Night Owl 9/Night Owl CD-ROM (NOPV9) (Night Owl Publisher) (1993).ISO/027a/improc42.zip/NEWSTUFF.DOC

Text File | 1993-03-15 | 27KB | 533 lines

                     NEWSTUFF.DOC for IMPROCES(c).
          Copyright John Wagner 1991-93. All rights reserved.
========================================================================

This section covers all additions to the program for version 4.2.

( 1) Price hike:
As of 15 Mar, 1993, the price for a registered version of Improces
shipped to the U.S. or Canada will be $30. Orders outside of North
America (U.S and Canada) are $35.

( 2) NEW UPGRADE POLICY FOR REGISTERED USERS:
As always, upgrades are free for registered users.  The keyfile you
receive when you register will work with all future versions of
IMPROCES. All future versions of IMPROCES will be available via BBS and
disk vendors.

How you obtain the upgrades is up to you.  I suggest the following
methods:

        1. Obtain them from the Dust Devil BBS.  The latest version of
           IMPROCES is always available on the Dust Devil.
           Dust Devil BBS: [phone] - 8n1

        2. Obtain from The Matrix BBS (This board is a monster)
                The numbers for the MATRIX are:

                205-323-2016 for 2400 bps access only
                205-323-6016 for HST/V.32bis access only (no 2400)
                205-458-3449 for V.32bis access only (no 2400)

        3. Send me $10 whenever you want an upgrade.  Important, be sure
           to include the version number that you are using.  If the
           version you are using is the latest, I will send the next
           version as soon as it's available.  If it isn't the latest,
           I'll send the update right away. Remember, the only way I'll
           know what version you have is if you tell me! NOTE: This
           price is effective 15 March 1993.

( 3)Seeking Shareware Vendors:
I would like to get IMPROCES into the hands of as many graphics oriented
people as possible. If you are interested in distributing IMPROCES in a
catalog of shareware, or on a retail rack, or would like to distribute
registered versions of IMPROCES, please read VENDORS.DOC to find out how
you can be part of the Improces Distribution Network.

( 4)80286:
IMPROCES now requires an 80286 processor or better to run.  Do not
attempt to run the program on anything less.

( 5)Keystroke commands while using paintbrushes:
While you are using a paintbrush, the following keystrokes will
perform the following actions:

        1 = Reduce the current drawing color
        2 = Raise the current drawing color
        Q, W, E, R, A, S, D, F, Z, X, C, V = switch to a different brush
        SPACEBAR = Toggle AIR mode

NOTE: The brush commands work with ClipPaint as well.

( 6)Histo save in .MAP file format:
The format of the file when you save a Histogram has been changed to be
compatible with the .MAP file format.  Since the BIN information is
tacked on the end of the file, a .MAP extension is not provided by
default.  Edit the file with an ASCII text editor and remove the BIN
info to make the file a true .MAP file.

( 7)File I/O speed increased:
All file access has been sped up.  In particular, the scrolling code
from the Virtual Screen has been greatly optimised.

( 8)TGA Color Reduction:
TGA color reduction is faster then any previous version.

( 9)Colors Connected:
A new option has been added to the 3D function on Enhance-Effects.
Colors Connected blends neighboring points together as they are plotted.
The effect is similar to the colors interpolated 3D method in Fractint.

(10)Fat-Bit:
Holding down the LMB in the Fat-Bit editor will now do a continous draw.

(11)Delete File:
Under the Open... submenu, there is now a "Del Current" selection. This
option will delete the current file for the active page. You will be
prompted whether you are sure you want to delete the file, if you answer
yes, it will be gone for good (unless you can undelete it with a tool or
something). This option is great for scanning large directories of
images during what I like to call "house cleaning time".

-- Extra Notes --
( 1)
April, 1993 - I'm moving to the Burlington, Vermont area. The address to
register Improces is not going to change from San Diego however, either
is my dedicated support for the program. If you need to talk to me
voice, leave a message for me on the Dust Devil BBS, or The Matrix BBS,
and I'll call you ASAP. When I get settled, I'll make my new phone
number known. You can also call directory assistance in Burlington and
ask for my number after April 10'th.

