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1988-12-19
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QuickFlix Rev 0.12
Copyright (c) 1987 Jeff Kunzelman, Rodney Iwashina, Takeshi Suganuma
If you like this program please feel free to send a donation ($10.00)
payable to:
Rodney Iwashina 11333 Yolanda Ave. Northridge, Ca. 91326
You can make as many copies of this program as you like and give it to
all your friends, on the condition that you abide by these guidelines:
The copy(s) (including documentation) must remain unmodified
and intact.
The copy(s) cannot be sold for money or profit, except by the
original authors.
At the time of transfer, the new recipient(s) agree(s) to the above
guidelines.
Suggestions and comments of any kind can be sent to the above address
or through CIS (76224,102). We hope that you enjoy this shareware!
Introduction:
QuickFlix is an IFF slideshow and cel animation program.
It takes full advantage of the Amiga's multi-tasking operating
system by creating multiple tasks to manage each of its
resources, communicating via executive messages and ports,
and sharing data in a common memory pool. QuickFlix supports
the LO-RES, HI-RES, NON-INTERLACE, INTERLACE, and HAM modes of
the Amiga. QuickFlix can be commanded to run independently
or can be triggered by an external source. A stand-alone
slideshow or animation sequence can be gernerated when
QuickFlix is run independently. External triggering allows a
user to interactively control the slideshow or animation.
QuickFlix implements a caching system that pre-loads pictures
into memory. This feature allows QuickFlix to support the
rapid frame rate necessary for cel animation.
CLI Usage:
QuickFlix [-t<tick rate>] [-l<log file>] <script file> ...
<script file> is the name of the script file containing the
names of the pictures, the special effects information,
and the timing information. All timing information is
expressed in number of ticks. Multiple script files
may be chained together by specifying them on the
command line.
-t<tick rate> indicates the timer tick rate, where <tick rate>
is a decimal integer from 0 to 60, corresponding to tick
rates of 0 to 60 ticks per second. When the tick rate is
set to 0, the external triggering is enabled. This
option defaults to 30 tick per second.
-l<log file> designates the file to log informational and error
messages. If this option is not specified, no log file
will be created.
QuickFlix can be exited at any time by pressing the ESC key or
<CTRL> C; holding the CTRL key down and pressing the C key.
usage example:
QuickFlix -t24 -llogfile script
This example will read the script information from the
file "script", the tick rate will be 24 ticks per
second, and the log information will be written into the
file "logfile".
Workbench Usage:
QuickFlix can also be invoked from the Workbench. A single
script can be invoked by double-clicking on the desired script
file icon. A single script file can also be invoked by
shift-clicking (holding the SHIFT key down and clicking on the
the icon) the desired script file icon, then double-clicking
on the QuickFlix icon. Multiple scripts can be invoked by
shift-clicking all desired script file icons, then double-clicking
on the QuickFlix icon. When multiple scripts are selected, the
'tool types' information from the first shift-selected script
will be used for all subsequent scripts.
Valid Tool Types:
n=<anything> (no seperate fast memory cache)
l=<log file name>
t=<ticks per second> (t=0 = use joystick)
All others will be ignored.
Script Format:
Entries in the script file must conform to the following format:
s <picture file> - any IFF picture file
n <ticks> - Switch to next picture in script in <ticks> ticks
where <ticks> is a positive decimal integer. If
the last picture in the script includes this entry,
QuickFlix will exit when the switch occurs, otherwise
the last picture will remain on the screen until QuickFlix
is manually exited via an ESC or <CTRL> C.
i <start ticks> <end ticks> <interval ticks> <red> <green> <blue> -
Fade in the current picture starting at <start ticks> ticks
after the picture is switched in, end fade at <end ticks>
ticks after the picture is switched in, fade at intervals
of <interval ticks> ticks, and fade in from color <red>,
<green>, <blue> where all tick values are positive decimal
integers and all colors are hexidecimal values from 0 to f.
