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Internet Message Format | 1997-09-18 | 42KB

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Subject: fractint Digest V1 #17
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fractint Digest       Friday, September 19 1997       Volume 01 : Number 017



In this issue:

    (fractint) Joining
    (fractint) Getting fractint
    Re: (fractint) Getting fractint
    Re: (fractint) Getting fractint
    (fractint) Using FractInt with an Imagine 128...
    (fractint) Old L-System bug
    Re: (fractint) NYC fractal show
    Re: (fractint) NYC fractal show
    Re: (fractint) Old L-System bug
    (fractint) L-System Fractal Wanted!
    Re: (fractint) Old L-System bug
    Re: (fractint) Matrox Millenium cards
    Re: (fractint) Joining
    Re: (fractint) Matrox Millenium cards
    (fractint) About out of print books...
    (fractint) entering my own algorythyms
    Re: (fractint) entering my own algorythyms
    (fractint) video modes
    (fractint) Help!
    (fractint) dmj-pub.frm (take two)
    Re: (fractint) Help!
    Re: (fractint) entering my own algorythyms
    Re: (fractint) video modes
    Re: (fractint) video modes
    Re: (fractint) Help!
    (fractint) Controlling Fractals...
    (fractint) video modes continued

See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the fractint
or fractint-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Sep 97 11:35:00 +1
From: "P.Toth Andras" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (fractint) Joining

Microsoft Mail v3.0 IPM.Microsoft Mail.Note
K|ldo: P.Toth Andras
Cmmzett: Fractint
Targy:  Joining
Datum: 1997-09-17 11:35
Prioritas:
Rvgzmtett bet9tmpus-kiszlet: 0001
\zenetazonosmts: A1543415
Beszilgetisazonosmts: A1543415

##############################################################################

Sorry for the lame header - the mail program does it :(

 Well, hello to everybody. This is my first time to send a mail to this list
 - I hope You won't mind my beginner questions!

 Basically my problem is not with Fractint, but making fractal calculations
faster.
 I worked with Mandelbrot fractals for about 2 months. As I work on
Commodore 64 (1 Mhz) the calculation time is very important - so if You have
any good ideas to speed up Mandelbrot calculations, please let me know!

 My ideas were:

 -Use 2 bytes for numbers (1 bit negative flag, 3 bits for whole, 12 bits for
decimal) Ofcourse 2 complements.

 -Give the iteration counter maximum a little value (f.e. 10)

 -I don't know the special name for this stuff: the maximum distance of the
moving point {  sqrt(x*x+y*y)>=maxdistance   }. Well, I used no squareroot
function, I calculated the distance and compared oit with the maxdistance
squared (maxdistance was 2)

 Yes, I think these were the basic improvements (only :( ). There were some
more like coding the multiplier routine faster (the C64 has no inbuilt
command like MUL), etc.

 There MUST be other ways of speeding up the routine, coz I saw fullscreen
(160x200) REALTIME mandelbrot fractals calculated in 4 seconds...

 Anyway, thank you for your help, and please forgive my bad english and poor
sentences, but I'm in the middle of a MS-Works lesson and I could not
concentrate perfectly.

Best wishes: Andras P.Toth (Hungary)


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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 14:31:51 -0700 (MST)
From: Sky Nelson <[e-mail]>
Subject: (fractint) Getting fractint

I would like to download fractint, but I am concerned about viruses (I
just started doing web downloading last night.) Anybody have any help or
ideas about how to avoid viruses or get a viral disinfectant program for
a PC with windows 95?

Thank you!
    Sky Nelson

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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 16:16:25 -0600
From: Rich Thomson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (fractint) Getting fractint

> I would like to download fractint, but I am concerned about viruses

The fractint ZIP file on Spanky is not contaminated.  Look at <URL:
http://spanky.triumf.ca> and follow the fractint links to download the
ZIP file.
- --
  ``Between stimulus and response is the will to choose.''  -- Steven Covey
 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
     3D Paint: The Power to Create in 3D;        Rich Thomson
     email me for more info                [e-mail]

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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 16:24:57 -0700
From: Tim Riley  <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (fractint) Getting fractint

