Click on a title:
HELP ON HELP
THE DESKTOP
DRAWING
The screen
The menu bar
The directory
File masking
Dialog box for loading and saving sprites
The windows
The palette windows (RGB registers)
Cut & paste
Ellipse, rectangle, line
Making sprites
Making an icon
Making sprites in ASCII file.
The EAS format
ANIMATOR
ORGANIZER
FORMATS FOR SPRITES
FILE FORMATS
PROBLEMS

HELP ON HELP

Change line     CURSOR UP/DOWN
Change page     PAGE UP/DOWN
Start of help   HOME
End of help     END
Close window    ESC

THE DESKTOP

LOAD SPRITES   l       Load previously saved work
                       Or select an icon and press ENTER
               CTRL+l  Load work saved by CTRL+s

SAVE SPRITES   s       Save table of sprites, addresses, types,
                       automaton board.
               CTRL+s  Save addresses and sprite images in
                       separated files.

LOAD ICON      F4      Load a Window's icon.

DIRECTORY      d       Press ENTER to load a file.
DIRECTORY MASK x

ANIMATOR       A
ORGANIZER      O

DISPLAY ALL    ?       Display sprites in memory.

CHANGE RGB     %      Change colors.
LOAD PAL+RGB   r      Load colors.
SAVE PAL+RGB   w      Save colors.

SYSTEM INFO     ~      Display formats, sizes, and so on...

COLORS         F5      Dialog box for color preferences.

QUIT SPRITES   q       or F3, ALT-X.

RESTART        y       Restart program with default values.
                       That will not clear sprite buffer.


THE TOP BAR OF ICONS

hlp    F1     Display help.
inf    F8     Display data on sprite in memory.
del    CTRL-d Delete a sprite in memory.
rep    !      Replace sprite in memory by drawing with the
              current format.
rgb    %      Create colors.
cOl    o      Change value of the current color.
pal    p      Change the palette.
scl    F5     Scroll the image.
mov    m      Shift the image in the window.
inv    \      Invert colors of the drawing.
] [    ] or [ Horizontally reverses the image.
u/d    ~      Vertically reverses the image.
 #     #      Set/Remove the grid.
ell    e      Draw an ellipse.
rect.  ALT-r  Draw a rectangle
Line   ALT-l  Put a line.
rst    y      Restore standard preferences.
org    O      Go to the organizer.
aut    A      Go to the assembler.
ESC    ESC    Exit any function.

THE LEFT BAR OF ICONS

#1  g   get the sprite in memory.
#2  DEL clear the drawing.
#3  f   fill area.
#4  u   undo.
#5  c   change a color in the drawing.
#6  /   cut & paste.
#7  CTRL-r   insert a row.
#8  CTRL-w   delete a column.
#9  CTRL-o   insert a column.
#10 CTRL-y   delete a row.
#11 @   merge sprite in memory with the drawing.
#12 =   compare sprite in memory and the drawing.


DRAWING

Summary of commands:

The numeric keypad move the brush cursor
SPACE BAR  Brush up/down
0          Rubber on/off
The cursor keys select a color
F1     Display this help.
h      Display the version number.
t      Change format for sprite.
b      Make a 256 colors sprite.
k      Make a 16 colors sprite.
z      Make a compressed 16 colors sprite.
ENTER  Make a sprite with current format and add it to the
       memory buffer.
INSERT Make a sprite with current format and insert it into the
       memory buffer.
!      Make a sprite with current format and replace the
       displayed sprite in memory.
u      Undo. Erases work or erases the erasing.
+-<>   Change size.
CTRL-o, r, y, w  Insert/Delete row.
m      Shift the drawing in the window.
F5     Circular scrolling.
#      Set/remove the grid.
j      Set/remove the window's border.

