Software Vault: The Diamond Collection

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Text File | 1995-02-07 | 21KB | 413 lines

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 4Space 1.1 ║ ║ ║ ║ Copyright (C) 1995 Lonny A. Eachus ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ 4SPACE is a different kind of screen saver. It gives the impression of a moving and shifting "window" on a surrealistic world of textured lines and curves. It can be a lot of fun to watch. The lines and shapes that it moves around the screen are nothing new. The "uniqueness" comes from the fascinating, eye-pleasing curves or interacting Moiré patterns it makes in the process. It has many combinations of options to modify its operation, so if you get bored with one setting, try another. The options cover a wide range from relaxing and interesting to very obnoxious, so you can set it however your mood suits you. I think M. C. Escher would have liked this. 4SPACE 1.1 requires at least a 286 with VGA monitor. If you don't have at least a 286 with VGA or Super VGA video adapter, don't try to run it. This shareware version does not check your hardware for suitability before attempting to run. A math coprocessor speeds it up, especially on older machines, but it is not required. The most important performance factor is the speed of your video adapter. ╔══════════════════╗ ║ COPYRIGHT NOTICE ║ ╚══════════════════╝ 4SPACE 1.1 is Copyright (C) 1995 Lonny A. Eachus. The author reserves all rights under US law and international treaty regarding 4SPACE and its associated files. The program 4SPACE 1.1 is distributed as shareware. Shareware is not free software. You may evaluate the product for a period of 30 days. If you continue to use it after that time you are expected to pay for it. Registration information is provided below, and in the file REGISTER.FRM, included with the program. 4SPACE 1.1 may be freely copied and distributed for evaluation, provided: the program and associated files must be distributed together as a unit; no additions, modifications, or deletions may be made to the original material; and no fees of any kind, including cost reimbursement, may be charged for distribution without written permission from the author. ╔════════════╗ ║ DISCLAIMER ║ ╚════════════╝ 4SPACE has been tested, but that doesn't mean it will work on your machine. The author assumes no responsibility for damages OF ANY KIND associated with the use of this software. USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. I have to say this, but I mean it. If your big red power switch fries (I have seen it) and your house burns down, it ain't my fault. If your kid swallows the disk and needs surgery, don't blame me. If your Pentium miscalculates your tax (likely?) and you go to jail: I wasn't there. The visual effects may be different, but this software uses standard commercial stuff. If your monitor decides to go to Hell while 4SPACE is running, it isn't the fault of 4SPACE. And I can prove it. Does that seem defensive? You bet. ╔════════════════╗ ║ INDLUDED FILES ║ ╚════════════════╝ 4SPACE 1.1 is distributed electronically in compressed form, in a file called 4SPACE11.xxx, where xxx is the extension given to it by compression software. This extension will usually be .ZIP or .ARJ, but others are possible, including .ZOO, .ARC, .PAK, etc. After uncompressing, you should have the following files. You should find ONLY these files - the advertising files that some BBSs insert are NOT appreciated and violate the distribution restrictions given above. If you find those in the compressed file you download, I would like to know about it. Please contact me at the address given below. FILE SIZE (bytes) PURPOSE ---- ------------ ------- README.1ST 1996 Getting started instructions. 4DEMO.BAT 3851 Demonstration batch file. 4SPACE.TXT 21474 This file. 4SPACE.EXE 47072 The executable program. FILE_ID.DIZ 494 A description file for Bulletin Boards. DESC.SDI 494 Another description file. REGISTER.FRM 1436 A printable registration form. If you have reason to suspect that the program or any other files have been modified, please contact the author at the address given below. ╔═══════════════════╗ ║ INSTALLING 4SPACE ║ ╚═══════════════════╝ No special installation is required to use 4SPACE. Just create a DOS directory, copy the compressed file into it, and uncompress. 