  From: Sky Nelson <[e-mail]>
  Subject: (fractint) Getting fractint
> I would like to download fractint, but I am concerned about viruses (I
> just started doing web downloading last night.) Anybody have any help or
> ideas about how to avoid viruses or get a viral disinfectant program for
> a PC with windows 95?
- ---------------End of Original Message-----------------

Both McAfee and Norton produce capable virus scan programs. I personally use
McAfee since we bought a site licence here at work. Their web site is:

http://www.mcafee.com

But don't get too paranoid. I've had access to the internet (in its various
shapes and forms) for over 10 years, and I have _never_ encountered a virus.
I worked with someone who would scream "VIRUS" at least once a week. In every
case, it turned out that, with his limited computer abilities, he either didn't
know how to run a particular program, or he had his system so twisted in a
knot (messed up or missing configuration files, misplaced files, incomplete
installation) that nothing would work.

 -----------------------------------------
|               Tim Riley                 |
| Institute for Telecommunication Science |
|     National Telecommunications and     |
|       Information Administration        |
|          US Dept. of Commerce           |
|            Boulder, Colorado            |
|      E-mail:[e-mail]      |
|     Per favore spenga le Sue scarpe     |
|  davanti abbandonare il nave spaziale.  |
 -----------------------------------------


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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 18:39:54 -0500
From: Tim <[e-mail]>
Subject: (fractint) Using FractInt with an Imagine 128...

Hello everyone!

This is my first posting to the FractInt list and I am wondering if
anybody on the list uses an Imagine 128 (mine has 4 meg of ram) to draw
their fractals?  It seems that the chipset on the card only allows for
512k in DOS which doesn't allow for very good resolution!  I've been
told that I need a DOS VESA driver so if anybody could help me I'd
appreciate it!  I have a 21" Viewsonic PS and am really looking forward
to finding some incredible images!

If it turns out that this card is pretty bogus for drawing fractals, I'd
entertain upgrading to a new video card.  I am wondering if 3D
accelerators also can provide a benefit with the FractInt program.  I've
had this Imagine 128 for about two years so I am kinda in need for an
upgrade anyway!  What would be the ultimate card for drawing with a
Pentium system?  I also use Win95 for games and Netscape so the card
would have to work with this as well.

Looking forward to any replies!

Sincerely,

Tim Maxwell


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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 19:15:23 -0500
From: Barry Bluestein <[e-mail]>
Subject: (fractint) Old L-System bug

I would love to know if there is a fix for a bug that crept into Fractint DOS
after ver 14 or 15 (the one that shipped with the Waite Press Fractint book).
Prior to this bug, the L-System 'ColorSnowflake' would generate symmetrical
images at levels at least as high as 8. Since then, any value over 5 results in
a warped, asymetrical image being generated.

This bug has performed on all machines I have ever tested it on.

Any thoughts? If nescessary, I would even be willing to load a pre-bug version
of Fractint just to access this one formula. It's easily my favorite 'fractal'.

- --
Barry Bluestein
TeleJamaica Design Project Manager

USAID/Kingston
2 Hainning Rd
Kingston 5, Jamaica, W.I.
809-926-5001 x3327



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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 19:16:43 -0500
From: Barry Bluestein <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (fractint) NYC fractal show

Donald Archer wrote:

> Everybody welcome to my NYC exhibit of large output (24" x 36")
> fractal prints on canvas now thru Saturday, October 11 at:
>
> Vanderbilt YMCA
> 224 East 47th Street
> (betw. 2nd and 3rd Aves)
> New York City
> Lobby exhibit, open 24 hours daily.
>
> Many of these prints are U-draw fractals drawn by viewer input to my sites at:
>

[snip]

What is "U-draw?"


- --
Barry Bluestein
TeleJamaica Design Project Manager

USAID/Kingston
2 Hainning Rd
Kingston 5, Jamaica, W.I.
809-926-5001 x3327



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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 21:40:29 -0400 (EDT)
From: Donald Archer <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (fractint) NYC fractal show

Barry,

>Donald Archer wrote:
>
>> Everybody welcome to my NYC exhibit of large output (24" x 36")
>> fractal prints on canvas now thru Saturday, October 11 at:
>>
>> Vanderbilt YMCA
>> 224 East 47th Street
>> (betw. 2nd and 3rd Aves)
>> New York City
>> Lobby exhibit, open 24 hours daily.
>>
>> Many of these prints are U-draw fractals drawn by viewer input to my sites

>What is "U-draw?