( 2)
In order to ease the burden of registering Improces, you can register
Improces by credit card over the phone for the same low price as mailing
in an order. To do so, call Software Excitement, toll-free [phone]
and register with a credit card. Make sure you tell them you want the
registered version of the program.

( 3)
The Sysops of The Matrix BBS have been kind enough to extend the use of
their fine BBS to me as a distribution site and a product support site.
The latest version of IMPROCES is a free download, and should be found
under the name IMPROCnn.xxx, where nn is the version number and xxx is
the extension provided by the archiver.

                The numbers for the MATRIX are:

                205-323-2016 for 2400 bps access only
                205-323-6016 for HST/V.32bis access only (no 2400)
                205-458-3449 for V.32bis access only (no 2400)

========================================================================

This section covers all additions to the program for version 4.1.

( 1) BEFORE WE BEGIN:
First, a few words about a new book: "Image Lab" by Tim Wegner,
published by the Waite Group Press, ISBN 1-878739-11-5: in my opinion,
"Image Lab" is the largest collection of hands-on graphics knowledge and
know-how ever sewn up into the binding of a single book.  The book
includes a high density diskette with 3 shareware and 2 freeware
programs for creating and editing incredible images.  Tim covers viewing
(CSHOW), ray tracing (POV), image processing (Piclab), painting and
modifying (IMPROCES) and file conversion (Image Alchemy).

"Image Lab" takes you step-by-step through all of the programs, with
tutorials and examples to guide you.  The last chapter guides you
through creating some very complex, incredible images.  You just won't
find the information that "Image Lab" offers anywhere else.

Be prepared to spend weeks working through this book, it's that good and
you don't want to miss a single thing it has to offer.  Thanks to Tim
Wegner (and Waite Group Press), we graphics nuts now have a "textbook"
of our own.

( 2) SUPPORT FOR IMPROCES:
I've been moving around quite a bit lately.  Hopefully this will stop
soon!  The San Diego address for registrations is still good, and will
remain so.  My phone number however has not been so lucky.  As of this
release (4.1), I'm living in Las Vegas and my number is [phone].
If I move again, this number will change.  If/when you call, please make
sure it is after 12pm and before 10pm Pacific Time.

If you want to contact me with a question about the program, I prefer
that you do it by telephone or through the Dust Devil BBS [phone].
If you write me a letter and it isn't a registration, don't expect an
immediate response. I'm very sorry to have to say this and it's nothing
personal. I support unregistered users as well as registered and I pride
myself on this support.  It's just that I'm getting buried in letters
and I don't have the time to answer them within any kind of reasonable
time frame, so the telephone or BBS is your best bet if you want a
reply.  I'm one guy deep here and the telephone is fast.

Let's put it this way, I would rather you called on the phone and got an
answer, than didn't call and had to stop using the program because of
something that could be easily fixed with a phone call.  Again, I pride
myself on supporting IMPROCES.

( 3) REMINDER FOR MAIL-IN CREDIT CARD ORDERS:
Please be sure to include the expiration date of your card on your order
form and be sure to sign the form. Thanks!

( 4) BUG FIXES:
The PCX 16 Save had a bug that would cause a problem with some other
programs when they tried to use the file. Fixed.

Problem loading interlaced GIF files that needed to be scaled. Fixed.

( 5) NEW FEATURE: Tweaked VGA video modes:
Added the tweaked 320x240x256 (mode x), 320x400x256 and 320x480x256
modes to IMPROCES.  These modes should work with any VGA card with 256K
of memory.  Tweaked modes are neat because they can squeeze extra
resolution out of a standard 256K VGA adapter.

The TWK256.BGI driver provides these modes.  Do not substitute the
TWK256.BGI with the one that is currently available in other packages.
The TWK256.BGI driver was modified to work with IMPROCES.  If your
system has trouble with the tweaked modes, do not attempt to continue
using them.

