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PCUBE1.EXE
Copyright 1993, Joel Duerksen, All Rights Reserved.
Joel Duerksen
11030 Hunters Blvd.
Indianapolis, Indiana. 46236, USA
Internet: duerksen@lilly.com
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Requirements: 386 or better
VGA or better
Limitations: 64k per picture (actual pixels, does not
include palette or other data)
A 300x100x256 picture takes 30000 bytes
Probably won't run under WinDoze,
OS Ptuey, etc. I didn't use an
alias for my Code segment? ;-)
Shareware fee: $20 for personal use
(for business or other use please contact me...)
What is pcube1.exe?
It is a program to display YOUR pictures on a rotating "picture" cube.
Seven pictures may be specified. PCUBE1 can currently read 768
palette files (RGB, RGB... format) ie. palette files generated by
256PAINT, or the "pal" file that comes with ACK3DKIT.
It can also read .VGA files (256paint's format), .IMG files
(ACK3D's format), and 256 color PCX files (ZSoft PCX format).
It also recognizes, "nul" and "Time" as special filenames.
Options are processed in the order specified on the command line.
Here are some examples
pcube1 nul my.pal Time -p
Blank background with Time and Date on every side of the cube,
using perspective, and using my.pal palette file for colors.
pcube1 pal jfish.img m1.img side.img tree.img eye.img w1.img tv.img
Display the listed .img files, using the "pal" palette file.
NOTE: The palette is aquired from a palette file (file with size
of 768) or, the first .PCX or .VGA which has a palette in it.
All following images (with a palette) are adjusted to display
using that palette. (3D RGB cube distance method)
The order the pictures are placed on the command line determines where
they will be placed.
Pict 1 pict 2 pict 3 pict 4 pict 5 pict 6 pict 7
background top front left right back bottom
Actually the program is now quite flexible, you can specify
options, palettes, and image files (.img, .vga or .pcx) in
any order. Remember though that the options are processed in
the order received, and all options are processed. If you
want to use a specific palette specify it before the pictures.
I have included three example batch files, one is a single
picture of a rose, (original palette always looks better).
I personally photographed and digitized ALL of the pictures,
I already know that my images leave something to be desired,
but I didn't want to worry about Joe Photo's laywer calling
me up about a picture I used on the cube, for demoing it.
Here is the complete option list, (run pcube1 with no options)
options: -p### do perspective ### on 3D coordinates
(-p0 turns perspective off)
-z##.# set cube size to ##.# (5.0-80.0)
-a# strict Affine texture mapping (1 on, 0 off)
-u# turn off background Update (1 on, 0 off)
-r Randomize the above flags
-s# Simple picture cube rotation (1 on, 0 off)
-x### x-axis rotation increment 0-255
-X### x-axis angle 0-255
-y### y-axis rotation increment 0-255
-Y### y-axis angle 0-255
-i Information on exit
real-time options are most of the above (letter commands) and:
+ increase size
- decrease size
[ decrease perspective
] increase perspective
f freeze rotation
History
-------
The picture cube started out as a small program for me to demo
my work on texture mapping for myself, to insure that it
would work on all angles and sizes for 3D shapes. Then I thought
maybe other people would be interested in having a picture cube
on their computer displaying their favorite pictures.
It is based on the most basic iterative technique from George
Wolberg's book "Digital Image Warping". Therefore it does not
handle perspective correctly. I get the exact same warping as
UW I. It runs in mode 0x13, not mode X. My last program ran
in tweaked modes, and my next one probably will too, but not
this one. The program does use a (slightly) faster routine with
source texture maps that are less than 128x128, but it is
negligible. (not the speed up I thought I would get)
Tools that may be helpful
-------------------------
- VPIC, will create .PCX images it can read. (Zsoft PCX option)
- 256paint, will read .pcx images (320x200 or less) and write
palette files and .VGA images
- DTA (get version 2.0 if you can), will read *.gif,
create an optimal palette, resize all the images to less
than 64k (250x250 is my favorite), and then store them
all out as .PCX files. On my computer, it takes a couple
of hours to process 6-7 pictures, it must use molasses
math. (FP)
- pcx2img.c, not really needed anymore, (since it can read .PCX
files now)
Improvements that could be made
-------------------------------
- Fix pixel level errors incurred, because I used pixel centers in
source image scanline start and end pixels.
- Add proper perspective.
- If you buy me a 486DX66 local bus system,
I'll write a SVGA version :)
- write planar version?
Lots of options try them out. Try your own pictures on the
picture cube! Let me know what you think of it.
Joel
duerksen@lilly.com
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Legal stuff:
Disclaimer: In no event will I be responsible for any thing that
may happen as a direct or indirect result of your use of this
software, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I have done everything that
is reasonable with in my powers to assure that this software is
bug free.
Copyright 1993, Joel Duerksen, All Rights Reserved.
U.S. Goverment Restricted Rights
Use, duplication or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions
set forth in subparagraph (a) through (d) of the Commercial Computer-
Restricted Rights clause at FAR 52.227-19 when applicable, or subparagraph
(c) (1) (ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at
DFARS 252.227-7013, and in similar clauses in the NASA FAR supplement.
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