A forms page is provided on my sites for viewers to submit by email to
me random numbers and functions. I then draw an image in Fractint based on these
parameters using (I hope) interesting formulas, affix the submitter's name,
then post the image to my site. The viewers love it and I love the
action and the challange. I call these fractals U-draws.

My U-draw sites are:

http://www.dorsai.org/~arch

and/or

http://www.ingress.com/~arch

Don




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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 20:56:22 -0500
From: "Justin A. Kolodziej" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (fractint) Old L-System bug

Barry Bluestein wrote:

> I would love to know if there is a fix for a bug that crept into Fractint DOS
> after ver 14 or 15 (the one that shipped with the Waite Press Fractint book).
> Prior to this bug, the L-System 'ColorSnowflake' would generate symmetrical
> images at levels at least as high as 8. Since then, any value over 5 results in
> a warped, asymetrical image being generated.
>
> This bug has performed on all machines I have ever tested it on.
>
> Any thoughts? If nescessary, I would even be willing to load a pre-bug version
> of Fractint just to access this one formula. It's easily my favorite 'fractal'.
>
> --
> Barry Bluestein
> TeleJamaica Design Project Manager

Mr. Bluestein has a point here.  Both the "Snowflake2" and "SnowflakeColor"
L-system types go haywire on levels 5 and above.   On level 5, the first few
mini-snowflakes are drawn OK, but then it seems the program realizes that the
entire snowflake won't fit on the screen and scales the remaining segments to fit,
with disasterous results.  Level 6 is so screwed up that only the first largest
sub-snowflake (which, by the way, IS the level 5 snowflake) is entirely on the
screen.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the whole thing supposed to be on the
screen?  If anyone out there has any ideas on this, such as what might be wrong or
how to fix it, send 'em in!

Justin Kolodziej

- -- no cool signature :( --


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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 21:17:40 -0500
From: "Justin A. Kolodziej" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (fractint) L-System Fractal Wanted!

Ever since I've seen the "Twin Dragon Skin" fractal described in Benoit
B. Mandelbrot's book, "The Fractal Geometry of Nature", I've wanted to
see what it looked like.  So far, it hasn't appeared in any book that I
checked in iterated form, only in generator form.  I was hoping it would
be included in the L-system fractals, but alas! No such luck! So, if
anyone out there has a formula file for this or (horror of horrors!) can
tell me how to do it myself, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

Justin Kolodziej

- -- no cool signature :( --



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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 22:40:37 -0600
From: "Tim Wegner" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (fractint) Old L-System bug

Barry wrote:

> I would love to know if there is a fix for a bug that crept into Fractint DOS
> after ver 14 or 15 (the one that shipped with the Waite Press Fractint book).
> Prior to this bug, the L-System 'ColorSnowflake' would generate symmetrical
> images at levels at least as high as 8. Since then, any value over 5 results in
> a warped, asymetrical image being generated.

I have known about this bug for years, but your raising it again
cast some light. The bug does not appear in 16.11 but does appear in
17.2. In between those versions assembler speedup code was added.
Generally in Fractint the debug=90 option disables assembler and uses
the C code, but this doesn't work for lsys as near as I can tell, so
the C code is not used.

On a hunch I tried the Xfractint version, which of course does not
use the assembler. The snowflakecolor fractal was OK at level 6. This
suggests that the assembler is where the bug is.

I'll investigate adding a switch to use the C code in the DOS
version. I've mentioned this to Adrian mariano, the assembler author,
but I haven't heard from him in a while.

Tim


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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 08:23:22 -0400 (EDT)
From: Evin C Robertson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (fractint) Matrox Millenium cards

Like the excerpt from Microsoft states, NT does not like programs
directly talking to the hardware; the hardware abstraction layer is
talked to instead.  This means all the great SVGA detection logic in
fractint can't work properly.  I tried using fractint under NT before,
and none of the higher resolution modes were available, and some of the
modes had interesting side effects.  I don't recomend using DOS fractint
under NT.  NT is a good operating system, and fractint is a good
program, but they don't cooperate very well.  I recomend either using
the dual boot in NT to boot to DOS (if you have a copy of it), or using
the (oh no) windows port of fractint.

