LSD Docs/LSD Docs.iso/FILEZ/lsdspr16.dms/lsdspr16.adf/TurboSilver.Manual.pp/TurboSilver.Manual

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            TURBO SILVER 3.0 USER MANUAL

                           Table of Contents

Hardware Requirements: 11
Introduction 11
Quick Start 12
About This Manual 15
What is Turbo Silver? 16
What is Ray Tracing? 17
Getting Started 18
Running the Program 18
Disk Usage and Memory Usage 19
Turbo Silver Conventions 20
    Hot Keys 20
    List of Special Keys 21
    Menus and Submenus 22
    Mouse Usage 22
    Entering Numeric Data in Silver - Using the Requesters 22
    File Requester 23

Reference Section 25
The 3D World of Turbo Silver - An Overview 25
Light in Turbo Silver's 3D World 28
The Turbo Silver Camera 29
Using the Program 29
Animation Concepts 29
Entering the Object Editor 31
Object Editor; Basic Operation 31
    Picking and Selecting Objects 32
    Multi Mode 34
    Color Chart 34

Edit Menu 35
    Add SubMenu 35
    Automatic Name Requesters 36
        Sphere 36
        Stencil 37
        Axis 37
        Custom 38
        Surface 39
        Ground 40
        Point (Right Amiga-6) 40
        Edge (Right Amiga-7) 40
        Face (Right Amiga-8) 41
    All (Right Amiga-A) 42
    Copy (Right Amiga-C) 42
    Cut (Right Amiga-X) 42
    Paste (Right Amiga-P) 43
    Delete (Right Amiga-D) 43
    Erase (Right Amiga-E) 43
    Join (Right Amiga-J) 44
    Split (Right Amiga-Z) 44
    Group (Right Amiga-G) 45
    UnGroup (Right Amiga-Y) 46
    Undo (Right Amiga-U) 46
    Quit (Right Amiga-Q) 46
    Escape (Right Amiga-]) 46

Special Menu 47
    Free (Right Amiga-F) 47
    Track (Right Amiga-T) 47
    Apply (Right Amiga-) 48
    Cluster (Right Amiga-K) 48
    Home (Right Amiga-H) 49
    Next (Right Amiga-N) 49
    Last (Right Amiga-B) 49
    Find (Right Amiga-V) 49
    Mark (Right Amiga-M) 49
    Redraw (Right Amiga-R) 49
    Auto Redraw 50
    Manual Redraw 50

Settings Menu 51
    Globals (Function Key F4) 51
        Zenith 52
        Horizon 52
        Fade 53
        Ambient 53
        Blending 53
        Perturbance 53
        Edge Level 54
        Resolve Depth 54
        Genlock 54
    Camera (Function Key F5) 54
        Position 56
        Camera Angle 56
        Focal Length 56
        Fade Start 57
        Fade Finish 57
        Lens Setting 57
        Manual 57
        Wide Angle 58
        Normal 58
        Telephoto 58
        Custom 58
        Sharp 58
        Fuzzy 58
    Transformations (Function Key F6) 59
        Align 60
        Size 61
        Position 61
        Rotate 62
        Scale 62
        Translate 63
    Attributes (Function Key F7) 64
        Object 65
        Quick Redraw 65
        Color 65
        Reflect 66
        Notes on Reflectivity 66
        Filter 67
        Blending 67
        Roughness 67
        Specular 68
        Hardness 68
        Material 68
        Air 69
        Glass 69
        Water 69
        Crystal 69
        Custom 69
        Unlit 70
        As Sun 71
        As Lamp 71
        Intensity 71
        Shaded 71
        Bright 71
        Smooth 72
        Facets 72
        Normal 72
        Glossy 72
        Texture 72
        Matte 72
        IFF Brush 73
        Genlock 73
    Skin 74
    Mold 76
        Extrude 77
        Extrusion Example 78
        Sweep 80
        Spin 80
    Story 81
        Follow Path 82
        Rotation 83
        Scaling 83
        Align to Y 83
        Follow Me 84
        Drop Story 85
        More About Story 85
        Animation Hints 87
    Load (Right Amiga-L) 88
    Save (Right Amiga-S) 88
    eXternal (Right Amiga-X) 88

Brush Menu 90
    Hints for Image Wrapping 92
    IFF Brush Objects as Light Sources 92
    Load 92
    Drop 93
    View 93
    Wrap Submenu 93

Stencil Menu 95
    Load 96
    Drop 96
    View 96

Texture Menu 97
    Load 97
    Drop 97
    Info 98
    Parameters 98

Pick Menu 99
    Group (Right Amiga-1) 99
    Object (Right Amiga-2) 100
    Point (Right Amiga-3) 100
    Face (Right Amiga-4) 100
    Edge (Right Amiga-5) 101
    Add Select (Function key F1) 101
    Add Pick (Function key F2) 101
    Rem Select (Function key F3) 102

View Menu 103
    Pan Mode--The Arrow Keys 103
    Top View (Function key F8) 103
    Front View (Function key F9) 103
    Right View (Function key F10) 103
    Wire Frame (Right Amiga-W) 103
    Zoom In (Right Amiga-I) 103
    Zoom Out (Right Amiga-O) 104
    Coords On 104
    Set Depth 104
    Reset 105

Animation Editor Reference 107
Introduction 107
Silver's Virtual File Storage 108
The Meaning of the Asterisk 108
Animation Editor Mouse Commands 109
Frame Position Slider 110
Delay per Frame Slider 110
    Key Cell 111

Info Menu 112
    About 112
    Disk 112
    Memory 112

File Menu 113
    File Information for Advanced Users 113
    New (Right Amiga-N) 115
    Open (Right Amiga-O) 115
    Save (Right Amiga-S) 116
    Close 116
    Quit (Right Amiga-Q) 116
    Clean Up 116

Modes Menu 117
    HAM 117
    Lo Res 117
    Hi Res 117
    200 Line 118
    400 Line 118
    Normal View 118
    Overscan 118
    12-bit RGB 118
    24-bit RGB 118

Edit Menu 119
    All (Right Amiga-A) 121
    Copy (Right Amiga-C) 121
    Cut (Right Amiga-X) 121
    Delete (Right Amiga-D) 121
    Paste (Right Amiga-P) 121
    Edit (Right Amiga-E) 122
    View (Right Amiga-V) 122
    Undo (Right Amiga-G) 122

Cells Menu 123
    Make (Right Amiga-M) 123
    Key Cell (Right Amiga-K) 123
    Source (Right Amiga-Z) 124
    Target (Right Amiga-T) 124
    Join (Right Amiga-J) 124
    Expert Tips 125
    Load (Right Amiga-L) 126
    Write (Right Amiga-W) 126
    Info (Right Amiga-I) 126
    Use Story 126

Display Menu 128
    Show 128
    Generate 128
    Options Submenu 129
        All Cells 129
        New Cells 129
        Free Palette 130
        Lock Palette 130
        Wire Frame 130
        Solid Model 130
        Full Trace 131
        Full Trace Pixel Size 131
        Set Zone 132
        Reset Zone 132
        Hide Silver 132

Scene Menu 134
    Cells 134
    Stills 134
    Animation 134
    Set Loop 135
    Make Scene 135
    Playing Animations Outside of Silver 136
    Generating Multiple Animations from One File 136
    Make Movie 137
    Load Movie 137
    Drop Movie 138
    Play Movie Submenu 138
        Once 138
        Loop 138

Appendices 139


Hardware Requirements:

Amiga 500, 1000, 2000
1 megabyte of memory (minimum)
1 floppy disk drive (minimum)

Optional:

Hard disk
68020 or 68030 CPU
68881 or 68882 math coporocessor

Introduction

Welcome to Turbo Silver, the finest three-dimensional ray-tracing animation
system available for your Amiga computer. Turbo Silver lets you create
stunningly lifelike stills and animated sequences as well as realistic
scenes that could only exist in your imagination. Among its many
advantages, Turbo Silver offers you:

* seamlessly integrated Object Editor and Animation Editor
* fastest rendering time of any Amiga 3D ray-tracing program
* ultra-fast solid-modeling preview mode with shading and smoothing
* full use of HAM (hold-and-modify) mode for 4096-color ray tracing
* hierarchical object grouping and movement
* true 3D solids, thus object file compatibility with other 3D modeling
  programs
* object creation commands include spin and extrude as well as
  point-by-point and face-by-face
* powerful Undo command allows for easy experimentation as well as human
  error
* many object attributes include color, reflection (mirror), transparency,
  roughness, specular, hardness, refraction, shaded/bright, smooth/facets,
  blending--most applicable to parts as well as entire objects
* turbocharged animation generation
* up to eight different IFF Brushes--any image, including HAM interlace,
  can be wrapped around any shape.
* eight different Stencils per frame--hand-drawn shapes that become solid
  and can take on any Silver attribute, including IFF Brush wrapping
* eight different object textures per frame--a uniform pattern with various
  user-definable attributes (e.g. size and color)
* up to 999 frames per animation sequence
* Virtual File storage system permits each cell to be as complex as memory
  allows.
* super requesters permit setting and viewing of many parameters on one
  screen
* up to 32,000 light sources per scene
* light source can project IFF images onto other objects
* true light refraction for transparent objects (including default settings
  for glass, water, and crystal)
* special perturbance mode for 'broad-field' animation
* full support of CSA Turbo and work-alikes (68020 CPU and 68881
  floating-point coprocessor to speed up rendering times by up to 400%)
* full support of Amiga's multitasking operating system

Quick Start

As you're probably curious to see just what this program can do, here's a
step-by-step mini-tutorial that lets you quickly create and render a 3D
object.

1. Run Turbo. When the program starts (it looks like a film strip laid
horizontally across the screen), select New from the File menu and select a
drive and name for the new file. We recommend using a blank, newly
formatted data disk for data.

2. Click twice on the leftmost frame, number 1, in the film strip. The disk
spins for a moment, then the Cell Editor Window appears. The small circle
in the window is the camera. Press F10 for the right view to see that the
camera is pointed forward, then press F9 to return to the front view.

3. Select Add from the Edit menu, and select Custom from the Add submenu.

4. When the Custom object requester appears, click on Cone, then close the
requester by clicking on the close gadget in its upper left corner.

5. The cone should appear in the center of the window, colored orange. If
the Rename requester appears simply click on its close gadget. Press
function key F1 and the cone turns blue.

6. Select Track from the Special menu. This keeps the camera pointed at the
cone.

7. Press function key F7 to activate the Attributes requester.

8. Click on the square gadget labeled Color near the upper left corner and
the large square in the requester turns white. Drag the Green and Blue
slider gadgets in the requester's upper right corner all the way to the
left--the large square in the requester should turn red. This makes the
cone red.

9. Close the requester by clicking in the upper left corner.

10. Select Axis from the Edit menu's Add submenu. This will be our light
source.

11. When the orange axis appears, close the Rename requester if present,
then press F1 once--it turns blue--and again--it turns green.

12. Click the mouse near the camera at its height or a little above, but
not too near so you'll be able to see the object's shading. The axis
instantly moves to where you click and turns back to blue. To reposition
the axis, press F1 again (the axis turns green), then click in the new
spot. This sets the light's height, but we also need to move it away from
the cone.

13. Press function key F8 to switch to the top view. Press F1 to turn the
blue axis green, then click to the side of the camera to reposition it,
again not too close. If at any time you click away from the axis when it's
blue, it will turn white and you'll need to click on it to reselect it for
further operations.

14. Make sure the axis is blue. Now press F7 to invoke the Attributes
requester for the axis. Click in the square gadget next to As Sun near the
requester's lower left corner (an X appears in it), then close the
requester.

15. We're almost ready to render the image of the cone. Exit the Cell
Editor by clicking in the close box in the window's upper left corner. The
disk spins for a moment, then the initial screen, which looks like a
horizontal strip of film, appears. This is the Animation Editor, and its
menu commands are used for rendering pictures and animations.

16. Even rendering such a simple object can take quite a while with ray
tracing, so to speed it up we'll set a zone to render only a small portion
of the screen. Select Set Zone from the Options Menu. Mouse coordinates are
shown at the top of the screen. Click the mouse button at 120,65 and again
at 200,140.

17. To render the image, select Generate from the Display menu. A screen
message constantly informs you of the progression of the image, which may
not be viewed until finished. This should take several minutes.

18. When the image is completed, an asterisk appears in the lower portion
of Frame 1. Make sure the frame is selected (the lettering appears white,
not orange), then select Show from the Display menu.

19. In a few moments you should see a nicely shaded red cone against a
black background. If not, go over the above steps carefully.

20. Click the left mouse button to return to the Animation Editor.

About This Manual

The Turbo Silver manual is divided into several parts:

Introduction
Getting Started
General Reference
Reference--Object Editor
Reference--Animation Editor
Appendices

If you've used Silver before you may wish to skip the introductory section
if you're in a big hurry. But if you're not, read everything--the program
has changed a LOT!! Even if you're familiar with the basics of 3D design
and animation, you should start with the Introduction and read through the
entire manual at least once before using the program.

We can't impress upon you enough the importance of reading and rereading
the Reference Section of this manual. Although easy to use, Turbo Silver is
an advanced and complex piece of software. If you consider your time to be
valuable, you owe it to yourself to learn to use the program as efficiently
as possible. As friendly and ergonomic as the Amiga's Intuition interface
may be, we can't possibly put every fine point of the program into the
menus. And since the density of the information contained in the reference
section renders it indigestible at a single sitting, rereading the material
is important.

What is Turbo Silver?

You're probably familiar with graphics programs such as Deluxe Paint II
that let you paint with color directly on the computer screen. Even if
you're not a major drawing talent these programs give you many tools with
which to create interesting pictures. If you are a skilled artist, however,
you can use paint programs to create realistic-looking scenes, and with a
lot of work, even photograph-like images. Turbo Silver is a different kind
of graphics program that does the hard work involved in creating a 3D scene
for you. To create an image, you first use a 3D editor to place wireframe
objects in a three-dimensional scene, describe various attributes of the
objects and the general scene, and then let the program go to work to
generate the final image in a process called 'rendering'.

Turbo Silver's 3D Object Editor lets you create just about any
three-dimensional shape you can think of, and even a few you might not
have. Most of Turbo Silver's objects are composed of a number of connected
triangular faces, each of whose corners is called a 'point'. You can create
custom objects by adding points anywhere in the 3D space, then connecting
them in triangular faces. You can create round objects by spinning points
about a central axis, and you can extrude flat shapes into solid ones. A
special 'Extrude Path' command lets you extrude objects along complicated
paths. You can move or rotate grouped or individual objects as well as
points and faces. You can apply any of a generous assortment of attributes
and properties as well to objects, groups, and faces. You can wrap IFF
image files around any shape and use special 2D objects called stencils
that can be created with any paint program.

Turbo Silver's Animation Editor is what you see when you first start the
program--it looks like a film strip laid horizontally across the screen.
The Animation Editor lets you manipulate entire cells, including all
objects and properties contained herein. You can cut, copy, combine and
paste cells, and make new cells containing copies of an existing cell. To
edit an individual frame of the animation you just click on the
corresponding frame with the mouse and you're transferred to the Object
Editor, where you can create and manipulate objects. Once you're set up a
scenario in a cell, you can animate it automatically across any number of
frames with the Story command.

The Animation Editor also lets you generate images or stills for any cell
or groups of cells, combine cells into an animated sequence, or perform
both steps with a single command (Make Scene). To create an animated
sequence, Turbo Silver combines consecutive frame images into a single file
which can then be played back outside the program by a small included
player program. Turbo Silver's compression technique makes maximum use of
your computer's memory when creating animations by saving only the changes
between frames.

What is Ray Tracing?

Traditional microcomputer-based 3D drawing programs have been able to
render only primitive-looking views of solid objects due to the limited
resolution and color palettes of early machines. The standard technique
used by these programs is called solid modeling and is able to perform
limited shading at best. Ray tracing, an advanced 3D rendering technique,
literally traces the paths of thousands of individual rays of light through
a three-dimensional scene via computation. Of course the scene must first
exist in the computer's memory, described as sets of points and lines
between them. The computer performs millions of calculations to generate a
ray-traced image. The Amiga is the first home computer with high enough
resolution and enough colors (4096) to perform true ray tracing, and Turbo
Silver pushes this advanced but affordable new technology to its limit.

Getting Started

Turbo Silver isn't copy-protected, so first duplicate the program disk
using your standard disk copy procedure (see your Amiga owner's manual for
details). Store the original Turbo Silver disk in a safe place and use the
copy to work with. If you have a hard disk you may wish to install the
program on it by simply copying the files over--we recommend creating a new
subdirectory for Turbo Silver and its files.

Please remember that we've worked hard to create this program and depend
upon its sale and legal usage for our livelihood. Impulse won't insult your
intelligence by overstating the fact that giving away or selling copies of
commercial software you've bought is illegal, so please don't do it. Each
copy of Turbo Silver that Impulse sends out has a unique traceable imbedded
code which is indelibly retained in any copies you make. Remember that
Turbo Silver is protected against loss of media integrity with a lifetime
warranty. We protect you--please protect us as well.

Running the Program

Start up your system with Kickstart and/or Workbench versions 1.2 or higher
according to your owner's manual.

To start using Turbo Silver, place the working copy in any drive. When the
Turbo Silver disk icon appears open it, then open the Turbo program icon
that appears in the window. If you have floating-point math coprocessor
(68881 or 68882 or equivalent) installed in your system run Turbo.fp
instead, also supplied on your program disk. To start Turbo Silver from the
CLI, type Turbo or Turbo.fp from the command prompt (assuming you've set
the current directory to the one containing the Turbo Silver program).

When the program begins you're placed in Turbo Silver's Animation Editor,
which looks like a horizontal film strip of eight frames, with a ninth near
the bottom of the screen between two slider gadgets. To begin working on an
animation you must use the New or Open command from the file menu. More
about this shortly, but first we'll discuss some important details.

NOTE: Remember that Turbo Silver requires at least one megabyte of memory
to run. If you attempt to run the program on an Amiga that contains less,
you'll encounter a fatal software error.

Disk Usage and Memory Usage

Once loaded, Turbo Silver doesn't need to access the program disk any more.
This is of great benefit to floppy-disk users, who can use all of a blank
disk for data without having to swap the program disk back in at various
times. However, Turbo Silver lets you store different types of data in
different directories, so more disk storage permits you correspondingly
longer animations.

Silver uses a Virtual File storage scheme to maximize memory and let you
create as complicated objects as possible in each cell. When you enter a
cell from the Animation Editor its contents are loaded from a temporary
file, and when you edit from the Object Editor workspace the cell is saved
to a temporary file on disk. You can set the drive and directory (path)
used for this operation with the Cells items in the Animation Editor's
Scene menu. Despite this automatic backup system you must use the Save
command to ensure that edited cells are safely stored on disk for future
reloading.

Although Silver can use all the memory available in your system for each
cell, there's no reliable way to predict memory usage in specific
situations. All objects use memory, so the more complex each of your
objects is, the fewer you'll be permitted to create. Remember that spinning
and extruding objects with many points can add tremendously to their
complexity. Another point to keep in mind is that Silver uses a special
technique while rendering that 'spreads out' your scene in any available
memory to generate it significantly more quickly. In creating animation
sequences Turbo Silver uses a special memory-saving technique called delta
compression in which only the pixels that change from frame to frame are
saved. Thus for example in a case in which a 67-kilobyte frame is followed
by one in which there is relatively little change, the second might require
only 30K of storage. This allows you to create longer animations that would
fit in memory without the benefit of compression. However, you must still
be wary of creating animations that are larger in size than the amount of
memory in your computer--you won't be able to load and display them.

Turbo Silver Conventions

Hot Keys

When you're first learning to use a program, it's of great benefit to be
able to access any of the relatively unfamiliar commands with a mouse
pointer and pull-down menus. Once you start to feel at home, however, you
sometimes need to work a little more quickly. So Turbo Silver gives you
'Hot Key' keyboard alternatives to most menu commands, listed to the right
of the command in the menu. In all cases, to use a Hot Key first press and
hold the right Amiga key (to the immediate right of the space bar), then
press the second key shown to the extreme right of the menu item (e.g. to
delete a selected object or cell--Right Amiga-D--hold down the right Amiga
key and press the D key). All of Turbo Silver's Hot Keys are listed on the
enclosed Quick Reference Sheet.

We recommend that one of the first Turbo Silver Hot Keys you learn is the
powerful Undo command (Right Amiga-U), available in both the object and
Animation Editors. It always returns you to the condition before the last
command.

Special keys used in the object editor are function keys F1, which turns an
orange 'selected' object blue, or if the object is already blue it is
'marked' and turns green, ready for repositioning--click the mouse at the
new spot. The F2 key deselects the last picked object in Multi mode. Also,
the four arrow keys let you scroll the Object Editor window in the
indicated direction.