PAGES  Select a sprite in memory.
CTRL-HOME First sprite in memory.
CTRL-END  Last sprite in memory.
?      Display all sprites in the library.
F8     Display info on sprite in memory.
CTRL-d Delete a sprite in memory.

o      Change value of the current color.
\      Invert colors of the drawing.
r      Load palette and RGB registers.
w      Save palette and RGB registers.
%      Change the RGB registers.
c      Change a color in the drawing.
p      Change the palette.
v      Settings for EAS sprite.
V      Restore default EAS settings.

f      Fill area.
e      Ellipse.
ALT-r  Rectangle.
ALT-l  Line.
/      Cut & paste.
@      Merge sprite in memory and drawing.
n      Change logical mode for merging.
x      Set: sprite XOR drawing -> drawing.
&      Set: sprite AND drawing -> drawing.
| or : Set: sprite OR  drawing -> drawing.
(      Set: sprite UPON drawing -> drawing.
)      Set: drawing UPON sprite -> drawing.
*      Set: COPY, sprite replace drawing.
][     Horizontally reverses the drawing.
~      Vertically reverses the drawing.

y      Restore default preferences.
A      Assemble an automaton.
O      Organize sprites.
q, F3  Quit Sprites 18.

Using a mouse:

In the real-sized image:
- Click any button to move the cursor

In the zoomed image
- Click the left mouse button to set a pixel
- Click the right button to read and set a color


The screen

V o   Top bar of icons
e f
r                  Real-sized         Sprite
t i  Zoomed        image              in memory
i c  image
c o                Indicators         3 other
a n                - merge mode       sprites
l s                - sprite type      in memory

b    Palette   Size of         Free memory
a              image
r

Indicators for merging mode:
XOR   exclusive or.
AND   logical and.
OR    inclusive or.
OVR   put sprite or part over drawing.
UND   put behind the drawing.
CPY   copy over the drawing.

Below each button is the keyboard command.

Indicators for sprite type to make:
16    format 16 colors.
256   format 256 colors.
Z16   format Z-RLE.
F16   format F16.
EAS   format EAS.
ICO   standard icon.

The  INSERT,  ENTER,  and  cursor  keys serve for mouse in some
functions.

The EDITOR big button display the function that currently is in
execution,  with  yellow  background, drawing being the default
mode.

At bottom of the screen are displayed the number of the current
color  and  its  value,  the number of the current palette, the
cursor  location  on  the drawing, indicators for the brush and
rubber, and the setting for EAS sprites.

The menu bar

To  access the menu, click on the menu bar or press ALT+letter,
letters are underlined on the bar. Use cursor keys to select an
option (up/down) or change the sub-menu (left/right).
Press ESC to exit a sub-menu, press ESC again to exit the menu.
Here  are detailed commands in each sub-menu and their shortcut
keys.

FILE
Load sprites     l      Load a binary library of sprites.
Save sprites     s      Save the library in a binary file.
Directory        d      Open the directory window.
Dir mask         F6     Set the mask for files to display.
Status           F7     Display current state.
Load icon        F4     Load a standard icon file.
About...         h      Display the version.
Quit             q/F3   Return to DOS.

SPRITES
Get from         g      Get the sprite in memory.
Type select      t      Change type.
Add              ENTER  Make a sprite from the image.
Insert sprite    INS    Make a sprite and inserts it before
                        the one that is displayed.
Replace sp.      !      Make a sprite and replaces the one
                        that is displayed.
Delete spr.      CTRL-d Delete a sprite in memory.
Info             F8     Display data on sprite in memory.
Display all      ?      Display the whole library in memory.

COLORS
Palette sel.     p      Change palette.
Color regist.    o      Change value of the current color.
RGB registers    %      Change RGB for values of colors.
Color > color    c      Replace a color in the image.
Read pal+RGB     r      Load colors and palette.
Write pal+RGB    w      Save colors and current palette in
                        a file.
EAS setting      v      Set EAS sprites.

EDIT
Fill area        f      Fill an area with a color.
Ins column       CTRL-o Insert a column at cursor.
Ins row          CTRL-r Insert a line.
Del column       CTRL-w Delete a column.
Del line         CTRL-y Delete a line.
Move picture     m      Shift image in the window.
Clear            DEL    Clear the image.
Undo             u      Restore before last act.