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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 10:01:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail] (Paul Derbyshire)
Subject: Re: (fractint) Joining

> -Use 2 bytes for numbers (1 bit negative flag, 3 bits for whole, 12 bits for
>decimal) Ofcourse 2 complements.

Fixed point math. (The C-64 uses 2's complement? kewl. I don't remember
much about my old C-64, except that signed char was from -128 to 127,
consistent with bias-128 or 2's...) For deeper zooms try 4 bytes, 1 sign
bit, 3 bits point 28. For types other than mandelbrot you have problems if
the set is bigger than +/-7. There goes continuous potential, labmda-cos
z, etc.
(Did the C-64 have an FPU? If not how come BASIC could deal with float
types? Emulation?)

> -Give the iteration counter maximum a little value (f.e. 10)

10? That'll give you a triangular black blob and a few bands of color :P
Any decent Mandelbrotting requires it to be at least a small int. Try an
unsigned int, 2 bytes 0-65535. (Gets slow for high iters of course.)

> -I don't know the special name for this stuff: the maximum distance of the
>moving point {  sqrt(x*x+y*y)>=maxdistance   }. Well, I used no squareroot
>function, I calculated the distance and compared oit with the maxdistance
>squared (maxdistance was 2)

That will save some cycles. (Watch out for overflow. Don't forget if the
real or imag parts goes above 7 or below -8 it will wrap with your fixed
point numbers.)

> Yes, I think these were the basic improvements (only :( ). There were some
>more like coding the multiplier routine faster (the C64 has no inbuilt
>command like MUL), etc.

Gak! I remember that. No MUL! Yack. I coded a 64-bit fixed point mult...
in asm... never actually tried to run the darn thing. Afraid of the result
probably. :)

> There MUST be other ways of speeding up the routine, coz I saw fullscreen
>(160x200) REALTIME mandelbrot fractals calculated in 4 seconds...

160x200...gak! That was the biggest mode wasn't it...160x200x16. eeeuw.
Nowadays if you catch a vid card that won't do 320x240x256 you throw it
back and try again.


- --
    .*.  Where feelings are concerned, answers are rarely simple [GeneDeWeese]
 -()  <  When I go to the theater, I always go straight to the "bag and mix"
    `*'  bulk candy section...because variety is the spice of life... [me]
Paul Derbyshire [e-mail], http://chat.carleton.ca/~pderbysh

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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 10:06:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail] (Paul Derbyshire)
Subject: Re: (fractint) Matrox Millenium cards

>
>Like the excerpt from Microsoft states, NT does not like programs
>directly talking to the hardware; the hardware abstraction layer is
>talked to instead.  This means all the great SVGA detection logic in
>fractint can't work properly.  I tried using fractint under NT before,
>and none of the higher resolution modes were available, and some of the
>modes had interesting side effects.  I don't recomend using DOS fractint
>under NT.  NT is a good operating system, and fractint is a good
>program, but they don't cooperate very well.  I recomend either using
>the dual boot in NT to boot to DOS (if you have a copy of it), or using
>the (oh no) windows port of fractint.

Two words. Disk-video, and, GIF-viewer.

- --
    .*.  Where feelings are concerned, answers are rarely simple [GeneDeWeese]
 -()  <  When I go to the theater, I always go straight to the "bag and mix"
    `*'  bulk candy section...because variety is the spice of life... [me]
Paul Derbyshire [e-mail], http://chat.carleton.ca/~pderbysh

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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 09:13:15 -0700
From: "Jay Hill"<[e-mail]>
Subject: (fractint) About out of print books...

To all who are looking for Fractal Creations 2nd edition.  Sorry for the
delay.
 I'll post more definite search results about this in a few weeks.

Jay



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Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 10:31:39 -0700 (MST)
From: Sky Nelson <[e-mail]>
Subject: (fractint) entering my own algorythyms

How do all of you enter your own algorythyms into fractint? Or do you use
fractint? I wrote a program at home to do this, but I am now on a Unix at
school, and would love to know if I can actually enter new equations of
my own into fractint, for it to plot...

