ShooltzSaver version 1.4 (c) 1997-1998 Tomasz Sowinski WWW: http://shooltz.home.ml.org http://www.kki.net.pl/shooltz If you have any problems accesing my www pages, please let me know via e-mail. E-mail: shooltz@usa.net shooltz@kki.net.pl All images inside the ShooltzSaver.scr file were rendered by Tomasz Sowinski. If you haven't seen this program before and don't like readme files: Just press the right mouse button when ShooltzSaver is active. ------------------------------------------------------ This file, README.TXT, is a companion to the ShooltzSaver.scr file. It contains the following sections: 0. THE PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM 1. INSTALLATION 2. SHOOLTZSAVER FEATURES 3. HISTORY OF CHANGES/WHAT'S NEW 4. REGISTRATION 5. DISTRIBUTION STATUS 6. CONTACTING THE AUTHOR 0. THE PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM ------------------------------------------------------ ShooltzSaver is a shareware Windows screen saver. It runs under Windows 95 and Windows NT Workstation 4.0. 1. INSTALLATION ------------------------------------------------------ There's no need for special installation of ShooltzSaver. If you unzipped the contents of the downloaded archive, then you should see the program icon titled ShooltzSaver or ShooltzSaver.scr The ShooltzSaver is ready to run. You don't have to copy ShooltzSaver.scr file to windows\system directory. To test and evaluate the program, just right-click on the icon and select appropriate option from the context menu. - select 'Test' to view how ShooltzSaver works. You can click RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON to open control window and adjust animation options. - select 'Configure' to open configuration dialog box. Note that only small subset of general options is available from this dialog. You have total control over ShooltzSaver parameters after right-clicking on the main saver screen. - select 'Install' to make ShooltzSaver your default screen saver. 2. SHOOLTZSAVER FEATURES ------------------------------------------------------ ShooltzSaver is a high performance, multithreaded, three-dimensional, interactive and extensible screen saver for Windows 95 and NT 4.0. - it displays various ray-traced, animated objects (sprites) floating and spinning. Smooth animation and high frame rate are achieved by using multithreading capabilities of the operating system. WinG and DirectX are not required. - it is interactive: pressing the RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON will open the control center window. You can change all the animation parameters there and instantly see the results. Your settings can be saved for future use as schemes. - it can read new sprites (BMP and AVI files) downloaded from my WWW page or created by the user (detailed info is available also from my website). Due to size constraints, the best sprites couldn't be built into ShooltzSaver and are available on the web. If you like this program, you should try to download them from my page. - it can change display mode before executing for better performance. Of course, the display mode will be restored after closing. 3. HISTORY OF CHANGES/WHAT'S NEW ------------------------------------------------------ VERSION 1.4 (Current) (May 13, 1998) - custom backgrounds: you can change the default black background by setting another color and/or using bitmap. The bitmap can be tiled, centered or displayed in the screen corners. For best results, use dark background bitmaps (for example, corporate logo on black). All bitmap features are available on the 'Background' tab in the Control Center window. Note that custom backgrounds require highcolor or truecolor video modes. With lower color depth such as 8-bit (256 colors), the quality of sprites and background bitmap displayed at the same time would be unacceptable. One caveat: using background bitmap can slightly decrease overall performance. Some extra processor time is required to restore internal buffer after drawing a frame when bitmap backgrounds are enabled. - improved loading time for large sprite files VERSION 1.3 (March 17, 1998) - randomizing features. You can access them by pressing 'Randomizer' button in the configuration dialog. For example, ShooltzSaver can now switch schemes at runtime automatically after enabling "Switch schemes" option. Also, it can create entirely new orbits for schemes selected randomly ('Create new orbits' option) and/or modify orbits during scheme activity ('Modify orbits'). Of course, the best way to explore these options is by using them. Just remember that all randomizer options will be disabled when you open the control center window - from this point you have total control over ShooltzSaver and nothing will be changed automatically. - new built-in sprites and schemes - new phasing modes - improved performance for large avi files VERSION 1.2 (January 19, 1998) - first ShooltzSaver relase available on the Internet 4. REGISTRATION ------------------------------------------------------ To register the program, open the configuration dialog and press the 'Register' button'. In the registration dialog you can enter your registration name and ID. Registration costs $19.95. It will disable the quiz for unregistered users and "Please register" tiles on main screen. Your registration name and ID will be sent to you immediately after receiving the payment. Please enclose your e-mail address (if available) for faster delivery. Registration options: - online registration. Use one of the URLs below: http://shooltz.home.ml.org http://www.kki.net.pl/shooltz https://www.regnow.com/softsell/nph-softsell.cgi?item=1253-1 Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover are accepted. - check or money order payable to TOMASZ SOWINSKI. Send these to: TOMASZ SOWINSKI KOLEJOWA 15 P.O. BOX 26 15-559 BIALYSTOK 2 POLAND - money transfer Name: TOMASZ SOWINSKI Bank: PKO BP, I/O BIALYSTOK, POLAND Account#: 10201316-445654-270-44787 *** PLEASE DO NOT SEND CASH *** If you have questions about registration, send an e-mail message to: shooltz@usa.net. 5. DISTRIBUTION STATUS ------------------------------------------------------ This program is FREELY DISTRIBUTABLE. 6. CONTACTING THE AUTHOR ------------------------------------------------------ Postal mail: TOMASZ SOWINSKI KOLEJOWA 15 P.O. BOX 26 15-559 BIALYSTOK 2 POLAND E-mail: shooltz@usa.net, shooltz@kki.net.pl WWW: http://shooltz.home.ml.org, http://www.kki.net.pl/shooltz