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1993-06-01
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170 lines
Dynamic Designs Northern Lights Screen Saver v1.00
Copyright (C) 1993 Ian Greenhoe and Daniel Baumberger
From the "Over the Edge Collection"
WARRANTY and LICENSE:
=====================
This software is provided AS IS. There is NO warranty either
expressed or implied. The authors cannot be responsible for any damage
incurred from the use or misuse of this program.
You are granted a limited license to evaluate this software to
see if it meets your needs. You may not charge for this software except
for media, shipping, and/or phone charges without written consent of the
author. You may NOT reverse engineer or decompile this software.
This software is NOT free. It is being distributed as shareware.
You have 30 days to evaluate if this product meets your needs. After that
period, you must either register with the author (see below) or delete all
copies of the program.
OVERVIEW:
==========
Northern Lights is a variation of the classic bouncing lines
program. It has a unique feature of having the lines fade in and fade
out, like the Northern Lights. It also has a "crazy bounce" mode which
doesn't just bounce off the edge of the screen, but comes off in a new
direction with a new speed making some unique displays. Northern Lights can
also have up to 5 reflections on the screen at once.
REQUIREMENTS:
==============
Northern Lights will run on any 80x86 based system with a SVGA. To
run, it MUST have a SVGA supporting a 256 color mode. The default mode is
640x480x256. However, a 320x200x256 mode is available. WARNING: the driver
used does not always work in 320x200x256 mode. You must try it first. Since
we did not write the driver, we cannot fix this bug. Northern lights does
not take advantage of a math coprocessor. However, if you have a 386,
the speed can be greatly improved. See registration for details.
RUNNING NORTHERN LIGHTS:
========================
To run Northern Lights with the default parameters, just type
"nl" at the DOS prompt. This will run Northern Lights in 640x480x256 mode
with 1 reflection and crazy bounce enabled.
To get help on Northern Lights, type "nl /?" at the DOS prompt.
Northern Lights will display a list of supported command-line options and
their defaults. Below is a list of the parameters, their defaults,
acceptable values, and what they do. Characters in square brackets ("[]")
are optional.
/L[INES] n
DEFAULT: 60
PURPOSE: This sets the number of lines drawn on the screen at
one time. Any values from 1 to 255 can be used.
/S[PEED] n
DEFAULT: 30
PURPOSE: Speed determines how many lines should be drawn before
changing the color. Any value from 1 to 32,767 can be used.
/F[ADE] n
DEFAULT: 20
PURPOSE: This option specifies how many lines it takes to fade
from one color to the next. Acceptable values range from 1 to 32,767.
/D[ELAY] n
DEFAULT: 25 milliseconds
PURPOSE: Sets the delay to n milliseconds between drawing each line.
You can put just about any value here up to around 32,767 (around 1/2 minute).
/MA[X] n
DEFAULT: 50
PURPOSE: Max specifies the maximum number of pixels of space between
the lines. Acceptable values are 1 to 32,767.
/MI[N] n
DEFAULT: 2
PURPOSE: This is the opposite of MAX. This specifies the minimum
distance between lines. Value can range from 1 to 32,767 but MUST be less
than MAX.
/C[YCLE] m
DEFAULT: complex
PURPOSE: Specifies the pattern for choosing the next color. RANDOM
picks a radom color out of the 256 available colors. SIMPLE does a linear
loop through the colors. SINGLE uses only a single color. COMPLEX uses
a more complex method for choosing that perfect color...
/B[OUNCE] m
DEFAULT: crazy
PURPOSE: Selects how the lines will bounce off the edge of the screen.
CRAZY chooses a random direction and speed. TRUE bounces off the edge using
a true bounce such as in real life.
/R[EFLEC] n
DEFAULT: 1
PURPOSE: Selects how many reflections will appear on the screen.
Acceptable values range from 1 - 5, with 1 - 5 sets of lines appearing
on the screen, respectively.
/P[ARK]
DEFAULT: OFF
PURPOSE: THIS OPTION IS AVAILABLE IN REGISTERED VERSIONS ONLY.
Northern Lights will park the hard disk while running the screen saver.
/MO[DE] m
DEFAULT: 640x480x256
PURPOSE: Selects another video mode. The resolution must be specified
manually. Acceptable values for m are:
320x200x256 640x400x256 640x480x256
800x600x256 1024x768x256
The entire string as specified above must be put in as m. For example, to
select the 1024x768x256 mode:
> NL /MODE 1024x768x256
Other forms of specifying the mode are being considered. If you have a
suggestion, contact the author below (see REGISTERING).
REGISTERING
============
If, after the evaluation period, you find Northern Lights useful,
you can register your copy by sending $15 (US) to:
Daniel Baumberger
811 South Nevada Drive
Longview, WA 98632-5611
As a registered user, you will receive the Dynamic Designs quarterly
newsletter, be eligible for discounted updates, and you will receive
a disk with all the other Dynamic Design utilities and screen savers
(The Over the Edge Collection) with instructions on how to register
the others at special price. Comments, questions, suggestions, and
ideas for new screen savers can also be sent to the above address.
When you register, please specify the version number that you have, where you
got it (if a BBS, give a phone number, if Internet site, give address), and an
e-mail address or Compuserve address (if applicable). Also, some of the
screen savers can benefit from a 286 or 386 or a math coprocessor. If you
would like a registered version targeted for a specific chip, please specify
when registering. NOTE: Northern Lights does not take advantage of a
math coprocessor. However, 286 and 386 specific versions are available.
Ask for availability of targeted versions when you register if you are
unsure. NOTE: 286, 386, and coprocessor versions are not to be distributed!
HISTORY:
========
NL v1.00 Initial Shareware Release
THE OVER THE EDGE COLLECTION
============================
The Over the Edge Collection is a set of graphical screen savers
developed by Daniel Baumberger, Ian Greenhoe, and Ken Maupin. Currently there
are five (as of this release) in the collection, which may or may not be
available. If you are interested, contact the author for more info.
Magic Mirror (MAGIC) -- A variation on the classic boucing lines.
Northern Lights (NL) -- A new twist on bouncing lines. The lines acutally
fade in and out!
Color Rings (RINGS) -- Generates hypnotic rings and sqare displays.
Plasma (PL) -- a plasma generator for unique moving displays.
Color Circle (COLCIR) -- A large turning color circle on your screen.
Actual names for distribution may be different. Contact the author above
for more details on availability.