home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Crawly Crypt Collection 1
/
crawlyvol1.bin
/
sound
/
digiplus
/
dmanual.txt
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1985-11-18
|
15KB
|
316 lines
DigiPlay Plus Version 1.5
By Sean Dougherty Released: 8-1-92
Tag: [6554]
Copyright July, 1992 Sean Dougherty, Two Worlds Software
NO PORTION OF THIS PROGRAM MAY BE MODIFIED, DISASSEMBLED, DECODED,
OR REMOVED BY ANY MEANS WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR. NO
PORTION OF THIS TEXT MAY BE CHANGED OR TAKEN OUT OF DIGIPLAY PLUS. NO
PORTION OF THIS PROGRAM MAY BE USED IN ANY OTHER PROGRAM. THE ABOVE ALSO
APPLIES TO ALL COMPUTERIZED GRAPHIC IMAGES ASSOCIATED AND USED IN
DIGIPLAY PLUS. COPIES OF THIS PROGRAM AND THE DOCUMENTATION MAY BE MADE
ONLY IF ALL PARTS OF THE PROGRAM AND DOCUMENTATION ARE INCLUDED. ALL
OTHER RIGHTS RESERVED.
THE USER IS AUTHORIZED TO USE THE PROGRAM DIGIPLAY PLUS AND HAS
PERMISSION TO DISTRIBUTE THIS PROGRAM AT NO COST. NO PROFIT MAY BE
DERIVED OUT OF THE SALE OF THIS PROGRAM WITHOUT THE SPECIFIC PERMISSION
OF THE AUTHOR. MAGAZINES WISHING TO PUBLISH DIGIPLAY PLUS MUST CONTACT
THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE CONDITIONS OF PUBLICATION.
*** The author may be contacted on GEnie, address S.DOUGHERTY1.
Files Included
DIGIPLUS.PRG - DigiPlay Plus Main Program
DIGIPLUS.PI1 - DigiPlay Plus's Working Screen
DIGITITL.PIC - DigiPlay Plus Title Pic (Optional)
DMANUAL.TXT - Full manual for use with DigiPlay
READ.ME - Some notes
DIGIPLUS.NIC - NeoDesk Icons for DigiPlay Plus's files (Optional)
Feature List
(*= New or Improved - = Same in older versions)
* New Custom Fileselector * Online Key Alternative Help
* Demo Mode * 100% STe & TT compatible
* Removable Title Screen * Selectable Color Palettes
* Extended Playing Speeds * Accurate Averaged Graphing
* New Sound Effects (Echo/Amp/Rev) * Block Select Playing/Editing
* Can play seven formats * Special Effects Undo Button
- Automatic default speed selector - Graphic based menus
- No external sound playing code - Keyboard Alternatives
- Ten Loadable Slots for Sounds! - Runs the Genesis Graphic Environment
- Internal Abridged Manual
A Little Note:
To those programmers that either have the ability to write, or have
actually written a Noisetracker Module Player in 68000 assembly for the
ST and would like to include it DigiPlay Professional or DigiPlay Plus
version 2.0 (in exchange for credit in the manual and program, a portion
of the donations, and eternal thanks) contact me as soon as possible!
Design Idea
The design idea of DigiPlay Plus is to allow maximum features in a
package the beginning user can understand. If you note, the main screen
isn't as overpowering as many sound players of similar caliber, the
functions having buttons on the main screen are all basic functions
even though the most complex of DigiPlay Plus's features are just a mouse
click away. However there are significant disadvantages, such as many
functions which are better integrated than separate, but must remain
separate due to design.
The design of DigiPlay Professional is much different though. Having all
the features of this program and more, Professional has a highly
integrated user-interface allowing for incredible ease of use. DigiPlay
Professional is not Shareware as DigiPlay Plus is, and if you would like
a copy, send in your donation (minimum donation to receive Professional
is $15) and request it!
TT 32mHz, Mega STe 16mHz/Cache, & 50hz Compatibility
Users of TTs/Mega STe's or even hardware processor accelerators which
have problems with multiple color pictures (HBL, Spectrum, etc.) should
disable the title picture by renaming it or deleting it. All other
functions operate properly in ST low resolution for those computers.
Users of 50hz monitors should also remove the title screen, as it will
not display properly without the expected 60hz sync.
Loading Sounds
There are two ways to load sounds. The first is to simply click
on the Load button, and then the file slot. While this is nice, there
is a much faster way, by clicking on the right mouse button on the file
slot. To abort a file load using the first method, click anywhere
except the file slots.
