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.! .! This text was was formatted with PROFF Version 1.0 .! .ls 2 .bold on .nofill .center on .skip 13 .po 10 .pl "Phantasmos" Version 1.50 by James C. Ianni Copyright 1992 Release Notes September 1992 .center off .fill .bold off .ls 1 .pg 1 .header /Version 1.50/Phantasmos User's Manual/Intro/ .fo //#// .center on .bold on PHANTASMOS The Magic Morphing Machine .center off .bold off Phantasmos allows one to create those popular polymorph animations one can create in Deluxe Paint IV and ImageMaster quicker, easier and without all those disintergration/smearing/spluttering effects found when morphing pictures, video-text screens and company logos that are made up of thick/thin lines and polygons. Phantasmos can also morph images in up to 144 different ways!!! Zooweee!! You can sketch/draw frames or convert bitmap pictures. The sketched frames can be drawn within the program, with an interface similar to many structured drawing programs. The imported bitmap files can be any Amiga IFF picture file (ie. digitized photographs or a bitmap drawing done with DeluxePaint IV). Major advantages of drawing the picture within the program is that the morphs can be synthesized 20-30 times faster and morph much "smoother" (no disintergration/spluttering/smearing effects like in other popular morphing programs) than importing and morphing bitmap pictures. Also, the drawings drawn in the program are resolution independent. One might want to quickly and easily morph company logos, names, text with different fonts, hand-written signatures and line-drawings when drawing the images using the drawing tools in Phantasmos. The other way to get images in Phantasmos is to import bitmap pictures. The main advantage of importing bitmap picture files is that the morphs can be very realistic, since the pictures can be digitized photographs which can be morphed into another different photo, like some of the effects in Terminator-2 (okay maybe I'm over exagerrating). The disadvantage with this is that calculations can take awhile for a 16,000 point:30 frame animation using the best morph algorithm. Many tweenings can be done in one animation allowing for interesting and complex animation. The main philosophy of this animation program is you draw (or import a picture) in one numbered frame, then draw (or import a picture) in another numbered frame (the more frames you allow between each starting and ending frame, the smoother the animation will turn out), then simply morph the frames. Phantasmos can morph between two different images in 144 different ways. 48 (1/3) of those morphing capabilities alter their morphing characteristics every time you use them (morph algorithms that morph themselves!). For a complete description of the morphing/tweening algorithms and techniques read under the Frames Menu, TWEEN Frames menu item description. Naturally, you get all the drawing tools that are found in most structured drawing programs. In Phantasmos you can move, copy, delete, insert, rotate, stretch/contract horizontal or vertical, enlarge or shrink, shear x or y, mirror horizontal or vertical of selected points (I am currently working on to make most of these edition options perform dynamically). You also have various or defined grid settings, predefined shape primitives, entering and altering outline fonts, the ability to save pieces or parts of your drawing and load them in a completely different animation, the ability to view any frame, and insert, delete, clear, exchange and copy frames. You can have specific frames LASER drawn (that catches everyones attention), "hand-write" the frame on screen, leave animated trails or go in a special XOR drawing mode. Frames can be paused at the currently drawn frame for a specific amount of time. You can load in background pictures and specify how to draw on "top" of the background picture. These and other options (currently being developed) are contained within Phantasmos. .nofill .header /Version 1.50/Phantasmos User's Manual/Start-Up/ .pg Running the Program --------------------- .fill Any Amiga computer with at least 4 megs of memory, or 2 Megs for the 2 meg version. The ILBM.library (a very small file <7k) and ARP.library in your LIBS: dir (these are included in the archive). You may want a free 10megs of hard-drive space to save hi-res interlace ANIMS that have a complicated digitized background picture in the frames. Also, please make sure you have the arp.library (for the file requester, if you don't have it, you won't get a file requester just a string entry) and ilbm.library (a very small library <7k that permits Phantasmos to SAVE/LOAD IFF pictures and background pictures) in your LIBS: directory on your boot-disk or hard-disk. .header /Version 1.50/Phantasmos User's Manual/File/ .pg .nofill Description of Menu Selections -------------------------------- File ------ .fill SAVE FRAMES - Save all frames of the animation. (You should have the arp.library in your libs: directory) If you have a background picture loaded (see below), the picture is NOT saved with the file, ONLY the pathname as to where the picture can be found is loaded. LOAD FRAMES - Load the frames from an animation. One thing about this is that it will load frames from a low-resolution or a high-resolution screen. In other words, if the animation was drawn in high-resolution mode, and you load the animation when your in low-res mode, the animation will still load, but you'll notice that it doesn't fit on a low-res screen. It's still there but it's drawn 'outside' the viewable screen. You can also load a low-res animation into hi-res mode, but you'll notice that it's 1/4 the size of the screen. SAVE SELECTED LINES - Save portions of the frame for later use in other animations. Also, use this function if you want to copy only a piece of a frame into another frames. Just select this menu option, select what part of the screen you want by dragging out the rectangle, and then save it to RAM:. Goto to the frame in which you want this piece and select "Load Lines" (explained below) and load the lines that you just previously saved to RAM:. LOAD LINES - Load lines into the current frame. CREATE HIGHSPEED ANIM FILE - For Future use and registered users. Though, you can still create an ANIM file, you'll have to do it indirectly by saving all the frames as IFF picture files (see next menu item) and using MAKEANIM. An output text file, MakeANIM.TXT, is also created for use with the MAKEANIM program (included within this archive). SAVE All FRAMES AS IFF FILES - Saves all the frames (From frame 0 to the last drawn frame) as IFF picture files. Also a text file named MakeANIM.TXT is also created for use with the MAKEANIM program. This text file contains the names of all the IFF pictures. So, if you wanted to create a ANIM animation file, select this menu item (be warned though, if your are in hi-res, interlace mode with 16-colors and you have a digitized picture loaded in the background and you have a 30 frame animation, the size of all the saved IFF pictures will be quite large, about 4 megs of hard-disk space) then CD to the directory containing the pictures ("cd df0:" at the CLI prompt) then use the MAKEANIM program: "makeanim makeanim.txt dh3:MyAnimation.anim" . Why make an ANIM file? Because Phantasmos can only draw lines/dots/polygons only so fast. Once you create an ANIM file, a 14,000 point/frame animation that played achingly slow on Phantasmos, is now playing back at TV frame rate. Playback of ANIM files are easy since they became a standard animation file back in 1985 and there are many PD & commercial programs that can play these back. A short PD listing: SHOWANIM (Probably the fastest player), DISPLAYANIM , SuperView. A very short commercial listing: AmigaVision (extremely versatile in playing back ANIM files), CanDo, DeluxePaint IV, Director, Lights!Camera!Action! (An oldie but a very goodie!). ENTER IN TEXT - This allows you to enter in text from the keyboard. Notice, you can alter the size and shape of the text (explained below). Even though you may make the size of text bigger than the screen or enter text off the screen, the text is still there. Be careful with entering text, text can take up alot of points (you have a limited amount of points in each frame)away in each frame. Also when you have entered in your text, it becomes your (L)ast selection, it can be moved about, rotated, copied, stretched, shrink or whatever just by selecting an option in the Points menu and simply press the "L" key. Don't worry, if you forget this technique, Phantasmos will give you the option of doing this. ALTER TEXT SIZE AND SHAPE - Use the cursor keys to expand and contract the displayed letter. Press "return" when you have selected a size and shape of your liking. ALTER COLOR PALETTE - Change the screen's colors. TOGGLE CONTINUOUS DRAW MODE - This is normally on, allowing you to freely draw or even hand-write your name simply by holding down the left mouse button, but this requires that alot of points be used up (remember, you have a limited amount of points you can have in each frame). When this is off (no checkmark next to it), you have to click the left mouse button for every line that is drawn (alot of professional animation programs are always in this mode). This prevents wasting points in the frame, but at the expense making the drawing look more like a ruthless, robotic CAD drawing. .nofill The next six menu options correspond to the display title when you're drawing or the colors/lines windows. A check mark next to the menu option states that the option is currently displayed. .fill SHOW X,Y COORDINATES - Show the current X (horizontal) and Y (vertical) coordinates of the mouse. SHOW POINTS LEFT AND FRAME # - Show the current frame that you're currently drawing in and how many points are left in the current frame. The number of points start off at some maximum number and slowly decrease towards zero for every line/point that is drawn. SHOW FRAME CHARACTERISTICS - Displays in the title bar how that frame is to be drawn and any pause being used. If the current frame is to be laser drawn the letters "LS" will appear near the right hand side of the title bar. If the frame is hand-drawn, the letters "HN" will appear. If the frame is being drawn with XOR-mode, then an "X" will appear. For the pause being used in that frame, the following character will appear for the corresponding pause: .center on "N" - No Pause "S" - Short Pause "M" - Medium Pause "L" - Long Pause .center off DISPLAY LINES WINDOW - Display the lines window on screen. From the lines window you can select from eight various line thicknesses. DISPLAY COLOR WINDOW - Display the color window. From the lines window you can change the current pen color you're using and/or the background color. If a picture has been loaded into the background, the color window will cut in half, displaying only PEN colors you can pick. LOAD BACKGROUND PICTURE - Load and lock in an IFF-picture in the background. You can now draw on top of the picture. You can also use this to trace in a picture for morphing. Once you're done tracing the picture, simply re-select this menu option and the background picture will disappear. ABOUT - Show latest version and author. QUIT - Exit program. .header /Version 1.50/Phantasmos User's Manual/Frames/ .pg .nofill Frames -------- .fill NEXT FRAME - Proceeds to the next animation frame. PREVIOUS FRAME - Goes to the frame before the current frame. COPY PREVIOUS FRAME - Copies the previous frame. For example, you're in frame #10, select this menu option and frame #9 will be copied to frame #10. COPY FRAME - This copies any frame number to the current frame. Use the mouse's horizontal position to select what frame number to copy. GOTO FRAME - This option will allow you to goto any frame number. Use the mouse's horizontal position to select what frame to go to. GOTO LAST DRAWN FRAME - This option will goto the last frame that has points/lines in it. This does not goto the last empty frame. This is useful when trying to tween different images, and you have forgotten where you have drawn your last frame. CLEAR FRAMES - Completely wipes clean all frames between and including the selected range. For example, if you're in frame #20 and you wish to delete frames 20 to 30. You simply select this option, and by using the mouse's horizontal postion, select upto (or down to, you can also clear frames below) and including frame #30. INSERT FRAME HERE - Insert's a clean, new frame at the current frame number. For example, you have created an animation, but you have forgotten to add a title, you go all the way to frame #0 which contains a frame of the animation, so to insert your title, just select this option, and all animation frames will be moved up by one frame, frame #0 will be cleared for your title. The previous frame #0 is now frame #1. It's exactly like inserting a character in a word processor, except you're inserting frames. DELETE THIS FRAME - Wipes the frame completely from the animation frame list. For example, if your in frame #10 and you select this option, frames 11 to the last drawn frame will be shifted down one frame. It's exactly like deleteing a character in a word processor, except you're deleting frames. EXCHANGE FRAMES - Exchanges the contents of two frames. PREVIEW ANIM - Animate all the frames, you must remember that Phantasmos must calculate each frame then display it, because of this, the animation playback will not be nearly as fast as a saved ANIM file. This is why it's called a Preview. You will get the option of selecting how to playback the animation: Normal - Play animation once. Ping-Pong - Play animation forward to the end, then play animation backward from the end to the forward again, then repeat. You can also leave an animated trail as your animation