You need Hypercard 2.0 or later to run KARATEstack. The 'Hypercard Player' is a stripped down version Apple ships with all Macintosh Computers. It will allow you to run stacks such as this one, but not the ability to create them.
>>> IMPORTANT! Be sure to allocate 2500k to Hypercard (in the GET INFO box) or at least give1800k to it in order to run Quicktime movies. Failure to do this may result in crashing your Macintosh!
Hypercard is a useful tool for non-programmers, to quickly build self-built or custom applications. With Hypercard version 2.0, you could incorporate Quicktime into your stacks (for an extra cost), and some limited colour. I used version 2.1 and the colours you see were actually PICT resources I added using ResEDIT. Hypercard 2.2 came complete with the Quicktime tools stack, and has more options for adding colour to your stacks. I have not used 2.2, but KARATEstack is fully compatible with it.
KARATEstack was created in the summer of 1993 (though it first originated 2 years earlier, I worked on it for a day or two, and then it sat on the shelf!). It was always intended to run 'real' movies. At that time, I had no camera or the resources to obtain the expensive add-on hardware (i.e. VideoSpigot) in order to create these movies. Instead I created Quicktime movies by hand, using the mouse I drew each frame in CANVAS 3.0 and then saved it as a Quicktime movie. The very first animation sequence you'll see took me 40 hours of work. And there were a total of16 animated sequences.
The Connectix QuickCam is a superb and inexpensive tool that allowed me to add the movies I always wanted. At first, I thought the 15 frames per second would not be adequate for capturing fast action. I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I was actually able to achieve more than 16 fps on my PowerMac 7100/66 by doing all the things the manual told me to do; insert in a floppy/CD into the drives, record in real RAM as opposed to writing to the drive (I used Apple's 'Movie Recorder', though the same result would have been achieved if I put QuickMovie into a RAM disk). The movies add realism, but I have left the original animated sequences intact, as I think it does give the work a distinct and unique character appeal that you won't see anywhere else.
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donationware
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If you find 'KARATEstack 1.5' helpful/useful/fun, please send $15 (or only $5 if that is all you can afford) to:
THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER, Marine Headlands, GGNRA, Sausalito, CA 94965
(415)289-SEAL
Thanks!
Tony Martin
TonyinSF@aol.com
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changes in version 1.6
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1.6 - June '95
* Added script value 'fastidle' and set 'seeAllframes' to false - I found these changes will result in faster and smoother playback of all Quicktime movies (however, on some slower Macs this might result in a 'choppy' playback).
* All movies were re-shot under more ideal settings (previous location was my bedroom!), added several new movies (featuring James 'bad boy' Brennan) for the 'hand techniques'.
* Redesigned interface (movies and animation control buttons swapped positions, animations now open automatically, new movie icon added to palette).
* Added several menu items to the 'Go' and 'KARATEstack' menus.
* Re-recorded digitized voice.
* Added my flying side kick picture in the "about author" (1984 photo by Cheryl Hendry of Jax, FLA., scanned by Jeff Woolsey).