List of Special Keys

Key    Function

F1    Picks selected group, object, face or point (same as Add Select
    from Pick Menu)
F2    Removes ('un-picks') last object, face or point picked in Multi
    mode.
F4    Invokes Global Settings requester.
F5    Invokes Camera Settings requester.
F6    Invokes Transformations requester (if object is picked)
F7    Invokes Attributes requester (if object is picked)
F8    Top View
F9    Front View
F10    Right View
S    When rendered frame is being viewed with Show command, this key
    saves the image in IFF format
Left Shift - When held down in conjunction with mouse or F1-key selection,
    allows picking multiple objects, points, edges, or faces.

You can set function keys to invoke any Object Editor menu command with the
configuration file. See Appendix A for details.

Menus and Submenus

Many of Turbo Silver's menu items have sub-menus, and as in most such cases
navigation of these can be a bit tricky at first. When using the mouse to
access submenus, it's best to drag the mouse all the way to the right side
of that menu sub-item. As with any new Amiga program, we recommend that you
test drive the mouse through the various menu items to get a feel for the
layout.

Mouse Usage

Mouse usage in Silver adheres to the Intuition standard used by many Amiga
programs. To access the drop-down menus, hold down the right mouse button
and move the pointer to the top of the screen. Use the left mouse button to
select and access frames when in the Animation Editor, and to manipulate
objects when in the Object Editor. Whenever this manual uses the phrase
'click on' something, it means to position the mouse cursor over the object
and press the left button, then release it. On the other hand, 'click and
hold' means to keep the left mouse button depressed, the way you keep the
right mouse button pressed when you navigate the menus.

Entering Numeric Data in Silver - Using the Requesters

Turbo Silver uses a lot of numbers--for color, position, rotation, size,
and many other settings. Most requesters let you use two or three different
methods for entering values: directly from the keyboard; by clicking and
holding on up/down value adjustment gadgets (they look like small
arrowheads) next to the number; or by clicking and dragging the value
slider left or right. When you hold the mouse button down on the up/down
value adjustment gadget for more than a few seconds the rate of change
gradually accelerates. The Transformation requester doesn't use sliders,
and some smaller requesters require you enter numbers directly.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Whenever you use the computer keyboard to enter text or
numeric data into a Silver requester, you must press the Return (or Enter)
key in order for the new data to be registered. In most requesters,
pressing Return also takes you to the next field, unless you're in the last
one in the form.

File Requester

If you've ever used an Amiga program that saves and/or loads files you
understand how Turbo Silver's file requester works. Below is an
illustration:

 !====================================================!
 !====================================================!
 !                  New File                     !--! !
 !            !---------------------------!      !  ! !
 ! drawer     !                           !      !--! !
 !            !---------------------------!      !  ! !
 !  ff                                           !  ! !
 ! (dir) ff.ANI                                  !  ! !
 ! (dir) ff.CEL                                  !  ! !
 ! (dir) ff.STL                                  !  ! !
 ! (dir) stuff                                   !  ! !
 !                                               !--! !
 !         !------------------------------------!     !
 !   file  !                                    !     !
 !         !------------------------------------!     !
 ! !=======!                           !==========!   !
 ! !  OK   !                           !  CANCEL  !   !
 ! !=======!                           !==========!   !
 !                                                    !
 ! !------! !------! !------! !------! !-----! !-----!!
 ! ! ROOT ! ! PRNT ! ! DF0: ! ! DH0: ! ! DH1:! ! RAM:!!
 ! !------! !------! !------! !------! !-----! !-----!!
 !----------------------------------------------------!

Note that the bottom row (or rows) of gadgets in the file requester shows
all drives on line in your system. Also, the two leftmost buttons in the
top row labeled ROOT and PRNT are for maneuvering upward through disk
directories. Click on the ROOT button from within any subdirectory to
return to the highest, or root level. PRNT stands for Parent; click on this
button to return to the subdirectory immediately above the current one, as
specified in the DRAWER line. In hard disk usage, this line can be blank
even though you're currently viewing a subdirectory, in which case the PRNT
gadget has no effect. The window above the drive buttons shows a list of
all files and directories in the current directory. Note that when using
the Open command, only Silver Script files and directories appear in the
file list, and the .SCR extenders don't appear. Click on any other gadget
to list files on that drive. If there are more files than can fit in the
window, use the slider to the window's right to scroll the others into view
(click on and slide the dark bar vertically, or click immediately above or
below it).

To see the files inside a directory, click on the directory name in the
file list window. you can also type in a path name after first clicking in
the box to the right of the word DRAWER above the text window. Once you've
found the name of your file click on it, then on the OK gadget to the lower
left of the window. If you're using the New command you'll need to click on
the box to the right of FILE and type in a new file name. To escape the
file command without changing anything simply click on the Cancel gadget.

Reference Section

The 3D World of Turbo Silver - An Overview

We've got a slight problem to overcome here. You see, humans and computers
have absolutely no problem dealing with three-dimensional worlds.
Unfortunately, we've yet to develop effective 3D displays for our
computers, and so must command them using interfaces based on the flap
displays currently in use. Alas, it's most difficult to effectively
represent a 3D world on a 2D display, and to quickly show changes in the
world or display.

Turbo Silver's Object Editor uses a three-window display (one window at a
time) to show the scene you're working on from three different
angles--above, from the front, and from the right side. These in
combination with the wire-frame mode of display used gives you a reasonable
idea of where things are and how they're positioned. Among the advantages
of seeing only one view at a time are fewer confusing details for you and
less for the program to redraw when you change something, resulting in
faster and more responsive editing.

In Plane Geometry you learned about the X and Y axes of the Cartesian
Coordinate system which could be used in mathematics to make
two-dimensional graphs. In 3D computer graphics a third axis is added to be
able to describe an object's depth as well as its height and width. Each
point in the Turbo Silver 3D world can be referenced as a unique set of
coordinates (X, Y, Z) on a three-axis Cartesian reference system. See the
illustration on the next page:

                        Z Axis
                        + 1000
                           |                        + 1000
                           |                           //
                           |                        / /
                           |                      /  /
                           |                   /   /
                           |                 /   /
                           |               /   /
                           |            /   /
                           |         /    /
                           |      /     /
                           |   /     /
       X Axis              |/    /
-1000 -------------------/-|---/------------------------------ + 1000
                      /    | /
                   /      /|
                /       /  |
             /       /     |
 Y Axis   /      /         |
       /       /           |
 - 1000     /              |
                           |
                        - 1000

                   x, y, z axes showing +/- 100 extent

Thus the X coordinate describes a points horizontal position, the Y
coordinate its depth or 'in-out' position, and the Z coordinate its
vertical position. Note that the center of the Turbo Silver 3D world is at
0, 0, 0, and its extent is 1000 units in any direction. This means that all
realistic coordinates must fall in the range (-1000, -1000, -10000) to
(1000, 1000, 1000).

Each object in Silver (except the special sphere and surface objects--see
Edit Add Sphere and Edit Add Surface below) consists of a set of points in
space connected in triangular faces and/or edges. Objects can be grouped,
and you can manipulate groups, objects and sets of independent objects,
sets of points and faces in a variety of ways all described in detail
below.

As an example and to help you start thinking in these terms, imagine an
object at coordinates 0,0,0 illuminated by a light source at -80, -90, 100.
In this case the light source is eighty units to the left of the object,
ninety units in front of it, and 100 units above it.

In addition to describing objects' shape and location, the three-axis
system is used to describe rotational movement. Turbo silver can rotate
groups, objects, faces and points in one-degree increments about any or all
of the three axes.

Since Silver's wireframe editor lets you move groups, objects, points and
faces interactively, you won't often need to deal directly with location
coordinates. But should you need to use the Translate, Rotate, or Scale
commands, it's important to know the difference between local and world
axes. Every object in Silver has a small axis, or set of X, Y, and Z axes,
associated it it that's used as a control and orientation point. When an
object is first created, its axis is aligned with the Silver 'world
axis--that is, as seen from the front X is left and right, Y is in and out
and Z is up and down. But when it's rotated it's no longer aligned, and you
get different results from performing the above transformations on the
local or world basis. Silver performs translation, rotation, and scaling in
the direction of any or all of the three axes. Transformations on the local
basis take place in the direction of the object or group's axis. On the
other hand, the world's axis never changes. This flexibility gives you
complete control performing transformations.

HINT: Since you can rotate, translate, and scale objects on their own axes,
you might want to change an object's axis on occasion. For example, you can
rotate any object on any of its vertices by positioning its axis there. To
do this, pick the object, activate Pick Face mode, pick any face, Mark it,
then click on the new location for the axis (you'll find further
explanation in the Reference Section below). Do this from all three views
for precise interactive placement of the axis. By the way, to perform
actual transformations on objects' faces, you must use Point mode, picking
all the faces point by point.

Light in Turbo Silver's 3D World

Turbo Silver uses two types of light--point source and broad source.
Another name for broad source light is ambient, which means surrounding on
all sides. Ambient light doesn't come from anywhere in particular, but
illuminates all things evenly. Your only control over ambient light is its
overall level. As ambient light tends to 'wash' out images and can lead to
a bland look, we recommend minimal usage, especially since Silver allows
you as many as 32,000 point-source lights. You set ambient light in the
Global Settings requester.

Any object in Silver can act as a point-source type of light, which has two
settings--As Sun or As Lamp. The latter is the more conventional setting in
that it illuminates objects in proportion to their distance from it--the
closer they are, the more brightly lit.  The As Sun setting, however,
illuminates all objects with the same brightness no matter how distant or
close they are to the source. Also, the Shaded/Bright setting for light
sources determines whether or not it casts shadows. You can set any
point-source light's position as well as its brightness. In addition, you
can assign light positions to paths to create moving light sources during
animations. If you load an IFF brush onto an axis, then set it as a light
source, it projects the picture onto objects it illuminates!

The Turbo Silver Camera

The camera (the small circle near the center of the window) is the only
object present when you enter the cell editor for a new cell. It's an
object like any other in the Turbo Silver 3D world, and the current scene
is always rendered from the camera's viewpoint. Of course the camera can be
positioned at any point in the 3D world, and can be aimed at any other
point. In addition, you can assign the camera position to paths to create a
moving vantage point during animations. Automatic tracking of any object is
a handy option but aim can also be set manually for special effects. For
realistic photograph-like results you can also set the camera's focal
length from extra-wide-angle to super-telephoto.

Using the Program

Turbo Silver uses two modules--the Animation Editor and the Object Editor.
When you first begin using the program you're placed in the Animation
Editor, which resembles a film strip laid horizontally across the screen.
From here you can edit cells or groups of cells, access the Object Editor
for any cell, render cells' contents as still images, and create
animations.

Animation Concepts

To understand how to use Turbo Silver it's necessary to know the difference
between the terms cell and frame. A cell contains all the information
necessary to create a single frame in a Turbo Silver animation. That is, a
cell contains 3D objects and their attributes, IFF brushes and stencils as
well as global attributes for that frame. The term frame in Silver usually
refers to the final image rendered from a cell's contents, plus that cell.
The longest process in Turbo Silver involves rendering a frame from a
cell's contents. But once rendered, you can re-use a frame in an animation
sequence as many times as you like without needing to render it again by
simply replicating the frame.

Entering the Object Editor

Although the program begins in the Animation Editor, most interaction takes
place in the Object Editor. Whenever you load Turbo Silver, your first
action (after setting the graphic mode-see the Animation Editor Reference
introduction) should be to use the File menu to Load an existing file or
create a New one. Then, to enter the Object Editor for any frame, just
click twice on it. The first click selects the frame, turning its text from
orange to white (assuming default colors), and the second makes a cell for
that frame if one doesn't exist, then opens the Object Editor for the cell.
When this happens, Silver's Virtual File storage scheme creates a slight
pause while the cell's previous contents, if any, are loaded from disk.
Similarly, exiting the object editor saves the most recent results of
editing to disk automatically. Since most work is done in the Object
Editor, the manual discusses this section of the program first.

Object Editor;
Basic Operation

When you first enter the Object Editor in an empty cell, the screen looks
like this:

 |Cell Editor         Front * ===================|
 |-----------------------------------------------|
 |                                               |
 |                                               |
 |                                               |
 |                                               |
 |                  0                            |
 |                                               |
 |                                               |
 |                                               |
 |-----------------------------------------------|
            Object Editor Screen

The small circle near the center of the window is the camera and the view
is from the front, as noted in the information bar above the window.
Options available here are many, starting with the ability to create
three-dimensional object of just about any shape. You can move them, rotate
and resize them, assign attributes such as color, reflectivity and
transparency to parts or all of an object. You can also create animation
sequences quickly and automatically. All these and more are explained in
this section.

Picking and Selecting Objects

Objects normally appear in the window as white wireframe constructs on a
light blue background, each with its own small XYZ axis showing its
orientation. To preform operations such as translation, rotation, resizing,
and applying attributes such as color and reflectivity, you must first
choose the pertinent groups, objects, faces, or points in a process called
PICKing, as in Pick menu. The default or startup Pick mode is GROUP--click
on an axis origin of a parent object to pick the associated group. You can
also pick child and independent objects in Group mode. Once picked, objects
and groups turn blue in color. At this point to manipulate parts of an
object you'd select Point or Face from the Pick menu. To perform physical
transformations on parts of objects use Pick pint (Right Amiga-3). However,
to apply attributes such as color, transparency, and reflectivity to parts
of objects, use Pick Face (Right Amiga-4). The color red is used to
indicate picked points or faces on an object. As a special case, to
reposition an object's axis, use Pick Face and pick any face, then use the
Position command.

Once an object is picked (blue for objects, red for points) you can
reposition it interactively by clicking again on the axis (for objects) or
point. Or simply press the F1 function key. In any case the entire object
turns green. Click anywhere on the screen and the object or point is
repositioned there. This also works for multiple objects or points (see
Multi Mode below).

You can also use menu/keyboard commands to pick objects (Special menu Home,
Next, and Last commands and function key F1), and you can search for and
select objects by names you give them (Special Menu Find command). For
further information consult the Object Editor reference below. The other
Pick modes are Object, Point, and Face. You can pick any number of
unconnected objects, points, or faces by holding down the left Shift key as
you click ('Multi' pick mode). You can then Mark them for movement by
continuing to hold down the left Shift key and clicking on one of the
picked (red) points. The entire object turns green, but only the picked
points (which remain red) move when you click on a new location in the
editor window.

NOTE: Certain faces in spun or extruded objects cannot be picked by
clicking on any of the associated points. In such a case you must use the
Right Amiga key in conjunction with the N, B, and H keys (for Next, Last or
Back, and Home, the first object added). In many cases you can quickly and
easily pick a 'stripe' of faces on a spun object with alternate presses of
Right Amiga-N (or B) and Left Shift-F1.

Multi Mode

In any Pick mode, you can use the left Shift key to activate Multi mode,
shown at the top of the screen. If you continue holding down the left Shift
key as you click on objects, each turns blue (or red) in turn while all
others previously clicked on remain so. Then any transformation applies to
all picked. When several objects, faces, or points have been picked using
Multi mode, you can unpick each in reverse order of their original
selection with repeated presses of the F2 function key.

Color chart

Selected, ready to Pick:

Object, Group        Orange
Edge, Face        Green
Point            Light Blue

Picked, ready to Mark or transform:

Object, Group        Blue
Edge, Face, Point    Red

Marked, ready to move:

Object, Group,
Edge, Point, Face    Green (Group or entire object)

Note: You can change any or all of these color assignments as well as
various other Silver startup conditions. See Appendix A, "The Silver
Configuration File" for further information. Also, moving an edge or face
results only in movement of the axis.

Edit Menu

This menu is used for basic object creation as well as standard editing
procedures. Most objects in Turbo Silver are composed of triangular faces,
but two of the shapes in the Add menu, sphere and surface, are 3D unfaceted
'primitives' which render quickly. All other objects consist of an axis
(actually a set of small X, Y, and Z axes) and a set of connected faces.
These types of objects, called 'faceted', can be edited point-by-point for
physical remolding or face-by-face change attributes for different parts of
an object. All Edit menu commands, as well as most others in the editor can
be reversed immediately after invocation by use of the Undo command (Right
Amiga-U).

Add SubMenu

This submenu lists commands used to add new objects, points and faces to
the editor workspace. Newly added objects are always located at 0,0,0, the
center of the workspace, and are colored orange. This means that you can
pick them by pressing function key F1 (they turn blue), then prepare them
for interactive repositioning by pressing F1 again or Right Amiga-M (they
turn green). Then click on the new location to perform the repositioning.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Turbo Silver doesn't automatically place a light source in
the three-dimensional workspace, so make sure you do or else your objects
will be invisible.  We recommend you make it a habit to add and position an
axis and set it to be a light source when first editing any new cell. See
Attributes in the Settings menu section below for details on setting an
object to be a light source.

Automatic Name Requesters

Silver is set up to request names for all new objects created with Add
submenu commands. We recommend that you give all objects unique names
whenever using the Story or Track commands. After selecting the type of
object to add, the Rename requester appears. To easily delete the existing
default object name, press Right Amiga-X, or use the backspace and Delete
keys. Then type a new name in upper or lower case letters, and press
Return, or the names won't be registered. You can rename existing objects
with the Attributes requester. You can disable the automatic Rename feature
by editing the SILVER.CFG file--see Appendix A.

There are a number of different types of objects in Turbo Silver:

Sphere

This 3D primitive is a perfect surface of revolution, which eliminates any
'faceted' appearance no matter how close the observer. Although you can't
manipulate individual points, all other standard Turbo Silver
transformations, including IFF brush wrapping, are available with the
sphere primitive. As the sphere primitive appears simply as a circle in the
Object Editor window, it helps keep the workspace uncluttered and minimizes
redraw time.

Incidentally, if you're familiar with the original (non-Turbo) Silver, the
Bounding object type no longer exists. Turbo Silver renders more quickly
without using bounding objects than previous versions of Silver rendered
with them.

Stencil

A stencil is a special type of object in Turbo Silver--a drawing that
becomes solid! A stencil starts out as a one-bitplane (two-color) drawing
created in a paint program such as Impulse, Inc.'s new Diamond or Deluxe
Paint II. When rendered in Turbo Silver the background color (usually
black) is transparent while the foreground color behaves like a standard
Turbo Silver object. This means that you can apply such attributes as
color, transparency, and reflectivity--you can even load an IFF brush onto
the stencil!  For further information refer to the section describing the
Stencils menu below.

Axis

The Add Axis command is the starting point for building a customized object
point-by-point and face-by-face. After adding and picking an axis, you can
add points and faces anywhere in the 3D space. You can also spin a set f
points and extrude a set of faces to make relatively complex objects easily
and with precision.

The default configuration file SILVER.CFG that comes on your program disk
provides you with an easy two-key alternative to the Add Axis menu command.
Just press and release the Esc key, then press and release function key F2.
You can set other Object Editor menu commands to the function keys by
editing the configuration file. See Appendix A for details.

The object called Axis in Turbo Silver is actually a miniature set of X, Y,
and Z axes with a common origin, called the 'hot spot'. All objects contain
an axis. One method of picking objects for movement or setting attributes
is to click on the hot spot. The axis itself never appears in the final
rendered image.

The axis also acts as a control point for wrapping IFF brushes (images)
onto 3D objects. By loading a brush onto an axis, then grouping the axis as
a parent to an object, you can use the axis to control the image's size,
angle, and various other aspects in relation to the object by performing
transformations on the axis. For further explanation see the section on the
Brush menu below.

There are lots of other possible uses for the axis object--your imagination
is the only limit! Think of the axis as an invisible object that can have
any property available to Turbo Silver objects. For this reason the axis
makes an excellent light source. Or consider an example in which you wish
to show a group of objects orbiting a sphere. By simply grouping the set of
circling objects to the axis, with the axis as parent object, you can
rotate the group about the axis with one setting. Without the axis
describing this type of motion with a group of objects would be difficult
at best. An axis also serves well as a Track object (see Special menu) for
an invisible point of reference.

Custom

Selecting Custom from the Add submenu produces a moveable requestor
displaying Turbo Silver's mini-library of built-in faceted shapes. Select
any of the six button gadgets for:

Sphere -- a ball-shaped object
Torus -- a donut shaped object
Cone -- tapers up from a disk to a point, has no bottom
Tube -- a hollow column
Extrude -- an extruded disk, or solid column
Disk -- a flat but solid circle

and the name of the object appears next to the words 'Choice is'. Then set
the dimensions by clicking in the corresponding box and typing in a new
value. All objects are created by spinning. The dimensions are as follows:

Major Size -- radius of sphere or torus, height of cone, tube, or extrude
    (no effect on disk).
Minor Size -- cross section of torus ring, or radius
    or one-half the X-axis dimensions of cone, tube, extrude, or disk
    (no effect on sphere).
Divisions -- number of line segments in object's circumference (e.g. four
    for square, five for pentagon, more for rounder objects--sphere
    always doubles this number)

Keep in mind that the more divisions, the longer an object takes to render.
Object creation is always a compromise between good-looking objects and
time requirements.