    Thanks!
        Sky

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Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 15:25:33 -0600
From: Rich Thomson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (fractint) entering my own algorythyms

Sky Nelson <[e-mail]>  writes:
> How do all of you enter your own algorythyms into fractint?

Read the formula tutorial and the help files for the formula fractal
type.  Synopsis:

my_formula_fractal {
    reset type=formula formulafile=mystuff.frm formulaname=my_formula
    ; corners=...
    ; colors=...
    ; etc.
}
- --
  ``Between stimulus and response is the will to choose.''  -- Steven Covey
 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
     3D Paint: The Power to Create in 3D;        Rich Thomson
     email me for more info                [e-mail]

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Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 17:37:30 -0400
From: GEDEON PETERI <[e-mail]>
Subject: (fractint) video modes

The following questions are not directly related to fractals or
Fractint, but they are at least motivated solely by my desire to
maximize my ability to generate fractals at the highest possible
resolution.  If I am not mistaken, such questions were invited in the
introduction to this mailing list. I am woefully ignorant about some
things.  In particular, I am somewhat embarrassed to say, I am not
completely clear about the difference between video upgrade kits, video
drivers, and video cards.  I have a NEC Ready 9710 machine (166 Mhz
Pentium MMX; 16MB RAM; 2MB video RAM).  My manual says that a video
upgrade kit is available to raise video memory to 4MB, but I suspect
that there are ways to go beyond that by addition of cards, drivers,
etc.  Is that correct?  I cannot get any useful information from the
manufacturer.  The best reply I was able to get from them, despite the
praises lavished on their support services by the salesman who sold me
the computer, repeated verbatim what is stated in my printed user's
manual, and nothing more.  At present I am using Fractint in SF7  video
mode (1024x768x256), but would like to be able to display higher
resolution images on my screen, as well as be prepared for the time when
Fractint will be available in true color.  I would greatly appreciate
any suggestions either directly, or by reference to a source where I
could get such information.  May I add that I am tremendously grateful
to the Stone Soup Group for providing such a wonderful thing as
Fractint.  (I only discovered this mailing list a couple of days ago and
this is my first posted message.)  Thanks, Gedeon Peteri.


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Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 20:58:17 -0600
From: Roelf Renkema <[e-mail]>
Subject: (fractint) Help!

I can't get Fractint running on my machine. I'm using the dos version 19.6.
Now under DOS it just won't startup and crashes my system (a 486-dx2 66Mhz)
Under Win95 I get the message that it's using a wrong instruction and halts on
391D:0BE0 interupts used none. Anyone....sugestions!
                                            _/_/|
        grey@nym,alias.net                 (o(o) \
          ' The Wolf '                  OO~~     /
                                        \--__   ,/
    "I like'm sweet and wet"            |/~  `-'


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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 23:40:32 -0400
From: "Damien M. Jones" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (fractint) dmj-pub.frm (take two)

Howdy folks,

Those of you who subscribe to the digest will not have received the FRM
file I attached to a message.  Should you wish a copy, I will post one soon
on my web site (and I'll post a note here when I do so, sometime tomorrow
it seems).  Anyone who can't wait that long :-) should e-mail me and I'll
send it out right away.

I did not post the file uncompressed because it's huge, but compresses
*very* well into a 7K ZIP.

Damien M. Jones  /  temporary sanity designs  /  http://www.emi.net/~dmj/
   [e-mail]  /  my gallery: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/2605/



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Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 13:33:21 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Grasso, Nick)
Subject: Re: (fractint) Help!

At 08:58 PM 9/18/97 -0600, Roelf Renkema <[e-mail]> wrote:
>I can't get Fractint running on my machine. I'm using the dos version 19.6.
>Now under DOS it just won't startup and crashes my system (a 486-dx2 66Mhz)
>Under Win95 I get the message that it's using a wrong instruction and
halts on
>391D:0BE0 interupts used none. Anyone....sugestions!

It sounds to me like the EXE is corrupt. Try downloading it again.

