STraTOS 1997 April & May/STraTOS 1 - 1997 April & May.iso/CD01/GRAPHICS/RAYSTART/RAYSTART.MAN

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Raystart English Manual



1. Environment and Programm Configuration

Congratulations on purchasing Raystart 1.1. Raystart is a new generation
raytracer for an unbelievable price that will run on any Atari ST/STe/TT or
even Falcon and raytrace images of any resolution with up to 24bit Colour.

Since the release of the Falcon'030 Computer in January 1993, the Atari
Market has been experiencing an explosion of new graphics programs. Raytracers
such as P.O.V. became increasingly popular, however their interface was
cryptic and scared off most of the regular user's who were so used to the
standard GEM Interface, offered by Atari. Raystart complies completely to
the Atari Standard of GEM-VDI. All the output is done via the GEM-VDI making
it compatible with any Atari Computer System of the 16/32 bit Micro Generation.

The fact that Raystart was written in a completely GEm oriented way means
that the program has:

1.Resolution Independency
2.All output in GEM like windows
3.Interactive Screens via the dialog boxes.
4.Accessories can be activated
5.Easy, fast and intuitive work

Raystart will also work on any monochrome monitor. All Dialogboxes are
accessible either through the mouse or the quick-keyboard commands.

We hope you enjoy Raystart as much as we have here at Lexicor Software.

2. Introduction

RayStart is a raytracing-rendering program with numerous options and
possibilities of creating a 3 Dimensional Object, as well as creating your
own virtual world in your 3D Environment, very similar to the Environment
of CHRONOS or XENOMORPH (PHOENIX U.S.A.) Object Renderer, also by Lexicor
Software Corporation.

3 The Main Menu

Once you have started the application RAYSTART.PRG after double clicking it
or opening it on your desktop you should be getting the main menu of RayStart.

The first window is the toolbox, this has all the necessary tools and options
to manipulate your 3D Objects. Depending on which work mode you are in, the
contents of that window change.

The second window is were all the output is displayed and confirmed that have
to do with the actions of the first window i.e. the second window displays
the finished result of the actions done in the first window. If you are in
the work mode then you can move the 3D Object in your virtual space. You then
have the possibility of viewing the object from top, bottom or right. However
if you wish to do so, you can also do a triple view and see the same object
in all three views, the windows will then divide itself proportionally among
the original display window.

In the Camera Mode, the display window takes over the functions of a simulated
Camera Lense, which you can view directly into the virtual space. The Camera
can be moved, positioned and placed freely in the 3D Virtual Space, you can
also set your zoom and your perspective view.

In the Object Editor, the second display window assumes the role of a
drawing template, similar to CAD-3D2 Studio or Cybersculpt. In this mode you
can edit an existing 3D file, or you can create a new one from scratch. As
mentioned before, the windows are written to comply with the GEM standard of
Atari, and therefore can be moved around freely and resized (except when you
are in the template mode, object editing!).

To begin any actions in the toolbox window, you will first have to activate
that window with a maus click. Then you can change all the parameter's via
the buttons and the maus in the toolbox window. Since all commands can be
also activated via keyboard, it is not necessarily required to activate the
toolbox to change it's parameters.

4 To the Menus in general

I will now quickly introduce each pull down menu and roughly explain it's
function, a more detailed explanation shall follow during the course of this
text.

1. Desk: On the left side, this is were the programm info is and the added
accessories.

2. File: In the Menu for File there are only two selections. Choice "Auswahl"
which when selected will open up a dialog box with a choice of what kind
of files you wish to load or save into Raystart. The other selection is End
which will exit the program, after a security check question.

3. Options: The Option-Menu will allow you to select between the various modes
i.e. work mode or tool box. The way you determine the difference between the
various modes is that by selection the options, buttons as well as parameters
will change, some menus have their own menubars.

After selecting the "Camera" Option you will get into the Camera-Mode, there
you get into the all the parameter's to change your view.

If you select the option "Light..." then a dialogbox will appear where you
can define your light source(s). After that, you may want to select "Move Lamp"
in order to move and position your light source.

The menu "Colour" will open a dialogbox, where you can select the color's
and change the palette's.

With "Move Object" you will change into the positioning of objects, in which
you can place your 3D Object anywhere in your 3D Plane.

In the "Move Window" mode you can move your viewing window.