is playing. DRAW FRAME IN XOR MODE - This is a special drawing mode where by when a point/line/polygon is drawn, where the point/line/polygon overlaps an area of the screen where something else has been drawn there, it will erase it. Where the point/line/polygon overlaps with empty screen, the point/line/polygon will be drawn. Note: if you haven't loaded a background picture and you are using this option, it makes most sense (and conserves memory and speed) to use only 2 colors. When this is selected an "X" will appear in the screen title. The next four menu options select how long to pause in the current frame Remember, the starting letter of the pause option will be shown in the screen title. NO PAUSE - All frames initially have this set. SET A SHORT PAUSE - Sets a short pause after the this frame is drawn. SET A MEDIUM PAUSE - Sets a medium pause after this frame is drawn. SET A LONG PAUSE - Sets a long pause after this frame is drawn. SELECT FRAME DRAW - Selecting this menu option will cycle between Laser drawing the frame (you will see an "LS" appear in the screen title) Handwriting the frame (an "HN" will appear in the screen title) and drawing the screen regularly. TWEEN Frames - Use this menu option to create your animations!!! There are basically three morphing algorithms, three morphing options, three different movement patterns, two of which have eccentricity parameters (3*2*2*2*3*2=144). Each morphing algorithm (1, 2 or 3) has a special use. Morphing algorithm 1 is probably the most useful, since it is the chief morphing algorithm to do morphs. Words can't describe what it can do, you'll have to see it to believe it. Morphing algorithm 2 is used for objects that morph or "evolve" out of a small area. For example, a rocket going into the air and bursting into a giant colorful burst or a light beam entering a prism and braking up into a rainbow, morphing algorithm 2 has other uses which can't be described, but must be shown. Morphing algorithm 3 is the earliest of the morphers and the simplest. It does all the morphing in one frame half-way between the two pictures/sketches for a surprise effect. Now there are options which can be applied to each morphing algorithm. The "Randomize Motion" option button can be used to give the effect that the morph is being "whipped" into the destination picture/drawing. The "Twist Last Frame" option button can be used to put in more "morphing motion" in a morph and it can also be used to get rid of "smashing effects". A "smashing effect" example would be if you were to morph an object to it's exact y-mirror image, all three morphing algorithms would smash the object horizontally until it was no longer horizontal (it would have a height) then "unsmash" itself to it's mirrored self. *PLEASE NOTE* Once you Twist the Last Frame, it stays in a 'Twisted State'. If you tween again, there is no need to 'Twist the Last Frame' again. If you do select 'Twist Last Frame' again, the last frame will simply un-Twist itself and return in a normal drawn state. The "Smooth Color" option button has a very important use. It can smoothly blend the colors between the two morphed pictures. The results are spectacular, but because of the color separation into RGB equivalents, find the best color match, remix and then remap the computation time is most elongated, *BUT* this version of Phantasmos is 2 to 4 times faster than the 1.01 version!! Also a new morphing option has been added, the "Grid On" button. When turned on, this will leave the current GRID setting that is being used under the Misc menu in affect. This allows you to create, well, it's hard to describe, but it looks like slime-mold movement!! An example, before you morph select under the Misc menu a GRID selection of Fine. Now morph (select the *TWEEN* menu item under the Frames menu) using the straightline motion. Cool. .pg The translation motion of the points in the picture/drawing can be accomplished in three ways. The points can move in linear motion, "Unison motion" and "Spasmatic motion". The latter two motions have an eccentricity gadget which can be used to specify the how "stretched" out the Unison curve or Spasm curve motion is to be. These must be seen with an example to show how the motions work. .nofill .header /Version 1.50/Phantasmos User's Manual/Misc/ .pg Misc ------ .fill A grid is a drawing option which allows you to draw lines at specific points and angles. This can usually ease your drawing. The font of the alphabet and the shapes listed in this menu were all drawn with a specific grid option on. Although, I flaunt to say that the alphabet could have been