Finally, click on the close gadget in the requester's upper left corner to
place the new shape at coordinates 0,0,0 in the editor workspace.

Once you've created a custom shape you can edit it point-by-point, resize
it, spin or extrude or build on it, or even split it! Read on to find out
about these and many other options.

Surface

This primitive (non-faceted) rectangle is provides so that you can include
a flat plane or wall in your animations without having to construct one.
Though you can't edit it point-by-point, you can resize it, load IFF
brushes onto it, and perform other standard Group and Attribute menu
operations with this object. If you want t a checkered ground, the easiest
way is to load the Chex texture (included with your program disk) onto the
surface, or you can load a checkered IFF image. You can use as many
surfaces in a scene as you like.

Ground

The ground is a non-resizable horizontal surface that extends to the limits
of Silver's 3D universe. Grounds can be assigned attributes including
brushes and patterns, and they can be repositioned vertically (on the Z
axis) only. You can use several grounds.

Point (Right Amiga-6)

Use points to create paths for object motions or extrusions, or outlines
for spun objects, or creating objects from scratch. The basic procedure for
using Add Point is:

* First place an axis (or other object)

* Pick it (so it turns dark blue)

* Add points

* Connect them with Add Edge (Right Amiga-7) or Add Face (Right Amiga-8)

All points placed before selecting a different command become part of that
object. After selecting Add Point click in the Object Editor window
anywhere you wish to place points. You can change the window to different
views during this process. You must add edges and/or faces for the object
to be useful.

NOTE: Normally when you add a new point to an object, you can only position
the cursor in the two dimensions permitted by the current view (e.g. in the
X and Z dimensions from the Front view), while the point's position on the
in/out axis (Y from Front view) is always 0. However, with the Set Depth
command from the View menu (see below) you can position points anywhere in
Silver's world without having to change views.

IMPORTANT: You can proceed directly from this command to Add Edge or Add
Face (see below) to further work on an object, but you must return to Pick
Object mode (Right Amiga-2) before selecting any other command, otherwise
you'll remain in Add Point mode.

Edge (Right Amiga-7)

An edge is a line connecting two points. Edges are used in Silver primarily
for creating motion paths as well as spun and extruded object outlines,
rather than for creating objects from scratch.

First use Add Axis, then Add Point to add two or more points to the axis
(see above). Then after selecting Add Edge, click on each point to connect
in succession. A green line connects the last added edge, while all others
are green. You need click only once on each point in a path or outline when
connecting them with Add Edge. To connect points in a nonlinear fashion,
exit Add Edge (e.g. press Right Amiga-2 for Pick Object), then return to
Add Edge and start again at a new point.

NOTE: After adding edges to an object, you must return to Pick Object mode
(Right Amiga-2) before selecting another command such as Mold.

Face (Right Amiga-8)

After adding at least three points to an axis (see Add Point above) you can
connect them into triangular faces with this command. Before selecting Add
Face you must pick an Axis with at least three associated points--when
picked the Axis turns dark blue. Then, after selecting the Add Face
command, click on three different points in succession--you needn't use
Multi mode--to connect them with red lines, which show that the new face is
picked. Continue the process with groups of three points. To quit, select
Pick Object (Right Amiga-2).

Faces are useful for extruded objects with closed ends, or simply for
building objects from scratch. When building a closed end for an extruded
object, be sure not to leave any holes or unexpected results may occur.

All (Right Amiga-A)

When editing points or faces in an object (see Pick Menu below) use this
command to pick all points or faces in the object. You can then unpick
particular points or faces by using the F2 function key in combination with
Next, Last and Home commands in the Special menu.

Copy (Right Amiga-C)

The copy command places an identical copy of all picked groups or objects
in the Paste buffer, ready for duplication. Use the Paste command below to
clone copied groups or objects (but not points) back to the workspace at
the same place from which they were copied. When you use the Copy command
the previous contents of the Paste buffer, if any, are erased.

Cut (Right Amiga-X)

This removes any picked group, objects, or points from the current Object
Editor workspace, copying groups and objects into an invisible Paste
buffer. Cut points aren't copied into the buffer, so any previously cut (or
copied) objects remain there. Use the Paste command below to restore cut
groups or objects (but not points) to the workspace in the same place from
which they were cut. When you use the Cut command the previous contents of
the Paste buffer, if any, are erased.

Paste (Right Amiga-P)

Makes a copy of the contents of the Paste buffer (see Copy and Cut above)
at the location from which they were cut or copied. Use repeatedly to make
multiple copies of an object or group.

A newly pasted group or object first appears as orange. This means you can
reposition it immediately with this simple procedure:

1. Press the F1 key to pick the object or group--it turns dark blue.

2. Press F1 again to 'mark' the object, making it ready for relocating--the
object turns green.

3. Position the mouse pointer in the window at the new location and click
the left mouse button--the object moves there.

If you're using the Story or Target commands we recommend renaming pasted
copies of objects with the Attributes requester to avoid confusing the
program.

Delete (Right Amiga-D)

Deletes any picked groups, objects, faces, or points. Use Undo to restore
the most recently deleted objects.

Erase (Right Amiga-E)

Erase is a quick way to clear the entire workspace, as it deletes all
objects and their properties whether picked or not. If used immediately
after Erase, the Undo command can restore the contents of the editor
workspace intact. Erase does not alter Global settings (see Global settings
requester below).

If you're in Pick Face or Pick Object mode, Erase deletes all picked
objects' faces or points. In the latter case only the axis remains, but in
the former all points remain, but no faces.

Join (Right Amiga-J)

You can join together any number of objects or points irreversibly using
this command. Pick all objects after any necessary alignment, then press
and hold the Right Amiga key while pressing the J key to select this Edit
menu item to join the objects. See the section above entitled Selecting
Objects for further details on picking multiple objects.

The Join command is also useful for resolving multiple points, which comes
in particularly handy when importing 3D objects from programs such as
Sculpt 3D, Videoscape 3D, or Forms in Flight. Some of these programs'
Object Editors attach an unnecessarily large number of points to a single
intersection of triangular faces, which can increase Turbo Silver's
rendering time. In order to minimize rendering times use the Join command
to eliminate extra vertices in imported objects.

You can also use Join to 'weld' two separate objects into one, whether
they're touching or not. All points and faces are retained, and a single
axis remains at the heart of the first object picked. Remember--the Join
command is permanent. To combine objects temporarily, use the Group
command.

Split (Right Amiga-Z)

The Split command lets you divide a faceted object along a connected
circumference of edges. First pick the object to split so it turns blue.
Then press Right Amiga-5 or select Edge from the Pick menu and pick a line
of connected edges that go completely around any part of the object. Hold
down the left Shift key (for Multi Mode) as you use the mouse or the Next
and Last commands (Right Amiga N and B) to pick the edges, which turn red
as they're picked. Then activate the Split command. If the object can't be
split, a requester appears. Try picking a different line of edges if this
happens.

Group (Right Amiga-G)

By grouping several objects you can apply single movement commands to the
entire group instead of having to issue separate instructions to each
object. This can simplify production of complex animations tremendously.
Grouping is also useful in the application of IFF image files to Turbo
Silver objects (see Brush Menu below). Grouping is also useful in applying
properties of one object to many (see Cluster). Grouped objects can still
be manipulated independently in Pick Object mode (see Pick Menu).

To group two or more objects, use Multi mode (hold down the left Shift key)
to pick all objects starting with the parent object. The parent object's
axis is used to pick and manipulate the group. All subsequent objects on
which you shift-click are its direct children.

This relationship is shown graphically with purple lines when, after
picking the last child, you select the Group command from the Edit menu. A
line emanates from the parent to each child, and remains until they're
ungrouped. You can group other objects to parents or children of grouped
objects.

To manipulate a group, make sure you're in Pick Group mode, and click on
the parent object's axis to pick all objects in the group. You can
manipulate child objects independently while in Pick Group mode, and parent
objects independently in Pick Object mode. To pass on attributes (except
Color, Reflect, and Filter) from a parent object to its children, use the
Cluster command (see Special menu).

UnGroup (Right Amiga-Y)

After picking a group, remove its objects' interdependence as well as their
chains (purple lines) with the Ungroup command.

Undo (Right Amiga-U)

The Undo command reverses the effects of the last command used. It's one of
Silver's most useful, and allows for fast experimentation as well as human
error.

Quit (Right Amiga-Q)

This is the same as clicking in the close gadget in the upper left corner
of the Turbo Silver Object Editor window. You're returned to the Animation
Editor in which the program starts.

Escape (Right Amiga-])

Use this command to exit a cell to the Animation Editor without retaining
any changes. The cell is not saved to disk, and if you re-enter the cell
it's exactly as it was before.

Special Menu

This menu contains an assortment of important commands. Presented here are
some of Turbo Silver's most useful functions--it'll pay you off in time
savings to learn their Hot Key equivalents as soon as possible.

Free (Right Amiga-F)

Use this command to free the camera from tracking an object or group. See
Track below for further details.

Track (Right Amiga-T)

Pick an object, then use the Track command to have the camera automatically
follow the object anywhere it's moved. You can also move the camera and it
will continue to track the object.

All objects in Turbo Silver 'contain' or are associated with a unique small
set of X, Y, Z axes.  The origin of the axes is the 'hot spot' on which you
must click to pick the object. The Track command lets you set the camera to
always point directly towards the hot spot of an object or parent object of
a group. Then no matter where you move the object or group, the camera
follows it. This saves you the arduous work of manually aiming the camera,
and allows for such special effects as the classic cinematic 'fly-by' shot.
To prevent automatic tracking use the Free command, above.

The Track command affects and is affected by the Camera command. Basically,
an object must be tracked in order for the settings Wide Angle, Normal, and
Telephoto to take effect. See Camera settings requester in the Settings
menu below.

Apply (Right Amiga-)

Use Apply to transfer an object's attributes (see Attributes under Settings
menu, below) to one or more other objects. This command gives the effect of
the Cluster command without the necessity of grouping objects.

Use Multi mode to pick first the object whose attributes are to be passed
on, then all objects to which the attributes are to be copied. That is,
while holding down the left Shift key first pick the object whose
attributes are to be transferred, then the others, then invoke the Apply
command. This works the same as Cluster, below, but doesn't require objects
to be grouped.

Cluster (Right Amiga-K)

This command lets you transfer a parent object's non-color-related
properties to all other members of its group. Pick the group by clicking on
the parent object in Pick Group mode, then set any attributes as necessary,
then select the Cluster command. The Cluster command doesn't transfer the
attributes Color, Reflectivity, and Filter.

When grouping objects the parent object is always the first chosen. Objects
needn't be of the same type--for instance, you can set the same properties
for a number of different shapes by grouping them to an axis (which is
invisible), then setting blending, specularity etc. only for the axis. We
suggest an axis because you can also use it as a center of rotation for the
group.

When wrapping a brush around an object (see Brush menu below) you must load
the brush onto an axis, group the axis to the object, and finally Cluster
the two.

Home (Right Amiga-H)
Next (Right Amiga-N)
Last (Right Amiga-B)

Use these three commands to find specific objects in the order created.
They're useful for easing your way in a busy workspace. Home selects and
centers the firs object created in the window, Next selects and centers the
object created immediately after the currently picked or selected object if
any, and Last selects and centers in reverse order of creating. Groups and
objects are turned orange when centered, faces and edges turn green, and
points turn light blue, ready for picking with F1 and Marking (see below)
and subsequent repositioning.

Last uses Right Amiga-B as a mnemonic for 'back' or backwards. use the Next
and Last (for Forward and Back) in conjunction with Left Shift-F1
(multi-mode select) in Pick Face mode to quickly mark contiguous faces for
stripes of color or any other effect.

Find (Right Amiga-V)

Use to quickly find an object or group by name. Invoking this command after
selecting an object displays a requester. Enter a unique name--any
combination of letters, numerals, and punctuation is allowed. If the name
is one that you or the program has given to an object or group, the object
appears selected in the center of the window. If there are more than one
object with the name searched for, the first one created is shown.

Mark (Right Amiga-M)

Use this command after picking a group, object, or set of points to prepare
it for repositioning. The group or object turns green--click anywhere in
the screen to set the new location. In the case of points, even though the
entire object turns green only the selected points are repositioned. Select
objects by clicking on the hot spots or with the Home, Next, Last, and Find
commands (see above). This also works with faces, only the axis is
repositioned instead of the face.

NOTE: An easy one-key alternative to this command is the F1 key, which
marks picked objects for moving.

Redraw (Right Amiga-R)

Invoking this command causes all objects to be redrawn on the screen in
their current position. This command is necessary as occasionally in the
heat of editing the program can forget to redraw an object.

Auto Redraw
Manual Redraw

Only one of these is active at a time. The program starts in Auto Redraw,
which means that all objects are redrawn whenever you change anything. If
you have a lot of objects on the screen and are only concerned with one at
the moment, turn on Manual Redraw to speed up the program. Other objects
may not appear properly after transformations when Manual Redraw is on.
Select the Redraw command (above) when in Manual Redraw to see all objects.

Hint: Another way to speed up redraw is to set complex objects to Quick
Redraw--see Attributes below.

Settings Menu

This menu contains all the commands for manipulating objects and the 3D
universe in which they're contained. Featured are the four full-screen
requesters; Global settings, Camera settings, Transformation, and
Attributes. Each of these allows you to make a number of varied adjustments
to existing settings at one time without having to invoke several different
menu items.

Globals (Function Key F4)

The first Settings menu item controls aspects of the entire scene such as
ambient lighting, camera, sky characteristics, and heuristics which
controls objects' edges and surfaces. You can invoke the Global Settings
requester at any time with this menu item, or by pressing the F4 key. The
requester appears:

!=============================================================!
!!=! Global Settings =========================================!
!-------------------------------------------------------------!
! !-! Zenith                                                  !
! !-!            !-------! !---! !----!  !-----------------!  !
!                !       ! ! 0 ! ! /\ !  !                 !  !
!                !       ! !---! ! \/ !  !-----------------!  !
! !-! Horizon    !       ! !---! !----!                       !
! !-!            !       ! ! 0 ! ! /\ !  !-----------------!  !
!                !       ! !---! ! \/ !  !                 !  !
!                !       ! !   ! !----!  !-----------------!  !
! !-! Fade       !       ! !---! !----!                       !
! !-!            !       ! ! 0 ! ! /\ !  !-----------------!  !
!                !       ! !---! ! \/ !  !                 !  !
!                !       ! !   ! !----!  !-----------------!  !
! !-! Ambient    !       ! !---! !----!                       !
! !-!            !-------! ! 0 ! ! /\ !  !-----------------!  !
!                          !---! ! \/ !  !                 !  !
!                          !   ! !----!  !-----------------!  !
! !---! !----!               !-------------------------!      !
! ! 0 ! ! /\ ! Blending      !                         !      !
! !---! ! \/ !               !-------------------------!      !
! !---! !----!               !-------------------------!      !
! ! 0 ! ! /\ ! Perturbance   !                         !      !
! !---! ! \/ !               !-------------------------!      !
! !---! !----!               !-------------------------!      !
! !30 ! ! /\ ! Edge Level    !                         !      !
! !---! ! \/ !               !-------------------------!      !
! !---! !----!               !------------------!             !
! ! 8 ! ! /\ ! Resolve Depth !                  ! !-! Genlock !
! !---! ! \/ !               !------------------! !-!         !
!-------------------------------------------------------------!

                          Global Settings Requester

Exit the requester by clicking on its close gadget in the upper left corner,
whereupon all settings take effect. To return to conditions before changing
the Global settings, use the Undo command (Right Amiga-U) before selecting
any other command.

Following is a discussion of each of the settings available through the
Global Settings requester, from top to bottom:

With the uppermost Global Colors settings you can set a range of colors
from horizon to zenith, set the fog fade-out color, and set the color and
strength of ambient light. To set any of the above, click on the square
gadget next to its name in the upper left corner of the requester. Next the
gadgets in the upper right change to show the current setting, if any, with
the color depicted graphically in the large square. From left to right, for
each of the colors, you can click the mouse pointer on the number and type
in a new value, or adjust the value upward or downward by clicking and
holding on the up or down arrow gadgets, or click and drag on the
horizontal value sliders.

The Blending, Perturbance, Edge Level, and Resolve depth all have their own
settings gadgets, which work identically to those described immediately
above.

Zenith
Horizon

Click on either gadget to set the sky colors at the zenith or at the
horizon. When the Camera Aim X-axis setting is 0 or 180 degrees you're
looking at the horizon, which in the real world is what you're looking at
when you stand outside and look straight ahead. Rotate your view 90 degrees
in either direction on the X-axis and you're looking at the zenith, which,
in the real world, is where your finger is aimed when you point straight up
or down. The default settings are black, which gives no sky. You can set
any of the Amiga's 4096 colors for either or both with the red, green, and
blue value adjustment gadgets. If you set two different colors Silver
automatically blends the two into each other using an appropriate range of
colors in between. You can set the dithering or smoothness of this effect
with the Global Blending setting below.

Fade

Select this gadget to set the color of the fog effect (activated with the
Fuzzy setting from the Camera settings requester--see below), activated
with the Global Focusing Fuzzy command. As with any other color setting in
Silver, you can set this to any of the Amiga's 4096 colors with any of the
red, green, and blue color value adjustment gadgets.

Ambient

Ambient lighting affects a scene's overall brightness--it's a reflected
light source that has no particular location.  A degree of ambient light
may be necessary to avoid inky-black shadows, but too much can cause
washed-out scenes. The default setting is no ambient light. Use this
command to set ambient light color to any of the Amiga's 4096.

Blending

This setting determines the amount by which the range of screen colors
overlap (by dithering) with each other if you've set two different sky
colors. The color range is set with the Global settings commands Horizon
and zenith (see above). A setting of 0 gives solid banded colors and the
maximum setting of 255 gives a completely dithered sky.

Perturbance

Perturbance is used in animation to give the sky a variable look of
turbulence, as in a storm. The perturbance slider ranges from 0 to 255. The
perturbance effect is obtained by varying the dithering pattern for the
sky's shading from frame to frame, causing a semi-random moving effect. As
with all of Silver's features, we strongly encourage to experiment with
this effect as much as possible.

Edge Level

Anti-aliasing is a computer-graphics technique for smoothing off blocky
edges ('jaggies') in a limited resolution environment such as the Amiga's
320-wide HAM mode used for ray tracing. The initial setting is 30 in a
range from 0 to 255. The higher edge level is set, the longer a scene takes
to render, but the smoother edges appear.

Resolve Depth

When rendering glass objects in silver, ray-tracing times can be too long
to make experimentation convenient. To temporarily reduce these times you
can limit the extend of rays sent out by the tracer by lowering the resolve
depth. Bear in mind, however, that changing this value alters effective
index of refraction of materials such as glass and crystal. This slider's
value ranges from 0 to 15, and starts out at the middle level of 8.

Genlock

When selected this sets the sky to background color so that any genlocked
video signal shows through. See your genlock unit's instructions for
further information.

Camera  (Function Key F5)

Use this Settings menu item to control Silver's camera, which is your point
of view in the 3D universe. The camera always appears as the small circle
to the left of center in the frame when you first enter the object editor
for any cell. When viewed from the side you can see a short line emanating
from the camera pointing in the direction in which it is aimed. The unique
camera settings in the Global menu Camera submenu control a good deal about
the final appearance of your Silver-generated images.

Select Camera from the Settings menu or press function key F5 to display
this requester:

!-------------------------------------------------------------------------!
! Camera Settings ========================================================!
!-------------------------------------------------------------------------!
!                   !------------------------! !----!   !---!             !
! Camera Position X !               -100.000 ! ! /\ !   ! X ! Manual      !
!                   !------------------------! ! \/ !   !---!             !
!                   !                        ! !----!                     !
!                   !------------------------! !----!   !---!             !
! Camera Position Y !               -100.000 ! ! /\ !   !   ! Wide Angle  !
!                   !------------------------! ! \/ !   !---!             !
!                   !                        ! !----!                     !
!                   !------------------------! !----!   !---!             !
! Camera Position Z !                100.000 ! ! /\ !   !   ! Normal      !
!                   !------------------------! ! \/ !   !---!             !
!                   !                        ! !----!                     !
!                   !------------------------! !----!   !---!             !
! Camera Angle X    !                  0.000 ! ! /\ !   !   ! Telephoto   !
!                   !------------------------! ! \/ !   !---!             !
!                   !                        ! !----!                     !
!                   !------------------------! !----!   !---!             !
! Camera Angle Y    !                  0.000 ! ! /\ !   !   ! Custom      !
!                   !------------------------! ! \/ !   !---!             !
!                   !                        ! !----!                     !
!                   !------------------------! !----!   !---------! !----!!
! Camera Angle Z    !                  0.000 ! ! /\ !   !  1.000  ! ! /\ !!
!                   !------------------------! ! \/ !   !---------! ! \/ !!
!                   !                        ! !----!               !----!!
!                   !------------------------! !----!                     !
! Focal Length      !                100.000 ! ! /\ !                     !
!                   !------------------------! ! \/ !                     !
!                   !                        ! !----!                     !
!                   !------------------------! !----!                     !
! Fade Start        !                100.000 ! ! /\ !  !---!              !
!                   !------------------------! ! \/ !  ! X ! Sharp        !
!                   !                        ! !----!  !---!              !
!                   !------------------------! !----!                     !
! Fade Finish       !               1000.000 ! ! /\ !  !---!              !
!                   !------------------------! ! \/ !  !   ! Fuzzy        !
!                   !                        ! !----!  !---!              !
!-------------------------------------------------------------------------!