Once you have selected the option "Turn Object" you will get in your toolbox
window where all the parameter's will appear to change/modify your object eg.
size, skaling, skew in any x/y/z direction etc.

4. Object: This is the menu where you can edit or create an object. There you
may select an existing object, go into the object editor and to the status
info.

5. Mode: You have the potion to select between 2 different types of Objectview
i.e. display, while you are in the workmode. You can display them either as
complete wireframe, or in the "hidden-line"-mode.

5 Object Control

In order to work with an object you are required to activate it first. It is
also recommendable to group various objects together into one entity so that
you can work with all of them together in the same environment.

All of that you can do in the Objectselection-dialogbox. This Dialogbox
(See 5.1. and 5.2) will pop up the moment you click on the "Auswahl" or
"Selection/Choice" in the Object menu.

So how is it possible to display a group of objects for selection. To display
a single object you have to simply click on it with the left mouse-button, the
object associated name will then be inverted to black.

The moment you press the button <OK> you will exit and the display window will
immediately redraw the window in order to update it of it's view.

If you wish to select an object and edit it, then you need to click on it
with the right mouse button. The object will then appear inverted as well but
in slanted text. These specific objects will then appear at the display
window with a different colour altogether, which you can choose in the menu
"Colours".

Let's look at example 5.1. The object button is selected, this means that you
are still in the Object-Mode where only single objects may be edited. In
example 5.1 4 Objects are selected. The object "OB4" is marked extra with the
right mouse button. Once you will exit this menu, you will see that 4 new
objects have been created abd "OB2" is drawn in a different coloured wireframe.

If you are in the "Spin Objects" then you can turn and spin your objects. All
the new changes you will make, will only apply to the object that has been
selected with the right mouse button that appears inverted and slanted and has
a different colour. Now let's say you want to change i.e. spin all the other
objects around "OB2". Simply go to the "Object Selection"-mode and click on
the option <Gruppe> or <Group>. In the group mode you have all the same
features as in the <Object>-mode, however now you can select and mark as many
objects as you please.

Note: Whatever you edited in work mode is preserved and different from whatever
selection you have made in the group mode. That makes it possible for you
to select and switch between the two modes and get differnt settings and
selections.

6 The "Move Window" menu

The moment you select the option "Move Window" in the menu bar you get a new
selection of buttons and parameters (see 6.1).

On the top of the left window there is an option called <Zoom>, which also
has a bar with various scaling values.

The function of this specific <Zoom> option is to make smaller or enlarge the
viewing window that the object is currently in.

Is <1> activated, then the objects will be displayed with a ratio of 1:1 world
to the object.

The numbers to the left of the <1> are the scaling factors in percentages. So
if you select <50> then the object will only be half as large in the displayed
window.  These numbers left of the <1> have a scaling factor of:

Percentage(%) * 10

<40> would therefore mean that the object would be displayed 4 times larger
than the original size. These selections can be made with the quick keys
1 through 9 via the keyboard.

With the help of the 4 "Viewing"-buttons you may select your kind of view(s),
similar to CADDS4X, ARIES or CAD3D2 Studio. You can choose to have a single
view, but you can also choose to open up to 3 new sub-windows to make it
possible to have 3 different views of the same object. Select the <Front>,
<Top> and <Right>-button to create a redraw in any of the 3 possible views.

Once you clicked on the <All>-button then all possible selected views will be
displayed at once. The order is the same as in the single viewing box, this
means that on the top left corner you get the front view, on the top right
the top view and botton right the right view.

By selecting the option "Bearbeite" i.e. "Work" <Object> or <Group>-buttons
you are able to select between the two modes which is explained in chapter
5.

The drawing window is, in the three axial coordinates (x,y,z) freely moveable,
until you hit the limit which is 16,000 units in any of the three directions.
The window will always be within the boundaries of your view, so that all the
objects are clearly in front of the user. Example 6.2 will take you closer to
the details of the organisation of the x,y and z axis.

In the field "Window-Coordinates" the requires coordinates are displayed of
the displayable drawing window. However the coordinates are always
7 Move that object

8 Scale object

9 The spin/turn object menu

10 Extrude Editor

In the "Object" menubar you may select the option "Extrude", there you will
enter Raystart's own built-in Extrude Editor, very similar to CAD-3D2 or
Cybersculpt.

You will be given a template in which you will draw your future 3D object on
a 2D template.