( 6) NEW FEATURE: UNDO in 320x200 TOOL-PAINT menu:
While in video mode 320x200, if you hit the BACKSPACE key while using
the TOOL-PAINT icon menu, you will undo the last change to the image
that was made with a tool from the PAINT menu, during the current PAINT
menu session.  What I mean by that is, once you leave the PAINT menu you
cannot come back and undo the last change.

This only works in video mode 320x200.  If you require an UNDO in the
other modes, use the "UNDO BEFORE PAINT" option in the FILE-SET PREF
menu.

( 7) NEW FEATURE: Sprite Anitmator!!!:
IMPROCES is being used extensively by game developers (including
myself!) for developing sprites.  For them I have added the
TOOL-SPRITES... options for testing animated sprites while they are
still under development.  Under Sprites...:

        Draw Grid:
        Draws twelve 64x64 pixel boxes over whatever is on the screen.
        You place the sprite in its various positions in these boxes. I
        suggest you draw the grid before you start adding sprites.

        Animate:
        Rapidly cycles between the twelve 64x64 boxes.  While the sprite
        is being animated, you can click on any of the boxes to control
        whether or not to display it.  You can also reverse the sprites,
        and control the speed of the sprite.

        Pages...
        Same as Pages... under the FILE menu.  Put here to give faster
        access while using the Sprites. This Pages sub-menu also has the
        Clip... sub-menu under it.

To use this new feature most effectively, I suggest drawing your grid on
Page 1.  Use Pages 2 - 5 to store your sprite images.  Transfer the
sprites to page 1 with the clipboard and use the CPY in the TOOL-PAINT
menu to position them.  Consider the Sprites options open to change in
later versions, this is a really neat feature and I'll probably be
adding a lot more to it.

( 8) NEW FEATURE: ROTATE tool is improved:
You can now rotate a rectangualr area up to 64K in size (320x200 max),
around any center point at any angle.

To use the new TOOLS-TWIRLS-ROTATE tool, you first define a rectangular
area to rotate.  You then have the option of using overlay mode (color 0
transparent).

After selecting overlay mode or not overlay mode, the rectangle will
start to flash, indicating that you are in position mode.  Move the
rectangle to where you want it be located and hit the LMB, or RMB to
abort.

Four flashing lines, starting from the four corners of the rectangle
will appear on the screen.  The lines will converge on the point that
the rectangle will rotate around.  At this time, you can re-position
this point to anywhere on the screen.  Hit the LMB when the center point
is where you want it, or hit the RMB to have IMPROCES place the center
point exactly in the center of the rectangle.

Now you can rotate the rectangle around the center point until it is
positioned where you want it and press the LMB, or the RMB to abort the
process.  After you hit the LMB, the image will be redrawn, rotated and
moved to it's new position.  This can take a little time if you have a
machine without a math-chip on board, so I suggest only rotating small
areas if you haven't got a math chip. A 486DX system cures this!

( 9) NEW FEATURE: Gradient Floodfill options allow for greater control:
In previous versions, you were somewhat limited in the way the gradient
floods worked.  Actually, you were very limited.  Things have changed...
you can now pick the width of the area you want the palette to cycle
through.  You also have a new type of gradient flood, called the
Dithered Flood.

The dithered flood lets you pick two colors to create a dither pattern
from.  When the flood is then used, the colors will cycle from one color
to the other, in a dithered pattern.  The limitation of this tool is
that the seed color (the color where the fill starts) cannot be the same
color as either of the two colors that are used in the fill.  IMPROCES
will prevent you from doing this.

The way that you pick the gradient color cycle area follows: Select the
point where the flood should begin from (seed point).  The cursor then
turns into a stretchable line.  Stretch the line so that it's distance
is equal to the area you want the colors to cycle between.  You can
press the RMB while resizing the line so that the start point of the
line may be repositioned.  When the line is the desired length, hit the
LMB to begin the fill.  NOTE: Even though you can reposition the start
point of the line by hitting the RMB once, the seed point remains the
same unless you hit the RMB another time (two times total) while
stretching the line.  Thanks to Steve Lumos for keeping after me to add
this.

