Crawly Crypt Collection 1/crawlyvol1.bin/sound/digiplus/dmanual.txt

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 ][ [phone]

 Please make all checks payable to Sean Dougherty