                         Camera Settings Requester

Value-entry gadgets in the Camera Settings requester don't use sliders.
Adjust values by clicking on any box containing a number and editing the
entry, or by clicking and holding on the up or down arrow gadget next to
the number. If you hold longer than a few seconds, the rate of value change
accelerates.

Exit the requester by clicking on its close gadget in the upper left
corner, whereupon all settings take effect. To return to conditions before
changing the Camera settings, use the Undo command (Right Amiga-U) before
selecting any other command.

Following ar the Camera settings available in the requester:

Position

Upon selecting the Camera Settings requester the first three settings show
the camera's current position on the X, Y, and Z axes, which is initially
-100, -100, 100. You can position the camera anywhere in Silver's 3D
universe with the requester's Camera Position X, Y and Z-axis gadgets.

It's often easier, though to position the camera interactively via the
object editor window. Click twice on the camera--it turns green--then click
on the new location. The camera disappears from its original location and
is redrawn where you clicked. Do this from all three views (see View Menu
below) for precise camera placement.

Camera Angle

One of the most important points to remember in Silver is always keep the
camera aimed at your focus of interest. An easy way to do this is with the
Track command (above under Special Menu). Or you can use the Camera Angle
settings to aim the camera precisely.

Focal Length

This setting only applies when the Manual lens setting is in effect (see
Lens Setting below). The focal length of the camera lens determines the
width of the camera's field of vision. The lower the number, the wider the
field of vision, and the higher, the narrower. The range of settings use
the convention of 35mm camera lenses. For example, most cameras come with a
50mm lens, which gives a narrower view than the standard human field of
vision, which is comparable to a 28mm lens. The Focusing submenu (below)
gives you several automatic settings for Range.

Fade Start
Fade Finish

When the Camera Settings Fuzzy option (see below) is in effect, the Fade
command lets you set a gradual fog fadeout special effect along the Y
(in-out) axis. The primary purpose for doing so is to avoid distracting the
viewer with unnecessary horizon details, an artifact of Silver's camera
lens' infinite depth of focus. The two adjustments let you set the position
on the Y axis at which fog initially appears and at which total fadeout
occurs--default settings are 100 and 1000 units. The fog gradually thickens
from the first to the second point.

To put the Fade into effect, you must select the box labeled Fuzzy in the
requester's lower right corner. Also, you can set the fog's color with the
Fade setting in the Global Settings requester (see above).

Lens Setting

The five gadgets in the upper right of the Camera Settings requester give
you several automatic camera range settings, as well as the ability to
temporarily override the manual range setting with the Custom setting. Only
one setting is available at a time--an X appears in the box to the left of
the active item. Lens settings are analogous to those used in conventional
photography, with exceptions as noted below.

Manual

This item, when selected, tells Silver to use the Focal Length setting from
the Camera Settings requester--see above for details. This works just like
a real camera lens--the higher the focal length, the closer the object
appears and the less distortion is visible.

Wide Angle
Normal
Telephoto

These three automatic range settings simulate three standard focal-length
lenses used on 35mm cameras: the 35mm wide angle lens; the 50mm
normal-length lens; and the 135mm telephoto lens. Object tracking (see
Special menu above) must be in effect for this to work. These mainly
control apparent distortion. To change the image size, move the camera
closer to or farther away from the subject.

Custom

The Custom setting lets you set an apparent size for objects in view
without regard to any range setting. The slider lets you set any value
between 0 and 2.55, the maximum size at which the camera appears to be
practically on top of the object.

Sharp
Fuzzy

Sharp, the default condition, means all objects within view of the Silver
camera lens are in detailed focus, including the horizon line if any. Since
the horizon line can sometimes be unnecessarily distracting, you can create
a detail-obscuring gradual fog at the horizon with the Fuzzy setting. Use
Fade Start/Fade Finish in the Camera Settings requester to set the point at
which fadeout starts and at which it's totally obscuring. Use Fade in the
Global Settings requester to set the fog's color. An X appears next to the
selected item--only one or the other can be set at one time.

Transformations (Function Key F6)

The settings in this requester pertain to objects in the 3D universe.
Unless otherwise specified, the term 'objects' can refer to groups, single
shapes, or parts of shapes such as points, faces, and edges. Most
manipulations can apply to single objects as well as groups of objects
selected with the left Shift key held down, in 'Multi' mode. In order for
Silver to know which object you want to manipulate, you must first pick the
object, which can be done with the mouse, keyboard, or a combination of the
two.

At any given time you can pick grouped objects, single objects, points,
edges, or faces. Pick Group mode is an exception--you can also pick single
objects in this mode. Picked objects and groups are blue, and picked points
and faces are red. In Silver, a 'selected' object appears orange, selected
points are violet, and selected faces and edges are green. In any case, you
pick a selected object by pressing the F1 function key.

You can pick multiple objects, groups, points, or faces by holding down the
left Shift key as you click on your choices. When you hold down the left
Shift key the word 'Multi' appears at the top of the screen to signify that
you're in Multi mode.

When you select multiple objects (rather than grouped objects) for
transformations, you're presented with the Transformations requester for
each object selected, in the order selected. That is, each time you close
the requester it reappears for the next object, until all objects are set.

NOTE: Transformations in this requester performed on picked faces or edges
affect only the object's axis. To translate or rotate faces, pick all
associated points in Point mode.

See the section entitled 'Picking and Selecting Objects' above for further
information.

When you select Transformation from the Settings menu or press function key
F6 (after picking an object, of course), the Transformations requester
appears:

!==========================================================================!
! Transformations =========================================================!
!--------------------------------------------------------------------------!
!         !--------! !--!          !-------! !--!            !------! !--! !
! Align X !   0.000! !/\! Size X   ! 32.000! !/\! Position X ! 0.000! !/\! !
!         !--------! !\/!          !-------! !\/!            !------! !\/! !
!         !--------! !--!          !-------! !--!            !------! !--! !
! Align Y !   0.000! !/\! Size Y   ! 32.000! !/\! Position Y ! 0.000! !/\! !
!         !--------! !\/!          !-------! !\/!            !------! !\/! !
!         !--------! !--!          !-------! !--!            !------! !--! !
! Align Z !   0.000! !/\! Size Z   !  0.000! !/\! Position Z ! 0.000! !/\! !
!         !--------! !\/!          !-------! !\/!            !------! !\/! !
!                                                                          !
!                !---!                   !---!                    !---!    !
!        Apply   !---!           Apply   !---!             Apply  !---!    !
!                                                                          !
!          !-------! !--!         !-------! !--!             !------! !--! !
! Rotate X !  0.000! !/\! Scale X !  1.000! !/\! Translate X ! 0.000! !/\! !
!          !-------! !\/!         !-------! !\/!             !------! !\/! !
!          !-------! !--!         !-------! !--!             !------! !--! !
! Rotate Y !  0.000! !/\! Scale Y !  1.000! !/\! Translate Y ! 0.000! !/\! !
!          !-------! !\/!         !-------! !\/!             !------! !\/! !
!          !-------! !--!         !-------! !--!             !------! !--! !
! Rotate Z !  0.000! !/\! Scale Z !  1.000! !/\! Translate Z ! 0.000! !/\! !
!          !-------! !\/!         !-------! !\/!             !------! !\/! !
!                                                                          !
!  Local !--!  World !--!   Local !--!  World !--!  Local !--!  World !--! !
!        !--!        !--!         !--!        !--!        !--!        !--! !
!==========================================================================!

                        Transformations Requester

Note that any relevant current settings are displayed in the various
fields.

Exit the requester by clicking on its close gadget in the upper left
corner, whereupon all settings take effect. To return to conditions before
changing the Transformation settings, use the Undo command (Right Amiga-U)
before selecting any other command.

Value-entry gadgets in the Transformations Settings requester don't use
sliders. Adjust values by clicking on any box containing a number and
editing the entry, or by clicking and holding on the up or down arrow
gadget next to the number. If you hold longer than a few seconds, the rate
of value change accelerates. Following are the Transformations settings
available in the requester:

Align

The first three settings allow you to line up any object or group's axis,
and the object as well, with that of the 3D universe--in other words, to
straighten it up (or out). Align is an absolute rotation, whereas Rotate,
below, is a relative rotation.

First pick the object to be aligned, then press F6 or select Transformation
from the Settings menu. When the Transformations requester first appears,
the object's current alignment is displayed. To return an object to its
original orientation after any amount of rotation, set the X, Y, and Z
alignment to 0, then close the requester. Or you can set any alignment or
the X, Y, and Z axes.

When you adjust any of the align values, the Apply box below automatically
becomes selected (contains an X). To preview the new settings from taking
effect, click on the Apply box so that it's no longer selected.

Size

The values displayed next to Size X, Y, and Z in the Transformations
requester indicate the picked object's current size and lets you change the
size in Silver world units in the direction of any or all of the world X, Y
and Z axes in absolute terms. To resize faces pick the associated points
and use the Scale command, below.

When you adjust any of the align values, the Apply box below automatically
becomes selected (contains an X). To prevent the new settings from taking
effect, click again on the Apply box so that it's no longer selected.

Position

The requester displays the picked object's current absolute position and
lets you set a new position in the Silver world via the X, Y, and Z axes.
Alternatively, you can position objects interactively by clicking on them
twice (at the origin of the object's axis), then clicking in the new
location. To change objects' location by relative amount, use the Translate
command below. To move any of an object's faces or edges, go into Pick
Point mode, pick the associated points and reposition them.

When you adjust any of the position values, the Apply box below
automatically becomes selected (contains an X). To prevent the new settings
from taking effect, click again on the Apply Box so that it's no longer
selected.

Rotate

Rotation is always performed about the center of an object or group as
defined by its axis, and is a relative motion. You can reposition the axis
by picking the object, entering Pick Face mode and picking any face, then
use the Position command (menu or interactive) to place the axis.

When you change any Rotate setting, the box marked Local below the settings
becomes selected. Local rotation uses the object's own axis for
orientation. To rotate objects using the constant world axes for
orientation, select World by clicking in the box next to the word World.
Remember, rotation about the X axis works like spit or lathe, about the Y
axis is like turning a doorknob, and about the Z axis is like a spinning
barber pole. To rotate faces, go into Pick Point mode, pick the associated
points and rotate them, remembering that the center of rotation is always
the object's axis.

Scale

These settings let you resize picked objects in relative units rather than
the absolute units used in the Size command. In scaling an object the Scale
values are multiplied by the object's current size. That is, a Scale value
of 1 means the object stays the same size, 3 triples the size, and .5
halves it.

To scale a face or group of faces belonging to a picked object, pick any
faces by going into Pick Point mode and picking all associated points, then
scale in the desired directions. You can scale on any or all of the three
axes with respect to the object's own axis (Local) or the world axis
(World).

Translate

The Translate settings let you move picked objects units a given distance
from their current position--that is, a relative move rather than the
Position command's absolute move. Translation is described in Silver world
units via the X, Y, and Z axis settings. To translate faces, go into Pick
Point mode, pick the associated points and reposition them. You can perform
translation on any combination of the X, Y, and Z axes with respect to the
Local or the World axis.

Attributes (Function Key F7)

You can assign attributes such as color, reflectivity, transparency, etc.,
to groups, objects, or faces. While the first three attributes--Color,
Reflectivity, and Filter--can be applied to individual faces as well as to
objects and groups, the rest can only be applied to groups or
objects--they're all specified below. A number of special effects are
available with these settings--the combinations are virtually endless!

As with the Transformations requester, described above, you must first pick
an object, group, set of objects, or faces. If you pick a group of objects
in Multi mode, the Attributes requester reappears for each subsequent
object when you close it. After picking objects, select Attributes from the
Settings menu or press function key F7. The requester below appears:

!==========================================================================!
! Attributes ==============================================================!
!--------------------------------------------------------------------------!
!   Object !-----------------!          !--!  Quick Redraw                 !
!          ! STENCIL         !          !--!                               !
!          !-----------------!                                             !
! !--! Color   !-----------!  !-----! !--!  !--------------------------!   !
! !--!         !           !  !  0  ! !/\!  !                          !   !
!              !           !  !-----! !\/!  !--------------------------!   !
! !--! Reflect !           !  !-----! !--!  !--------------------------!   !
! !--!         !           !  !  0  ! !/\!  !                          !   !
!              !           !  !-----! !\/!  !--------------------------!   !
! !--! Filter  !           !  !-----! !--!  !--------------------------!   !
! !--!         !           !  !  0  ! !/\!  !                          !   !
!              !-----------!  !-----! !\/!  !--------------------------!   !
!                                                                          !
! !------! !--!             !-----------------------! !---!                !
! ! 255  ! !/\! Blending    !                       ! ! X ! Air            !
! !------! !\/!             !-----------------------! !---!                !
! !------! !--!             !-----------------------! !---! Water          !
! !  0   ! !/\! Roughness   !                       ! !---!                !
! !------! !\/!             !-----------------------! !---! Glass          !
! !------! !--!             !-----------------------! !---!                !
! !  0   ! !/\! Specular    !                       ! !---! Crystal        !
! !------! !\/!             !-----------------------! !---!                !
! !------! !--!             !-----------------!       !---! Custom         !
! !  0   ! !/\! Hardness    !                 !       !---!                !
! !------! !\/!             !-----------------!    !---------! !--!        !
!                                                  !  1.000  ! !/\!        !
!                                                  !---------! !\/!        !
!                                                              !--!        !
!  !---!         !---!          !---!         !---! Normal                 !
!  ! X ! Unlit   ! X ! Shaded   ! X ! Smooth  ! X !                        !
!  !---!         !---!          !---!         !---!                        !
!  !---! As Sun  !---! Bright   !---! Facets  !---! Glossy  !--! Texture   !
!  !---!         !---!          !---!         !---!         !--!           !
!  !---! As Lamp                                                           !
!                                                                          !
! Intensity !---------! !--!  !---!        !---!             !---!         !
!           ! 300.000 ! !/\!  ! X ! Matte  !---! IFF Brush   !---! Genlock !
!           !---------! !\/!  !---!                                        !
!--------------------------------------------------------------------------!

                           Attributes Requester

Exit the requester by clicking on its close gadget in the upper left
corner, whereupon all settings take effect. To return to conditions before
changing the Attribute settings, use the Undo command (Right Amiga-U)
before selecting any other command.

Following is a description of each Attributes requester setting from left
to right and top to bottom:

Object

This field shows the object's current name. To rename the object, click in
the field and edit it to show the new name, pressing Return when done. All
lower case letters are converted automatically to upper case by the
program.

Quick Redraw

Click in the box next to Quick Redraw to activate this attribute for an
object. When active, Quick Redraw means the object is represented in the
Object Editor as a box with an axis. The box is three-dimensional and
roughly shows the object's size from any view, but no surface details.
However, the object always appears accurately in the Wireframe view and
when rendered. This greatly speeds up working with complex objects in the
object Editor. All object editing commands work as usual with objects set
to Quick Redraw.

Color, Reflectivity, and Filter

These three settings use  the same set of gadgets to display current values
and set new ones. To use any one, first click in the appropriate box in the
top left of the Attributes requester. The Color, Reflectivity and Filter
settings are not transferred among members of a group when you use the
Cluster command (see Special Menu above).

Color

You can apply any of the Amiga's 4096 colors to any group, object, or face.
This sets the brightest color--shading produces darker hues. First click in
the box next to Color, then use the mouse to control the Red, Green, and
Blue color settings via the up/down arrows and sliders, or click on the
number box and type in a new value between 0 and 255. The current color is
shown in a large square box in the requester after you click on color. Note
that for picked objects this is the object's basic color, which doesn't
reflect any faces you may have recolored individually.

Reflect

Reflectivity causes objects or faces to have mirror-like properties,
showing reflections of objects around them. This differs from a shiny
effect (like a cue ball), which you can set with a combination of
specularity, hardness, and Glossy, all of which are explained below. You
can set red, green and blue reflectivity individually between 0 and 255.

Some of Silver's most dramatic effects are available with this command. Any
group, object, or face in Silver's world can be set to reflect some or all
of the red, green, and blue light that comes its way. Thus for unusual
effects you could have, for example, a green object that reflects only red
light! Be careful about using the higher reflectance values--perfect
reflectors are invisible!

Notes on Reflectivity

We have found, after many hours of experimentation, that there is
definitely an art to using reflective objects in Silver's world. The
problem lies in situating the right sorts of things next to each other--you
can't see that an object is reflective unless there's something of the
right color nearby. For example, a gold sphere in a blue world or
illuminated by blue light doesn't look gold. But place it on a table top
behind a goblet, a pear, and an apple, and it will look like a gold sphere.
Use the Glossy setting to create shiny-looking objects without requiring
reflectivity.

Filter

The Filter settings determine transparency for selected objects or faces.
Just as any object can reflect light in any of the three additive colors
(red, blue and green), it can pass light through, or be transparent. What's
more, both properties can be combined in a single object. Select objects to
be adjusted, then activate this command. The red, green and blue sliders in
the requester that appears can be adjusted from 0 (pass no light) to 255
(pass all light, or completely transparent). Transparency can be combined
with refraction (see Material below) to simulate such materials as glass,
water, etc. Also, set red, green, and blue transparency to 255 for the
Glossy effect.

Blending, Roughness, Specular, and Hardness

These special properties can be applied only to selected objects or groups,
not specific faces. The requester has separate up/down arrow settings and
sliders for each property. You can also click on the box showing the
numeric value and edit it with the keyboard.

Blending

This lets you set the blending for any object between 0 and 255. Blending
determines the amount by which the range of an object's shading colors
overlap (by dithering) with each other. When blending is set to 0 on shaded
objects a solid banding effect occurs. For more realistic effects set
blending between 30 and 100. Set blending below 25 for objects to be
colored as IFF brushes.

Roughness

This command lets you set an apparent rough surface for objects in Silver.
Most objects in ray-traced scenes on the Amiga have a characteristic smooth
look because such objects are quickest to render. By increasing this
setting you can simulate such surfaces as wood, rough stone, etc. As with
all such settings experimentation will lead you to the most satisfactory
results. You can set roughness for any object between 0 and 255.

Specular

Specularity refers to the small white reflection of the light source on
brightly lit shiny objects. This setting, which ranges from 0 to 255, lets
you control the intensity of each object's specular spot--first select the
object, the select Properties from the Attribute menu and use the mouse to
set specularity.

Hardness

This value interacts with the Specular value above to control the
brightness of the specular spot. For example, a Specular value of 255 and a
Hard value of 15 gives the smallest, brightest spot possible, while lower
values of Hardness spreads it out and lower values of Specular decreases
the intensity.

Material

Immediately to the right of the above property settings is a column of
settings that lets you determine an object's index of refraction. This
works only on selected objects (and groups), not parts of objects. The
requester always shows an X in the box next to the material setting for the
selected object. The Material command lets you set an object's index of
refraction, thus simulating different types of transparent substances such
as glass, crystal, etc. Of course, the effect is only visible if objects
are transparent (see Group Filter above).

Air

This is the default setting and is automatically assigned to all newly
created objects. When you set any degree of transparency for an object, the
Air material setting means that rays of light pass through it without being
refracted at all, as if the object were made of air.

Glass
Water
Crystal

Although you can assign any realistic index of refraction to any object in
Silver, we've given you three built-in settings for convenience. For
instance:

Substance    Index of Refraction

Glass        1.66
Crystal        2.00
Water        1.33

See Custom below for further information.

Custom

This setting lets you assign an index of refraction from 1.00 to 3.55 to
objects in Silver. Simply select the object, then select Attributes and
enter the new value into the requester with the mouse or keyboard. Here's a
sample table of indices of refraction for various substances:

Substance    Index of Refraction

Salt        1.54
Quartz        1.55
Emerald        1.57
Lapus Lazuli    1.61
Topaz        1.61
Ruby        1.77
Sapphire    1.77
Diamond        2.42

As a rule of thumb, the higher a substance's index of refraction, the
longer it takes to trace. To shorten tracing time for scenes containing
refractive objects, lower the Resolve setting (see Globals above).