(10) NEW FEATURE: Added WIDTH and SATURATION setting to AIR switch:
When the AIR mode is selected for the TOOL-PAINT menu, you can adjust
the settings for the AIR brushes.  OVERSPRAY controls how wide the spray
pattern will be and SATURATION controls how much color will be
splattered on the image.  I've found the best settings for these options
is 4 and 4. I've also found that I really like this new feature!

(11) NEW FEATURE: Added high-low setting to RAINBOW brush:
When the RAINBOW (RNB) mode is selected, you will be allowed to adjust
the colors that are cycled through when the brush is applied.

(12) NEW FEATURE: Easier to pick color from PAINT menu:
When you click on the current color box in the PAINT menu, a larger
color selection area will appear.  You can choose a color from the
selection area or the image.  Hit the RMB when you want to return to the
paint menu.

(13) NEW FEATURE: Clip Sub-menu now an option under Pages sub-menu:
Since the clipboard's main responsibility has shifted from pasting
between images stored in image files (GIF/PCX, etc...) to images stored
on Pages, I've added the Clip... sub-menu to the Pages sub-menu. This
really speeds things up.

(14) NEW FEATURE: FAT BIT gets better:
Color selection in the Fat Bit editor has been a little tricky.  Now, 16
colors at a time are displayed above the full 256 color palette in
large, easy to pick from boxes.  Using the RIGHT ARROW and LEFT ARROW
keys, you can cycle through which group of 16 colors you have to choose
from.

(15) NEW FEATURE: Dithering:
The FAT-BIT editor now adds a Dither Pattern option.  The dither pattern
you select in the FAT-BIT editor applies to the REG paintbrush as well
as the FAT-BIT editor.

The dither pattern can be up to a 4x4 grid.  When the grid is a 1x1 (the
default), the dithering is "OFF".  You can adjust the size of the grid
by clicking on the number next to the grid in the FAT-BIT editor.  To
use the dithering, first click on the "1" (grid size) in the FAT-BIT
editor to increase the size of the grid to at least a 2x2.  You then
create your grid by placing the colors you want to use in the grid.
Now, whenever you go to place a pixel in the FAT-BIT editor, the dither
pattern is used to determine which color pixel gets placed. The same
goes for when you use the paintbrushes and single pixel tool. The
brushes only use the dither pattern when in the REG brush mode.

(16) NEW FEATURE: Pick a color from any pull-down menu:
While the pull-down menu system is active, you can choose a color from
anywhere on the image or from the palette at the top of the menu. The
current color is also shown at the top of menu bar next to the current
palette.  (I knew I put the palette up there for a reason!).

(17) NEW FEATURE: Last font name is saved:
After you've used the bit-mapped fonts, the name of the last font you
used is saved in a file in the same directory as IMPROCES, which is
called LASTFONT.CFG.  When the program is started again, this file is
read and the font is automatically registered as the current font.

(18) NEW FEATURE: Targa loader, even faster:
Yes, it's true, Targa color reduction is now faster then before, even
faster then 4.0.

(19) NEW FEATURE: More Targa stuff:
You have a few more options when loading a Targa image now.  First, you
must choose how you want IMPROCES to get a palette for the image: Color
Reduction, Use a .MAP file, Use a QuickPal (pre-defined, general use)
palette or Use the current palette.  Then you need to tell IMPROCES how
to use the palette, Map the image, do a Slow dither or do a Fast dither.
The mapping is the fastest, the Slow dither yields the best results and
the Fast dither yields fair results sometimes.  When you use the
QuickPal, the Fast and Slow dither are about the same speed, but they do
give different results.

You'll need to experiment with the options to get a feel for what each
one can do.  What I think you'll find is that there is no one option
that is best for all images.  Ensure that the DITHER.DAT file is in the
same directory as IMPROCES when it is run, otherwise the Targa decoder
will refuse to run.