drawn much better. Here are some presetings of various grids. .center on OFF Extremely Fine Very Fine Fine Coarse Very Coarse .center off DEFINE - Drag out your own grid. SHAPES - A list of predefined shapes which can be placed in your current frame. Anytime you get a shape it becomes your (L)ast selection, which it can be manipulated by selecting an option under the points menu. .nofill .header /Version 1.50/Phantasmos User's Manual/Draw/ .pg Draw ------- .fill ERASE LAST POINT DRAWN - This erases the last line that you have drawn on the screen. START DRAWING AT NEW POINT - Allows you to start to draw at a new point that doesn't have a line connecting it to the previous point. BRAKE CONNECTED LINES - This brakes or snaps any lines enclosed in the rectangle that you drag out. CONNECT LINES - This reconnects broken lines or dots. CHANGE COLOR OF LINES - Changes color of lines/dots/polygons. In order to change the color of a polygon you must at least change the color of the starting point of the polygon. (Or you can make the polygon your (L)ast selection by selecting the menu option "polygon as last selection" and then select this menu option and press the "L" key.) CHANGE THICKNESS OF LINES - Changes the line-thickness of lines you select to the current line-thickness REDRAW FRAME - Redraws the entire frame. SCREEN AS LAST SELECTION - Makes the entire screen (including any dots/lines/polygons that are off the screen) as your last selection. Once it is your last selection, you can use the options under the Points menu to alter the entire screen or change the the color of the entire screen by simply selecting "Change Color of Lines" and press the "L" key. POLYGON AS LAST SELECTION - This makes any polygon (defined below) as your last selection, which then can be manipulated by the options in the Points menu. This is nice to select a polygon that could be buried by other bigger polygons in front of it. When you select this, simply drag out a rectangle to *completely* engulf the polygon you think may be under a mess of points/dots or other polygons. Phantasmos will ask you (by blinking the polygon) what polygon you want as your last selection. Press "Y"es at the one you want. Once that is done, it is now your (L)ast Selection. It can be moved out, enlarged or anything under the Points menu, and pressing the "L" key when asked for the option of using your (L)ast Selection. CREATE POLYGON WITH POINTS - This option allows you create a filled object by draging out a rectangle to engulf the connected lines which define the shape of the polygon. One of the best ways to create polygons is to *always* start at a newpoint (select "Start Drawing at New Point") and position to draw at a relative empty area of the screen (if there isn't any simply pan the frame in in a direction which will make an empty space, once your done pan the frame back on the screen and move the polygon anywhere you like). Now select this menu option and create your polygon. CREATE OUTLINED POLYGON - This menu option behaves like the one above it, but instead creates a polygon with a black outline. Sort of makes the polygon more "solid" and "separated" from any other polygon, also gives a cartoon affect. WIPE OUT POLYGONS - This option will erase any polygon. Simply drag out a rectangle to *completely* engulf the polygon(s). The program will ask you what polygon(s) you want erased. Notice, it doesn't actually erase it, but leaves behind it's skeleton. If you want to completely erase it, you'll have to make the polygon as your last selection then select "Erase" under the Points menu. CONVERT BITMAP PICTURE - This menu option will allow you to import part or all of an IFF-picture file into Phantasmos for morphing/tweening. You can either include or exclude the background color 0 (the empty part of the screen). It makes most sense not to include it (when you morph one image into another, you don't want part of the first image brake off and morph into empty screen, which is the background color 0.) , but for technical reasons, trying not to include the background takes up 10% more storage. If there aren't enough points in the frame to import part or all the picture, Phantasmos will start to average pixels of the picture, degrading the picture quality. One way to overcome this is to either import a smaller piece of the picture, or select the option to include the background color 0. Another way is to exit Phantasmos and run it at the shell/CLI with a starting points per frame. Phantasmos normally defaults to 91 frames with 5,500 points per frame. If you don't have enough points per frame to store the