For an authoritative list of indices of refraction, consult the CRC
Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 63rd Edition, published by CRC Press,
Inc. of Boca Raton, Florida.

Unlit, As Sun, As Lamp, Intensity

These settings in the lower left corner of the Attributes requester
determine whether or not an object acts as a source of light, and if so,
its nature. Any object can be a light source, in which case the direction
or directions in which it casts light is determined by its shape and
position. A flat object casts light forward and backward (or up and down,
depending on its orientation), while spherical objects cast light in all
directions. Note that light sources themselves aren't visible in Silver's
world, so most other attributes don't apply to them.

Unlit

This is the default setting for all newly created or imported objects.
Unlit means the object doesn't act as a light source, but reflects and/or
transmits light, depending on its other attributes.

As Sun
As Lamp

Setting a selected object to As Sun causes it to illuminate all objects
with equal intensity disregarding distance from the light, just like
ol' Sol. The closer a Sun is to an object, the shorter the shadows and the
brighter the specular spot (see Specular under Properties in the Attributes
Menu section below).

To simulate a more earth-bound type of light, use As Lamp to illuminate
objects in inverse proportion to their distance from it. That is, of
course, the further the object, the less the illumination. Positioning a
lamp very far from objects results in little or no illumination.

Silver is limited to a maximum of 32,000 light sources in a single scene.

Intensity

With objects set to As Sun or As Lamp, this gadget lets you set the light's
strength. The initial setting is 300, and average value. We recommend
against extreme changes in light intensity--too much can cause glare, and
too little reduces object shading and visibility.

Shaded
Bright

You can set any object to shaded or bright, but not both. This setting's
effect depends on whether an object is set to Unlit or acts as a light
source.  Newly created objects in Silver are set to Unlit and Shaded, which
means they're illuminated by light sources in a realistic way--the point
closest to a light is brightest while other sides fall off in brightness
and become progressively darker. Setting an unlit object to Bright causes
all sides to be illuminated the same, as if the object were itself a dim
light source. Bright objects don't illuminate other objects, though.

When you set an object to be a light source with As Sun or As Lamp, the
Bright setting is automatically selected. This means that no shadows are
cast by the light source. Click on Shaded to cause the light source to cast
shadows. Use of the Shaded option lengthens rendering time, as extra
calculations are required to draw the shadows. When using multiple light
sources we recommend setting no more than one or two Shaded to minimize
rendering time.

Smooth
Facets

Newly created objects in Silver are set to smooth, but Facets is an
alternative setting which gives objects a 'blocky' look. Selecting Facets
turns off smoothing for a selected object.  Large faces in Silver are
usually made up of a number of smaller triangular facets, a special
technique called Phong smoothing is applied to simulate a rounded surface.
In some cases such as with extruded 3D alphabet letters and symbols, you'd
want edges to appear sharp so set these to Facets.

Normal
Glossy

The Normal setting is assigned by default to all newly created objects. The
alternative Glossy setting lets you give non-reflective objects a shiny
appearance. For Glossy to take effect you must also set an object's Filter
settings for red, green, and blue to 255. Try combining Glossy with
Reflective to enhance the appearance of shininess.

Texture

Texture is an independent setting which can be combined with any other
combination of attributes.  After setting an object to Texture, use the
Texture menu to load a texture onto an object and set attributes. See the
section on the Texture menu below for detailed information on this unique,
open-ended option.

Coloring--Matte, IFF Brush, Genlock

These three alternative settings determine the nature of an object's
all over coloring. The default setting is Matte.

Matte

All newly created objects in Silver are automatically assigned this
Coloring setting, which means that the object is colored with whatever
color or colors you assign it with the Color setting at the top of the
Attributes menu.

IFF Brush

This option sets an object to use an IFF Brush, or picture file, as
coloring. One of Silver's special features is the ability to apply pictures
from paint programs such as Deluxe Paint II and our own Diamond digitizing
and paint program around 'solid' objects in Silver. To create a resizable
IFF brush, Add an Axis, set it to IFF Brush coloring via this menu item,
then load an IFF brush into it with the Brush menu. Also, IFF Brush objects
acting as light sources (As Sun or As Lamp) project their images onto
nearby surfaces. See Brush Menu below for details.

Genlock

Coloring an object as Genlock means that its entire surface is always
assigned the background color (usually black) so that any genlocked video
signal shows through. See your genlock unit's manual for details.

Skin

This command lets you custom-build complex objects from a number of
cross-sections. Although each cross-section can be any kind of object, in
practice it's best to use flat groups of points connected by edges (or
faces, if you want the cross-sections to be solid in the final object). The
only restriction is that ALL CROSS-SECTIONS MUST CONTAIN THE SAME NUMBER OF
POINTS. Cross-sections can be oriented (rotated) any way with respect to
each other--that is, they needn't be parallel--and they can be of any
shape. After creating and positioning all cross-sections, enter Pick Object
mode, pick all cross-sections while holding down the left Shift key
(Multi-mode), then select Skin from the Settings menu. After a few moments,
the cross-sections are connected together in a solid object. If its shape
isn't satisfactory, use the Undo command (Right Amiga-U) and try again.

Here's a short tutorial which illustrates one of the many ways to use the
Skin command. As with any Silver command, don't be afraid to
experiment--you may be surprised and pleased with the results!

1. In a new Object Editor workspace (make sure you're in Front view mode),
use Add Axis from the Edit menu to begin creating a cross-section.

2. Pick the axis (press F1) and use Add Point from the Edit menu to add
five or so points to the axis in a roughly circular arrangement.

3. Use Add Edge from the Edit menu to connect the points in a circle. This
is the first cross-section.

4. Enter Pick Object mode (press Right Amiga-2). Make sure the object is
picked and is colored blue.

5. Use the Copy command from the Edit menu, or press Right Amiga-C.

6. Go to the Top view by pressing function key F10.

7. Press F1 to turn the picked cross-section green and ready it for
interactive repositioning. Now click on the screen an inch or so above
(behind) its original position and a half-inch to the side. The object
should disappear from its original position and reappear where you click.

8. Return to the Front view by pressing F9.

9. Now select Paste from the Edit menu or press Right Amiga-P to create a
copy of the cross-section on the screen in the same position from which it
was copied.

10. The original cross-section should still be blue to indicate that it's
picked. If not click on either cross-section so it turns blue.

11. Select Point from the Pick menu.

12. Click twice on any point in the cross-section--the point turns red and
the cross-section turns green. Then click anywhere else on the screen to
reposition the point and connected edges.

13. Repeat step 12 with one or two other points.

14. Return to Object mode from the Pick menu, or press Right Amiga-2.

15. One of the cross-sections should be picked (blue). Hold down the left
Shift key and click on the other cross-section's axis, so both
cross-sections are blue.

16. Select the Skin command from the Settings menu.

17. After a few moments, the new object appears, with faces connecting all
points in the two original cross-sections. For a clearer view, use Top or
Wireframe mode from the View menu.

Mold

Select this command from the Settings menu after picking an object to
invoke the Mold requester. The Mold command lets you create new objects by
EXTRUDING or SPINNING objects or outlines in various ways, all detailed
immediately below. In most cases, best results with Mold functions are
obtained with outlines composed of points and edges.

The Mold requester looks like this:

!===================================================================!
! Mold CUSTOM DISK--------------------------------------------------!
!===================================================================!
!                                                                   !
! !-!                    !-!                  !-!                   !
! !X! Extrude            ! ! Sweep            !X! Open              !
! !-!                    !-!                  !-!                   !
! !-!                    !-!                  !-!                   !
! ! ! By Story           ! ! Spin             ! ! Closed            !
! !-!                    !-!                  !-!                   !
! !-!                                                               !
! !X! To Length                                                     !
! !-!                                                               !
!                                                                   !
!             Length               Angle                            !
! !-----------------------!    !---------------------------!        !
! !      100.000          !    !   360.000                 !        !
! !-----------------------!    !---------------------------!        !
!                            !---------------!                      !
!        Number of Sections  !   12          !                      !
!                            !---------------!                      !
!-------------------------------------------------------------------!

                       Mold Requester

This requester gives you two methods of creating custom objects; extruding
and spinning/sweeping. The Length setting applies only to extrusions, while
the Angle and Open/Close settings apply only to swept/spun objects.

Extrude

The Extrude command is the Mold requester's default setting. This function
lets you create solid objects from two-dimensional outlines composed of
points, or any other shape. You can extrude in a straight line along or
along a three-dimensional path. You can also set the number of sections for
an extruded object. The Angle setting in the Mold requester doesn't apply
to extrusions.

Here's the basic procedure for creating a shape from points and edges, then
extruding it:

* Use the Add Axis command to place an Axis object in the workspace.

* Make sure Front View is activated from the View menu.

* Use Add Edge and/or Add Face to connect the points in the shape of the
desired outline. If a flat object with faces is extruded, each section will
have the same faces on both ends, but if you extrude an object consisting
only of points and edges, the ends will be open.

HINT: You needn't connect a set of points to be extruded in one continuous
line. If you're adding edges, to start a new line of edges press Right
Amiga-2 (Pick Object), then re-enter the Add Edge mode (Right Amiga-7) and
start with a new point.

* To extrude along a path first create the path, then assign the object to
be extruded to the path. See Story below for detailed information on using
paths.

* Activate the Mold requester from the Settings menu and set the number of
units to extrude--the depth of the extrusion--and the number of sections.
To extrude along a path, click on the box labeled By Story, and be sure to
first assign a path to the object. Close this requester to perform the
extrusion.

* If the results are unsatisfactory, use the Undo command (Right Amiga-U),
pick the object to create a new one to extrude, and repeat the process.

Extrusion by length is always performed along the Y (in-out) axis. For each
section Silver makes a copy of the object a small distance from the
original with lines connection every vertex.

Extrusion Example

Step-by-step instructions for making a sample extruded letter M follow:

1. Use the Edit Menu Add Axis command to add an axis to the workspace.

2. The axis should be orange. Pick it (press F1)--it turns blue.

3. Go into Add Point (Right Amiga-3) mode and add points to outline a
capital letter M as indicated below. Make the letter fairly large, filling
about a third of the screen.

4. Select Add Face from the Edit menu (Right Amiga-6) and connect all the
points into triangles by clicking on each set of three points to join in
turn. You can use your own scheme or follow the example on the next page:


5. Go into Pick Object mode (Right Amiga-2).

6. Select Mold from the Settings menu.

7. The Mold requester appears showing the object's name in the title bar.
Extrude style is set to By Length, and the length is now set to 100. This
is the length along the Y axis, or the depth.

8. Click on the box labeled Number of Sections, which contains the number
12. Edit this to 1 with the keyboard and press Return.

9. Click on the close gadget in the Mold requester's upper left corner to
extrude the M outline.

10. The unit is extruded. To see its depth, select Top View from the View
menu. Then return to the Front view.

It's that simple to extrude a solid letter M. If we'd wanted a hollow one,
with no front and back, we'd have connected the dots in an outline of an M
with Add Edge, then extruded that.

Sweep
Spin

These powerful commands let you create solid objects seemingly spun on a
lathe. While any object can be swept or spun, best results are obtained
with flat outlines created from points and edges. Objects are always spun
on the Z or vertical axis, and use the object's axis as the line of
symmetry. Therefore, it's usually a good idea to perform Sweep/Spin
operations while the Front view is active. The difference between Sweep and
Spin is that while Sweep spins all points, in Spin the first and last
points act as anchors and are not swept about the axis. Thus for fully
symmetrical objects you should always use Sweep.

Mold requester settings that affect Sweep and Spin are Angle, Number of
Sections, and if the angle is less than 360 degrees, Open/Closed. Angle
sets the number of degrees by which an object is spun about its axis (e.g.
180 degrees spins it halfway). Number of Sections sets the number of
divisions around the object's circumference--the more sections, the
smoother the object's outline appears when rendered, but the more memory is
required. For objects spun less than 360 degrees, Open/Closed determines
whether triangular facets are created on the unspun faces of the object.

Here's the basic procedure for using the Sweep/Spin functions from the Mold
requester:

* From the Front view, use Add Axis.

* Use Add Point to set the number of points in the object's profile.

* Connect the points with Add Edge.

* Select Pick Object (Right Amiga-2), then the Mold command.

* Set the number of sections and number of degrees to spin, and if the
latter is less than 360 degrees, select Closed if you want the object to
appear solid from all sides, or Open for a hollow appearance. You should
make sure the first and last points set (and connect) are vertically
aligned, or have the same X coordinate (use the Coords On command in the
View menu) for true left-right symmetry.

* Finally, click on Sweep or Spin, then close the Mold requester by
clicking in the close gadget in the upper left corner of the requester to
perform the spin. If the results are unacceptable, use the Undo command
(Right Amiga-U) to retry.  Remember the distinction between Sweep and
Spin--Sweep spins all points in the object, while Spin spins all but the
first and last points in the object.

Story

Story is one of the most powerful commands in Silver. It lets you perform
'path' and hierarchical animation, as well as set a path for extruding
objects. You can also use Story to rotate and/or scale objects during an
animation.

In path animation you first create motion paths by connecting strings of
points with edges, then assign one or more objects to it with the Story
command. You then use the Animation editor to assign the animation to a
number of frames to determine its length. The number of frames need not
match the number of points in the path; Silver interpolates smoothly in any
case. You can also use the Story command to assign objects to other objects
which are assigned paths, thus creating hierarchical motion. An example of
this is the whirling rotor on a forward-moving helicopter. You would simply
assign the chopper to a path indicating direction, then set the rotor to
follow the chopper object and rotate so many degrees per frame with the
Relative setting.

After picking an object to be animated (the object should be blue), select
the Story command from the Settings menu. This requester appears:

!===================================================================!
! Story: CUSTOM DISK------------------------------------------------!
!===================================================================!
!              !-----------------------------------!                !
! Follow Path: !                                   !                !
!              !-----------------------------------!                !
!                !---------------!              !----------------!  !
!   X Rotation:  !      0.000    !  X Scaling:  !   1.000        !  !
!                !---------------!              !----------------!  !
!                !---------------!              !----------------!  !
!   Y Rotation:  !      0.000    !  Y Scaling:  !   1.000        !  !
!                !---------------!              !----------------!  !
!                !---------------!              !----------------!  !
!   Z Rotation:  !      0.000    !  Z Scaling:  !   1.000        !  !
!                !---------------!              !----------------!  !
!          !-!           !-!               !-!            !-!       !
!   Abs    !X!   World   ! !        Abs    !X!    World   ! !       !
!          !-!           !-!               !-!            !-!       !
!          !-!           !-!               !-!            !-!       !
!   Rel    ! !   Local   !X!        Rel    ! !    Local   !X!       !
!          !-!           !-!               !-!            !-!       !
!                                                                   !
!       !--!                 !--!                !--!               !
!       !  ! Y Align         !  !  Follow Me     !  ! Drop Story    !
!       !--!                 !--!                !--!               !
!-------------------------------------------------------------------!

                           Story Requester

Note that the object's name appears at the top of the requester next to
"Story:".

Following is a discussion of each item in the Story requester:

Follow Path

To assign an object to a path, along which it will move during an animation
or for an extrusion by path, enter the name of the path in this field in
the object's Story requester. Remember, a path must consist of a set of
points connected linearly by edges, and must have a unique name. Or, if you
enter the name of another object here, the first object will follow the
second object (the one named in its story) whenever it moves during the
animation.

Rotation

As part of an object's story--that is, the animation to be performed--you
can set the object to rotate around its axis with respect to the local or
world X, Y, and/or Z axes.  The Abs setting stands for Absolute rotation,
in which the object rotates the number of degrees set in the requester over
the course of the entire animation. In other words, if an object rotates
360 degrees with Abs set over a ten-frame animation, it rotates 36 degrees
per frame.

On the other hand, the Rel setting indicates relative rotation. That is,
the object rotates the indicated amount per animation frame, no matter how
long the animation.

Scaling

Setting a scaling amount other than 1.000 for any combination of axes
causes the object to change size steadily over the course of the animation.
As in Transformations scaling, objects can be scaled with respect to its
own or the world orientation. And as with Story rotation, the Abs
(absolute) setting causes the set transformation to occur over the entire
course of the animation, and the Rel (relative) setting causes the settings
to be applied repeatedly in each frame. For example, an X Scaling amount of
2 applied relatively with the World setting would cause the object to
double in width (as viewed from the front) in each frame of the animation.

Align to Y

This applies to path animation as well as extrusion by story (see Mold
above). It's useful for paths that aren't horizontal when viewed from the
front or side. When this function is turned on, objects align their Y
(in/out) axis to the path direction at every point on the path, rotating to
maintain a consistent orientation with respect to the path direction. this
is particularly useful with path extrusion for maintaining constant
thickness of the extruded object. It's also useful for depicting animation
of objects that continually turn to point in the direction they're moving,
such as missiles and airplanes.

Follow Me

An object set to follow a path with the Follow Me setting active causes any
objects grouped to that object ('child' objects) to follow the same path in
subsequent frames. A common example would be locomotive engine pulling
several train cars behind it. But in Silver you can make the train (or any
other group of objects) move along a spiral (or any other) path!

Here's a step-by-step example for using Follow Me:

1. Create a new file and double click on Frame 000 to enter the Key Cell
object editor.

2. Create a path: use Add Axis, then add several points, then connect them
with a line with edges. Use the Attributes requester to give it an
appropriate name (such as 'Path'). For more detailed information on
creating a path, see 'More about Story' directly below.

3. Now create the object that's to 'pull' the other objects--we'll call it
Engine. Use any simple shape, such as the Cone from the Edit menu Add
Custom requester.

4. Pick the engine, then activate the Story requester by selecting Story
from the Settings menu. Type Path (or the name of the path object) in the
space in the requester next to 'Follow Path'. Click in the box next to
'Follow Me' so an X appears in it, then close the requester.

5. Now create a few other simple objects and group them to the Engine
object. To do so, pick all the objects (so they turn blue) while holding
down the left shift key, STARTING WITH THE ENGINE. Then select the Group
command from the Edit menu or press Right Amiga-G.

6. Now exit the object editor to the animation editor, and set up an
animation. While holding down the left Shift key, click once on Frames 1
through 8. Next invoke the Make command from the Cells menu. Click on Frame
000 to select it, then select Source from the Cells menu. Next select Use
Story from the Cells menu, then All from the Edit menu. Then select Target
from the Cells menu, and Wire Frame from the Options submenu in the Display
menu. Finally, use All again, then Make Scene from the Scene menu.

7. The animation should take no more than a minute or so to render. To view
your wireframe test animation, use Load Scene from the Scene menu, then
Play Scene (Once or Loop).

Drop Story

To prevent an object from being assigned to a path or another object during
an animation, pick the object, select the Story command, and click on Drop
Story. The requester automatically closes.

More About Story

Although the Story command is in the object editor, use of it requires that
you understand the Animation Editor Reference section of this manual.

Here's the basic procedure for performing Story animation in Silver:

* Create a new file and double click on Frame 000, which is the Key Cell in
the center of the lower half of the screen. This places you in the Object
Editor for the Key Cell.

* Create a path by adding an axis (name it Path or some such when the Rename
prompt appears), picking it by pressing F1, then adding several points
along a path that an object is to follow. The more points you add, the more
detailed the movement. You can add points anywhere in Silver's world from
any view, changing the placement on the in/out axis with the Set Depth
command in the View menu.

* Connect the points with the Add Edge command to create a continuous path.

* Pick or create (then pick) and object to follow the path.

* Select the Story command from the Settings menu.

* When the Story requester appears, type the name of the path you entered
in step 1 in the box labeled Follow Path. Also enter any rotation or
scaling information. Click on the requester's close box to set the story.

* Now exit the cell by clicking on the close gadget in the upper left
corner.

* Determine the number of frames the animation is to take. If the required
number of cells isn't present, use the Make command on them. The Key Cell
is never included in the animation. If necessary, select empty frames and
use the Make command (using the left Shift key lets you select multiple
frames). As a guide, at full speed Silver displays 15 frames per second.

* Select the Use Story item from the Cells menu (unless the item is already
checked in the menu).

* Select Frame 000, the Key Cell, and select the Source command from the
Cell menu or press Right Amiga-S.

* Now select all the frames over which the animation is to occur with the
All command--press Right Amiga-A.

* Select the Target command from the Cells menu or press Right Amiga-T.
This tells Silver to apply the story to all the Target cells. The disk
drive is busy for a few seconds, then the pointer reappears.