EFFECTS
H-Mirror         ], [   Reverse horizontally the image.
V-Mirror         ~      Reverse vertically the image.
Circ. scroll     F5     Circular scrolling.
Compare          =      XOR temporally sprite in memory
                        with the drawing.
Merge            #      Merge sprite in memory with the drawing
                        according to current logical mode.
Cut & paste      /      Cut and paste with logical mode.
Next mode        n      Change logical mode.
Invert col.      ~      XOR drawing with itself.

The directory

Press  'd' to display the current directory. It is displayed in
a window having variable size.
The  window displays filenames in black letters, and sub-direc-
tories in red letters.
Click on a sub-directory to display it, click on '..' to return
at previous level. Press the drive letter to change drive. Uses
cursor keys or lift at right of the window to select a file and
to  scroll.  Note  there  are two buttons at extremities of the
lift that serves to scroll one single line at once.

Click  on  a  sprite filename (.SPR) or icon filename (.ICO) to
load it.

To change the window, press ALT-SPACE or click on borders.

Press ESC, or do a mouse click out of the window to close it.


File masking

The  directory  display allows use of a combination of masks by
file  type.  Press the 'x' key to open the dialogue box for the
selection.

The types and extensions are as following:
- Work:      Sprite files: SPR + WRK extensions.
- Screens:   PCX, VRT, VGA files.
- ICO:       Windows' icons.
- All  files: all files the system recognizes, including these
of other programs compatible with this one...
- Directories: sub-directories.

Click  on  the  1...5  button or type the number to set/reset a
mask. The program says 'YES', when files will be displayed.
Press 'f' to restore defaults.
Press ENTER to close, or press 'd' to show the directory.


Dialog box for loading and saving sprites

Loading  and  saving  are done with a dialogue box, opened when
one  presses  'l' for loading, or 's' for saving (or CTRL-l and
CTRL-s to have the addresses in a separated file).

In this program, only the filename node is read by the program,
if an extension is typed the program removes it and replaces it
with SPR and WRK extension to save or to load the file.

Press ESC to cancel or ENTER to keep.

The  memory  buffer for the table of sprites has variable size,
that  depends  of  the available conventional memory, 640 Kb or
less.

The windows

Some windows can be moved and have variable size. In this case,
there is a button at left on the title bar, with a 3D box insi-
de.
If  the window can be changed, press ALT-SPACE to enter editing
mode,  and  then, use the cursor keys to move and ALT-cursor to
change the size. Alternate keys: +, -, <, >
Press ENTER or ESC to exit editing mode.

When  mouse is on the left or top border, the mouse pointer be-
comes  a  four  arrows image, if the window can be moved. Press
left mouse button and drag to move the window.
When  mouse  is  on the right or bottom border, the pointer be-
comes  a  horizontal  arrow if size or width can be changed. In
the same manner, press left button and drag to change.

Press  the  right mouse button to exit the process, or click on
the ESC button at the top of the screen.

To change the colors, press ALT-b for the background, ALT-h for
the title bar.


The palette windows (RGB registers)

The  %  command  opens the window for changing RGB, red, green,
blue  registers that hold components for each value of color in
the palette.
These  RGB registers are affected to each of the 64  VGA regis-
ter,  that are values for the 16 colors and that may be changed
with the 'o' command.

Type r, g or b to decrease an ink, R, G, or B to increase it.
Type PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN to change for another value, or click
on the Prev. or the Next buttons.


Cut & paste

Select first the logical mode to paste the part of image.
Press '/' or click on the cut & paste icon on the vertical bar,
or  simply  click  on the sprite in memory, that does appear an
outlined  rectangle. To change window, click on the proper one,
or press the TAB key.
Use  left  mouse button or the cursor keys to move, right mouse
button  or  keys +, -, <, >, to change the size. Then press EN-
TER.
Now  you  are  in  past mode, the part of the image is reverted
over  the drawing. Use left mouse button or cursor keys to move
it and press ENTER to paste.

Ellipse, rectangle, line

Type  'e'  to  draw  an ellipse. Then use + - < > to change its
size and cursor keys to move it.
With mouse, use left button and drag to move the ellipse, right
button to change the size.
Type 'r' to draw a rectangle.
Type 'l' to put a line.
Line and rectangle work as for ellipse, but right button is for
the ending point of the line.