Nick
[e-mail]


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Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 14:18:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail] (Paul Derbyshire)
Subject: Re: (fractint) entering my own algorythyms

>
>
>How do all of you enter your own algorythyms into fractint? Or do you use
>fractint? I wrote a program at home to do this, but I am now on a Unix at
>school, and would love to know if I can actually enter new equations of
>my own into fractint, for it to plot...

Check the fractint dox for the formula type.

- --
    .*.  Where feelings are concerned, answers are rarely simple [GeneDeWeese]
 -()  <  When I go to the theater, I always go straight to the "bag and mix"
    `*'  bulk candy section...because variety is the spice of life... [me]
Paul Derbyshire [e-mail], http://chat.carleton.ca/~pderbysh

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Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 14:30:43 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Grasso, Nick)
Subject: Re: (fractint) video modes

At 05:37 PM 9/18/97 -0400, GEDEON PETERI <[e-mail]> wrote:
>The following questions are not directly related to fractals or
>Fractint, but they are at least motivated solely by my desire to
>maximize my ability to generate fractals at the highest possible
>resolution.  If I am not mistaken, such questions were invited in the
>introduction to this mailing list. I am woefully ignorant about some
>things.  In particular, I am somewhat embarrassed to say, I am not
>completely clear about the difference between video upgrade kits, video
>drivers, and video cards.  I have a NEC Ready 9710 machine (166 Mhz
>Pentium MMX; 16MB RAM; 2MB video RAM).  My manual says that a video
>upgrade kit is available to raise video memory to 4MB, but I suspect
>that there are ways to go beyond that by addition of cards, drivers,
>etc.  Is that correct?  I cannot get any useful information from the
>manufacturer.  The best reply I was able to get from them, despite the
>praises lavished on their support services by the salesman who sold me
>the computer, repeated verbatim what is stated in my printed user's
>manual, and nothing more.  At present I am using Fractint in SF7  video
>mode (1024x768x256), but would like to be able to display higher
>resolution images on my screen, as well as be prepared for the time when
>Fractint will be available in true color.  I would greatly appreciate
>any suggestions either directly, or by reference to a source where I
>could get such information.  May I add that I am tremendously grateful
>to the Stone Soup Group for providing such a wonderful thing as
>Fractint.  (I only discovered this mailing list a couple of days ago and
>this is my first posted message.)  Thanks, Gedeon Peteri.

Hello Gedeon,

Here is some info on video cards that may help:

> The video modes you can display are directly related to the amount of
video memory,
For example, a card with 2Mb can display the following modes:
640x480x256
800x600x256
1024x768x256
1280x1024x256
640x480x65536 (high color)
800x600x65536 (high color)
1024x768x65536 (high color)
1152x864x65536 (high color)
640x480x16million (true color)
800x600x16million (true color)

A 4Mb card can also display:
1024x768x16million
1152x864x16million (this is my favorite mode for 17 inch monitors)
1280x1024x16million
1600x1200x256 (This mode may work with 2Mb ??)
1600x1200x65536

8Mb is needed for 1600x1200x16million

The driver cannot change this situation. If you want the 4Mb modes, you
must get the 4Mb upgrade or buy a new video card with 4Mb. There are some
differences among drivers for different video cards, however. Some do not
support 1152x864 or 1600x1200 at all.

> Your monitor must also be able to support the resolution you want. Number
of colors is not an issue, but some monitors cannot handle 1600x1200.

> Most recent DOS programs do not need video drivers because most modern
cards and DOS programs support the VESA standard. VESA support may be built
into the video card's BIOS or you may have to load a small DOS TSR. Most
(but not all) of the above modes are supported by VESA. All those other
video modes you see in fractint are left over from the days before VESA.

> You do need a video driver for Windows, but of course all video cards
come with one. However, it pays to check manufacturer's web site for
updates. Windows video drivers are notoriously buggy and are the cause of
many Windows crashes and problems. The drivers are often updated frequently.

I hope this helps somewhat. If you have any more questions, please post
them or you can email me directly.

Nick
[e-mail]


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Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 15:09:57 -0400
From: "Damien M. Jones" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (fractint) video modes

Nick, Gedeon,

1600x1200x256 is doable on my 2M graphics card.  In general, I've been
pretty happy with this amount of RAM on the card, since 1600x1200 is about
the highest mode my monitor can display anyway.