4SPACE 1.1 is distributed as a compressed file called 4SPACE11.xxx, where xxx is the extension of the compressed file format (most commonly .ZIP and .ARJ). See the instructions for the compression software if you don't know how to uncompress. If you don't know how to create a directory or copy the files, see your DOS manual. 4SPACE will run under Windows as a full-screen DOS program (NOT as a Windows Screen Saver). To install under Windows, uncompress 4SPACE into a directory. Then open the Windows program group you want 4SPACE to be in, and make sure it is the currently selected group. Choose File | New from the Program Manager menu. Click OK on New Program Item. Click anywhere in the Command Line box, then Click Browse. Move to the directory where 4SPACE is located. Select the file 4SPACE.EXE. Click OK. If desired, you can change the assigned Windows Icon at this point. Click OK. The end. It's a lot of steps, but that's Windows. Go figure. ╔════════════════╗ ║ RUNNING 4SPACE ║ ╚════════════════╝ *** IMPORTANT *** when evaluating 4SPACE, give it a little time at each setting to see what develops. Often the most interesting part is the pattern that emerges, rather than the moving shapes on the screen. To start the program in one of its simplest modes, just type 4SPACE. But please read further first. The program begins with an info screen, which is reproduced below between the dashed lines. The shareware version will pause for about 8 seconds at this point. The registered version starts immediately with no pause. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 4Space 1.1 ║ ║ ║ ║ Copyright (C) 1995 Lonny A. Eachus ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ UNREGISTERED EVALUATION COPY To order a registered copy, Lonny A. Eachus send your name and address Consultech Computing along with a check or money 1108 N. 22nd order for $7.00 US to: Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Syntax: 4SPACE [SWITCHES] Switches are not case sensitive. Valid switches are: /Dxx (D)elay factor for faster machines. Valid range: 0-9999999. Default 0. /Lxx (L)ines for generating screen patterns. Valid range: 3-32. Default 4. /Cxx (C)olor xx for single color (try it). Valid range: 1-15. Default 7. /M (M)ulticolor. Each line is a different color. /M will override /C. /V (V)ary colors. Color shifts every bounce. Really wild with /M and /N. /Nxx (N)oise frequency xx enabled. Valid range: 100-7000. /N alone = Random. /? Displays this screen, then exits. Main program will not execute. SPACEBAR while running freezes the screen. Press again to continue running. Pausing to remind you to register... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most of the information you need is here. You can call up this screen by typing 4SPACE /? or 4SPACE /H. "H" is for Help. 4SPACE is controlled by command line switches. This makes running it from batch files convenient: put your favorite settings in a batch file to run 4SPACE the same way next time. If you are unfamiliar with command line switches or batch files, see your DOS manual. Look over the list of command line switches. A few notes about them: 1) All switches must be separated by at least one space. 4SPACE /M /N is OK, but 4SPACE/M/N is not. 2) The order of the switches doesn't matter: /N /V = /V /N 3) The switches are not case-sensitive: /D = /d 4) All switches are independent except /C. Using the switches /M or /V will override the /C setting. This will be explained further below. 5) 4SPACE likes to run; it doesn't want to quit and spit out error messages. So if a switch setting is incorrect or out of range, it usually won't choke and spit out "ERROR #73" or something. Instead, it will ignore the error and use a default setting. This helps avoid false starts, but can cause confusion if you are not aware of it. So if it doesn't run the way you expect, check your switch values. When an error does occur (entering ridiculously large switch values), an attempt has been made to make the messages clear and meaningful. Let's look at the switches and see what they do. /D is first. "D" stands for Delay Factor. It is very important because it controls how fast the program runs. If you have a newer computer and you don't set this value, 4SPACE will likely run around the screen so fast you won't see what's going on. That's no fun at all. So you will probably have to set some value here. A good one to try first is 1000. Enter it like this: 4SPACE /D1000 The default Delay is 0. See the README.1ST file for instructions on how to get started with the /D switch. 