The DigiSelector
The new DigiSelector is Genesis' alternative fileselector. While
it may look different (and more colorful) it has all the same features
and more.
First, an icon description. The first icon in the upper-left corner
is the "new-disk" icon. Click this when you put in a new disk, as it
changes the current directory to the root (\*.*) for whatever disk
drive you are using. The icon to the right of "new-disk" takes you back
one directory. The bar next to these has no function, and just displays
the current path. If the up and down arrows are clicked with the left
mouse button, the directory moves in the corresponding direction of the
arrow, and if you use the right mouse button, the list will page in the
respective direction. If you click on a file with the left button, the
file enters into the filename box. The slider bar also functions the
same as in GEM. With the right button, the file is selected.
There are keyboard short-cuts for some icons in the DigiSelector and
most of them are quite logical. The <ESC> key simulates the new-disk
icon, the <RETURN> key simulates OKAY and the <DELETE> key simulates
cancel.
The DigiSelector can be optionally turned off if you would rather use
the standard selector (or any other custom selector) from the options
menu. The drive selector is operated by selecting the drive letter and
then clicking on the center to activate your choice.
Playing Sounds
The first step is to put the sound into the current file slot. Do this
by clicking on the file with the left mouse button. Next click on the
Play Button. The sound will play at the selected speed.
This version of DigiPlay Plus can play seven types of digitized sounds.
These DO NOT include compressed sound formats. DigiPlay Plus will
attempt to figure out which format it is, but if it cannot, then it will
play the sound as Replay (ST) format. At this time, DigiPlay Plus can
play SNDs, SPLs, VOCs, some SNGs, and a few others. Please note that just
because a file has an extension listed above, doesn't mean that it is a
sound file!
If any companies or programmers would like to donate executable code
to play a particular format of sound please contact the author.
Extended Playing Speeds
In addition to the six "standard" speeds (standard as far as Michtron's
Replay format) there are many other speeds selectable. To access this
function, click on the area which contains the current speed in digital
numbers and the box will pop-up. At that point, type in the sampling
speed in kilohertz (Accepted values range from 3.0kHz to 59.9kHz).
When the entire speed is typed in, the entry box will turn red and the
speed in which the sound will be played shows up in the "actual Hz" box.
The disparity between this value and the value entered (if any) is quite
normal and in almost all cases the difference is unnoticeable to the
human ear. Press "Play" to play the sound at the selected speed, and
"Exit" to exit the dialog.
If you enter this box through either the Sound Effects Dialog or the
quick key "X", the last sampling rate will be used instead of the
converted Replay ST speed. Another feature of this is the quick key "Z"
which plays the sound at the speed last selected in the Extended Speed
dialog.
This feature comes in handy with sounds that have nonstandard Replay
ST sampling rates, such as VOC files. Please note that most standard STs
and STe's cannot play a sample at anything above 40kHz, and trying to
play faster than your computer can handle may cause the sound to play
incorrectly or even cause a lockup.
The gaps between sampling rates comes from the fact Timer A (a MFP
interrupt) is used for timing and while the interrupt rate is programmable,
it requires the use of control and divider values, which limits the
rates that can be used. These gaps are negligible at lower speeds, but
after 30kHz the gaps become quite large, and fortunately VERY few samples
are made at rates higher than 40kHz where not only do the gaps become
huge, but most ST can't play at speeds that high.
Sound Effects
This little box allows the user to modify a sound in many ways:
1) The simplest and fastest of all these functions is Reverse. Reverse, as
it says, reverses the sound and should be instantaneous on almost every
sound.
2) The second function is Echo. To echo a sound, first enter a offset
in bytes for the echo to begin at (most sounds echo well from 2000 up)
Now select the amplitude of the echo by using the slider bar. To perform
a single echo, press Echo, to do a "Full Echo" (which is more realistic
than standard echo, but the amplitude must be set slightly lower) press
F-Echo.
3) Amplification can be achieved through the use of the box next to echo.
To make the sound louder, click on "Louden", and to soften the sound,
click "Soften". Enter the percentage using the slider and then click
"Amp".
4) The Undo feature can only be used if selected using UBuffer. This
allocates the nessesary buffer for Undoing an operation. Once activated,
it stays on, even after exiting the box, until either you quit DigiPlay
Plus, run out of memory, or turn it off yourself, however, when you exit
the Special Effects box, the buffer is removed (in which case the buffer
is reinstalled when the box is entered again). The UNDO operation cannot
be undone.