picture, you will have to start Phantasmos at a lower frame count, but with more points. So in the Shell or CLI, CD to the directory containing Phantasmos (ie, "CD df0:") then type "Phantasmos 15000 30". This will start phantasmos with a maximum of 30 frames with 15,000 points per frame. OUTLINE BITMAP PICTURE - For future use and registered users. This will automatically trace a picture for you, saving you time and memory. .nofill .header /Version 1.50/Phantasmos User's Manual/Screen/ .pg Screen -------- .fill Most of the menu options under Screen are self-explanatory. Just remember, that the all screen options affect the entire screen/frame even points that are off the screen. Whenever you're selecting to enlarge, shrink or stretch the screen, you'll notice something like this appearing in window title, "Select scalar ( 4 Press 1=max to 9=min )". The default is always 4, but by pressing the keys 1 to 9 where 1 would cause the maximum (the biggest change) enlarge, shrink or contract and 9 would cause the minimum (the least change) enlarge shrink or stretch. .header /Version 1.50/Phantasmos User's Manual/Points/ .pg .nofill Points -------- .fill Again, most of the menu options under Points are self-explanatory, except for the new dynamic button. When this button is selected, the lines you have selected will be moved in realtime (or near realtime depending on your Amiga's speed and how many points you selected). The dynamic movement can be used to position your points on the screen exactly where you want them to be at. Even if you selected a piece of an object on a screen, it will still move dynamically with the lines still attached to it!!! An example would be if you where to hand-write your name on the screen. Now, select Move points with the dynamic button and only move one letter in your name around (or even a piece of a letter or pieces of other letters!!). Notice how the piece(s) is still connected as you move it around!! Neat! Huh? If you accidentally selected an option under this menu, simply press the Escape key (the key labeled Esc at the top-left hand-corner of the keyboard) to cancel. Most of the menu options under the points menu (and the draw menu) have the (L)ast Selection Option. This might need some explanation on how to really use this: .header /Version 1.50/Phantasmos User's Manual/Last Selection/ .pg .nofill The mighty, powerful (L)ast Selection Option -------------------------------------------- .fill Anytime you move, copy, shrink, rotate any set of points, they become your Last Selection. That means, you can now select any option under the points menu (and under the Draw menu) and by simply pressing the "L" key or selecting the "Last Selection" button when it appears on screen, Phantasmos will know exactly what points you want moved or rotated or perform any other option. This is time saving and comes in handy when you move some points into a section containing a whole mess of points and polygons. Clearly, you can not re-select these points because that have become mix in with the other points and you want to perform another operation on them. Say, perhaps shearing the points, just select shear under the Points menu, you will be given the option of either selecting a bunch of new points by dragging out a rectangle or simply by pressing the "L" key and the previous points that you selected will be the only points sheared. Another example, suppose you rotated some points. You may have accidentally rotated the points off the screen and out of reach, no problem, simply select Move under the Points menu and tap the "L" key, now move the rotated points back on the screen, nice and neat. .header /Version 1.50/Phantasmos User's Manual/Future Changes/ .pg .nofill F U T U R E C H A N G E S . . . .fill Phantasmos is still not done, here are a few changes I might be adding: 1. The capability to import (and naturally morph/tween words of any combination of font style/size/color/filled-unfilled/thick-to-thin-line without any disintergration/smearing/spluttering effects found in in all the other commercial morphing programs) Commodore outline fonts instead of using my hand-drawn fonts. 2. To directly save ANIM files instead of outputting a series of IFF pictures then using MAKEANIM. 3. Built in outlining capability. 4. Dynamic reducing/enlarging/stretching/contracting. 5. A Tools-window like Deluxe-Paint IV 6. 256-color support. Actually this is already built in, it's just a matter of waiting for Commodore to release those chips, and then it's changing a variable and adding a 256-color gadget. This should also work with HAME, but I don't have that product.