4SPACE actually looks better if it runs rather slowly. The valid range of numbers for Delay are 0 to 9999999. That should cover any newer, faster PC that is likely to appear in the next few years. *** IMPORTANT *** If you accidently enter a huge Delay, the screen will appear frozen (or you may think your machine has locked up). If this happens, hitting the ESC key will exit so you can try again. Free advice: whenever your computer appears frozen, whether running 4SPACE or some other program, you should ALWAYS attempt hitting ESC, CTRL-BREAK, and CTRL-C before you throw in the towel and reboot your computer. Other good keys to try are Q for Quit and X for eXit. If none of those work (I am going to make some ememies here) it is often the fault of the programmer. Not always, but often. Quitting 4SPACE is simplicity itself: hit any key except the SPACEBAR. You cannot quit, of course, during the few seconds that the startup registration reminder is showing. :-) The /L switch controls the number of "lines" the program uses to generate its patterns. For example: the minimum, /L3, sets it to three lines, forming a moving triangle on the screen. The default setting, /L4, forms a shifting quadrangle (NOT always rectangle - watch it and see what I mean). The valid range is 3 to 32. Needless to say, 32 lines on the screen can make it look a bit busy. /C is used to set a color if you want to have 4SPACE use one, constant color. Call it Constant Color. It sounds boring, but it is my favorite mode. The patterns it generates can be seen most clearly if only one color is used. 4SPACE uses the 16 "standard" VGA colors, so the valid range for this switch is 1 to 15 (color 0 is the black background). Try different values to find a color you like. Default is 7 (light gray), often called "white" in the PC world. Also good is 15 (white), which is called, also incongruously, "bright white". What the hell: try 'em all. /M is Multicolor. If you specify /M, each "line" is assigned a random color value when the program starts. Two things about that: often two or more lines will be of the same color (guaranteed if you have more than 15 lines); and it will override the /C switch - you can't have single color and multicolor at the same time! Default is Multicolor OFF. /V enables Variable colors. When you use /V, a color will shift when the line "bounces". In Multicolor mode, the result of /V is that colors change individually. If /M is not used, the single screen color changes. So this switch, too, overrides /C. The default is Variable Color OFF. The final switch, /N, enables Noise (sound). The sounds are simple, quiet beeps. The value of xx specifies the approximate frequency of the sound, so for example 4SPACE /N1000 will cause the program to emit a beep of about 1000 Hz. The valid range for /N is 100 to 7000. Using /N with no value (/N by itself) or a value less than 100 will cause the frequencies to be random. Default is Noise OFF. While 4SPACE is running along and doing its thing, you can temporarily freeze it by hitting the SPACEBAR. So if you see a pattern you enjoy, press the spacebar to stop it on-screen. Press another key and 4SPACE will resume normal operation. As mentioned before, hitting any other key will exit 4SPACE. There is yet another registration reminder in the shareware version, so you will actually have to hit a key twice to exit the program. The final reminder does not lock you out as the beginning one does, so just press a key to exit at any time. ╔═════════════════════════╗ ║ PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER ║ ╚═════════════════════════╝ For examples of how to combine 4SPACE switches for particular effects, examine the lines that say 4SPACE in the included batch file 4DEMO.BAT. To avoid confusion, remember that 4DEMO.BAT uses the characters "/D%1" in place of the normal /D value. The other switches appear just as they would be entered at the DOS prompt or in another batch file. For more information about 4DEMO.BAT, see the included README.1ST file. Here are some more examples: 4SPACE /L3 These are the minimal settings. /L3 sets the number of lines to the fewest possible (the default is 4). All other settings are default: default constant color (light gray); Multicolor OFF; Varying colors OFF; Noise (sound) OFF. Note that /D is not specified in these examples. It is impossible for me to predict what your /D setting might be. You will probably have to include /Dxxxx on all your command lines. 4SPACE /L5 /M Lines 5, Multicolor ON. Each line is a separate color (although repeats are common). Colors will remain constant as the program runs. 4SPACE /L10 /C12 Lines 10, all lines of one constant color (12 = bright red). 