I would like to acknowledge and thank Mr. Lee Crocker for writing and
releasing the source code to Piclab.  Piclab is an excellent public
domain image processing program that is widely available on BBS's,
CompuServe and other online services.  I highly recommend it.

The dithering code that IMPROCES uses is based largely on the code that
Lee wrote for Piclab.  Lee aknowledges Frankie Sierra for his Sierra
filter.  Seeing as I'm using it now, I will do the same here.  Thanks to
both of you.

(20) NEW FEATURE: Work Area for EFFECTS:
The functions in the effects menu now confine themselves to the current
work area instead of using the whole screen.  The work area does not
affect the new 3-D effect (see below). Thanks to Bob Sherburne for this
idea.

(21) NEW FEATURE: Three Dimensional Effect:
Takes the current screen and maps it onto a plane.  Has three options:
MAP ON PLANE (flat, like paper), POINTS AS HEIGHTS (height of point
depends on its color index value), and LINES UP (points are drawn as
lines up from the ground to the height of their color index value).  If
you choose the POINTS AS HEIGHTS or LINES UP, you will then need to
choose a scaling percentage (fraction) for the heights of the
pixels/lines.  For a neat example of the 3D transform, run a full screen
Plasma cloud in video mode 320x200 using all of the colors in the
default palette and a Graininess setting of 2.0.  Select Three Dim and
use Lines Up and a scaling percentage of 1/8.  Very cool when color
cycled.  Then again, what isn't cool when color cycled?

(22) NEW FEATURE: Added "Swap" color to the palette editor:
The palette editor introduces what I call the "secondary color".  The
secondary color is selected with the RMB and is shown next to the
current "primary" color.  When you click on the area where the primary
and secondary color are displayed, those two colors swap their register
values.  Thanks to Chuck Streb for this idea.

In the future, the secondary color will be expanded to the shadow area
on the text tool and other areas as well.

(23) NEW FEATURE:  Added HISTO/CTRST... submenu to ENHANCE:
Shortened the ENHANCE menu considerably by consolidating the HISTOGRAM
and CONTRAST STRETCH options into a sub-menu under ENHANCE.

(24) NEW FEATURE: Added LINE FREQ to HISTO/CTRST menu:
Move the mouse up and down to display a graph of line that that mouse is
over.  Toggle between the graph and a moving line (so you can see what
line you are looking at) by hitting the LMB.  Hit the RMB when you are
done.  This tool is interesting because it shows the spatial frequency
of your image graphically and you can analyze the effects of the filters
more effectively.  It's also interesting becuase it lets you "listen" to
an image.

For an interesting experiment that demonstrates the use of this feature,
load a 320x200 (or less) grayscale image into video mode 640x400.  Make
a copy of the image just to the right of the original.  Now, sharpen the
copy by first defining the copy as the work area and then using
GraySharpen.  Go to the HISTO/CTRST section and select LINE FREQ.  Move
the mouse up and down to display the graph of each line.  Notice how the
graph of the original and the sharpened copy have the same shape, but
the sharpened image has a much higher rate of change over the same area.
This shows (and proves) how the sharpening filter actually works: it
passes and accentuates high-frequency parts of the image (edges, or
areas of with a high rate change in a short amount of space) and filters
out low-frequency parts of the image (areas with little change).

To hear the line that is currently displayed, first make sure you are in
"graph" mode and then press the LEFT SHIFT key.  And no, SoundBlaster
support is not planned for the future.

(25) NEW FEATURE: BLOCK is now a sub-menu:
The BLOCK section of the COLOR pull-down is now a sub-menu.  Contained
in the BLOCK... submenu are: Adjuster (same as original BLOCK), Remove
Red, Remove Green, Remove Blue and FastMap.  The Remove xxx options
remove all of the designated color from the palette.  The FastMap is
described below.  Since all of these options apply themselves to the
entire image, they are grouped under the BLOCK sub-menu.