Making sprites

-  Press b to make a 256 color sprite. It will only have 16 co-
lors but can be displayed on VGA 19 screen or SVGA with 256 co-
lors sprite functions.
- Press k to make a 16 color sprite.
- Press z to make a 16 color compressed sprite.
  These sprite are bitmapped and are all compatible with VGA 19
and SVGA screens.

-  One  can  select  any sprite type with the t key, it will be
displayed in yellow on row of buttons at the top of the screen,
and then to make the sprite with this format, type:
 ENTER   to add it,
 INSERT  to insert it,
 !       to replace another, into the table in memory.

Making an icon

To design an icon you must reduce the window to 32 x 32 pixels.
Press 'i' , then type a 8 letters name without extension.
It  will  be  saved in a file and a sprite will also be made to
further editing.

Making sprites in ASCII file.

To save a sprite into a text file, press 'j' and give the name.
The  ASC extension will be added to the name and a file will be
made you may include into yours programs. The syntax is for the
C language and text may easily be edited to another one.

The EAS format

Sprite  having the EAS format, use the special memory organisa-
tion  of VGA 18 screen to do animation most easy. The principle
is  to  use  two screen pages for the animated sprites, and two
screen  pages for the scenery sprites. By changing the color of
the  palette  to the appropriate scheme, on can now move anima-
tion without erasing the scenery. The 'v' command allows to se-
lect  either  the  animation  or  the  background setup for the
sprites and the palette. That has effect only for sprites crea-
ted with the EAS format.
They  can have from one to four page. This is displayed at bot-
tom  right of the screen. The 'V' (uppercase) command reset the
setup to standard.
Note  that  a  EAS  sprite  with  four pages, is similar to any
sprite using bit planes, as F16 for example.
More  on  bit  planes  and  bitmap  in the Screen Maker manual.
Sprites  having  16,  256, Z16 format use bitmap, other use bit
planes, that is better for VGA 18 mode.



ANIMATOR

Select a sprite                           PAGE UP/DOWN
Move the cursor in the assembly board      CURSOR KEYS
Put the sprite number on the board               ENTER
Put an horizontal line to link numbers               0
Let the interpreter shows the animation              i
(Move first the cursor at start of sequence)

Write into a file a sequence                         w
(It starts at cursor location)
Read a sequence at cursor location                   r


MOUSE ON THE COMMAND PANEL
Use the left mouse button to select a symbol
Press the right mouse button anywhere to release it,
it will be replaced by the current sprite number

MOUSE ON THE ASSEMBLY BOARD
The mouse becomes a pencil when holding a sprite
number and a cross when holding a symbol.
Press the left button to put link or sprite number,
and right button to move the cursor at mouse pointer


An  automaton  is a sequence of sprites that composes an anima-
tion. This assembler eases to make automatons and to try them.

The  board that graphically shows automatons, and that is saved
with  the sprites, can hold many automatons, that can be easily
edited  and combined. On this board, an automaton is a sequence
of  ellipses  with number inside them, ordered by arrows. These
numbers are numbers of the sprites in memory.

Animation  can  be  shown  in  the  window at the middle of the
screen, or in full screen with VGA 19. At right of this window,
nine  symbol  represent different available links. At right are
shown the sprites in memory.

To  execute  a  sequence,  press  'i' or 'z' to view it in full
screen.  The interpreter reads on the board from left to right.
It  can  go up or down, but it respects following priorities if
several  arrows  start  of  the  same  ellipse: right, then up,
otherwise down.


Making and editing automaton

One  selects a sprite in memory with PAGE UP/DOWN keys, and one
presses ENTER to put an ellipse at cursor location, holding its
number.

The keys to put arrows are these:
0: a horizontal line, the symbol to go right.
5: a vertical line, to go up or down.
1, 3, 7, 9: symbols to change direction.
2,  6, 8: add '>' to the lines, that is for better comprehensi-
bility but have no utility for the interpreter.

The DEL key erases an ellipse.