5) This last feature really isn't a sound effect, but a simple conversion
of "Signed" or "HiBit" sounds. The "Unsign" button unsigns signed
samples (pweh!). Samples come in the form of Amiga samples (AMI's), MOD
exports, and a few others. If when you play a sound, the sound is very
scratchy, but you can make out something, try this.
Sound Graphing
Put the sound you want to graph in the current file slot. Then
click on the Draw button. Sound graphing now uses an averaging method,
which in other words, the area of the sample which is skipped in order
to fit on the screen is averaged, and results in much more accurate
graphs on larger files.
Block Selection
This new feature allows the selection of blocks of the sound for
both using sound effects or playing. To select a block just click on
the graph where to start, hold the button and drag the bar to the end.
To unmark the block click the right mouse button on the graph. Please
note that a sound must be currently graphed to perform these functions.
Erasing a Sound In Memory
Simply press "E", then click the file you want to erase. To
cancel, click anywhere except a file.
Save Speed
Located below the speed selector, this simply saves the default
speed into the first byte of the file. WARNING: If you do this to is
not a sound file, you may end up destroying it.
The "Options" Selection
In this box there are several options for use with DigiPlay+.
Simply select the option with a left mouse button click. The first
is the quit option. This option requires you to verify at the alert box.
The second is Write Docs. You can select "DSK", "PRT" and "Can".
"DSK" writes to disk with the filename of MANUAL.DOC. "PRT" sends
the manual to the printer, and "Can" exits the dialog. The next button
lets you save the current color setup, drive, and file selector status.
Color set allows you to change the color of the background. Custom
selector on/off is changed by clicking on the line. Lastly, Demo Mode
selects Demo Mode which turns off loading, erasing, and exiting. Its
main use is at shops and shows.
Demo Mode
The "Demo Mode" function of DigiPlay Plus disallows the loading,
erasing, and exiting functions of the program by removing buttons and
key shortcuts. Once enabled, it can only be turned off by resetting the
computer or turning it off.
If you leave Demo Mode alone for a while, it will go into a ghost
mode. DigiPlay will automatically pick a file, select a speed and play
the sound. This can be aborted after the sequence by doing anything.
This is excellent for stores or shows where the computer could sit
around doing nothing. This also eliminates, to some degree, screen
burn-in. It is not recommended that utilities like "screen-savers"
are used in conjunction with DigiPlay Plus's Demo Mode.
Quick Keys
(,E = Erase Mode ),L = Load sound /,G = Graph Sound
*,P = Play Sound - = Decrease Speed + = Increase Speed
0 to 9 Select sound slot, 0 being slot number 10
All others listed in either the Keypad menu or the options menu.
Please note that keys in the "Options" menu only work in that menu,
and not on the main screen.
Other:
o On exit you will see "S#=xxxxxxxxx". If you contact me about problems
with your version, please send me this number with your letter,
so I can determine various bits of information.
o Some users couldn't use DigiPlay Plus versions 1.0-1.1 due to an
addressing error. Fixing this has also seemed to have fixed the
problem of STe and TT compatibility.
o Thanks to my many Beta testers, which includes Timothy Miller,
who has tested every (!) version of SDSP/DigiPlay Plus, and has
contributed both ideas and time to the program.
o Also, all graphics are hand drawn by the author using DEGAS Elite.
o The title screen can be removed by renaming or deleting it if disk
space is needed, or for compatibility.
o The program "DIGIPLUS.PRG" is JAMpacked 4.0 LZW, to save disk space
and just to make it easier to use. If the program IS NOT JAMPacked,
it may not be the distributed version of DigiPlay Plus.
Send me your comments!
Like any other program, DigiPlay Plus only gets better if I know what
to change. Any comments are greatly appreciated, and welcome. But, I
would also like to convey that I has done everything possible to take
any bugs out of the program. This program is shareware, and a donation
is requested.
With the donation, you will receive a copy of the first full
commercial program that Two Worlds Software produces (when finished)
which will definitely be worth it! We will also stuff the disk with other
utilities, etc. Recommended donation is $15.
To write us regarding donations and other information:
Two Worlds Software Please indicate if you would like to be
c/o Sean Dougherty sent further information on other software
4722 Windflower Cir. and hardware from Two Worlds.
Tampa, FL 33624 GEnie: [S.DOUGHERTY1]
Or call the Two Worlds Support BBS:
The Excalibur ][ (813)988-2603
Please make all checks payable to Sean Dougherty