The Psychedelic Screen Saver Collection - Version 2.5 Alpha
Copyright (C) 1995-1996
All Rights Reserved
http://www.halcyon.com/pixel/psych.htm

By Mike Irvine 
EMAIL: pixel@halcyon.com


This file contains the following information:

OVERVIEW ..............: What is the Psychedelic Screen Saver Collection?
BACKGROUND ............: Where did it come from?
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ...: What do I need in order to run it?
INSTALLATION ..........: How do I install it?
REGISTRATION ..........: Where can I find info on how to register it?
QUESTIONS/SUPPORT .....: Where can I get help with problems?



                               OVERVIEW

  The Psychedelic Screen Saver Collection is, as the name so cleverly 
suggests, a collection of screen savers that generate an endless variety 
of mesmerizing patterns. As the patterns materialize on your screen, the 
colors will shift, undulate, and generally speaking, look cool. Whether 
you're into abstract art, mathematics, or just have a history of mental 
illness, you'll love these screen savers.  

Included in the collection are the following programs:

Program:        Directory:     Purpose:    
PSYCH.SCR       System32       The Psychedelic Screen Saver


                              BACKGROUND

  The algorithms I used in these screen savers were originally conceived as 
part of an art project I worked on in my senior year at the Evergreen State 
College.   I implemented the algorithms in about 70,000 lines of Borlands'
Turbo Pascal for MS-DOS and included a "User Interface From Hell" that 
provided access to the hundreds of parameters used to customize the image 
generation process.  After I graduated, I attempted to make a living as an 
artist by selling the images I produced to various galleries around the 
country.   I quickly discovered that being an artist requires not only a 
healthy dose of creativity, but also a boatload of marketing savvy (which I
was lacking).  Since I was having a hard time making ends meet, I decided I'd
have to find another way to make a living (besides, another month of macaroni
and cheese would probably have killed me).  After kicking around the idea of
putting together a company to do the video/effects for raves, I decided that 
I'd be better off getting a programming position with a company that wouldn't
require me to wear a suit.  In order to prove I'd done some programming, I 
ported some of my Pascal code for MS-DOS into C for MS Windows and sent it 
out with my resume.   The result was the beginning of the collection of the 
screen savers included here.



                           SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Suggested:
*  A DEC Alpha running Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 (or later)
*  256 color display card - While the screen savers should still work in 
     high/true color modes, you won't get palette animation. 
   In order to get some of the effects that they use, the screen savers use 
   a palettized video mode. This means that colors are referenced by index 
   rather than by RGB value. By using a palettized video mode, the screen 
   savers can change the RGB value that corresponds to a particular palette 
   index and the result is that all of the colors on the screen that use 
   that index are immediately updated. Neither high or true color modes use 
   a palette, so it is not possible to achieve the effects without manually 
   updating the entire display. Since updating the entire display is far 
   too slow, I didn't code the screen savers to do it. 
   On the bright side, Windows 95 supports dynamic video mode switching 
   which means that the display mode can be changed without rebooting the 
   system. Unfortunately, most of the drivers that are available now don't 
   handle changes to different pixel depths very well. Once the video 
   driver writers get their act together, I'll setup the screen savers to 
   change to a palette based video mode when they start up and then change 
   back when they are done. However, until then, we're stuck with the 
   limitation :-(



                              INSTALLATION

Just run the setup program (SETUP.EXE) and then follow the directions.


                              REGISTRATION

Registration is easy!  The file "ORDERFRM.TXT" contains all the information you 
need on how to register the "Psychedelic Screen Saver Collection"

Please refer to LICENSE.TXT for information on the license agreement. 



                           QUESTIONS/SUPPORT

If you have access to the World Wide Web, check out the home page for the
Psychedelic Screen Saver Collection at:

http://www.halcyon.com/pixel/psych.htm

I maintain a "Frequently Asked Questions" page similar to the FAQ.TXT that 
I've included here with the collection (but more up to date).  The FAQ 
provides answers to the vast majority of the questions I get via email. 

You can find the information in the FAQ.TXT or in the FAQ on the home page 
for the collection, send email to me Mike Irvine at pixel@halcyon.com

I do my best to answer *every* question I get.