* At this point it's a good idea to go into several or all cells to make
sure the animation is working properly. Each cell's workspace should
reflect its point along the animation sequence.

* For a quick run-through of the animation, choose Wireframe from Options
submenu of the Display menu.

* Select the loop point cell (usually #1) and select the Loop Point command
from the Scene menu.

* Select all cells from the animation (Right Amiga-A for all).

* Select Make Scene from the Scene menu.

* When the mouse pointer turns back from 'Busy' to the arrow, you can load
and view the scene with Scene menu commands.

Animation Hints

If you followed the above tutorial about using the Story command, you know
that the actual animation is created when you use the Target command (with
Use Story activated) to create a sequence of cells each of whose objects is
slightly changed from the previous frame. Of course, you can set up a
number of different animation at one time in a cell, but normally they all
take place over the same number of cells (that is, those cells you select
before using the Target command). If you want to create animation sequences
of different lengths in one Scene, use the Merge command. After using the
Source/Target commands the first time, clear the Key Frame of all objects,
then create the new Story sequence, then use Source/Join. This serves to
combine the new animation with an existing one.

Load (Right Amiga-L)

This Settings menu command activates a File Selector that lets you choose
the name of a disk file containing objects or groups to load into the
workspace. When loaded objects appear orange--to move them, press F1 to
pick them, then F1 again or Right Amiga-M to Mark them, then click on the
new location.

Save (Right Amiga-S)

After picking objects or groups to save to a disk file, use this command to
activate the File Requester. Use the techniques outlined above in the File
Requester section to set the path and name the file, and click on Okay to
save it. Objects from different animations can be combined with each other
by use of the Save and Load commands.

eXternal (Right Amiga-X)

Use this command to force Silver to store only one copy of an object with
saved cells on disk. This is useful for saving disk space when using
complex objects in animations. As explained elsewhere, Silver uses a
virtual storage system which causes each cell's contents to be stored
separately on disk. Complex objects cause cell data files to be quite
large, and using the same object in a series of cells can use up disk space
quickly.

An external object must exist as a separate file on disk, and you must load
it into each cell in which it's to be used. Here's the basic procedure for
making an existing object external:

* Pick the object and use the Save command to store it in a disk file.

* Delete the object from the Object Editor workspace.

* Select the eXternal command.

* The file requester to load an object appears. Select the object file for
the external object, whereupon it's loaded.

* From then on the program uses the external file to store that object for
all cells into which the object is loaded with the eXternal command. If you
change the object, you must save it again to the external file.

Brush Menu

This command, one Silver's most powerful, lets you apply any IFF bit-mapped
image, including high-resolution and HAM, to any object. The image, called
a brush, can be either laid flat or wrapped around the object's contours.
This is sometimes called as texture mapping, although in Silver a texture
is a special case (see Texture Menu below). Judicious usage of IFF brush
wrapping can lead to some truly spectacular results. You can have up to
eight IFF brushes per cell. In animations, if you have enough disk storage,
you can use eight different brushes per cell, giving you the possibility of
having eight 'movies' playing inside your 3D animation! In addition, you
can assign IFF brushes to light sources, letting them act as slide
projectors.

One way to conceptualize 3D brush mapping is to think of a flag wrapped
around a large inflated beach ball. Silver can do this with any flat image
and any shape, and automatically takes care of the folds, wrinkles, and
loose corners.

To wrap an IFF brush around an object, load it into an axis which is
defined as a brush in the Attribute menu, set the wrap, resize it, then
group it and Cluster it to the destination object. Here's a step-by-step
basic procedure--refer to the command reference below for details.

* Create the object that the brush is to be wrapped around.

* Use the Edit menu to add an axis to the workspace

* Pick the axis (so it turns blue).

* Set the axis to Brush coloring with the Attributes requester.

* Resize the X and Z dimensions of the axis so it's large in relation to
the object as you want the image to be.

* Use the Load command from the brush menu to assign an image to the axis.

* Group the axis to the object to be wrapped, with the axis as parent. In
positioning the axis in relation to the object it's important to remember
that the image is loaded onto upper right quadrant of the plane defined by
the axis' X and Z axes, that is with its lower left corner at the source as
shown below:

       Z
       |   !-------------------------------!
       |   ! This is the area that the     !
       |   ! IFF brush will cover          !
       |   ! using Flat X Flat Z wrap.     !
       |   !                               !
       |   ! Notice where the Axis is      !
       |   ! placed                        !
       |   !/                              !
       |   /-------------------------------!
       | \/
      !-!-------------------------------------X
      !-!
    Origin

Make sure to place the axis in this physical relationship to your object or
the image may not wrap properly.

* After grouping the axis as parent tot he object to be wrapped, make sure
the group is picked and use the Cluster command (Right Amiga-K).

* Use the Wrap command to set whether the image will lie flat or follow the
object's contours.

Hints for Image Wrapping

It's usually a good idea, at least when initially experimenting, to make
your brushes (axis) slightly larger than the surface area of the object to
be wrapped. Also be careful in placing the axis with respect to the
object--as in dropping a cloth over a table, if you're too far to one side
part of the table is left bard.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure not to set blending above about 25 for objects
wrapped with IFF brushes, or else the images will mush together and be
unrecognizable. For details see Blending under Attribute Menu above.

IFF Brush Objects as Light Sources

An object which is set to both As Sun or As Lamp and IFF Brush in its
Attributes settings can act as a slide projector, beaming its image onto
nearby objects. Just as an object's shape determines how it casts light,
the shape determines the direction in which the image is cast. In the case
of a sphere, the image is cast in all directions about the object. The only
object that can't project an IFF Brush is the special Surface object in the
Edit Add submenu.

Note: For IFF Brush/light source objects you needn't load the brush onto an
axis first--simply load the brush directly onto the object.

Load

This command lets you use a file requester to assign an IFF picture file
name to a picked object (usually an axis) as well as to one of the eight
slots under Loaded Brushes at the bottom of the Brush menu. These slots
start out empty, each with the entry '--Unused--'. To load a brush, follow
this procedure:

* Set an object, usually an object, to Brush coloring via the Attributes
requester. Make sure the object is picked.

* Select one of the brush slots so that a check mark appears next to it.

* Then select Load from the Brush menu.

* Select a picture file name from the requester to place it in the checked
brush slot under Loaded Brushes. Note that this command doesn't actually
load the brush; that doesn't happen until the scene is rendered. To inspect
a brush use the View command below.

Drop

This command lets you free up a Brush menu slot under Loaded Brushes so you
can load a different one. Select the brush slot so a check mark appears
next to it, then select Drop from the Brush menu. The word '--Unused--' now
appears where the brush filename was.

View

To view any picture file loaded into the Brush menu under Loaded Brushes,
select it first so that a check mark appears next to it, then select View
from the Brush menu.  The screen goes black and the file is loaded and
shown. Click the mouse's left button to return to the editing screen.

Wrap Submenu

This submenu gives you four choices--Flat X, Wrap X, Flat Z, Wrap Z--of
which only two can be active at a time. There are four ways of wrapping a
flat image around a three-dimensional object, derived from the four
combinations available in this submenu:

Flat X Flat Z
Flat X Wrap Z
Wrap X Flat Z
Wrap X Wrap Z

The axis into which the brush is loaded should always be positioned
slightly below and to the front, as viewed from the front, of the object to
be wrapped. To apply the brush as flatly as possible without wrapping at
all, select Flat X Flat Z. To wrap a brush as around a vertical cylinder
such as a standing Coke can, use Flat X Wrap Z. To wrap the brush as around
a horizontal cylinder such as a lying Coke can, use Wrap X Flat Z. And to
wrap in both dimensions, use Wrap X Wrap Z. Naturally you're free to
experiment here as elsewhere, and it's actually in your best interest to
play around with brushes as even we haven't yet discovered all the
possibilities!

Stencil Menu

Stencils are similar to brushes in that they originate outside Silver in
paint programs such as Impulse's Diamond and Deluxe Paint II. However,
they're not wrapped around other objects, but loaded as free-standing solid
shapes in Silver. Stencils don't contain any color themselves, but you can
apply any of Silver's object attributes to them, including loading IFF
brushes onto them. The main restriction with Stencils is that they must be
two-color (one bitplane) images, containing only palette positions 0 and 1.
When loaded into Silver, the background color in these images becomes
transparent while the foreground color is able to take on standard Silver
object attributes. While stencils don't have actual thickness, they are
solid and cast shadows.

Here's the method for creating a stencil:

* Create a one-bitplane picture in a paint program and save it to disk. If
using Deluxe Paint II, set to any resolution with TWO colors in the initial
prompt.

* Start Silver, open a file, and go into any cell.

* Use the Edit menu command Add Stencil to create a new stencil.

* Pick the stencil by clicking on it or pressing F1 so it turns blue.

* Stencils start out lying flat. To turn it so you can easily see it from
the front view, select Rotate World Axes from the Group (Object) menu and
rotate 90 degrees on the X axis.

* Set the stencil to the size you want with the Size and/or Scale commands
in the Group/Object menu.

* Select Load from the Stencil menu, and select the name of the file from
step 1 with the file requester.

* You can now apply any standard attribute or resizing to the stencil. The
file is loaded during rendering of the image.

Load

This command lets you use a file requester to assign an IFF picture file
name to a picked stencil object as well as to one of the eight slots under
Loaded Stencils at the bottom of the Stencil menu. These slots start out
empty, each with the entry '--Unused--'. To load a stencil, select one of
the stencil slots from the Stencil menu so that a check mark appears next
to it, then select Load from the Stencil menu. Choose a picture file name
from the file requester that appears to place it in the checked stencil
slot under Loaded Stencils. Note that this command doesn't actually load
the stencil; that doesn;t happen until the scene is rendered. To inspect a
stencil use the View command below.

Drop

This command lets you free up a Stencil menu slot under Loaded Stencils so
you can load a different one.  Select the stencil slot from the Stencil
menu so a check mark appears next to it, then select Drop from the Stencil
menu.  The word '--Unused--' now appears where the stencil file name was.

View

To view any picture file loaded into the Stencil menu under Loaded
Stencils, select it first so that a check mark appears next to it in the
Stencil menu, then select View from the Stencil menu.  The screen goes
black and the file is loaded and shown.  Click the mouse's left button to
return to the editing screen.

Texture Menu

A texture is a user-defined and user-alterable pattern that is applied
uniformly to the entire surface of a solid object in Silver.  An example of
a texture is a checkerboard, supplied on the program disk in a file called
Chex.  You can set the size and color of the checkers with this menu.

Other textures may be supplied on the program disk.  You can find out more
about them by loading them onto objects and using the Info command from
this menu.  Also, Impulse, Inc. will release into the public domain the
information and/or software necessary for Silver users to create their own
textures.

Load

This Texture menu command lets you load texture files onto objects in the
Object Editor workspace.  You must first set the object to Texture coloring
via the Attributes requester, and of course the object must be picked.
Select the Load command, then select a texture file from the file requester
that appears.  If you move the file to another disk or directory you may
need to move texture files as well, and reselect them with this command.

Drop

This command lets you free up a Texture menu slot under Loaded Textures so
you can load a different one.  Select the texture slot from the Texture
menu so a check mark appears next to it, then select Drop from the Texture
menu.  The word '--Unused--' now appears where the texture file name was.

Info

This command shows the parameters necessary for the texture to function
properly.  Set the parameters with the Parameters command, below.  Pick the
textured item before choosing the Info command.

Parameters

The Parameters requester contains a number of numeric entry fields for
entering the information specified in the Info command for a texture. Pick
an object that's been set to Texture coloring via the Attributes requester,
and has had a texture loaded, and enter the required information in the
first column, then in the second if necessary.

For example, the sample Checks checkerboard texture supplied on the program
disk requires four parameters; size and RGB values for the checker pattern,
which you should enter in the first four fields in the left column of the
Parameters requester.  The size should be a multiple of 32 (e.g. 64, 128,
etc.) and the RGB values should be between 0 and 255 in the order red,
green, blue.  The other checker color is taken from the textured object's
original coloring.

Pick Menu

Use this menu to set the current Pick mode.  If nothing is picked you can
pick only groups and objects which turn blue when picked.  Once you've
picked an object, you can activate Pick Point, Edge, or Face to pick parts
of the object for changing shape or setting attributes.

There are a number of ways of picking objects, as outlined in the section
'Selecting Objects' above.  To reiterate slightly here, the easiest way to
pick an object is to click the mouse pointer on its 'hot spot', or axis
center.  You can pick multiple groups, objects, points, or faces by holding
down the left Shift key, which causes the message 'Multi' as well as the
current number of picked entities to appear at the top of the screen.  Once
a group, object, point or set of points, or face or set of faces is picked,
click again on any one to turn everything green and relocate picked items
to any new spot that you click on.  By relocating an object's faces, you're
actually relocating its axis.

Group (Right Amiga-1)

While in Pick Group mode you can pick groups or non-grouped objects by
clicking on them or with the other methods outlined in 'Selecting Objects'
above.  To pick a group, click on the parent object, or the object that's
tied to all the others by purple lines.  Picked groups and objects turn
blue.  You must pick an object before you can pick its faces or points.

As indicated, you can pick single objects while in Pick Group mode.
However, to independently manipulate a group's parent object, you must
pick the object in Pick Object mode.

To move a group of objects interactively, pick the group, then click again
on the parent object's axis (or press function key F1)--the group turns
green.  Then position the mouse at the new location and click the left
button.

Object (Right Amiga-2)

While in Pick Object mode you can pick objects by clicking on them or with
the other methods outlined in 'Selecting Objects' above. Picked objects
turn blue. This mode is particularly useful for manipulating individual
members of grouped objects. You must pick an object before you can pick its
faces or points.

To move an object interactively, pick the object, then click again on its
axis (or press function key F1)--the object turns green. Then position the
mouse at the new location and click the left button.

Point (Right Amiga-3)

You can only enter this mode if an object is currently picked. Use Pick
Point to perform physical transformations on parts of objects. While in
Pick Point mode you can pick points by clicking on them or with the other
methods outlined in 'Selecting Objects' above. Picked points turn red.

To move points in an object interactively, pick the object, then enter Pick
Point mode.  Click on any point--it turns red--(or use Multi mode to pick
several points) then press Right Amiga-M (Mark)--the object turns green.
Then position the mouse at the new location and click the left button.

Face (Right Amiga-4)

You can only enter this mode if an object is currently picked.  Use Pick
Face to change attributes such as color of different parts of objects, or
to relocate an object's axis.  While in Pick Face mode you can pick faces
by clicking on points or withe the other methods outlined in 'Selecting
Objects' above. Picked faces turn red.

To move an object's axis, pick the object, then enter Pick Face mode, pick
any face, press Right Amiga-M (the entire object turns green), then
position the mouse at the new position for the axis and click the left
button.

Edge (Right Amiga-5)

You can only enter this mode if an object is currently picked. Use Pick
Edge to pick a path of edges circumscribing an object for dividing with the
Split command.  While in Pick Edge mode you can pick edges by clicking on
points or with the other methods outlined in 'Selecting Objects' above.
Picked edges turn red.

Add Select (Function key F1)

This command functions identically to a press of the F1 function key.  If
a group or object (or part of an object) is selected, this command causes
the selected item to be picked.

Rem Pick (Function key F2)

The Remove Pick command functions identically to a press of the F2 function
key.  If a group or object (or part of an object) is picked, this unpicks
the item.  If more than one item is picked (Multi Mode), each time you
select Rem Pick or press F2 the items are unpicked in the reverse order of
that in which you originally picked them.

Rem Select (Function key F3)

If a group or object is currently picked, using Remove Select causes the
group or object to be selected (turns orange).  If an edge, point or face
is picked, the item becomes unpicked.

View Menu

This menu is most commonly used for viewing the workspace from different
angles.  Once you start building complex scenes, you'll also need the
flexibility offered by some of the View menu's other commands such as zoom
and wireframe preview of the scene from the camera angle.  The Coords On
command is a handy way of lining up points for symmetrical or square
objects.

Pan Mode--The Arrow Keys

Special Note: The arrow keys on the Amiga's keyboard are an important View
control not found on the View menu. You can scroll or 'pan' the scene in
the direction indicated by pressing one of the arrow keys. This is useful
to give yourself elbow room for moving the camera back, for example.

Top View (Function key F8)
Front View (Function key F9)
Right View (Function key F10)

These three show the workspace from above, from in front, and from the
right side respectively. The usual working view is from the front. As it's
difficult to visualize Silver's three-dimensional space on a flat monitor
screen, you should switch often between the three views to get a better
idea of physical relationships between your objects. This is especially
important when repositioning objects, since two objects that look close
together from one angle can be revealed to be far apart from a different
view.

Wire Frame (Right Amiga-W)

The Wire Frame command gives you an ultra-quick 'pencil sketch' of all
objects in view of the camera as they will appear in the final rendering of
the current cell. This view only shows objects' outlines, not shading,
coloring or other attributes. To exit from the wire frame view after the
scene is drawn, position the mouse arrow anywhere in the window and click
the left mouse button. Also, if you click while the wire frame view is
being drawn, the drawing stops after the current object--click again to
exit the view.

Zoom In (Right Amiga-I)
Zoom Out (Right Amiga-O)

Zoom In enlarges the view and Zoom Out makes everything smaller, both
starting from the center of the view. Use Zoom In to eliminate extraneous
details when working on part of a scene and Zoom Out to get an overall view
of the scene. Use Reset at the bottom of the View menu to return to the
original zoom level.

Before zooming in on an object it's a good idea to center it in the display
using one of these commands; Find, Home, Next, Last. But if you lose an
object while zooming in on it, remember you can scroll or 'pan' the display
by pressing any of the arrow keys to the right of the Return key on your
keyboard.

Coords On

This command opens a small window that always shows the current X, Y and Z
coordinates of the mouse cursor. This can be useful in precise placement of
points for extrusion or spinning, for example.

Set Depth

This command is primarily used in adding points to an object, and lets you
add points at any depth. Normally when you're working in a view, you control
point placement in that view's vertical and horizontal axes, but not on the
in/out (depth) axis. For example, when adding a point while in the Front
view you can only set the point's location on the X and Z axes, but the Y
(in/out) axis setting is always 0.

To change the location on the in/out axis at which new points are to be
set, activate the Set Depth command from the View menu and type in a new
setting. From that point on any new points that you add are located at that
setting on the in/out axis. The new setting is retained even if you switch
to another view, then back again. For best results, use this command
together with the Coords On command (above).

Reset

This handy command saves you the trouble of manually zooming and panning
back to the starting point after a length editing session. It instantly
resets the initial zoom level and returns to the initial view.

Animation Editor Reference

Introduction

The Animation Editor is the section of Silver in which you're always placed
when you start the program. It looks like an eight-frame filmstrip laid
horizontally across the middle of the screen, with an extra frame
positioned between two sliders labeled Frame Position and Delay/Frame near
the bottom of the screen.

From here you control all functions concerning image generation and
animation in Silver, most of which are available from the menu and hot
keys. The hot keys used here aren't the necessarily same as those used in
the object editor, with the useful exception of Right Amiga-U; the Undo
key.

The first step when creating a new image or animation is to set the
graphics mode with the Modes menu. You can't change this after creating or
opening a file, but it's easy to save entire cells and load them into other
animations to experiment with different modes.

After setting the mode, use the New or Open command from the File menu,
then start editing a scene in any cell. To enter a cell click twice on it.
Once you've placed some objects in a cell, exit to the Animation Editor to
render a frame or animation with the Generate or Make Scene commands.

It's important to keep in mind the difference between cells and frames
while using this reference. Cells contain objects, camera, and light while
frames are the final images rendered by Silver from a cell's contents, plus
the associated cell. The Animation Editor lets you manipulate cells and
frames independently with the Cells and Edit menu respectively.

Silver's Virtual File Storage

Silver uses a virtual file storage scheme to maximize memory and let you
create as complicated objects as possible in each cell. When you enter a
cell from the Animation Editor its contents (if any) are loaded from a disk
file, and when you exit from the Object Editor workspace the cell is saved
to its own file on disk. You can set the drive and directory (path) used
for this operation with the Cells item in the Animation Editor's Scene
menu. Despite this automatic backup system you should always use the Save
command to ensure that edited cells are safely stored on disk for future
reloading after closing the file.

The fact that different files are used for each cell means that if your
cells contain complex objects, disk space can get up fast because the
multiple copies of all objects are normally saved. You can force Silver to
store only one copy of an object on disk with the eXternal command in the
object editor. See eXternal above, under the Settings menu in the Object
Editor reference section.

The Meaning of the Asterisk

Once a cell is rendered as an image, an asterisk appears next to the cell's
number in any frames in which it happens. You can then reuse this image in
any part of the animation with the Edit menu commands without having to
render it again. This special capability of Silver's lets you create short
loops in animations with tremendous time savings. However, if you enter a
cell with an asterisk by double-clicking on it, then change any setting,
you must render the cell again after exiting. Use the View command (Edit
menu) to experiment with non-permanent changes to a cell.

