Loadstar 128 16/q16.d81/t.link boot

Text File | 2022-08-28 | 6KB | 124 lines

                               P A I N T L I N K

                       by Rick Ferreira and Bill Foster


     The 80-column screen is a wonderful canvas for art, especially if you
use THE graphics system for 80-columns, BASIC 8 from WalrusSoft.  There are
several paint programs written in BASIC 8, including PAINT and PAINT II,
published on LOADSTAR 128 #8 and #11 by Peter Marions.  SPECTRUM 128 from
Free Spirit Software and I PAINT from Mindware (reviewed on LS 128 #14) are
two more 80-column paint programs that use the power of BASIC 8.

     The 80-column screen has many useful and interesting features, one of
which is the ability to use different "cell sizes".  A cell is a rectangular
area on the screen which dictates how close different colors can be to each
other.  A typical hi-res screen (which the text screen you're looking at
right now is) allows one foreground color and one background color for each
8x8 square of pixels.

     Cell size is a limitation placed on computer artists, who would like to
be able to manipulate the color of each pixel.  Therefore, the designers of
BASIC 8 make more discrete color manipulation possible by allowing the color
cells to be redefined.  With BASIC 8 you can use 2x8, 4x8, 8x8 or 16x8
cells.  This means that if you are in the 2x8 mode, you are restricted to
one foreground and one background color in a cell measuring 2 pixels across
and 8 pixels high.  In the same area filled by an 8x8 cell on a normal
80-column screen, you can now get FOUR colors.  As you can imagine, artists
love it.

     The only problem is that not all paint programs allow easy changing
between cell sizes.  PAINT 128 II is strictly an 8x8 program.  You can load
other cell size pictures and brushes into it but they are transformed
automatically into 8x8 on the screen.  When you save a PAINT 128 II pict. or
brus. they are saved in the 8x8 format.

     This is where PAINTLINK comes in.  With this handy utility, you can
load any pict. or brus. and view it.  Then, by pressing 2, 4, 8 or 1 (for
16) the picture is quickly converted before your very eyes into 2x8, 4x8,
8x8 or 16x8 format.  Then you can save the picture in the new format for
loading into a paint program.

     When booted, PAINTLINK displays a title screen (which you can skip by
pressing a key) then asks you to set the drive configuration.  Drives 8, 9
or 10 are allowed for source and/or destination.  The destination drive is
also called the SAVE drive.  You may only select drives that are hooked up
and active.

     Then you go to a menu where you can

  P - Work on a pict. file

  B - Work on a brus. file

  R - Re-select drives

  Q - Quit the program

     This program is simple to use.  Press P or B and you're asked to enter
a filename of a pict. or brus. on the disk in the SOURCE drive.  You may
press F1 to see a directory of the files on disk or press RETURN to go back
to the menu.  Note that you don't have to enter the "pict." or "brus."
prefix for the file.  It's already printed on the screen, right before the
cursor, which looks like a reversed # sign.  You may use wildcards.

     After the picture or brush is displayed, a window will show you the
current cell size and ask you to enter a new cell size.  The program is
looking for a 2, 4, 8 or 1.  The 1 is used for a 16 and the other numbers
represent their cell sizes.  You may also press H at any time the picture is
showing and a help screen will pop up.

     The help screen shows you that S is used for saving AND/OR discarding
the picture.  Remember this because it's the way to exit from the program or
load another picture.  When you press S, you can enter a filename for the
file to be saved to the SAVE disk, or just press RETURN to go back to the
main menu.  You can also press F1 to see a directory so you don't use a
filename already on the disk.

     When you press a number (2, 4, 8 or 1) the screen is immediately
redrawn in the newly chosen cell size.  You may or may not see a difference.
 If the picture was drawn in a big cell size and you convert it to a smaller
one, you probably won't see any change, although it will now be in a format
capable of being recolored with more detail by a paint program.  If you
convert a small cell-size picture into a larger cell-size, you will probably
see some color changes.  On this disk are a pict. and a brus. by Walt Harned
that you can play with.  Don't save the pictures to the LOADSTAR disk,
though, there won't be room for them.

     PAINTLINK is the latest in a series of art utilities written by Rick
Ferreira and Bill Foster, authors of ANTE UP.  If you are interested in
80-column art you should check out the following programs published on
LOADSTAR 128:

 GEOPAINTING BASIC 8 - LS 128 #4 - Scott Resh
   Converts B8 pict.s to GEOPAINT format

 PAINT 128 - LS 128 #8 - Peter Marions
   Our pet 8x8 paint program - upgraded on LS 128 #11)

 PAINT COMPANION - LS 128 #9 - Ferreira and Foster
   Convert Print Shop, PrintMaster, Doodle images into B8 format

 SCREENSKETCH - LS 128 #11 - Jon Mattson
   Make 80-column text screens easily

 PAINT 128 II - LS 128 #11 - Peter Marions
   Adds a zoom mode, mouse support, font sizer, merging and much more

 PAINT COMPANION II - LS 128 #11 - Ferreira and Foster
   Convert Koala (multi-color) and GEOPAINT to BASIC 8 format

 PAINT WORKS - LS 128 #13 - Ferreira and Foster
   Change color, flip and reverse any B8 picture

 CLIP ARTIST - LS 128 #13 - Dick Heckert
   Make PS, PM and brushes with paint program power

 SON OF CLIP ARTIST - LS 128 #14 - Dick Heckert
   Same as Clip Artist but works without 64K video RAM

Now add to that list, PAINTLINK.

FT
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