Welcome to the MartinSoft SIRDS Generator RDSGen v 1.00!!!!! This program took only two days to code, and was finished the 25:th of October (1993). Some people at comp.sys.amiga.programmer seemed to want a SIRDS generator for Amiga, so I wrote one. This program may not be the most user-friendly thing in the world, but it's fast and it works (for me, at least ;-) . ABOUT SIRDSes, for those who don't know what it is: A Single Image Random Dot Stereogram is a "real" three-dimensional picture. The dots (which seem random) are calculated in such a way that if you focus "behind" the picture (monitor, etc), you will see a 3D pic with a real feeling of "depth". It can be hard to see the pics the first time, but don't give up! Most people succeed in seeing them, though it may take a lot of time to focus properly at first. With training, you will be able to see RDS pics "instantly". HOW TO LOOK AT THEM: One way to see the pics (if you're not used to it) is to stand so close to the pic that it becomes blurred. Then slowly move the pic away from you while trying to keep your eyes as they were (out of focus). If you're lucky, you'll see the pic. There are some other methods too, but I'm not going to write about them. It probably won't help, anyway, and I've got better things to do. Hmmm... Do I have an attitude problem? WHAT MY PROGRAM DOES: This program converts a 320*256 32-color pic into a 640*256 2-color SIRDS. You should paint a 320*256 IFF pic and save it as "RDSDATA" in the directory that RDSGen is in. The color number will represent the "height" of the RDS. Look at the included 32-color pics. Try them. (You will have to change the name of the pic you want generated to "RDSDATA"). If you start RDSGen, it should (within seconds) have generated a picture. If you were running your Amiga at a 50Hz resolution, you should also be able to see the generated pic. Otherwise I suspect it will resemble a flickering mess of some sort. Anyway, by pressing left mouse button, you'll exit the program. The generated picture will be saved as "RDSPICTURE" in the same directory. As I said, not the most user-friendly program in the world, but it works. I'll probably write a more versatile and user-friendly version soon. HOW TO PAINT A PICTURE: Use DPaint or whatever you normally use. Make the picture a 320*256 32-color pic, or strange things will happen. Don't paint things too close to the left and right edges or they won't be seen in the RDS. RDS:es work that way. If you want your pictures to look good, make "smooth" surfaces. Don't make "jumps" between colors. Use gradients as much as possible. Don't dither the picture too much, though. If you use DPaint, the "outline" and "smooth" commands can be very handy. What's more, paint things BIG. If you write text, keep the letters big or no-one will be able to read it. And be aware of the fact that there is a big difference in height between color 0 and color 31. Don't use the whole palette unless you're sure that you want to. Again, see the included pictures. That should be everything about the program. I could always thank the people at comp.sys.amiga.programmer for suggestions (most of which I ignored :-) . Then I could say a quick hello to Magnus, Jens, Thomas, Fredrik*2, Hakan, Mirre, Anna, Tapani, Daniel and everyone else who is studying Computer Science here at Chalmers. I could also say hello to Niklas Een, Dick Augustsson, Martin Jordo and a lot of other people I know, but it would actually be pretty pointless as they'll probably never read this message anyway and as I'm seeing most of them all the time, this is really a waste of time. Especially as I should either be studying "Matte A" or asleep right now. But while I'm at it, here's a hello to Glyn Davies who's also studying CS, but somewhere in England. If you want to send me suggestions, ideas, letters, postcards, flowers, hate mail, lots of money or a really nice new car, here's my address: Martin Rebas Osternasvagen 17 431 36 MOLNDAL SWEDEN Or mail me at: d3rebas@dtek.chalmers.se Hmmm...I'll probably get a lot of mail complaining about "Why doesn't the program accept any file name" and so on... And I suppose I'll also get some "why don't you release the code" letters. And then I'll get some "Hey! I can't see the lousy pics!" letters, too. Yes indeed. Very probably. Have a happy Easter (or whatever)! Martin Rebas, MartinSoft (c)