For further information on creating animations with Silver, consult the
Scene Menu section below.

Animation Editor Mouse Commands

To quit from the program click on the close gadget in the upper left corner
of the Animation Editor's window. If you haven't saved any changes in an
open file you're given a chance to return and save, but you're not forced
to.

An unselected cell's lettering is orange. To select a cell for editing with
animation editor commands, click once on it--the cell's lettering turns
white. To select more than one cell at a time, hold down the left Shift key
while clicking on the cells to be selected. Many animation editor commands,
including Write, Info, Show, and Generate, work consecutively on
multiple-chosen cells.

To enter a cell and edit its contents, click twice on it, or once if it's
selected. This activates Silver's Virtual File storage system before
entering the cell. To alter the Frame position of Delay/Frame slider
settings, click and hold on the slider, then move the mouse left or right
to move the slider accordingly. To change either slider's setting one unit
at a time, click in the space next to the slider within the wide white
hollow rectangle.

Frame Position Slider

The Frame Position slider gadget in the lower left corner of the Animation
Editor screen lets you access frames not currently shown. Any file in
Silver can contain up to 999 cells (limited by disk space, not memory). Of
course, the final animation must be able to fit into memory or you won;t be
able to play it back. By using Silver in conjunction with a video recorder
you can string together many shorter scenes into a major production, which
is of course the way the professionals do it.

To scroll horizontally through the 'film strip' one frame at a time, click
in the space on either side of the slider button gadget. To move more
quickly through the frames, click on the slider button and hold down the
mouse button while moving the mouse left or right to scroll backward or
forward. Whenever the mouse is still the screen display is updated to show
your current position in the 'film strip'.

Delay per Frame Slider

The Delay per Frame Slider (labeled 'Delay/Frame') in the lower right
corner of the screen lets you set the maximum playback speed for animations
generated by Silver. The slider lets you add a consistent delay of between
1/60 and 1 second per frame in 1/60 second increments. You can also vary
playback speed interactively during playback with the Amiga's function
keys.

The initial setting with the slider gadget in its leftmost position is
'None', which means that Silver plays back the animation as fast as
possible, about 15 frames per second. Moving this one position to the
right, by clicking to the right of the slider gadget within the white
horizontal rectangle containing it, sets the delay per frame to 1/60
second. Each successive click to the right or left of the gadget adds or
subtracts 1/60 to or from the delay per frame. To move rapidly through the
settings, click and hold on the slider button while moving the mouse left
or right to speed up or slow down playback.

Key Cell

The extra frame near the bottom of the Animation Editor screen, between the
two sliders, is a special frame for use in animation. You can use it to set
up animated sequences, but it's never included in the sequences. You can
use the Key Cell to set up very complex animation sequences with multiple
objects with repeated use of the Source and Join commands, clearing out the
Key Cell each time before setting up a new animation. See the Source,
Target, Join, and Key Cell commands below for further information.

Info Menu

Functions in this menu include basic information about this program and
displays of available disk and memory space.

About

Displays a small requester showing the version of Turbo Silver you're using
as well as Impulse, Inc.'s address and phone number.

Disk

This command shows a requester displaying the number of bytes free (i.e.
available space) on all drives currently logged on the system.

Memory

This requester shows the amount of available chip RAM and fast RAM in your
Amiga. Remember that Silver's virtual memory system lets you build as
complex a scene as will fit in your computer's memory in each cell.

File Menu

Use this menu to perform basic file maintenance. Silver uses various types
of files to store the different kinds of information it uses, but you need
be concerned with only one file name per project, whether stills or
animations, as long as you don't move files around. If your projects are
small you can store several on a disk.

File Information for Advanced Users

When you first create a new file in Silver, for example Walk1, the program
creates a file called Walk1.SCR and a directory called Walk1.CEL. The .SCR
extension stands for Script--the main or script file is a text file that
contains some information about the file, including path names for its
various directories. Silver also generates an icon for the script file to
remind you of the file's existence from the workbench.

The .CEL extension of the Walk1.CEL directory created by silver indicates
that the directory is to hold all Cell files. Whenever you double-click on
a frame, if it doesn't have a cell number a new file is created in this
directory.

When you first render cells in a new file, Silver creates a new directory
in the same directory as the script files (unless otherwise directed with
the Stills command in the Scene menu) called Walk1.STL, following our
example. This directory contains all RGBN and ILBM pictures generated from
the file. The image files are called RGBN.# and ILBM.#, with the image's
frame number appearing where the # is.

Finally, when you first use Make Scene with a new file, Silver creates a
directory called Walk1.ANI, which contains files associated with the
animation. Silver also generates an icon for the .ANI directory. To copy
the animation to another disk from the workbench, simply drag the .ANI icon
from the source window to the destination.

You cannot copy a Silver file to another disk from the Workbench by simply
dragging the script file icon. You must use the CLI or a disk utility
program to copy the .CEL directory, which doesn't have an icon, as well.
You should also copy the .STL and .ANI directories if you plan to reuse
previously generated stills and animations. Then, if you plan to use the
file from a drive or drives or directories other than that on which it was
originally created, you must use a text editor or word processor that can
save in ASCII format to edit the .SCR script file and change path names for
the .CEL, .STL, and .ANI files.

Say, for example, that you have an animation that you created on a disk in
floppy drive DF1:, and you want to transfer all files to a drawer named
Silver, which also contains the Turbo Silver program, on hard drive
partition DH1:. Normally in floppy drive usage you don't save files on the
same disk that you run Silver from, so Silver prefaces the path names for
the .CEL, .STL, and .STL directories with DF1: in the script file:

DF1:Walk1.CEL
DF1:Walk1.STL
DF1:Walk1.ANI

However, if you use the same disk, the drive specifier isn't necessary. So
if your files are in the same directory as Silver, all you need to do is
remove the DF1:

Walk1.CEL
Walk1.STL
Walk1.ANI

Or you could store them in a drawer in the Silver directory names for the
animation:

Walk1/Walk1.CEL
Walk1/Walk1.STL
Walk1/Walk1.ANI

But if you moved the directories to another partition or a floppy disk in a
different drive, you'd need to insert drive specifiers in the script file.

Note: If you use the Scene Menu commands (Cells, Stills, and Animation) to
change directories for the various types of files, any existing files are
lost.

New (Right Amiga-N)

Use this command when creating a new image or animation.  When the file
requester appears use the mouse to select a drive and path, then type in a
file name.  Don't use spaces or periods in the file name.  Then click on
the OK gadget or press the Return key to begin editing.  The file name you
entered appears near the upper left corner of the Animation Editor window.

Open (Right Amiga-O)

Use this command to edit a file previously saved to disk and closed.  When
the file requester appears use the mouse to select a drive, path, and file.
 Then click on the OK gadget or press the Return key to begin editing.  The
name of the opened file appears near the upper left corner of the Animation
Editor window.

Save (Right Amiga-s)

Use this command while editing a file to save all information to disk with
the current filename.  Be sure to perform a Save operation before closing a
file and/or exiting the program to preserve the latest changes.

Close

The Close command lets you quit a file without exiting the program. If
you've made any changes to the file Silver warns you via a requester. Click
on OK to go ahead and close the file without saving, or on Cancel to abort
the Close command.

Quit (Right Amiga-Q)

Use this command to quit using Silver and exit the program. A requester
appears asking you to verify the decision. Click on the Yes gadget to quit
or on the No gadget to remain in Silver. An alternative to this menu
command/hot key is to click on the close gadget in the upper left corner of
Silver's Animation Editor window.

Clean Up

As you edit cells and frames by cutting and deleting them, you must use
this command to tell Silver that the changes are permanent.  Always use
Clean Up before closing your work.

Modes Menu

Use the Modes menu prior to using the New command to set the Amiga graphics
mode (all are available) to be used in generating frames for the file.
This menu is only accessible before using the New or Open commands to begin
editing a file, so you can't change your mind and switch to a different
mode while editing a file.  However, it's simple to save the contents of
individual cells and load them into other files to experiment with
different graphics modes.

You can make four choices From the Modes menu: HAM, Lo Res, or Hi Res; 200
Line or 400 Line; Normal View or Overscan; and 12-bit or 24-bit RGB. Check
marks appear next to active items.

HAM
Lo Res
Hi Res

This setting determines horizontal resolution and the number of colors
available. HAM (Hold and Modify) and Lo Res (Low Resolution) both use about
320 pixels per scan line; Hi Res (High Resolution) used 640 pixels per scan
line for more detailed images. The main difference between these three is
the number of colors available; 4096 in HAM, 32 in Lo Res, and 16 in Hi
Res. The default (preset) mode is HAM simply because the wide range of
colors available results in the most spectacular and realistic images
possible. While HAM mode images take longer to generate than those using Lo
Res mode, Hi Res images take longer than HAM mode.

200 Line
400 Line

This setting also determines screen resolution, but in a vertical
direction. 200 Line is the default mode and is faster and flicker-free, but
images can appear slightly blocky. 400 Line uses the Amiga's interlace mode
to double vertical resolution and in many cases the flicker isn't
objectionable, but images take about twice as long to generate.

Normal View
Overscan

This setting determines whether or not there is to be a screen border.
Normal View uses a screen border, while Overscan extends the image area to
beyond the edges of most video monitors so there doesn't appear to be a
border.  This is useful in Desktop Video applications where the border is
unacceptable. Overscan images require increased generation time.

12-bit RGB
24-bit RGB

When you use Silver's Generate command to render a frame, the program
normally creates a 12-bit-plane RGBN image which can contain up to 4096
colors. When you display the RGBN image with the Show command it's
converted to IFF HAM format on the fly, which is why loading an image may
take a bit longer than normal.

If you select 24-bit RGB before creating a new file, rendered images can
contain as many as 16 million colors. However, the image files are
correspondingly larger--approximately 600K bytes each. Also, 24-bit RGB
images can only be displayed on Amiga frame buffers (special display
hardware). Frame buffers are available from Impulse, Inc. and Mimetics
Corporation.

Edit Menu

Use the Edit menu, which is accessible only after opening a file or
creating a new one, to edit frames and cells as units. The editing commands
in this menu act on the frames and cells as units. Edit menu commands don't
work on frames with no cell numbers. Similarly, since the Key Cell can't be
rendered as a frame, Edit menu commands don't work on the Key Cell.

The Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete commands all work on entire frames and
cells as units. This means that when you copy cells using this menu, each
copy, though related to a different frame, is a reflection of a single
cell. An example is helpful here: start a new file, enter cell 1, add an
object, then exit to the Animation Editor. Note that the number 1 appears
under the word Cell in Frame 1. The lettering in Frame 1 should still be
white to show it's selected; click once on it if it's not, then select the
Copy command from the Edit menu. Now click once on Frame 2 and select the
Paste command from the Edit menu. Note that the number 1 now appears under
the word Cell in both Frames 1 and 2, which means that the same cell is
used to draw both frames when rendered with the Generate or Make Scene
commands. You can demonstrate that the cells are identical by entering
either one, adding or changing an object, then exiting and entering the
other and noting that the change is consistent.

Select any frame for editing with Edit menu commands by clicking on it so
its lettering turns white. You can select multiple frames by holding down
the left Shift key (Multi mode) as you click on different cells. Use the
Frame Position slider to access cells not currently shown.

By judicious use of these commands you can add to an animation's length
without having to generate extra frames. For example, you can create a
bouncing ball by following this example:

1. Create a short animation of a ball moving up or down--say, five frames
or so. First click on cell 1 twice to enter the workspace and add a sphere.
Exit the cell, select frames 2 through 5 while holding down the left Shift
key, then use Make from the Cells menu. Select frame 1, then press Right
Amiga-Z (Source), then Right Amiga-A (All), then Right Amiga-T (Target) to
make four new cells each with a copy of the sphere. Then enter each cell in
turn and move the ball a little farther up or down than the previous cell.
This is just for illustration--you can create complex animations easily and
automatically with Silver's Story command (see Object Menu in the Object
Editor Reference section).

2. Render the animation in Solid Model mode. When Silver asks to delete
RGBN files, click on the No gadget.

3. After rendering the cells, hold down the left Shift key and click on
frame 4, then on frame 3, and finally on frame 2. All three should now be
selected, showing white lettering.

4. Now select the Copy command from the Edit menu (Right Amiga-C). The
cells have been copied into the paste buffer in the order in which you
clicked on them; 4-3-2.

5. Click on frame 6, then use the Paste command from the Edit menu (Right
Amiga-P). This pastes frames 4, 3, and 2 after frame 5. The new cell
sequence is 1-2-3-4-5-3-2. although frames are numbered consecutively.

6. Set frame 1 as the loop point and generate the scene (see Scene Menu
below). All frames are generated, and the new scene is created in a few
minutes. Load it (Load Scene) and play it back (Play Scene Loop) and you'll
see the animation of the ball bouncing up and down for which you only
needed to create the motion in one direction.

Again, the above example should serve only as an illustration of cut and
paste. You can create a back-and-forth effect as well as other far more
complex motions easily with the text file Movie contained in the .ANI
drawer. See Appendix C for further information.

All (Right Amiga-A)

Use the All command to select all active cells for a further operation.
Commands that can be applied to all cells include Copy, Cut, and Delete
from the Edit menu, Target and Join from the Cells menu, Show and Generate
from the Display menu, and Make Scene from the Scene menu.

Copy (Right Amiga-C)
Cut (Right Amiga-X)
Delete (Right Amiga-D)
Paste (Right Amiga-P)

As mentioned above, these commands make identical copies of frames in order
to reuse the images generated from them in different parts of an animation
without need for regeneration, and without replicating the associated cell.
The Copy command copies any selected frames into the paste buffer in the
order in which they were selected, while Cut deletes them from the existing
order after copying them into the buffer. Successive uses of the Cut or
Copy commands replace any previous contents of the paste buffer. The Delete
command simply removes frames from existence. Any frames to the right of
cut or deleted frames are automatically renumbered to close up gaps in the
numerical frame order.

To use the Paste command after first copying or cutting frames into the
paste buffer, select the frame into which to paste the cells, then select
the Paste command or press Right Amiga-P.

You can copy or cut frames into the past buffer in any order using Multi
mode--that is, by holding down the left Shift key while clicking on cells
in the desired order. For example, if you have frames and cells 1 through
10, you can copy frames 5, 3, 8, and 2, then paste them in that order.

Edit (Right Amiga-E)
View (Right Amiga-V)

Both of these commands allow you to enter a cell and alter its contents
with the object editor. The Edit command functions identically to the
action of double-clicking on a cell (or single-clicking a selected
cell)--you enter the object editor for that cell. When you exit the edited
cell, any changes are registered and saved to disk. If the cell has been
rendered previously in Solid Model or Full Trace mode (an asterisk appears
next to the cell's number in the animation editor), changing the cell
causes the asterisk to vanish, thus rendering the rendered cell's image no
longer accessible. Changing a cell means moving an object or activating a
requester.

Use the View command to enter the object editor for a cell without making
any permanent changes. That is, when you exit the cell any changes aren't
registered, and if you've rendered an image for that cell you can still
display it with the Show command.

Undo (Right Amiga-G)

Use the Undo command to reverse the effects of any Edit menu commands
immediately after invoking them. This is a convenient way to recover from
errors of judgement.

Cells Menu

The commands in the Cells menu let you make identical new copies of
existing cells, as opposed to the 'reflection' cells created by the Edit
menu. You can also combine cells, load and save them to disk, and set
lengths for Story animation. Finally, the Info command tells you how long a
cell took to generate.

As the Animation Editor screen only lets you view eight frames at a time,
use the Frame Position slider gadget in the lower left corner of the screen
to access other frames.

Make (Right Amiga-M)

The Make command lets you prepare new cells to receive information. Once
you've made a cell, you can create new objects in it by entering the object
editor for that cell. Or you can use Source and Target/Joint to clone
existing cells or set up animations.

Select any number of frames to be created by clicking on them, holding down
the left Shift key to select more than one, then select the Make command or
press Right Amiga-M. Note that each new cell is numbered one higher than
the previous one, in the order in which you clicked. You can also make
cells one at a time by clicking twice on any empty frame, which places you
in the object editor for the new cell.

Key Cell (Right Amiga-K)

This command simply selects the Key Cell, which is always Frame 000. The
Key Cell's most important use is as an accessory cell in creating
animation. This is because when you use Source and Target/Join to generate
animations, the Source cell is not altered to become part of the animation,
even if it's designated a Target cell. Since the Key Cell is outside the
standard cell sequence and cannot be rendered, it makes sense to use it as
a Source cell in generating animations. The animation created in such a
case begins in the first Target cell, which is usually Frame 001.

In a new file you must use the Make command on Frame 000 (or click twice on
it) before using the Key Cell.

Source (Right Amiga-Z)

The Source command lets you copy a cell's entire contents to any number of
new cells. First select a cell, then use the Source command, then select
any number of cells and use the Target command, described below. You can
also merge (Join) the Source cell with any number of others. The Target
cells must first be created with the Make command (above).

Although you should generally use the Key Cell, Frame 000, as a Source cell
in setting up animations, any cell can be a Source. A source cell is never
altered when setting up an animation, even if it's also one of the target
cells.

Target (Right Amiga-T)

After using the Source command on an existing cell, use the Target command
to copy that cell's contents to any other existing cells; that is, cells
created either with the mouse-click Edit command or with the Make command.
Select any and all cells to receive copies of the source cell, holding down
the left Shift key to select more than one, then select the Target command
or press Right Amiga-T. Target is a destructive command; any previous
contents of selected cells are completely replaced by copies of the source
cell's contents after using the Target command.

In setting up animated sequences, make sure the Use Story setting (below)
is active before using the Target command.

Join (Right Amiga-J)

After using the Source command on an existing cell, use the Join command to
merge that cell's contents with any other existing cells; that is, cells
created either with the mouse-click Edit command or with the Make command..
Select any and all cells to merge with the source cell, holding down the
left Shift key to select more than one, then select the Target command or
press Right Amiga-T. Each resulting cell then contains its previous objects
plus copies of all objects in the source cell, all in their original
positions.

In setting up animated sequences, make sure the Use Story setting (below)
is active before using the Target command.

Expert Tips

One ideal usage of the Join command is in creating very complex objects.
You can pre-subdivide the object as much as you like, creating each part in
place in a different cell, using the coordinate system to align parts.
Silver's world coordinate system is, of course, consistent from cell to
cell. Finally, you can combine the parts with the Join command. Naturally
it's a good idea to use graph paper and pencil as aids in constructing
complex objects.

Another use of the Join command is in creating complex animations. You can
set up different stories (path animations) with different objects in the
Key Cell, then copy them to different ranges of cells (clearing the Key
Cell before setting up each new animation) using the Join command so that
previous animations set up with Target or Join are not erased.

Load (Right Amiga-L)

The Load command lets you load a cell that was previously saved with the
Save command. Select an existing cell by clicking on it, then select Load
or press Right Amiga-L and use the File Requester to select a file to load.

Write (Right Amiga-W)

The Write command lets you save the cell that's currently selected to disk.
If no cell is selected the file requester doesn't appear. Click on the box
next to File in the file requester and enter a new name to save the cell
under a different name. You can use this command to combine objects and
cells from different animations, (as well as to try the same animation in
different graphics modes).

Info (Right Amiga-I)

The Info command lets you find out how long a cell took to generate in its
most recent rendering in the current work session.  This command only works
with frames that contain an asterisk, which means that there is an
associated RGBN image file. The Info data is not stored with a file, thus
is no longer present in a newly reloaded file.

Use Story

Select the Use Story menu item before using Target or Join on a series of
cells to create an animation using Story information from the Source cell.
Use Story is a setting rather than a command. When the Use Story mode is
active a check mark appears next to it and the Source, Target, and Join
commands use Story information from those objects in the Source cell for
which you've set up animations.  Make sure that the Use Story item in the
Cells menu is checked before you use the Target or Join commands to
'spread' an animation contained in a Source cell over several Target cells.

As an example, if you've set up a path for an object to follow in frame 1,
the animation's length is determined by how many cells you spread the cell
over using Source, Target and Join. Since Silver's fastest playback speed
is 15 frames per second, if you want an object's motion to last one second
you should:

1. Create an animation in a Key Cell (see Story under Group Menu in the
Object Editor Reference section).

2. Use Make on 15 cells.

3. Select the Use Story command if it isn't checked on the menu.

4. Use the Source command on the Key Cell from step 1.

5. Select all 15 cells, then the Target command from the Cells menu (Right
Amiga-T).

At this point Silver creates an animation from the Story information in the
Key Cell by implementing the changes you've specified in a gradual manner
from cell to cell. Each cell is a little bit different from the last, and
when viewed consecutively in rapid succession (i.e. Play Scene), the cells'
rendered images create the illusion of three-dimensional animation.