To  save an automaton, move the cursor at the first ellipse and
press  'w'. To load it, move the cursor at a location and press
'r'.


Using a mouse

The mouse pointer becomes a pencil when it is over the board of
automatons,  it  becomes  a  cross if one selects a link symbol
otherwise it holds a sprite number.
To get a symbol, click on a displayed symbol in the command pa-
nel,  and  click on the sprite in memory to get the sprite num-
ber, or anywhere on the command panel.

On  the  board,  click the left mouse button to drop an object,
the right button to put only the cursor at a location.

The horizontal lift allows to scroll the board of automatons.

To change the sprite, click on the PAGE UP/DOWN keys at left of
sprite  in  memory, with left button to scroll one at the time,
right button to a fast scroll.


Keyboard commands of the animator

F1      Help screen.
PAGES   Select a sprite in memory.
Cursor keys Move to a location on the board.
0..9    Put a symbol at cursor location.
ENTER   Put an ellipse on the board.
DEL     Erase current cursor position
x       Clear the whole board.
i       Interpret the automaton and animate it. Move first
        the cursor at start of the sequence.
z       Run the automaton in VGA 19, 256 colors.
m       Execute step by step the automaton.
r       Read an automaton, displays it starting at current
        cursor position.
w       Write an automaton in a file, starting at cursor.
#       Put/Remove the grid.
n       Refresh the screen.
HOME    Go to the start of the board.
END     Go to the end of the board
<       Scroll the board 20 columns left.
>       Scroll the board 20 columns right.
+       Slow down the animation.
-       Speed up the animation.
p       Switch between editor palette or standard one.
ALT-b   Change the panel command color.
ALT-j   Change the board color.
ALT-n   Change the text and line color.
ALT-o   Change the border.
O       Organiser.
M       MegaSprites.
T       Three-D viewer.
F       Virtual tree editor.
q       Return to desktop.

Automatons  are saved in files with the AUT extension, that the
program adds to itself. The board is saved into the WRK file.


ORGANIZER

FORMAT           t      Select a format to convert
CONVERT          CNVRT  Convert to this format
SELECT A SPRITE  Use the horizontal bar
MOVING SPRITE    m      Enter to the moving mode
Then go to the place to insert and press 'm' again
CANCEL/QUIT      ESCAPE

This  utility  allows to change order of sprites in memory, de-
lete  one, convert the format, display the detailed description
and test the integrity.


Keyboard commands of the organiser

PAGES   Select a sprite in memory.
HOME    Go to the first sprite in memory.
END     Go to the last sprite in memory.
m       Go to the move mode. Use PAGE UP/DOWN to select a
        new location, press ENTER to move or ESC to cancel.
DEL     Delete displayed sprite.
t       Change current format for converting.
!       Convert displayed sprite to current format, and
        replace it.
b       Display x 4 a Z-RLE sprite.
z       Display on VGA 19 screen, if format is compatible.
p       Switch between editor palette or standard one.
A       Assembler.
M       MegaSprites.
T       Three-D Viewer.
F       Virtual Tree Editor.
Q, ESC  Return to desktop.


FORMATS FOR SPRITES

All  formats  but  MS are for displaying sprites from bottom to
top of screen.
Coordinate of sprite, but special F and EAS, are
- 0..639 x 0..479 on VGA 18 and SVGA,
- 0..319 x 0..199 on VGA 19.
Size  is  limited only by editors, 80 x 80 with MegaSprites and
VGA 18 sprite editor, 320 x 200 with Screen Maker.

Encoding  use  either  bitmap: 16, 256, Z16 or bit planes: F16,
MS,  EAS.  Bit planes encoding displays very fast on VGA 18 (or
VGA  16-EGA) screen resolution. Bitmap is an universal encoding
that displays on MCGA, VGA, SVGA with appropriate functions.
Principle of bitmap is to store all bits of a pixel into a byte
of  memory,  while  bit  planes encoding stores image by screen
planes.


The 256 colors format.

It's  a  universal  format  to display sprites with all VGA and
SVGA screen modes. Each pixel is coded with one byte, according
to the bitmap encoding.
In VGA 19 these sprites can be displayed very fast.

