pictures. I changed the way they're loaded too, so I was able to include twice as many pictures without making the download size any bigger! I can't wait for this movie!
Once again, if you spot any bugs let me know.
Enjoy!
RELEASE NOTES (v1.5)
This is a bigger update. I've done some updates a long the way but I decided to wait until it was big enough to be worthy of a new release. I think all the new options make this one more than worthy. This is easily now the most configurable screensaver I've done.
I've been surprised at how popular this screensaver is. It's had well over 100,000 downloads in just a few weeks. Which considering I've done basically nothing to advertise it's existence, it's pretty amazing.
Anyway, it also means I've had an enormous amount of requests for new features. I think I've managed to add all the options that I had more than 1 request for, aswell as a few more besides.
Here's a quick run down of the new options/changes:
I added the ability to change the colour of the code. I was really surprised
so many people wanted this since I'm sure it's always green in the movies,
but who am I to argue.
I've added the ability to control the speed of the forward movement. Some
people thought it was too fast, so now you can set it for yourself.
I've changed the falling speed a little.
I *think* I've fixed problems with multi-monitor systems. I don't have one,
so I can't say for sure. But I think I've made it so it'll just run on the
main display and the rest should be black. Anyone you has a multi-monitor
system can feel free to let me know if that's true or not.
I've added some cool code rotations in 3D mode. It's kind of like in the Matrix
Reloaded trailer. The code spins around for a bit so it's falling towards
you etc. Try it and see. I think it looks cool.
I've added a 3D Picture Mode. This makes the glyphs that form the picture
conture around the pictures. On some pictures this looks really cool and you
can see the curves of the faces. But it's kind of work-in-progressy so I've
got it turned off by default. You can turn it on via the settings screen.
There's also some other changes/tweaks that I can't remember. If you spot any bugs let me know!
Enjoy!
RELEASE NOTES (v1.1)
Just a quick update. I discovered that when the countdown reached the day it was counting too it said "Merry Christmas!". I guess I used the Christmas counter and didn't change it. Fixed!
I also had a request to add a speed option to control how fast the code falls. Done!
I've had heaps of requests from people saying they're willing to pay for a version that doesn't have the UC logo popping up in the corner. So I've done a donor version. If you don't like the logo popping up randomly donate US$5 and get the donor version. Click here for more info.
RELEASE NOTES (v1.0)
Despite the fact that there's 4,982 Matrix screensavers already out there, I still get requests from people asking me to do one. I'm not sure if its because there aren't any good ones, or you have to pay for the good ones, or what, but I still get requests. Usually I just insult peoples shoes and send them on their way since I don't want to spend any time doing something that's already been done to death. But I had an idea a few months back that I'd never seen done before, and still haven't, so yesterday I finally got a blast of inspiration and decided to do it.
I soon worked out why there's so many Matrix code screensavers out there: it's not that hard to do. The effect took me just a few hours to get going. The whole screensaver only took 2 days! (In comparison the "A Very 3D Christmas Screensaver" took about a month of non-stop fiddling)
So whats different about mine? Well I've done something I haven't seen done before, I've made the code 3D. It now slides down the screen not just on a flat plane (altho that option is available) but in 3D. Not only that but I've made it so the code forms pictures. So occasionally you'll get pics from the movie displayed in the code.
Because of the way the picture display works the best way to look at it is to stand back from the screen. If you've got your nosed pressed against it you just wont get the full effect, and you'll have to run out for some Windex to remove the nose smear. I figured this doesn't matter since your screen saver is only going to come on when you're away from your desk anyway.
Altho you'll need a pretty swift PC and video card to run this with tiny glyphs and highest line density, it should run pretty well on anything. Just fiddle with the settings til you find what you like. I've included as many as possible so you can make it work the way you want.
If there's enough response I'll update it with pics for The Matrix Revolutions when they become available.
If you like/hate/chew on/find bugs in/have suggestions for this thing drop me an email.
And as usual the answer to all complaints will be "If you find better, use it. And I don't like your shoes!"
Enjoy!
v2.0 - 7th May, 2003 - Major update
Changed the way the code is displayed so it's even more 3D-ish.
Changed the 3D Code Rotation option. It will now randomly rotate in all sorts of direction. This looks amazing.
Added 12 hour mode option to the clock.
Added ability to display your own pictures in the donor version.
v1.51 - 1st April, 2003 - Multi-monitor update
Added option to attempt to stretch across multiple monitors. Works for some, doesn't for others. I give up.
v1.5 - 30th March, 2003 - Major update with new features
Added colour changing options.
Added 3D code rotations.
Added 3D picture mode.
Added Forward Speed control.
Added clock.
Lots of other tweaks/changes.
v1.1 - 12th February, 2003 - Bugfix and minor update
When the countdown reached 0 it said "Merry Christmas"?! Fixed!
Added speed setting to control the rate the lines fall.
Lots of small bug fixes
v1.0 - 4th February, 2003 - Original Release
Matrix code falls in 3D
2D Mode also available
Pictures display in code
The Matrix and everything related is Copyright ©
Warner Bros.
The screen saver itself is Copyright © Robert Bennett 2003.
This screen saver is meant as a tribute to The Matrix,
no copyright infringement is intended.
This software is FREE and may not be used for profit.
If you like and use it, send me an email!
This screen saver is provided as is. The author takes no responsibility
for any damage that is done to your system thru it's use.
It works fine for me! If it doesn't for you, it aint my fault!
This product is not guaranteed to save your screen from burn in or any
other form of damage. (eg. feeding it a red pill and forcing it to face reality)