I would also note that some video cards will accomodate "odd" RAM sizes.
For example, I once worked with a Number Nine GXE something-or-other that
had 3M of RAM on it.  This allowed a mode like 1024x768x16M which doesn't
quite fit in 2M.

You can calculate the amount of RAM needed for a mode by simply multiplying
the width by the height by the bit depth and dividing by eight.  For example:

640 x 480 x 8 (256 colors) / 8 = 307200 (fits in 512K)
800 x 600 x 16 (65K colors) / 8 = 960000 (just fits in 1M)
1024 x 768 x 24 (16M colors) / 8 = 2359296 (doesn't fit in 2M)
800 x 600 x 32 (16M colors) / 8 = 1920000 (just fits in 2M)

You'll notice in the above examples that I list both 24-bit and 32-bit as
being 16M color modes.  A 32-bit mode wastes eight bits of each pixel, but
because 32-bit values are easier (and faster) for computers to deal with
than 24-bit values, many graphics cards go ahead and waste the RAM to
provide increased performance.  Some cards do not support true 24-bit
modes, but always use 32-bit modes instead.

How do you tell which 16M mode your card is using?  In Windows, it's pretty
easy: right-click a blank area of your desktop, choose "Properties", switch
to the "Settings" tab, and in the "Color palette" drop-down, you should see
the actual bit depth listed.  Typically you can choose between 8-bit,
16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit.  Just remember that visually, 24-bit and 32-bit
will be the same, but 32-bit modes will have higher performance.

Unless you're doing serious graphics work, I'd recommend using a 16-bit
mode.  Performance here is even better than 32-bit modes, and it seems the
best trade-off between performance and color quality.  Web browsing in
8-bit modes (256-color) is rather grainy, as all that pretty color (which
you're downloading whether you see the quality or not) is wasted.  At the
moment, bit depth beyond 8 doesn't do anything for FractInt, but when you
run FractInt from Windows it will change the display mode anyway.

Just my ramblings...

Damien M. Jones  /  temporary sanity designs  /  http://www.emi.net/~dmj/
   [e-mail]  /  my gallery: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/2605/


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Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 20:20:46 +0200
From: Roelf Renkema <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (fractint) Help!

At 13:33 19-09-97 -0400, you wrote:
>At 08:58 PM 9/18/97 -0600, Roelf Renkema <[e-mail]> wrote:
>>I can't get Fractint running on my machine. I'm using the dos version 19.6.
>>Now under DOS it just won't startup and crashes my system (a 486-dx2 66Mhz)
>>Under Win95 I get the message that it's using a wrong instruction and
>halts on
>>391D:0BE0 interupts used none. Anyone....sugestions!
>
>It sounds to me like the EXE is corrupt. Try downloading it again.
>
>Nick
>[e-mail]
>
Nah to easy, was the first of the last things I tried &8-)
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          ' The Wolf '                  OO~~     /
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Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 12:48:21 -0700 (MST)
From: Sky Nelson <[e-mail]>
Subject: (fractint) Controlling Fractals...

Does anybody know how to take a simple algorythym, like a mandelbrot, and
via initial conditions control what part you look at? I tried adding
constants here and there, but it warped the pattern,,,, I just want to
translate it around the screen, depending on initial parameters...

    Thanks!
        Sky

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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 16:30:40 -0400
From: GEDEON PETERI <[e-mail]>
Subject: (fractint) video modes continued

    Nick, Damien,
    Many thanks for the highly informative letters.  Since the maximum
resolution my monitor will support is 1280x1024, it appears that I am
already set for this with my 2MB of video RAM.  Simply adding the update
kit to 4MB would enable me to use 1600x1200 with present Fractint - 256
colors.  Only if Fractint went to true color (16 million) would I need
8MB to support the 1600x1200 resolution.  Am I correct to draw these
conclusions?  If so, though going for 8MB does not make any sense at
this time for me, I am nonetheless curious whether an 8MB video card
could be installed in my computer?  In other words, does the fact that
the manual only mentions upgrading to 4MB mean that there are other
system components (excluding the monitor) which could not support more
than that, or does it not?
    Gedeon.


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