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1996-09-25
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The Psychedelic Screen Saver - Version 3.0
Copyright (C) 1995-1996
All Rights Reserved
http://www.halcyon.com/pixel/psych.htm
This file contains the following information:
OVERVIEW ..............: What is The Psychedelic Screen Saver?
CD/SPECTRUM PRO........: What is it and why do you mention it?
RELEASE NOTES..........: What should I know about version 3.0?
BACKGROUND ............: Where did it come from?
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ...: What do I need in order to run it?
INSTALLATION ..........: How do I install it? / How do I get rid of it?
REGISTRATION ..........: Where can I find info on how to register it?
QUESTIONS/SUPPORT .....: Where can I get help with problems?
UPDATES................: When is the next version due?
OVERVIEW
The Psychedelic Screen Saver generates an endless variety of mesmerizing
patterns. As the patterns materialize on your screen, the colors will shift,
undulate, and generally speaking, look cool. Whether you're into abstract
art, mathematics, or just have a history of mental illness, you'll love
this screen saver.
Version 3.0 of The Psychedelic Screen Saver has been designed to work in
conjunction with CD/Spectrum Pro in order to provide stunning visual
effects that synchronize with the sounds from an audio device (like the CD
player in your computer). With many of the module controls you can now
associate a sound frequency, a range of effect, and a sensitivity.
Fluctuations in the amplitude of the frequency will oscillate the control
values within the range of effect.
CD/SPECTRUM PRO
CD/Spectrum Pro is a 32 bit shareware CD-Audio Player with a Graphical
Spectrum Analyzer for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0. It can be used in
conjunction with The Psychedelic Screen Saver in order to allow the patterns
and the colors generated by the screen saver to be synchronized with sound.
CD/Spectrum Pro has almost every feature you can find on any software CD
player. It supports programmed mode, intro mode, optional taskbar icon
operation, auto-play, auto-exit, auto-eject, artist/track/title database,
etc. It also recognizes CDP files which can save you from typing in all the
track/title information for your CDs. The spectrum analyzer graphically
depicts the frequency spectra of the CD music in real time.
CD/Spectrum Pro is not a part of The Psychedelic Screen Saver, it is a
separate product and must be registered. However, if you register both
CD/Spectrum Pro and The Psychedelic Screen Saver at the same time you can
do it at a reduced price.
See the file "OrderFrm.TXT" for complete information on registration.
PSYCH V3.0 RELEASE NOTES
* The Psychedelic Screen Saver v3.0 is available to users who have registered a
previous version of The Psychedelic Screen Saver as a $10 upgrade. This
fee licenses you for Psych 3.0 but not for CD Spectrum Pro. CD Spectrum Pro
is a separate product made by another ShareWare developer.
* Registering Psych v3.0 gives you a license to use all updates of
The Psychedelic Screen Saver prior to version 4.0 and *ALL* previous
versions.
* You must have a sound card installed (and properly configured) in your system
in order for Psych 3.0 to sync with sound.
* CD Spectrum Pro must be running in order for Psych v3.0 to sync with sound.
* Questions regarding the screen saver should be sent to pixel@halcyon.com and
questions about the CD player should be sent to gator@halcyon.com.
BACKGROUND
The algorithms I used in these screen savers were originally conceived as
part of an art project I worked on in my senior year at the Evergreen State
College. I implemented the algorithms in about 70,000 lines of Borlands'
Turbo Pascal for MS-DOS and included a "User Interface From Hell" that
provided access to the hundreds of parameters used to customize the image
generation process. After I graduated, I attempted to make a living as an
artist by selling the images I produced to various galleries around the
country. I quickly discovered that being an artist requires not only a
healthy dose of creativity, but also a boatload of marketing savvy (which I
was lacking). Since I was having a hard time making ends meet, I decided I'd
have to find another way to make a living (besides, another month of macaroni
and cheese would probably have killed me). After kicking around the idea of
putting together a company to do the video/effects for raves, I decided that
I'd be better off getting a programming position with a company that wouldn't
require me to wear a suit. In order to prove I'd done some programming, I
ported some of my Pascal code for MS-DOS into C for MS Windows and sent it
out with my resume. The result was the beginning of The Psychedelic Screen
Saver.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Suggested:
* The Psychedelic Screen Saver v3.0 runs quite nicely on a 80486 DX2-66
system. However, if it is being used in conjunction with CD Spectrum Pro
then you'll probably want at least Pentium 90 (or better <g>)
* Microsoft Windows NT or Windows 95
* 256 color display card - While the screen savers should still work in
high/true color modes, you won't get palette animation.
In order to get some of the effects that they use, the screen savers use
a palettized video mode. This means that colors are referenced by index
rather than by RGB value. By using a palettized video mode, the screen
savers can change the RGB value that corresponds to a particular palette
index and the result is that all of the colors on the screen that use
that index are immediately updated. Neither high or true color modes use
a palette, so it is not possible to achieve the effects without manually
updating the entire display. Since updating the entire display is far
too slow, I didn't code the screen savers to do it.
On the bright side, Windows 95 supports dynamic video mode switching
which means that the display mode can be changed without rebooting the
system. Unfortunately, most of the drivers that are available now will
force you to reboot your system when you change color depths . This will
be changing in the near future and once it does, I'll setup the screen
saver to change to a palette based video mode when it starts up and then
change back when it's done. However, until then, we're stuck with the
limitation :-(
INSTALLATION / REMOVAL
To install the Psychedelic Screen Saver, run the setup program (INSTALL.EXE)
and then follow the directions. If you later decide that you would like to
remove the software from your system, run the un-install program
(UNINSTALL.EXE) that's in the directory you installed to.
REGISTRATION
Registration is easy! The file "ORDERFRM.TXT" contains all the information
you need on how to register "The Psychedelic Screen Saver"
Please refer to LICENSE.TXT for information on the license agreement.
QUESTIONS/SUPPORT
If you have access to the World Wide Web, check out the home page for the
Psychedelic Screen Saver at:
http://www.halcyon.com/pixel/psych.htm
I maintain a "Frequently Asked Questions" page similar to the FAQ.TXT that
we've included here with the screen saver (but more up to date). The FAQ
provides answers to the vast majority of the questions I get via email.
If you can't find the information you need in the FAQ.TXT or in the FAQ on
the web, send me (Mike Irvine) email at pixel@halcyon.com
If you are experiencing a problem, check to see if the problem exists in
the latest version of the software which can be found on my WWW site.
If you are still experiencing the problem, email me with a description of
the behavior and information on your hardware configuration and operating
system. Please be sure to indicate