(26) NEW FEATURE: Added "FastMap":
Under the COLOR-BLOCK section is FastMap.  What this does is allow you
to quickly pick colors from your image and set them to the current
color. The last color you changed can be undone by pressing the
backspace key. After you are done picking the colors, click the RMB.
You will have the option of applying the changes to the image or
reverting back to the way things looked before you started.  If you
choose to apply the changes, the image will be re-mapped.  This feature
makes it a lot easier to cut out section of images and use the
remap/overlay mode of the clipboard. To do this, select color 0 as your
current color, then use the FastMap feature.  Thanks to Chuck Streb for
this idea.

(27) NEW FEATURE: Hitting the 'L' key in the palette editor:
Hitting the 'L' key while in the palette editor will now toggle the
index that is used to display the r,g,b palette registers.  The default
is a number between 0 and 63, while striking the 'L' key shows the
setting as a value between 0 and 1.

(28) NEW FEATURE: The Index Avrge:
Actually, the "new" Index Avrge option in the EFFECTS menu is the old
Average from pre 3.0 versions of IMPROCES.  It's a very neat feature
that just uses the look up value in the palette for doing a 3x3 average
of the specified work area.  Try it using the default IMPROCES palette
on some color 255 text over a color 0 background.  Run it a few times to
get the best effect.

(29) NEW FEATURE: New Default 256 color palette option:
The COLOR-PALETTE menu now has a STAND 256 option.  This palette is the
hardware default palette from the VGA 256 color modes.  The first 16
colors of this palette are identical to the 16 color EGA modes, so this
is quite a useful addition for developing 16 color sprites and
backgrounds for 16 color games.

(30) NEW FEATURE: Gamma Adjust:
Use this to adjust the Gamma of the current palette.

(31) NEW FEATURE: Changed the TOOLS-PAINT menu:
This menu has been modified to make future expansion of it possible.

(32) NEW FEATURE: Speed-Search with the filepicker:
When selecting a file with the filepicker, you can now enter in a search
string and IMPROCES will take you to the first file containing the
string you specify and move the hi-lite bar over the file.  Pressing
enter will use that file, or you can move around as before.

You can also specify a drive as the first two letters of your search
string and press [ENTER].  IMPROCES will change to that drive.  Example:
To change to drive A: while selecting a file, enter A: as your search
string and press [ENTER].

(33) NEW FEATURE: Added -CT command line parameter:
Toggles the checking of the Shift, Ctrl and Alt keys.  Defaults to ON.

(34) NEW FEATURE: Added -P256 command line parameter:
Loads the hardware default 256 color palette instead of the IMPROCES
default 256 color palette at runtime.

(35) NEW FEATURE: Added -ML command line parameter:
Uses a cross hair for the mouse pointer instead of the standard arrow.

(36) NEW FEATURE: Took out the saving of color cycle info:
Past versions of IMPROCES saved the color cycle setting in a file with a
.CCL extension.  This has been discontinued as of this version.


MORE COMMON QUESTIONS FROM IMPROCES USERS:

Q. How do I edit and save a 640x350x16 EGA image?

A. You must use a Virtual Mode when loading the image. Be sure not add
any color with a value over 15, and save then image as a PCX 16.

Q. Is there a way to cut out a non-rectangular size piece from an image
and then paste it somewhere else, or save it with the clipboard?

A. Yes. First, select the color 0 as your drawing color. Then, use a
paintbrush in REG mode or the ERASER tool to outline the irregular area
you want to cut. Then select COPY from the Clipboard and place the
rectangle around the area you want to copy/save. To copy it back, select
COPY from the CLIP menu and then select OVERLAY after deciding where you
want the image to go. OVERLAY treats color 0 pixels as transparent.

Q. My monitor and card support 640x480, but it's not working in IMPROCES.
Why?

A. Make sure your setup supports 640x480 in 256 colors. A lot of
manufactuers will say their cards/monitors support 640x480 (or
1024x768), but they are talking about a 16 color mode, not 256 colors
and believe me, 16 color and 256 color modes are two different animals.

That's about it. Enjoy the program!