o <start ticks> <end ticks> <interval ticks> <red> <green> <blue> -
Fade out the current picture starting at <start ticks> ticks
after the picture is switched in, end fade at <end ticks>
ticks after the picture is switched in, fade at intervals
of <interval ticks> ticks, and fade out to color <red>,
<green>, <blue> where all tick values are positive decimal
integers and all colors are hexidecimal values from 0 to f.
c <start ticks> <end ticks> <delay factor> - Cycle color ranges
starting at <start ticks> ticks after the picture is
switched in, end cycling at <end ticks> ticks after the
picture is swithced in, with a delay factor of
<delay factor> applied to the color cycle rate where
all values are positive decimal integers. The color
cycle ranges and rates are read from the IFF file.
script example:
s picture1
n 40
i 0 0 1 0 0 0
o 20 0 1 f f f
s picture2
n 60
i 0 0 2 f f f
o 30 0 2 0 0 0
s picture3
n 80
i 0 0 1 0 0 f
o 60 0 1 0 0 f
c 0 0 1
This example will show three pictures. The first picture
is "picture1". It will be shown for 40 ticks, fade in from
black when it is switched in, and fade out to white 20
ticks from the time it is switched in. The second picture
is "picture2". I will be shwon for 60 ticks, fade in from
white when it is switched in, and fade out to black 30
ticks from the time it is switched in. The third picture
is "picture3". It will be shown for 80 ticks, fade in
from blue when the picture is switched in, fade out to blue
60 ticks from the time it is switched in, and will color
cycle the cycle ranges with a delay factor of 1. QuickFlix
will exit after showing this picture since it is the last
one in the script and it specifies a switch.
Cel Animation:
Given the architecture of the system, cel animation becomes
a simple exercise of script manipulation. The pictures that
make up the animation can be entered to be shown for a short
nubmer of ticks, and the tick rate can be adjusted to a reasonable
rate for animation. The cache allows rapid switching of pictures
as long as the pictures are in the cache, otherwise the pictures
have to be read from the disk. The cache will hold about 5
320x200x5 (typical DeluxePaint) pictures on a 512K Amiga, about
40 on a 2.5M Amiga. These numbers will vary depending on the
resolution, interlace, and number of bit planes, because the cache
is memory dependent. The more memory, the better, but if the
display rate exceeds the cache fill rate, the cache will
eventually get behind, causing a pause in the animation. There
are a number of things you can do to optimize animations.
Additional memory will result in a larger cache and therefore
a higher cache hit rate. A hard disk will increase the transfer
rate of pictures from disk to cache. Pictures with fewer bit
planes will decrease the amount of memory needed for each picture.
Repeating short sequences of pictures in the script will allow
a higher cache hit rate. Color cycling can be used to simulate
animation.
External Triggering:
External triggering allows a user to interactively control the
slideshow or animation.
A joystick connected to port 2 of the Amiga can be used for
interactive control. The joystick can increase or decrease
the tick rate by pushing the joystick up or pulling it back.
Pressing the joystick button at any time will enable the
single-step mode. In this mode, each button press will cause
a timer tick to occur. Continuous timer tick mode is re-enabled
by moving the joystick up or down. Moving the joystick to the
right will switch to the next picture in the script.
Known Problems:
The picture swithing rate does not keep up with the tick rate
at tick rates exceeding about 24 frames per second.
Fades and color cycling effects do not work on HAM pictures.
Future Enhancements:
We are continuously trying to improve our product. Suggestions
and comments are more than welcome. We would like to know what
type of application you are using QuickFlix for and any
enhancements that you would like to see incorporated into it.
Our current list of enhancements follow.
Repeat and reverse for script
External device synchronization
Additional special effects
Notes:
The logfile output option is extremly handy to determine
problems. The logfile will keep a trace of the general
operation of the QuickFlix system. Information will include
cache statistics and errors. The errors will indicate
bad IFF files, memory resource problems, etc. A good place
to put the logfile is in the ram disk (i.e. -l ram:logfile).
The log file will not be created with an icon so it must be
accessed from the CLI.
We really are looking for comments about this program, so
drop us a note and tell us what you think.