4SPACE /L10 /C12 /V Lines 10, color 12, Variable colors ON. The /C color is irrelevant, as it will change randomly as soon as it Varies. Only one color is visible at any time, however. Since /C here is overridden, this is equivalent to 4SPACE /L10 /V. 4SPACE /L5 /M /N100 5 lines of random but constant colors. Each "bounce" will produce a brief, soft 100 Hz. tone. 4SPACE /L5 /M /V 5 lines, of (usually) separate colors. One of the colors will shift randomly on each bounce. 4SPACE /L10 /M /V /N 10 lines of different shifting colors with a random tone on each bounce. We're starting to get wild here. Because of the limitations of the PC speaker, some frequencies will sound louder than others. If you use just one tone (/Nxxxx), adjust the frequency to one you like. 4SPACE /L32 /M /V /N Max! 32 lines of multiple shifting colors with random tones. Either you will love this or it will drive you nuts in a hurry. I personally prefer the more minimal settings. They can be very relaxing to watch. This setting, in my opinion, is a busy-looking, noisy disturbance. But what the hey, I set it up so that YOU can choose. With 32 lines on-screen, naturally it takes a bit more computing power to drive the thing along. You will probably want a different Delay with all this going on at once. These switches and a Delay of 0 still runs just a bit slow on a 386/20 with a math coprocessor and older VGA card. Try 'em all and have fun! - Lonny A. Eachus ╔══════════════╗ ║ REGISTRATION ║ ╚══════════════╝ As with the nag screens in the program, I have to take this opportunity to remind you to register 4SPACE. Think about it: I spent a good bit of time on this and the US $7.00 registration fee is not a whole lot over the cost of buying, copying, and mailing the disk. We're not exactly talking Get Rich Quick here. Shareware authors also need to know that their time is not being wasted. Their only feedback is registrations. Registration brings you a disk with the latest version of 4SPACE. The registered version has delayed reminder screens. It also includes any new features developed since the time of this writing. While I can't predict the future, by the time you register 4SPACE, these are features that you may expect: Better sound. PC beeps are at the low end if the aesthetic spectrum. Since the whole idea is a mellow thing to watch (you aren't really running it manically around the screen, are you?) I will try to add some pleasing sounds. Understand that Bach is beyond my capability and Black Sabbath won't be considered. At least for this program. 256 colors instead of 16. This is already in progress: I just haven't had the time yet to pick and choose 256 colors from among the 256k that are available. (If you have ever gone shopping with a spouse for wallpaper, you know what I mean.) Most of those 256k are ugly, and of the rest, I don't want too many Reds or too many Blues. That would skew the Random features. Right now, 4SPACE is really just mimicking the standard 16 VGA colors through its own internal color palette anyway, so adding more will be a piece of cake once I find the right ones. No fear: it will remain compatible with standard VGA. 640 x 480 resolution with 256 colors IS possible in standard VGA. Most programmers just don't bother. A real Windows Screen Saver version of the program. A current problem with this is the sluggish graphics speed of Windows. I am looking for workarounds. The Windows version will first be included with the DOS program for evaluation. Later Windows versions will probably be separate. I would like to encourage you to contact me if you have ideas for features to include in 4SPACE. Write to the address given below, and include your name and address. Also please include the name and address (Internet path or BBS phone number) where you found it. Marketing contacts are important, after all. If you are the first to submit an idea that is used in a future version, you will receive a free registered copy of it. To register, print the file REGISTER.FRM included with these files, and fill it out. It is a plain ASCII file. To print it on most systems, type COPY REGISTER.FRM PRN at the DOS prompt. If for some reason you don't have the file, or can't print it, send your name and address, along with a check or money order for $7.00 US, payable to Lonny Eachus, to the following address. Lonny A. Eachus Consultech Computing 1108 N. 22nd Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814 Thank you for trying 4SPACE. It's work, but fun work.