In the Extrude editor you can create your objects in the following ways:
You have the option to draw the template with your mouse (mouse and click)
which will then be given a certain depth and extruded.

In order to begin a drawing, the drawing window will naturally have to be
activated.

Following rules have to be observed:

1. There must be a minimum of at least 3 points that do not lie on the same
   line.

2. The drawing has to be drawn clockwise i.e. right turn.

3. None of the lines are allowed to intersect with each others.

An error message will come up if you forget to follow any of these vital
points.


11 Rotate Editor

12 Function Editor

13 Analytical Object Editor

14 Editing of Objects in a Texteditor

15 Light Dialog

16 Move Lights

17 Colour

The Colour Dialogbox can only be called up if at least 16 Colours are
selectable.

In the Colour Dialogbox you can change the colour palette and the colour
pattern. These can be changed/selected in the big colour box which lies at
the lower half of your screen. The actual colour to object dialog box is
selectable via the Materials/Colour which is selectable via the Object Menu.

In Monochrome mode, you have the option of 17 different grayscale models.

18 Material and Colours

This dialogbox (see 18.1) will come up as soon as the "Material/Colour"
option has been selected.

19 Textures

To Change the Parameters for the textures you need to go into the Material's
dialogbox by selecting the <tExtures>-button. Once you have selected that
button you may edit the materials.

The building/constructing of Material Designs always are done in the same
principal:

Starting from the object centre point of the to be textured object a 3 dimensional
pattern is going to be calculated. This means that the object is in the
3 Dimensional texture pattern, that spreads itself over the whole plane.

To change th colour of the general texture simply exchange the colour of the
equivalent point within the 3D-pattern.

There are only 2-colour patterns possible. The colour of the material is a part
of the actual pattern. The second colour is the texture colour which you can
select and change in exactly the same way you would do with the material colour.

Once you are in the textures window, then simply click on a colour to select
a texture for your texture. If you now change the the menu-selection via the
materials button then you can see how the colour range will pop right back
into the object.

In the "Texture" box there is a wide selection of various texture grounds.
Depending on which ground texture is used, in the lower box the functions
and tools will change accordingly.

In the middle box you can edit the random generation or sinewave distortion
of the texture and turn it on or off. If you turn on texture distortion then
the texture will basically be completely new and variable.

Random generated distortion: Once you have selected the <Distortion>-button
a random generated distortion is given to the texture. In order to reproduce
that random-generated-distortion you can give the texture a "Start" parameter
between 0 and 1 which will initialise the random generator with the same
values as before.

Artifical random generators have the advantage that if the start values are
the same, the next "random" generated values will always be the same. This is
because of the iterative definition of this specific random algorithm. By
changing the beginning values you can change the way of the texture.

With the <distortion> parameters you can change the strength of the distortion.
The random number will simply be multiplied by the distortion value, therefore
usually the <distortion> parameters should lie between 0 and 1.

For values greater than 1 there can be no guarantee about how the texture will
look like (i.e. it cannot be foreseen what pattern it will have) as the
textures will then overlap. However that can still bring some interesting and
for some even necessary effects. If you are using the rings texture as a
ground texture and have a distortion value over 5, then you can get
interference type patterns which will result in marble like patterns.

Sinewave distortion: Select the <Sine>-button, if you wish to give the
object a sine wave distortion to the object.

The wave is going to be a 3 Dimensional wave, this means that if you were to
place this function on say a cube or box, then you would get waves on that
very box as your texture. Otherwise the sine wave will penetrate the object
and it will look like rings, or plateau like patterns.





20 File Selector Dialog Box

21 The Camera Menu

22 The Camera Mode Dialog

23 Save/Load Picture file

24 Continue Ray-trace

Once you have, for any reason or another, chosen to interrupt your Raytrace,
could be for time reasons as your Computer will be taking up quite a bit of
time to raytrace complex images, you can then choose to continue your
interrupted calculation.

1. Interrupt your current Raytrace by selecting the "Q" - Key.

2. Save the picture parameters via the "Save File" option.

3. Save the picture file in the "Save Picture" options. If the file that
   you have created is a True Color File, then it will automatically save
   off in the "Tiffany"-Format (TIF) file.

4. Go into the "Main Menu" and call the "Select File" dialog box.

5. Save the Object-, Kamera-, Light- and Colour Data. Change the view only
after you have saved off all the various parameters.

In order to re-start your raytrace you will have to go through procedures 1-5
exactly in the opposite way.