 Header:
 Byte 0: height, from 1 to 200.
 Byte 1: unused
 Byte 2-3: width from 1 to 320.
 Byte 4: format code 1.
 Byte 5: unused


The 16 colors format.

A universal format for VGA and SVGA. No compressed. The palette
number  allows  on  256 color screen to display the same sprite
with  different  sets of colors. It uses bitmap encoding with a
byte holding two pixels.

 Header:
 Byte 0:   height, from 1 to 200.
 Byte 1:   unused
 Byte 2-3: width from 1 to 320.
 Byte 4:   format code 5.
 Byte 5:   palette row number.

The 16 colors Z-RLE format.

A universal format for VGA and SVGA. Image is coded with an RLE
compression  algorithm  that  allows  a  display with same fast
speed than no compressed sprite. Compression can divide size by
5  or  more,  depending of complexity of the image. The palette
number allows on 256 color screen to display a same sprite with
different sets of colors. Use bitmap encoding.

Header: as above, with format code 4.

The F16 (fast) format.

It  is  a  format  for VGA 18, that displays sprites very fast,
with  no  boundary,  so horizontal coordinate is in range 0..79
and not 0..639. Use bit planes encoding.

 Header:
 Byte 0:   height, from 1 to 200.
 Byte 1:   unused
 Byte 2-3: width from 1 to 80.
 Byte 4:   format code 6.
 Byte 5:   unused.

The EAS (Easy) format.

This  format  allows  to  make  sprite  with variable number of
screen  pages, from 1 to 4, and so displaying animation without
erasing background. Uses bit planes encoding.
 Header:
 Byte 0:   height, from 1 to 200.
 Byte 1:   unused
 Byte 2-3: width from 1 to 80.
 Byte 4:   format code 3.
 Byte 5:   unused.


MS

Format to display sprites from top to bottom of screen. It uses
bit planes encoding.
 Header:
 Byte 0: height, from 1 to 200.
 Byte 1: unused
 Byte 2-3: width from 1 to 320.
 Byte 4: format code 2.
 Byte 5: unused.


Icons.

When  icons are packed in a single file, they use the 256 or 16
colors format or compressed Z-RLE format.
They also can be saved into an ICO file with Windows' format.
Functions of the library in the registered version that display
icons  use  color 9 as background color and don't put it on the
screen, that is for rather display the 0 color that corresponds
to the more useful black color.


FILE FORMATS

Extensions  are  entirely managed by the program. If user gives
an  extension when asked for a filename, the program removes it
and puts the proper extension. Each type of file has its proper
extension.

SPR  Sprite table. Can hold relative addresses of sprites, or
     no.
WRK  Work file, it is created when saving sprites and it holds
     preferences, palette, board of automatons.
ADR  Addresses of sprites in the table. Generated by a CTRL-s.
PCX  Picture file, the standard format.
VRT  Picture file, more compressed format with fast display.
VGA  Picture file with no header, no compressed.
PAL  Palette. Bytes 0 to 767 are RGB registers, byte 768 is
     unused, bytes 769..784 for colors 0..15  of the VGA 18
      palette.
AUT  Automaton. Each sprite number use two bytes. Bytes 0 et 1
     of the file hold the number of sprites.
TRE  Tree file, holds 12 parameters, one byte each.
ICO  Standard Windows' (c) icon file.
ASC  Sprite saved as ASCII file.


PROBLEMS

CUT & PASTE don't seems work. Look at the current logical mode,
the  yellow button on the vertical row of green buttons. C & P,
as  the  merging  function,  has different results according to
this mode. The OVR default logical mode certainly produces that
you wait for...

BLACK  WINDOWS   If you load a file of a previous version, some
locations  are filled with zeroes, that now are used for colors
of windows. Use ALT-b and ALT-h to fix that and save the file.

ENABLE TO LOAD
If you frequently change the size of memory by loading resident
programs,  then  avoid  fully  to  fill up the memory buffer or
otherwise  have  a  disk with proper configuration and boot the
system from it before to run Sprites.