Display Menu

Use this menu to create and display still images and sequences of stills,
set various Animation Editor options, and a few other odds and ends
concerning Silver's display.

Show

The Show command displays any RGBN image files associated with selected
frames, as indicated by an asterisk next to the frame's cell number. Select
the frames to be displayed--choose multiple frames by holding down the left
Shift key--then choose the Show command to start the slide show. The images
are shown in left-to-right order. After each picture loads and is
displayed, click the left mouse button to go on to the next.

When a picture first starts loading Silver displays its 16-color (HAM and
Hi Res) or 32-color (Lo Res) palette in the bottom left corner of the
screen as a visual reference.

NOTE: To save any Silver image as an IFF file compatible with other Amiga
graphics programs, press S while the image is being displayed with the Show
command. The file is stored in the same directory as the RGBN file, the
Stills directory, with the name ILBM.#, with # replaced by the frame
number.

Generate

Use the Generate command to create RGBN still image files for any selected
frames that don't already has associated images. Select the frame or frames
to be generated, then choose the Generate command to begin the rendering
process.  A constantly updated information line near the top of the
Animation Editor window shows progress in terms of the percent of the
picture completed. Once the picture has been generated, use the Show
command (above) to view the results.

You can abort the generation process at any time by clicking the left mouse
button. If you click during or immediately after the initialization process
the generation is halted immediately. If you click when the image is less
than half completed, a requester lets you confirm the abort or continue.
However, if the image is more than 50% completed a different requester
appears notifying you of this.

There are a number of Animation Editor commands you can use prior to
Generate (or Make Scene from the Scene menu) that affect the final tracing,
including Options, Set Zone, and Reset Zone (all from this menu). Also, you
can use the Stills command from the Scene menu to save the RGBN files on a
different drive, allowing you to maximize disk storage capacity.

Options Submenu

This submenu gives you three choices from six paired items; a check mark
appears next to each of the selected items.  Each of the options affects
the results of the next Generate or Make Scene command.

All Cells
New Cells

The first choice lets you choose whether all selected frames are to be
generated anew with a Generate command, or only those which haven't yet
been generated; that is, they don't have an asterisk next to the frame
number. The default condition is to generate only New Cells, which of
course saves a good deal of time in the long run.

As an example, if you've just rendered part of a frame with Set Zone, an
asterisk appears in the frame and remains even if you use Reset Zone to
render the full frame.  In such a case the program won't re-render the frame
unless you set All Cells, assuming that you haven't edited the cell.

When you're done experimenting and wish to create a final scene, even
though you may have already generated several still from the sequence it's
a good idea to set Lock Palette (below) and regenerate all frames for
maximum consistence of image from frame to frame.

Free Palette
Lock Palette

Whenever Silver creates a new still image in HAM mode, it first calculates
an optimum 16-color palette from which all other colors in the picture are
to be derived. By using the first, or default setting this palette can
'float' or change in successive frame depending on the cell's contents.
Under certain conditions, however, this can lead to noticeable
inconsistencies between frames which show up as visual glitches in the
final animation. For the best-looking animations, at a slight cost in
rendering speed, use Lock Palette.

Wire Frame
Solid Model
Full Trace

These three determine the look and speed of rendering off the Generate and
Make Scene commands. Wire frame is fastest but Full Trace looks best. Solid
Model offers a close approximation to the Full Trace look with speeds
slightly slower than Wire Frame.

To test object motion, scaling, and positioning in animations set this
final Options submenu choice to Wire Frame, then select all cells and use
the Make Scene command from the scene menu. The wire frame animation is
rendered almost immediately, and gives you a good idea of how the final
animation will look. Wire Frame doesn't work with Generate, only with Make
Scene. To view a cell in wire frame mode, enter the object editor for that
cell and press Right Amiga-W.

The default setting is Full Trace, which performs ray-tracing with all
special effects and uses the full palette available for shading. When you
select Full Trace, the Pixel Size requester appears (see below). Full Trace
images take the longest, but final image quality is highest.

Silver can also perform Solid Modeling, which is much faster than
ray-tracing but with Silver's special 'smooth-surface' version of solid
modeling can look very similar to ray-traced images. Although you can use
Set Zone with Solid Model, in many cases generation time isn't shortened by
a significant degree. Some of Silver's attributes effects, such as
reflectivity, shadows, and stencils aren't yet available in Solid Model
mode, but we're working on it!

Full Trace
Pixel Size

Select the Full Trace item from the Options submenu with the mouse (even if
it's already selected) to bring up a Pixel Size requester showing the
default size of 1 pixel. By changing this to a larger size--we suggest not
bigger than 5--you can speed up frame generation considerable, at the cost
of resolution. Pixels even in the 2 and 3 size appear large and blocky, but
in most cases these settings are useful for testing gross shading effects.
Press the Return key or click on the requester's close gadget to set the
new pixel size. Incidentally, the mosaic effect that results from settings
larger than 1 can be useful for special effects.

Set Zone
Reset Zone

The Set Zone command lets you set a window of any size anywhere on the
screen outside of which no image is generated when the Generate or Make
Scene commands are used. This is useful for speedy rendering of specific
localized areas. The zone stays set for all cells until changed or reset.
Even in Overscan mode you won't be able to set the zone outside the normal
screen borders. Use Reset Zone to set the rendering area to that
established by the current Modes menu setting (Overscan or Normal).

When you select this command you're transferred to a blank screen that
shows the current mouse coordinates in a constantly updated display in the
upper left corner.  Click the left mouse button when the pointer is at the
upper left corner of the desired rectangle, then again at the lower right
corner. You needn't hold down the mouse button in between. A 'rubber-band'
rectangle guide follows the mouse after the first click to show the zone.
Write down these coordinates (before the second click) as a guide for
future adjustments in the zone.

HINT: To determine where to place the zone, enter the cell and press Right
Amiga-W for a wire-frame view of the final image. Place 'Post-It' stickers
or other light adhesive labels on the screen where you want to render, then
exit the cell and use these visual aids to set the zone.

Hide Silver

The Hide Silver command lets you take advantage of the Amiga's multitasking
capability, placing the program's screen rearmost in the hierarchy of
currently active Intuition screens. If no other programs are running you're
placed at the Workbench, or if you ran Silver from a CLI or other command
interface you're returned to that environment.

To return to Silver, use the Push gadget immediately to the left of the
Pull gadget in the Workbench's window's upper right corner or press Left
Amiga-N or Left Amiga-M. The Left Amiga key is the Commodore key on some
Amiga machines.

Scene Menu

This is the control center for Silver's animation housekeeping. From the
Scene menu you can set paths for Silver's cell, still, and animation files,
as well as various commands for creating and displaying animations.

Cells
Stills
Animation

These first three commands on the Scene menu allow you to redirect disk
storage of Silver's three different types of directories. When you use the
New command to open a new file, Silver creates a .SCR file with an icon and
a .CEL directory without an icon with the file requester, both with the
file name you enter (e.g. Sequence.SCR and Sequence.CEL). When you first
use the Generate or Make Scene command, Silver creates a stills directory
with the extension .STL, and when you first generate an animation with Make
Scene a .ANI directory is created (e.g. Sequence.STL and Sequence.ANI). All
three directories are created in the same directory used for the .SCR main
file unless you tell the program otherwise with these commands.

Therefore it's important that you redirect any file storage before
performing the appropriate action (such as creating cells for the .CEL
directory, or generating frames for the .STL directory). If you use any of
these after the corresponding directory has been created, any files in the
previous directory are no longer accessible. Also, if you use the CLI or a
disk utility program to move your files, you must use a text editor to edit
the .SCR script file to tell Silver where they are, not use these commands.
If you do use these commands to point to information-containing directories
in new locations, any existing information is lost. The program warns you
of this fact and gives you a chance to cancel.

To redirect files, select the type of file (Cells, Stills, or Animation) to
invoke a requester that shows only directories on your drive, and select
the drive and/or subdirectory into which to store the files. After choosing
a parent directory with the mouse, you can type a directory name at the
right end of the text in the DRAWER line in the file requester. When
conserving disk space, keep in mind that usually the Stills folder contains
the largest amount of data, the Animation directory contains the next
largest, and the Cells directory usually contains relatively little data,
although cells containing complex objects can be quite large. You can use
the eXternal command (see Object Editor reference above) to save disk space
with complex objects.

Set Loop

To set a loop point for an animation before rendering it with the Make
Scene command, simply select the cell that's to be the loop point, then
select Loop Point from the Scene menu. When you use Play Loop below, the
animation runs once all the way through, then repeatedly returns to the
loop point and runs through to the end again. If you don't set a loop
point, a looped animation runs continually all the way through.

You can control looping more precisely by editing the Movie file in the
.ANI directory. See Appendix C for details.

Make Scene

Use the Make Scene command to render animations. First select all cells to
be used in the animation--use Right Amiga-A (All) to select every active
cell, then activate Make Scene. Silver first generates any cells that don't
have asterisks next to the cell number, then combines all the frames into
an animation. To display the animation, use the Load Scene and Play Scene
commands below.

The Make Scene command uses the Set Loop setting.

Since the Key Cell can't be rendered, it's never included in animations
even if selected when you use the Make Scene command.

Playing Animations Outside of Silver

You can play back Silver animations from the Amiga Workbench or CLI
(Command Line Interface) with the Player program, supplied on the Silver
program disk. From the Workbench, click once on the .ANI drawer icon, which
looks like a horizontal filmstrip with the word 'Scene' superimposed. Then
press and hold either Shift key, and click twice on the Player icon. From
the CLI, type:

Player filename

substituting the name of the .ANI drawer for 'filename'. Thus to play an
animation from file 'Walk1' you'd type:

Player Walk1.ANI

adding path names as necessary.

Incidentally, Turbo Silver 3.0 uses a new animation format, so previous
versions of the Player program won't work with animations from 3.0.

Generating Multiple Animations from One File

Whenever you use Make Scene, any previous generated animation in the
current cell is deleted. To generate multiple animations from a file,
follow this sequence:

* generate an animation

* close the file

* copy the file's .ANI directory to another disk or directory. You can use
the Workbench to do this; just drag the icon to the destination disk or
window. The icon looks like a small horizontal filmstrip with the word
'Scene' superimposed.

* reopen the file and generate a new animation.

Make Movie

This command lets you use a special text 'script' file called Movie to
generate complex animations. The Movie file must be present in the current
file's .ANI drawer for this command to work. See Appendix B for information
on the Movie file.

Load Movie

When you use the Make Scene or Make Movie command to generate an animation
from a Silver file, the animation is created and stored on disk. Use the
Load Movie to bring the animation files into memory so they can be played
back--use the Play Movie command (below) to view the animation.

If you've created an animation that's close to or larger in size to the
amount of free memory, you may not be able to play it back. In such a case,
save everything, quit the program, and use the Player program (see Make
Scene above) to view the animation. If the animation is equal to in size or
larger than the total amount of memory in your system, you'll need to
expand your memory before you can view it. To find the size of an
animation, total the sizes of the files in the .ANI drawer.

Drop Movie

Use Drop Movie to remove an animation loaded with the Load Movie command
above from memory. Loaded scenes typically consume a good deal of memory
which could better be used for animation production, so it's in your
interest to always use Drop Movie after loading and viewing a scene before
continuing to work on the scene.

Play Movie Submenu
Once
Loop

The Play Movie command lets you view an animation created with the Make
Scene or Make Movie command and loaded into memory with the Load Movie
command. The Play Movie submenu gives you two choices; Once or Loop. Choose
the latter to run through the animation one time and then return to the
Animation Editor, or choose Play Movie Loop to play back the animation
continuously, running all the way through once and then repeatedly from the
loop point.

Press the Esc key to quit the animation. Don't forget to use Drop Movie to
clear memory before returning to rendering images.

Appendix A

The Silver Configuration File

When Silver first starts running it looks for a text file named
Silver.config in the same directory from which it's run. If the file is
found and its contents make sense Silver uses it to set a number of default
settings, which you can control by editing this file. To edit the
Silver.config file, use a text editor such as Ed, or a word processor that
can save in ASCII format.

Here's an example of a Silver Configuration file, which contains only ASCII
text:

BGRD 000
FGRD fff
SLCT f90
PNTS ccc
PRNT f0f
SPNT 0ff
ACTV 0f0
PPNT f00
MODE 0
LACE F
NAME T
OVER F
WARN T
MULT 9999
SCRN 2
SETF 12 002

The first nine settings refer to colors used by Silver. Here's a brief
explanation of each, followed by the default color setting:

BGRD - Background color (black)
FGRD - Foreground color, used by non-selected items (white)
SLCT - Color for selected objects and groups (orange)
PNTS - Color for points (light gray)
PRNT - Parent, used for lines connecting grouped objects (purple)
SPNT - Selected points (cyan)
PICK - Picked objects and groups (blue)
ACTV - Active, object ready for repositioning (green)
PPNT - Picked point (red)

The colors are determined by using three-place hexadecimal numbers to set
the red, green, and blue values in left-to-right order. Thus, the value

RGB
f80

used to set the color of selected objects uses a red value of 15, a green
value of 8, and a blue value of 0, which results in orange. In case you're
unfamiliar with hexadecimal numbers, here's a table:

Dec.    Hex.
0    0
1    1
2    2
3    3
4    4
5    5
6    6
7    7
8    8
9    9
10    a
11    b
12    c
13    d
14    e
15    f

The next settings in the configuration file is MODE, which refers to the
first three settings on the animation editor Mode menu:

Mode    Setting
HAM    0
Lo Res    1
Hi Res    2

The next setting, LACE, determines the default setting for Interlace; F
(false) sets 200-line mode, and T (true) sets 400-line mode.

The NAME setting, also True or False, determines whether you're
automatically requested for names of new items added with the Add menu.

The OVER setting, also True or False, sets whether or not Silver starts in
overscan mode. If you're generating animations to be used in video
production, you might want to set this to True.

The WARN setting determines whether warning requesters appear when you
close a file or open another without saving first, after making changes to
a file. Set Warn to True or False.

The MULT setting determines the maximum number of points, edges, faces, or
objects that can be picked at one time in Multi mode. The maximum value of
MULT is 9999. If you don't use Multi mode much, you can save memory by
reducing this number.

The SCRN setting, which can range from 2 to 8, determines the speed of
screen redraw. The higher the number, the faster the screen redraw.

The last line in the example Silver.config points to a way of customizing
Silver's operation for your particular way of working. The SETF command
lets you assign any Object Editor menu command to any of 20 function keys.
The second set of 10 function keys is obtained by first pressing the Esc
key, then releasing it, then pressing the desired function key.

Here's the format of the SETF command:

Cmd    Key    Menu#    Item#    Submenu Item#

SETF    12    0    0    2

The first number 12, refers to the function key pressed to obtain the
particular menu function. In this case you'd press the Esc key, then F2.

The next number specifies which menu command is to be activated when you
press the indicated function key. Each digit in the three-place number is a
hexadecimal number. The first digit refers to the Object Editor menu form
which the command is taken. The second digit refers to the number of the
menu item. The third digit refers to a submenu item, if any. IN ALL THREE
CASES START COUNTING WITH 0. So, in the example above, the first menu, #0,
is the Edit menu, and the first item, #0, is Add. The third item on the Add
submenu, #2, is Add Axis.

Here's another example. If you use the Story command often for animations,
you might wish to assign it to a function key--we'll use F14, which you get
by pressing and releasing the Esc key, then pressing F4. Since the Story
command is the seventh item on the third menu, and no submenu items are
involved, this will do the trick:

SETF 14 260

As a final example using a hexadecimal number, to assign the undo command
to Esc-F6, use:

SETF 16 0B0

since Undo is the twelfth command on the Edit menu (#0), and B is the
hexadecimal equivalent of decimal 11.

Appendix B

Movie

When you first render an animation in Silver with the Make Scene command,
the program creates a text file in the current file's .ANI directory called
Movie, which contains the default settings for the animation as specified
in the Animation Editor. Since the Animation Editor doesn't let you specify
extremely complex sequences, you can edit the Movie file to create
sequences as complex as you like.

The procedure for using a Movie file is simple:

* Use Make Scene to create an initial animation and Movie file

* Edit the Movie file with a text editor

* Use Make Movie from the Animation Editor Scene menu to render the new
animation.

As an example, say you use Make Scene to create a 12-frame sequence with
the Animation Editor. The Movie file looks like this:

MOVIE
PLAY 1-12 FOREVER

Then, say you want to view the animation backwards. Instead of going
through an extensive Animation Editor session reversing the order of the
cells, you need simply to use any text editor or word processor capable of
saving an ASCII file to change the Movie file to:

MOVIE
PLAY 12-1 FOREVER

Then use the Make Movie command from the Animation Editor Scene command to
render the reversed animation.

But what if you want to show the sequence forward, then backward, and have
it cycle endlessly?  In this case you can use the SCENE command, which sets
up a 'subroutine' that you can call from the main MOVIE program. Here's how
to do it:

SCENE ABC
PLAY 1-12
PLAY 11-2

MOVIE
PLAY ABC FOREVER

In the above case, the program continuously plays frames 1-12, the 11-2,
which causes the animation to appear to cycle endlessly forward and
backward.

Finally, here's an example of a more complex Movie script:

SCENEABC
PLAY1-5
PLAY4-2

MOVIE
PLAY6-9
PLAY10-134 TIMES
PLAYABC
PLAY14-19
PLAYABC 2 TIMES
PLAY20-24 FOREVER

Note that in addition to playing a particular sequence of frames once or
continuously, you can specify a number of repetitions for any sequence. In
the above sequence, first frames 6 to 9 are shown once. Then frames 10-13
are shown 4 times, then the 'subroutine' ABC is played once. ABC consists
of frames 1 to 5, then 4 to 2 (backwards). Next frames 14-19 are shown,
then Scene ABC is shown twice. Finally, the sequence consisting of frames
20-24 is shown continuously.


                       Quick Reference Sheet

                           Object Editor

General

Esc key - While wireframe view is being drawn, stops drawing after current
object.

Edit Menu

Command        Shortcut

Add Point    Right Amiga-6
Add Edge    Right Amiga-7
Add Face    Right Amiga-8
Pick All    Right Amiga-A
Copy        Right Amiga-C
Cut        Right Amiga-X
Paste        Right Amiga-P
Delete        Right Amiga-D
Erase        Right Amiga-E
Join        Right Amiga-J
Split        Right Amiga-Z
Group        Right Amiga-G
Ungroup        Right Amiga-Y
Undo        Right Amiga-U
Quit        Right Amiga-Q
Escape        Right Amiga-]

Special Menu

Command        Shortcut

Free        Right Amiga-F
Track        Right Amiga-T
Apply        Right Amiga-A
Cluster        Right Amiga-K
Home        Right Amiga-H
Next        Right Amiga-N
Last        Right Amiga-B
Find        Right Amiga-F
Mark        Right Amiga-M
Redraw        Right Amiga-R

Settings Menu

Command        Shortcut

Globals        F4
Camera        F5
Transformations    F6
Attributes    F7
Load        Right Amiga-L
Save        Right Amiga-S
eXternal    Right Amiga-X

Pick Menu

Command     Shortcut

Pick Group    Right Amiga-1
Pick Object    Right Amiga-2
Pick Point    Right Amiga-3
Pick Face    Right Amiga-4
Pick Edge    Right Amiga-5
Add Select    F1
Remove Pick    F2
Remove Select    F3

View Menu

Command        Shortcut

Pan view    Arrow keys
Top view    F8
Front view    F9
Right view    F10
Wire frame    Right Amiga-W
Zoom in        Right Amiga-I
Zoom out    Right Amiga-O

             Quick Reference Sheet

                Animation Editor

General

Esc key - halts displayed animation
double-click on cell - enter cell for editing
F1-F10 - set animation speed
S - press while rendered image is displayed
    (Show) to save as IFF file

Info Menu

Command        Shortcut

New        Right Amiga-N
Open        Right Amiga-O
Save        Right Amiga-S
Quit        Right Amiga-Q

Edit Menu

Command        Shortcut

All        Right Amiga-A
Copy        Right Amiga-C
Cut        Right Amiga-X
Delete        Right Amiga-D
Paste        Right Amiga-P
Edit        Right Amiga-E
View        Right Amiga-V
Undo        Right Amiga-U

Cells Menu

Command        Shortcut

Make        Right Amiga-M
Key Cell    Right Amiga-K
Source        Right Amiga-S
Target        Right Amiga-T
Join        Right Amiga-J
Load        Right Amiga-L
Write        Right Amiga-W
Info        Right Amiga-I

============================================================================
         DOCS PROVIDED BY  -+*+-THE SOUTHERN STAR-+*+- for M.A.A.D.
============================================================================